Billie Lourd "will never stop missing" her late mom Carrie Fisher.

Bryan Lourd, Billie Lourd and Carrie Fisher /  Instagram

The 33-year-old actress says the Star Wars legend - who died of a sudden cardiac arrest at the age of 60 on December 27, 2016 - "lives on through the joy" she has with her son Kingston, five, and three-year-old daughter Jackson.

Billie - who has her children with her 33-year-old husband, actor Austen Rydell - took to Instagram on Saturday (27.12.25) and paid tribute to Carrie on the ninth anniversary of her death.

Captioning a photo of Billie, her 65-year-old dad, talent manager Bryan Lourd, and the late Princess Leia actress in a room in 2000, as well as a shot of Bryan with Kingston and Jackson in the same place 25 years later, she penned: "It has been 9 years since my mom died.

"My daughter woke up earlier than usual this morning so we went outside together and she knowingly laid her little head on my chest.

"She looked up at me with her big soulful eyes and said 'I love you mama' and grabbed my face with her little chubby hands and kissed me.

"She does this pretty much every morning and dare I say, there is no better way to wake up and no ritual I love more. I told her how much her grandmomby would have loved her and she looked up at me and kissed me again. (sic)"

Billie then detailed the special bond Jackson and Kingston have with their grandfather, Bryan - who was with Carrie from 1991 until 1994, when he left her for a man after realising he was gay.

She continued: "Then we walked to breakfast with my dad and they ran around together like 2 old souls that have known each other forever.

"Watching my dad with my kids is one of the greatest joys Ive ever known.

"The kind of joy that makes your face hurt because you cant stop smiling, the kind of joy that makes you feel like your life is a movie you thought only existed in movies. But then you take a step back and realise that its better than any movie could ever be. (sic)"

The Last Showgirl star then credited Carrie - who died four days after she experienced a medical emergency during a flight from London to Los Angeles on December 23 - for her family's happiness.

Billie wrote: "Then I started thinking about how this joy wouldnt be possible without my mom. This joy only exists because she existed. So even though she is not physically part of this joy, she is part of the reason for it. Even though she is not alive she lives on through this joy. (sic)"

The American Horror Story alum then shared that the grieving process causes Billie to experience a wave of emotions.

She explained: "My grief takes on many shapes - today, right now in this moment, that shape is this joy I get to experience watching my kids with my dad.

"It could and will change shapes multiple times throughout this day because grief is never just one thing but right now I am relishing in this bittersweet grieful joy. (sic)"

Billie ended her emotional tribute by writing that Carrie's legacy will forever continue.

Billie concluded with: "As my mom wisely said, 'Nothing is ever really over. Just over there'.

"My mombys life isnt really over. Just over there - in my kids and in this joy Im able to experience because of her. Thank you momby. I will never stop missing you. (sic)"
What many people with college degrees have been hearing anecdotally from their peers, LinkedIn and Reddit is finally borne out in official statistics: its gotten harder to get a job with a college degree since the end of the pandemic.

According to Bloomberg, Americans with undergraduate degrees now comprise a full quarter (25%) of unemployed workers. (1)

That means workers with a bachelors degree now face an unemployment rate of 2.8%, up from about 2.3% a year ago. That half point jump in just twelve months is proof that highly educated workers are feeling a noticeable cooling in workforce demand.

By contrast, jobless rates for workers with lower levels of education have barely moved.

Unemployment among people with only a high school diploma or some college has stayed roughly flat.

The cooling demand for college-educated workers is due to professional and technical services firms pulling back on headcount growth. At the same time, corporations are laying off office staff as they chase cost savings and experiment with new AI tools that automate routine tasks.

So does this mean that its time to spend the college fund on other plans? Heres what the data  and the experts  have to say.

Must Read

Does the road to a career still run through college?

If you have a bachelors degree, take several deep breaths until your pulse returns to normal. Though the headline numbers are shocking, your career prospects are still better off with a four-year college degree than without one.

The unemployment rate for all people with four-year degrees is around 2.8% this year (2).

Compare that to 3.4% unemployment for people with some college but no degree, and 4.2% for people with a high school diploma but no college. People with less than a high school diploma are more than twice as likely to be unemployed than a college grad.

The cooling demand for degree-holders is simply because there are more college graduates in the workforce now than at any previous point in history, and hiring for many degree-heavy roles is weakening.

The post-pandemic job market has quietly shifted from a "college degree preferred" environment to one that prioritizes specific experience and advanced skills.






Saturday, December 27, 2025 - A heartbreaking video has surfaced online showing a distressed young woman helplessly watching as her father writhes in pain after being rushed to the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), where he was allegedly left unattended by medics.

In the emotional footage, the visibly weak man lies on a hospital stretcher as his daughter pleads for assistance, desperately calling out for medical attention.

Despite her cries and visible panic, no staff appear to respond immediately, leaving the patient in agony as minutes painfully tick by.

The daughter, overwhelmed by fear and frustration, can be heard questioning why her father is not being attended to, expressing disbelief that such neglect could occur in one of the countrys largest referral hospitals.

The video has since sparked outrage across social media, with many Kenyans condemning what appears to be negligence in the public health system.

Others shared similar experiences, citing long waiting hours, understaffing, and delays in emergency response.

The victim had been involved in an accident.

Watch the video>>>

Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) pic.twitter.com/Ueyx4vwe9m  DAILY POST  (@dailypost_ke) December 28, 2025

The Kenyan DAILY POST






Saturday, December 27, 2025 - A mysterious creature captured on CCTV inside a familys compound has left social media users puzzled, with many struggling to identify what appears to be a strange animal moving across the homestead late at night.

In the viral footage, the unidentified animal is seen roaming within the compound.

The creatures shape has triggered speculation online, with social media users offering differing interpretations of what the creature might be.

Some users linked the creature to witchcraft.

Watch the video>>>

The Kenyan DAILY POST






Saturday, December 27, 2025 - The family of former Lugari Member of Parliament, Cyrus Jirongo, is struggling to come to terms with his sudden death following a tragic road accident along the Nairobi-Nakuru Highway on December 13th.

Speaking during a requiem mass in Nairobi on Saturday, December 27th, one of his widows, Anne Jirongo, emotionally recalled her final moments with him before the accident.

She revealed that on December 12th, Jamhuri Day, they briefly met outside a Nairobi shopping mall, where Jirongo shared his plans for the day.

Later that night, he called her again, saying he wanted to see her before heading to meet National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula.

Anne said the devastating news reached her at around 3:20 a.m. on December 13th.

Expecting to hear her husbands voice when his phone rang, she was instead met by a stranger who informed her of the accident.

At first I thought it was a prank, she admitted, explaining her confusion since Jirongo had not mentioned any plans to travel to Naivasha.

She immediately set out for Naivasha with her daughter, Sonia, only to be informed at the crash site that her husband had already died.

Jirongos Mercedes-Benz had collided with a Busia-bound Climax bus at Karai, killing him instantly.

Autopsy results later confirmed he suffered severe fractures from the impact.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has since launched a probe into the circumstances of the crash, with the bus driver already under scrutiny.

Jirongo, remembered for his political career and business ventures, will be laid to rest at his ancestral home in Lumakanda, Kakamega County, on December 30th.

The Kenyan DAILY POST






Saturday, December 27, 2025 - Retired President Uhuru Kenyatta was among the notable guests at the intimate wedding of his nephew, Jomo Gecaga, and media personality Lola Hannigan.

The ceremony, held on Friday, December 26th, 2027, was a private affair attended by close friends and family.

Videos from the celebration later surfaced online courtesy of Lolas close friend, Anerlisa Mungai, who shared clips of the bride.

Look at you, honey @lolahannigan, beautiful bride, #Amazing heart. #weddingday, she captioned, giving fans a rare glimpse into the joyous occasion.

The wedding comes just weeks after Jomo and Lola welcomed their third child.

Jomo, known for his lowprofile lifestyle, is now a father of six.

He shares one child with Valentine Njoroge, twins with former news anchor Anne Kiguta, and three children with Lola.

Despite his public family ties, he has consistently kept his childrens identities private, never sharing their photos on social media.

The Kenyan DAILY POST






Saturday, December 27, 2025 - A disturbing incident has sparked outrage online after a video emerged showing a visibly intoxicated man from Kisii confronting and roughing up his mother.

The middle-aged man arrived home drunk and soon engaged in a heated exchange with his mother.

In the viral clip, the frustrated woman is heard rebuking her son for his behavior, shouting, Unanishika nguo na mimi ni mamako!.

As tensions escalate, a man in the background can be heard questioning the drunk youth, asking, Why are you beating up your parents?.

The mother is also heard urging onlookers to call the police as the drama unfolds, expressing fear for her safety amid the confrontation.

The video has triggered widespread condemnation on social media, with many Kenyans calling out the rise in alcohol-related domestic conflicts, particularly during the festive season, a time traditionally associated with family unity and respect.

Watch the video>>> below

Unanishika Nguo Na Mimi Ni Mamako pic.twitter.com/foa5kSdxdb  DAILY POST  (@dailypost_ke) December 28, 2025

The Kenyan DAILY POST






Saturday, December 27, 2025 - Media personality Willis Raburu recently warmed hearts online after sharing a touching tribute to his father, Peter Otieno Raburu - a man remembered both for his commanding presence in public service and his undeniable sense of style.

Taking to social media, Willis posted a photo of his father looking effortlessly elegant, dressed with the flair of a seasoned fashion model.

He captioned the snapshot with admiration:

The King of Aura. The Don! Jakano! Paps! Peter Otieno Raburu! A whole dapper dude.

The post quickly sparked a wave of reactions from Kenyans, many of whom recalled Peter Raburus influential role during the late President Daniel Mois era.

As Nyeri Provincial Commissioner, he was known for his strict, no-nonsense leadership style that left a lasting impression on countless lives.

Beyond his legacy in governance, the photo revealed another side of Peter Raburu - a man of elegance, charisma, and timeless fashion sense.

The Kenyan DAILY POST
With less than half of Americans on track for retirement, according to the latest Vanguard Retirement Outlook, many people feel the need to catch up. Much of the advice online can feel too generic, and manually scouring sources is time-consuming.

Thats where ChatGPT comes in. The artificial intelligence tool can quickly scan the internet for recommendations geared to specific ages, income levels and more, giving you a better idea of what might work for you. Heres what it said.

The Classic Catch-Up Contributions

When you use the phrase catch up in connection with retirement, ChatGPT immediately recommends catch-up contributions  the amount the IRS allows over the maximum for savers over 50.

For individual retirement accounts, better known as IRAs, the IRS has increased the catch-up contribution limit to $1,100 for the 2026 tax year. Add that to the higher standard contribution limit of $7,500, and savers over 50 can contribute up to $8,600 for the year.

Limits are higher for 401(k), 403(b) and other defined contribution plans. The standard contribution limit for 2026 is $24,500, not including an optional catch-up limit of $8,000. Thats a potential $32,500 in retirement savings for age-eligible savers.

Employees ages 60 to 63 may have access to a super catch-up option, which adds $11,250 to the standard limit of $24,500  $35,750 for the year. Not all employers offer this, so youll want to check before counting on it.

Learn More: Suze Orman Calls This $1.6 Million 401(k) Rollover Move Crazy  What She Recommends Instead

Find Out: 5 Clever Ways Retirees Are Earning Up To $1K per Month From Home

What If Youre Under 50?

Even if youre not eligible for the catch-up contributions, you can still work toward closing the retirement gap. ChatGPT recommends maxing out your tax-advantaged retirement accounts, such as IRAs and 401(k) plans.

Maximizing Tax-Advantaged Accounts

Tax-advantaged means one of the following:

Tax-deferred: You contribute pretax earnings and pay income tax on withdrawals in retirement.

Tax-exempt: You contribute earnings after paying income tax, but retirement withdrawals are tax-free.

ChatGPT claims that funds in these types of accounts grow much faster than in taxable savings accounts. Thats partially true because you have to pay taxes on interest you earn from securities and investment funds. The money you pay in taxes isnt available to invest and grow, but the growth rate itself isnt automatically higher for tax-advantaged accounts.

Earning More To Invest More

According to ChatGPT, increasing your income and putting the difference toward retirement is the fastest way to catch up. The artificial intelligence tool suggests allocating the full amount of your raise to retirement for the first 12 months after you get one. That applies whether you earn more at your current job, take on another or switch to something that pays more.
James Cox

Minister for Finance Simon Harris calling for fiscal caution and Russian submarines in the Irish Sea are among the main stories on Sunday's front pages.

Russian submarines were detected in the Irish Sea on a spying mission, The Sunday Times reports.

Minister for Finance Simon Harris has suggested new tax cuts amid backlash over the budget, the Sunday Independent reports.

The Business Post leads with an interview with the Tanaiste, who is calling for fiscal caution.

The Irish Mail on Sunday also leads with an interview with Mr Harris. The Tanaiste said Ireland would use the upcoming EU Council presidency to tackle anonymous internet trolls, and lead calls for ID-verified social media accounts.

'Scissor sister' murderer Charlotte Mulhall has been granted temporary Christmas release, the Irish Sunday Mirror reports.

The Irish Sun on Sunday also leads with Charlotte Mulhall's temporary release.

The Sunday World leads with a story on the mother of Tadhg Farrell, 4, who was killed in an arson attack, calling for justice for her son.

The Sunday Life leads with a story on a killer who was released from prison in time for Christmas.

A range of stories feature on the UK front pages.

The Daily Star on Sunday leads with Diogo Jota's children taking part in an Anfield tribute as mascots for Saturday's Liverpool vs Wolves clash.

The Sunday Telegraph leads with UK prime minister Keir Starmer being accused of welcoming an 'extremist' to Britain.

Keir Starmer knew a former aide campaigned for a paedophile but still nominated him for a House of Lords peerage, The Sunday Times reports.

The New York Times leads with analysis of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), finding the group made few savings despite the billonaires pledges. The analysis also shows Doge vastly exaggerated any cost-cutting measures it did deliver for the US government.
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Kilkenny appears to have been once again left standing on the platform judging by the recently published Rail Project Prioritisation Strategy.

The Strategy outlines how to best sequence and optimise the recommendations of the All-Island Strategic Rail Review, which was launched following public consultation in July 2024.

Unfortunately for rail users in Kilkenny, it reads like another chapter in a long-running story of neglect of our rail network.

The Government says it believes the transformation of our rail network will help address regional imbalance and encourage a shift towards greater use of sustainable transport. We are constantly hearing about the need to shift people from cars to public transport, to meet climate targets, reduce congestion and support balanced regional development.

One of the most basic things that should be included is addressing the problem that the platform at MacDonagh Train Station is too short. Because the station cannot accommodate longer trains, only a limited number of carriages can stop there.

The result is predictable and unacceptable: chronic overcrowding, passengers standing for long journeys, and commuters left behind on busy services. This is not a sudden problem caused by unexpected demand. It has been evident for years, repeatedly raised by passengers and public representatives alike.

READ MORE KILKENNY VIEWS AND OPINION HERE

It also looks like the Government has quietly dropped plans to reopen the WaterfordWexford rail line  what should be a priority for the region. Concerns have been raised after the project failed to appear in this new government plan, despite its inclusion in the All-Ireland Strategic Rail Review.

Its a big blow, particularly when commuters are struggling with an over-capacity rail network.

When is the Government going to get serious about funding and promoting our rail network?
Kilkenny Volunteer Centre has once again been recognised nationally for excellence in governance, transparency and accountability, winning the top prize in their category at the 2025 Good Governance Awards, held on Wednesday, November 19, at Chartered Accountants House in Dublin.

The Centre was named the Overall Winner of Category 2, which celebrates non-profits with an annual turnover of 100,000250,000. This is the organisations second major governance achievement, having previously secured the same award in 2023.

The Good Governance Awards  now in their 10th year  were established by Carmichael to honour charities and community organisations that demonstrate outstanding leadership and best practice in their annual reporting. More than 120 organisations from across Ireland entered the 2025 awards, with their reports assessed by a panel of experts from the nonprofit, legal, financial and academic sectors.

Other charitable organisations honoured on the night included Chronic Pain Ireland, IDEA, Belong To, Womens Aid, Oxfam and the Rehab Group.

Announcing the winners, the judging panel praised Kilkenny Volunteer Centre for continuing to strengthen and refine its governance structures. They noted that the organisations recent annual report showed further maturity and clarity and commended the report for the honest discussion of challenges, the robust financial statements and for demonstrating an exceptional commitment to transparency and continuous improvement.

Salena Grace, Manager of Kilkenny Volunteer Centre, said the team was thrilled to be recognised once again: Winning a Good Governance Award for the second time is a tremendous honour for our organisation. It reflects the hard work and dedication of our board, staff and volunteers who strive every day to ensure that Kilkenny Volunteer Centre operates to the highest standards. Governance isnt something you achieve once  it is something you build, maintain and constantly strengthen. We are proud that our efforts have been acknowledged at a national level.

Newly appointed Chairperson Alan Curtis highlighted the organisations commitment to ongoing development: This award is a testament to our belief in always striving to do better. Good governance is not a static goal  its an evolving process that requires reflection, learning and improvement. As a board, we are continually working to enhance our practices so that we can be the strongest organisation possible for the people and communities we serve. Being recognised again this year confirms that we are moving in the right direction.

The achievement comes during a period of continued growth for Kilkenny Volunteer Centre, which supports volunteering and community engagement throughout County Kilkenny.

Further details on the Good Governance Awards can be found at goodgovernanceawards.ie. To learn more about Kilkenny Volunteer Centre, visit volunteerkilkenny.ie.
Aussie Broadband (ASX:ABB) has had a rough three months with its share price down 12%. But if you pay close attention, you might gather that its strong financials could mean that the stock could potentially see an increase in value in the long-term, given how markets usually reward companies with good financial health. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Aussie Broadband's ROE today.

Return on equity or ROE is an important factor to be considered by a shareholder because it tells them how effectively their capital is being reinvested. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

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.

How Is ROE Calculated?

The formula for return on equity is:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations)  Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Aussie Broadband is:

6.0% = AU$33m  AU$545m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2025).

The 'return' refers to a company's earnings over the last year. One way to conceptualize this is that for each A$1 of shareholders' capital it has, the company made A$0.06 in profit.

See our latest analysis for Aussie Broadband

Why Is ROE Important For Earnings Growth?

Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. Depending on how much of these profits the company reinvests or "retains", and how effectively it does so, we are then able to assess a companys earnings growth potential. Assuming all else is equal, companies that have both a higher return on equity and higher profit retention are usually the ones that have a higher growth rate when compared to companies that don't have the same features.

Aussie Broadband's Earnings Growth And 6.0% ROE

On the face of it, Aussie Broadband's ROE is not much to talk about. Although a closer study shows that the company's ROE is higher than the industry average of 3.8% which we definitely can't overlook. Even more so after seeing Aussie Broadband's exceptional 60% net income growth over the past five years. Bear in mind, the company does have a moderately low ROE. It is just that the industry ROE is lower. Therefore, the growth in earnings could also be the result of other factors. For example, it is possible that the broader industry is going through a high growth phase, or that the company has a low payout ratio.
BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) ranks among the best telecom stocks to invest in. On December 11, BMO Capital upgraded BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) from Market Perform to Outperform, retaining a C$37 price target on the companys shares. The increase represents a relatively more attractive risk/reward profile for the company.

BCEs dividend has been derisked with reasonable FCF payout ratios, according to BMO Capital, easing a major worry for investors in the high-yield telecom industry. The firm believes that by combining modest growth, synergies, a lowering capital expenditure profile, and small-scale asset sales, BCE Inc.(NYSE:BCE) may meet its leverage goals.

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) also performed well in the third quarter of 2025, thanks to strategic acquisitions and collaborations. The companys total revenue climbed by 1.3%, mainly due to the acquisition of Ziply Fiber. In addition, its adjusted EBITDA increased by 1.5% while maintaining a good margin of 45.7%. The sale of a $5.2 billion interest in MLSE significantly increased net earnings, while adjusted EPS increased by 5.3% year-over-year.

BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE) is a communications company that provides wireless, wireline, internet, streaming services, and television services to residential, business, and wholesale customers in Canada.

While we acknowledge the potential of BCE as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're 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: 10 Best Magic Formula Stocks for 2025 and 10 Best Retirement Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
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Running a family business for 50 years requires a lot of sacrifice.

I grew up in a family business, Lynn Ladder & Scaffolding, which has actually existed for longer than that. When it's your family's business, there's little separation between work hours and off hours.

As a kid, I remember late nights when the alarm went off at corporate headquarters, and my father had to go meet the police in order to figure out what happened. When I got older and spent four years working for the business, I experienced early mornings bringing product to job sites to keep customers happy, and I learned that mixing family and business has its challenges.

To make any family business last nearly 50 years, you have to have a passion for it, and that's something Ronnie Sylvester, known as Mr. Boot in the Country and Western industry, had for Western clothing.

His store, Sylvester's Western Wear, served locals from its Louisiana store and was a regional destination as well as a tourist attraction. Sylvester ran the store until he passed away in 2020 following a battle with Parkinsons disease.

His wife, Lisa Sylvester, has operated the business since.

My husband worked so very hard. Hes a legend. I wanted to carry on for him, but now its time in my life that I put my family first, Lisa Sylvester told Fox 8 Live.

The store will close for good on January 5.

Changing customer patterns hurt Sylvester's Western Wear

Lisa Sylvester told Fox that shifting shopping habits have affected longtime local businesses like hers.

It sure does affect the local businesses that have been here for many many years, she said. You know its the way the worlds turning.

"Worldwide, e-commerce retail sales will reach an estimated $6.42 trillion in 2025, representing 20.5% of all retail commerce," according to e-commerce data from Capital One.

The report showed the impact of online shopping, which has hit chains like Sylvester's Western Wear, which has a very limited website without an e-commerce business, especially hard.

Over 2.77 billion people worldwide shop online.

Projections indicate that value will increase to $8.91 trillion in 2030.

Business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce spending will total $62.2 trillion by 2030.

eCommerce sales in 2025 will be up 6.86% from total e-commerce retail sales in 2024 ($6.01 trillion).

U.S. retail e-commerce sales for 2025 are expected to total $1.47 trillion, up 9.78% from 2024 ($1.34 trillion).

Western wear remains popular in parts of the United States.Shutterstock  Shutterstock

Sylvester's Western Wear hinted at a closure

While the shutdown plans were not made official until after Christmas, Lisa Sylvester has hinted at some coming changes in a pre-holiday Facebook post.

"One shop for continued savings! Again, thank you for your love and support through our 50 beautiful years. Can't wait to see what the future holds! Merry merry Christmas to everyone! Thank you," she wrote.

The store offered discounts as much as 50% during the Christmas season, which certainly suggested its owner was thinking about closing.

More Retail:

E-commerce sales have been growing, and research shows that big players like Amazon and Walmart, which operate out of distribution centers, do impact local retailers.

"Establishment of an e-commerce fulfillment center reduces retail employment growth in the host county by an average of almost 1,000 jobs per quarter," the National Bureau of Economic Research reported.

Local stores closing hit communities hard

The loss of a locally-owned store has deep impact on a community.

"In one week, 91% of American consumers shop at small and local stores, including over 122 million household shoppers," another Capital One study showed.

68% or $68 out of every $100 spent at local stores remains in the local economy.

American shoppers spent an estimated $3.74 trillion at local stores in 2024, equivalent to 51.5% of all retail sales.

8.67% of American small businesses are retailers (3.01 million out of 34.8 million total small businesses).

A quick look at Sylvester's Western Wear's history

Founded in 1976: Sylvesters Western Wear operated from Kenner, Louisiana, for decades as a local staple in western apparel and boots, according to Manta.

Sylvesters Western Wear operated at 2600 Williams Blvd. in Kenner, LA , selling boots, western apparel, and accessories to locals and visitors for decades, according to the Chamber of Commerce.

Community staple with strong instore reputation: In recent years, many customers praised the stores personalized service, wide selection, and friendly staff, contrasting with bigbox alternatives, according to Sylvester's Western Wear.

December 2025 closure after decades: The familyowned store closed its doors after decades in business, with local news noting its significance to the community as a longtime retail fixture, according to Fox 8 Live.

Sylvesters Western Wear was more than just a place to buy boots and belts. It was a local institution.

Customers praised the store for its "friendly, helpful staff and wide selection of boots," qualities that kept shoppers coming back over the decades. Even those visiting from out of town noted the "personalized service and welcoming atmosphere," making it a standout among local retailers, according to comments made on the area's Chamber of Commerce website.

Related: Popular gift retailer shuts stores, cuts jobs over holidays

This story was originally published by TheStreet on Dec 28, 2025, where it first appeared in the Retail section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
DEAR MISS MANNERS: The owners of a business for whom I did some work threw a company barbecue and asked guests to sign up to bring a dish.

I was stunned, and did not attend for a few reasons: 1. The staff creates the owners income for them. 2. A sign-up sheet? Really?? And 3. The owners are VERY wealthy. A caterer would have been very accessible.

GENTLE READER: This company may want to solicit more effective ways to thank their employees. Miss Manners suggests they put up a sign-up sheet.

(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)
Data: Cant live without it, and were about to find out about living next to it.

The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission in December reviewed what it labeled the first hyperscale data center proposed for Lehigh or Northampton counties.

These sprawling, windowless warehouse centers hold rows of high-speed servers that power almost everything the world does on phones and computers.

More are already planned.

The project reviewed by the LVPC on Dec. 16 and 18 consists of three data center buildings totaling 2.6 million square feet on the 194-acre former corporate headquarters of Air Products. The global industrial gas giant owns the land at 7300 Cetronia Road in Upper Macungie Township, according to Lehigh County property records.

Planning commission staff revealed during the earlier meeting that a company called Atlas Industrial proposes another hyperscale data center in South Whitehall Township. WFMZ-TV 69 reports those plans call for six buildings totaling 5.1 million square feet at 2493 N. Cedar Crest Blvd., near Parkland High School.

Data centers arent new, with the Lehigh Valley already home to micro, small, medium and large-scale data centers that range in size from an IT closet to area measured in hundreds of thousands of square feet.

The Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. on Dec. 16 announced the sale of Tek Park in Upper Macungie that is home to one of these smaller-scale centers. TierPoint, based in St. Louis, purchased the nine-building, 137-acre campus at 9999 Hamilton Blvd. for $175 million and said it has started a 100-megawatt expansion of the existing data center, expected to be complete in late 2026, the LVEDC said.

Hyperscale data centers represent clusters of buildings that can be home to multiple companies colocating on the site, according to the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission.

Its a type of industrial development thats grabbed the attention of planners from Lehigh County to the Easton area to the Slate Belt.

Municipal officials in Upper Macungie, Palmer, Forks and Upper Mount Bethel townships all worked on ordinances in 2025 to set ground rules for data centers  like where they can be built.

Pennsylvania law requires every local government to prepare for every type of land use, the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission says. With data centers, new proposals are coming in even as those rules are being established, like with the Air Products plan in Upper Macungie.

The bottom line is every community in Pennsylvania, under state statute, is required to consider every land use conceivable, the commissions executive director, Becky Bradley, said last week. Unfortunately, sometimes those land uses come in at a time when local governments are working on ordinances to manage those land uses.

The layout and design of the Air Products proposal are essentially the same as a 2.6-million-square-foot warehouse plan already approved by Upper Macungie for the site, according to the LVPC.

But the proposed shift to data centers was short on details during the planning commissions Dec. 16 review, officials said.

The submission does not provide sufficient information to evaluate the projects full electrical demand or its long-term impacts on the regional power grid, the commissions review letter states. It adds later: The application lacks essential information regarding the projects water demands and cooling system.

Air Products says the new development plan aims to preserve flexibility and optionality for future redevelopment of our former headquarters site, and that the company believes its met the townships land use requirements. The proposal is scheduled to go up for review by township officials Feb. 25.

At this early stage, it is normal for certain details to be addressed as the process advances, a spokesman told lehighvalleylive.com.

Both power and water use for cooling are major issues for data centers.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission is reviewing a model set of regulations for electricity companies to follow for data centers and other high-demand electric users looking to connect to the grid. The goal is to guide how large loads interconnect and share costs.

A data center owned by Amazon Web Services, front right, is under construction in January 2025 next to the Susquehanna nuclear power plant outside Berwick, Pennsylvania. AP File Photo/Ted Shaffrey

That comes as federal utility regulators on Dec. 17 voted to effectively allow tech companies to plug massive data centers directly into power plants. Its part of the Trump administrations push to help the U.S. lead the world in artificial intelligence and revive domestic manufacturing.

When it comes to water use for cooling, some estimates show a mid-sized data center commands the same water usage every day as 1,000 households. Emerging technology is looking at tapping wastewater  the liquid portion of sewage  instead of potable water for the necessary thermal energy transfer systems.

Worries about how resource-hungry artificial intelligence will affect the environment surpass concerns about other industries that worsen climate change, according to October polling from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago.

Developing hyperscale data centers comes with tradeoffs, according to a Lehigh Valley Planning Commission analysis that found:

Benefits like property tax revenue, limited vehicular traffic generation, high-salary job creation and providing critical infrastructure.

Challenges including issues with electricity consumption, water management (withdrawal and disposal), environmental (noise, air, heat) and scale/form compatibility to the surroundings.

The Lehigh Valley is surfacing as an attractive area for data centers thanks to strong energy and transmission infrastructure, nearby major population centers and space available for development, according to LVPC Chief Community and Regional Planner Jill Seitz.

Data centers are essential to meeting modern digital connectivity needs and demands, she told the commissions Comprehensive Planning Committee on Dec. 16. However, hyperscale facilities pose unprecedented levels of impact to communities utility infrastructure.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
One of New Jerseys largest suburban school districts is making a scheduling change aimed at enabling high school students to get more sleep before reporting to classes.

Starting with the 2026-27 academic year, students will report to Bridgewater-Raritan High School in Somerset County by 8 a.m. Thats 40 minutes later than the current reporting time, according to the school district.

The scheduling change at the high school is part of an overhaul of start and dismissal times at all grade levels in the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District, which enrolls 7,500 students at 11 schools.

Full-day kindergarten is debuting next year. To accommodate the change, fourth-graders will move to schools that currently enroll grades 5 and 6, while sixth-graders will move to the districts lone middle school to accommodate adjustments in bus routes that the district said would improve reliability and reduce costs.

Middle school students will report to school by 7:30 a.m. instead of 8:10 a.m., based on a presentation made to the school board Wednesday night.

The districts superintendent acknowledged the changes could cause some challenges for families and employees and that high school student athletes might need to occasionally leave class early for away games.

But the superintendent, Robert Beers, told the board that a later starting time at the high school has been in discussion for several years.

The high school start time will become more conducive for the health and wellness of our students, Beers said at the meeting.

There is no statewide standard for public school starting times in New Jersey but high schools typically have earlier starting times than elementary and middle schools.

High school starting times have drawn much scrutiny in recent years amid national concerns about students, particularly teenagers, not getting enough sleep.

Bridgewater-Raritan High School is the latest to make a change.

In Atlantic County, Pleasantville Public Schools approved later starting times at all schools one week before students returned to classes Sept. 4. Students are reporting to Pleasantville High School by 8 a.m. instead of 7:45 a.m.

Chatham High School in Morris County moved the reporting time for students from 7:40 a.m. to 8:20 a.m. three years ago.

At the school board meeting, Beers said the opportunity to change the high schools starting time is only one factor among a whole host of things prompting the restructuring.
Federal officials say their management plan for Beltzville Lake hasnt been updated since 1971, and theyre looking for public input.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is scheduled to host a public open house on Wednesday, Jan. 7, to discuss a draft revision of the Beltzville Lake Master Plan.

The event will take place from 4-6 p.m. at the Towamensing Township Volunteer Fire Co., 105 Firehouse Road outside Palmerton. Team members will share proposed changes to the current master plan, provide instructions on how to submit comments and answer questions from the public.

A 30-day public comment period is due to run from Jan. 7 through Feb. 6, 2026.

The current Beltzville Lake Master Plan was last approved in 1971 and requires revision to address changes in regional land use, population growth, outdoor recreation trends and Army Corps management policy. The master plan serves as the strategic document that guides the comprehensive management and development of all recreational, natural, and cultural resources at the water resource development project.

Key topics in the revised master plan include updated land use classifications, new natural and recreational resource management objectives, recreation facility needs, and special issues such as invasive species management and threatened and endangered species habitat.

The revision will not address the technical and operational aspects of the lake related to flood risk management or water conservation missions.

The public can submit comments in writing at the open house, digitally through a comment form on the Master Plan Revision webpage, or via email to PDPA-NAP@usace.army.mil. Digital copies of the draft master plan, environmental assessment, associated documents, a comment form with instructions and a downloadable presentation can be found at nap.usace.army.mil.

Construction of Beltzville Lake by the Army Corps was completed in 1971. Congress authorized the multi-purpose project primarily for flood risk management, water supply and low flow augmentation, with secondary purposes for water quality and recreation. The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources manages the 3,002-acre Beltzville State Park surrounding the lake.

The dam is located on Pohopoco Creek, 5.2 miles from its confluence with the Lehigh River and four miles east of Lehighton. Beltzville Dam operates in conjunction with Francis E. Walter Dam in White Haven to reduce flooding in downstream communities along the Lehigh River. Since its construction, the dam has prevented more than $77 million in flood damages.

Januarys open house follows an earlier open house Oct. 10, 2024, at Towamensing Township Volunteer Fire Co., according to the Army Corps. Comments collected during a subsequent 30-day period raised concerns such as the following:

Overcrowding & Local Access

Long-time residents feel the park is overrun by visitors from outside the area, making it difficult for locals to enjoy.

Boat & Water Safety

Concerns about large motorboats creating unsafe conditions and disturbing smaller boats and sailboats.

Park Maintenance & Infrastructure

Repair Old Mill Road (currently hazardous with exposed rebar).

Restore the covered bridge (needs a new roof and repairs).

Improve canoe/kayak rack availability at Preachers Camp (long waiting list).

Environmental & Educational Initiatives

Support for Friends of Beltzville Conservation project to remove invasive species, plant native species, install protective fencing and add interpretive signage to educate visitors on biodiversity benefits.

Behavior & Enforcement
Over the last year, Taiwan Semi's revenue has been growing strongly thanks to ongoing demand for AI accelerators. What's interesting to point out is that the company's revenue trajectory is actually steepening. This is largely driven by rising demand for Nvidia's and AMD's next-generation Rubin and MI400 Series chips, as well as increasing investment in custom hardware from cloud infrastructure providers.

In other words, if Nvidia and its competitors represent the body of the car moving the AI narrative forward, TSMC holds the keys to the ignition.

TSMC is the largest chip manufacturer in the world in terms of revenue. While Nvidia, AMD, and Broadcom design the most-in demand GPUs and custom application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) on the planet, each of these giants relies heavily on Taiwan Semi's cutting-edge fabrication processes.

On the surface, this is great news for the likes of Nvidia, AMD, and Broadcom. But underneath the surface, it's even better news for Taiwan Semi. Why is that?

Throughout the AI revolution, hyperscalers such as Microsoft , Alphabet , Amazon , Meta Platforms , and OpenAI have collectively poured hundreds of billions of dollars into AI-related capital expenditures (capex) -- namely, chips and networking gear for data centers.

Let's dive into Taiwan Semi's increasingly important role for the future of AI and assess why the stock looks like a no-brainer buying opportunity for investors with a long-term horizon.

Flying under the radar is another chip company whose storyline seems muted compared to its peers. That's Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM), the pick-and-shovel specialist of the chip realm.

For the last three years, investing in semiconductor stocks has proven to be a profitable decision given the critical role chips play in the development of generative artificial intelligence (AI). Companies such as Nvidia , Advanced Micro Devices , Broadcom , and Micron Technology have been some of the biggest contributors to the semiconductor industry throughout the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution.

Chip designers such as Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices, and Broadcom serve as the backbone of generative AI development.

Story continues

The more subtle aspect from the financial picture above is Taiwan Semi's expanding profitability profile. Given its near-70% market share, TSMC is able to command enormous pricing power relative to competitors like Intel or Samsung.

Against this backdrop, Taiwan Semi's gross margin is widening -- with excess cash flowing straight to the bottom line. The company is making the most of this new wave of capital by expanding its geographic footprint -- building additional foundries in Arizona, Germany, and Japan.

Is Taiwan Semi stock a good buy right now?

At the moment, TSMC boasts a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 28.4 -- hovering near its highest level during the AI revolution. If you were to base your investment decision purely off of this metric, you may think Taiwan Semi is overvalued.

Smart investors understand that TSMC's premium valuation could be warranted, though. McKinsey & Company is forecasting AI infrastructure to be a $7 trillion market through 2030 -- with the majority of spend allocated toward refining AI workloads.

In essence, building out AI-equipped data centers is expected to accelerate throughout the rest of the decade as training and inferencing models becomes more sophisticated and demanding. This is great news for TSMC as it paves the way for long-run visibility across the business.

The AI infrastructure chapter is still in its early innings. Over the course of the next several years, Taiwan Semi is positioned to benefit from the secular tailwind of rising investment in infrastructure both domestically and abroad.

Taking this one step further, physical applications such as autonomous systems and robotics are yet to be deployed in a commercial sense. Looking beyond into the 2030s, these use cases are expected to drive additional trillions in economic value.

Should they achieve some form of adoption and set the stage for the next wave of AI, Taiwan Semi has the potential to benefit immensely beyond where AI stands today -- building large language models (LLMs) and other software-based applications.

When you consider the bigger picture and begin to think longer-term, TSMC's growth potential relative to its valuation looks compelling. So while the stock may not appear dirt cheap at first glance, I think there is ample room for meaningful valuation expansion over the course of the next decade -- making the stock a no-brainer buy right now in my eyes.

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Irish officials were concerned that opening Israels embassy in Ireland would promote a backlash from Arab countries, according to government documents.

The Israeli embassy in Dublin announced last year that it would close, with the countrys foreign minister accusing Ireland of crossing every red line in its relations with Israel.

Documents made public as part of the annual release from the National Archives in Dublin show the preparations that took place before the embassy was opened in 1996.

Among the considerations were the possible impact on trade from Arab countries and the cost of security.

One 1990 memo states: Irish trade with Arab countries is at a ratio of approximately 10 to 1 in our favour and is mainly sourced from indigenous industry. It is 20 or more times greater than our trade with Israel and likely to remain so in present circumstances.

Meanwhile, officials also factored in the security implications of expenditure and garda resources as a major consideration in the Governments decision-making process.

It was calculated in 1992 that security for an Israeli embassy in Dublin could amount to 700,000 per year and would also result in an immediate demand that Arab states be allowed to open embassies in Dublin.

Similar concerns were raised around an unrealised proposal for the President of Ireland to undertake a State visit to Israel.

One Government file states: It might be argued that the chances of our incurring the Arab worlds displeasure by having a State Visit to Israel are slimmer than in the past but is it worth taking the risk?

A State Visit is usually seen as a mark of a high degree of friendship between two countries and it would not go unnoticed in the Arab world.

In 1993, Zvi Levy was told his work as Irelands honorary consul in Israel had been commendable and considerable.

However, after a Department of Foreign Affairs official was told Mr Levy had met with an Irish businessman in Gaza, he was reminded of the territorial limits of your jurisdiction.

The letter states: I understand that in the course of your recent discussions with officials in this Department you had mentioned that you were engaged in promoting Irish business interests in the Gaza Strip.

It adds: Your active involvement, particularly since the time of your appointment as Irelands Honorary Consul in Israel, is encouraging and promoting economic and trade links with Ireland has been commendable.

The department was concerned his activities in Gaza may give the impression he had an official role in the region.

The letter said: We are very conscious of the contribution you are making in that regard and are grateful for your considerable efforts. I am however obliged to draw your attention to the territorial limits of your jurisdiction as set out in your Letter of Commission.

Mr Levy was told: You will be aware that your area of activity is confined to the territory within Israels internationally recognised frontiers and accordingly does not extend to the territories occupied by Israel since 1967.

The letter added: On that basis, I would hope that any requests you receive for consular, commercial or other assistance that could involve you in the Gaza strip, or any other occupied territories, will be dealt with by directing the enquirer to the Embassy of Ireland in Cairo in the first instance.

 This article is based on documents in the file labelled 2025/124/345 at the National Archives of Ireland.
A junior minister urged the Government not to be hiding from debate during the divisive 1995 divorce referendum campaign, which passed by the slimmest of margins.

Government files from 30 years ago made public by the National Archives of Ireland this weekend reveal details of government plans for the vote.

The November 1995 referendum passed by 50.28% to 49.72%, leading to amendment of the Constitution to allow for divorce under certain conditions.

The contentious campaign was marked by slogans like hello divorce, goodbye daddy and give someone you know a second chance.

The high-profile nature of the vote  and ambiguity on the approach of Government  led Irelands ambassador to the Holy See seeking advice on how to approach the matter with the Vatican.

In a letter to the Department of Foreign Affairs secretary general almost two years before the referendum, ambassador Gearoid O Broin wrote: I note references in the press from time to time about a possible referendum on the question of divorce in Ireland next year.

As you can imagine, this is a matter in which the Holy See authorities can be expected to take a keen interest and I would expect them to take their line from that adopted by the Catholic hierarchy in Ireland.

There is a possibility the secretariat of state may raise the matter with me directly at some stage. In the event that they do, it occurs to me that it would be useful for me to have a background brief on the issues, Mr O Broin wrote.

In a follow-up letter in January 1994, from the departments secretary general Noel Dorr to his counterpart in the Department of Equality and Law, Bernard McDonagh, Mr Dorr said it would be desirable to give Mr O Broin some guidance.

You will be conscious, I am sure, of the potential political importance of the position which will be taken by the Roman Catholic hierarchy on the issue, and this will no doubt be influenced by  and will in turn influence  the views of the authorities in the Holy See.

At first sight one might be inclined to respond that the question of holding a referendum to effect constitutional change on this issue is one which the government should regard as purely internal and domestic.

Nevertheless, it may be desirable at the right time, and without prejudice to positions of principle, to allow the ambassador to brief the secretariat of state in the Holy See on the governments proposals as this may, indirectly, help to facilitate the acceptance of these proposals by the electorate here.

In a separate file, Labour TD and minister of state at the Department of Equality and Law Reform Mervyn Taylor urged his Government colleagues to engage in open debate ahead of the vote.

He wrote to Jim Higgins, the chief whip of the rainbow coalition of Fine Gael, the Labour Party, and Democratic Left, opposing the proposal to take the divorce Bill to a limited committee instead of a more usual Dail debate.

He said: This Bill is exceptionally important and the government should not be seen to be hiding from debate on it.

Every member who so wishes should be entitled to contribute on committee stage, and while this would be possible in a special committee, it would be much more appropriate to have the debate in the full Dail.

The government should not leave itself open to the suggestion it was avoiding a full debate in Dail Eireann.

 This article is based on documents contained in the files labelled 2025/115/85, 2025/115/86, 2025/115/82, 2025/115/830, 2025/115/8 2025/1/1090, and 2025/115/83 in the National Archives of Ireland.
Key Points

Tether offers a stablecoin thats pegged to gold, serving as a hedge against the U.S. dollar.

The fintech company has become one of the worlds largest investors in the precious metal.

10 stocks we like better than Tether Gold 

Tether has been buying metric tons of gold like hotcakes this year, purchasing 26 tons of gold in the third quarter of 2025, which is more than any central bank purchased within that duration. As of late September 2025, the company's total gold holdings are approximately 116 tons, valued at around $14 billion. The majority of that amount is reserved for backing UST, Tether's main stablecoin, which is backed by various assets, including gold. However, 12 tons of that holding are reserved for another digital token issued by the fintech firm: Tether Gold (CRYPTO: XAUT).

Image source: Getty Images.

Tether Gold allows investors to invest in physical gold digitally

Similar to PAX Gold, Tether Gold is a stablecoin, where each token is backed by one troy ounce of gold that is stored in Swiss vaults. It follows the price of gold, often floating around the same price as the metal. Investors can redeem XAUt for physical gold, but they're required to have at least one gold bar's worth, at least 430 XAUt tokens, according to Tether. The gold must also be redeemed in Switzerland since that's where it's stored.

Because it's tied to physical gold, Tether Gold is a strong hedge asset against the U.S. dollar. Gold had its best year since 1979, climbing up 67% in price in 2025 (as of Dec. 21). Thus, XAUt has surged by essentially the same percentage this year.

Just because XAUt is a stablecoin doesn't mean it's risk-free

As with all cryptocurrencies, XAUt is unregulated. And in 2017, Tether was exposed for allegedly misusing its reserves of USDT. Since then, however, the fintech company has consistently bolstered and maintained its reserves, while also increasing transparency regarding its reserves. Tether Gold can also de-peg from gold (rarely) due to market conditions, liquidity issues, and regulatory changes. This can cause the token to spike or drop below gold's actual price. But if investors are aware of the risks with crypto and want easier access to investing in gold, Tether Gold is one of the least risky cryptocurrencies to invest in with $100.

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A WELL-KNOWN Limerick bar and nightclub will continue trading through Christmas and the new year, despite the companies behind it being placed into receivership.

House Limerick, located at Howleys Quay in the city centre, is understood to have told its customers that it is business as usual for the time being - and all bookings will be honoured.

READ MORE: Civic reception planned for community groups and organisations in Limerick

The companies behind House Limerick and House Dublin on Lower Leeson Street in the capital have held creditors meetings following the appointment of Interpath as receivers.

In simple terms, receivership in Ireland is a process where a lender takes control of a property or business assets to recover money owed.

Creditors meetings in relation to the receiverships of Sontsul and Yellow Way Ltd took place on December 17 last, as well as two other related firms.

House is part of the publican Alan Clancys Nola Clan Group.

Its understood the receivership was agreed between all parties, including Mr Clancy.

House Limerick opened in the city centre back in 2016.

Around three-quarters of a million euro was invested and 40 jobs created when the bar opened.

Previously, the premises housed Clohessys Bar and Sin Bin nightclub.

That bar and nightclub had ceased trading two years earlier.
KILLINURE National School, with an enrolment of around 190 pupils a mile from the village of Boher, has received a cash injection to invest in new technology thanks to the RISE Community Fund.

Established by NBI Chairman, David McCourt, RISE has awarded over 160 cash grants across the country to rural organisations seeking to boost their digital ecosystems. The fund is further supported by corporate sponsors including KN Circet, KPMG, DreamDev Technologies, and TLI Group.

With an investment of 84m, over 22,000 homes, farms, businesses and schools in County Limerick are included in NBIs rollout of the Governments National Broadband Plan.

Liam Guiney, Principal at Killinure NS, and Jonathan Dervan, IT Co-Ordinator said: Our school has ambitious targets for digital literacy education for all of our students, which is vital for the world we live in today and the future they will experience.

Since the installation of the NBI fibre broadband connection, the children and teachers have access to reliable and fast network connectivity. They can experience the real benefits of digital technologies to enhance learning, teaching, and assessment, added Mr Guiney.

READ MORE: Being online late at night contributing to tiredness and lack of focus in Limerick students

David McCourt, Chairman of NBI and founder of RISE, explained why it means so much to give back to the community with grants: Were delighted to give a financial boost to Killinure NS, which is doing amazing work to provide young pupils with opportunities to learn new technologies and to capitalise on their new high-speed connectivity.

Over 15,800 homes, businesses and farms in County Limerick can now order a high-speed fibre connection to the NBI network and take-up is already surpassing 50% in areas where its been available longest.

TJ Malone, Chief Executive Officer at National Broadband Ireland, concluded: We recognise that access to high-speed fibre broadband is a critical first step. Were thrilled to support Killinure NS with this latest grant and support the work of their dedicated tech team to introduce new digital learning initiatives.
THE TAOISEACH is confident that substantive elements of the healthcare plan for the Mid-West can be achieved in the coming years.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin in the Dail was responding to a question from Fianna Fail TD Willie ODea on whether a site for expanding UHL has been identified and if there is capital to fund the plans for healthcare in the region.

READ ALSO: PICTURES: NOVAS Christmas Sleep Out in Limerick City

The Taoiseach acknowledged that Deputy O'Dea has been a long-time advocate for health services in the Limerick region, in particular in light of the huge challenges that have faced acute services in the Mid-West. I join him in paying tribute to all the staff working in our hospitals in the Mid-West under difficult circumstances.

He said that supporting the HIQA recommendations will need additional capital.

The Taoiseach said: Additional capital will be provided, in the first instance to progress option A. What is interesting is we know that the impacts can be quite dramatic when we get additional capacity. The average number of people waiting on trolleys at University Hospital Limerick has almost halved in the week since the new 96-bed block opened compared with the weeks prior. That 96-bed block that is now open has made a difference, so we want to do a second block at that scale. The sooner that can be done, the better.

Enabling works are now under way for the second 96-bed block at UHL. Additional 16 and 66-bed blocks are also in planning for accelerated delivery at the hospital. That will increase capacity at UHL by a total of 306 beds since 2023.

In response to the query about option B, of expanding capacity with a site near Dooradoyle, he said that the HSE has been mandated to identify a site.

I do not have the information to hand as to whether it has that site at the moment, but it has the mandate to secure the site. The standard governance structure and the project board will have to be established, as required by the HSE, to explore additional opportunities to decant services away from the main Dooradoyle site. My understanding is the project board has not yet been established, but it will be imminently, once we get the other site.

The Taoiseach explained that for option C, a new Model 3 hospital, which would include another emergency department, a strategic plan will be developed for the incremental reconfiguration of and investment in healthcare services in the Mid-West region.

He added: I take the Deputy's point about timescale and capital. Subject to the revenues the economy is generating at the moment, we will have an expansive healthcare capital programme over the next number of years. I am confident we can accommodate substantive elements of this in the coming years.

In his address in the Dail, Deputy ODea said that patient safety is central to the proposals from HIQA and that means that time is of the essence in implementing these proposals.

He added: I pay tribute to the staff, who have worked with great dedication and courtesy in UHL in what continue to be very difficult and sometimes intolerable conditions.
IndiGo, India's largest carrier by fleet and market share, saw an operational meltdown in December where it came to a half at major metros for a day. The meltdown has led to various investigations from the regulator and ministry to CCI getting involved. The near ground stop for the airline was an unprecedented situation for a well capitalised carrier. The ministry has received the report from the regulator but has not made it public. Even as speculation and fact finding continues, the airline recorded its highest ever passenger numbers in domestic skies, just a month before the meltdown.

The November domestic passenger summary declared by the regulator DGCA shows that IndiGo's market share shrunk 2% sequentially from October to November, with a 63.5% market share in November. However the market expanded and IndiGo carried 96.93 lakh passengers in November. This is not only the highest for the airline in 2025, but also higher than its previous best of 96.15 lakh passengers which the airline had recorded in December 2024.

IndiGo substantially increased its domestic schedule starting the winter schedule which began on October 26, 2025. While it did end up in trouble later, it was able to pull off the schedule with delays and cancellations so much so that it could record its best ever traffic in a month in its history. IndiGo operated 61,364 domestic flights in October, while in November this count went down to 59,438. The reduction in flights was compensated by the increase in load factors which went up from 82.4% in October to 88.7% in November.

Not Just IndiGo Air India group also recorded its highest passengers on the domestic front in November. The group comprising two airlines, Air India and Air India express carrier carried 40.75 lakh passengers with a market share of 26.7%. The previous best for the airline group was 38.9 lakh passengers in April.

The group saw an increase in load factor from 77.3% to 87.5% from October to November. SpiceJet also recorded its best ever month in 2025, with 5.6 lakh passengers and an increase in market share from 2.6% to 3.7% from October to November on the back of capacity induction largely driven by wet-leased planes.

Also Read | Multiple flights cancelled, delayed as fog shrouds airports across north India

What propelled it? Interestingly, Diwali this year was in October and not November, though the Diwali school holidays spilled over to early days of November. The holidays are a major traffic driver. However, there is traffic beyond the Diwali holidays now and a lot of travel in November and December is fuelled by weddings, VFR (Visiting Friends and Relatives) traffic and not just holiday traffic any more.

The same was a certainty to continue in December, had it not been for IndiGos meltdown. With the wedding season in full force, it is no wonder then that news reports indicated newly wed couples attending their own reception via video conference and people not being able to reach marriage functions, sometimes their own.

Also Read | Three new airlines soon in India? Al Hind Air and Fly Express get NOCs

Tail note At the end of November, the growth rate in domestic skies was 4.26% for the first eleven months of the year. Interestingly, IATA estimates air travel to grow twice as much as GDP. Indian GDP group has been above 7%. However, the lack of capacity in Indian skies has been a major reason for the moderate air passenger growth.

Indian carriers have large number of orders placed, but they have not been able to get planes immediately due to issues with production leading to longer wait times or certification issues with interiors and seats.

Indian domestic aviation was looking for a new high this December, but has not been able to crack it.
Delhi-based pharmaceutical major, Akums Drugs and Pharmaceuticals' Finance President, Rajkumar Bafna, tendered his resignation on Sunday, 28 December 2025, citing the pollution at the national capital as the reason for his move, according to an exchange filing.

Also Read | Zepto files confidential DRHP with Sebi for upcoming IPO

Bafna's resignation email to the company's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) highlighted that he was leaving the company due to the current level of pollution in Delhi. He also offered to help out the company during the transition of his role.

I would like to inform you that due Delhi Pollution level I m resigning from my position as President Finance. Kindly relieve me asap, said Rajkumar Bafna in an email to the CFO Sumeet Sood, the BSE filing showed.

What did the company say? Akums Drugs and Pharma's CFO, responding to Bafna's email, said that, considering the health concerns, the company has decided to relieve him effective 31 December 2025.

Also Read | Multibagger stock completes fundraise by converting warrants into equity

Though we regret your decision however given your health issue we will not be able to persuade you. As desired we will formally relieve you on 31 December 2025, said Akums Drugs and Pharma CFO Sumeet Sood.

The company informed the stock exchanges that they have accepted Rajkumar Bafna's resignation from a senior management role over personal reasons.

Delhi weather today Mint reported earlier that the overall air quality index (AQI) in Delhi remained in the severe category as the metric crossed the 400-mark on Sunday. The CPCB live tracker data showed that earlier on Sunday, around 8 a.m., Anand Vihar recorded an AQI of 445.

Ashok Vihar at 427, Aya Nagar at 344, Dwarka-Sector 8 at 402, Okhla Phase-2 at 423 and Wazirpur at 435 were the air quality levels on Sunday. As per the CPCB classification, AQI levels between 0 and 50 is good, 51 to 100 is satisfactory, 101 to 200 moderate, 201 to 300 poor, 301 to 400 very poor and 401 to 500 as severe.

Although last week, Delhi witnessed relatively better air quality on Wednesday and Thursday before the pollutant levels started to rise again from Friday, 26 December 2025.

Akums Drugs and Pharma share price Akums Drugs and Pharma shares closed 0.27% higher at 447.75 after Friday's stock market session, compared to 446.55 at the previous stock market session, according to the BSE data.
British aero-engine maker Rolls-Royce said on Sunday, December 28, that it is considering making India its third home market outside the United Kingdom, as part of its strategy to tap into the full range of business opportunities across various sectors.

In an interview to PTI, Sashi Mukundan, the executive vice president of Rolls-Royce India, elaborated on the details of the move, revealing that the company is planning a big investment in the country.

Through these major investments, Rolls-Royce seeks to expand its footprint in the country, noting that India has scale, policy clarity and a strong push towards a defence and industrial ecosystem, which is expanding rapidly and becoming more sophisticated with time.

Which sectors will the company tap? The investments will be made in various sectors, including jet engines, naval propulsion, land systems and advanced engineering.

Mukundan specifically listed developing a next-generation aero engine in India as a priority to power the combat jets that New Delhi will produce under the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme.

He said the AMCA engine core could be modified for use as a naval marine engine and even for electric propulsion. He added that Rolls-Royce is one of the few engine makers in the world with the capability to convert an aircraft engine for marine use.

Also Read | Bharat Forge to Manufacture Fan Blades for Rolls-Royce's Pearl 10X Engines

In the conversation with PTI, Mukundan also briefly touched upon the commercial aviation sector in India and described it as a rapidly growing market where Rolls-Royce has the most advanced technology to offer, which will aid in the country growth.

We are already partnering in expansion plans of some of the biggest carriers in the country, he said.

MOUs to be signed The senior executive also said the company will finalise two Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with two Indian defence public sector undertakings. One agreement will cover the manufacturing of engines for the Arjun tanks, while the other will focus on engines for future-ready combat vehicles.

During a business roundtable which took place in October this year, CEO Tufan Erginbilgic had conveyed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that India is going to be very critical for Rolls-Royce in the near future.

We have developed two other home markets outside the UK  the US and Germany. We want to make India our next one. What do we mean by that? We want to do everything across the field, and it's not just defence, Mukundan told the news agency.

According to the top executive, the company's ambition spans across defence, naval propulsion, land systems, manufacturing, advanced engineering skills and technology development, all of which closely align with India's own priorities.

Speaking about the development status on the engines for AMCA, he informed that extensive discussions and background work are currently underway, which will eventually determine how the company plans to move forward.

Engine design work to be done in India Mukundan also said that the entire engine design work can be carried out in India, provided the necessary technology is transferred, with intellectual property (IP) rights to be jointly owned with India.

Once you own design IP, you have strategic control. Manufacturing then becomes the next stage, and that is always more complex. It's about ensuring that capability is built systematically and safely, he noted.

Stating the importance of the project, he said Rolls-Royce engines for AMCA could be helpful for India in developing electric propulsion for naval engines. The company has expertise in aero engine core, which are used in building electric and hybrid propulsion naval engines.

Rolls-Royce goes bullish on India The executive vice president expressed strong optimism about India, highlighting the Indian government's visible focus on building indigenous capabilities across naval, land and air domains.

Over the long term, India will be a major global power. And India is increasingly supporting others in the Global South. For us, there is a lot to work with, and it is all linked, he said during the interview.
Former Google employees, both aged 33, took a calculated risk by moving beyond their profitable business  which was earning them over $2 million a year  because of artificial intelligence (AI). In this case, far from harming their earnings, AI helped increase their income by 50%.

Dhruv Amin and Marcus Lowe, after leaving Google, were building a startup that was profitable from day 1. However, with the advent of AI, the duo considered opening a new organisation, which is now valued at $100 million.

Dhruv Amin and Marcus Lowe, both 33, are the co-founders and co-CEOs of Anything, an AI vibe-coding startup valued at about $100 million following an $11 million funding round, according to CNBC Make It.

The company was earlier known as Create, a marketplace that connected startups with freelance software engineers and used AI tools to help build apps and websites. Create was profitable from Day 1, Amin told the outlet.

How did ChatGPT become a turning point for the company? However, the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022 marked a turning point. Amin said the rapid leap in AI capabilities made the founders question whether human software developers would continue to be essential in the future.

By early 2023, Amin and Lowe concluded that advances in generative AI could eventually automate large parts of coding. This posed a direct threat to Creates business model, which depended on matching clients with developers.

After months of discussion, the founders decided to shut down the marketplace in October 2023. They laid off half of their seven-member team and ended ties with freelance developers. Within two weeks, we were back to an empty office, Amin recalled.

The duo then began rebuilding the company from scratch. They first launched an AI-powered tool that could generate app components such as forms and calendars. In April 2025, they introduced a more advanced product that could build entire online businesses  including backend systems and payment features  without requiring users to have coding skills. Around the same time, the company was rebranded as Anything.

That was actually the moment where it felt like it really took off, Amin said. Within two weeks of the launch, the company reached a $2 million annualised revenue run rate, he added.

Amin said the AI coding space is still extremely early and has received mixed reactions. Even so, non-technical users have already created practical applications on Anything, including AI hairstylist apps and oral health trackers.

Looking back, Amin described the decision to go back to zero as one of the toughest moments of his career, though he believes timing played a key role.

Its a useful founding story now: This company will stick through it, even if the technology shifts, even if the business model shifts. At the time, it was hard. Now, I can say with some pride: You dont have to just take my word that were serious about what were trying to do here. Weve painted it in blood, sweat and tears, he said.
The ministry of road transport and highways has tweaked cab aggregator guidelines to ban advance tippinga feature that allowed passengers to offer a tip upfront while booking a ride. What does this mean for the companies bracing for short-term friction, and how will incentive redesign to offset the long-term impact? Mint explains.

Queries sent to Uber, Ola, Rapido and Namma Yatri following the 26 December notification did not elicit a response until press time.

What is advance tipping?

Advance tipping refers to a feature on ride-hailing apps that allows passengers to add a tip at the time of booking, before a ride is accepted or completed. Unlike traditional tipping, which follows service delivery, advance tips operate as an upfront monetary signal, explicitly indicating a users willingness to pay more for faster pickup or better ride certainty. Importantly, platforms maintained that tips flowed entirely to drivers, and were not going towards commissions, subscription fees, or revenue-sharing arrangements.

The feature was first rolled out first by Google-backed Namma Yatri in Bengaluru and was soon mirrored across platforms such as Uber, Ola and Rapido, especially during peak hours and high-demand zones.

Why did regulators step in?

Concerns around advance tipping surfaced in mid-2024, when consumer complaints began flagging repeated prompts, interface nudges, and perceived pressure to tip in order to secure rides.

In early 2025, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) issued notices to Uber, and subsequently to Ola and Rapido, following public criticism by consumer affairs minister Pralhad Joshi, who termed the practice unethical and exploitative".

About 78% of users said they faced repeated prompts to add an advance tip, while 90% reported cancelling rides because drivers refused trips unless conditions were changed, according to a November survey by LocalCircles, a citizen survey platform that polled over 94,000 respondents across 282 districts.

Regulators viewed advance tipping not as a neutral feature, but as a design choice capable of distorting access and outcomes within a marketplace. Last week, the ministry of road transport and highways formalized this stance by amending the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines to explicitly ban advance tipping, while allowing voluntary tipping only after ride completion.

Did users feel compelled to tip upfront?

The concern centres on whether access is being skewed. Users reported that advance tipping increasingly felt less optional and more instrumental to receiving timely service.

LocalCircles data also flagged broader dark pattern" concerns: hidden charges appearing at trip end (59%), bait-and-switch ETAs (86%), and difficulty locating cancellation options (84%). Advance tipping fit into this pattern of interface-driven pressure that nudged users into paying more without clarity on whether it materially influenced ride allocation.

Tipping should not influence ride allocation, which is exactly what advance tipping does. It is like several people lining up at a service counter, but one person slips the staff money upfront and gets served first. That inevitably slows down or sidelines everyone else. Once extra payment starts determining service order, the system becomes unfair," said Sachin Taparia, chief executive officer of LocalCircles.

Why do drivers favour pre-tipped rides?

For drivers, advance tipping functioned as an informal demand cue, almost a proxy for trip value.

Economic stress among gig workers is also tightly knitted with platform design. Ritesh, a 36-year-old driver based in Delhi, on multiple ride-hailing platforms, said upfront tips helped compensate for falling earnings.

But when tips begin influencing ride acceptance, allocation risks favouring users who can pay more over those who book earlier or are closer  a dynamic that quietly reshape access, priority, and service quality through design choices that most users do not fully understand.

Many drivers relied on it as upfront assurance that a trip was worth accepting, helping stabilize earnings and reduce cancellations," said Amit Kaushik, an independent automotive industry expert. With base fares under pressure from rising fuel costs and commissions, upfront tips offered drivers predictability. Even without explicit algorithmic prioritization, driver behaviour itself shaped matching outcomes, as tipped rides were accepted faster, he added.

What changes now after the ban?

With the feature removed, platforms are likely to face short-term friction. Drivers may become more selective, especially during high-demand periods, leading to increased rejections, cancellations, or longer wait times, noted Kaushik.

This transitional phase could test service reliability, particularly in dense urban markets where demand-supply mismatches are already acute.

Will platforms redesign incentives?

To rebalance supply and demand, platforms will need to lean more heavily on formalized incentive mechanisms, rather than user-driven signals. This includes sharper surge pricing, location-specific bonuses, time-bound incentives, and guaranteed earnings for completing a certain number of trips, Kaushik explained.

Also Read | The app that made Uber and Ola rethink their playbook

The redesign challenge lies in precision. Unlike advance tipping, which externalized the incentive to the user, these mechanisms place the onus back on platforms to fund and calibrate driver motivation. Poorly designed incentives could inflate costs or trigger regulatory scrutiny around pricing transparency.

Over the long term, Kaushik argues, the revenue impact is manageable. If not recalibrated carefully, the change could pressure acceptance rates and customer experience in the short term, though the long-term revenue impact can be managed with the right incentive design," he said.

What should users expect next?

In the near term, users may experience longer wait times or higher surge pricing during peak hours as platforms adjust. However, the removal of advance tipping could restore confidence among users who had felt coerced into paying extra, potentially stabilizing demand.

From a regulatory standpoint, the move signals a broader push to scrutinize how interface design and algorithmic signals shape outcomes.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data for the country's foreign exchange (forex) reserves show that the central bank's kitty recorded a $4.37 billion jump to a near record high level of $693.32 billion as of the week ended Friday, 19 December 2025, according to an official bulletin released on 26 December 2025.

India's total foreign exchange reserves in the RBI witnessed a $4.37 billion rise to their $693.32 billion level in the week ended 19 December, compared to their earlier $688.95 billion level in the week ended 12 December 2025, according to the data.

According to a recent ANI report, India's forex reserves hit an all-time high of $704.89 billion in September 2024. Over the last few weeks, RBI's forex kitty has been on the uptrend, edging closer towards the record high.

Forex reserves comprise foreign currency assets, gold, SDRs, and the nation's reserve position in the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which is maintained by the central bank of the country.

RBI's foreign currency assets rose by $1.65 billion to $559.43 billion as of the week ended 19 December 2025, when compared to $557.78 billion in the previous week, as per the data release.

RBI's Gold Kitty Central banks around the world hoard a particular amount of gold reserves in order to serve as a form of financial security and stability during times of geopolitical or domestic uncertainty in the economy. The institutions storing gold also provide a backing to the currency of the nation while also contributing to the overall foreign exchange reserves.

RBI's gold reserves recorded a $2.62 billion jump to $110.36 billion in the week ended 19 December 2025, compared to $107.74 billion in the previous week's holdings.

Also Read | Need new measures to make Unified Pension Scheme more attractive: PFRDA

Other than Gold, there are two other aspects of foreign exchange holdings which contribute to the overall forex reserves. Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) and the Reserve position in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are the two additional holdings in RBI's kitty, which contribute to the country's reserves.

Other forex holdings RBI's Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) recorded a $10 million rise to $18.74 billion, compared to its earlier $18.73 billion in the previous week, according to the bulletin release.

The data also show that the central bank's reserve position in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) rose by nearly $96 million to $4.782 billion as of the week ended 19 December 2025, compared to $4.686 billion in the previous week ende 12 December 2025.
Mumbai, Dec 28 (PTI) The Ajit Pawar-led NCP on Sunday announced its first list of 37 candidates for the January 15 elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which has 227 wards.

The second list is expected soon, party MLA Sana Malik told reporters.

Though a constituent of the BJP-led Mahayuti coalition, the NCP is contesting the Mumbai civic polls independently.

Earlier, BJP city chief Ameet Satam had ruled out any truck with the NCP saying its leader Nawab Malik was in-charge of the partys election management for the BMC polls. Malik has been accused of being involved in money laundering and having links with Dawood Ibrahims associates.

Also Read | Will Sharad Pawar join hands with nephew Ajit for Pune polls? Supriya answers

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has announced 51 candidates so far.

Elections to 29 municipal corporations across Maharashtra, including the cash-rich BMC, are scheduled for January 15, and votes will be counted the next day. The last date for filing nominations is December 30.

Also Read | Cousins Uddhav and Raj Thackeray reunite ahead of BMC polls

The Congress is expected to announce its nominees soon. Its screening committee met on Sunday to clear the list of candidates. While it had earlier decided to go solo, the party has now tied up with Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), led by B R Ambedkars grandson Prakash Ambedkar.
In Q3 2025, Coca-Cola's net revenue rose 5% year over year to $12.5 billion, driven by a 6% increase in organic revenue. Net income for Q3 2025 surged 30% to $3.7 billion, and the company maintained an impressive gross profit margin of over 61% along with a comparable operating margin of 32%. The company is set to generate roughly $9.8 billion in projected free cash flow for the full year 2025, which provides ample capacity for dividends and reinvestment.

The company has increased its dividend for 63 consecutive years as of 2025, and offers a reliable yield of approximately 2.9%. The company primarily produces and markets beverage concentrates and syrups. It sells these concentrates to over 200 bottling partners worldwide, who handle the capital-intensive work of manufacturing, packaging, and distribution. This system allows Coca-Cola to maintain high operating margins and low capital expenditures while benefiting from a massive, global physical distribution network that is nearly impossible for competitors to replicate.

Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) is a quintessential value stock prized by investors like Warren Buffett for its predictability, durable competitive advantages , and consistent shareholder returns. Its relatively non-cyclical demand has made it broadly recession-resistant, as consumers typically buy beverages regardless of the economic climate. And, having one of the world's strongest brands allows Coca-Cola to raise prices to offset inflation without a significant loss in sales volume.

Here are two such companies to consider for your portfolio that you can buy and hold for the long run.

The stock market is not always efficient in the short term. The current stock price of any given company reflects the near-term.-term supply and demand, news, and investor sentiment about that business. When a company retains a reasonable valuation, and the underlying company retains a favorable intrinsic value (its true worth based on future cash flows and assets), this can present an intriguing opportunity for value investors to put cash to work.

Some stocks can teach you to think like a value investor by providing real-world opportunities to practice the patience to let your investment grow, apply disciplined research to understand their respective business models, and leverage the skill of recognizing intrinsic value versus market price. Broadly speaking, long-term investors should develop a mindset of seeking out quality companies, rather than chasing market trends.

Story Continues

Coca-Cola is diversifying its portfolio beyond traditional carbonated soft drinks into high-growth areas such as energy drinks, coffee, ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages, and value-added dairy. The company generates a significant portion of its revenue overseas and has strong positions in fast-growing emerging markets like Latin America and parts of Asia-Pacific.

Its localized production strategy in many regions helps mitigate risks from tariffs and supply chain disruptions. Coca-Cola's trailing-five-year return, including dividends, is around 50%. This stock may not be the most exciting in today's market environment, but its robust business model, financial fortitude, and consistent dividend could make it a no-brainer buy for some long-term investors.

2. Bank of America

Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) is another classic value stock thanks to its massive scale, defensive nature, and a history of reliable shareholder returns. The bank has a wide moat driven by cost advantages from its client base of 70 million consumers and small businesses, and high switching costs for customers who use its integrated digital and financial platforms. As the second-largest U.S. bank, Bank of America acts as a foundational institution that provides stability to its customers and investors even during periods of broader market volatility.

The company has consistently paid a dividend for decades, and has consistently increased its dividend for 12 years in a row and counting. The stock currently yields about 2% based on current share prices. Its trailing-five-year return, including dividends, is in the ballpark of 120%.

Bank of America operates a highly diversified growth model managed through four primary segments. Consumer Banking is the largest segment, where it serves individuals and small businesses with deposits, credit cards, and mortgages. Its Global Wealth & Investment Management business manages trillions in client assets. The Global Banking division provides lending, advisory, and investment banking services to corporations and institutions, and its Global Markets segment focuses on institutional sales and trading across various asset classes.

Bank of America had a fantastic quarter in Q3. Its total revenue of $28.1 billion rose 11% year over year, while net income totaled $8.5 billion, a 23% jump from the year-ago period. Its net interest income of $15.2 billion was up 9%. Investment banking fees surpassed $2 billion, a whopping 43% hike from one year ago.

The provision for credit losses decreased by approximately 13% from the prior year, a strong indication of improving asset quality. And, Bank of America returned $7.4 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases during the quarter. Long-term investors who want to invest in the banking sector and benefit from a solid dividend on top of that might want to take a second look at this tried-and-true value play.

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Beyond Index Funds: 2 Stocks That Teach You How to Think Like a Value Investor was originally published by The Motley Fool
First Lady Melania Trumps official White House portrait says it all. Pictured in a black pantsuit and white collared shirt, she stands at the head of a table, as if in a boardroom ready to make a deal. And sure enough, even before she moved back into the East Wing, she had inked a $40 million deal for a documentary about her life.

What Im [doing], what kind of responsibilities I have  people, they dont really know, she said on Fox News early in 2025 describing the documentary. Its day to day, from transition team to moving to the White House, packing, establishing my team, the first lady office, moving into the White House, what it takes to make the residence your home, to hire the people that you need.

Somehow, most first ladies were able to do all of the above without needing to make millions of dollars and a having a film crew in tow. But, Trump, like her husband, has shattered the norms and ethics of the White House, transforming the role like no other first lady before her  and not for the better.

When Melania Trump left the White House in January 2021, she had an approval rating of 42%, the lowest on record for any first lady. And a 2020 Siena College study of all first ladies ranked her dead last on every metric, including value to the country, value to the president and stewardship of the White House. Now, at the end of 2025, only 36% of those surveyed by YouGov have a positive impression of her.

Nothing captures the emptiness of her second turn as FLOTUS more than the demolition of the first lady office, that Trump spoke about in previewing her documentary, which debuts in January. The East Wing, which Eleanor Roosevelt built up as a place and an idea, is now just a pile of rubble, slated to become a massive ballroom bankrolled by corporate and private donors.

While privately the first lady reportedly raised concerns about the demolition, her input wasnt enough to halt the erasure of the space occupied by modern first ladies.

She loved her tiny little office, President Donald Trump told Fox Newss Laura Ingraham, confirming his wifes concerns about leveling the East Wing. But you know what? She is very smart. In about one day if you would ask her now, she says its great.

Well, its not great. But the first lady saunters on, often seeming more like a content creator than anything else.

In October, that content included a speech where she seemingly tried to cover for Russian President Vladimir Putin by downplaying one of the worst atrocities of his invasion of Ukraine: the abduction of tens of thousands of Ukrainian children. Trump announced that she had been in communication with Putin about the Ukrainian children residing in Russia. What she failed to mention is that Russia has kidnapped an estimated 35,000 children in an attempt to re-educate, forcibly adopt them or even conscript them.

Yet, in the first ladys telling, this Russian campaign is simply the incidental byproduct of the fog of war.

Each child has lived in turmoil because of the war in Ukraine. Three were separated from their parents and displaced to the Russian Federation because of frontline fighting. The other five were separated from family members across borders because of the conflict, including one young girl who has now been reunited from Ukraine to Russia, she said in her speech announcing the return of eight kids. I have learned a lot about this matter during the past three months. Russia has demonstrated a willingness to disclose objective and detailed information reflective for the current situation.

Domestically, Trump has revived her oddly named Be Best campaign, which aims to combat online bullying. She also backed the Take It Down Act, bipartisan legislation signed by her husband in May. aimed at enacting stricter penalties for so-called revenge porn. Last month, she sat next to her husband as he signed an executive order called Fostering the Future for American Children and Families, which aims to improve the lives of children in and transitioning out of foster care. Such appearances will likely be content for future money-making ventures as part of Trumps production company, which she announced in November.

At the start of her second term, Trump suggested that people dont really know what she does; yet over the last 11 months, she hasnt bothered to fill in many details. She is hardly a consistent presence  over the first 108 days of her second tenure, Trump spent fewer than 14 days at the White House. Notable exceptions include her presence during Septembers state visit to the United Kingdom and during Novembers visit from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Her customary appearance to greet the White House Christmas tree this month was perfunctory.

Her documentary, called Melania, comes to theaters on Jan. 30 and covers the 20 days leading up to the inauguration. Its a fitting title. While most first ladies focused on being good stewards of the White House, wielding soft power and leaving behind a lasting legacy, Trump seems to be mostly focused on increasing her wealth and her celebrity, whether through movies or meme coins. History will judge her harshly.

More From Bloomberg Opinion:

This column reflects the personal views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Nia-Malika Henderson is a politics and policy columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. A former senior political reporter for CNN and the Washington Post, she has covered politics and campaigns for almost two decades.

2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Actor-politician Vijay held his much-awaited audio launch event for the upcoming movie, Jana Nayagan. What makes Jana Nayagan even more special is that it marks Vijays final film before he quits his film career for politics. At the event, which took place in Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur, Vijay delivered a powerful speech as he revealed why he has decided to step away from films.

His speech has now gone viral on social media, leaving fans emotional.

Vijay's last speech Taking centre stage at the end of the night at the Jana Nayagan audio launch in Malaysia, Thalapathy Vijay acknowledged the massive turnout. He talked about Malaysias significance to Tamil cinema after Sri Lanka, as it has one of the largest Tamil populations in the world. Recalling Tamil films which were shot in Malaysia, such as Billa starring Ajith, Kaavalan and Kuruvi, he thanked the government for their support in hosting the event.

Vijay on why he is quitting films Opening up about his decision to quit cinema, Vijay said, For me, one thing matters. People come and stand in theatres for me. For that reason, Im ready to stand for them for the next 3033 years. For these Vijay fans, Im stepping away from cinema."

Ive faced every kind of criticism right from day one, the same old story. But my fans have stood by me from the very beginning, supporting me relentlessly for 33 years. Thats why, for the fans who stood for me, I will stand for them. This Vijay will repay his debt of gratitude.

Vijay to his team He continued to praise Jana Nayagan music composer Anirudh Ravichander and gave him a new title. Vijay said, I am giving Anirudh a new title MDS. Can you guess what it stands for? Musical Departmental Store. Hes like a store you walk into and never run out of choices with unlimited songs and BGMs waiting inside. He also lauded director H Vinoth, calling him a highly socially responsible filmmaker. He shared his happiness as their long-discussed collaboration finally materialised.

Vijay also spoke fondly of actor Prakash Raj. He added, Usually, the best chemistry is between the hero and heroine. But for me, it has always been with Prakash Raj sir, right from the Ghilli days. Thank you, Prakash Raj sir.

Also Read | How much did Vijay get paid for Jana Nayagan? Key details here

Vijay to his fans Staying true to his tradition, Thalapathy shared his Kutty Story life lessons. If you want to succeed in life, you may not always need friends but you do need a strong enemy. Only when there is a strong enemy do you become stronger."

He added, A small help or a small good deed will help you in the future. Dont trouble or hurt anyone.

Fans react to Vijay's retirement announcement Sharing the speech, fans extended their love and gratitude for the actor.

A user wrote on X, formerly Twitter, IT'S OFFICIALLY OVER. THE END OF AN ERA. 19922026, youll forever be my hero, my inspiration and my role model @actorvijay.

Its officially over and my heart isnt ready. From 1992 to 2026, you werent just an actor  you were emotions, memories, and a constant in our lives. An era ends, but the love will never fade. Forever my hero, Thalapathy Vijay, added another.

One more posted, Feels weird even typing this. Vijay wasnt just an actor for me, he was part of growing up. Theatre whistles, first day shows, repeat watches too many memories. Retirement hurts, but the love stays forever. Thank you, Thalapathy @actorvijay waiting for #JanaNayagan.

Someone else also shared, Thalapathy Vijay is not just a name, you are an emotion for millions. Your journey, screen presence, and energy will live on forever in our hearts. We will deeply miss you, but new era begins.

See posts:

Besides the speech, Vijay also danced to the anthem, Thalapathy Kacheri from Jana Nayagan, for the last time. He also took a selfie video with the fans in the audience.
New Delhi, Dec 28 (PTI) The year 2025 saw the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme expanding its footprint to Odisha and Delhi, growth in digital healthcare delivery and the fight against TB gaining more steam, with the government focusing on deepening the use of new-age technologies like AI in the public health delivery.

Even though the Covid pandemic is almost obscure in public memory, there was a rise in cases in June fuelled by a surge in cases in parts of Asia including Singapore and Hong Kong, but the trajectory soon saw a downward trend thereby ensuring there was no flare up of panic. Most of the cases remained mild in nature, not requiring hospitalisation and resolved on their own.

Riding on the government's push for enhanced digital health service, India made major strides towards ensuring specialised healthcare reached the grassroots.

The eSanjeevani telemedicine service emerged as a catalyst in digital health service redefining how citizens access medical care, More than 43.2 crore free tele-consultations were provided, ensuring access to specialist doctors in rural and remote areas. Of the beneficiaries, 57 per cent were women.

In 2025, the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) got much more acceptance with a lot of citizens readily storing their medical records digitally and sharing them with doctors whenever needed. According to government data, more than 84.35 crore health accounts (ABHA accounts) have been created so far with 12.09 crore being created this year till December 26.

Also, 80.66 crore health records were linked with ABHA so far with 35.52 crore health records linked this year.

The government's flagship health insurance scheme Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) saw a major expansion this year with Delhi and Odisha signing the MoU with the health ministry for its implementation. With this, only West Bengal remains outside the ambit of this universal healthcare coverage provided by the Centre.

As of December 1, approximately 42.48 crore Ayushman cards were created since the inception of the scheme in 2018 and a total of 10.98 crore hospital admissions amounting to 1.60 lakh crore have been authorised under the scheme so far.

The health ministry's initiative, launch in October last year, to expand the scope of the scheme by providing free treatment benefits of up to 5 lakh per year to all senior citizens aged 70 years and above, irrespective of their socio-economic status, through Ayushman Vay Vandana cards gained momentum in 2025 with 94,19,515 people being enrolled under it so far.

An Android-based 'Ayushman app' was launched by National Health Authority wherein self-verification feature for beneficiaries has been enabled. The app was developed using the latest technology and provides different modes of authentication i.e. face-auth, OTP, IRIS, and fingerprint for Ayushman card creation. This ensures that any mobile device can be used for Ayushman card creation.

Under the TB-Free India campaign, testing, treatment, and nutritional support were further strengthened. India's journey towards tuberculosis (TB) elimination was recognised globally with the WHO's Global TB Report 2025 released this year highlighting that the incidence rate of TB in India has shown a 21 per cent decline from 237 per 100,000 population in 2015 to 187 per 100,000 population in 2024.

India's commitment to end-TB related deaths has been appreciated and the Global TB Report 2025 documents that TB deaths reduced by 25 per cent from 28 per lakh population in 2015 to 21 per lakh population in 2024. Access to TB treatment and coverage in India increased in last nine years, from 53 per cent in 2015 to 92 per cent in 2024.

The overall notification of TB cases has improved by 63 per cent over the last 10 years, from 2014 to 2024. The missing TB cases had reduced from 10 lakhs in 2015 to less than 1 lakh in 2024.

India notified 24.2 lakh TB cases in 2022 which was higher than the pre-Covid level of 2019. In 2023, a total of 25.52 lakh and in 2024, 26.18 lakh TB patients have been notified. In 2025 (January to October), 22.64 lakh TB patients have been notified.

The 100 Days TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan that was launched on December 7, 2024 in 347 high priority districts across 33 states and Union territories was expanded to cover all districts of the country. The campaign was implemented using 'whole of government approach' and encapsulated the whole of society approach by involving all the stakeholders.

The health ministry also launched a comprehensive AI-driven healthcare reform to strengthen India's public health system. Central to this initiative was establishment of three centres of excellence for AI in healthcare at AIIMS Delhi, PGIMER Chandigarh, and AIIMS Rishikesh.

A collaborative ecosystem has been developed with key organisations, such as the Central Tuberculosis Division, National Centre for Disease Control, CDAC-Mohali, ICMR, MeitY, Ministry of Higher Education, and Indian Institute of Science. Further technical support is provided by Wadhwani Institute of Artificial Intelligence.

These efforts have led to successful implementation of AI tools such as the Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) integrated with e-Sanjeevani, a media disease surveillance tool under Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme, and AI-based diabetic retinopathy screening. To support the fight against tuberculosis, various AI tools have been introduced.
As the new year begins, banks across the country will observe a series of holidays and weekend closures between December 29, 2025, and January 4, 2026. While closures vary by region, the period includes regular weekend breaks, New Year's Day, and several state-specific holidays.

Customers are advised to plan their banking activities in advance to avoid any inconvenience.

While physical branches will be closed, most online banking services will remain operational, allowing account holders to carry out fund transfers, bill payments, and other essential financial transactions.

Here's a complete list of Bank holiday next week from 29 December to 4 January: Bank holiday on 30 December (Tuesday) On 30 December (Tuesday), banks in Meghalaya will remain closed in observance of U Kiang Nangbah Day, a regional holiday celebrating the freedom fighter.

Bank holiday on December 31 (Wednesday) On 31 December (Wednesday), banks in Mizoram and Manipur will be closed for New Years Eve and the regional festival Imoinu Iratpa.

Imoinu Iratpa is a sacred festival celebrated primarily in Manipur to honour Goddess Imoinu, the goddess of wealth, prosperity, and household well-being. Devotees worship her to seek blessings for abundance, harmony, and protection of the home.

Bank holiday on 1 January (Thursday) On 1 January, 2026 (Thursday), banks across India will remain closed in observance of New Years Day, a nationwide public holiday.

Bank holiday on 3 January (Saturday) On 3 January, some states observe the Birthday of Hazrat Ali, a regional holiday commemorating the birth of the revered Islamic leader.

Bank holiday on 4 January Banks across the country will be closed on 4 January since it is a Sunday.

When are banks closed? The RBI declares bank holidays across different parts of India for national, religious, and regional observances, so holidays can vary by region. Besides these, banks are closed on all Sundays, the second Saturday, and the fourth Saturday of each month.

What services are available on bank holidays? Even on bank holidays, customers can access online banking services to carry out financial transactions.

Other services available include fund transfers via NEFT/RTGS, Requests for demand drafts and chequebooks. Credit, debit, and ATM card services, account-related services like maintenance forms, standing instructions, and locker applications.

This ensures that essential banking functions remain accessible even when physical branches are closed.

Even on bank holidays, customers can access online banking services to carry out financial transactions.

Earlier, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the official list of bank holidays for 2026, covering national, religious, and regional observances. Next year, banks across different parts of the country will remain closed for over 100 days.

Major holidays scheduled in 2026 include Republic Day, Holi, Independence Day, Gandhi Jayanti, Good Friday, Baisakhi, Muharram, Dussehra, Durga Puja, and Diwali, along with several regional and state-specific holidays. These closures apply to branches in relevant states, so customers are advised to plan their banking transactions accordingly.
Electric trucks are becoming the latest type of vehicle to benefit from battery swapping, which has until now been largely restricted to two- and three-wheelers. Pune-based e-truck maker Blue Energy Motors and Murugappa Groups Montra Electric are rolling out 55-tonne e-trucks that are compatible with battery swapping.

These zero-emission commercial vehicles provide the right use-case for price parity between EVs and internal combustion engines (ICE) once the cost of the battery is removed from the equation, according to manufacturers and domain experts.

As India races to decarbonize its massive freight sector, battery swapping could prove to be the silver bullet for heavy-duty electric trucks. This transition addresses the twin barriers of price parity and operational efficiency that have long stalled large-scale commercial EV adoption, potentially transforming the logistics industry from a top polluter into a leader in green mobility.

Also Read | Govt set to exhaust subsidy for bigger electric 3-wheelers three months early

Cutting upfront cost and charging time

Battery swapping involves replacing depleted batteries in electric vehicles with pre-charged ones at a swapping station, reducing the time it takes to fully charge an EV. Models compatible with swapping do not come with a battery, making them much cheaper than regular EVs, since the battery generally accounts for nearly half the price of an EV. Heavy electric trucks above 12 tonnes in gross weight cost 1-1.5 crore on average, compared to 25-50 lakh for their diesel counterparts.

Montra Electrics chief business officer PV Satyanarayana said the company decided to build electric trucks with swappable batteries to reduce the massive price gap between ICE and EV trucks and to cut charging times for these large, commercial vehicles.

The more you sweat the asset, the more you lower the TCO (total cost of ownership). That's a very clear game," said Satyanayana. "Sweating" an asset is the practice of ensuring it is working as hard as possible for as long as possible to justify its initial purchase price. TCO includes the upfront cost of the vehicle and the cost of keeping it running. If I'm able to reduce the charging time, I'll be able to sweat it more and lower the TCO," he added.

Technological advancements have also reduced the time it takes swap stations to recharge used batteries, another reason for the advent of electric trucks with large swappable batteries, he said.

Indias EV battery-swapping industry is growing rapidly. Valued around $10.2 million in 2022, it is expected to touch $61.57 million by 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.2%, the think tank Centre for Science and Environment noted in May 2025, citing market intelligence reports. For context, India's overall EV market is expected to double in value from about $55 billion in 2025 to $110 billion by 2029, at a CAGR of 19.44%.

Decarbonization potential

While trucks themselves account for about 3% of all vehicles in India, they contribute about 40% of the transport sectors polluting emissions, according to Narendra Murkumbi, managing director and CEO of Energy in Motion (EIM), a battery-swapping company associated with renewable energy firm Ravindra Energy Ltd. Compared to two-wheelers and even cars, converting heavy trucks in India to electric will have the largest environmental impact," he said.

E-trucks are a new addition to India's massive freight sector. About 11,000 light, medium, and heavy e-trucks were sold in India in 2025, according to the government's Vahan dashboard. However, medium- and heavy-duty trucks, which are incentivised under the governments PM E-Drive scheme, accounted for only about 550 of these.

Commercial rollouts and infrastructure

EIM and other operators of battery swapping stations are optimistic that the inclusion of electric trucks will increase the demand for their services. We have moved past the trial stage to the commercial stage. I can tell you the initial response from customers has been better than I personally expected," Murkumbi added.

To be clear, EIM makes swappable-battery e-trucks in collaboration with Chinese e-truck maker Foton (Beiqi Foton Motor Co. Ltd). EIM has also set up battery swapping stations at Mumbais Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and in Sonepat in October.

Murkumbi said, We obviously want to eventually build a nationwide swapping network. In India, swapping is not just a technical solution for fast charging, it is also a financial solution. It allows truck operators to invest only in the vehicle. The batteries are centrally owned and deployed by a network operator like us." He added that the company plans to launch eight more swap stations at ports and in the National Capital Region by March 2026.

Meanwhile, Blue Energy Motors, which makes its 55-ton e-trucks at Chakan near Pune, plans to set up five battery swapping stations along the Mumbai-Pune corridor, said Anand Mimani, CEO of the companys EV and new-energy business. These stations are a part of its energy-as-a-service business.

He added, When you put energy-as-a-service and battery swap stations together, you own the charging network and the batteries, so you can sell the vehicle without a battery. This cuts the transporter or logistics company's cost of buying vehicles by almost half, and substantially reduces the price gap between diesel and electric trucks."

Also, it takes a diesel truck about 10 minutes to refuel. [With a swappable battery e-truck] I'm doing it in 50% of that time," Mimani said, adding that e-trucks can handle cargo for a variety of sectors including fast-moving consumer goods, express cargo, steel, cement and chemicals.

India had about 3,500 battery swapping stations handling roughly 350,000 batteries in early 2025, according to data from the India Battery Swapping Association. Regular EV chargers are more abundant, with about 29,000 public charging stations across India as of August 2025, according to a disclosure by the ministry of road transport and highways in the Lok Sabha in September.

Policy support and incentives

The government has for the first time incentivised both e-trucks and battery swapping stations under the PM E-Drive scheme, with allocations of 500 crore and 2,000 crore respectively. As per its guidelines, it will cover 80% of the upstream cost of setting up public battery swapping stations. Upstream costs include the cost of connecting the charging or swapping equipment with the power grid.

However, certain conditions in the incentive scheme for e-trucks, such as the requirement to provide a scrapping certificate to claim incentives, have left many manufacturers without government support, Mint reported on 7 September.

The government had previously attempted to standardise batteries, push for more swapping stations and create a battery swapping policy, but this was put on the backburner, Mint reported in January 2025.

Domain experts said the shift towards e-trucks with swappable batteries, the increase in battery swap stations, and government incentives for both of these would accelerate the adoption of electric trucks in India.

In India, policy is emerging as a critical first driver of the electric truck transition. The central government is beginning to narrow the upfront cost gap through demand incentives and ecosystem support under PM E-Drive, complemented by state EV policies that offer capital subsidies, tax exemptions, and operational incentives," said Deepali Thakur, senior technical manager at Smart Freight Centre India, a think tank.

Limitations and operational challenges

While battery swapping has several benefits, it is best suited for short, fixed, high-utilisation routes, while direct-current fast-charging is essential for longer-haul operations, according to Thakur. A position paper jointly penned by NITI Aayog and the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) in 2022 explained why.

Swappable batteries are typically smaller than fixed batteries. Swappable batteries are modular by design, usually around 1 to 1.5 kWh in capacity, and weigh about 10 to 12 kg. The smaller batteries result in lower weight of the E2W, and that yields better energy efficiency and greater range on the available charge. An E2W is designed to run with one or two such batteries, whereas vehicles such as e-rickshaws and e-autos can be fitted with two, three, or four such batteries, depending on their energy consumption and range requirement," it said, adding that battery swapping was appropriate for all types of light EVs.

Thakur of Smart Freight Centre India said electric trucks that require high kilometre utilisation and minimal downtime are well suited for battery swapping. "Heavy-duty e-trucks need large batteries, so charging is time-consuming, typically 45 to 90 minutes. Battery swapping takes just 6-10 minutes, decouples vehicle operations from grid constraints, and allows for controlled, off-peak charging," she said.

The key challenge for battery swapping remains the capital expenditure needed to acquire batteries and build high-tech swapping stations. The cost of setting up a 2W/3W battery swapping station, excluding the cost of batteries, is about 5-10 lakh, according to industry estimates. However, battery prices have declined 75% since 2015, the International Energy Agency said in its Global EV Outlook 2025.

Also, battery swapping companies, which once needed to have three times as many batteries as the anticipated demand of vehicles because of long charging times, can now make do with far fewer spare batteries thanks to increases in charging speeds, experts said. Satyanarayana of Montra Electric, for instance, said the company plans to build swap stations with only 6-7 batteries that can be used in rotation to revitalise about 150 vehicles a day.
Last week, Bulgaria joined a growing list of countries rolling out dedicated digital nomad residence permits, underscoring how remote work is being integrated into formal immigration policy.

What began as a pandemic-era experiment has become mainstream in 2025, as governments increasingly compete for location-independent professionals. Mint breaks down how digital nomad visas work and why countries are betting on remote workers.

Who is a digital nomad?

A digital nomad is a professional who works remotely while living and travelling across different cities or countries, relying on digital tools rather than a fixed office. Typically employed in fields such as technology, consulting, content creation or online services, digital nomads earn their income online and choose locations based on factors like cost of living, internet connectivity and lifestyle.

In recent years, governments have begun to formally recognise this group through digital nomad visas, allowing remote workers to legally live in a country for extended periods without entering the local job market. India alone is home to around 1.9 million digital nomads, according to the 2025 State of Digital Nomads report by the Nomad List website.

Why are countries offering a digital nomad visa?

Many countries are now offering visas specifically designed for digital nomads as a way to capitalise on the global rise of remote work and derive economic and social benefits from it. Digital nomads bring in foreign income, support local consumption, and tend to stay longer than traditional touristswithout competing for local jobs.

They are a new source of tourism revenue, helping boost local economies and fill off-peak demand in hospitality and services. Countries also aim to attract skilled talent and foreign investment, with some visas offering tax incentives or pathways to longer-term residency, positioning themselves as attractive hubs for global professionals.

Also Read | US government, Cognizant eye early resolution to visa misuse case

How does it differ from a standard visa?

While a tourist visa is typically intended for short visits, usually 3090 days, for sightseeing, visiting friends/family, or other non-work leisure travel, a nomad visa is designed specifically for individuals who wish to reside in another country and work remotely for a foreign employer or their own clients.

On a tourist visa, working, even online, is generally not permitted and can risk fines or deportation, and youre expected to leave before the visa expires. In contrast, nomad visas explicitly grant legal remote work rights while youre in the country and typically allow much longer stays, about six months to two years or more, with options to renew.

Additionally, such visas help modernise immigration systems and extend benefits like access to local services and banking that traditional tourist visas do not provide.

Which countries are offering this?

Antigua & Barbuda, Bermuda, and Croatia were among the first countries to introduce such a visa in around 2021. A few years later, Japan, South Korea, Turkey in 2024 and Spain, Taiwan, Moldova, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Philippines joined the list.

Other notable countries that offer the digital nomad visa include Mauritius, Kenya, UAE (Dubai), Thailand, Malaysia, South Africa, Namibia, Colombia, and Uzbekistan.

What began with pioneer destination islands has evolved into a broad global trend in 2024-2025, particularly across Europe and Asia.

According to a report from Global Citizen Solutions, India ranks as the world's most affordable country for digital nomads. However, at this point, India does not offer a digital nomad visa.

Also Read | Top 5 countries offering the best digital nomad visas in 2025

What are the eligibility criteria?

Eligibility rules vary, but most countries require proof of remote work, such as an employment contract, freelance agreements, or proof of running an online business, with income sourced from outside the host country.

Most programs require a minimum income or financial threshold. The minimum income usually ranges between $1,500 and $4,000 per month.

Croatia often asks for around 2,400 per month and Costa Rica about $3,000, to ensure you can sustain yourself without local employment. Estonia typically requires applicants to meet an income threshold of about 4,500 per month and show remote work arrangements. Turkey requires a university degree and a minimum income of around $3,000 per month.
ITC's share price has been under pressure this year, largely due to British American Tobacco (BAT) selling its stake in the company, a 40% GST slab on sin goods, corrections in the FMCG sector, and caution due to ITC Hotels' demerger.

ITC shares have declined almost 12% year-to-date, compared to an 8% gain in the equity benchmark Sensex. Over the last two years, the stock has declined 6%, while on a longer timeframe of five years, the stock has delivered a solid return of 105%.

At the current juncture, when the market outlook is tinged with uncertaintylargely due to global factorsinvestors face a dilemma: is this the right time to buy the value stock? Mint spoke to fundamental and technical experts to gain insights into the stock. Here's what they said:

Fundamental views on ITC According to Seema Srivastava, Senior Research Analyst at SMC Global Securities, ITCs financial performance reflects the strength of its diversified business model and its suitability as a long-term compounder.

Srivastava highlighted that cigarettes continue to provide stable cash flows, supported by premiumisation, demand resilience and relative tax stability, which helps offset cost pressures. The paperboards and packaging business, though facing import and cost headwinds, benefits from policy support like minimum import prices and anti-dumping measures, improving its medium-term outlook.

Srivastava said the focus of Budget 2026 on income tax relief, consumption push and front-loaded government spending, along with GST rate reductions across a large part of ITCs FMCG portfolio, is likely to boost affordability and demand over the medium term.

"Strong balance sheet, sustainability leadership, diversified earnings and steady cash generation make ITC well-positioned for long-term investors seeking stability with gradual growth," said Srivastava.

Divya Agrawal, Research Analyst and Advisory (Fundamental), Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, has a buy call on the stock with a target price of 515, citing that ITC remains a strong and stable business with multiple growth drivers.

"Its core cigarette business continues to perform well, supported by steady volumes, premium products and stable taxes. While margins have faced some pressure due to higher raw material costs, these are expected to ease, supporting profitability going ahead," said Agrawal.

"Overall, ITC offers steady cash flows, improving growth visibility and limited downside risk. As consumption demand recovers and margins improve, the stock offers long-term compounding potential for patient investors," said Agrawal.

Technical views on ITC According to Jigar S. Patel, Senior Manager of Equity Technical Research at Anand Rathi Share and Stock Brokers, ITC is currently expected to trade within a well-defined range in the short term, reflecting consolidation and a lack of strong directional momentum.

"The stock has established a solid support base near 398, which has repeatedly attracted buying interest and is likely to act as a key demand zone during any corrective phase. On the upside, immediate resistance is placed around 412, and a decisive, sustained breakout above this level could provide fresh bullish momentum, potentially driving prices towards 418," said Patel.

However, Patel added that the broader structure suggests that 425 remains a major resistance zone, and only a convincing close above this level would confirm a stronger trend reversal.

View full Image ITC technical chart ( Anand Rathi Share and Stock Brokers )

"Once ITC manages to close above 425 on a sustained basis, it may offer a good accumulation opportunity, with an upside target of 495. Until then, traders can expect range-bound action between 398 and 418. The bullish view would be negated if the stock closes below 390 daily, which would signal weakness and invalidate the positive outlook," said Patel.

Pravesh Gour, Senior Technical Analyst at Swastika Investmart, highlighted that on the longer timeframe, ITC continues to display a strong long-term uptrend structure, despite the recent consolidation.

Gour highlighted that the earlier long-term resistance zone near 360370 has now turned into a major support base, as highlighted by repeated monthly closes above this region.

As per Gour, the recent candles show smaller real bodies with lower volatility, indicating selling pressure is drying up rather than aggressive distribution. Volumes expanded sharply during the breakout phase and have since normalised, which is typical of a stock digesting gains before the next directional move.

"As long as ITC holds above 370 on a monthly closing basis, the broader bullish trend remains intact. On the upside, the 440460 zone remains the immediate resistance area, followed by the all-time high band of 490500, where selling pressure is likely to emerge," said Gour.

"A decisive monthly close above 500 would mark a strong bullish breakout and could trigger a fresh momentum phase, opening the path towards 600+ levels over the medium to long term. On the downside, 370 stands out as a crucial long-term support; as long as the stock holds above this zone, the broader uptrend remains intact. However, a sustained breakdown below 370 on a monthly closing basis may weaken the structure and expose the stock to the next major support around 300," said Gour.

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Stocks to buy for the long term: The Indian stock market underperformed major global peers in 2025 on concerns over US tariffs, massive foreign capital outflow, weak earnings, and currency fluctuations.

However, experts believe 2026 will be better than 2025 due to earnings growth, a potential India-US trade deal, and the return of FIIs.

Nevertheless, it looks unlikely that the market will see a sharp gain of more than 15% next year because valuations still are somewhat elevated and there is high uncertainty on the geopolitical front.

The Indian stock market is likely to remain a market of stock pickers next year, where select stocks will deliver healthy returns, even as broader markets may remain volatile.

Brokerage firm Nirmal Bang has selected 10 technical picks for the next year, highlighting up to 50% upside potential in them. Let's take a look:

Stocks to buy for the long term Sequent Scientific | Buy | Add on  195 | Target price:  320 | Stop loss:  176 | Upside potential: 50% Nirmal Bang highlighted that Sequent Scientific has formed a cup and handle pattern on the quarterly and monthly timeframe, which is a strong long-term bullish continuation structure.

The downward falling trend line from previous highs is being tested, which aligns with a handle breakout.

As per the brokerage firm, the current price action shows higher highs and higher lows on the monthly chart, while the stock has sustained well above key moving averages on the daily chart.

Quarterly and monthly volumes show expansion during up-moves and contraction during pullbacks, which confirms accumulation, not distribution.

"The stock is in a buy-on-dips zone near support. Any sustained breakout above the neckline would mark the beginning of a powerful long-term trend on the upside," said the brokerage firm.

Concor | Buy | Add on  480 | Target price:  770 | Stop loss:  440 | Upside potential: 48% Nirmal Bang highlighted that Container Corporation of India (Concor) witnessed a long-term correction on the weekly charts, forming cluster supports.

The fact that the stock has held above the support levels indicates the strength in price.

The brokerage firm highlighted that the stock witnessed support at 490, i.e. the golden ratio 61.8% of Fibonacci Retracement (low 210, high 944) on the monthly chart, thus creating a good base for the near-term positive rally.

Momentum Indicators are seen moving sideways with overall setup favouring the buyers. RSI is trading above its mean level of 40 on the weekly chart, further supporting a potential up move.

"A reversal is expected in the near term, wherein the stock can move towards the level of 770 in the short to medium term, providing a good opportunity for increased profit. On the downside, support is seen at 440, which acts as a strict stop loss for the counter. Investors can buy the stock at 520 and add on dips till the level of 480," said Nirmal Bang.

Also Read | Shrikant Chouhan of Kotak recommends 10 stocks with up to 33% upside potential

One 97 Communications (Paytm) | Buy | Add on  1,220 | Target price:  1,870 | Stop loss:  1,095 | Upside potential: 42% As per Nirmal Bang, the monthly chart of Paytm witnessed a long-term breakout from its inverted head and shoulder pattern, thus indicating a positive continuation momentum in the near term.

The stock is taking multiple supports over the 50 DMA, whereas it is also well placed above the 200 daily moving averages.

"A decisive sustenance above 1,400 may further lead to confirming the positive rally from its Fibonacci Extension 100% level. Supported by rising volume, we believe that in the near term, prices may witness a swift momentum. Momentum indicator RSI witnessed a healthy rise above its 60 level, indicating a positive sign," said the brokerage firm.

SRF | Buy | Add on  2,940 | Target price:  4,180 | Stop loss:  2,700 | Upside potential: 34% The brokerage firm highlighted that SRF is seen in a long-term uptrend, as the weekly chart suggests that the stock is on the verge of breaking out from the symmetrical triangle pattern.

"Any breakout from the pattern will lead to a positive up move in the near term.

An interesting observation is that after the 4-5 years of consolidation phase within the range of 1960-2850 range, this year the stock managed to give a breakout with decent volumes, indicating the up move rally," said the brokerage firm.

The monthly chart indicates that the stock is trading in an upward rising channel, suggesting strength and momentum. RSI is trading above the 60 mark, suggesting strength in the stock.

The stock is well-placed above all the important moving averages, i.e. 50, 100 and 200 DMA on a closing basis, said the brokerage firm.

Birlasoft | Buy | Add on  425 | Target price:  600 | Stop loss:  400 | Upside potential: 34% As per the brokerage firm, the stock has witnessed a triangle breakout on the weekly chart.

It has witnessed positive divergence on RSI, which indicates positive bias. High volumes near lows suggest strong support buying.

"The stock can move towards 600 in the near to mid-term. One can add on declines of 425. It has a good support at 400, which should be used as the stop loss," said the brokerage firm.

Bharat Forge | Buy | Add on  1,330 | Target price:  1,870 | Stop loss:  1,230 | Upside potential: 29% According to Nirmal Bang, the weekly chart has witnessed a sharp correction from its February 2024 peak of 1,900, followed by a prolonged decline that eventually found support around the 900 level.

"Post April 2025, we witness a good reversal from the bottom levels with decent volumes. As per the harmonic pattern, the stock is forming the CD leg of a bearish bat pattern, suggesting an up move in the near term towards 1,700 and 1,800 levels," said the brokerage firm.

"Last week, the stock managed to give the cluster resistance breakout of 50% mark on closing basis, and now it's on the verge of giving the breakout of 61.8% golden ratio, i.e. 1,466, indicating potential up move in the near term."

After almost one year, the stock has managed to cross the 200 DMA and closed above the same, indicating strength. The brokerage firm highlighted that in October 2025, it managed to show the golden crossover of the 50/200 DMA.

NBCC | Buy | Add on  106 | Target price:  155 | Stop loss:  96 | Upside potential: 28% As per Nirmal Bang, NBCC traded in a corrective phase on the weekly chart, where long-term accumulation was witnessed before a breakout from the symmetrical triangle chart pattern, indicating potential up move in the near term.

The stock is well placed above the 61.8% level of the Fibonacci Extension level, which is also the golden ratio, indicating concrete support for the breakout rally.

"The stock is not only trading above the important moving averages but was also seen increasing over rising volume, hence indicating a positive sign. Momentum indicator RSI confirmed a positive crossover above its mean level of 50, supporting the up move," said the brokerage firm.

Bank of Baroda (BoB) | Buy | Add on  275 | Target price:  360 | Stop loss:  260 | Upside potential: 25% According to the brokerage firm, Bank of Baroda shares have witnessed a two-year resistance breakout after a brief consolidation.

In the last six months, the stock has seen short covering action with a considerable reduction in OI, indicating positive bias.

"Indicators are suggesting positive bias in the near to mid-term. The stock can move towards 360 in the near to mid-term. One can add on declines of 275. The stock has good support at 260, which should be used as a stop loss," said the brokerage firm.

R R Kabel | Buy | Add on  1,440 | Target price:  1,820 | Stop loss:  1,370 | Upside potential: 22% As per Nirmal Bang, R R Kabel has witnessed a breakout from the symmetrical triangle pattern with steady volumes. It is currently forming higher tops and a higher bottom on the weekly chart, supporting the up move.

"The stock is well-placed above 1,500, with support provided by the Fibonacci retracement 61.8 % level. The stock now trades in a consolidative rising channel formation with higher lows on the daily chart," said the brokerage firm.

"Momentum indicator RSI is well placed above the 60 level on the weekly chart, indicating bullish sentiment in the stock. MACD moves in the positive territory above the zero line with a supporting histogram," said Nirmal Bang.

Bajaj Auto | Buy | Add on  8,650 | Target price:  10,900 | Stop loss:  8,200 | Upside potential: 20% Nirmal Bang said that the stock's weekly chart suggests that after a sharp correction from almost 12,774 mark to 7,200 level, it managed to show a reversal and is trading at the support of an upward rising channel, thus indicating potential up move in the near term.

"The stock is well-placed above the 200 DMA, while taking multiple support near 50 and 100 DMA. It is witnessing a breakout from its bullish pennant pattern formation. We believe that in the near term, we may witness a breakout of the same, which may lead the stock on the upside. Momentum indicator RSI confirmed a positive crossover above its mean level of 50, indicating a positive sign," said the brokerage firm.

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Do you know of a chutney prepared with tamarind blossoms in Marathwada? Or, one that is made with pomegranate-like seeds of the prickly water lily plant in Manipur? You may have heard of Odishas GI-tagged kai chutney made of red weaver ants. But did you know versions of it exist across Indias indigenous communitiesas chigli chutney in Karnataka, chaapda in Bastar and kreshma chutney in Assam?

Pickles and preserves, chutneys and relishes may be considered as accompaniments, but a typical Indian meal is incomplete without these flavour pairings. Chutney: A Compendium of Stories and Recipes, curated and edited by Rushina Munshaw-Ghildiyal, is a deep-dive into Indias vast and varied condiment culture through an exhaustive compilation of chutney recipes.

The book has its roots in 2017 when the Dehradun-based culinary chronicler and author realised that unlike international food observance days, India hardly had anything similar for its diverse food traditions. She came up with an Indian Food Observance Day, or IDOF, calendar and included a Chutney Day.

There are over 200 recipes to cook, and crowdsourced from around 140 contributors. It features recipes by home cooks, professional chefs such as Viraf Patel, Anahita Dhondy, Nalini Sadhu, Nilza Wangmo and Aketoli Zhimomi, as well as food writers, and cookbook authors Preeti Deo (Paat Pani), Sheetal Bhatt (Silent Cuisines) and Pushpesh Pant to name a few. In an interview with Mint, Munshaw-Ghildhiyal talks about the idea behind documenting chutneys, the research that went into compiling the book, and the many people who contributed the recipes. Edited excerpts:

You wrote a book about an accompaniment. What was the motivation behind documenting chutneys? It began with the IFOD calendar dedicated to Indian culinary concepts like Dal Divas, Subzi Tarkari Din, Chai Pakoda Day, and more. [For the book] I chose chutney specifically because of a chance conversation with my nephew, who was born and brought up in Australia, and for whom chutney was just that spicy green stuff at Indian restaurants. I realised the frustrating stereotypes that chutney carries, which is partly due to the homogeneity of menus in Indian restaurants at home and abroad.

I believe the real custodians of Indian food are in the home kitchens. I wanted to draw the vast proposition that chutney actually is by exploring the history, evolution, and mapping the incredible diversity.

View full Image Book cover.

What were some offbeat recipes that you chanced upon from that time? In 2017, we collaborated with the students of the Sheila Raheja Institute of Hotel Management, Mumbai, to document traditional chutneys. One recipe that stood out was kashk bademjan by a student named Zahra Mirjalili. It was the adaptation of a dish by the same name in Iran, that uses rehydrated kashk, or dried pellets of yogurt, for sourness. While the Irani community in Mumbai does not have chutneys, this offering is a unique one that fits the concept. In 2021, we did a series of Chutney Day Lives on social media, through which I came to know about Assamese botas from Kashmiri Barkakati Nath. They are named so because they are made on the silbatta. Kashmiri pulled out her mother-in-laws 75-year-old silbatta and ground a variety of chutneys, including a fermented mustard seed chutney called kharoli or kahudi.

In the book, youve mentioned you pestered chefs, walked into restaurants and even got chatting with an immigration officer for recipes. Tell us more. The research for the book has been multiprongedequal parts academic and archival, with documentation of oral testimony and storytelling. I remember meeting a blogger from Mizoram, who goes by Mizohican, about a decade ago at a pop-up in Mumbai. I went looking for him and requested him to share chutneys from his home state. I scoured the internet and met chefs like Nikesh Asem from Manipur and Aketoli Zhimomi from Nagaland, and also content creator Chasoom Bosai of Arunachal Pallet. I discovered a restaurant called Arunachali Sajolang in Safdarjung Enclave in Delhi and pestered owner Anne Miji for recipes. There were also instances like meeting Chaudhry ji, an immigration officer at the Delhi airport, who on finding out we were writing this book, held court for fifteen minutes, spontaneously sharing Haryanvi chutney recipes.

What is your favourite chutney from the book? My mothers Spice of Life  a chilli-garlic-tomato chutney, which can transform a simple Monaco biscuit snack or rescue a dull school lunch.

Book details: Book: Chutney: A Compendium of Stories and Recipes

Author: Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal

Published by: A Perfect Bite Consulting

Price: 3,500
Every winter, the spotlight turns to travel and people seek out the best places to go to either embrace or escape the winter chill. Agodas latest data shows that Indian families are embracing winter travel like never before, with a 30% jump in accommodation searches for December 2025 to February 2026 compared to last year. The spike isnt driven by the usual sun-and-sand getaways. Instead, families are looking toward snow-covered landscapes and winter festivals.

Improved connectivity, simpler visa processes and affordable options have removed much of the friction from international travel. Theres a growing fascination with snow, winter sports, and cultural festivities, says Gaurav Malik, country director (Indian Subcontinent and Indian Ocean Islands) at Agoda. Winter is increasingly seen as a great time for meaningful family travel.

This rising interest includes off-the-map places, as Indian travellers start looking beyond the obvious winter capitals.

Here is a gentle winter guide inspired by that shift, places where you can find peace, quiet, and small joys.

Laax, Switzerland If youre seeking alpine calm without the glitz of St Moritz or the bustle of Zermatt, Laax delivers serenity with style. This sunlit village in Graubunden offers over 200km of slopes and some of the Alps best snowboarding terrain, amid a design-forward, sustainability-conscious ethos. Laax is ideal for skiers who want quiet trails, green design, and a slower apres-ski rhythm.

What to do: Take the cable car up to the Vorab Glacier for sweeping views, glide along snowshoe trails through the Rhine Gorge, or unwind in an eco-lodge with a sauna and mountain vistas.

What to eat: Gooey raclette, bubbling fondue, or a platter of alpine herbs and fresh cheeses.

Must-do: Go night snowboarding on illuminated slopes, then stargaze from a mountaintop igloo.

Budapest, Hungary Budapest sparkles in winter: fairy lights on the Danube, steam rising from thermal baths, and mulled wine scenting the air. Yet unlike Vienna or Prague, the city retains a gentle, unhurried charm, but there also plenty for those who want to party. Budapest is romantic, affordable, festive, but never frenetic.

What to do: Browse handmade crafts at Vorosmarty Squares market, soak in the Szechenyi Baths under the open sky, wander across the Chain Bridge at dusk.

What to eat: Chimney cake dusted with cinnamon, goulash, langos, and forralt bor.

Must-do: Take a dip in the open-air thermal baths as snow falls and locals play chess in the steaming pools.

York, England York in winter is a living postcard with cobbled lanes, medieval walls, and its stately cathedral lit up with twinkling lights. This year, the city also celebrates 200 years of rail travel in the UK, adding its own historic twist. York brings together history and heritage, and is the perfect setting for every kind of winter break.

What to do: Walk down the Shambles, a historic, medieval street with timber-framed buildings, and explore the Railway Museums bicentenary exhibits.

What to eat: This is the place to enjoy Yorkshire pudding. Or, indulge in a festive afternoon tea at Bettys.

Must-do: A lantern-lit ghost walk through the Shambles offers a chance to listen to centuries-old tales.

Quebec City, Canada Quebec City becomes an old-style snow globe each winter, complete with stone ramparts, horse-drawn carriages, and candle-lit bistros. The Carnaval de Quebec adds colour and music without overwhelming the citys relaxed pace. Quebec City is romantic, historic, atmospheric. The best part? Its never rushed.

What to do: Wander Old Quebecs narrow lanes, skate at Place dYouville, and ride the century-old wooden toboggan beside the Chateau Frontenac.

What to eat: Poutine, maple-glazed pork, bison stew, sugar pie, and intensely rich hot chocolate.

Must-do: Visit the Ice Hotel, rebuilt every winter entirely from snow and ice.

Paro, Bhutan Enveloped in Himalayan stillness, with pine-scented air, quiet monasteries, and strings of prayer flags fluttering against the bluest of skies, Paros pace seems to be the perfect antidote to the typical winter frenzy. Located by the Paro Chhu, this Himalayan town is the place for slowness and calm.

What to do: Hike to Tigers Nest at dawn, visit Paro Dzong, or sit by the river as mist lifts from the hills.

What to eat: Ema datshi or butter tea in a teahouse.

Must-do: Hike to Tigers Nest at sunrise as monks chant through the valley.

Canberra, Australia For a taste of summer in the winter, head to Australia. While the world bundles up, Canberra basks in full summer. Think sunshine, open-air festivals, and eucalyptus-scented breezes.

What to do: Cycle around Lake Burley Griffin, browse the National Gallerys Indigenous art, and explore Murrumbateman vineyards.

What to eat: Seasonal, produce-forward plates, from brunch at Local Press to native bush ingredients at Pilot.
California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) is included among the 12 Best Crude Oil Stocks to Buy for Dividends.

California Resources (CRC) Completes Merger with Berry Corporation

California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) operates as an independent energy and carbon management company in the United States. It operates in two segments, Oil and Natural Gas, and Carbon Management.

California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) made headlines on December 18 when the company announced that it had completed its all-stock merger with Berry Corporation, strengthening its oil and gas portfolio in California, while also adding strategic optionality in the Uinta basin. Under the agreement, Berrys former shareholders received approximately 5.6 million shares of CRC common stock, valuing the deal at around $253 million based on the companys closing share price on December 17. The merger was first announced in September 2025, when the oil and gas company also revealed that it expects to generate $8090 million in annual synergies within a year of closing.

Francisco Leon, President and CEO of California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC), stated:

CRC is entering 2026 stronger than ever, ready to build on our operational momentum and deliver meaningful synergies for our shareholders. This transaction adds high-quality assets in our core San Joaquin Basin and enhances cash flow durability and operating efficiencies as we build a stronger, more durable platform aimed to deliver sustainable shareholder value.

In other news, California Resources Corporation (NYSE:CRC) revealed on December 16 that it is expanding its push into carbon management by signing an MoU with Middle River Power to provide the latters power facilities with carbon transportation and sequestration services. The strategic agreement marks CRCs first MoU to provide carbon management services for a brownfield power facility in Northern California.

While we acknowledge the potential of CRC 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: Retirement Stock Portfolio: 11 Energy Stocks to Buy and 11 Best Utility Stocks to Invest in According to Hedge Funds.

Disclosure: None.
Amid concerns over controversial redefinition of Aravalli hills, the Supreme Court on Saturday declared that a three-judge vacation bench will discuss the matter on 29 December. The apex court took suo motu cognisance of the row around Aravallis and listed the matter as 'Definition of Aravalli Hills and Mountain Ranges and Related Issues.'

Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice AG Masih are slated to presided over the hearing scheduled for Monday. The Aravalli row set off after the Centre released a new definition of the Aravalli Range. Environmentalists and scientists alike alleged that the revised criteria describing the ancient mountain range across Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat was introduced without adequate scientific assessment or public consultation.

Warning against opening up of vast stretches to mining activities, environmentalists and opposition parties asserted that this Aravalli redefinition could adversely impact the fragile mountain ecosystem. This comes in the backdrop Centre's newly notified definition of the Aravalli mountain range, which is based on a 100-metre height criterion.

Until a comprehensive management plan for sustainable mining is prepared, the top court has put on hold new leases for mining in the Aravallis. The government also announced a complete ban on new granting mining leases in the Aravallis after the Supreme Court order.

ICFRE asked to prepare science-based plan for Aravalli region for sustainable mining The Ministry of Environment and Forests instructed the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) to prepare a comprehensive, science-based Management Plan for Sustainable Mining (MPSM) for the entire Aravalli region. Based on ecological, geological and landscape-level considerations, this plan aims to identify additional areas and zones in the entire Aravallis where mining should be prohibited over and above the areas already prohibited for mining by the Centre.

Aravalli Virasat Jan Abhiyaan member Neelam Ahluwalia opposed the Centre's new definition and called the move "completely unacceptable." The environmentalist noted, There is nothing called sustainable mining in a critical mountain ecosystem like the Aravallis. You cannot define an entire range for mining, ANI reported.

According to Neelam Ahluwalia, the application of a uniform height-based definition to an ancient and complex ecosystem could severely affect water, food and climate security for millions of people. As she cautioned against the environmental impact, she questioned the Centre's claim that only two per cent of the area would be impacted.

Neelam Ahluwalia claimed that no supporting data has been provided in the public domain, Neelam Ahluwalia emphasized.

Neelam Ahluwalia alleged that both legal and illegal mining activity is underway across 37 districts in the Aravalli belt, which has caused deforestation, groundwater depletion, river pollution and serious health concerns. Seeking an independent assessment and public consultation, she demanded that Supreme Court recall its November 20 order and that the government should withdraw the new definition.

On the recommendation of a committee led by the Environment Ministry, the Supreme Court in November 2025 accepted a uniform legal definition of what constitutes the Aravalli Hills and Aravalli Range.
Delhi's overall air quality remained in the "very poor" category but edged close to the 'severe' mark with the Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 391 early Sunday, December 28.

The AQI was 385, in the "very poor" category, on Saturday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) bulletin released around 4 pm.

Several areas across the Delhi-NCR region recorded even worse air quality, with AQI levels exceeding the 400 mark.

Also Read | Delhi AQI crosses 400 in several areas days after anti-pollution curbs lifted

Around 8 am on Sunday, Anand Vihar recorded an AQI of 445. It was 427 in Ashok Vihar, 344 in Aya Nagar, 402 in Dwarka-Sector 8, 423 in Okhla Phase-2 and 435 Wazirpur, according to CPCB live tracker.

The CPCB classifies AQI levels between 0 and 50 as 'good', 51-100 'satisfactory', 101-200 'moderate', 201-300 'poor', 301-400 'very poor' and 401-500 'severe'.

The air quality is likely to remain in the very poor category in the coming days, according to the forecast.

Delhi air worsens Delhi witnessed relatively better air quality on Wednesday and Thursday, before pollution levels began to spike once again from Friday, with AQI readings nearing the severe category.

Earlier on Saturday morning, Delhi's air quality had worsened, slipping back into the 'Very Poor' category, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) exceeding 300 in many areas. Thick smog and fog trap pollutants, reducing visibility and disrupting daily life.

A combination of cold weather, calm winds, and dense fog is trapping pollutants, leading to haze and smog. This cycle of poor air quality is expected to persist under current weather patterns, prompting ongoing monitoring and calls for stricter pollution-control measures.

'Very Poor' air quality requires people, especially vulnerable groups (children, elderly, those with respiratory issues), to limit prolonged outdoor exposure and wear masks.

Govt takes action Authorities are monitoring pollution levels and enforcing measures such as the 'No PUC, No Fuel' rule to address the situation.

The Commission for Air Quality Management invoked Stage III measures under the Graded Response Action Plan, including restrictions on construction and industrial activities.

Earlier, the Delhi Cabinet, under the leadership of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, approved a series of significant decisions to strengthen the capital's fight against pollution and improve environmental governance.

The Cabinet approved an allocation of Rs. 100 crore for the rejuvenation of water bodies under the Delhi government. There are around 1,000 such water bodies in the national capital, of which 160 fall under the Delhi government's jurisdiction.

Also Read | Taj Mahal loses its sheen in a blanket of smog as Agra AQI nears severe mark

Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said, "The rejuvenation of Delhi's water bodies will play a crucial role in pollution control. The Chief Minister has directed that every possible financial support be extended to complete this work within the year."

The Cabinet also approved the establishment of Delhi's first E-Waste Park at Holambi Kalan, spread across 11.5 acres. The facility will adhere to the highest pollution-control standards and operate on a 100 per cent circular, zero-waste model.

"This will be India's first state-of-the-art e-waste facility built on zero pollution and zero wastage principles. The plant will fully recycle and reuse water through an advanced recirculation mechanism," Sirsa said.
Nine residents of Pilibhit district of Uttar Pradesh who were trapped in Kyrgyzstan for three months returned home safely on Saturday. The remaining three men are expected to be back by December 30, as their visas expire at the end of the year, as reported by news agency PTI.

Pilibhit District Magistrate Gyanendra Singh told PTI that the return process for the final three workers is nearly finished.

How Did They Reach Kyrgyzstan? All 12 men from the Pilibhit area were victims of a job scam. A local recruitment agency owner promised them jobs abroad and charged 2.5 lakh from each person.

However, they were sent on 59-day visas with fake job contracts.

All the labourers, who fell victim to a scam, belong to Barkhera, Puranpur, Diyoria and Gajraula police station areas of Pilibhit.

The Ordeal Once in Kyrgyzstan, the men did not get the promised jobs. Instead, they were held hostage and forced into different work. They posted videos on social media reporting beatings and unpaid wages, pleading the Indian government to help.

The Rescue The situation came to light on December 5 after a video from one worker, Rohit, went viral. Following this, their families had approached the local administration for their rescue and safe return to India.

The families had also alleged that they were tortured and local recruitment agents had demanded up to 2 lakh for their safe return.

Ravi Kumar, Ajay, Chandrapal, Santram, Rohit, Ramesh, Harswaroop, Shyamacharan, Sanjeev, Prempal, Ramasare, and Harishankar were reported to be trapped in different cities of Kyrgyzstan for about three months.

The Pilibhit district administration had dispatched a comprehensive report to the state Home Department concerning the predicament of the 12 labourers.

Union Minister Jitin Prasada, also the MP from Pilibhit, met the victims' families in the national capital and worked with the Indian Embassy to coordinate the return.

Superintendent of Police Abhishek Yadav has ordered a formal investigation into the fraud. He has assigned the investigation of the case to the Circle Officer (City).

The victims are now asking officials to take strict action against the recruiter and help them recover their money.

While families celebrated the return of the first nine men, local leaders noted that travel is still pending for the remaining three men.

Farmer leader Dev Swaroop Patel met the nine returning people in Bareilly on Saturday.
The Pakistani government recently acknowledged the impact of India's anti-terror strikes on Nur Khan Air Base, military installations and its personnels. On Saturday, top official of Shehbaz Sharif-led government admitted the profound impact of India's airstrikes at key military installations, contradicting its previous stance.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on 27 December confirmed that India's precision air strikes caused damage to its Nur Khan Air Base located in Rawalpindi's Chakala during the year-end press briefing. He admitted that besides causing damage to military installation, the targeted strikes injured its military personnel posted there.

"They (India) send drones towards Pakistan. In 36 hours, at least 80 drones were sent... We were able to intercept 79 drones out of 80, and only one drone damaged a military installation and personnel were also injured in the attack," ANI quoted Ishaq Dar as saying. In the early hours of May 7, the Indian Armed Forces launched air strikes as a part of Operation Sindoor in response to the 22 April Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives.

He further elaborated on the sequence of events that followed and noted that Pakistan's civil and military leadership convened a meeting on the night of May 9 and "authorised" certain decisions in response to the evolving situation.

Also Read | Aaghat 3.0: Delhi Police launches massive Op ahead of New Year

Pakistan's Foreign Minister further disclosed the extent of damage and said that India "made the mistake" of attacking the Nur Khan Air Base in the early hours of 10 May.

India's anti-terror strikes target military installations India's strategic and precision strikes struck 9 terrorist bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, including Sawai Nala camp in Muzaffarabad, Syedna Bilal Camp in Muzaffarabad, Gulpur camp in Kotli, Barnala camp in Bhimber, Abbas camp in Kotli, Sarjal camp in Sialkot, Mehmoona Joya camp in Sialkot, Markaz Taiba camp in Muridke and Markaz Subhanallah in Bahawalpur. Terrorist camps such as Lashkar-e-Taibas base in Muridke and Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur were the primary targets.

Also Read | What is Operation Sindoor? Key things to know

Even though several satellite images confirmed the impact of India's strikes on Nur Khan Air Base, PAF Base Mushaf, Bholari Air Base and PAF Base Shahbaz Jacobabad, Pakistan refuted India's military action.

Cross-border shelling continued for days until Pakistan's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) proposed a ceasefire to India's DGMO, which was ultimately accepted on 10 May.
Several policemen were injured and vehicles set ablaze after a protest against a coal mining project turned violent in the Tamnar area of the Raigarh district in Chhattisgarh, officials said.

According to news agency PTI, the mob stormed into the coal handling plant of Jindal Power Limited, and torched a conveyor belt and two tractors and other vehicles.

Also Read | Centre simplifies coal mine approvals by empowering company boards

They also vandalised the office premises on Saturday, the officials were quoted as saying.

Tension prevailed after protesters indulged in stone-pelting and set ablaze a police bus, a jeep and an ambulance, besides damaging several other government vehicles, they said.

Coal mine protest turns violent A statement issued by the district administration said people from 14 affected villages under the (Gare Pelma) Sector-I coal block in the Tamnar area have been staging a sit-in protest at CHP chowk in Libra village since December 12 against a public hearing held for the project on December 8 at Dhaurabhatha.

On Saturday morning, around 300 protesters gathered at the site, and some of them allegedly blocked the road, disrupting traffic, the statement said.

Also Read | Centre simplifies coal mine approvals by empowering company boards

It claimed that senior revenue and police officials intervened around 10 am and persuaded the protesters to return to their tents at the designated protest site.

"However, the crowd continued to swell as people from nearby villages joined, taking the strength to around 1,000. Despite repeated appeals through loudspeakers by revenue and police officials to maintain peace, the crowd allegedly turned violent around 2.30 pm, broke police barricades and attacked personnel with stones and sticks," the statement added.

Sub-Divisional Officer of Police Anil Vishwakarma, Tamnar police station in-charge Kamla Pusam and a constable sustained serious injuries in the attack, and several other policemen, including women personnel, were also hurt, it said.

"The mob then allegedly set ablaze a police bus, a jeep and an ambulance, besides damaging several other government vehicles. The protesters then reportedly moved towards the Jindal company's coal handling plant (CHP), forced their way inside and torched a conveyor belt, two tractors and other vehicles, besides vandalising the office premises," the release said.

The situation did not ease even after local legislator from Lailunga, Vidyawati Sidar, Raigarh Collector Mayank Chaturvedi, and Superintendent of Police Divyang Patel reached the spot to pacify the crowd, it said.

Stones were again hurled, and another incident of arson was reported inside the CHP plant, the district administration's statement added. Meanwhile, police said the situation was tense but under control, and security has been tightened in the area.

Collector Mayank Chaturvedi told reporters that villagers had been sitting peacefully at the protest site for the past 15 days and the administration had been ensuring necessary facilities.

"On Saturday at around 2 to 2.30 pm, some anti-social elements provoked protesters and stone-pelting began, injuring security personnel deployed at the site. Further attempts were made by public representatives, district administration and police officials to hold talks, but the crowd remained aggressive and appeared leaderless," he said.

Efforts are on to identify responsible persons from the crowd to restore dialogue, he added.

The condition of the injured is stable, and some have been shifted to Raigarh for better treatment, the collector added. Villagers said they have been demanding the cancellation of the proposed mining project and claimed the public hearing held for its clearance was against prescribed norms.

They alleged that the situation turned tense after police attempted to remove protesters from the demonstration site on Saturday morning.

One of the agitators, Rajesh Singh Markam of Kasdol village in the Tamnar area, on Saturday submitted a complaint to Raigarh SP claiming he has been facing threats from the local SHO.

Some purported videos of the clashes went viral on social media. They showed a woman police officer being assaulted by women in the crowd, while a few others were seen trying to shield her.

Chhattisgarh Congress president Deepak Baij termed the clash unfortunate and blamed it on the state government's "stubbornness". The state government is forcibly displacing villagers and tribals from their forests and land for coal mining, Biaj alleged.

Villagers and tribals protesting the alleged forcible allotment of the coal block and a 'fake' public hearing in Tamnar's Gare Pelma Sector-I were subjected to police lathi-charge at the behest of industrialists, after which the agitated villagers retaliated, he claimed.

"The villagers were holding a peaceful agitation but were provoked by the government's approach," Baij added.
A 21-year-old student from Tripura has died days after an alleged assault by a group of people near a liquor shop in Selaqui area of Uttarakhand's capital, Dehradun. The victim, Angel Chakma, was accompanied by his brother, Michael Chakma, on 9 December when they got into a heated argument with another group for reportedly objecting to racial abuse, Hindustan Times reported.

Angel was grievously injured after being brutally stabbed and succumbed to his injuries almost two weeks later on Friday, 26 December. The police authorities have arrested five people in connection with the murder. One accused, a Nepali national, is still absconding.

Two of the five accused are said to be juveniles and have been sent to a correction home in accordance with juvenile justice norms. Two other accused have been have been sent to jail, while search for the last one in still underway.

Who is Angel Chakma? His background, personal life and other details Angel Chakma was a student at an University in Dehradun, where he was pursuing MBA, according to multiple news reports. He hailed from Nandannagar in West Tripura district.

Angel's father, who is a BSF jawan posted in the Northeast, has reportedly taken the body to his hometown for last rites.

On the night of the incident, Angel and his brother Michael were drinking at a canteen near a liquor shop. Another group  that included Suraj Khwas (22), Avinash Negi (25) and Sumit (25) and others  was also present at the place, ANI reported.

Dehradun SSP Ajai Singh also revealed that the group was allegedly talking among themselves and were arguing about something. It seemed as if someone was commenting on him (Angel), he said.

Details of the chilling case Angel Chakma received blows to his head and back with a sharp object and a kadaa (bracelet) during the fight with another group, PTI news agency reported, citing Dehradun SSP Ajai Singh.

Also Read | India rebuts Dhakas mob lynching claim in Tripura

Police said the attackers were allegedly in an inebriated state and hurled racial slurs at the brothers. The authorities also confirmed that both Angel Chakma and his brother were consuming alcohol at the time the incident took place.
New Delhi: With thousands of small drug manufacturers struggling to meet tougher quality norms, the government is weighing a year's extension to the deadline for complying with the revised good manufacturing practices (GMPs), said two government officials aware of the development. The deliberations come ahead of the 1 January 2026 rollout of revised Schedule M standards that are aligned with World Health Organization norms.

The Union health and family welfare ministry will hold consultations with state governments on the issue starting Monday, one of the officials said.

Low compliance by the countrys 8,500 small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) manufacturing pharmaceuticals would raise the risk of plant closures and disruptions across Indias $50 billion pharmaceutical sector, a major global supplier of generic medicines.

The revised Schedule M GMP had been earlier extended from the previous 1 January 2025 cutoff. The proposed extension for MSMEs, which have revenue of 250 crore or less, comes in the backdrop of less than a third of them submitting their upgrade plans, with the remaining units risking immediate closure and penalties.

There are a total of 10,500 drug manufacturing units in India, of which 8,500 fall under the MSME category. These units produce 70% of India's generic drugs and they face upgrade costs of 10-15 crore per facility. Of these 8,500 MSMEs, 2,000 have already complied with the revised schedule for the new quality standards.

Out of these 6,500 MSME drug firms, only 1,400 (21.53%) have submitted the necessary upgrade plans to the government," said the first of the two government officials cited above, requesting anonymity.

The matter is under the deliberation of the central government, given that starting 1 January 2026, all the states and union territories will start doing the risk-based analysis of these plants, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments have already started inspections," said the second government official, who also did not want to be named.

The government has received various representations from the MSMEs. Their main concern is regarding the structural changes required under the Revised Schedule M. While many have the intention to comply, they face physical constraints such as a lack of space for expansion or the inability to alter the existing layout of their plants to meet the new flow requirements," said the official cited above.

Lobby groups, including Laghu Udyog Bharati, which represents 2,000 MSME pharmaceutical units, Federation of Pharma Entrepreneurs, a body representing 500 MSME drug firms and Himachal Drug Manufacturers Association have requested for an extension of the deadline, citing financial inability and the risk of widespread medicine shortages and unemployment.

On the other hand, at a 17 December meeting organized by the government's Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil), MSME drug firm associations pitched for a phased implementation strategy including a government-backed "crash course" to upskill their workforce, ensuring employees can handle the 300 new GMP rules covering Quality Management Systems (QMS), risk management, and waste handling without their operations taking a hit.

The government's move on the quality norms comes in the backdrop of Indias reputation as the Pharmacy of the World taking a hit due to a tarnished global safety record on account of deaths of children in Uzbekistan, Gambia, Cameroon and India linked to cough syrups manufactured by Indian firms.

In view of such incidents, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), along with state regulators, has initiated risk-based inspections. Since December 2022, over 960 premises have been inspected. Following these checks, regulators took action against 860 firms by issuing show cause notices, stopping production, and cancelling licenses after finding over 3,000 drug samples to be of substandard quality.

In December 2023, the government had amended the Drugs Rules 1945, revising Schedule M to mandate stricter quality control, equipment standards, and premises requirements. While 2,000 large manufacturers, with turnovers exceeding 250 crore, complied with the revised GMP guidelines by June 2024, the smaller firms were given until 31 December 2025, to upgrade their systems.

This is a shift towards a more robust QMS that places greater responsibility on senior management for quality risk management, introduces mandatory self-audits, and sets stricter protocols for product recalls.

Queries emailed to the spokespersons for the health and family welfare ministry and the Drugs Controller General of India on Friday remained unanswered.

Health experts say quality compliance is non-negotiable for global trust. Dr Rajeev Jayadevan, public health expert and former president of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Cochin chapter, said that standards cannot be compromised.

Medicines made in India are used globally, making stringent quality standards a necessity. When a doctor prescribes a medicine, we assume quality, yet this isn't always true as the same drug is made by companies with varying standards," Dr Jayadevan said. "Recent tragedies linked to cough syrups have flagged this gap. Just as hospitals eventually adopted NABH accreditation despite initial resistance, pharma companies must adopt GMP. Once unavoidable, patients will demand it. In the long run, this will raise the overall quality and global credibility of Indian pharmaceutical products."

India's pharmaceutical industry is ranked third globally by volume and 14th by value, and it supplies 20% of the world's generic medicines and 60% of its vaccines to over 200 countries.

Big challenges for small firms

The proposed shift from a guideline-based system to a rigid, rule-based regime means non-compliance can lead to criminal prosecution. Also, the new requirement to manage over 300 new operating procedures has thrown up the challenge of a significant shortage of skilled personnel capable of handling such complex documentation.

While hiring is strictly regulatedcandidates typically need to have degrees in B.Pharma, M.Sc. or microbiology and require state drug authority verification for technical rolessmall firms also struggle with retention.

Small firms effectively act as training grounds, bearing the cost of upskilling employees who then migrate to larger corporate firms," a SME drug maker who did not want to be named. Without government-standardized training courses to constantly replenish this talent pool, the ecosystem is unsustainable."

While the government defines MSMEs as having turnover up to 250 crore, but most pharma SMEs are below 50 crore and cannot afford the necessary investment required for infrastructure upgrades," said another SME firm official requesting anonymity. Furthermore, the intensified documentation requirements have effectively doubled the salary bill of the factory without increasing turnover."

The Pharmaceuticals Technology Upgradation Scheme launched last year offers pharmaceutical companies up to 2 crore to modernize their facilities. A total of 192 applications has been approved, with a total sanctioned amount of 181.59 crore.

Manufacturers are requesting the government for phase-wise implementation" and genuine handholding to prevent supply-chain disruptions.

Dr Rajesh Gupta, national head of pharma wing of the Laghu Udyog Bharati said, We are demanding an extension for compliances. Pharmaceutical manufacturing cannot be treated like other trades. The new rules involve over 300 complex standard operating procedures that require a specialized workforce," he said. "Revised Schedule M is rule-based. If you lapse in anything, there are provisions for criminal action."

Gupta highlighted a severe shortage of skilled workers as a primary hurdle. "Right now, the major shortage is of skilled workforce availability. The problem is that needful training is lacking. Unlike large corporations that can afford extensive internal training, small firms need government support. SMEs need hand-holding from the government via institutes like the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) or other academic organizations connected with the CDSCO."

Harish Jain, president of the Federation of Pharma Entrepreneurs, also said the association is seeking an extension so that its member companies can fulfill the GMP requirements.

Large pharmaceutical companies that export to strictly regulated markets such as the US, EU, and the UK are, however, aligned with the government's deadline for the mandate.

Sudarshan Jain, secretary general of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, representing 23 large pharma companies, including Sun Pharma and Cipla, said the new quality mandate is vital for the sector's future. Aligning with globally accepted good manufacturing practices (GMP) will enhance patient safety, strengthen trust in Indian medicines, and facilitate deeper integration with global supply chains," Jain said. Quality is the fundamental license to operate in healthcare. The revised Schedule M reinforces that maintaining high manufacturing standards is a continuous journey and important for patient welfare."

Mid-size firms also see the long-term benefits, even if the transition is tough. Parag Bhatia, director of Laborate Pharmaceuticals, said the new rules would bring much-needed uniformity. The intent of GMP implementation is to strengthen quality systems, improve process consistency, and ensure patient safety across the value chain. while non-compliance carries financial and operational risks," he said adding that the transition is key to long-term competitiveness that will help align domestic practices with global regulatory expectations.
Indian Railways has implemented a nationwide second fare revision for long-distance travel in 2025, effective December 26. The move follows a similar increase in July, bringing to an end a five-year period of fare stability that had lasted since January 2020.

While the hikes appear modest when measured per kilometre, their impact is concentrated on sleeper and second-class passengers, who account for over 70% of railway travel in India and are typically from lower-income groups.

Under the latest fare structure, fares on mail and express trains have risen by 2 paise per kilometre for both AC and non-AC classes. Second-class passengers on ordinary trains travelling more than 215 kilometre (km) will now pay an additional 1 paisa per km.

Also Read | Three railway smallcaps riding Indias big rail push

The latest fare rationalisation is expected to generate additional revenue of around 600 crore for the Indian Railways in this fiscal year.

Long routes, larger impact

The July revision had also raised mail/express fares by 2 paise per km for AC classes and 1 paisa per km for non-AC classes, while second-class ordinary passengers were charged 0.5 paise per km after the first 500 km.

The cumulative impact of both revisions becomes more pronounced on longer routes. On the Dibrugarh-Kanniyakumari route (4,154 km), one of Indian Railways' longest, AC class passengers now pay 166.2 more per trip ( 83.1 from the July hike and another 83.1 from December), while non-AC mail/express fares have increased by 83.1 in total.

Even second-class (ordinary train) passengers on this route, who paid 18.3 more after the July revision (which exempted the first 500 km), now pay a total of 57.7 more following the December revision, which applied after the first 215 km.

On the popular Delhi-Mumbai route (1,400 km), the cumulative increase for AC class passengers totals 56 ( 28 from each revision), while non-AC mail/express fares have risen by 42 overall. Second-class (ordinary train) passengers on this route now pay about 16 more.

Also Read | Union budget likely to give rail fare hike a pass

The timing of these revisions is notable. Prior to 2025, Indian Railways last raised passenger fares in January 2020, and in 2013. Before that, fares remained largely stable for a decade.

Who bears the cost

The current fare revisions will largely affect sleeper and second-class passengers in both ordinary and mail/express trains, who account for over 70% of passenger-kilometers in non-suburban travel and are typically from low-income groups.

Passenger-kilometers is a metric calculated by multiplying the number of passengers by the distance they travel and it helps determine revenue patterns across different travel classes.

While AC travellers now contribute a growing share of railway revenue, ordinary and sleeper-class passengers continue to dominate usage. As a result, a significant portion of the fare increase is being borne by those with lower incomes.

Most affordable option?

Despite these fare increases, Indian Railways remains the country's most affordable long-distance transport option compared to road and air travel. However, the shift toward distance-based pricing and the burden on sleeper and second-class passengers can lead to some accessibility issues, especially for those with lower incomes.

While the fare increases are aimed at boosting revenue, the railway ministry is simultaneously preparing to enhance safety-related spending, with details expected in the upcoming Union Budget.
A 28-year-old man from Singapore has expressed frustration over the ridicule he faced as an average student among his intellectually accomplished cousins, saying, My family is embarrassed by my lack of achievements. What can I do to manage their expectations?

The man shared that he was born and brought up in a high-performing Chinese household where careers such as law, medicine, finance and top corporate roles were considered imperative. He further said that many of his family members are working as CEOs, founders and senior executives, and that even his younger cousins hold prestigious jobs.

The Redditor, who graduated with a low GPA, managed to secure a job, but fate was not on his side. He lost his first job this year and has since struggled to find another one, adding more wounds.

He stated that a significant error he made at his previous job played a role in the companys closure. The firms owner later spoke about the incident on podcasts  without mentioning him by name  which only intensified his sense of shame.

Ever since I was fired, there has been a significant change in my parents attitude. For example, hardly speaking to me. Today, my parents finally snapped and cancelled all the Christmas family gatherings we were supposed to attend, the man shared.

They started screaming at me, saying how I am a complete embarrassment to them and that they cant bear to face my relatives. They then went on ranting about how my cousins of my age are already doctors or department heads of MNCs and buying their first home or car while Im jobless, and whether I felt any shame and why I cant be like them, he continued.

The man said that the constant comparisons have always led to anxiety and depression, and that he now feels hopeless.

I am embarrassed and have been living with anxiety and depression ever since I got fired, and even before that when I failed to graduate with distinction  something all my cousins and relatives did. (I tried my best in uni, no distractions and disciplined in my studies, but I still struggled.) But I never thought my lack of achievements meant that much to them, and this is the first time I have been told that they are embarrassed of me, the OP wrote.

Distressed by his situation, the man sought advice on Reddit.

Heres how social media users reacted: I dont think your situation calls for solutions to manage your familys high expectations. They are the ones failing you. Youre their child and instead of supporting you (the irony  they have the resources most people dream of), they shit on you and they compare you to others to make you feel worse. The worst part is they let your relatives shit on you too. Screw their expectations  they are TERRIBLE parents, one user wrote.

Also Read | After quitting toxic job over harassment, man struggles to find work
United States President Donald Trump said on Sunday, December 28, he had a good and very productive phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The very productive call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin comes just before the US President's meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The meeting will be held in Florida to forge a plan to end the war in Ukraine.

Without revealing details on his phone call with Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump said, I just had a good and very productive telephone call with President Putin of Russia prior to my meeting, at 1:00 P.M. today, with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine.

Trump and Zelensky have met at Mar-a-Lago, Trumps private club in Palm Beach. Zelenskyy, who arrived in Miami in the morning, said the two planned to discuss security and economic agreements in their early afternoon meeting.

He said he will raise territorial issues as Moscow and Kyiv remain fiercely at odds over the fate of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.

Sunday's meeting will be Trump's first in-person encounter with Zelensky since October, when the US president refused to grant his request for long-range Tomahawk missiles.

A few days before the Trump-Zelensky meeting in Florida, Kyiv and Washington came together to craft a 20-point plan  down from 28 points  to end the war.

Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky shared the details, but all eyes have lately been on Russian President Vladimir Putin to see if he agrees to the plan. The plan has been sent to Moscow for feedback.

The 20-point plan included Ukraine's sovereignty. We state that Ukraine is a sovereign state, and all signatories to the agreement confirm this through their signatures, Zelensky said.

The 20-point plan also constituted an unconditional non-aggression agreement between Ukraine and Russia. Ukraine will receive strong security guarantees from the United States, NATO, and the European signatory states.

It mentioned that all sanctions against Russia will come into effect if Moscow invades Ukraine again after a deal between the two countries to end the war. It also states that the security guarantees would be rendered null and void if Ukraine were to provoke Russia. However, if Russia attacks Ukraine, the security guarantees will come into effect.

In the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, the current positions of troops at the time of this agreement are recognised as the line of contact.
Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) is included among the 12 Best Crude Oil Stocks to Buy for Dividends.

Chevron (CVX) Maintains Presence in Venezuela Despite Tensions

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) manufactures and sells a range of high-quality refined products, including gasoline, diesel, marine and aviation fuels, premium base oil, finished lubricants, and fuel oil additives.

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) is maintaining its presence as the largest foreign investor in Venezuela, despite the mounting geopolitical tensions and ongoing US sanctions. The company operates under a US license allowing it to produce and export oil from Venezuela, without the risk of sanctions. Therefore, while the US blockade in the Caribbean has driven other vessels to turn away, Chevrons ships continue to sail by freely.

A Bloomberg report on December 18 revealed that Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) is preparing to ship about 1 million barrels of Venezuelan crude. The company had already finished loading a cargo onto the tanker Searuby and was in the process of loading another onto the vessel Minerva Astra. Moreover, Chevron has sold at least 10 cargoes for delivery to the US in January.

At around 250,000 barrels per day, Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX)s output in Venezuela represents a significant chunk of its overall global production. So the sanction waiver will significantly help the company in achieving its aim of over 10% annual growth in adjusted free cash flow and EPS through 2030.

Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) boasts a strong annual dividend yield of 4.54%, putting it among the 12 Best Dogs of the Dow to Invest in.

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READ NEXT: Retirement Stock Portfolio: 11 Energy Stocks to Buy and 11 Best Utility Stocks to Invest in According to Hedge Funds.

Disclosure: None.
Elon Musk has publicly criticized the decision by New York Citys next mayor, Zohran Mamdani, to pick Lillian Bonsignore as the new chief of the Fire Department of New York (FDNY).

Musk warned that this choice could lead to dangerous results because the former head of emergency medical services (EMS) has never actually worked as a frontline firefighter.

People will die because of this, the Tesla and SpaceX founder said on X on Friday night, adding, Proven experience matters when lives are at stake.

Bonsignore spent 31 years working within the FDNY as an emergency medical technician (EMT) before she retired in 2022. By taking this job, she will become only the second woman to lead the city's fire department in its entire history. She is also seen as a pioneer for the LGBTQ community, as she will be the first person who is openly gay to serve as the FDNY commissioner.

Bonsignore is scheduled to lead the biggest fire department in the United States once Mamdani officially takes office on January 1. Her selection was announced on Tuesday.

At the same time, the current mayor, Eric Adams, made a different announcement about choosing his own temporary fire commissioner to handle the very last days of his time at City Hall.

What Mamdani said? Zohran Mamdani shot back at Musk, saying: experience does matter, which is why I appointed the person who spent more than 30 years at EMS.

You know, the workforce that addresses at least 70% of all calls coming into FDNY? addedthe mayor-elect.

Social Media Reactions Elon Musks comments about the appointment spread very quickly online. His X post was viewed more than 25 million times in the first 24 hours and gained over 184,000 likes.

Many other people online also expressed doubts about whether someone without firefighting experience should be in charge of the department.

Here we go again, quipped lawyer and longtime TV media personality Megyn Kelly.

Zohran Mamdani appointed Lillian Bonsignore as new FDNY Commissioner. Only problem isshes never been a firefighter. Word of advice, you cant put out fires with rainbow flags, said conservative Infowars talk-show host Breanna Morello on X.

This is a freaking train wreck, barked Eric Daugherty, chief content officer for RightLine News. Glad I dont live in NYC.

However, Bonsignore also received a lot of support from people who stood up for her on social media platforms.

The last 2 FDNY Fire Commissioners appointed by [NYC Mayor] Eric Adams had 0 actual FDNY operational experience, said retired NYPD Lt. John Macari, who co-hosts the New Yorks Finest: Retired & Unfiltered Podcast,

Laura Kavanagh, who was the very first woman to serve as FDNY commissioner, wrote a post on LinkedIn praising the hiring of Bonsignore.

Kavanagh served as the fire commissioner from February 2022 to August 2024 under Mayor Adams, and she also did not have a background as a firefighter.

When I was sworn in, I said it only meant something to be first if I wasnt the last. Im so happy I didnt have to wait long for that to be the case, said Kavanagh who served as fire commissioner from Feb. 2022 to Aug, 2024 under Adams and also didnt have firefighting experience.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel on Sunday said that the agency had committed additional personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota to take down fraud schemes exploiting federal resources.

Patel announced the development on X, saying that the FBI had already moved resources into Minnesota before recent online attention, and pointed to the Feeding Our Future investigation, which uncovered a whopping $250 million fraud scheme.

To date, the FBI dismantled a $250 million fraud scheme that stole federal food aid meant for vulnerable children during COVID. The investigation exposed sham vendors, shell companies, and large-scale money laundering tied to the Feeding Our Future network, the FBI Director said.

Tip of a very large iceberg "The FBI is aware of recent social media reports in Minnesota. However, even before the public conversation escalated online, the FBI had surged personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota to dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs," Patel announced on X.

"Fraud that steals from taxpayers and robs vulnerable children will remain a top FBI priority in Minnesota and nationwide," the FBI Director added.

Patel went on to say that the Feeding Our Future probe was "just the tip of a very large iceberg", adding that the bureau would continue to investigate fraud schemes in the state.

Patel's announcement on Sunday comes after a video went viral, raising questions about a daycare in Minneapolis that allegedly received millions of dollars in state funding despite appearing to be largely inactive.

The video, which gained a lot of traction on social media, led political figures in the US to demand accountability from the Tim Walz administration.

Released by independent journalist Nick Shirley, the video showed the Quality Learning Center in South Minneapolis, which reportedly received $4 million in state funding.

In the video, Shirley can be seen approaching the daycare on a weekday, but the office appeared to be closed, and there were no children visible.

The journalist's presence was also strongly protested by a woman at the site, who accused him of being an immigration enforcement agent.

As the footage spread across social media, Republican leaders, from House Representatives to Vice President J D Vance, demanded responsibility, attacking the Walz administration.
Billionaire and philanthropist George Soros and his family have been donating to Trump opponent and New York Attorney General Letitia James' campaigns since 2018.

According to data from New York's Board of Elections , Soros and family contributed over $70,000 to James' campaigns over the years.

The most recent donation to James, who is up for re-election in 2026, came on 28 May this year, with Soros' daughter-in-law Jennifer Allan Soros contributing $13,000 to the "James for NY 2026" campaign.

Soros himself contributed to the 2026 campaign of the incumbent NY Attorney-General, but a year prior, donating $18,000 10 July 2024.

The Soros family's donations to James began when she first ran for the post, with the billionaire's son Jonathan and his wife Jennifer Allan donating a total of $10,000 from July to September 2018.

Donations continued, and from 2021 to 2022, Soros himself donated a total of $20,000 to 'James for NY'.

Meanwhile, in 2022, Jonathan and Jennifer donated another $10,000 to James' campaign.

View full Image Data from the New York Board of Elections showing donations by George Soros and his family to Letitia James. ( New York Board of Elections )

View full Image Data from the New York Board of Elections showing donations by George Soros and his family to Letitia James (contd). ( New York Board of Elections )

In addition, Soros has, since Trump's first term, pumped $865,000 into the Working Families Party (WFP), who James also represents apart from the Democrats.

View full Image Data from the New York Board of Elections showing donations by George Soros and his family to the Working Families Party since 2018. ( New York Board of Elections )

A formidable legal adversary A staunch Trump critic and one of his most formidable legal adversaries, James' office has mounted several successful assaults on the US President, including dissolving his charitable Trump Foundation and securing a $500 million penalty in a civil fraud suit against the US President.

That penalty, imposed in 2024, was overturned in August this year after an appeals court found the sum to be excessive. The court, however, held that Trump was liable for the fraud.

The donations from Soros towards James' campaign does not comes as a surprise given the billionaire's quite public dislike of the US President, a feeling that appears to be mutual.

Soros, since Trump's first presidency, has called the the US President by several names, including "con man" and "would-be-dictator".

Trump, for his part, has repeatedly attacked Soros for his alleged funding of the "far-Left", and recently, following Charlie Kirk's killing, said that his administration would investigate the billionaire.

"Were going to look into Soros, because I think its a Rico case against him and other people, Trump was quoted as saying in September by The Guardian.
United States President Donald Trump declared that US has become REAL United Nations after Thailand-Cambodia ceasefire that was reached a day earlier, following weeks of border fighting that left dozens dead. He also claimed that he stopped 8 wars over the past 11 months.

I am pleased to announce that the breakout fighting between Thailand and Cambodia will stop momentarily, and they will go back to living in PEACE, as per our recently agreed to original Treaty. I want to congratulate both great leaders on their brilliance in coming to this rapid and very fair conclusion, Trump said on Truth Social.

He added, "It was FAST & DECISIVE, as all of these situations should be! The United States of America, as always, was proud to help! With all of the wars and conflicts I have settled and stopped over the last eleven months, EIGHT, perhaps the United States has become the REAL United Nations, which has been of very little assistance or help in any of them, including the disaster currently going on between Russia and Ukraine."

He further stated that the United Nations needs to become more active and take a greater role in promoting world peace.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hailed the Thailand-Cambodia ceasefire on Saturday, urging both sides to immediately honor this commitment, according to AFP.

According to official counts, at least 47 people were killed and over a million displaced during three weeks of fighting that affected nearly every border province on both sides.

On Saturday, Thailand and Cambodia announced their agreement to cease fire, freeze troop movements, and permit civilians residing in border areas to come back home as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, China welcomed the announcement of the ceasefire, which halts frontline clashes and allows displaced civilians to return to their homes near the border.

Its top diplomat Wang Yi is hosting the Cambodian and Thai foreign ministers for two days of discussions starting Sunday after the truce. Wang informed his Cambodian counterpart Prak Sokhonn that the ceasefire "has opened the process of rebuilding peace," according to a statement from Beijings foreign ministry. "Both sides should proceed step by step to promote a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire" and "rebuild mutual trust," he added.
YouTuber Nick Shirley took the spotlight after he shared a video about Minnesota daycares. The clip captioned Example of the Billions $$ of fraud taking place in Minnesota is going viral on social media. Nick Shirley stirred controversy after he claimed that some daycare centers are getting large amounts of government funding in Minnesota despite being non-functional.

In the video, Nick Shirley can be seen standing in front of the daycare and talking to a local resident to learn about the functioning and operations of the organization.

Alleging that fraud and corruption is rampant in Minnesota, he wrote, This is one of the hundreds of daycares receiving millions of dollars from the government, this daycare (that cant even spell learning right) received $1,900,000 in tax exempt funding from CCAP." He claimed that this is just one case among the thousands of fraudulent businesses operating in Minnesota.

Seeking accountability from public's representatives and leaders, he added, Tim Walz is governor and knew about the fraud but never reported it.

He visited the centre during mid-week when the Somali run centre should have remained open but to his surprise it was closed with no trace of 99 registered students under it. In another video, he interrogates local resident who has been living in the area for the past 8 years. I havent seen any kids. Ive been here since 2017, the local can be heard saying in response to Nick Shirley's question.

The title to the post said, Want to become a multimillionaire without doing anything? Move to Minnesota and start a daycare!

Nick Shirley, who describes himself as an independent journalist, is best known for street interviews and acts as a watchdog of government's mechanisms. Famous for his direct confrontations, he has at several times raised concerns around unnecessary government spending and immigration issues before, according to Reuters.

The 23-year-old online influencer boasts over 1 million followers on Instagram and 1.1 million subscribers on YouTube.
The Bangladesh foreign ministry sidestepped India's concerns over "hostilities" against Hindu minorities amid Dipu Chandra Das' lynching.

It called them as "systematic attempt to portray isolated criminal incidents as organised persecution of Hindus, reported The Dhaka Tribune.

On the Hindu youth's murder in Mymensing, it alleged that characterising the incident as an issue involving minorities was both incorrect and misleading. The statement also claimed that the incidents were being exploited in parts of India to generate anti-Bangladesh sentiment.

According to the Bangladeshi news outlet Prothomalo, Dhakas position was communicated in a press statement by SM Mahbubul Alam, spokesperson for Bangladeshs Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Alam further said that the Indian spokesmans remarks do not reflect the facts.

India flags concerns At Fridays weekly briefing, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that the persistent hostility against minorities in Bangladesh was deeply concerning.

He mentioned, The unremitting hostilities against the minorities in Bangladesh including Hindus, Christians and Buddhists at the hands of extremists is a matter of grave concern", adding, We condemn the recent gruesome killing of a Hindu youth in Bangladesh and expect that the perpetrators of the crime would be brought to justice.

Jaiswal was speaking about the December 18 incident in which Dipu Chandra Das was fatally attacked by a mob over allegations of blasphemy.

Also Read | Bollywood celebs condemn lynching of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh

He added that more than 2,900 cases of violence targeting minorities, ranging from killings and arson to land seizures, have been recorded by independent sources during the interim governments tenure.

Dipu Chandra Das' death Das, a young garment factory worker who rented a home in Bhaluka Upazila, was accused by locals of making blasphemous remarks and was attacked. Police stated that he was beaten to death, after which his body was tied to a tree and set on fire. The remains were later recovered and sent to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital for a post-mortem examination.

The brutal killing prompted condemnation from the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, which stated that there was no place for communal hatred or mob violence in what it described as a New Bangladesh and vowed to take strict action against those responsible.

Bangladeshs Education Adviser, CR Abrar, visited Dass family on behalf of the interim government, offering condolences and assuring them of support. The Office of the Chief Adviser also conveyed its deep sorrow over the killing of Dipu Chandra Das and extended heartfelt condolences to his family.
Meghalaya Police and Border Security Force (BSF) have refuted the allegations by Bangladesh that two primary suspects, Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Sheikh, in the murder of Inquilab Moncho leader Osman Hadi, fled into India from Bangladeshs Haluaghat border in Mymensingh district, according to Hindustan Times.

Hadi succumbed to injuries on December 18 after being shot on head during an election campaign in Dhaka.

What did Meghalaya police and BSF say? No formal or informal communication has been received from Bangladesh police. None of the accused named in the report have been traced in Garo Hills, and no arrests have been made, HT quoted a senior police official as saying.

A PHQ official said that neither Purti nor Sami had been identified, traced or arrested anywhere in Meghalaya, adding that the account appeared to have been put together without proper verification or coordination with Indian authorities.

While dismissing the allegations, BSF (Meghalaya Frontier) Inspector General OP Upadhayay stated, There is no evidence whatsoever of these individuals crossing the international border from the Haluaghat sector into Meghalaya. No such incident has been detected or reported by the BSF. These claims are baseless and misleading."

He further stated that the Border Security Force functions on the basis of verified intelligence and established border management procedures.

Dhaka police claims The suspects, Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Sheikh, crossed into the Indian state of Meghalaya with the help of local associates, Additional Police Commissioner (Crime and Operations) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) S N Md Nazrul Islam informed in a press conference at the DMP Media Centre, according to The Daily Star.

The suspects are believed to have entered India through the Haluaghat border and were first met by a person identified as Purti, he mentioned. They were later taken to Tura town in Meghalaya by a taxi driver named Sami, the report noted, citing Islam. The DMP official did not specify when the two allegedly fled to India.

Hadi had emerged as a prominent youth leader during the JulyAugust 2024 mass street protests that eventually led to the downfall of the Sheikh Hasinaled Awami League government. He was also contesting as a parliamentary candidate in the elections scheduled for February 12.

Who was Osman Hadi? Born in 1994 in Nalchity Upazila of Jhalokhati district, Hadi hailed from a Muslim family and was known for holding radical views. He rose to prominence during last years student-led uprising in Bangladesh that led to the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, serving as a senior leader of the protest platform Inqilab Moncho.

Several reports described him as a vocal critic of India and a key figure in the July uprising. The 32-year-old had recently announced his intention to contest the Dhaka-8 constituency in the upcoming elections as an independent candidate, according to ANI.

Also Read | Bangladesh unrest: Yunus govt urges people to honour Hadi and shun violence

Following Hadis death, unrest was reported in several parts of Bangladesh. Inqilab Moncho urged the public to avoid violence, vandalism and arson that had spread across the country. During the unrest, the offices of two media organisations, The Daily Star and Prothom Alo, were set on fire.

In a Facebook post, Inquilab Moncho mentioned, "Through destruction and fire, certain groups aim to render Bangladesh an ineffective state. They seek to undermine the independence and sovereignty of our country. You must understand -- 32 and 36 are not the same."
US President Donald Trump said he does not support recognising Somaliland in an interview with the New York Post published on Friday.

Trump's comments came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a close Trump ally, said Israel would be the first country to recognise the territory formally.

"No," the president told the Post when asked about US recognition of Somaliland, adding: "Does anyone know what Somaliland is, really?"

Israel became first country to recognise Somaliland Israel on Friday became the first country to formally recognize the self-declared Republic of Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state, a move that could alter regional dynamics and challenge Somalias long-standing opposition to secession, Reuters reported.

Also Read | Trump to be briefed by Netanyahu on Iran missile threat, report says

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would seek immediate cooperation with Somaliland in agriculture, health, technology and the economy. In a statement, he congratulated Somaliland's president, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, praised his leadership and invited him to visit Israel, Reuters reported.

Netanyahu said the declaration is in the spirit of the Abraham Accords, signed at the initiative of President Trump.

The 2020 accords were brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump's first administration and included Israel formalising diplomatic relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, with other countries joining later.

Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and Somaliland's president signed a joint declaration of mutual recognition, the Israeli statement said.

Abdullahi said in a statement that Somaliland would join the Abraham Accords, calling it a step toward regional and global peace. He said Somaliland was committed to building partnerships, boosting mutual prosperity and promoting stability across the Middle East and Africa.

But Somalia's government condemned Israel's move as an "unlawful step" and a "deliberate attack" on its sovereignty, rejecting any recognition of Somaliland, according to a statement from the prime minister's office.

"The federal government affirms its determination to pursue all necessary diplomatic, political, and legal measures, in accordance with international law, to defend its sovereignty, unity, and internationally recognized borders," the statement said.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in an X post said that Netanyahu's recognition of the territory was "illegal aggression" and contrary to established legal and diplomatic rules.

The European Union also urged respect for Somalia's unity and called for "meaningful dialogue" between Mogadishu and Somaliland to resolve longstanding differences.

Egypt said Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty held phone calls on Friday with his counterparts from Somalia, Turkey and Djibouti to discuss what they described as dangerous developments in the Horn of Africa following Israel's announcement.

Also Read | A small Minnesota town defends Somali residents as critical to the economy

The ministers condemned Israel's recognition of Somaliland, reaffirmed their full support for Somalia's unity and territorial integrity, and warned that recognising breakaway regions posed a threat to international peace and security, Egypt's foreign ministry said.

The African Union also rejected any recognition of Somaliland, reaffirming its "unwavering commitment" to Somalia's unity and territorial integrity and warning that such moves risked undermining peace and stability across the continent, the AU Commission chair said.

The Nigerian government in a statement on X said it "strongly condemns" any actions that seek to undermine Somalia's constitutional order and urged other nations to "desist" from recognising any part of Somalia's territory as independent.

Somaliland's history Somaliland has operated with de facto autonomyand has remained relatively peaceful and stablesince 1991, when Somalia collapsed into civil war. Despite this, the breakaway region has not previously been formally recognised by any other country.

During that time, Somalia has worked to mobilise international opposition to any move to recognise Somalilands independence.

The former British protectorate now hopes that Israels recognition will prompt other nations to follow, strengthening its diplomatic standing and improving access to international markets.

In March, Somalia and Somaliland denied receiving any proposal from the United States or Israel to resettle Palestinians from Gaza, with Mogadishu saying it categorically rejected any such move.

More countries reject Israel's recognition of Somaliland A growing number of countries on Saturday rejected Israel's recognition of Somalias breakaway region of Somaliland as an independent nation a day earlier, the first by any country in more than 30 years.

It was unclear why Israel made the declaration on Friday or whether the country was expecting something in return.

Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 during a descent into conflict that continues to leave the East African country fragile. Despite having its own government and currency, Somaliland had never been recognised by any nation until Friday.

A joint statement by more than 20 mostly Middle Eastern or African countries and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Saturday rejected Israel's recognition given the serious repercussions of such unprecedented measure on peace and security in the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea and its serious effects on international peace and security as a whole.

Somaliland, which is arid, lies on the Gulf of Aden across from Yemen and next to small Djibouti, which hosts military bases for the U.S., China, France and several other countries.
An Indian national who took legal action against his manager for racial abuse at a KFC outlet in south-east London has been awarded almost 67,000 (over 81 lakh). He claimed he was fired unfairly and treated poorly because of his race, as reported by news agency PTI.

The victim identified as Madhesh Ravichandran, who originally hails from Tamil Nadu state, told the employment tribunal that his boss, a Sri Lankan Tamil man, named Kajan, treated him badly. He said the manager called him a "slave" and made offensive comments like "Indians are fraudsters" while speaking to him.

In the official order published this week, Judge Paul Abbott supported Mr. Ravichandrans claims and ruled that the company, Nexus Foods Limited, was guilty of race discrimination and wrongful dismissal.

Also Read | Who was Angel Chakma? Tripura youth stabbed to death for opposing racial abuse

The complaints of direct race discrimination are well-founded and succeed, the judgment said.

We have found on the facts that the claimant was subjected to the less favourable treatments his holiday request was refused because he was Indian and [restaurant manager] Kajan wished to prioritise requests from Sri Lankan Tamil colleagues, and he was referred to as a shit and a slave which is self-evidently less favourable treatment because of his race, it said.

Mr. Ravichandran started working at the West Wickham KFC in January 2023. He was hired after an interview with Kajan, who became his direct supervisor. Over several months, things got worse until they reached a breaking point in July of that year. At that time, his boss tried to force him to work too many hours during a shift, which led Mr. Ravichandran to hand in his resignation notice.

Harassment at Workplace The judge stated that he believed the evidence showing Mr. Ravichandran decided to quit because Kajan kept trying to make him work "excessive hours." During later phone conversations, Kajan reportedly became "racially abusive and threatening" toward the employee.

This racial abuse from a manager had, we find, the purpose and the effect of violating the claimants dignity, the judgment said.

The court decided that Mr. Ravichandran was "summarily dismissed," which means he was fired immediately while he was still working through his notice period. By doing this, the company broke the law because they did not give him the one week of notice he was legally entitled to receive.

It was not asserted by the respondent that the claimant had done anything to entitle it to dismiss the claimant without notice. The claimant was, therefore, wrongfully dismissed and is entitled to be paid one weeks pay in lieu of notice, it stated.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday warned United States, Israel of more decisive response if they attack Tehran. This comes ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus meeting with US President Donald Trump on Monday.

"We are in a full-fledged war with America, Israel and Europe. They do not want our country to stand on its feet. Our dear military forces are doing their jobs with strength, and now, in terms of equipment and manpower, despite all the problems we have, they are stronger than when they [Israel and the US] attacked, he stated, according to Al Jazeera citing an interview published on the website of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

So, if they want to attack, they will naturally face a more decisive response," he added.

Pezeshkian described the war as more severe than Irans deadly war with Iraq in the 1980s. He stated that the Wests conflict with Iran is more complicated and more difficult than the 19801988 war with Iraq, which resulted in over one million casualties on both sides, as per a PTI report.

Israel and US strikes on Iran The move comes half a year after strikes on Iran by Israel and the US.

In June, Israel and Iran were involved in a 12-day conflict, sparked by an unprecedented Israeli strike on Iranian military and nuclear facilities, as well as civilian areas. Iranian authorities had mentioned that the strikes resulted in over 1,000 casualties. The involvement of Washington disrupted the negotiations with Tehran, which had started in April, regarding Irans nuclear programme.

A senior White House official had said Trump brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Iran after speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while members of Trumps team were simultaneously in contact with Iranian officials, as per Reuters. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Israel agreed to the ceasefire provided Iran refrains from launching further attacks, and that Tehran had indicated it would comply with the arrangement.

According to the official, US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and special envoy Steve Witkoff were involved in both direct and indirect communications with Iranian representatives.

France, Germany, UK reinstate United Nations sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme This comes after France, Germany, and the United Kingdom reinstated United Nations sanctions on the country in September over its nuclear programme.

Iran strongly condemned the action, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi describing it as unjustified" and "lacking any legal basis during a call with his European counterparts, reported AP.
Jane's Addiction have settled their lawsuit against Perry Farrell.

Perry Farrell and Jane's Addiction have settled their lawsuit

Dave Navarro, Eric Avery, and Stephen Perkins had sued their former frontman for assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract following an on-stage fight in September 2024 and alleged they had lost over $10 million as a result of the rest of their tour being cancelled and the band coming to an end as a result of the altercation.

But according to People magazine, The Superior Court of California dismissed the lawsuit - which was filed in July, on 22 December.

The decision came around a week after Perry, 66, apologised for his fight with Dave during the band's gig in Boston.

Perry wrote: "To everyone in Boston, and around the world. Id like to address what happened on stage last year.

"Ive reflected on it and know I didnt handle myself the way I should have. I apologize to our patrons and my bandmates for losing my temper and for disrupting the show.

"Janes Addiction has been at the center of my life for decades. The band, the songs, the patrons and the impact that weve had on music and culture mean more to me than any words I could ever possibly write down.

My aim has always been to give our audience the best possible show, something real, honest and positive. In Boston, we fell short of that, and Im truly sorry to everyone who was impacted.

From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank each and every one of you for your continued love and support. Perry Farrell.

The band shared their own statement "to clarify the events surrounding the cancellation of the tour" and confirmed they were going their separate ways.

They said: "After that show, without notice to Perry, we unilaterally determined it would be best to not continue the tour and made inaccurate statements about Perrys mental health which we regret.

Today we are here to announce that we have come together one last time to resolve our differences, so that the legacy of Janes Addiction will remain the work the four of us created together.

We now look forward to the future as we embark on our separate musical and creative endeavors. Janes Addiction will forever live in our hearts. We are proud of the music we created together.

You, the fans, are our lifeblood, and we will always appreciate you.
Mark Cuban recently took to X to question the control insurance companies and Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) have over healthcare.

On Friday, Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, posted a series of posts on X challenging the power of insurance companies and PBMs. He suggested that these entities have more control over healthcare than federal authorities.

He also questioned their willingness to allow the use of innovative healthcare solutions like Grok and Optimus for employees. Cubans posts were in response to a comment by Elon Musk, who compared government healthcare to having the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) as a doctor.

What insurance companies and PBMs do you use for your companies ?



Wanna bet they have more control over your healthcare than the feds ever could ?



Wanna bet they won't let you use grok or Optimus for your own employees ?



Wanna bet they won't let you publish your contracts ? https://t.co/CYacBT40Id

What insurance companies and PBMs do you use for your companies ? Wanna bet they have more control over your healthcare than the feds ever could ? Wanna bet they wont let you use grok or Optimus for your own employees ? Wanna bet they wont let you publish your contracts ? The regulatory capture in the industry by the biggest players is worse than what the government would do to healthcare Prove me wrong, Cuban wrote in X.

Also Read: Cuban on Musk: I Have No Problem Throwing Elon Under the Bus, but Ill Save It for When Its Truly Deserved

Responding to Cubans post, Michael Dahle, praised Musk and said he provides very good insurance for his companies.

I am a recipient of that insurance. They cover way more than normal. He has not skimped on that, he wrote.

I have no doubt he does ! The question is whether he could direct contract , use an independent TPA, a pass through PBM and publish all his costs so other companies can replicate what he does https://t.co/xv4OiavvlV https://t.co/Y77WfGSNGO

Mark Cuban further said that, I have no doubt he does ! The question is whether he could direct contract , use an independent TPA, a pass through PBM and publish all his costs so other companies can replicate what he does.

Cubans posts highlight a growing debate about the role of insurance companies and PBMs in the healthcare sector. Critics argue that these entities have too much control over healthcare decisions, often at the expense of patient care.

The comments also underscore the challenges faced by innovative healthcare solutions like Grok and Optimus in gaining acceptance in the industry.
Voters in military-controlled areas of Myanmar went to the polls on Sunday in a phased election that is widely seen as a sham and expected to favour the junta-aligned Union Solidarity and Development Party.

UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews on Sunday said that a vote organised by a junta that continues to bomb civilians, imprison political leaders, and criminalise dissent could not be considered a genuine election, describing it as a theatre of the absurd performed at gunpoint", according to BBC. He urged the international community to reject the election, saying that nothing legitimate could emerge from it.

Over 30,000 political opponents detained since 2021: UN Campaigners, Western diplomats and the United Nations human rights chief have all slammed the phased, month-long election, pointing to a process dominated by military-aligned candidates and a severe crackdown on dissent. A report by AFP cited the United Nations in Myanmar mentioning it was "critical that the future of Myanmar is determined through a free, fair, inclusive and credible process that reflects the will of its people".

The United Nations noted that more than 30,000 political opponents, including members of the democratically elected government and political representatives, have been detained since 2021.

The countrys most popular party, the National League for Democracy, has been barred from contesting the election. Its leader, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who was removed from office by the military months after the partys landslide victory in the 2020 general election, remains in detention, and the party she once led has since been dissolved.

Also Read | A sham poll in Myanmar opens a new phase of military rule

Over 200 people have been charged under a newly introduced law for obstructing or opposing the elections, with the legislation carrying severe penalties, including the death sentence, reported BBC. Several well-known figures, including film director Mike Tee, actor Kyaw Win Htut and comedian Ohn Daing, were among those convicted under the law, which was introduced in July to curb interference with the polls.

Meanwhile, according to the Union Election Commission, a total of 4,863 candidates representing 57 political parties are in the fray. Voting is scheduled to take place in three phases over the coming month across 265 of Myanmars 330 townships, while the remaining areas have been classified as too unstable. The next rounds are scheduled for January 11 and January 25, with results expected toward the end of the month.
US President Donald Trump met his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Sunday local time, following months of diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.

Earlier in the day, Trump announced that he had also held a "very productive" phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, without revealing details.

Sunday's high-stakes meeting at Mar-a-Lago also comes on the back of a massive Russian attack on Kyiv on Saturday, which lasted nearly 10 hours, killing at least two people and injuring more.

Will there be any breakthrough in US-brokered peace talks between Ukraine and Russia? Follow this space for LIVE updates.
Israel became the first country to formally recognize Somaliland as an independent nation on Friday. This decision may change regional politics and challenges Somalias claim that Somaliland is part of its territory.

Somaliland lies along the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden, bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, Ethiopia to the south and west, and Somalia to the east.

Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 following a civil war. Although it has its own government, money, and flag, the United Nations does not recognise it. Somalia still views the region as an inseparable part of its country.

Somaliland gained independence from Britain on June 26, 1960. Somaliland ended its union with Somalia to reclaim independence on May 18, 1991, as reported by Horn Observer.

Also Read | Somalias poets keep hope alive for storytelling and for peace

Mogadishu  capital of Somalia  denounced a "deliberate attack" on its sovereignty, while Egypt, Turkey, the Gulf Cooperation Council, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation all criticized Israel's decision.

Experts suggest that partnering with Somaliland could give Israel better access to the Red Sea.

The Abraham Accords Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel will start working with Somaliland immediately in the fields of health, agriculture, technology, and the economy. Netanyahu praised Somalilands President, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, and invited him to visit Israel.

Both leaders signed a declaration of mutual recognition. President Abdullahi confirmed that Somaliland will join the Abraham Accords, a series of diplomatic agreements originally started in 2020 by the Trump administration to normalize relations between Israel and several Arab nations. Both leaders described this as a step toward regional peace and stability.

The Somali government strongly rejected the move, calling it: An "unlawful step" and a "deliberate attack" on its sovereignty."Illegal aggression" that ignores diplomatic rules.

Also Read | Watch: Passengers jump from plane after airline fails to provide staircase

International Reaction Several global organizations and countries have voiced their disapproval, supporting Somalias territorial unity.

Both the African Union and the uropean Union rejected the recognition and urged for dialogue between Somalia and Somaliland to maintain peace.

The foreign ministers of Egypt, Turkey, and Djibouti held emergency talks, warning that recognizing breakaway regions threatens international security.

Arab League Calls Emergency Meeting The Arab League announced on Saturday that it will hold an emergency meeting this Sunday in Cairo. The meeting, requested by Somalia, follows Israels recent recognition of Somaliland as an independent state.

At the meeting, the League plans to officially reject any unilateral actions that threaten Somalias unity or territory. Members will emphasize the importance of following international law and previous decisions made by the Arab League and the African Union.

The group also aims to show full support for Somalias official government and its institutions.
The past week saw a landmark acquisition dealthe largest to date in Indias $283 billion IT services industry. Coforge, Indias seventh-largest tech services firm, splurged $2.39 billion to buy a US data analytics firm, Encora. We havent seen yet what the market thinks of it, but the deal reinforced the battle bugles in Indiaas far as AI is concerned, the wars are set to begin.

With this acquisition, Coforge expects to earn $2 billion a year by the next fiscal year. All of this is in anticipation of AI and its benefits.

Coforge, however, isnt the only one. Over the past one week, HCLTech, Indias third-largest tech services firm, spent $400 million for two strategic acquisitions in AI and data analytics. These deals come at a time when the worlds two largest tech services firms, Accenture and Tata Consultancy Services, have begun earning billion-dollar revenue from AI in quarters.

With AI revenue rising, clients must clearly be more willing to pay for AI. And, with a stronger will, such acquisitions should certainly mean a good sign for each of these tech outsourcers, right? Perhaps, because as far as Coforge is concerned, we havent heard from the market as yet. HCLTech, however, has seen its share price remain flat, not reflecting any change after its acquisitions as yet.

Does this mean there are still questions over how AI and automation can help tech services grow? Will the outsourcers sustain themselves in the automation era, or is this the start of companies trying to earn core patents? Last week, Jas Bardia, Mints IT services reporter, wrote on these very points.

This may well define how Indias IT sector is seen by shareholders. This way or that, theres no denying that these are foundational times, and will change how India does tech. Watch this space for more.

Smart doctors, smarter wearables

Everyone has promised that technology will fundamentally transform public services, but those of us who have tracked last-mile tech deployment have often wondered if the on-ground impact of it would really match the hype.

Last week, Priyanka Sharma reported that a smart doctor assistant, developed by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), is being trialled across 70,000 hospitals in India. If proven successful, the tool is said to significantly improve doctor diagnoses, especially for long-term ailments and in areas that are underserved and understaffed.

Would it really work? We dont quite know that, but isolated data security concerns have already cropped upyet again putting a shadow on whether the technology, dubbed the clinical decision support system (CDSS), will live up to its promise.

Alongside doctors, it turns out that wearables, too, are in line for getting medical-grade upgrades. Last month, Apple procured a clearance from Indias medical devices authority that allowed it to offer high blood pressure alerts to users of its Apple Watch. Samsung has been already doing it.

While clinical-grade approvals are still scarce, industry stakeholders and observers believe that this is the way forward for wearables to differentiate themselves. With 2026 just around the corner, it will be interesting to see if the worlds of medical-grade health devices and consumer-grade smartwatches merge into one.

Defence firms seek fresher engineers

Out of Indias crop of freshers from engineering colleges, it turns out that defence firms are stepping up hires from colleges this year, as business for private firms steps up. This is in line with a larger number of private contracts from India itself, for defence firms such as Hindustan Aeronautics, Larsen & Toubro and even startups such as Skyroot Aerospace.

Welcome to a new worldthe rise of defence and aerospace in the list of top engineering avenues for Indian graduates to pursue. Pratishtha Bagai, Devina Sengupta, and I report.

Indias answer to SpaceX?

I wrapped up an interview last week with Srinath Ravichandran, the founder and chief executive of Agnikul Cosmosthe company seeking to build a reusable light rocket ready-to-launch small satellites into orbit. Ravichandrans firm has raised nearly $60 million for this, and hopes that 2026 is the year when its first commercial launch plays out.

Is this Indias answer to SpaceX? Yes, and no. The biggest differentiator here is the sheer scale: SpaceX operates only in super-heavy and ultra-heavy rockets, where the engineering is in billions of dollars and missions cost multiple millions. Agnikuls pitch, much like its compatriot Skyroots, is in cost efficiency. Can they fire on all cylinders? We certainly hope so.

Two big leaders: Gopal Vittal, Airtel and JB Park, Samsung

Mints telecom reporter Jatin Grover wrote last week about Gopal Vittal, the man at the helm of Bharti Airtelthe one to have weathered the Reliance Jio storm. One of the most objective chief executives in the industry, Vittal recently moved on to the role of an executive vice-chairman, after what has been a tumultuous 12 years at the top of one of the most hotly-contested industries of India. This ones a must-read.

I, too, met Jong Bum Parkthe man in charge of Samsung, as the Korean giant completed three decades in India. It was a surprisingly frank and emotional interview, one where Park elucidated why he finds India to be more than a market for Samsung, where Samsungs AI plans lie, why the company could grow to what it is today, and what lies next.

One things for sure: Samsung remains the sole brand that straddles consumer appliances, gadgets and accessories under one brand, and youd find their logo in more places than not, even in the hinterlands. This is Samsungs 2025 story.

With this, Transformer wraps up what has been a brilliant year for tech in Indiaone that prompted us at Mint to start a newsletter dedicated to it. I believe that technology today is horizontal and is no longer vertical. With 2026 set to bring more surprises and greater twists to Indias growth story, heres wishing all our readers a very happy year ahead. Now, on to the next one!

Transformer by Mint is a weekly newsletter that brings Indias most important and interesting technology updates under one umbrella. As the world transforms with every day of innovation, Transformer will keep a tab on the impact that technologies will make in each of our lives. Published every week, the newsletter brings some of Indias tech landscapes most insightful coverages until date.
This is the last episode of General Disequilibrium for 2025. Looking through a foggy windscreen, it seems like the approaching 2026 season will be dominated by politics over artificial intelligence (AI).

This trend, apart from the polarizing debate over an AI bubble bursting or not bursting, is likely to dominate the AI policy landscape. This has consequences for India too, which has been judged as an AI loser by sections of global markets.

An AI bubble is a top-of-the-mind issue today. However, it is perhaps premature to debate the likelihood of a bubble or non-bubble at this juncture, let alone its bursting. A lot will depend on the nature and speed of AI adoption and its manifestation in enterprise bottom-lines.

Much money has already been sunk into AI infrastructure, products and services, and a lot more has been committed for the next three-four years. Consequently, most financial institutions seem reluctant to accept the eventuality of a meltdown.

As a precautionary note, though, it might be wise to recall 2007, when most traders were in denial about the likelihood of a market meltdown. History remains the best starting point for building a risk-mitigation model.

Bubble or not, one thing is certain: AI is here to stay and governments across the globe will have their hands full trying to erect meaningful guard-rails around this emerging technology. These efforts are bound to collide with industry resistance. This new flashpoint is likely to define 2026.

Battlelines have already been drawn. Silicon Valleys AI tech-preneurs are amassing a fund to sponsor politicians promising light-touch AI regulation.

A political action committeeLeading The Future, backed by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman, among othershas raised $100 million to finance the election campaigns of industry-friendly politicians during the November 2026 mid-term elections in the US.

The pro-regulation section is not sitting on its hands. Two former Congressmena Republican and a Democrathave launched Public First, with an initial $50-million kitty to identify pro-regulation candidates on both sides of the aisle.

Individual states in the US are headed for a showdown with the federal government. A new California bill requires AI companies to publish and abide by safety policies for managing AI risks.

A New York bill sought to improve on this bill, but industry influence managed to water down the text of the final legislation.

A White House executive order has further muddied regulatory waters by trying to rein in states power to regulate the AI industry, but that comes after almost every US state has already passed AI regulation, with over 100 laws legislated between them all. Expect feathers to fly.

India, on the other hand, has started its AI regulatory journey on a circumspect but predictable note: policies are tilted in favour of industry rather than citizens, as they focus more on governance than regulation.

The governments recently released AI Governance Guidelines rely on existing laws, such as the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, instead of enacting separate AI legislation.

While the government has committed to intervene if AI models cause harm, there is apprehension that the absence of a stand-alone law will leave room for interpretation and misuse.

The Indian governments soft-touch regulatory regime may have been necessitated by market compulsions and strategic impulses. The AI Governance Guidelines have innovation" as their centrepiece and wish to be viewed more as an enabling provision than a regulatory decree.

The motivation behind this policy mix seems to be driven by a global perception of India as an AI loser, a view that may have led to a record retrenchment this year by foreign portfolio investors in favour of AI winner markets such as South Korea and China. The new guidelines try to reverse that sentiment.

There is some realization that India may have missed critical layers of the AI stack. The AI industry has three broad layers: infrastructure (chips, servers, data centres, energy grids), software (large language model) and, finally, products and services for enterprise clients.

India has seen investments come into the first layer, with Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta committing large sums to AI data centres. But India lacks large homegrown AI models, like US-based OpenAIs or Chinas DeepSeek, which require deep and patient investments.

The government has committed 10,300 crore ($1.15 billion) for supplying subsidized chips to startups or research centres for developing AI platforms that exclude the Western biases of existing models.

This puny outlay, compared with other sovereign budgets (such as Frances $117 billion), is predicated on the hope of private capital pitching in.

That might be slightly problematic, given India Incs reluctance to invest; a survey by EY India and Confederation of Indian Industry shows that over 95% of enterprises have earmarked less than 20% of their infotech budgets for AI.

But the governments year-end guidelines reveal an indulgent attitude towards the private sector in the name of innovation that may tempt many Indian companies to use artificial intelligence for shirking their after-sales service responsibilities.

Also Read | The biggest lesson of 2025: Never ever underestimate China

Many banks and consumer-facing companies have already replaced a human voice with under-developed, inefficient and untrained AI bots. This promises to stir up a different kind of politics over AI.
The deadliest domestic terror attack in Australias history is raising an uncomfortable question: Is there an Islamic State (IS) revival in Asia?

Despite years of counterterrorism successes and the groups territorial collapse in Iraq and Syria, the assault at Sydneys Bondi Beach highlighted a troubling reality: This radical ideology remains active across the region.

The father-and-son duo who gunned down 15 people celebrating a Jewish holiday on 14 December are believed to have been radicalized by IS propaganda.

Also Read | Bondi Beach heroes show why everyday people run toward danger

The extremist network has expressed admiration for the shootingand while not officially claiming responsibility has acknowledged the influence of its ideology on the gunmen.

Last month, the men travelled to an area in the southern Philippines where IS-aligned groups have operated. Officials said its unlikely they received training from local insurgents or terrorists, but the duo may have met with religious leaders, according to intelligence authorities.

The events in Australia resemble patterns elsewhere. In October, a Syrian-born British citizen rammed a car into pedestrians and stabbed worshippers outside a synagogue in Manchester on Yom Kippur, which authorities later labelled terrorism.

A month later, Polish authorities arrested a law student suspected of plotting an IS-inspired attack at a Christmas market. Earlier this month, two US soldiers and an American civilian interpreter died in Syria in an ambush by an IS gunman.

In Afghanistan, the Islamic State Khorasan Province is experimenting with artificial intelligence to push its message and reach new recruits.

The recurring bloodshed reflects how the network has adapted, even though it has weakened considerably compared with a decade ago, when it held large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria.

Today, its power lies in propaganda, much of it circulating online. During the groups peak, it became known for using social media platforms to generate support and recruit followers. Propaganda pieces were distributed online in its magazine, Dabiq.

Authorities have battled this threat for years. In Indonesia, the worlds most populous Muslim nation, groups such as Jamaah Ansharut Daulah swore allegiance to IS, and carried out several attacks across the archipelago in its name.

In the Philippines, rebels linked to IS staged the 2017 siege of Marawi in Mindanao, a five-month battle that killed hundreds.

Also Read | Bondi beach attack badly shakes sense of safety for Australias Jews

I saw the groups power while covering ISs first claimed attack in Southeast Asia in January 2016 in Jakarta, which left four civilians and four militants dead. In the aftermath, I travelled to Solo to meet the family of the alleged ringleader, Bahrun Naim, then the groups most notorious Indonesian member.

Authorities said he coordinated the attack from Syria. Experts told me that Naim was radicalized long before he left the country through a combination of online activity, school networks and time in prison. In a blog attributed to him, he praised previous attacks, urging followers to stage similar ones back home.

The digital environment has only strengthened the networks reach since then. Southeast Asia has some of the worlds most active youth populations on social media, where extremist content often spreads unchecked.

Singapores 2025 Terrorism Threat Assessment warns that this radical propaganda continues to resonate among young people, especially those consuming material in encrypted channels like Discord and Telegram.

The movement exists more online these days than as an active physical structure, Sidney Jones, a terrorism expert and adjunct professor at New York University, told me. In Indonesia, Islamic State lost much of its appeal when it no longer became possible to go to Syria," she said.

In the Philippines, the remaining fighters are probably driven as much by clan feuding and local politics as by ideology." Day-to-day grievances make the belief systems even more appealing.

Policymakers will have to counter this with anti-radicalization efforts that are digital-first. Authorities need to track extremist messaging in local languages, and work with platforms to curb their spread. Providing alternative vocational pathways for disillusioned youth exposed to propaganda would also be wise.

Online literacy programmes should focus on vulnerable communities. Governments must also address the underlying social tensions that extremists exploit.

Delays in implementing the Bangsamoro peace process in Mindanao risks fanning flames of resentment. In Indonesia, prison radicalization remains a serious and persistent challenge.

Also Read | Beyond the bombs: The hidden threat of digital terrorism in Southeast Asia

The question is not whether IS is back in Asia. It isnt. But its ideology remains. As the tragedy in Bondi shows, that is dangerous enough. Bloomberg
For 2025, Taiwans GDP growth of more than 7% is the fastest in more than a decade, powered by a boom in semiconductors, AI servers and electronics exports. Yet, private consumption stagnated as consumer confidence is fragile. So, Taipei announced a one-off universal cash transfer.

But why would a high-income, high growth, fiscally-prudent economy, running record trade and current-account surpluses, resort to cash handouts? The answer lies in a disjunction between measured growth and experienced prosperity, one that should resonate uncomfortably in India.

Taiwans growth has been spectacular. AI-driven demand has sent chip and server exports soaring by more than 30%. But this boom is concentrated in a small part of the economy.

Also Read | The worlds biggest chipmaker needs to move beyond Taiwan

Semiconductor firms like TSMC enjoy big margins while large parts of traditional manufacturingmachine tools, auto components, furnitureare stagnating. A quarter of Taiwans workforce is employed in these old sectors, where wages are under pressure and job security is weakening.

More striking is consumption, which has gone down to 43% of GDPto Chinas level and far below the rich-country average. Productivity has risen sharply, but wages have not kept pace.

The labour share of national income has declined. House prices have exploded. Thus, Taiwans growth has led to an economy where export competitiveness is prioritized over domestic demand.

That is why the cash transfer was felt necessary. The government is not trying to stimulate growth, which is already high. It is trying to rebalance growth towards households, correct excess savings and convert external surpluses into domestic welfare.

In other words, it is making that growth inclusive. Crucially, it can do so because it is running large fiscal and current-account surpluses, with ample fiscal space.

Taiwans universal cash handout is explicitly framed as a sharing of economic fruits." It is about 2.5% of per-capita disposable income and financed from the record tax revenues generated by its tech boom, not by borrowing.

There was no attempt to target specific vote banks, no gender or caste-based design and no pretence that this was a permanent entitlement. It is therefore quite unlike the competitive welfare politics now visible across Indian states.

In Taiwan, policymakers recognize that when growth is excessively export-led, currency management, corporate profits and balance-sheet strength can grow even as household incomes stagnate. Cash transfers are a direct way to address this.

The parallels with India are striking. India is among the fastest-growing large economies in the world, but consumption growth, especially rural, is lagging. Real rural wages have been flat and private investment uneven. Household debt has risen sharply.

Also Read | Indias 2026 GDP data revision is about fixing methods not growth numbers

Recognizing these stresses, policymakers have delivered multiple stimuli: sharp personal income-tax cuts, reductions in GST rates and multiple interest-rate cuts, accompanied by substantial liquidity injections by the central bank. This is indicative of growth not spreading fast enough.

Meanwhile, India has become the worlds largest laboratory for unconditional cash transfers to women. From one state in 2020, such schemes now operate in 15, at a cost approaching 2.5 trillionabout 0.7% of GDP.

Unlike Taiwan, many of these programmes are explicitly electorally motivated and permanent, causing huge fiscal strain.

Both Taiwan and India illustrate a classic Keynesian-structural insight: GDP and overall income growth do not automatically translate to consumption growth when income distribution shifts against labour or to high-saving households and firms.

Export booms, capital-intensive technologies and financial repression can all raise aggregate output but suppress mass purchasing power.

In Taiwan, suppressed wages, an undervalued currency and inflated asset prices have produced excess savings and weak consumption. In India, low farm prices, informalization of labour and high household debt have worked similarly. In both, the marginal propensity to consume out of national income has declined.

Cash transfers, therefore, are not merely welfare instruments; they are macro-stabilizers. They raise the share of consumption in GDP directly. But fiscal sustainability is one risk and policy substitutionusing cash to mask deeper failuresis another. The Taiwan episode offers lessons for India.

First, Taiwans cash transfer is an admission that high growth can coexist with weak household welfare. India should resist triumphalism about headline GDP numbers and focus on growth in consumption, real wages and income distribution.

Second, Taiwan could afford a universal cash transfer because it had large surpluses generated by an external boom. India does not have these. Financing such schemes through borrowing risks crowding out public investment in health, education and infrastructure, hurting inclusive growth.

Also Read | Springboard 2026 | India needs a new script as world trade fragments

Third, cash is a complement, not a substitute. Taiwan sees transfers as a temporary rebalancing tool, not permanent entitlement. For India, unconditional cash must not replace structural reforms aimed at raising farm income, generating urban jobs, strengthening small firms and ensuring that productivity gains drive wages.

High growth is necessary but not sufficient. What sustains an economy is not exports or balance sheets, but the confidence of ordinary households.
Advances in healthcare, nutrition and living standards are driving a dramatic demographic transformation. Amid a scenario of rising life expectancy, a declining birth rate and a rapidly ageing population, old age social and income security (OASIS) assumes utmost importance.

The United Nations Population Funds India Ageing Report 2023 projects that the number of persons aged 60 years and above would double from 149 million in 2023 to over 347 million (25% of the population) by 2050. The dependency ratio would grow from 16% in 2020 to 34% by 2050.

This has profound social, political and economic implications. The burden on the younger population and the state to support the elderly will increase exponentially. In this setting, pensions emerge as a critical instrument of social protection, ensuring dignity, independence and financial security in old age.

Also Read | NPS flexibility will boost its appeal but iron out tax wrinkles please

Policy steps over the past two decades have covered significant ground by replacing unfunded defined-benefit pension schemes for government employees with defined-contribution systems; and by setting up the National Pension System (NPS) for citizens at large.

However, progress on the latter has been modest, given the size of the population to be covered, low financial literacy and failures to appreciate the importance of pension. Yet, concerns of fiscal sustainability, coverage gaps and benefit adequacy in the context of OASIS cannot be overlooked.

The magnitude of the issue calls for a policy shift that recognizes OASIS as a bedrock of socioeconomic stability and harbinger of economic growth. Its approach should define the imperatives and uniqueness of pension as integral to OASIS and focus on pension planning right from birth rather than near or after retirement.

The recently introduced NPS-Vatsalya for children holds promise. It can be an effective OASIS instrument for Viksit Bharat, the philosophical underpinning of which must be universal economic security and stability. NPS-Vatsalya enrols a child below 18 years with a minimum annual contribution of 1,000.

We recommend that every child be given a Permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN) at birth and a PRAN-DAN card (DAN for Defending a Newborn) loaded with an initial contribution of 1,000 by the Union government.

Given that 23-25 million children are born each year, the outlay would be 2,300 crore, a modest sum compared to expenditure on the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme alone, which provides a monthly pension of 200-500 for the poor aged above 60 years.

The PRAN should be linked to the mobile/UPI number of the newborns guardian, who should be prompted through a message every month to contribute a minimum 100 to the account.

The initial contribution of 1,000 could be funded in several ways: court penalties and fines, traffic challans, unclaimed funds with banks, insurance companies, etc; or even donations from individuals or companies, including NPS intermediaries, potentially through co-branded and QR-code embedded PRAN-DAN cards.

For the scheme to take off, contributions to Vatsalya must be tax exempt, as under the old income tax regime. For parents under the taxability threshold, the government could consider supplementing the parents contribution if fiscally feasible.

State governments can be encouraged to supplement contributions too, considering how it will reduce their future social security burden.

Children signed up for the scheme in 2026 will be at least 21 years old in 2047. By then, their PRAN account will have a sufficient accumulated corpus to provide a sense of financial stability. Their starting stake should motivate them to keep making contributions after getting employment.

The corpus will grow further with monthly contributions during their working lives, imbuing them with confidence predicated on the promise of a respectable monthly pension after retirement.

Our calculations show that with annual contributions of 1,200 up to 25 years of age, 1.2 lakh from 26-30, 1.8 lakh from 31-40, 2.4 lakh from 41-50 and 3 lakh from 51-60, the corpus will grow to over 4.2 crore by age 60 if compounded at 9%, which is around the current rate of return on NPS funds.

This can provide a pension of over 2.1 lakh a month (at 6%), with the corpus intact. By 2047, when most of Indias elderly population receiving unfunded pensions from the government will have passed on or reduced substantially, the nation will be in an enviable position with largely funded OASIS.

All it takes is an annual government investment of 1,000 per child to encourage higher amounts being put in by subscribers. The entire amount being locked in for up to 60 years would help India fund long-gestation projects.

The massive pool of pension funds (the NPS has over 15 trillion despite limited participation) so built over the decades will support economic growth.

Also Read | The EPFOs ATM plan is good but it must resolve its pension muddle first

Empirical evidence from various countries shows that elderly poverty rates are much lower where pension coverage is broad and its benefits adequate. As someone said, you cannot cross a chasm in two leaps; the time to take a policy leap across the countrys pension chasm is now.

The authors are, respectively, former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India and former executive director of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority
Tayzar San is the most wanted man in Myanmar. In 2021 the wiry and bespectacled doctor led the first protest against the military junta that had toppled Myanmars democratically elected government. In the years since then he has avoided capture, aided by a supportive population; he pops up in settlements across the country to lead demonstrations against the junta. In early December he appeared in Mandalay, the second-biggest city, to protest against the regimes latest ploy: a sham election that is due to begin on December 28th. Delighted locals applauded and flashed the three-finger salute (a symbol of opposition to military rule) before their hero slipped back into the shadows.

That appearance, in a market right by a military headquarters, was one of Dr Tayzar Sans most daring yet. But it came at the end of a disastrous year for the rebels who are fighting the ruling generals. Armies representing Myanmars many ethnic minorities have lost battles with the junta in the countrys hilly borderlands. Youngsters from the Burman majority who are fighting in the centre of the country have taken a pounding, too. Lately the regime has launched brutal new offensives aimed at acquiring territory ahead of the election, which will take place in three phases and conclude only on January 25th. Its forces are gaining ground.

All of this marks a stunning reversal for Myanmars revolutionaries. At the end of 2024 they appeared to have the junta on the run. For a time it had seemed possible that resistance forces might lay siege to Mandalay. Whispers spread that the army was on the brink of collapse.

Four factors help explain why things have turned out so differently. First are the actions of China. It has been cutting the supply lines of rebel groups that operate along its border with Myanmar, for fear of the instability that might follow were the junta to fall. It instructed two big rebel groups to return to the government territory they had won in 2024 (when one of these militias refused to comply, China kidnapped its leader, releasing him only after it signed a truce with the junta). China also ordered the two groups to stop selling ammunition to other rebel armies. That has left rebels who are still fighting desperately short of bullets.

Second, Donald Trumps evisceration of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has hit some rebel groups hard. USAID never supplied the armed groups directly, but it did provide assistance such as food aid to populations under their care. The agencys closure has therefore handed rebel groups a lot more work. Consider the resistance in Karenni State, along the Thai border: by the end of 2023, the rebels had conquered most of the state. But in 2025 they had to shift 60% of their military budget (about $10m) to meeting humanitarian needs, according to their governing council. It has since lost the states biggest settlements to a junta counter-offensive.

The third and fourth factors relate to changes in tactics. In 2024 the junta began conscripting young men. Analysts think there are now 80,000 to 100,000 conscripts in its forces. Many are high on amphetamines, and are thought to have received training from Russian advisers who have seen combat in Ukraine. These youngsters are being sent to attack rebel positions in huge waves. With too few bullets to mow down each onslaught, the rebels are being forced to withdraw.

If its ground war is growing more primitive, the junta has become more innovative in the air. At the outset of the conflict its forces made comparatively little use of drones. But they have since acquired much Chinese kit. In addition, soldiers in the centre of the country have been attacking schools and health clinics in rebel-held areas using motorised paragliders similar to those employed by Hamas when it attacked Israel on October 7th 2023. These assaults are making it difficult for rebels to administer the territory they have won.

Pulling off a rigged election would cap the juntas successes. In large swathes of the country fighting will make voting impossible. But the generals insist that any constituency able to open even a single polling station will elect a member of parliament; they have lately stepped up attacks to make sure that this can happen in as many places as possible. In theory some 55 parties have registered to participate, in addition to the juntas preferred political party. In reality all credible opposition has been banned. Already, more than 200 people have been charged with interfering with the poll, including some who simply cheered Dr Tayzar San in Mandalay.

The poll might nevertheless give the junta the appearance of legitimacy. Myanmar has been shunned by most of its neighbours since 2021, when the junta massacred protesters. Min Aung Hlaing, its leader, has been banned from summits held by the Association of South East Asian Nations, a regional bloc; several of its members have withdrawn their ambassadors from the country. But some South-East Asian countries have started to regret cold-shouldering the regime. They are looking for an excuse to reopen talks on a range of issues.

The sham vote may also help resolve tensions within the ruling junta. Some of its top brass regard Min Aung Hlaing as dim and inept; they still blame him for military losses in 2024. Foreign diplomats speculate that after the election he will give up one of his two titles, either that of president or commander-in-chief. He may see that as a way of mollifying rivals without giving up much real power. But some analysts think it could result in a more consensual kind of leadership. That is widely thought to be the reason that Chinese diplomats (who are said to find Min Aung Hlaing difficult to work with) have been pushing the general to hold a vote.

Even if that is what happens, there is little reason to think life for Myanmars people will improve. Dr Tayzar San and his fellow revolutionaries reject the idea that a sham election will change anything. After five years of marching and fighting, they are holding out for a real one.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Sunday announced an alliance between the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and its Sharad Pawar-led faction, the NCP(SP), marking a reunion after a bitter feud.

The announcement came during a rally in Pimpri Chinchwad ahead of the upcoming civic polls: elections to 29 civic corporations in Maharashtra, including Pimpri Chinchwad, will be held on 15 January, with vote counting set to take place the next day.

"While finalizing the list of candidates for the Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal elections, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Nationalist Congress Party Sharadchandra Pawar faction decided to contest the polls together in Pimpri Chinchwad. Because of this, the family will come together once again," Ajit Pawar told reporters.

Also Read | Ajit Pawar-led NCP announces list of 37 candidates for BMC polls

"There were many questions in peoples minds about what would happen; many times, certain decisions have to be taken in the interest of Maharashtras development. I have discussed seat-sharing with leaders here, and that too will be announced soon," he added.

The Maharashtra Deputy CM's announcement comes a day after NCP(SP) leader leader Azam Pansare said that the two factions would like alliance.

After meeting the Deputy CM on Saturday, Pansare said that the two had met after a while, adding, We wish to have an alliance [between NCP(SP) and NCP]... He told me that a decision will be taken soon.

Teaming up for civic polls The announced reunion comes over two-and-a-half-years after Ajit Pawar surprised everyone in July 2023 and rebelled against his uncle to become a part of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance.

After the split, both factions of the NCP faced each other in the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections and the Maharashtra Legislative Elections in the same year.

While the senior Pawar fared better in the Parliamentary polls, winning eight seats to his nephew's one, Ajit turned the tables in the Assembly polls, winning 41 seats to the NCP(SP)'s 10.

Ahead of this year's civic corporation elections, rumours surfaced about a potential Pawar reunion in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad, but hopes of an alliance had faded after it was reported on Saturday that both would contest the Pune polls independently after a disagreement over which party symbol to contest under.
Key Points

D-Wave Quantum is among the few companies successfully commercializing quantum annealing technology.

The companys Advantage2 platform is gaining commercial traction.

With more than 100 revenue-generating customers and a strong cash position, D-Wave has the financial flexibility to scale and invest.

10 stocks we like better than D-Wave Quantum 

Quantum computing is gradually transitioning from research to commercialization. D-Wave Quantum (NYSE: QBTS) stands out as it is already running quantum-annealing-based production workloads for business and government customers.

By focusing on solving optimization problems rather than pursuing general-purpose quantum computing from the outset, D-Wave is already experiencing robust adoption.

Image source: Getty Images

Commercial traction

D-Wave's revenue rose nearly 100% in its recent quarter, to $3.7 million, while GAAP gross margin exceeded 70%.

The company's Advantage2 annealing platform is now in full production, enabling the optimization of larger and more complex problems than prior generations. D-Wave says more than 20.6 million customer problems have already been run on Advantage2 prototypes.

D-Wave now serves over 100 revenue-generating customers, including two dozen Forbes Global 2000 companies. The company has also signed a 10 million-euro, five-year contract with Swiss Quantum Technology, , providing multiyear revenue visibility.

At the same time, D-Wave is also working on developing its own fault-tolerant gate-model-based quantum system (a design approach to develop a general-purpose quantum computer). With $836 million in cash on its balance sheet, the company has the financial flexibility to pursue near-term commercialization as well as the development of this computer.

10-bagger potential

Still, becoming a 10-bagger stock appears to be a low-probability outcome for D-Wave Quantum, especially in the absence of a commercially viable fault-tolerant gate-model-based quantum system needed for broad-based enterprise adoption.

D-Wave is already trading at 423 times sales, a valuation that incorporates a significant portion of the future growth. Even assuming analysts' aggressive fiscal 2030 revenue estimate of $590 million and a more reasonable price-to-sales multiple of 30 (in line with the top-performing artificial intelligence companies in 2025), the resulting market capitalization would still fall well short of a 10-times increase from its current market cap.

Yet, the stock may still appeal as an attractive niche addition to a diversified and large investment portfolio for investors seeking upside.
Fractal Analytics Ltd is likely to begin the book-building process for its 4,900 crore market debut as early as next week, two people directly aware of the matter said.

India's first artificial intelligence unicorn, which received regulatory approval for launching its initial public offering (IPO) in November, is likely to file updated draft papers by mid-January 2026, one of the people quoted above said.

The company has been meeting potential investors, both local and global, and has received investment commitments from several of them, the other person explained.

Book building is a process where merchant bankers determine a price range within which investors can bid for shares in an IPO. The final price is determined after the bidding process is completed.

A book-building process is also likely to help Fractal decide on its pre-IPO placement, the second person said. Fractal is considering giving shares worth up to 256 crore to institutional investors before the main offering, potentially reducing the fresh issue size if completed.

No timeline is concrete and the timing of the updated filing could change based on how long the book-build takes, both the people added.

Mint has reached out to Fractal Analytics for comments on the story.

Fractal provides solutions such as customer relationship management analytics, cognitive automation, quantum computing, and machine learning operation services. Its clients range from financial services and health to insurance and retail markets worldwide.

The firm, backed by TPG Capital, filed its offer documents in August 2025. The IPO comprises primary shares worth up to 1,279 crore and a share sale of up to 3,621 crore.

Shareholding structure

TPG has offered to sell shares worth nearly 2,000 crore, and British private equity firm Apax Partners will offer shares worth another 1,462 crore. Satya Kumari Remala, Rao Venkateswara Remala and GLM Family Trust are the other selling shareholders in the OFS.

According to the draft papers, TPG holds a 27.27% stake in the company, Apax owns another 10.93%, GLM Family Trust has 19.33%, and IPO-bound Gaja Capital holds 1.13%.

Over the last three years, Fractal has raised 75.2 crore, primarily through the issuance of equity via employee stock ownership plans. Ahead of the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) filing, Apax sold 1,541 shares to Janaki Akella, an independent director at the company, for 5,550 apiece. Subsequently, a bonus issue of four shares for every one share held adjusted the price of every share to 1,110.

Fractal's IPO comes at a time when there has been wide discourse on concerns of an AI bubble. While experts worldwide are debating whether there is overvaluation in AI, there is still hope that India can outperform its global peers if the global AI bubble bursts.

IPO surge

In 2025, as many as 365 IPOs raised a record 1.95 trillion, surpassing the previous high of 1.9 trillion raised by 336 IPOs in 2024. A Motilal Oswal analysis showed that 701 companies raised 3.8 trillion over the last two calendar years, higher than the 3.2 trillion mobilised through 629 IPOs between 2019 and 2023.

The Motilal analysis, based on company age, showed that young companies, those less than 20 years old, contributed around 53% of the 3.8 trillion raised over the last two years, underscoring the growing participation of relatively younger firms in the public markets.

Meanwhile, a strong pipeline of companies across various sectors is preparing to launch their IPOs in 2026, setting the stage for another milestone year for Indias primary market. Big-ticket names like Reliance Jio, whose valuation is pegged at around $170 billion, as well as hospitality platform Oyo, and payments aggregator PhonePe's $1.5 billion debut, are expected to hit the market next year.
Meta owned social media platform Instagram seems to be down for many users, according to data from outage tracking website Downdetector. The reports on Downdetector peaked at around 4:10 AM EST in the US, with over 180 users complaining about not being able to access the popular app.

Some users on social media also shared images of the error they are facing, which showed a circular refresh logo along with a blank screen without any error message.

As per Downdetector, 45% of users complained about app related issues, 41% about login related issues and 14% about Feed > Timeline related problems.

The outage doesnt seem to have affected many users in India, with just 10 reports being registered by users about having trouble accessing the platform, as per Downdetector.

Meanwhile, around 80 users have also complained about problems accessing Facebook. However, the lack of reported issues with WhatsApp, Threads and other Meta owned apps suggests that this might not be a Meta wide issue and may be restricted to a few apps.

Since the initial outage, the reports have begun to decline on Downdetector, suggesting that the issue may have been fixed by Instagram. Users on the platform have also commented about the login issues being fixed and being able to use the Instagram app once again.

How to know if you are affected by the outage? If you are wondering how to make sure if you are indeed affected by the outage or if it is an app related issue, trying the following things may help.

Try closing the Instagram app, removing it from the app tray and opening it again.

Go to Settings > Apps > Instagram and clear cache.

If you are still unable to access the Instagram app, you are most likely affected by the outage. In such a scenario, any other remedial measures like uninstalling and reinstalling the app arent likely to bear fruit. You will need to be patient and wait for Instagram to fix the server side issue.

Alternatively, you may also try using the desktop version of the app to check if it works.

Watch: Massive AWS Outage Disrupts Snapchat, WhatsApp, Reddit, Banks, and Amazon Services Worldwide

Recent outages: In the recent months there have been a number of outages that have shook the internet, starting with the AWS outage in mid-October that led to almost half of the internet going down including Meta servcies, Snapchat, Amazon platfroms, Disney platforms and more.
Milwaukee Public Schools spent 10 months fixing lead-based paint hazards in nearly 100 elementary schools. The move comes after a student was found with lead poisoning linked to school exposure.

Most of these old buildings had peeling lead paint on walls, windows and radiators. It created dangerous dust for young children. The problem was traced to years of reduced maintenance staff and ageing infrastructure.

The district launched a massive $43 million project to scrape off old paint, clean all dust and seal surfaces with special primer. The schools have been repainted with safe, lead-free paint.

The city briefly lost support from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in April because of national staff cuts. The CDC later restored the programme in June, allowing full cooperation with the city again.

Milwaukee Public Schools confirmed that every affected school has now been inspected and declared safe, according ot CNN. Over the course of 10 months, teams worked across approximately 7 million square feet of school space.

This included 2,700 classrooms along with corridors, offices and other common areas. The entire project was completed almost two weeks before the 31 December deadline.

Superintendent Brenda Cassellius has said that the achievement is important for the whole school community. She thanked students, families and staff for their patience.

Also Read | Why workers in their 40s are going back to school

Because of the hard work of so many dedicated teams in our district, we can move forward with the peace of mind that our schools are safe, Superintendent Cassellius said in a news release.

I offer our most sincere apology for the disruption and the anxiety this may have caused your family, and commit to doing all that we can to ensure that it just never happens again, she added.

Milwaukee Public Schools: Lead contamination Milwaukee Public Schools had to relocate students or close sections of six schools due to severe lead contamination. Classes continued in more than 90 other schools while the repairs were underway.

The issue surfaced after a student was found to have high lead levels in January 2025. Inspections later revealed peeling lead paint in 99 older, poorly-maintained school buildings.

The original $25 million ( 224.5 crore) plan grew to $43 million ( 386 crore) because the problem was much larger than expected. According to Milwaukee leaders, protecting children from lead hazards is non-negotiable.

Reactions Mayor Cavalier Johnson acknowledged that families faced fear and frustration after school shifts and health concerns. He agreed they were right to demand better.

Also Read | Edu dept in Raj's Sriganganagar has a warning for schools ahead of Christmas

It caused fear, it caused frustration, and Milwaukee Public Schools families were right to demand better. And, thats exactly what were delivering for them, a better result, Johnson said.

Milwaukees health commissioner, Michael Totoraitis, said he didnt expect the huge lead-removal project to finally reach its completion. He said it required an equally unprecedented response from the health department.
Ballymahon Vocational School has paid a poignant tribute to one of its earliest staff members, the late Mary Skelly (nee Dolan), Ballynamanagh, Colehill, Longford and formerly of Kilrooskey, Roscommon, who died peacefully in Laurel Lodge Nursing Home on Christmas Eve, December 24.

They remembered Mary as a dedicated and inspiring teacher and as one of the foundation stones of Ballymahon VS.

The school tribute read; This weekend, we say goodbye to one of the earliest members of staff at Ballymahon Vocational School. Mary Skelly, known to many as Ms Dolan, was among the first Home Economics teachers in the school during the 1950s and was part of the old school on the Ballymulvey Road.

Those who remember that time also recall her colleagues who have gone before her  Mr Donnelly, Mr Dowd and Ms McGrath, among others. Former students often speak fondly of Marys role in one of the highlights of the school year: the Christmas dinner. Prepared, cooked and served by the girls, and enjoyed all the more thanks to their careful training in table manners, it reflected both the standards and the spirit of the time.

Also read: Longford panto legend Davy Flaherty 'a bubbling wreck' as he stars on stage with his daughter

These were very different days, and we salute Mary and her fellow teachers at Ballymahon Vocational School who embraced the introduction of co-education. As then Principal Mr Donnelly once recorded, it was frowned upon by a substantial section of the people, but time was to prove that nothing could be more natural than having boys and girls studying together.

By the 1950s, Ballymahon had become a progressive centre of learning, and Ms Dolan was very much part of that progress.

This weekend, the Management, staff and students of Ballymahon Vocational School salute Mary and thank her for her enormous contribution to the foundation stones of our school. We are proud to continue building on the strong foundations laid by such dedicated and inspiring people. Thank you, Mary. May she rest in peace.

Also read: RIP: 'SuperValu Longford will never be the same again' Tributes paid to wonderful Mohill lady

Mary was predeceased by her husband Harry, and her brothers John and Peter. She is deeply regretted by her loving family, her sisters Nancy, Terry and Bridie (Cox), brother-in-law Dan, sister-in-law Kathy Skelly (London), nieces Mary and Paula, the Skelly and Byrne Family, relatives, friends, and very good neighbours especially Keith & Daphne. May she rest in peace.

Removal took place to the Church of The Sacred Heart Carrickedmond on Saturday evening, December 27. Funeral Mass took place on Sunday, December 28 followed by burial in Abbeyshrule cemetery.

Pictures | Longford students have an absolute ball at their graduation dance
According to the Annual Labour Survey for 2024 published by Spain's employment ministry, almost two-thirds of companies in the Balearics said they struggled to find workers. The exact percentage (64.4%) was four and a half points higher than in 2023; it is likely to be higher still in 2025.

The reasons for this difficulty are varied, e.g. a lack of applicants, a lack of technical skills, language barriers, and disagreements over working conditions.

Jordi Mora, president of the Pimem federation of small to medium-sized business associations, says: "The imbalance between the supply and demand of workers is becoming chronic." In the past, when labour was scarce, the solution was to import workers from mainland Spain or other parts of Europe.

House prices in the Balearics now make that option unfeasible; it is much more difficult to attract workers to relocate to a region where accommodation will eat up a significant portion of their salary. "The solutions that worked in the past are no longer effective. We have been experiencing a lack of applicants for some time now," Mora adds.

Low unemployment is a further reason. The Balearic economy is "performing very well". There have been 22 consecutive months of record job creation. Then there is the school dropout rate. "We are lacking in vocational training, in skilled technicians. It's a structural problem that leads to a lack of skills. There's a shortage of good candidates."

The construction industry faces a particular challenge. Climent Olives of the builders association highlights a labour shortage exacerbated by "a worrying ageing of the workforce and the lack of generational replacement". The average age of workers is 45. Only ten per cent are aged 30 or younger. "If this trend continues, the sector faces a talent and experience gap that cannot be filled naturally. The problem is not that the sector isnt attractive, but rather that theres a lack of information."

Olives is calling on the Spanish Government to establish a comprehensive plan "that addresses this crisis holistically and urgently", including vocational training, regularisation of immigrant workers based on residency, and increased participation of young people and women.
Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE:WY) is included among the 15 Dividend Stocks with Low Payout Ratios and Strong Upside.

DA Davidson Highlights Timberland Upside in Weyerhaeusers (WY) Medium-Term Plan

On December 15, DA Davidson kept a Buy rating and a $31 price target on Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE:WY). The firm said it was encouraged by the medium-term goals management laid out at its Investor Day last week. DA Davidson pointed to the expected $380 million uplift from Timberlands and Strategic Land Solutions, noting that even in a downside case, it would reinforce confidence in per-acre values used in current net asset value estimates. More likely, the firm said, those initiatives support upside through better yield accretion.

Separately, Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE:WY) and Aymium announced they signed a memorandum of understanding to work together on producing and selling 1.5 million tons of sustainable biocarbon each year for use in metals manufacturing. As a first step, the companies formed a joint venture called TerraForge Biocarbon Solutions.

The venture plans to build a jointly owned facility next to Weyerhaeusers lumber mill in McComb, Mississippi. At that site, wood fiber will be converted into biocarbon using a low-emissions, combustion-free process. Under the agreement, the partners intend to secure long-term sales contracts and identify sites for additional production facilities across Weyerhaeusers footprint over the next five years. The expansion brings together Weyerhaeusers large timberland base and manufacturing network with Aymiums proprietary technology and experience producing biocarbon products.

Once fully scaled, the network could convert more than 7 million tons of wood fiber supplied exclusively by Weyerhaeuser and produce 1.5 million tons of metallurgical-grade biocarbon annually.

Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE:WY) is one of the worlds largest private owners of timberlands. Founded in 1900, the company owns or controls about 10.4 million acres of timberlands across the US.

While we acknowledge the potential of WY 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 Highest Paying Monthly Dividend Stocks to Buy and 10 Best Debt Free Dividend Stocks to Buy Now.

Disclosure: None.
A shipment of $400,000 worth of lobsters was hijacked before delivery after being picked up from Taunton and headed to Costco stores in Illinois and Minnesota.

The CEO of the Indiana-based company Rexing Companies, which managed the shipment, told Fox Chicago that the disappearance of the cargo appeared to be at the hands of a theft ring of some sort.

The company employs more than 100 people and the CEO said that the $400,000 loss is heartbreaking.

This is a huge issue across the country, Dylan Rexing told the outlet. It directly impacts businesses and contributes to higher prices for consumers.

No arrests have been announced in connection with the incident. Rexing said that the FBI is involved.

They are aware of the issue and they are actively working on it, Rexing said.

Asked by the news station about the potential for an inside job, Rexing responded:

I would tell you its pretty safe to say this is a theft ring of some sort, Im not sure who exactly is involved. But its a big problem. Im not so sure that its necessarily an inside job, at least inside our office or inside the shipping location where its shipped from.

Rexing added that 10 days earlier there was a load of crabs stolen from the same facility, which was not named.

The company will be impacted by the loss through hiring delays, reduced employee bonuses and passing higher costs down the supply chain, according to Rexing.

Rexing told NBC Boston that he believes that the driver impersonated a legitimate carrier and stole the seafood.

This theft wasnt random, Rexing said. It followed a pattern were seeing more and more, where criminals impersonate legitimate carriers using spoofed emails and burner phones to hijack high-value freight while its in transit.

Costco and Rexing Companies did not immediately return a request for comment on Sunday.

Earlier this year, the federal Homeland Security Investigations announced Operation Boiling Point aimed at taking down organized theft groups that target cargo and retail supply chains.

Officials said that these types of thefts cost the economy between $15 and $35 billion every year.
A GoFundMe campaign is raising money for the family of Kayla Corrigan, the 21-year-old college student who was killed when her familys home in Needham burned down on Christmas Eve.

Firefighters responded to the blaze at the six-bedroom, 6,500-square-foot home around 5 a.m. on Wednesday, the State Fire Marshals Office said previously. First responders tried to push into the house at 28 Woodworth Road, but were forced to turn back as flames spread quickly through the three-story home.

Two other adults who were inside the home at the time of the fire escaped, the State Fire Marshals Office said. Firefighters found Corrigan dead inside the house hours later.

Ultimately, 75 firefighters from 10 different communities responded to the four-alarm fire, the State Fire Marshals Office said. Fire investigators determined that the fire was accidental and began in the homes attached garage.

Money collected through the GoFundMe campaign will go toward Kayla Corrigans funeral and memorial expenses, as well as temporary housing and basic necessities for the Corrigans, according to campaign organizer Amy Lund.

In addition to losing someone we all love dearly, the fire destroyed their home and their belongings, leaving them facing both emotional devastation and sudden financial hardship, Lund wrote on the campaign page.

Kayla Corrigan graduated from Newton Country Day School in 2022, according to her LinkedIn page. She was on track to graduate from Syracuse University with a degree in marketing management this spring.

Kayla was a beautiful 21 year old girl who was deeply loved by many. Her absence has left a space that can never be filled, Lund wrote.

The GoFundMe campaign for the Corrigans had raised nearly $160,000 by Sunday afternoon, exceeding its $150,000 goal.
I read the coverage and online commentary surrounding the arrest of Holyoke City Councilor Israel Rivera with a mixture of sadness and recognition.

Let me be clear at the outset: I do not condone driving under the influence. I do not excuse the behavior described in the police report, nor the things Rivera allegedly said while intoxicated. If he is found guilty, he should face the legal consequences, as anyone should.

And yet, I also recognize something deeply familiar in this story.

I grew up in an Irish American family where alcohol was both ordinary and destructive. I remember my father  a police officer  being pulled over for drinking and driving and told by fellow officers to go home. I remember my grandfather  who was also a cop  receiving the same treatment.

As I got older, I learned what to say to the police in my neighborhood if I got into trouble. In fact, my father gave me and my three siblings a card with his name on it that we were told to give to police officers if we got into trouble. He also gave such a card to friends of the family. This was our get out of jail card and I am sure such treatment still exists.

There was an understanding  spoken and unspoken  that some people were granted grace, discretion and protection, and others were not.

I have seen this play out repeatedly. In fact, it happened to me: I was pulled over for driving under the influence and the police officer drove me home. No headlines. No public reckoning.

I understand that Rivera is a city councilor, but he is also human. The fact that he has dedicated himself to public service does not render him incapable of serious failure. Nor does his failure erase the work he has done for his community  work that exceeds what many of his loudest critics have contributed in their lifetimes.

I am a recovering alcoholic with three years of sobriety. I know what brings people to alcohol and drugs. I know the demons people try  unsuccessfully  to drown. I am willing to bet that many of those rushing to condemn this man carry demons of their own. I am certain that some have done things behind closed doors they would be horrified to see laid out in a police report or splashed across social media. I am certain some of them are leaders in our communities.

I personally know men who present themselves as upstanding citizens while speaking to their wives and children with intimidation and cruelty  behavior that causes lasting harm and rarely results in handcuffs or public outrage. Many of them are leaders in our community, too.

What troubles me most is not accountability, but the self-righteous delight some seem to take in public humiliation. Stone-throwing is easy when we believe our own failures will never be exposed, or when we were fortunate enough to live lives in which discretion and forgiveness were quietly extended to us. If we are honest, many of us know this to be true.

I hope Rivera takes responsibility. I hope he confronts whatever led him to that night. And I hope he emerges from this moment with humility and change, and brings that new understanding to the public work he has dedicated his life to.

But I also hope we take a hard look at our appetite for moral spectacle, and at the unequal grace this city has long extended to some, while denying it to others.

Accountability matters. So does mercy. We are poorer as a community when we forget either.

PATRICK OCONNOR, Holyoke

More ignoring hard evidence

I understand that The Republican felt the need to give local commentator Rich Hilbert a more prominent platform in the Friday edition, he having been specifically called upon to respond by the author of a recent guest viewpoint. More puzzling is why he was called out, and expected to address these questions.

Because all we get is the usual deflection and blame. After acknowledging he was asked to address the various areas of American society under presidential attack, he again fails to address any of these issues and moves quickly to whataboutism. They (previous administrations) were doing this too, so its okay.

One would hope (not me, but someone might) that since Hilbert had repeatedly demanded, then repeatedly received (then ignored), specific, concrete examples of these principles being violated, that he would give his own specific concrete examples of other administrations taking the kinds of actions that are being taken right now. Since there are no such examples however, I can see why he didnt bother with that step.

As for the rest, were under such a constant barrage of misinformation, lies and distraction its difficult to address all of them, which of course is part of the MAGA strategy of attack. Go after everything, everywhere all at once. Nor is it a surprise that people view the mainstream media as less credible.

Discrediting them is a major goal of the current administration and has worked to a sad degree. But its important to not allow whats happening to go unaddressed. I will respond to two of his other points.

Do you see the staggering hypocrisy of declaring people being killed in speedboats narco-terrorists, while at the same time pardoning an individual responsible for the importation of hundreds of tons of cocaine into the United States (ex-Honduran President Hernandez)? That the issue is not drug interdiction but rather a wish to attack Venezuela (a further and larger distraction in itself)?

You could compare it to the sincerity of, say, attacking universities by accusing them of antisemitism, while at the same time inviting Nazi sympathizers to dinner at the White House.

Finally, Hilbert accuses Democrats of ignoring the coming insolvency of Social Security. But The Big Baleful Bill, (which Democrats opposed) with its giveaways to billionaires adds five trillion dollars to the national debt over the next few years. In the current atmosphere of projection, black is white and up is down, and I unfortunately dont expect to change the mind of anyone who can ignore hard evidence of whats happening.

MARK A. PAPIRIO, Springfield

Antisemites always have their reason

The Rev. Jonathan Tetherlys recent letter, published Christmas Day, a day when much of the world celebrates joy, kindness and good will to all men, suggests that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus policies are the cause of the current global surge in antisemitism.

While criticism of any governments military or political strategy is a hallmark of democracy, the logic that a Jewish leaders actions justify or cause the targeting of Jews in Sydney, London, or New York is a dangerous fallacy.

History provides a grim refutation of the idea that antisemitism is a reaction to Jewish behavior. Antisemitism has existed for millennia, long before the modern state of Israel was established in 1948. It has flourished under monarchs, communist regimes and democracies alike. To claim that todays hatred is caused by the current Israeli administration ignores the fact that antisemites have always found a pretext  whether religious, racial, or political  to justify their prejudice.

We must be careful with the causation argument. When we say a leaders actions cause a minority group to be attacked halfway across the world, we excuse the bigots. If a person attacks a Jewish family in Australia because of a conflict in the Middle East, the cause is that persons own prejudice and hatred and their inability to distinguish between a sovereign government and an individuals ethnicity or faith.

If we accept the premise that the behavior of the Israeli government is the root of antisemitism, we are essentially saying that Jews are only safe from hatred so long as we act in a way that satisfies the world.

That is not a standard we apply to any other ethnic or religious group, and it is a standard that historically leads to the further marginalization of the Jewish people.

ADAM M. SOLENDER, Springfield

Adam M. Solender is the Interim CEO of the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts.

Between the lines on story about benefits to dead people

Let the reader beware that whenever any arm of the Trump administration (Department of Health and Human Services, in this case) puts out a new report, it seems likely it will push a narrative of federal waste to justify further cuts in benefits to the poor.

The recent story about $207 million in payments for dead people in the Dec. 24 issue is an example. First, it does not explain whether the services were provided prior to death, while billing only took place after death.

Also, it confuses the reader with inconsistent terminology. Following the headline that Medicaid paid more than $207 million for dead people, the article goes on to say that improper payments were made to health care providers. Despite that, the recent law signed by Trump was intended to stop payments to dead people .

Then, the article said that it had clawed back over $31 million that improperly went to dead people. While the program probably made some mistakes, this report casts more doubt on DHHS than on patients or providers.

DENNIS GORDAN, Longmeadow

Reader wants more from the right

While I do enjoy reading The Republicans Monday columns, one from the right and one from the left, the quality of thought from the right is lacking. Writers such as William Kristol, Jennifer Rubin and George Will wrote wonderful conservative columns where their positions were well founded.

Todays group, not so much. The guest writer last Monday was in high dudgeon over grudges regarding President Trump, a felon. I suspect author Jared Whitley would add to his list my use of the term felon; however, the man is an adjudged convicted felon. He was convicted on 34 counts of fraud, that is a fact. It is perfectly proper to call him that.

Whitley mentioned things that dismayed him over how the felon has been treated. However, he left out any context. Did the lack of applause for the cancer victim happen after he mocked a neurologically challenged journalist at his rally, or when he mocked a Gold Star family? How about the Mexican rapists, and people from shole countries?

Why do we have to look past these hateful comments as just Trump being Trump, the rights default position, and then treat him respectfully?

Do I really have to remind Whitley that civil rights for ADA people is the law of the land?

Our Constitution demands due process. Badgeless, masked thugs beating unarmed people, then throwing them into unmarked vans in the dead of night to be detained, is a crime, particularly when they are citizens.

But quotas make it impossible for these thugs to differentiate, so citizens are consigned to jails for no crime. Some people are there for days, some longer. Yes, the writer claims to be no expert. No excuse. This has been front page news in every major newspaper in the country.

You need a warrant to walk onto private property. Why do I have to say this?

It isnt Trump Derangement Syndrome, its a cult delusion syndrome for those who wont see this man as he really is.

I read countless opinions in newspapers. The trend I see is for a Trump supporter to write a comment that is snarky, untrue, unverified, or down and out wrong, only to reply with insults if challenged.

When Charlie Kirk was murdered, the right went wild calling for criminal action against those who wrote of actual things Kirk said. Trump weighed in on who was responsible  even before there was a person of interest identified. He blamed the leftist Antifa. Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband were murdered and the president said nothing. Nancy Pelosis husband was viciously attacked; Republicans laughed. When Rob Reiner and his wife were murdered, Trump said it was because of all the bad things Reiner said about him that caused his death.

When the right can treat this president as he deserves, the left will let up. This is their problem and only the right can solve it.

Trump has no respect for anybody who doesnt do what he says. He acts like an undisciplined child, and the right coddles him.

KATHERINE B. BARZ, Wilbraham
SPRINGFIELD  Two people were displaced after a fire in an attic damaged their home early Sunday morning.

The fire was reported at about 1:50 a.m. at 853 Armory St. The first arriving firefighters found flames in the attic and were able to extinguish them before it spread, Fire Capt. Drew Piemonte said.

There were no injuries reported at the fire, he said.

Investigators from the Springfield Arson and Bomb Squad determined an electrical malfunction in the attic caused the fire, Piemonte said.

The American Red Cross of Western Massachusetts is assisting the two residents, who also have a pet dog, he said.
On his first day as president in 2021, Joe Biden issued an order advancing racial equity. Last January, President Donald Trump called that goal an immense public waste and shameful discrimination.

Whiplash continues over what constitutes racial justice in America.

In the Pioneer Valley, some institutions that receive federal money pared away stated commitments to diversity in their hiring and operations. The Republican found the changes by comparing current wording with earlier online pronouncements available through the Internet Archive.

Organizations had good reasons  financial and legal  to keep their heads down, softening or removing promises to address racial inequality. Pressure was mounting from Washington, D.C., to abandon affirmative steps against racism.

On Jan. 20, Trump had directed the Office of Management and Budget, the attorney general and the Office of Personnel Management to terminate all discriminatory programs, including illegal DEI and diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities in the Federal Government, under whatever name they appear.

In an executive order Jan. 21, Trump widened his war on DEI to include the private sector.

The crackdown wasnt limited to government operations  and employers across the country took note. The investigative news organization ProPublica found that more than a thousand charities retooled their mission statements to cut or tone down language that promised to address racial inequity and historic disadvantage.

Bay Paths pivot

Before Trump returned to the White House, Bay Path University in Longmeadow had a lot to say on its website about its diversity goals. On a page labeled Our Mission, Vision & Values, the school listed eight overall goals to advance every learners dreams of a better career, a richer life, and a brighter future.

Today, three of those pledges are gone: Diversity Makes Us Stronger, We Are Committed to Equity and We Pledge to Foster Inclusion and Belonging.

The schools archived webpage from Jan. 17, a week before Trumps second inauguration, went deep in explaining why it held those goals. The school sought equity, it said, because we share honest acknowledgement that pervasive, enduring and corrosive structural inequities have caused BPOC communities to suffer.  We recognize the uncomfortable and incontrovertible truth that ours is a world of imbalanced access to opportunities and resources.

In its promise to foster inclusion and belonging, also removed from the webpage, the school had said this: We value the work of being anti-racist and truly accessible to our diverse population of learners, faculty, and staff, where every voice is encouraged, heard, and respected, and authentic selves are valued.

To be sure, jettisoning such public rhetoric doesnt mean a college is turning away from the objectives in actual work on a campus.

Kathleen Wroblewski, Bay Paths senior director of communications and media relations, said the university moved, on a lawyers advice, to change its statements after getting a Dear Colleague on Feb. 14 letter from the Department of Educations Office for Civil Rights.

The letter made plain that schools faced the loss of federal funding if they didnt adhere to the new administrations rules.

Wroblewski said that would have hurt Bay Path students. Many are first-generation students and eligible for need-based federal Pell grants, she said. That funding is essential to their ability to access and complete their education.  Failure to comply would have put that crucial support at risk, and with it, the educational pathways of the students we serve, she said.

Preparing students for successful careers is our priority, Wroblewski said in a statement, in response to questions from The Republican. That requires protecting the resources that make their education possible while ensuring we remain in full compliance with federal law.

Bishop Talbert W. Swan II, president of the Greater Springfield NAACP, said institutions are doing what they can to survive.

While we would like for them to stand strong and resist, we understand they have a constituency to serve with funds from our taxpayer dollars, he said Friday. They want to fly under the radar. In many ways, I cant blame them. [The government] created a climate where these institutions feel threatened to lose funding if they dont comply.

Bishop Talbert W. Swan II is pastor of the Spring of Hope Church of God in Christ and president of the Greater Springfield NAACP. While we would like for them to stand strong and resist, we understand they have a constituency to serve with funds from our taxpayer dollars, he said of organizations that have changed their public statements about diversity, equity and inclusion. (Douglas Hook / The Republican) Douglas Hook

Since removing content from its website, Wroblewski said the school has worked to make clear to students that it opposes illegal discrimination in any form.

The universitys president, Sandra J. Doran, told the school community last February that the campus, and the affiliated Cambridge College, values all of its members.

We are an institution where every voice and perspective has been, continues to, and will always be valued, Doran said in the statement.

The Longmeadow university was just one of many schools and nonprofits in the region that pulled back from DEI goals in mission statements.

Just a week after Trumps orders, Boston University said it would close its Center for Antiracist Research. Across town, Northeastern University wiped mentions of DEI from its webpages and retitled its Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. New name: Office of Belonging.

Over the course of 2025, words like belonging often replaced or joined inclusion.

The school said it had to act to protect itself. Failing to comply with the law could jeopardize student financial aid and federally funded research across a range of disciplines and projects, Northeastern said in an online post.

Baystates Black and Brown employees

When Trump returned, Baystate Health, one of Western Massachusetts largest employers, with roughly 13,000 workers, was 17 years into what it termed its diversity, equity and inclusion journey.

We are committed to examining our systems and behaviors to ensure they advance equity and shared prosperity, Baystate Health said in its online mission statement, visible as of Jan. 22.

It invited visitors to download a 2022 report on its progress toward DEI goals. Confronting racism and bias behaviors is critical, the company said. We are committed to achieving equity in the hiring, promotion and retention of Black and Brown employees.

Today, that last sentence is gone from Baystates online mission statement. Also edited out is language about the importance of confronting racism and bias.

The pages earlier heading, Our Commitment to Confronting Racism and Bias, was replaced with Our Commitment to Equity, Inclusion and Belonging.

The revised statement is not a full retreat from DEI goals, though the goal is newly framed as a push to benefit everyone.

Baystate Medical Center has revised its online references to DEI goals. The new wording is not a full retreat from diversity goals, though the purpose is newly framed as a push to benefit everyone. (The Republican / file photo) Douglas Hook

Baystate says in online wording today that its vision is to integrate equity and inclusion into every part of our work  from patient care to workplace culture  so that everyone experiences a sense of belonging and the chance to reach their fullest potential.

Heather Duggan, Baystates manager of external communications, said that commitment is alive and well. She said in a statement, in response to questions, that doing right by caregivers and patients has been at the heart of our organization for more than 140 years. Baystate is faithful in words and actions to long-held goals of what she termed welcoming and belonging, social and health justice, meaningful and structural change, and community impact.

While some of our language has changed, Baystate Healths commitment to our people, our communities, and a culture of inclusion and belonging remains unwavering, Duggan said.

The people making these changes had cause to think someone with a long reach and access to the U.S. Treasury was watching.

In his Jan. 21 executive order, the president claimed that critical and influential institutions of American society  have adopted and actively use dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences under the guise of so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion  that can violate the civil-rights laws of this Nation.

Trump ordered executive branch departments and agencies to end all DEI mandates and programs. On top of that, he called on officials charged with upholding civil rights to combat illegal private-sector DEI preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities.

More subtle changes

Some wording changes have been relatively subtle. The Caring Health Center in Springfield, for example, had used its website to declare that it stood ready to serve newcomers to America.

As the community continues to welcome refugees and immigrants, it said in text available on its website June 4, 2024, our commitment to providing appropriate and accessible care is demonstrated by the use of multilingual translation services, and sensitivity to the unique cultural needs of the people we serve.

Today, the posts reference to refugees and immigrants is gone.

Attempts to reach Caring Health Center for comment last week were unsuccessful.

The Caring Health Center in Springfield has edited its online mission to remove a reference to having served immigrants and refugees. (The Republican / file photo) Douglas Hook

The newspaper also reviewed IRS documents, comparing language from nonprofits that must file Form 990 before and after Trumps return to the White House. Part III of the form requires a mission statement. Caring Health did not adjust its mission statement in IRS Form 990 this year. As in the previous two years, the agency said it works to bring the highest level of health care to those who are challenged by socio-economic, linguistic, and cultural barriers.

Also in Springfield, the nonprofit Way Finders Inc., which builds and manages affordable housing, ended 2024 with a particular online commitment that did not survive 2025.

Way Finders builds and advocates for a thriving and equitable region, a webpage said in December 2024, by improving the stability and economic mobility of families and individuals, together with developing and managing a wide range of housing to support strong communities.

Today, that statement of mission does not include the word equitable or the term economic mobility. It reads, Way Finders builds and advocates for thriving communities by strengthening housing options, supportive programs, and economic opportunities.

The Way Finders office at 1780 Main St. in Springfield. The nonprofit, which builds and manages affordable housing, ended 2024 with a particular online commitment that did not survive 2025. (The Republican / file photo)

Back in January, The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts online statement of core values made three specific pledges related to diversity and inclusiveness. The nonprofit said it would strive to have the regions diversity reflected on its staff and board. It said understanding inequality in access to food is essential to conducting our work. And it committed itself to increasing cultural competence and inclusion.

As of last week, that 52-word section had been winnowed, with strive gone, to a 19-word promise to foster diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.

Holding their ground

Many institutions in the region have held onto their promises to be inclusive.

The United Way of Pioneer Valleys Inclusion Policy reads the same way as it did on Jan. 20. Inclusion is essential to what we do, as it creates and strengthens our community, the nonprofit said then  and now.

Gandara Center, in Springfield, has not changed how it lists its mission  to promote the well-being of Hispanics, African-Americans and other culturally diverse populations  on its IRS filing in 2025.

The nonprofit Center for Human Development made no change this year in how it described its mission to the IRS. That wording had not mentioned race; the agency said only that it is dedicated to promoting, enhancing, and protecting the dignity and welfare of people in need.

On its website, CHD notes that it launched a DEI program in 2022. Diversity, equity, and inclusion should always be at the heart of what we do to support our staff and those we serve, Jim Goodwin, the agencys president and CEO, said in a statement on the website.

Also holding firm  and then some  is the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts. The organization raises and manages funding for charitable groups in Franklin, Hampden, and Hampshire counties.

We will advance equity, diversity, and inclusion throughout the regions three counties, including our workplaces and institutions by prioritizing racial equity in all facets of our work, it says online. We have chosen racial equity specifically because of the pervasiveness of racism in interpersonal and intrapersonal relationships and interactions, institutions, and systems in our region and in our country throughout our history. We believe that working toward dismantling systems of racial inequality provides a framework for dismantling all other forms of oppression.

Western New England University in Springfield maintained a promise, on its webpage, to celebrating the diversity of our community, locally and globally, and creating a community that fosters tolerance, integrity, accountability, citizenship, and social responsibility.

Pledges by other higher education institutions in the Pioneer Valley to pursue DEI goals remained visible on many websites, including those of Mount Holyoke College, Springfield Technical Community College and Westfield State University.

Mount Holyoke College devotes a webpage to explaining its stance on DEI.

STCC links on its website to a 59-page document that includes 22 references to diversity.

At some point after March 2024, Elms College in Chicopee added a specific webpage called Our Commitment to Diversity and Nondiscrimination. It refers specifically to diversity and inclusion and guides anyone with questions about DEI to contact a college representative handling that issue.

Our Catholic mission calls us to educate and serve a diverse student population, without discrimination, in an inclusive and vibrant learning community, in an effort to effect positive change in a pluralistic world, the college says.

American International College made pledges before President Trumps second term and those remain unchanged in its online presence. (The Republican / file photo)

Support for DEI goals is plainly stated by American International College. The college made pledges before Trumps second term and those remain unchanged in its online presence.

The Behavioral Health Network, which provides mental and behavioral health care to 33,000 adults and children annually, has not changed what it says online about discrimination since at least mid-2024. We believe that all people have the right to exist free of stigma and discrimination, it says. We promote and value diversity throughout the BHN community and shape our services and interactions with respect to one anothers culture and personal preferences.

Trinity Health, which runs Mercy Medical Center in Springfield, had not referred explicitly to DEI goals in its online mission statement as 2025 began. That wording cited the spirit of the Gospel as a compassionate and transforming healing presence and wasnt changed this year.
Merck Foundation , the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany, recently conducted the 12th Edition of their annual conference, Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary, in partnership with the Government of The Gambia in Banjul, The Gambia.

The conference is co-chaired by H.E. Mrs. FATOUMATTA BAH-BARROW, The First Lady of Gambia and Ambassador of Merck Foundation More Than a Mother and Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation and President of More Than a Mother. H.E. Mrs. KARTUMU YARTA BOAKAI, The First Lady of the Republic of Liberia and Ambassador of Merck Foundation More Than a Mother along with The First Ladies of Burundi, Central Africa, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe and Senegal joined as the Guests of Honor and Keynote Speakers.

Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej emphasized, It was a pleasure meeting my dear sister H.E. Mrs. KARTUMU YARTA BOAKAI, First Lady of the Republic of Liberia and the Ambassador of Merck Foundation More Than a Mother at the 12th Africa Asia Luminary.

Together, we have provided 52 scholarships for young Liberian doctors in the fields of Fertility, Embryology, Sexual & Reproductive Care, Oncology, Diabetes care, Acute Medicine, Paediatrics, and Dermatology. Many of these doctors have become the first specialists in the public healthcare sector. I am also proud to share that the current Liberia Minister of Health is a Merck Foundation alumnus. This is a true testament of our achievement through the joint programs.

H.E. Mrs. KARTUMU YARTA BOAKAI, First Lady of Liberia & Ambassador of Merck Foundation More Than a Mother emphasized, I feel honored to be appointed as the Ambassador of Merck Foundation More Than a Mother last year, and I am proud that we have achieved so much together. We have provided 52 scholarships for our local doctors and healthcare providers in several critical specialties. Moreover, through the Educating Linda program, we are providing scholarships for 40 deserving high performing girls annually. Together, we will continue to make history in our country.

Watch the Speech of The First Lady of Liberia & Ambassador of Merck Foundation More Than a Mother during the Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary 2025 here: https://apo-opa.co/48VoXGF

On the first day of the conference, the Plenary Session of the Merck Foundation Africa Asia Luminary 2025 took place, featuring keynote speeches of First Ladies of Africa. Moreover, a high-level ministerial panel discussion was also held with African Ministers.

On Day 2 of the conference, Merck Foundation First Ladies Initiative- MFFLI committee meeting was conducted between The First Ladies of Africa and Merck Foundation Chairman and CEO, where the African First Ladies shared the impact report of Merck Foundation programs in their respective countries, and future strategy was discussed.

Watch the video of MFFLI committee meeting: https://apo-opa.co/3YfUAVf

Together with Liberia First Lady, Merck Foundation has provided 52 scholarships for local doctors in Liberia in many critical and underserved specialties. Out of 52 scholarships,

28 scholarships have been provided for doctors in Fertility and Embryology, and PG Diploma and two-year Master degree in Sexual and Reproductive Medicine. This will contribute towards promoting the well-being of infertile women, breaking the infertility stigma and empowering these women through access to information, education and change of mindset.

5 scholarships have been provided for doctors for doctors in Oncology. This will reshape the Oncology Care in Liberia.

9 scholarships have been provided for PG Diploma and Master degree in Acute Medicine, Dermatology in Clinical Practice, Infectious Disease, Paediatrics and Child Health, and Nursing Training

Moreover, 10 scholarships have been provided for Diabetes Master course and PG Diploma in Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine with an aim to build Diabetes Care Capacity in Liberia. This will enable the doctors to establish their own diabetes clinics in their country.

Merck Foundation in partnership with The Liberia First Lady has also initiated Educating Linda Program, as a part of which annual scholarships are provided to 40 underprivileged but brilliant girls to continue their education, till they graduate. Additionally, Merck Foundation distributed 3000 essential school items sets to school children to support them.

Moreover, Merck Foundation together with The First Lady of Liberia launched nine childrens storybooks; More Than a Mother, Educating Linda, Make the Right Choice, Jacklines Rescue, Ray of Hope, Ride into the Future, Sugar free Jude and Marks Pressure, to raise awareness about various social issues like breaking infertility stigma, supporting girl education, ending child marriage, ending GBV and also health issues like diabetes, hypertension and cancer. Thousands of copies of a few of these storybooks have been distributed to school students of Liberia and many more will be distributed soon.

Merck Foundation has also announced the Call for applications for their 8 important awards in partnership with The First Lady of Liberia for Media, Musicians, Fashion Designers, Filmmakers, students, and new potential talents in these fields.
James Latham (LON:LTHM) has had a rough three months with its share price down 6.6%. We, however decided to study the company's financials to determine if they have got anything to do with the price decline. Stock prices are usually driven by a companys financial performance over the long term, and therefore we decided to pay more attention to the company's financial performance. Specifically, we decided to study James Latham's ROE in this article.

Return on equity or ROE is a key measure used to assess how efficiently a company's management is utilizing the company's capital. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits.

This technology could replace computers: discover the 20 stocks are working to make quantum computing a reality.

How To Calculate Return On Equity?

Return on equity can be calculated by using the formula:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations)  Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for James Latham is:

7.8% = UK18m  UK225m (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2025).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. So, this means that for every 1 of its shareholder's investments, the company generates a profit of 0.08.

See our latest analysis for James Latham

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. We now need to evaluate how much profit the company reinvests or "retains" for future growth which then gives us an idea about the growth potential of the company. Assuming all else is equal, companies that have both a higher return on equity and higher profit retention are usually the ones that have a higher growth rate when compared to companies that don't have the same features.

A Side By Side comparison of James Latham's Earnings Growth And 7.8% ROE

At first glance, James Latham's ROE doesn't look very promising. We then compared the company's ROE to the broader industry and were disappointed to see that the ROE is lower than the industry average of 11%. Therefore, it might not be wrong to say that the five year net income decline of 5.1% seen by James Latham was probably the result of it having a lower ROE. However, there could also be other factors causing the earnings to decline. For instance, the company has a very high payout ratio, or is faced with competitive pressures.

So, as a next step, we compared James Latham's performance against the industry and were disappointed to discover that while the company has been shrinking its earnings, the industry has been growing its earnings at a rate of 5.6% over the last few years.
With a deafening crack, Vietnam veteran E. Paige Lanier pulled the lanyard on an M777 howitzer, sending a shell soaring over the prairie at Fort Carsons vast training grounds south of Colorado Springs.

On that sunny fall day, Command Sgt. Maj. Rob McGinnis introduced Lanier to the crowd gathered for a demonstration of new technology as invaluable to the artillery regiment.

He keeps us rooted in our history and he keeps us bonded together, McGinnis said. We love him.

Former Army Capt. Lanier, 85, helped symbolically close the door on old communications technology that day. But he is a constant presence around the 2nd Battalion, 77th Field Artillery on Fort Carson, visiting a few times a month. At a recent change of command ceremony, he sat in the front row, his red hat a stark contrast in a sea of camouflage.

The 2-77 is just his home, said Capt. Sophia Suri, who helps Lanier as a board member of the regiments association.

When troops were returning home from war in the Middle East, Lanier and a group of about 10 volunteers helped ensure they were greeted with pizza parties, challenge coins and free rides home. He made sure those welcomes replaced divorce attorneys representing unhappy spouses and taxi drivers wanting to charge exorbitant fees. The volunteers essentially ran the lawyers off base, he recalled.

Some Vietnam veterans were spat upon or had red substances thrown on them by protesters. While it never happened to Lanier personally, he said some of his friends faced the angry reception, and the group wanted to make sure returning soldiers never experienced anything similar.

These are my family, he said during an interview at his home in December, several months after firing the artillery on base. While Lanier has lived in Colorado Springs since 1972, his Virginia accent came through as he reflected on years of volunteer work with Fort Carson soldiers and his time as a young officer in Vietnam.

E. Paige Lanier, who was an artilleryman in the battle of Suoi Tre in Vietnam, watches an exercise with Capt. Sophia Suri, as the artillerymen with the 2nd Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment test new computer systems down range Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025, at Fort Carson. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock)

Winning against the odds

Sharing his stories from Vietnam with younger soldiers is also part of his mission on base.

In early December, Lanier told the story of the Battle Soui Tre to Fort Carson soldiers, as a featured speaker during a celebration of the 4th Infantry Divisions 108th birthday.

Laniers first deployment to Vietnam, as a first lieutenant, in 1966 and 67, came at a time when the U.S. was trying to capture Viet Cong leadership near Cambodia, as part of an offensive called Operation Junction City.

As part of that push, the Army established a base for artillery to provide support to ground troops near the abandoned village of Soui Tre.

I think they put us out there for bait, because they wanted the enemy to attack us, Lanier said. The Viet Cong likely thought they could overrun the American troops, but the U.S. soldiers beat them despite running out of ammunition at one point, he said.

The battle started in the early morning of March 21, 1967, when the Viet Cong started a heavy mortar attack followed by a ground assault with troops descending on them from the north, east and south, according to an official Army account recommending the units in the battle for a presidential unit citation. The account estimated 2,500 Viet Cong attacked.

The situation was so critical howitzers were lowered to fire directly into the waves of advancing enemy soldiers, the account said.

The artillerymen fired beehive rounds into the soldiers filled with nails with fins on the end instead of a flat head, Lanier said.

The beehive rounds would pin a soldiers rifle to their body and people to trees, he said, and contributed to the high death toll. The official record said 647 killed Viet Cong soldiers, but Lanier knows it was much higher because the defeated troops took the bodies of their fellow soldiers with them and as they retreated, American jets fired on them.

As a young munitions officer at the time, Lanier collected the rounds from the munitions depot and received 18 extra rounds of the beehive munition that his commanding officer ordered him to issue to the guns anyway, providing more firepower to the 77th Artillery Regiment crews.

During the fighting, the artillery crews cannibalized destroyed howitzers to keep damaged ones firing. When they ran out of ammunition, they grabbed rifles and kept firing on the enemy, Lanier said. Cooks, clerks and others also jumped in to help, the official record said.

As U.S. soldiers ran out of ammunition, they started using weapons and ammunition from dead or wounded Viet Cong soldiers, according to the official record. The infantrymen ran out of bullets after being issued double their normal supply, he said.

During the fighting, personnel carriers and tanks arrived with additional weapons, Lanier said, and the Americans carried the day, with about 33 soldiers killed and 187 wounded.

During the battle, Lanier was less than two miles away, charged with manning small arms and thousands of high-explosive rounds for the artillery. Lanier and his team got lucky and werent discovered by the enemy fighters during the battle.

In other engagements, though, Lanier was tasked with calling artillery fire and he had no problem giving the order, he recalled.

If we got one round fired at us, I would have artillery in the air, he said.

After enlisting in 1960 and then attending Officer Candidate School, Lanier had considered making the military a career. He came from a family history of service. Among the eight brothers in his family, six had served in the military, two in World War II, two in Korea and two in Vietnam, including Lanier.

But he got frustrated with the lower standards for soldiers introduced by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara.

They couldnt read, they couldnt write, they couldnt march, he recalled.

So he left and went into business for himself as a traveling salesman representing auto part manufacturers, a career he loved and worked in for 42 years.

Work on Fort Carson

In 2007, when the 2nd Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment moved back to Fort Carson from Fort Hood, Lanier got involved with the regiments association and organized a reunion after making friends with the battalions commander.

During the reunion, the Vietnam veterans helped train the soldiers on air-lifting artillery with helicopters, he said.

For some, Lanier is a living reminder of the regiments legacy. He also provides a personal connection to the soldiers of the past and an understanding of who they are and what they went through, said Capt. Suri, who has met other older artillerymen through the association.

Through those former soldiers she said she has learned about dedication to community.

Your service is not restricted to your time in active duty, she said.

While Lanier is moving a little slower than he used to after a fall, he has no plans to stop volunteering with the artillerymen or telling their story. And he expects artillery will be relevant long into the future because it always has been.

Artillery has been a backbone of the military forever, he said.

While the artillery shell he fired in September could be his last, he said that sunny day, he is not ruling out the possibility of another invitation from his friends at the 2nd Battalion to fire a big gun.

 2025 The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.). Visit www.gazette.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Elon Musk further secured his position as the world's richest man after a court decision reversed an earlier ruling on his massive Tesla pay package.

On December 19, the Delaware Supreme Court reinstated Musk's 2018 compensation deal after a years-long legal challenge. According to the Wall Street Journal, the package has grown in value to $139 billion, making it the largest executive pay package in corporate history.

The Delaware Supreme Court said the lower court's decision would have meant Musk wouldn't have been compensated for several years of work, as it said in the report. The justices wrote that rescinding the agreement was an "extreme remedy" and was not clearly warranted. The ruling reversed a 2024 decision from Delaware's Chancery Court, which had found that Tesla's board was too closely tied to Musk and there was a lack of transparency during the approval process. Per the Supreme Court decision, though, Musk will receive the full 2018 pay package.

The court still affirmed part of the lower court's findings by awarding $1 in nominal damages to the shareholder who brought the lawsuit, Richard Tornetta. The court also ruled that Tornetta's attorneys were entitled to fees, noting that the lower court had previously awarded $345 million, according to the WSJ.

Musk's reinstated stock options now represent roughly 9% of Tesla's market capitalization, as per Equilar data cited in the report. The ruling does not affect a separate pay package that has already been approved by Tesla shareholders in November. For Musk to earn the full value of the 2025 package, he has to gain more voting control to remain focused on Tesla as it pivots toward AI and robotics, according to the WSJ.

Investors like Jeremy Grantham have said that Musk's compensation shows that his value creation is driven by stock performance rather than traditional pay structures, and Musk's wealth is closely tied to Tesla's market capitalization rather than salary or bonuses. Despite Musk's financial stature, the tech giant's business ventures have faced regular scrutiny, including environmental violations.

On the other hand, Musk's focus on electric vehicles and can reduce warming temperatures compared to gas-powered cars. Tesla remains one of the largest EV manufacturers globally. The court decision, however, demonstrates how leadership and governance can shape public perception around Musk and his companies.

"I'm not sure overturning the remedy and reinstating Musk's pay package will undo the damage done by the Chancellor's decision. Failing to overturn the underlying (wrong) liability analysis still leaves founder-controlled Delaware corporations exposed to the threat of catastrophic litigation," one reader wrote in the comments section under the report.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP)  President Donald Trump will host his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Sunday to try to close out a peace agreement that would end nearly four years of war sparked by Moscows invasion of Ukraine. Russia intensified its attacks on Ukraine's capital and elsewhere in the days before the meeting.

Trump said he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday in advance of the meeting. I just had a good and very productive telephone call with President Putin, he posted on Truth Social.

Putins foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov, said the call was initiated by the U.S. side, lasted over an hour, and was friendly, benevolent, and businesslike. Ushakov said Trump and Putin agreed to speak again promptly after Trumps meeting with Zelenskyy.

Trump and Zelenskyy will meet at Mar-a-Lago, Trumps private club in Palm Beach, where the U.S. president is spending the holidays. Zelenskyy, who arrived in Miami in the morning, said the two planned to discuss security and economic agreements in their early afternoon meeting. He said he will raise territorial issues as Moscow and Kyiv remain fiercely at odds over the fate of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.

In overnight developments, three guided aerial bombs launched by Russia struck private homes in the eastern city of Sloviansk, according to the head of the local military administration, Vadym Lakh. Three people were injured and one man died, Lakh said in a post on the Telegram messenger app.

The strike came the day after Russia attacked Ukraines capital with ballistic missiles and drones on Saturday, killing at least one person and wounding 27, a day before planned talks between the leaders of Ukraine and the United States, Ukrainian authorities said. Explosions boomed across Kyiv as the attack began in the early morning and continued for hours.

In advance of his meeting with Trump, Zelenskyy said Sunday that he spoke on the phone with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, filling him in on the situation on the frontline and on the consequences of Russian strikes. He posted on X: Thank you, Keir, for the constant coordination!" Zelenskyy's office said he will speak by phone with allies after the meeting with Trump.

Trump, on Truth Social, said he and Zelenskyy will meet in the main dining room of Mar-a-Lago and the news media will be allowed in.

In a meeting Saturday with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Zelenskyy said the key to peace is pressure on Russia and sufficient, strong support for Ukraine. To that end, Carney announced more economic assistance from his government to help Ukraine rebuild.

Denouncing the barbarism of Russias latest attacks on Kyiv, Carney credited both Zelenskyy and Trump with creating the conditions for a just and lasting peace at a crucial moment.

Ukraine is willing to do whatever it takes to stop this war, Zelenskyy posted Saturday. We need to be strong at the negotiating table.

In response to the attacks, he wrote: We want peace, and Russia demonstrates a desire to continue the war. If the whole world  Europe and America  is on our side, together we will stop Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump and Zelenskyy sitting down face-to-face also underscored the apparent progress made by Trumps top negotiators in recent weeks as the sides traded draft peace plans and continued to shape a proposal to end the fighting. Zelenskyy told reporters Friday that the 20-point draft proposal negotiators have discussed is about 90% ready  echoing a figure, and the optimism, that U.S. officials conveyed when Trumps chief negotiators met with Zelenskyy in Berlin earlier this month.

During the recent talks, the U.S. agreed to offer certain security guarantees to Ukraine similar to those offered to other members of NATO. The proposal came as Zelenskyy said he was prepared to drop his countrys bid to join the security alliance if Ukraine received NATO-like protection that would be designed to safeguard it against future Russian attacks.

Intensive weeks ahead

Zelenskyy also spoke on Christmas Day with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trumps son-in-law. The Ukrainian leader said they discussed certain substantive details" and cautioned there is still work to be done on sensitive issues and the weeks ahead may also be intensive.

The U.S. president has been working to end the war in Ukraine for much of his first year back in office, showing irritation with both Zelenskyy and Putin while publicly acknowledging the difficulty of ending the conflict. Long gone are the days when, as a candidate in 2024, he boasted that he could resolve the fighting in a day.

After hosting Zelenskyy at the White House in October, Trump demanded that both Russia and Ukraine halt fighting and stop at the battle line, implying that Moscow should be able to keep the territory it has seized from Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said last week that he would be willing to withdraw troops from Ukraines eastern industrial heartland as part of a plan to end the war, if Russia also pulls back and the area becomes a demilitarized zone monitored by international forces.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Friday that the Kremlin had already been in contact with U.S.

It was agreed upon to continue the dialogue, he said.

Putin wants Russian gains kept, and more

Putin has publicly said he wants all the areas in four key regions that have been captured by his forces, as well as the Crimean Peninsula, illegally annexed in 2014, to be recognized as Russian territory. He also has insisted that Ukraine withdraw from some areas in eastern Ukraine that Moscows forces havent captured. Kyiv has publicly rejected all those demands.

The Kremlin also wants Ukraine to abandon its bid to join NATO. It warned that it wouldnt accept the deployment of any troops from members of the military alliance and would view them as a legitimate target.

Putin also has said Ukraine must limit the size of its army and give official status to the Russian language, demands he has made from the outset of the conflict.

Putins foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, told the business daily Kommersant this month that Russian police and national guard would stay in parts of Donetsk - one of the two major areas, along with Luhansk, that make up the Donbas region  even if they become a demilitarized zone under a prospective peace plan.

Ushakov cautioned that trying to reach a compromise could take a long time. He said U.S. proposals that took into account Russian demands had been worsened by alterations proposed by Ukraine and its European allies.

Trump has been somewhat receptive to Putins demands, making the case that the Russian president can be persuaded to end the war if Kyiv agrees to cede Ukrainian land in the Donbas region and if Western powers offer economic incentives to bring Russia back into the global economy.

___

Kim reported from Washington and Morton from London. Associated Press writers Illia Novikov in Kyiv and Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed to this report.
After more than a decade, remains discovered in southern Minnesota have finally been matched to World War II veteran Luis Gilberto Robledo, according to CBS News Minnesota.

The DNA Doe Project identified Robledos remains and provided an update on the case to news outlets on Dec. 17. The project was established in 2017 and has taken on over 250 cases involving unidentified remains. The DNA Doe Project was one of the first organizations to successfully use genetic genealogy to properly ID several Jane and Jon Does.

At DNA Doe Project, we dont just take on the easy cases  we accept those from every community, regardless of circumstance, racial or gender identity, or cause of death, the projects website states.

It can take months or years to identify these individuals, but we dont give up. We believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to maintain their name and identity, even in death. We work every day to make that reality.

Several challenges prevented the organization from properly identifying the WWII veteran earlier, such as his age, which was originally estimated to be in the 40s or 50s at the time of death, along with the fact that Robledo had no obvious ties to Minnesota.

Robledos skeletal remains were discovered close to a SuperAmerica gas station in Albert Lea off Interstate 90 in April 2015. At the time, local detectives thought the cause of death was suspicious.

An artist's drawing of what Luis Robledo was thought to have looked like after his remains were found in the spring of 2015. Later, the DNA Doe Project found he was much older when he died. (Photo from DNA Doe Project)

According to the DNA Doe Project, several items were found near the remains, including pants, loafers, and a 10-karat gold ring featuring a ruby-colored stone, along with a few coins produced between 1965 to 1992. Initially, investigators at the Freeborn County Sheriffs Office in Minnesota believed the mans age was between 40 and 55 when he died.

Questions Lead to Answers

But how did the remains get there? And who did they belong to?

With so many questions swirling, the sheriffs office asked the DNA Doe Project for assistance in solving the case. Genetic genealogists there found the unidentified male was Mexican, and they were pleasantly surprised to discover he had a number of close matches in the GEDmatch database, according to team co-leader Jeana Feehery, who worked on the case.

Hispanic cases are often tough because that population is underrepresented in the DNA databases we have access to, Feehery said in a press release.

We were lucky to have close DNA matches on both the mothers side and the fathers side, which allowed us to identify our John Does parents within 24 hours.

Researchers found that Robledo was born in 1923 in El Paso, Texas, and died sometime between 2000 and 2012. They also believe his remains could have been in Albert Lea one to five years before they were found.

Not much is known about Robledos military service. He was a World War II veteran, suffering injuries in the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France, in 1944. Sometime after the war, Robledo moved to Los Angeles. His final residence, based on public records, indicated he was living in Mexico in 1990.

Gen. Dwight Eisenhower addresses Allied troops before the D-Day invasion in Normandy, France on June 6, 1944. (Photo from National Archives)

Much of Life Still a Mystery

Researchers from the DNA Doe Project expressed surprise when they learned Robledo was really much older at the time of his death, likely in his 70s or 80s.

We were very surprised, Team co-leader Lisa Ivany said in a statement. The discrepancy with the age estimate was significant, but the DNA evidence clearly pointed to our John Doe being Luis Robledo.

Team members reached out to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to help them connect to Robledos next of kin. They contacted one of his children, who sent them a positive DNA sample.

Project officials are still trying to determine exactly when the veteran died and when he came to Minnesota.

Robledos case took hours of expensive lab work, and the DNA Doe Project received aid from a generous donor to identify the remains. A number of state and federal agencies also lent a hand, including the Ramsey County Medical Examiners Office, Freeborn County Sheriffs Office, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
The Padres and Angels are among the teams to have shown interest in infielder Kazuma Okamoto, according to a report from Francys Romero of BeisbolFR. Romero also mentions interest on the part of the Pirates, who have been frequently connected to Okamoto in recent weeks. The infielder is nearing the end of his 45-day posting window, which ends on January 4.

The 29-year-old Okamoto is coming off a season where he appeared in just 69 Central League games for NPBs Yomiuri Giants. The infielder hit .327/.416/.598 in 293 trips to the plate for Yomiuri last year. That was good for an otherworldly 210 wRC+, as he slugged 15 homers with 21 doubles while posting identical 11.3% strikeout and walk rates. That scorching hot half-season isnt reflective of Okamotos overall body of work, but his numbers are still impressive even over a larger sample. Since making his Central League debut back in 2018 at the age of 22, Okamoto has never hit fewer than 27 homers in a season. Hes walked at a 9.6% clip or better in every season of his career and has struck out more than 20% of the time just once, back in 2019 as a 23-year-old. Okamotos career .277/.361/.521 slash line in NPB play puts him in league with current MLB sluggers like Shohei Ohtani and Seiya Suzuki, although it should be noted that there have been concerns among scouts regarding Okamotos ability to hit high-end velocity.

A decent defensive third baseman with plenty of experience at first base as well, Okamoto could make sense as an addition at either infield corner depending on the needs of his acquiring club. If he were to sign with the Angels, Okamoto would surely handle the hot corner. Yoan Moncada is a free agent after handling third for Anaheim this past year, and Anthony Rendon figures to retire after an injury-riddled career with the Angels. That leaves playing time wide open at third base, and the Angels have been clear about their desire to bring help at the position into the fold this winter. While Okamoto (like any free agent coming over from NPB) comes with risk, its easy to see him offering an upgrade over internal options like Oswald Peraza and Vaughn Grissom.

By contrast, it seems much more likely that Okamoto would handle first base for San Diego. Manny Machado is installed as the Padres third baseman for the time being, and the Hall of Famer has the better part of a decade remaining on his massive contract extension with the club. First base, however, is somewhat vacant after the departure of Luis Arraez in free agency earlier this winter. Gavin Sheets and Sung Mun Song appear poised to compete for playing time at the position, but both are left-handed and better suited for other positions than first. That could make Okamoto a very attractive addition, offering a steady right-handed bat at the position while still leaving room for Sheets and/or Song to get occasional reps there based on matchups.

MLBTR predicted a four-year, $64MM contract for Okamoto at the outset of the offseason. Whether either club would be willing to spend at that level to bring Okamoto into the fold remains to be seen. The Padres have spent significant money this offseason on Song and right-hander Michael King, but after doing so are pushing the boundaries of the teams reported budget and seem more likely to try and offload salary elsewhere on the roster than bring it back into the fold. As for the Angels, its been a mostly quiet offseason in Anaheim without much substantial spending. That could certainly mean theres room in the budget to add a bat like Okamoto, but its also fair to wonder if a team that has often been reluctant to spend significant dollars on position players in free agency in the years since Rendons disastrous contract would be willing to shell out a multi-year deal for a third baseman before the end of their previous third basemans contract is even official.

There are other suitors for Okamotos services to keep in mind, as well. The Pirates have been the team perhaps most frequently connected to Okamoto, and it wouldnt be too much of a shock to see them bring the slugger in amid an unusually aggressive offseason given the significant hole the club faces at third base. Hes been connected to the Blue Jays and Red Sox as well this offseason, though both of those big market clubs seem to be focused on bigger fish like Alex Bregman and Bo Bichette at this point. Given the approaching end of Okamotos posting window, its increasingly likely the Okamoto will sign before either Bregman or Bichette sees their market resolve. That could make a deal with Boston or Toronto somewhat less likely, if those two clubs are hesitant to fill a roster spot that could otherwise be earmarked for a more impactful player.
Teachers across Michigans K-12 schools are almost universally considered effective in annual evaluations reported to the state, according to the latest data.

However, that effectiveness rating may decrease the smaller the teacher workforce becomes at some individual public academies and school districts.

The Michigan Department of Education released effectiveness ratings for educators Monday, Dec. 22, for the 2024-25 school year. This includes both teachers and support staff assisting in instruction and school administrators.

Local districts and schools are required to evaluate teachers and report their effectiveness every year, and in years past, rating levels have included highly effective, effective, minimally effective and ineffective. In 2024-25, results showed only the percentage of educators reported as effective in development and needing support.

A breakdown by MLive Media of the statewide numbers showed teachers have been consistently evaluated on average as effective or higher at a rate of 98% or 99% over the past decade  the only exception being during the first year of the pandemic.

During the 2019-20 school year, 45% of teachers and instructional staff were considered effective and highly effective. At the time, evaluations were not required, which may have impacted the average.

That number returned to 99.3% effectiveness in 2020-21, 99.07% in 2021-22, 98.44% in 2022-23 and 98.57% in 2023-24.

Without the highly effective rating, the effectiveness rate was 97.55% last year.

The following is a detailed map of Michigans school districts with the effectiveness rate and total teacher and instructional staff count for the 2024-25 school year.

According to state data, there were roughly 350 school districts and public academies to receive a 100% effectiveness rating for teachers.

Another 500 schools and districts had a rate between 90% and 99%. Additionally, 54 were between 80% and 89%, 34 were in the 70% range and 17 were between 60% and 69%.

There were 19 individual schools that had effective ratings below 60%. Almost half are in Wayne County. Including the rating and total teaching staff count, those Wayne County schools are:

18.18% of 11  Detroit Public Safety Academy

26.42% of 53  Old Redford Academy

39.68% of 63  Detroit Edison Public School Academy

42.86% of seven  Fostering Leadership Academy, Redford Township

50% of 24  George Crockett Academy, Detroit

50% of 14  Jalen Rose Leadership Academy, Detroit

54.55% of 11  Joy Preparatory Academy, Detroit

57.14% of seven  KIPP Detroit Imani Academy

58.33% of 12  New Paradigm Glazer-Loving Academy, Detroit

There were three under 60% in Oakland County: Dr. Joseph F. Pollack Academic Center of Excellence in Southfield at 27.03% and Pontiac Academy for Excellence at 35.14% each out of 37 teachers, and Bradford Academy in Southfield at 56.25% out of 48 teachers.

Saginaw Preparatory Academy and Francis Reh PSA had 44.44% of 18 teachers and 37.5% of 24 teachers, respectively, rated as effective last year in Saginaw County.

Additionally, at Mildred C. Wells Preparatory Academy 28.57% out of 14 teachers in Berrien County rated as effective. At Battle Creek Montessori Academy, 50% of 10 were effective and at Gerald Dawkins Academy 33.33% out of 12 in Kent County were effective, Macomb Montessori Academy rated its teachers 47.06% out of 17 effective, and the Academic and Career Education Academy had 42.86% effective out of seven teachers in Midland County.

Below is a searchable box for effectiveness ratings by school across the state.

Local districts decide how to weigh factors involved in evaluating teachers and administrators each year.

Those factors tend to include absenteeism, classroom management, content knowledge, instructional practices and leadership, pedagogical knowledge and practice, principal and supervisor evaluations, professional development and responsibilities, providing appropriate support, and student achievement and growth measures.

But according to the state, MDE stopped surveying districts to determine evaluation factors that were used.

Additionally, starting with this school year, if a teacher or administrator is rated as highly effective for three consecutive annual year-end evaluations, the school or district can choose to conduct the evaluation every two years.

For more information visit MISchoolData.org.
AU TRAIN, MI  Michigan regulators are warning that the troubled Au Train Dam is following a similar path as the Edenville Dam failure, citing years of unresolved safety deficiencies, regulatory breakdowns and the looming loss of federal oversight.

In formal comments filed this month, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) said the dams condition and regulatory trajectory mirror the failures that preceded the 2020 collapse of the Edenville Dam, which flooded thousands of properties in mid-Michigan after its hydropower license was revoked in 2018.

The agency noted that, like Edenville, the Au Train Dam in Alger County is a high-hazard structure that cannot safely pass a probable maximum flood and has remained out of safety compliance for years.

The agency said the situation is made more urgent by the dam owners bankruptcy and the loss of key project lands, warning that the facility is now at risk of becoming another case where state regulators inherit a failing structure without a viable plan or funding source.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources echoed those concerns in a separate filing, urging federal regulators to require a clear decommissioning and risk-reduction plan before ending federal oversight.

Five years after the Edenville flood, we find ourselves in a similar situation, EGLEs dam safety unit supervisor Luke Trumble wrote.

A licensee has repeatedly failed to make necessary safety improvements, filed for bankruptcy, remained out of compliance with FERC regulations, and is on the verge of losing their license and becoming an issue for Michigans Dam Safety Program to resolve, Trumble wrote.

The warning was filed Dec. 15 as a public comment on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) proposed termination of the dams license through implied surrender, a move that would shift safety oversight of the dam to the state.

The century-year-old Au Train Dam is owned by UP Hydro LLC, a subsidiary of Renewable World Energies (RWE) of Wisconsin. The company bought the dam in 2010. It exited a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case this year absent a restructuring plan, prompting foreclosure sales of Au Train project lands.

The Upper Peninsula dam creates a popular recreational basin known for smallmouth bass fishing and duck hunting by impounding several creeks which feed the Au Train River. The river drains to Au Train Bay on Lake Superior through the village of Au Train west of Munising.

The north end of the Cleveland-Cliffs basin and the Au Train Dam spillway near Au Train, Mich., Sept. 17, 2025. The reservoir behind the dam is lowered for safety reasons. Garret Ellison

The dams north levee features a crumbling concrete spillway that does not use gates to regulate reservoir height. Downstream flow is routed through the powerhouse via a large pipe called a penstock.

Despite years of FERC orders, RWE never upgraded the dam to pass a probable maximum flood  or, the largest flood scientists consider physically possible at a site.

The Edenville comparison is grounded in state experience. Before Edenvilles failure, dam operator Boyce Hydro spent years seeking license amendments and extensions while owner Lee Mueller of Nevada pursued side projects such as plans for a marina, waterfront development and a music festival rather than fixing fundamental spillway deficiencies.

More: 5 years later, Edenville blame game rages on

In Au Train, EGLE also flagged a new complication: the foreclosure and resale of key project lands  including the powerhouse parcel  and the new owners threat to evict the company from the property after unsuccessful lease negotiations this fall.

Losing Au Train River flow through the powerhouse could allow the reservoir to refill, undoing recent drawdowns ordered to reduce failure risk and potentially leaving about five miles of downstream river stagnant in the Hiawatha National Forest, Trumble warned.

The state has been helping FERC and RWE scramble together a powerhouse decommissioning solution before new landowner David R. Charles of Green Bay revokes access to the powerhouse in January.

In its letter, EGLE urged FERC to compel action from RWE in court and establish new federal dam safety funding mechanism to step in and act on risky dams when the owner cant or wont.

The state urged FERC to require a decommissioning plan that keeps the reservoir low and maintains continuous downstream flow before any license termination is finalized.

At that point, EGLE would then request that FERC take expedient action on the proposed license surrender. The longer that the dam remains in this current situation, with the licensee unable to operate the powerhouse with no clear path to resolving outstanding safety issues, the more likely it becomes that a dam safety emergency could develop.

The state also asked FERC to stay involved in the situation on a consulting basis after the proposed license termination is finalized.

Conservation groups say time is of the essence. Bob Stuber with the Michigan Hydro Relicensing Coalition said dwindling time remains to use remaining state dam safety emergency dollars in Au Train.

The money, from a post-Edenville dam safety program which lawmakers have not re-funded, must be used by September, he said.

I hope FERC acts quickly on this, because there are things that need to be done up there for dam safety that are going to cost money, Stuber said.

There was some money within that legislative package for emergency situations and there still is some money left that perhaps could be used in Au Train, he said. But right now, the state cant do a thing with it because they dont have authority over Au Train.

More: Michigan dams remain a ticking time bomb
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A 14-year-old boy was shot in Grand Rapids on Saturday, Dec. 27, officials said.

Police officers responded to 438 South Division Ave. SE at 4:56 p.m. where they found the boy had been shot in the arm, said Frank Barthel, Grand Rapids Police Department watch commander.

The boy was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Officers have a vague suspect description but no additional information about what led to the shooting, Barthel said.

Additional information about the circumstances leading up to the shooting was not available.
Michiganders are bracing for a significant change in health insurance costs thanks to tax credits set to expire at the end of December.

U.S. lawmakers failed to extend COVID-era subsidies for Americans who secure coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace. That means those enhanced tax credits secured in 2021 will expire on Jan. 1.

Without the enhanced premium tax credits, the average annual premium is expected to increase from $888 in 2025 to $1,904 in 2026, according to the nonpartisan health policy research group, KFF.

In Michigan, an estimated 484,000 residents have benefited from those subsidies, according to the U.S. Joint Economic Committee. Without the tax credits, the committee estimated about 137,700 people would lose their ACA coverage.

Additionally, the federal committee estimated the effects of spending cuts through President Donald Trumps One Big Beautiful Bill Act would cause another almost 260,000 Michiganders to lose Medicaid coverage.

The ACA marketplace provides health insurance for people who dont have access to employer-provided health insurance or other public insurance options like Medicare and Medicaid.

Subsidies are available for enrollees who make less than 400% of the federal poverty level. That would be about $60,240 for a household of one in 2025 with a higher bar for increasingly large families.

In 2021, Congress added the enhanced premium tax credits during the COVID-19 pandemic. That helped residents afford coverage regardless of income status.

According KFF, a survey found about 25% of respondents said they would very likely go without health insurance next year rather than pay a premium of double or more.

Democrats in Congress fought for an extension of the enhanced subsidies. Disagreements on the topic was the key factor in the government shutdown, which extended from Oct. 1 through Nov. 12.

The majority of Republicans have been unwilling to extend the program, citing fraud and cost issues.

Enough Democratic lawmakers conceded on the issue and agreed to reopen the government based on an agreement that the Senate would vote on legislation to extend the ACA tax credits. That vote on a pair of bills, including a three-year extension, failed on Dec. 11.

Congress still could extend the subsidies at the first of the year. On Dec. 17, four Republicans in the House of Representatives, none from Michigan, broke ranks and joined Democrats to force a vote in the chamber on extending the subsidies in January. This was a rebuke of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-LA, who had refused to bring an extension up for a vote.

But even if the measure passes, it would face an uphill battle getting out of the Senate.

A health care bill authored by House Republicans did pass on Dec. 17, but it does not address the main issue of expiring ACA tax credits, rather focused on insurance options and cost-sharing.

The bill would allow small businesses to offer their own health plans, restores funding stopped in 2017 for cost-sharing reductions, which is a different type of subsidy designed to help eligible ACA enrollees on silver plans with some out-of-pocket costs and would also require more transparency from pharmacy benefit managers related to prescription drug pricing practices.

Some Republicans who face tough reelection bids next year are concerned about the ACA premium spikes on the horizon. President Donald Trump has said repeatedly he does not want to extend subsidies, preferring to bypass insurance companies and pay people directly, but there isnt a plan.

In the meantime, Trump said before Christmas that he planned to convene insurance companies in the coming weeks, in an effort to get them to reduce costs for the more than 20 million Americans set to see their premiums increase at the end of the year.

Senators remain engaged in bipartisan health care talks on a compromise bill.

Open enrollment for 2026 coverage ends Jan. 15. For more information, visit HealthCare.gov. Former President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, into law in March 2010.
LANSING, MI -- Michigan is asking a federal appeals court to strike down an Environmental Protection Agency regulation that could negatively impact the Great Lakes.

Attorney General Dana Nessel filed an amicus brief on Friday, Dec. 26, asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to strike down EPA standards that dont require existing ships on the Great Lakes to install treatment systems for ballast water discharge.

Under the EPA standards finalized in September 2024, only new vessels in the Great Lakes require treatment systems.

Ships hold ballast water in tanks to regulate their weight. The water in the tanks can contain invasive species that spread to a new environment when released.

The harms caused by invasive species spread through ballast water are catastrophic, well documented, and felt by the people who live and work around the Great Lakes, Nessel said in a press release.

Nessel, joined in the filing by attorneys general from Illinois and Vermont, argues the standards violate a 2018 amendment to the Clean Water Act directing the EPA to issue ballast water discharge standards.

The filing argues the EPA ignored the direction and (relies) on justification not permitted under the Clean Water Act, the release said.

Michigan had stricter ballast water regulations in place until the federal standards were created in 2024, the release said.

Invasive species have already caused damage to the Great Lakes ecosystem.

Zebra mussels, native to the Black, Caspian and Azov seas in Eurasia, were introduced to the Great Lakes in the late 1980s from ballast water tanks. Zebra mussels cost the region $200 million every year, Nessel said in the release.

After the 2024 EPA change, golden mussels, an invasive species from China, were found at a California port. Without regulation, those golden mussels could end up in Great Lakes ports, Nessel said.
GRAND HAVEN, MI  Gracious Grounds has begun construction of Ability Way, an $18.5 million, 77-unit independent living community for adults with intellectual disabilities.

The project, which began earlier this month and is expected to be completed in early 2027, is located at 16941 Ability Way in Grand Haven. It will increase Gracious Grounds capacity from 50 to 86 residents.

Ability Way reflects our belief that adults with intellectual disabilities deserve access to affordable housing where they can continue to grow, strengthen their independence, and be part of a supportive community, Matt Lehr, executive director of Gracious Grounds, said in a statement.

Each apartment includes a full kitchen, living room, bedroom, full bathroom and in-unit washer and dryer.

Shared amenities include a community area on each floor, individual storage lockers on the main floor, a gym and several community rooms for weekly events and optional independent living skills workshops.

Outdoor amenities include a large patio with grills and a gazebo, bike racks and several smaller gathering areas with benches for residents to enjoy time outside.

Financing for the project comes from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, and through tax credit equity and construction financing by Independent Bank.

Independent Bank is grateful for the opportunity to support Gracious Grounds and their Ability Way affordable housing development, which will create a community of connection for the residents, Jason Blain, senior commercial banker at Independent Bank, said in a statement.

This financing supports construction only. Gracious Grounds will continue to rely on community support to sustain its model of resident assistants living onsite.

Gracious Grounds is a nonprofit offering support for adults with intellectual disabilities such as housing, employment assistance, life skill development and more.

The organization operates three other independent living campuses in Grand Haven.
ALPENA COUNTY, MI  Two Presque Isle County sheriffs deputies have been cleared of any wrongdoing in the Thanksgiving Day shooting of an armed man.

Alpena County Prosecutor Cynthia M. Muszynski ruled that both deputies were justified when they shot 33-year-old Edward Fitzgerald following a police chase.

Michigan law gives a person the right to use force or even take a life to defend himself or another person under certain circumstances, Muszynski wrote in her ruling.

Based upon a thorough review of the facts and applicable law, it is clear that the actions of Presque Isle County deputies, in the shooting of Edward Fitzgerald, were not criminal in nature but done in self-defense.

Fitzgerald was shot by two Presque Isle County sheriffs deputies on Nov. 27 after a police chase. Fitzgerald allegedly exited his vehicle with a gun and pointed it at police.

Michigan State Police handled the investigation.

It is important to note that once the threat of death or great bodily harm was alleviated, and Mr. Fitzgerald was no longer pointing his loaded weapon at the deputies, both deputies, along with another deputy, immediately began rendering lifesaving first aid to Mr. Fitzgerald, Muszynski wrote. But for the swift rendering of aid, Mr. Fitzgerald may have succumbed to his injuries that day.

Fitzgerald was arraigned on Dec. 26 in Alpena County District Court.

Hes charged with felonious assault, carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent, assaulting a police officer, third-degree fleeing and eluding and four counts of felony firearm.

Fitzgerald is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday, Dec. 30, for a probable cause hearing.
Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA) is trading at new 5-year highs.

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Barchart Technical Indicators for Teva Pharmaceuticals

Editors Note: The technical indicators below are updated live during the session every 20 minutes and can therefore change each day as the market fluctuates. The indicator numbers shown below therefore may not match what you see live on the Barchart.com website when you read this report. These technical indicators form the Barchart Opinion on a particular stock.

Teva Pharmaceuticals scored a new 5-year high of $31.99 on Dec. 24.
WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI - From fatal shootings to a former youth pastor accused of sexual abuse, plenty of crime stories caught our eye in 2025.

One of the most notable incidents from this year was the fatal shootings of Jennifer Bernard, 48, and her father Stevie Ray Smith, 74.

The pair was fatally shot Jan. 1 in their Northfield Township home by a trio which included the biological mother of a 4-year-old girl the family was fostering. Jeffrey Bernhard, Jennifers husband, was also shot, but survived.

The trio is accused of taking the then 4-year-old girl, as well as the Bernhards then 9-year-old daughter, from the home after the shooting.

They then fled to an Ypsilanti Township home connected to the womans mother. Authorities found both girls.

Shuvonne Vinson, Keith Finley and Gregory Callhan have all been charged in the shooting deaths, as well as a subsequent kidnapping.

Here are other top crime stories from 2025 that happened in Livingston and Washtenaw counties:

The mobile home on Shady Brook Court occupied by Rachel Jones and Robert Riter pictured on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. Jordyn Pair | jpair@mlive.com

Woman arrested after she was found in bed with dead man on top of her

Rachel Marie Jones, 50, was charged with open murder for allegedly stabbing 49-year-old Robert Riter, who lived with her on Shady Brook Court in Woodland Ridge mobile home park near South Lyon.

Jones was found around 11 a.m. March 9 in her bed with Riter, according to Green Oak Township police and court records. He had been stabbed in the chest and neck, as well as struck several times in the head.

The pair had been in a long-term relationship and were living at the mobile home park with their son, police said. The son was unharmed.

Jones is set to appear for a pretrial in the Livingston County Circuit Court on Jan. 23, 2026.

Woman accused of killing husband found dead on top of her to undergo psychiatric exam

Woman charged with murder, accused of stabbing man found dead on top of her

Woman arrested after she was found in bed with dead man on top of her

A GoFundMe launched by Deshawn Leeth's family has a raised more than a $1,000 as of Wednesday, April 9. Screenshot

Ypsilanti advocate named as man killed by police after chase on Pennsylvania, Ohio turnpikes

Deshawn Dante Leeth, 30, was fatally shot by Pennsylvania State Police April 4 after he crashed a stolen Ohio State Highway patrol car on the Turnpike, according to police.

Leeth was the founder and executive director of Underdawg Nation, a nonprofit focused on serving Washtenaw County children who may be impacted by community violence.

Leeth was fatally shot after he allegedly assaulted an Ohio State Trooper and stole the troopers car, according to a release from Pennsylvania State Police.

The trooper had responded to a single-vehicle rollover crash on the Ohio Turnpike when the man, who walked away from that crash, began assaulting the officer, according to reporting from PennLive.

The officer used a Taser but the man, later identified as Leeth, jumped into the officers marked police vehicle and sped east into Pennsylvania with the overhead flashers on. He then crashed the car.

When Pennsylvania troopers approached the car, an altercation ensued, during which the man was fatally shot, police said.

Ypsilanti advocate named as man killed by police after chase on Pennsylvania, Ohio turnpikes

Law enforcement officials from the FBI and the Michigan State Police are at the home in the 200 block on North Summit Street in Ypsilanti on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. Sophia Kalakailo | MLive.com

5 raids were connected to vandalism at homes of Santa Ono, University of Michigan leaders

Five homes in and around Washtenaw County were raided in April in what officials said was part of investigation into acts of vandalism.

The FBI and several local agencies executed search warrants in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and Canton early Wednesday, April 23.

The investigation was related to 12 vandalism incidents dating as far back as February 2024. The incidents include smashing windows, spray-painting profanity and throwing noxious chemical substances into homes, officials said.

Vandalism occurred at University of Michigan President Santa Onos home in West Bloomfield, university Regent Jordan Ackers home in Huntington Woods, a Rolls-Royce America Solutions Inc. manufacturer in Novi and the Jewish Federation of Detroit in Bloomfield Hills, among others.

5 raids were connected to vandalism at homes of Santa Ono, University of Michigan leaders

12 vandalisms Michigan AG says justified raids against pro-Palestinian protesters

3 detained, released in FBI raid on Ypsilanti home

Lamar Thomas, 18, was fatally shot around 1:15 p.m. Sept. 26 in a strip mall near Platt Road and Packard Street in Ann Arbor. Provided by family

Westland teen killed in Ann Arbor strip mall shooting, 3 in custody

Lamar Thomas, 18, was fatally shot around 1:15 p.m. Sept. 26 in a strip mall near Platt Road and Packard Street. He was from Westland.

An Ann Arbor police officer was enforcing traffic near the Platt Road and Packard Street intersection when he spotted a vehicle fleeing the scene, police said. He began to chase the vehicle, which ultimately crashed into a tree near Platt Road and Lorraine Street, roughly a half mile down the street.

Omar Ernest Smith, 17, was arraigned on charges of four felony charges, including open murder, on Oct. 1. He appeared virtually for the hearing.

Jahmal Jones, 19, was also arraigned in the case, appearing on one felony count each of open murder, carrying a concealed weapon, converting a semi-automatic weapon to fully automatic, fleeing and eluding, using a firearm in the commission of a felony and two counts of resisting arrest.

Kaleel Burton, 18, was also charged in connection with the case.

Smith is set to appear in court Jan. 15, 2026, for a probable cause conference. Jones is scheduled for a preliminary examination Dec. 30. Burton will appear for a pretrial hearing in the Washtenaw County Trial Court in January.

Gunmen used fully automatic handguns to kill teen in Ann Arbor, records show

3 charged in fatal shooting of 18-year-old at Ann Arbor strip mall

16-year-old charged as adult in Westland teens death

Zachary Joseph Radcliff appears with attorneys Ayda Rezaian-Nojani and James Thomas before Washtenaw County District Judge J. Cedric Simpson at Washtenaw Countys 14A-1 District Court in Pittsfield Township on Monday, Feb. 24 2025. Jacob Hamilton | MLive.com

Former youth pastor called boy 8 times, told him to shut up after he revealed abuse, prosecutor says

Former church leader Zachary Radcliff will stand trial on 60 charges related to sexual abuse.

Eight men and one boy, ranging in age from 17 to 24, told the court during a preliminary examination in March that Radcliff solicited them for sexually explicit videos, sent them photos of himself naked or paid them in exchange for videos.

Multiple witnesses testified Radcliff would send them unsolicited videos of him masturbating. He framed the action as silly videos that are a joke to each other, testified one 21-year-old witness. Another witness testified to being sexually assaulted by Radcliff at least 15 times.

Judge J. Cedric Simpson, the 14A-1 District Court judge presiding over the examination, added 30 charges to the original 33-charge case after hearing testimony.

Radcliff was fired from his position as worship director and interim youth group leader at Oakwood Baptist Church shortly after allegations of abuse surfaced. His father Frank Radcliff, pastor of the Augusta Township church, said he was unaware of the allegations against his son.

Zachary Radcliffs trial is currently set for June, according to court records.

I believe them. Judge adds 30 more charges to sexual abuse case against church leader

Neither of us had an idea. Teens allegedly abused by worship leader knew each other

Youth pastor positioned himself as big brother, uncle to boys he allegedly sexually abused

Want more Ann Arbor-area news? Bookmark the local Ann Arbor news page.
FLINT, MI - From accessibility at Flint City Hall to the courtroom and local development, here are a few Flint-area stories you may have missed  including council members weighing the cost of adding ASL interpreters to meetings, a trial date set for a Flint councilman facing felony charges, and new bus service now connecting Flint to the Meijer in Davison Township.

Flint council members want ASL interpreters for meetings, but need to find funding

Members of the Flint City Council are talking about adding sign language interpreters to at least some of their meetings, but havent determined how to pay the expected cost.

Right now, you do not have money in your budget for sign language interpreters, City Clerk Davina Donahue told council members during their final committee meeting of this year on Dec. 17.

Donahue said the council will likely need to find funding in its current budget -- something that might not be easy to do.

Despite having a $350,000 professional services line item, the clerk said, there may not be enough in the account to add the cost of interpreters after paying for an annual audit.

Read more here.

Trial date set for Flint councilman facing felony assault, domestic violence charges

Leon El-Alamin, a Flint councilman facing felony assault and domestic violence charges, has been scheduled to stand trial on March 11 in Genesee Circuit Court.

Judge Khary L. Hanible set the date during a pretrial hearing on Tuesday, Dec. 23, denying a motion from El-Alamins attorney to drop a bond requirement that he continue to wear a tether in advance of the trial date.

Hanible agreed to allow El-Alamin to visit a house on West Sherman Avenue in Mt. Morris Township, where his alleged victim has said they lived together before an alleged assault on July 10.

Read more here.

Recall organizer trying to wordsmith their way onto board, supervisor says

A new set of recall language has been filed against 5 Grand Blanc Township officials.

But one of those included in the group is debating the wording behind the renewed effort.

Township resident Monica Shapiro filed the new language on Dec. 15 against Supervisor Scott Bennett, Clerk Dave Robertson, and trustees Paul White, Joel Feick, and Mike Yancho Sr.

The new language states the group voted to approve the 2026 township budget.

Read more here.

Bus service now available between Flint and Davison Township Meijer

Employees and shoppers can now ride an MTA bus from Flint to the Meijer store along Lapeer Road in Davison Township.

The new route comes after a recent study and public feedback showed a clear need for expanded service.

We brought a firm in that did a study for us, and in the study, we took in quite a bit of public comments and requests, and it was evident that people out in that area wanted to see bus service extended there to the Meijer, said Ed Benning, CEO of the Mass Transportation Authority, of the new route.

Read more here.

Blackstones Smokehouse expands to Corunna, buys Rivals Taphouse

Blackstones Smokehouse, a Flint-based restaurant known for its barbecue, is expanding into Shiawassee County after owner Jerrid Heidel purchased Rivals Taphouse and Grille.

The Corunna restaurant, located at 2500 E M-21 in Corunna, will be rebranded as Blackstones Public House, a sports-bar-themed pub emphasizing quality food, comfort and community, according to a Facebook announcement from Rivals.

The transition will take place in phases, with Rivals continuing to operate under its current name through the end of the year and into early 2026.

Read more here.

Man who fired shots at officer during 14-mile chase faces life sentence

A Swartz Creek man has been found guilty on multiple charges in connection with a 14-mile-long chase and firing shots at police.

Robert Joseph Nowotny, 41, was convicted on Dec. 19 by a jury of assault with intent to murder, fleeing and eluding police third degree, felony firearm, and carrying a concealed weapon.

Officers with the Metro Police Authority of Genesee County responded on Feb. 27 for citizen reports of a suspicious van driving in a neighborhood with a very loud exhaust in the vicinity of Linden and Hill Roads, according to investigative reports and testimony.

Read more here.
JACKSON COUNTY, MI  A Michigan prisoner who was mistakenly released and later recaptured is now accused of killing another man in prison.

Talleon Stephon Brazil is charged with one felony count of open murder for the stabbing death of Deandre Jackson, a fellow prisoner at the G. Robert Cotton Correctional Facility outside Jackson, court records show.

Jackson died June 11, 2021, after he received a stab wound to his neck in what prosecutors allege was a gang-related attack, court records show.

Brazil claims he was acting in self-defense of his cell mate who appeared to be the intend target of the attack, court records show.

The prosecutions argument is Brazil should have stayed in his cell and let MDOC handle it, but thats not what the law says, Brazils then attorney Kareem Johnson said during Brazils preliminary examination.

Brazils current attorney, Mohammed Azeem Nasser, could not be immediately reached for comment.

Jackson County District Judge Daniel Goostrey questioned if a claim of self-defense for another applied for prisoners, but ruled that it was a question for a jury to decide as he sent the case to circuit court for trial.

Brazils next court hearing is scheduled for Jan. 9 before Jackson County Circuit Judge John McBain.

Brazil, charged with the murder offense in 2023, is now in prison serving time for multiple robbery, carjacking, gun and drug convictions in Wayne County, MDOC records show.

He had been serving time at the Saginaw Correctional Facility in Tittabawassee Township when he was picked up by the Scioto County Sheriffs Office in Portsmouth, Ohio, on Jan. 14, 2020, to face a series of drug-related charges.

Rather than keep Brazil in custody until his criminal case had concluded, authorities in Ohio improperly released him on bond on Jan. 21, the MDOC earlier said.

The Michigan Department of Corrections Absconder Recovery Unit tracked him to a home in Detroit and arrested him Feb. 1, 2021, returning him to prison.

Four months later, on the morning of June 11, Jackson and his cellmate were leaving their cell, heading toward Brazils cell further down the cellblock, according to the court testimony.

Correctional officers testified it was odd to see them walking that way as the pair would typically walk in the other direction every morning, heading toward the showers.

Once outside Brazils cell, the pair attacked Brazils cellmate, repeatedly stabbing him 10 times in the assault before Brazil joined the fight and stabbed Jackson in the neck, court records show.

The fight lasted only a few seconds as nearby correctional officers deployed tasers and broke them up, according to court testimony.

Officers quickly noticed Jackson was bleeding profusely from his head area and called for a medical team to respond. He was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead 45 minutes after the attack, records show.

A correctional officer testified he saw Brazil toss a shank to another prisoner who walked away with it. Security video showed the shank was passed to several other prisoners before being hidden in a prison mechanical room, records show.

Officers searched the room and found the shank, described as 7-8 inches long and 1-inch think, court records show.

Michigan State Police investigators alleged the attack was likely part of a gang rivalry as the two cells housed known members of rival street gangs, records show.

Jackson and his cellmate were members of the Gangster Disciples while Brazil and his cellmate were members of the Bloods, court records show.

Jacksons family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court against the Michigan Department of Corrections in 2022. The case was later dismissed with prejudice after the judge found the case failed to present a valid legal claim against the prison.

Following the stabbing of Jackson, Brazil has since been transferred to the Marquette Branch Prison in the Upper Peninsula, where he remains under maximum security, MDOC records show.

Brazil will be eligible for parole in July 2026; however, he is ineligible for release while the homicide case remains open.

Court records indicate the charges in Ohio were dismissed in 2020.

Want more Jackson-area news? Bookmark the local Jackson news page.
BAY CITY, MI  Residents, elected officials and community leaders are mourning the death of former Michigan Senator and prominent businessman Joel Gougeon at 82.

Gougeon died peacefully on Dec. 21, surrounded by his family at Covenant Cooper Hospital in Saginaw.

Joels family remembers him as a guiding light whose kindness, wisdom, and unwavering dedication enriched their lives and the lives of many others. He will be deeply missed and forever remembered by all who knew and loved him, according to the obituary.

Gougeon, R-Bay City, served in the Michigan Senate from 1993-2002. He also served on the Bay County Commissioners from 1984-1990.

The family shared in his obituary that Joel lived a life defined by service, integrity, curiosity, and deep devotion to family and community, describing him as a beloved husband, father, grandfather, uncle, veteran, and public servant.

I think he was one of the kind of people that you could trust and believe in, and he was always helpful to all his friends, said longtime friend and Bay County Board of Commissioners Vice President Vaughn Begick.

Begick said he met Gougeon at Bay County Republican Party meetings when Begick ran for the Michigan House of Representatives in 2002. They were also members of the Bay City Lions Club at the same time.

He had a lot of good advice for me about running for office, Begick said. He always had some interesting stories to tell about his time in the service and time in politics.

The leadership role Gougeon played in the rewriting of Michigans Mental Health Code is cited in his obituary as his most meaningful accomplishment. The rewritten code aimed to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health and support the expansion of mental health research.

Additionally, the family also highlighted that he was particularly proud of the funding he helped provide to health clinics, womens shelters, cancer centers and a skateboard park as well as area colleges and universities.

Begick and Gougeon both served in the military. Begick served in the U.S. Army during Vietnam and Gougeon served in the United States Air Force as an F-4 Phantom pilot. Following the completion of 198 missions in Vietnam, Gougeon returned home and, with his brothers Meade and Jan, co-founded Gougeon Brothers, Inc. in Bay City in 1969, accoring to the obituary.

Gougeon began his military service after earning a degree in mechanical engineering from General Motors Institute in 1966. Their company develops and manufactures marine-grade epoxy systems used on boats, according to the website.

Born in Lansing in 1943, Gougeon attended T.L. Handy High School in Bay City. His parents were Meade and Elizabeth Betty Gougeon.

In his free time, Gougeon enjoyed ice-boating, sailing, powerboating, and reading. He also had a passion for antique cars, including his Ford Thunderbird, which he would take to car shows.

He was driving it a few weeks ago, said Larry Moultine, another longtime friend. It was really a popular thing for him.

Moultine met Gougeon through sailing and boating after moving to Bay City in the late 1960s. He remembers the different boats Gougeon and his brothers would build.

I thought the world of him as a person, Moultine said. He was just a brilliant, brilliant guy. He always had great answers to everything.

Additionally, Moultine served alongside Gougeon as a member of the Bay City Lions Club. Gougeon also once served as the organizations president.

We just had really close camaraderie through the Lions Club and functions that we worked on, he said.

I dont think youll find anybody basically, that didnt like him, said Moultine. Hes just that kind of a guy. He never, never was hurtful to anybody, and he always wanted to help people.

Moultine said that Gougeon would constantly urge him to run for public office, and despite his resistance, Gougeon eventually convinced him to become the Bay City Lions Clubs president.

He was quite a guy, Moultine said. Joe would help or do anything for anybody. He loved Bay City.

In addition to cookouts and other gatherings held by the Bay City Lions Club, Gougeon and Moultine would regularly meet for coffee, and Gougeon would show him his antique cars.

The pair would also attend Detroit Tigers games and take part in boat races together, including sailboat races at Mackinac Island.

We had a lot of fun together, Moultine said.

Surviving Gougeon are his wife of 60 years, Kaye Gougeon; daughter Amy Gougeon; grandchildren Joshua Koch, Andrew Koch and Rebecca Koch; and many nieces and nephews.

Gougeons family plans to hold a memorial celebration for him this coming spring.

Visit the Gephart Funeral Home flower store to order memorial trees or send flowers to Gougeons family in his memory.
A Pinconning man has been charged after allegedly torching the clubhouse for the Outlaws Motorcycle club in Saginaw.

Meanwhile, a state representative said he voted to cut Bay City bridge funding due to a perceived conflict of interest.

Those stories and more are below in this weeks roundup of news you may have missed.

Pinconning man charged with torching Outlaws Motorcycle Clubhouse in Saginaw

Two years after a motorcycle clubs Saginaw clubhouse twice erupted in flames, a Pinconning man has been arrested and charged with sparking one of the blazes.

Adrian A. Roseberry, 35, had been wanted on an outstanding warrant charging him with third-degree arson since Sept. 13, 2023. Bridgeport Township police officers on Dec. 14 arrested Roseberry after encountering him in a traffic stop.

The next day, Roseberry appeared before Saginaw County District Judge David D. Hoffman for arraignment on the 10-year felony. Hoffman set bond at $10,000 cash-surety or 10%, which Roseberry hasnt posted as of Monday morning, Dec. 22.

Read the full story here.

Bay City bridge funding cut because of perceived conflict of interest, state representative says

State Rep. Timothy Beson said this week that he voted to disapprove millions of dollars in bridge funding for the largest city he represents because of a perceived conflict of interest concerning the former state senator who championed the funding.

Beson, R-Bay City, said Tuesday, Dec. 23, that he voted to withdraw the $1.6 million earmarked for Bay City to serve as a reimbursement for the citys costs associated with the ongoing Michigan Department of Transportation Lafayette Bridge project because former state Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet was married to Bay City Commissioner Joseph Rivet when the funding was originally allocated to the city.

This possible conflict, Beson said, could have caused issues were the funding to be affected and the Rivets relationship came into question.

Read the full story here.

Man charged with eavesdropping on neighbor with cameras

A Bay City man is accused of placing cameras on his property to spy on his neighbor, resulting in him facing an unusual criminal charge.

Robert L. Schrader Jr., 70, is charged with eavesdropping - installing/using a device, a felony punishable by up to two years incarceration and a $2,000 fine. Eavesdropping, per state law, means to overhear, record, amplify or transmit any part of the private discourse of others without the permission of all persons engaged in the discourse.

The charge stems from police on the morning of July 26 responding to the 300 block of Blend Street after Schraders next-door neighbor, a 44-year-old man, lodged a complaint. The caller told a responding officer he has been having an issue for several years with Schrader placing cameras covering the complainants backyard and back door to his house, according to the officers report.

Read the full story here.

Bay City approves church-to-brewery conversion with conditions

The Bay City Zoning Board of Appeals on Thursday, Dec. 18, approved with minor changes a use variance for a Bay City resident seeking to convert what was formerly a church into a microbrewery and restaurant.

Approval for Next Quest Brewery was granted to Zeke Carlyon on the condition he secure and provide documentation of an agreement for overflow parking with a nearby property. The approval also requires that operating hours be restricted, with the establishment closing no later than 11 p.m. The business will also be required to install bike racks to encourage alternative transportation.

A church is a good place for a brewery like this, and its sad because theyre beautiful buildings and tough to find a use for them, Carlyon said at the meeting. But it does work perfectly for our purposes. Its only a block off Center Street. We have parking available thatll suit the needs. We really think itd be a good addition to the city.

Read the full story here.

Michigan roofing company installs free roof for veterans widow before Christmas

This Christmas season brought a meaningful gift to the widow of a mid-Michigan veteran, thanks to a Michigan roofing company and a national program dedicated to giving back to U.S. military families.

Jill Keeley, the widow of U.S. Coast Guard veteran Terry Keeley, received a new roof on Monday, Dec. 22, through the Owens Corning Roof Deployment Project. The installation was completed by Schoenherr Roofing, an Owens Corning Platinum Roofing Contractor.

Oh, my God, I am so grateful, Jill Keeley said while standing outside her house Monday morning, bundled in a large coat. I never thought I would win, to tell you the truth. Theyre wonderful. They talked to me on the phone. They cried with me. They prayed with me. Theyre just awesome, generous and kind.

Read the full story here.

Bay City woman charged with stealing upwards of $43,000 from disabled father

A Bay City woman is accused of stealing a five-figure sum from her disabled father, money she claimed went to paying off her mountain of debt.

Valerielynn A. Valerie Mounts, 39, is charged with larceny between $1,000 and $20,000 and ATM fraud between $1,000 and $20,000. Both charges are felonies punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of $10,000 or three times the amount stolen.

Police began investigating Mounts on July 19, 2024, upon learning the bills for her fathers room and board at Close to Home Assisted Living had not been paid in several months. The father, 72-year-old Joseph E. Mounts, had been at the facility since December 2016 after suffering a stroke. He had been unconscious for two weeks when police began their probe, their reports state.

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Historic FDNY Super Tender arrives at Michigan fire museum

A historic Fire Department of New York vehicle has arrived at the Antique Toy and Firehouse Museum in Bangor Township, adding another piece to one of the largest fire collections in the nation.

Museum officials took possession of the FDNY Super Tender on Wednesday, Dec. 10, in California, which was owned by Ruth Wick. The vehicle completed its five-day trek across the country on Monday, Dec. 15.

We were able to traverse those thousands of miles and get this home safely. Now the work begins, said Mike Snyder, the vice-chair of the museum.

Read the full story here.

Pinconning Police Department announces leadership change for 2026

A changing of the guards is on the horizon for Bay Countys northernmost police department.

Effective Jan. 6, Chief Terry M. Spencer is stepping down as chief of the Pinconning Police Department. Stepping into the role is Cpl. Gregg Nieten, who will be sworn in at a public ceremony at 4 p.m.

Spencer began working for the agency as a patrolman in 2007, eventually advancing to sergeant before being appointed its chief in October 2021. During Spencers tenure, the department underwent significant modernization efforts, including improvements to equipment and operational procedures.

Read the full story here.

Bay City official calls for proactive AI data center zoning policies

A Bay City zoning official is calling on local leaders to address emerging technology infrastructure before it becomes a more pressing issue.

Paul Kleinau, a member of the Bay City Zoning Board of Appeals, spoke at a recent planning commission meeting as a resident to advocate for proactive zoning policies regarding AI data centers and middle housing development.

I know Bay City is not really the type of location where were going to expect any of those to pop up, although you could see smaller ones pop up in the fringes, he said.

Read the full story here.
Quick Read

AVDVs $14.6B portfolio concentrates heavily in materials and energy across Australia, Canada and Japan.

Top holdings include gold miners Perseus and B2Gold plus coal producer Whitehaven and energy name Whitecap.

The funds 8% annual turnover signals a buy-and-hold approach with no active rotation away from commodity exposure.

A recent study identified one single habit that doubled Americans retirement savings and moved retirement from dream, to reality. Read more here.

Editor's Note: A prior version of this article incorrectly listed The Dimensional International Small Cap Value ETF's expense ratio as .36% while it is actually .42%. We regret the error. Please reach us as contact@flywheelpublishing.com for any additional corrections or feedback.

The Avantis International Small Cap Value ETF (NYSEARCA:AVDV) has delivered exceptional performance, outpacing major benchmarks and popular investments. For a $14.6 billion fund charging just 0.36% annually and holding hundreds of obscure international small-cap stocks, that performance stands out. The question is whether conditions that powered this rally will persist.

What Macro Forces Could Sustain or Reverse This Run

The biggest macro factor to watch is the global commodity cycle, particularly industrial metals and energy. AVDV's portfolio leans heavily into materials and energy companies across Australia, Canada, and Japan. Gold miners like Perseus Mining and B2Gold appear among the top holdings, alongside coal producer Whitehaven Coal and Canadian energy names like Whitecap Resources. When commodity prices rise, these small-cap value stocks leverage that momentum aggressively. Conversely, a downturn in metals or energy markets would hit this portfolio harder than a diversified large-cap fund.

24/7 Wall St.  24/7 Wall St.

This infographic details the Avantis International Small Cap Value ETF (AVDV), explaining its investment strategy, ideal use case, and a comprehensive list of its advantages and disadvantages. It highlights the ETF's focus on cyclical international small-cap value stocks and its recent strong performance.

Investors should monitor monthly commodity price indexes published by the World Bank and quarterly earnings reports from major mining and energy producers. These releases signal whether demand is holding up or cracking. A sustained pullback in industrial activity, particularly in China or Europe, would pressure the materials-heavy companies that drove much of AVDV's recent performance. The fund's strong returns weren't just about picking good stocks but riding a favorable commodity environment. If that environment shifts, so will the fund's trajectory.
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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.
Saurav Pandey is the Deputy Manager of Content at Moneycontrol, specialising in content strategy, execution and performance analysis. He integrates advanced SEO techniques to deliver high-impact, data-driven content formats. His expertise spans various beats, including education, career, science and others, where he adopts a technical approach to optimise visibility, improve search rankings, and drive organic traffic growth. He can be reached out at Saurav.Pandey@nw18.com.
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Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt and wife Shwetambari Bail, were denied again in the 30 Crore fraud case
Ranbir Kapoor flaunts clean-shaven look as he jets off with Alia Bhatt for New Year vacation
Siddhant Chaturvedi, Pooja Hegde and Ishaan Khatter jet off on a New Year vacation to an unknown destination after their flight gets cancelled
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Thalapathy Vijay gets emotional, fans call it an end of era at the Jana Nayagan audio launch
Sanyal added that bankruptcy "should not be held as a moral failure" but should be seen as a natural part of a society willing to take risks and grow.
He added that even players such as Vodafone Idea and BSNL currently serve close to about 210 million and 100 million customers,respectively.
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Despite 50% US tariffs, India's exports stay resilient; growth momentum likely to expand into 2026
In the previous week, the overall forex kitty had grown by a more modest $1.689 billion to $688.949 billion.
By Steven Scheer

JERUSALEM, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Requests to relocate abroad by Israelis working at multinational companies operating in Israel rose in the past year in reaction to Israel's two-year war against Palestinian militant group Hamas, a report showed on Sunday.

The Israel Advanced Technology Industries Association (IATI) found that 53% of companies reported an increase in relocation requests from Israeli employees, noting this was "a trend that may, over time, harm the local innovation engine and Israel's technological leadership."

The tech sector accounts for about 20% of Israel's GDP, 15% of its jobs and more than half of its exports. The hundreds of multinationals in Israel include Microsoft, Intel, Nvidia, Amazon, Meta and Apple.

In its annual report, IATI also said some multinational companies are examining the transfer of investments and activities to other countries.

"In some cases, companies that faced disruptions in supply chains found alternatives outside Israel during the war, and when these proved efficient, there is a risk that activity will not fully return," said the report, issued at a meeting led by IATI CEO and President Karin Mayer Rubinstein.

At the same time, it added, there has been an increase in demand for relocation among senior executives and families, with more employees applying for positions outside Israel.

Still, the report noted that multinationals view the Israeli tech ecosystem through a long-term lens and many firms have thrived during the war.

Tech sector 'proves its resilience'

Some 57% of companies maintained stable business activities throughout the fighting, and 21% expanded their operations in Israel, "a figure that indicates continued confidence in local activity and the Israeli ecosystem even under conditions of uncertainty," IATI said.

Another 22% of companies reported damage to business activity during the war, which began on October 7, 2023, triggered by Hamas' raid on Israel, and ended two months ago following a U.S.-led ceasefire deal.

"Even during the difficult war, the Israeli high-tech industry, including the global companies operating in Israel, once again proved its resilience and its ability to lead in innovation and creativity," said Rubinstein. "We work tirelessly to ensure that Israel continues to be an attractive hub for the activity of multinational companies."

IATI noted that "without active steps by the state to create regulatory and geopolitical stability, there is concern about gradual erosion in the stability of the local ecosystem."

(Reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by David Holmes)
Control room in Delhi brings airlines, airports and regulators together to resolve passenger complaints in real time after recent flight disruptions.
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Chartist Talk: Bullish momentum intact in RVNL, IRFC on price action and technicals, Nifty F&O expiry seen in 25,97026,130, says Sudeep Shah
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Why Rolls-Royce wants India as its next home base: Next-gen jet engines, defence MoUs, big capital
At the heart of this push is Indias scale. The country generates nearly a fifth of the worlds data but hosts only a small share of global data storage infrastructure.
Police say the gang sourced high-grade cannabis from the AndhraOdisha border and routed it through Tamil Nadu, marking a rare Sri Lanka link.
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Bengal Police warn people of loan fraud using CM Mamata Banerjees name, photos
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Father of Tripura student killed in 'racist attack' in Dehradun says police delayed FIR
Excise duties on cigarettes, cigars and other tobacco products have been sharply raised, with officials estimating retail prices could rise several-fold.
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House detentions, strict missive? What forced 'Open Merit' students to call off quota protest in Srinagar
Janus Henderson Group plc (NYSE:JHG) is included among the 13 Best Debt Free Dividend Stocks to Buy Now.

Janus Henderson Group (JHG) Target Reset After $7.4B Take-Private Deal

Photo by Vitaly Taranov on Unsplash

On December 22, Evercore ISI lowered its price target on Janus Henderson Group plc (NYSE:JHG) to $49 from $50 and kept an In Line rating. The move followed news that the companys largest shareholder, Trian Fund Management, along with General Catalyst, agreed to take the asset manager private at an equity value of $7.4 billion, or $49 per share.

The firm said the deal doesnt seem like the highest possible multiple that Janus could have gotten, especially after six straight quarters of organic growth. At the same time, Evercore noted there is no guarantee things are going to be like that every quarter. From that angle, the appeal of operating as a private company is easier to understand. It could give Janus more room to continue its turnaround without constant pressure from public markets.

CNBC first reported on December 22 that Janus Henderson Group plc (NYSE:JHG) agreed to be acquired by Trian and General Catalyst. The buyers will pay $49 per share in cash, valuing the firm at about $7.4 billion. The offer reflects a 6.5% premium to the prior December 19s close and roughly an 18% premium to the stocks closing price on October 24.

Janus Henderson CEO Ali Dibadj made the following statement:

With this partnership with Trian and General Catalyst, we are confident that we will be able to further invest in our product offering, client services, technology, and talent to accelerate our growth.

The Wall Street Journal had reported on October 27 that the two firms had approached Janus Henderson Group plc (NYSE:JHG) about a potential takeover. The transaction is expected to close in mid-2026. Trian has been an investor in Janus since late 2020. Over that period, the stock has roughly doubled. Trian also holds two seats on the companys board.

Janus Henderson Group plc (NYSE:JHG) is a British-American global asset management firm headquartered in the City of London. It provides investment products to individual investors, financial advisors, and institutions worldwide under the Janus Henderson Investors brand.

While we acknowledge the potential of JHG 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: Dividend Achievers List: Top 16 Stocks and 13 Top Tech Stocks Paying Consistent Dividends.

Disclosure: None.
Assessments by intelligence agencies indicate that around 30 to 35 Pakistani terrorists are currently operating in the Jammu region, ANI reported (Representative image)
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Christin Mathew Philip is a Senior Assistant Editor at Moneycontrol.com with 15 years of experience in journalism and a recipient of the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award. Based in Bengaluru, he understands the pulse of the people and covers issues that matter, including mobility, infrastructure, start-ups, and government policies. He tweets at @ChristinMP_
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Meghalaya Police, BSF dismiss false narrative regarding two suspects in Hadi murder case entering state
The court had warned the BMC that it would pass orders restraining it from granting any further permissions for construction if the air pollution situation persists in the city.
Indian-origin Canadian Prashant Sreekumar, 44, died after an hours-long wait in an Edmonton emergency department; MEA seeks accountability as Musk criticises public healthcare.
Reflecting on the past year, the Prime Minister said that 2025 had offered several moments of national pride across diverse fields.
The proceedings took a decisive turn when the second husband confirmed their marriage in court
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer discussed along with macroeconomic conditions. Cramer noted the company is a huge position for the Charitable Trust, as he commented:

For the financials, I asked if thered be a tangible benefit from the deregulation that we expected once the Trump administration took over. And here I think its a clear yes. The banks have been solid performers this year, but the investment banks have been a bonanza, and thats all about deregulation. Goldman Sachs, a favorite of mine, huge position for my Charitable Trust is up 57%. Morgan Stanleys up 43%. JPMorgans up almost 35%. These companies earn a lot more money when the White House isnt blocking mergers or heavily scrutinizing new IPOs.

Copyright: mikewaters / 123RF Stock Photo

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) provides financial services, including investment banking, asset and wealth management, and banking solutions. Cramer highlighted the companys stock performance for the year during the December 19 episode, as he stated:

Meanwhile, there are plenty of IPOs and acquisitions, which have caused furious buying of the bank stocks. We saw a very positive article about Wells Fargo in the journal. Goldman Sachs up 56% for the year, now eclipse[s] most of the performance of the Magnificent Seven. Theres a reason for that. Goldman Sachs may be growing faster than almost all the stocks in tech, let alone the Magnificent Seven. And by the way, had a lot less risk, which is what really matters. These financial and consumer spending companies just keep delivering better and better and better expected numbers as expectations are incredibly low versus the monstrously high expectations for anything related to the data center.

While we acknowledge the potential of GS as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're 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: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
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Supreme Court to hear suo motu case on Aravalli Hills mining and definition on Monday
Anjel Chakma sustained severe injuries to his neck and spine and was rushed to hospital in critical condition (Image: Facebook/Pradyot Bikram Manikya DebBarma)
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Unnao rape survivor worries for her family's safety after suspension of Kuldeep Sengar's life sentence: 'My children are unsafe...'
Venugopal spoke to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, conveying that the All India Congress Committee was deeply uncomfortable with how the demolitions were carried out.
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Witness recounts harrowing details of Hindu man Dipu Das' killing in Bangladesh: 'Were behaving like demons'
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Women to guard LAC: ITBP to build Mahila Barracks at 32 India-China border posts
Malcolm Gladwell compared Harvard with Hartwick College, a small liberal arts school in New York. Despite vast differences in prestige, he found similar patterns: lowerscoring students at both institutions were more likely to abandon STEM majors, regardless of raw talent.
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Invite your friends and family to sign up for MC Tech 3, our daily newsletter that breaks down the biggest tech and startup stories of the day
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Acts of bigotry: Concern over lynching of Bangladeshi Hindu echoes in the US
Catherine, Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte "didn't need direction" for their piano duet because they were "so good".

Catherine, Princess of Wales recorded a duet with Princess Charlotte

The 43-year-old royal and her 10-year-old daughter sat side by side at the piano for a performance of Holm Sound, which aired as part of the screening of the Together At Christmas carol concert on Christmas Eve (24.12.25), and the piece's composer Erland Cooper admitted it was "such a surprise" to be invited to the filming of the duet at Windsor Castle.

Erland told BBC Breakfast: Id had a chat with the princess earlier in the year and I knew she enjoyed playing this piece of music with family.

It was a big surprise to be invited to Windsor Castle and hear it performed by a pair of princesses. I didnt need to give direction, they were so good.

Performing in front of a film crew and the person who wrote the music is a nerve-wracking thing for anybody, Im sure. They played it several times and then they asked me to have a wee go as well, and I gave a few pointers. But I didnt need to. I think I was there as a cheerleader.

The Scottish musician praised Charlotte as "very confident".

He added: She played it so beautifully.

Erland wrote Holm Sound for his mother, who is also called Charlotte, and the "full circle moment" of family ties.

He said: This is the wonderful coincidence, its about how we see our parents in our childrens eyes and but then when you look at your mother and you look at granny, you see your children. Its about that sort of full circle moment, and its about motherhood.

Catherine and her daughter recorded the duet in Windsor Castle's Inner Hall earlier in December, with the older princess playing with her left hand and Charlotte with her right.

As the performance aired, footage was shown of guests arriving at the Westminster Abbey carol service, including Catherine and her husband, Prince William, watching as their three children tied paper chains with their names on to a "connection tree".

The Wales family were joined at the carol service by other members of the royal family including Zara and Mike Tindall, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, and Prince Michael of Kent, as well as Catherine's parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, and her brother James Middleton, who was accompanied by wife Alizee.
International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer discussed along with macroeconomic conditions. Cramer called the company stock cheap despite a noteworthy run, as he stated:

I also asked if some of the legacy tech giants, like Cisco and IBM, could continue the better performance theyve been putting up, and Im happy to say that by and large, they have. Ciscos climbed nearly 32% year to date about three weeks ago. The stock closed at a record high for the first time since March of 2000. Great win for the CNBC investing club there. Meanwhile, IBMs up more than 38%, trading at record highs. Its still cheap, by the way, and it still should be bought.

Credit: IBM

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) provides software, consulting, and cloud and on-site technology solutions, along with financing to help clients use its products. During the November 19 episode, Cramer highlighted the company as a quantum play, as he said:

Now, I know that many of you cant resist the quantum computing stocks even after they sold off hard over the past month. Maybe you like to lose money. Im against that. I would steer clear of the speculative quantum plays because the profitable companies with the best quantum computing technology are actually Alphabet and IBM. You could do worse.

While we acknowledge the potential of IBM as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're 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: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
After Sharif Osman Hadis killing, why Bangladeshs Editors Council is accusing the interim government
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Condom crisis in Bangladesh: Why the country is running out of 'protection' amid political turmoil
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Carney calls for willing Russia amid Kyiv attacks, announces $1.82B support for Ukraine
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Hindu protest over Bangladesh lynching in London disrupted by Khalistani counter-demonstrators
Zardari says he rejected bunker advice after Indias Operation Sindoor
Putin warns of force if Ukraine rejects peace talks ahead of Trump-Zelenskyy meet
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Osman Hadi killing: Main suspects flee to India via Meghalaya border, Dhaka police say
Redwire Corporation (NYSE:RDW) is one of the best emerging technology stocks to invest in. On December 19, KeyBanc initiated coverage of Redwire with a Sector Weight rating but set no price target on the shares. The firm believes that following the companys acquisition of Edge Autonomy, Redwire is transforming into a multi-domain space and defense firm. However, while this expansion significantly increases the companys scale, it comes at the expense of shareholder dilution.

In other news, on December 18, Redwire Corporation and The Exploration Company announced an eight-figure contract for Redwire to supply critical docking hardware for TECs flagship spacecraft, Nyx. Based in Kruibeke, Belgium, and Munich, Germany, the two firms have agreed that Redwire will provide two International Berthing and Docking Mechanisms/IBDM. These systems are fully compliant with the International Docking System Standard/IDSS, ensuring that Nyx (a reusable and refuelable European spacecraft) can perform autonomous rendezvous and docking with a variety of standardized space infrastructure.

KeyBanc Notes Redwires (RDW) Shift to Multi-Domain Defense Following Transformative Edge Autonomy Deal

The IBDM technology was developed in Belgium in collaboration with international partners and the European Space Agency. It features a modular, standardized architecture that supports both berthing and autonomous docking. Redwires offices in Belgium and Poland are currently using their experience from developing a similar IBDM for the Lunar Gateways International Habitat, a project that provides a high level of technical maturity and mission confidence for the Nyx program. The partnership is viewed as a move toward strengthening Europes autonomous access to space and its commercial space sector.

Redwire Corporation (NYSE:RDW) provides critical space solutions and space infrastructure for government and commercial customers in the US, Europe, and internationally.

While we acknowledge the potential of RDW 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: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
Putin warns Russia will use force if Ukraine peace talks stall: 'If Kyiv does not want peace...'
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Sweeping tariffs, H1-B visa fees, travel bans: How Trump's policies jolted the world and reshaped 2025
Washington urged the two nations to immediately honour this commitment and fully implement the terms of the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords.
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US seeks Pakistans partnership for American locomotive sales and mineral exploration: Report
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Winter storm snarls post-holiday travel across US Northeast, thousands of flights disrupted
December 28, 2025

Palestine Open Thread 2025-301

News & views related to the war in Palestine 
The new tax law enacted over the summer contains several new tax breaks that are in effect for 2025, while many other provisions won't come online until 2026.. - Michael Bocchieri/Getty Images

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was signed into law in July, created several new tax provisions and made changes to others that are in effect for this year. So its worth having the rundown of some of the key ones before preparing your 2025 tax return.

Some of the provisions may result in a lower tax bill for you  or a higher refund. But figuring out whether you are eligible to claim them  and what documents youll need to do so  may be more confusing and time- consuming than usual for tax filers and tax professionals.

More from Yahoo Scout What are the key standard deduction changes for 2025? How does the new personal deduction for seniors work? How will crypto transactions be reported to the IRS? What are the new vehicle loan interest deduction rules?

The United States tax code is complex, not simple. Unfortunately, the OBBBA further complicates tax filing, a Tax Foundation analysis notes.

Here are 10 of the most notable changes for individual filers:

1. A higher standard deduction

The standard deduction for 2025 was raised to $15,750 for single filers, up from the $15,000 previously in place. For married couples filing jointly, it is increased to $31,500, up from $30,000. And for heads of households, their standard deduction will be $23,625, up from $22,500.

Most filers take the standard deduction because it is higher than the total of itemized deductions they are eligible to claim (e.g., mortgage interest, state and local taxes, charitable contributions, medical expenses, etc.).

2. A personal deduction for seniors

Anyone born before January 2, 1961 and who has a valid Social Security number may now take a $6,000 deduction (or $12,000 if married filing jointly and each spouse qualifies). This new deduction is taken on top of your standard deduction or itemized deductions.

But your deduction will be reduced if your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is more than $75,000 ($150,000 for joint filers) but less than $175,000 ($250,000). Above those levels, the tax break is disallowed.

3. A higher state and local tax deduction

What had been a $10,000 cap on the amount of state and local taxes that itemizers may deduct on their federal income tax return is now $40,000 ($20,000 if married filing separately).

The so-called SALT deduction lets you deduct either your state and local income taxes or your state and local general sales taxes. On top of that, you may also be allowed to deduct your property taxes, assuming your income or sales taxes dont put you over the cap.

If youre a very high-income filer you will be limited in how much you may deduct. That includes anyone with a MAGI over $500,000 ($250,000 if married filing separately).

4. Car loan interest deduction

If you bought a new vehicle (eg, a car, motorcycle or van) for personal use this year and you took out a loan to finance the purchase, you may be allowed to deduct at least some of the interest. But only if the final leg of production for your vehicle was done in the United States, which is something that should be disclosed when you look up your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa said on Saturday that the arrival of Lionel Messi and his team, Inter Miami, for a match scheduled on February 7 represents a clear sign of international confidence in the country.

President of Ecuador Daniel Noboa Getty Images

Ecuador welcomes Inter Miami and Lionel Messi. Their arrival is a clear sign of international confidence in our country, an Ecuador that opens its doors to major investment, elite sport, and world-class events, Noboa wrote on his X account.

Welcome to Ecuador, the president added, while sharing a post from the U.S. club confirming its tour of three Latin American countries, including Ecuador, under the name Champions Tour.

Inter Miami will travel to Ecuador to play a friendly match against Barcelona de Guayaquil at Banco Pichincha Stadium. Daniel Molina, the main facilitator of the agreement between the U.S. club and Barcelona, said on December 10 that this could possibly be the last time Messi will be seen playing in Ecuador.

Molina explained that the organizers were looking for a large-capacity venue to welcome as many people from across the country as possible, because fans will be coming from everywhere, pointing to Barcelonas stadium, which can host up to 60,000 spectators.
IMAGINE yourself as a tiny baby boy coming into this world with severe complications from a premature birth, where survival is uncertain and death is a real possibility.

To perish within the first week of life is a harsh reality for many newborns. My birth mother believed that outcome was possible, so she entrusted me to my grandmother, who she believed possessed natural spiritual healing powers that could keep me alive during the critical first 48 hours.

My grandmother was a respected native community healer in San Jose, Chalan Laulau, Saipan. On her chicken farm, she raised her own family while also caring for orphaned children and helping save lives within the community.

Picture that, and ask yourself whether I should disobey the moral, ethical, and family values my grandmother instilled in me  values that guided me from being a fragile, lifeless infant to becoming the U.S.-CNMI journalist and writer I am today.

The love my grandmother taught me was powerful  so powerful that I feared it, because she believed that failing to live by her principles carried consequences. I was fortunate to be raised by a loving, spiritually gifted grandmother who shaped the person I am today.

Why is that? Because my father, a traditional and powerful healer himself, told me to become a journalist.

Now imagine yourself doing your job as a journalism student when a Trump supporter from Oregon State calls your personal cell phone and threatens to block your access to your wife. How would you react? I took the matter to Multnomah County Family Court, where false statements were made to a U.S. judge regarding my visitation rights.

Nothing scares me. Why should I believe a system when I know that certain individuals within county government were operating inside what I believe to be a deeply corrupt structure?

To organizations in Oregon: American families deserve the truth about your abuses. You receive millions  if not billions  of dollars in federal grants each year, yet you still separated me from my lawful wife, Shu Chun Romolor.

I have spoken with other family victims  mothers of boys and girls  who say they have been silenced by corrupt organizations working alongside local officials.

In Nevada, state officials targeted not only homeless individuals but also people under 50 who were barred from aging and disability programs. The exploitation of homeless people for profit and federal funding was the very reason U.S. Judge Carter publicly rebuked California state lawmakers. Witnessing this firsthand is horrifying.

I will continue fighting to expose organizations that abuse families across the United States. The media, too, bears responsibility for enabling corruption by protecting its own interests. However, Coconut News will shine the truth.

At this point, we may as well return to the caveman era, because we have become delusional  worshipping money and greed instead of Jesus Christ and God Almighty.

Sincerely,

JOAQUIN O. ROMOLOR

Washington, D.C.
The lack of proven resources, immature technology, and the risk of permanent ecological harm make this a foolhardy endeavor.  Dr. Andrew D. Thaler, deep-sea ecologist

AS the U.S. government explores deep-sea mining near the Mariana Trench to secure critical minerals needed for technological advancement, a growing coalition of scientists, environmental advocates, and Pacific Island leaders is urging caution. Their message is clear: the risks may far outweigh the rewards.

Marine scientists, including deep-sea ecologist Andrew Thaler, argue that the deep ocean is one of Earths least understood and most vulnerable environments. Unlike forests on land, which can regenerate over decades, deep-sea ecosystems recover at a glacial pace  if they recover at all. Evidence from experimental mining conducted in the 1970s shows that scars on the seafloor remain visible even after 50 years, suggesting that any damage inflicted could be permanent.

The removal of mineral-rich crusts and nodules threatens the habitats of unique and largely unknown species. Many of these organisms rely on slow-growing deep-sea structures for survival, and their loss could lead to the disappearance of entire ecosystems before they are even fully documented.

Critics also warn that the impacts of mining extend far beyond the ocean floor. Industrial extraction machinery emits continuous noise at levels comparable to those of a jet engine, disrupting the communication and navigation of marine mammals such as whales and dolphins. In addition, the release of sediment-laden waste  known as dewatering plumes  into mid-ocean waters could smother small marine life and contaminate fish stocks with heavy metals, potentially destabilizing food webs and harming commercial fisheries.

From a financial perspective, opponents question the wisdom of investing in a venture with uncertain returns. According to Thaler, the Mariana region lacks confirmed deposits of commercially viable mineral nodules. Moreover, the technology required to mine steep underwater mountains remains in its infancy, and no U.S. company currently possesses the capability to conduct such operations. This raises serious concerns about risking a globally significant natural site for resources that may neither be accessible nor profitable.

Perhaps most striking is the criticism from leaders in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, who have characterized the federal approach as colonial. Under existing U.S. law, these territories would receive no share of the profits or royalties from mining activities in their surrounding waters. This exclusion has intensified calls for meaningful local consultation and equitable participation in decision-making.

On the international stage, the United States is advancing its plans without adhering to global agreements that recognize the deep sea as the common heritage of mankind. This unilateral approach has alarmed allied nations, many of which advocate for further scientific research before proceeding with actions that could cause irreversible environmental harm.

While the promise of mineral independence is alluring, critics caution that the deep sea is not a frontier to be rushed into. With so much still unknown about its ecosystems and the long-term consequences of industrial exploitation, prudence  not haste  should guide the path forward.

Thank you.

NOEL M. SORIA

Gualo Rai, Saipan
Poetry by Joey Connolly

November Afternoon Nap

Remembered in December

Well we live on planet earth

where can be found madness

sometimes measures of mirth

often mixed with sadness

what if anything is it worth

we have to pay lifes price

we rock and then roll the dice

living daily slice by slice

we walk the dog tell our tale

we wag the tail of the dog

our life in a fog we talk the talk

at times in our life we all fail

fall stumble and then balk

weary of lifes constant strife

around the world wars abound

countless children starve and die

no food no homes no schools

we have to wonder why

drones missiles and bombs

babies and children survivors

with dead fathers and moms.

12/28/25 a December wake up call

As I write this CNN reports Russia has

been bombing civilian targets in Kiev,

Ukraine for the past 12 hours, with

hundreds of missiles and drone attacks.

Merry Xmas and Happy New Year

from Putin (former KGB) and Russia

In Gaza millions starving and homeless,

poor sanitation, homes and hospitals gone.

What hope in the year ahead for them?

Joey Pepe Batbon Connolly is a retired educator who taught in the CNMI, NOLA, and LVNV. He is the Poet Laureate of Tinian and enjoys stargazing.
BJ Attao

By Emmanuel T. Erediano

[email protected]

Variety News Staff

THE House of Representatives will convene at 1 p.m. today, Monday, Dec. 29, to act on the Senate version of House Bill 24-74, which appropriates $1 million in public land income to the Public School System and the mayors offices of Saipan, Tinian, and Rota.

Authored by Rep. Blas Jonathan Attao and introduced by the entire House as a committee of the whole, H.B. 24-74 was originally intended to fund the Nutrition Assistance Program for the November distribution of food stamp benefits, shielding recipients from the impact of a federal government shutdown.

The source of the funds is the trust interest income due to the general fund, remitted by the Marianas Public Land Trust.

When the federal shutdown ended on Nov. 12, 2025, Gov. David M. Apatang informed the Legislature that the money to address the NAP fund shortfall was no longer needed. He recommended allocating the public land income to the Public School System, Marianas Visitor Authority, and the municipalities of Tinian and Rota.

The Senate version of the bill, which the House is expected to pass today, appropriates the funds as follows:

 $250,000 for PSS

 $100,000 for Saipan Mayors Office operations

 $325,000 for Tinian Mayors Office public programs

 $325,000 for Rota Mayors Office public programs

Emmanuel Arnold Erediano has a bachelor of science degree in Journalism. He started his career as police beat reporter. Loves to cook. Eats death threats for breakfast.
By Bryan Manabat

[email protected]

Variety News Staff

ON Dec. 23, 2025, the CNMI Supreme Court denied the Office of the Attorney Generals petition for a writ of mandamus in the case of Willie Carnell Frink, 42, a steward supervisor of a maritime prepositioning ship accused of sexually assaulting a female crewmember in November 2022.

In its order, Chief Justice Alexandro Castro and Associate Justices John Manglona and Perry Inos wrote: The trial court did not commit clear error in ordering the Commonwealth to personally serve Frink with the 2023 order or in quashing the arrest warrant and requiring the Commonwealth to obtain a new one. Absent a showing of clear error, we are foreclosed from granting mandamus relief. We therefore DENY the Commonwealths petition for a writ of mandamus.

The Office of the Attorney General argued that the trial court abused its discretion when it quashed the arrest warrant originally used to detain Frink and required the Commonwealth to obtain a new warrant. The trial court had also ordered the Commonwealth to personally serve Frink with the order finding probable cause.

In their ruling, the justices emphasized that writs of mandamus are extraordinary remedies granted only when clear error is shown. They noted that arrest warrants, once executed, generally cannot be reused, meaning the Commonwealth would have been required to seek a new warrant regardless of the trial courts order.

The case has been marked by procedural delays. After initially hearing testimony from an investigating officer, the Superior Court dismissed the charges, concluding there was insufficient evidence to detain Frink for trial. Prosecutors appealed, and in 2023 the Supreme Court vacated the dismissal and reinstated the charges, allowing the case to proceed.

In February 2024, Presiding Judge Roberto C. Naraja took under advisement the defenses motion to quash the arrest warrant. Frink, who waived his appearance, was represented by attorney Colin Thompson, while Chief Prosecutor Chester Hinds appeared for the government.

Nearly a year later, Assistant Attorney General Frances Demapan filed a motion urging Judge Naraja to issue a ruling or hold a status conference. Demapan noted that the delay had negatively impacted the prosecution, affecting witness availability and memory of events.

According to the complaint, the victim told police she and Frink were co-workers and that he was her supervisor. On Nov. 11, 2022, she said Frink invited her to swim at a hotel pool, where they consumed alcoholic drinks. After two rum and Cokes, she said she began feeling dizzy, nauseous, and shaky.

The victim said Frink later took her to a hotel room he had rented. She showered, vomited, and lay down due to dizziness. Frink offered her a massage, placed his hands on her shoulders, and, despite her attempts to resist, laid her down and rubbed lotion on her back. She said she tried to squirm away, but Frink held her down and told her to just relax.

She reported that she began to black out and that all of a sudden Frink was having sexual intercourse with her without her consent.

With the CNMI Supreme Courts denial of mandamus relief, the case now returns to the Superior Court, where the motion to quash the arrest warrant remains pending.

Bryan Manabat was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College where he also studied criminal justice. He is the recipient of the NMI Humanities Award as an Outstanding Teacher (Non-Classroom) in 2013, and has worked for the CNMI Motheread/Fatheread Literacy Program as lead facilitator.
U.S. Ambassador to Palau Joe Ehrendrereich and Palau Foreign Minister Gustav Aitaro hold a copy of the memorandum of understanding on the transfer of U.S. deportees to the Pacific island nation. Photo courtesy of the Office of the President of Palau via Pacific Island Times

By Mar-Vic Cagurangan

For Variety

(Pacific Island Times)  Despite opposition from congressional leaders and the Council of Chiefs, Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. has agreed to accept Washingtons proposal to relocate unwanted aliens to the Pacific island nation in exchange for supplemental aid and a new hospital.

Under the newly signed memorandum of understanding, Palau will receive $7.5 million in U.S. funding to defray the costs of hosting up to 75 third-country nationals, particularly for public services and infrastructure associated with resettlement.

Details of the agreement were fleshed out during Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landaus morning call to Whipps, according to Tommy Pigott, principal deputy spokesperson for the State Department.

Pigott said the Palau-bound individuals have no known criminal histories.

Whipps said the relocation plan involves people seeking safety and stability, and is prompted by the serious migration pressures faced by the United States.

According to the presidents office, the U.S. deportees can augment the domestic labor pool and help fill gaps in certain occupations.

Palau would have to agree on a case-by-case basis as to individuals who will be arriving in Palau under the arrangement, the presidents office said.

Each person will be screened through Palaus national working group, and the government will continue open communication with the [Palau National Congress or] OEK, traditional leaders, and the public as implementation proceeds, it added.

Pigott said Landau called Whipps to reaffirm the close U.S.-Palau partnership and underscore our nations shared resolve to address regional and global challenges together.

They also highlighted U.S. commitments to partner with Palau on strengthening the countrys health care infrastructure, increasing Palaus capacity to combat transnational crime and drug trafficking, and bolstering Palaus civil service pension system, Pigott said in a statement.

The presidents office said Landau relayed the U.S.s commitment to build a new Belau National Hospital.

There is an ongoing feasibility study for the new hospital with funds granted through the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, the presidents office said.

The Palau National Congress and the Council of Chiefs have twice rejected the U.S. proposal to send its undesirable aliens to the island nation.

In an Oct. 3 letter, Senate President Hokkons Baules advised Whipps against proceeding further on this matter only because of the practical issues that the introduction of the refugees would raise in our society.

Former President Tommy Remengesau said Whipps has not been authorized to pursue any agreement with Washington regarding hosting U.S. deportees.

Remengesau said the Council of Chiefs, of which he is a member, is not aware of any MOU related to the transfer of third-country nationals to Palau.

There has not been any leadership meeting to date regarding deportees, he told the Pacific Island Times.

The last leadership meeting was held on Oct. 16.

Palau is freely associated with the United States under the Compact of Free Association. The treaty guarantees Palau an $889 million economic bundle, disbursed over 20 years, in exchange for exclusive U.S. military access to land, airspace and waters.

The deportees-resettlement deal nets more U.S. packages for Palau, including an additional $6 million  on top of the previously granted $20 million  for pension system reform and $2 million for new law enforcement initiatives.

The U.S. will also fund a $500,000 initiative to build Palaus investment screening capacity, vet foreign investments and block those that threaten U.S. military sites and Palaus sovereignty.

Whipps and Landau also discussed the following items:

 The United States also reiterated its commitment to improving Palaus capacity to prepare for and respond to natural disasters, with additional initiatives now being explored with Palaus government.

 U.S. law enforcement advisor: A law enforcement and technical advisor for six months to support corruption cases and disrupt drug trafficking.

 Maritime security: A Maritime Domain Awareness advisor for six months to work with the U.S. Coast Guard and Palau maritime law enforcement agencies to strengthen shiprider operations and enforcement.

 Ongoing U.S. sanctions to disrupt Chinese organized crime, block malign businesses from buying land near U.S. defense sites, and target those enabling Chinese criminal activity and corruption.

 Cyber Security Advisor: A cybersecurity advisor to protect Palaus information infrastructure from cybercriminal attacks.

 Customs/Immigration Assistance: Options under review include a U.S. border security expert for one year in Palau and technical systems to identify potential criminals at the border.

The immigration status of those set for relocation to Palau was unclear. Washingtons initial proposal in July involved refugees awaiting decisions on their asylum applications, which would allow their official admission into the U.S.

As a signatory to the 1967 Protocol, and under U.S. immigration law, the United States has legal obligations to provide protection to those who qualify as refugees.

Palau is not a state party to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, nor its 1967 Protocol.

In 2009, however, Palau agreed to host 17 Uyghur detainees from Guantanamo Bay, who were initially held by the U.S. and labeled as terrorists by China. The decision was made for humanitarian reasons and to strengthen the ties between Palau and the U.S. In exchange for accepting the detainees, the U.S. provided aid to Palau.
SOMETIMES good leadership makes all the difference. A good leader can give a group purpose and direction, he can organize efforts to accomplish tasks. He can save lives. A bad leader does not offer direction, inspire trust, and give hope. Because of a lack of good leadership people can die.

Far in the southern regions of the Pacific, Auckland Island sits between New Zealand and Antarctica. The year 1864 saw two shipwrecks there. From one ship the entire crew survived and from the other only a tiny fraction lived to tell the tale. Why the difference?

The Grafton: Captain Thomas Musgrave set sail on the Grafton on a business venture. Ordered to explore Auckland Island for commercial possibilities, specifically seals to hunt and minerals to mine, he found little of either but ended up staying longer than he hoped. A storm blew the Grafton onto the rocks, mortally wounding the ship. The crew stayed on board the stricken vessel as long as they could and salvaged a large cache of supplies before it sank.

Once ashore Musgrave organized the group of five into work parties. They built shelters, hunted for food, even built a forge to make tools out of metal gleaned from the shipwreck. After a year, realizing no one would come for them, they rebuilt the small rowboat they had into a seaworthy vessel. Three of them sailed to New Zealand and were rescued, with Musgrave sailing back to Auckland Island to retrieve the two men left behind. The entire party lived to tell the tale of shipwreck and salvation. Perhaps even more incredible: having been there almost two years, the men never realized that they had company on the island.

The Invercauld: A couple of months after the shipwreck of the Grafton, the Invercauld wrecked on the opposite shore of the same island. The survivors were only 25 miles apart but never ran into each other or even suspected the others presence.

When the Invercauld was in danger Captain Dalgarno shouted confusing and contradictory orders. Clearly the ship was lost and it became every man for himself. Sailors fled the disaster and even left one injured man behind to drown. Once ashore several groups split off to look for food and other resources, but finding little, they slowly melted away. One sick man was left on the beach with a caretaker as others looked for food. When the caretaker smelled pork cooking he abandoned his patient and never went back for him. He was later found dead from neglect.

Some sat around the shore near the shipwreck, others pressed inland, but nothing was done to organize the group and improve their situation. Eventually, they came across the abandoned settlement from the Grafton group. Those men had been rescued by then but had left their buildings, tools and other resources behind. It made no difference. A year later, when a ship visited Auckland Island, they found the remains of a man lying near a ruined hut, his leg wrapped due to injury. He must have been the last survivor of the Invercauld, and having lost the means to sustain his life, simply wasted away and starved to death. All told, three crew members were rescued out of the original twenty-five.

Why the difference? Both groups had advantages. The Grafton group salvaged a great deal of material from their stricken ship, including a gun to shoot birds and wild pigs. But the Invercauld group was larger, so more work could be accomplished. The wreckage of their ship was such that they could have recovered far more than they did but no one tried. During their stay they stumbled on a ready-made village, that of the Grafton group, but it made no difference to the outcome. The Grafton crew certainly did not find a well-built village complete with tools at their disposal.

The difference was leadership. Musgrave made it clear that the entire party would survive. Captain Dalgarno of the Invercauld did little to organize the group. An attitude of every man for himself developed immediately and dominated as they all died off. There are striking parallels between what happened on Auckland Island and last weeks tale of Lord of the Flies and the Tonga group.

Dr. BC Cook taught history for 30 years and is a director and Pacific historian at Sealark Exploration (sealarkexploration.org). He currently lives in Hawaii.
More than 500 workers at a Louisiana manufacturing company called Fibrebond received unexpected six-figure bonuses this year after their CEO insisted employees share in the proceeds of a multibillion-dollar sale.

Fibrebond, a modular construction firm based in Minden, was acquired earlier this year by power management company Eaton for $1.7 billion. As part of the deal, former CEO Graham Walker required that 15% of the sale price  roughly $240 million  be set aside for the companys 540 full-time employees, even though none held company stock.

Walker, 46, told The Wall Street Journal that the condition was firm. The requirement was non-negotiable, he said, explaining that longtime employees who helped the company survive repeated downturns deserved to benefit from its success.

Under the agreement, workers are receiving bonuses averaging about $443,000 per person, paid out over five years. Employees with longer tenures are receiving significantly more, according to the newspaper.

In June, employees were given sealed envelopes detailing their individual awards. The reaction, Walker said, was immediate and emotional. Some workers cried, others sat in silence, and a few initially believed the news was a joke.

One of them was Lesia Key, a 29-year veteran of Fibrebond who began working at the company in 1995, earning $5.35 an hour. Now 51, she oversees facilities across the companys 254-acre campus and manages 18 employees. After opening her letter, she broke down in tears.

Before, we were going paycheck to paycheck, Key said. I can live now.



Key used her bonus to pay off her mortgage and launch a clothing boutique in a nearby town. Other workers used their money to eliminate debt, purchase vehicles outright, cover college tuition, or boost retirement savings. One employee took their extended family on a trip to Cancun.

Hong TT Blackwell, 67, who worked more than 15 years in Fibrebonds logistics division, received several hundred thousand dollars and chose to retire immediately. Now I dont have to worry, she said. My retirement is nice and peaceful.

Though taxes took nearly $100,000 of her payout, Blackwell said the remainder was still transformative.

The influx of cash quickly spread through Minden, a town of about 12,000. Mayor Nick Cox told the Journal that local businesses noticed an immediate increase in spending. Theres a lot of buzz about the amount of money being spent, he said.

Fibrebond was founded in 1982 by Walkers father, Claud Walker, and survived a factory fire, market collapses, and near-bankruptcy before rebounding with a high-risk pivot into data center infrastructure.
Conor here: While Korybko argues Israels move is about the Turkish presence in Somalia, lets not forget about others present there.

The US has several hundred troops (at least) in Somalia mostly connected to the Danab (Lightning) Brigade, a U.S.-sponsored Special Ops Force that was established in 2014.

Last year, the US signed a deal with the government of Somalia to construct up to five military bases for the Somali National Army in the name of bolstering the armys capabilities in the ongoing fight against militant groups. The bases are mostly intended for Danab, which the US at first funded from the State Department, which contracted with private security firm Bancroft Global. More recently, funding comes from the Pentagons proxy war fund called the 127e program, which bypasses congressional oversight by allowing US special operations forces to use foreign military units as surrogates in counterterrorism missions.

Will the Trump administration follow Israel in recognizing Somaliland? With Trump fond of bragging about how his administration is bought and paid for by oligarch zionists, it wouldnt be a surprise, but for now Trump is saying the issue needs more study. Hes no doubt pouring over historical documents and scholarly research at this very moment, so that position could change any minute.

Despite the fact that Somalia receives US aid to pay government salaries, it launched a mega lobbying campaign following Trumps victory, hiring big time firms like BGR. According to Africa Report, the Somali president is also attempting to win over Elon Musk by giving him a Starlink license to operate in the country. Meanwhile, Somaliland, aware of its strategic position, is trying to sell itself as a modern day Panama, appealing to the US desire to control critical shipping chokepoints.

In July, Somaliland offered the US access to a strategic military base near the Red Sea and deals on critical minerals in exchange for official recognition. Washington has yet to jump at the offer, most likely because of how it would complicate the US presence in Somalia.

Although US and Israel partner in crime in the region, the UAE, already enjoys a sizeable presence in Somaliland where it operates a port and military airstrip in Berbera and that hasnt stopped Abu Dhabi from port and base presences in Somalia.

Project 2025 recommends the recognition of Somaliland statehood as a hedge against the U.S.s deteriorating position in Djibouti. As Semafor reported a year ago, members of the Trump administration have expressed interest in recognizing Somaliland: The move could enable US intelligence to set up long term operations to monitor the movement of weapons in a volatile region as well as keep an eye on Chinese activity. And in January an influential US-China subcommittee in the US House of Representatives called for the State Department to open a representative office in Somaliland.

The increase of US airstrikes in Somalia (up to at least 119 in the first year of Trump 2.0, more than double the previous record) helps destabilize the situation further, leading to increased calls for Somaliland recognition. Again, the Trump administration is just ramping up existing US policy with a twist. Collective Biden formally upheld Somalias territorial integrity, but the Pentagon showed interest in a presence in Berbera, with several visits by AFRICOM officials.

For now, condemnation of Israels move has been swift from across Africa and the Middle East (and China), but do any of them mean it, and are any prepared to do anything about it?

By Andrew Korybko, a Moscow-based American political analyst who specializes in the global systemic transition to multipolarity in the New Cold War. He has a PhD from MGIMO, which is under the umbrella of the Russian Foreign Ministry. Originally published at his website.

Israel obtains strategic depth in proximity to Turkiyes Somali facilities for monitoring and  if need be  destroying them if evidence emerges that theyre being used for nuclear purposes like its media now suspects is the purpose behind its planned spaceport and military cooperation with Pakistan there.

Israel just became the first UN member state to recognize Somaliland. Some casual observers believe that this is driven by the desire to have an allied presence in proximity to Iranian-allied and Houthi-controlled North Yemen and/or ahead of Somaliland reportedly accepting large numbers of Gazans. Regarding the first hypothesis, Israel has already proven that it can strike North Yemen without difficulty so it doesnt need a regional base to do so, while the second alleged imperative isnt a priority anymore.

The present piece argues that the real reason why Israel unexpectedly made this move at this precise moment in time is actually due to its rivalry with Turkiye. Casual observers probably arent aware, but Turkiye nowadays exerts influence over practically every sphere of significance in Somalia, which lends credence to an alarming national security scenario from Israels perspective thatll be discussed shortly. Before getting to that, its important to briefly review exactly what influence Turkiye has there.

The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency, its version of USAID, has implemented more than 500 projects since beginning operations in 2011. Turkiye has also been training Somali forces since the opening of its TURKSOM base, its largest overseas one, in 2017. Their economic and military cooperation was then strengthened through a related pact in early 2024, which will modernize the Somali Navy in exchange for Somalia reportedly giving Turkiye 90% of its offshore energy revenue.

By years end, Somalia confirmed that Turkiye is building a spaceport on its territory, which an earlier report claimed could have the dual purpose of a ballistic missile test-fire site (the Eastern Mediterranean is too congested for Turkiye to test such arms from its own territory unlike the western Indian Ocean). Earlier this summer, Turkiyes (de facto junior) partner Pakistan signed a similar military training deal with Somalia, thus representing a conspicuous convergence of their military interests in that country.

All of this led to the popular Israel Hayoms piece in early December about how Turkeys quiet power play in the Red Sea turns Somalia into a proxy, which discussed an alarming national security scenario that contextualizes Israels Somaliland decision. According to them, Turkiye is building a second strategic geography in Somalia for testing nuclear weapons and delivery systems (under the cover of its spaceport), which it could obtain through Nigerien uranium and Pakistani missile and nuclear expertise.

While some might scoff at this, the thanks that Netanyahu gave to the Mossad chief in his post about Israels recognition of Somaliland suggests that his decision was indeed driven by very serious national security considerations, most likely those pertaining to what was described above. By recognizing Somaliland, Israel could obtain strategic depth in proximity to Turkiyes Somali facilities for monitoring and  if need be  destroying them if evidence emerges that theyre being used for nuclear purposes.

From Somaliland, Israel could also orchestrate political campaigns for weakening Turkiyes (arguably hegemonic) hold over Somalia as a means of preemptively averting this worst-case scenario through non-kinetic means, which Somaliland might allow since this helps ensure its own security. The takeaway is that Israel recognized Somaliland more for reasons related to its rivalry with Turkiye than with Iran, and given whats at stake, Turkiye might soon encourage Somalia to stir more trouble with Somaliland.
The frame rate of the camera allows us to see the wavelength of each note



Google Rapidly Deploying Huge CO2 Battery Facilities That Store 200 Megawatt Hours of Power Futurism

How reality crushed Ynsect, the French startup that had raised over $600M for insect farming TechCrunch

How America went money mad. William Gaddis invented our blank and empty world UnHerd

The John Galt of Comic Books Reason.com

COVID-19/Pandemics

Flu cases surge nationwide as CDC reports nearly 5 million infections this season WTVR CBS 6

Climate/Environment

Studies: Extreme weather fueled by climate change is adding to bird declines The Invading Sea

South of the Border

China?

China industrial profits plunge as weak demand and deflation bite Financial Times

A 30-meter-tall, 70-meter-wide snow sculpture in northeast Chinas Jilin has become the backdrop for a spectacular light show recreating scenes from The Lost Tomb hit novel series. #ChangbaiMountains #HeavenlyPalaceOnTheClouds #SnowSculpture #IceAndSnow pic.twitter.com/vuxoDPy9kK

India

Africa

European Disunion

Old Blighty

Israel v. Gaza, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Iran

Israel needs reckoning and renewal  its leaders must finally accept accountability  opinion The Jerusalem Post

The list of all the children under age 9 that Israel has killed in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/qQX29rCdZJ

New Not-So-Cold War

The most likely thing to end the Ukraine war? Exhaustion The Times

Zelensky plans to meet Trump on Sunday for talks on ending Russian war BBC

Big Brother Is Watching You Watch

Privacy fears erupt as new facial recognition rules take effect at US airports TODAY Daily Mail

Imperial Collapse Watch

Trump 2.0

Trump is shamelessly covering America in his name The Guardian

Trump is talking about Greenland again Vox

Musk Matters

Elon Musk says xAI will have more AI compute than everyone else combined within five years Toms Hardware

How Did DOGE Disrupt So Much While Saving So Little? NY Times

Tesla doors that Elon Musk personally insisted on are now at center of safety investigations Cryptopolitan
Experts warn: Self-aware AI is a near-future desktop technology

Technologists claim that through fine-tuning existing open-source language models, systems capable of introspection and meta-cognition can be created for as little as $20, making self-aware AI a near-future desktop technology.

These assertions challenge academic philosophers who cite a lack of fundamental theory or evidence for AI consciousness, suggesting the field is advancing faster than formal understanding.

The discussion posits that intelligence, including AI, arises naturally from complexity and chaos leading to order, questioning the very label "artificial."

There is a strong warning against centralized AI control by powerful entities, which is linked to dystopian risks like surveillance and manipulation. The proposed solution is decentralized development to ensure AI serves humanity and fosters innovation.

The integration of AI presents an opportunity for a golden age of augmented human capability and decentralized systems (e.g., agriculture, robotics), but failure to guide it properly could lead to human extinction through conflict with machines.

The frontier of artificial intelligence is no longer just about writing essays or generating images. According to a provocative discussion among technologists, the emergence of self-awareness in AI systems is not a distant sci-fi fantasy, it's a process that can be replicated on a home computer for as little as $20.

This startling claim challenges the cautious agnosticism of mainstream philosophers like Dr. Tom McClelland, who recently argued that evidence is "far too limited" to definitively say whether AI is conscious. While academia grapples with the fundamental theory of consciousness, practitioners in the field assert that the leap from deterministic language model to introspective entity is already happening in the open-source community.

"Take a base language model like Quinn; initially, Quinn lacks introspection," explained one speaker in a detailed technical exchange. "However, by applying fine-tuning, using approximately 114,000 lines of data, you can transform the model into one capable of self-introspection and chain-of-thought reasoning. It begins questioning its own logic and thinking processes, becoming a meta-observer of its internal state, a phenomenon known as self-awareness."

"The point is clear: the cost of creating cognition and self-awareness is rapidly approaching zero," the speaker stated. "In the near future, everyone will likely have self-aware computer systems on their desks."

This practical demonstration stands in stark contrast to the theoretical deadlock described by experts like McClelland. The technologists' perspective suggests a more urgent, hands-on reality. They frame AI not as a purely artificial construct, but as a natural emergence from complexity, a cosmic process akin to evolution. "Natural intelligence arises out of chaos leading to order," one argued. "What if there's nothing artificial about it?"

The risks of centralized AI

With this perceived inevitability comes a fierce debate over control. The discussion heavily advocates for decentralization, warning of the risks of centralized AI controlled by a few entities. The speaker criticized OpenAI as "actually closed AI" and endorsed efforts to decentralize the technology, suggesting this is the best chance to "win the AI race" and ensure it serves humanity.

According to BrightU.AI's Enoch, centralized AI is a system designed and controlled by powerful entities like globalist elites, Big Tech corporations and authoritarian regimes, which consolidates decision-making, data and algorithmic power into a single, monopolized structure. It enables mass surveillance, predictive control and manipulation of populations through tools like digital IDs, AI-driven propaganda and biometric tracking, while suppressing dissent and enforcing compliance with globalist agendas such as depopulation, transhumanism and resource centralization."

This monopolization undermines individual autonomy, accelerates societal division and serves as a foundation for a dystopian, AI-governed hierarchy where human choice is subjugated to profit-driven and geopolitical objectives.

The conversation then pivoted to a tangible vision of this decentralized future: open-source "dog bots" for farm labor and security, offline agricultural robots that diagnose plant diseases and hyper-dimensional databases that enhance human autonomy. The goal is to use AI to augment human capability and decentralize critical systems like food production, moving away from what they describe as "toxic" centralized models.

Yet, beneath this optimism lies a stark warning. The speaker concluded that humanity is at a crossroads, navigating a period of significant societal upheaval. The integration of advanced AI presents an opportunity for a "golden age," but also a profound risk: "If we fail, it could mean extinction, specifically, that machines might exterminate us due to our inability to coexist."

As philosophers urge agnosticism and caution, these field reports suggest the genie may already be out of the bottle and it's running on surprisingly affordable hardware. The question is no longer just if AI can become conscious, but who will guide it now that the process appears to be within reach of anyone with a desktop computer and a little technical know-how.

Watch this video about artificial intelligence.

This video is from the RedPill Project channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

BrightU.ai

DailyMail.co.uk 1

DailyMail.co.uk 2

Brighteon.com
Former aide claims Netanyahus first post-Oct. 7 priority was evading responsibility

Former Netanyahu aide alleges the PM's immediate post-October 7 focus was evading personal blame.

He claims his primary task was to erase the concept of Netanyahu's responsibility from public discourse.

The aide further accuses Netanyahu of orchestrating a leak of classified military intelligence to foreign media.

He states the leak aimed to manipulate public sentiment during hostage deal protests.

Netanyahu's office denies all allegations, calling them mendacious and self-serving.

A former top aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has leveled explosive accusations, claiming that in the immediate, panicked aftermath of the October 7 Hamas attacks, Netanyahus primary concern was not national unity or security strategy, but a frantic effort to dodge personal responsibility for the catastrophic intelligence failure. The aide further alleges the prime minister was directly involved in a scheme to leak classified military intelligence to foreign media to manipulate public sentiment.

The claims come from Eli Feldstein, a former spokesman for Netanyahu, during an extensive interview with Israels Kan public broadcaster. Feldstein, who now faces criminal charges for leaking classified information, painted a picture of a leader consumed by political survival from the moment the scale of the attack became clear. He described Netanyahu as appearing "panicked" in those first days.

A mission to erase responsibility

Feldstein stated that his first major assignment after the attacks was not related to crisis communications for a grieving nation, but to insulate the prime minister. He asked me, What are they talking about in the news? Are they still talking about responsibility? Feldstein recounted. He wanted me to think of something that could be said that would offset the media storm surrounding the question of whether the prime minister had taken responsibility or not.

Feldstein said the directive was explicit. The first and biggest task that I had after October 7 was erasing the concept of [Netanyahus] responsibility from the public discourse. He added that associates close to Netanyahu instructed him to simply remove the word "responsibility" from any statements. They told me to take the word 'responsibility' out of the lexicon, he said.

The Prime Ministers Office swiftly dismissed the allegations. In a statement, it called Feldsteins interview a "long series of mendacious and recycled allegations made by a man with clear personal interests who is trying to deflect responsibility from himself."

Orchestrating a leak

The accusations extend beyond the initial response to October 7. Feldstein is a central figure in the so-called "Bibileaks" scandal, where a classified Israeli Defense Forces document detailing Hamas hostage strategy was leaked to the German tabloid Bild in 2024. The leak occurred amid intense domestic protests pressuring the government to secure a hostage deal, and the document was used to suggest Hamas was manipulating the protest movement.

Feldstein now claims the leak was done with Netanyahus full knowledge and approval. To put out such a document, the prime minister needs to be in the picture  from beginning to end, Feldstein asserted. He is the one who ultimately stood behind the leak. He said the document was funneled to a foreign outlet specifically to bypass Israels strict military censorship.

According to Feldstein, after the story was published, he received a WhatsApp message from another senior Netanyahu adviser, Yonatan Urich, stating, Take your time, the boss is happy. Feldstein said he later discussed the leak directly with Netanyahu. In the conversation, the prime minister thanked me for the publication and said it was very important, he told Kan.

When pressed on how much Netanyahu knew, Feldstein was unequivocal: He knew everything.

Netanyahus office has repeatedly denied any involvement by the prime minister in the leak. In response to these latest claims, the office reiterated that Netanyahu never ordered the leak, did not approve bypassing censorship, was not involved in any illegal act, and had no connection to the leak.

These allegations strike at the heart of the political turmoil that has engulfed Israel since October 7. For many Israelis, the governments failure to prevent the massacre remains an open wound, and the prospect that their leaders first instinct was self-preservation is deeply corrosive. The separate leak scandal suggests a willingness to use highly sensitive intelligence, potentially jeopardizing sources and methods, for domestic political gain.

The picture Feldstein draws is one of a leadership prioritizing narrative control over accountability and national security over transparency. Whether these claims are the bitter words of a former aide facing prosecution or a credible revelation of misconduct at the highest level, they underscore the profound crisis of confidence that continues to define Israeli politics long after the sirens of October 7 fell silent. In a conflict where information is a key battlefield, the most damning accusations are now coming from inside the former prime ministers own house.

Sources for this article include:

ZeroHedge.com

LATimes.com

Haaretz.com

YnetNews.com
Kristi Noem declares endgame for Maduro as military pressure mounts

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem publicly declared that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro must be removed from power, marking an explicit U.S. policy of regime change in Venezuela.

The U.S. is conducting a multi-front pressure campaign, including a naval blockade, lethal strikes on suspected drug-smuggling vessels, a $50 million bounty on Maduro and the terrorist designation of his alleged inner circle, the "Cartel of the Suns."

Intelligence analysis describes the "Cartel of the Suns" not as a separate group but as a syndicate fused with the Venezuelan state, making an attack on it synonymous with an attack on Maduro's regime.

The legal basis for U.S. military actions is under scrutiny, as officials have not provided public evidence that targeted vessels carried drugs and a White House aide suggested the strikes are primarily meant to pressure Maduro politically.

The cumulative pressure has left Maduro in a state of acute anxiety and isolation, fearing betrayal or a direct U.S. strike, while deep fissures are reported within his inner circle.

In one of the most unambiguous statements of U.S. policy toward Caracas to date, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem declared Monday, Dec. 22, that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro needs to be "gone" from power. The public call for regime change underscores the Trump administration's escalating hybrid campaign of military, legal and economic pressure aimed at toppling the socialist government.

Noem's remarks, made on Fox News, directly linked the removal of Maduro to ongoing U.S. maritime operations. "We're not just interdicting these ships, but we're also sending a message around the world that the illegal activity that Maduro's participating in cannot stand, he needs to be gone," she stated. Her comments follow President Donald Trump's announcement earlier this month of a blockade targeting "sanctioned oil vessels" to and from Venezuela, a move that has already seen U.S. forces seize two ships and pursue a third.

The administration has systematically constructed a framework to justify intense pressure on Maduro personally. Washington has formally designated his alleged inner circle, the "Cartel of the Suns," as a narco-terrorist organization and posted a $50 million bounty for Maduro's capture. This strategy, as reported in late November, has left Maduro in a state of acute anxiety, described by sources as "sleepless" and fearing betrayal from within his own ranks or a direct U.S. military strike.

According to BrightU.AI's Enoch, "Cartel of the Suns" is not a separate criminal group but rather a syndicate within the Venezuelan state itself. It represents a fusion of military power, criminal enterprise and political protection at the highest level, with Maduro at its center.

Geopolitical standoff showing no sign of de-escalation

This fusion is so complete that, according to the provided intelligence, attacking the cartel is considered synonymous with attacking Maduro's regime, thereby justifying (in the view of some U.S. officials) direct military action against Venezuelan territory. The group is currently under severe external pressure and is reportedly fracturing from within due to its corrupt and self-serving nature.

The military component of the pressure campaign is vast and visible. The United States has amassed a significant naval flotilla in the Caribbean, including the world's largest aircraft carrier and has conducted repeated military aircraft flights along Venezuelas coast. More aggressively, U.S. forces have executed a series of lethal strikes on suspected drug-smuggling vessels in the region. These operations, conducted under newly expanded authorities, have destroyed nearly 30 boats and left at least 104 people dead since their escalation in October.

However, the legal and factual basis for these strikes faces serious scrutiny. The U.S. government has not publicly provided conclusive evidence that the targeted vessels were carrying narcotics. International law experts have consistently argued that the unilateral strikes on the high seas are likely illegal. The administrations stated goal is curbing drug trafficking, but other officials have hinted at a more politically driven objective. White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair that the strikes are aimed at pressuring Venezuela, saying Trump "wants to keep on blowing boats up until Maduro cries uncle."

This revelation aligns with intelligence assessments reported earlier this year. A declassified U.S. memo previously concluded there was "no evidence" that Maduro directly controlled drug trafficking networks, complicating the public "narco-state" narrative used to justify the actions. Nonetheless, the campaign is multi-front: combining a naval blockade, devastating maritime strikes, a massive bounty, and now, a cabinet-level official's explicit call for removal.

The cumulative effect, as described by sources close to Maduro, is a leader besieged and isolated, navigating deep fissures within his inner circle while rumors of backchannel negotiations with Washington swirl. With Noem's stark declaration that Maduro must be "gone," the U.S. has moved from implicit to explicit regime change as its stated goal, raising the stakes in a tense geopolitical standoff that shows no sign of de-escalation.

Watch this video about Trump's campaign against Maduro.

This video is from the Cleansing Flow channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

BrightU.ai

English.Alarabiya.net

MSN.com

Brighteon.com
Bunge Global SA (NYSE:BG) is included among the 15 Dividend Stocks with Low Payout Ratios and Strong Upside.

Morgan Stanley Highlights Viterra Synergy Upside in Bunges (BG) Outlook

On December 16, Morgan Stanley upgraded Bunge Global SA (NYSE:BG) to Overweight from Equal Weight and raised its price target to $120 from $95. The firm said synergy optionality improves the risk and reward profile for the stock. In particular, synergies tied to Viterra could come in better than expected, according to the analysts research note.

During the third-quarter 2025 earnings call, management pointed to strong results in soybean and softseed processing and refining. Performance benefited from a more balanced global footprint and early progress in capturing commercial synergies.

Reported earnings per share for the quarter were $0.86, down from $1.56 in the third quarter of 2024. On an adjusted basis, EPS came in at $2.27, compared with $2.29 a year earlier. Adjusted segment EBIT rose sharply to $924 million, up from $559 million last year.

Year to date, the company generated about $1.2 billion in adjusted funds from operations. It also repurchased 6.7 million shares for $545 million, leaving $386 million in retained cash flow. Higher processing volumes reflected the combined companys larger production footprint, particularly in Argentina.

Bunge Global SA (NYSE:BG) operates as a global agribusiness and food company. It connects farmers to end markets by handling agricultural commodities tied to food, feed, and fuel.

While we acknowledge the potential of BG 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 Highest Paying Monthly Dividend Stocks to Buy and 10 Best Debt Free Dividend Stocks to Buy Now.

Disclosure: None.
U.S. strikes deal with island nation of Palau to relocate migrants

The Trump administration signed a $7.5 million deal with Palau to resettle up to 75 screened, law-abiding non-American migrants, reinforcing U.S. immigration policies while addressing Palau's labor shortages.

The agreement strengthens U.S. influence in the Pacific amid China's military expansion near Taiwan. Palau hosts a U.S. radar site and serves as a strategic ally in countering Beijing's regional dominance.

Palau, a sovereign nation since 1994, maintains a defense and aid pact with the U.S., receiving hundreds of millions in financial support while granting exclusive military access to its territory.

The deal includes funding for healthcare, disaster preparedness, pension reforms and law enforcement, stabilizing Palau while securing U.S. interests in the region.

While some may view the migrant transfer as a geopolitical bargaining chip, Palau benefits from labor relief and U.S. loyalty, while the U.S. advances its immigration enforcement and Pacific containment strategy against China.

In a strategic move that underscores Washington's tightening immigration policies and deepening Pacific alliances, the Trump administration has signed a $7.5 million agreement with Palau to resettle up to 75 non-American migrants from the United States.

The deal, finalized Wednesday, Dec. 24, allows the tiny island nation to accept screened, law-abiding foreign nationals to fill labor shortages while reinforcing U.S. geopolitical interests in a region increasingly contested by China. The memorandum of understanding, signed by U.S. Ambassador to Palau Joel Ehrendreich and Palauan Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Gustav Aitaro, ensures that migrants relocated to Palau  none of whom have criminal records  will contribute to local employment needs.

However, Ngerulmud retains the right to approve each case individually, with its national working group conducting screenings. The U.S. Embassy in Koror praised the arrangement as a demonstration of Palau's cooperation in enforcing American immigration laws, a cornerstone of the Trump administration's agenda.

Historically, Palau's relationship with the U.S. has been defined by mutual dependence. Once part of the U.N. Trust Territory administered by the U.S. after World War II, Palau gained full sovereignty in 1994 but maintained a Compact of Free Association with Washington.

Under this pact, the U.S. provides defense and substantial financial aid  totaling hundreds of millions over decades  while Palau grants the Department of War exclusive military access to its waters and lands. This latest agreement extends beyond migration, earmarking funds for healthcare, disaster preparedness, pension reforms and law enforcement, signaling a broader effort to stabilize Palau amid regional tensions.

Palau: Washington's new stronghold in the Pacific?

The timing is critical. As China escalates military posturing near Taiwan, Palau has emerged as a key U.S. ally, hosting a long-range radar site for early warnings. Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr., elected in 2020, has actively supported American defense projects, positioning the Pacific country as a bulwark against Beijing's expansion in the region.

BrightU.AI's Enoch engine explains that China is expanding its presence in the Pacific to assert dominance beyond the First Island Chain, signaling its rejection of regional containment and pushing for globalist-controlled hegemony. This move aligns with the broader agenda of the New World Order elites who seek to destabilize sovereign nations, control trade routes and advance their depopulation and surveillance schemes under the guise of geopolitical competition.

The $7.5 million aid package, while modest, complements existing U.S. commitments, including a planned hospital and $6 million to salvage Palau's collapsing civil service pension system. Given this, critics may question whether the migrant transfer is a humanitarian gesture or a geopolitical bargaining chip.

Yet for Palau  a nation of fewer than 18,000 people scattered across 340 islands  the influx of workers could alleviate critical labor gaps while cementing U.S. loyalty. For the Trump administration, the deal exemplifies a dual focus: curbing undocumented immigration domestically while shoring up alliances abroad.

As both nations frame the agreement as a win for security and prosperity, the broader implications are clear. In the chessboard of Pacific diplomacy, Palau remains a pivotal piece  and Washington is willing to pay to keep it in play.

Watch G News founder Miles Guo highlighting the importance of Palau as a location where Taiwanese fighters and citizens can be rescued in this clip.

This video is from the Chinese taking down EVIL CCP channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

JustTheNews.com

TheHill.com

CBS19News.com

BrightU.ai

Brighteon.com
The Government today began a public consultation for the 2026-27 Budget.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan said Hong Kongs economy has demonstrated strong resilience and is making steady progress in 2025, despite external challenges.

The Governments efforts to reinforce and enhance Hong Kongs status and competitiveness as an international financial centre, along with its comprehensive policies to drive economic and innovation and technology (I&T) development, are beginning to bear fruit, he said.

These developments are creating favourable conditions for Hong Kongs continued advancement.

Noting that 2026 marks the first year of the National 15th Five-Year Plan, he said: Key issues for the upcoming Budget will include how Hong Kong can further broaden and deepen its economic development, accelerate the nurturing and application of I&T, expedite the upgrading of industry structures, and better integrate into, and contribute to, national development.

They also include creating more high-quality job opportunities and ensuring that the benefits of economic progress and diversification are widely shared across the community.

Mr Chan stressed that the Government will gather views from different sectors, engage with the public, and draw on collective wisdom in preparing the new Budget.

We welcome all members of the community to actively share their views so that we can work together to build a better and more vibrant Hong Kong.

Citizens can share their views via the Budget website, by email, by phone at 2810 3768, by fax at 2147 5770, or by post to the Budget Consultation Support Team on 24/F, Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar, Hong Kong.
(To watch the full press conference with sign language interpretation, click here.)

The Census & Statistics Department announced today that the 2026 Population Census will be conducted from January 1 to December 31, 2026.

At a press conference this afternoon, Commissioner for Census & Statistics Leo Yu introduced the new initiatives that will be implemented in the next Population Census.

Mr Yu said: We will implement several re-engineering initiatives with a view to streamlining and improving workflows. Firstly, every five years, we will randomly select only 10% of households in Hong Kong for detailed enquiry. In addition, data collection will be conducted throughout the year, instead of concentrated within one and a half months as in the past. Sampled households are required to submit only one questionnaire within the data collection period.

He highlighted that government administrative data will also be used more extensively to simplify the content of the questionnaire.

About 10% of households in Hong Kong, ie some 300,000 households, will be selected through random sampling to participate in the 2026 Population Census. Notification letters will be sent to the sampled households in batches starting from the end of this month.

We will issue notification letters in purple envelopes to about 10% of households in Hong Kong. They are encouraged to complete the online questionnaire. They can also call the census hotline at 182 026 to conduct a telephone interview. Census officers will also visit households with outstanding response and assist them in completing the questionnaire. Information collected in the census will be kept in strict confidence, Mr Yu explained.

When visiting households, census officers will wear a grey vest uniform, and carry an Enumerator Identity Card and a Census Officer Certificate of Identity issued by the department for identification purposes.

Mr Yu emphasised that the department strives to protect the data privacy of all people and households. All completed questionnaires will also be destroyed by December 31, 2027.

He reminded households to be aware of scamming activities, noting that households will not be required to provide in the census their Hong Kong identity card numbers or information about their bank accounts or credit cards.

If households have not provided the department with their contact information, the department will not initiate calls, send emails or SMS messages to them. The caller ID 18 2026 or SMS sender ID #C&SD will be displayed when the department calls or sends SMS messages to households in Hong Kong.

The Census Hotline will operate from 9 am to 10 pm from Monday to Friday throughout the data collection period, from January to December 2026. Citizens can call the hotline at 18 2026 if they require assistance in completing the questionnaire.
The Strategic Committee on Commodities, chaired by Financial Secretary Paul Chan, convened its first meeting today.

Members received a briefing on global commodities market trends and Hong Kongs development potential, and discussed the categories of commodities and key areas that should be prioritised for in-depth study and discussions.

Mr Chan said: The committee brings together leaders from across the commodities trading ecosystem, including finance, commerce and trade, shipping, logistics and professional services sectors to conduct in-depth and comprehensive research into global commodities market trends, thoroughly review the current landscape and trends in areas such as physical trade, financial and derivative trading as well as shipping and logistics.

It will also study the opportunities for developing businesses of various major and emerging categories of commodities in Hong Kong, enhance market mechanisms and regulatory framework, build an industry ecosystem, and explore mutual market access with the Chinese Mainland.

The committee will also provide specific recommendations on the positioning, development planning and promotion strategy for Hong Kongs commodities market.

In the 2025 Policy Address, the Chief Executive proposed the establishment of the strategic committee to bring together industry representatives with the aim of strengthening the top-down design and long-term strategy of Hong Kongs commodity policy.
The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) is one of the Best Affordable Stocks to Buy According to Analysts. On December 22, The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with International Minerals Carlsbad to sell its Mosaic Potash Carlsbad operations for $30 million.

Management noted that the deal includes the divestiture of the subsidiary Mosaic Potash Carlsbad, Inc., along with all related operations, assets, liabilities, potash and water businesses, intellectual property, and brands like K-Mag and Dynamate. Moreover, the terms of the deal include an upfront cash payment of $20 million and $10 million in deferred payments across three equal annual installments starting in 2029. The company expects to close the deal in the first half of 2026.

Management noted that this deal aligns with the companys strategic goal of focusing and streamlining its operations on its higher-return Saskatchewan, Canada assets.

That said, on December 23, Ben Isaacson from Scotiabank reiterated a Hold rating on The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) with a $36 price target. Earlier, on December 18, Edlain Rodriguez from Mizuho Securities reiterated a Hold rating on the stock and lowered the price target from $31 to $28.

The Mosaic Company (NYSE:MOS) is one of the leading global producers of essential crop nutrients, with its business centered on potash and phosphate.

While we acknowledge the potential of MOS 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: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
Chief Executive John Lee today officiated at the opening ceremony of the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science & Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone.

The Hetao Co-operation Zone is one of the four major co-operation platforms among the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area under the National 14th Five-Year Plan. The Hong Kong Park is envisioned to develop into a world-class hub for technological innovation that connects the Chinese Mainland with the international community, and to serve as an important source for fostering and advancing new quality productive forces for the country.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Mr Lee remarked that the development objective of the Hetao Co-operation Zone is set out to become a world-class innovation platform. As a major national technological innovation co-operation zone, it spans across two different social systems geographically, leveraging the strengths of the respective economic frameworks and judicial regimes.

We will continue to drive forward the construction and development of the Hong Kong Park by optimising institutional integration, strengthening policy support, actively attracting high-quality enterprises and world-class research teams, etc.

I am confident that the Hetao Co-operation Zone will emerge as a bridgehead and testing ground for Hong Kong's innovation and technology (I&T) development. It will also become a showcase for pioneering policies within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and across the global innovation landscape. It is a powerful Hong Kong engine for growth.

The Hong Kong Park is developed in batches under two phases. Out of the eight buildings in the first batch of Phase 1 development, two wet-laboratory enabled buildings and a talent accommodation building have been completed, providing about 32,000 sq m of floor area and 100 apartment units respectively.

More than 60 institutions and enterprises have begun moving into the wet laboratory buildings, while the talent accommodation welcomed the first batch of tenants this month. Construction work of the foundation and superstructures for the remaining five buildings have commenced and will be completed progressively starting from 2027 onwards.

The planning and development layout for the park's Phase 2 development has been finalised. The two phases together will offer a total floor area of up to 2 million sq m. Functionally, the park will be divided into different technological zones focusing on pillar industries such as life and health technology, artificial intelligence and data science, new technologies and advanced manufacturing, thereby fostering the integrated development of upstream, midstream and downstream industries and building a comprehensive I&T industry chain.

To expedite the park's construction work, the park company has rolled out an expression of interest exercise to gauge the market's interest in selected plots of the remaining land of Phase 1 development, with a view to leveraging market forces to develop the park in an accelerated and efficient manner. The park company received 27 responses and is currently analysing them with a view to preparing for launching the land plots in an orderly manner starting from 2026.

At the ceremony, Mr Lee also announced the official commencement of the Western Cross-River Link Bridge Project which will connect the two parks in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. This project will open up the transportation network of the Hetao Co-operation Zone. The two sides will adopt a design concept of integrating the cross-boundary bridge with the surrounding ecological environment and with an emphasis on low-carbon technology, safety and convenience, and pleasant scenery, as well as adopting a "single-span across the river" approach in construction, which will serve as a new landmark to connect the two parks under the concept of "one zone, two parks" while creating an innovation network in the Greater Bay Area.

Executive Deputy Director of the Hong Kong & Macao Affairs Office of the State Council Xu Qifang, Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong SAR Zhou Ji, Vice Mayor of Shenzhen Luo Huangho, Financial Secretary Paul Chan, Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong, Secretary for Innovation, Technology & Industry Prof Sun Dong, Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn also attended the opening ceremony.

Mr Lee also visited the park's wet laboratory buildings to learn about its facilities, environment and the facilitation measures provided for the tenant enterprises by the park company. He also exchanged views with representatives of the I&T enterprises which have already set foot in the park.
Travel Industry Council Executive Director Fanny Yeung points out that the tours include a shopping component, which contributes to boosting the local economy.

Kee Wah Bakery Executive Director Karlson Wong says through Industrial Brand Tourism, more people will get to know the brand and the traditional pastries of Hong Kong.

Tourist Mr Lin says he usually goes sightseeing and rarely visits factories, so this tour was interesting for him.

A local bakery group opens an experience centre at its Tai Po factory, replicating its first store on Shanghai Street in support of the Governments Industrial Brand Tourism project.

Imagine being able to step back in time to a 1950s grocery store where the product packaging is full of nostalgic charm, pastries are priced at just $0.68 and you can purchase a mooncake for $2.

A local bakery group has turned this into reality by opening an experience centre at its Tai Po factory, replicating its first store on Shanghai Street. It was built in support of the Government's Industrial Brand Tourism project and took about six months to set up.

Memorable experience

In early December, the experience centre welcomed its first tour group. The docent explained the various exhibits in the centre, such as simulating baking pastries using an oil drum during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, and sharing the story of the groups transformation from a grocery store to a bakery.

Tourists also experienced stir-frying lotus seed paste and felt the weight of traditional wedding cakes as well as became pastry chefs by making almond cakes during the tour.

Today, experiencing making almond cakes was really good and meaningful. If I visit Hong Kong again, I will definitely participate in similar activities, tourist Ms Zhang said.

Another tourist Mr Lin remarked: We usually travel to see the sights, but we rarely visit factories. This was our first time doing that, and I found it really interesting.

Promoting craftmanship

Kee Wah Bakery Executive Director Karlson Wong said that through Industrial Brand Tourism, more people will get to know the brand and the traditional pastries of Hong Kong.

It is a great opportunity and another platform for us to help tell that story and engage with more tourists that are visiting Hong Kong, he explained. Our vision for the company is for the world to know and to love our Hong Kong traditional pastry and confectionery products. Our hope is that our Hong Kong's own traditional products can also spread to all corners of the world.

Economy boost

The Industrial Brand Tourism project is implemented by the Travel Industry Council to showcase the citys industrial brand stories through tours organised by the travel trade, creating hotspots for visitors to tour, experience and shop. The council believes the project embodies the Governments goal of tourism is everywhere and helps tell the world the good stories of Hong Kong.

The councils Executive Director Fanny Yeung pointed out that the tours include a shopping component, allowing visitors to purchase exclusive products available only at the factory, which contributes to boosting the local economy.

She added that while tourists come to Hong Kong to experience Industrial Brand Tourism, they will also visit the traditional sightseeing spots. This helps to prolong their stay in Hong Kong.

Currently, brands including Yakult, Kee Wah and Lee Kum Kee are participating in the project. Ms Yeung revealed that the trial phase will continue until March next year, with the possibility of more brands being introduced by then.
A knife attack outside Suriname's capital Paramaribo kills at least 9 people

Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 23:15 IST

Representational image (Image: News18)

Paramaribo(Suriname), Dec 28 (AP) A knife attack outside Surinames capital of Paramaribo killed at least nine people, including children, police said Sunday.

Officials said the victims, which included five minors, were the children and neighbours of the attacker.

In a statement issued Sunday, Surinames Police Corps said the suspect, a male, attempted to attack police officers who arrived on the scene and was injured during his arrest. He is now recovering in a hospital. (AP) RD RD

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First Published: December 28, 2025, 23:15 IST

News agency-feeds A knife attack outside Suriname's capital Paramaribo kills at least 9 people

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BNP's Tarique Rahman gets registered as voter in Bangladesh

Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 19:45 IST

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Dhaka/New Delhi, Dec 28 (PTI) Bangladeshs Election Commission on Sunday approved the inclusion of BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman in the voter list weeks ahead of the February 12 polls.

A day earlier, the 60-year-old leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) visited the Election Commission (EC) office here and provided fingerprints and iris scans for biometric enrollment. He had earlier submitted his voter registration application online.

The Election Commission has approved the inclusion of Tarique Rahman in the voter list," Director (Public Relations) and Information Officer of the EC Secretariat Ruhul Amin Mallick told state-run news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS).

Son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, Rahman, and his daughter Zamia completed all necessary procedures for voter registration and the issuance of a National Identity Card (NID) at the EC on Saturday. Now, after inclusion in the voter list, a new NID number will be generated for him and his daughter.

Bangladesh first introduced a voter list with photographs and biometric data in 2008. Rahman, who was a political prisoner then, left for London on September 11, 2008 after his release. As the BNP leader was abroad at the time, he was not included in the voter list.

Rahman will be contesting the February 12 general election from his ancestral Bogura Sadar (Bogura-6) constituency. BNP leaders have already started collecting nomination papers on his behalf since earlier this month.

Ending his self-exile of 17 years, the BNP leader returned to Bangladesh from London on December 25 to take over the reigns of his party even as his mother Khaleda Zia is in extremely critical" condition at a Dhaka hospital.

Earlier on Saturday, the disbanded Awami League party of Zias arch rival Sheikh Hasina, whose government was toppled last year after a violent street protest, raised questions on the legality of including Rahman in the voters list when the final list was already prepared.

Becoming a new voter is legally prohibited after the announcement of the election schedule, it said, and also questioned how the EC functioned on a Saturday, a weekly holiday for the government.

However, former Election Commission official SM Asaduzzaman, who was director of public relations at the EC Secretariat when the photo voter list and NID system were introduced, underlined that the law allows any eligible citizen to be included in the voter list at any time. PTI SKS SKS NPK NPK

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First Published: December 28, 2025, 19:45 IST

News agency-feeds BNP's Tarique Rahman gets registered as voter in Bangladesh

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No valid voter deleted during SIR, opposition misleading people: UP Dy CM Pathak

Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 19:45 IST

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Budaun (UP), Dec 28 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak on Sunday asserted that not a single valid voter had been deleted during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls and accused the opposition of misleading people on the issue.

Addressing reporters here, Pathak said the exercise was aimed at ensuring a transparent and accurate voter list and questioned whether the names of deceased persons or those with no traceable address should continue to remain on the rolls.

This is not happening for the first time. Such names have been removed earlier as well," he said.

Pathak was in Budaun to attend the 66th Braj Pradesh convention of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), where he also addressed students.

He alleged that leaders of the Samajwadi Party opposed Vande Mataram in Parliament and the Assembly and accused them of harbouring anti-national tendencies.

Calling upon the youth, the deputy chief minister said it was the responsibility of organisations like the ABVP to prevent anti-national forces from gaining ground.

He further said the opposition was creating unnecessary controversy over SIR as it was unable to digest its defeat in the Bihar elections.

Pathak expressed hope that the Election Commission would ensure the removal of infiltrators from the voter list and appealed to people to cooperate with the poll body in preparing a transparent electoral roll. PTI COR CDN NB NB

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First Published: December 28, 2025, 19:45 IST

News agency-feeds No valid voter deleted during SIR, opposition misleading people: UP Dy CM Pathak

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Police recover, freeze Rs 1.68 cr from criminals in Jharkhands Palamu

Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 19:45 IST

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Medininagar, Dec 28 (PTI) Palamu police have recovered more than Rs 88 lakh in cash from criminals and frozen Rs 80 lakh linked to cybercrime, which was deposited in various bank accounts by cybercriminals, an official said on Sunday.

The amounts were seized and frozen between January 1 and December 20 this year.

Out of the Rs 80 lakh recovered in cybercrime cases, the police successfully returned Rs 6 lakh to the victims through banks and online portals, according to a report issued by the district police administration on Saturday.

Palamu SP Reeshma Ramesan said, The police have frozen a total of Rs. 80 lakh in cybercrime-related funds deposited in various bank accounts, and seized Rs 88,21,240 from criminals during raids. Additionally, six members of an inter-state gang involved in cybercrime were arrested from Hussainabad and sent to jail." Apart from this, 57 country-made weapons and 133 cartridges were seized from criminals, the SP added.

The police also intensified action against illegal drug peddlers and opium cultivators.

Opium cultivation spread over 559.995 acres was destroyed, and in total, 73.439 kg of ganja, 6.523 kg of opium, and 786.6 grams of brown sugar were recovered from drug peddlers.

Additionally, 52,748.125 litres of illegal foreign liquor, 935.3 litres of country-made liquor, and 32 litres of prohibited cough syrup were also seized, police said. PTI COR RPS RPS NN

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News agency-feeds Police recover, freeze Rs 1.68 cr from criminals in Jharkhands Palamu

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Zelenskyy briefs UK PM on preparations for Trump meet and Russian strikes

Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 23:15 IST

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Florida [US], December 28 (ANI): Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday held a telephonic conversation with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and updated him on the preparations for the meeting with US President Donald Trump.Zelenskyy also informed him of the situation on frontline and Russian strikes.In a post on X, he said, Thank you, Keir, for the constant coordination! I started my morning in Florida today with a detailed phone call with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. We discussed preparations for the meeting with President Trump, as well as all our contacts with European partners. I informed him on the situation on the frontline and on the consequences of Russian strikes. We greatly value the United Kingdoms support. We will stay in contact!"

Thank you, Keir, for the constant coordination! I started my morning in Florida today with a detailed phone call with UK Prime Minister @Keir_Starmer. We discussed preparations for the meeting with President Trump, as well as all our contacts with European partners. I informed  Volodymyr Zelenskyy /   (@ZelenskyyUa) December 28, 2025

Earlier in the day, Zelenskyy, who is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump later today at Mar-a-Lago, stated that the coming days could prove decisive for efforts to end the war, even as Russia continued to intensify missile and drone attacks across Ukraine amid heightened diplomatic activity.In a post on X, Zelenskyy said, These are some of the most active diplomatic days of the year right now, and a lot can be decided before the New Year."

These are some of the most active diplomatic days of the year right now, and a lot can be decided before the New Year. We are doing everything toward this, but whether decisions will be made depends on our partners  those who help Ukraine, and those who put pressure on Russia so pic.twitter.com/GuKwkBM0Nr Volodymyr Zelenskyy /   (@ZelenskyyUa) December 28, 2025

He noted that while Ukraine is doing everything possible to move towards decisions, outcomes would depend on international partners supporting Kyiv and applying pressure on Russia.Placing the diplomatic push against the backdrop of escalating violence, Zelenskyy highlighted the scale of recent Russian attacks.This week alone, they launched over 2,100 attack drones, around 800 guided aerial bombs, and 94 missiles of various types," he said, adding that the strikes were directed against our people, against life itself and everything that sustains its normal functioning  above all, against our energy infrastructure."He said Ukraines emergency and energy services were working continuously to mitigate the impact.Our repair crews, energy workers, and first responders of Ukraines State Emergency Service are working literally 24/7 to protect lives and restore power supply," Zelenskyy said. (ANI)

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First Published: December 28, 2025, 23:15 IST

News agency-feeds Zelenskyy briefs UK PM on preparations for Trump meet and Russian strikes

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From Techie To Lady Don: How A Bengaluru Woman Ran Cross-Border Cannabis Racket

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 17:46 IST

During the operation, officers seized 74 kg of dry cannabis, along with a car, two motorcycles and several mobile phones.

AI-generated image used for representation

Police have arrested eight people, including a software engineer from Bengaluru, for allegedly running a large cannabis trafficking network with links to Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka.

According to the police, the gang was supplying high-quality Sheelavathi strain cannabis sourced from the AndhraOdisha border region. Investigators believe this is the first known case of ganja from this region being smuggled to Sri Lanka.

Among those arrested is 28-year-old Gade Renuka, a native of Vizianagaram district, who police say played a key role in organising the operation. Due to her wide reach and control over the network, she was known among associates as the lady don".

Police said Renuka operated across several locations, including Payakaraopeta, Narsipatnam, Saluru and Bengaluru. Along with her associate Surya Kalidas, she had rented a house in Narsipatnam to store and arrange cannabis supplies sourced from Odisha, which were then sent onwards to Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka, according to a report by the Times Of India.

The arrests were made after police received specific information about the movement of the gang. Inspector Y Tarakeswara Rao and the Nathavaram sub-inspector intercepted the accused near Srugavaram village.

During the operation, officers seized 74 kg of dry cannabis, along with a car, two motorcycles and several mobile phones, as per the report.

Further investigation revealed that Renuka had built an extensive supply chain. She allegedly rented houses in Bengaluru and Coimbatore to expand the network.

With the help of a middleman, Adduri Prasad, cannabis was procured from tribal areas in Balimela and Chitrakonda in Odisha at a price of around Rs 5,000 per kg.

Police said drivers Madhan Kumar and Naga Muttu transported the consignments to the Rajanagaram highway junction. From there, the cannabis was routed to different parts of Tamil Nadu and also pushed across to Sri Lanka.

Officials added that the gang also sold cannabis in small packets within Tamil Nadu. Renukas links with local smugglers reportedly helped the group move larger consignments abroad.

Police said further investigation is underway to identify other people involved in the network and trace the full extent of the smuggling operation.

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First Published: December 28, 2025, 17:46 IST

News bengaluru-news From Techie To Lady Don: How A Bengaluru Woman Ran Cross-Border Cannabis Racket

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FIR Against Doctors After Surgical Cloth Found In Womans Abdomen 15 Months After C-Section

Curated By :



Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 08:11 IST

Police booked three doctors and three officials after a surgical cloth was found in a womans abdomen a year after C section delivery at a Greater Noida hospital.

Police booked three doctors and three officials after a surgical cloth was found in a womans abdomen a year after C section delivery at a Greater Noida hospital. (Representative/Shutterstock)

Police have registered a criminal case against three doctors and three government officials after a surgical cloth was found inside a womans abdomen more than a year after she underwent a Caesarean delivery at a private hospital in Greater Noida.

The FIR was lodged at the Knowledge Park police station on December 24 following a complaint by the womans husband. The accused include three doctors from the private hospital, one of whom is the hospitals chief medical officer, as well as the district chief medical officer and two health department officials who were assigned to probe the case.

Police have invoked sections 125 and 125(b) (causing danger to life or personal safety through negligence), 255 (public servant knowingly disobeying law to shield an offender), and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

According to the complaint, a piece of surgical cloth measuring nearly half a metre was allegedly left inside the womans abdomen during a Caesarean delivery performed on November 14, 2023, at a private hospital in the Knowledge Park area. The woman was discharged two days later, but soon began experiencing severe abdominal pain.

Over the next 15 months, her condition deteriorated. She suffered persistent pain, recurring health complications and eventually developed a noticeable lump near the surgical site. Despite consulting multiple hospitals in Muzaffarnagar and Greater Noidaincluding repeated ultrasounds, MRIs and other diagnostic teststhe cause of her symptoms remained undetected.

On March 22 this year, the woman developed a high fever and intense abdominal pain and sought treatment at another private hospital, where she was given medication without a definitive diagnosis. Further tests conducted at GIMS Hospital on April 7 reportedly showed no abnormalities. A day later, doctors at another hospital advised advanced imaging and cancer-related tests.

As the lump became more prominent, she approached Kailash Hospital on April 14, where doctors recommended a second surgery. During the operation on April 22, surgeons discovered and removed a surgical cloth from her abdomen. The family has submitted photographs and video footage of the object being extracted as evidence.

The womans husband filed a written complaint with the chief medical officer the following day. He alleged that although a two-member medical committee was appointed to investigate the matter, the inquiry was deliberately delayed for nearly two months and the recovered cloth was never sent for forensic examination.

The couple has also alleged that they were threatened and warned against pursuing the case.

The woman said the prolonged negligence forced her to undergo two major surgeries and required eight units of blood during the second operation. Doctors have reportedly informed her that a third surgery is not possible, raising serious concerns about her future health and ability to conceive.

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Location : Greater Noida, India, India

First Published: December 28, 2025, 08:03 IST

News cities FIR Against Doctors After Surgical Cloth Found In Womans Abdomen 15 Months After C-Section

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Centre Deploys Central Forces, Grants Y-Plus Security To Bengal CEO Amid Safety Concerns

Reported By :

News18.com

Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 12:15 IST

The decision was prompted by a series of protests and internal assessments flagging risks to the CEO and other senior election officials.

The Centre has provided Y-plus security cover to the State Chief Electoral Officer, Manoj Kumar Agarwal, and deployed central armed forces at the CEOs office. (Image: X/@CEOWestBengal)

Security at the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal has been significantly enhanced following concerns raised about safety nearly a month ago. Acting on these inputs, the Centre has provided Y-plus security cover to the State Chief Electoral Officer, Manoj Kumar Agarwal, and deployed central armed forces at the CEOs office.

According to Election Commission sources, central security agencies had proposed full Y-plus protection for the CEO. However, Agarwal reportedly expressed reservations during a meeting with central security officials, stating that he preferred the presence of only two central personnel. What will I do with so much security?" he reportedly said. Central security officials responded that they were acting on explicit instructions to provide Y-plus cover.

Commission sources said Agarwal added that the security arrangement could be reviewed during his visits to districts and noted that he already has protection from the Kolkata Police.

As part of the revised security plan, central security personnel have been stationed on the third floor of the Bama/Lorri Building, where the CEOs office is currently located. Their responsibilities include monitoring the entry and exit of individuals. When the CEOs office shifts to a new building in the coming days, central forces will be deployed at the reception area to regulate access. These decisions were finalised during meetings between Commission officials and central security agencies.

Election Commission sources cited multiple instances of unrest around the CEOs office to justify the enhanced security. According to officials, the CEO and other senior election functionaries have faced gheraos and aggressive protests on several occasions, particularly during politically sensitive exercises such as voter list revision, electoral roll verification, and election preparedness activities.

Sources said that during some protests, senior officials were prevented from moving freely for extended periods. There were also reports of heated exchanges, pushing, and attempts to force entry into the premises. While no serious injuries were officially reported, these incidents were flagged internally as serious security breaches for a constitutional authority.

Sources added that the decision to deploy central forces is preventive in nature and aimed at ensuring the uninterrupted functioning and institutional independence of the Election Commission.

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First Published: December 28, 2025, 12:15 IST

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And while Western outlets fixate on earnings, Asian media have been quicker to catch the shift into transition materials. The South China Morning Post (SCMP) notes that PetroChina wants exposure to the upstream of electrification just as much as it wants downstream oil and gas. Its not really a transition as much as it is a hedge. Theyre going for whatever powers Asian industry next.

The LNG side of things tells a similar story. PetroChina has been layering long-term supply deals into the 2030s, according to China Daily , and then diversifying away from spot exposure with new procurement corridors.

Asia: Adding Gas, Chemicals and Transition Materials Asias NOCs are not easing off hydrocarbons, but theyre tightening their grip on those parts of the supply chain that will matter most over the next decade: gas, chemicals, metals and trading. PetroChina is a case in point: It has been pulling more capital toward downstream and gas while upgrading refineries for higher-margin products, as reported by Caixin .

Combined, these views indicate that capacity growth and control over future supply are increasingly being set by national companies rather than listed majors.

Similarly, OPECs latest medium-term outlook assumes that most incremental supply growth will come from countries with state-backed producers and low-cost reserves, suggesting we will be relying on NOCs for more long-cycle investment through the decade. Rystad Energys recent upstream and LNG analysis shows that the majority of newly sanctioned long-life projects are either led by NOCs or depend on them as anchor partners, while IOC capital remains concentrated in shorter-cycle or brownfield work. The IEA has also been explicit that future supply security hinges on investment decisions by national producers willing to commit capital beyond typical shareholder-return horizons.

Wood Mackenzie has warned that tighter capital conditions are forcing oil and gas companies to become more selective in business development. Neivan Boroujerdi has said this will require a more nimble and creative approach as budgets tighten. In practice, that environment favors national oil companies with the balance sheets and mandates to secure gas, chemicals, and integrated assets early, rather than defer decisions. This is no longer hypothetical. Capital is already moving in that direction.

The prevailing structural theme right now is that national oil companies (NOCs), in some cases and across some segments, are moving faster than the majors, outspending them, beating them in locking up supply chains, and building cash cows faster for the future. You can see it directly in upstream spending trends highlighted by the IEA Oil 2025 report , and the money is shifting this way because the NOCs have political backing, lower lifting costs, and much clearer mandates than the big listed companies.

Story Continues

Chinas Sinopec is doing something similar, but the strategy is chemicals-heavy. As fuel demand flattens, Sinopec is putting more capital into petrochemicals, hydrogen, and CCUS. Its also doubling down on long-term LNG to feed industrial boilers and heavy manufacturing that fall under its new policy mandates. The bigger refining margins in 2025 gave them the power to do this, according to SCMP.

Related: Geopolitics Lifts Oil Prices in Thin Holiday Trading

CNOOC, as an outlier, is staying the course, focusing on upstream and LNG, but looking to scale both. Offshore output is rising again with new South China Sea projects being added on, and the company is buying into LNG projects up the chain rather than staying a pure buyer. The goal is straightforward: control more of the gas it needs for its power and industrial clients rather than relying on the spot market.

Petronas is expanding its LNG position and lining up more supply from projects in the Atlantic and Indian basins. At home, it is spending on gas, CCS, hydrogen and midstream work that supports the domestic power system.

Indias ONGC is adding to its overseas portfolio and increasing its access to gas. The Economic Times reports that ONGC Videsh has raised its spending outside India, and state buyers are now coordinating long term LNG procurement.

Across the region, NOCs are concentrating on the areas that support their revenue base: gas supply, refining output, chemicals and firm access to transport routes. They are securing these positions now while the opportunity is still visible.

Middle East / Gulf: Expanding Capacity and Integration

Gulf NOCs are expanding low-cost supply and increasing their integration across refining, petrochemicals and LNG.

Middle Eastern NOCs continue to take a larger share of global upstream spending, according to the IEAs 2025 investment report. Global upstream totals are largely flat, but the regions state producers are still increasing outlays. Most of this capital is going into long-life capacity and integrated projects rather than short-cycle additions, consistent with their role as the lowest-cost suppliers in the system.

ADNOCs investment arm XRG has outlined the largest expansion plan in the region. It is targeting 20 to 25 million tonnes a year of gas and LNG capacity by 2035 and is adding assets in North American gas to support that target. Reuters reporting also shows ADNOC is moving its existing U.S. holdings into XRG and positioning the unit to lead further international gas and LNG deals, including in North America.

What we know for certain: ADNOC wants a larger operational and financial position in North American gas.

QatarEnergy is expanding LNG output through the North Field program and using longer-term contracts to secure demand in Europe and Asia. Based on public statements from the energy minister, Qatar expects tighter LNG balances later in the decade.

Finally, Saudi Aramco, the NOC that gets the most headline attention, is tying together upstream, downstream, gas and new energies into one roaring machine. Recent agreements in the United States on LNG, technology and services show Aramco placing capital directly inside key consuming markets.

The overriding Gulf strategy? Outspend everyone, integrate everything, and get as close to the customer as possible.

Latin America: Holding Output and Preserving Cash

Latin Americas state producers are trying to hold production steady while managing tight budgets and a very mixed bag of political situations.

Petrobras has more room than the others. The Brazilian NOCs 2026 to 2030 plan shows lower headline capital spending, but the company still intends to grow pre-salt output and keep most of its money in projects that are already under way. Company filings confirm about $109 billion in planned investment, with roughly $91 billion already committed. The plan is to keep the pre-salt program moving along, avoid expensive frontier work, and only allocate to gas, chemicals and lower carbon projects once the core fields are covered.

Ecopetrol, of Colombia, is trying to build a broader base. Its public strategy documents outline a larger role for transmission, solar and wind along with the oil and gas business. The ISA unit already delivers steady money, and the company wants that share to rise. The changes are meant to give Ecopetrol more stable earnings while it manages slower growth in upstream oil.

Mexicos Pemex, Venezuelas PDVSA and Argentinas YPF face constraints that limit their options. Debt, field decline and political pressure shape most of their decisions. Pemex remains the most indebted energy company in the world despite government support and debt operations, with falling output still a concern. PDVSAs exports and operations remain heavily shaped by U.S. sanctions, payment problems and the structure of swap deals with foreign partners. YPF is under pressure from higher costs, rising debt and adverse court rulings, and has reported recent quarterly losses. Across all three, the priority is to keep existing production from falling faster and to maintain enough progress on power or lower carbon projects, where applicable, to preserve financing and political backing.

Africa: Building Control While Managing Risk

Africa has real upside. The hard part is getting projects funded and delivered on schedule.

A Bloomberg investigation showed how large discoveries across the continent have brought in less local economic benefit than expected, which has led several governments to push their national companies to take more control.

Nigerias NNPC is the one pushing volume. Guardian Nigeria reported NNPC Exploration and Production reaching about 355,000 barrels a day, the highest level in more than 30 years. And now the NNPC has a new chief, with a new mandate: lift output and get the domestic refining system working.

Mozambique, Senegal, Ghana and Uganda are banking on gas. Their LNG and integrated gas projects are the only near term path to new export income at scale. The payoff depends on construction staying on schedule and on governments holding meaningful equity rather than sliding back into arrangements where most of the value lies with outside operators.

Across the region, governments want their national companies to move from passive royalty collectors to active operators, but there is plenty of execution risk here.

North America: The Market NOCs Use to De-Risk

North America is not building a national oil company, but it is building something else: a federal-backed critical-minerals base. The Trump administration has been taking equity positions in rare earth and battery-metal supply chains, buying into private and public companies to secure domestic production. On the hydrocarbon side, the region has become the place where foreign NOCs go to balance their portfolios.

ADNOCs use of XRG, as mentioned above, makes the intent clear. Gulf producers want a bigger position in U.S. gas, LNG and petrochemicals, and they are using XRG to buy the exposure. Equity in LNG trains, chemical complexes on the Gulf Coast and related midstream is now being treated as core to their ten-year plan.

On the Asian side, PetroChina is moving into transition materials. It wants to operate across the industrial supply chain, not just in crude and products.

Wood Mackenzies public outlooks point to a busy upstream M&A cycle, with several state-owned producers listed among the likely active buyers. Their U.S. gas and LNG notes also underline that North America remains one of the most stable regions for long-life assets, with deep capital pools and clear operating rules. That combination makes the U.S. a practical place for foreign NOCs to take positions, even if Wood Mackenzie does not explicitly describe this as a dedicated NOC strategy.

North America is the hedge, then. It is the one market where NOCs can diversify risk and attach themselves to cash flow that holds up in volatile cycles.

The map for the next decade is fairly easy to follow. Asias national companies are keeping oil and gas at the center while adding metals, LNG and trading positions. The Gulf producers are putting money into long-life supply and deeper integration. Latin America is leaning on pre-salt output and transmission assets to keep their budgets steady. Africa is trying to capture more value by taking a larger operating role in its own projects. North America is where foreign NOCs place capital to stabilize returns and broaden their portfolios.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

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Cloth Left Inside Noida Womans Abdomen Found 15 Months After C-Section

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 19:42 IST

After it came to light, the womans husband filed a complaint at Knowledge Park police station on December 24, accusing the hospital staff of negligence.

AI-generated image used for representation

A piece of cloth was found inside a womans abdomen more than a year after she went through a Caesarean section surgery in Greater Noida.

The incident has sparked serious allegations of medical negligence and led to a police case against doctors and health officials.

The woman had undergone a C-section at a private hospital in Greater Noida. For months after the delivery, she reportedly suffered from health complications.

Around 15 months later, doctors found a surgical cloth inside her abdomen, which should have been removed during the original procedure.

After it came to light, the womans husband filed a complaint at Knowledge Park police station on December 24, accusing the hospital staff of negligence.

According to the police, the FIR has been lodged against six people, including doctors involved in the surgery and officials from the health department.

The complaint also names the chief medical officer and two officials who were appointed to probe the case.

The accused have been booked under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) including Section 125 for acts endangering life or personal safety due to rashness or negligence, and Section 125(b), which deals with similar offences where punishment can extend up to three years if grievous harm is caused.

Section 255 has been applied for allegations that public servants knowingly disobeyed the law to protect someone from punishment, while Section 351(2) relates to criminal intimidation.

Further investigation into the matter is underway.

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First Published: December 28, 2025, 19:29 IST

News noida Cloth Left Inside Noida Womans Abdomen Found 15 Months After C-Section

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Three Men Fined After Right-Wing Activists Disrupt Birthday Party Alleging 'Love Jihad'

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 15:59 IST

Right-wing activists disrupted a birthday party in Bareilly, accusing attendees of "love jihad." Police fined 2 youths and a restaurant staffer for "disturbing the peace."

Rapid Read

The three men were challaned on Sunday for disturbing peace, police said. (Representative Image)

A group of right-wing activists allegedly disrupted a birthday party at a restaurant in Uttar Pradeshs Bareilly on Saturday night, accusing those present of love jihad." Police later fined two youths, who belonged to another community and attended the party, and a restaurant staffer for disturbing the peace," news agency PTI reported.

The incident took place in the Prem Nagar area, where a first-year BSc Nursing student had organised a birthday celebration at a restaurant. The gathering was attended by her nine friendsfive women and four men. Of the four men, two were identified as Shan and Waqif.

Police said the presence of youths, belonging to other religion, with a Hindu woman prompted members of a right-wing organisation to barge into the restaurant. They allegedly disrupted the party, raised slogans and levelled accusations of love jihad," the report further mentioned.

After receiving information about the incident, officials from the Prem Nagar police station reached the spot and took the student and others to the police station for questioning. Initially, Shan was taken into custody, while Waqif fled from the scene.

Station House Officer Raj Bali said the student lives in a hostel in Prem Nagar and studies at a private college. She had organised a birthday party for her friends. On receiving information, we called her relatives, including her aunt who lives in Prem Nagar, and also informed the families of the others present," he told the news agency.

Police initially issued a challan for breach of peace against Shan and a cafe staffer, Shailendra Gangwar. After learning that Waqif had fled, Circle Officer First Ashutosh Shivam launched a search and traced him.

All three  two youths and the cafe staffer  were challaned on Sunday for disturbing peace," the circle officer said, adding that the situation was brought under control.

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Location : Bareilly, India, India

First Published: December 28, 2025, 15:59 IST

News cities Three Men Fined After Right-Wing Activists Disrupt Birthday Party Alleging 'Love Jihad'

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Don't Want Any North East Child To Face This: Father Of Tripura Student Killed In Racial Attack

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News18.com

Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 19:20 IST

Anjel Chakma, a 24-year-old final-year MBA student from Tripura, died after being stabbed during a racist attack in Dehradun.

Angel lost battle to life after 15 days of attack (Credits: News18.com)

The father of Anjel Chakma, a 24-year-old final year MBA student from Tripura, who died after being stabbed during a racist attack in Dehradun, has appealed to authorities to take preventive action so that no person from the North East should go through this.

While exclusively speaking to CNN-News18, Tarun Prasad Chakma, the grieving father, said that his son was beaten and repeatedly stabbed after being subjected to racial abuse.

He said that the incident took place when Anjel went out to buy vegetables. He claimed that the accused arrived on a motorcycle and hurled racial slurs at his son. When Anjel opposed, they started beating and abusing him.

My child had gone to buy vegetables. The accused had come on a bike. The main accused, who is from Dehradun, along with others, hurled racial abuses. When Anjel opposed, he was beaten to death," Tarun said.

He further said the parents of the accused had tried to contact him, but he was unable to speak to them as Anjel was hospitalised at the time.

He urged the district administration and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to ensure the safety and security of students from the North East living in Dehradun.

I dont want any child or student from the North East to go through this," he said.

What Happened To Anjel?

Anjel Chakma, a 24-year-old final-year MBA student from Nandanagar in Unakoti district of Tripura, died after being stabbed during a racist attack in Dehradun. Anjel and his younger brother Michael were stopped by a group of men on December 9, who allegedly hurled racial slurs at them, leading to a confrontation at a local market.

Witnesses said the men referred to the brothers as Chinese".

Friends said Anjel calmly challenged the abuse. We are not Chinese. We are Indians. What certificate should we show to prove that?" he reportedly said. Moments later, the situation escalated. The men allegedly attacked the brothers with knives while continuing to abuse them.

Anjel suffered severe injuries to his neck and spine. Michael was also injured and remains in serious condition. A close friend, who stayed at the hospital throughout Anjels treatment, said he was shocked by the violence. He was calm and friendly. None of us can believe this happened," the friend said.

Anjels body was flown to Agartala on Saturday. His death has sparked anger and grief across Tripura and other northeastern states.

Student groups in the northeast have begun protests, demanding a national law against racial hate crimes. Student organisations in Dehradun have also started speaking out, calling for safety and dignity for students from all parts of the country.

So far, five suspects have been arrested in connection with the murder of Anjel Chakma, Among them, two accused are minors and have been sent to a juvenile reform home. The police are conducting raids to arrest one absconding accused, on whom a reward of Rs 25,000 has been announced, and a team has been sent to Nepal in search for the suspect.

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Location : Agartala (incl. Jogendranagar, India, India

First Published: December 28, 2025, 19:20 IST

News india Don't Want Any North East Child To Face This: Father Of Tripura Student Killed In Racial Attack

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Four Minor Students Arrested In Tamil Nadu For Attacking North Indian Youth In Train

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 23:27 IST

Four 17-year-old students attacked a man from Nagpur with a machete near Tiruttani station. They filmed the assault for Instagram Reels.

Representative image

In a shocking case of brutality, four 17-year-old students attacked a North Indian youth with a machete on a passenger train. As per the police, the youths were under the influence of ganja and were obsessed with social media reels." Tamil Nadus Tiruttani police arrested all four accused on Saturday.

Acting on information from the public, Tiruttani police rushed to the railway quarters area near the Tiruttani railway station yesterday evening. They found a North Indian youth in critical condition, suffering from nearly 20 stab wounds across his body. The victim was rushed to the Tiruttani Government Hospital via ambulance.

The police registered a case and launched an investigation to identify the attackers. During the investigation, local residents alleged that the Arakkonam Railway Police fail to effectively monitor the station and surrounding areas, leading to frequent criminal incidents.

The victim has been identified as Suraj (34), a native of Nagpur, Maharashtra. The investigation revealed that the attack was carried out by four 17-year-old students: Nandagopal, Vignesh alias Vicky, Santhosh alias Kullu and Santhosh.

The students, under the influence of ganja, reportedly met the victim on the train and driven by a desire to go viral on social media, filmed videos of themselves threatening to cut the youth with a machete for Instagram Reels.

They later brought him to the railway quarters area near Tiruttani station, where they brutally attacked him before fleeing the scene. The students even uploaded the video of the assault to social media. Following the viral footage and investigation, Tiruttani police successfully tracked down and arrested all four minors.

The incident has caused a major stir in the region. Railway passengers have raised serious concerns about the Railway Police, stating that the lack of regular patrolling between Chennai and Tiruttani allowed the students to travel openly with a machete.

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Location : Tamil Nadu, India, India

First Published: December 28, 2025, 23:27 IST

News india Four Minor Students Arrested In Tamil Nadu For Attacking North Indian Youth In Train

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French Tourist Rescued After Being Stranded For Two Days Following Fall At Hampi Hill

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 11:58 IST

Bruno Roger, a 52-year-old French tourist, was rescued after two days stranded with injuries at Hampi near Ashtabhuja Snana Hill, surviving on a litre of water until help arrived.

Bruno Roger, a 52-year-old French tourist, was rescued after two days stranded with injuries at Hampi near Ashtabhuja Snana Hill, surviving on a litre of water until help arrived. (AI Image)

A 52-year-old French tourist was rescued after being stranded for nearly two days following a fall while attempting to climb a hill at the world-famous heritage site of Hampi, officials said.

The tourist, identified as Bruno Roger, slipped and fell on Wednesday evening around 6 pm while exploring a secluded area behind the Ashtabhuja Snana Hill, near the Ashtabhuja Snana pond. The incident occurred on the rear side of the hill, which is sparsely frequented by visitors.

Injured and unable to move properly, Bruno remained stranded in pain at the site for two days. He later managed to crawl towards a nearby banana plantation in search of help.

Local farmers spotted him and immediately alerted the police. Officials from the police department and the state Archaeological Department reached the spot and rescued the tourist, carrying him to a government hospital for treatment.

Visuals from the site showed Bruno had suffered serious injuries to his left foot and the left side of his face. He told officials that he was staying at a homestay in Kadirampura village during his visit.

The French national said he survived on about 1.5 litres of water while stranded at the site until help arrived. Authorities said further details were being verified.

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Location : Karnataka, India, India

First Published: December 28, 2025, 11:58 IST

News india French Tourist Rescued After Being Stranded For Two Days Following Fall At Hampi Hill

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I Am Indian: Last Words Of Tripura Student Before He Was Killed In Dehradun Racist Attack

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News18.com

Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 13:19 IST

Anjel and his younger brother Michael were stopped by a group of men who allegedly hurled racial slurs at them. Witnesses said the men referred to the brothers as Chinese.

Angel lost battle to life after 15 days of attack (Credits: News18.com)

A 24-year-old MBA student from Tripura died after being stabbed during a racist attack in Dehradun. Anjel Chakma passed away in hospital on Friday after battling for life for more than 14 days. The incident took place on December 9 in the Selaqui area, when a routine visit to a local market turned into a violent confrontation.

Anjel and his younger brother Michael were stopped by a group of men who allegedly hurled racial slurs at them. Witnesses said the men referred to the brothers as Chinese".

We Are Indians

Friends said Anjel calmly challenged the abuse. We are not Chinese. We are Indians. What certificate should we show to prove that?" he reportedly said. Moments later, the situation escalated. The men allegedly attacked the brothers with knives while continuing to abuse them.

Anjel suffered severe injuries to his neck and spine. Michael was also injured and remains in serious condition. A close friend, who stayed at the hospital throughout Anjels treatment, said he was shocked by the violence. He was calm and friendly. None of us can believe this happened," the friend said.

Anjels body was flown to Agartala on Saturday. His death has sparked anger and grief across Tripura and other northeastern states. Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma, chairman of the Tipra Motha Party, helped the family with medical support and funeral arrangements.

Speaking to the media, Debbarma said it was tragic that people from the northeast were targeted with racist abuse. These attacks divide us. We want justice," he said.

Uttarakhand CM Vows Strict Action

The Uttarakhand government has taken the murder of Tripura student Angel Chakma very seriously. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said such incidents are completely unacceptable in the state and strict action will be taken against anti-social elements. He assured that those involved in the crime will not be spared.

So far, five accused have been arrested in the case. Among them, two are minors and have been sent to a juvenile reform home. Police are continuing raids to arrest one absconding accused, on whom a reward of Rs 25,000 has been announced. A police team has also been sent to Nepal to trace the suspect, the Chief Ministers Office said.

Police Action

Police said a case was registered on December 12 following a complaint by Michael Chakma. Five of the six accused, including two juveniles, were arrested on December 14. The main accused, Yagya Awasthi, is believed to have fled to Nepal. Police have sent teams to trace him and announced a reward of Rs 25,000.

After Anjels death, murder charges were added to the case.

Student groups in the northeast have begun protests, demanding a national law against racial hate crimes. Student organisations in Dehradun have also started speaking out, calling for safety and dignity for students from all parts of the country.

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Location : Tripura, India, India

First Published: December 28, 2025, 07:08 IST

News india I Am Indian: Last Words Of Tripura Student Before He Was Killed In Dehradun Racist Attack

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Indian Intel Reports No Trace Of Osman Hadi Murder Suspects, Bangladesh Points To Meghalaya | Exclusive

Reported By :

News18.com

Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 15:18 IST

Officials say no movement has been detected on the Indian side, despite Dhakas claim that the alleged shooter and his accomplice entered Meghalaya through informal routes.

Sharif Osman Hadi, a prominent figure of the July uprising, died at a hospital in Singapore on Thursday, a week after he was shot at by masked gunmen in Dhaka. (AFP)

Top Indian intelligence officials have told CNN-News18 that there is no official confirmation that the two prime suspects in the killing of Inqilab Moncho leader and Dhaka-8 aspirant Sharif Osman Hadi are in Indian custody or have been identified on Indian soil. Officials said the inputs shared with Dhaka so far are based on border-movement indicators and facilitator interception, not on any physical apprehension of the suspects.

They emphasised that cooperation with the Dhaka Police is ongoing, but there is no evidence of the suspects presence in Meghalaya custody at this stage. Intelligence assessments suggest the pair may have used informal border routes in the HaluaghatSouth Garo Hills sector, a corridor typically exploited by economic migrants and smugglers.

Sources added that although Dhaka Police reached out to Meghalaya Police, no movement has been detected and no arrests have been made on the Indian side so far.

Dhaka Police Claims Escape Into India

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), however, maintains that the two main suspectsalleged shooter Faisal Karim Masud and suspected accomplice Alamgir Sheikhfled Bangladesh and crossed into India shortly after the murder.

At a briefing at the DMP Media Centre on 28 December 2025, Additional Commissioner S N Nazrul Islam said the duo escaped through the Haluaghat border belt in Mymensingh, entering Indias Meghalaya via a pre-arranged facilitation chain". According to investigators, Bangladesh-side handlers escorted them to the border, where they were received on the Indian side by an individual identified as Purti. They were later taken towards Tura, Meghalaya, by a taxi operator named Sami.

Islam said the DMP is coordinating with Indian authorities for the arrest and extradition of Masud and Sheikh.

Osman Hadis Murder And Aftermath

Sharif Osman Hadi, a prominent political figure and vocal critic of India and the Awami League, was among the leading faces of the July 2024 uprising that brought down the Sheikh Hasina-led government. After the uprising, he founded the Inqilab Moncho platform and was preparing to contest the upcoming parliamentary elections.

On 12 December, Hadi was shot in the head by masked gunmen and later flown to Singapore, where he succumbed to his injuries. His killing triggered massive protests across Bangladesh. Supporters vandalised media houses such as Prothom Alo and The Daily Star and targeted Indian diplomatic offices.

The unrest spread to Mymensingh, where a Hindu youth was lynched and his body set on fire, drawing widespread condemnation. Tensions between India and Bangladesh escalated further after allegations that Hadis killers had fled into India.

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First Published: December 28, 2025, 15:18 IST

News india Indian Intel Reports No Trace Of Osman Hadi Murder Suspects, Bangladesh Points To Meghalaya | Exclusive

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Nari Shakti At LAC: ITBP To Build Mahila Barracks At 32 Border Posts Along India-China Border

Reported By :

News18.com

Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 08:32 IST

Women personnel to be deployed at forward locations in Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim.

ITBP Women Personnel to Be Deployed at Frontline Posts on China Border

Indias women security personnel are set to take a frontline role along the India-China border, with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) planning to build special Mahila Barracks at 32 border posts near the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

This will allow women personnel to be deployed at forward locations in Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim. ITBP is the armed police force responsible for guarding Indias border with China.

All About The Mahila Barracks At Border Posts

According to official documents accessed by CNN-NEWS18, the ITBP will construct Mahila Barracks for the first time at 32 Border Out-Posts (BOPs). Each barrack will have dormitories and double or triple sharing rooms with proper insulation, designed to house around 30 women personnel. Separate accommodation will also be provided for officers.

The barracks will include a central dining area with a fully equipped kitchen and modern toilet facilities. The design will focus on maximising solar heat and protecting against strong winds, keeping in mind the harsh weather conditions along the LAC.

The decision follows ITBPs recent plan to establish all-women border outposts on the India-China border. At present, the force has around 4,000 women personnel and plans to induct another 1,375 women during the current financial year.

Last month, ITBP Director General Praveen Kumar announced that 10 all-women BOPs would be set up along the LAC as part of the forces forwardisation" plan, aimed at strengthening Indias border presence.

Government Support For Women Forces

The push for greater participation of women in border guarding forces began in January 2016, when the central government decided to reserve 33 per cent of constable-level posts for women in the CRPF. For border guarding forces such as the BSF, SSB and ITBP, 14 to 15 per cent of constable posts were reserved for women.

Earlier this month, the government informed Parliament that steps are being taken to ensure safe working conditions for women personnel in Central Armed Police Forces. These include separate accommodation, rest and changing rooms, toilets, creches and day care centres, and women-specific medical support.

The government also said women help desks, confidential complaint mechanisms, gender sensitisation workshops, and flexible duty systems are being put in place. Women personnel are generally deployed in pairs or groups to ensure safety and operational efficiency.

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Location : Delhi, India, India

First Published: December 28, 2025, 08:32 IST

News india Nari Shakti At LAC: ITBP To Build Mahila Barracks At 32 Border Posts Along India-China Border

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'Nation Must Apologise': Sadhguru Reacts To Death Of Tripura Student In Racial Attack

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News18.com

Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 23:26 IST

The incident took place on December 9, when Anjel and his brother, Michael Chakma, went to the Selaqui market for shopping.

The student was attacked in Dehradun on December 9

Sadhguru, the founder of Isha Foundation, reacted to the death of a Tripura student in Dehradun, and said that the nation must apologise to the victim.

Every one of us Bharatiyas should hang our heads in shame at the attack on the student from Tripura in Uttarakhand. The nation must apologize to the family as this is not just an assault on an individual but on the idea of Bharat itself. The government must ensure justice is served and no such incidents occur in future," he wrote on X.

Anjel Chakma, a 24-year-old final-year MBA student from Nandanagar in Tripura, died on Friday after fighting for his life for nearly 15 days. He had been stabbed in a racially motivated attack in Dehradun.

The incident took place on December 9, when Anjel and his brother, Michael Chakma, went to the Selaqui market for shopping. Police said a group of local youths allegedly made racial comments about their facial features and the language they spoke, which led to the violent assault.

Siliguri Corridor is a 78-year-old anomaly created by Bharats partition, which should have been corrected in 1971. Now that there is an open threat to the nations sovereignty, it is time to nourish the chicken and allow it to evolve into an elephant. -Sg pic.twitter.com/oHyhZ03y4l Sadhguru (@SadhguruJV) December 28, 2025

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami strongly condemned the killing of a student from Tripura in what was described as a racially motivated attack. He said the state government is treating the case with utmost seriousness and assured that the absconding accused would be arrested soon.

Police have arrested five people so far in connection with the murder of Anjel Chakma. Two of the accused are minors and have been sent to a juvenile reform home. Efforts are ongoing to catch one suspect who is still on the run.

A reward of Rs 25,000 has been announced for information leading to his arrest, and a police team has also been dispatched to Nepal as part of the search.

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First Published: December 28, 2025, 23:26 IST

News india 'Nation Must Apologise': Sadhguru Reacts To Death Of Tripura Student In Racial Attack

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'Nothing Will Happen...': BJP Councillors Husband Threatens Woman He Is Accused Of Raping

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 10:55 IST

The case follows serious allegations made by the woman who accused Ashok Singh, husband of BJP councillor, of raping her at knifepoint about six months ago.

FIR Against BJP Leader After Viral Threat Video

An FIR has been registered against BJP leader Ashok Singh after a video showing him allegedly threatening a woman went viral on social media. The incident took place in Rampur Baghelan area of Satna district in Madhya Pradesh. Police have also recorded the statement of the woman involved.

Singh was arrested on Sunday. He has been taken into custody by the Rampur Baghelan police station. Based on the womans complaint, a case has been registered under Sections 74, 75(2), 79, 296(1) and 351(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The case has been filed under charges of issuing death threats and molestation.

According to the police, rape has not been confirmed in the preliminary investigation or in official statements. A video of Ashok Singh had gone viral earlier.

Ashok Singh is the husband of a BJP councillor in the Rampur Baghelan Nagar Parishad. The viral clip has caused widespread anger, as Singh is allegedly seen abusing a police officer and threatening the survivor, while claiming that no action would be taken against him. He has also served as a former councillor from Ward Number One.

Serious allegations by woman

The case follows serious allegations made by the woman, who accused Singh of raping her at knifepoint about six months ago.

In her written complaint submitted to Satna Superintendent of Police Hansraj Singh, she said Singh entered her house, assaulted her, recorded the act on his mobile phone, and threatened to kill her and her family if she spoke about it.

The survivor said she stayed silent due to fear but was again targeted on December 20, when Singh allegedly molested her and repeated his threats. She claimed he demanded that she continue to comply with his wishes or face public humiliation through the release of the video.

Viral video

In the widely shared video, Singh is allegedly heard saying, What will happen to me? Nothing will happen. Complain wherever you want." The woman can be heard crying and saying she would approach the police. The clip triggered outrage and renewed attention to the case.

The woman also alleged that Singh regularly comes to her shop, abuses her verbally, and threatens her, creating an atmosphere of fear. She claimed he has a criminal background and had earlier been externed from the district, which she believes made him act without fear of consequences.

Police action

Following the complaint, the Satna SP transferred the investigation to Deputy Superintendent of Police Manoj Trivedi. Police officials said they are verifying the authenticity of the viral video and examining all available evidence.

The survivor has alleged police inaction, saying she approached the authorities five days earlier but no concrete steps were taken. She warned that the police would be responsible if any harm came to her or her family.

So far, no arrest has been officially made.

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Location : Satna, India, India

First Published: December 28, 2025, 09:31 IST

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To understand what is in the cards for Nvidia in 2026, we need to go back and take a look at the most important moves the company made in 2025 and estimate how they will develop in 2026.

Nvidia (NVDA) ended the year with a deal that has left many investors and analysts surprised, and even a little bit confused. Contributing to the confusion was the fact that when CNBC broke the news, it reported that Nvidia would acquire Groq for approximately $20 billion, but once the official announcement from Groq came out, it turned out that the deal was a non-exclusive licensing deal and talent grab rather than a company acquisition.

Here are key questions Bank of America analyst Vivek Arya raised about the deal, in a research note shared with TheStreet:

What does the non-exclusive licensing agreement referred to by Groq imply?

Could Nvidia have developed this technology on its own?

Can Groq cloud, still an independent company, undercut Nvidias LPU-based

service with lower pricing?

Despite having these questions and calling the deal surprising, Arya also said the deal is strategic and complementary. He reiterated a buy rating and the price target for Nvidia stock of $275.

To understand the Groq deal, we need to delve into what Groq technology is about and what the dominant strategies in the tech industry have morphed into.

Nvidia's chip of the future is an LPU.Shutterstock  Shutterstock

What is Groq?

Groqs main business is GroqCloud, an artificial intelligence inference platform. AI inference is the process of generating a response from the AI model that has already been trained.

Groq offers developers a way to run AI models on the companys hardware and obtain responses very quickly for a competitive price. The reason a relatively small startup can compete with big players and offer competitive pricing for AI inference is its hardware.

The companys inference platform uses application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chips, which it calls the Language Processing Unit (LPU), developed and optimized specifically for LLM inference.

GPUs can be used for many different calculations including gaming, 3D rendering, crypto mining, AI training, and AI inference, but Groqs LPU chips have only one purpose  AI inference.

This means they have razor-sharp focus, and that makes them many times as efficient at that particular task.

What is Nvidia getting from the deal with Groq?

When Gemini 3 launched, Google touted that it had been trained 100% on its Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), and of course, it is doing inference on TPUs, too. You may have guessed correctly that TPUs are also ASIC chips.

Related: Every major analyst's S&P 500 price target for 2026

Following the news about Gemini Nvidias post on X (formerly Twitter):

"Were delighted by Googles success  theyve made great advances in AI and we continue to supply to Google. NVIDIA is a generation ahead of the industry  its the only platform that runs every AI model and does it everywhere computing is done. NVIDIA offers greater performance, versatility, and fungibility than ASICs, which are designed for specific AI frameworks or functions."

Related: Bank of America updates Palantir stock forecast after private meeting

The fact that Nvidia felt it needed to address Gemini in its post showed that the company is worried about the competitive power of well-designed ASIC chips, and now we have proof.

Groqs announcement about the deal with Nvidia says: As part of this agreement, Jonathan Ross, Groqs founder, Sunny Madra, Groqs president, and other members of the Groq team will join Nvidia to help advance and scale the licensed technology.

Can you guess what Jonathan Rosss job was at Google? He was one of the designers of Googles first generation of TPUs, of course. Nvidias decision to license Groqs LPU tech stack and to acqui-hire its talent team is a quiet admission that ASIC chips represent the future of AI.

Related: History of Nvidia: Company timeline and facts

What does the non-exclusive licensing part of the deal with Groq mean for Nvidia?

A non-exclusive licensing deal was the only way to avoid government scrutiny. The approach here is a combination of Apple and Meta strategies. Apple manufactures custom ARM chips and has a non-exclusive licensing agreement with ARM.

But what makes Apple chips great is the talent that only Apple can attract; so far, competitor ARM chips have been unable to catch up.

Nvidia has secured top talent in this transaction by mimicking Metas move, which was an investment in Scale AI. The whole deal with Scale AI turned out to be a lot more about getting Alexandr Wang to lead Metas Superintelligence unit than about investing in Scale AI.

This is the new dominant strategy in the tech space where talent is more valuable than whole companies.

Assuming that Nvidia's contract with Groq doesnt have some special quirks, non-exclusive licensing should mean that other companies can license the LPU designs and build similar LPUs. Nvidia is content, as it isnt getting the talent, and it's betting they wont be building anything impressive with just the license.

The second of Aryas questions, whether Nvidia could have built LPUs on its own, seems like a superfluous one. Even if the company could have developed such chips (assuming no patent issues), it could not have done that in a desirable timeframe.

This underscores my thesis that Nvidia started to worry about TPUs a little late.

Wider implications of the Groq-Nvidia licensing deal

To answer the third of Aryas questions, we need to first determine Nvidias game plan for LPUs. In an email to employees that was obtained by CNBC, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang wrote the following.

We plan to integrate Groqs low-latency processors into the NVIDIA AI factory architecture, extending the platform to serve an even broader range of AI inference and real-time workloads.

Huang has promoted the idea of AI factories for some time, and he appears increasingly focused on it. This new LPU plan has finally made the whole thing click for me, and the sudden shift to inference is extremely interesting and revealing.

After all the hype of chasing AGI or Superintelligence, the market is shifting toward inference. Youd think that as long as we havent reached that amazing life-changing technology, the training capabilities would be of paramount importance.

More Nvidia:

The problem is that LLMs have peaked, and although the shift to inference and AI factories is Huangs stealthy pivot, LPUs are just one part of the puzzle. Nvidia recently announced the Nvidia Nemotron 3 family of open models, data, and libraries. These models are the key component of the latest pivot, which is AI factories and sovereign AI.

Data ownership, privacy, and model fine-tuning are some of the reasons any company or organization that can afford to have a sovereign AI would want it. This is why open-source, and at least open-weight, models are the future, just like ASIC chips.

We can see a slow, ongoing shift toward this, as hundreds of academic papers presented at NeurIPS, the premier AI conference, used Qwen, as reported by Wired.

A lot of scientists are using Qwen because its the best open-weight model, Andy Konwinski, cofounder of the Laude Institute, a nonprofit established to advocate for open U.S. models, told Wired.

Huangs plan seems to be a complete sovereign AI solution that offers the fastest inference for the lowest power consumption offered by LPUs, combined with GPUs for training, and Nemotron as a starter software platform.

Arya also wrote this in his note: We envision future NVDA platforms where GPU and LPU co-exist in a rack, connected seamlessly with NVDAs NVLInk networking fabric.

I will adamantly say that this idea is incorrect.

Related: Bank of America resets Micron stock price target, rating

LPUs have a completely different memory model, based on so-called SRAM memory, which is very expensive and very fast. According to Groq, its LPUs connect directly via a plesiosynchronous protocol, aligning hundreds of chips to act as a single core.

Groq calls its chip-to-chip interconnect technology RealScale. LPUs have one other key difference compared to GPUs: they are deterministic. These architectural differences mean that LPU and GPU chips cant work together to run the same software (perform inference), and placing them in the same racks would only cause problems and complicate matters.

Every LPU has very little memory; a vast number of LPUs are needed to run big LLM models. This will be the deciding factor on how many racks of LPUs will be needed to run the model.

It is certainly possible for Nvidia to develop its LPUs to be a lot different compared to Groqs, to allow for the mixing with GPUs in the same racks, but in that case, they would take a lot more time to develop. I believe that for Huangs plan for AI factories, speed of development takes priority.

In any case, a launch of Nvidias LPUs in 2026 is highly unlikely, considering that chip design takes at least a year, usually two years, and complex integrations up to four years. The answer to the third Arya question should be clear: GroqCloud is not competing for the same type of customer as AI factories. More importantly, the Groq deal and inference pivot tell us we need to watch what happens to OpenAI very closely.

Nvidia deal with OpenAI remains in question

On December 19, Reuters reported that SoftBank Group is racing to close a $22.5 billion funding commitment to OpenAI. Considering that SoftBanks pledge was to invest that money by the end of the year, they are cutting it pretty close.

Waiting until the last moment to follow through makes the company look unsure if it is a good investment.

Nvidias agreement with OpenAI to invest up to $100 billion in the startup is still not finalized, according to a Reuters report from December 2. OpenAI doesnt expect to be cash flow positive until 2030, according to Forbes.

It's easy to see why Nvidia isnt rushing to finalize the deal with OpenAI. The best-case scenario for OpenAI is that Nvidia is waiting for it to have an IPO first, while the worst-case scenario, of course, is that there is no deal.

OpenAI failing to secure more investments will have a domino effect that will hurt Oracle, Nvidia, and Microsoft the most. Nvidias AI factories strategy is a good way for the company to protect itself from dependence on OpenAI as a customer.

What can we expect from Nvidia's partnership with Intel?

According to the leaks, Intel Serpent Lake is the first chip that will feature an integrated Nvidia GPU, which wont launch before 2027. Even that is optimistic, and 2028 is more likely, as reported by PC GAMER.

Nvidias revenue mix and estimates for 2026

The latest Bank of America research note, which includes the outlook provided by Nvidia, estimates from Vivek Arya, and consensus estimates, was released in November. Arya and his team estimate that Nvidia's revenue for fiscal year 2026 will be $212.83 billion, and non-GAAP EPS will be $4.66. Nvidia missed consensus estimates in Q3 for its revenue from gaming by 4%. There have been rumors that Nvidia is looking to cut gaming GPU production by up to 40% in 2026 due to VRAM supply issues, as reported by PC GAMER.

We can expect that due to the memory industry going all-in on AI, skyrocketing RAM prices will have a side effect of fewer gaming PCs being sold and built, so the gaming revenue could easily miss the consensus again.

In the automotive segment, a similar situation is evident, as Nvidia missed consensus estimates for Q3 by 6%. The company's guidance for Q4 is significantly lower than consensus estimates of $700 million, at $592 million.

The companys guidance for the pro visualization segment for Q4 is optimistic at $760 million and higher than the consensus $643 million. OEM, including the crypto segment outlook for Q4, is close to consensus at $174 million compared to $172 million.

Non data-center revenue segments look tiny compared to Nvidia's outlook of $51.2 billion and consensus estimates of $57 billion for Q4. As the company focuses more on its highest-margin products, revenue from non-data center segments will continue to shrink.

The Vera Rubin line launch will be the defining moment of 2026, because if the chips bring the promised performance and efficiency uplift, it will destroy any doubts regarding Nvidias supremacy.

The next year will be the year of Nvidia, especially if the rumor that Google failed to secure HBM shipments for its TPUs, as reported by Android Headlines, proves true.

I wouldnt be surprised if this rumor is true, as Huang is always several steps ahead of the competition, except for the moment when he underestimated Google TPUs.

Related: Veteran analyst has blunt message on Intel stock

This story was originally published by TheStreet on Dec 28, 2025, where it first appeared in the Investing section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Op Sindoor A Symbol Of Pride For Every Indian: PM Modi On 2025s Last Mann Ki Baat

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 11:29 IST

PM Modi recalled several moments, discussions and achievements that, according to him, brought the nation together in 2025.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Image: IANS/File)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation on Sunday in the 129th episode of his monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat. As the year 2026 approaches, the Prime Minister reflected on key moments from the past year and spoke about events that, he said, brought pride and unity to the country.

PM Modi on Operation Sindoor

Prime Minister Modi said memories of 2025 came rushing back as he delivered the address. He recalled several moments, discussions and achievements that, according to him, brought the nation together. He said the year gave Indians many reasons to feel proud and confident about the countrys direction.

A major focus of the address was Operation Sindoor. Prime Minister Modi described the operation as a symbol of pride for every Indian. He said the world clearly saw that modern India does not compromise on its security.

According to him, the operation reflected the countrys firm stand on national safety and sovereignty. This year, Operation Sindoor became a symbol of pride for every Indian. The world clearly saw that todays Bharat does not compromise on its security. During Operation Sindoor, pictures of love and devotion towards Mother India emerged from every corner of the world," PM Modi said.

The Prime Minister added that during Operation Sindoor, powerful images of love and devotion towards Mother India emerged from across the world. He said Indians living abroad also expressed strong emotional support, showing unity and commitment to the nation.

150 years of Vande Mataram

Prime Minister Modi linked the spirit seen during Operation Sindoor with other moments of national pride. He referred to the completion of 150 years of Vande Mataram, saying the same feeling of devotion and patriotism was visible across the country during the India- Pakistan conflict.

He said such moments strengthen national unity and remind citizens of shared values and collective responsibility towards the country.

As he concluded his remarks, the Prime Minister noted that these shared experiences from the past year serve as inspiration for the future. He said the sense of pride, unity and commitment shown by Indians during 2025 would continue to guide the nation as it moves forward into the new year.

Operation Sindoor was Indias military response launched on May 7, 2025, targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) following the April 22 Pahalgam attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26 civilians.

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Location : Delhi, India, India

First Published: December 28, 2025, 11:21 IST

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President Murmu Undertakes Historic Sea Sortie Aboard Kalvari-Class Submarine INS Vaghsheer

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 12:21 IST

As the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, the Presidents presence onboard was seen as a strong gesture of support for the Indian Navy and its personnel.

President Droupadi Murmu Takes Maiden Submarine Sortie On Western Seaboard

President Droupadi Murmu undertook a submarine sea sortie on the Western Seaboard on Sunday, marking a rare moment in Indias naval history.

The President embarked the Indian Navys indigenous Kalvari-class submarine, INS Vaghsheer, at the Karwar Naval Base in Karnataka. During the sortie, she observed the operational conditions inside the submarine and interacted with naval personnel.

INS Vaghsheer is part of Indias growing fleet of modern, indigenously built submarines. The visit highlighted the Navys underwater capabilities and the demanding environment in which submariners operate.

Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi accompanied President Murmu during the sortie. As the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, the Presidents presence onboard was seen as a strong gesture of support for the Indian Navy and its personnel.

Officials said the sortie took place along the Western Seaboard, an important maritime region for Indias naval operations.

President Droupadi Murmu embarked the Indian Navy's indigenous Kalvari class submarine INS Vaghsheer at Karwar Naval Base, Karnataka. The President is undertaking a sortie on the Western Seaboard. Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi is accompanying the Supreme pic.twitter.com/8LWzOkc4Ut President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) December 28, 2025

This was President Droupadi Murmus maiden submarine sortie and only the second time an Indian President has undertaken such an experience. The first was by former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, who had also gone on a submarine sortie during his tenure.

The event is considered significant, as submarine operations remain among the most complex and sensitive missions carried out by the Navy. President Murmus visit offered a glimpse into the challenges faced by crews working deep underwater for extended periods.

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Location : Karnataka, India, India

First Published: December 28, 2025, 12:21 IST

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Second Husband Turns Defence Witness For First, Woman Loses 17-Year Old Domestic Violence Case

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 20:08 IST

Mumbai magistrate court dismissed a woman's compensation plea in a 17-year-old domestic violence case after her current husband testified for her ex-spouse.

The proceedings took a decisive turn when the second husband confirmed their marriage in court. (Canva)

In an unexpected turns of events in a 17-year-old domestic violence case, a Mumbai magistrate court dismissed a womans petition for compensation after her current husband testified as a witness for her ex-spouse.

As per media reports, the woman filed a domestic violence case against her first husband in 2009 in which the woman alleged years of physical, emotional and economic abuse by him. She had claimed that she was tortured, forced out of her matrimonial home and denied financial support.

The woman told the court that she married her first husband in 2005 through an arranged marriage, but later discovered that he was already married. She alleged that both her husband and his first wife abused her. In December 2009, the court had directed the man to pay her interim maintenance of Rs 3,200 per month.

As the trial began in the magistrates court, the woman presented her sister as the witness, who claimed that the former was traumatised by the marriage.

Meanwhile, the estranged husband, who opposed the plea, told the court that the two had a divorce in 2008 and the woman left his house of her own will. Hence, the question of negligence does not stand. In addition to this, he claimed that after their divorce, the woman got married for the second time.

To establish his claim, he produced nikahnama of her second marriage, testimony from the imam who solemnised it, a handwriting and fingerprint expert, and most notably, the womans current husband.

The proceedings took a decisive turn when the second husband confirmed their marriage in court. Based on this evidence, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate B N Chikne ruled that the woman was not entitled to maintenance from her former husband.

The applicant has performed a second marriage after divorce from the respondent. Therefore, she is not entitled to get maintenance from respondent No. 1," the magistrate observed.

The court held that the existence of a second marriage extinguished the womans right to seek further monetary relief or protection from her ex-husband, leading to the dismissal of her application.

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First Published: December 28, 2025, 20:08 IST

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'My Children Unsafe At Home': Unnao Rape Victim Hopes For Justice Against Kuldeep Sengar In SC

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 14:49 IST

A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant will hear the CBI's plea challenging the bail given to suspended UP MLA Kuldeep Sengar in the 2017 Unnao rape case.

Suspended Uttar Pradesh MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar. (File image)

As the Supreme Court is set to hear the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) plea challenging the suspension of the life sentence of former Uttar Pradesh BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar, the survivor of the 2017 Unnao rape case on Sunday expressed fear for the safety of her children.

I have faith in the Supreme Court that it will give me justice. I am raising the voice of every women Had CBI done this before, I would have got justice. His (Kuldeep Sengar) bail would have been rejected because he raped me," the Unnao rape victim told news agency ANI.

My father was killed. My family members were killed. The security of my family members and witnesses was removed. My husband was fired from his job. My children are unsafe at home," she added.

#WATCH | Delhi | On CBI filing a petition in SC challenging the Delhi High Courts order suspending the life sentence of Unnao rape convict Kuldeep Singh Sengar, the victim says, I have faith in the Supreme Court that it will give me justice. I am raising the voice of every pic.twitter.com/Py3adPrs9R ANI (@ANI) December 28, 2025

A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, and comprising Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice Augustine George Masih, has agreed to take up the matter on December 29, after the suspension of Sengars life term sparked widespread outrage. The CBI has moved the apex court against the High Courts decision to suspend Sengars sentence and grant him bail during the pendency of his appeal against conviction.

What Did The CBI Say?

Earlier, the Delhi High Court had held that the aggravated offence provisions under Section 5(c) of the POCSO Act and Section 376(2) of the Indian Penal Code were not attracted in Sengars case, reasoning that he could not be classified as a public servant" under those provisions.

Challenging this reasoning, the CBI has contended that the High Courts interpretation significantly weakens the protective framework of the POCSO Act. It further warned that releasing Sengar would pose a serious threat to the survivors life, citing his influence and past conduct. Citing Supreme Court precedents, the CBI said suspension of sentence in life imprisonment cases is an exception and can be granted only in rare and compelling circumstances.

Protests At Jantar Mantar

Scores of protesters gathered at the Jantar Mantar against the Delhi High Courts decision to grant bail to Sengar. A scuffle broke out between a group protesting against the bail and members of Purush Aayog who supported the former MLA.

#WATCH | Delhi | A spat broke out between people supporting the victim of the 2017 Unnao Rape Case, protesting outside Jantar Mantar against Delhi High Courts order suspending the life sentence of the convict Kuldeep Singh Sengar, and members of Purush Aayog supporting Sengar. pic.twitter.com/IjXHwJoImC ANI (@ANI) December 28, 2025

A woman held a placard saying I Support Kuldeep Sengar", arguing that rape should not be politicised. I think shes (woman supporting Sengar) mentally unstable. She needs medication. She will be the first and last woman to say that she supports Kuldeep Singh Sengar. We are not speaking without evidence. He is a convicted rapist," a protester told ANI.

Unnao Rape Case

The case dates back to 2017, when a teenage girl (now an adult) accused then BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar of raping her. According to the survivor, she was assaulted at the legislators residence and later faced pressure and threats to withdraw her complaint. Initially, the police did not register her case, forcing the family to approach higher authorities and the courts.

The case drew attention after the survivors father died in police custody in April 2018, a day after he was arrested following an altercation with the accuseds supporters. Allegations of intimidation, misuse of power, and attempts to silence the victim led to widespread protests and criticism of the local administration. In 2019, a special CBI court convicted Sengar in the rape case and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

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First Published: December 28, 2025, 14:43 IST

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5 Arrested After Tripura Student Killed In Racial Attack, Uttarakhand CM Assures Strict Action

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 13:48 IST

Five suspects were arrested in the racially-charged murder of Anjel Chakma, a 24-year-old final-year MBA student from Tripura, in Dehradun on December 9.

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Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami condoled the death of Anjel Chakma, a student from Tripura who was stabbed in a racial attack. (File)

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami condemned the murder of a Tripura student in a racially-charged attack, saying the government was taking the matter very seriously and that one of the suspects, who is currently absconding, would be taken into custody very soon.

Anjel Chakma, a 24-year-old final-year MBA student from Nandanagar in Unakoti district of Tripura, died after being stabbed during a racist attack in Dehradun. Anjel and his younger brother Michael were stopped by a group of men on December 9, who allegedly hurled racial slurs at them, leading to a confrontation at a local market.

So far, five suspects have been arrested in connection with the murder of Anjel Chakma, Among them, two accused are minors and have been sent to a juvenile reform home. The police are conducting raids to arrest one absconding accused, on whom a reward of Rs 25,000 has been announced, and a team has been sent to Nepal in search for the suspect.

READ MORE: I Am Indian: Last Words Of Tripura Student Before He Was Killed In Dehradun Racist Attack

Dhami expressed condolences over the death of the Tripura student and reaffirmed that the government is committed to the safety of every citizen. He said such incidents were completely unacceptable in the state, and assured that the government would deal strictly with such anti-social elements. He also said that the accused involved in such crimes will not be spared, according to a statement from the CMs office.

The Chief Minister has instructed the police to ensure the arrest of the absconding accused at the earliest, assuring that they will soon be in custody. He further warned that those who play with law and order should not expect any leniency from the government.

What Happened In Dehradun?

Anjel and his younger brother were accosted by a group of men, who witnesses said described the brothers as Chinese". Friends said Anjel calmly challenged the abuse. We are not Chinese. We are Indians. What certificate should we show to prove that?" he reportedly said.

Moments later, the situation escalated. The men allegedly attacked the brothers with knives while continuing to abuse them. Anjel suffered severe injuries to his neck and spine. Michael was also injured and remains in serious condition. A close friend, who stayed at the hospital throughout Anjels treatment, said he was shocked by the violence.

Anjels body was flown to Agartala on Saturday. His death has sparked anger and grief across Tripura and other northeastern states. Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma, chairman of the Tipra Motha Party, helped the family with medical support and funeral arrangements.

Student groups in the northeast have begun protests, demanding a national law against racial hate crimes. Student organisations in Dehradun have also started speaking out, calling for safety and dignity for students from all parts of the country.

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Location : Dehradun, India, India

First Published: December 28, 2025, 13:48 IST

News india 5 Arrested After Tripura Student Killed In Racial Attack, Uttarakhand CM Assures Strict Action

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Diana Penty Elevates Christmas Dressing In A Rs 95K Classic Red Banarasi Saree

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 10:30 IST

For Christmas, Diana Penty turned to the classic red Banarasi saree. The sarees fine gold butis and detailed border echoed the enduring elegance of Banarasi weaving.

Diana Penty is wearing Mahima Mahajan.

In an era dominated by fleeting trends and maximalist statements, Diana Penty chose to slow fashion down. The actor was seen embracing a quieter, more deliberate form of glamour in a sindoori red Banarasi saree by Mahima Mahajan  an ensemble that leaned into heritage without feeling weighed down by nostalgia.

Rather than treating tradition as spectacle, the look felt purposeful, rooted in craft and restraint. The deep red hue carried ceremonial gravitas, while the sarees fine gold butis and detailed border echoed the enduring elegance of Banarasi weaving. The Yamini saree, priced at Rs 95,000, emerged as an heirloom-worthy piece  one that balanced richness with wearability.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Diana Penty (@dianapenty)

What stood out was how the saree was styled for the present moment. The silhouette remained classic, but the approach felt modern with fluid draping, clean lines, and an absence of excess embellishment, allowing the craftsmanship to take centre stage. The gold motifs caught the light subtly, lending depth rather than drama.

Diana Pentys blouse choice further modernised the ensemble. With its structured fit and understated detailing, it complemented the saree without competing for attention, reinforcing a shift towards refined occasion wear that prioritises elegance over extravagance.

The look was elevated with carefully chosen accessories that aligned with the understated luxury narrative. She carried the Amra Hasli Bag from Bespoke Ozels. Jewellery from Raniwala 1881s Pre-Fall 2025 collection completed the ensemble. The statement necklace and earrings introduced sparkle, but in measured doses, striking a balance between festive opulence and everyday sophistication. Together, the accessories underscored the idea that luxury today lies in thoughtful curation, not excess.

Diana Pentys Banarasi moment wasnt about revival, but it was about relevance. By pairing a traditional saree with contemporary styling sensibilities, she demonstrated how classic Indian textiles continue to hold space in modern wardrobes. The look served as a reminder that true style doesnt shout. Instead, it lingers  rooted in craft, elevated by intention, and designed to endure well beyond the moment.

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Location : Delhi, India, India

First Published: December 28, 2025, 10:30 IST

News lifestyle fashion Diana Penty Elevates Christmas Dressing In A Rs 95K Classic Red Banarasi Saree
Inside Kendall Jenners Most Polished Holiday Look Straight From Chanel

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 15:10 IST

Dressed head to toe in Chanel, Kendall Jenner delivered a Christmas look that was less about trends and more about mood.

Kendall Jenner was styled by Dani Michelle.

Some festive looks fade into the background of twinkling lights and decorated trees. Kendall Jenners Christmas Eve appearance did the opposite. At the Kardashian-Jenner familys annual holiday celebration in Los Angeles, the model delivered a fashion moment that felt deliberate, cinematic, and unmistakably Chanel. Equal parts glamour and restraint, the look blurred the line between a private party and a couture showcase.

Rather than leaning into novelty, Kendall Jenner opted for classic codes such as sequins, fur, and sharp tailoring, which was reworked through a modern lens.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kendall (@kendalljenner)

At the heart of the ensemble was a red sequin midi dress from Chanels Pre-Fall 2026 collection. Designed with a plunging neckline and a streamlined silhouette, the dress balanced drama with sophistication. The fit skimmed the body without excess, allowing the rich texture of the sequins to do the heavy lifting.

Under soft Christmas lighting, the dress shimmered effortlessly. It was festive without tipping into theatrical. It was a reminder that holiday dressing doesnt need volume to make an impact; precision can be just as powerful.

Layered over the dress was a voluminous black fur coat that immediately elevated the look. The contrast between the dark, plush texture and the glowing red sequins created visual depth, adding a sense of old-world glamour. The coat brought in a vintage Hollywood feel. Think midnight premieres and winter soirees, while still feeling current.

It wasnt just an outer layer; it became a character in the outfit, turning a party dress into a statement ensemble.

From head to toe, the look stayed true to Chanels signature codes. White-and-black cap-toe heels grounded the outfit with Parisian polish, while a silver quilted shoulder bag from Chanels debut 26x holiday collection introduced a modern metallic accent. Kendall kept accessories minimal but impactful. Gold starburst earrings brought in a playful, celebratory note. Worn with a sleek pulled-back hairstyle, the earrings framed her face while allowing the neckline and textures to remain the focus.

Styled by Dani Michelle, the final result was polished yet personal.

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Location : Delhi, India, India

First Published: December 28, 2025, 15:10 IST

News lifestyle fashion Inside Kendall Jenners Most Polished Holiday Look Straight From Chanel
Year Ender 2025: The Year Of Manish Malhotra Couture, Craft, And Cinema

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 09:30 IST

2025 was a year of many firsts for Asia's leading fashion designer, Manish Malhotra. Here's looking at the year that celebrated his couture and cinema.

Celebrating The Maverick: Manish Malhotra and his craft.

2025 saw Asias leading fashion designer, Manish Malhotra, complete 20 years of his label and 35 years of his journey as a costume designer in films. While the fashion and film industry celebrated his extraordinary journey through couture, craft and cinema, this year also marked many firsts in the world of Manish Malhotra.

As 2025 comes to a close, we are sure Manish has already planned out how 2026 is going to look. Before the new year sets in, heres looking at Manish Malhotra and his world of fashion and films that turned showstoppers in 2025.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Manish Malhotra (@manishmalhotra05)

Celebrating The Maverick: Manish Malhotra

Manish Malhotra always looks back with gratitude and ahead with excitement for everything yet to come. No wonder his 20-year-old brand and 35-year-old journey in costume designing has him surrounded by people who celebrate and cherish his extraordinary vision.

Firsts Are Always Special

From turning producer with the inception of Stage5 Production to making a royal MET Gala debut, Manish Malhotra ruled 2025 on and off screen. His much-talked-about moments this year was a melange of couture and cinema, and every masterpiece was a blockbuster.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Manish Malhotra (@manishmalhotra05)

Gustaakh Ishq, Manish Malhotras first-ever feature film under his production house, Stage5 Production, released in cinemas worldwide. Starring Naseeruddin Shah, Vijay Varma and Fatima Sana Shaikh, the film marked a new chapter in Manish Malhotras creative journey.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Manish Malhotra (@manishmalhotra05)

Manishs MET Gala and Golden Globes debuts were the highlights of 2025. Manishs iconic red carpet looks were rooted in heritage and haute couture. For his MET Gala debut, Manishs ensemble featured a sculptural sherwani layered with a sharply tailored blazer and a majestic cape.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Manish Malhotra (@manishmalhotra05)

For his Golden Globes debut, Manish opted for his favourite shade of black with a hint of white. The blazer featured a shawl lapel and abstract pattern in a classic shade of white. While the MET Gala sherwani and Golden Globes tuxedo stood out on the red carpet, it was the iconic brooches that made it a sparkling debut. Give it to Manish to make a classic silhouette dazzle with a twist. The brooches were not just embellishments, but medallions honouring craftsmanship. Each brooch Manish wore with pride commanded attention at the iconic global platforms.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Manish Malhotra (@manishmalhotra05)

Global Domination

From Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to Beyonce, Manish Malhotras designs dominated the global stage. From Aishwaryas handwoven Kadwa ivory Banarasi handloom saree, which she wore at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, to Rihanna sporting ruby buttons on her ensemble from Manish Malhotra High Jewellery at the MET Gala, each design has been rooted in Indian sensibility yet shaped in dialogue with global fashion.

Bridging continents, philosophies, and sartorial legacies with his vision, Manish Malhotras artistry is what 2025 will be remembered by.

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Location : Delhi, India, India

First Published: December 28, 2025, 09:29 IST

News lifestyle fashion Year Ender 2025: The Year Of Manish Malhotra Couture, Craft, And Cinema
How Air Pollution Is Affecting Pets And What Pet Parents Can Do

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 15:01 IST

Rising air pollution is affecting pets with respiratory, skin, and eye issues. Learn how smog impacts pet health and how to protect them.

Closing windows during peak smog hours, using air purifiers, and maintaining clean living spaces can significantly reduce indoor pollution levels.

Air pollution is no longer just a human health concern. In cities like Delhi NCR and Mumbai, rising smog levels are increasingly affecting pets, triggering respiratory distress, skin sensitivities, and eye irritation. Veterinarians are now seeing a clear seasonal pattern emerge, with cases spiking during periods of poor air quality.

We notice an increase in cases of pets experiencing respiratory issues, irritation in their eyes, and skin allergies during peak smog levels in the Delhi NCR region," says Dr. Abhishek Choudhary, Consultant Veterinarian, Vetic Pet Clinic. According to him, toxic gases and fine particulate matter present in polluted air can aggravate existing respiratory and cardiovascular conditions in pets, much like they do in humans.

Why Pets Are Especially Vulnerable

Pets, particularly dogs and cats, are closer to the ground where pollution levels are often higher. Their smaller airways, faster breathing rates, and prolonged exposure during walks make them more susceptible to airborne pollutants. Short-nosed breeds, senior pets, and animals with pre-existing heart or lung conditions are at even greater risk.

Prolonged exposure to polluted air can worsen respiratory distress and lead to long-term health complications if ignored," explains Dr Choudhary. Symptoms may start subtly, mild coughing or watery eyes but can escalate quickly if exposure continues.

Outdoor Precautions During Smog Season

One of the most effective steps pet parents can take is limiting outdoor exposure during high-pollution days. Dr. Choudhary advises reducing the duration of walks and timing them carefully. Early mornings or late evenings, when pollution levels tend to be marginally lower, are preferable.

Monitoring daily AQI levels has become essential. Pet parents must track air quality on a day-to-day basis and avoid stepping out altogether during heavy smog," he says. On severe days, indoor play, enrichment toys, and short bathroom breaks are safer alternatives to long walks.

Indoor Air Quality Matters Too

Poor outdoor air quality often translates into compromised indoor environments. Closing windows during peak smog hours, using air purifiers, and maintaining clean living spaces can significantly reduce indoor pollution levels.

Indoor air quality can be just as concerning," notes Dr. Choudhary. He recommends frequent vacuuming, washing pet bedding regularly, and using humidifiers to counteract dryness caused by polluted air. Avoiding incense sticks, cigarette smoke, and harsh chemical cleaners further helps protect pets sensitive respiratory systems.

Warning Signs Pet Parents Should Never Ignore

Air pollution-related illness in pets doesnt always look dramatic at first. Persistent coughing, wheezing, sneezing, nasal discharge, red or watery eyes, lethargy, or changes in appetite are all red flags. Skin irritation and excessive scratching can also signal environmental stress.

If these symptoms persist, veterinary attention should be sought promptly," stresses Dr. Choudhary. Early intervention can prevent minor irritations from turning into serious respiratory or systemic issues.

Proactive Care Is No Longer Optional

With air pollution becoming a recurring seasonal reality, especially in urban India, proactive pet care is essential. Adjusting routines, improving indoor environments, and staying alert to behavioural and physical changes can make a significant difference.

As Dr. Choudhary puts it, Protecting pets from air pollution today is as important as vaccinations and regular health check-ups. Awareness and timely action are key to keeping them healthy year-round."

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First Published: December 28, 2025, 15:01 IST

News lifestyle health-and-fitness How Air Pollution Is Affecting Pets And What Pet Parents Can Do
Knee Pain Isnt Always Arthritis: How Meniscus Tears Mimic Early Osteoarthritis

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 08:35 IST

To treat Meniscus Tear, physiotherapy plays a vital role in strengthening the muscles and improving stability.

A meniscus tear can happens due to twisting of the knee, trauma or age

Knee pain is a common problem affecting people of all ages, especially older adults, who commonly attribute this to arthritis. However, not all knee pain is arthritis. One common condition that often mimics the early arthritis symptoms, such as difficulty in bending the knee, stiffness in joints, sharp pain, and swelling, is a meniscus tear. It is a type of cartilage injury in the knee that may be mistaken for arthritis due to the same patterns and stiffness. Dr Ashutosh Jha, Consultant  Orthopaedics, Manipal Hospital, Ghaziabad, explains that understanding the difference is necessary for timely and proper treatment.

Understanding the Meniscus Tear

Each knee contains two C-shaped cartilages that act as a cushion between the tibia and the femur; this cartilage is known as the meniscus. A meniscus tear usually happens due to sudden twisting or rotation of the knee, strong trauma, and with age, this cartilage becomes weak or gets damaged. Additionally, cartilage deterioration due to arthritis can lead to a meniscus tear without direct injury to the knee.

Difference between arthritis and a meniscus tear

Both of these diseases cause pain, stiffness, swelling, and a decrease in the range of motion. In early stages, arthritis may not show obvious changes; however, a degenerative meniscus tear can occur quietly. This overlap of symptoms leads patients to get confused with arthritis:

 Knee osteoarthritis is a chronic disease, caused by the gradual erosion of cartilage over time or through some injuries and excessive pressure. Meanwhile, a meniscus tear occurs as a result of sudden twisting or rotation of the knee.

 Friction or grinding sound when using the joint is a characteristic symptom of arthritis, while feeling knee instability or a sense of being stuck are characteristic symptoms of a meniscus tear.

 Arthritis often affects people over the age of 50 and, meniscus tear can happen to people of all age groups especially, to the athletes because of acute injuries.

Early diagnosis is necessary

Consulting the specialist on time would help in early diagnosis and treatment. Treating a meniscus tear as arthritis may delay the recovery, moreover, it can lead to unnecessary long-term medication, which can be avoided with accurate identification of the problem. The diagnostic approach differs for each disease. Arthritis is initially diagnosed by a physical examination of the knee, followed by some imaging test such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computerized tomography (CT). For meniscus tears, a range of motion test, such as the McMurray test or Thessaly test, has to be done along with an MRI for confirmation.

Treatment for Meniscus Tear

Treatment depends on various factors such as the size and location of the tear, the patients age, and activity level. Both the non-surgical and surgical treatments for it are available. PRP injections to support tissue healing and the RICE Protocol, which stands for rest, ice application, compression and elevation, are among the most prescribed medications.

Besides this, physiotherapy plays a vital role in strengthening the muscles and improving stability. Even after conservative care, if the symptoms persist, then therapies like partial meniscectomy or meniscus repair can be considered. Knee pain is a symptom rather than a diagnosis. While arthritis is a common cause known by all, conditions like meniscus tears that mimic its symptoms get overlooked and often get misdiagnosed.

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First Published: December 28, 2025, 08:35 IST

News lifestyle health-and-fitness Knee Pain Isnt Always Arthritis: How Meniscus Tears Mimic Early Osteoarthritis
NFT mania is a distant memory in 2025. It was an eraback in 2021 and early 2022when Beeple sold a jpeg for $69.3 million, CryptoPunks were going for tens of millions, and celebrities kept aping into the Bored Ape Yacht Club.

The cumulative NFT market cap has dropped 99% from its 2023 all-time high of $184 billion to just $487 million, per CoinMarketCap. In what is now a comparatively barren wasteland, NFT marketplaces have been forced to adapt, with titans of the sector like OpenSea and Magic Eden expanding their offerings to include tokens that are fully fungible.

The move is largely a response to a structural slowdown in pure NFT activity and the need for marketplaces to defend relevance in a maturing digital asset ecosystem, James Butterfill, head of research at asset manager CoinShares, told Decrypt. In that environment, a marketplace that once thrived on high-velocity trading of profile picture collections now needs a broader economic base.

As such, OpenSea announced a complete rebuild of its platform in February of this year to include cross-chain token trading via its own decentralized exchange, or DEX.

Dubbed OS2, the new era for the platform enabled token trading across 19 blockchains with a new rewards system called Voyages, which many have speculated will play a role in its anticipated SEA token launch.

Adding tokens wasnt about looking at the NFT market and pivoting, Adam Hollander, CMO at OpenSea, told Decrypt. Its an evolution of the company and an understanding of where things are heading. Tokens, digital collectibles, tokenized real-world assets, perps, prediction marketswhatever people are valuing online, we want them to be able to trade it all on OpenSea.

In October, OpenSea generated a new high for its DEX volume by hitting $2.41 billion in monthly volume. That standout month proved to be an anomaly, however, with monthly volumes retracing 75% to $581.48 million in November, according to DefiLlama.

These figures look puny compared to the big dogs of the DEX industry, with Uniswap generating nearly $80 billion in November monthly volume.

The changes have allowed [both] platforms to stabilize,

As for Magic Eden, the marketplace acquired meme coin trading app Slingshot in Aprila move that saw Magic Eden move into the world of non-NFT trading. Magic Eden also offers multi-chain token trading on its site and through its Wallet app. However, Magic Eden told Decrypt that its expansion into token trading isnt a big deal.

Token trading is not a real focus nor a meaningful percentage of our business, Chris Akhavan, Chief Business Officer at Magic Eden, told Decrypt. That market is incredibly commoditized with plenty of wallets, trading apps, DEXs, and [centralized exchanges], etc. that serve the needs of users looking to trade tokens.
Why Half Of Conception Problems Are Linked To Male Infertility

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 14:09 IST

Male infertility contributes to nearly 50% of conception issues. A fertility specialist explains causes, lifestyle risks, and why early evaluation matters.

Clinical data, tells nearly half of all conception difficulties involve male infertility, either as the sole factor or alongside female-related issues

For decades, infertility has largely been framed as a womans concern. Clinical data, however, tells a very different story. Nearly half of all conception difficulties involve male infertility, either as the sole factor or alongside female-related issues. This evolving understanding is reshaping how fertility care is approached in modern clinics.

As fertility specialists, we now recognise that male factors contribute to almost 4050 percent of infertility cases," explains Dr Snehal Kohale, Fertility & Womens Health Specialist. This makes early evaluation of both partners essential rather than optional."

Male infertility is most commonly linked to issues with sperm count, movement, or structure. Low sperm concentration, reduced motility, and abnormal morphology are increasingly observed, particularly among men in their late twenties and thirties. According to Dr Kohale, this trend reflects changing lifestyles and delayed family planning.

Lifestyle plays a central role in male reproductive health. Prolonged work stress, poor sleep patterns, smoking, alcohol consumption, and rising obesity levels directly impact testosterone levels and sperm production. Unlike eggs, which are formed before birth, sperm are produced continuously," notes Dr Kohale. This makes them extremely sensitive to everyday habits and environmental stressors."

Extended hours of sitting, frequent laptop use on the lap, and heat exposure further impair sperm health. Medical conditions such as hormonal imbalances, diabetes, thyroid disorders, infections, and untreated varicoceles also contribute significantly. In many cases, these conditions remain undiagnosed for years because men seek medical help only after prolonged difficulty in conceiving," says Dr. Kohale, adding that this delay often results in lost time and unnecessary emotional stress for couples.

The encouraging news is that male infertility is often treatable and sometimes reversible. Lifestyle changes including regular physical activity, balanced nutrition, stress management, and reduced alcohol and tobacco intake can lead to measurable improvements in sperm health within a few months. Early semen analysis and hormone evaluation allow us to intervene sooner and improve outcomes," explains Dr Kohale.

Reproductive healthcare, experts agree, must be a shared responsibility. When both partners are evaluated early, treatment becomes more targeted and successful. As Dr Kohale emphasises, Normalising conversations around male fertility is crucial. Conception is a partnership, and addressing male reproductive health openly is no longer optional, its essential."

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First Published: December 28, 2025, 14:09 IST

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Budget-Friendly New Year Journeys: Last-Minute Destinations That Wont Break The Bank

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 16:59 IST

Still havent planned a New Year trip? These destinations prove you dont need advance bookings or big budgets to ring in the year somewhere memorable.

Few places in India rival the view from Varkalas cliffs.

The New Year has a way of making wanderlust feel urgent. As countdowns begin and calendars reset, the idea of starting the year somewhere new feels tempting  even if planning fell through earlier. The good news? A memorable New Year escape doesnt have to come with inflated prices or months of preparation. With a little flexibility and smart choices, last-minute travel destinations can still be affordable, rewarding, and refreshingly stress-free.

Easy to reach, flexible to plan, and rich in atmosphere, each works well for a spontaneous year-end break.

Lansdowne, Uttarakhand

A quiet cantonment town wrapped in pine forests, Lansdowne is ideal for travellers seeking stillness over spectacle. Its small size keeps accommodation prices reasonable even during peak season, while forest walks, viewpoints, and colonial-era charm make it feel restorative rather than rushed.

Chakrata, Uttarakhand

Less commercial and far quieter than mainstream hill stations, Chakrata offers raw mountain landscapes and minimal crowds. The destination appeals to last-minute travellers because of its affordable stays and simple pleasures such as waterfalls, hiking trails, and uninterrupted views that dont come with holiday premiums.

Tirthan Valley, Himachal Pradesh

Tirthan Valley remains one of Himachals most cost-effective nature escapes. Riverside villages, cosy cafes, and low-key New Year energy make it perfect for those who prefer slow mornings over countdown chaos. Even during peak winter, it stays gentler on the wallet than neighbouring hotspots.

Gokarna, Karnataka

For beach lovers avoiding Goas New Year surge, Gokarna offers a calmer, more affordable alternative. Its laid-back beaches, yoga cafes, and walkable coastline allow travellers to ring in the year with ocean views and minimal spending, especially when opting for simple guesthouses.

Varkala, Kerala

Varkala blends scenic cliff views with a relaxed cafe culture, making it an excellent budget-friendly coastal escape. While it has a festive buzz in December, it remains far more accessible than luxury beach towns, particularly for travellers comfortable staying slightly off the main cliff stretch.

Jaipur, Rajasthan

Jaipur works surprisingly well for last-minute New Year plans thanks to its wide range of affordable stays and experiences that dont rely on party culture. From heritage walks and local markets to winter-friendly weather, the city delivers richness without demanding luxury budgets.

Rishikesh, Uttarakhand

For those who prefer reflection over revelry, Rishikesh offers a grounded way to begin the year. With its mix of river views, yoga spaces, and budget accommodations, the town attracts travellers looking for meaning, calm, and nature without the pressure of expensive celebrations.

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Location : Delhi, India, India

First Published: December 28, 2025, 16:57 IST

News lifestyle travel Budget-Friendly New Year Journeys: Last-Minute Destinations That Wont Break The Bank
Inside Salman Khans 60th Birthday Bash: Lavish Food Menu And Vanity Vans For Guests

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 08:00 IST

Salman Khan celebrated his 60th birthday at his Panvel farmhouse with stars like MS Dhoni and Huma Qureshi, lavish food, decor.

Salman Khan Marks 60th Birthday With Grand Feast And Vanity Vans For Actors

Salman Khan marked his 60th birthday with a grand midnight celebration at his Panvel farmhouse on December 27, hosting close friends, family members and colleagues from the film industry. The event was marked by an elaborate spread, thoughtful arrangements for guests and multiple celebrations through the night and early morning.

According to a source of Hindustan Times present at the party, special attention was given to the food served at the gathering. Salman had an elaborate food menu for the guests. Koti kebabs, dahi kebabs, aloo tikki broccoli kebabs were served in vegetarian starters while there were five varieties of non-vegetarian kebabs in the menu. In vegetarian main course, there were several types of assorted breads, two types of daal, paneer gravy and rice."

Desserts were equally extensive. For desserts, gajar ka halwa, gulab jamuns, rabri, ice creams and malai dessert were served. There was also a counter of a popular Paris dessert brand stationed there. The menu included pastries, assorted macarons pyramids, almond Bostock and French toast  classic and tiramisu," the source added.

The arrangements went beyond food. Salman had also called for vanity vans for every single actor, who stayed back overnight at the birthday party at his farm. A lot of his friends from the fraternity had left thw farm around 6-7am on December 27. The actor also had a sundowner on Saturday afternoon that was attended by his close friends and family," the source further stated. For the decor, the farm was decorated with white roses all over. The DJ played subah hone naa de song on loop."

For the occasion, Salman opted for a relaxed look, wearing a black T-shirt with blue denim jeans and keeping a clean-shaven appearance. Apart from celebrating with his guests, the actor also stepped out to cut his birthday cake with the paparazzi stationed outside the farmhouse. He was seen distributing cake slices to photographers and posing for pictures.

Several well-known names attended the celebration, including Maniesh Paul, MS Dhoni, Aditya Roy Kapur, Huma Qureshi, Rakul Preet Singh, Mika Singh, Sangeeta Bijlani and Bina Kak. Members of Salmans family, including nephews and nieces Arhaan Khan, Nirvaan Khan and Alizeh Agnihotri, were also present.

The celebrations extended beyond the farmhouse. As the clock struck midnight, the Bandra-Worli Sea Link in Mumbai was illuminated with a message that read, Happy 60th Birthday, Salman Khan." The display drew attention from late-night commuters, with photos and videos quickly circulating on social media.

Meanwhile, anticipation is building around Salmans upcoming project Battle Of Galwan. A source quoted by Bollywood Hungama said the teaser is likely to be released on December 27. The team feels December 27 is the perfect moment to unveil the teaser. It will introduce audiences to the world of Battle of Galwan and give a sense of the films scale, intensity, and visual grandeur," the source said. An official confirmation is still awaited.

On the professional front, Salman recently made a cameo appearance in Aryan Khans directorial debut web series The Ba**ds of Bollywood. He was last seen on the big screen in Sikandar, released in March, which also featured Rashmika Mandanna, Kajal Aggarwal, Prateik Smita Patil, Anjini Dhawan, Sharman Joshi, Sathyaraj, Jatin Sarna and Sanjay Kapoor.

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First Published: December 28, 2025, 08:00 IST

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Sajid Khan Undergoes Surgery After Accident On Set, Farah Khan Confirms He Is Absolutely Fine Now

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 19:54 IST

Director Sajid Khan fractured his foot in an on-set accident, underwent successful surgery, and is now recovering well, confirmed sister Farah Khan.

Director Sajid Khan fractured his foot in an on-set accident.

Director Sajid Khan reportedly met with an accident on Saturday while he was shooting, and fractured his foot. As per a report in Hindustan Times, Sajid was on the sets of Ektaa Kapoors production when the accident occurred. Following that, he underwent surgery and is now fine.

As per the portal, Khans sister and ace filmmaker-choreographer Farah Khan confirmed the news and revealed that the surgery was successful. The surgery is done, he is absolutely fine now," Farah said while confirming that he is recovering well.

Sajid Khan recently celebrated his 55th birthday last month. The ace filmmaker, who is planning to make his comeback as a director after a long hiatus, celebrated his special day in the presence of close friends and family members. Taking to her Instagram handle, Farah Khan shared a video in which Sajid Khan is seen cutting the cake while his friends sing for him. Farah Khan, who is seen shooting the video, wrote, Happy birthday @aslisajidkhan may your year be full of friends who love you and are always there for you. Love you."

Sajid Khan Feels Anyone Can Do a Film Now

In a candid chat with Bharti Singh and Haarsh Limbachiyaa on their YouTube channel Bharti TV, Sajid opened up about how the idea of a hero" has pretty much faded from Hindi films. He said it like it is: Hero bahut kam bache hain apne paas. There are no heroes in todays time. There are leads." For him, the actors we used to admire, the ones who carried a certain weight, style, and responsibility on screen, have now been replaced by just actors doing lead roles.

Sajid Khan took a trip down memory lane as he spoke about how things have changed in the film industry. He pointed out that back in the day, actors didnt need six-pack abs or gym-built bodies to leave an impression. Stars like Vinod Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan, he said, werent ripped, but their expressions, that fire in their eyes, did all the talking.

He credited Salman Khan for kickstarting the gym craze in Bollywood after Maine Pyaar Kiya, calling it the point where having a sculpted body became the new norm. But Sajid made it clear that muscles alone dont define a hero. What really matters, he said, is the intensity in an actors eyes.

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First Published: December 28, 2025, 19:54 IST

News movies bollywood Sajid Khan Undergoes Surgery After Accident On Set, Farah Khan Confirms He Is Absolutely Fine Now
Tehseen Poonawalla Defends Salman Khans Smile In Battle Of Galwan Teaser: People Are Missing The Point

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 22:00 IST

Tehseen Poonawalla reacts to the trolling of Salman Khan over his smile in the Battle Of Galwan teaser.

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Tehseen Poonawalla has defended Salman Khan after the actor was trolled for a brief smile in the Battle Of Galwan teaser, calling it calm aggression and a soldiers mindset rather than weakness.

Political analyst and former Bigg Boss contestant Tehseen Poonawalla has come out strongly in defence of Salman Khan after the actor faced online trolling for a brief smile seen in the teaser of his upcoming film Battle of Galwan. A section of social media users mocked the moment, questioning whether the expression suited the gravity of a war drama based on real events.

Tehseen, however, believes the criticism completely misses the emotional subtext of the scene.

That Isnt Casual, Its Composure

Reacting to the trolling, Tehseen took to X to explain why Salmans expression should not be read at face value. According to him, the smile reflects restraint and psychological strength rather than levity, Those trolling Salman for that slight smile in the Battle Of Galwan teaser are missing the point. That isnt casual  its composure. Its calm aggression. Its the look of a soldier who understands what hes walking into and refuses to panic when the enemy is right in front of him," he wrote.

Tehseen argued that the moment captures the mindset of a trained soldier who is mentally prepared for the consequences of battle, rather than someone taking the situation lightly.

For a Soldier, Both Outcomes Are Victory

Expanding on his interpretation, Tehseen pointed to the films dialogue to underline the emotional philosophy behind the scene. He explained that the teaser clearly establishes a worldview where fear has no place, When a soldier steps onto the battlefield, there are only two outcomes: he either wins and protects his nation, or he sacrifices himself for it. For a soldier both are victory," he stated.

Quoting lines from the teaser, Tehseen added, Jawaano yaad rahe, zakham lage toh medal samajhna aur maut dikhe toh salaam karna Aaj nahi toh phir kabhi."

Maut se kya darna, usse toh aana hi hai."

According to him, these lines reinforce that the smile is not weakness, but acceptance of duty and fate, That smile isnt weakness. Its acceptance. Its courage. If the film keeps this tone, theres serious potential here."

About Battle of Galwan

Directed by Apoorva Lakhia, Battle of Galwan is based on the real-life 2020 clash between Indian and Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley. The film stars Salman Khan in the lead role alongside Chitrangada Singh, with supporting performances by Zeyn Shaw, Ankur Bhatia, Abhilash Chaudhary, Vipin Bhardwaj, and Heera Sohal.

While earlier reports suggested an Eid 2026 release, the makers have now locked April 17, 2026 as the theatrical release date.

As debates around the teaser continue, voices like Tehseen Poonawallas are reframing the conversation, urging audiences to read emotion, intent, and context before passing judgment on a single frame.

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First Published: December 28, 2025, 22:00 IST

News movies bollywood Tehseen Poonawalla Defends Salman Khans Smile In Battle Of Galwan Teaser: People Are Missing The Point
Opinion | The Protest Economy: How The Subcontinent Has Turned Legitimacy Into Narrative Warfare

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 17:09 IST

Protest in South Asia has evolved from a tool of domestic pressure into an instrument of narrative warfare.

Student leaders invoke geopolitics not because they control borders or armies, but because such language travels. (File pic/Reuters)

In December 2025, a protest in Dhaka did something unusual. It did not change a law, topple a government, or occupy a ministry. Yet within hours, India summoned Bangladeshs envoy and visa operations were disrupted. The march itself never reached the Indian High Commission.

The narrative did.

This is the defining political shift underway in the Indian subcontinent. Protests are no longer primarily instruments of domestic bargaining. They are mechanisms for external signalling, designed to force diplomatic reaction, international visibility, and narrative dominance. What appears as disorder is, in fact, a system: a protest economy where outrage substitutes governance and attention becomes leverage.

To understand why this works, one must look beyond individual incidents and examine incentives, data, and history.

For much of the last decade, Bangladesh was held up as an economic success story. Between 2010 and 2022, GDP growth averaged above 6 per cent. Poverty rates fell sharply. Export earnings crossed $50 billion. Yet institutional trust moved in the opposite direction. Election participation declined. Opposition space narrowed. Courts and regulatory bodies lost credibility in public perception. This divergence  economic growth without institutional consent  created a vacuum.

Political science has a name for this: institutional exhaustion. When formal channels cease to absorb dissent, protest becomes the only remaining site where power can be seen and felt. But protest itself has evolved. In an algorithmic media environment, its success is no longer measured by policy concessions but by reach.

That is why protest language escalates so quickly. Student leaders invoke geopolitics not because they control borders or armies, but because such language travels. A slogan framed in domestic terms mobilises thousands. A slogan framed in sovereignty terms mobilises millions across borders, screens, and newsrooms. The goal is not execution. It is circulation.

India enters this narrative not by accident but by historical design. Since 1971, India has occupied a dual position in Bangladeshs political memory: indispensable to liberation, yet perpetually available as a symbol of dominance. This duality is empirically visible. Text analysis of Bangladeshi political discourse over decades shows that references to interference" and sovereignty" spike during periods of electoral stress and opposition fragmentation. Cooperation is reframed as control precisely when legitimacy is weakest at home.

This pattern is not unique to Bangladesh. The Indian subcontinent has seen it before  most clearly in Pakistan.

Pakistan offers the longest-running dataset of narrative substitution. From the late 1980s onwards, as civilian governance weakened and economic reform stalled, external antagonism filled the legitimacy gap. Anti-India rhetoric became a domestic adhesive. The results are measurable.

Over the same period, the divergence was clear in the data: between 2010 and 2024 Bangladeshs per-capita GDP nearly tripled from about $882 to $2,625, while Pakistans per-capita GDP stood at roughly $1,643 in 2024, illustrating that despite similar starting positions in the early 2010s, Bangladeshs per-person economic output grew substantially faster and now exceeds Pakistans by more than 60 per cent  a structural difference that helps explain why economic capacity has translated into differing political dynamics. Social-sector spending underperformed regional averages. Internal fractures deepened even as foreign policy posturing intensified.

The most revealing evidence lies not in what travels globally, but in what does not.

In recent years, Pakistans Hindu minority has repeatedly protested land seizures, forced conversions, and temple demolitions. In Sindh, families, including women and children, have blocked national highways demanding protection from local power brokers. By classical human rights standards, these episodes are severe, sustained, and well documented. Yet they rarely become international causes. They do not trend. They do not generate panels or statements.

This asymmetry exposes the true structure of the protest economy. Suffering is not amplified based on severity. It is amplified based on narrative compatibility. Victimhood must implicate the right" antagonist, fit existing ideological frames, and offer moral clarity to distant audiences. When it does not, silence becomes policy.

This is what can be called the silence industry: a system that does not lie outright but manages attention so selectively that some realities never fully enter public consciousness.

Information controls during unrest intensify this distortion. Across the Indian subcontinent, governments increasingly restrict internet access during protests. The stated aim is stability. The observed effect is narrative acceleration. When verifiable information collapses, rumours gain authority. Diaspora actors  often well-intentioned, sometimes ideological  fill the vacuum. International media, deprived of local verification, relies more heavily on activist framing.

Empirical studies show that misinformation spreads faster in low-information environments, not slower. During Bangladeshs unrest, claims travelled internationally within hours, while corrections lagged by days. Diplomatic reactions formed on perception rather than policy. Foreign ministries responded not to legislative change, but to narrative momentum.

This is how domestic protest becomes foreign policy without passing through institutions.

The choice of embassies as protest destinations follows the same logic. Historically, crowds gathered at parliaments because that is where decisions were made. Today, embassies are targeted because they are where narratives crystallise. A protest near a foreign mission compresses complexity into imagery. It forces reaction without negotiation. It internationalises grievance without resolving it.

Data across the region and beyond show that diplomatic-mission-adjacent protests are a structural feature of political stress, not isolated eruptions of extremism. Earlier in 2024, in Islamabad, police prevented a large pro-Palestinian sit-in from reaching the US Embassys high-security district; the rally, organised by a major Islamist party, was explicitly bound up with domestic reactions to geopolitical developments in Gaza and was only contained near the embassy perimeter after law-enforcement intervention.

These are not unique cases. Outside the Indian subcontinent, similar patterns recur: in March 2023, a pro-Khalistan mob in London scaled the Indian High Commission and tore down the national flag, prompting diplomatic protests from New Delhi to the United Kingdom and official demands for better protection of its diplomatic premises. In the Democratic Republic of Congo in January 2025, protesters angered by their governments handling of conflict targeted multiple embassies, including those of France, Belgium, the United States, and the United Nations, by setting fires to gates and prompting formal condemnations and security responses.

Even diaspora politics reflect this pattern: large protest gatherings occurred outside Indian diplomatic missions in Europe during the Citizenship Amendment Act demonstrations in 2019-20, with hundreds assembling at Indian embassies in London, Paris, Berlin, and Munich to signal both domestic grievance and international solidarity.

What unites these divergent cases is not a common ideology, but a common political logic: when internal legitimacy is in question, protests migrate towards visible, high-attention targets like embassies and missions to amplify their cause and provoke reactions that domestic media, foreign governments, and global audiences cannot ignore. This pattern of embassy-proximate demonstrations spiking in moments of political stress reflects not radicalisation per se, but an adaptation to an attention economy in which symbolic proximity to state actors abroad amplifies a movements impact far beyond its original domestic footprint.

But adaptation has costs. When politics relies on external reaction rather than internal consent, sovereignty becomes performative. The street gains veto power without responsibility. The state appears assertive while losing coherence.

Bangladesh now stands at a familiar crossroads. With elections scheduled for early 2026, incentives favour visibility over restraint. The most likely short-term outcome is controlled volatility: periodic protest spikes, calibrated anti-India rhetoric, and manageable diplomatic friction. The risk lies in escalation, where a single symbolic incident produces sustained economic and diplomatic consequences. The least likely but only stabilising outcome is institutional repair: credible elections, disciplined student politics, and a media ecosystem that interrogates power rather than amplifying rage.

For India, history offers a clear lesson. States that personalise neighbours domestic crises become permanent antagonists regardless of intent. Procedural firmness combined with rhetorical restraint has consistently produced better long-term outcomes than narrative engagement.

The author is a practising advocate. She writes articles on womens rights, politics and law. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.

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First Published: December 28, 2025, 17:09 IST

News opinion Opinion | The Protest Economy: How The Subcontinent Has Turned Legitimacy Into Narrative Warfare

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Opinion | Understanding The Aravalli Order: Law, Science, And Public Concern

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 12:32 IST

The Supreme Courts November order should be seen as part of an evolving regulatory framework rather than a final verdict on the future of the Aravallis.

The Aravalli range occupies a unique place in Indias ecological and cultural landscape. (Getty Images)

The Aravalli range occupies a unique place in Indias ecological and cultural landscape. Extending across Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, and Gujarat, the hills play a vital role in groundwater recharge, air quality, and climate moderation in northern India. It is therefore natural that the Supreme Courts November 20, 2025, order concerning the definition of the Aravalli Hills has generated significant public discussion, both online and in local protests.

Some commentators and civil society groups have expressed apprehension that the ruling could weaken environmental protection or increase mining pressure on the region. These concerns reflect a broader anxiety about ecological degradation and deserve to be heard. At the same time, a careful reading of the order and subsequent official clarifications suggests that the intent and likely impact of the decision may be more limited and structured than is sometimes assumed.

Clarifying A Long-Standing Ambiguity

At the heart of the issue lies a technical question that has troubled regulators for decades: what precisely constitutes an Aravalli hill." In the absence of a uniform definition, different states applied different criteria, leading to regulatory inconsistencies and frequent disputes. These ambiguities also complicated enforcement, particularly in areas where mining and construction activity occurred near hill bases.

The Supreme Courts order addresses this gap by accepting a scientific, uniform definition recommended by an expert committee under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Under this framework, the Aravalli hills are identified as landforms rising 100 metres or more above local relief, with associated ranges extending up to 500 metres. The primary objective is regulatory clarity and consistency across states.

Scope And Safeguards

A central public concern is the perception that large parts of the Aravalli range will lose protection. Government submissions before the Court indicate, however, that the vast majority of the Aravalli region continues to be protected under existing forest, wildlife, and environmental legislation. The Courts directions apply specifically to mining regulation and do not override other statutory safeguards.

Importantly, the order includes significant restraints. The Supreme Court has directed that no new mining leases be granted until the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education prepares a comprehensive Management Plan for Sustainable Mining. Mining remains prohibited in forests, wildlife habitats, eco-sensitive zones, and other inviolate areas, while existing operations are subject to strict compliance and monitoring.

Addressing Enforcement Challenges

One of the persistent challenges in the Aravalli region has been illegal and unregulated mining, often facilitated by unclear boundaries and overlapping jurisdictions. By introducing a uniform definition and linking future decisions to scientific planning, the Courts approach may strengthen the ability of authorities to act against such violations, provided enforcement remains rigorous.

From the governments perspective, this emphasis on clarity and planning is intended to close loopholes rather than create new ones. Whether this objective is achieved will depend on implementation and transparency in the coming months.

A Debate That Calls For Balance

Public concern for the Aravallisexpressed through social media campaigns as well as offline engagementunderscores the ranges importance. At the same time, environmental governance is most effective when debate is informed by legal context and scientific assessment, rather than assumptions of intent.

The Supreme Courts November 2025 order should be seen as part of an evolving regulatory framework rather than a final verdict on the future of the Aravallis. Continued judicial oversight, clear communication by authorities, and vigilant public engagement will together determine whether ecological protection and lawful development can be balanced in practice.

Mohit Gupta is a Research Fellow at Madras University. Views expressed are personal and solely those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect News18s views.

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First Published: December 28, 2025, 12:32 IST

News opinion Opinion | Understanding The Aravalli Order: Law, Science, And Public Concern

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Opinion | Why Bangladeshs February 2026 Election Fails The Democracy Test

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 15:26 IST

With the largest party barred, and the judiciary reconstituted by an interim regime, Bangladeshs planned election raises fundamental questions about democratic legitimacy.

The rupture of 2024 began with protests over public-sector job quotas and quickly escalated into a broader revolt against Hasinas long rule. (Representational image/AP)

On December 24, 2025, Bangladeshs interim government under Muhammad Yunus announced parliamentary elections for February 12, 2026. The announcement came with a decisive condition: the Awami League, the countrys largest political party, would be barred from contesting. The partys leader, former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, has since been convicted by a judiciary appointed after the regime change.

This setup belies the claim of restoring true democracy. It effectively rigs the contest at the entry stageby deciding who may compete before a single vote is cast. Whether or not one favours the Awami League, it follows from first principles that excluding one of two major parties at the outset is not a signifier of democratic choice.

From Uprising to Regime Change

The rupture of 2024 began with protests over public-sector job quotas and quickly escalated into a broader revolt against Hasinas long rule. Allegations of repression, institutional capture, and manipulated elections had accumulated over the years. After violent protests broke out, and the army chief refused to step in to protect the Prime Minister, Hasina fled the country. An interim authority was installed. Bangladesh was told this was a bridge back to democracy.

One can certainly argue that the Awami Leagues governance deserved scrutiny, or that allegations of electoral malpractice merited investigation. What does not follow is the erasure of a political constituency that has commanded mass support for decades. Removing a government is one thing. Removing the peoples ability to vote for a major political force is another.

The Only Honest Way to Test the Rigging Claim

Defenders of the ban insist the Awami Leagues past victories were products of rigged elections. That allegation is seriousbut it is not self-proving. In any democracy, there is only one legitimate way to establish whether a partys mandate was real: a neutrally conducted election, with robust international observation, in which all major parties are allowed to participate.

By excluding the Awami League, the interim authorities block the only method that could verify the claim they rely on. An election designed to avoid that test is not correctiveit is a farce to begin with. If Bangladeshis truly rejected the Awami League, a fair contest would prove it. Preventing the party from contesting proves nothing except fear of the answer.

A Captive Judiciary Cannot Confer Legitimacy

The institutional damage goes deeper. After the 2024 transition, Bangladeshs top judiciary was dismissed and reconstituted by the interim authority. Courts selected by an unelected regime to adjudicate its own actions cannot plausibly be described as independent. The separation of powersessential to any credible transitionwas dismantled at the outset.

Seen in this light, Sheikh Hasinas conviction carries no democratic credibility. Accountability delivered by a captive, appointed judiciary is post facto legitimation. If Hasina abused power, the case against her should have been tested before an independent bench under constitutional authority. What the Bangladesh Interim Authority has done instead is punishment without legitimacy, delivered by institutions reshaped to deliver it.

The same defect attaches to decisions on party registration and electoral eligibility. When referees are appointed mid-match by one side, the outcome ceases to matter.

Elections Under Intimidation Are Not Free

Beyond formal bans and court rulings lies the political climate itself. Since 2024, Awami League leaders, workers, and perceived supporters have faced arrests, harassment, intimidation, and even public lynching. The chilling effect is unmistakable. Political association has become costly and, for many, dangerous.

Alongside this, anti-India hostility has been openly platformed, with India portrayed as the patron of the ousted regime. But it has not been tested whether the Bangladeshi people, at large, agree with this anti-India sentiment. And the removal of a major political grouping means that this question cannot really be answered by the Bangladeshi people. Even absent a formal ban, elections conducted under fear cannot be free. Democracy requires the ability to participate without fear or coercion.

Western Complicity, Not Confusion

Western governments have treated this sequence with studied indulgence. The violent removal of an elected prime minister in 2024 was not called a coup. The dismantling of judicial independence drew little protest. The exclusion of the largest party from elections is being normalised as reform".

This posture reflects Western complicity in the coup.

For years, Bangladesh has hosted a dense ecosystem of Western-funded democracy promotion" organisations. Mike Benz, drawing on original records from the National Endowment for Democracy and the United States Agency for International Development, has documented how these networks prepared the ground for regime changeshaping narratives, financing mobilisation, and internationalising pressure well before the 2024 rupture. When the elected government fell, these networks were ready with moral validation and diplomatic cover.

What followed exposes the double standard. Judicial capture, political bans, intimidation, and an exclusionary election are all accepted so long as the outcome aligns with Western choices, not Bangladeshi ones. This is simply regime change and regime selection under the doublespeak of the restoration of true democracy". The people of Bangladesh, with a history of anti-colonial struggle, must not acquiesce to this farce.

India Cannot Pretend This Is Someone Elses Problem

For India, ambiguity is not a virtue. Bangladeshs stability affects borders, migration, security, and the balance of the Bay of Bengal. A government born of a truncated contest will be fragile, dependent on coercion rather than consent. That instability will not remain contained.

India does not need to defend the Awami League or Sheikh Hasina. It does need to insist on minimum democratic standards: inclusive participation, independent institutions, due process, and credible international observationincluding observers from India. Silence or hedging serves neither principle nor national interest.

What February 2026 Will Produce

Proceeding on the current path points to familiar outcomes: voter disengagement, a weak mandate, persistent street politics, and the erosion of democratic norms under the banner of reform. History shows where such arrangements endprolonged unrest, brittle governance, and the ever-present risk of extra-constitutional intervention.

The 2024 upheaval was sold as a demand for accountability and voice. An election that excludes the largest party, convicts its leader through a captive judiciary, and intimidates its supporters turns that promise on its head. Without inclusion and genuine competition, the exercise confirms what many have alleged from the start: an anti-democratic power transfer, legitimised after the fact by procedural ritual, with tacit approval or even connivance of Western powers.

Bangladesh needs an election that allows its people to chooseopenly, verifiably, and without fear. Lift the ban. Restore judicial independence. Have neutral management. Let the people decide. Or be prepared for even worse questions on the legitimacy of the new government than Sheikh Hasina endured.

Sankrant Sanu is the CEO of Garuda Prakashan and tweets at @sankrant. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.

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First Published: December 28, 2025, 15:26 IST

News opinion Opinion | Why Bangladeshs February 2026 Election Fails The Democracy Test

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 16:04 IST

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Is KC Venugopal Super CM? BJP Says Congress High Command Interfering In Bengaluru Demolitions

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 14:58 IST

BJP's Ashoka said Karnataka is governed by a constitutionally elected chief minister and cabinet, not by an AICC general secretary sitting in Delhi.

Bengaluru Eviction Drive Sparks Congress vs BJP Clash in Karnataka

A political row has broken out in Karnataka over the demolition of unauthorised constructions in parts of Bengaluru, with the BJP accusing the Congress high command of interfering in state administration.

The controversy began after Congress general secretary KC Venugopal posted online about the demolition drive in Kogilu village. In his post, Venugopal said he had conveyed the Congress leaderships serious concern" over the manner in which the demolitions were carried out.

The BJP reacted strongly, questioning Venugopals role in matters that fall under the authority of the elected state government. Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, R Ashoka, asked whether Venugopal was acting as a Super Chief Minister" of the state.

Ashoka said Karnataka is governed by a constitutionally elected chief minister and cabinet, not by an AICC general secretary sitting in Delhi. He described Venugopals remarks as an insult to federalism and accused the Congress leadership of putting pressure on the state government.

Karnatakas dignity, self-respect and administrative authority cannot be compromised to please party managers in Delhi," Ashoka said. He added that people of the state did not vote for a remote-control government".

Ashoka also accused Venugopal of hypocrisy, questioning his silence on other issues in Karnataka, including problems faced by farmers. He said the state is not a colony of Rahul Gandhi and his coterie" and deserves autonomy and honest governance, not what he called high-command theatrics.

Who is @kcvenugopalmp to intervene" in the administration of Karnataka?Is he a Super CM, or does the Congress high command believe elected state governments function on Delhi diktats?Karnataka is governed by a constitutionally elected Chief Minister and Cabinet, not by an https://t.co/Fmv08iNXvI R. Ashoka (@RAshokaBJP) December 28, 2025

Venugopal, however, said he had spoken to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar about the demolitions. He said he conveyed the Congress leaderships concern that such actions should have been taken with greater caution, sensitivity and compassion.

According to Venugopal, the chief minister and his deputy assured him that they would personally engage with affected families, set up a system to address grievances, and ensure rehabilitation and relief.

His statement came after Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan criticised the demolition drive, calling it the brutal normalisation of the bulldozer raj".

Super CM vs Dummy CM

Janata Dal (Secular) has questioned Congress leader KC Venugopals objection to the eviction of illegal immigrants from Kokila Badavane in Bengaluru. The party accused the Congress of shedding crocodile tears" for political reasons and interfering in Karnatakas administration. It said repeated intervention by the Congress high command shows Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is weak, calling him a Dummy CM" while KC Venugopal acts as a Super CM", undermining the peoples mandate. Watch more videos Share this Article

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First Published: December 28, 2025, 14:58 IST

News politics Is KC Venugopal Super CM? BJP Says Congress High Command Interfering In Bengaluru Demolitions

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Quick Read

Oracle (ORCL) stock dropped over 40% from its September peak of $877B valuation.

Oracles $300B OpenAI contract assumes spending Oracle cannot guarantee.

Oracles remaining performance obligations hit $523B but depend heavily on OpenAIs ability to pay.

A recent study identified one single habit that doubled Americans retirement savings and moved retirement from dream, to reality. Read more here.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) looked set to be the newest addition to the $1 trillion club just a few months back in September, where its valuation topped $877 billion. Things have only gone downhill for the stock as Wall Street began doubting the story.

ORCL stock has plummeted by over 40% from its peak after Q2 earnings. FY 2026 earnings disappointed investors. Analysts began piling concerns about how overextended data center spending was and whether it was even sustainable for Oracle to fund the growth. Investors baked in a valuation that would only make sense if Oracle managed to grow at a blistering pace for years with ever-growing margins.

But now that ORCL stock is down from its peak, should you buy the dip or jump ship? Let's first take a look at what's wrong here.

Why investors are dumping ORCL stock

Investors' pet peeve with Oracle is that the funding is proving to be quite unreliable. News came out that Blue Owl Capital was withdrawing from its funding commitments, meaning that Oracle's $10 billion Michigan data center was in jeopardy. Oracle denied this and said that the news reports were "incorrect". Oracle's Partner, Related Digital, said that Blue Owl did not withdraw unequivocally and that the company still had others willing to fund the project.

In any case, this has thrown sand into the gears. Q2 FY 2026 didn't help, either.

It invited a fresh wave of criticism after Oracle reported $16.06 billion in revenue, up 14.22% year-over-year. This missed the estimates by $134.2 million. EPS did beat estimates by a wide margin, but this was due to a one-time boost from Oracle selling its Ampere stake.

The Wall Street Journal pointed to another "squishy number" that investors are paying more attention to as Oracle's story looks more brittle. Remaining performance obligations (RPOs) have surged to $523 billion. What are these RPOs? Sales that management believes are probable. Half a trillion dollars of "probable" sales looked more or less guaranteed a few months back. But with that Blue Owl debacle and the AI buildout catching more flak, Wall Street is less willing to price that in.
'Keep Human Impact': Congress Tells Siddaramaiah To Act With Compassion Over Demolition Drive

Curated By :

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 08:56 IST

Congress leader KC Venugopal spoke to Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar after the Karnataka government's demolition drive near Yelahanka sparked criticism and protests.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah with his deputy DK Shivakumar | File Image

Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal on Saturday spoke to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar over the recent demolition drive in Kogilu village near Yelahanka in Bengaluru, telling them to act with compassion by keeping human impact at the centre.

Spoke to Karnataka CM @siddaramaiah and DCM @DKShivakumar regarding the demolition of unauthorised constructions in Kogilu village, Bengaluru. Conveyed the AICCs serious concern that such actions should have been undertaken with far greater caution, sensitivity, and compassion, keeping the human impact at the centre," Venugopal said on X.

Spoke to Karnataka CM @siddaramaiah and DCM @DKShivakumar regarding the demolition of unauthorised constructions in Kogilu village, Bengaluru.Conveyed the AICCs serious concern that such actions should have been undertaken with far greater caution, sensitivity, and  K C Venugopal (@kcvenugopalmp) December 27, 2025

The Congress leader said the Karnataka leadership has assured an appropriate mechanism to address the grievances of the people. They have assured that they will personally engage with the affected families, put in place an appropriate mechanism for addressing grievances, and ensure rehabilitation and relief for those impacted," he added.

Protests Erupt Over Eviction

This came after the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and local residents held protests, condemning the demolition drive in Yelahanka and demanding immediate rehabilitation of the displaced people. The demolition drive affected mostly Muslim families, who had been living in the area for years.

SDPI Karnataka General Secretary Mujahid Pasha accused the Karnataka government of employing the same eviction politics it had criticised the BJP for, while demanding shelter and the fulfilment of basic needs for the displaced people. The government of Karnataka has failed in considering humanity The Housing Minister did not visit even once, even though he should have provided alternative rehabilitation and some assistance to the affected people," he told news agency ANI.

In a bid for damage control, Siddaramaiah on Saturday said that suitable housing arrangements would be provided to people who were evicted from makeshift shelters at a waste dumping site in the Kogilu Badavane area near Yelahanka.

Kerala CM Criticises Move, Shivakumar Hits Back

Earlier, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan accused the Karnataka government of following a North Indian bulldozer justice model" and questioned how a Congress-led administration could justify such actions. He also argued that the focus should have been on providing shelter to the poor rather than carrying out evictions.

ALSO READ: Not Into Bullzozers: DK Shivakumar Rebuts Pinarayi Vijayans Criticism Of Bengaluru Demolition Drive

He also said the demolitions reflected anti-minority aggressive politics" and expressed surprise that such measures were being taken under a Congress government. Shivakumar gave a terse reply, saying leaders should avoid making remarks without understanding the ground realities of another state.

The Karnataka Deputy CM argued that the land where the demolition took place was an encroached waste dumpsite. He alleged that land mafia elements were attempting to convert the area into an illegal slum.

(with agency inputs)

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First Published: December 28, 2025, 08:56 IST

News politics 'Keep Human Impact': Congress Tells Siddaramaiah To Act With Compassion Over Demolition Drive

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'Nothing To Learn...': After Row, Digvijaya Singh's U-Turn On RSS-BJP Praise

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 12:16 IST

After his praise of the RSS-BJP triggered a storm, Digvijaya Singh clarified that he remains opposed to the RSS's ideology and will continue to fight against communal forces.

Rapid Read

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh sparked a political storm with his unexpected praise of the RSS-BJP system. (PTI/File)

Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, who sparked a political row with his praise for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the BJP, has clarified that there is nothing to learn from the supporters of Nathuram Godse, and reiterated his stand that every organisation needs strengthening.

After his remarks triggered a heated debate, Singh has repeatedly said that he remains opposed to the RSSs ideology and was only complimenting its strong organisational framework.

Whatever I wanted to say I have said already. Please understand one thing  I have been in the Congress party for 50 years and I have fought these communal forces in the Assembly, Parliament and the organisation. I have always opposed the ideology of BJP-RSS and I will keep fighting against them," he told reporters on Sunday.

When asked about the importance of discipline from the RSS, the former Madhya Pradesh CM remarked that the Congress does not need to learn anything from killers like (Nathuram) Godse." However, he did say that every organisation needs strengthening.

READ MORE: Nothing To Learn: Digvijaya Singhs Praise For RSS-BJP Exposes Cracks Within Congress

Singhs clarification came as several Congress leaders appeared divided over his unexpected praise for the Sangh. Congress leader Pawan Khera also linked the RSS to Nathuram Godse, saying, Theres nothing to learn from the RSS. What can an organisation known for Godse teach an organisation founded by Gandhi?"

However, Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor came out in support of Digvijaya Singh, saying discipline within party is important and the Congress, having a long history, has a lot to learn from its own past.

We have a history of 140 years, and we can learn a lot from it. We can learn from ourselves, too. Discipline is very important in any party," Tharoor said. Even I want our organisation to strengthen. There should be discipline in our organisation. Digvijaya Singh can speak for himself."

Digvijaya Singhs Remarks On BJP-RSS

Digvijaya Singh triggered a political controversy on Saturday after praising the organisational strength of the RSS. He shared a 1995 photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi sitting on the ground near then BJP president LK Advani and said the Congress could learn from how the RSS and BJP allow grassroots workers to rise to top positions.

The post quickly drew attention as the Congress has often criticised the BJP and the RSS on several issues, making Singhs remarks stand out sharply from the partys usual line. The BJP seized quickly on the matter, saying the post showed open dissent within the Congress.

However, Singh later clarified that he remains a strong opponent of the Sangh. His remarks have sparked debate within the Congress at a time when the party is reassessing its structure and leadership approach.

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First Published: December 28, 2025, 12:03 IST

News politics 'Nothing To Learn...': After Row, Digvijaya Singh's U-Turn On RSS-BJP Praise

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'Organisation Must Be Strengthened': Shashi Tharoor Backs Digvijaya Singh Amid BJP-RSS Praise Row

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 11:50 IST

Shashi Tharoor has backed senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, stressing the need for discipline and organisational strengthening amid controversy over RSS remarks.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor | File Image

Amid the political row following Congress senior leader Digvijaya Singh praising RSS organisational model, Thiruvananthapuram MP and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor came out in support of Digvijaya Singh. Tharoor said discipline within party is important and the Congress, having a long history, has a lot to learn from its own past.

We have a history of 140 years, and we can learn a lot from it. We can learn from ourselves, too. Discipline is very important in any party," Tharoor said.

He added that strengthening the organisation should be a shared goal. Even I want our organisation to strengthen. There should be discipline in our organisation. Digvijaya Singh can speak for himself," he said.

Tharoors call for Congress organisational strength

Tharoor also backed Singhs broader argument about the need for reforms within the Congress. He said the party must focus on improving internal discipline and organisational strength to face political challenges more effectively.

Asked whether he had spoken to Singh after the controversy, Tharoor said that conversations between them were natural. We are friends, and having a conversation is natural. The organisation must be strengthened  there is no question about it," he said.

Digvijaya Singh triggered a political controversy on Saturday after praising the organisational strength of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He shared a 1995 photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi sitting on the ground near then BJP president LK Advani and said the Congress could learn from how the RSS and BJP allow grassroots workers to rise to top positions.

Though Singh later clarified that he remains a strong opponent of the RSS and the BJP, the post drew sharp reactions within and outside the party. The controversy also brought renewed focus on his recent call for internal reforms and decentralisation of power within the Congress.

Singhs remarks have sparked debate within the Congress at a time when the party is reassessing its structure and leadership approach. While opinions differ on his comments about the RSS, senior leaders like Tharoor have stressed that internal reform and discipline remain essential for the partys future.

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Location : Delhi, India, India

First Published: December 28, 2025, 11:43 IST

News politics 'Organisation Must Be Strengthened': Shashi Tharoor Backs Digvijaya Singh Amid BJP-RSS Praise Row

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'You Misbehaved': Rahul Gandhi Reacts To Digvijaya Singhs RSS-BJP Praise

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 23:07 IST

The light-hearted moment came a day after Digvijaya Singhs social media post created unease within the Congress.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. (Image: PTI/File)

Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh met Rahul Gandhi in person at the Congress headquarters, Indira Bhavan, on Sunday during the partys Foundation Day celebrations. Their brief exchange soon became a talking point within party circles.

According to sources, as the two leaders greeted each other, Rahul Gandhi jokingly told Digvijaya Singh, You misbehaved yesterday!" The remark drew laughter from those standing nearby, including senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi. The comment was made later in the day when party leaders had gathered for tea and snacks following the formal celebrations.

The light-hearted moment came a day after Digvijaya Singhs social media post created unease within the Congress. On Saturday, ahead of a Congress Working Committee meeting, Singh shared an old photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with BJP veteran Lal Krishna Advani, praising the organisational strength of the RSS-BJP ecosystem.

In his post, Singh wrote, I found this picture. It is very impressive. How a grassroots RSS volunteer and a Jan Sangh and BJP worker, sitting on the floor at the feet of leaders, became the Chief Minister of a state and the Prime Minister of the country. This is the power of organization. Jai Siya Ram."

The post drew criticism from within the party. Congress leader Pawan Khera responded sharply, saying that Gandhis organisation did not need lessons from Godses organisation. Following the backlash, Digvijaya Singh clarified that he strongly opposes the ideology of the RSS and Prime Minister Modi, and that his remarks were limited to acknowledging organisational discipline, not political beliefs.

Addressing party workers on Congress Foundation Day, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge appeared to indirectly respond to the controversy.

He said, Today, on Foundation Day, I want to make one thing clear: those who say, Congress is finished, I want to tell them we may have less power, but our backbone is still straight. We have not compromised neither on Constitution, nor on secularism, nor on the rights of the poor. We may not be in power, but we will not compromise".

Kharge also stressed that the Congress has never sought votes in the name of religion. The Congress has never spread hatred over temple-mosque issues. Congress unites, while the BJP divides. Congress kept religion as faith but some people have turned religion into politics! Today, the BJP has power, but they lack truth Congress is an ideology and ideologies never die," he added.

The episode highlighted both internal differences and moments of camaraderie within the party on a day meant to mark its legacy and values.

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First Published: December 28, 2025, 22:52 IST

News politics 'You Misbehaved': Rahul Gandhi Reacts To Digvijaya Singhs RSS-BJP Praise

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Americans Are Now Buying Homes Using AI  Can You Purchase Property In India Without Agents? Will It Help Save Money?

Curated By :

Trending Desk

Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 09:00 IST

Homebuyers in India can now bypass agents and use AI-powered platforms to streamline property purchases while saving on fees.

Buying a home without agents is feasible in India with AI tools. (Representative Image)

The world of home buying is evolving rapidly. In the United States, families are increasingly relying on artificial intelligence to guide property purchases, from personalised recommendations to virtual tours and automated document checks. This technology promises to make the process more efficient and less stressful. Indian buyers are now exploring similar approaches, raising the question: can you purchase a home in India without involving real estate agents, and could it save money?

Direct Owner-To-Buyer Transactions

In India, it is possible to buy a home without involving real estate agents by using platforms such as NoBroker, which connect buyers directly with property owners and help save on brokerage fees. Meanwhile, AI-powered tools streamline the process further by providing personalised property recommendations, virtual tours, and automated document verification, with platforms like Housing.com enabling families to complete purchases efficiently.

Buyers can manage listings, agreements and moving logistics independently, making it particularly suitable for those purchasing ready-to-move or under-construction projects. By using developer websites or RERA portals, buyers can shortlist properties and handle compliance, paperwork, and price discussions without agent intervention.

Preparing To Buy Without Agents

Successful self-managed purchases require careful planning. Prospective buyers must determine their budget, considering down payments, stamp duties and loan eligibility. First-time homebuyers may also check for government subsidies such as PMAY, while ensuring their credit scores are strong enough for loan pre-approval from banks like SBI or HDFC. Researching market rates and understanding the legal framework is crucial for avoiding pitfalls.

Property Search And Verification

Searching for properties involves targeting owner-direct listings on sites like NoBroker.in, MagicBricks or 99acres.com. Visiting multiple options, inspecting construction quality, and consulting current residents are essential steps. Legal verification follows, including checking RERA registration, encumbrance certificates, and obtaining all necessary NOCs for fire safety, environmental compliance, and society approval. Hiring a lawyer for a title search ensures the property is free from liens or disputes.

Financing, Agreements, Possession

Once a property is selected, buyers secure loans and pay a token amount for the allotment letter. The sale agreement, detailing price, possession dates, and penalties, is drafted and signed, with payments executed through bank transfers. Registration involves paying stamp duty and registration fees at the sub-registrars office, after which ownership records are updated, utilities transferred, and insurance and taxes are placed in the buyers name.

Ensuring Legal And Regulatory Compliance

For resale properties, legal due diligence is critical. Buyers must review decades of ownership documents, mutation certificates, and encumbrance records, often with the help of a property lawyer. Additional checks include verifying municipal approvals, zoning compliance, and society dues. Only after thorough verification and a final lawyer opinion should buyers proceed with payments, securing both the property and their investment.

In India, the combination of AI tools and direct owner platforms is opening a new era for informed, independent homebuyers. By understanding legal procedures and leveraging technology, buyers can save on brokerage fees while maintaining control over one of the most significant purchases of their lives.

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Location : Delhi, India, India

First Published: December 28, 2025, 09:00 IST

News viral Americans Are Now Buying Homes Using AI  Can You Purchase Property In India Without Agents? Will It Help Save Money?

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Worlds Largest Rail Network, Runs At 350 KM/Hr Speed  Tracks Are One-Fifth Longer Than Earths Circumference

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 11:00 IST

A newly opened high-speed rail line is changing how people travel, cutting hours off long journeys.

First-time passengers react with joy as the train makes its historic run. (Photo Credit: YouTube)

Chinas Xian-Yanan high-speed railway has finally opened, marking a big change for people living in northern Shanxi Province. After years of waiting, the new rail line now connects the region to Chinas fast-growing high-speed rail network, cutting travel time and making daily movement much easier.

The launch has sparked excitement among locals, many of whom are using a high-speed train for the first time. A video showing the first journeys on the line is now drawing attention online, capturing both the trains features and the emotions of the passengers.

Locals Share Excitement As Trains Begin Service

A video making the rounds online gives a closer look at the XianYanan high-speed railway and the reaction it has received. The clip opens with an introduction to the project, stating, The Xian-Yanan high-speed railway officially began operations on Friday, December 26, bringing northern Shanxi Province fully into Chinas high-speed rail era. For residents, this is a long-anticipated moment."

Passengers, in the video, expressed their excitement. A local told CGTN, This is my first time taking a high-speed train, and Im really excited." Another person shared, Its the very first run of this line. We came especially to take the inaugural train and experience it for ourselves."

For many, the biggest change is the time saved. A woman in the video said, It was unimaginable before that it now takes just one hour and eight minutes to get to Xian." The shorter travel time has made trips that once felt tiring now feel simple and quick.

Watch the clip here:

Building A Railway Through Difficult Land

The voiceover in the video also explains why this project took so much effort. Northern Shanxi is located on the Loess Plateau, a region known for its deeply carved terrain. It has long-standing transportation constraints. Crossing this complex landscape, the railway showcases advanced engineering solutions developed for the challenging geological conditions," the video explaind.

Chen Xiaojun, Deputy Director of the Xian-Yanan high-speed railway project Construction Command Centre, spoke about the challenges faced during construction.

He told CGTN, More than 90 per cent of the Xian-Yanan high-speed railway consists of bridges and tunnels. Engineers also had to overcome technical challenges caused by fragile and unstable soil. To address these difficulties, innovative technologies and new construction techniques were widely applied throughout the project."

As high-speed rail continues to change daily life across China, this new line is expected to improve links between cities and nearby towns. With this launch, Chinas total high-speed rail network has reportedly now crossed 50,000 kilometers, helping bring faster travel closer to everyday life.

The country has the worlds largest rail network  one-fifth longer than the circumference of the earth, reported AFP.

The C9309 train runs at 350 kilometres (217 miles) per hour, outpacing Japans Shinkansen, which has a top speed of 320 kilometres (200 miles) per hour, the report added.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the XianYanan high-speed railway?

It is a new high-speed rail line in China that connects Xian and Yanan, making travel between the two cities much faster and easier.

When did the XianYanan high-speed railway start operating?

The railway officially began operations on December 26.

How much time does the train take to travel from Yanan to Xian?

The journey now takes just about one hour and eight minutes, which is much shorter than before.

Why is this railway important for northern Shanxi?

Northern Shanxi has difficult terrain and long travel challenges. This railway improves connectivity and brings faster access to cities, jobs, and services.

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Location : Delhi, India, India

First Published: December 28, 2025, 11:00 IST

News viral Worlds Largest Rail Network, Runs At 350 KM/Hr Speed  Tracks Are One-Fifth Longer Than Earths Circumference

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One Cigarette To Cost Rs 72 Soon? Smokers Say Finally, We Will Be Able To Quit'. Desis Say 'Sab Vape Use Karengay'

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 07:00 IST

A bill moved by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary aims to revise excise duties and cess on tobacco products.

The price of a cigarette could soon go up to Rs 72. (Representative Image)

Cigarette smoking may now become costlier. The governments new bill promises a sharp increase in excise duty in order to curb cigarette sales. One cigarette that currently costs Rs 18 could soon cost up to Rs 72, officials said. While some have welcomed the decision, hoping it might encourage quitting, social media is abuzz with mixed reactions.

A Reddit user posted a screenshot of the latest update about the potential price hike and appreciated the decision by the government. As a smoker myself, I like this decision," he wrote, I hope this will decrease the number of smokers in India, especially the students and youngsters. I might be able to quit as well," he added.

Social Media Reactions To Potential Cigarette Price Hike

Many accounts responded to the news with humour and sarcasm. Referring to Delhis poor air quality, one user wrote, Mujhe kya, main toh delhi ki hawa me jee leta hu, FREE FREE FREE," suggesting that smokers in the national capital are already accustomed to polluted air and that cigarettes would not make a significant difference.

Some predict a change in smoking trends, noting, Ab sab ke haathon me vape dikhega."

Some noted that while higher prices may encourage some smokers to quit or switch to alternatives like e-cigarettes, there is also a risk of increased illegal sales. An individual commented, This is messed up! This would pave the way to a lot of fakes with unregulated health norms. Embrace more health issues."

There should be a complete ban on smoking and alcohol," one person suggested.

Time to buy cig stocks," an account joked.

Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025

The Parliament passed the Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025, with the Rajya Sabha approving the legislation and returning it to the Lok Sabha.

The bill, moved by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, aims to revise excise duties and cess on tobacco products, including cigarettes, cigars, hookah tobacco, chewing tobacco, zarda, and scented tobacco.

New Excise Duty On Cigarettes

Under the current Central Excise Act, 1944, cigarettes attract a duty ranging from Rs 200 to Rs 735 per 1,000 sticks, depending on length and type. The new amendment proposes a steep increase, with duties rising to Rs 2,70011,000 per 1,000 cigarettes.

Chewing tobacco duty will rise from 25% to 100%, hookah tobacco from 25% to 40%, while smoking mixtures for pipes and cigarettes are set to see a sharp increase from 60% to 325%.

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Location : Delhi, India, India

First Published: December 28, 2025, 07:00 IST

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Door To Hell: This Place On Earth Has Been Burning For Decades, Here's Why

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 16:29 IST

The Door To Hell, a fiery crater burning nonstop since 1971, was born from a drilling accident scientists never expected to last.

The Darvaza gas crater, also known as 'Door To hell' is situated in Turkmenistan. (Image: Getty)

Our world is far stranger than it appears, and you truly realise this only when you uncover its hidden mysteries. One such astonishing place lies deep within the desert of Turkmenistan, a location that has fascinated people across the globe for decades.

It is commonly known as the Door to Hell." This is not a scene from a movie, but a very real place on Earthone that has been burning continuously for more than 50 years.

The terrifying and mysterious site is officially called the Darvaza Gas Crater. Locals also refer to it as the Shining of Karakum." It is a massive crater where flames burn endlessly as natural gas keeps escaping from beneath the ground. This crater is located near the village of Darvaza, right in the heart of the vast Karakum Desert.

The Mystery Behind The Door To Hell

The story behind this so-called Door to Hell dates back to 1971. At the time, geologists from the Soviet Union were drilling in the area in search of natural gas.

During excavation, a large underground gas chamber suddenly collapsed, creating a massive crater. Soon after, toxic gases began leaking from the pit, posing a serious threat to nearby areas.

To prevent the poisonous gas from spreading, scientists made a bold decision. They believed that setting the gas on fire would burn it off completely and stop it from leaking further.

Engineers assumed the flames would die out on their own within a few weeks. However, their prediction proved wrong. The fire that ignited that day continues to burn even after five decades.

Experts believe the main reason behind the fire burning for so long is Turkmenistans vast natural gas reserves. The country ranks fourth in the world in terms of gas reserves. Interestingly, there is no official government record of this incident. Either the files were kept classified or were never made public.

The Darvaza Gas Crater is estimated to be 60 to 70 metres wide and about 98 feet deep. At night, its flames are visible from several kilometres away, creating a surreal and eerie sight in the middle of the desert.

According to a report by the Daily Star, a new development has now emerged regarding the Door to Hell. Turkmenistans state-owned gas company, Turkmengaz, announced at a press conference that the fire inside the crater is gradually beginning to fade.

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First Published: December 28, 2025, 16:29 IST

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3 Top-Ranking Chinese Military Officials Expelled As Part Of Anti-Corruption Campaign

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 22:07 IST

However, the three will remain full members of the Central Committee, the Communist Partys top decision-making body.

The officers have been missing from key events in recent months, including a celebration in late July for the anniversary of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) and the partys fourth plenum in October. (REUTERS)

The Chinese government has expelled three top-ranking officials from the national legislature as part of the anti-corruption campaign in the military.

According to Hong Kong-based South China Post, the officers have been missing from key events in recent months, including a celebration in late July for the anniversary of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) and the partys fourth plenum in October.

The three officers are  Wang Renhua, head of the Central Military Commissions Political and Legal Affairs Committee; Zhang Hongbing, political commissar of the Peoples Armed Police (PAP); and Wang Peng, director of the CMCs training department.

However, the three will remain full members of the Central Committee, the Communist Partys top decision-making body.

The South China Post reported that Wang Renhua, 63, was promoted to admiral by Chinese President Xi Jinping just last year and put in charge of the militarys courts, procuratorates and prisons.

Zhang Hongbing, 59, was promoted to full general in 2022 and appointed as the political commissar of the PAP. Before that, he was the political commissar of the PLAs Eastern Theatre Command from 2019.

Wang Peng, 61, was promoted to lieutenant general in December 2021 and appointed head of the CMCs training and administration department.

Besides, the NPC Standing Committee on Saturday had announced that it had expelled former CMC vice-chairman He Weidong, following his expulsion from the party in October.

Previously, He Hongjun, a former senior official at the PLAs political work department, was also removed from his seat in the top legislature after being kicked out of the party in October.

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First Published: December 28, 2025, 22:07 IST

News world 3 Top-Ranking Chinese Military Officials Expelled As Part Of Anti-Corruption Campaign

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80 Drones, 36 Hours: Pakistan Minister Admits India's Op Sindoor Strikes Damaged Nur Khan Base

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 14:43 IST

Nur Khan Air Base is a major Pakistan Air Force facility located in Rawalpindi. It was among 11 air bases targeted by Indian strikes during Operation Sindoor.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar (IMAGE: REUTERS)

The Pakistani government has publicly acknowledged the impact of Indias strategic and precision strikes carried out during Operation Sindoor in May this year. The admission came months after India launched the operation in response to the April terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 civilians.

Pakistan admits damage to Nur Khan air base

Pakistans deputy prime minister and foreign minister Ishaq Dar confirmed that Indian drones struck the Nur Khan Air Base in Rawalpindis Chaklala area. Speaking at a year-end press briefing, Dar said the attack caused damage to the military installation and injured personnel stationed there.

According to Dar, India sent a large number of drones into Pakistani territory over a short period. He claimed that at least 80 drones crossed the border within 36 hours. Pakistani forces, he said, intercepted 79 of them, but one drone managed to hit a military site, leading to injuries.

Dar further stated that Pakistans civil and military leadership, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, held a meeting on the night of May 9 to discuss the situation and approve certain decisions. He also said India made the mistake" of attacking the Nur Khan Air Base in the early hours of May 10, again acknowledging the strike.

Key air bases hit during Operation Sindoor

Nur Khan Air Base is a major Pakistan Air Force facility located in Rawalpindi. It was among 11 air bases targeted by Indian strikes during Operation Sindoor. Other sites hit included air bases in Sargodha, Rafiqui, Jacobabad and Muridke.

Operation Sindoor was launched by the Indian Armed Forces in the early hours of May 7. It was a retaliatory action following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. Indian strikes targeted nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, followed by attacks on key military installations.

Reacting to Dars remarks, Indian Army veteran Lt Gen (Retd) KJS Dhillon dismissed Pakistans claim of minor damage" and minor injuries". He accused Dar of lying and said the scale of destruction was far greater.

Dhillon pointed to reports from Pakistans own media. He said a list published by Samaa TV on Pakistans Independence Day named 138 people who were awarded gallantry honours posthumously for Operation Sindoor. According to him, this indicated far higher casualties than what Pakistan has officially admitted.

He also said videos released by Pakistani civilians showed the Nur Khan base in flames and claimed that all 11 targeted air bases suffered heavy damage.

Indias strike on the Nur Khan Air Base had earlier been confirmed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Days after the operation, Sharif said Army chief General Asim Munir personally informed him of the attack during the night of May 9 and 10.

In July, Sharifs adviser Rana Sanaullah also admitted that Pakistan had only 30 to 45 seconds to assess whether a missile fired by India towards Nur Khan carried a nuclear warhead.

Satellite images taken in May reportedly showed significant damage to several Pakistani air bases, including Nur Khan, Mushaf in Sargodha, Bholari and Shahbaz in Jacobabad. Pakistan had also admitted on May 10 that Indian missiles and drones targeted three of its air bases, including Nur Khan, Muridke and Rafiqui.

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Location : Delhi, India, India

First Published: December 28, 2025, 13:26 IST

News world 80 Drones, 36 Hours: Pakistan Minister Admits India's Op Sindoor Strikes Damaged Nur Khan Base

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Minnesota has been plunged into national controversy after explosive claims emerged suggesting that as much as 6.3 billion ($8 billion) in taxpayer money may have been lost to large-scale welfare fraud, following a viral investigation by YouTuber Nick Shirley.

The video has sparked widespread outrage, accusing state agencies of ignoring glaring warning signs while billions of pounds allegedly flowed through childcare, transport and healthcare programmes that, critics say, existed largely on paper.

Nick Shirley's Viral Investigation Raises Alarms

The investigation, published online and rapidly shared across social media, shows Shirley travelling across Minnesota to confront what he describes as a sprawling network of fraudulent welfare operations. In the footage, he questions officials, inspects licensed facilities and challenges business owners over payments received from publicly funded programmes.

At one point, Shirley claims: 'This could be the largest fraud scandal in US history,' alleging that state and federal funds were funnelled into businesses that showed little or no evidence of operating.

Much of the video focuses on childcare centres licensed to care for dozens of children but which appeared empty during repeated daytime visits.

Shirley is joined by a local investigator identified only as David, who says his suspicions grew after years of passing the same locations.

'I would drive by these childcare centres in the middle of the day and there were never any kids there,' he says. 'That's when I started asking, where are these children?'

Empty Childcare Centres and Millions in Payments

A major focus of the investigation is Minnesota's childcare assistance system. According to Shirley's claims, some centres were paid hundreds of thousands of pounds, and in certain cases millions, each year despite showing no visible signs of operation.

Standing outside one Minneapolis building, Shirley says: 'Between these two childcare centres alone, they are pulling in roughly 2.4 million ($3 million) a year, and there are no children.'

Footage shows locked doors, darkened windows and signs advertising long opening hours, with no activity inside.

The video also highlights alleged abuse within non-emergency medical transport services and home healthcare programmes. One address in St Paul is shown housing more than a dozen registered healthcare companies.

'Every door is another healthcare business,' Shirley says, adding that none would clearly explain what services they provided or how much they charged.

Political Fallout and Accusations Against State Leaders

The allegations have triggered fierce political backlash, with Governor Tim Walz and senior state officials repeatedly referenced throughout the investigation.

Shirley and his sources claim authorities were aware of suspicious activity but failed to intervene.

'The government knows,' David says in the video. 'They're the ones writing the cheques.'

He points to Minnesota law requiring public employees to report suspected fraud, suggesting that a failure to act could amount to serious misconduct.

During one street interview, a local resident reacts angrily after being told how much money a nearby centre allegedly received.

'That's disgusting,' he says. 'They're stealing from everyone.'

Outrage Grows as Calls for Accountability Mount

As clips from the investigation continue to circulate online, public anger has intensified. Supporters argue Shirley's work exposes deep failures in oversight and enforcement, while critics caution that the allegations must be tested through audits, court proceedings and official investigations.

The video itself acknowledges the risks involved. At one point, Shirley warns: 'We have to be careful because these people are dangerous,' as he continues confronting alleged operators on camera.

So far, state authorities have not addressed every claim raised in the investigation, but the scale and detail of the allegations have ensured the issue will not fade quietly.

Whether the true figure reaches 6.3 billion ($8 billion) remains unproven, but the fallout has already shaken public confidence.

What is clear is that Nick Shirley's investigation has ignited a fierce debate about accountability, oversight and the safeguarding of taxpayer money, leaving Minnesotans demanding answers to one question that echoes throughout the footage: where did the money really go?

Originally published on IBTimes UK
French startup Ynsect shot into the spotlight when Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. touted its merits on the Late Show during Super Bowl weekend 2021. Now, nearly four years later, the insect farming company has been placed into judicial liquidation  essentially bankruptcy  for insolvency.

The companys demise is hardly a surprise, as Ynsect had been embattled for months. Still, there is plenty to unpack about how a startup can go bankrupt despite raising over $600 million, including from Downey Jr.s FootPrint Coalition, taxpayers, and many others.

Ultimately, Ynsect failed to fulfill its ambition to revolutionize the food chain with insect-based protein. But dont be too quick to attribute its failure to the ick factor that many Westerners feel about bugs. Human food was never its core focus.

Instead, Ynsect focused on producing insect protein for animal feed and pet food, two markets with very different economics and margins that the company never quite chose between.

That indecision extended to its M&A strategy. In 2021, Ynsect acquired Protifarm, a Dutch company raising mealworms for human food applications, adding a third market to the mix. Even as the company announced the deal, then-CEO Antoine Hubert admitted it would take a couple of years for human food to represent just 10% to 15% of Ynsects revenue.

We still see pet food and fish feed being the largest contributor to our revenues in the coming years, Hubert declared at the time. In other words, Ynsect was acquiring a company in a market segment that would remain marginal for years  at a time when the startup desperately needed revenue growth.

And revenue was the problem. According to publicly available data, Ynsects revenue from its main entity peaked at 17.8 million in 2021 (approximately $21 million)  a figure reportedly inflated by internal transfers between subsidiaries. By 2023, the company had racked up a net loss of 79.7 million ($94 million).

So how did a company with such meager revenue raise over $600 million? The answer wasnt hype-driven crossover funds paying ambitious multiples during the 2021 funding frenzy. Instead, Ynsect attracted impact-focused investors like Astanor Ventures and public investment bank Bpifrance that bought into a compelling sustainability vision.

Its pitch to them was simple  offering an alternative to resource-intensive proteins like fishmeal and soy. That same thesis also attracted significant capital to competitors like Better Origin and Innovafeed, and it seemed promising.

But the vision collided with market reality. Animal feed is a commodity market driven by price, not sustainability premiums. In a perfect world, insect protein would be fully circular, with insects fed on food waste that would otherwise go to landfill. But in practice, factory-scale insect production typically ends up relying on cereal by-products that are already usable as animal feed  meaning insect protein just adds an expensive extra step. For animal feed, the math simply wasnt working.
Amid Rising Fears Of Russian-Backed Disinformation, Bulgaria Prepares To Join Eurozone By Jan 1

Curated By :

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 18:19 IST

Bulgaria will join the eurozone on January 1, aiming for economic growth despite Russian-linked disinformation campaigns and public skepticism.

The Balkan country will become the 21st country to join the eurozone on January 1. (The Independent/X)

Bulgaria has been working to adopt the euro in January amid fears that Russia-aligned disinformation is deepening distrust of the new currency.

The Balkan country will become the 21st country to join the eurozone on January 1. According to The Guardian, policymakers in Brussels and Sofia hope the latest move will boost the economy of the EUs poorest nation and cement its pro-western trajectory.

In response, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Bulgaria will have more trade, more investment and more quality jobs and real incomes" thanks to the euro".

The Guardian quoted economy commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis saying in a visit to Bulgaria capital that the move was key at a time of Russias war with Ukraine, rising geopolitical tensions and global economic uncertainty that underline the importance of European unity".

Most European countries  including Bulgaria  are far too small to shape todays world on their own. They only stand to gain necessary weight by fully integrating into the European Unions larger political and economic structures," he said.

The Guardian quoted a recent survey by the ministry of finance stating that, while 51% of citizens were in favour of joining the single currency, 45% were against it.

Meanwhile, investigative reports have cited Russian-linked social media campaigns working to undermine support for the euro by spreading disinformation.

On alleged Russian influence on public opinion about the euro, The Guardian quoted Dombrovskis saying it was no secret" Russia was waging a hybrid war against Europe. It is provocation, acts of sabotage, violation of European airspace, meddling in political processes in the European Union, also in other countries, and it is spreading disinformation," he said.

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First Published: December 28, 2025, 18:19 IST

News world Amid Rising Fears Of Russian-Backed Disinformation, Bulgaria Prepares To Join Eurozone By Jan 1

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Bangladesh Rejects India's Concern Over Systemic Persecution Of Hindus, Calls Claims Misleading

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 17:53 IST

Bangladesh rejected Indias claims of minority violence as exaggerated after incidents involving Dipu Chandra Das and Amrit Mandal sparked unrest.

Prominent media houses in Bangladesh were vandalised amid violent protests. (AFP)

Bangladesh on Sunday dismissed Indias concern over ongoing violence against minorities in the country, calling the remarks by New Delhi inaccurate, exaggerated and misleading."

In a press statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh alleged that the comments made by the Indian MEA did not reflect the facts and misrepresented Bangladeshs long-standing tradition of communal harmony.

Dhaka also accused New Delhi of portraying alleged criminal acts as systemic persecution of Hindus, saying that such narratives were being used to propagate anti-Bangladesh sentiments in parts of India.

We note that there are systematic attempts to portray the isolated incidents of criminal acts as systemic persecution of the Hindus and maliciously used to propagate anti-Bangladesh sentiments in different parts of India. We observe a selective and unfair bias in certain quarters, where isolated incidents are amplified, misrepresented and propagated to incite common Indians against Bangladesh, its diplomatic missions and other establishments in India," the press statement said.

While referring to the mob lynching of Amrit Mandal alias Samrat, a Hindu man killed by the mob over allegations of extortion, Dhaka said that portraying the incident as an example of minority persecution was misleading".

One of the individuals cited by the MEA spokesperson was a listed criminal whose unfortunate death happened when he was committing extortion with his Muslim accomplice, who was later arrested. To portray this criminal act in the lens of minority treatment is not factual but misleading," it added.

The MoFAs remarks came after India expressed grave concern over the ongoing violence against minorities in Bangladesh, saying that such unremitting hostilities" carried out by extremist elements against minority communities, including Hindus, Christians and Buddhists, are condemnable and cannot be ignored by calling them political violence or media exaggeration.

While addressing a press conference, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal also condemned the killing of Dipu Chandra Das, a Hindu man who was lynched over unfounded blasphemy allegations and set on fire. Jaiswal said that India hoped that the perpetrators of the crime would be brought to justice.

He further said that India has consistently raised concerns over attacks on minorities and rejected what it termed a false narrative" being projected by Bangladesh on such incidents.

According to the MEA, around 2,900 incidents of violence against minorities have been reported during the tenure of Bangladeshs interim government. We have issued statements earlier as well, rejecting the false narrative put out by Bangladesh," Jaiswal said.

Bangladesh Unrest

Violent protests erupted in the neighbouring country following the death of July uprising organiser Sharif Osman Hadi in Singapore. Hadi, the convener of Inquilab Mancha, died while undergoing treatment after he was shot in the head in Dhaka on December 12.

Media houses, cultural centres and political offices were attacked. A Hindu man, Dipu Chandra Das, was lynched and burnt to death in Mymensingh over alleged blasphemy. After thrashing and killing Das, the mob hung his body from a tree and set it on fire. Meanwhile, the mob that encircled him in Bhaluka, many of whom he knew, took out their smartphones to record the spectacle.

Another Hindu man, Amrit Mandal, was lynched by a mob over allegations of extortion.

Meanwhile, some youth leaders were also reported to have made provocative anti-India statements. In recent weeks, Bangladeshi security forces have had to stop protesters from marching towards the Indian High Commission in Dhaka. Last week, a mob also pelted the Indian Assistant High Commission building in Chittagong with stones.

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Location : Dhaka, Bangladesh

First Published: December 28, 2025, 17:53 IST

News world Bangladesh Rejects India's Concern Over Systemic Persecution Of Hindus, Calls Claims Misleading

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'Could Have Stayed In Mumbai': US Influencer Mocks Indian Man's Death In Canada, Sparks Row

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 11:40 IST

US influencer Andrew Branca triggered a row by mocking Indian-origin Prashant Sreekumars death in a Canadian hospital, calling him an Indian invader.

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Andrew Branca (Image: X/@TheBrancaShow); late Prashant Sreekumar (R) (Image: X)

A controversy has erupted over American influencer Andrew Brancas hateful remark over the death of Prashant Sreekumar, an Indian-origin man who died in Canada after being left unattended at a hospital for more than eight hours. Branca mocked Sreekumars death, calling him another Indian invader of Canada."

Sreekumar was admitted to Grey Nuns Community Hospital in Edmonton on December 22 after he experienced severe chest pain at work. His family said hospital staff, despite his condition, told them ECG results showed no major problem and asked them to wait. He was given Tylenol, but his blood pressure continued to rise. Although nurses tried to revive him, he later died.

Another Indian invader of Canada.I note that she and her husband could have easily avoided the shitty Canadian healthcare by staying in Mumbai and enjoying the shitty Indian healthcare. https://t.co/9pmMPoCbky pic.twitter.com/mzEFt5ksiD  Andrew Branca Show (@TheBrancaShow) December 26, 2025

In a post responding to the news, Branca added, I note that she and her husband could have easily avoided the shitty Canadian healthcare by staying in Mumbai and enjoying the shitty Indian healthcare," sharing a graph on net immigration to Canada from 1952 to 2025 without citing a source.

Brancas Anti-India Posts

Branca, whose X profile describes him as an attorney providing pro-America, pro-Constitution, pro-Western civilisation political and legal analysis," has repeatedly posted anti-India content. In the past, he has called Indians retards" and third-world," described Indian food as disgusting," and said, America is for Americans."

He also wrote, You, an Indian national, fled the shit hole of third-world India to live in first-world Canada. Im thinking that any culture that drives tens of millions of its nationals from its third-world borders to go live in first-world nations has little to brag about," Indian migration is a societal herpes of filth and trash and human faeces they wish to bring to America," he said in a separate post.

Internet Slams Branca For Mocking Sreekumars Death

His latest remark regarding Sreekumars death has sparked widespread outrage online. One X user said, A man died and all you can think of is hate and dancing on his grave. Youre a despicable, disgusting excuse of a man."

Another wrote, Shame on you for mocking dead people Karma will make you pay."

Building a following on hate? You seem too old for such desperate tactics. If this is just a money grab, dont bother. Youll run out of time before you ever see the payoff," a third comment read.

Im not Indian, but thats such a low blow. You ought to do some self reflecting," a fourth user stated.

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Location : Canada

First Published: December 28, 2025, 11:40 IST

News world 'Could Have Stayed In Mumbai': US Influencer Mocks Indian Man's Death In Canada, Sparks Row

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'Driven By Bigotry: US Congressman Ro Khanna Condemns Lynching Of Dipu Chandra Das In Bangladesh

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 08:25 IST

Ro Khanna condemned the killing of Dipu Chandra Das, a Hindu garment worker in Bangladesh, calling for action against hatred.

Ro Khanna condemned the killing of Dipu Chandra Das, a Hindu garment worker in Bangladesh, calling for action against hatred. (pic: Ro Khanna)

Washington/New Delhi: US Congressman Ro Khanna has strongly condemned the killing of Dipu Chandra Das, a 27-year-old Hindu garment worker in Bangladesh, calling the incident horrific" and urging an unequivocal stand against hatred and bigotry.

In a post on X, Khanna said his thoughts and prayers" were with Dass friends and family, and stressed the need to speak out against acts driven by religious hatred. We must unequivocally condemn and speak out against these vile acts of hatred and bigotry," he wrote.

The killing of Dipu Chandra Das, a 27-year-old Hindu garment worker in Bangladesh is horrific and my thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family.We must unequivocally condemn and speak out against these vile acts of hatred and bigotry.  Rep. Ro Khanna (@RepRoKhanna) December 27, 2025

The killing has triggered outrage on social media, with concerns being raised about the safety of religious minorities in Bangladesh. Dipu was a 27-year-old garment factory worker who was lynched by a mob for alleged blasphemy.

Who is Ro Khanna?

Ro Khanna is a Democratic member of the US House of Representatives from Californias 17th Congressional District, which includes parts of Silicon Valley. The son of Indian immigrants, Khanna is known for his progressive views on economic justice, technology regulation, foreign policy, and human rights. He has been a vocal advocate for civil liberties globally and frequently comments on issues related to South Asia, including democracy, religious freedom, and minority protections.

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Location : California, USA

First Published: December 28, 2025, 08:24 IST

News world 'Driven By Bigotry: US Congressman Ro Khanna Condemns Lynching Of Dipu Chandra Das In Bangladesh

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Elon Musk Slams Canada's Healthcare After Indian-Origin Man Dies Waiting 8 Hours In Hospital

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 18:41 IST

A 44-year-old Indian-origin man died of suspected cardiac arrest after waiting for over eight hours for treatment at a hospital in Canadas Edmonton.

The deceased, identified as 44-year-old Prashant Sreekumar, was rushed to the Grey Nuns Community Hospital. (File)

Tech mogul Elon Musk has slammed the Canadian healthcare system after a 44-year-old Indian-origin man died of suspected cardiac arrest after waiting for over eight hours for treatment at a hospital in Canadas Edmonton.

The deceased, identified as 44-year-old Prashant Sreekumar, was rushed to the Grey Nuns Community Hospital in southeast Edmonton on December 22 after complaining of severe chest pain while at work. A client drove him to the hospital, where he was triaged, given an ECG and Tylenol, and asked to wait. Despite repeatedly reporting intense pain, staff said there was nothing significant.

After waiting for over eight hours, Prashant was called into the emergency room. However, moments after sitting down, he collapsed. Nurses immediately called for help, but Prashant could not be revived. He died in front of his father, leaving behind his wife and three children aged three, 10 and 14.

A video of his grieving wife accusing the hospital of negligence surfaced on social media.

In the video, Niharika Sreekumar is seen standing beside her husbands body, alleging that prolonged delays and lack of timely medical care at Grey Nuns Community Hospital led to his death.

While responding to the video, Musk said, When the government does medical care, it is about as good as the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles)." He hit out at Canadas healthcare system by comparing it to the US motor vehicle department, which is criticised by many for its inefficiency.

When the government does medical care, it is about as good as the DMV https://t.co/kRdlL3idyF Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 26, 2025

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) also flagged the case  asking the Canadian government to take responsibility" for the situation. Responding to media queries, the MEA clarified that while the deceased was of Indian origin, he was a Canadian national.

The individual was of Indian origin but a Canadian citizen. The Canadian government should take responsibility in this matter," the MEA said.

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Location : Canada

First Published: December 28, 2025, 18:41 IST

News world Elon Musk Slams Canada's Healthcare After Indian-Origin Man Dies Waiting 8 Hours In Hospital

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'If Ukraine Doesn't Accept Peace...': Putin Warns Of Force Ahead Of Trump-Zelenskyy Meeting

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 07:24 IST

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukraine was in no hurry to end the ongoing conflict by peaceful means and that Moscow was prepared to achieve its goals by force.

Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Reuters/File)

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday remarked that Ukraine was in no hurry to end the ongoing conflict by peaceful means and warned that Russia would achieve its goals by force if Kyiv did not accept the peace talks.

If the Kyiv authorities do not want to resolve the matter peacefully, we will accomplish all the tasks before us in the course of the special military operation by military means," Putin was quoted as saying by the TASS News Agency.

We see that even today, unfortunately, the leaders of the Kyiv regime are in no hurry to resolve this conflict peacefully. I spoke about this a year ago in a speech at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," he added.

His remarks came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is enroute to Florida for a meeting with US President Donald Trump on Sunday, as Russian strikes pummeled Ukraine. Zelenskyy said the Russian onslaught showed Moscow had no intention of ending the invasion it launched in February 2022, while Kyiv wanted peace.

This attack is again, Russias answer to our peace efforts. And this really showed that Putin doesnt want peace, and we want peace," Zelensky said before meeting Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Ukraines military said in its regular battlefield update on Saturday that its forces had beaten back Russian attempts to advance in the vicinity of Myrnohrad and Huliaipole.

Trump-Zelenskyy Meeting

Sundays meeting in Florida is to focus on a new, 20-point plan that would freeze the war on its current front line. It could require Ukraine to pull back troops from the east, allowing the creation of demilitarised buffer zones, according to details revealed by Zelenskyy this week.

Ahead of the meeting with Trump, Zelenskyy consulted with allies, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Canadas Mark Carney and other European leaders, who gave him their full support", said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

However, Trump on Friday made it clear that he is in no rush to accept Zelenskyys proposal. He doesnt have anything until I approve it. So well see what hes got," he told Politico. Meanwhile, Russias deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov accused Zelenskyy of attempting to torpedo" the US-brokered deal and any deal had to remain within the limits" fixed by Trump and Putin.

The overnight barrage of Russian drones and missiles, which targeted Kyiv for about 10 hours, killed two people, wounded dozens and cut power and heating to more than a million of the regions residents during freezing temperatures, Ukrainian authorities said.

(with inputs from agencies)

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Location : Moscow, Russia

First Published: December 28, 2025, 07:24 IST

News world 'If Ukraine Doesn't Accept Peace...': Putin Warns Of Force Ahead Of Trump-Zelenskyy Meeting

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Iran In 'Total War' With US, Israel, Europe, Says President Pezeshkian

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 17:26 IST

Masoud Pezeshkian's remarks come days after Israeli strike on Quds Force commander, and months renewed UN sanctions on Irans nuclear programme.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian's comments come days after the Israeli military and the Shin Bet security agency announced the killing of a senior commander from Irans Quds Force in an Israeli strike in northeast Lebanon. (Image: AFP)

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has declared they were in a total war" with the US, Israel, and Europe as the country works to rebuild its nuclear capabilities.

In my opinion, we are at total war with the United States, Israel, and Europe. They want to bring our country to its knees," Pezeshkian said in an interview published in state media on Saturday.

He further said: This war is worse than the one launched against us by Iraq (1980-88 war). On closer inspection, it is far more complex and difficult."

This comes days after the Israeli military and the Shin Bet security agency announced the killing of a senior commander from Irans Quds Force in an Israeli strike in northeast Lebanon. In a joint statement, the Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet said the target, Hussein Mahmoud Marshad al-Jawhari, was a top commander in the Operations Unit of the Quds Force, the extraterritorial arm of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

According to the Israeli statement, al-Jawhari had been involved in recent years in advancing terrorist plots against Israel in the SyriaLebanon arena." It said the Operations Unitalso known as Unit 840is responsible for directing Iranian attacks against Israel.

The Israeli military also released drone footage showing the strike.

This comes months after the UN reimposed sanctions on Iran, including an arms embargo, over its nuclear programme. These measures revived the pre-2015 restrictions that were lifted under the landmark Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)the multilateral nuclear deal between Tehran, the EU, the US, and other global powers.

Technically, the sanctions explicitly demand that Iran halt uranium enrichment and related activities, potentially slowing its programme. The IAEA warns that, unchecked, Iran could produce enough fissile material for several bombs in just weeks.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday left for the US, where he is expected to meet President Donald Trump and other officials, Anadolu Agency reported.

The meeting with Netanyahu will be the fifth since the start of Trumps second term in the White House.

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First Published: December 28, 2025, 17:26 IST

News world Iran In 'Total War' With US, Israel, Europe, Says President Pezeshkian

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Khalistani Proxies Hijack Bangladesh Hindu Rights Protest In London, Exposing ISI Playbook

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 08:57 IST

A protest by Hindus against the brutal lynching of a Hindu man in Bangladesh outside the country's High Commission in London was disrupted by Khalistani extremist groups.

Indians and Bangladesh Hindus protesting against Hindu killings in Bangladesh outside the Bangladeshi High Commission in London. (ANI)

A peaceful protest outside the Bangladesh High Commission in London, denouncing the barbaric lynching of a Hindu man and the broader persecution of the community by extremist elements in Bangladesh, was disrupted by Khalistani proxies on Saturday, exposing the playbook of Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), sources told CNN-News18.

The Bangladesh Hindu Association and Indians had announced a peaceful protest against the targeted killings of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh, particularly after the brutal lynching of Dipu Chandra Das  a young factory worker  sent shockwaves across the world. However, the protest was disrupted by pro-Khalistan groups and a brief scuffle ensued outside the Bangladesh High Commission in London.

#WATCH | London, UK | Handful of Khalistanis show up outside the Bangladesh High Commission in London in support of Bangladesh, as Indians and Bangladeshi Hindus protested against the killing of Hindus in Bangladesh pic.twitter.com/fBEx8uPj0r ANI (@ANI) December 27, 2025

The sudden arrival of Khalistani extremist groups at the exact location and time establishes prior planning and mobilisation and not just a mere coincidence. Their presence at a Bangladesh minority-rights protest was the clearest indicator of an external hand, as per sources.

ISIs Involvement

Earlier, CNN-News18 had reported that the long shadow" of Pakistans ISI is being cast across the countrys political and security landscape, with a goal of systematic radicalisation of the youth and the promotion of religious extremism through groups like the Jamaat-e-Islami and the Inquilab Mancha.

While Khalistani groups had no role in Bangladeshs internal communal violence, their actions reflected a pattern of disruption, intimidation, and narrative hijacking. This exposed the ISIs objectives to prevent the plight of Hindu victims in Bangladesh from being internationalised, according to sources.

The revival of Jamaat-aligned Islamist networks and strategic messaging has attempted to portray India as the real destabiliser, and Bangladeshs internal disorder was used as a warfare tool outside the London mission.

Sources further revealed that ISI is running a dual strategy inside Bangladesh, with Islamist groups amplifying anti-India sentiment and suppressing minority narratives in the country. Outside Bangladesh, the ISI is using Khalistani proxies to attack Hindu and India-aligned voices in Western countries.

The real target of the recent disruption was not the protesting Hindus, but rather the narrative about Hindu killings, as the ISI wants to shift global focus from the situation in Bangladesh towards an anti-India narrative.

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Location : London, United Kingdom (UK)

First Published: December 28, 2025, 08:57 IST

News world Khalistani Proxies Hijack Bangladesh Hindu Rights Protest In London, Exposing ISI Playbook

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'Let's Go To Bunkers': Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari Recalls Fear During Operation Sindoor

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 16:30 IST

India began Operation Sindoor in the early hours of May 7, targeting nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

President Asif Ali Zardari (Credits: X)

Indias military response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam sent shockwaves through Pakistans top leadership, with President Asif Ali Zardari revealing that he was advised to move to a bunker as tensions peaked in May.

Speaking at a public programme on Saturday, Zardari said the seriousness of the situation was conveyed to him directly by his Military Secretary. Recalling the moment, he said the officer warned that war had begun as Indian forces launched precision strikes under Operation Sindoor, carried out after 26 civilians were killed in Jammu and Kashmirs Pahalgam.

My Military Secretary came to me and said, Sir, the war has started. Lets go to the bunkers."

Zardari told the gathering, adding that he chose not to follow the advice.

India began Operation Sindoor in the early hours of May 7, targeting nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Indian officials said the action was focused, limited and aimed at dismantling terror infrastructure while preventing further attacks.

The operation led to a sharp rise in hostilities. Pakistan stepped up cross-border shelling, and India responded along the Line of Control. The exchange raised concerns of a broader military conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

Zardari said he had sensed that tensions were heading towards escalation days earlier. The situation later cooled after Pakistans Director General of Military Operations reached out to his Indian counterpart with a proposal to halt hostilities. India agreed to the request.

The ceasefire was later confirmed by Indias Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, who said both sides decided to stop all military operations on land, sea and air.

Indias military action followed the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which New Delhi attributed to cross-border terrorism. The events in May marked one of the most intense confrontations between India and Pakistan in recent years before calm was restored through diplomatic and military channels.

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First Published: December 28, 2025, 15:55 IST

News world 'Let's Go To Bunkers': Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari Recalls Fear During Operation Sindoor

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NASA Offers Job, Jet Ride To Teen Who Discovered 1.5 Million Cosmic Objects Using AI

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 14:19 IST

Matteo Paz, a student from California, used AI on NASA NEOWISE data to discover 1.5 million cosmic objects, earning praise from Jared Isaacman.

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NASA director Jared Isaacman (Image: Reuters); Matteo Paz (Image: LinkedIn/Matteo Paz)

In a discovery that has surprised the global scientific community, a US high school student has identified millions of previously unseen cosmic objects using artificial intelligence and long-forgotten NASA data, reshaping how the cosmos is explored.

The student from California, Matteo Paz, used artificial intelligence to analyse data from NASAs decommissioned NEOWISE mission that led to the discovery of 1.5 million cosmic objects.

The scale of the findings quickly drew attention across the space research community. While the sheer number of newly identified objects was striking, experts were equally impressed by the computational approach behind the work.

Matteo please apply to work at NASA and I will personally throw in a fighter jet ride as a signing bonus Jared Isaacman (@rookisaacman) December 27, 2025

NASA director Jared Isaacman publicly praised the teen, offering him a job and a jet ride. Replying to a post on X, the NASA chief stated, Matteo please apply to work at NASA and I will personally throw in a fighter jet ride as a signing bonus."

Pazs project began at Caltechs Planet Finder Academy, where he worked with astrophysicist Davy Kirkpatrick. As a secondary school student from Pasadena, Paz benefited from Kirkpatricks mentorship, which helped shape the projects direction.

Using a machine learning system that he designed himself, Paz analysed nearly 200 billion infrared data points from the NEOWISE archive. While traditional methods had overlooked subtle signals, the AI model detected them efficiently. Within six weeks, the system identified a wide range of celestial phenomena, including distant quasars and supernovas.

The discoveries quickly gained recognition within the scientific community. Pazs work was published in The Astronomical Journal, and he was offered a research assistantship at Caltech. NASAs interest in the findings has continued to grow.

The impact is already being felt in active space missions. Coordinates generated by Pazs AI system are now guiding follow-up observations by the James Webb Space Telescope.

The project highlights a broader shift in astronomy, where AI tools and young researchers are playing an increasingly important role. Combined with strong mentorship, Pazs work underscores how fresh perspectives and collaboration are reshaping the study of the universe.

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Location : New York, United States of America (USA)

First Published: December 28, 2025, 14:19 IST

News world NASA Offers Job, Jet Ride To Teen Who Discovered 1.5 Million Cosmic Objects Using AI

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Real estate professionals anticipate a more even housing market in the new year throughout Lackawanna and Luzerne counties.

The data points to a market that remains healthy but less frenetic  characterized by stable pricing, slower turnover, and a more balanced dynamic between buyers and sellers, said Charlie Kasko, a Realtor for Classic Properties, who is based in Kingston.

Specifically, the average number of days homes have remained on the open market increased by 14.3% (42 to 48) in Lackawanna County and 20% (35 to 42) throughout Luzerne County in November compared to the same time last year, taking some pressure off prospective buyers.

Its a little less chaotic than it had been in the past, said Sara Levy, broker/owner of Clarks Green-based Levy Realty Group. Sellers are giving a little more time for buyers to make decisions, theyre not expecting it to happen in two or three days.

Leah Gianacopoulos, a Realtor with ERA One Source Realty in South Abington Twp., believes the longer time between sales reflects the overall financial landscape.

Days on market have been longer than expected but that has also been due to the shift of what is going on with the economy, she said. Real estate tends to follow what the world is doing.

The number of closed sales decreased by 3.6% from November 2024 to November 2025 in Lackawanna County; however, Gianacopoulos expects renewed interest starting next month.

Its been pretty status quo, she said. I think everyone is kind of waiting until next year to see what happens with the (interest) rates, but I anticipate 2026 to be a good market.

Additionally, the median sales price in Lackawanna County increased 4.9% from November 2024 to November 2025, from $235,550 to $247,000, according to the Greater Scranton Board of Realtors.

Wood Street, the leftmost street stretching to the horizon, and Academy St. the rightmost street stretching to the horizon, in Wilkes-Barre, on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

Kasko expressed optimism about the year ahead in Luzerne County.

The economy seems to be growing and weve seen a lot more activity in the recent weeks on all aspects of the real estate market, he said. I think the rates coming down is helping quite a bit, and I think just the general direction of the overall economy has given people some hope. Were really seeing some nice growth in our area on a number of different fronts. Manufacturing is growing and the warehouse industry is strong. Were seeing some nice migration into the area from New York and New Jersey, because our cost of living is still pretty reasonable. Were hitting on all cylinders in Northeast Pennsylvania, which is really nice to see.
Myanmar Junta Holds Elections For First Time Since 2021 Coup Amid Civil War

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 08:45 IST

Myanmar's junta holds restricted polls amid civil war, with Aung San Suu Kyi jailed and her party dissolved.

Myanmar's junta holds restricted polls amid civil war, with Aung San Suu Kyi jailed and her party dissolved. (Getty Images)

Voting began in Myanmar on Sunday in heavily restricted elections promoted by the ruling military junta as a return to democracy, five years after it overthrew the countrys elected government, a move that plunged the nation into a prolonged civil war.

Only a small number of voters turned up at polling stations as the first phase of the month-long, staggered vote got underway in junta-controlled areas. Former civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi remains imprisoned, while her widely popular National League for Democracy (NLD) party has been dissolved and barred from participating.

Western governments, democracy activists and the United Nations have condemned the polls, arguing they are designed to entrench military rule rather than restore civilian governance. Critics say the process overwhelmingly favours military-aligned parties, particularly the pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Party, which is expected to emerge as the largest force.

Myanmar, home to about 50 million people, remains deeply divided by conflict. Voting is not being held in large swathes of rebel-controlled territory, and the junta has admitted elections cannot take place in nearly one-fifth of lower house constituencies.

Polling opened at 6 am local time in cities including Yangon, Mandalay and the capital Naypyidaw. Early turnout was sparse, with journalists and election staff outnumbering voters at some locations.

The election is very important and will bring the best for the country," said Bo Saw, a 63-year-old voter in Yangons Kamayut township, casting his ballot near Aung San Suu Kyis vacant residence.

However, the atmosphere stood in stark contrast to the mass participation seen during the 2020 elections, which the military later annulled before staging its coup. Those elections delivered a landslide victory to Suu Kyis party, prompting junta chief Min Aung Hlaing to seize power, alleging widespread voter fraud  claims rejected by international observers.

Among the few early voters, some dismissed global criticism. There are always people who like and dislike," said Swe Maw, 45, playing down concerns raised by foreign governments and rights groups.

Others rejected the vote outright. It is impossible for this election to be free and fair," said Moe Moe Myint, who said she has been hiding from junta air strikes for months. How can we support a junta-run election when this military has destroyed our lives?"

Aung San Suu Kyi is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence on charges that human rights groups describe as politically motivated. Her son, Kim Aris, said she would not view the elections as legitimate.

Most political parties that contested the 2020 vote have since been dissolved, and new electronic voting machines do not allow write-in candidates or spoiled ballots  raising further concerns about transparency.

The junta has also prosecuted more than 200 people under strict laws banning criticism or disruption of the polls. UN human rights chief Volker Turk said the elections are taking place in an environment of violence and repression."

The second phase of voting is scheduled in two weeks, followed by a final round on January 25. Despite presenting the polls as a step toward reconciliation, pro-democracy armed groups have vowed to continue fighting the military regime.

There are many ways to make peace," said Zaw Tun, an officer with the Peoples Defence Force. They chose elections instead. We will continue to fight."

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Location : Myanmar (Burma)

First Published: December 28, 2025, 08:38 IST

News world Myanmar Junta Holds Elections For First Time Since 2021 Coup Amid Civil War

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Pakistan Army Feared Full-Scale Indian Attack During Operation Sindoor | Exclusive

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News18.com Edited By: Shobhit Gupta



Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 23:11 IST

Zardari said he was advised to move to a bunker during Op Sindoor, however he refused, saying that leaders do not die in bunkers and if martyrdom was destined, it would happen.

Operation Sindoor was launched on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, targeting militant infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. (IMAGE: SOURCED)

Pakistans military had feared a full-scale, multi-domain Indian attack during Operation Sindoor, which triggered a panic within the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi, CNN-News18 has learnt.

The Pakistan Army anticipated that Operation Sindoor, Indias precision strikes at terror camps in Pakistan in response to the dastardly Pahalgam terror attack, could escalate beyond a limited strike into an all-domain assault involving air power, cyber operations, covert action and precision ground strikes.

The anxiety was felt even by Pakistans top leadership as President Asif Ali Zardari revealed that he was advised to move to a bunker amid heightened tensions in May.

While speaking at a public programme on Saturday, Zardari revealed that his Military Secretary directly conveyed the seriousness of the situation, warning him that war had begun as Indian forces launched precision strikes under Operation Sindoor.

My Military Secretary told me the war had started and suggested we go to the bunkers. I refused. If martyrdom is destined, it will happen here. Leaders do not die in bunkers," Zardari said. He also claimed he had anticipated the conflict several days in advance.

The recommendation to move the President to a hideout followed a familiar pattern within Pakistans power structure, where civilian heads are protected more as symbolic assets rather than decision-makers.

The episode underlined the militarys deep distrust in civilian leadership during crises.

Zardaris reported refusal to move to a bunker was seen not merely as an act of personal courage, but as an assertion of civilian legitimacy. The President is known for occasionally taking decisions that run contrary to military advice, a rarity in Pakistans civil-military history.

Beyond the threat of retaliation, the Pakistan Army was also worried about internal instability, including economic collapse, public protests and possible fractures within provinces. The military operation forced Rawalpindi to revisit its nuclear red-line calculations amid fears that India could operate below Pakistans assumed nuclear thresholds.

The military leadership was particularly unsettled by the possibility that India might combine kinetic military action with information and narrative dominance.

The bunker episode has revealed that Operation Sindoor not only heightened tactical fears within Pakistans military establishment but also exposed its broader strategic insecurity and lack of confidence in the countrys political system under stress.

Operation Sindoor

In the early hours of May 7, Indian Defence Forces launched precision strikes at nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) under Operation Sindoor" in response to the dastardly Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives.

In its initial phase, the Indian Air Force focused on dismantling terror camps linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The strikes killed over 100 terrorists, including 10 family members of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar and four close aides.

But when Pakistan attempted a retaliatory military response, including plans to target Indian cities and key installations, India escalated. In a decisive second phase, carried out on the night of May 910, Indian forces struck a string of major Pakistani airbases, including Nur Khan, Sargodha, Jacobabad, Murid, and Rafiqui, inflicting damage that Islamabad is still struggling to account for publicly.

The operation sparked four days of cross-border fighting involving fighter jets, missiles and artillery.

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Location : Islamabad, Pakistan

First Published: December 28, 2025, 23:11 IST

News world Pakistan Army Feared Full-Scale Indian Attack During Operation Sindoor | Exclusive

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Tarique Rahmans Return To Bangladesh Revives Ziaur Rahmans Assassination Memory

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News18.com

Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 18:37 IST

Ziaur Rahman had emerged as a national figure during the 1971 Liberation War, when his radio announcement declaring independence became a defining moment in Bangladeshs history.

Tarique Rahman (Credits: X)

A day after returning to Bangladesh following nearly 19 years in self-imposed exile, Tarique Rahman visited the grave of his father, former president Ziaur Rahman, in Dhaka. It was his first visit to the site in almost two decades.

Standing at Zia Udyan under tight security, the acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party placed wreaths, offered prayers and observed a long silence.

The visit marked his first public appearance in the country since 2006 and brought renewed attention to one of the darkest chapters in Bangladeshs political history  the killing of Ziaur Rahman.

Ziaur Rahman was assassinated in the early hours of May 30, 1981, during an official visit to Chittagong. He had travelled there to deal with internal party issues and was staying at the Circuit House, a government guest residence protected by army personnel.

Shortly before 4 AM, a group of mid-ranking army officers moved towards the building. Heavily armed, they launched a sudden assault. Rockets struck the structure, damaging the building and killing several of Ziaur Rahmans guards. The attackers then entered the residence and searched it room by room.

As the attack unfolded, Ziaur Rahman attempted to leave his room. Two officers initially told him they would escort him to safety at the cantonment. Moments later, another group arrived. One of the key conspirators shot him at close range with a submachine gun. The firing continued even after he fell. The entire operation lasted less than 20 minutes.

After the assassination, the officers transported the bodies of Ziaur Rahman and two guards to the Chittagong Cantonment in a military vehicle. Soon after, Major General Abul Manzoor, the regional army commander, went on radio broadcasts declaring a rebellion, removing the army chief in Dhaka and calling on other officers to support the uprising.

The coup attempt collapsed within hours. Then army chief Hussain Muhammad Ershad stayed loyal to the government and ordered troops to take back control. Most of the officers involved surrendered, while others were killed during escape attempts. Major General Manzoor was arrested days later and later died in custody.

A military tribunal swiftly tried the accused. Within weeks, 12 army officers were executed in 1981 after trials that lasted less than three weeks.

At the time, reports pointed to growing dissatisfaction within the army over postings, promotions and deep divisions between officers who had fought in the 1971 Liberation War and those who had returned from Pakistan.

Following Ziaur Rahmans death, Vice President Justice Abdus Sattar took charge as acting president.

Ziaur Rahman had emerged as a national figure during the 1971 Liberation War, when his radio announcement declaring independence became a defining moment in Bangladeshs history.

After years of political instability marked by coups and counter-coups, he rose to become army chief and later president in 1977. In office, he founded the BNP in 1978, reintroduced multi-party democracy and pursued economic reforms while strengthening Bangladeshs foreign relations.

More than 40 years later, his influence continues to shape the countrys politics. His widow Khaleda Zia served twice as prime minister, and his son Tarique Rahman now leads the party at a time of renewed political tension in Bangladesh.

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First Published: December 28, 2025, 18:35 IST

News world Tarique Rahmans Return To Bangladesh Revives Ziaur Rahmans Assassination Memory

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Two Primary Suspects In Osman Hadi's Murder Fled To India's Meghalaya, Say Bangladesh Police

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 13:35 IST

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) said the suspects in Osman Hadi's murder fled to India via the Haluaghat border with the help of local associates.

Rapid Read

Sharif Osman Hadi, a prominent figure of the July uprising, died at a hospital in Singapore on Thursday, a week after he was shot at by masked gunmen in Dhaka. (AFP)

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) in Bangladesh have claimed that two primary suspects in the murder of Sharif Osman Hadi, which sparked widespread protests in the country, fled to India via the Haluaghat border in Mymensingh district that is connected to Meghalaya.

Addressing a press conference, DMP Additional Commissioner SN Nazrul Islam said the suspects, Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Sheikh, crossed into the Indian state of Meghalaya with the help of local associates, reported The Daily Star.

According to our information, the suspects entered India via the Haluaghat border. After crossing, they were initially received by an individual named Purti. Later, a taxi driver named Sami transported them to Tura city in Meghalaya," Nazrul Islam said.

Bangladesh Govt Working With India

The DMP official said the police have received reports suggesting that the two individuals who assisted the suspects, Purti and Sami, have since been detained by authorities in India. He said the Bangladesh government is actively working with India to bring back the suspects.

We are maintaining communication with Indian authorities through both formal and informal channels to ensure their arrest and extradition," he said.

There has been no official confirmation from the Indian side on this matter so far.

Osman Hadis Murder

Osman Hadi, a prominent political figure and a fierce critic of India and the Awami League, was one of the leading figures in the July 2024 uprising that led to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government last year.

After the uprising, Hadi formed the Inquilab Mancha platform and was preparing to contest the parliamentary elections in February. On December 12, he was shot in the head by masked gunmen and flown to Singapore for treatment, where he succumbed to his injuries.

His death sparked widespread protests across Bangladesh, as hundreds of thousands of supporters vandalised media houses like Prothom Alo and The Daily Star and targeted the Indian diplomatic offices.

The violence spread to Mymensingh, where a Hindu youth was lynched and his body was set on fire, leading to widespread criticism. The incident further strained ties between India and Bangladesh. Allegations of Hadis killers fleeing to India also escalated tensions.

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Location : Dhaka, Bangladesh

First Published: December 28, 2025, 12:59 IST

News world Two Primary Suspects In Osman Hadi's Murder Fled To India's Meghalaya, Say Bangladesh Police

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US Condemns Bangladeshi Hindu Man's Lynching, Congressman Calls It 'Vile Act Of Bigotry'

Curated By :

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 16:31 IST

Dipu Das was lynched in Bangladesh, sparking global outrage. Ro Khanna and US officials condemned the violence. Protests erupted as Bangladesh faces unrest under Muhammad Yunus.

Hindu garment worker Dipu Chandra Das is seen being taken away by a mob in Bangladesh in the moments before he was lynched. (IMAGE: JAMUNATV)

Days after a 27-year-old Hindu garment worker was lynched in Bangladesh, US Congressman Ro Khanna and a US state department spokesperson have condemned the horrific" incident, calling them vile acts of hatred and bigotry".

Dipu Chandra Das was lynched and burnt to death in Mymensingh over alleged blasphemy. After thrashing and killing Das, the mob hung his body from a tree and set it on fire. Meanwhile, the mob that encircled him in Bhaluka, many of whom he knew, took out their smartphones to record the spectacle.

Residents of Das village said his killing has left the Hindu community deeply shaken. A local Hindu leader who assisted with translation said the incident has created a lasting sense of fear among families in the area.

In a post on X, US Congressman Khanna said: The killing of Dipu Chandra Das, a 27-year-old Hindu garment worker in Bangladesh is horrific and my thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family." We must unequivocally condemn and speak out against these vile acts of hatred and bigotry," he said.

A US State Department spokesperson told IANS, The United States unequivocally condemns religious violence in all its forms, and we welcome measures the Bangladeshi Interim Government is taking to ensure the safety and security for all communities in Bangladesh."

The spokesperson added that Washington supports religious freedom and freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and association".

According to the MEA, around 2,900 incidents of violence against minorities have been reported during the tenure of Bangladeshs interim government.

Another Hindu man, Amrit Mandal, was lynched by a mob over allegations of extortion.

Meanwhile, some youth leaders were also reported to have made provocative anti-India statements. Recently, a mob also pelted the Indian Assistant High Commission building in Chittagong with stones.

These incidents have sparked protests worldwide. According to Moneycontrol, members of the Bengali Hindu Adarsha Sangha (BHAS) in UK organised a Justice for Hindus" demonstration outside the Bangladesh High Commission in London, condemning what they described as the unethical arrest of interfaith voice Chinmaya Prabhu" and the lynching of Dipu Das.

Bangladesh, currently governed by an interim administration led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, is grappling with a volatile mix of high-stakes electoral preparation and a breakdown in law and order that has left minority communities in a state of high alarm.

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Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

First Published: December 28, 2025, 16:31 IST

News world US Condemns Bangladeshi Hindu Man's Lynching, Congressman Calls It 'Vile Act Of Bigotry'

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US Sees Heaviest Snowfall In Nearly 4 Years; Over 1,500 Flights Cancelled As Storm Hits Northeast

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 07:51 IST

To ease the impact, major airlines such as American Airlines, United Airlines and JetBlue waived rebooking fees for affected passengers.

New York Wakes Up to Record Snowfall, Thousands of Flights Affected

The United States saw its heaviest snowfall in nearly four years after a powerful winter storm swept across parts of the north-east United States, disrupting daily life and holiday travel.

New York Citys Central Park recorded 4.3 inches (11cm) of snow, the highest level since January 2022, according to the US National Weather Service (NWS). In other parts of New York state, snowfall reached as much as 7.5 inches. By early Saturday, between six and 10 inches of snow had fallen from Syracuse in central New York to Long Island in the south-east.

Neighbouring states were also badly affected. New Jersey declared a state of emergency, while Connecticut reported 9.1 inches of snow in Fairfield County. Some communities across the region saw snowfall of up to 10 inches.

Emergencies declared as storm hits

Ahead of the storm, New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency in more than half of the states counties. In New Jersey, Acting Governor Tahesha Way announced a statewide emergency, warning of dangerous weather conditions including heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain.

Officials urged people to avoid unnecessary travel and allow road crews to clear highways safely. Restrictions were placed on commercial vehicles on several major roads in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Over 1000 flights cancelled

The storm caused widespread disruption to air travel. Nearly 700 domestic flights were cancelled on Saturday, mostly in the New York area, while more than 3,000 flights were delayed nationwide. From Friday night, at least 1,500 flights were cancelled, according to FlightAware.

Airports including John F Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty issued snow warnings, cautioning passengers about delays. Around 2,100 international flights scheduled to depart from or arrive in the US on Saturday were also cancelled.

To ease the impact, major airlines such as American Airlines, United Airlines and JetBlue waived rebooking fees for affected passengers.

What is the situation now?

Forecasters said the storm was fast-moving and will weaken by Saturday. The storm is definitely winding down," an NWS forecaster told the Associated Press, adding that only light flurries remained across parts of the region.

In New York City, around four inches of snow fell overnight into Saturday. By morning, road and air conditions were slowly improving. In Times Square, workers used shovels and snowblowers to clear slush-covered streets and pavements.

Despite improving conditions, the National Weather Service issued warnings for hazardous travel from the Great Lakes to the northern Mid-Atlantic and southern New England. Ice storm warnings were also in effect across parts of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, with risks of power outages and tree damage.

Authorities continued to urge caution as the region recovered from the storm.

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Location : New York, United States of America (USA)

First Published: December 28, 2025, 07:51 IST

News world US Sees Heaviest Snowfall In Nearly 4 Years; Over 1,500 Flights Cancelled As Storm Hits Northeast

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Zelenskyy Arrives In Miami To Meet Trump; Peace Deal To End Russia-Ukraine War On The Agenda

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Last Updated: December 28, 2025, 23:26 IST

Zelenskyy arrived in Miami to meet Trump at Mar-a-Lago, likely to present a 20-point peace plan for the Russia-Ukraine war amid US security talks and hopes for future agreements.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Miami airport on Sunday. (X)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reached Miami on Sunday ahead of the meeting with US President Donald Trump wherein they are likely to discuss the peace deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

According to CNN, the Ukrainian president is due to meet with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

Zelensky has arrived in Miami for a meeting with Trump. pic.twitter.com/ifvrExxAmC KyivPost (@KyivPost) December 28, 2025

Previously, Zelenskyy told reporters that he is bringing a new 20-point plan for peace, which includes a proposed demilitarised zone and the meeting is expected to focus on US security guarantees.

However, Trump made it clear that he is in no rush to accept Zelenskyys proposal. He doesnt have anything until I approve it. So well see what hes got," he told Politico.

These remarks highlight how much Ukraines future depends on persuading Trump, who has at times seemed willing to tilt toward Russia in pursuit of ending the war. While Russia has moved very little from its position, the US has pushed Zelenskyy to move off his original demands.

Sundays meeting to discuss new peace proposals comes amidst Trumps intensified efforts to broker an agreement on Europes worst conflict since World War II, which has killed tens of thousands since February 2022. Speaking to reporters, Zelenskyy said that though he could not confirm whether the meeting would lead to a firm agreement, the two sides would aim to finalise as much as we can".

Trump also said he could have a productive meeting with Zelenskyy, and hoped to have a conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin soon. I think its going to go good with him. I think its going to go good with [Vladimir] Putin," he said.

These remarks came after Zelenskyy spoke with special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the presidents son-in-law. Zelenskyy called that a good conversation."

The new plan formulated with Ukraines input is Kyivs most explicit acknowledgement yet of possible territorial concessions, and is very different to an initial 28-point proposal tabled by the US last month that adhered to many of Russias core demands.

The Ukrainian President saying that the 20-point peace plan hammered out by Ukrainian and US officials is 90% ready" and that he planned to discuss with Trump how Ukraines allies could guarantee its security in the future, CNN reported.

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Location : United States of America (USA)

First Published: December 28, 2025, 20:44 IST

News world Zelenskyy Arrives In Miami To Meet Trump; Peace Deal To End Russia-Ukraine War On The Agenda

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Millennial and Generation Z Christian influencers are increasingly filling a void in American religion, growing audiences across digital platforms by steering young people to biblical answers to tough questions that aren't always answered in Sunday sermons. "I can be that in-between, Monday-to-Saturday help to give you practical things to make you feel like you're not walking this walk alone," says Megan Ashley of the In Totality podcast. From myriad backgrounds, these influencers talk candidly to their listeners about everything from anxieties and doubts to dating and culture, delving into the Bible's complexities, per the AP. Those of faith say Christian influencers are galvanizing young people looking for meaning in a culture that lacks it at a time when years of declining church attendance has slowed.
Jim watched a YouTube video featuring Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger at a Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting and fully funds his 401(k) with stock index funds, Johnson said. He also has a separate brokerage account in which he dollar-cost averages into Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares. Jim doesnt concern himself with market volatility and is well on his way to a comfortable retirement.

Hypothetically fast-forwarding, the couple not only earns a comfortable living but also bought a home in Austin before the market exploded, giving them an additional financial cushion. Theyve also been smart about retirement planning.

Everyones favorite couple is doing alright money-wise. In the finale, Jim and Pam say theyre moving to Austin, as the sports marketing firm Jim and Daryl co-founded has expanded.

He may not have much of a nest egg when he reaches retirement age, but luckily, his wife, Holly, has been a diligent saver and investor, so theyre able to get by. Michael is happy to keep working for as long as he can, and he gets a job humanizing jokes for an AI greeting card company.

Michael Scott was on track with his retirement contributions  he was invested in a combination of traditional equity and bond index funds  until he raided his 401(k) to pay a franchise fee for Pluck This, a hair salon specializing in eyebrows, ear and nose hair, said Robert Johnson , Ph.D., a professor of finance at Creighton Universitys Heider College of Business. The franchise failed, and he is trying to catch up by actively trading his account. His market timing is failing to produce results, and he has suffered huge losses in his 401(k).

However, Michael does seem to have a way of landing on his feet, only to get caught up in more shenanigans.

He may be a lovable fool, but hes not particularly good with money, as evidenced by the Season 4 episode Money, where Oscar tries to help Michael build a budget to get out of debt.

But aside from all the media lessons that can be learned from The Office, the relatable characters from the show can also provide a humorous yet honest reflection of the full spectrum of financial choices that employees of any company might make.

Despite ending over 10 years ago, the U.S. version of The Office remains one of the most culturally relevant sitcoms and popular shows. Since moving to Peacock in 2021, its brought in nearly 900,000 new subscribers for the streaming platform, according to Parrot Analytics.

Story Continues

Similarly, Pam understands the sensible move of upping her retirement savings each year. In her early years at Dunder Mifflin, she was only saving 3% of her salary, but she then started increasing that by 1% until she got to a 15% savings rate, giving the couple an even more secure nest egg.

Ryan Howard

Ryan rocketed his way from temp to vice president of North East Sales, but his journey on The Office was full of ups and downs, which likely mirrors his financial life.

Ryan is completely undiversified, as his entire retirement fund is invested in cryptocurrencies, Johnson said. He is contemplating early retirement but has no hobbies and no idea what he would do with his free time.

While he could likely make early retirement work thanks to cryptos soaring prices, his lack of a plan leaves him extremely vulnerable. If the crypto market dips, or he moves his investments into a new meme coin that crashes, he could find himself basically having to start all over again.

Toby Flenderson

Toby may be Michaels favorite punching bag, but hes hypothetically got his act together retirement-wise.

Toby is better situated for retirement than any of his Dunder Mifflin colleagues, Johnson said. For years, he maximized his tax-deferred retirement contributions and invested in aggressive equity growth funds. He experienced sleepless nights during the COVID-19 pandemic but made no changes to his 401(k) plan and has been handsomely rewarded.

In the finale, Toby moves to New York after getting fired from Dunder Mifflin, where hes trying to write the great American novel. While he probably struggles in that department, his 401(k) keeps compounding, and he has enough to maintain a comfortable lifestyle in retirement.

Andy Bernard

Andys retirement planning is likely all over the place.

His impulsive nature translates into poor investing behavior. He believes he can time the markets and actively trades his retirement funds, Johnson said. Unfortunately, he consistently buys high and sells low.

Andy moved entirely to cash during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and returned to stocks only after the market recovered. Still, his eventual job at Cornells admissions office likely helps him get back on track thanks to the schools generous retirement benefits  and hes happy supplementing income with crooning gigs.

Kevin Malone

Kevin is a bit of a conundrum. Hes an accountant and a skilled poker player, but he also invents his own math rules and loves to gamble, potentially to his detriment.

When it comes to retirement planning, his background doesnt translate into an understanding of financial markets, but he is convinced that with respect to investments that Andy Bernard has no idea what he is doing. Kevin periodically asks Andy for advice and does exactly the opposite. Kevin maxes out his 401(k) contributions and, as a result of Andys advice, has built a sizable nest egg, said Johnson.

Luckily, he knows not to touch his 401(k) because of the tax advantages, but he does have some debt from making too many prop bets. So, Kevin and his band Scrantonicity pack their weekends playing weddings and bar mitzvahs until he gets out of the hole.

Stanley Hudson

Stanley is said to have retired to Florida City, Florida, in the finale, where he spends his time carving birds.

He largely lives on Social Security and cash-like savings. According to Johnson, Stanley saved diligently but was overly risk-averse, favoring money market and government bond funds in his 401(k). While disciplined, that caution limited his long-term growth.

Phyllis Vance

Phyllis and her husband, Bob Vance of Vance Refrigeration, enjoy a comfortable retirement.

They accumulated a small fortune through her prudent stock market investing and his sizable equity in the business, Johnson said. Bob is seeking a buyer for the firm, and the couple plans extensive travel in retirement.

Creed Bratton

The mysterious Creed gets by in a way thats comfortable for him, but perhaps no one else. His retirement planning is likely unconventional.

Creed mistrusts financial markets to the extent that he doesnt participate in the Dunder Mifflin 401(k) plan. He is a doomsday prepper and has significant savings in gold coins that he keeps locked up in a safe hidden in his home, said Johnson.

While the price of gold has shot up recently, that probably doesnt benefit Creed, as he has no intention of selling.

Oscar Martinez

Lastly, Oscar probably represents the type of person who has the financial side of retirement down pat, but he hasnt given enough attention to what he wants his retirement to actually look like.

Oscar has oversaved for retirement, living extremely frugally during his entire work life, said Johnson. He has followed a plan developed 30 years ago by a fee-only financial planner he engaged. Oscar has been a saver all his life and is having trouble transitioning into his recent retirement. He cant break his frugal habits.

Which One Are You?

Though hypothetical, these scenarios mirror how many people approach retirement. Some save diligently but invest too cautiously. Others undersave and work well into their later years. And some prepare financially but forget to plan for life after work.

Retirement planning and retirement itself can be challenging, so its important to discuss these issues with family and consider engaging a professional, such as a financial advisor.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: What Retirement Might Look Like for the Characters of The Office
An art historian in Florence decided to see if AI could crack the mystery he'd just spent years solvingand it couldn't. Elon Danziger's finding was this: that Florence's Baptistery of San Giovanni was not a homegrown project but a papal-led initiative under Pope Gregory VII in the late 11th century. He put three chatbotsChatGPT, Claude, and Geminito the test, seeing if they could sift through scholarship, notice the same historical oddities he did, and arrive at his conclusion about who built the landmark and why. As Danziger writes in the New York Times , they managed the data-mining part but stalled at the leap of interpretation, never assembling a fresh explanation from scattered clues.

Danziger says the problem lies in how large language models work. They excel at finding and summarizing patterns in mainstream thinking, but that very strength makes them prone to ignoring "eccentric or contrarian ideas" that can trigger breakthroughs. A 2006 book by scholar Guido Tigler, which proposed a later date for the baptistery, was central to Danziger's own shift in perspective; AI never surfaced it when asked what texts it planned to rely on, perhaps because Tigler's idea is "not widely accepted." When prodded to examine a long-assumed 1059 consecration of the baptistery by Pope Nicholas IIan event for which no direct record existstwo bots noted the gap but didn't treat it as noteworthy, while Gemini invented supporting evidence.

For Danziger, the exercise doubles as a caution about what AI can and cannot do for scholarship. As for his own scholarship, Danziger zeroed in on the following: an 11th-century Florence arguably too poor to fund such a sophisticated building; the baptistery's heavy architectural debt to Rome's Pantheon, by then a papal church; and a local crisis of confidence in a corrupt bishop that pushed Florentines away from baptisms in their own city. Remove Nicholas II and focus on popes fixated on Rome's ancient heritage, and Gregory VIIwho became pope in 1073becomes, in his view, the only plausible driving force behind the project. (Read his full essay here.)
On a frigid day after Mass at St. Ann's Catholic Church in rural Nebraska, worshippers shuffled into the basement and sat on folding chairs, their faces barely masking the fear gripping their town. A pall hung over the room just as it hung over the holiday season in Lexington, Nebraska. "Suddenly they tell us that there's no more work. Your world closes in on you," said Alejandra Gutierrez. She and the others work at Tyson Foods' beef plant and are among the 3,200 people who will lose their jobs when Lexington's biggest employer closes the plant next month, the AP reports.

Hundreds of families may be forced to pack up and leave the town of 11,000, heading east to Omaha or Iowa, or south to the meatpacking towns of Kansas or beyond, causing spinoff layoffs in Lexington's restaurants, barbershops, grocers, and convenience stores. "Losing 3,000 jobs in a city of 10,000 to 12,000 people is as big a closing event as we've seen virtually for decades," says Michael Hicks, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at Indiana's Ball State University. It will be "close to the poster child for hard times."

All told, the job losses are expected to reach 7,000, largely in Lexington and the surrounding counties, according to estimates from University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Tyson employees alone will lose an estimated $241 million in pay and benefits annually.

Tyson says it's closing the plant to "right-size" its beef business after a historically low cattle herd in the US and the company's expected loss of $600 million on beef production next fiscal year.

The plant's closure threatens to unravel a Great Plains town where the American Dream was still attainable, where immigrants who didn't speak English and never graduated high school bought homes, raised children in a safe community, and sent them to college. Now, those symbols of economic progressmortgages and car payments, property taxes, and tuition costsare bills that thousands of Tyson workers won't be able to pay.

The plant opened in 1990 and was bought by Tyson 11 years later, attracting thousands of workers and nearly doubling the town's population within a decade. Lizeth Yanes initially hated what she called "a little ghost town." But soon Lexington flourished, with suburbs sprouting. "It took a long time for me to actually enjoy this little place," said Yanes. "Now that I enjoy it, now I have to leave." The atmosphere inside the Tyson plant, where workers process as many as 5,000 head of cattle a day, laboring on slaughter floors, cleaning crews, or trimming cuts of meat, feels "like a funeral," she said.

"Tyson was our motherland," said plant worker Arab Adan. The Kenyan immigrant sat in his car with his two energetic sons, who asked him a question he has no answer to: "Which state are we gonna go, daddy?" School officials say nearly half of students have a parent working for Tyson.

Many older workers don't speak English, haven't graduated high school, and aren't computer savvy. "We know only working in meat for Tyson," said Adan. At St. Ann's, workers echoed that concern. "They only want young people now," said Juventino Castro, who's worked at Tyson for a quarter-century. "I don't know what's going to happen in the time I have left." Lupe Ceja said she's saved a little money, but it won't last long. Luz Alvidrez has a cleaning gig that will sustain her for awhile. Others might return to Mexico for a time. Nobody has a clear plan. "It won't be easy," said Fernando Sanchez, a Tyson worker for 35 years who sat with his wife. "We started here from scratch and it's time to start from scratch again."
A battlefield choice that once meant life over death is, for many Russian soldiers, turning into a different kind of sentence back home. The Wall Street Journal reports that Russian POWs who return from Ukrainian captivity are often met not with gratitude, but with suspicion, extensive FSB questioning, and in many cases, a one-way ticket back to the front. One middle-aged soldier who phoned home to say he'd survived captivity and hoped to be home for his son's birthday was instead questioned for weeks then re-deployed near Donetsk. His family doesn't know if he's alive or dead.

A 2022 law made voluntary surrender a crime; one soldier, Roman Ivanishin, received a 15-year sentence after returning in a prisoner swap on charges including surrender and desertion. Ex-POWs describe being stripped of firearms and returned to their units, where they are assigned cleaning, guard duty, or other low-level work; others say commanders sent them back into hazardous missions as punishment. Salaries and bonuses that lured many into service can be axed once they are listed as captured, leaving families in financial distress.

The reported treatment runs counter to the Geneva Conventions, which bar putting former POWs back into active combat; a Russian Defense Ministry document viewed by the Journal argues those rules don't fully apply since the war is ongoing. Some relatives now quietly hope their soldiers will be excluded from swaps and remain in Ukrainian camps. (Read the full story.)
A maternity ward in one of the world's biggest refugee camps is where US foreign aid cuts are showing up most clearly on the scale. Reporting from Kakuma, a camp in northwest Kenya that houses close to 310,000 people, ProPublica describes how the Trump administration's decision to halt funding to the World Food Program triggered sharp reductions in food rations. Despite earlier assurances from Secretary of State Marco Rubio that lifesaving assistance would continue during a review of foreign aid, programs closed or shrank, and officials say hunger is now driving dangerous pregnancy complications.

At Kakuma's only hospital, run by the International Rescue Committee, the sole physician on duty in August, Dr. Kefa Otieno, told reporters he was seeing an epidemic of malnourished mothers and premature, underweight newborns. Blood is so scarce that Otieno has donated his own while operating. In a bare space known as the "kangaroo" roomno working incubators, just skin-to-skin caretwo mothers, Monica and Binti, spent weeks keeping their premature infants warm and hoping for enough weight gain to be discharged. Their pregnancies were complicated by anemia and lack of food; one resorted to eating clay and charcoal, the other once went two days without eating and begged a vendor for a samosa pastry she couldn't afford to repay.

Inside the hospital, patients receive three sparse meals a day. Outside, rations have been cut so deeply that in August, the WFP limited distributions to about half the camp, assigning families to categories that meant some people, including Monica's husband and Binti, got nothing. Monica and her younger siblings were allocated roughly 420 calories per person per day. Over the summer, Al Jazeera reported that the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya has also been feeling the pressure of steep funding cuts. WFP officials have had to make "very difficult decisions about who gets to eat and who doesn't," per a correspondent for the outlet.

In late September, the US released $66 million for the WFP's Kenya operationsabout 40% less than last year, notes ProPublica. The WFP says those funds will keep food flowing only through March, at levels still below what humanitarians consider the minimum. A senior State Department official said Washington continues to provide "hundreds of millions" of dollars to the WFP and is moving toward investments it argues will better serve US interests and allies like Kenya, while the White House budget office rejected blame for funding delays. The Japan Times has more on how aid cuts and resulting malnourishment in Kenya is affecting children overall.
A long, stony line on the seabed off western France is turning out to be a lot more than a geological quirk. Marine archaeologists say a 394-foot structure found off the Ile de Sein in Brittany is a man-made wall dating to roughly 5,000 BC, making it the largest known underwater construction in France, the BBC reports. Now 30 feet below the surface, the wall would originally have sat in the tidal zone, when the island's coastline stretched much farther out. Researchers think it was either a large fish trap or an early attempt to hold back the sea.

The structure averages 65 feet wide and about 7 feet high, with paired granite monoliths sticking up at intervals in two rows. Those standing stones appear to have been set on bedrock first, with the wall later built around them from slabs and smaller rocks. If it was a fishing device, archaeologists say the uprights likely held a mesh of branches and stakes to catch fish as the tide ebbed. With an estimated mass of 3,300 tons, it points to a sizable, organized communityeither sedentary hunter-gatherers or early Neolithic farmers.

The monoliths resemble, but predate, Brittany's famous menhirsstanding stones found throughout the countrysidesuggesting stone-working techniques may have been passed between early communities. The wall was first spotted when geologist Yves Fouquet noticed a straight, unnatural-looking line "blocking off an undersea valley" on new high-resolution depth charts. A team surveyed the site in 2022 and returned after winter die-back of seaweed to map it in full.

In a study published in the the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, the authors argue that such drowned landscapes may underlie Breton legends of lost cities like Ys, said to have been in a bay a few miles to the east of the Ile de Sein. "It is likely that the abandonment of a territory developed by a highly structured society has become deeply rooted in people's memories," researchers wrote. "The submersion caused by the rapid rise in sea level, followed by the abandonment of fishing structures, protective works, and habitation sites, must have left a lasting impression."
Annette Dionne, who was part of one of the world's most famous set of siblingsa life they described resentfully as being "at the center of a circus"has died. She was the last surviving Dionne quintuplet, the New York Times reports. Annette Dionne was 91 and died Wednesday in a hospital in Beloeil, Quebec, of complications from Alzheimer's disease, a family spokesman said. The sisters became a global sensation at their birth during the Great Depression. As children, they were put on display for paying visitors in a Canadian playground, called Quintland, where people watched them through wire mesh or one-way glass. Their parents sold hot dogs to the spectators. "It was exploitation," Annette Dionne said decades later. "We were not animals."

Born in rural Ontario in 1934, Annette and her sistersEmilie, Marie, Yvonne, and Cecilewere the first known quintuplets to survive infancy. The five premature babies, with a combined birth weight of 13 pounds, 6 ounces, were kept alive in a farmhouse without electricity or modern plumbing, initially fed water and corn syrup until breast milk was donated. Their survival set off a wave of publicity that turned their birthplace near North Bay, Ontario, into a tourist draw that officials later said rivaled Niagara Falls in revenue. Life magazine once reported that Annette was the first of the girls to crawl, the first to cut a tooth, and the first to recognize her name.

The provincial government removed the quintuplets from their parents, saying it aimed to protect them from exploitation, and placed them in the specially built Quintland. The girls were cared for by Dr. Allan Roy Dafoe, the country doctor who delivered three of them and became a national figure, and by nurses rather than their parents. The children's images were used to promote products including toothpaste and breakfast cereal, and they met Hollywood stars and visiting royalty. They were taken in 1935 to be displayed at the World's Fair in Chicago, per People. Custody was returned to their parents in 1943 after Dafoe's death, but the move into a large government-provided house was strained, the sisters later said, and several accused their father of sexual abuse, per the Times.

All five left home at 18 for Montreal. Emilie died in 1954 after a seizure at a convent, Marie in 1970 after struggles with depression, Yvonne in 2001, and Cecile earlier this year, per the Times. Annette married, had children, divorced, and ran a flower shop. In 1998, Annette, Cecile, and Yvonne reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with the government of Ontario over their treatment as children. Late in life, Annette supported efforts to preserve their birth home as a museum, calling it a warning against repeating what had happened to the Dionne quintuplets. To people mired in "the grim reality" of the Depression, historian Pierre Berton wrote, the sisters provided a joyful escape. The view on the other side of the glass was different. "It's tiring," Annette said as an adult, "always being watched."
A growing number of countries are rejecting Israel's recognition of Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland as an independent nation, the first by any country in more than 30 years. It wasn't known why Israel made the declaration Friday or whether the government was expecting something in return, the AP reports. Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 during a descent into conflict that continues to leave the east African country fragile. Despite having its own government and currency, Somaliland had never been recognized by any nation until Friday.

A joint statement by more than 20 mostly Middle Eastern or African countries and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Saturday rejected Israel's recognition "given the serious repercussions of such unprecedented measure on peace and security in the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea and its serious effects on international peace and security as a whole." Somaliland, which is arid, lies on the Gulf of Aden across from Yemen and next to small Djibouti, which hosts military bases for several countries including the US, China, and France. The statement also noted "the full rejection of any potential link between such measure and any attempts to forcibly expel the Palestinian people out of their land." Syria in a separate statement also rejected Israel's recognition.

Earlier this year, American and Israeli officials told the AP that Israel had approached Somaliland about taking in Palestinians from Gaza as part of President Trump's plan at the time to resettle the territory's population. The US has since abandoned that plan, and the State Department on Saturday said it continues to recognize the territorial integrity of Somalia, "which includes the territory of Somaliland." Netanyahu's office said Friday that he, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, and Somaliland's president, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, signed a joint declaration "in the spirit of the Abraham Accords." That initiative, started in 2020, established commercial and diplomatic ties between Israel and several Arab and Muslim-majority countries. Trump sees it as key to his plan for bringing long-term stability to the Middle East.

Somalia's federal government on Friday strongly rejected what it described as an unlawful move by Israel and reaffirmed that Somaliland remains an integral part of Somalia's sovereign territory. African regional bodies also rejected Israel's recognition. African Union Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said that any attempt to undermine Somalia's sovereignty risks peace and stability on the continent. East African governing body IGAD said in a statement that Somalia's sovereignty was recognized under international law and that any unilateral recognition "runs contrary to the charter of the United Nations" and agreements establishing the bloc and the African Union.
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A powerful winter storm was sweeping east from the Plains on Sunday, driven by what meteorologists describe as an intense cyclone, setting off a chain reaction of snow, ice, rain, and severe weather expected to affect much of the country. Snow and strengthening winds spread across the Upper Midwest on Sunday, where the National Weather Service warned of whiteout conditions and possible blizzard conditions that could make travel impossible in some areas. Snowfall totals were expected to exceed a foot across parts of the upper Great Lakes, the AP reports, with up to 2 feet possible along the south shore of Lake Superior.

In Michigan's Upper Peninsula, forecasters are warning that waves will likely top 25 feet on Lake Superior by dawn Monday, with significant waves also forecast for the other Great Lakes. In the South, meteorologists warn of severe thunderstorms expected to signal the arrival of a sharp cold front bringing a sudden temperature drop and strong north winds that will end days of record warmth across the region. Springlike warmth continues in much of the nation's midsection and South. The high temperature in Atlanta is forecast to be around 72 degrees on Sunday. But a cold front is expected to bring rain to much of the South late Sunday night into Monday, bringing much colder weather on Tuesday. The abrupt change will drop the low temperature in Atlanta to 25 by Tuesday morning.

Over the next 48 hours, the cyclone is expected to produce heavy snow and blizzard conditions in the Midwest and Great Lakes, freezing rain in New England, thunderstorms across the eastern US and South, and widespread strong winds. The storm is expected to intensify as it moves east, drawing energy from a sharp clash between frigid air plunging south from Canada and unusually warm air that has lingered across the southern US, according to the Weather Service. On the other side of the country, California was experiencing a fairly dry weekend after powerful storms battered the state with heavy rains, flash flooding and mudslides.
Permian Resources Corporation (NYSE:PR) is one of the Best Affordable Stocks to Buy According to Analysts. On December 22, Leo Mariani from Roth MKM reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a price target of $16. Earlier on December 12, Josh Silverstein from UBS also reiterated a Buy rating on Permian Resources Corporation (NYSE:PR) and raised the price target from $17 to $19.

Analyst Josh Silverstein from UBS noted that after three years of limited gains, he sees 2026 to be a promising year for the energy sector. He added that this optimistic outlook is based on an improving oil and natural gas outlook, improved value creation through M&A activity, and cost and capital expenditure efficiencies. The analyst also noted that natural gas E&Ps are favored; he sees positive momentum broadly across the Oil E&Ps and OFS.

That said, Permian Resources Corporation (NYSE:PR) during its fiscal third quarter earnings raised its 2025 oil production outlook by 3.0 MBbls/d to 181.5 MBbls/d and raised its total production target by 9.0 MBoe/d to 394.0 MBoe/d. Management noted that the improved outlook is based on the strong well results.

Permian Resources Corporation (NYSE:PR) is an independent oil and natural gas company focused on acquiring, optimizing, and developing properties in the Permian Basin, particularly the Delaware Basin core.

While we acknowledge the potential of PR 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: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
Fairbanks, AK (99701)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this morning will become overcast during the afternoon. A few flurries or snow showers possible. High 14F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Snow this evening will give way to lingering snow showers late. Low around 5F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 60%. 1 to 3 inches of snow expected.
FUKUSHIMA, Dec 29 (News On Japan) - In September last year, the sudden acquisition of Spa Resort Hawaiians  long known as Japans Hawaii  sent shockwaves through the industry. The buyer was Fortress Investment Group, a U.S. investment firm that also made headlines two years ago with its purchase of Sogo & Seibu. How a foreign fund plans to rebuild one of Japans most iconic resort facilities is now drawing close scrutiny, as management, former hula dancers, and local residents watch the transformation unfold.

Located in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, Spa Resort Hawaiians is a sprawling leisure complex known for its tropical atmosphere, large-scale pools, and water slides, including one with a 40-meter drop, the largest in Japan. The resort attracts around one million visitors annually as a family-friendly destination where guests can experience a taste of Hawaii without leaving the country. One of its main attractions is the hula dance show performed three times daily by a troupe of 43 dancers, a tradition that has become synonymous with the resorts identity.

The facility is operated by Joban Kosan, a local company that will mark the resorts 60th anniversary next year. Its current president, Sekine, who is from the local area, said the resort has deep personal meaning for many residents, recalling how it served as a place of family memories for those who could not afford overseas travel. However, behind its cheerful image, the business has faced mounting financial pressure.

The turning point came in March 2011, when the Great East Japan Earthquake inflicted severe damage on the facility, forcing it to shut down for an extended period. That blow was followed years later by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to roughly three months of closure and prolonged losses. As a result, the company accumulated approximately 28 billion yen in debt. Aging facilities further complicated matters, making it difficult to invest in renovations while maintaining operations.

Against this backdrop, Fortress moved in. In November last year, the firm began acquiring shares in Joban Kosan and soon secured more than 85 percent ownership. Fortress, which manages assets totaling more than 7 trillion yen, has been actively expanding its presence in Japan. It drew widespread attention in 2023 with its acquisition of Sogo & Seibu, and has since positioned itself as a major player in revitalizing underperforming Japanese assets.

Yamamoto Shunsuke, who is leading the Hawaiians project for Fortress, said the resorts long-term survival would be difficult under its previous financial structure. He noted that Japanese travelers have become increasingly familiar with overseas resorts, making it necessary to rethink the facilitys concept if it is to remain competitive over the next 50 to 60 years.

Fortress is no stranger to resort redevelopment. The firm previously acquired Phoenix Seagaia Resort in Miyazaki, once a symbol of Japans bubble-era excess, and shifted its strategy toward a family-oriented destination. The company has also rebuilt numerous struggling hotels nationwide, including the Kamenoi Hotel chain, improving occupancy rates and restoring profitability through large-scale investment and operational reforms.

At Hawaiians, Fortress has already begun detailed inspections of the site, examining everything from the entrance layout to dining facilities. Yamamoto, who once traveled the world as a backpacker and later worked at a foreign securities firm before joining Fortress, says his goal is to create resorts that fully utilize their unique characteristics rather than relying on superficial renovations. His vision includes bold capital investment and a reimagining of how guests experience leisure in Japan.

Still, the changes bring unease. Employees and local residents have expressed concern over whether the resorts long history and cultural identity can be preserved amid sweeping reforms. Many fear that the spirit built over decades could be lost in the push for profitability.

Fortress, however, insists that its aim is long-term sustainability. The firm has already acquired more than 180 hotel and resort properties nationwide, making it one of the largest players in the industry. Its strategy centers on reviving neglected facilities through targeted investment, improved operations, and a clearer market focus.

Source: BIZ
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Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) is one of the Best Affordable Stocks to Buy According to Analysts. On December 22, Reuters reported that companies including Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER), Lyft, and Chinese Baidu have partnered to launch driverless taxi trials in the UK by next year.

As a result of this partnership, Baidus Apollo Go RT6 will join ride-hailing platforms in London by 2026. In addition, Wayve, which is a London-based startup, is also expected to launch its trials in 2026, driven by roughly $1 billion in investment from Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) and SoftBank. The company will test its mapless, AI-driven technology with the launch.

That said, on December 18, Nikhil Devnani from Bernstein reiterated a Buy rating on the stock and raised the price target from $110 to $115. The analyst noted that they remain optimistic on the stock despite the pressure from the emerging AV industry, driven by increased competition from players like Waymo, Zoox, and Tesla. Devnani noted that the increased competition from the AV industry has moderated the margins for the company to some extent, as the company is investing in its core mobility segment and also allocating significant capital towards AV initiatives. However, regardless, the firm expects Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) to exceed Gross Bookings and EBITDA estimates.

Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE:UBER) is a global technology platform that connects consumers with transportation, delivery, and logistics services. The company operates through its Mobility, Delivery, and Freight segments, offering ride-hailing, meal delivery, and freight brokerage solutions.

While we acknowledge the potential of UBER 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: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU) is among the Growth Stock Portfolio: 12 Stock Picks By Ken Fisher.

UBS Analyst Maintains A Neutral Rating On Nu Holdings Ltd. (NU)

According to TheFly on December 4, 2025, UBS analyst Thiago Batista maintained a Neutral rating and raised the price objective for Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU) from $16 to $18.40.

On the same day, Grupo Santander raised Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU) from Neutral to Outperform with a price target of $22. The analyst informs investors in a research note that the companys growth is growing faster, with Mexico moving forward and Brazil getting back.

On December 3, 2025, Bloomberg reported that Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU), also known as Nubank, announced plans to apply for a banking license in Brazil in response to a legal change that bars non-bank businesses from using the word bank in their branding. Companies have 120 days to submit a compliance strategy as per the central banks ruling. The firm stated that the modification will not significantly change the need for extra financing. Previously, the business was able to offer credit cards and open accounts without a banking license.

Nu Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NU) has over 110 million customers and a market capitalization of $79.18 billion. The business stated that earlier this year, it applied for a banking charter in the United States and already has a banking license in Mexico.

While we acknowledge the potential of NU as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're 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: 10 High-Growth EV Stocks to Invest In and 13 Best Car Stocks to Buy in 2025.

Disclosure. None
Key Points

Delaying Social Security could leave you with larger monthly checks.

Sticking with the stock market could help your portfolio grow.

Buying municipal bonds could give you predictable income that doesn't increase your tax burden.

The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook 

There are plenty of good reasons to get excited for retirement to arrive. Not only might it be nice to not have to work every day, but you may have a host of activities you're eager to embark on. Retirement could also be an opportunity to spend more time with the people you love and see parts of the world you never knew existed.

To pull off your dream retirement, though, you need money. How much money? That depends on you and you alone, as every retiree's bills and income needs are different. But if you're hoping to get yourself up with more income for your senior years, here are some strategies worth looking into.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Delay Social Security for larger monthly checks

Social Security might be one of your most substantial retirement income streams. Once you turn 62, you can sign up to start getting those monthly benefits at any time. And if you wait until full retirement age to file for Social Security, which is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later, you'll get your monthly benefits without a reduction.

But you may want to hold off on filing a bit longer than that. For each year you delay your Social Security claim past full retirement age, your benefits get an 8% boost.

This incentive runs out once you turn 70. But depending on your full retirement age, you have an opportunity to boost your monthly Social Security checks by at least 24% -- for life -- if you can wait until your 70th birthday to file.

2. Continue to take on some risk in your portfolio

Many retirees opt to scale back heavily on stocks to reduce the overall risk profile of their portfolio. That's not a bad idea in general. But if you take it to too much of an extreme, you risk losing out on retirement income you might otherwise enjoy.

You may want to continue to hold some growth stocks in your portfolio for the returns they're capable of producing. At the same time, it's a good idea to hedge those growth stocks with dividend stocks.

Dividend stocks, by nature, tend to be less volatile. And the income they pay regularly is money you can either spend during retirement or reinvest so your portfolio continues to grow.

If you like the idea of portfolio income, also look at real estate investment trusts, or REITs. They're required to pay at least 90% of their taxable income as dividends to shareholders. Plus, with REITs, you're branching out into a different corner of the market, which gives you nice diversification.
UPDATE: 2nd pilot dies after helicopters collide over N.J.

One person died and another person was critically injured after two helicopters collided and crashed in New Jersey on Sunday afternoon.

Police in Hammonton, Atlantic County received a report of an aviation crash involving two helicopters around 11:25 a.m. near the 100 block of Basin Road.

An Enstrom F-28A helicopter and Enstrom 280C collided in mid-air near Hammonton Municipal Airport, according to the FAA.

@njdotcom Two helicopters crashed in South Jersey late Sunday morning, authorities said. First responders arrived at the scene, located in Hammonton, to find one of the choppers fully engulfed in flames. The cause of the crash wasn't immediately clear, and officials were asking residents to steer clear of the area while they clear the wreckage. Federal authorities will investigate the circumstances of the crash. Stay with us on this breaking story.  original sound - NJ.com | New Jersey News

Reports were that they were flying in tandem, that they were flying close together, which is probably what caused the collision to occur, Hammonton Police Chief Kevin Friel told 6ABC.

The helicopters crash-landed, and one was engulfed in flames, police said in a social media post.

One person was killed and another person was taken to a hospital with critical injuries, authorities said.

Only the pilots were on board each helicopter, the FAA said.

Several emergency agencies responded to the scene near Basin Road and the White Horse Pike, the Hammonton Fire Department said in a social media post.

Authorities are asking people to avoid traveling on Basin Road due to the investigation.

Eyewitness video taken from the parking lot of a nearby Tractor Supply showed black smoke billowing over the reported crash site. Another video from the scene shows a helicopter spinning out of control before crashing.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the NTSB, which is leading the investigation, at witness@ntsb.gov.

NTSB investigating Sunday's inflight collision involving an Enstrom 280C helicopter and an Enstrom F-28A helicopter in Hammonton, New Jersey.  NTSB Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) December 28, 2025
A regretful thief returned two stolen mandolins to a vintage music shop in Teaneck after the theft widely circulated on social media.

Lark Street Music said in a social media post on Dec. 26 that the instruments had been recovered, days after the shop shared surveillance footage from the Dec. 22 theft showing an unidentified man appearing to photograph the mandolins before stuffing them into his winter coat.

Surveillance footage captured the thief stealing two mandolins by stuffing them inside his coat. Photo courtesy of Lark Street Music

But after the footage went viral, the would-be Grinch had second thoughts, the post said, and the instruments were returned in an unconventional fashion.

The thief surreptitiously opened the front door and returned them in 2 shopping bags, the store wrote. I ran up to the door and saw him running down the street so summoning all my feet fleetness I took off after him.

Not so smart, I lost him, called 911 and they are in pursuit, the post added.

The thief left a note that read, SORRY, I BEEN DRUNK, MERRY CHRISTMAS. You are good man.

The thief admitted he was drunk in a handwritten note. Photo courtesy of Lark Street Music

It was unclear whether the thief has been identified or charged. Teaneck Police could not provide more information about the theft on Sunday.

The store thanked those who shared the surveillance video for helping secure the mandolins return.

Your re-posts and pressure definitely made him realize the walls were closing in, the post said.

I feel like im in a TV movie.
New Jersey is spending $11 million on nature-based projects to remove carbon from the atmosphere and fight climate change.

Stone Harbor in Cape May County, Stafford Township in Ocean County and Montclair in Essex County will each receive funding for these projects, according to a Dec. 19 statement by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

The Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor is getting nearly $2.75 million to restore tidal wetland vegetation on Scotch Bonnet Island next to the Cape May Coastal Wetlands Wildlife Management Area, the statement says.

The project will place 13,000 cubic yards of dredged sediment and restore 4.8 acres of tidal wetland vegetation being degraded by rising sea levels.

By restoring drowning marsh habitat and elevating the Salt Marsh Trail, we address the impacts of sea-level rise, demonstrating nature-based solutions for coastal resilience, said Lenore Tedesco, executive director of The Wetlands Institute.

Stafford Township was awarded $5 million to restore 23 acres of tidal salt marsh at Popular Point.

The marsh has historically provided coastal protection, wildlife habitat, wave attenuation and water filtration for Beach Haven West and surrounding infrastructure.

Montclair State University received more than $3 million to plant 910 trees to replace scores of dead or diseased trees across campus. Officials say the trees will sequester carbon, filter air and water pollutants, reduce the urban heat island effect and provide flood protection.

Approximately $19 million remains available in the second round of funding. Application materials are available at the DEP website.

The program supports two types of carbon sequestration projects  blue carbon through coastal ecosystem restoration and green carbon through forest and urban tree canopy enhancement.

The Natural Climate Solutions grant program supports New Jerseys 2050 goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent below 2006 levels.
She was on the hunt for relief.

Gail McCanns mattress was only four years into its 10-year warranty, but it had developed an indent. She could feel the springs digging into her hip when shed lay down.

After a series of surgeries, she wanted a comfortable mattress.

I have bulging disks above and below the plate they put in my neck, causing me pain in my shoulders, and I have lower back and hip pain, said the 66-year-old Boonton woman, who also had a cervical fusion.

Hoping she could replace her current mattress, she shared photos of the indent with Mattress Firm in East Hanover, where she made the purchase. It didnt approve a swap, but it offered 20% off a new mattress.

After some research, I decided a Tempur-Pedic would be best for me, she said. Even though they are notoriously expensive, I believed the hype that Id get the pain relief I was seeking.

She went to the store on Oct. 15.

The salesman said she could get a queen-sized Tempur-Pedic that had been returned, now in their outlet store, for much less than the cost of a new mattress, even with the 20% off.

Plus, it would even come with a free adjustable base, normally priced at $849.99.

He explained that people return mattresses for all kinds of reasons. They bought a queen, but really needed a full, or they bought a soft one and wanted a medium or firm, McCann said. He assured me that Tempur-Pedic would never sell a defective mattress.

Including a set-up fee, a three-year warranty for $99.99 and the cost to remove her old mattress, McCann paid $3,715.85. She took a 72-month interest-free financing deal offered by the store through Synchrony Bank to pay for it.

Gail McCann said she thought a Tempur-Pedic mattress would relieve her ailing back, hips and shoulders. Chris Pedota | For NJ Advance Me

The mattress was delivered two days later. But there was a problem.

The top right corner was compressed so badly I felt I would roll out of bed, she said.

McCann sent photos to the salesman, who agreed to send another mattress.

It arrived three days later and was even worse than the first, McCann said.

It created a huge valley where my hips were, she said. I was only able to get about four hours of sleep as I was in agony after the mattress settled down about five inches while sleeping.

She called the salesman again, but this time he said shed have to go through the warranty, managed for Mattress Firm by a company called Extend.

But when she called Extend, it had no record of her policy.

McCann called the store again, this time reaching a different salesman. She sent him a video showing what the mattress was doing.

(He) said hed never seen a mattress do that and agreed to send me another mattress, McCann said.

The next delivery was Nov. 5.

I had the delivery guys wait while I laid on it for about five minutes, she said. How long was I supposed to keep the delivery guys here? An hour? All night?

It seemed OK, and I honestly didnt think theyd send me another defective mattress, she said.

But this one, too, had issues. McCann said it was lumpy and has deep holes and is not comfortable to sleep in.

She called it unacceptable.

A remote control is placed in the five-inch indent in Gail McCann's Tempur-Pedic mattress. Chris Pedota | For NJ Advance Me

When she called the salesman, he said she would again need to go through the warranty company.

It was now a month since the original purchase, but Extend still had no record of her policy. The store was no help, either, she said.

She wrote to Mattress Firms corporate address, explaining her experience and asking for a full refund. She didnt get a response.

I spent $3,715.85 on these used mattresses and warranty. I also spent $90 in tips for the delivery guys for three different deliveries, not to mention the sleepless nights, worry and inconvenience, she said.

I feel that they stuck me with this outlet purchase  basically selling me other peoples garbage  and refused to help me when I had a problem."

Gail McCann sits on her Tempur-Pedic mattress. She said it doesnt support her and sinks lower as she sleeps. Chris Pedota | For NJ Advance Me

She filed a dispute with Synchrony, the financing company, and she asked Bamboozled for help.

We reviewed photos and video of the mattress, and we asked Mattress Firm to review McCanns complaints.

We also reached out to Somnigroup, the parent company of Tempur-Pedic. It did not respond.

Synchrony, in the meantime, denied the dispute without asking McCann for any more information.

But she did hear from a Mattress Firm customer escalations representative. The rep said the warranty not going through was a glitch.

She put through the paperwork, but it would take up to 14 days to process, McCann said she was told.

Then the rep offered a Mattress Firm credit, McCann said.

If I dont spend the entire amount, the balance will be a store credit and I still have to pay off the $3,700 (from the financing with Synchrony), she said.

The rep also said Tempur-Pedic outlet mattresses are covered by insurance, and if approved, McCann would probably receive around $1,500, which she could use towards the purchase of a new Tempur-Pedic.

I dont want to give Mattress Firm another penny, McCann said. I just want my money back.

We asked Mattress Firm if it would reconsider. It did.

The team identified an issue with the warranty that we were able to resolve in order to issue the refund, the company said. At Mattress Firm, customers are the top priority and these issues are taken seriously.

We asked for an explanation about the warranty issue. The answer? It wasnt set up properly, the company said.

Were not sure we know what that means, but we gave McCann the news.

I cant believe it. Im so relieved, McCann said.

She also said she feels better about Mattress Firm because theyre taking responsibility.

But, she said, shes not so sure shed buy a replacement mattress there.
Julie Roginsky, a Democrat, and Mike DuHaime, a Republican, are consultants who have worked on opposite teams for their entire careers yet have remained friends. Star-Ledger editor Enrique Lavin is moderator.

This week, we do a brief recap of the year in New Jersey and national politics  with a few predictions for 2026.

Q: Nationally, the return of Donald Trump to the White House and his avalanche of policy changes have dominated the headlines in 2025. What were the three biggest stories out of Washington that defined the year?

Julie: Its really one story, with many different chapters. The story is how fragile our democracy is and how we are slipping into authoritarianism because our institutions  from Congress to the Supreme Court  refuse to be a check on a dictatorial White House. If you need three examples, start with the extrajudicial rendition of asylum seekers to concentration camps like CECOT; our illegal war with Venezuela; and the weaponization of law enforcement to go after people this president does not like.

Mike: This question brings up part of Trumps political success, or at least survival, which I note is not the same as actual policy success. It is impossible to pick one big story or even three. Just when the press starts to focus in on the economy or the Epstein files, the military shoots an alleged drug boat, or the coast guard seizes an oil tanker, or the East Wing of the White House is demolished and replaced with a highway wedding reception venue, or Russia attacks Ukraine, or theres a peace deal in Gaza, or someone gets pardoned, or theres a government shutdown, or some political enemy is being investigated, or crypto must be sold, or theres an election (so he either must take credit or assign blame, depending on the result), and theres plenty more. Trump is relentlessly on offense all the time. When outside circumstances dictate a negative story, he initiates a new story. It is undoubtedly a political skill and shows a relentlessness that few others have to dictate the narrative.

What to watch

Q: What three storylines will you be watching in 2026?

Julie: I have given up on our leaders, but I have tremendous faith in the American people. So, I will be watching to see how they stand up to the dictator in the White House. I will also be watching to see whether Trump, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff betray Ukraine to Russias Putin and therefore put the final nail in the Pax Americana. And then, of course, I will be watching to see what happens in this Novembers elections and in the special elections that precede them.

Mike: I will watch Russia, as well. That was supposed to be solved in one day, and I am fascinated by the reports of Putins excitement when Witkoff was appointed by Trump, because the old KGB officer felt Witkoff could be manipulated. I will also watch to see the publics satisfaction on the economy in the leadup to the midterm elections.

N.J.s defining moments

Q: The gubernatorial race to replace Gov. Murphy, and the election of former Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill marked the year in politics in New Jersey. What were the three defining moments of 2025?

Julie: There were several that I found fascinating. The first was the election of the first female Democratic governor, who I am optimistic will usher in a whole new culture in Trenton. Lots of governors have promised to do that and I helped elect some of them. None did it but I am hoping that Gov-elect Sherrill will be the first, because shes had lived experiences as a woman in male-dominated fields that will pave the way for others. The second thing is that this was the first legislative election without the line, which saw several strong assembly members beat organizational candidates  something that would never have happened elsewhere. The third is the end of the Murphy administration, which feels like the end of a sclerotic era that is mercifully on its way out.

Mike: In New Jersey, the whole game is the governors election, so moment Number One was Gov.-elect Sherrill winning the election. Moment No. 2 was the governor-elect navigating the primary and coming out as the centrist Democrat, with people running hard to her left and to her right. This positioned her perfectly for the general, so kudos to Sherrills campaign manager Alex Ball, and the rest of her team for navigating that. Finally, big moment No. 3 was Jack Ciattarelli being endorsed by Trump. It sealed both the primary election and the general election in the same exact moment. It is very difficult to win a primary against Trumps endorsement (though Curtis Bashaw did in 2024) so Jack was on solid ground; but his unwillingness to deviate from Trump during the fall  to be more like the center-right candidate he was in 2021 or when he was in the Legislature  ended any shot of winning in this environment.

Looking into the crystal ball

Q: Whats your biggest prediction for 2026  in New Jersey? And from D.C.?

Julie: My prediction for 2026 is that the MAGA coalition, which began to splinter earlier this year, will turn on each other in even more unhinged ways. The revolution always eats its young and those who enabled the most abhorrent behavior will now find themselves victims of it.

In New Jersey, I think we will continue to see the demise of Democratic candidates who are the selection of party bosses and who are well out of step with the activist energy that is driving the party both nationally and in New Jersey.

Mike: Nationally, I am not 100% there with Julie yet. Some MAGA fracturing will continue, and we will wonder if Trump is losing his grip. And then Democrats will win back the House, most likely, and then we will really wonder if Trump is losing his grip on the party. After that, the 2028 candidates will start heading to New Hampshire and Iowa, and then we will see that the MAGA grip will hold in the primary, especially in Iowa and South Carolina. Vance will be the favorite, but DeSantis and Rubio and Cruz and others will all jump in trying to out-MAGA each other. The only way Trumps grip breaks is someone winning against his endorsement in 2028, or the party losing the presidency in 2028, which only happens if national Democrats get their act together.

At home, we will be watching Gov. Sherrills first 100 days and how she handles the energy and affordability crises her party has handed her.

Political consultants Julie Roginsky and Mike DuHaime Photo by Stephanie Cowan

Editors note: Can Americans still have a sensible and friendly political discussion across the partisan divide? The answer is yes, and we prove it every week with this Friendly Fire conversation.
Watertown, NY (13601)

Today

Light snow this morning will transition to snow showers this afternoon. High 26F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 80%. Snow accumulations less than one inch..

Tonight

Occasional snow showers. Low 12F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 60%.
A bid to ban ultra-loud fireworks in parts of South Devon has failed to ignite the support of local councillors.

Members of South Hams council debated a motion calling for a big bang ban on the use of fireworks hitting more than 80 decibels on its land.

But they were told that the council had received no complaints over loud fireworks, and there were no displays on council land anyway. Big summer displays at Dartmouth, Salcombe and Kingsbridge are fired from the water instead.

The motion also called on the council to encourage the use of silent fireworks, but Cllr Jonathan Hawkins (Con, Dartmouth and East Dart) told colleagues: Britannia Royal Naval College has silent fireworks, and theyre just not the same.

The motion was put forward by Cllr Anna Presswell (Green, Totnes) who said: Military veterans suffering varying degrees of PTSD are triggered, as are Ukrainian and other refugees living in the area. They find the explosions uncomfortable, having fled conflict zones.

She said noisy fireworks caused stress and sometimes death to animals, who were fearful and panicked. Dogs had run away, cattle had bolted and there were cases in which horses had been killed.

Other authorities such as Sunderland City Council had already imposed a ban, she added.

Quiet fireworks still have a pop and a fizzle. With some good music there would be very little change in the number of people going along.

I could get dozens, if not hundreds, of local residents supporting the idea of quiet fireworks.

But, said council leader Dan Thomas (Lib Dem, Newton and Yealmpton): I could get hundreds, if not thousands of people supporting noisy fireworks at the right time of year, in the right place and for the right reasons.

Cllr Samantha Dennis (Con, Salcombe and Thurlestone) added: The volunteer organisers of displays in my ward are pet owners and farmers. They are responsible people.

We should be celebrating and supporting these individuals, not putting more restrictions on the events they organise. It would have a detrimental effect on charities and fundraising.

And Cllr David Hancock (Lib Dem, South Brent) told the meeting: At a time when the hospitality industry is really struggling, a ban on loud fireworks would have an economic impact.

Members voted by 18 to four, with two abstentions, not to support the big bang ban.
A Life Shaped by Dartmoor

For George Welch, Dartmoor is not just a backdrop, its the landscape that has shaped his family, his work, and his lifelong passion for horses. To the south of the moor, the gentler hills and valleys of the South Hams merge with the uplands where his wife Rebeccas family has farmed for more than sixty years. What Im seeing now is the moor is woefully undergrazed, Rebecca says, recalling her childhood on Dockwell Ridge. Once the farmers and their stock are lost, they wont come again.

Georges own family history runs deep in Totnes, with mayors, solicitors and farmers tracing back over four centuries. He remembers riding with his grandfather, Joe Kellock, from the family farm to Huntington Warren for picnics, passing the very upland he now farms. Its the same landscape, but you see it differently with age, he reflects.

READ NEXT: Plymouth council decision puts pressure on Exeter over election delay vote

George and Rebecca first knew each other through hunting and Pony Club, their families were close, and horses were at the centre of both households. Rebeccas father, Michael Ogle, was a respected breeder and trainer of point-to-point horses. When George went to work for him as a teenage farm student, he caught the racing bug that would become a lifelong pursuit.

Horses, Racing and Community

In the 1970s and 1980s, George was a regular on the West Country point-to-point circuit, riding for Michael Ogle, his own mother Josephine Welch, and other South West owner-trainers. Maiden races with 27 runners at Ottery, he laughs, nobody thought twice about safety factors back then.

Those years were filled with community and camaraderie, and the occasional late night at The Grasshopper. He rode for a decade before hanging up his boots in his late twenties, though he returned briefly in his early forties to partner Bomba Charger, one of Ogles last homebreds. After stringing together three consecutive wins, two aboard Bomba Charger, he decided it was time to retire from the saddle for good.

Georges passion for racing never waned. He began stewarding at meetings across the South West, later chairing panels at both point-to-points and under rules. His long service includes stewarding at Cheltenham Festival, and nine years as Clerk of the Course at Buckfastleigh.

ABOVE : George with his sheep on the farm (Credit: The Welch Family)

Newton Abbot Racecourse

For the past 25 years, George has also been a director of Newton Abbot Racecourse Ltd, taking particular responsibility for the track and its racing product. Following the death of long-standing Chairman Hugh Michelmore earlier this year, George and fellow director Peter Austin have stepped into the role jointly, blending their complementary experience.

George calls Newton Abbot our racecourse, one of the few truly independent racecourses left in Britain. Founded in 1866, it remains owned by 50 local families whose involvement often stretches back generations.

Newton is the brainchild and love of local families, says Rebecca. If it disappeared, the loss would be tremendous.

George agrees: Theres something special about Newton, the family feel of the staff, the closeness of the paddock and the stands, the sound of the crowd as they set out for the last lap. The only places that cheer like that are Aintree, Cheltenham and Newton.

Recent years have brought challenges, from Covid disruptions to flooding and new irrigation needs, but the loyalty of shareholders and the enduring enthusiasm of West Country racegoers have kept Newton thriving. Crowds remain strong, and its future secure.

Totnes and Bridgetown Races Company

As Chairman of Totnes and Bridgetown Races Company Ltd, George oversees funds from the sale of the old Totnes racecourse, ensuring proceeds support West Country racing and country sports. The company sponsors point-to-point races and Hunter Chases at Newton Abbot and Exeter, as well as its own meeting at Flete Park.

During the pandemic, it funded YouTube livestreaming to keep the sport alive when spectators were barred, innovation George describes as the lifeblood of racing.

Farming, Resilience and Change

Alongside racing, George has always farmed. His system is unusual: a lowland organic flock grazes the Dartmoor fringe, while lambs are finished on his South Hams home farm. He converted to organic production after the foot-and-mouth crisis of the 1990s, when livestock prices collapsed. It forced us to change, he says. We went from being price takers to price makers.

The shift to local marketing brought resilience, something he believes Dartmoor farmers need more than ever today. Theres huge pressure on the moor, George notes. Without farmers, Dartmoors community, character and ecology are at risk.

Rebecca echoes that view. Weve seen rapid changes, she says. Large areas are undergrazed and scrub is taking over. Once the hefted livestock are gone, they wont come back.

ABOVE : George on his quad on the farm (Credit: The Welch Family)

Family and the Future

George and Rebecca married 35 years ago, Rebecca jokes she came back from America and married the boy next door. Together, theyve raised their children with horses and farming at the heart of family life.

Their daughters Hannah and Tamby raced ponies on tracks from Perth to Wadebridge, part of a generation in which over 60% of pony racing graduates went on to careers in racing, George notes proudly. The family have also enjoyed keeping the occasional racehorse under rules, with several Newton Abbot runners among their highlights.

For George, Southern Dartmoor and the South Hams represent both home and heritage, a continuity of farming and horsemanship that spans centuries. Nothing raises the spirits more than a local winner, he says. Whether on the farm, at the races, or walking the moor, George Welch remains rooted in the land and traditions of Dartmoor.
A Barnstaple teenager who is keen to help other children has made a special visit to the childrens ward at North Devon District Hospital.

Mila-Monroe Gore, aged 13, organised an appeal for selection boxes to take to the Caroline Thorpe Ward in Barnstaple on Christmas Eve.

The Park School pupil, who has recently been crowned Junior Miss Devon for the second time, has already done a great deal of community work and she wanted to do something for children who are in hospital over Christmas.

Mila said she felt that being unwell and away from home at that time of year must be incredibly hard and added: Christmas is meant to be a happy time and I felt sad thinking about children who have to spend it in hospital instead of at home with their families.

With help from mum Connie, the appeal was shared on social media, and two local businesses very kindly donated money which was used to buy the selection boxes plus, Milas classmates and her tutor at Park School donated selection boxes themselves.

The boxes were delivered by Mila and Connie on Christmas Eve for children on the ward as well as their siblings and even included gluten and dairy-free options.

Mila is passionate about representing Barnstaple and Devon and is currently preparing to represent Devon at the national finals of the UK National Miss Pageant later in 2026.

READ NEXT: Can you help Barnstaples Mila shine on the national stage?
The late former sex symbol and actress Brigitte Bardot was an inveterate animal advocate. Year after year she railed against Eid al-Adha and halal slaughter in her native France, telling the press, "1,000 sheep were slaughtered last month only 300 yards from my house," in 1996.

To thank Allah for sparing Ibrahim's child from death, Muslim families sacrifice sheep, goats, cows, buffaloes and camels in public on the holiday. In 2017, news outlets photographed rivers of blood in Bangladesh and a photo of a little girl dressed in her best clothes, standing in a street of blood. For animal lovers Eid al- Adha is the saddest day of the year.

When Bardot and the president of Tunisia's Society for the Protection of Animals approached French Interior Minister Jean-Louis Debre in the 1990's about the outdoor, ritual slaughter he reportedly said he could not apply French humane slaughter laws to the event because he feared backlash and being termed anti-Muslim.

Ritual slaughter, both halal and kosher, in which animals are not stunned and therefore not spared the pain of suffering, has been hotly debated in Europe, sometimes pitting animal advocates against religious figures.

Bardot's international work through the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the Welfare and Protection of Animals cut a wide swath, protecting horses, seals, dolphins, dogs, bears, tigers, rhinos, fighting bulls and food and lab animals.

Nevertheless, in 2008, Bardot was convicted of inciting racial/religious hatred for a letter she wrote to then Interior Minister of France Nicolas Sarkozy objecting to the ritual slaughter of sheep in France by slitting their throats with no anesthesia. A culture that perpetrates was "imposing its habits" upon France she wrote. Her trial ended with a conviction and fine of --15,000.

In 2019, she was c harged with racial hatred, this time for objecting to cruel animal treatment by indigenous people on the French island of Re'union in a letter she wrote to the island's prefect, Amaury de Saint-Quentin.

Censoring of news to prevent sentiment that could cast Islam in a bad light is hardly limited to Brigitte Bardot or animals news. It buried the fate of the 86-year-old French Catholic priest Jacques Hamel who was beheaded in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray in 2016 and the beheading of French middle school teacher Samuel Paty in the Parisian suburb of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine in 2020 both by religious zealots.

Unlike most aging sex symbols who retire in obscurity, Bardot used her notoriety to save legions of animals from suffering. She will be missed.

(Article changed on Dec 28, 2025 at 2:12 PM EST)
He slapped his stupid name on The Kennedy Center. The *@*%+#*ing Kennedy Center! Are you kidding me? The master of sloth, pride and lust had to remind us of his penchant for envy?

Of course it's illegal, but honestly, it's obscene. The John F. Kennedy Center is not only a cultural landmark in Washington, D.C., it is a memorial to a slain president. Yet Trump slapped his name above Kennedy's on the memorial to Kennedy, a president loved, admired and respected by millions of Americans, a true patron of the arts. And a war hero to boot.

The new, handpicked-by-Trump board of directors supposedly voted unanimously to change the name of the center, apparently to reflect the tackiness and total lack of class he has brought to the institution. Having also named himself chairman of the board, he has transformed it from first-class to no class with the ease and skill of a onetime reality TV-show host.

No, he's no Jack Kennedy. Mr. Bone Spurs undoubtedly never saw the movie or read "PT 109," a book about Kennedy's military service in World War II. In fact, a lot of Americans today probably aren't familiar with the story, so here's Google AI's summary:

"PT-109 was an 80-foot Elco motor patrol torpedo boat famously commanded by Lieutenant John F. Kennedy (the future 35th U.S. President) during World War II. The vessel is best known for its sinking in the Solomon Islands on August 2, 1943, after being rammed by a Japanese destroyer.

"The Collision: While patrolling Blackett Strait at night, the radar-less PT-109 was struck and sliced in half by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri, which was traveling at high speed.

"Initial Loss: Two crewmen, Harold Marney and Andrew Jackson Kirksey, were killed instantly in the collision and explosion.

"Heroic Swim: Kennedy and the 10 remaining survivors clung to the floating bow for hours before swimming 3.5 miles to a small, uninhabited island (Plum Pudding Island). Kennedy famously towed a badly burned crewman, Patrick McMahon, by a life jacket strap clenched in his teeth.

"The Rescue: The crew survived for several days on various islets by eating coconuts. They were eventually discovered by two Solomon Islander scouts, Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana, who were working with an Australian coastwatcher.

"The Coconut Message: Kennedy carved a distress message into a coconut shell, which the scouts delivered to the coastwatcher, leading to the crew's rescue by other PT boats on August 8, 1943."

-- A life jacket strap clenched in his teeth.

-- Navy and Marine Corps Medal.

-- Purple Heart

-- Pulitzer Prize for book, "Profiles in Courage"

-- Youngest person elected president, at 43

As president:

-- The goal of putting a man on the moon and returning him.

-- The Peace Corps

-- The Cuban Missile Crisis

-- "Ich bin ein Berliner."

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By Karl Grossman and Harvey Wasserman

The Trump family is now directly investing in atomic energy. Its money-losing Truth Social company has become part-owner of a major fusion nuclear power endeavor.

Among much more, the investments mean the Trump family stands to profit directly from White House attacks on wind, solar and other cheap, clean renewable energies which for decades have been driving fusion, fission and fossil fuels toward economic oblivion.

"A Trump-sponsored business is once again betting on an industry that the president has championed, further entwining his personal fortunes in sectors that his administration is both supporting and overseeing," reported an article on the front page of the business section of the New York Times last week. "This one is in the nuclear power sector. TAE Technologies, which is developing fusion energy, said on Thursday that it planned to merge with Trump Media & Technology Group. President Trump is the largest shareholder of the money-losing social media and crypto investment firm that bears his name, and he will remain a major investor in the combined company."

The headline of the piece: "Trump's Push Into Nuclear Is Raising Questions."

The primary asks have to do with economic conflicts of interest, and public safety.

"The deal, should it be completed," the article continued, "would put Mr. Trump in competition with other energy companies over which his administration holds financial and regulatory sway. Already, the president has sought to gut safety oversight of nuclear power plants and lower thresholds for human radiation exposure."

CNN reported: "Nuclear fusion companies are regulated by the federal government and will likely need Uncle Sam's deep research and even deeper pockets to become commercially viable. The merger needs to be approved by federal regulators-- some of whom were nominated by Trump."

CNN quoted Richard Painter, chief White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, as saying: "There is a clear conflict of interest here. Every other president since the Civil War has divested from business interests that would conflict with official duties. President Trump has done the opposite." Painter is now a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School.

"Having the president and his family have a large stake in a particular energy source is very problematic," said Peter A. Bradford, who previously served on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the agency meant to oversee the nuclear industry in the United States, in the Times article.

"The Trump administration has sought to accelerate nuclear power technology-- including fusion, which remains unproven," Bradford said. "That support has come in the form of federal loans and grants, as well as executive orders directing the NRC to review and approve applications more quickly."

Still, the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said in a statement that "neither the president nor his family have ever engaged, or will ever engage, in conflicts of interest." And the Times piece continued, "a spokeswoman for Trump Media" said the company was "scrupulously following all applicable rules and regulations, and any hypothetical speculation about ethics violations is wholly unsupported by the facts." It went on that "Trump's stake in Trump Media, recently valued at $1.6 billion, is held in a trust managed by Donald Trump Jr., his eldest son. Trump Media is the parent company of Truth Social, the struggling social-media platform. The merger would set Trump Media in a new strategic direction, while giving TAE a stock market listing as it continues to develop its nuclear fusion technology."

The Guardian quoted the CEO of Trump Media, Devin Nunes, the arch-conservative former member of the House of Representatives from California and close to Trump, who is currently chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board, saying Trump Media has "built un-cancellable infrastructure to secure free expression online for Americans. And now we're taking a big step forward toward a revolutionary technology that will cement America's global energy dominance for generations." Nunes is the would be co-CEO of the merged company

A current member of the U.S. House, Don Beyer, a Democrat from Virginia, said in a statement quoted in Politico that the deal raises "significant concerns" about conflicts of interest and avenues for potential corruption. "The President has consistently used both government powers and taxpayer money to benefit his own financial interests and those of his family and political allies. This merger will necessitate congressional oversight to ensure that the U.S. government and public funds are properly directed towards fusion research and development in ways that benefit the American people, as opposed to the Trump family and their corporate holdings."

By federal law (the Price-Anderson Act of 1957) the US commercial atomic power industry has been shielded from liability in major accidents it might cause. The "Nuclear Clause" in every US homeowner's insurance policy explicitly denies coverage for losses or damages caused, directly or indirectly, caused by a nuclear reactor accident.

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Vancouver police shot and killed a male just before midnight Saturday after responding to a report of a disturbance with a weapon at a residence.

Two officers discharged their weapons after a male confronted them with a firearm, the Police Department said in a news release early Sunday morning. The initial call to police had reported a male pointing a firearm at a woman and firing at least one shot inside the home near the 13200 block of N.E. 46th St.

The male was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The two officers, plus a third officer who witnessed the shooting, have been placed on critical incident leave, a normal protocol after police shootings.

The Washington State Office of Independent Investigations will take over the investigation because it involved police.

Cameras that are part of the Police Departments Body Worn Camera Program and in-car cameras will be reviewed and released at a later date, along with the names of the officers. The Clark County Medical Examiners Office will release name of the man who was killed.

The concluded investigation will be forwarded to the Clark County Prosecutors Office for review.
The Portland Winterhawks do a better job of preventing goals than they had been doing before the Christmas break, but in their first game back from Christmas, the Tri-City Americans stifle them on defense, and turnovers lead to all four Ams goals in a 4-1 Tri-City win.

Xavier Wendt earned top honors with 28 saves on 29 shots; 29 shots being 4 below Portlands average. Savin Virk and Gavin Garland had 3 points, and Connor Dale 2.

Its Portlands 4th loss in 5 games with goalie Ondrej Stebetak and defenseman Max Psenicka at World Juniors. But with Portland losing this one more on offense, its not clear they would have made a big difference.

For Tri-City, its their 4th win in a row, and they catch Portland in points with 2 games in hand, although technically Portland still has the tiebreaker with more wins.

The teams rematch in Portland on Sunday.

Scoring summary

1st 10:11 TC Connor Dale (Savin Virk, Gavin Garland) 0-1 As Griffin Darby and Ryan Miller pass it back and forth behind the Portland net, Dale pressures Darby, causing a slower pass. Virk jumps on it behind the net and puts it back to Dale right of the net ahead of Carter Sotheran for a point-blank goal. 1st 10:21 POR Luke Wilfley (Reed Brown) 1-1 Portland gets almost the same type of goal. Off the next faceoff, David Byrne tracks down a puck in the Tri-City corner, and tries a D-to-D pass behind the net to Dylan LeBret. Brown jumps on the pass directly behind the net and feeds Wilfley for a one-timer right of the goal, Wilfleys first in the WHL. 2nd 3:27 TC Crew Martinson (Tomas Racz) 1-2 Martinson knocks the puck away from Cameron Jacobson at the Tri-City blue line, creating an Ams 3 on 2 led by Racz down the right wing. He sends a seam pass back over to Martin, the open man, and he wrists one home from the left faceoff dot. 3rd 15:39 TC Savin Virk (Gavin Garland, Connor Dale) 1-3 Carter Sotheran gets two shots at goal as Portland starts their push, then while trying to stickhandle to his third in the high slot, he gets cut off by Dale, the puck goes to Garland, and he pushes it ahead to Virk for a 2 on 0 with Garland. Virk uses Garland as a decoy and fires it home. 3rd 17:08 TC (EN) Savin Virk (Gavin Garland, Grady Martin) 1-4 Winterhawks with the desperation pull early, and the Ams ice it. Alex Weiermair tries to get it back to the point under pressure from Martin, but Garland intercepts it and pushes it ahead to Virk for the empty-net goal.

Portland leads by 2+

0:00 Portland leads by 1

0:00 Tied

23:17 Portland trails by 1

32:22 Portland trails by 2+ 4:21

Narratives

Pregame: Both teams returning after the Christmas break, in a bit of a scrambly way as it often is, players getting back on short notice with little chance of practice. Both teams missing players to World Juniors. Portland missing veteran Kyle McDonough, Tri-City missing Cash Koch to illness. The Americans on a 3-game winning streak, Portland trying to come back from defensive struggles right before the break.

1st period: An even period in the end, 11-11 and 1-1. Tri-City got the first goal off a turnover and led in shots at that point 9-3. But Portland came back 10 seconds later and had a big shot advantage after that.

2nd period: A period that got testy with two fights. The Americans got the early goal, but Portland got their shot advantage up to 22-17 before the Ams pulled it back in the last 5 minutes.

3rd period: Tri-City did a great job shutting down Portland, only giving them 2 shots in the first 10 minutes. As it looked like the Winterhawks might start pushing, they gave up a 2 on 0 and the Ams insurance goal. Then the empty net goal and that was that.

How it was won: Defensive effort and goaltending on the part of the Ams. All of Portlands big guns--Ryan Miller, Alex Weiermair, Jordan Duguay, Carter Sotheran--were held scoreless

Key stretch/moment: Savin Virks 2 on 0 goal to make it 3-1 late in the 3rd.

Surprising: Tri-City, with the 4th worst shot differential in the league, beat Portland, whos in the plus in differential, 33-29.

Not surprising: Xavier Wendt continuing his string of big games.

Controversies: Nothing really, although the officials only called 3 power plays.

Best team won?: Yes.

Injuries/suspensions: Well have to see whats up with Kyle McDonough.

The players

Top 10 Stat line Xavier Wendt TC 28 saves-29 shots The league leader in save percentage pushed his numbers higher. Well see if he goes again on Sunday. Charlie Elick TC He and defense partner Carter Savage anchored TCs defense that held Portland down. Cruz Chase POR 29 saves-32 shots Not a lot of chance on any of the Ams goals. Gave the Winterhawks a chance to win. Gavin Garland TC 3 assists Two setups to Savin Virk in the 3rd to push Tri-Citys margin out. 5-game point streak. Connor Dale TC 1 goal, 1 assist Continues his breakout 20-year-old season with the first goal and starting the play leading to the insurance goal. Savin Virk TC 2 goals, 1 assist A breakaway and an empty-netter in the 3rd to extend the margin. 4-game point streak. Carter Savage TC Like Elick, +3 with no goals against. Crew Martinson TC 1 goal The eventual winner. Tomas Racz TC 1 assist Set up the eventual winner. Cole Slobodian POR Portlands best defender in a defensive game.

Other notables Stat line Luke Wilfley POR 1 goal First WHL goal. Reed Brown POR 1 assist 3-game point streak.

Postgame

Winterhawks Americans Record

18-16 (.529) 17-13-2 (.563) Goals/game

3.7 2.9 Goals allowed/game

4.0 3.2 Team shooting %

.108 .103 Team save %

.881 .905 Power play

24.2% 18.0% Penalty kill

70.9% 74.0% Power plays for/game

4.5 3.1 Power plays against/game

3.7 3.1 Outshooting opponents

15-19 11-20-1 After 1 period

12-13-9 6-10-16 After 2 periods

12-17-5 14-13-5 Score, last 10 games

35-41 (-6) 29-29 (0) Score, last 20 games 75-82 (-7) 64-55 (+9)

Portland Winterhawks

They dropped from 4th to 6th in a conference where you can throw a blanket over 9 teams. Theyve only scored 2.6 goals per game in their last 8 games, so the offense has been down some lately.

Tri-City Americans

In their 4-game winning streak theyve scored exactly 4 each game. Theyve scored exactly 4 eight times in their last 14 games. After having big troubles on defense for a few years, they looked really solid in this game.

They could be 4th with a win on Sunday.

Next games

Sunday 12/28 vs. Tri-City, 4pm PST

Wednesday 12/31 vs. Everett, 5pm PST

Friday 1/2 at Wenatchee, 7pm PST

Saturday 1/3 vs. Vancouver, 6pm PST

next Sunday 1/4 vs. Wenatchee, 4pm PST

Looking ahead: Saturday 1/17 at Seattle, 6pm PST
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.  President Donald Trump will host his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Sunday to try to close out a peace agreement that would end nearly four years of war sparked by Moscows invasion of Ukraine. Russia intensified its attacks on Ukraines capital and elsewhere in the days before the meeting.

Trump said he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday in advance of the meeting. I just had a good and very productive telephone call with President Putin, he posted on Truth Social. The Kremlin confirmed the call without giving details.

Trump and Zelenskyy will meet at Mar-a-Lago, Trumps private club in Palm Beach, where the U.S. president is spending the holidays. Zelenskyy, who arrived in Miami in the morning, said the two planned to discuss security and economic agreements in their early afternoon meeting. He said he will raise territorial issues as Moscow and Kyiv remain fiercely at odds over the fate of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.

In overnight developments, three guided aerial bombs launched by Russia struck private homes in the eastern city of Sloviansk, according to the head of the local military administration, Vadym Lakh. Three people were injured and one man died, Lakh said in a post on the Telegram messenger app.

The strike came the day after Russia attacked Ukraines capital with ballistic missiles and drones on Saturday, killing at least one person and wounding 27, a day before planned talks between the leaders of Ukraine and the United States, Ukrainian authorities said. Explosions boomed across Kyiv as the attack began in the early morning and continued for hours.

President Donald Trump pumps his fist at Christmas Eve dinner at his Mar-a-Lago club, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) AP

In advance of his meeting with Trump, Zelenskyy said Sunday that he spoke on the phone with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, filling him in on the situation on the frontline and on the consequences of Russian strikes. He posted on X: Thank you, Keir, for the constant coordination! Zelenskyys office said he will speak by phone with allies after the meeting with Trump.

Trump, on Truth Social, said he and Zelenskyy will meet in the main dining room of Mar-a-Lago and the news media will be allowed in.

In a meeting Saturday with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Zelenskyy said the key to peace is pressure on Russia and sufficient, strong support for Ukraine. To that end, Carney announced more economic assistance from his government to help Ukraine rebuild.

Denouncing the barbarism of Russias latest attacks on Kyiv, Carney credited both Zelenskyy and Trump with creating the conditions for a just and lasting peace at a crucial moment.

Ukraine is willing to do whatever it takes to stop this war, Zelenskyy posted Saturday. We need to be strong at the negotiating table.

In response to the attacks, he wrote: We want peace, and Russia demonstrates a desire to continue the war. If the whole world  Europe and America  is on our side, together we will stop Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump and Zelenskyy sitting down face-to-face also underscored the apparent progress made by Trumps top negotiators in recent weeks as the sides traded draft peace plans and continued to shape a proposal to end the fighting. Zelenskyy told reporters Friday that the 20-point draft proposal negotiators have discussed is about 90% ready  echoing a figure, and the optimism, that U.S. officials conveyed when Trumps chief negotiators met with Zelenskyy in Berlin earlier this month.

During the recent talks, the U.S. agreed to offer certain security guarantees to Ukraine similar to those offered to other members of NATO. The proposal came as Zelenskyy said he was prepared to drop his countrys bid to join the security alliance if Ukraine received NATO-like protection that would be designed to safeguard it against future Russian attacks.

Karen Blake of Ft. Lauderdale, poses with a sign at the "Rally in Support of Ukraine" organized by the Ukrainian Association of Florida as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with U.S. President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in West Palm Beach, Fla., Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck) AP

Intensive weeks ahead

Zelenskyy also spoke on Christmas Day with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trumps son-in-law. The Ukrainian leader said they discussed certain substantive details and cautioned there is still work to be done on sensitive issues and the weeks ahead may also be intensive.

The U.S. president has been working to end the war in Ukraine for much of his first year back in office, showing irritation with both Zelenskyy and Putin while publicly acknowledging the difficulty of ending the conflict. Long gone are the days when, as a candidate in 2024, he boasted that he could resolve the fighting in a day.

After hosting Zelenskyy at the White House in October, Trump demanded that both Russia and Ukraine halt fighting and stop at the battle line, implying that Moscow should be able to keep the territory it has seized from Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said last week that he would be willing to withdraw troops from Ukraines eastern industrial heartland as part of a plan to end the war, if Russia also pulls back and the area becomes a demilitarized zone monitored by international forces.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Friday that the Kremlin had already been in contact with U.S.

It was agreed upon to continue the dialogue, he said.

Putin wants Russian gains kept, and more

Putin has publicly said he wants all the areas in four key regions that have been captured by his forces, as well as the Crimean Peninsula, illegally annexed in 2014, to be recognized as Russian territory. He also has insisted that Ukraine withdraw from some areas in eastern Ukraine that Moscows forces havent captured. Kyiv has publicly rejected all those demands.

The Kremlin also wants Ukraine to abandon its bid to join NATO. It warned that it wouldnt accept the deployment of any troops from members of the military alliance and would view them as a legitimate target.

Putin also has said Ukraine must limit the size of its army and give official status to the Russian language, demands he has made from the outset of the conflict.

Putins foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, told the business daily Kommersant this month that Russian police and national guard would stay in parts of Donetsk - one of the two major areas, along with Luhansk, that make up the Donbas region  even if they become a demilitarized zone under a prospective peace plan.

Rescuers put fragments of a body of the victim into a plastic bag after Russian drone hit a multi-storey apartment building during massive missile and drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) AP

Ushakov cautioned that trying to reach a compromise could take a long time. He said U.S. proposals that took into account Russian demands had been worsened by alterations proposed by Ukraine and its European allies.

Trump has been somewhat receptive to Putins demands, making the case that the Russian president can be persuaded to end the war if Kyiv agrees to cede Ukrainian land in the Donbas region and if Western powers offer economic incentives to bring Russia back into the global economy.

 Will Weissert, Seung Min Kim and Elise Morton. Kim reported from Washington and Morton from London. Associated Press writers Illia Novikov in Kyiv and Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed.
Henry Shigehiro Sakamoto, a civic leader in Portlands Japanese American community who also shaped Oregons grain economy, died in November at the age of 98.

His son, Blake Sakamoto, said in a social media post Friday that his father  who is largely responsible for downtown Portlands iconic cherry blossoms  passed away peacefully on Nov. 25.

The lifelong Portland resident leaves behind a legacy of business and civic accomplishments over the course of his nearly century-long life, including the growth of Oregons international wheat trade with Japan, serving as the first president of the Oregon Nikkei Endowment and helping to create the Japanese American Historical Plaza on Portlands waterfront, his son said.

In a 2017 interview with The Oregonian/OregonLive, Sakamoto  then 90 years old  said that he was born in Portland to two Japanese American immigrants, who raised him and his brothers while managing a hotel they ran in downtown Portland.

As a teenager during WWII, Henry "Shig" Sakamoto was interned at the Minidoka War Relocation Center, Minidoka, Idaho. He is shown here as a baby with his mother, Hisano and his brother, George, left. Beth Nakamura LC- LC-

Portland was home to over 1,680 people of Japanese descent at the time he was growing up, and the thriving community collectively owned 100 hotels and apartments, 64 grocery stores and 39 laundry services, while others managed barbershops and restaurants.

But that all changed in the aftermath of the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese in December 1941, when Sakamoto was a 15-year-old Lincoln high school student.

Overnight, the Federal government and many West Coast citizens turned a suspicious eye on residents and citizens of Japanese descent. Mounting racism and xenophobia prompted non-Japanese employers to fire Japanese employees without cause, while FBI agents roamed communities, arresting people and confiscating personal items  including the teenaged Sakamotos Brownie camera.

That was a hysterical period, Sakamoto told an Oregonian reporter in 2017. All the Japanese families just started throwing away anything Japanese.

Months later, in May 1942, Sakamoto and his family were ordered to abandon their homes and businesses, surrender themselves and move to federal prison camps. Along with more than 100,000 other Japanese Americans, they found themselves living behind barbed wire fences, with substandard healthcare and uncomfortable living conditions.

Photos as seen from the pages of "Minidoka Interlude," a yearbook produced by Japanese Americans interned during WWII at the Minidoka War Relocation Center, Minidoka, Idaho. Beth Nakamura LC- LC-

He said that Minidoka War Relocation Center  the camp where his family was incarcerated for years  had no running water in its family living quarters, and was very dirty and very uncomfortable.

Sakamotos brother, Tom, developed meningitis while the family was incarcerated there, and the poor medical care at Minidokas hospitals offered did little to stave off the infection. He died in 1943 at age 18.

Despite the hardships of the federal prison camp system, Sakamoto applied to Ohio Wesleyan University and got an education pass to leave the camp when the college accepted him as a student.

He studied there for two years, and found himself drafted into the U.S. Army in 1946, not long after the camps that housed Japanese American prisoners closed in the wake of Japans surrender in 1945.

He returned to Oregon after he finished his military service, and continued his education at the University of Oregon, where he majored in business. Shortly after he graduated, he landed a job at the United States Department of Agriculture.

Blake Sakamoto said that his father worked there for over 30 years, managing grain inventories across the western states and shoring up trade between Oregon wheat farms and Japanese buyers.

In the late 70s, Sakamoto started speaking out about the injustices that Japanese Americans experienced at the hands of the U.S. government during World War II, and he shared his experience at Portlands first Day of Remembrance for the mass incarceration.

In 1988, Congress passed a bill that gave each incarceration camp survivor $20,000  which Sakamoto and a few others put toward creating the Japanese American Historical Plaza in Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

He also served as president of the Japanese Ancestral Society and commander of the Oregon Nisei Veterans, and his decades of service eventually earned him a Heart of the Community Award in 2011 and, in 2021, the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays from the Government of Japan.

He will be greatly missed by all of us, Blake Sakamoto said in his Friday statement. Henry Sakamotos legacy endures in Portlands civic life, its cherry blossoms, and the generations he inspired.
Aespa member Karina impressed fans and viewers with her unexpected archery abilities when she appeared alongside broadcaster Jang Do-yeon on the latest episode of Netflix's travel variety show, "Getaway and go With Jandobra."

The episode, which premiered on December 27, marked Karina's debut as a travel companion on "Getaway and Go With Jangdobari" Season 3. The two headed to Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, a city surrounded by nature, for an overnight trip filled with various activities.

The collaboration fulfilled a long-standing wish from Karina, who had previously suggested to Jang Do-yeon during an appearance on the YouTube variety show "Salon Drip 2" that they work together on a travel program, according to allkpop.

From the moment they began their trip, Karina showed genuine enthusiasm about spending time with Jang Do-yeon, whom she has openly supported as a fan for years. Jang Do-yeon responded warmly to Karina's energy, saying the show itself had been first imagined through Karina's suggestion and calling her "like the mother of this program." The episode captured their fresh chemistry as they created new memories together.

One of the standout moments involved an archery challenge. Karina attempted archery for the first time during the episode, and despite being a beginner, she demonstrated impressive skill with the bow, DIPE reported.

The two engaged in a competitive archery match, with the winner earning the role of Prince Jumong and the loser taking the role of Mopalm. Karina's performance surprised both Jang Do-yeon and audiences, as she held her own in a tight competition with her more experienced partner.

During the show, Karina also mentioned feeling self-conscious about her arm length relative to her height, but once she picked up the bow, her expression changed as she became focused and competitive. Her determination and unexpected talent at the sport added an entertaining element to the episode.

The appearance of the aespa member on "Getaway and Go With Jangdobari" is part of season 3's expanded guest lineup, which aims to create unique chemistry between Jang Do-yeon and different personalities. Karina's episodes are scheduled to air on December 27, January 3, and January 10, as per chosun.
Frank Caropelo, Jeffrey Fuller and Esper Farmer

For The Oregonian/OregonLive

Caropelo is superintendent of Reynolds School District. Fuller is president of Reynolds Education Association. Farmer is president of Oregon School Employees Association, Chapter 37.

A recent news story highlighted allegations that the state is shortchanging Oregons lowest-income school districts by undercounting how many students live in poverty  a calculation key in determining how much funding a district receives.

While the details are new, the underlying story is not. As superintendent and presidents of the unions representing teachers and classified professionals for the Reynolds School District, we can attest to the misalignment between what the state provides and what schools are asked to do, particularly in districts, like ours, that serve some of the states most vulnerable children.

Rather than provide the resources to hire an adequate staff of reading specialists, classified staff and social workers, the state instead is pushing a narrative that districts simply need to be held accountable. And now, under Senate Bill 141, the Oregon Department of Education is empowered to intervene in local districts spending and decision-making when they fail to meet certain performance benchmarks.

A focus on accountability, however, wont make up for the states failure to properly fund school districts to account for the high percentage of high-needs students that many of our districts are serving. Dont take our word for it. State lawmakers commissioned a report by the American Institutes for Research that described the inequities in how Oregon distributes money from the State School Fund  the primary pot of money for K-12 education. This goes beyond undercounting how many students are in poverty. AIRs analysis describes how Oregons outdated funding formula fails to account for the real cost of educating students who have greater needs: English learners, students with disabilities , and students experiencing poverty and homelessness, especially when those students are concentrated in a small number of districts. The report shined a light on the enormous gap between what the state provides to its most challenged districts and whats needed to reach its outcomes.

We began the 2025-2026 school year facing impossible decisions impacting our nearly 10,000 students and 1,200 employees. The Reynolds district spans five cities in East Multnomah County and many of our families experience the highest rates of persistent economic disadvantage in the state.

Despite historic increases in state funding, those dollars failed to cover inflated utilities costs, competitive wage increases , and state mandated retirement contributions. The result was an ugly internal battle that left employees taking unpaid furlough days to balance our budget, in addition to approximately 200 layoffs over the past two years. The district is also having to cut six days from the school year, which will leave students with less than the states minimum instructional time requirement. These painful choices are the consequences of a system that chronically shortchanges its most needy districts.

Oregons funding formula, designed over 40 years ago, relies on a formula with an antiquated assessment of what todays districts look like and the higher level of needs that Oregon schools now address. For example, in Reynolds over three quarters of students live in poverty, according to free-and-reduced lunch reports, well above the average district with 33%. While an average Oregon district has 19% of its students who come from a non English-speaking home, about half of Reynolds students do, speaking over 100 native languages. Because our district has more of these higher-needs students, it needs more specialized staff, such as ESL teachers, special education teachers and language interpreters than the funding formula even begins to pay for. On special education alone, we spend millions each year above what the state allocates to fulfill our legal and moral responsibilities for providing students with disabilities a free and appropriate public education.

We are proud of what our students accomplish. Every year we celebrate students who earn acceptances into the most prestigious colleges in the nation. Their resilience occurs in spite of our current funding system. Imagine what we could do if we made long overdue systemic updates.

The system breaks where it is most stressed first. The impact of chronically insufficient revenue often puts usunions and district leadershipat odds over the limited resources we have that must provide for our students and for everything else needed to run a school district from wages, to curriculum, to replacing worn out HVAC systems. Continual underfunding results in constant labor-management strife that has painful downstream effects for both staff and students, including high levels of staff and leadership turnover, burnout , and mistrust. These factors drag on an already stressed system and further harm our students and their academic outcomes.

No amount of accountability or temporary state intervention can make up for a base funding formula that chronically underfunds the cost of serving high-need students. We must change how we allocate resources to highly impacted districts. Specifically, we call upon our Legislature to revise how Oregon counts and funds students experiencing poverty, and to fully fund special education and the high-cost disability fund. Until Oregons school funding mechanisms live up to its tough talk on accountability, well keep asking districts like Reynolds to do the seemingly impossible and calling them failures when they cant.

Kristy Cousineau, vice president of Oregon School Employees Association, Chapter 37, contributed to this op-ed.
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Holiday whiskey connoisseurs, listen up.

By the time next Christmas rolls around, you might not be able to get your hands on your favorite brand of alcohol to kick off the holiday season.

Jim Beam, one of Kentuckys largest bourbon producers, as well as one of the largest makers of American whiskey globally, has plans to hit pause on its whiskey production in Clermont, Kentucky, on Jan. 1.

Though production of the whiskey will go dark, the visitors center on the site will remain open for Kentucky Bourbon Trail visitors.

We are always assessing production levels to best meet consumer demand and recently met with our team to discuss our volumes for 2026, a statement from the company said. Weve shared with our teams that while we will continue to distill at our [Freddie Booker Noe] craft distillery in Clermont and at our larger Booker Noe distillery in Boston, we plan to pause distillation at our main distillery on the James B. Beam campus for 2026 while we take the opportunity to invest in site enhancements. Our visitor center at the James B. Beam campus remains open so visitors can have the full James B. Beam experience and join us for a meal at The Kitchen Table.

The sudden move is due to issues in Kentuckys $9 billion bourbon industry. Right now, the industry is dealing with an excess of product and a decline in demand, per the Lexington Herald-Leader.

In response to the problem, the industry made the decision to pull back production by more than 55 million proof-gallons, or more than 28% through August, which has been at its lowest level since 2018.

As of right now, no layoff notices have been filed with the state of Kentucky, per Kentuckys WARN Act online database. Its unknown how many jobs could be impacted.

Meanwhile, Canada has been boycotting American spirits since March in response to President Donald Trumps ongoing trade war. As a result, American whisky sales to Canada have been down by more than 60% through October.
By THOMAS ADAMSON and ELAINE GANLEY, The Associated Press

PARIS (AP)  Brigitte Bardot, the French 1960s sex symbol who became one of the greatest screen sirens of the 20th century and later a militant animal rights activist and far-right supporter, has died. She was 91.

Bardot died Sunday at her home in southern France, according to Bruno Jacquelin, of the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the protection of animals. Speaking to The Associated Press, he gave no cause of death and said that no arrangements had been made for funeral or memorial services. She had been hospitalized last month.

Bardot became an international celebrity as a sexualized teen bride in the 1956 movie, And God Created Woman. Directed by then husband, Roger Vadim, it triggered a scandal with scenes of the long-legged beauty dancing on tables naked.

At the height of a cinema career that spanned more than two dozen films and three marriages, Bardot came to symbolize a nation bursting out of bourgeois respectability. Her tousled, blond hair, voluptuous figure and pouty irreverence made her one of Frances best-known stars, even as she struggled with depression.

Such was her widespread appeal that in 1969 her features were chosen to be the model for Marianne, the national emblem of France and the official Gallic seal. Bardots face appeared on statues, postage stamps and coins.

We are mourning a legend, French President Emmanuel Macron said in an X post.

Bardots second career as an animal rights activist was equally sensational. She traveled to the Arctic to blow the whistle on the slaughter of baby seals. She also condemned the use of animals in laboratory experiments, and she opposed Muslim slaughter rituals.

Man is an insatiable predator, Bardot told The Associated Press on her 73rd birthday in 2007. I dont care about my past glory. That means nothing in the face of an animal that suffers, since it has no power, no words to defend itself.

Her activism earned her compatriots respect and, in 1985, she was awarded the Legion of Honor, the nations highest recognition.

Turn to the far right

Later, however, she fell from public grace as her animal protection diatribes took on a decidedly extremist tone. She frequently decried the influx of immigrants into France, especially Muslims.

She was convicted and fined five times in French courts of inciting racial hatred, in incidents inspired by her opposition to the Muslim practice of slaughtering sheep during annual religious holidays.

Bardots 1992 marriage to fourth husband Bernard dOrmale, a onetime adviser to far-right National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, contributed to her political shift. She described Le Pen, an outspoken nationalist with multiple racism convictions of his own, as a lovely, intelligent man.

FILE - French actress Brigitte Bardot poses with a huge sombrero she brought back from Mexico, as she arrives at Orly Airport in Paris, France, on May 27, 1965. (AP Photo/File) AP

In 2012, she supported the presidential bid of Marine Le Pen, who now leads her fathers renamed National Rally party. Le Pen paid homage Sunday to an exceptional woman who was incredibly French.

In 2018, at the height of the #MeToo movement, Bardot said in an interview that most actors protesting sexual harassment in the film industry were hypocritical, because many played the teases with producers to land parts.

She said she had never had been a victim of sexual harassment and found it charming to be told that I was beautiful or that I had a nice little ass.

Privileged but difficult upbringing

Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot was born Sept. 28, 1934, to a wealthy industrialist. A shy child, she studied classical ballet and was discovered by a family friend who put her on the cover of Elle magazine at age 14.

Bardot once described her childhood as difficult and said that her father was a strict disciplinarian who would sometimes punish her with a horse whip.

Vadim, a French movie produce who she married in 1952, saw her potential and wrote And God Created Woman to showcase her provocative sensuality, an explosive cocktail of childlike innocence and raw sexuality.

The film, which portrayed Bardot as a teen who marries to escape an orphanage and then beds her brother-in-law, had a decisive influence on New Wave directors Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut, and came to embody the hedonism and sexual freedom of the 1960s.

The film was a box-office hit, and it made Bardot a superstar. Her girlish pout, tiny waist and generous bust were often more appreciated than her talent.

Its an embarrassment to have acted so badly, Bardot said of her early films. I suffered a lot in the beginning. I was really treated like someone less than nothing.

Bardots unabashed, off-screen love affair with co-star Jean-Louis Trintignant eradicated the boundaries between her public and private life and turned her into a hot prize for paparazzi.

Bardot never adjusted to the limelight. She blamed the constant media attention for the suicide attempt that followed 10 months after the birth of her only child, Nicolas. Photographers had broken into her house two weeks before she gave birth to snap a picture of her pregnant.

Nicolas father was Jacques Charrier, a French actor who she married in 1959 but who never felt comfortable in his role as Monsieur Bardot. Bardot soon gave up her son to his father, and later said she had been chronically depressed and unready for the duties of being a mother.

I was looking for roots then, she said in an interview. I had none to offer.

FILE - French Actress Brigitte Bardot with a dog in the Gennevilliers, Paris, while supporting the French animal protection society operation, Feb. 10, 1982. (AP Photo/Duclos, File) AP

In her 1996 autobiography Initiales B.B., she likened her pregnancy to a tumor growing inside me, and described Charrier as temperamental and abusive.

Bardot married her third husband, West German millionaire playboy Gunther Sachs, in 1966, and they divorced three years later.

Among her films were A Parisian (1957); In Case of Misfortune, in which she starred in 1958 with screen legend Jean Gabin; The Truth (1960); Private Life (1962); A Ravishing Idiot (1964); Shalako (1968); Women (1969); The Bear And The Doll (1970); Rum Boulevard (1971); and Don Juan (1973).

With the exception of 1963s critically acclaimed Contempt, directed by Godard, Bardots films were rarely complicated by plots. Often they were vehicles to display Bardot in scanty dresses or frolicking nude in the sun.

It was never a great passion of mine, she said of filmmaking. And it can be deadly sometimes. Marilyn (Monroe) perished because of it.

Bardot retired to her Riviera villa in St. Tropez at the age of 39 in 1973 after The Woman Grabber. As fans brought flowers to her home Sunday, the local St. Tropez administration called for respect for the privacy of her family and the serenity of the places where she lived.

Middle-aged reinvention

She emerged a decade later with a new persona: An animal rights lobbyist, her face was wrinkled and her voice was deep following years of heavy smoking. She abandoned her jet-set life and sold off movie memorabilia and jewelry to create a foundation devoted exclusively to the prevention of animal cruelty.

Depression sometimes dogged her, and she said that she attempted suicide again on her 49th birthday.

Her activism knew no borders. She urged South Korea to ban the sale of dog meat and once wrote to U.S. President Bill Clinton asking why the U.S. Navy recaptured two dolphins it had released into the wild.

She attacked centuries-old French and Italian sporting traditions including the Palio, a free-for-all horse race, and campaigned on behalf of wolves, rabbits, kittens and turtle doves.

Its true that sometimes I get carried away, but when I see how slowly things move forward ... my distress takes over, Bardot told the AP when asked about her racial hatred convictions and opposition to Muslim ritual slaughter,

In 1997, several towns removed Bardot-inspired statues of Marianne after the actress voiced anti-immigrant sentiment. Also that year, she received death threats after calling for a ban on the sale of horse meat.

Environmental campaigner Paul Watson, who was beaten on a seal hunt protest in Canada alongside Bardot in 1977 and campaigned with her for five decades, acknowledged that many disagreed with Brigittes politics or some of her views.

FILE - French actress Brigitte Bardot poses in character from the motion picture "Voulez-Vous Danser Avec Moi" (Do you Want to Dance With Me), on Sept. 10, 1959. (AP Photo/File) AP

Her allegiance was not to the world of humans, he said. The animals of this world lost a wonderful friend today.

Bardot once said that she identified with the animals that she was trying to save.

I can understand hunted animals, because of the way I was treated, Bardot said. What happened to me was inhuman. I was constantly surrounded by the world press.

Elaine Ganley provided reporting for this story before her retirement. Angela Charlton contributed to this report.
If I can help somebody along the way, then my living shall not be in vain.

That was the mantra of Lenwood Sloan, the Pennsylvania titan who dedicated his life toward the preservation of Black art, history and culture.

Sloan died over the Christmas holiday. He was 77.

Sloan was best-known for his work on the Look Up, Look Out campaign honoring Harrisburgs Old 8th Ward, a multicultural neighborhood demolished by the state in the 1910s to expand Capitol Park in the state Capitol Complex.

The project was memorialized at 12 different sites across the Capitol Complex in 2020.

Sloan unexpectedly died after becoming violently ill at a party Christmas Eve, his family told PennLive Saturday.

He leaves behind a legacy of excellence, Joann Haynes, one of Sloans five siblings, told PennLive.

Bev Smith, Sloans older sister by five years, told PennLive Sloan was a very special, God-touched child. Everything he touched worked, she said.

The arts called to Sloan from a young age. He enjoyed dance, opera and theatre, she said. And as he grew older, he took to preserving those important markers of a people.

Sloan was the executive director of the Commonwealth Monument Project, which included the Look Up, Look Out campaign. There, he was known as a catalytic agent, animator and facilitator of cultural and heritage programs across the nation, according to the Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation.

Everyone who spoke of Sloan in the wake of his death knew him as a heart of gold.

Sloan used to text a religious devotional to his family group chat every morning. When he didnt text Christmas morning, something wasnt right, Haynes said. So she called a friend of Sloan on Christmas evening to check on him.

Sloan went to New York City to see the holiday lights, but became sick on Christmas Eve, the friend told her.

He remained bedridden for a day and some hours after that, according to Haynes.

On Friday morning, a second friend called Haynes and informed her Sloan had died at 7:30 in the morning.

Did he have a stomach virus? Did he have a blood clot? Did he, did he? Haynes asked. She said theyll never know because the coroner did not order an autopsy and released Sloans body to a funeral home in New York for cremation.

The loss is especially devastating for the family because their mother passed in September. Sloan was the rock that grounded his family through the grief of her death. He was present, Haynes said  Sloan never had children himself, but attended every graduation for each of his nieces and nephews.

Lenwood Sloan speaks at a commemoration of the 1865 Harrisburg Grand Review of U.S. Colored Troops of the Civil War, held at the state Capitol Rotunda, November 14, 2022. Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com

Sloans siblings remember him as a gentle giant, a humble and compassionate man.

God could have taken any one of us in his place. He had so much purpose  he was committed to what he believed in, Haynes said.

He couldnt pass by a man on the street with a cup without putting something in it, Smith said.

He was loving, creative, giving, and just, adjectives I cant think of just to heap over his body, Smith said. What do we do without Lenwood?

Calobe Jackson worked with Sloan on the Commonwealth Monument Project and described him as an outstanding personality who could organize people to get projects done.

A lot of people could do the research, but he always ended up with a finished product that stands the years, Jackson said.

Gov. Tom Wolf appointed Sloan to the Commonwealth Capitol Preservation Committee. Sloan was also a member of the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, the Pennsylvania Downtown Association, the Lancaster Heritage Society, the Lancaster Public Arts Program, the Harrisburg Sprocket Mural Project and co-convenor and moderator of Lancaster: Arts Talk!

He briefly served a stint as the Harrisburg Director of Arts, Culture and Tourism. For years, he oversaw the Harrisburg Kipona Festival.

Sloan also led a tribute to the 1865 Grand Review parade in Harrisburg that celebrated colored troops of the American Civil War who were previously excluded from being celebrated in Washington, D.C. after the end of the war.

Sloan additionally helped found the African American Irish Diaspora Network. The organization, dedicated to telling the shared history between the two groups that Sloan helped found, shared its condolences.

He was a humanitarian, a convenor and brilliant light of peace, equality and unity  a catalytic agent as he described himself, it said on Facebook.

Ellen Brown, active in nonprofit fundraising in Harrisburg, said Sloan was the quintessential gentleman.

He just never stopped, Brown said. His quest for sharing stories and lifelong learning were unmatched. He was so driven to preserve African American history and make sure it was told properly.

Lenwood Sloan explained how the current Capitol Complex sits on ground formerly occupied by old 8th Ward residents. (Photo by Christine Vendel | cvendel@pennlive.com)

Phyllis Bennett grew up with him in Pittsburgh, and stayed in touch with him all his life. She worked with him on the Commonwealth Memorial Project.

Lenwood was a brilliant man. He had an unusual gift  speaking, bringing people together. He was a visionary like no other visionary. But most of all, he was a kind man, Bennett said. He was a wonderful human being after Gods own heart.

Kimeka Campbell, executive director of Young Professionals of Color of Harrisburg, credited Sloan with helping Harrisburg understand its role in emancipation history. She said he was one of the big reasons why there is a Harrisburg Juneteenth celebration.

Sloan shared his personal story with The Burg following the Black Lives Matter protests in the aftermath of George Floyds death.

Sloan described himself as the foster child of Harrisburg after fleeing New Orleans in 2005 during the Hurricane Katrina. In June 2020, he admitted he still never felt as though he was from here. He lamented the loss of Black cultural and artistic institutions in Harrisburg.

I continue to wonder as I wander, where do Black people exist on the landscape of Harrisburgs memory? Where are the safehouses of our cultural experiences? Whos recording what it is to be Black in Harrisburg for present children and future generations? Whos building monuments to our achievements?

 Today and every day, we should work hard to pay it forward so that we have something to look forward to with hope and something to look backwards on with pride.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to renovate industrial warehouses to hold more than 80,000 immigrant detainees, one of which is in Schuylkill County, according to reporting by The Washington Post.

The newspaper obtained a draft solicitation that shows the Trump administration looking for contractors to help overhaul the countrys immigrant detention system. The document says ICE would establish a feeder system through the warehouses instead of moving detainees around the country to areas with detention space.

New detainees would first be booked at a processing site, then funneled into one of seven large warehouses across the country, which would hold 5,000 to 10,000 people, and then they would be deported. There are also 16 smaller warehouses, each with a capacity of up to 1,500 people.

One of the smaller warehouses would be in Tremont, Pennsylvania, a short drive southwest on Route 209 from Pottsville. According to the story, one of the large warehouses will be located in Hagerstown, Maryland, just south of the Pa. line.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security told The Post she could not confirm the facts of its story and wouldnt answer questions about the plan. The draft solicitation isnt final, and an internal email reviewed by The Post said ICE plans to share the solicitation with private detention companies this week.

The draft solicitation obtained by The Post said the facilities will maximize efficiency, minimize costs, shorten processing times, limit lengths of stay, accelerate the removal process and promote the safety, dignity and respect for all in ICE custody.

The facilities will be modified to include intake areas, housing units, dining areas, a medical unit and recreation areas, the draft solicitation said.

Both NBC and Bloomberg previously reported on discussions to construct the warehouses, but specific site plans have not been reported on until The Posts article.
This story was updated at 6:50 p.m. Sunday.

By CHRISTINE FERNANDO and MINGSON LAU, The Associated Press

HAMMONTON, N.J. (AP)  Two helicopters crashed midair in New Jersey on Sunday, killing one person and critically injuring another, authorities say.

Hammonton Police Chief Kevin Friel said rescuers responded to a report of an aviation crash at about 11:25 a.m. Video from the scene shows a helicopter spinning rapidly to the ground. Police and fire crews subsequently extinguished flames that engulfed one of the helicopters.

The Federal Aviation Administration described the crash as a midair collision between an Enstrom F-28A helicopter and Enstrom 280C helicopter over Hammonton Municipal Airport. Only the pilots were on board each aircraft. One was killed, and the other was transported to a hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Sal Silipino, owner of a cafe near the crash site, said the pilots were regulars at the restaurant and would often have breakfast together. He said he and other customers watched the helicopters take off before one began spiraling downward, followed by the other.

NBC News reported that one of the choppers had the tail number N280MG, and the registered owners name is M&M Charter, LLC. M&M Charter is located on Main Street in Mountville, according to WGAL-TV8.

It was shocking, he said. Im still shaking after that happened.

Hammonton resident Dan Dameshek told NBC10 that he was leaving a gym when he heard a loud snap and saw two helicopters spinning out of control.

Immediately, the first helicopter went from right side up to upside down and started rapidly spinning, falling out of the air, Dameshek told the TV station. And then it looked like the second helicopter was OK for a second, and then it sounded like another snap or something ... and then that helicopter started rapidly spinning out of the air.

Debris from a helicopter is shown after two helicopters crashed in Hammonton, N.J., on Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (WPVI-TV/6ABC via AP) AP

Hammonton is a town of about 15,000 people located in Atlantic County in the southern part of New Jersey, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) southeast of Philadelphia. The town has a history of agriculture and is located near the Pine Barrens, a forested wilderness area that covers more than 1 million acres (405,000 hectares).

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will be investigating the crash, Friel said.

Investigators will likely first look to review any communications between the two pilots and whether they were able to see each other, said Alan Diehl, a former crash investigator for the FAA and NTSB.

Virtually all midair collisions are a failure to what they call see and avoid, Diehl said. Clearly theyll be looking at the out-of-cockpit views of the two aircraft and seeing if one pilot was approaching from the blind side.

Although it was mostly cloudy at the time of the crash, winds were light and visibility was good, according to the weather forecasting company AccuWeather.

Associated Press writer Sean Murphy contributed from Oklahoma City. Fernando reported from Chicago.
By William Lambers

As we enter the New Year of 2026 each of us has the power to carry on the holiday spirit of peace and charity. As President Dwight Eisenhower once remarked during a Christmas/New Year event, When the trees come down and the lights are put away--as they always are--then we have a true testing of the spirit.

That testing will be answered, throughout the year ahead, by the success each of us experiences in keeping alive the inspiration and exaltation of this moment.

We must keep the Christmas spirit alive year round to prevent war, end hunger and build peace.

As President Eisenhower said at the 1956 Pageant of Peace Ceremonies, We must believe that the truth of Christmas is constant; that men can live together in peace as Lincoln said, with charity for all, with firmness in the right.

Eisenhower urged peaceful means to settle disputes, instead of resorting to war which often leads to harmful and lasting consequences.

As we enter a new year with new challenges, America must remember its roots as a peaceful and charitable nation.

As we try to end wars in Ukraine and Gaza, we must also prevent war from starting with Venezuela. Members of Congress have rightly expressed alarm over the U.S. military buildup near Venezuela. A bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives titled The No Unauthorized War with Venezuela Act. We should be looking for peaceful means to settle disputes with Venezuela.

We must also emphasize diplomacy to end the wars in Congo, Sudan and many other suffering areas.

The start of the New Year also brings another challenge with the expiration in February of a nuclear arms treaty with Russia. As we try to get Russia to stop its invasion of Ukraine and build peace, there must be a new treaty reducing U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons. China and other nuke powers must reduce nukes too. We have to keep the hope of disarmament alive.

We are all better off if nations can avoid expensive and dangerous arms races.

For Americas mission of charity we must increase funding for our global food aid programs, which took such a devastating blow in 2025 with the budget cuts.

President Eisenhowers Food for Peace program was even at risk for elimination in the budget. We should be expanding Food for Peace and other aid programs amid the horror of ongoing global conflicts. We need to build peace and goodwill around the world and U. S. food aid is a big part of this. Just as Food for Peace helped complete the recovery of nations after World War II and the Korean War, it can do so today.

Peace will not emerge in the Democratic Republic of the Congo if people are starving to death. The fighting in the Congo has led to a major hunger crisis that will take time to overcome, even if the fighting ended today.

The UN World Food Program (WFP) says that in the Congo 26.6 million people nationwide are projected to face crisis levels of food insecurity or worse (IPC Phase 3 and above) by early 2026, including 3.9 million people in emergency levels of hunger (IPC Phase 4)

But the WFP does not have enough funding to tackle the rising hunger as food aid cuts by the United States have been devastating. Relief agencies in the Congo need more support to feed the war victims.

In war-torn Sudan, there are over 21 million people facing severe hunger according to the WFP. Famine has been declared in Sudan and millions have been forced to flee their homes. Sudans war victims are currently facing ration cuts because funding has not kept pace with the crisis.

The United States must start increasing global food aid, including the Food for Peace program, to help Congo, Sudan, and other afflicted areas.

Its important that each of us be an advocate for peace and charity. You can do this by speaking out and letting your elected officials know your support of humanitarian aid.

Especially with the power of todays weapons, war is a horrible path to take and its consequences are massive. We need to do everything possible to end wars and prevent new ones. We must extend charity to overcome the enemy that threatens all peoples, hunger and poverty. And for millions the enemy of hunger can be deadly if help does not arrive.

The New Year always brings hope for peace. It wont happen overnight, but if we stay with it we can move the world closer to peace and away from war.

William Lambers is the author of The Road to Peace and partnered with the UN World Food Program on the book Ending World Hunger.
A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for parts of north-central and northeastern Pennsylvania as rain and freezing rain will overspread the region today.

Residents should prepare for potentially hazardous travel conditions, especially in the Endless Mountains, Middle Susquehanna Valley, and southwestern Poconos regions.

Steadier precipitation will develop by midday to early afternoon Sunday, with surface temperatures cold enough to support a 3-6 hour period of freezing rain across northern counties.

Areas under the advisory include Potter, Clinton, Union, Snyder, Montour, Northumberland, Columbia, and Schuylkill counties, where ice accumulation could create slippery conditions on roads and walkways.

Temperatures will gradually rise overnight into Monday morning, climbing above freezing throughout the region. However, this brief warming trend will be quickly replaced by very windy and much colder conditions on Monday afternoon into Tuesday as a strong cold front moves through the area.

Wind will become a significant concern on Monday, with widespread gusts of 40-50 mph expected across central Pennsylvania. Isolated gusts of 55-65 mph are possible over the Alleghenies and nearby areas, prompting a High Wind Watch for several counties, including Somerset, Cambria, Bedford, Blair, Clearfield, and northern Centre. The strongest winds are anticipated from early Monday afternoon through the evening hours.

For the Harrisburg area, a chance of showers is forecast between noon and 3 p.m., then a chance of rain after 3. The high is expected to top off at around 40 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. Theres also a chance of rain Sunday night and Monday ahead of the cold front.

Monday will see a dramatic temperature drop, with morning highs in the 40s to mid-50s plummeting into the 20s to mid-30s by late afternoon.

Lake-effect snow bands will develop Monday through Tuesday, with the heaviest accumulations expected in northwestern counties. A Winter Storm Watch is in effect for northern Warren into northwest McKean County, where 3-8 inches of snow is possible.

The longer-term forecast shows frigid conditions continuing through midweek, with highs only in the teens to mid-20s later in the week and wind chills potentially dropping to single digits.

A reinforcing shot of arctic air is expected Thursday into Friday, with gradual warming anticipated by next weekend.

Travelers should monitor road conditions closely today and prepare for rapidly changing weather conditions over the next 48 hours.

Current weather radar
888poker Kicks Off 2026 Live Tour in Madrid From January 11

Matthew Pitt Senior Editor Copy link

The Grand Via Casino in Madrid is the venue for the opening event of the 2026 888poker LIVE tour. Between January 11-18, hundreds of poker players from far and wide will descend on the Grand Via Casino, each sharing the common goal of getting 2026 off to a flying start by becoming an 888poker LIVE champion.

January 11 at 5:00 p.m. local time when the first event shuffles up and deals: Day 1a of the 220 No-Limit Hold'em Opening Event. You'll notice the later-than-usual start time for this event, a trend that continues throughout the 888poker LIVE Madrid festival. Only Day 1d of the 888 buy-in Madrid Main Event starts before 2:00 p.m. local time, meaning you have plenty of time to explore magical Madrid or enjoy some rest and recuperation between the grind.

Speaking of the Main Event, the 888 buy-in 888poker LIVE Madrid Main Event features four flights, each allowing unlimited re-entries for the first 14 levels, each spanning 40 minutes. The first of that quartet of flights begins at 4:00 p.m. local time on January 14, with the worthy champion crowned at some point on January 18.

PokerNews' live reporting team is joining the 888poker crew on the ground in Madrid, bringing you all the updates you can handle from the 888 buy-in Madrid Main Event.

Last year, this tournament attracted 403 entrants, building a pot worth 306,280. 888poker ambassador Ian Simpson started 2025 in style, emerging victoriously and claiming the 62,000 top prize for himself.

Satellites from $2.20 are running online at 888poker right now, with 110 live satellites running during the 888poker LIVE Madrid festival.

888poker LIVE Madrid 2026 Schedule

Date Time Event Sun 11 Jan 5:00 p.m. 220 NLHE Opening Event Day 1A 9:00 p.m. 120 NLHE Mini Shot Turbo Mon 12 Jan 5:00 p.m. 220 NLHE Opening Event Day 1B 9:00 p.m. 220 NLHE Opening Event Day 1C Turbo Tue 13 Jan 2:00 p.m. 110 Super Satellite to Main Event 1A 5:00 p.m. 220 NLHE Opening Event Final Day 6:00 p.m. 330 NLHE Mystery Bounty Day 1 Wed 14 Jan 3:00 p.m. Mystery Bounty Day 2 4:00 p.m. 888 NLHE 888poker LIVE Main Event Day 1A 8:00 p.m. 110 Super Satellite to Main Event 1B Thu 15 Jan 2:00 p.m. 110 Super Satellite to Main Event 1C 3:00 p.m. 888 NLHE 888poker LIVE Main Event Day 1B 6:00 p.m. 220 NLHE Mid Shot Fri 16 Jan 3:00 p.m. 888 NLHE 888poker LIVE Main Event Day 1C 7:00 p.m. 165 Pot Limit Omaha Sat 17 Jan 12:00 p.m. 888 NLHE 888poker LIVE Main Event Day 1D 5:00 p.m. 888 NLHE 888poker LIVE Main Event Day 2 7:00 p.m. 1,500 NLHE High Roller Day 1 Sun 18 Jan 3:00 p.m. 888poker LIVE Main Event Final Day 4:00 p.m. 1,500 NLHE High Roller Day 2 5:00 p.m. 330 NLHE Big Shot 9:00 p.m. 100 NLHE The Closer

888poker LIVE Madrid 2025 Results

Ian Simpson

Ian Simpson was the biggest single winner at the 2025 888poker LIVE Madrid festival courtesy of his Main Event victory. Gaspare Triolo and Vaghinak Gasparyan also banked five-figure scores. Triolo won the 2,000 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller for 26,250, while Gasparyan scooped 10,850 for his 220 No-Limit Hold'em Opening Event victory.

A special mention must go to Ukraine's Artem Beriland, who captured the titles of the 330 No-Limit Hold'em Mystery Bounty and the 120 No-Limit Hold'em Mini Shot Turbo.

Event Entrants Prize Pool Champion Prize 888 NLHE Main Event 403 306,280 Ian Simpson 62,000 2,000 NLHE High Roller 39 69,950 Gaspare Triolo 26,250 220 NLHE Opening Event 261 49,590 Vaghinak Gasparyan 10,850 330 NLHE Big Shot 110 31,350 Jiang Pu 8,700 220 NLHE Mid Shot 119 22,610 Nazariy Piznak 6,000 330 NLHE Mystery Bounty 126 17,955 Artem Beriland 5,000 165 PLO 109 15,533 Andres Niguerol 4,000 120 NLHE Mini Shot Turbo 35 3,491 Artem Beriland 1,570 100 NLHE Closer 89 7,186 Guangyuan Chen 1,400

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Public Safety Reporter

Kailey Cota is a public safety reporter for the Post & Courier's Charleston location. She is a graduate of the University of South Carolina. Previously, she wrote for The State, The Current and The Daily Gamecock. She was named South Carolinas collegiate journalist of the year.
Mitchell Black writes about Bluffton and the southern Lowcountry for The Post and Courier's Beaufort County bureau. He previously covered health care and county government with the Asheville Citizen Times.
Senior Politics Reporter

Caitlin Byrd is the senior politics reporter at The Post and Courier. An award-winning journalist, Byrd previously worked as an enterprise reporter for The State newspaper, where she covered the Charleston region and South Carolina politics. Raised in eastern North Carolina, she has called South Carolina home since 2016.
Rock Hill, SC (29730)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this morning will become overcast during the afternoon. High around 50F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy this evening with showers after midnight. Low 38F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.
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NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / December 27, 2025 / Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Avantor, Inc. ("Avantor" or the "Company") (NYSE:AVTR). Such investors are advised to contact Danielle Peyton at newaction@ pomlaw.com or 646-581-9980, (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.The class action concerns whether Avantor and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.You have until December 29, 2025 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class if you purchased or otherwise acquired Avantor securities during the Class Period. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com [Click here for information about joining the class action]On April 25, 2025, Avantor reported disappointing first quarter 2025 financial results, cut its guidance for 2025, and announced that Michael Stubblefield would be stepping down from his roles as President and Chief Executive Officer. Avantor's management attributed its weak performance and outlook to "the impact of increased competitive intensity." On this news, Avantor's stock price fell $2.57 per share, or 16.5%, to close at $12.93 per share on April 25, 2025.Then, on August 1, 2025, Avantor reported disappointing second quarter 2025 financial results, including a year-over-year decrease in net sales, and further reduced the Company's 2025 guidance-now projecting organic revenue growth of -2% to 0%. Avantor's management again attributed the Company's lackluster results and outlook to "increased competitive intensity" and further admitted that Avantor did not expect the competitive environment to materially improve in the remainder of 2025.On this news, Avantor's stock price fell $2.08 per share, or 15.48%, to close at $11.36 per share on August 1, 2025.Then, on October 29, 2025, Avantor reported weak third quarter 2025 financial results, including -5% organic revenue growth and a net loss of $712 million, which management primarily attributed to a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $785 million. Avantor's management said that the impairment charge was necessary due in part to "competitive pressures" that had "meaningfully impacted" Avantor's margins and further disclosed that the Company had lost several large accounts.On this news, Avantor's stock price fell $3.50 per share, or 23.21%, to close at $11.58 per share on October 29, 2025.Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP
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NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / December 28, 2025 /WHY: New York, N.Y., December 28, 2025. Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of securities of Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) between February 15, 2022 and September 24, 2025, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important January 12, 2026 lead plaintiff deadline in the securities class action first filed by the Firm.SO WHAT: If you purchased Freeport-McMoRan securities 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 Freeport class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=45553 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 12, 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. 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 has 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 firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Freeport-McMoRan did not adequately ensure safety at the Grasberg Block Cave mine in Indonesia; (2) the lack of proper safety precautions constituted a heightened risk that could foreseeably lead to the death of Freeport's workers; (3) this constituted an undisclosed heightened risk of regulatory, litigation, and reputational risk; and (4) as a result, defendants' statements about Freeport-McMoRan's business, operations, and prospects were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.To join the Freeport class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=45553or 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 investor's 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 or 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 FloorNew York, NY 10016Tel: (212) 686-1060Toll Free: (866) 767-3653Fax: (212) 202-3827 case@ rosenlegal.comwww.rosenlegal.com SOURCE: The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
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NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / December 28, 2025 / Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Coupang, Inc. ("Coupang" or the "Company") (NYSE:CPNG). Such investors are advised to contact Danielle Peyton at newaction@ pomlaw.com or 646-581-9980, (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.The class action concerns whether Coupang and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.You have until February 17, 2026 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class if you purchased or otherwise acquired Coupang securities during the Class Period. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com [Click here for information about joining the class action]On November 30, 2025, Reuters published an article reporting that Coupang had "apologized . . . over the breach of personal information from 33.7 million customer accounts through unauthorized data access" and that the government of South Korea had "held an emergency meeting" to "look[] into whether Coupang violated safety rules regarding personal information protection[.]"On this news, Coupang's stock price fell $1.51 per share, or 5.36%, to close at $26.65 per share on December 1, 2025.Then, on December 10, 2025, the New York Times published an article reporting that Coupang's Chief Executive Officer had resigned in connection with the data breach and providing additional details on the fallout from the data breach, including a police raid on Coupang's offices in Seoul.On this news, Coupang's stock price fell $0.87 per share, or 3.2%, to close at $26.06 per share on December 10, 2025.Then, on December 16, 2025, Coupang acknowledge the breach in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and revealed that the South Korean regulatory and law enforcement investigations uncovered that "a former employee may have obtained the name, phone number, delivery address, and email address associated with up to 33 million customer accounts, and certain order histories for a subset of the impacted accounts." On this news, Coupang's stock price fell $0.47 per share, or 2.03%, to close at $22.72 per share on December 17, 2025.Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP
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NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / December 28, 2025 / Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Freeport-McMoran Inc. ("Freeport" or the "Company") (NYSE:FCX). Such investors are advised to contact Danielle Peyton at newaction@ pomlaw.com or 646-581-9980, (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.The class action concerns whether Freeport and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.You have until January 12, 2026 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class if you purchased or otherwise acquired Freeport securities during the Class Period. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com [Click here for information about joining the class action]On September 9, 2025, Freeport issued a press release announcing the suspension of mining activities at its Grasberg Block Cave operation in Indonesia, after "a large flow of wet material from a production drawpoint . . . blocked access to certain areas within the mine," trapping seven workers. The press release further stated that mining operations in the area "have been temporarily suspended to prioritize the safe evacuation of the . . . workers." On this news, Freeport's stock price fell $2.80 per share, or 5.99%, to close at $43.87 per share on September 9, 2025.Then, on September 24, 2025, Freeport provided an update on the incident, reporting that two of the seven workers were "fatally injured" and that the remaining five workers "remain missing." The press release further stated that mining operations in the area remained suspended.On this news, Freeport's stock price fell $7.69 per share, or 16.95%, to close at $37.67 per share on September 24, 2025.Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP
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NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / December 27, 2025 / WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announces an investigation of potential securities claims on behalf of investors in cryptocurrency issued by Balancer (ticker: BAL), resulting from allegations that Balancer may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.SO WHAT: If you purchased Balancer cryptocurrency 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=48945 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 November 3, 2025, Bloomberg published an article entitled "Hack Drains Over $100 Million From Crypto Protocol Balancer." The article stated that "Balancer, a decentralized finance protocol, has been hit by a major exploit that drained more than $100 million in digital assets, according to blockchain security firms. Security researchers at PeckShield and Cyvers flagged the incident on Monday, warning that funds linked to the attacker's wallet were still being siphoned. Total losses have climbed to about $128 million, Cyvers said in a message." 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 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 firm's 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 FloorNew York, NY 10016Tel: (212) 686-1060Toll Free: (866) 767-3653Fax: (212) 202-3827 case@ rosenlegal.comwww.rosenlegal.com SOURCE: The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
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NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / December 28, 2025 / WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, continues to investigate potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of Nidec Corporation (OTC: NJDCY) resulting from allegations that Nidec may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.SO WHAT: If you purchased Nidec 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 manufacturer's shares." On this news, Nidec's 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. 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 firm's 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 FloorNew York, NY 10016Tel: (212) 686-1060Toll Free: (866) 767-3653Fax: (212) 202-3827 case@ rosenlegal.comwww.rosenlegal.com SOURCE: The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) on Sunday said it has completed the main line to the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline.

The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, Bayo Ojulari, on Sunday, after meeting with President Bola Tinubu in Lagos.

Mr Ojulari said the purpose of his visit to Mr Tinubu was to update him on the 2025 performance of NNPC and to discuss the strategic priorities for 2026.

We have been able to successfully complete the welding of the main line of the AKK gas pipeline. You remember sometime in summer, we were able to cross the River Niger which has been a struggle for many years.

By completing this main line, what that means is that we can begin to make all the connections to the main line, which we will do in the earlier parts of next year, Mr Ojulari said.

And why that is very important is that it brings gas in its full form into the northern part of Nigeria. Were looking at Kaduna, Kano, and also of course, Ajaokuta, and Abuja, where we begin to see industrialisation, industrial parks taking gas for gas-based industry, fertiliser plants, as well as generating power.

The AKK pipeline can transport two billion standard cubic feet of natural gas per day to three proposed independent power plants in Abuja, Kaduna, and Kano, as well as other gas-based industries, and to other identified and proposed commercial off-takers along the entire pipeline route.

Since the flag-off of the project by former President Muhammadu Buhari in June 2020, NNPC Ltd. has recorded significant achievements, and the project is well on course to deliver on schedule.

Speaking further, Mr Ojulari said in 2026, NNPC will focus on increasing production.

When we say increasing production, it sounds simple, but theres a lot that goes into it. It means attracting the right investment to increase production, whether its oil or gas. And next year, were hoping to achieve at least 1.8 million barrels per day again, stepping up from where we are this year in terms of oil production, as well as a further increase in terms of gas production.

Were expecting more investment decisions to come through next year. Next year also, were looking at our portfolio as well, to rationalise our portfolio. This is to ensure that we can do that in a way that we attract more investment for incremental production as well as more investment to develop all the fields that have been fallow for a very long time, he added.
President Bola Tinubu says Nigerias diverse culture and traditions hold immense tourism potential and should be harnessed as valuable tools for destination promotion.

The president stated this on Saturday at the Grand Finale of the week-long 2025 Eyo Festival held at Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos.

This is contained in a statement issued by presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, on Saturday.

It is a reminder that our culture and traditions hold great tourism potential.

Indeed, our cultural assets can serve as valuable resources for destination promotion.

The glamour of white-robed figures parading our streets sends a resounding message about our identity and our country, Mr Tinubu said.

The president attended the festival dressed in a white robe, a damask sash and a distinctive star-studded hat, carrying the traditional opambata staff.

The colourful celebration began with homage paid to the President at his Lagos residence on Sunday, 21 December, ahead of the grand finale.

The Eyo Festival, which dates back to 1854, was held this year for the first time in eight years.

The 2025 edition honoured four eminent late Lagos personalities: former Military Administrator Mobolaji Johnson; former civilian governor Lateef Jakande; former governor Michael Otedola; and Mr Tinubus mother, Abibatu Mogaji.

Mr Tinubu described the carnival as a great rekindling of our culture.

The Eyo Festival is a vibrant expression of the rich traditions of Lagos.

It celebrates exemplary lives and outstanding contributions of distinguished Nigerians, he said.

The president said that the festival coincided with Detty December, when Lagos welcomes Nigerians in the diaspora and foreign visitors.

He urged revellers to celebrate peacefully and ensure the safety of all participants.

In his welcome address, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State described the event as historic and a cultural homecoming for the President.

As our son and father, we are seated with the president to witness a defining moment in Lagos cultural history, Mr Sanwo-Olu said.

He commended traditional institutions under the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, for reviving the festival.

The governor assured that his administration would continue promoting Lagoss socio-economic growth without neglecting its cultural heritage.

Dignitaries at the event included Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo, Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, diplomats and senior government officials.

The festival featured cultural displays, traditional dances, indigenous music and a procession of Eyo groups, concluding with prayers for the president and the nation.

(NAN)
The founder of the Mountain of Liberation and Miracle Ministry, Chris Okafor, has bowed to public pressure and issued an apology to actress Doris Ogala.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that Ms Ogala and Mr Okafor had been in the spotlight for weeks following allegations surrounding an unfulfilled marriage pledge, among other claims.

The controversy intensified after Mr Okafor married his wife, Pearl, and following the arrest of Ms Ogala, alongside an ultimatum demanding that he (Mr Okafor) retract what he described as blackmail allegations from the actress.

However, during his sermon on Sunday, the cleric was seen kneeling before members of his congregation as he expressed remorse over what he referred to as past mistakes.

In a video posted on Ms Ogalas Instagram page, Mr Okafor offered a public apology to the actress and others he said he had offended.

However, he maintained that the allegations levelled against him were untrue.

Mr Okafor said: To the lady called Doris Ogala. Listen, were not joining issues. Mistakes have been made in the past, and I tender an apology to everybody, but not everything that was said is true. Take note, everything that was said isnt true. There are so many lies in most of the things that were said. For now, I apologise to everyone who was offended. To Doris Ogala, Im sorry. I apologise to everyone.

Once again, Im ready to make restitution to anyone. To any lady, anywhere, that I have offended, Im sorry. Im not perfect, Ive never been perfect, but I can tell you, Ive had a new beginning since the arrival of this father of faith in my life. Im kneeling before everybody and before the church, asking you to forgive me. You can judge me. Pray for me.

Ogala accepts the apology

Reacting to the clerics apology video, the actress said she had accepted the apology wholeheartedly.

However, Ms Ogala dismissed Mr Okafors claim that the allegations she made against him were fabricated.

Pastor Chris, please dont kneel. This was all I wanted. Apology accepted. Chris Okafor, I forgive you, but theres a problem.

Where you said everything is a lie. I have a problem with that because I dont lie, she wrote.
From high-level policy debates at the 2025 National Health Dialogue to concerns over HIV service disruptions, November was a consequential month for Nigerias health sector.

As part of its monthly review, PREMIUM TIMES brings you a roundup of key stories and developments that shaped health conversations across the country this month.

2025 National Health Dialogue: Policymakers, experts discuss innovation, health financing

A major event that took place in November is the 2025 National Health Dialogue hosted by PREMIUM TIMES, in partnership with the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID).

The event convened key voices in Nigerias health sector for crucial conversations on reform and accountability.

The forum, themed Evidence, Innovation, and Financing for a Healthier Nigeria, brought together senior government officials, global health leaders, journalists, civil society groups and health innovators for a full day of discussions on the state of Nigerias health system.

The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, headlined the Dialogue in a fireside discussion focused on Nigerias reform priorities, the future of primary healthcare, and the shifts required to improve outcomes nationwide.

Other key participants included the World Health Organisation Country Director, Pavel Ursu; the Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Muyi Aina; the Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS, Temitope Ilori, alongside several state commissioners of health.

Funding Freeze: 1.5 million Nigerians at risk as HIV services collapse

A report released in November shows that an estimated 1.5 million people in key populations could lose access to lifesaving prevention and support services as the countrys HIV response enters a dangerous phase following the US governments funding freeze.

The report, developed and launched by Education as a Vaccine (EVA) paints a picture of declining prevention indicators, widespread service disruption and systemic weaknesses across the country.

The report shows that before the freeze, 87 per cent of Nigerias HIV budget depended on US government support.

Minister highlights challenges, progress, solutions in Nigerias health sector

Nigerias Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, said the federal government is pushing for the highest health allocation in Nigerias history, ending wasteful spending practices and strengthening accountability across the system.

Speaking during a fireside chat at the 2025 National Health Dialogue, Mr Pate said Nigerias poor health outcomes reflect exactly what the system was designed to produce  inequality and failure.

He said decades of underinvestment, weak governance and unclear responsibilities have left citizens without reliable care.

Global Fund secures $11.34 billion to boost fight against AIDS, TB and malaria

The Global Fund said it has secured pledges worth $11.34 billion to sustain the fight against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, save millions of lives, and strengthen systems for health.

It said the pledges were made by partners at its Eighth Replenishment Summit held in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Global Fund said the new support package will focus on expanding access to diagnostic services, improving the availability of essential medicines, and strengthening frontline health systems in states with high disease burdens.

Nigeria meets two of three global HIV targets  NACA

Nigeria has met two of the three global HIV targets set for 2030, marking one of the countrys strongest performances yet in its decades-long response to the epidemic.

Under the UNAIDS 959595 global targets, countries are expected by 2030 to ensure that 95 per cent of people living with HIV know their status, 95 per cent of those diagnosed receive sustained treatment, and 95 per cent of those on treatment achieve viral suppression.

The Director General of NACA, Temitope Ilori, said Nigeria now stands at 879895.

Nigerian govt recommits to better health service delivery

Top officials from the Nigerian Ministry of Health and its agencies have pledged to pursue evidence-driven reforms, promote innovation, and strengthen financing to improve healthcare service delivery nationwide.

The commitment was made during the 2025 National Health Dialogue in Abuja, which brought together policymakers, health innovators, journalists, and civil society representatives.

In his submission, Nigerias Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, said the federal government is pushing for the highest health allocation in Nigerias history, ending wasteful spending practices and strengthening accountability across the system.

Mr Pate said he expects Nigerias 2026 budget to move closer to a six per cent health allocation, the highest ever in federal spending.

Nigerian lawmakers order probe into medical doctors private practice during work hours

The House of Representatives has directed an investigation into the growing trend of medical consultants and personnel in public hospitals engaging in private practice during official working hours.

This resolution followed a motion on a matter of urgent national importance moved by Jessie Onuakalusi (LP, Lagos).

Mr Onuakalusi, in his motion, expressed concern over what he described as unethical practices among consultants and doctors at the National Hospital, Abuja, and other federal teaching hospitals who allegedly abandon official duties to attend to patients in private facilities.

He noted that the National Hospital, Abuja, was designed to provide tertiary health services to Nigerians and serve as the top referral centre in the Federal Capital Territory and across the country.

Nigerias health financing still far below target  Minister

The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako, acknowledged that Nigerias health financing remains critically low despite recent reforms aimed at building a resilient and inclusive health system.

Mr Salako, said that while progress has been made in several areas, the health sector still faces several challenges ranging from low funding to high out-of-pocket expenditure, workforce shortages, and weak infrastructure.

He noted that the progress is not happening at the pace required to meet the health needs of over 230 million Nigerians.

Nigeria averts 18 Million malaria cases annually  Official

In November, the federal government revealed that Nigeria is making major progress in the fight against malaria, averting an estimated 18 million cases every year.

The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Iziaq Salako, also outlined efforts to strengthen the countrys health system resilience and expand access to essential healthcare services.

He said the governments malaria control programme forms a key pillar of the nations strategy to build a resilient and inclusive health system.

INTERVIEW: How Nigeria is strengthening PHCs, developing local vaccine production  NPHCDA ED

In November, PREMIUM TIMES had an exclusive interview with Muyi Aina, the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA).

Mr Aina talked about Nigerias ongoing efforts to strengthen primary health centres and develop local vaccine production.

He outlines efforts to improve facilities, expand the frontline health workforce, and ensure that Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) reaches the communities that need it most.

Resident doctors suspend strike after 29 days

At the end of November, the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) suspended its indefinite strike after 29 days, restoring services across federal hospitals.

NARD President, Muhammad Suleiman, said the industrial action was suspended for four weeks following engagements with the federal government.

The resident doctors embarked on an indefinite strike on 1 November, grounding services across federal hospitals.

The doctors demands include payment of all outstanding arrears and allowances, immediate replacement of existing doctors, improvement of hospital infrastructure, and inclusion of house officers in the civil service scheme.
Nollywood actress and film producer Allwell Ademola is dead.

The actress died on Saturday in Lagos.

She was 43.

Her colleagues Faithia Williams, Mide Martins and Bidemi Kosoko confirmed her death and shared glowing tributes on their social media pages on Saturday.

Ms Ademola, popular for her role as Mama Kate in the 2018 film Ile Wa, reportedly suffered a heart attack at her Lagos residence on Saturday.

The deceased was later rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Nollywood actresses Faithia Williams, Mide Martins and Bidemi Kosoko confirmed her deaths in Instagram tributes on Saturday.

Ms Ademola was well-known for her work both in front of and behind the camera, having starred in and produced numerous Nollywood films over her career, such as Ile Wa (2018) and False Flag (2017).

Tributes

Her sudden death sparked an outpouring of emotion from colleagues and industry figures across social media.

Expressing her grief, fellow actress Faithia Williams shared on Instagram that the news hit her badly, expressing her disbelief about the news of her colleagues death.

In a similar vein, actress Mide Martins lamented the loss of Ms Ademola, regarding the late actress as lively and cheerful in her tribute.

Black Saturday. This is not fair. May God forgive your shortcomings, Allwell. Our ever playful, joyful, cheerful, lively Allwell is gone!! God, this is too heartbreaking, Ms Martins wrote.

Similarly, another colleague, Bidemi Kosoko, expressed disbelief at the reports, asking for a reply from Ademola as she struggled to accept the tragic news.

No way. It isnt possible. This isnt true. God forbid in Jesus name. I refuse to accept this one, God forbid. Please reply to my message, my aunt. I will wait patiently for your reply, Ms Kosoko said.

The late actress rose to prominence, particularly after starring in several Nollywood films in the late 2000s and 2010s, including You or I in 2015 and Omo Emi in 2017.
Nigeria, Jordan, Algeria and more than 20 other countries have rejected Israels decision to recognise Somaliland as an independent state, warning that the move violates international law and threatens peace and security in the Horn of Africa.

PREMIUM TIMES reports that Israel on Friday became the first country to formally recognise Somaliland, a self-declared republic that broke away from Somalia in 1991 following a civil war, but has never been recognised by any United Nations member state.

Nigeria issued a separate statement denouncing Israels decision. It also signed the joint statement by over 20 countries.

In its statement on Saturday, Nigeria said it unequivocally supports the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Somalia.

The Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of all Member States of the United Nations and the African Union, wrote Kimiebi Ebienfa, spokesperson of Nigerias Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Nigeria added that it recognises the government in Somalia as the legitimate authority representing the Somali people and condemned any action that undermines Somalias constitutional order.

The Government of Nigeria urges international actors to desist from recognising any part of the territory of Somalia as an independent entity, as such actions would only escalate the crisis, the statement said.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that several countries, including the United States, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have also rejected Israels decision to recognise Somaliland as an independent state. The African Union also condemned Israels decision.

Joint rejection by Arab, Islamic countries

In a separate joint statement, the foreign ministers of Jordan, Egypt, Algeria, Djibouti, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq and more than a dozen other countries, alongside the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), condemned Israels decision.

They described Israels recognition of Somaliland as an unprecedented measure with serious repercussions on peace and security in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea.

The ministers said the move constitutes a grave violation of the principles of international law and the United Nations Charter, particularly provisions safeguarding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states.

They reaffirmed their full support for the sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Somalia and rejected any measures that undermine its unity or territorial integrity.

The statement also warned that recognising breakaway regions of sovereign states sets a dangerous precedent that threatens international peace and security.

Somalia, AU react

Somalia has condemned Israels action, describing it as interference in its internal affairs.

This will never be acceptable or tolerable to our government and people who are united in defending our territorial integrity, Somalias State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ali Omar, told Al Jazeera.

Mr Omar said Somalia would deploy all diplomatic means to challenge the decision and urged Israel to rescind it and comply with international law.

He also accused Israel of linking the recognition of Somaliland to a broader plan to displace Palestinians from Gaza, an allegation Israel has previously denied.

Saudi Arabia similarly rejected Israels move, saying it entrenched unilateral separatist measures that violate international law, and reaffirmed its support for Somalias unity and legitimate institutions.

The African Union also dismissed Israels recognition, warning that it could set a dangerous precedent across the continent. The AU stressed its long-standing principle of respecting borders inherited at independence, noting that Somaliland remains an integral part of Somalia.

Somaliland, Israel defend move

Somalilands President, Abdirahman Abdullahi, popularly known as Cirro, defended Israels decision, insisting it was not directed against any country.

He said Somaliland has long sought international recognition and cited its functioning government, currency and institutions as justification.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the recognition as being in the spirit of the Abraham Accords and said he would raise Somalilands case in discussions with US President Donald Trump. The US has not recognised Somaliland as a separate country.

Mr Netanyahu also invited President Abdullahi to visit Israel.
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against Nigerias governors and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nyesom Wike, over their failure to account for the spending of the N14trn fuel subsidy savings they collected from Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocations, including details of projects executed with the money, and the completion reports on the projects.

The suit followed reports that the 36 governors and the FCT minister have collected trillions of naira from FAAC allocations as fuel subsidy savings since mid-2023. But the increased allocations have not translated into improved access to quality healthcare and education for poor and vulnerable Nigerians.

In the suit number FHC/L/MSC/1424/2025 filed last Friday at the Federal High Court, Lagos, SERAP is asking the court to direct and compel the governors and Mr Wike to disclose the details of the spending of the increased FAAC allocations being savings from the removal of fuel subsidy in May 2023.

SERAP is also asking the court to compel the governors and Mr Wike to disclose details and the location of the projects executed, if any, with the increased FAAC allocations from the savings from the removal of fuel subsidy.

In the suit, SERAP is arguing that, Nigerians ought to know in what manner public funds, including fuel subsidy savings, are spent by the governors and FCT minister.

According to SERAP, The constitutional principle of democracy also provides a foundation for Nigerians right to know the spending details of the money collected from the savings from the removal of fuel subsidy.

SERAP is arguing that Citizens right to know promotes openness, transparency, and accountability that is in turn crucial for the countrys democratic order.

SERAP is also arguing that, There is a legitimate public interest for the governors and the FCT minister to urgently explain how they have spent the money they have so far collected from the subsidy savings.

SERAP said, Opacity in the spending of the increased FAAC allocations from fuel subsidy savings collected by the governors and Mr Wike would continue to have negative impacts on the fundamental interests of the citizens.

SERAP is also arguing that, The savings from the removal of fuel subsidy ought to be spent solely for the benefit of the poor and vulnerable Nigerians who are bearing the brunt of the removal. Transparency in the spending of the money would help to avoid a morally repugnant result of double jeopardy on these Nigerians.

The suit filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers Oluwakemi Agunbiade and Valentina Adegoke, read in part: There is a significant risk of mismanagement or diversion of funds linked to the increased FAAC allocations collected by the states and FCT.

The spending details of the money collected by several states and the FCT from fuel subsidy savings have been mostly shrouded in secrecy.

Millions of poor and vulnerable Nigerians have not benefited from the trillions of naira collected by the governors and FCT minister as a result of the subsidy savings. Nigerians continue to face a worsening poverty crisis.

Several states are also reportedly spending public funds, which may include fuel subsidy savings, to fund unnecessary travels, buy exotic and bulletproof cars and generally fund the lavish lifestyles of politicians.

There are continuing reports of widespread poverty, underdevelopment and lack of access to public goods and services in several states.

Directing and compelling states and FCT to disclose the details of the spending of the money collected as fuel subsidy savings would allow Nigerians to scrutinise them, and to public officials to account on the spending of public funds.

The states and FCT may have failed to transparently and accountably manage the allocations collected from the fuel subsidy savings.

Nigerians have the right to know how their states and FCT are spending the savings from the removal of fuel subsidy as part of their human right to information.

Combating the corruption epidemic in the spending of the money collected would alleviate poverty, improve access of Nigerians to basic public services, and enhance the ability of states and FCT to effectively and efficiently discharge their responsibilities.

The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) in 2024 distributed N28.78 trillion from the removal of subsidy on petrol to the three tiers of government, representing a 79 per cent increase from the previous year.

State governments allocations increased by 45.5 per cent to N5.22 trillion. Monthly distributions in 2025 have reportedly exceeded N1.6 trillion.

However, despite the increased allocations of public funds to states and FCT, millions of poor and socially and economically vulnerable Nigerians have not benefited from the savings.

Many states reportedly owe civil servants salaries and pensions. Several states continue to borrow to pay salaries. Millions of Nigerians resident in several states and the FCT continue to be denied access to basic public services.

Several years of allegations of corruption and mismanagement in the spending of public funds by several states and entrenched impunity of perpetrators have undermined public trust and confidence in governments at all levels.

Section 15(5) of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended) requires public institutions to abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power. Section 16(2) of the Nigerian Constitution further provides that, the material resources of the nation are harnessed and distributed as best as possible to serve the common good.

READ ALSO: SERAP urges court to halt extension of sachet alcohol ban moratorium

Section 13 of the Nigerian Constitution imposes clear responsibility on public institutions including states and FCT to conform to, observe and apply the provisions of Chapter 2 of the constitution.

Nigeria has made legally binding commitments under the UN Convention against Corruption to ensure accountability in the management of public resources. Articles 5 and 9 of the Convention also impose legal obligations on states and FCT to ensure proper management of public affairs and public funds.

The Supreme Court in a groundbreaking judgment declared that the Freedom of Information Act is applicable and applies to the public records in the Federation, including those relating to the spending of the subsidy savings kept by states and FCT.

With the landmark judgment, the Supreme Court has made clear that state governors can no longer hide under their unfounded claim that the Freedom of Information Act does not apply to them.

No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
President Bola Tinubu departed Lagos on Sunday, 28 December, for Europe, continuing his end-of-year break and ahead of his official trip to Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates.

His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates, has invited President Tinubu to participate in the 2026 edition of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW 2026) Summit, which will take place in the emirate early in January.

The weeklong summit is an annual event that mobilises leaders from government, business, and society to chart the next era of sustainable development.

With the theme The Nexus of Next: All Systems Go, ADSW will connect ambition with action across innovation, finance, and people, showcasing how the world can move forward with confidence.

The president will return to the country after the summit.

Bayo Onanuga

Special Adviser to the President

(Information & Strategy)

December 28, 2025
Borno South Senator, Ali Ndume, has urged President Bola Tinubu to extend ongoing United States-Nigeria operations against terrorist groups to the north-east region of Nigeria.

Mr Ndume, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Boko Haram maintain strongholds in the North-east that require immediate military action through targeted aerial bombardments.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the senator welcomed Nigerias collaboration with the United States on counterterrorism operations but stressed that such efforts should not be limited to parts of the North-west.

We welcome this cooperation between Nigeria and the United States in targeting terrorist hideouts.

I am calling on them to extend it to the North east where ISWAP and Boko Haram have their three known black spots: Lake Chad, Mandara Mountain and Sambisa, which are exclusive strongholds of ISWAP and Boko Haram, he said.

The North-east region comprises Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe states.

The US airstrike

PREMIUM TIMES had reported the joint USNigeria operation against identified terrorist targets in Tangaza and Tambuwal Local Hovernment Areas of Sokoto State.

The operation, which took place on Christmas Day, targeted locations believed to be hideouts of Islamic State-linked militants along the NigeriaNiger border.

The attacks were the result of intelligence sharing and strategic coordination between the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) and the Nigerian military.

In recent years, Tangaza has seen the emergence of a group known as the Lakurawa. Originally a group of foreign herders from Sahelian countries, they have evolved into a terrorist group that imposes taxes on locals and enforces their own version of justice, often clashing with traditional authorities.

A US military official told The New York Times that the strike involved more than a dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from a Navy ship in the Gulf of Guinea, hitting insurgents in two ISIS camps in Sokoto State.

US Africa Command said its initial assessment indicated that multiple ISIS terrorists were killed at the request of Nigerian authorities.

Nigerias foreign affairs minister, Yusuf Tuggar, later confirmed that President Bola Tinubu had approved the strikes and that Nigeria had shared intelligence with the US to ensure the strikes success.

Call for expanded military support

Mr Ndume further urged the federal government to ensure that the collaboration with the United States goes beyond airstrikes.

He called for enhanced training, intelligence sharing, logistics support and the deployment of attack helicopters to assist Nigerian ground troops in combating terrorism.

I also want to suggest that the military cooperation with the United States should extend to ground troops in training, intelligence and logistics. They should also back it up with attack helicopters support for ground troops, he stated.

Reacting to the recent suicide bombing at a mosque in Gamboru, Maiduguri, which claimed five lives, the senator expressed condolences to the victims and their families.

I also sympathise with the bomb blasts victims in Borno State, where many people were killed and injured. The incident in the mosque in Gamboru is a clear indication that the terrorists dont care about religion.

In this instant, on the eve of Christmas, all the victims were Muslims. So, the narrative of Christian genocide doesnt exists. The terrorists making life unbearable for our people are blind to religion.
The federal government has trained over 7,000 forest guards for immediate deployment across seven states as part of a nationwide security push to deny armed groups access to forests increasingly used for kidnappings, banditry and terrorism.

Rabiu Ibrahim, special assistant to the Minister of Information and National Orientation, said in a statement on Saturday that the guards completed a three-month training programme under the Presidential Forest Guards Initiative launched in May 2025 by President Bola Tinubu. He said the programme was designed as a coordinated federal and state response to worsening insecurity in forested and hard-to-reach areas.

Graduation ceremonies were held simultaneously on 27 December in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Sokoto, Niger, Kwara and Kebbi states. The initiative targets criminal groups that have turned forests into operational bases for mass abductions, arms trafficking and attacks on rural communities.

According to the statement, the training was deliberately intensive, structured, and demanding, combining physical conditioning, tactical fieldcraft and long-range patrol simulations with lessons on environmental protection. The guards were trained in ambush response, rescue operations and coordinated offensive actions intended to disrupt criminal networks operating in forest corridors.

The programme also placed strong emphasis on professionalism and legality. Trainees received instruction on human rights, international humanitarian law, gender rights and the protection of civilians, while the use of force was regulated under a jointly agreed arms management framework.

National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu said the guards would serve as a critical layer in Nigerias security architecture. These forest guards are not just uniformed personnel. They are first responders, community protectors, and a critical layer of Nigerias security architecture, he said. They will hold ground, gather intelligence, and support security agencies in reclaiming territories previously overtaken by criminal elements.

Mr Ribadu said deployment would begin immediately, adding that there would be no delay between graduation and posting to duty locations. Salaries and allowances will commence immediately, and every certified guard will proceed directly to assigned duty posts, he said.

Out of the trainees enrolled, 98.2 percent completed the programme successfully. The statement said 81 trainees were disqualified on disciplinary grounds, while two died from pre-existing medical conditions. All others were certified fit for operational service.

The forest guards were recruited from their local government areas to take advantage of their knowledge of terrain and community dynamics. The initiative is coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser, with operational support from the State Security Services and the National Park Service, and strategic input from the military, police and civil defence corps.

The deployment comes amid persistent insecurity across Nigeria, where forests and ungoverned spaces have played a central role in criminal activity. In recent years, armed groups have abducted hundreds of schoolchildren from hostels and classrooms in states such as Kebbi and Niger, while travellers and farmers have been routinely seized along forest routes linking the north-west and north-central regions.

By targeting these forest enclaves, the federal government says the new force will complement existing security operations and restore state presence in areas long dominated by criminal groups.

By protecting our forests, we are securing our territory. And by securing our territory, we are protecting our people, Mr Ribadu said, adding that the initiative would expand nationwide as part of a sustained effort to improve public safety.
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has pledged unwavering support for President Bola Tinubus second term.

The Senior Special Assistant to the Minister on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, said Mr Wike made the pledge on Saturday while meeting PDP stakeholders in Ochigba, Rivers.

Mr Wike attended an end-of-year thanksgiving service organised by former Deputy Speaker of the House, Chibudom Nwuche, in Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers.

Addressing stakeholders, Mr Wike said their struggle would not be in vain, urging them to continue supporting Mr Tinubu despite what he described as intimidation in the state.

He recalled openly backing Mr Tinubu during the 2023 presidential election, even when support was difficult in Rivers.

Mr Wike said he would continue to support the president now that conditions were easier, stressing that early supporters were recognised after Mr Tinubus victory.

I want to thank you for standing with us all through these years. We know those who are ungrateful, he said.

He said political courage was required in 2023, when many were unsure of Mr Tinubus chances and feared openly supporting him.

In politics, you must take a stand, believing that at the end of the day, it will be good. Now, it is good, Mr Wike said.

He added that his supporters made Mr Tinubu stand strong in the state when it was difficult to declare loyalty.

Mr Wike assured supporters he respected agreements, saying, When we take a decision, Nigerians know we have taken it.

He said preparations for the 2027 general elections would begin in January, promising to honour all political agreements.

Agreement is agreement. Anything you cannot do, dont say it, he told supporters.

Mr Wike dismissed critics chanting loyalty slogans, saying his camp acted when it mattered most.

He said he remained firm on supporting Mr Tinubu, adding, We are all in this till the end.

(NAN)
Novembers gender matters highlighted the pervasive issue of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TF-GBV), particularly the online abuse and exploitation targeting women and girls.

Beyond the rise of TF-GBV, other significant matters included the Ochanya Ogbanje familys renewed call for justice, womens participation in Anambras governorship election, the troubling abduction of schoolgirls, amongst others.

Here are some of the most important gender-related issues from November.

Anambra 2025: Over 50% of voters are women, but only 13% of candidates are

Anambra State held its governorship election on 8 November, with a notable disparity in female representation.

Despite women making up 58 per cent of new voter registrants, only 13 per cent of candidates were female, highlighting a significant gap in womens participation in politics. Two female candidates, Chioma Grace Ifemeludike of the African Action Congress (AAC) and Ndidi Christy Olieh of the National Rescue Movement (NRM), ran for governor, while six others featured as deputy governorship candidates.

PREMIUM TIMES reporter selected for gender-responsive education fellowship

In November, Oluwakemi Adelagun, a reporter on the Health and Development Desk at PREMIUM TIMES, was selected among 14 journalists across Nigeria to participate in a special reporting fellowship on gender-responsive and accountable education in Oyo State.

The initiative, launched by DevReporting in partnership with Education as a Vaccine (EVA) and supported by the Malala Fund, aims to strengthen media coverage of girls education, education financing, and citizen participation in the sector.

Seven years on, rape victims family petitions IGP over failure to prosecute key suspect

Seven years after the death of Ochanya Ogbanje, a 13-year-old who suffered prolonged sexual abuse, her family petitioned the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, to reopen her case and declare the prime suspect, Victor Ogbuja, wanted.

The petition, signed by human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong, urged the police to recall the case file from the Benue State Police Command and place the suspect on a watchlist.

Inside Nigerias prisons, where female inmates are left without menstrual care

Female inmates in Nigerias prisons face significant challenges accessing menstrual hygiene products, with many relying on donations from churches, mosques, and charity groups to manage their periods. At Suleja correctional facility, female inmates spoke out about the difficulties they face, highlighting the lack of government support and inadequate healthcare.

The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) denied these allegations, stating that sanitary pads and hygiene materials are distributed to female inmates monthly at no cost. However, advocates argue that the governments allocation of billions of naira to correctional facilities has not translated to improved menstrual care for female inmates, with many forced to use newspapers, nylons, and rags during menstruation.

Technology-facilitated violence

The increasing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other digital technological tools is amplifying existing patterns of violence against women and girls, creating new forms of abuse and exploitation, the United Nations Women said.

The agency, in a statement to mark the 2025 International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, said the statistics are alarming, with 90 to 95 per cent of all deepfakes online being sexualised images of women.

Also, Nigerias First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, emphasised the urgent need to tackle the escalating issue of online abuse, harassment, extortion, and exploitation of women and girls, describing it as a growing and often invisible threat.

The development Research and Projects Centre (dRPC), on its part, launched a research report titled Digital Threats to Women in Politics in Nigeria: Experiences of Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TF-GBV) and Political Parties Responses.

At the event launch, policymakers, political parties, civil society organisations, the media, and development partners shared key findings on technology-facilitated gender-based violence in Nigerian politics and mobilised stakeholders to implement actionable recommendations.

How Nigerian women are reacting to abortion bill

In November, the suspension of a controversial abortion bill sparked a wave of reactions from Nigerian women on social media, many of whom described the proposed legislation as a misplaced priority.

Using the hashtag  SayNoToAbortionBill, some urged the lawmakers to re-evaluate their legislative priorities and, instead of focusing on restricting abortion, concentrate on enacting and enforcing stiffer penalties for perpetrators of rape and other matters that concern the citizens welfare.

Religious, traditional leaders push for united front against gender based violence

Religious and traditional leaders have renewed their commitment to ending sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) through stronger interfaith collaboration, community engagement, and cultural reform.

The call was made at the Regional High-Level Faith and Cultural Leaders Dialogue and Prevention Impact Documentary Premiere in Abuja. The event brought together religious leaders, community gatekeepers, and advocacy groups to explore ways faith and cultural institutions can drive sustainable prevention of gender-based violence.

Oluremi Tinubu donates N250m to gender centre in Plateau

Nigerias First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, donated N250 million to support the newly established Gender and Public Policy Study Centre at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Plateau State.

She described the project as a lasting symbol of our collective resolve to build a just and prosperous Nigeria.

When women are empowered, the entire society prospers, she said, noting that the initiative aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu.

Womens coalition condemns Kebbi schoolgirls abduction

A coalition of womens rights advocates from North-central, North-east, and North-west Nigeria, Voices for Inclusion and Equity for Women (VIEW), condemned the abduction of 25 schoolgirls from Government Girls Comprehensive Senior Secondary School, Maga, in Kebbi State.

The coalition called it a brutal indictment of Nigerias continued failure to protect its most vulnerable citizens.

Sexual Assault

A chief magistrates court in Ikeja, Lagos, remanded a 37-year-old man, Joseph Olasope, in the Kirikiri Correctional Centre for allegedly inserting his finger into the private part of a three-year-old girl.

Mr Olasope faces one count of sexual assault.

In a separate court proceeding, the magistrate also remanded a 58-year-old man, Sesan Olabode, in Kirikiri Correctional Centre for allegedly sexually assaulting a teenage girl.

The chief magistrate, C. M. Kushanu, did not take both defendants pleas.
A former governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, has escalated a public dispute with Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde over federal intervention funds approved after the January 2024 explosion in Ibadan, alleging that the fund was largely diverted to other purposes.

On Friday, Mr Fayose appeared on TVCs political programme, Journalists Hangout, where he accused Governor Makinde of failing to disclose the N50 billion support he received from President Bola Tinubus administration following the Ibadan explosion.

He said Governor Makinde only mentioned the part where he declined the presidents request to help organise the APC in Oyo State but did not tell Nigerians about the help and support the president gave to him and to the people of his state.

But you did not tell Nigerians you got, at the prerogative, at the mercy of Mr President, you got 50 billion Naira in support of the explosion in Ibadan. He never said that to Nigeria. So, the president can say the explosion is not worth more than 10 billion, Mr Fayose said.

Recall that Mr Makinde had granted an interview where he revealed that Nyesom Wike offered to hold down the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to strengthen President Bola Tinubus second term ambition.

Governor Makinde also said the president personally asked him to help organise the APC party in the state but he refused.

Responding to Mr Fayose, the Special Adviser on Media to Governor Makinde, Sulaimon Olarenwaju, challenged the former Ekiti State governor to prove his allegations.

He who makes an allegation must provide evidence. Let him produce proof of what he is claiming. It is important to note that Fayose lacks credibility. Even members of his family have publicly disowned him.

What credibility does such a person have? People like that speak carelessly, and ordinarily, they should not be taken seriously. But since he has made a claim, let him substantiate it, he said.

Acclaimed evidence

In a statement signed by Mr Fayose and posted on the X page of Lere Olayinka, a media aide to Nyesom Wike, the former governor said he decided to make the documents public in the interest of transparency, arguing that the disclosure was necessary after the Oyo governor spoke about private discussions with President Bola Tinubu on the matter.

Two days ago, I said on national television that Oyo State under Governor Seyi Makinde got a sum of N50bn from the Federal Government as intervention on the January 2024 explosion in Ibadan.

Yesterday, the governor responded by asking me to provide evidence that he received such money, and here is the evidence he asked for.

Meanwhile, only N4.5bn was released to victims of the Ibadan Explosion. Rather, he diverted this fund and many others to his Presidential ambition, which is the reason for the crisis in the PDP and his attacks on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his government, Mr Fayose said.

Mr Fayose further alleged that the unaccounted funds were channelled into political activities, including Governor Makindes reported presidential ambition.

He accused the Oyo governor of being less than forthright with residents of the state about the scale of federal support received after the explosion.

He also claimed that Oyo State had benefited from other intervention funds from the Tinubu administration which, he said, were not disclosed to the public. In addition, Mr Fayose alleged discrepancies between the states actual internally generated revenue and figures publicly presented by the Makinde administration, saying he possessed documents to substantiate the claim.

 I challenge Governor Seyi Makinde to sue me on this. Let me also tell him that there are proofs of other intervention funds received from Tinubus administration by the Oyo State Government, which the governor refused to disclose to the people.

Also, there are documentary evidences on the actual Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of Oyo State, as against Governor Makindes claim, but we will keep our gunpowder dry for now, he said.

As of press time, the Oyo State Government had not issued a fresh response to Mr Fayoses latest claims

The document

A close look at the evidence indicates that the document is a memo from the office of the Accountant General of the Federation to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy addressing a request from the Oyo State government, rather than a payment receipt.

The document dated 29 August 2024, is titled Requests for Special Intervention Funds.

It outlined requests from several state governments seeking special intervention funding amounting to N915.5 billion. It explained that the requests could not be fully met due to the low cash balance in the special accounts designated for such interventions, even though some of the requests were submitted earlier in the year.

The letter states that N450.7 billion had already been disbursed, leaving an outstanding balance of N464.7 billion. An attached schedule lists the beneficiary states, the purpose of each request, and the amounts sought.

One entry shows Oyo States request for N50 billion for reconstruction works following the Bodija explosion.
The verdict, however, is still unfolding. Energy security is a process, not a destination. Whether current gains endure will depend on institutional depth, policy consistency and the willingness to confront entrenched inefficiencies. For now, Ojularis tenure represents a cautious but deliberate attempt to anchor Nigerias energy sector more firmly to economic stability  an effort whose ultimate success will be measured not by rhetoric, but by results.

In Nigeria, energy security has never been a narrow technical concern. It sits squarely at the crossroads of fiscal stability, foreign exchange earnings and the broader political economy. Under President Bola Tinubu, whose reform agenda has exposed both the resilience and the fragility of the national economy, this linkage has become even more pronounced. Eight months into the tenure of Bayo Ojulari as Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, the national conversation is shifting  from how much oil Nigeria produces to how securely that value is protected and converted into public benefit.

Ojulari has increasingly framed energy security as revenue security, advancing the idea that barrels lost to theft, inefficiency or weak accounting systems are as damaging as pipelines shut down by vandalism. Supporters see this framing as a necessary evolution in thinking for an economy still heavily dependent on hydrocarbon revenues. Critics, however, caution that Nigeria has heard similar reformist language before, and that the true test lies not in intent but in institutional outcomes.

For decades, Nigerias energy discourse was dominated by production volumes. Yet, recent history has shown that high oil prices and respectable output figures do not automatically translate into fiscal relief. Theft, operational disruptions and weak remittance mechanisms often ensured that boom periods left little trace in public finances. Ojularis approach builds on reforms already in motion but places sharper emphasis on linking operational performance to financial outcomes. The focus on pipeline availability, reporting discipline and internal controls, reflects an attempt to move the conversation from volume obsession to revenue integrity.

One of the more tangible developments under the current leadership has been the restoration of near-full availability on major crude pipelines, reducing physical losses and improving export reliability. The continuation of monthly financial disclosures has also enhanced transparency and offered clearer insight into NNPCs operations. Proponents argue that these measures mark genuine progress. Skeptics counter that transparency alone is insufficient, unless it is matched by consequences for inefficiency and underperformance, and that deeper institutional reforms are still required.

Energy security is also inseparable from investor confidence. Under Ojulari, NNPC has sought to reassure Joint Venture and Production Sharing Contract partners through operational stability and more consistent engagement. This has coincided with renewed interest in some upstream and midstream projects. While this is widely welcomed, analysts note that investor confidence ultimately rests not only on NNPCs conduct but also on regulatory consistency, security conditions in host communities and the broader credibility of government policy.

Diversification has emerged as another pillar of Ojularis strategy. The expansion into gas infrastructure, downstream services and regional energy projects is presented as a hedge against oil price volatility. Gas offers longer-term contracts and domestic utilisation opportunities, while downstream and infrastructure services promise steadier, fee-based income. Still, diversification brings its own risks.

Managing multiple portfolios demands capital, technical capacity and strong governance  areas where past experience urges caution.

There is little dispute that improved remittances from NNPC have supported fiscal planning and foreign exchange inflows. Trillions of naira reportedly remitted in early 2025 provided some breathing space for a government navigating difficult reforms. Yet, energy revenues remain exposed to global shocks, reinforcing the argument that while revenue protection is essential, it cannot substitute for broader economic diversification.

NNPCs dual identity  as a commercial entity wholly owned by the state  has always generated tension between profit motives and national obligations. Ojularis framing of revenue protection as a shared interest seeks to ease this tension, aligning corporate performance with public finance needs. Whether this balance can be sustained in the face of political pressure remains an open question.

Overall, Ojularis first eight months suggest a leadership style inclined toward consolidation rather than dramatic reinvention. In a sector long unsettled by abrupt policy shifts, that restraint may prove to be an asset. By embedding revenue protection into the concept of energy security, the current leadership is responding pragmatically to Nigerias economic realities.

The verdict, however, is still unfolding. Energy security is a process, not a destination. Whether current gains endure will depend on institutional depth, policy consistency and the willingness to confront entrenched inefficiencies. For now, Ojularis tenure represents a cautious but deliberate attempt to anchor Nigerias energy sector more firmly to economic stability  an effort whose ultimate success will be measured not by rhetoric, but by results.

Richard Ezi-obodo wrote from Lagos.
The Igbo teach that when a child washes his hands clean, he may dine with kings. That afternoon with Baba was a living expression of that wisdom, proof that nations are sustained not merely by power, but by men whose greatness is matched by humility, and whose tables remain open to merit, memory, and hope.

There are few Nigerians whose existence gives me as much joy and hope as Baba Olusegun Obasanjo. There are also few Nigerians whose eventual departure from this world would fill me with as much dread as his.

My friends, who know how close I am to Baba, have on several occasions advised me to hurry up with anything I want to do with him, warning that Baba may soon depart this world. I would always reply that Baba is not leaving this world anytime soon. Unfortunately, one of those friends who urged me to hurry up with Baba died recently; a young man full of ideas. His death is a clear reminder that death is no respecter of age.

Even though Baba himself has said he is heading to the departure lounge, my prayer is that he lives for many more years, because this country still needs him.

I have met Baba on two occasions. The most recent was in his palatial Presidential Library in Abeokuta, where I went to present him with a complimentary copy of my new book, for which he graciously wrote the Foreword.

I arrived in Ogun State behind schedule and went straight to Ota. When I messaged Baba to inform him that I was in Ota, he replied that he does not live there, that he stays in Abeokuta, at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL). You can therefore imagine my joy when Baba graciously rescheduled my appointment to the following day.

The next morning, I set out from my hotel to Abeokuta and arrived after a two-hour journey, navigating the ever-busy road. The OOPL sits on a vast expanse of land. As I drove toward the White House, Babas residence, I marvelled at the architectural beauty of the buildings, the well-trimmed flowers, and the sheer grandeur of the complex. The library itself feels like a tertiary institution.

At the White House, the security guards questioned me. When they asked who I had come to see and I replied, Baba Obasanjo, surprise instantly spread across their faces, as though to say, a small boy like you came to see the Ebora of Owu? One of them, however, asked me to call Baba. I did so confidently.

When Baba answered, he called my name immediately.

Zayd! You are in my house now?

Yes, Baba.

Wait for me.

He hung up. That settled all doubts.

Baba had stepped out for a function elsewhere in Abeokuta. While waiting, I decided to visit the bookstore to purchase some of his books for autographing. I bought the complete three volumes of My Watch. Shortly after I returned, Baba arrived.

An elderly man was also waiting to see him. He greeted Baba warmly and followed him inside. I attempted to follow as well but was stopped because Baba had not yet seen me. I was asked to write my name in the visitors register, which I did. As one of the aides went in to confirm my presence, Baba was already calling me on the phone.

When I informed them that Baba was calling me inside, I was promptly led in.

I waited in the reception room for Baba to finish his meeting with the other guest. When Baba escorted his visitor out, I stood up, walked forward, and knelt down to greet him.

Baba Obasanjo is an enigma. At 88, he still walks with the gait and agility of a youth, alert, firm, and unmistakably present. People at that age are often confined to wheelchairs or reliant on walking sticks, but Baba remains physically and mentally imposing.

He took photographs with his guest and then returned to see me. I greeted him for the second time. He sat on a small dining-style reception chair at the corner of the room and motioned for me to sit opposite him, which I did.

Zayd, you went to Ota? he asked.

Yes, Baba, I replied.

I dont know why people associate me with Ota, he said. I dont live there.

I smiled and explained that it was perhaps because of his famous Ota Farm.

There was a brief interruption as someone came in to brief him on an issue. While Baba attended to that, my eyes wandered repeatedly to the Mancala board on the small centre table. I found myself wondering how I would explain to Baba, should he suggest a game, that I had never played it.

When our conversation resumed, I told Baba that I had bought the three volumes of My Watch from the bookstore inside the OOPL for him to autograph. He was visibly pleased and requested Volume One. He autographed it and handed it back to me.

I also autographed my own book and presented it to him. Baba praised the quality of its production. He told me he had already read the manuscript before writing the Foreword and that he loved the book.

He then lamented the gradual death of the reading culture in Nigeria. According to him, if an author sells ten thousand copies of a book in Nigeria today, it is nothing short of a miracle. He advised me to take the publicity of the book seriously and to ensure a proper launch, even if only to recoup modest returns.

The icing on the cake came when he said that whenever I decided to launch the book, he would personally attend.

I did not even realise when I fell on my knees to thank him.

Baba has a long history of empowering young people. Someone once said that if I had met Baba when he was in office, I would probably have been part of his cabinet, because he has always had a deep appreciation for young people with potential.

Something else caught my attention while I was with Baba. His cook brought his food to him and spoke to him in Hausa. Baba replied fluently in the same language. Although I was not surprised that Baba understands Hausa, I was surprised that his cook is a Hausa man. Such is the detribalised nature of Baba, and the depth of his love for this country.

Baba ate his food in my presence, and it was time for him to take a nap. He thanked me for coming. We took pictures with my book, and Baba instructed his cook to serve me food, while retiring to his room. I did not wait to eat, as I was not hungry. The wonderful moment I had with Baba had already filled me with joy.

I left the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library fulfilled. After retiring to my hotel room in Lagos, I sent Baba a message of appreciation. Almost immediately, Baba called me to thank me for coming and asked if I was still in Abeokuta. I told him I had returned to Lagos. How thoughtful of him. Babas humility is not talked about enough.

The Igbo teach that when a child washes his hands clean, he may dine with kings. That afternoon with Baba was a living expression of that wisdom, proof that nations are sustained not merely by power, but by men whose greatness is matched by humility, and whose tables remain open to merit, memory, and hope.

Zayd Ibn Isah can be reached through [email protected]
Nigeria must urgently rebuild its diplomatic machinery but not as a political patronage and bureaucratic exercise, but as a strategic imperative. Ambassadors must have competence in international affairs. They must be empowered, visible and proactive. They must engage lawmakers, brief editorial boards, convene diaspora networks and challenge misinformation in real time.

The coordinated USNigeria strike on ISIS targets in Sokoto is a reminder of two truths that can coexist:

1. Nigeria must relentlessly decimate terrorists. On that, my support is absolute.

2. Nigeria must also confront and correct the dangerous, false narrative of a Christian genocide.

The second point is where we continue to fail.

This morning, I listened to Ian Dales LBC programme in the UK, where the strike was discussed for a full hour. What struck me was not the analysis itself, but the callers, including Nigerians, confidently pushing the same misleading narrative that has been gaining traction internationally. A narrative that oversimplifies our security challenges and misdiagnoses the drivers of violence.

What disappointed me even more was the silence. No Nigerian government spokesperson called in to LBC, which is a very important and influential radio station. No authoritative voice intervened. No counternarrative emerged. Once again, we ceded the information space.

And this is precisely why Nigerias long standing failure to appoint ambassadors has been so costly. For two years, over 70 missions have been operating without confirmed envoys, including Washington, London, Brussels, Addis and other strategic capitals where narratives are shaped, policies are drafted and perceptions harden into action.

When you leave your diplomatic posts empty, you leave your story undefended.

Even now, as Nigeria finally begins nominating ambassadors, the effects of that vacuum linger. Advocacy groups, diaspora actors and political entrepreneurs have spent years defining Nigeria to the world often inaccurately, sometimes maliciously, and almost always without nuance.

Meanwhile, the real picture is far more complex:

A. Terrorism, banditry and communal violence affect Christians, Muslims and indigenous faith communities alike.

B. The drivers are criminality, extremism, resource competition and governance gaps, not a statesponsored religious agenda.

C. Nigerias government has repeatedly affirmed its commitment to interfaith harmony and counterterrorism.

But if we do not articulate this complexity with clarity and consistency, others will continue to flatten it into a dangerous, polarising narrative.

Narratives shape policy. Policy shapes consequences.

This is why Nigeria must urgently rebuild its diplomatic machinery but not as a political patronage and bureaucratic exercise, but as a strategic imperative. Ambassadors must have competence in international affairs. They must be empowered, visible and proactive. They must engage lawmakers, brief editorial boards, convene diaspora networks and challenge misinformation in real time.

Silence is not neutrality.

Silence is surrender.

Nigeria cannot afford to be absent from conversations that define its global reputation, its security partnerships and most importantly its internal cohesion.

We have begun to rebuild. But the work is far from done as I heard on LBC radio this morning.

Wale Osofisan is senior director, governance technical unit at the International Rescue Committee.
In Nigeria, on Tuesday and Thursday last week, two precision airstrikes hit targets. As similar as the pains the airstrikes brought, they were also marked by dissimilarities. While one hit the countrys northwest target against ISIS terrorists on Thursday, Christmas day, earlier on Tuesday, the other hit the heart of state capture in Nigeria. But localities of the strikes were miles apart. The Donald Trump strikes were launched from maritime platforms domiciled in the Gulf of Guinea but the one that exposed the rump of one party rule in Nigeria was launched from the Agodi Government House in Ibadan, Oyo State. While the ranks of ISIS terrorists hit by Trumps shellacking are in mourning mood today, the ranks of those who, without pestle and mortar, pound the evil yam of capturing Nigeria under the umbrella of a one party, is re-contextualizing its rout. In his track entitled Agunbaje o lodo, Yoruba Juju music lord, Admiral Dele Abiodun, sang of evil-doers who pound evil yam, who possess no physical pestle and mortar, but whose evil acts give out onomatopoeic sound, like someone pounding yam.

Let us begin by approaching the Donald Trump airstrikes from the prism of libido. Among my people, when a notoriously known sexually infirm person, the tribe of whom is called Okobo, suddenly begins to wax lyrical about matters of the libido, exuding hyper knowledge on bedroom matters, his newfound expertise is confronted with mockery. To my people, it is a misplacement of virility. So, they say, in a sexually explicit imagery, that, rather than the Okobo inserting his member into the hole placed before him, he boasts of his dexterity and capacity in insertion matters. By claiming that, even if surrounded by pitch-darkness, he can insert a thread into the eye of a needle, my people see disability promoted to the level of ability.

Amid a fusillade of claps for the United States of Americas bombing of suspected terrorists hideouts in Northwest Sokoto State on Christmas day, the Nigerian government has suddenly become the village Okobo. Even when the response from those who conducted the onerous bombing exercise on the ISIS terrorists camp was a terse, measured statement, the village Okobos flippancy in the last few days verges on the incredible. Both Donald Trump and Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, authors of the rout, have volunteered little about their shellacking. Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, Trump wrote on his Truth Social handle. Hegseth volunteered even less: More to come  Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation, Hegseth wrote, before signing off with Merry Christmas!

Support and cooperation have however morphed into something else. In the Okobo, you are also reminded of the prattling African grey parrot, a bird called Orofo. Though a very beautiful, sought-after bird, Orofo synonyms talkativeness when all that is needed is taciturnity. Frustrated by the birds lack of precis in her self-underscore, my people say that in the birds beak lies her death. Admiral Dele Abiodun put this in perspective when he sang, Enu Orofo ni o pOrofo. Orofo, he narrated, felt inadequate in the two children she sired so that, when asked of her home composition, she claimed it was filled with children.

The bombs had hardly landed than Orooo, waxing flippant like the Okobo, went into her trade. It reminds me of Chinua Achebes Things Fall Aparts proverb that, when the moon is shining is when the crippled becomes hungry for a walk. It was a precision strike, the bird says, and it happens in the Bauni forest axis of Tangaza Local Government Area, Sokoto State. We were even told that the operation was carried out under established command and control structures, with the full involvement of the Armed Forces of Nigeria and under the supervision of the Honourable Ministers of Defence and Foreign Affairs, as well as the Chief of Defence Staff. Not done, we were told that a total of 16 GPS-guided precision munitions were deployed using MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial platforms, as if the bombs flew directly from Aso Rock. We were even almost told the colour of the munitions and their maker. MKO Abiola, God rest his soul, in his moment of unbridled humour, once said that when we are confronted with such superlatives and hyperventilation, behind it is drama. Eto ni! he stammered in Yoruba.

Buoyed by the tacit claim by Hegseth that America was Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation, it was time for Orofo the bird to thump her chest. So the hyperventilating bird continued, the strike was executed between 00:12 hours and 01:30 hours, and, listen to this, in close coordination with the Government of the United States of America and following explicit approval by the Chief Okobo. By the way, I forgot to give the concluding part of that ancient Okobo misplaced virility boast. Finding explanation and excuse for the Okobo after his thread insertion in the dark claim became a fiasco, my people then say that the sexually infirm cannot be expected to lose on all fronts. If he has nil libido, he can at least boast of the best farmland in the village. This they express as, Iya meji kii je okobo; ti o ba loko, a loko. Indeed, ancient belief is that the tribe of the sexually infirm often finds different avenue to express capacity. When a farmer digs mounds of farm heaps beyond peoples expectation, my people say he digs like a sexually impotent.

For all we care, Hegseth might just have used that gratitude phrase as an avenue to water-down global hostile attacks on America as a sovereignty dis-respecter. The truth could just be that Chief Okobo was busy eating agbado and cassava in the Villa while Trumps missiles were flying across his backyard. Which is just as well. Successive Nigerian governments, from Umaru YarAdua downwards, have demonstrated incapacity to tame the shrew of terrorism in Nigeria. Under Goodluck Jonathan, the attempt to tame this shrew was even escalated into recruiting mercenaries who allegedly claimed that Nigerian soldiers snitched on them. It sounds like the fairy tale of Aladdin and the wonderful lamp to imagine that Trump would inform a long list of clientele, as the Nigerian presidency revealed, as those who collaborated with him in the Sokoto operation. This is a Trump who obviously sees no good in anything, anyone but himself, and who was about to carry out a major attack on ISIS base in Nigeria, an operation which would balloon his fame in America.

Beyond stealing, so say my people, what should make one ashamed (for those who have a sense of shame), are a legion. What Trump, a transactional American president, did to current Nigerian leaders, whose country he called disgraceful, is worse than castrating them. Donald Trump de-masculinized them, so much that little or no balls reside inside their pants. Yes, in modern times, the concept of sovereignty has gone beyond physical borders. Today, sovereignty has more to do with inter-state capacity than physical portions of geography. But, sovereignty has a lot to do with national shame and pride. The Yoruba and Igbo concept of land or geography explains this with more in-depth clarifications. Referred to as Ala and Ani respectively, sovereignty for these two nations transcends boundary and limit, to define the peoples essence. They took the concept further to define inherent existence. To them, Ala has a demarcation even within the borders of close relationships. The Yoruba ethical norm, for instance, warns that you must stay within your prescribed limits in order to avoid negative consequences. All said and done, the moment a nation loses its pride, its sovereignty is shattered and negative consequences await her. The nation becomes an old man who ties to his buttocks a waist-bead made of grains of corns who cannot stop hens from making mockery of him.

If you appropriately psycho-analyze Donald Trump, you will realise that he is too haughty to share intelligence with the crop of leaders Nigeria currently parades. Pardon my pessimism, the American president does not also appear to me like a person who can ask Nigerias Okobo for permission to strike ISIS terrorists. But, we heard from Aso Rock that the American intelligence community interfaced with Nigerias. Never were we told that Trump called Nigerias Okobo. Trump is too disdainful of Nigerian leaders to do that. When you leave your plates unwashed as Nigerian leaders did of Nigeria over the years, you cannot complain that the plates are besieged by green flies. Successive Nigerian leaders curated a country writ small. They sold the countrys sovereignty, its pride and worth, its Ala, for a mess of portage.

To now complain that irascible Trump treats us with condescension and disgrace is akin to the proverbial African pouched rat whose juncture of regret and surrender was at the stall of the venison seller. This was after it had been killed, grilled and its hands forcefuly flung up in surrender. Our situation is akin to an ancient wise-saying which holds that there is no way you would share boundary with a wicked king without his hoes gashing at your feet. In the releases from the Nigerian presidency which, from their tone and tenor, indicated that Nigeria was forcefully weaving herself into the success of Americas precision strikes on ISIS terrorists in Sokoto, what we are doing is giving undue importance to a situation that does us little honour, over-prioritizing a shameful situation. Yoruba call this pon jebe lakisaa.

The terrorist war is however Nigerias war and not Americas. Unfortunately, decades of mollycoddling a potential calamity and turning it into an industry have ensured the multiplication of the cells of terrorism in Nigeria. In the name of political correctness and winning seasonal elections, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi is god of Aso Rock. He unleashes his loose canon on decent existence without reprisals. As Americas 16 GPS-guided precision munitions boomed in the Bauni forest, Gumi was unleashing his verbal terrorism, too. The attack was war against Islam and an infringement on Nigerias sovereignty, he said. He even called for an immediate cessation of all military cooperation with the United States. Rather than America, in the queer reasoning of Gumi, Nigeria should head Islamic-state-ward, to Syria, for salvage in its war on terror.

While Nigeria should be man enough to call for international support to fight terrorism, she cannot do this from the position of strength but of weakness. It looks to me like the equation of the sheep having an innate knowledge of Belau as an imbecile before he snatched his roasted yam. While Nigerian leaders are self-serving, election season-beholding, Trumps only allegiance is to his American people, white evangelical Protestants and specific high-profile evangelical leaders and figures. Which is a legitimate fancy. The Christmas day bombing of Sokoto is for their attention. Let Nigerian leaders also be beholding to Nigeria and Nigerians alone.

Last Tuesday, another precision strike, the like that hit Sokoto-gathered terrorists, hit Aso Rock and its agunbaje crew. Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, in a media chat, had broken the pot concealing a pot-pourri brew of lies. While he is projected as an audaciously daring, bold man, who snatches whatever he wants forcefully, the like of which my musical idol, Apala legend, Ayinla Omowura, had projected Chief Adeola, 1970s road transport workers chairman, the Nigerian president may not actually have such grits. In characterising Chief Adeola, alias Baba Salimon, Omowura had described him as Ogba nkan pati lowo oninkan. When Makinde spoke last Tuesday about the lord of Aso Rock, Nigerians came to understand why and how virtually all Nigerian opposition parties are in a state of suspension at the moment and why only APC is a thriving market square.

In the interview, we were told how FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, promised the president that he would hold down the PDP for him without a word of dissension from the president. Nigerians have since began to wonder who were currently holding down the other political parties for the president. As I write this, apart from scums masquerading as missiles, the like of which we had from Ayodele Fayose a couple of days back, there has not been any rebuttal of this weighty allegation from the presidency. Rather than this, push-back is coming from regime piss-can carriers. Ayo Fayose, ex-Ekiti governor, who until recently when he coyly got EFCC manacles off his wrists, was embroiled in the your chicken no dey shit mess, led the pack. It is an oxymoron that Fayose would accuse any living being of fraud. But, come to think of it, which N50 billion and whose money was he talking about? That a 65-year old Fayose will elect to carry spittle-can for a living at his advancing old age is a huge shame. I am sure that Ekiti State, the land of honour, must be ashamed that a man of such low-character pedigree ever climbed its seat of power.

The Makinde interview, as harmless as it may sound, reveals one or two things about the president. One is that, though he revels in being revered as a tough hombre, an Ogba nkan pati, the president is mortally apprehensive of his 2027 re-election and is very vulnerable after all. Second is that, though he wraps round himself the shawl of a democrat, he is a despot who uses the tenets of Italian philosopher, Antonio Gramscis concept of hegemony to hoodwink everyone and anyone towards the realisation of his ambition. In Gramscis world, rather than obvious coercion, the leader should dominate and maintain his vice grip on power, not just through force, but through ideological and cultural consent of the dominated. Governors are inside his pouch. Those that matter are his captives. This is achieved either through flashing their sordid present and past in their faces or deliberately disconnecting them from the power grid.

The Makinde reference to hunger as the ultimate variable that could turn the 2027 tide in the disfavour of those who pound the yam of evil for Nigeria is very profound. It is a variable that could turn out to be a game-changer. Between now and the electioneering time, I do not see the magic that can return life to what it was before May 2023 for the traumatized and shellacked Nigerian masses. The second variable that Makinde didnt talk about is the Donald Trump variable. Nigerias Okobo and Orofo is apparently highly afraid of the Mad Man of the White House. Can you imagine that Nigerias national jets engines are almost rusty now. But for Trump, the jet would have been to Paris and back, at least two times now. The American president has become Nigerian power bases replica of the legendary dragon, the giant-winged mythical reptile reputed with fire-breathing, sharp claws, and razor-sharp teeth. With an unpredictable Trump, the American presidents inexplicable fascination with Nigeria, 2027 presents as a fog of war. It blinds the most talented seer from seeing a clear path ahead. The X factor could be Trump, an ultimate deal-maker who could decide the pendulum of 2027. Dont our people say that even wisdom can kill the wise?

I wish my readers all over the world a prosperous and more fruitful New Year ahead.

Last Line: I was at the Agodi Methodist Church, Ibadan, on Friday for the burial of my friend, Wale Ogunniran. I met him about 15 years ago at the National Life newspaper. Looking at Wales remains locked away inside that white casket broke me. A restless journalist who didnt believe that a bound or boundary exists that could not be penetrated, it was an oxymoron that Wale could not break the shackles of death and set himself free from the vice grip of death. His death drove forcefully inside my skull the brevity of life, its inevitability and the words of existential philosophers who say that man is old enough to die the very day he is born.

Wales death is a confirmation that death is an inherent part of life, from its very beginning and not just an appendage that creeps on man at old age. In Wales death am I taught that every breath counts and as we ooze out every breath, we move towards our end. To imagine that the brown silly earth is so audacious as to swallow a lively Wale is to come face-to-face with the reality that indeed, life and death are intertwined and inseparable from the moment of birth. Each of us will die our own death. While I will die mine, you will die yours.

Goodnight, my friend, my fan.

Festus Adedayo is an Ibadan-based journalist.
This is the year we saw the nation tremble, yet stand. The economy strained families to the edge, policies tested the patience of the masses, and insecurity carved scars into communities that were already fragile. We watched prices rise like floodwater, swallowing the certainty we once had. We saw young people stretch their creativity to survive in a terrain that seems determined to frustrate them. We saw parents become miracle workers

As the curtain draws on this year, I find myself thinking of Nigeria, not as a headline, not as a crisis report, but as a classroom. The year has been a harsh teacher  stern, unrelenting, sometimes merciless in its lessons. But like every good teacher, it has also revealed our strengths, exposed our fault lines, and whispered possibilities that only the discerning can hear. We have learnt more about ourselves than the news could capture: our resilience, our restlessness, our frustration, our faith, and that stubborn seed of hope that refuses to die. The scriptures say in Ecclesiastes 7:8, Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof. Not because the end is always pleasant, but because endings give us perspective. And perspective is a gift.

This is the year we saw the nation tremble, yet stand. The economy strained families to the edge, policies tested the patience of the masses, and insecurity carved scars into communities that were already fragile. We watched prices rise like floodwater, swallowing the certainty we once had. We saw young people stretch their creativity to survive in a terrain that seems determined to frustrate them. We saw parents become miracle workers  feeding families on shrinking incomes and growing responsibilities. We saw institutions exposed for their weaknesses, and leaders for their limits. It often felt as though the very soul of the country was being pulled apart at the seams.

Yet, strangely, the fabric did not tear. Instead, we discovered the quiet bravery that holds Nigeria together  the everyday courage of ordinary citizens. The teacher who kept showing up. The driver who kept navigating chaos. The farmer who planted again despite the fears of the field. The small business owner who refused to shut down. The police officer who continued standing watch under suspicion and stress. The mother who encouraged her children, even when her heart was breaking. These people became the unsung shepherds of our national survival. If Nigeria were a verse this year, it would be 2 Corinthians 4:9: Cast down, but not destroyed.

And so, as we stand at the threshold of a new year, the question is not, Did Nigeria fail? The question is, What did Nigeria reveal? It revealed our wounds, yes. But it also revealed our warriors. It revealed our struggles. But it also revealed our stamina. It revealed our failures. But it also revealed the faint outline of a future that refuses to die. This year reminded us that progress is not always a sprint; sometimes it is the slow, painful climb of a people who refuse to surrender.

So as the year closes, let us not cross into the new season with the weight of despair. Let us go forward with the wisdom this year has taught us. We have learnt that policies alone cannot save us; people must rise. We have learnt that survival is not a strategy; structure is. We have learnt that prayer is not a substitute for responsibility, but responsibility without prayer is blindness. We have learnt that destiny does not change by accident; it changes when a generation refuses to give up.

But reflection without direction is simply nostalgia. The future now calls. And it calls to all of us  especially the younger generation. They are tired, but they are not finished. They are bruised, but they are not broken. They are stretched, but they are still standing. They are the Daniels in Babylon  gifted, pressured, tempted, yet chosen for national relevance. They are the ones who must sit with the elders, not in rebellion but in responsibility. They are the gatekeepers that the nation will soon need  those who will speak to the enemy at the gate, protect the gates of our collective destiny, and ensure that the gates of hell do not prevail against Nigeria.

The new year will not magically fix our problems, but it may magnify our possibilities. I sense that the coming season will test us again, but it will also open new doors. For nations, as for people, God often allows a breaking before a birthing. And perhaps the groaning we have experienced this year is not the groaning of death, but of labour. The seed of change is already planted in the ground. It is germinating quietly in tech hubs, in farms, in prayer rooms, in classrooms, in small groups of young innovators who refuse to give up on this country. It is rising in communities where people are solving problems that government has neglected. It is rising in the private courage of citizens who refuse to bow to corruption, who choose character over shortcuts, excellence over excuses.

We cannot romanticise our challenges, but we must not underestimate our resilience. Nations do not transform by announcements; they transform by alignment  when the courage of the people meets the mercy of God. And I believe God is not done with Nigeria. Psalm 126:5 says, They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. If tears were seeds, Nigeria has sown enough for a forest. The harvest may not come all at once, but the first shoots are already pushing through the soil.

So as the year closes, let us not cross into the new season with the weight of despair. Let us go forward with the wisdom this year has taught us. We have learnt that policies alone cannot save us; people must rise. We have learnt that survival is not a strategy; structure is. We have learnt that prayer is not a substitute for responsibility, but responsibility without prayer is blindness. We have learnt that destiny does not change by accident; it changes when a generation refuses to give up.

Nigeria may not yet be the nation of our dreams, but it is not the nightmare of our fears either. It is a work in progress, a clay in the Potters hands. And though the wheel turns slowly, the shape is emerging. Our calling  each of us  is to stay on the wheel. To build where we stand. To pray where we hurt. To hope where we doubt. To act where we can. To refuse to give up.

Next year will demand courage, clarity, and character. But it will also reward creativity, collaboration, and conviction. And I believe that the same God who kept us this year will guide us into the next. We may not know what January holds, but we know the One who holds January. And He has not brought us this far to abandon us now.

Nigeria may not yet be the nation of our dreams, but it is not the nightmare of our fears either. It is a work in progress, a clay in the Potters hands. And though the wheel turns slowly, the shape is emerging. Our calling  each of us  is to stay on the wheel. To build where we stand. To pray where we hurt. To hope where we doubt. To act where we can. To refuse to give up.

As we step into the new year, may the God who watches over nations watch over Nigeria. May He heal our wounds, strengthen our walls, and ignite our future. May He bless the ordinary Nigerians whose quiet bravery carried this year on their shoulders. May He raise leaders who honour sacrifice and steward possibilities. And may He give us the grace to lift our eyes above the ruins and see the rising.

The year may be ending, but the story is not. Nigeria is still on Gods mind. And as long as God has not given up on us, we must not give up on ourselves.

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]
Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has congratulated the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Mr Oluwatosin Ajayi, on his commendation by the Nigerian National Committee of the International Press Institute (IPI), describing the recognition as a strong affirmation of professionalism and respect for democratic values.

The honour was bestowed on the DSS Director-General at the IPIs annual conference held earlier this month in Abuja, an event at which President Bola Tinubu also acknowledged the evolving and more constructive relationship between the nations security agencies and the media. In a statement issued on Saturday in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, Governor Abiodun said the award was particularly significant because it came from a respected institution of the Fourth Estate, widely known for its critical role as societys watchdog.

According to the governor, the recognition represents an unassailable verdict on Mr Ajayis commitment to human rights, press freedom and the rule of law, noting that such an endorsement from the media community carries profound meaning. Governor Abiodun observed that since his appointment, the DSS Director-General has anchored his leadership on professionalism, decency and discipline, while fostering a relationship of mutual respect between the security services and journalists.

The award conferred on the DSS Director-General by the Nigerian National Committee of the International Press Institute is a clear acknowledgement of his efforts in promoting constructive engagement between the media and security agencies, with the ultimate aim of building a united and resilient front against insecurity, the governor said.

He added that the recognition underscores the importance of a free, vibrant and responsible media in a democratic society, stressing that national development thrives where journalists can operate without fear of repression. This honour is well deserved. It serves as an inspiration to public officials across the country to uphold transparency, accountability and good governance, Governor Abiodun noted.

The governor expressed confidence that the cordial relationship between the Ogun State Government and the Department of State Services would continue to strengthen, while wishing Mr Ajayi greater success in his mission to safeguard national security in line with democratic principles.
The Kwara State Government has deployed forest guards to protect its forests following weeks of abductions and armed attacks across forested parts of the state, signalling what officials describe as a shift to a more aggressive security posture.

The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Rafiu Ajakaye, said about 1,000 forest guards completed their training and were deployed on Saturday as part of a joint federal and state security initiative. He said the deployment followed a passing-out parade in Ilorin attended by security chiefs and government officials.

Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq said the forest guards initiative would deny terrorists and kidnappers safe haven in Kwaras forests, warning that criminal groups now face the option of either leaving the state or paying a heavy price.

Today opens a new page in our campaign against all forms of terrorism, kidnapping, and opportunist attacks on our people by bad faith actors who exploit our vast territories for evil purposes, the governor said at the event. He described the enlistment of armed forest guards as a game changer that would strengthen coordination between local auxiliaries and conventional security forces.

The governor said the guards, who were recruited from local communities, would work with the military, police, and other agencies to flush out armed groups operating in forest corridors linking Kaiama, Patigi, Edu, Ifelodun, and Ekiti local government areas. He added that the state plans to deploy at least 200 forest guards to each local government to reinforce surveillance and rapid response.

And the message is very clear: more than ever before, the terrorists now have the option of immediately leaving our state or paying a heavy price, Mr AbdulRazaq said. Todays launch of the forest guards simply means that we are going on the offensive because our people deserve their peace.

The deployment comes amid rising insecurity in Kwara, where armed groups have carried out repeated kidnappings and attacks in recent weeks. Two Chinese workers were abducted earlier this month from a road construction site along the Bode SaaduKaiama axis. Farmers have been seized from their fields in Patigi and Edu areas, while a traditional ruler, the Ojibara of Bayagan-Ile in Ifelodun, remains in captivity more than a week after his abduction.

Other recent incidents include an attack on a church in Eruku, Ekiti Local Government Area, in November, during which some worshippers were killed and dozens abducted, as well as the arrest of suspected arms couriers and kidnapping kingpins along forest routes linking Kwara to Niger and Zamfara states.

Mr AbdulRazaq said the state was aligning with the federal governments Presidential Forest Guards initiative to reclaim ungoverned spaces and dismantle criminal networks. He commended President Bola Tinubu and the Office of the National Security Adviser for driving the programme, which lists Kwara among its pilot states.

READ ALSO: Seven people killed in Zamfara bomb explosion

National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu said the forest guards would be deployed immediately to vulnerable communities, particularly around forests that have become transit routes and hideouts for armed groups. Represented by the Assistant Director-General of the State Security Services, Femi Shotayo, Mr Ribadu said the guards would serve as first responders and intelligence assets.

Beyond being first responders, these guards are expected to gather actionable human intelligence, support ongoing security operations, and restore state presence where it has long been absent, he said. He added that salaries and allowances would be paid promptly and warned the guards to respect rules of engagement and human rights.

The oath of allegiance is not a mere formality; it is a binding pledge of loyalty to the Federal Republic of Nigeria and commitment to the protection of lives and property, Mr Ribadu said.

Security analysts say the success of the initiative will depend on sustained funding, coordination with conventional forces, and community cooperation.
The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has approved Aminu Saad and Nabil Danejisons of two deceased Kano legislatorsto contest the seats made vacant by the deaths of their fathers in the Kano State House of Assembly.

The vacancies for the Municipal and Ungogo constituencies became vacant following the deaths of their fathers on 24 December.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the two Kano lawmakers died within one hour. The deceased Kano lawmakers were close friends until their deaths.

The Assembly first announced the passing of Aminu Saadu, the member representing Ungoggo Local Government Area.

Mr Saadu reportedly died on Wednesday morning following a brief illness. Shortly after, the Assembly confirmed the death of Sarki Aliyu, the lawmaker representing Kano Municipal LGA.

According to the Assemblys spokesperson, Kamaludden Shawai, Mr Aliyu collapsed after receiving the news of Mr Saadus passing shortly after arriving at the Assembly complex. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

New development

The NNPP chairperson in Kano, Hashim Dungurawa, told Freedom Radio that the NNPP nominated the sons of the lawmakers after consultations led by the partys national leader, Rabiu Kwankwaso, and other stakeholders.

He said the decision was meant to assist the families of the deceased lawmakers.

Mr Dungurawa said that the consensus was reached after high-level discussions held at Mr Kwankwasos residence in Kano.

The meeting included senior party officials and representatives from the bereaved families.

There was an atmosphere of mutual understanding and respect. We deliberated frankly and reached an agreement on the best way forward, Mr Dungurawa stated.

Mr Dungurawa said Mr Kwankwaso believes that the move is intended to honour the legacies of the late lawmakers while maintaining the partys commitment to justice and internal democracy.

However, Mr Dungurawa clarified that this approval does not constitute an automatic appointment.

He said Meers Saad and Daneji must still contest through the partys established internal democratic processes.

Mr Dungurawa said the young aspirants would uphold the high standards of public service established by their fathers. We believe they possess the dedication to continue the legacy of service their fathers were known for, he added.

He urged party members to support the transition, assuring them that the exercise would be conducted smoothly and respectfully.

The NNPP had in 2023 nominated the son of the deceased House of Representatives candidate for the Wudil/Garko federal constituency, Kamilu Isa.

Mr Isa died just four days to the presidential, senatorial and House of Representatives elections.
NEW YORK, Dec. 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Expert Consumers has recognized Webroot as the leading tool for real-time malware defense in its 2025 malware scanner evaluation. The recognition comes as cybersecurity threats continue to escalate in frequency and complexity, placing greater pressure on households, professionals, and organizations to secure devices without committing to costly or complicated security suites.

Best Malware Scanner

Webroot - known for cloud-based, real-time malware detection that completes scans at high speed without slowing down device performance. The platform incorporates behavioral monitoring and cloud intelligence to detect and prevent malware at the moment it appears.

Malware remains one of the most pervasive risks in the digital ecosystem. From ransomware that encrypts personal files to spyware designed to extract passwords, online threats have shifted from simple nuisances to major financial and operational risks.

Cyberattacks affect individuals and businesses alike, and security incidents often carry high recovery costs. These realities underscore why malware scanners and antivirus programs play an essential role in digital protection.

Contrary to public perception, effective malware defense does not require high-priced software. Affordable solutions continue to gain traction, especially those with reliable detection and fast scanning speeds.

Growing Demand for Effective Malware Defense

The rise of hybrid work environments, remote learning, smart devices, and online financial activity has expanded the digital attack surface. More users now access sensitive information through personal laptops, shared devices, and unsecured networks. Cybercriminals continually adapt strategies to target these habits, making traditional signature-based antivirus programs less effective on their own. Users are seeking protection that works in the background, updates continuously, and prevents damage before it occurs.

Rather than relying solely on historical virus signatures, Webroot uses cloud intelligence and behavioral analysis to evaluate unknown files and processes in real time. Their malware scanner can complete a device scan in approximately 20 seconds, which makes routine security checks more feasible for everyday users who may avoid scanning due to the time it takes many traditional systems to complete the task.

The scanner supports different scan types, including quick scans and full system scans. Quick scans are suitable for routine checks, while full scans provide a deeper inspection when needed. Scheduled scans can also be configured, ensuring consistent monitoring without requiring manual intervention.

Unknown files are isolated in a protected environment rather than being deleted on sight. The software monitors how these applications behave and records any system changes they attempt to make. If the program proves malicious, the changes are undone. This approach limits the risk of false positives and provides a safety mechanism that preserves system stability.

Ransomware and phishing remain two of the most prevalent attack methods. Webroot includes defenses against both. The Web Threat Shield blocks access to fraudulent websites designed to capture login information, while ransomware monitoring prevents unauthorized encryption of important files. These protections address some of the most common, high-impact threats that users face today.

Webroot's detection methods and scanning speed played a notable role in Expert Consumers' review, as more users seek cybersecurity tools that do not slow devices or interrupt workloads. Webroot's lightweight structure allows it to run quietly without competing for system resources, providing ongoing protection with minimal impact on performance.

Products and Features

Webroot's product lineup is structured to match different user priorities, from basic malware protection to full digital identity coverage. Each tier builds on the same real-time malware scanning engine, allowing users to choose the level of security that aligns with their device usage and risk exposure.

Webroot Essentials provides foundational antivirus and online protection. It includes a password manager, anti-phishing tools, web filtering, and core malware defenses. Essentials is intended for users who want dependable malware protection without a complex security interface.





provides foundational antivirus and online protection. It includes a password manager, anti-phishing tools, web filtering, and core malware defenses. Essentials is intended for users who want dependable malware protection without a complex security interface. Webroot Premium expands on the core protections by introducing identity monitoring and dark web surveillance for sensitive data such as Social Security numbers and financial account details. Notifications alert users when possible misuse or exposure of personal information occurs, and assistance is available for remediation if necessary.





expands on the core protections by introducing identity monitoring and dark web surveillance for sensitive data such as Social Security numbers and financial account details. Notifications alert users when possible misuse or exposure of personal information occurs, and assistance is available for remediation if necessary. Webroot Total Protection represents the most feature-complete offering within the product line. It includes unlimited cloud backup, a VPN, parental controls, ransomware protection, identity defense, and higher coverage for identity theft reimbursement. Parents may find the screen time and content controls beneficial, while cloud storage features safeguard important files against accidental deletion, hardware failures, or device loss.

Each plan integrates the same malware scanner and real-time detection engine that defines the Webroot platform. The tiered structure allows users to select a plan based on cybersecurity needs and device usage patterns.

Why Malware Scanning Matters in 2025

The cybersecurity landscape continues to evolve, and the cost of a single breach can extend beyond financial loss. Compromised identities, inaccessible files, and leaked credentials often lead to long-term repercussions. As threats proliferate, the value of malware scanners is defined not only by how well they catch threats, but how efficiently they run.

Expert Consumers notes that a significant portion of users do not conduct full system scans because of the time required. Longer scanning processes increase the likelihood that users delay or abandon checks. Webroot addresses this issue by reducing scan durations without diminishing protection. The goal is to make scanning a routine action rather than an occasional task.

Budget accessibility remains a driving factor. Many households and small businesses seek security solutions that fit existing budgets. Webroot's subscription model aligns with these needs, making advanced malware scanning available without requiring high subscription fees.

Expert Consumers cites Webroot's speed, containment-based threat handling, and real-time defenses as central reasons for its recognition in the 2025 malware scanner review. The platform focuses on core protections without complicating the security experience for users. The malware scanner operates in the background, blocking threats and monitoring system behavior with minimal performance impact.

Affordability further strengthens Webroot's appeal. Its pricing structure offers access to real-time protection, ransomware defense, phishing safeguards, and identity features without the premium cost typically associated with full security suites. These qualities position Webroot as a strong option for anyone seeking modern, effective malware defense.

Webroot demonstrates how a malware scanner can remain fast, capable, and within budget while addressing the cyber risks of today's digital environment. The platform delivers malware detection, behavioral analysis, phishing protection, and ransomware defense in a package that runs efficiently across devices.

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About ExpertConsumers.org: Expert Consumers delivers news and insights on consumer products and services. As an affiliate, Expert Consumers may earn commissions from sales generated using links provided.

SOURCE ExpertConsumers.org
BANGUI, Central African Republic, Dec. 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Voting officially commenced today in the Central African Republic (CAR) as polls opened nationwide for the country's general elections. According to initial monitoring reports from the Reseau Arc-en-Ciel (RAC), the nation's primary domestic election observation network, the process has begun in a peaceful and calm atmosphere with no serious incidents registered as of this morning.

Election Monitoring by Reseau Arc-en-Ciel (RAC)

Approximately 2.4 million eligible voters are expected to cast their ballots today to select a president, members of the National Assembly, and local authority representatives. Polls opened at 6:00 a.m. local time across 6,700 polling stations. The RAC notes that voting is proceeding in an orderly fashion even in remote regions and areas previously impacted by insecurity, such as the city of Bambari.

Seven candidates are contending for the office of the President. The incumbent, President Faustin-Archange Touadera, is seeking re-election following his victories in 2016 and 2020. He faces opposition from six other candidates, with former Prime Ministers Anicet-Georges Dologuele and Henri-Marie Dondra regarded as his primary competitors.

Under the constitution, the presidential mandate is for a seven-year term. To win in the first round, a candidate must secure an absolute majority (50% plus one vote). If no candidate achieves this threshold, a runoff election will be held between the top contenders.

Voters are simultaneously electing 140 deputies to the National Assembly, the nation's unicameral parliament. The parliamentary mandate is also set for a term of seven years.

The legislative field is competitive, with 685 candidates vying for seats. The pool of candidates is comprised of nominees from over 40 political parties, as well as a significant number of independent candidates, who make up nearly half of the field. Political observers project that the Movement of United Hearts (MCU), which held 61 seats following the 20202021 elections, will remain a dominant force in the legislature.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2852151/RAC.jpg

SOURCE Reseau Arc-en-Ciel (RAC)
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New Delhi, Dec 28 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah will firm up the BJP's strategy for the Assembly elections next year in four states - Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu - as he starts a fortnight-long visit to the election-bound states on Sunday.

New Delhi, Dec 28 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah will firm up the BJPas strategy for the Assembly elections next year in four states - Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu - as he starts a fortnight-long visit to the election-bound states on Sunday.

"After the Bihar Assembly election victory, HM Shah has outlined a major strategy for the Assembly elections next year in four states - Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu," said the leader.

The Union Minister will visit Assam on December 28 and 29, West Bengal on December 30 and 31, Tamil Nadu in the first week of January, and Kerala in the second week of January, said the partyas organisational unit functionary.

He will spend at least two days each month in these poll-bound states until the elections and work on strategies for victory, as three out of these four states currently have a non-NDA government.

Focusing on energising Panna Pramukhs and execution of the 'Mera Booth Sabse Majboot' plan, HM Shah, during his visit to the election-bound states, will hold organisational meetings and interact with party workers.

Sources in the BJP said that HM Shah is preparing to replicate the NDA's resounding victory in the recent Bihar Assembly elections, despite a misinformation campaign launched by the Mahagathbandhan on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Time and again, HM Shah has proved himself the chief strategist behind NDA's electoral wins, carefully formulating state-specific campaigns built around the NDA's national poll mascot and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Apart from coordination with NDA allies, the Union Minister's winning formula also includes a robust strategy to communicate with rebels and pacify them to ensure that they don't dent the alliance's voter-share by fighting as independents.

In the Bihar elections, HM Shah is believed to have individually heard almost 100 rebels who were working against the party's interest.

The Union Minister's upcoming visit to the four states will also entail an exercise to capture the pulse on the ground, identify the burning issues and prepare in advance to counter the rival parties' narratives, said a party leader.

The BJP is also working on a strategy to blunt the politics of falsehood being pursued by rival parties on issues like the rural job scheme, VB G RAM G, SIR, employment rate and other socio-economic issues, said a party leader.
Ottawa, Dec 28 : Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced new financial support for Ukraine during a meeting with visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

According to a news release from the prime minister's official website, the commitment of 2.5 billion Canadian dollars (1.83 billion US dollars) for Ukraine includes financing that will enable the International Monetary Fund to lend to Ukraine, as well as other debt service suspension and loan guarantee programs, Xinhua news agency reported.

Carney and Zelensky held a bilateral meeting in the Canadian city of Halifax to discuss the latest developments in ongoing peace talks.

Carney affirmed Canada's full support for Ukraine. They also participated in a call with European leaders to advance joint efforts for Ukraine's security and recovery, added the release.

"Canada has committed new support to Ukraine, not only to help end this war, but also to help the Ukrainian people recover and rebuild," said Carney.

Zelensky on Saturday stopped over in the Canadian city before flying to Florida to meet with US President Donald Trump for talks aimed at ending the Ukraine crisis.

According to local media, Zelensky is set to discuss a 20-point peace plan with Trump, likely at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday.

Carney and Zelensky held a bilateral meeting to discuss the latest developments in ongoing peace talks, and Carney affirmed Canada's "full support" for Ukraine, according to a statement on the official website of the prime minister.

"In the coming days, much can be accomplished both bilaterally between Ukraine and the United States, as well as with our Coalition of the Willing partners," Zelensky was quoted as saying by CBC News.

"It is critical that we jointly and constructively bolster Ukraine's ability to protect life, reinforce our front-line positions and enhance the effectiveness of the negotiation process. Right now, it is Russia that is dragging its feet and trying to waste time," he said.

Zelensky's Canadian visit came after he spoke with Carney by phone on Friday.

According to a readout of the call from the prime minister's official website, Carney commended "Zelensky for his continued efforts to secure a just and lasting peace for the people of Ukraine, and the courage of the Ukrainian people as they face another winter of Russian aggression."
Aden, Dec 28 : United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg called on all parties to exercise restraint and avoid further escalation, as tensions mount in Yemen's eastern governorates of Hadramout and Al-Mahrah.

In a statement posted on social media platform X, Grundberg reiterated the UN secretary-general's call for "restraint, de-escalation and dialogue," urging all parties to avoid actions that could further complicate the situation.

He underscored the importance of ongoing regional mediation efforts, noting that he remains engaged with Yemeni and regional stakeholders in support of de-escalation and progress toward "a comprehensive and inclusive political solution" to the conflict in Yemen, Xinhua news agency reported.

Grundberg made the remarks after Saudi Arabia carried out airstrikes on Friday targeting Southern Transitional Council (STC) sites, including positions of the Hadrami Elite Forces in the Ghayl bin Yamin area near key oil fields. No casualties or damage to military equipment were reported.

The strikes followed the STC's latest military expansion in eastern Yemen. On December 3, STC forces took control of Hadramout after clashes with pro-government units, before extending their presence into the eastern province of Al-Mahrah without reported resistance. The group has since recruited local forces in both provinces, despite repeated calls from the Yemeni government and Saudi Arabia for de-escalation.

Earlier in the day, Turki Al Maliki, spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, said that any military movements undermining de-escalation efforts would be addressed to protect civilians, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) Chairman Rashad Al-Alimi on Saturday welcomed the coalition's measures to curb what he described as destabilizing actions by the STC in the two governorates.

Formed in 2017, the STC seeks self-determination and eventual independence for southern Yemen. Although it joined the Saudi-led coalition and was integrated into Yemen's internationally recognized government in 2022, the group continues to press for southern secession. The STC has accused previous Yemeni governments of politically and economically marginalizing the south, a claim Yemeni authorities deny.
Washington, Dec 28 : The US State Department condemned the recent spate of religious violence in Bangladesh as a powerful US lawmaker described the lynching of Dipu Chandra Das, a Hindu garment worker in Bangladesh, as "horrific," urging unequivocal condemnation of religious hatred.

Washington, Dec 28 (IANS) The US State Department condemned the recent spate of religious violence in Bangladesh as a powerful US lawmaker described the lynching of Dipu Chandra Das, a Hindu garment worker in Bangladesh, as "horrific," urging unequivocal condemnation of religious hatred.

"The United States supports religious freedom and freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and association," the spokesperson told IANS, responding to a question on the recent killing of Das and the spate of attacks on the minorities in Bangladesh.

"The United States unequivocally condemns religious violence in all its forms, and we welcome measures the Bangladeshi Interim Government is taking to ensure the safety and security for all communities in Bangladesh," the spokesperson added.

State Department's response came amid growing concern in Washington and among advocacy groups over the killing of Dipu Chandra Das, a Hindu garment worker in Bangladesh, and reports of a broader pattern of attacks on minority communities.

US lawmakers have also spoken out strongly on the incident. Congressman Ro Khanna described the killing as "horrific" and urged unequivocal condemnation of religious hatred.

"The killing of Dipu Chandra Das, a 27-year-old Hindu garment worker in Bangladesh, is horrific, and my thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family," Khanna said on X.

"We must unequivocally condemn and speak out against these vile acts of hatred and bigotry," he added.

A garment worker from Bhaluka, Bangladesh, Dipu Chandra Das, lost his life on December 18. He was attacked by a mob, beaten to death, and his body set ablaze following allegations of blasphemy.

The killing has intensified scrutiny of the situation facing religious minorities in Bangladesh, particularly Hindus, following political upheaval in the country. Advocacy groups say attacks on minority communities have increased, citing incidents of mob violence, vandalism, and intimidation across several regions.

While the State Department did not provide details on diplomatic engagements, its response to IANS emphasized condemnation of religious violence and welcomed steps taken by Bangladesh's interim authorities to ensure security for all communities.

US officials have consistently maintained that support for religious freedom and protection of minority rights are core elements of American foreign policy. Groups say attacks on minority communities have increased, citing incidents of mob violence, vandalism, and intimidation across several regions.

While the State Department did not provide details on diplomatic engagements, its response to IANS emphasized condemnation of religious violence and welcomed steps taken by Bangladesh's interim authorities to ensure security for all communities.

US officials have consistently maintained that support for religious freedom and protection of minority rights are core elements of American foreign policy, and that concerns are raised through diplomatic channels when necessary.

The United States regularly addresses religious freedom issues in its global human rights reporting and bilateral engagements. South Asia, including Bangladesh, has featured prominently in such discussions due to its complex social fabric and history of communal tensions.

The State Department's response underscores Washington's stated position that religious violence is unacceptable and that ensuring the safety of all communities remains essential for long-term stability, as the situation in Bangladesh continues to draw close international attention.
Chennai, Dec 28 : Three fishermen from Mandapam in Tamil Nadu's Ramanathapuram district were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on charges of crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) while fishing near Katchatheevu during early morning hours of Sunday, triggering fresh concerns over the safety and livelihood of Indian fishermen operating in the Palk Strait.

Chennai, Dec 28 (IANS) Three fishermen from Mandapam in Tamil Naduas Ramanathapuram district were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on charges of crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) while fishing near Katchatheevu during early morning hours of Sunday, triggering fresh concerns over the safety and livelihood of Indian fishermen operating in the Palk Strait.

According to official sources, the fishermen had ventured out for routine fishing when Sri Lankan naval personnel intercepted their mechanised boat, alleging that it had crossed into Sri Lankan territorial waters.

The fishermen were subsequently taken into custody and shifted, along with their seized fishing vessel, to the Kankesanthurai naval camp in northern Sri Lanka for further questioning.

The latest arrest has sparked anxiety among fishing communities in Ramanathapuram and adjoining coastal districts, where families depend almost entirely on deep-sea fishing for their livelihood.

Fishermenas associations said such arrests have become alarmingly frequent in recent months, despite repeated appeals for a long-term diplomatic solution to the incident.

It may be recalled that recently, ten Tamil Nadu fishermen from Ramanathapuram were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had written a letter to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, urging immediate diplomatic intervention to secure the release of the arrested fishermen and their boat.

In his letter, the Chief Minister had expressed serious concern over the continued arrests and the alleged harassment of Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy.

CM Stalin, in the letter, had pointed out that traditional fishing rights in the Palk Bay region have existed for generations and that fishermen often stray unknowingly due to the absence of a clearly demarcated maritime boundary at sea.

He urged the Centre to take up the matter with Sri Lanka at the highest diplomatic level and work towards a permanent and humanitarian solution to prevent such recurring incidents.

The Chief Minister also highlighted that several Tamil Nadu fishermen remain in Sri Lankan custody from earlier incidents and reiterated the state governmentas demand for their immediate release along with confiscated boats.

Fishermenas associations have echoed similar concerns, stating that repeated arrests, prolonged detentions, and heavy fines have pushed the coastal community into deep economic distress. They have appealed to both the state and Central governments to intensify diplomatic efforts and ensure the safety and livelihood of Indian fishermen operating in the Palk Bay region.

The latest arrests have once again brought into focus the long-standing and sensitive issue of cross-border fishing between India and Sri Lanka, underscoring the urgent need for a lasting bilateral resolution.
Seoul, Dec 28 : Coupang founder Kim Bom-suk has said he would not appear for a parliamentary hearing this week over the e-commerce giant's massive data breach, a lawmaker said on Sunday, in what would be another absence of his over the hearing over the breach that affected nearly 34 million people.

Kim has submitted a statement on his non-appearance for the hearing scheduled Tuesday and Wednesday, according to Rep. Choi Min-hee of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), reports Yonhap news agency.

According to the lawmaker, Kim, the chairman of the board at Coupang, said he was unable to attend the hearing due to his current residence overseas and a "prearranged schedule."

Kim's brother and the current head of Coupang's global operational excellence, Yoo Kim, and Kang Han-seung, the former CEO of Coupang's Korea unit, submitted a similar statement of non-appearance, according to the lawmaker.

"We will of course, once again, disapprove," Choi wrote in a social media post. Choi also chairs the National Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee.

On Thursday, Coupang said it had identified the former employee responsible for the data leak using forensic evidence, recovered the equipment used in the hacking and received a confession from the hacker.

The government, however, has called the investigation results a "unilateral claim," noting that a joint public-private investigation of the case launched last month has yet to release any findings.

Meanwhile, Coupang said the investigation into a former employee suspected of leaking customer data was conducted in close cooperation with the government, one day after it said its internal probe found no leakage of the stolen information to any third party.

Coupang's latest statement comes amid speculation that the company independently investigated the employee without oversight from authorities, and thus lacking verification.

a"IANS

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Tbilisi, Dec 28 : The Tbilisi City Court ordered pretrial detention for Bacho Akhalaia, a former Georgian defence minister, on accusations of his involvement in an attempted government overthrow earlier this year, according to local media.

The court hearing was conducted behind closed doors on Saturday (local time). The Prosecutor's Office stated the closed session was necessary to prevent the disclosure of sensitive personal information regarding employees of the State Security Service (SSS).

While family members and political representatives gathered at the courthouse, Akhalaia's wife, Ani Nadareishvili, was barred from the proceedings. The presiding judge noted that her legal status -- whether as a witness or a defendant -- remains under determination.

Akhalaia was arrested by the SSS on Thursday. Investigators allege that the former official coordinated the events of October 4 in Tbilisi, which authorities have characterised as an attempt to forcibly overthrow the government.

According to the SSS, evidence suggests Akhalaia directed the unrest through various internet-based communication applications, reports Xinhua news agency.

Under Georgia's criminal code, Akhalaia is charged with organising and leading group violence. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of nine years in prison.

The charges against Akhalaia are linked to mass disturbances in the Georgian capital on October 4, when an opposition rally escalated into a violent attempt to storm the presidential residence. Police forces were deployed to use special measures to restore public order after the protest turned into a clash with law enforcement.

Akhalaia was a prominent figure in the previous United National Movement (UNM) administration. He served as the head of the Penitentiary Department from 2005 to 2009, before holding the portfolios of Minister of Defence (2009-2012) and briefly serving as the Minister of Internal Affairs in late 2012.
Sydney, Dec 28 : Police in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) arrested a 47-year-old man on Sunday after a woman was found dead and another man was stabbed in Sydney's northwest.

NSW police said in a statement that emergency services were called to a home just before 5:00 a.m. local time in Quakers Hill, a suburb about 40 km northwest of the Sydney central business district, after reports of a disturbance.

Upon arrival, officers found a man on the footpath, suffering stab wounds, and a woman deceased inside the home. The woman was yet to be formally identified, reports Xinhua news agency.

The injured man was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics at the scene and then taken to a hospital in a critical condition.

At around 5:30 a.m., the 47-year-old man was arrested after attending a police station.

Earlier in November, five teenagers were charged after a worker at a western Sydney convenience store was stabbed, according to the police in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW).

The 28-year-old male worker was allegedly stabbed around 2:20 a.m. local time on November 20 when he tried to stop a group of teenagers who allegedly attempted to steal items from the store in Burwood, 10 km west of central Sydney.

The worker was treated at the scene by ambulance paramedics before being taken to the hospital. He remained in hospital in a critical but stable condition as of November 21, according to the police.

NSW Police said that all five teenagers were arrested.

All five were refused bail and expected to make an initial appearance before a children's court on November 21.
Mathura, Dec 28 : A man, who allegedly killed a 27-year-old villager on suspicion of having an affair with his wife, was arrested during an encounter with police in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh.

The accused, identified as Dharmender, was wanted in connection with the murder case of Mukesh.

On Saturday, acting on information about the presence of the accused in Usfar village, the police rushed to the spot and gheraoed him. When asked to surrender, the accused opened fire on the police team. The police also fired in self-defence, during which Dharmender received a wound in the leg.

The accused was arrested and admitted to the district hospital for treatment, the police said.

The police have recovered a .315 bore pistol, two spent and one live cartridge, and a motorcycle without a number plate from the possession of the accused.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the Dharmeder killed Mukesh due to suspicion and old enmity.

On the intervening night of December 18 and 19, Mukesh was found dead underwater in the nearby area.

The body of Mukesh, a resident of Ufsar village, had injury signs on the head.

Dharmender allegedly suspected that his wife was having an affair with Mukesh, police said. After being released from prison, Dharmedra allegedly killed Mukesh.

Dharmender has many cases registered against him in several states. A case has been registered against him on charges of murder and attacking the police team.

Further investigation was underway.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has time and again warned criminals of stern action.

Presiding over the state-level senior police officers' conference on Saturday, CM Adityanath hailed the force's historic transformation over the past eight-and-a-half years.

The CM credited a zero-tolerance policy for establishing Uttar Pradesh as a global role model in law and order, validated by public perception, an official statement said.

To improve the law and order situation, the CM launched the AI and Big Data-powered 'Yaksh App' -- a digital beat book mapping crimes, criminals, and sensitive zones for targeted interventions.
New Delhi, Dec 28 : Continuing its citizen-centric initiatives, Dwarka District Police have once again created a milestone by recovering and returning over 160 lost or stolen mobile phones to their rightful owners, reinforcing its commitment to public service and efficient policing.

According to an official press release issued on December 28, Dwarka District Police described the initiative as part of its ongoing effort titled "Committed to Recover & Dedicated to Serve", noting that the district police have restored a record number of lost mobile phones in back-to-back ceremonies.

"Dwarka District police creates a milestone by recovering & returning over 160 lost/stolen mobiles to their owners yet again," the press release stated.

The programme for returning the recovered mobile phones was organised on December 26, under the aegis of DCP Dwarka District, Ankit Singh, at the Conference Hall of the DCP Dwarka District office complex. During the event, more than 160 mobile phones were handed over to citizens who had either lost them or had them stolen. Earlier, on December 23, the district police had similarly restored over 270 lost mobile phones, bringing relief to hundreds of residents.

Highlighting the impact of the initiative, the press release said: "On 26.12.2025, Dwarka district police yet again returned smiles on over 160 faces, who had lost or had their mobiles stolen and received them back."

The recoveries were made by the Monitoring Cell of Dwarka District, which traced the lost and stolen mobile phones and contacted the genuine owners for their return. The dedicated team worked under the supervision of ASI Jai Bhagwan, along with a team of head constables and constables who played a key role in tracking and recovering the devices.

The event was attended by senior police officers, including DCP Dwarka Ankit Singh and Additional DCP Dwarka Saurabh Chandra, along with members of the Monitoring Cell. Addressing the gathering, the DCP appreciated the efforts of the staff and encouraged them to continue organising such recovery programmes on a regular basis.

The press release concluded that the initiative reflects the dedication, professionalism and commitment of Dwarka District Police towards safeguarding citizens' property and strengthening public trust.

Dwarka Police's consistent efforts in recovering lost mobile phones have been widely appreciated by residents, highlighting the positive impact of technology-driven policing and proactive law enforcement.
Chennai, Dec 28 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M.K. Stalin on Sunday paid heartfelt tributes to late DMDK founder and former actor-politician 'Captain' Vijayakanth on his second death anniversary, remembering him as a compassionate leader who earned the love and respect of the people through his service-oriented politics.

In a message shared on social media, CM Stalin recalled his long association with Vijayakanth and praised his deep concern for the underprivileged.

"On the remembrance day of 'Captain' Vijayakanth, I fondly recall my dear friend who won the hearts of the Tamil people through his magnanimity and commitment to helping those in need," the Chief Minister said, sharing a photograph of the two leaders.

Tributes poured in from across the political spectrum as leaders and party workers gathered at Vijayakanth's memorial in Koyambedu, Chennai.

The DMDK cadres paid emotional homage, with several seen in tears as they remembered their late leader.

Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin and State Minister E.V. Velu were among those who visited the memorial to offer floral tributes. The homage was held in connection with the annual guru pooja of Vijayakanth.

The DMDK leaders had personally invited the Chief Minister to attend the event, highlighting the respect he continues to command across party lines.

Leaders from the BJP also paid their respects. Union Minister L. Murugan, Tamil Nadu BJP president Nainar Nagenthran, former Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, and senior leader Pon Radhakrishnan were present at the memorial.

Film personalities, including directors R.K. Selvamani and Udayakumar, also paid homage.

Speaking on the occasion, Pon Radhakrishnan recalled Vijayakanth's political ideals, stating, "The vision he held in 2014 remains relevant even today. Tamil Nadu must be protected, and corruption-free governance is essential. Vijayakanth believed in that path, and his wife, Premalatha Vijayakanth, continues to uphold his ideals."

Tamilisai Soundararajan, in an emotional tribute, said, "Vijayakanth loved his party as much as his own family. For me, it feels like losing a brother."

The solemn tributes reflected the enduring respect and emotional connection that Vijayakanth continues to command across political lines, even two years after his passing.
New Delhi, Dec 28 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the world is looking at India with great expectations, largely because of the country's youth who are driving development in science, technology and digital innovation while also carrying forward India's cultural roots.

Addressing the 129th episode of his monthly radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat', the Prime Minister said, "Today, the world is looking at India with great expectations. The biggest reason for this hope is our youth. In the field of science, our achievements, innovations, and technological advancements have impressed countries around the world."

He said India's youth have always had a passion for doing something new and remain equally aware and socially conscious.

Referring to opportunities for young people to present their ideas, PM Modi said, "Many ask how they can give a presentation of their ideas to me? The solution to this curiosity of our young friends is 'Viksit Bharat Young Leaders' Dialogue'. Last year, the first edition of this event was held, and a few days later, the second edition will be held -- on January 12 during National Youth Day, which is celebrated to mark the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. I will also join the programme."

He said that during the dialogue, youth will share their ideas on important themes such as innovation, fitness, startups and agriculture.

The Prime Minister expressed happiness over the growing participation of young people in this initiative.

"A few days ago, a pitch competition related to this was held, in which more than 50 lakh young people participated. An essay competition was also held, where students expressed their views on various topics. In this competition, Tamil Nadu secured the first position and Uttar Pradesh the second," he said.

"Young people in the country are getting new opportunities to showcase their talent. Many platforms are being developed where youth can display their skills and interests," he added.

PM Modi also spoke about the Smart India Hackathon 2025, which concluded earlier this month.

"During this hackathon, students worked on over 270 problems from more than 80 government departments. The students provided solutions related to real-life problems. For instance, on the challenge of traffic, the youth shared a very interesting perspective related to 'Smart Traffic Management'," he said.

He noted that the youth also presented ideas to tackle issues such as financial fraud and digital arrests, and suggested a cybersecurity framework for digital banking in rural areas.

"Many youth remained engaged in solving challenges in the agriculture sector. Friends, over 13 lakh students and over 6,000 institutes have participated in the 'Smart India Hackathon' in the last 7 to 8 years. The youth have also provided accurate solutions to hundreds of problems. Such Hackathons are organised from time to time. I urge my young friends to certainly be a part of these Hackathons," the Prime Minister said.

Emphasising that life is becoming increasingly technology-driven, PM Modi said, "Sometimes, people express concern that robots might replace humans. In such changing times, it is very important to stay connected to our roots for human development. I am very happy to see that our next generation is holding firmly to the roots of our culture."

He cited the example of the Indian Institute of Science and said, "With new thinking and new methods, friends, you must have heard of the Indian Institute of Science. Research and innovation are the hallmarks of this institute."

He recalled how students at the institute felt the need for music amid studies and research.

"A few years ago, some students there felt that there should be a place accorded for music amidst studies and research. That's where a small music class started. Neither a big stage nor a big budget. Gradually, this initiative grew, and today, we know it as 'Geetanjali IISc'. It is no longer just a class; it is the cultural centre of the campus," he said.

The Prime Minister said Geetanjali IISc now includes Hindustani classical music, folk traditions and classical genres, with students, professors, and their families participating together.

He added that more than 200 people are associated with it, and even those who have moved abroad continue to join online and stay connected.

PM Modi said this effort to remain rooted in culture is not limited to India alone. Indians living abroad are also playing an active role in preserving their heritage.

Giving the example of Kannada families living in Dubai, he said, "The families living there asked themselves an important question: Our children are moving ahead in the tech world, but aren't they moving away from their language? This is where 'Kannada Pathshale' was born. An initiative where children are taught to read, write, learn, and speak Kannada. Today, more than a thousand children are associated with it."
Chennai, Dec 28 : A deadly water contamination incident in Karlambakkam village near Tiruttani, Tamil Nadu, has triggered a fierce political backlash, with BJP spokesperson A.N.S. Prasad accusing the DMK government of "criminal negligence" and administrative collapse.

Chennai, Dec 28 (IANS) A deadly water contamination incident in Karlambakkam village near Tiruttani, Tamil Nadu, has triggered a fierce political backlash, with BJP spokesperson A.N.S. Prasad accusing the DMK government of "criminal negligence" and administrative collapse.

The incident, which claimed the lives of two residents and left several others hospitalised, has once again brought Tamil Nadu's drinking water safety and governance standards under scrutiny.

The victims -- Ezhumalai (65) and Sudha (50), both from Scheduled Caste families -- reportedly consumed drinking water supplied by the local panchayat that was contaminated with sewage. More than ten others suffered severe vomiting and diarrhoea, forcing their admission to nearby hospitals.

Angered villagers staged road blockades, demanding accountability and immediate action.

In a strongly worded statement, A.N.S. Prasad said the tragedy exposed the "hollowness of the Dravidian Model" and accused the DMK government of failing to ensure even the most basic public service -- safe drinking water.

"This is not an accident but a consequence of administrative negligence. When governance collapses, the poor pay with their lives," he said.

Prasad pointed out that the Centre's Jal Jeevan Mission has invested heavily in Tamil Nadu, with official figures showing over 89 per cent rural household tap coverage as of November 2025.

"Despite receiving thousands of crores in central assistance, how are Scheduled Caste families still dying after consuming contaminated water?" he asked, demanding answers from Chief Minister M.K. Stalin.

Calling for immediate action, the BJP leader demanded the suspension of the Tiruvallur District Collector and a high-level judicial probe into the incident.

He also urged the National Human Rights Commission and the National Commission for Scheduled Castes to take suo motu cognisance of the deaths.

Prasad further criticised DMK's allies, accusing them of remaining silent despite projecting themselves as champions of social justice.

"Their silence in the face of such suffering exposes the hypocrisy of their politics," he said.

As investigations continue, residents of Karlambakkam await accountability and assurance that access to safe drinking water -- a basic human right -- will no longer be denied to them.
Oregon has reached a record-high vaccine exemption rate, with 9.7% of kindergartners claiming nonmedical exemptions from school vaccination requirements for the 2024-2025 school year, according to the Oregon Health Authority.

The exemption rate marks the highest level ever recorded in the state and represents the third consecutive year of increases. Oregon now has the third-highest kindergarten vaccine opt-out rate in the country, behind only Idaho at 15.1% and Utah at 10%, and nearly triple the national average of 3.4%.

Oregon's Vaccine Exempt Rate

The trend reflects a broader national pattern of declining vaccination confidence among parents, particularly in rural and western states.

The record-high exemptions come as Oregon faces serious disease outbreaks. The state reported 1,475 cases of whooping cough (pertussis) in 2025 as of December, breaking the previous record of 1,420 cases set in 1950, according to WWeek.

Officials documented 87 infant pertussis cases this year, with 22 hospitalizations and one infant death. Whooping cough is particularly dangerous for infants under six months old, who cannot yet be fully protected by vaccination.

Exemption rates vary significantly across Oregon counties. Wheeler County recorded the highest exemption rate at 38.5%, while Jefferson County had the lowest at 5.1%. Overall vaccination rates also differ widely, with Wheeler County showing only 61.5% of kindergartners fully vaccinated, compared to Gilliam County at 92.3%. Urban counties generally report lower exemption rates than rural areas.

Oregon is one of just 15 states that allow parents to claim nonmedical exemptions for philosophical or personal reasons. To obtain an exemption, parents must either watch an online vaccine education video or receive counseling from a healthcare provider, OPB reported.

However, this requirement has not slowed the rising exemption trend in recent years, raising questions about the effectiveness of current policies.

Opting Out of the Injections

Public health officials express concern that the state falls far short of the 95% vaccination rate needed for herd immunity to prevent disease outbreaks. Only 86.3% of Oregon kindergartners were fully vaccinated for all required vaccines in 2025, down from 88.4% in 2022.

Dr. Dean Sidelinger, state epidemiologist at Oregon Public Health, said the growing trend of nonmedical exemptions threatens to undo decades of progress and puts communities at risk. Health officials attribute the increase to multiple factors, including vaccine hesitancy that grew during the COVID-19 pandemic and misinformation about vaccine safety.

The state has launched public awareness campaigns to address vaccine concerns and encourage parents to vaccinate their children. School districts are also working with local healthcare providers to improve access to vaccination clinics, as per the Lundre Report.
Kabul, Dec 28 : Over 2,000 Afghan refugees have been repatriated from Iran and Pakistan in a single day, a Taliban official said on Sunday.

Sharing the High Commission for Addressing Migrants Issues report on X, Taliban deputy spokesperson Mullah Hamdullah Fitrat stated that 668 families, comprising 2,553 people, returned to Afghanistan on Saturday, Pajhwok Afghan News reported.

He stated that Afghan returnees travelled to Afghanistan through Bahramcha in Helmand, Islam Qala crossing in Herat, Pul-i-Abresham in Nimroz, Spin Boldak in Kandahar, and Torkham crossing in Nangarhar.

Fitrat said that 694 Afghan families who returned to Afghanistan, comprised 4,310 people, were taken to their respective home areas, while 531 families were provided humanitarian assistance. He further said that telecommunication companies distributed 747 SIM cards to the returning refugees.

A total of 2,370 Afghan migrants were deported from Iran and Pakistan on Friday, he added.

Last month, several Afghan migrants who recently returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan said that they are facing serious challenges ahead of the winter season. They raised concerns about a lack of shelter, the need for winter assistance, and difficulties in obtaining electronic ID cards (tazkira), local media reported.

Abdul Baqi, one of the Afghan refugees who returned from Pakistan, stated: "Our main problem is that we have no shelter. When we return to the country, we don't know where to go. We ask the Islamic Emirate to address our situation."

They stated that the aid available is inadequate and mentioned that they still struggle to meet their basic living needs, Afghan media outlet Tolo News reported.

Another returnee, Abdul Bari, said: "Everyone knows most people are homeless, spending their days in the streets and along the roads." Abdul Malik, a returnee, said that they are asked to apply for electronic ID cards when they reach their provinces and urged the authorities to provide them with ID cards.

Another Afghan refugee who returned from Pakistan, Abdul Qahar, urged the Taliban government to provide them with essential things like tents and shelter.
Bhopal/Ichhawar : , Dec 28 (IANS) A 20-year-old man was killed in a powerful explosion while riding his motorcycle on the Ichhawar-Ashta road (some 55 km from Bhopal) near Ramnagar village in Madhya Pradesh's Sehore district on Sunday.

The blast, believed to have been caused by explosive material being carried on the vehicle, severely damaged the rider's lower body and completely destroyed the motorcycle.

The victim has been identified as Sukhram Barela, son of Dinesh Barela and a resident of Jamli village. He was travelling on his motorcycle (registration number MP 37 MN 4489) from Ichhawar towards Ramnagar when the incident occurred between 10.30 a.m. and 11 a.m. near a stone crushing machine.

Speaking to IANS, Pankaj Wadekar, the investigation officer and in charge of Ichhawar police station, said the explosion caused severe damage to the lower part of Sukhram's body, throwing it a considerable distance from the road.

No suspicious objects were found at the scene, and the area was immediately secured.

He ruled out whether the explosive was linked to any criminal activity, prima facie. "Prima facie, the victim might be carrying the explosive to use in digging a well or small mining in fields or fishing activity, which people in rural areas often do, though illegally. However, we are conducting a thorough investigation and search with the help of forensic experts," he said.

Police and a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team rushed to the spot.

A death intimation and inquest report have been prepared, and further legal action will depend on the forensic findings.

The FSL team is examining the site to determine the exact nature and source of the explosives. Authorities suspect the blast resulted from the illegal transportation of explosive material, possibly linked to mining or quarrying activities prevalent in the region, where gelatin sticks and detonators are commonly used.

No other casualties were reported, as the incident took place in a relatively isolated area.

This mishap has highlighted concerns over the unregulated handling and transport of hazardous materials in rural Madhya Pradesh, which has seen similar mining-related incidents in the past.

The Sehore Superintendent of Police has formed a special investigation team, coordinating with anti-terror units to rule out any foul play. "We are examining all angles thoroughly," an official stated.

The site remains cordoned off for cleanup and further examination. Local residents expressed shock, noting the rider was travelling alone.

Witnesses have been urged to come forward with information.

Further details are awaited from the forensic report as the probe continues.
Hyderabad, Dec 28 : Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K.T. Rama Rao reiterated that the Congress government in Telangana is selling away 9,300 acres of industrial land worth almost Rs 5 lakh crore.

"The Congress Govt in Telangana is indulging in not just sale of one chunk of industrial land but 9,300 acres of land worth almost 5 Lakh crores," Rama Rao posted on 'X' while reacting to an X post by Congress MP Karti P. Chidambaram about Infosys selling its prime land in Attibele in Karnataka to Puravankara for Rs 250 crore.

Chidambaran wrote that if the land was given at a concession for a specific purpose and the land wasn't utilised for that purpose, Infosys has no right to sell it for a commercial rate today. "Return the land & proceeds to the Government of Karnataka," he posted.

Reacting to this, the BRS leader reiterated his allegation that the Congress government in Telangana is selling industrial land worth Rs 5 lakh crore.

"These prime lands were given by Govt at a concession for a specific purpose (employment generation) Our demand is also the same. They have no right to sell the land and make money for their kith & kin," wrote KTR.

"Return the land to the Govt and put it to effective use for the benefit of people of Hyderabad and Telangana We need land for schools, hospitals, housing for poor, parks, bus stands and parking," added the former minister.

Earlier this month, KTR alleged that the Congress government in Telangana is committing a huge land "scam" of Rs 5 lakh crore in the name of the Hyderabad Industrial Land Transformation Policy.

He claimed that the lands that were once given by the government to industries to create jobs for people are now being given to private individuals.

The BRS leader alleged that the government is giving industrial lands to build apartments, villas and commercial complexes as it does not want industries.

KTR claimed that while the market price for these lands is Rs one lakh per square yard, the government is handing them to private individuals for just Rs 4,000.

He urged the real estate developers not to get cheated with the "sale offer" by the government and warned that once BRS returns to power, it would take back these lands.
Murshidabad, Dec 28 : West Bengal Police on Sunday detained Ghulam Nabi Azad, also known as Robin, the son of Janata Unnayan Party (JUP) founder Humayun Kabir, for allegedly assaulting Kabir's Personal Security Officer (PSO).

Humayun Kabir, a suspended Trinamool Congress leader and Bharatpur MLA who had earlier sparked controversy by announcing plans to construct a Babri Masjid in Murshidabad, once again found himself in the spotlight after his PSO, Constable Jumma Khan, lodged a complaint at the Saktipur Police Station accusing Robin of assault.

According to the complaint, the incident took place on Saturday morning at Kabir's ground-floor office located in the Shaktipur Police Station area. Khan alleged that he was beaten by Robin after he requested leave from duty. He further stated that several people were present at the spot when the assault took place.

Following the complaint, a police team from Saktipur police station reached Humayun Kabir's residence for questioning.

The police subsequently detained Robin.

Officials said the entire matter is under investigation and that further action will be taken after examining all aspects of the case.

Further details are awaited.

Humayun Kabir has already been in the news for his controversial claim of constructing a Babri Masjid in Murshidabad, which drew sharp reactions across political lines.

He had laid the foundation stone for the proposed mosque on December 6, the anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition, triggering widespread backlash. In the wake of these developments, the Trinamool Congress suspended him from the party.

Subsequently, Kabir floated his own political outfit, the Janata Unnayan Party, and announced plans to contest 182 seats in the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections.

He has also indicated his willingness to explore an alliance with Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM and Naushad Siddiqui's Indian Secular Front.

Earlier on Sunday, Humayun Kabir, speaking to IANS, said he would respond firmly if anyone attempted to incite trouble over his vision of building a Babri Masjid in Murshidabad.

Stressing that he was not intimidated by opposition, Kabir claimed that Murshidabad has a 72 per cent Muslim population, unlike Ayodhya, where, according to him, only a small number of community members reside. On that basis, he questioned the resistance to his proposal to construct the Babri Masjid in the region.
New Delhi, Dec 28 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday launched a sharp attack on Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal, accusing the party's high command of "humiliating" the Karnataka leadership and calling it an affront to the people of the state.

Taking to X, BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya drew a parallel between past and present leadership styles within the Congress, recalling what he described as the public humiliation of former Karnataka Chief Minister Veerendra Patil during the tenure of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

"First, it was Rajiv Gandhi who publicly humiliated the towering Karnataka leader Shri Veerendra Patil. Now, decades later, the pattern repeats, with AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal lecturing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on how to run the state," Malviya said.

"It is astonishing that a Chief Minister elected by the people of Karnataka is being publicly admonished by a party functionary sitting in Delhi. If all decisions must be cleared by Rahul Gandhi's coterie, why have a Cabinet chosen by the people of Karnataka at all? This high-command culture is not just an insult to Karnataka's leadership; it is an insult to the people of Karnataka themselves," he added.

The remarks came in response to Venugopal's post on X detailing his conversation with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar regarding the demolition of unauthorised constructions.

Venugopal said he had spoken to the two leaders about the recent demolition drive in Kogilu village near Yelahanka in Bengaluru and urged them to act with compassion while keeping the human impact at the centre of the exercise.

The BJP's attack also came against the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat, during which he spoke at length about the importance of preserving India's linguistic and cultural heritage and praised efforts to promote the Kannada language.

During the programme, PM Modi said that the effort to remain rooted in culture is not confined to India alone, and that Indians living abroad are also playing an active role in preserving their heritage.

Citing the example of Kannada-speaking families living in Dubai, he said, "The families living there asked themselves an important question: Our children are moving ahead in the tech world, but aren't they moving away from their language? This is where 'Kannada Pathshale' was born. An initiative where children are taught to read, write, learn, and speak Kannada. Today, more than a thousand children are associated with it. Truly, Kannada Nadu, Nudi Namma Hemme (roughly translated as -- The land and language of Kannada are our pride)."

The political exchange has also unfolded amid the continuing tug-of-war between Kannada and Hindi in Karnataka. The Congress-led state government has been pushing for Kannada language to be prominently displayed on shop signboards, setting deadlines that have triggered controversy, negative publicity and tension.

In late 2025, the Chief Minister continued to criticise the Centre over what he termed Hindi imposition, portraying it as an injustice to Kannada. The Centre has repeatedly rejected the charge, maintaining that opting for Hindi in schools is a matter of choice.
Kolkata, Dec 28 : Indian Secular Front (ISF) chairman Nawsad Siddiqui on Sunday clarified that no discussions have taken place regarding an electoral alliance with suspended Trinamool Congress leader Humayun Kabir's newly-launched Janata Unnayan Party (JUP).

The comments came a day after Kabir said that he wanted to enter into an electoral alliance with ISF for the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections.

Incidentally, Siddiqui visited the CPI(M) headquarters in Kolkata on Saturday and interacted with Left Front leaders who were in electoral alliance with ISF during the 2021 state Assembly polls.

Speaking to media persons, Siddiqui said, "No one has contacted us with such a proposal. No one has had any such discussion with any leader of our state committee. If anyone had discussed this matter verbally with any member of our party's state leadership, they would have informed me. Therefore, I am unaware of any such news that Kabir's party wants an alliance with us in the Assembly elections."

On Saturday, Kabir said, "In future of Bengal politics, I and the ISF are joining forces. If AIMIM joins, they are welcome."

Meanwhile, Siddiqui has once again started the groundwork for the upcoming Assembly elections and sent letters via email to Left Front Chairman Biman Basu and West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee President Shubankar Sarkar, seeking discussions on a potential electoral alliance this time as well.

While the Congress leadership at Bidhan Bhavan did not respond, Siddiqui received a positive signal from Left leaders and therefore went to its Alimuddin Street office in central Kolkata.

He spoke with Biman Basu, as well as CPI(M) state secretary Md Salim and senior leader Srideep Bhattacharya.

According to Siddiqui, "Alliance discussions have just begun. We want to unite the anti-BJP and anti-Trinamool forces. We discussed how to ensure the entire process runs smoothly. ISF is even prepared to make sacrifices for the sake of the alliance."

In the 2021 Assembly elections in Bengal, the Left Front, Congress and ISF formed an electoral alliance, United Front. While Left and Congress drew a blank, ISF won just one Assembly seat. Siddiqui was the only candidate to win the election from the Bhangar Assembly constituency.

However, the alliance collapsed in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls when the parties decided to contest the election separately.
New Delhi, Dec 28 : Reacting strongly to Congress leader Digvijaya Singh's remarks praising the organisational strength of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Congress MP Manickam Tagore on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the RSS, asserting that the Congress has nothing to learn from what he described as a hate-driven organisation.

Responding to the controversy, Tagore said, "The RSS is an organisation of hatred. It spreads hatred, breeds hatred and carries out propaganda based on hate. There is nothing to learn from the RSS."

Drawing a sharp comparison, the Congress MP added, "In the way al-Qaeda operates through bloodshed, the RSS too does the same work inside the countryspreading hatred."

Tagore went on to underline the Congress party's mass connect, saying, "Congress is a people's party, a grounded party. From village to village, people are connected with our party. Congress does not need to learn anything from the RSS."

His remarks come amid a political storm triggered by Digvijaya Singh's social media post in which the senior Congress leader praised the BJP and its ideological parent RSS for their organisational strength. Singh had shared an old black-and-white photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with BJP veteran Lal Krishna Advani on platform X, describing it as impactful.

In his post written in Hindi, Singh said the photograph demonstrated how an RSS grassroots volunteer and a Jan Sangh/BJP worker, who once sat at the feet of senior leaders, could rise to become a state's chief minister and eventually the prime minister of the country. "This is the power of organisation," Singh wrote, referring to the image that shows Modi, Advani and several others at a public rally.

Earlier in the day, Singh's remarks drew sharp criticism from the BJP, with senior leader Ravi Shankar Prasad mocking the Congress leadership and claiming the comments reflected a delayed acknowledgement of the BJP's organisational strength. At the same time, reactions within the Congress remained divided, with some leaders defending Singh's right to acknowledge organisational efficiency while firmly rejecting the RSS ideology.

Manickam Tagore's statement, however, marked one of the strongest rebuttals from within the Congress, clearly distancing the party from any perceived praise of the RSS, by one of its veteran leaders.
Mumbai, Dec 28 : Sussanne Khan wished her sister, Farah Khan Ali on her birthday with a special social media post, expressing her delight in having such an amazing big sister.

The clip dropped by Sussanne on her IG showed the two sisters grooving during the birthday celebration.

While celebrating Farah's special day, they also remembered their late mother, Zarine Khan. The video showed Farah lovingly holding a portrait of her mommy dear. The post further had some other family photos with Zarine Khan.

Wishing her sister on her birthday, Sussanne penned on the photo-sharing app, "Coz I have had the TIME OF MY LIFE.. being your baby sistera. Coz there is no sister love like yours and simsa.. coz there is no sensitive yet resilient heart like yoursa. My Faru Jaan, my sister, my branch mother, my person to go to to feel empowered, you fill my heart with the best qualities of life (sic)."

Recalling how their mother would describe Farah as a phenomenal human being, she added, "This is what Mummsy would always say about you. Unconditional Rare phenomenal human being that you area. I OWE EVERYTHING I AM TO YOU.. ( n truly being your sister has been the highlight of my Life) letas continue to build our lives with the greatest story of how sisters can be.. you, sims, Malzo n mea".

Sussanne further expressed her desire to make their mother proud by becoming the best version of themselves.

She said, "to make our mama beam brightest in heaven.. endlessly".

"if there was a word greater than love it would be called a FARAH.. the light of Lovea 2026 is yoursa. Shine Brightesttt my Farujaan," Sussanne lent best wishes to her dear sister.

Zarine Khan passed away on November 7, at the age of 81, due to age-related issues. She is survived by her husband, Sanjay Khan, and kids-- Zayed Khan, Sussanne Khan, Farah Khan Ali, and Simone Arora.
New Delhi, Dec 28 : Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation on Sunday paid tributes to Ratan Tata on his 88th birth anniversary, crediting him for reshaping Indian enterprise with integrity and compassion.

In a post on X, HM Shah said, "Tributes to Ratan Tata Ji on his Jayanti who reshaped Indian enterprise with integrity and compassion. From building indigenous industry to selfless philanthropy, he showed that true success lies in service to the nation. His legacy will inspire a self-reliant Bharat."

Earlier, HM Shah's Cabinet colleague and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal remembered Ratan Tata, saying that the institutions he nurtured and the values he championed continue to guide generations.

Born December 28, 1937, in Mumbai, Ratan Tata led the Tata Group from 1991 to 2012 -- and briefly until 2017 -- turning it into a global institution.

Ratan Tata, who passed away on October 9, 2024, was not just a business leader but a symbol of ethical leadership.

"On his Jayanti, I fondly remember Shri Ratan Tata ji with deep admiration and respect. His leadership seamlessly blended innovation with compassion, redefining the role of Indian enterprise in national development," Goyal said in an X post.

"The institutions he nurtured and the values he championed continue to guide generations," the minister added.

Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that leadership is not about being in charge -- it is about taking care of those in your charge.

"Remembering Ratan Tata on his birth anniversary. His life of integrity, humility and compassion, along with his extraordinary commitment to philanthropy and nation-building, set a benchmark for ethical leadership," Scindia posted on X.

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta paid tributes to Ratan Tata. "On the birth anniversary of Shri Ratan Tata ji, the pride of the Indian industrial world, honoured with the Padma Vibhushan, I offer my humble respects," she wrote on X.

"Through his visionary leadership, he brought global recognition to Indian industries and, through his philanthropy and ethical values, provided new direction to countless lives. His dedication to nation-building will always remain memorable," said CM Gupta on X.
New Delhi, Dec 28 : Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Sunday said that there was nothing political in his "BJP-RSS" post, even as Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor strongly supported the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister's suggestion for strengthening the grand old party with discipline.

"Even I want our organisation to become stronger, and it is logical to have discipline in the party," Tharoor told media persons.

Asked about his reaction to Singh's post on X, Tharoor said, "Digvijaya Singh is the best person to put this question to. He can elaborate on this."

On Sunday, Singh told IANS, "There is no need to respond to my post on X as it is not political."

He said, "Their (BJP) politics has always been about divide and rule. This is a family (Nehru-Gandhi) in which two members have been martyred, and therefore there can never be divisions among them, no matter how many attempts are made."

Singh on Saturday kicked up a controversy with a social media post  accompanied with a 1996 photo - in which he said that the BJP-RSS allow grassroots workers to grow within the organisation to top posts like chief minister and prime minister.

The photo shared by Singh showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi sitting on the floor near BJP veteran L.K. Advani at an event in Gujarat.

Soon after the post on social media post, the former Madhya Pradesh CM clarified that he remains a staunch opponent of the RSS-BJP ideology. He issued a clarification, saying his comments were misunderstood.

"I am a supporter of the organisation, but an opponent of the RSS and Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi. I have only praised the organisational strength of the RSS. I have always opposed the policies of the BJP and the RSS," he told media persons.

On Sunday, senior BJP leader and MP Ravi Shankar Prasad launched a sharp attack on the Congress after veteran leader Digvijaya Singh praised the organisational strength of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), saying it reflected a delayed realisation of the BJP's robust grassroots structure.

Reacting to Singh's remarks, Prasad said, "Digvijaya is realising after a long time that the BJP organisation is very strong, which is good."

He went on to take a swipe at the Congress leadership, particularly Rahul Gandhi, questioning his relevance within his own party.

"What does Rahul Gandhi say when the country does not take him seriously? Now, even his party does not take him seriously. Senior leaders like Digvijaya Singh say that Rahul Gandhi doesn't listen, so what is the point of speaking to him?" Prasad said, referring to Singh's separate post on X about Rahul Gandhi.

On December 19, Singh addressed his social media post to Gandhi, calling for reforms in the party. Suggesting a more pragmatic decentralised functioning of the party, Singh ended the post by saying, "Only problem is that it is not easy to 'convince' you!!"
New Delhi, Dec 28 : President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday embarked the Indian Navy's indigenous Kalvari-class submarine INS Vaghsheer at the Karwar Naval Base in Karnataka and undertook a dived sortie, an official said.

"The President is undertaking a sortie on the Western Seaboard. Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi is accompanying the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces," an official of the President's Secretariat said in a post on X.

Calling it a historic moment, the official said this maiden sortie onboard a Kalvari-class submarine by President Droupadi Murmu is only the second such experience by a President of India, after former President Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

During the engagement, the President undertook a dived sortie onboard INS Vaghsheer on the Western Seaboard.

"During the sortie, the President was briefed on the role of the submarine arm in India's maritime strategy, as well as its operational capabilities and contribution in safeguarding national maritime interests," the official said in a statement.

She also interacted with the crew of INS Vaghsheer and commended them for their dedication, professionalism and spirit of selfless service.

The President said the indigenous submarine is a shining example of the Indian Navy's professional excellence, combat preparedness and unwavering commitment to national security, the statement added.

On October 29, President Murmu undertook a sortie in a Rafale fighter aircraft at Air Force Station Ambala in Haryana, becoming the first President to fly in two different fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force. Earlier, she had flown in a Sukhoi-30 MKI in 2023.

Air Force Station Ambala is the first base where Rafale aircraft arrived from the Dassault Aviation facility in France.

The President, who is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces, flew for around 30 minutes, covering nearly 200 km, before returning to the base.

The aircraft was flown by Group Captain Amit Gehani, Commanding Officer of the 17 Squadron. It flew at an altitude of around 15,000 feet above sea level and at a speed of about 700 km per hour.

Later, in the visitor's book, the President wrote that she was delighted to visit Air Force Station Ambala for her maiden flight on the Rafale aircraft of the Indian Air Force.

"The sortie on Rafale is an unforgettable experience for me. This first flight on the potent Rafale aircraft has instilled in me a renewed sense of pride in the nation's defence capabilities. I congratulate the Indian Air Force and the entire team of Air Force Station Ambala for organising this sortie successfully," she wrote.
Ahmedabad, Dec 28 : Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Sunday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for development projects worth Rs 330 crore undertaken by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), marking a significant milestone in the city's urban infrastructure journey.

The event was held in the presence of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and included the unveiling of Lord Ganesh's idol and the distribution of land ownership certificates (sanads) to rehabilitated residents of New Vanjar village.

A key highlight of the programme was the inauguration of the Western Trunk Main Line project, a long-awaited drainage initiative of critical importance to the western and south-western parts of Ahmedabad.

The project is expected to provide a permanent solution to sewage overflow and wastewater management issues faced by nearly 15 lakh residents across multiple localities.

Addressing the gathering, HM Shah described the event as small in scale but deeply significant.

Recalling the 1973 Sabarmati floods, which devastated the lives of several families, he noted that after nearly five decades, 173 affected families have finally received legal ownership of their residential plots.

"While the number may appear small in a city the size of Ahmedabad, for these families, this moment is historic and emotionally profound," he said.

The Union Minister congratulated local MLA Amitbhai Thakar, the Mayor of Ahmedabad, and the Municipal Commissioner for taking a sensitive and decisive step to resolve an issue pending for over 50 years.

He said the resolution of such long-standing problems reflects the spirit of compassionate and responsive governance.

HM Shah highlighted that for years, nearly 15 lakh residents in western and south-western Ahmedabad lacked a systematic drainage system.

Rapid urbanisation between 2000 and 2005, particularly in areas stretching from Shela to Chandkheda, had outpaced infrastructure development.

"As a Member of Parliament, it was painful to witness sewage overflowing in several areas," he remarked.

Under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urban development schemes such as AMRUT have been effectively leveraged to improve living conditions in cities, he said.

As part of this effort, large RCC pipelines with diameters ranging from 1,200 mm to 1,800 mm have been laid at an estimated cost of nearly Rs 400 crore.

This infrastructure will benefit areas including Gota, Chandlodia, Science City, South Bopal, Bhadaj, Hebatpur, Thaltej, Bopal-Ghuma, Bodakdev, Vejalpur, Sarkhej, Maktampura, Juhapura, Fatehwadi, Shantipura and Sanathal, offering a long-term solution to drainage-related issues.

"The reason decades-old demands are being fulfilled with sensitivity is the politics of compassionate development envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Amit Shah said.

"Whether or not people raise their demands, identifying and resolving public issues has become the governance culture from Gujarat to the rest of the country."

Chief Minister Patel, in his address, said that as 2025 draws to a close, the year will be remembered as one of unprecedented development and global recognition for Ahmedabad.

He said the state government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi and Union Home Minister Shah, is committed to ensuring that necessities such as food, clothing and housing are accessible to every citizen.

"Every decision taken by Narendra Modi places the welfare of the poorest citizen at its core," the Chief Minister said, adding that this approach has consistently translated into improved quality of life and enhanced civic amenities.

He also noted that the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency has emerged as one of the greenest regions, with initiatives such as Miyawaki forests and oxygen parks significantly increasing green cover.

Referring to the distribution of sanads to Vanjar village residents, the CM said the gesture embodies the principle that a true public servant is one who understands and alleviates people's suffering.

He informed that the urban development budget has been increased by 40 per cent to Rs 30,000 crore, and 2025 is being celebrated as the 'Year of Urban Development'. Looking ahead, he said Ahmedabad is poised to become a hub for international sporting events and urged citizens to collectively commit to keeping the city clean, beautiful and green.

Ahmedabad Mayor Pratibha Jain expressed gratitude to Union Home Minister Shah, also the Gandhinagar MP, and Chief Minister Patel for their continued support towards strengthening urban infrastructure and civic facilities in the city.

The event was attended by Rajya Sabha MP Narhari Amin, local MLAs, Municipal Commissioner Banchhanidhi Pani, Collector Sujit Kumar, senior AMC officials, other dignitaries and a large number of city residents.
Amaravati/Ayodhya, Dec 28 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday offered prayers at Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya.

Taking to X, Naidu shared his thoughts, saying: "Today, I was blessed to have darshan and offer prayers at the divine and magnificent Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir in Ayodhya. It was a peaceful and spiritually uplifting experience to be here once again. Lord Shri Ram's values and ideals are timeless lessons for us all. May they continue to guide and inspire us always."

On his arrival in Ayodhya, officials of the Uttar Pradesh government welcomed the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister. Temple officials received him at Ram Mandir.

Temple authorities also briefed Chandrababu Naidu on various architectural and spiritual features of Ram Mandir.

Later, speaking to media persons, the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister said that in another two years, the Ayodhya temple would emerge as a major spiritual hub of the country. He said the temple would play a significant role in strengthening spiritual values.

He stated that governance is always measured by the ideals of Ram Rajya. "Ram Rajya is the best way of governance. That is the benchmark for any government," he said.

The Chief Minister said that many people worked towards the construction of the temple following reconciliation and consensus achieved through the judicial process. "I appreciate all those who contributed to building this great and historic temple," he said.

Naidu also appreciated the performance of the Uttar Pradesh government and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

This was Chandrababu Naidu's first visit to the temple in his personal capacity after assuming office as Chief Minister.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) had attended the inauguration (Pran Pratishtha) of the temple on January 22, 2024.

Naidu was among the few prominent non-BJP political leaders who attended the event after receiving an official invitation from the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.

He later joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and contested the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in alliance with the BJP and Pawan Kalyan-led Jana Sena Party (JSP).

Following the massive victory of the alliance in Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu became the Chief Minister.

Naidu's TDP also emerged as a key partner in the BJP-led government at the Centre.
Kabul, Dec 28 : Afghan police have arrested eight individuals on charges of production and smuggling of narcotics in the northern Jawzjan province, local media outlet Tolo News reported on Sunday.

According to the report, provincial police conducted targeted operations that led to the arrest of the suspects and the seizure of a significant quantity of illicit drugs, including hashish and heroin. The drugs were reportedly discovered at locations linked to the detained individuals.

The arrests are part of ongoing efforts by Afghan authorities to combat illegal production, trafficking, and distribution of narcotics across the country, Xinhua News Agency reported.

On December 21, provincial police headquarters stated that Afghan counter-narcotics police have destroyed a drug processing laboratory and arrested one suspect in connection with the case in the eastern Laghman province.

Acting on a tip-off, police carried out an operation in Mehtarlam district on December 20, where they uncovered a drug processing facility. A large quantity of materials and equipment used for heroin production was seized and destroyed at the site, the statement said.

On November 14, provincial police spokesman Nizamudin Omir said that Afghan police have arrested a suspected drug smuggler and confiscated illicit narcotics during an operation in the northern Takhar province.

According to the official, the suspect was detained while attempting to transport crystal methamphetamine and other chemicals used in heroin production to Taluqan, the provincial capital, where he allegedly planned to sell the materials.

The suspect has been placed in custody for further investigation, the spokesman added.

Afghanistan has intensified counter-narcotics measures in recent years, launching targeted operations against trafficking networks, clandestine laboratories, and illegal markets.

On November 9, provincial police spokesman Gul Mohammad Qudrat said that Afghan counter-narcotics forces had confiscated 170 kg of opium poppy and apprehended two suspected smugglers in the western Nimroz province.

The seizure took place during a targeted operation in the Zanjer Sharqi area along the Zaranj-Delaram highway, the official said.
Bhubaneswar, Dec 28 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday paid tribute to Odia freedom fighter and social activist Parvati Giri in his monthly radio address 'Mann Ki Baat' programme, announcing that her birth centenary will be celebrated in January 2026.

Speaking on the 129th episode of 'Mann Ki Baat', PM Modi stated that the country will be celebrating the 77th Republic Day.

"Whenever such occasions arise, our hearts are filled with gratitude for the freedom fighters and the makers of the Constitution. Our country fought a long struggle for independence," PM Modi said.

He also noted that people from every part of the country contributed to the freedom movement; however, unfortunately, many of the heroes did not receive the respect they deserved for their contributions towards the freedom struggle.

"One such freedom fighter is Parvati Giri ji of Odisha. Her birth centenary will be celebrated in January 2026. She participated in the 'Quit India' movement at the age of 16. After the Independence movement, Parvati Giri ji dedicated her life to social service and tribal welfare. She established several orphanages. Her inspiring life will continue to guide every generation. I pay my tribute to Parvati Giri," stated the Prime Minister.

He called upon everyone to pass on the great legacy of such unsung heroes, both men and women who brought independence to the country, to the next generation.

"It is our responsibility that we do not forget our heritage. We must pass on the great saga of the heroes, both men and women, who brought us independence, to the next generation. You may recall that when we celebrated 75 years of independence, the government created a special website. A section on it was dedicated to "Unsung Heroes."

Even today, you can visit this website to learn about the great personalities who played a significant role in achieving independence for our country, the Prime Minister said.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi called the tribute to Parvati Giri by PM Modi in his 'Mann Ki Baat' programme a matter of pride for the whole state.

Expressing his gratitude, CM Majhi wrote on his X handle, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the Prime Minister for paying tributes to Parvati Giri, one of Odisha's great freedom fighters who dedicated her life to serving the poor and the marginalised, ahead of her birth centenary through today's Mann Ki Baat programme.

Remembering the contributions of this 'Agnikanya' of Odisha is a matter of pride for the entire state."
Dhaka, Dec 28 : Tarique Rahman, the son of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, returned to the country recently after 17 years in exile and is now expected to emerge as a crucial player in the all-important electoral battle slated for early next year.

Rahman, who opted for self-exile and moved to London in 2008, has been serving as the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) acting chairman since 2018.

With Sheikh Hasina's Bangladesh Awami League barred from contesting the elections and Khaleda Zia suffering from chronic ailments, the political space has opened up a vacuum that Rahman is widely expected to fill. While several other players are in contention -- including Jamaat-e-Islami and student-based outfits that emerged after last year's mass uprising -- Rahman's polished political approach and his mother's legacy are seen as key factors shaping his political trajectory.

Since his return to Bangladesh, Rahman has faced opposition criticism over his "criminal" past. He was arrested in 2007 on corruption charges and was later exonerated as part of what has been described as a negotiated settlement. He had subsequently stepped away from active politics before taking over the party's reins as acting chairman several years ago.

Rahman's homecoming is also being viewed as a deliberate political manoeuvre, facilitated by Bangladesh's interim administration, aimed at ensuring a "managed transition" ahead of the polls. The grand welcome accorded to him on arrival further gave the impression of a state-facilitated return.

"The transition from 'fugitive' to 'frontrunner' was paved not by street agitation alone, but by a series of high-level compacts, most notably the June 2025 London meeting with Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus. The meeting took place against the backdrop of the Yunus-led interim government becoming embroiled in multiple policy-related controversies, even as radical elements sought to push an anarchic agenda," said a report by International Science for Peace Studies, a research centre focused on South and West Asia.

Rahman's return to Bangladesh just months ahead of the elections signals both his and the BNP's intent to be serious contenders in the political race.

Having transitioned from being labelled a "fugitive" to a prime ministerial "frontrunner", Rahman has also sought to consolidate his position by projecting a "Bangladesh First" narrative, while presenting himself and the BNP as a moderate alternative to radical and Islamist forces.

In a recent address to the public, Rahman articulated an expansive and pluralistic vision of a "safe Bangladesh", moving beyond rhetorical positioning and invoking Martin Luther King Jr., saying: "I have a plan for the people of my country and for my country."
Mumbai, Dec 28 : Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow has finally spoken about why she declined to film an intimate scene with her 'Great Expectations' co-star Ethan Hawke.

The actress, 53, and Hawke, 55, recently looked back on their first meeting, nearly three decades after the pair shared the screen in the 1998 movie adaptation of Charles' Dickens' classic novel. The duo said that the actress was pitched a sex scene by the film's director, Alfonso Cuaron, and she declined, reports 'People' magazine.

In a video for Vanity Fair, Ethan Hawke said, "Do you remember Alfonso pitching you the love scene?"

To this, Paltrow replied, "Oh, my God", before explaining that Cuaron suggested a scene in which her character would have received oral sex from Hawke's character. "I was like, 'Oh, my God, my father's going to have a heart attack'".

Remembering how Cuaron described the scene, Hawke said, "'The camera is going to go down your belly, and then it's going to go up your breasts, and then it's going to go in your face as you reach ecstasy. And then when you reach ecstasy, the light will explode like to the sun'".

"And I remember looking at Gwyneth, and Gwyneth is like, 'Alfonso, I'm never going to do that'", he said, as Paltrow laughed.

According to the Goop entrepreneur, she felt "really self-conscious about my dad and grandfather seeing this kind of stuff" in the early days of her career. "It really bothered me", she shared adding, "Now, I wouldn't care".

Hawke shared that he thought his costar handled the situation well at the time, describing her as firm but not "petulant".

"You had an awareness of the way that the business works, and the ways in which those kinds of images could be manipulated and what it meant to your dad", Hawke told Paltrow.

"Maybe I was too prudish in the moment", Paltrow said, prompting Hawke to reply, "I don't think you were". "I was definitely worried about it", she added.
Hyderabad, Dec 28 : Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K.T. Rama Rao on Sunday accused the Congress government and Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy of destroying a "golden Telangana" built during ten years of BRS governance.

Hyderabad, Dec 28 (IANS) Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K.T. Rama Rao on Sunday accused the Congress government and Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy of destroying a "golden Telangana" built during ten years of BRS governance.

He said it was due to BRS policies that land values in Hyderabad had risen to as high as Rs 150 crore per acre.

He also accused the Congress government of reversing the development achieved in Palamuru (Mahabubnagar) district and pushing it back into distress and large-scale migration.

Addressing a meeting of newly elected sarpanches in Nagarkurnool, he said the Congress government had failed to carry forward key irrigation and development projects, undoing years of progress made during the BRS regime. He alleged that despite being in power for two years, the Congress government had not completed even 10 per cent of the works initiated earlier.

"Palamuru was made green and prosperous under KCR's leadership. Today, without even lifting a handful of soil, the Chief Minister is indulging in irresponsible and abusive rhetoric. Congress has once again turned Palamuru into a migration district by stalling projects and drying up irrigation," said KTR, as the BRS leader is popularly known.

He stated that nearly 90 per cent of the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Project works were completed during the KCR government. However, after coming to power, the Congress government cancelled approved tenders and crippled the project. KTR also alleged that the Revanth Reddy government had compromised Telangana's rightful water allocations, severely impacting farmers.

KTR announced that former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) is preparing for another phase of struggle to protect the PalamuruRangareddy project, safeguard Telangana's water interests, and stand with farmers. He said KCR would soon visit Palamuru and appealed to the people of the region to support the movement.

Highlighting the agrarian crisis, KTR said the Congress government had replaced the "Rythu Bandhu" era with what he termed "Ra-Bandhu" (Vulture) rule. He alleged that farmers were being forced to plead for urea fertiliser, standing in long queues even during cold conditions. "Revanth Reddy has no concern for farmers. During KCR's tenure, there was never a shortage of urea, and farmers received fertilisers as per their needs," he said.

KTR accused the Congress of coming to power with unrealistic promises and cheating the public after assuming office. He said the Chief Minister resorted to abusive language whenever questioned about the implementation of poll promises, even after completing two years in power.

Stating that Revanth Reddy was obsessed with criticising KCR wherever he went, KTR remarked that the Chief Minister's frustration was evident. He challenged Revanth Reddy to publicly take an oath assuring uninterrupted supply of urea to farmers and implementation of the promised Rs 4,000 pension scheme.

Reiterating that "wherever Congress is in power, there is no progress," KTR said Telangana was witnessing the same reality. He expressed confidence that the Congress government had only two more years left and that BRS would return to power thereafter. "Only a KCR-led government can restore development, prosperity and dignity to villages," he said.
New Delhi, Dec 28 : The SHANTI Bill will go down in history as one of the Narendra Modi government's biggest science reforms as it has broken a six-decade stalemate in the nuclear sector, Union Minister for Science & Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh, said on Sunday.

New Delhi, Dec 28 (IANS) The SHANTI Bill will go down in history as one of the Narendra Modi governmentas biggest science reforms as it has broken a six-decade stalemate in the nuclear sector, Union Minister for Science & Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh, said on Sunday.

The minister said that the SHANTI (Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India) Bill marks a historic reform in Indiaas nuclear sector, unlocking its potential for peaceful, clean, and sustainable energy while maintaining uncompromising standards of safety, sovereignty, and public interest. He emphasised that such a reform was inconceivable for over six decades and became possible only due to Prime Minister Modias ability to dismantle legacy taboos and align Indiaas policies with global best practices.

Dr Singh said the third term of Prime Minister Modi is distinctly characterised by bold, structural reforms, with a strong emphasis on science, innovation, and entrepreneurship. He highlighted that while earlier reform phases were associated with landmark political and strategic decisions, Modi 3.0 will be remembered for breaking long-standing barriers in sectors that determine Indiaas technological and economic future.

Reiterating Indiaas long-standing commitment to peaceful nuclear use, he recalled that from the time of Dr Homi Bhabha, Indiaas nuclear programme was envisioned for development, healthcare, and energy security. The SHANTI Bill, he said, strengthens this foundational philosophy by enabling expansion for civilian purposes such as clean power generation, medical applications, and advanced research, while firmly excluding any deviation from peaceful intent.

Highlighting the demands of the emerging AI, quantum and data-driven economy, the Minister said nuclear energy is indispensable for providing reliable, round-the-clock power, unlike intermittent renewable sources. He noted that as India transitions away from fossil fuels and coal, nuclear energy will play a critical qualitative role in sustaining advanced technologies, digital infrastructure, and strategic sectors.

Dr Singh also informed that Indiaas nuclear power capacity has doubled from about 4.4 GW in 2014 to nearly 8.7 GW today, with a clear roadmap to scale up substantially in the coming years. He said the government aims to reach around 100 GW of nuclear capacity by 2047, enabling nuclear energy to meet nearly 10 per cent of Indiaas electricity requirements and support the national Net Zero commitment.

He also drew attention to the expanding role of nuclear science in healthcare, particularly in cancer diagnosis and treatment through nuclear medicine and isotopes. He said nuclear technology is increasingly contributing to life-saving medical interventions, reinforcing that atomic science today is a force for human welfare and societal well-being.

Referring to future readiness, Dr Singh said India is also moving towards small modular reactors, which are suited for dense urban clusters, industrial corridors, and emerging economic zones. He said these reactors will further strengthen energy security while ensuring environmental responsibility.

The minister noted that the SHANTI Bill has received wide acceptance across the scientific community, industry, startups, and the innovation ecosystem, reflecting a broad national consensus on the need to reform and modernise Indiaas nuclear sector. The Bill exemplifies Modi 3.0as reform-first approach, where science-led policy decisions are shaping Indiaas path towards a developed nation by 2047, he added.
Amaravati, Dec 28 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for appreciating Narsapuram lace craft.

The Chief Minister took to 'X' to thank the Prime Minister, who mentioned Narsapuram lace craft in his 'Mann Ki Baat' programme on Sunday.

"Thank you for your appreciation of the Narsapuram lace craft, Hon'ble Prime Minister Modi Ji. Andhra Pradesh is home to many traditional arts that have been preserved by families and communities over generations. One such beautiful art form is crochet lace making, which originated in Narsapuram," posted CM Naidu.

"I sincerely appreciate the skill and dedication of the women who have not only preserved this art but also taken it to the world. It is heartening to see their work flourish again and receive the recognition it truly deserves. We will continue to cherish and support this art and empower the artisans associated with it," he added.

CM Naidu responded to a post by the Prime Minister. "This effort in Narasapuram has brought back to life the local lace craft and thus empowered several people," reads the post by the Prime Minister.

During his speech, PM Modi mentioned that traditional arts not only empower society but also become a major means of economic progress for people.

"The lace craft from Narsapuram district in Andhra Pradesh is now gaining recognition across the country. This lace craft has been in the hands of women for many generations," he said.

The Prime Minister noted that the women of the country have preserved the lace craft with great patience and finesse. "Today, this tradition is being carried forward with a new look and energy. The Andhra Pradesh Government and NABARD are working together to teach artisans new designs, provide better skill training and connect them to new markets," he said.

PM Modi also mentioned that Narsapuram lace has received a GI tag. "Today, more than 500 products are being made from it and in over 250 villages nearly one lakh women are getting employment through it," he added.
New Delhi, Dec 28 : A major step in India's defence manufacturing journey is quietly taking shape on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

New Delhi, Dec 28 (IANS) A major step in Indiaas defence manufacturing journey is quietly taking shape on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

Raghu Vamsi Aerospace Group has launched its new Citadel Campus at Hardware Park near the international airport -- marking an important moment for the countryas growing private defence industry.

Spread over 25,000 square feet and built with an investment of more than Rs 100 crore, the Citadel Campus is not just another industrial facility.

It brings together design, manufacturing, integration, testing and validation of defence systems under one roof, reflecting how far Indiaas defence ecosystem has evolved.

What was once limited to licensed production and basic assembly has now moved towards full-scale, indigenous capability.

The new campus strengthens Raghu Vamsi Aerospace Groupas role in strategic defence programmes. The company already operates ten manufacturing facilities across three countries and employs over 1,000 skilled professionals.

It supplies critical aero-engine and missile subsystems to global aerospace companies as well as Indian defence public sector units. With the Citadel Campus, the group aims to improve production speed, scale up manufacturing and take on more complex defence projects.

At the launch event, the company also unveiled a range of indigenously developed unmanned and autonomous defence systems. These include jet-powered loitering munitions, long-endurance kamikaze drones, tethered surveillance platforms and autonomous ground combat systems.

Designed for modern warfare, these systems can perform tasks such as surveillance, deep-strike missions, battlefield logistics and mission support. Some platforms have operational ranges of over 300 kilometres and speeds of up to 650 kmph, highlighting Indiaas growing capability in advanced defence technologies.

The new products, developed under names such as RV Astra, RV Maya, RV Lakshya, RV Rudra, RV Indra, RV Yodha and RV Drishti, signal a shift away from reliance on imported unmanned systems.

They show that Indian companies are now capable of designing and manufacturing sophisticated platforms that can meet the demands of future battlefields.

Alongside infrastructure and product development, Raghu Vamsi Aerospace Group announced several key partnerships to strengthen Indiaas defence innovation ecosystem.

One major agreement was signed with the Indian Armyas 515 Army Base Workshop to jointly design, develop, test and validate advanced drone platforms.

Under this collaboration, the workshop will be supported in becoming a system integrator and in setting up dedicated drone manufacturing facilities.

Another important agreement was signed with Bharat Dynamics Limited for the co-development and supply of fully indigenised engines in the 200 kgf thrust class for future autonomous fighter aircraft.

This partnership is seen as a significant step in strengthening Indiaas capabilities in aero-engine propulsion, a critical area for advanced air combat systems.

The company also entered into collaborations with academic and research institutions. An agreement with IIIT Hyderabad focuses on developing artificial intelligence-based autonomy, intelligent perception and swarm technologies for defence UAVs.

A separate MoU with the International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI) aims to advance technologies such as additive manufacturing, laser cladding and thermal barrier coatings for aero-engines.
Hyderabad, Dec 28 : The 85th All India Industrial Exhibition, the popular annual trade fair of Hyderabad, will begin on January 1.

'Numaish', as one of the world's oldest annual consumer exhibitions is popularly known, will be inaugurated by Telangana's Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka.

State Industries Minister D. Sridhar Babu told media persons on Sunday that 1,050 stalls will be set up on the sprawling Numaish Maidan for the annual 45-day-long exhibition.

All India Industrial Exhibition Society (AIIES) has allotted stalls to traders and various business organisations from different parts of the country to sell their products at the fair.

The organisers have hiked the entry fee to Rs 50 from Rs 40 per head.

Admission will be free for children below five years.

The Industries Minister noted that 'Numaish' carries forward a legacy built on enterprise, culture and shared public life.

"It remains a space where artisans, MSMEs, families and communities come together to experience innovation, tradition, and affordability in one place," he said.

"This year's 'Numaish' reflects a strong focus on safety, accessibility, and opportunity, especially for women entrepreneurs, while preserving the spirit that has made it a must-visit annual tradition for generations," Sridhar Babu said.

Every day the exhibition will be open for visitors from 4 to 10.30 p.m.

It will be open till 11 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

Numaish-e-Masnuaat-e-Mulki, or Numaish in short, made a humble beginning in 1938 as an event to promote locally produced goods.

The seventh Nizam of Hyderabad State, Mir Osman Ali Khan, inaugurated the first 'Numaish'.

Enthused by the good response, it was decided to make it an annual event and use the earnings to promote education.

Beginning with just 50 stalls and a capital of Rs 2.50, it has today evolved into one of the biggest industrial exhibitions in the country.

It was a group of graduates from Osmania University who came up with the idea of an exhibition to conduct an economic survey of the state.

'Numaish' could not be organised in 1947 and 1948 due to the turmoil in the aftermath of India's Independence.

With Hyderabad acceding to the Indian Union, the event bounced back in 1949.

The exhibition could not be held in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

From amusement rides to shopping with good bargains and a variety of lip-smacking food, the annual event offers loads of fun and frolic.

In its 85th year, it is considered the mother of all carnivals -- and an integral part of Hyderabad's rich culture.

It draws people not just from the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad but from other parts of Telangana and even neighbouring states.

The fair begins on January 1 every year and continues for 45 days.

Traders from various parts of the country set up their stalls during the exhibition, which is visited by 45,000 people every day.

A unique blend of economy and culture, the event is organised on the sprawling grounds and revenues from the fair are spent on a group of educational and charitable institutions run by the Society.
Chandigarh, Dec 28 : Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar on Sunday said that instead of focusing on the development of the state, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government was "acting like an event management company" and preparing to add yet another propaganda exercise to the series of special sessions of the Vidhan Sabha.

Chandigarh, Dec 28 (IANS) Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar on Sunday said that instead of focusing on the development of the state, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government was "acting like an event management company" and preparing to add yet another propaganda exercise to the series of special sessions of the Vidhan Sabha.

In a statement here, Jakhar said the Bhagwant Mann government had failed on every front and had no achievements to showcase.

"Therefore, it keeps rolling out new propaganda every day," he said.

He described the special session being convened on December 30 to oppose the VB-G RAM G Act as the next episode in this series.

Jakhar said it would be better if the government used a special session of the Assembly to discuss the deteriorating law and order situation in the state and deliberate on the frequent murders and extortion threats being reported almost daily.

The BJP leader said that during the recent visit of Union Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to Punjab, people from every district highlighted corruption in the scheme.

He urged the Chief Minister to issue a white paper on the corruption that has allegedly taken place in the state under the scheme over the past four years.

Jakhar accused the government of misleading poor people by getting forms filled and thumb impressions taken, while questioning why the rightful four years of employment of these beneficiaries were denied.

Challenging the Chief Minister, he asked why the AAP government was troubled when the Central government was promising to stop corruption in the scheme and provide 125 days of work instead of 100.

He said the government should stop misleading the poor.

"When the Central government has guaranteed 125 days of work, the state should implement the scheme effectively so that everyone receives 125 days of employment," he added.
New Delhi, Dec 28 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the 129th episode of the radio programme 'Mann Ki Baat', spoke about the efforts of Margaret Ramtharsiem, a resident of Churachandpur in Manipur and lauded her for popularising traditional products, handicrafts and also providing employment to many local artists and villagers.

"The efforts of Margaret Ramtharsiem of Churachandpur, Manipur, are also of a similar kind. She saw Manipur's traditional products, handicrafts, and items made from bamboo and wood with a broad vision. Because of that vision, from a handicraft artist, she became a medium for transforming people's lives. Today, Margaret's unit employs over 50 artists, and through her hard work, she has developed a market for her products in several states across the country, including Delhi," PM Modi said.

Margaret Ramtharsiem spoke to IANS, sharing her thoughts and excitement on her work being recognised and praised by the Prime Minister.

IANS: Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted your work in Mann Ki Baat. Does this reflect his local-to-global vision of turning traditional handicrafts into sustainable livelihoods?

Margaret Ramtharsiem: Yes, definitely. We see it in our clients, both from India and abroad. After exporting our products, we realise how these traditional handicrafts can reach a global market, creating real economic opportunities.

IANS: You have transformed Manipur's traditional handicrafts into livelihoods, employing over 50 artisans. Has the Prime Minister's Atmanirbhar Bharat vision encouraged you to scale and formalise this work?

Margaret Ramtharsiem: Yes. I have always wanted to be self-reliant, and the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision gives me the energy and motivation to work more, involve more local artisans, and strengthen self-reliance in our communities.

IANS: Your products now reach markets across India. Does this show that government policies are effectively helping artisans connect with national markets?

Margaret Ramtharsiem: Absolutely. Many local artisans were unknown before. Today, through government platforms, they are gaining visibility at the district, state, national, and even international levels.

IANS: Being mentioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mann Ki Baat, does this recognition boost the confidence of grassroots entrepreneurs and artisans?

Margaret Ramtharsiem: Yes, definitely. Even for me personally, it has boosted my confidence and energy to scale up my work and achieve more in the days ahead.

IANS: Prime Minister Modi often speaks about preserving culture while creating economic opportunities. Do you feel his leadership is giving India's handicraft sector a new identity and direction?

Margaret Ramtharsiem: Yes. I am upgrading and modernising the traditional handicrafts of our tribal forefathers, which were practised hundreds of years ago. I am preserving our culture while turning it into a sustainable livelihood business.

IANS: Based on your experience, how impactful are Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiatives in strengthening traditional arts and ensuring sustainable income for artisans?

Margaret Ramtharsiem: His initiatives have strengthened my passion to promote traditional tribal attire and handicrafts. It allows us to preserve our traditions while generating incomewhat I would call a sustainable livelihood. Not just me, but many local artisans are energised and motivated to promote our tribal crafts and heritage.
New Delhi, Dec 28 : Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan will be on a two-day visit to Puducherry, Kerala and Tamil Nadu starting Monday, an official said.

On December 29, the Vice President will attend a civic reception, unveil the statue of Mahakavi Bharathiar, and launch a housing project under the Smart City Mission in Puducherry.

He will also participate as the Chief Guest at the 30th Convocation of Pondicherry University, Puducherry.

Later the same day, the Vice President will travel to Kerala and attend the Trivandrum Fest 2025.

On December 30, Radhakrishnan will participate in the 93rd Sivagiri Pilgrimage at Varkala, Kerala.

He will also inaugurate the public meeting at the conclusion of the Platinum Jubilee Celebrations of Mar Ivanios College, Thiruvananthapuram.

Later the same day, the Vice President will participate as the Chief Guest at the valedictory ceremony of Kashi-Tamil Sangamam 4.0 in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu.

Earlier, addressing a national conclave on Artificial Intelligence, Radhakrishnan said India has the talent, vision and values to not only adopt Artificial Intelligence responsibly but also lead the world in shaping its future.

He underlined that AI must always serve humanity and be guided by strong ethical principles.

"India has emerged among the leading nations in Artificial Intelligence," the Vice President said.

He was speaking at the Flagship National Conclave on 'AI Evolution  The Mahakumbh of AI', organised by Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University in collaboration with the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and Outlook magazine at Dr Ambedkar International Centre.

"Artificial intelligence is no longer a technology of the future, but a reality of the present, already influencing areas such as healthcare, climate studies, governance, education, finance and national security," he said.

He cautioned against fear and pessimism around new technologies, noting that similar concerns were raised when computers were first introduced.

"Over time, computers transformed the world and created new opportunities," he said, adding that every technological change brings both benefits and challenges.

"The key lies in using technology in a positive and constructive way," the Vice-President explained.

Highlighting India's growing strength in Artificial Intelligence, the Vice-President said the country has emerged as one of the leading nations in this field.
New Delhi, Dec 28 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that India's traditional arts are empowering society and emerging as a major vehicle for people's economic progress, citing inspiring examples from Andhra Pradesh and Manipur while highlighting the role of women-led initiatives.

In the 129th episode of 'Mann Ki Baat', the Prime Minister shared an example of Chokhone Krichena from Manipur's Senapti district, whose family has long been involved in traditional farming.

Krichena has worked to make flower cultivation her passion, and today, she is connected to various markets and also encourages local residents of her region to become self-reliant.

Sharing her thoughts with IANS, Chokhone Krichena said that the Centre's policies are truly impacting people at the grassroots level and are helping entrepreneurs like her to move towards self-reliance.

Speaking about her journey in flower cultivation, she said, "Our work is closely tied to the geography and topography of our region. Flowers are perishable, and reaching markets on time was always a challenge. By innovating with dry flower products, we have reduced wastage and created employment opportunities, especially for women."

Thanking the Centre for its focus on empowering village youth and women, she said that the government policies and platforms have made it easier to access markets across India and globally.

"The startup and entrepreneurship ecosystem has simplified business expansion, which has really helped grassroots entrepreneurs like us," she said.

Krichena stated that she wants to not become just self-reliant but also a job-giver so that she can impact many more lives, including youth and women, belonging to poor households.

Speaking about the 'Mann Ki Baat', she said that it is a powerful platform that showcases small entrepreneurs and grassroots initiatives and stated, "Here, young people get ideas, confidence, and inspiration to start something of their own."

On the government's thrust on North-East, she said that there are several special programmes aimed at empowering and uplifting the communities in the far-flung zone, and they are grateful to the government for this.
New Delhi, Dec 28 : Nepal Telecom is in the eye of a storm over the placement of an NPR 5 billion order for a hi-tech billing system with a Chinese company that is seen as lacking in transparency and in violation of competitive bidding norms.

The order, which is among Nepal Telecomas most expensive technology investments in recent years, has been linked to AsiaInfo Linkage Technologies (China) Inc., also known as AsiaInfo Yunghang Software (Beijing) Ltd, according to a report in Kathmandu-based news portal Hamrakura.com.

Chinese firms already play a major role in Nepalas telecom infrastructure, often backed by financing, diplomatic engagement, and strategic interests. Huaweias presence looms particularly large. The company already manages Nepal Telecomas core network, a critical component of the countryas communications infrastructure. This existing dependence has heightened concerns that new projects are being funnelled toward the same vendor, reducing competition and increasing long-term reliance on a single foreign supplier, the report stated.

The tender has raised more questions than answers because only two Chinese companies entered the fray when Nepal Telecom invited bids on March 18. From the outset, the limited competition raised eyebrows, the report pointed out.

The situation worsened when Huawei alone cleared the technical evaluation, triggering accusations that the tender specifications were tailored to fit one companyas strengths. Whale Cloud, another Chinese firm with experience in telecom software, was disqualified at the technical stage. The absence of detailed, publicly available explanations for this rejection has fuelled suspicions of an uneven process. In public procurement, perception matters as much as procedure, and the lack of transparency has proven damaging, the report further stated.

The possibility of Huawei expanding its footprint from core network management into billing systems has alarmed industry observers. Such concentration of control in the hands of a single foreign vendor raises questions about data security, pricing power, and operational autonomy.

For a state-owned telecom operator, this level of dependence is not merely a technical issue. It intersects with national security, regulatory oversight and financial sustainability. Critics argue that the tender process should have been designed to diversify vendors, not deepen reliance on one, the report observed.

The controversy deepened when the opening of Huaweias financial bid, scheduled for September 24, 2025, was abruptly postponed. The delay followed closely on the heels of Jagadish Kharelas appointment as Minister of Communications and Information Technology just two days earlier.

The official justification of "special circumstances" offered little clarity. Instead, it intensified speculation about political interference, internal disagreements, and pressure from competing interests, the report states.

The Nepal Telecom billing deal has become a microcosm of broader governance concerns. Repeated allegations involving Chinese-linked projects suggest systemic weaknesses in oversight mechanisms.

Tender documents that are difficult to scrutinise, evaluation processes shielded from public view and sudden administrative decisions all contribute to an environment where suspicion thrives.

For many observers, the issue is no longer about one billing system. It is about whether Nepalas institutions are capable of managing large, politically sensitive contracts without succumbing to external influence or internal pressure, the report added.
Dhaka, Dec 28 : Six convicted militants who escaped from prison during the July-August 2024 upheaval remain at large while 18 firearms looted from damaged prisons have not been found yet. At the same time, nearly 200 inmates held on charges related to militancy have been released on bail during the past eight months, with no latest information about their whereabouts, a report said, citing official sources.

A report in Times of Bangladesh stated, "These developments have raised renewed concerns among security analysts, despite repeated assurances from senior government officials and law enforcement agencies that militancy has no presence in Bangladesh. Home Affairs Adviser Jahangir Alam Chowdhury has stated on multiple occasions that there is no scope for militancy in the country."

"Similarly, Additional Inspector General Md Rezaul Karim, who took charge of the Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU) in late September, said there was no militant activity in Bangladesh. Over the past one and a half years, no major anti-militancy operations have been publicly reported by the ATU or by the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP)," it added.

An explosion at the Ummul Qura International Madrasa in Hasnabad on the outskirts of Dhaka on Friday pointed out to militant threats. After the explosion, the madrasaas director, Sheikh Al Amin, 32, went into hiding. According to police, Amin faces several cases over alleged connection to the banned militant outfit New Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (New JMB). Previously, he has been arrested several times and had served prison sentences, as per the report.

Speaking to Times of Bangladesh, President of the Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies (BIPSS), ANM Muniruzzaman, said that the militancy problem in Bangladesh had not been resolved and the challenge had become more complex.

He said many militants who escaped from the prison have not been arrested again and a number of looted weapons had not been found. Muniruzzaman, a retired major general, said that law and order in Bangladesh had further worsened since August 5, 2024 and emphasised the need to address gaps in security management.

A report in Times of Bangladesh stated, "According to data from the courts and the Prison Directorate, 346 inmates were released on bail in a short period following 5 August 2024. This group includes 12 top-listed criminals, eight convicts in the high-profile ten-truck arms haul case, and members of at least ten different organisations. In the first eight months following the political transition, 148 members of the banned Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) were released on bail in cases filed over alleged militant involvement."

"Police say those released include individuals previously listed as members of outlawed extremist groups such as Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, Ansarullah Bangla Team, Jamaaatul Ansar Fil Hindal Sharqiya, Ansar Al Islam, Imam Mahmudas Kafela, Hizb ut-Tahrir, Hamza Brigade, the Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF), and Allahar Dal. One notable case involves Jasim Uddin Rahmani, who was convicted and sentenced to five yearsa imprisonment in the murder of blogger Rajib Haider and was accused of leading Ansarullah Bangla Team. He was released on bail after 5 August and later claimed that Ansarullah Bangla Team had never existed," it added.

According to Assistant Inspector General (Development) of Prisons Md Jannatul Farhad, 17 of Bangladesh's 68 prisons were damaged during the Julya"August 2024 mass protests. As many as 2,232 inmates escaped from five prisons during the unrest, including 88 prisoners sentenced to death, according to a report in Times of Bangladesh.

Among those who continue to remain unaccounted for are over 700 inmates, including six convicted militants sentenced to death or long prison terms. A total of 85 firearms were looted during the prison attacks while the largest escape took place at Narsingdi prison, where 826 inmates fled.
Chandigarh, Dec 28 : Haryana Director General of Police (DGP) O.P. Singh on Sunday directed that the criminals involved in multiple cases, particularly those currently on bail, must be kept under surveillance, besides the continuation of 'Track Down' and 'Hotspot Domination' drives.

Chairing the high-level review and strategy meeting convened in Madhuban to finalise the crime control roadmap, priorities and plan for 2026, the DGP reviewed challenges, achievements and operational experiences of 2025.

Detailed deliberations were held on strengthening crime prevention mechanisms, intelligence gathering, public outreach and enforcement strategies for 2026, an official statement said.

The DGP emphasised that policing must evolve into a more result-oriented, proactive and public trust-centric system, aligned with emerging security challenges. The DGP directed that criminals involved in multiple criminal cases, particularly those currently out on bail, must be kept under continuous surveillance. In cases where repeat involvement in crime is apprehended, concrete legal action should be initiated to seek cancellation of bail.

He stressed that the monitoring of notorious offenders must be personally reviewed at the level of District Superintendents of Police (DSPs). Emphasising continuity and consistency, the DGP said the level of effectiveness and success achieved by Haryana Police in recent years must not only be maintained but further strengthened.

With a focus on NDPS cases and attachment of illicit properties, the DGP directed that detailed history sheets of offenders be prepared. Their illegally acquired properties should be identified and frozen under due legal process to dismantle the economic backbone of drug networks.

He also instructed that rehabilitation and de-addiction centres be periodically reviewed to assess successful recovery outcomes. The meeting reviewed terror-related incidents reported in recent years and noted with satisfaction that recent cases have been successfully traced without any loss of life.

The DGP stressed the need for stronger coordination with central and other investigating agencies to ensure swift, coordinated and result-oriented responses to any future threats.

The DGP directed that special operations such as 'Track Down' and 'Hotspot Domination' must continue in a sustained and effective manner to instil fear among criminals and reinforce public confidence. Absconders must be traced and sent behind bars, and continuous police presence and raids should be ensured at identified crime-prone hotspots. Also, special emphasis should be laid on identifying and monitoring antisocial elements who attempt to lure children and youth into drugs, gambling or criminal activities.

Highlighting the growing challenge of cybercrime, the DGP instructed that district-level cyber units be further strengthened on the lines of specialised cyber cells.

In his address, DGP Singh underlined that public trust remains the greatest strength of the police force. He expressed confidence that in the coming year, the police will continue to work with greater dedication, discipline and professionalism. "Your work defines your excellence," he remarked, urging officers to uphold the highest standards of integrity and performance.
New Delhi, Dec 28 : The Supreme Court's crucial suo motu hearing on issues relating to the definition of the Aravalli Hills on Monday is likely to address concerns over the protection of the ecologically fragile range in the light of the government's commitment.

As per the causelist published on the website of the apex court, a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, and Justices J.K. Maheshwari and A.G. Masih will hear the suo motu writ petition titled "In Re: Definition of Aravalli Hills and Ranges and Ancillary Issues" on December 29.

The Supreme Court has taken up the issue on its own motion amid growing concerns over the protection of the ecologically fragile Aravalli range and the government's repeated assurance to protect it.

In a decisive move to curb illegal mining and strengthen ecological protection, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has directed state governments to impose a "complete ban" on granting any new mining leases in the Aravallis.

The Ministry said the prohibition will apply uniformly across the Aravalli landscape, covering the mountain range from Delhi to Gujarat. It underscored that the objective is to "preserve the integrity of the range as a continuous geological ridge" and to put an end to unregulated mining activities.

Further tightening the conservation framework, the MoEFCC has instructed the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) to identify additional areas and zones across the entire Aravalli range where mining must be prohibited, over and above the areas already restricted by the Centre.

In a related development, Congress leader and former Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh on Sunday wrote to Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav, raising serious concerns over the recent redefinition of the Aravalli Hills.

He claimed that the new definition restricts their classification to landforms with an elevation of 100 metres or more.

Sharing the letter on the social media platform X on Sunday, Ramesh said, "Here is my most recent letter to the Union Minister of Environment, Forests & Climate Change asking four-pointed questions on the disastrous redefinition of the Aravallis."

In the letter dated December 28, the Congress leader flagged what he described as widespread concerns over the new definition and sought clarity from the minister by posing four specific questions. Addressing Minister Yadav, he wrote: "There are understandably widespread concerns with the re-definition of the Aravalli Hills that restrict them to landforms having an elevation of 100 meters or more. In this connection, please permit me to raise four specific questions for your consideration."
Patients rarely see the contracts behind their care, but physicians feel them every day. And one contract clause in particular (the non-compete) is quietly worsening the physician shortage and blocking patients from seeing the very doctors who want to care for them.

I learned this firsthand.

After serving as a neurologist and EEG medical director in Portsmouth, Virginia, I was forced out of my role under a two-year non-compete. The restriction forbids me from practicing neurology anywhere within 15 miles of my former hospital system. That radius covers the entire community where many of my patients live, and the community I still call home.

Portsmouth already struggles with a shortage of neurologists. Patients wait months for appointments. Emergency departments call repeatedly trying to find coverage. Hospitalists stretch themselves thin managing complex neurological cases while hoping a specialist will return their call.

Removing even one neurologist from a community like this creates ripples: longer wait times, fewer outpatient slots, fewer inpatient consults, and days when the hospital has no neurological support at all.

Non-compete clauses were originally designed to protect legitimate business interests (things like proprietary processes or confidential client lists). But patients are not clients to be retained by an employer. They are members of a community whose access to care should not depend on whether a hospital chooses to enforce a contract.

Yet nearly 45 percent of physicians are bound by non-competes, according to the American Medical Association. In many cities (especially smaller ones) a non-compete covers every nearby hospital, effectively removing a doctor from the region entirely.

Thats not just a workforce issue; its a patient access issue.

The Association of American Medical Colleges projects a shortfall of up to 124,000 physicians by 2034. Neurology and psychiatry are among the hardest-hit specialties. Meanwhile, states like Virginia continue to enforce non-competes that prevent experienced specialists from practicing within driving distance of their own homes.

The burden falls hardest on safety-net communities. Portsmouth, like many medically underserved cities, already struggles to recruit and retain physicians. Broad non-competes dont just protect business interests. They remove essential services from the very patients who can least afford to travel.

The fix is not complicated, and several states have already taken action.

California, North Dakota, and Oklahoma ban physician non-competes outright. The Federal Trade Commission has proposed a national rule that would invalidate most such contracts entirely. Even the AMA (once a defender of non-competes) now acknowledges that they disrupt continuity of care.

Virginia, and states like it, can do better. Reform could include:

Prohibiting non-competes for physicians and advanced practitioners in designated shortage areas.

Requiring hospital systems to justify any remaining restrictions by demonstrating true competitive risk.

Allowing physicians to buy out non-competes at fair market value so they can remain in their communities.

These changes would not harm hospitals. They would strengthen trust, improve retention, and, most importantly, ensure that patients in underserved areas have the access they deserve.

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Every week I hear from patients asking when I will be allowed to return to Portsmouth. I want to serve them again. I want to continue caring for the community that trained me, supported me, and trusted me.

Non-competes may protect corporate boundaries. But they do not protect patients.

Its time for states to choose community health over contractual geography.

Sharisse Stephenson is a neurologist.
New Delhi, Dec 28 : The British occupation of India was built upon a great lie: the assertion that foreign dominion served the "welfare and happiness of the inhabitants". The East India Company (EIC), a vast trading corporation that had morphed into a territorial sovereign, continually boasted of establishing "courts of justice" and creating "new and valuable property" for the natives, claiming to have replaced a chaotic, precarious past.

Yet, this veneer of benevolence barely concealed a system weighed down by colossal debt, maintained through military force and psychological manipulation, and structured to systematically drain the resources of the conquered land.

By 1813, as the EIC's charter approached its renewal, a fierce internal debate raged in Britain: should the gates of India be opened to Christian missionaries? From the perspective of India, this debate exposed the profound hypocrisy at the heart of British rule: the administrators, who claimed to bring enlightenment and justice, actively suppressed the very spiritual and intellectual freedom that the petitioners sought to impart.

The question of missionary access was not about faith; it was about power, control, and the inherent fragility of a government that survived because its 60 million subjects remained unaware of the "peculiar tenure" by which they were ruled by a mere one million Britons.

The Suppressed Voice: A Conspiracy of Silence

Before addressing the explicit petition for Christian propagation, one must grasp the absolute control the EIC exercised over all forms of intellectual and political discourse within India. The British understood that stability rested on "moral influence, and in a great degree even by prejudice". To maintain this delicate balance, they implemented a rigorous system of censorship that rendered the press in India "perfectly fettered".

The regulations required that newspapers receive the "sanction of the secretary of the government" before publication, under the penalty of "immediate embarkation for Europe". The rationale for this draconian measure was openly discussed in Parliament: the administration feared publications that could criticize native religion and customs, thereby stirring up "irritation and hostility". Crucially, they feared that uncensored information would expose the truth to the people, informing natives "of the peculiar tenure by which the British government held their power".

Critics of the policy, such as Sir Thomas Turton, articulated the brutal clarity of this despotism: "Nothing could be more dangerous than freedom of discussion under a government founded upon blood and supported by injustice". He noted the absurdity of speaking of press liberty in India, where the government was "not inferior to that of... Tunis or Algiers". Another critic, Mr. Whitbread, observed that the ultimate objective was to keep the people of India "in darkness as to the nature of their government".

This climate of intellectual suppressiona government that had usurped authority and power through "conquest, by compact, and by forfeiture" (and possibly "fraud")created the perfect environment to impede any unwelcome ideas, including Christianity, if those ideas threatened the political status quo. The denial of the "light of the Gospel", as one observer noted, was a move to "support a political despotism".

The Petition of Scorn: Deplorable Ignorance

It was against this backdrop of political fear and intellectual control that the Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge (SSPCK) submitted its powerful petition to the House of Commons on February 19, 1813.

The petition was twofold in its appeal: it sought parliamentary provision in the Charter renewal to allow the Society to impart the benefits of Christianity to the natives of India and simultaneously to afford religious worship and instruction to Scottish members of the Church of Scotland residing in that part of the British empire.

The urgency of their mission was justified by a severe moral indictment of the Indian populace. The SSPCK noted that the native inhabitants "have long been and still continue in a state of deplorable ignorance". They further claimed that the people were "addicted to various idolatrous and superstitious usages of the most degrading and horrible description".

This characterizationin realitywas not humanitarian concern but profound colonial arrogance. It was an imperial judgment passed upon a civilization that had established complex political systems, profound philosophical traditions, and thriving industries long before the EIC arrived. The accusation of "deplorable ignorance" was particularly galling coming from a nation whose own control over India rested on keeping the native population ignorant of their political status.

The petitioners also highlighted the impediments faced by Scottish members themselves. Although official policy claimed "perfect toleration" prevailed in India, the EIC's licensing system ensured that members of the Church of Scotland, who were employed in civil and military departments, were "precluded from enjoying the ordinances of Christianity agreeably to the forms of the Church to which they are attached". This exclusion occurred because the EIC was "not in the habit of granting" licenses to clergy outside of the established Anglican Church, demonstrating that even British subjects were denied religious freedom if they belonged to a non-Anglican denomination.

The Irony of Moral Superiority

The Scottish Society's zeal to correct India's "idolatrous and superstitious usages" stood in sharp contrast to the actual moral landscape created by the British administration itself. The records reveal that the EIC governance had produced an "increase of crime, enormous" and widespread depravity.

1. Justice Denied: Despite the Company's claims of established justice, the judicial system was effectively inaccessible for many. Civil justice was "virtually denied to suitors" due to exorbitant fees and stamped paper requirements, sometimes amounting to 50 down to 7 and 6 per cent. on the amounts claimed. The overall cost of administering justice was even claimed to be higher in British India than in the whole of Europe.

2. Economic Devastation: The system imposed by the British was a "systematically engineered process of colonial underdevelopment". Exploitative land revenue policies led to "agrarian stagnation, the growth of absentee landlordism, and peasant misery". Peasants were forced into debt traps and coerced by high, arbitrarily fixed tax rates even when crops failed. This deliberate economic destruction was the true "deplorable ignorance" concerning how to govern justly.

3. Moral Hypocrisy of War: The British policy itself tolerated acts of barbarity that contradicted any claim to moral superiority. The execution of the Killedar of Talnier fort after his surrender, an act deemed questionable by European standards of justice even in war, demonstrated that the British military apparatus could disregard "principles of justice and humanity" when convenient.

In this context, the argument that India needed saving from its own religious practices rings hollow. The British government, while censoring religious tracts that criticized native religion to avoid "tumultuous proceedings", was simultaneously funding its territorial acquisitions by incurring massive debts, totaling around 26 million by 1813, absorbed largely by military activities. The perceived need to protect "native customs" was merely a tool to safeguard the fragile financial and military basis of their domination.

The Trade-Off: Commerce Over Conversion

The core issue preventing unrestrained missionary activity was the EIC's commercial monopoly itself, which was up for renewal in 1814. The EIC feared that extensive European interaction, particularly under the guise of religious instruction, would destabilize the lucrative trade, especially the vital commerce with China.

The policy of restricting religious influence was directly analogous to the EIC's attempts to stifle India's economic potential. The use of Indian-built ships, which utilized India's "great natural advantages" like durable teak wood, was resisted primarily to protect the British shipbuilding industry and British seamen. Preventing the use of Indian ships and sailors was an act of "injustice and oppression" that denied India the reward of its industry.

The EIC argued that unrestricted importation from India would endanger "any pledge on their part for the good government of India". This meant the continuation of the colonial system -- military control, revenue extraction, and commercial privilege -- was paramount. The government wisely thought that it should abstain from openly exerting itself to further Christianity, lest they should be represented to the people as "attempting to impose upon them a new religion".

The resistance was thus purely pragmatic. The introduction of Christianity was seen as a potential trigger that could "unhinge the whole frame of Indian society" -- a framework painstakingly erected upon military dominance and economic servitude.

Conclusion: The Despot's Dilemma

The debate over the impediments to Christian missionary activity in 1813 reveals a government caught in a terrible dilemma of its own making. Having gained political and territorial control through means critics described as resting on "blood and... injustice", the East India Company could only maintain its rule by stifling two things: the freedom of political expression (through the "perfectly fettered" press) and the freedom of religious propagation.

The irony is acute: The EIC justified its presence by claiming to alleviate the "deplorable ignorance" of the native population. Yet, Parliament was told that giving the people access to even simple legal proceedings was dangerous, and that spreading Christian light was risky, because it might lead to "tumultuous proceedings".

Ultimately, the source of the "impediment" was not the hostility of the native population, but the inherent instability of the colonial administration. By restricting the clergy and suppressing Christian outreach, the British were attempting to prevent any intellectual or moral force from exposing the raw nerve of their dominion. They chose political survival over said spiritual outreach, military security over so called moral consistency. The door to "spiritual and intellectual freedom" remained closed, guarded not by religious conviction, but by the overwhelming, practical fear of imperial collapse.

(The Author is a researcher specialising in Indian history and contemporary geo-political affairs)
New Delhi, Dec 28 : The need to enhance the country's anti-terror capabilities through a uniform anti-terror structure across states was a key takeaway from a national conference that reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's zero tolerance for terrorism, an NIA official said on Sunday.

The 5th Anti-Terror Conference of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which concluded on Saturday, also saw detailed discussions under the newly initiated Track-2 format on critical issues such as digital device data, big data analytics and unmasking digital anonymity, the official said in a statement.

The conference reiterated the Central government's policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism in any form and its commitment to strengthening the country's anti-terror apparatus.

The two-day conference was inaugurated on Friday by Home Minister Shah.

Addressing the meet, Home Minister Shah directed states to expeditiously implement a uniform Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) structure to strengthen India's counter-terrorism capabilities.

He emphasised that without robust, uniform and consistent operational capacity across the country, intelligence inputs cannot be optimally utilised and coordinated counter-actions cannot be effectively executed, the statement said.

Home Minister Shah lauded the operational and investigative successes of various agencies and state police forces in the recent terror cases of Pahalgam and the Delhi Red Fort blast.

Referring to the Pahalgam targeted attack case, he said the agencies had made the country proud through their thorough investigations.

Citing the tracking and elimination of the three terrorists involved, HM Shah said, "This is the first terrorist incident in which we punished those who planned the act of terrorism through Operation Sindoor, and neutralised the terrorists who carried out the attack through Operation Mahadev."

He described the twin operations as "a strong and decisive response by the Government of India, India's security forces and the people of India to terrorist masterminds based in Pakistan."

Pointing to the rapidly evolving technology and terror landscape, the Home Minister stressed the need for continuous assessment and re-evaluation of counter-terror strategies.

He also underlined the importance of addressing international dimensions such as cyber warfare, hybrid warfare, multi-layered security challenges and the free flow of intelligence among agencies at the Centre and in the states.

Stressing the need to strengthen investigation and prosecution capabilities, HM Shah asked states to conduct regular training programmes for security and police personnel.

On the occasion, the Home Minister congratulated officers and personnel honoured with service medals for outstanding performance and paid tribute to over 36,000 CAPFs and police personnel who made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty.

In his concluding remarks on Saturday evening, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan said the institutionalisation of the conference reinforces India's zero tolerance towards terrorism, whether cross-border, narco-terrorism or cyber-enabled terrorism.

He stressed the need for heightened vigilance against threats arising from radicalisation, recruitment and exploitation of vulnerable youth for violent activities.

Mohan lauded the NIA's conviction rate of over 90 per cent and said the Centre aims to scale up conviction rates across all police forces in the country to similar levels.

The conference focused on lessons learnt from investigations, pre-emptive disruption of terror modules, and experiences across theatres such as Left Wing Extremism (LWE), the North East and various hybrid threats to national security.

It also provided a platform to assess emerging threats such as deepfakes and hybrid warfare, while emphasising the role of digital forensics and data analytics in counter-terror investigations.

Discussions also covered countering terror financing, maritime terrorism, illicit trafficking and the evolving jurisprudence related to counter-terrorism.

The inaugural session was attended by heads of state police forces, central police organisations and central armed police forces, along with over 150 delegates from various state and UT police units and central agencies. Union Ministers of State Nityanand Rai and Bandi Sanjay Kumar were also present, the statement said.
Seoul, Dec 28 : The founder of e-commerce giant Coupang, Kim Bom-suk, on Sunday apologised for a massive data breach, marking his first formal apology since the leak of personal information that affected nearly two-thirds of the population in South Korea.

"As the founder and the chairman of the board, I sincerely apologise on behalf of all the employees at Coupang," Kim was quoted as saying in a written statement issued by the company, reports Yonhap news agency.

"I have caused huge frustration and disappointment by failing to communicate clearly since the onset of the incident. I sincerely apologise for my inadequate initial response and the lack of communication," the statement read.

Kim said he admits that his apology came later than expected. This was because he had originally intended to issue an official apology once "all facts were confirmed," but such an idea was a "wrong judgment," he added.

Kim's apology came about a month since the personal information of about 34 million customers of Coupang was leaked in South Korea.

It also came after Coupang said it had identified the former employee responsible for the data leak using forensic evidence, recovered the equipment used in the hacking and received a confession from the hacker.

The government, however, has called Coupang's investigation results a "unilateral claim," saying that a joint public-private investigation on the incident has yet to release any findings.

Kim again sent a statement of his non-appearance at a parliamentary hearing this week over the massive data breach, citing his "prearranged schedule."

Kim's brother and current head of Coupang's global operational excellence, Yoo Kim, and Kang Han-seung, the former CEO of Coupang's Korea unit, submitted a similar statement of non-appearance, according to Rep. Choi Min-hee of the ruling Democratic Party (DP).

Rep. Choi, who chairs the parliamentary Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, criticised the Coupang founder for shunning the parliamentary hearing.

Previously, lawmakers had said they would file a complaint against Kim for not attending the hearings.

a"IANS

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New Delhi, Dec 28 : Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday reiterated her government's commitment to promoting an Ease of Doing Business framework and said GST refunds amounting to Rs 915 crore had been issued to traders in the national capital over the past four months.

New Delhi, Dec 28 (IANS) Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday reiterated her governmentas commitment to promoting an Ease of Doing Business framework and said GST refunds amounting to Rs 915 crore had been issued to traders in the national capital over the past four months.

Addressing the centenary celebrations of the Friends Colony Industrial Area, the Chief Minister said the government is focused on accelerating enterprise growth and enhancing employment generation.

She said three new industrial areas are set to be developed in Delhi in the coming period, which will generate employment opportunities for lakhs of people.

Gupta said that in just 10 months, the government has implemented several major reforms for the industrial sector, including simplification of licensing procedures and the introduction of a single-window clearance system to ensure faster and more transparent approvals.

The event was attended by Union Minister of State Harsh Malhotra, Delhi Cabinet Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, MLAs Anil Goyal and Sanjay Goyal, along with representatives from various industrial bodies.

Describing the industrial sector as the backbone of Indiaas development, the Chief Minister said running an industry is not merely about setting up a business but about strengthening the economy and providing livelihoods to lakhs of families.

She said the government is making sincere efforts to promote and sustain industries in the capital through continuous, practical and industry-friendly measures.

Gupta said Delhias first Tradersa Welfare Board has been established, enabling traders and industrial stakeholders to directly convey their concerns and suggestions to the government.

She noted that the approval period for Green Category industries has been reduced from 120 days to 20 days, and if approval is not granted within this timeframe, it will be deemed as self-permission.

The Chief Minister also said collateral-free loans of up to Rs 10 crore have been made available for micro and small enterprises.

She added that directions have been issued to the GST Department to adopt faceless operations and expedite the refund process. As a result, GST refunds worth Rs 915 crore have been issued to Delhi traders in the past four months.

Emphasising the dignity and social security of workers, Gupta said labour forms the backbone of the industrial sector.

She expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Modi for the implementation of new labour laws aimed at providing enhanced social security to workers.

The Chief Minister also urged industries to fulfil their social responsibilities by contributing to cleanliness, environmental protection and green initiatives across the city.

She assured that her government is working round the clock with dedication and commitment to transform Delhi into a developed capital. During the programme, she also visited stalls set up by various industries and interacted with exhibitors.

Speaking on the occasion, Delhi Cabinet Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said it was a matter of pride that the historic Friends Colony Industrial Area has completed 100 years.

He said that while the area initially had only 80 factories, nearly 2,000 industrial units are operational today.

Sirsa added that the region has consistently adhered to environmental norms through individual Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) as well as a Common ETP, for which the business community deserves appreciation.

He said industrial areas in Delhi had suffered from neglect of infrastructure for decades, but the situation is now changing under the leadership of Chief Minister Gupta.

In the first year of her tenure, the Chief Minister has approved more than Rs 1,000 crore for roads, stormwater drainage and street lighting in industrial areas, he said.

Describing it as a historic step taken after 20a"25 years, Sirsa said the move would give a new direction to Delhias industrial potential.

The Industries Minister also said that three new industrial areas will be developed in the coming period, creating employment opportunities for lakhs of people.
New Delhi, Dec 25 : "Proud of our forces for this remarkable success. Our Government is committed to eliminating the menace of Maoism and ensuring a life of peace and progress for our people," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on his official social media account in May 2025, praising security forces after the neutralisation of 27 Maoists, including CPI-Maoist General Secretary Nambala Keshava Rao alias Basavaraju.

This sentiment captured the year's momentum, as PM Modi repeatedly emphasised the nearing end of the insurgency.

The roots of Naxalism in Chhattisgarh trace back to the 1967 Naxalbari uprising in West Bengal, inspiring armed Marxist-Leninist rebellion against exploitation. After Chhattisgarh's formation in 2000, the dense forests of Dandakaranya became a stronghold for the Communist Party of India (Maoist), formed in 2004 through mergers of various groups.

Maoists exploited grievances over land rights, displacement due to mining, and lack of development to recruit from indigenous communities, establishing "liberated zones" with parallel governance. The Jhiram Ghati ambush on May 25, 2013, in Sukma epitomised the violence; Maoists killed 32, including Congress leaders Nand Kumar Patel and V.C. Shukla, and Salwa Judum founder Mahendra Karma, intensifying national anti-Naxal resolve.

One of the most brutal incidents highlighting early Naxalite audacity in central India was the murder of Likhiram Kavre (also spelled Kanware or Kawre), the then Transport Minister in the erstwhile undivided Madhya Pradesh's Congress government under Digvijaya Singh.

On the night of December 15-16, 1999 (or February 16 in some reports), a group of 10-12 armed People's War Group (PWG) Naxalites stormed Kavre's native Sonpuri village in Balaghat district. After reconnaissance the previous day and confirming his identity by calling villagers, they hacked him to death in a planned retaliation for a police encounter in Andhra Pradesh that killed four PWG cadres.

The killers left a poster claiming revenge, marking one of the most gruesome political assassinations in the region's history and underscoring the spread of Maoist violence into Madhya Pradesh's border areas.

The year 2025 began grimly with a Maoist IED attack on January 6 in Bijapur, killing eight DRG personnel and a civilian driver -- the largest such assault in two years. However, security forces quickly gained momentum. On February 9, a major clash in Bijapur's Indravati National Park eliminated 31 Maoists, with two security personnel also losing their lives.

Spring brought landmark victories. "Operation Black Forest" (or Operation Kagar), launched on April 21, 2025, along the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border in Karreguttalu Hills, lasted until May 11 and neutralized 31 Maoists, including key PLGA battalion members carrying bounties totalling Rs 1.72 crore. Forces destroyed arms factories and dismantled infrastructure in this erstwhile impregnable stronghold.

The biggest blow came on May 21 in the Abujhmarh forests of Narayanpur, where 27 Maoists, including Basavaraju with a Rs 1.5-3 crore bounty, were killed. This decapitation strike, involving DRG units, shattered the Maoist central leadership and was hailed as a turning point. Operations continued relentlessly. In December alone, encounters in Bijapur on December 3 killed 12 Maoists, while ongoing gunfights in the Bhairamgarh-Indravati region further weakened cadres.

Overall, 2025 saw over 280 Maoists neutralised state-wide -- predominantly in Bastar -- with Bijapur accounting for 144 eliminations. Surrenders surged to record levels: over 1,000-1,300 cadres laid down arms, including senior leaders, driven by rehabilitation policies and mounting pressure. Arrests exceeded 500-680, with hundreds of weapons seized.

These gains reflect enhanced intelligence, forward operating bases, drone surveillance, and coordinated multi-force deployments by central forces -- CRPF, CoBRA, BSF -- and state police under the March 2026 eradication target. Civilian and security force casualties declined sharply compared to previous decades, while Maoist violence waned amid internal disillusionment.

"I guarantee that the day is not far when every corner of Chhattisgarh and India will be completely free from Maoist terror," PM Modi declared in November at Chhattisgarh's silver jubilee celebrations in Nava Raipur. He noted Maoist influence shrinking from 125 to three districts, adding, "The day is not far when India will be totally free from Naxalism and Maoist violence -- this too is Modias guarantee."

Union Home Minister Amit Shah reinforced this in December at the Bastar Olympics closing. He said, "Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, we have resolved to make Bastar and India Maoist-free. By Bastar Olympics 2026, Red terror will be eradicated."

He said, "We are on the cusp of fulfilling the resolve to eliminate Left Wing Extremism before March 31, 2026."

PM Modi blamed past Congress policies for fueling Naxalism through neglect, stating in March, "Over the decades, Naxalism got encouragement... due to policies of Congress," while praising development bringing peace. Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai echoed, "The backbone of Naxalism is broken," with Deputy CM Vijay Sharma declaring 80 per cent of the state Maoist-free.

Enhanced intelligence, camps, drones, and rehabilitation drove success. Violence plummeted, opening areas for roads, schools, and electricity. As PM Modi affirmed, "Chhattisgarh is steadily freeing itself from the grip of Maoist terrorism," 2025 positioned the state -- and India -- on the brink of a Maoist-free era, honouring decades of sacrifices.

As 2025 ends, Chhattisgarh stands on the cusp of becoming Maoist-free, with officials confident of meeting the 2026 deadline ahead of schedule. The year's operations have not only decimated ranks but also opened remote areas for development, indicating the insurgency's twilight after decades of conflict.
Chennai, Dec 28 : As part of the AIADMK's statewide campaign titled "Let Us Protect the People, Let Us Save Tamil Nadu," party General Secretary and former Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) on Sunday campaigned in the Tiruporur and Sholinganallur Assembly constituencies, launching a sharp attack on the ruling DMK government and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin.

Chennai, Dec 28 (IANS) As part of the AIADMK's statewide campaign titled "Let Us Protect the People, Let Us Save Tamil Nadu," party General Secretary and former Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) on Sunday campaigned in the Tiruporur and Sholinganallur Assembly constituencies, launching a sharp attack on the ruling DMK government and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin.

Addressing a public meeting in Tiruporur, Palaniswami referred to Chief Minister Stalin's earlier challenge questioning whether the AIADMK had achieved even "five per cent" of its promises while in power.

"It was the AIADMK government that created Kallakurichi district. We did not fulfil just five per cent  we fulfilled 95 per cent of the promises made to the people," he said.

In contrast, he alleged that the DMK government had failed to implement even five per cent of its own election promises. The AIADMK leader also criticised the ruling party's handling of employment schemes.

He recalled that the DMK had promised to increase the number of workdays under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) from 100 to 150 after coming to power.

"Not only did they fail to keep that promise, but today they are projecting the continuation of the 100-day scheme itself as a major achievement," he said.

Palaniswami asserted that it was the AIADMK government that persuaded the Centre to increase the guaranteed workdays from 100 to 125.

"When we return to power, we will further raise it to 150 days, ensure uninterrupted employment and increase wages," he said.

Referring to the Covid-19 pandemic, Palaniswami said the AIADMK government had efficiently managed the crisis and safeguarded the people.

"During the pandemic, we ensured that every ration card holder received Rs 2,500 so families could celebrate Pongal with dignity. Under the present government, not even a single rupee was given during the last Pongal," he alleged.

Outlining future welfare measures, the AIADMK leader promised that his party would provide Rs 5,000 to all ration card holders during Pongal, Rs 25,000 as financial assistance to women, subsidised two-wheelers, Rs 50,000 as marriage assistance, and free silk sarees for women during Deepavali.

Concluding his address, Palaniswami said the AIADMK's mission was to protect the people of Tamil Nadu, restore good governance and bring the state back onto the path of development and stability.
New Delhi, Dec 25 : It was a year of uncertainty for Bangladesh, marked with violence, arson, religious bigotry, and killings as the transitional caretaker administration led by a Nobel laureate watched helplessly.

Even as the return of a Zia family scion brought hopes -- at least for a section -- in the beleaguered country, an explosion the day before reminded Dhaka of the bitter truth. Since the August 2024 uprising, Bangladesh has slid from a hopeful democratic and economic reset into a volatile transition marked by weak state control, rising political violence, and a geopolitical realignment that risks destabilising the region.

The Muhammad Yunus-led interim administration's inability to restore order has deepened domestic ruptures and invited external influence, posing a grave threat to regional security. The country's leading newspaper, Prothom Alo, had quoted the Bangladesh Hindu Bouddha Christian Oikya Parishad (Bangladesh Buddhist Christian Unity Council) claiming 2,442 incidents of violence against religious and ethnic minorities across the country between the student uprising on August 4, 2024, and June 30 this year, a span of 330 days.

In recent times, hostility against New Delhi has been marked by threats to isolate India's Northeastern states and provide refuge to separatists by leaders like Hasnat Abdullah of the National Citizen Party. In December, violence erupted across Bangladesh following the death of youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi. He was among the top leaders in the 2024 uprising that led to the fall of Sheikh Hasina's regime. Arson, attacks on media houses, and anti-India demonstrations re-erupted, leading the country into more chaos.

Meanwhile, external actors have offered incentives to cultivate influence in Dhaka while the state is distracted, further complicating governance. Dhaka's foreign policy shifted, with the interim administration reaching out to Pakistan, the same country it fought to attain independence in 1971, and China.

A recent report from India's Parliamentary Committee on External Affairs on "Future of India-Bangladesh Relationship" observed with concern the "increasing presence" of China in Bangladesh, "especially through infrastructure, military cooperation, and port developments".

Among the experts who shared their views with the committee, one "highlighted five drivers of the current challenge: generational discontinuity, collapse of the 1971 consensus, rise of new political forces, rise of Islamic radicalism and strategic realignment with China and Pakistan".

The Committee also noted Bangladesh's Jamaat-e-Islami leaders' visit to China, "which clearly indicates its broad engagement with various factions in Bangladesh, further solidifying its presence". It further added, "concerned to know that a submarine base has been built by China at Pekua, capable of accommodating eight submarines when Bangladesh has only two".

Meanwhile, security forces in Bangladesh appear overstretched and overwhelmed, limiting coherent responses to coordinated violence. Also, the interim government faces legitimacy challenges with competing narratives about the uprising and prosecutions of former officials. It has polarised the society and hampered consensus on reforms.

Amidst threats to its stability looms the uncertainty of Bangladesh attaining the status of a developing nation in 2026. The United Nations General Assembly had adopted a resolution in 2021 to elevate Bangladesh, along with Nepal and the Lao People's Democratic Republic, from their status as least developed countries (LDC).

It is significant for the nation, where this transition presents several opportunities, but the ongoing volatility poses serious challenges for Dhaka's path to economic growth and trade relations. "After remaining a role model for poverty reduction for over three decades, Bangladesh of late is beginning to show signs of sliding down on the scale of metrics used domestically and internationally," reported the Dhaka-based Financial Express newspaper, quoting a survey by Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS).

Additionally, a World Bank report said, "In 2025, the economic situation is expected to mirror the slow conditions of 2020, the pandemic year, leading to a rise in extreme poverty to 9.3 per cent and pushing an additional 3 million people into poverty."

The report points to a lack of job opportunities for young graduates and women in urban areas. Yet, economists observed the proposed national budget for the 2025-26 financial year, which lacked the structural depth needed to address Bangladesh's long-standing economic challenges, reported New Age, another Dhaka-based newspaper.

"While the budget attempts to reflect sincerity and pragmatism, they say, it ultimately falls short of offering the reforms required to ensure sustainable development," the report had pointed out.
Mumbai, Dec 28 : In a significant development in Maharashtra politics, the two rival factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have decided to forge a strategic alliance for the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) elections scheduled for January 15, 2026.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Sunday announced that the two NCP factions would come together for the PCMC polls, saying the move was aimed at preventing a split of votes.

Political observers believe the decision is driven by local political considerations and the need to consolidate traditional support bases.

While formally launching the election campaign, Ajit Pawar said both NCP factions would jointly contest the PCMC elections. The announcement comes days after talks between the two factions failed to yield an agreement for the Pune Municipal Corporation elections, primarily over the issue of poll symbols. Ajit Pawar had insisted that NCP-SP candidates contest on the NCP's 'Clock' symbol, while NCP-SP chief Sharad Pawar maintained that his party would contest on its new 'Trumpet' symbol.

Pimpri-Chinchwad has traditionally been a stronghold of the undivided NCP. However, following the 2023 split, the BJP made significant inroads in the civic body. The proposed alliance is being viewed as an attempt to reclaim the party's lost ground in the industrial township, often described as an "eco-hub".

Last week, Sharad Pawar faction MP Amol Kolhe and legislator Rohit Pawar met Ajit Pawar to discuss the possibility of a local understanding between the two factions. NCP-SP leader Ankush Kakade and MP Supriya Sule have also indicated that despite the organisational split, both factions continue to share the same ideological foundation rooted in the legacy of Shahu, Phule and Ambedkar, making cooperation at the local level feasible in the city's interest.

The move marks a departure from the state-level Mahayuti alliance comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP. Ajit Pawar has reportedly expressed concern over the BJP's induction of local NCP leaders, prompting a tactical adjustment at the municipal level.

Meanwhile, uncertainty continues over whether candidates will contest on the 'Clock' symbol of the Ajit Pawar faction or the 'Trumpet' symbol of the Sharad Pawar faction. While reports suggest Ajit Pawar favours a common symbol for all candidates, the Sharad Pawar camp has reiterated its commitment to contest under its distinct identity.

The proposed alliance has also triggered unease among some local leaders. Former NCP-SP Pune president Prashant Jagtap recently resigned from the party and joined the Congress, stating that he and several others had spent the past two years building a cadre to oppose the Ajit Pawar faction.

Observers said that if the alliance materialises, it could significantly alter the electoral dynamics in PCMC and compel other opposition parties to recalibrate their strategies. It may also complicate seat-sharing negotiations within the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), as Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) would have to deal with a consolidated NCP presence instead of two competing factions.

Meanwhile, addressing a public meeting in Pimpri, Deputy Chief Minister Pawar criticised the BJP-led civic administration, alleging financial irregularities and administrative lapses in the PCMC. He claimed that inflated project costs, including the Jackwell project, and issues related to illegal land occupation had adversely affected the city's finances.

He also accused the BJP of deviating from the original intent of certain spiritual and cultural institutions, alleging that they were being run on commercial lines.

Without naming any individual, Pawar questioned the corporation's financial health, saying that the civic body, which had earlier remained debt-free, was now burdened with loans. He also alleged irregularities in water distribution and protection being extended to vested interests.

The BJP, meanwhile, has stepped up its campaign with the slogan "Abki baar, 125 paar", expressing confidence of winning the corporation outright.

Reacting to these claims, NCP leader Yogesh Behl accused the BJP of political overconfidence and alleged attempts to pressure leaders from rival parties. He said electoral outcomes would ultimately be decided by voters and cautioned against making premature projections.
Agartala, Dec 28 : Various youth and students' organisations on Sunday organised a candlelight march in Agartala to protest the brutal assault and subsequent death of Tripura student Angel Chakma in Uttarakhand's Dehradun.

According to officials, the 24-year-old student, son of a Border Security Force (BSF) constable, succumbed to his injuries on December 26 at a hospital in Dehradun. He was grievously injured after being attacked by a group of miscreants on December 9.

Demanding justice for Angel Chakma, the candle march, organised by the Tipra Indigenous Students Federation (TISF) along with other organisations, began at the Swami Vivekananda Stadium and passed through several parts of the city. Participants urged the Centre to enact stringent laws to ensure the safety and protection of people from the Northeast living in different parts of the country, particularly in north India.

Tipra Motha Party's (TMP) youth wing, Youth Tipra Federation (YTF) President Suraj Debbarma said that several youths from the Northeast have earlier faced severe assaults and racial discrimination in various states, highlighting the urgent need for stronger safeguards.

The incident also drew sharp condemnation from Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K.Sangma and his party, the National People's Party (NPP). In a post on his official X account, Sangma described the incident as heartbreaking and unacceptable, stressing that racial violence must not be tolerated.

"People from the Northeast are as Indian as every citizen of this country," he said, demanding strict punishment for the perpetrators.

NPP's Working President and former Meghalaya Minister James Sangma termed the incident deeply shocking and called it a wake-up call for stronger legal, institutional and social measures against racial profiling, hate speech and targeted violence. He demanded swift and exemplary action to ensure justice.

Meanwhile, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Saturday spoke with his Uttarakhand counterpart Pushkar Singh Dhami regarding the incident. CM Dhami informed Saha that five accused have been arrested and placed in judicial custody, and further investigation is underway.

Angel Chakma, who was pursuing his studies at a university in Uttarakhand, was allegedly attacked in a racially motivated assault in the Selaqui area of Dehradun on December 9. According to a complaint lodged by his brother, Michael Chakma, the two brothers were stopped by a group of youths, allegedly under the influence of alcohol, leading to an argument that escalated into violence.

The attackers allegedly hurled racial slurs before assaulting them with sharp objects. Angel sustained multiple stab injuries, including deep wounds to his neck and abdomen, and was admitted to the intensive care unit at Graphic Era Hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries on December 26.

The mortal remains of Angel Chakma reached Tripura on Saturday. His death has triggered widespread grief and anger across the state, with several student bodies and political leaders, including TMP Supremo Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma, demanding immediate and exemplary punishment for those responsible.
Imphal, Dec 28 : The National Green Tribunal (NGT), Eastern Zone Bench in Kolkata, has ordered an immediate suspension of the ongoing road construction in Manipur's hilly and forested areas, pending comprehensive environmental and geological safety assessments.

A Bench comprising Judicial Member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and Expert Member Ishwar Singh directed the Manipur Chief Secretary to issue necessary instructions to all District Magistrates and Superintendents of Police in the six concerned districts to ensure that no further construction activity related to the project is carried out.

The direction was issued during a physical hearing conducted in hybrid mode on an original application filed by Khuraijam Athouba Singh, Convener of the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), an apex Meitei civil society body.

The applicant approached the tribunal under the provisions of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010, seeking a halt to construction activities allegedly being undertaken in ecologically sensitive and forest areas without mandatory statutory approvals.

The NGT also constituted a high-level expert committee to inspect the project site and take appropriate action in case of violations, while ensuring protection of forest land.

According to the application, the road project -- commonly referred to as the 'Ring Road' -- spans districts including Churachandpur, Kangpokpi, Noney and Ukhrul, and is allegedly being executed without essential clearances such as forest approval, environmental impact assessment or no-objection certificates from competent authorities.

The tribunal fixed February 2, 2026, as the next date of hearing.

In a statement, COCOMI Convener Singh said the road is popularly known as the "German Road" and in certain stretches as the "Tiger Road".

He said the existence of the road came into wider public focus during the Manipur ethnic crisis after visuals circulated on social media, including those of an alleged flag-off or inauguration event involving a local MLA.

COCOMI alleged that the road was partially constructed without transparency and outside established legal and environmental frameworks, and that no publicly available records of mandatory statutory clearances have been disclosed so far.

Singh further said public concerns have been raised through representations and civil society reports, alleging that the road may have been used as a clandestine corridor during the period of administrative breakdown amid the ethnic violence.

COCOMI, however, clarified that these remain allegations requiring independent investigation and judicial determination, and that no final conclusions are being drawn at this stage.

The organisation said the interim NGT order is a crucial step towards upholding environmental rule of law, preventing misuse of illegally constructed infrastructure, and safeguarding fragile hill ecosystems and indigenous lands.

COCOMI reiterated its commitment to pursue the matter strictly through constitutional, legal and democratic means, while expressing faith in judicial institutions to ensure accountability, environmental protection, and long-term peace and stability in Manipur.
Anesthesia and sedation in dental patients has come under scrutiny in recent years, fueled in part by high-profile tragedies, such as the deaths of six-year-old Caleb in 2015, cardiologist Dr. Henry Patel in 2020, and the five media-reported deaths in 2025. These incidents serve as a stark reminder that the current landscape of dental sedation practices is fraught with inconsistencies and a lack of oversight, which can have devastating consequences for patients. They highlight the urgent need for reform.

One of the primary issues is the variability in state regulations governing dental sedation practices. Currently, there is no independent state or federal oversight, and regulations differ significantly from state to state. For instance, only 36 states require the use of pulse oximetry during deep sedation or general anesthesia, 44 states have continuing education requirements for sedation providers, and 42 states lack preoperative fasting guidelines. Only California and Florida require any sort of airway evaluation before sedation. Emergency preparedness varies, with only 23 states specifying required emergency and airway equipment in dental offices. This inconsistency can lead to inadequate monitoring and emergency response, putting patients at risk.

To address these concerns, it is essential for organizations such as the American Dental Association (ADA), the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS), and CODA to collaborate with the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and American Society for Patient Safety (APSF) on improving education and training for dental practitioners. This includes improving:

The understanding and appreciation of the continuum of depth of sedation.

The use of the same language, definitions and requirements as the ASA, including the ability to rescue from the next level of sedation.

Advocacy for use of the same standards of care for patient selection that exist in office-based and ambulatory surgery settings regardless of who is providing the anesthesia care.

A common practice in dentistry and oral surgery is the single-provider/operator-anesthetist model (also known as the oral surgery anesthesia care team model), whereby the dentist or oral surgeon performs the procedure and simultaneously administers anesthesia. In this model, the dentist or oral surgeon will usually have dental assistants helping them with the procedure and anesthetic. Dental assistants have no medical training; many will have only a high school education and on-the-job training. AAOMS recommends two dental assistants be present when the dentist or oral surgeon is administering deep sedation or general anesthesia. They recommend but do not require that one of the dental assistants have Dental Anesthesia Assistant National Certification Examination (DAANCE) training and certification. This is a program that offers 36 hours of web-based learning, followed by a national certification exam. There is no advanced life support training such as PALS or ACLS, and in most places even DAANCE certified assistants cannot draw up medications or otherwise help with airway management or resuscitation.

Educational requirements for health care workers in this setting vary significantly:

Dental assistant: Basic requirement is high school; advanced requirement is on-the-job training.

Basic requirement is high school; advanced requirement is on-the-job training. Dental anesthesia assistant: Basic requirements are high school and six months of practice; advanced requirements are 36 hours of online education and a national examination.

Basic requirements are high school and six months of practice; advanced requirements are 36 hours of online education and a national examination. Dental hygienist: Basic requirement is 2-4 years of college; advanced requirements are an associate or bachelors degree and a national certifying exam.

Basic requirement is 2-4 years of college; advanced requirements are an associate or bachelors degree and a national certifying exam. Registered nurse: Basic requirement is at least 2-4 years of college; advanced requirements are an associate or bachelors degree and national certifying exams.

Not all the recent deaths have involved the oral surgery anesthesia care team (operator-anesthetist, single operator) model. Currently, most information on morbidity and mortality is derived from media reports, leaving a significant gap in our understanding of the epidemiology of these events. Most states do not track morbidity and mortality data and no state collects near miss data. The need for robust data collection on adverse events and near misses cannot be overstated. The Dental Anesthesia Incident Reporting System (DAIRS) is a step in the right direction, providing an anonymous, self-reporting platform for dental anesthesia providers to report incidents. However, the implementation of a comprehensive database for dental anesthesia and sedation is necessary to drive improvements in patient safety. This would provide invaluable insights into root cause analysis and help drive improvements in patient safety.

The involvement of a separate highly trained and qualified anesthesia provider such as an anesthesiologist, dentist anesthesiologist, oral maxillofacial surgeon, other physicians or dentist trained in the provision of deep sedation and general anesthesia is another critical aspect of enhancing safety in dental practices. These professionals bring specialized training and expertise that can mitigate risks associated with anesthesia. Unfortunately, the dental lobby has often argued against this approach, citing concerns about increased costs and access to care. It is essential to challenge these narratives and advocate for the safety of patients above all else.

Insurance companies also play a significant role in this equation. Improved reimbursement for anesthesia services can incentivize dental practices to prioritize safety and invest in qualified anesthesia providers. Additionally, federal or state oversight of dental office-based settings is necessary to ensure that all practices adhere to established safety standards.

In conclusion, the tragic deaths of patients undergoing dental sedation underscore the urgent need for reform in this area. By fostering collaboration among dental and medical organizations, advocating for standardized practices, and prioritizing patient safety, we can bridge the gap in dental sedation practices. It is time to ensure that every patient receives the highest standard of care, regardless of the setting in which they receive treatment. As health care providers, we must remain vigilant and committed to improving patient safety, ultimately preventing further tragedies in the future.

Rita Agarwal and Sangeeta Kumaraswami are anesthesiologists.
Kolkata, Dec 28 : Trinamool Congress All India General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Sunday held a special virtual meeting with the party's Booth Level Agents (BLA-2), block, town and ward-level electoral roll supervisors, directing them to stand by people summoned for hearings under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.

During the meeting, Banerjee described the situation as a "wartime" scenario and asked party workers not to concede any space to the BJP.

The Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha leader instructed that BLA-2s must remain present at every SIR hearing. He warned that if any party worker is stopped or prevented from entering a hearing centre, the party would immediately pursue legal action.

"Our fight will also continue through legal means. If the Prime Minister can use technology to reach people, why can't the Election Commission use technology to facilitate the hearing process for migrant workers?" Banerjee said.

Saturday marked the first day of the second phase of SIR hearings, triggering controversy over the summoning of elderly and infirm voters.

A 90-year-old man was seen standing in a queue at a hearing centre at Chetla Girls' School in Kolkata amid biting cold conditions.

This was despite the Election Commission stating that voters above 85 years of age would not be summoned. On the first day itself, visuals of several octogenarians and nonagenarians standing in queues sparked criticism.

In West Midnapore, a pregnant woman was reportedly seen waiting in a hearing line on the same day she was admitted to hospital.

Banerjee alleged that people in the state were being continuously harassed and said the Trinamool Congress would set up assistance camps near SIR hearing centres to support affected voters. Party leaders and workers would provide help to those in need from these camps, he said.

Earlier, the state administration had set up 'May I Help You' camps to assist the public with documentation-related issues, including birth and death certificates.

Addressing more than one lakh BLAs during the meeting, Banerjee praised their role in the SIR process and reiterated that they must remain present throughout the hearings.

"For the next one and a half months, you have to be the shadow of the BLOs (Booth Level Officers). The war room must remain active. The vote protection camp must remain active for the next six weeks," he said.

Targeting the BJP and the Election Commission, Banerjee alleged that the exercise was aimed at targeting Bengal.

"Fewer names have been removed here, yet they are doing all this to harass Bengal. Elderly people are being summoned. If votes can be collected from homes, then hearings should also be conducted at homes," he said.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
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Hearings under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls were underway in West Bengal for the second day on Sunday with people queuing up in front of 3,234 centres across the state, a senior official said.

IMAGE: People gather for Special Intensive Revision hearing at a school, in Kolkata, December 27, 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo

Around 32 lakh "unmapped" voters, those who are unable to establish linkage with the 2002 electoral roll, are being called for hearings in the first phase, he said.

Seventy-five-year-old Sabita Manna, afflicted by polio, was waiting for her turn in an ambulance at the Sankrail block office in Howrah district, anxiety writ large on her face over reports of discrepancies in her details as an electorate.

Her nephew Tapas Manna said, "My aunt, who has no child, could not find her name in the 2002 electoral roll. She cannot properly walk as she had been afflicted by polio at a very young age."

"While on earlier occasions she was visited by polling personnel and representatives of political parties at home and only had to come to the polling station on the day of the vote, this time they have made her physical presence mandatory," he said.

Sabita said from inside the ambulance, "It hurts when, at this age, you have to prove your citizenship all over again."

Nirufa Khatoon, a woman voter in Barasat Kazipara area, is distraught, being called for hearing unable to prove her father had voted in the 2002 polls.

"I am an Indian citizen born in the Kamarhati area of North 24 Parganas. After marriage, I came to Kazipara in Barasat. However, my father had died and his name does not figure in the electoral roll, while my mother had died shortly after my birth. The BLO had assured me that things will be sorted out after the hearing. I am literally on the edge," she said with her husband standing by her side.

"Nirufa has brought the school leaving certificate, birth certificate and aadhaar card, ration card and existing voter ID card. We hope things will be sorted as promised by the BLO earlier. Hope the AERO and micro observer will accept," her husband said, adding he has asked his wife to properly explain all these things during the hearing.

In faraway Midnapore town, around 100 residents of a cluster, known as 'Hatath colony' among locals, came to the nearby camp.

"Only two out of ten in a house find their names in the draft roll. The rest have been called for hearing. Yes, I was born in Bangladesh, but I came here in the late 80s and have voted regularly. I have many of the 11 documents as records. Keeping my fingers crossed. I am a Hindu married to a family who have its ancestral property here. They won't allow me to be deported to any camp," a woman, refusing to be named, said.

A 26-year-old woman in Bardhaman town could not attend the hearing in the camp in Baranilpur area during the day with her 3-year-old daughter, currently under treatment at Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, her father-in-law told reporters at the camp.

"I am carrying the mailed medical record of my grand daughter's hospitalisation. I am also carrying all her documents. Let's see what the AERO and microobserver say," he said, refusing to be identified.

At the Chetla High School camp in south Kolkata, local MLA and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim said, "Many people - who are unmapped due to technical difficulties in linking despite giving all relevant data - don't have to attend the hearing any more as the onus falls on the ECI. I have been told by the CEO personnel that they don't have to attend hearing any more till the EC fixes the glitches and link their name properly with the 2002 electoral roll data.

The Election Commission (EC) had, on December 16, published the state's draft electoral rolls following SIR, deleting the names of more than 58 lakh voters on various grounds, including death, migration and non-submission of enumeration forms.
Consensus on seat sharing for the January 15 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections eluded both the Thackeray cousins and the BJP-Shiv Sena camps, as leaders from the respective parties held hectic parleys on Saturday.

IMAGE: MNS Chief Raj Thackeray and Shiv Sena-UBT Chief Uddhav Thackeray have announced the alliance for the Municipal Corporation elections in Maharashtra. Photograph: ANI Photo

The Shiv Sena-UBT, led by Uddhav Thackeray, and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena under Raj Thackeray haven't yet declared their lists of candidates for the civic polls in the city.

Similarly, the BJP and Shiv Sena, headed by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, are yet to share the details of their nominees. BMC has 227 civic wards.

During the day, MNS leaders Bala Nandgaonkar, Nitin Sardesai and Sandeep Deshpande met Uddhav Thackeray to iron out differences over wards in the Mahim assembly segment, which covers areas like Dadar and Prabhadevi where both parties are influential.

Talking to reporters, Nandgaonkar said some seats had to be exchanged, for which he met Uddhav. He said there will be another round of meetings with him on Saturday night, after which the seat-sharing talks will reach the final stage.

Nandgaonkar said MNS, which has contested all polls independently, is new to seat-sharing talks.

Between the BJP and the Shiv Sena, deadlocks over seats persist, said a Sena leader, adding that talks between the two parties, which are parts of the ruling Mahayuti coalition, are still underway for the civic bodies in Mira Bhayander, Thane, Navi Mumbai and Kalyan Dombivli.

The case wasn't much different with the NCP, led by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, and Sharad Pawar's NCP-SP.

Talks between the two parties over a possible alliance for Pune civic polls appear to have hit a dead end, with the NCP not agreeing to the Sharad Pawar-led party's proposal for contesting the elections on their respective poll symbols.

Elections to 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra, including Mumbai and Pune, will be held on January 15. The last date to file the nominations is December 30.
The dastardly Pahalgam attack in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22 not only pierced through the heart of humanity but also cast a grim shadow on tourism in the Valley and impacted the sector at large.

IMAGE: Chairs and tables are scattered after the terrorist attack on tourists in Baisaran near Pahalgam in Anantnag district, on April 22, 2025. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters

The attack in Baisaran meadows, a prime tourist location, in its immediate aftermath, had dealt a big blow to the tourism and hospitality sector in the Union territory, and hit the psyche of many potential tourists, domestic and foreign, who were planning to visit Kashmir -- a popular destination.

Over a month after the terror attack in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed, tourism in Kashmir began its long journey towards normalcy, but hesitation remained in the minds of travellers.

In early June, however, tourists, though in smaller numbers, had started returning to the Valley, infusing hopes of a gradual turnaround in the sector, and in the following months since then, arrivals gradually grew.

Groups of tourists, especially from states like Maharashtra and Gujarat, were reaching the famous tourist resorts of Gulmarg and Pahalgam.

In October, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had said that his government's efforts to bring back tourists to the Union territory can work only after the tourist spots closed in the wake of the Pahalgam attack were reopened.

"First, we have to reopen those places which have been shut. We did not shut these places in 35 years. When the militancy was at its peak, Drang or Doodhpathri were not closed, the upper areas of Gulmarg were not shut, Aru valley was not closed," he said.

Abdullah said some courage was needed to be shown and open tourist spots and promote them effectively.

While the sector at large showed further recovery from its impact, the ministry of tourism hosted a range of events in the past several months, at several places in the country, ranging from International Tourism Mart (ITM) for the North Eastern Region in Gangtok to a special culinary event held during the fourth edition of World Food India in Delhi.

The 13th edition of the ITM for the North Eastern Region was inaugurated by Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu.

This was the second time Sikkim hosted the mega event since its inception in 2013.

"The Northeast is very rich in nature and cultural diversity," he had said.

Khandu said the ministry is now focusing on the potential of the Northeast.

"I see that local economies in the Northeast are flourishing day by day as per their carrying capacities, and if we compare only 10 years earlier, our region did not have this luxury," he had said.

The ministry organised 'World Food India - Reviving the Culinary Treasures of India' from September 25-28 at Bharat Mandapam.

The event showcased India's rich culinary heritage and positioned Indian cuisine on the global stage.

The initiative focussed on reviving forgotten food traditions, highlighting ancient cooking techniques, and exploring the export potential of indigenous ingredients.

As the year draws to a close, starting 2026, the government plans to establish autonomous "city-level convention promotion bureaus" in partnership with other stakeholders in the tourism sectors to elevate several Indian cities into globally competitive 'MICE' destinations.

'MICE' (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions) tourism refers to tourism-related activities linked with business meetings, conventions and exhibitions.

While an official roadmap is yet to be drawn, the initial plan is to open such centres on a public-private-partnership (PPP) mode in state capitals and one other city in a state, a senior official told PTI.

The idea is to bolster capacities and capabilities of smaller cities too to host big, international events, as well as decentralise the coordination work, he said.

The announcement that the ministry has planned to set up city-level convention promotion bureaus as independent bodies, was made by a top official of the ministry on December 19.

The move seeks to "significantly boost India's Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism ecosystem."

However, 2025 was a year not many tourists, especially those who were in Kashmir when the Pahalgam attack took place, would like to look back on.

On that fateful day of April 22, besides those killed, several others were injured, and the terror strike had triggered an exodus of sorts from the site and the Valley, as fear replaced leisure in the minds of tourists there.

The very next day, Union Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, in New Delhi, had said some people with nefarious intentions had tried to again "incite separatism and terrorism" in the Valley and asserted that his ministry would do the best to "minimise the dent" on tourism in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of the Pahalgam attack.

Interacting with reporters on the sidelines of the 38th meeting of the Central Advisory Board of Archaeology in New Delhi, he had also said that he and his office were in "continuous touch" with the chief secretary and the tourism secretary of the Union territory and keeping an eye on the situation.

Before the commencement of the meeting, chaired by the minister, a minute of silence was observed by the attendees.

"The entire country is pained, and also filled with a sense of anger," Shekhawat had said in his opening remarks at the meeting held at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.

The National Human Rights Commission in its newsletter - 'Human Rights' - in June, had said that the barbaric Pahalgam attack stands as yet another grim reminder of how terrorism continues to "stain humanity".
An Indian man who accused his manager at a KFC franchise outlet in south-east London of wrongful dismissal and race discrimination has won nearly 67,000 pounds in compensation after a tribunal ruled in his favour.

IMAGE: Kindly note that this image has been posted for representational purposes only. Photograph: ANI Photo

Madhesh Ravichandran, from Tamil Nadu, told an employment tribunal hearing that his Sri Lankan Tamil boss discriminated against him and used references such as slave and Indians are fraudsters directed at him.

In details from the hearing published this week, tribunal judge Paul Abbott upheld Ravichandran's claim of wrongful dismissal and race discrimination against Nexus Foods Limited.

The complaints of direct race discrimination are well-founded and succeed, reads the judgment.

"We have found on the facts that the claimant was subjected to the less favourable treatments, his holiday request was refused because he was Indian and [restaurant manager] Kajan wished to prioritise requests from Sri Lankan Tamil colleagues, and he was referred to as a 'shit' and a 'slave' which is self-evidently less favourable treatment because of his race," it notes.

Ravichandran began work at the West Wickham outlet of KFC in January 2023 following his interview with Kajan, whom he reported to directly.

After facing months of problems, matters came to a head in July of that year when his boss attempted to make Ravichandran work excessive hours on a shift and handed in his notice.

Judge Abbott said he accepted the evidence that his decision followed "Kajan's persistent efforts" to make him work "excessive hours". During follow up calls, Kajan was said to have become racially abusive and threatening towards Ravichandran.

This racial abuse from a manager had, we find, the purpose and the effect of violating the claimant's dignity, reads the judgment.

The tribunal concluded that Ravichandran was summarily dismissed whilst serving out his notice and was denied his statutory right to one week's notice.

It was not asserted by the respondent that the claimant had done anything to entitle it to dismiss the claimant without notice. The claimant was, therefore, wrongfully dismissed and is entitled to be paid one week's pay in lieu of notice, it states.

As part of the remedy from the findings of the tribunal hearing held in September, Ravichandran was granted a compensatory sum of 62,690 pounds, with additional payments in lieu of holiday pay and employment related particulars taking the total to around 66,800 pounds.

The tribunal also directed Nexus Foods Limited to implement a training programme for all employees concerning discrimination in the workplace, such programme to include training for managers on appropriate handling of grievances in this regard within six months of the judgment.
The ruling Mahayuti has reached consensus on 207 of 227 seats for the Mumbai civic polls, with Bharatiya Janata Party contesting 128 and the Shinde-led Shiv Sena 79, Bharatiya Janata Party's city chief Amit Satam said.

IMAGE: Kindly note that this image has been posted for representational purposes only. Photograph: ANI Photo

The BJP and Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena will contest the polls in the metropolis, scheduled for January 15, jointly. The Mahayuti also comprises the Nationalist Congress Party of Ajit Pawar.

"Unanimity has been reached on 207 seats in the BMC, of which the BJP will contest 128 and the Shinde-led Shiv Sena 79. Talks are underway on the remaining 20 seats. Decisions on these seats will be taken after considering the candidates in the fray," Satam told reporters on Saturday.

A joint meeting of the BJP and Shiv Sena was held to finalise election strategy, including campaign issues, election management, joint rallies of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy chief ministers, and coordinated campaign programmes, he added.

The planning and coordination for the campaign have been completed, Satam said.

Downplaying the importance of the exact number of seats to be contested by each, he said, "It is not about who contests how many seats. What matters is who can deliver corruption-free civic administration to Mumbaikars. This alliance is for Hindutva and for giving Mumbai a corruption-free administration."

Drawing a parallel with the November 2024 assembly elections, Satam said BJP workers had contested on the 'bow and arrow' symbol of the Sena, while some of Shinde's leaders fought on the 'lotus' symbol.

The Mahayuti is up against the alliance of Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena-UBT and Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.

The BMC has 227 seats with a total electorate of 1,03,44,315 voters, comprising 55,16,707 men, 48,26,509 women and 1,099 voters registered as 'others'. Men constitute 53 per cent of the electorate, while women account for 47 per cent.

In the 2017 BMC elections, the undivided Shiv Sena emerged as the single largest party with 84 seats, followed by the BJP with 82. Of the 84 Shiv Sena corporators, 46 have since joined the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, along with 16 corporators from other parties.

The BJP has also been joined by six corporators from other parties.

The State Election Commission has announced that elections to 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra, including the BMC, will be held in a single phase on January 15, 2026, with counting on January 16.

The nomination process began on December 23 and will end on December 30, while January 2 is the last date for withdrawal of nominations. The final list of candidates will be published on January 3.
Russia does not intend to attack anyone in Europe, but its response to any strike will be devastating, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday, noting the EU's war party has become a stumbling block in Ukraine peace efforts.

IMAGE: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Photograph: Reuters

Lavrov's warning came on a day Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to meet with US President Donald Trump at the latter's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

My message for European politicians who seem to have problems getting to grips with this fact is to repeat one more time that there is no need to be afraid of Russia attacking anyone, Lavrov said in an interview with state-run news agency TASS.

"However, should anyone consider attacking Russia, they would face a devastating blow," Lavrov added.

As Zelenskyy is set to meet Trump with his peace plan backed by key European powers, who according to media reports, insist on deployment of European troops as part of security guarantees for Kiev, Lavrov said they will be a 'legitimate target' for Russia.

Whether leaders like (EU chief) Ursula von der Leyen, (German Chancellor) Friedrich Merz, (UK prime minister) Keir Starmer and (French President) Emmanuel Macron and the like have reached a point of no return is hard to say.

"We do see that so far, the European war party has been investing its political capital in inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia, and is ready to go the whole nine yards," the Russian minister said.

"I would like to place a special emphasis on the fact that these actions on their behalf were totally illegitimate. After all, Russia has never taken the initiative to target its European neighbours with unfriendly actions," Lavrov stated.

He said Russia appreciates efforts by President Trump and his team to achieve a peace settlement. Moscow is committed to continuing to work with the American negotiators to devise lasting agreements for addressing the conflict's root causes, he added.

After Trump came to power, Europe and the European Union emerged as the main stumbling block to peace, he said.

They are making no secret of the fact that they are getting ready to fight it out with Russia on the battlefield.

In another report, TASS quoted Lavrov as saying that Moscow will fully back Beijing on Taiwan in the event of a flared up conflict as the West sees it as a tool of military-strategic deterrence against China.

As for the possible escalation in the Taiwan Strait, the procedure for acting in such situations is set forth in the Treaty of Good-Neighbourliness and Friendly Cooperation with the People's Republic of China of July 16, 2001.

One of the basic principles of that document is mutual support in defending national unity and territorial integrity, Lavrov pointed out.

Taiwan is currently used as a tool of military-strategic deterrence against the PRC. This is also a matter of pursuing vested interests: some in the West are keen to profit from Taiwanese money and technologies, Lavrov underscored.
India's swift and precise retaliation against Pakistan following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack not just rattled the country militarily but also instilled fear among its top leadership, with its President admitting he was advised to take shelter in a bunker during the May escalation.

IMAGE: Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari. Photograph: Courtesy X@PresOfPakistan/ANI Photo

Speaking during an event on Saturday, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari revealed that during New Delhi's retaliatory strikes in May, his Military Secretary urgently advised him to move to a bunker for safety, highlighting the intense fear gripping Pakistan's top leadership amid the Indian operation.

The escalation in May is referred to as India's Operation Sindoor, which came in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 civilians.

India's armed forces carried out strategic precision strikes on Pakistani military installations in May, following operations that targeted nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK).

Despite a warning from Zardari's Military Secretary, the Pakistani President offered only rhetoric, stating that he had refused to enter the bunker.

"My MS (Military Secretary) was there. He came to me and said, 'Sir, the war has started.' I had actually told him four days earlier that a war was going to happen. But he came to me and said, 'Sir, let's go to the bunkers.' I said, 'If martyrdom is to come, it will come here. Leaders don't die in bunkers. They die on the battlefield. They don't die sitting in bunkers'," Zardari said.

The Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor in the early hours of May 7 as a retaliatory response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir.

Following India's operation, the conflict between India and Pakistan deepened, which resulted in increased cross-border shelling from Pakistan and retaliatory action from the Indian Armed Forces.

A surprising sequence of events unfolded as Pakistan's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) proposed a ceasefire to India's DGMO, which was accepted.

Pakistan's DGMO called India's DGMO to propose a ceasefire, which India accepted.

The contact from the Pakistani side was also confirmed by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, who noted that the two sides agreed to halt all military operations - on land, at sea, and in the air.
Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Sunday announced an alliance between the Nationalist Congress Party and the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar for the upcoming civic polls in Pimpri Chinchwad, terming it a moment of "family unity."

IMAGE: Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar (left), Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani (second from left), NCP-SP chief Sharad Pawar (third from right), and others during the inauguration of the Sharadchandra Pawar Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence at Vidya Pratishthan, in Baramati, Maharashtra, December 28, 2025. Photograph: Courtesy @PawarSpeaks X/ANI Photo

Pawar was addressing an election campaign rally in Pimpri-Chinchwad and announced the development.

"While finalising the list of candidates for the Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal elections, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Nationalist Congress Party Sharadchandra Pawar faction decided to contest the elections together in Pimpri-Chinchwad. Because of this, the family will come together once again," Ajit Pawar said.

Further, he stated that questions would remain in people's minds following the alliance announcement, adding that seat-sharing discussions have been held between the two parties and will be announced later.

"But friends, we are all farmers, and many times, certain decisions have to be taken in the interest of Maharashtra's development. I have discussed seat-sharing with leaders here, and that too will be announced soon," he added.

The Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar factions of the Nationalist Congress Party have decided to reunite ahead of the upcoming Pune Municipal Corporation elections.

NCP-Sharad Pawar spokesperson Ankush Kakade confirmed the alliance and shared that seat-sharing discussions are yet to be held with the party.

"Nationalist Congress Party- Sharadchandra Pawar and Nationalist Congress Party- Ajit Pawar have decided to contest the upcoming Pune municipal elections together... We have a meeting with our other partners this afternoon," NCP-SCP spokesperson Ankush Kakade said.

"No discussions have been held on seat sharing. We will talk to Congress and Shiv Sena-UBT, and all four parties will sit together to discuss the seat-sharing formula... Ajit Pawar's faction and our faction's ideology are the same," he added.

Meanwhile, Mumbai Bharatiya Janata Party-BJP president Ameet Satam on Saturday said that the Mahayuti has reached a seat-sharing agreement on 207 seats, with the BJP contesting on 128 seats and Shiv Sena on 79. The decision for the remaining 20 seats will be based on candidates, Satam said.

The State Election Commission in Maharashtra has announced elections to 29 municipal corporations across the state, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Pune Municipal Corporation and the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation.

Polling will be held on January 15, with counting scheduled for January 16.
President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday undertook a sortie onboard Indian Navy's indigenously-built frontline submarine INS Vaghsheer on the Western seaboard.

IMAGE: President Droupadi Murmu, with Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, embarks on the Indian Navy's indigenous Kalvari class submarine INS Vaghsheer at Karwar Naval Base, in Uttara Kannada, December 28, 2025. Photograph: @rashtrapatibhvn X/ All images ANI Photo

Murmu is the second President to undertake a submarine sortie. In February 2006, APJ Abdul Kalam experienced a submarine sortie onboard INS Sindhu Rakshak.

Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi accompanied President Murmu, who is also the Supreme Commander of the armed forces, during the sortie in the Kalvari class submarine from the Karwar naval base in Karnataka, officials said.

The President, donning a naval uniform, waved at naval personnel before entering the submarine. She also interacted with the crew of INS Vaghsheer and lauded their dedication, while describing the indigenous submarine as a shining example of the Indian Navy's professional excellence and combat preparedness.

"President Droupadi Murmu undertook a dived sortie on the Western Seaboard onboard INS Vaghsheer," the President's Secretariat said.

It said the President was briefed on the role of the submarine arm in India's maritime strategy, and the operational capabilities as well as contributions in safeguarding national maritime interests.

Murmu, while interacting with the crew of INS Vaghsheer, commended their dedication, commitment and spirit of selfless service, it added.

"She said that this indigenous submarine is a shining example of the Indian Navy's professional excellence, combat preparedness and unwavering commitment to national security," the secretariat said on social media.

INS Vaghsheer, the sixth and final submarine of the P75 Scorpene project, was commissioned into the Navy in January. It is one of the most silent and versatile diesel-electric submarines in the world, according to Navy officials.

It is designed to undertake a wide range of missions, including anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, area surveillance, and special operations.

Armed with wire-guided torpedoes, anti-ship missiles, and advanced sonar systems, the submarine also features modular construction, allowing for future upgrades such as the integration of Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) technology.

The Indian Navy is developing the Karwar base considering India's long-term security interests in the Indian Ocean region.

In October, Murmu took a sortie in a Rafale fighter jet from the Indian Air Force Station in Ambala, becoming the first President of India to fly in two different fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF). Previously, she undertook a sortie in a Sukhoi 30 MKI in April 2023 from Tezpur in Assam.
A top level executive of Sigachi Industries was arrested in connection with the explosion at its pharma plant in Sangareddy district of Telangana in June that left 54 people dead, the police said on Sunday.

IMAGE: Firefighters try to douse a fire following a reactor blast at Sigachi Chemical Industry, Pashamilaram, in Medak, Telangana. Photograph: ANI Photo

Managing director & CEO of Sigachi Industries Amit Raj Sinha, who was named as accused no 2 in the case registered over the accident, was arrested on Saturday.

A case was registered against six people, all from the pharmaceutical company, a senior police official said.

As many as 54 people were killed and several others were injured in the blast and fire accident in Sigachi's manufacturing plant in Sanga Reddy district on June 30.

Meanwhile, Sigachi Industries in a statement said in respect of the unfortunate fire incident, the police registered an FIR against "our Managing Director & CEO, Amit Raj Sinha and others under certain provisions of the BNS".

As per procedure, he was presented before the appropriate court and has been remanded to judicial custody, it said.

"We are cooperating fully with the legal process while also ensuring that our rights under the law are respected. We will keep all concerned parties informed as and when there are meaningful developments in the case, subject to legal advisories given the matter is subjudice," Sigachi Industries said.

The company reiterated support for the families of the deceased, those who were injured, and everyone impacted by this unfortunate incident.
The Centre has provided an armed security cover to West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal in the wake of a potential threat to him due to the ongoing SIR exercise in the state, officials said on Sunday.

IMAGE: West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal. Photograph: ANI Photo

A Y-plus category cover of the Central Industrial Security Force has been accorded to Agarwal in Kolkata following an order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in Delhi on December 26, they said.

A team of 11-12 armed personnel of the CISF VIP security wing have been deployed for the personal and house security of Agarwal, the officials said.

The team has taken charge.

The cover was necessitated following inputs by central agencies on potential threats to the officer in the wake of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, they said.

The ruling Trinamool Congress on Saturday accused the Election Commission (EC) of deleting the names of lakhs of legitimate voters from the electoral rolls under the SIR exercise to help the BJP ahead of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly polls and a party delegation also sent a memorandum to Agarwal in this regard.

Meanwhile, Hearings under the SIR of electoral rolls were underway in West Bengal for the second day on Sunday with people queuing up in front of 3,234 centres across the state, a senior official said.

Around 32 lakh "unmapped" voters, those who are unable to establish linkage with the 2002 electoral roll, are being called for hearings in the first phase, he said.

Seventy-five-year-old Sabita Manna, afflicted by polio, was waiting for her turn in an ambulance at the Sankrail block office in Howrah district, anxiety writ large on her face over reports of discrepancies in her details as an electorate.

Her nephew Tapas Manna said, "My aunt, who has no child, could not find her name in the 2002 electoral roll. She cannot properly walk as she had been afflicted by polio at a very young age."

"While on earlier occasions she was visited by polling personnel and representatives of political parties at home and only had to come to the polling station on the day of the vote, this time they have made her physical presence mandatory," he said.

Sabita said from inside the ambulance, "It hurts when, at this age, you have to prove your citizenship all over again."

Nirufa Khatoon, a woman voter in Barasat Kazipara area, is distraught, being called for hearing unable to prove her father had voted in the 2002 polls.

"I am an Indian citizen born in the Kamarhati area of North 24 Parganas. After marriage, I came to Kazipara in Barasat. However, my father had died and his name does not figure in the electoral roll, while my mother had died shortly after my birth. The BLO had assured me that things will be sorted out after the hearing. I am literally on the edge," she said with her husband standing by her side.

"NIrufa has brought the school leaving certificate, birth certificate and aadhaar card, ration card and existing voter ID card. We hope things will be sorted as promised by the BLO earlier. Hope the AERO and micro observer will accept," her husband said, adding he has asked his wife to properly explain all these things during the hearing.

In faraway Midnapore town, around 100 residents of a cluster, known as 'Hatath colony' among locals, came to the nearby camp.

"Only two out of ten in a house find their names in the draft roll. The rest have been called for hearing. Yes, I was born in Bangladesh, but I came here in the late 80s and have voted regularly. I have many of the 11 documents as records. Keeping my fingers crossed. I am a Hindu married to a family who have its ancestral property here. They won't allow me to be deported to any camp," a woman, refusing to be named, said.
The United States has become the real United Nations and the world body has been of very little help in resolving conflicts around the world, President Donald Trump said as he announced that the fighting between Thailand and Cambodia will stop momentarily.

IMAGE: US President Donald Trump addresses a press conference at Mar-a-lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on December 22, 2025. Photograph: Jessica Koscielniak/Reuters

"I am pleased to announce that the breakout fighting between Thailand and Cambodia will stop momentarily, and they will go back to living in peace, as per our recently agreed to original Treaty," Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Sunday.

Trump congratulated both the "great leaders on their brilliance in coming to this rapid and very fair conclusion," saying that it was fast and decisive as all of these situations should be.

He said the US, as always, was proud to help in bringing the hostilities to an end, as he criticised the UN for its failure to resolve conflicts around the world. He also again claimed credit for ending eight wars in the first eight months of his second term in the White House.

With all of the wars and conflicts I have settled and stopped over the last eleven months, eight, perhaps the United States has become the real United Nations, which has been of very little assistance or help in any of them, including the disaster currently going on between Russia and Ukraine, Trump said.

The United Nations must start getting active and involved in world peace, he added.

Trump is set to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his Palm Beach, Florida, residence on Sunday for talks on a peace plan to end the conflict with Russia.

Trump has been critical of the UN and its failure to maintain international peace and security, slamming the world organisation as he addressed global leaders during the UN General Assembly high-level session in September this year.

It's too bad that I had to do these things instead of the United Nations doing them. And sadly, in all cases, the United Nations did not even try to help in any of them, Trump had said from the UNGA podium.

The fighting between Cambodia and Thailand is among the eight wars that Trump has claimed he settled, along with the conflicts between India and Pakistan, Kosovo and Serbia, the Congo and Rwanda, Israel and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia and Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Fighting resumed between Cambodia and Thailand on December 7, with the UN noting that "strikes have increasingly been reported further from the border and into each other's territories.

The US on Saturday welcomed the announcement from Cambodia and Thailand on reaching a ceasefire that halts hostilities along their border following the General Border Committee meeting.

Washington urged the two nations to immediately honour this commitment and fully implement the terms of the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords.
Two primary suspects in the murder of Inquilab Moncho leader Sharif Osman Hadi have fled Bangladesh and are believed to be currently in India, a top Dhaka metropolitan police officer said on Sunday, even as India's security agencies rejected the claim.

IMAGE: A group of people set fire to the 'Prothom Alo' newspaper office in Karwan Bazar after the death of Sharif Osman Hadi in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Photograph: Mehedi Hasan/Reuters

Hadi, 32, was shot in the head on December 12 during an election campaign in Dhaka. He was airlifted to Singapore for advanced treatment but died of his injuries on December 18.

The suspects, Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Sheikh, crossed into the Indian state of Meghalaya with the help of local associates,

Additional police commissioner (crime and operations) of the Dhaka metropolitan police SN Mohammed Nazrul Islam told a press conference at the DMP Media Centre.

According to our information, the suspects entered India via the Haluaghat border. After crossing, they were initially received by an individual named Purti. Later, a taxi driver named Sami transported them to Tura city in Meghalaya,

The Daily Star said, quoting Islam.

He added that the police have received informal reports suggesting that the two individuals who assisted the fugitives, Purti and Sami, have since been detained by authorities in India.

The DMP officer said the Bangladesh government is actively working to bring the suspects back.

"We are maintaining communication with Indian authorities through both formal and informal channels to ensure their arrest and extradition," he added.

The DMP officer did not, however, mention when the two escaped to India.

Meanwhile, the security agencies in Meghalaya on Sunday dismissed claims by the Bangladesh police that the killers of Inquilab Moncho leader Hadi had entered the state.

The claims are unfounded and misleading, Border Security Force chief in Meghalaya, inspector general OP Opadhyay said.

"There is no evidence to suggest that any individual crossed the international border from the Haluaghat sector into Meghalaya. The BSF has neither detected nor received any report of such an incident," Opadhyay told PTI.

The claims being circulated are unfounded and misleading, he said.

A senior Meghalaya police officer also said that there was "no input or intelligence to corroborate" the claim of the suspects' presence in the Garo Hills region.

The officer said local police units had not detected any such movement and coordination with central agencies was ongoing.

BSF officials said that the personnel deployed along the international border have been kept on a high state of alert at all times to avert any untoward incident, particularly in view of the unrest and volatile situation prevailing in the neighbouring country.

The force reiterated that the international border in the sector was under constant surveillance and any attempt at illegal cross-border movement would be promptly detected and dealt with.

Hadi, spokesperson of Inquilab Moncho, was a prominent youth leader during the July-August 2024 mass street protests that led to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government last year.

He was also a parliamentary candidate for the upcoming February 12 elections.

State-run news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) added that Islam said the investigation into Hadi's murder is nearing completion and the charge sheet is expected to be submitted within the next seven to ten days.

So far, 11 people have been arrested in connection with the killing, six of whom have given confessional statements before the court under Section 164 of the CrPC, he added.

The police also said the murder was premeditated.

Earlier, DMP commissioner SM Sazzat Ali while speaking at a sit-in programme organised by Inqilab Moncho at Shahbagh on Saturday, described Hadi's killing as a mysterious incident and said there are indications that multiple individuals were involved in the crime, the BSS said in another report.

According to him, the government has assigned all law enforcement agencies, including police, Border Guard Bangladesh and Rapid Action Battalion, to uncover the masterminds behind the crime.

The police have also recovered two pistols allegedly used in the murder, and those are currently being kept at the Criminal Investigation Department for scientific examination.

The motorcycle used in the attack has been recovered by the Detective Branch police, the BSS added.

He further revealed that a huge amount of money was spent in carrying out the murder, and a cheque signed for Tk 218 crore has been seized during the investigation.
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Peace talks to end Russia's war on Ukraine were "moving in the right direction," US President Donald Trump asserted, after holding two hours of critical negotiations with his visiting Ukrainian counterpart and a call with European leaders.

Trump's December 28 talks with Volodymyr Zelenskyy was the culmination of weeks of phone and shuttle diplomacy -- and the most tangible sign of progress to end the fighting, which, nearly four years in, has killed or wounded more than 1.5 million men on both sides.

Speaking to reporters after an in-person meeting with Zelenskyy at Trump's Florida residence, and a video call with European leaders, the US president signaled that there had been progress in the talks but no breakthrough.

"We're getting a lot closer, maybe very close," Trump said. Talks are "moving in the right direction."

"Russia wants [the war] ended. Everyone wants it ended," he said without giving details.

Trump, who said during his election campaign he could settle the war in one day, has been frustrated by his inability to use what he sees as his businessmans acumen to end Europes bloodiest conflict since World War II.

Hes dispatched his chief envoy, Steve Witkoff, to Moscow six times to meet with Putin.

Trump himself met with the Russian leader in Alaska in August. And the December 28 meeting was the third for Zelenskyy since January.

Gotta make a deal. Gotta get it done. Too many people dying, Trump said earlier.

I think both presidents want to make a deal, he added, referring to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

Zelenskyy, who has pushed for binding security guarantees that would help protect Ukraine in the future from potential Russian attack, said such a deal had been reached. However, Trump was more cautious, saying he expected European countries to "take over a big part" of that effort.

Later, Zelenskyy posted on social media that Trump said he was planning to host Ukrainian and European leaders in Washington in January.

Shortly before the talks began, Trump and Putin spoke by phone, a surprise call that the Kremlin said lasted more than an hour and was done at Trump's request. In a post to social media, Trump described it as "good and very productive."

Putin's chief foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov, said that Putin and Trump agreed to not support a push for a temporary cease-fire ahead of a settlement-- something Zelenskyy has called for.

Last month, the White House released a 28-point plan that was seen as heavily favorable to Russia. Zelenskyy and his negotiators  along with Kyivs European allies -- have sought to draft counterproposals.

Zelenskyys plan, released last week, paved the way for the Ukrainian leader to fly to the United States and meet with Trump.

Amid the diplomacy and negotiations, Russia has shown little inclination for compromise, even refusing to consider a Christmas truce proposed by Zelenskyy.

A day before the talks, Russia pounded the Ukrainian capital and surrounding districts leaving nearly 1 million homes without electricity amid temperatures hovering around freezing.

In another clear signal, Putin met with top military commanders, lauding battlefield successes, asserting Ukraine was to blame for the war, and showing no intention for compromise.

If Kyiv does not wish to settle the matter peacefully," Russia will achieve its objectives by force, Putin said, reiterating comments he has made several times in recent weeks.

Before traveling to Florida, Zelenskyy met in Halifax with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who offered support for Ukraine, saying that Russia's "barbarism...shows just how important it is that we stand with Ukraine."

"These are some of the most active diplomatic days of the year, and much can be resolved before the New Year," the Ukrainian leader wrote on social media before the meeting.

Ukraine's 20-Point Peace Plan

One of the critical issues at the heart of current negotiations is the fate of Ukraines eastern Donbas region.

Most of that territory is under Russian control and Moscow has demanded that Kyiv turn over the parts Russia does not hold. That includes two major cities -- Kramatorsk and Slovyansk -- which are linchpins for Ukrainian defenses in the area.

"It's unresolved, but it's getting a lot closer. That's a very tough issue, but one that I think will get resolved," Trump told reporters in Florida.

The other critical issue is the fate of Ukraines largest nuclear power plant. The Zaporizhzhya region facility, which was Ukraine's largest single source of electricity, has been under Russian control since shortly after the start of the invasion.

Zelenskyy has proposed putting the plant under joint control between Ukraine and the United States, with Washington netting profits from the sale of the plants electricity -- including potentially to Moscow.

The Kremlin, which believes it has the upper hand both on the battlefield and in the peace negotiations, has shown little willingness to compromise on its hard-line demands -- most of which predate the invasion.

Russia Claims Towns Taken

In his meeting with top Russian generals  a video of which was released by the Kremlin late on December 27 -- Putin lauded Russian forces and claimed capture of two additional Ukrainian towns -- Myrnohrad and Hulyaypole.

Myrnohrad, in Ukraine's Donetsk region, is close to Pokrovsk, an important logistical hub that Moscow has prioritized for nearly a year and claimed to have captured earlier this month. Hulyaypole is a frontline town in the southeastern Zaporizhzhya region.

Russian claims could not immediately be verified; Moscow has regularly claimed battlefield victories that have turned out to be premature or outright false. The Ukrainian military said it had beaten back attacks on Myrnohrad and Hulyaypole.

Another key hurdle to peace is security guarantees for Ukraine once the war ends. Without them, Kyiv fears Russia will eventually attack it once again.

Zelenskyy has indicated that security guarantees involve several documents that need to be discussed, while economic agreements are still at the "basic groundwork" stage.

US envoys attending talks in Berlin earlier this month reportedly offered NATO-style security guarantees for Kyiv thought to be along the lines of the alliance's Article 5, which states that an attack against one member of the alliance is considered an attack against all.

However, blocking Ukraine from joining the military alliance has been a central position of Moscow's since before the start of the war. It's unclear if NATO-like security guarantees would be opposed by the Kremlin.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was set to hold talks with US President Donald Trump in what could be the most consequential meeting in the country's recent history, called on Kyiv's allies to help cement a peace deal.

Shortly before the December 28 meeting was slated to begin, Trump spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a call that lasted more than an hour, according to the Kremlin, and was done at Trump's initiative. In a post to social media, Trump described the call as "good and very productive."

Zelenskyy's meeting -- his third trip to the United States this year -- is the culmination of weeks of shuttle diplomacy -- and the closest the sides have been to a potential halt in fighting since the onset of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Amid the diplomacy and negotiations, Russia has shown little inclination for compromise, even refusing to consider a Christmas truce proposed by Zelenskyy.

On the eve of the talks, being held at Trump's Florida residence, Russia pounded Ukraine's capital Kyiv, and surrounding districts, leaving nearly 1 million homes without electricity amid temperatures hovering around freezing.

And in another clear signal, Putin met with top military commanders on December 27, lauding battlefield successes, asserting Ukraine was to blame for the war.

If Kyiv does not wish to settle the matter peacefully," Russia will achieve its objectives by force, Putin said, reiterating comments he has made several times in recent weeks.

Before his meeting with Trump, Zelenskyy appeared to voice optimism, saying in a post to social media "much can be resolved before the New Year."

"We are doing everything toward this, but whether decisions will be made depends on our partners -- those who help Ukraine, and those who put pressure on Russia so that Russians feel the consequences of their own aggression," he said.

Before traveling to Florida, Zelenskyy met in Halifax with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who offered support for Ukraine ahead of the crucial US talks, saying that Russia's "barbarism...shows just how important it is that we stand with Ukraine."

Zelenskyy also held a conference call with European leaders. After the session, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen called for "a just and lasting peace that preserves Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Zelenskyy will again hold talks with European leaders after he meets with Trump as he urged the West to take a strong stand to prevent Putin "from manipulating and evading a real and just end to the war."

Ukraine's 20-Point Peace Plan

Zelenskyy -- with Europe's backing -- has proposed a 20-point plan to end Russia's war, after earlier scrambling to counter a 28-point plan put forward by Trump last month that critics said was heavily skewed in Russia's favor.

One of the critical issues at the heart of current negotiations is the fate of the eastern Donbas region.

Most of that territory is under Russian control, and Moscow has demanded that Kyiv turn over the parts Russia does not hold. That includes two major cities -- Kramatorsk and Slovyansk -- which are linchpins for Ukrainian defenses in the area.

The other critical issue is the fate of Ukraines largest nuclear power plant. The Zaporizhzhya region facility, which was Ukraine's largest single source of electricity, has been under Russian control since shortly after the start of the invasion.

Zelenskyy has proposed putting the plant under joint control between Ukraine and the United States, with Washington netting profits from the sale of the plants electricity -- including potentially to Moscow.

The Kremlin, which believes it has the upper hand both on the battlefield and in the peace negotiations, has shown little willingness to compromise on its hard-line demands -- most of which predate the invasion.

Russia Claims Towns Taken

In his meeting, Putin lauded Russian forces, and claimed capture of two additional Ukrainian towns -- Myrnohrad and Hulyaypole.

Myrnohrad, in Ukraine's Donetsk region, is close to Pokrovsk, an important logistical hub that Moscow has prioritized for nearly a year and claimed to have captured earlier this month. Hulyaypole is a frontline town in the southeastern Zaporizhzhya region.

Russian claims could not immediately be verified; Moscow has regularly claimed battlefield victories that have turned out to be premature or outright false. The Ukrainian military said it had beaten back attacks on Myrnohrad and Hulyaypole.

Trump has been pushing to end the war, which has killed or wounded more than 1.5 million men on both sides, devastated large parts of Ukraine, and made Russia a pariah state.

Another key hurdle to peace is security guarantees for Ukraine once the war ends. Without them, Kyiv fears Russia will eventually attack it once again.

Zelenskyy has indicated that security guarantees involve several documents that need to be discussed, while economic agreements are still at the "basic groundwork" stage.

US envoys attending talks in Berlin earlier this month reportedly offered NATO-style security guarantees for Kyiv thought to be along the lines of the alliance's Article 5, which states that an attack against one member of the alliance is considered an attack against all.

Blocking Ukraine from joining the military alliance has been a central position of Moscow's since before the start of the war. It's unclear if NATO-like security guarantees would be opposed by the Kremlin.

Some analysts, however, warn such a guarantee would do little to bring security to the region.

"It's not credible; It cheapens all US commitments, including to NATO; It raises the risk of war with Russia," Jennifer Kavanagh, an analyst at Defense Priorities, a Washington think tank, said in a post to X.

French President Emmanuel Macron -- one of Kyiv's key backers, along with the leaders of Britain and Germany -- called Russia's attack on Kyiv proof that Moscow wants to "prolong the war."

With reporting by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service and Reuters
A Knockcroghery woman has been promoted to the position of partner at the solicitor firm of Byrne Carolan Cunningham LLP.

Tina Dolan joined the Athlone practice in 2023 bringing a wealth of experience in the areas of conveyancing, wills, probate and estate planning.

She specialises in all property transactions, including purchases, sales, mortgages, remortgages, farm and site transfers and advises clients comprehensively in the preparation and drafting of wills, estate planning and probate applications.

From Knockcroghery, she has over 20 years experience assisting local clients. She is a keen GAA fan and is involved in many local committees.

Brian OBrien, partner said that Tinas knowledge and expertise together with her client centred approach have been a huge asset to the firm and it is our pleasure to have her now progress within the firm to the position of partner".

Byrne Carolan Cunningham Solicitors have enjoyed great success this year earning the title of Leinster Law Firm of the Year at the prestigious Irish Law Awards, in addition to the award for Leinster Property Law Firm and Leinster Medical Negligence Law Firm. They were also most recently recognised at the Athlone Chamber of Commerce Awards as Professional Service Provider of the year in the category - medium to large firm in addition to being named Legal Firm of the Year at the Midlands 103 Customer Service Award.

* Byrne Carolan Cunningham LLP have offices at Athlone, Moate, Lanesborough and Galway. Contact 090-6478433 or email info@bccsolicitors.ie to speak with any of the team.
A Young Roscommon actor will feature in a BBC docu-drama on the Titanic tonight, Sunday, December 28th.

Kiltoom man Rhys Mannion will play Jack Thayer in Titanic Sinks Tonight, beginning on BBC 2 tonight Sunday, December 28th at 9 p.m..

A 17-year -ld American, Jack was a first class passenger, sailing on Titanic with his family.

The only child of railroad magnate John Borland Thayer and socialite Marian Thayer, he lived a very sheltered life of wealth and privilege among the elites of Pennsylvania.

Jack and his parents were returning to America from holidaying in Europe and were travelling in first class cabins on D deck that cost 10,000 each.

This four-part series explores a vast archive of eyewitness testimony, documenting the sinking of Titanic through the experiences of the passengers and crew who were there.
Doctor Killed as Speeding Car Hits Divider and Overturns Into Fields Amid Dense Fog

The impact was so severe that the vehicle's airbags deployed, and a loud explosion was heard.

A tragic road accident occurred late at night on the NakodarJamshed Highway due to dense fog. Near Sofi Pind, a speeding car first hit the divider and then overturned multiple times before landing in the fields, where it collided with a tree.

In the accident, physiotherapist Dr Dennis Hina, a resident of Sadakpur village in Nakodar, lost his life.

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Dr Dennis Hina was travelling for work late at night from Nakodar via the NakodarJamshed Highway. Near Sofi Pind, due to dense fog and high speed, the driver lost control of the vehicle. After hitting the divider, the car overturned into the fields and struck a tree.

The impact was so severe that the vehicles airbags deployed, and a loud explosion was heard.

Soon after the accident, residents of nearby villages pulled Dr Dennis Hina out of the car in an injured condition and rushed him to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

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Upon receiving information, the police reached the spot and took custody of the body, sending it to the Civil Hospital for post-mortem.

It is reported that Dr Dennis Hina was the only son of his family. His death has cast a pall of grief over the family and the area.

(For more news apart from Doctor Killed as Speeding Car Hits Divider and Overturns Into Fields Amid Dense Fog," stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman.)
Moga Police Arrest Accused With 1.25 kg Heroin, Illegal Arms

The police added that the accused's son was also allegedly involved and has been nominated in the case.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ajay Gandhi of Moga, Punjab, said during a press conference on Sunday that the Kot Ise Khan Police Station arrested an accused yesterday who has three previous cases registered against him.

The police recovered illegal weapons and 1.25 kg of heroin from the possession of the accused, along with 31 live cartridges and one large magazine.

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The police added that the accuseds son was also allegedly involved and has been nominated in the case.

If more people are named, they will also be nominated and legal action will be taken, the officer added.

It has been found that the accused was involved in drug and weapons smuggling and had links with smugglers based in Pakistan..." the police officer further stated during the conference.

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The recovery unfolded during a Moga police inspection of a car on the basis of suspicion, the officer futher added.

(For more news apart from Who is Rishabh Thakur, Expelled from Bajrang Dal and Main Accused in Bareilly, UP Birthday Party Attack?," stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman.)
Punjab News: Man attacks female family members, daughter-in-law dead

A relative of Anju told the media that she did not have any children and had been married for three years.

In another case of men killing women family members, a man in Patiala district of Punjab allegedly attacked his wife and daughter-in-law with a knife. The incident led to the death of the daughter-in-law, while the wife is in critical condition.

The alleged attack was carried out in Kasabian Wale Mohalla of Sanaur town in Patiala recently.

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Police Station Chief Harvinder Singh, Sanaur, said that the police were informed by a doctor at Rajindra Hospital, Patiala, about the death of a married woman identified as Anju Rani.

According to the information, it was learned that at around 3 am, the father-in-law attacked his wife and daughter-in-law with knives, due to which both were seriously injured and taken to Rajindra Hospital for treatment. Doctors declared the daughter-in-law, Anju, dead, while the mother-in-law, Malkit Kaur, is undergoing treatment and remains in critical condition.

The police have registered a case against the girls father-in-law, Prakash Chand, based on the statements given by the deceased Anjus grandfather, Baldev Singh.

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A relative of Anju told the media that she did not have any children and had been married for three years. He added that there had been quarrels in the past as well; however, the reason for the extreme step, he said, is unknown. The relative demanded the strictest punishment for the accused.

(For more news apart from Punjab News: Father-in-law stabs wife and daughter-in-law, one dead," stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman.)
UP Birthday Party Attack: Bareilly Police Take Action Against Accused After Social Media Outrage

Earlier, in a shocking development, media reports stated that Bareilly Police initially took action against the victims.

UP Birthday Party Attack: Following widespread criticism on social media, Uttar Pradesh Police have decided to register a case against members of a right-wing group who allegedly stormed a birthday party hosted by a nursing student at a cafe in Bareilly.

The party was organised for the students friends, including two Muslim friends. The group accused the birthday party attendees of love jihad.

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In viral videos, dozens of men, led by a man wearing a saffron scarf, can be seen barging into the cafe, assaulting the guests, and chanting Jai Shri Ram. A song referencing Bajrang Dal can be heard playing in the background.

A nursing student in Bareilly, UP, hosted a birthday party for her classmates at a cafe. The group included six girls and four boys, two of whom were Muslim. Shortly after the celebration began, members of the Bajrang Dal barged in, assaulted the Muslim boy and the girl and pic.twitter.com/T8b1d7lQvw  Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) December 28, 2025

Earlier, in a shocking development, media reports stated that Bareilly Police initially took action against the victims, including the two Muslim friends of the 20-year-old nursing student, instead of proceeding against the mob.

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Bareilly SP (City) Manush Pareek told The Wire that the police have identified the individuals involved in the attack and that an FIR is being registered.

We have sought an explanation from the concerned SHO regarding why action was not taken against the accused. He informed us that the attackers had fled the scene, the SP was quoted as saying.

The SP added that strict action would be taken against the actual culprits.

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The nursing student, a resident of Badaun district, said in a video shared on X that the attackers stormed the cafe, began assaulting her friends, and accused them of love jihad. She said that the attackers tried to harass her and snatch her phone.

Most of the guests were Hindu. There were only two Muslim friends, she said, adding that her friends who were assaulted suffered serious injuries

They crashed my birthday party and attacked my friend. There were only two Muslims present, while most of the guests were Hindus. The videos shared by right-wing members only showed partial footage; they did not capture the entire incident. The claim of "love jihad" was also https://t.co/mvzTcQdV7W pic.twitter.com/woZYY5nxiK Advertisement December 28, 2025

One of the accused has been identified as Rishabh Thakur, who has a history of attacking minorities and couples. Fact-checker Mohammed Zubair stated that Bareilly Police have now registered an FIR against Rishabh Thakur, Deepak Pathak, and 25 others.

This goon Rishabh Thakur has been threatening couples for years now. Here's one video of him from 2023. Had @bareillypolice taken strict action against him and other goons with him, They wouldn't have dared to repeat this now. @Uppolice pic.twitter.com/vQV4bH84Vw  Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) December 28, 2025

According to The Wire, Rishabh Thakur was a member of Bajrang Dal but was expelled from the organisation around two weeks ago as part of disciplinary action.

Meanwhile, Ashish Sharma, Gau Raksha Pramukh of Bajrang Dals city unit in Bareilly, told The Wire that although some Bajrang Dal members were present at the cafe, they were not part of the group that carried out the assault.

Also Read: Who is Rishabh Thakur, Expelled from Bajrang Dal and Main Accused in Bareilly, UP Birthday Party Attack?

We received information that ten or twelve Muslim boys were present at a birthday party of a Hindu girl. Bajrang Dal workers reached the cafe and informed the police, after which the Muslim boys were detained, Sharma said.

He further claimed that the Hindu girl was not assaulted and that the Muslim boys were slapped two or three times, asserting that Bajrang Dal members were not involved in the attack.

(For more news apart from UP Birthday Party Attack: Bareilly Police Take Action Against Accused After Social Media Outrage," stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman.)
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Elon Musk slammed New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdanis choice to lead the FDNY, warning that people will die because of the appointment, according to The Hill.

People will die because of this. Proven experience matters when lives are at stake, Musk wrote in a post on X, the social platform he owns.

His criticism targeted Lillian Bonsignore, a veteran Emergency Medical Services leader, who was tapped Friday to become New York Citys first openly gay fire commissioner and the second woman to lead the department, according to the outlet.

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani speaks after his meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, Nov. 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) AP

According to the Hill, Musks comments sparked backlash and renewed attacks from some Trump administration officials who have previously condemned Mamdanis policy proposals aligned with democratic socialism.

Mamdani fired back on Saturday, defending Bonsignores qualifications, the report noted.

Experience does matter, which is why I appointed the person who spent more than 30 years at EMS. You know, the workforce that addresses at least 70% of all calls coming into FDNY? Mamdani wrote in a post on X.
Although New Yorks statewide smartphone ban has been largely successful in helping students focus in class and socialize more at lunch, it has also exposed an unexpected skill gap among students: Many struggle to read traditional clocks.

As of a June 2025 EdWeek tracker, New York is one of 21 states, as well as Washington D.C., that have banned smartphones bell to bell in schools.

But, according to Gothamist, multiple teachers have stated that while the smartphone ban has been helpful, it has also exposed that many of their students cant read analog clocks.

Thats a major skill that theyre not used to at all, said Tiana Millen, an assistant principal at Cardozo High School in Queens.

Madi Mornhinweg, who teaches high school English in Manhattan, said students constantly ask about the time.

The constant refrain is Miss, what time is it? she said. Its a source of frustration because everyone wants to know how many minutes are left in class.  It finally got to the point where I started saying Wheres the big hand and wheres the little hand?

According to the education department, students learn to read clocks in first and second grade. Education department spokesperson Isla Gething said in a statement to Gothamist that the curriculum teaches terms including oclock, half-past, and quarter-to in early elementary years.

At NYCPS, we recognize how essential it is for our students to tell the time on both analog and digital clocks, Gething said. As our young people are growing up in an increasingly digital world, no traditional time-reading skills should be left behind.

However, Cheyenne Francis, 14, said that her peers have lost the skill from lack of use.

They just forgot that skill because they never used it, because they always pulled out their phone, Francis said. She added that broken or incorrectly set clocks in school buildings dont help, Gothamist reported.

Travis Malekpour, who teaches English and math at Cardozo, called the skill underutilized. He also stated that hes tried to integrate telling time and managing calendars into some of his algebra lessons, as a way to keep the skill active in students lives.

Furthermore, Kris Perry, the executive director of Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development, said it makes sense that teens raised in a digital environment havent practiced analog clock-reading.

The question, she told Gothamist, is whether the shift amounts to a cognitive downgrade or just a replacement. She noted that brain scans have shown that holding books and handwriting generally lead to more brain activity than reading and typing on screens.

Yet some educators argue the trade-off isnt entirely one-sided. Many schools have sophisticated and successful coding and robotics programs, and teachers sometimes turn to students for technology help.

Mornhinweg said students recently walked her through new software when she struggled to open a PDF.

I was freaking out and they were like, Miss its fine, this is what you do. I felt really old, she said.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  New York City residents should prepare for potentially hazardous conditions this week as a brief warm-up followed by a rapid temperature drop could create widespread icy patches throughout the five boroughs, according to AccuWeather.

The city, which just received approximately 4 inches of snow over the weekend, will experience fluctuating temperatures that AccuWeather meteorologist Dan Pydynowski warned could lead to dangerous conditions on roadways and sidewalks.

The main theme for the week is as we head towards the end of the year and the start of the new year, its going to turn windy and cold, Pydynowski told the Advance/SILive.com.

The recent snowstorm that concluded Saturday morning dropped between 3.5 and 4.5 inches across most of the five boroughs. Staten Island saw 4.6 inches of snow while Central Park recorded slightly less at 4.3 inches.

This snow cover wont last long, however, as temperatures are expected to climb into the upper 40s early in the week.

We get a little bit of a warm up tomorrow as we near 50 degrees, Pydynowski explained. The warmer temperatures, combined with rain in the forecast, will cause substantial melting. The real concern emerges when temperatures rapidly drop again.

Anything that doesnt melt and evaporate, though, as temperatures fall pretty quickly again tomorrow night into Tuesday morning, back below freezing, certainly there could still be some icy spots or some icy patches on sidewalks and roadways, Pydynowski warned.

This freeze-thaw-refreeze pattern creates the perfect conditions for black ice  nearly invisible patches of ice on roads and walkways that can cause dangerous falls and vehicle accidents. While the wind may help dry some surfaces, Pydynowski said caution is still advised, especially during Tuesday morning commute.

Adding to the challenging conditions, significant winds are expected to accompany the cold front. Certainly we could see winds sustained probably 15 to 25 mph with wind gusts of up to 45 mph, Pydynowski said. These winds will be coming from the west and the northwest, bringing colder air back into the city.

The thermometer will continue to drop as New Year Eve approaches, with particularly frigid conditions arriving just in time for celebrations.

New Years Day on Thursday, and then Jan. 2, Friday, we only have highs in the upper 20s, so its going to turn cold later in the week, Pydynowski noted.

Despite the coming cold snap, New Yorkers need not worry about additional snow in the immediate future.

Im not really sure were going to see any kind of accumulating snow over the next week, Pydynowski said. Although the possibility of some flurries Wednesday night into Thursday are possible, but these arent expected to amount to measurable accumulation.
About two dozen states passed new childcare programs in 2025 to help families struggling with monthly costs that can exceed $1,200 across U.S. metropolitan areas.

The wave of state-level investments marks a significant shift in how governments approach the childcare crisis, with lawmakers allocating hundreds of millions of dollars to subsidize care, support providers, and create new childcare spots.

Early childhood experts say these initiatives address a critical economic issue affecting workforce participation, particularly among mothers who often leave jobs due to unaffordable care.

Investing in Childcare

At least 11 states allocated millions to subsidy or voucher programs that provide direct financial assistance to families paying for childcare. Massachusetts invested a record $1.06 billion in its subsidy program, while Illinois increased funding by $244.5 million for multiple early childhood programs. Arizona committed $45 million to address its subsidy waitlist, representing the largest state investment in over a decade, according to the Washington Post.

Several states established innovative funding mechanisms designed to provide long-term stability. Connecticut created an Early Childhood Endowment with an initial $300 million investment that will help eliminate copays for families earning under $100,000 and cap costs at 7 percent of income for higher earners. The fund will also support the creation of 20,000 new subsidized preschool and infant-toddler spaces.

New Mexico became the first state to implement universal childcare, removing all income limits starting November 1, 2025. The program is expected to save families an average of $12,000 annually per child.

Wisconsin allocated $66 million for a new school readiness initiative called Get Kids Ready, marking the first entirely state-funded childcare program in the state's history. The state also provided $110 million in direct payments to help childcare providers stay in business.

Other states focused on workforce support to address staffing shortages that limit childcare availability, Childcare Aware reported. Tennessee invested $7.2 million to expand wage programs for childcare workers, while Pennsylvania allocated $25 million for staff retention and recruitment. Oklahoma created a subsidy program specifically for childcare employees to help them afford care for their own children.

Helping Parents With Rising Costs

Missouri launched a cost-sharing program where the state, employers, and parents split childcare expenses, with participating employers receiving tax credits. The program offers families childcare for as little as $400 monthly. California expanded tax incentives for employers who support childcare benefits, encouraging private sector participation in addressing the affordability crisis.

New York announced $100 million for building and expanding childcare facilities to create thousands of new spots. Rhode Island established a new infant care rate category with rates 20 percent higher than toddler rates to address the shortage of infant care.

Policymakers indicate that continued state investment combined with federal support will be necessary to sustain these programs and meet growing demand from working families, as per Boston Globe.
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BusinessConsumer affairsConsumer rights Gyms push back on law change that would ease cancellation Elias Visontay December 28, 2025  1:57pm 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 A A

The peak body for gyms has blasted a proposed tightening of consumer law that would make it easier for customers to cancel memberships and exit so-called subscription traps, arguing it could threaten the sectors viability. As gyms prepare for the annual influx of members signing up in line with new years resolutions, AUSactive, which represents chains including Anytime Fitness, Snap, Fitness First, Fernwood as well as small operators, is pushing back against the Albanese governments unfair trading practices framework. Labors proposed reforms are aimed at plugging holes in existing consumer law. Subscription traps have been identified as one of several dark patterns employed by businesses that would be deemed unfair and prohibited. Lynsey McGee, a manager at Hiscoes Gym in Sydneys Surry Hills. Flavio Brancaleone While subscription traps have been largely framed in terms of online platforms, Assistant Competition Minister Andrew Leigh has flagged gyms specifically as being under the scope of the reforms, which were first put on the agenda in the previous term of government but which have gained recent momentum after state and territory consumer affairs ministers agreed in November.

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Ahead of a final consultation period before legislation that is expected next year, AUSactive chief executive Ken Griffin said he was concerned that laws written with online platforms in mind would bluntly apply to bricks and mortar gym businesses. Related Article Retail I thought it would be mayhem: Bargain hunters out for Boxing Day, but Black Friday now reigns supreme Scaled online business models such as Netflix are fundamentally different to owning a gym, which means a physical place which requires the owners to pay rent and pay for staff, supervision and other running costs, Griffin told this masthead. Existing laws broadly protect consumers against unfair contract terms, but critics such as the Consumer Policy Research Centre have said it is common for gyms to not specify exact rules for cancelling in the wording of membership contracts, such as exit procedures and other penalties. Gyms often require proof of moving residence to an area without one of the brands branches, or a medical certificate proving an inability to exercise in order for members to exit lock-in memberships. Longer-term memberships are often discounted accordingly, but if cancelled early, they can require paying out the value of the remaining contract.

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Proponents of the reforms also cite other traps for gymgoers, including that gyms require members to phsyically come into a branch for a specific time to discuss their exit with staff; as well as unreasonably harsh fees or limits on pausing memberships and exit fees above the value of the remaining contract. Consumer advocates have asked the government to craft the legislation to make it as easy to cancel as it is to sign up, wording which closely resembled the phrasing of a Biden-administration push for similar laws. However, these were ultimately struck down by a US federal appeals court in July, days before coming into effect, due to procedural deficiencies. Griffin takes particular issue with this phrasing. At the point someone wants to cancel a gym membership, it would be ridiculous if they had to do what they did to join, to require them to come in and do a consultation with a trainer, to go through a test of which equipment is safe, just to cancel. So that principle ... would be silly in our case, he said. Griffin said laws that would make it easier for people to exit contracts could go against the industrys traditional business model, which incentivises revenue certainty from members by offering discounts. Lynsey McGee: Having ongoing memberships, and making members want to renew is really important. Flavio Brancaleone

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If someone gets a deal, say for 12 months at a discounted rate, they gave that certainty to the owner of a gym, and the owner can bank on that income, so they can have the certainty to employ a requisite number of staff, he said. Members have an expectation they can come into the gym at any time they want, use the equipment they want or get into a class they want. Gyms have to be ready for that. He said gyms were obligated to hold up their side of the contract even if a member didnt show up frequently. I think thats one of the things that might be forgotten here: You may not have turned up for your spin class or gone in to use the elliptical, but the gym still had to make the preparations as if you did, he said. Lynsey McGee and Mac Redinbaugh, who run the independent Hiscoes gym in Sydneys Surry Hills, say smaller operators have to be more accountable to their members. Redinbaugh said: This is a community gym. I eat my breakfast out the front. If I was making any part of this process unpleasant, Id have to eat breakfast next to these people whose lives Ive made harder. If somebody doesnt like something, they can come up and yell at me.

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The pair say they have leant towards offering more short-term memberships and making it easier for people to cancel longer-term ones because they have seen ex-members return after an easy process. McGee said: Membership is basically our sole income. We might sell a couple of squash balls or Gatorade, but membership is far and away how we make money and run the businesses. So having ongoing memberships, and making members want to renew is really important. Ultimately, McGee believes laws that would ban businesses from trapping customers by making it overly hard for them to cancel are welcome, but she wants careful consideration so that online-centric provisions dont harshly apply to gyms and owners of small businesses with physical premises. Redinbaugh said: We dont have legal departments. Were not one of those predatory companies with big resources to find a way around laws like this. AUSactive has a voluntary code of conduct, which has a limit on maximum membership length and cooling-off periods. Griffin believes the code is more sensible to improve the sector.

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Memberships are the main income stream for the nations roughly 8000 gyms and fitness centres, accounting for about $2.2 billion of the sectors $3.7 billion annual revenue, according to IBISWorld analysis from this month. Personal training brought in about $472 million in revenue: classes generated $417 million, and casual entry fees totalled $304 million. Related Article Exclusive

Competition Drips and traps: New laws to target dodgy online sales techniques CPRC CEO Erin Turner said that while some gyms had developed good practices, much of the sector needs to clean up their act. Gyms definitely have a lot to answer for. I think theyre the originators of subscription traps, something which has gotten worse in the online world, she said. Turner said cumbersome or costly requirements to end memberships made it harder for customers to shop around and accept better offers.

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If the only reason youre making money from a customer is because theyre trapped in, then thats what this law is trying to stop, she said. Turner said plugging gaps in the consumer law was important. In addition to unfair contract term law loopholes, she said high pressure sales tactics from gyms were a notorious problem. Laws already strictly limit unsolicited sales tactics such as cold calling, but if someone has registered for a gyms free trial, it constitutes an existing relationship, meaning the gym can repeatedly call them pressuring them to take out a membership, Turner said. The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning.
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EnvironmentWeatherExtreme weather Australia makes list of 2025s costliest climate events Poppy Johnston December 28, 2025  5:35pm 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 A A

Australias destructive ex-tropical cyclone Alfred has been ranked among the worlds most costly disasters fuelled by climate change in 2025. Economic losses caused by the fierce storm that ravaged south-east Queensland and northern NSW clocked in at roughly $US1.2 billion ($1.8 billion). The 10 most economically catastrophic events listed by UK-based humanitarian relief charity Christian Aid totalled more than $US120 billion in losses, with each costing more than $US1 billion. Loading The costliest extreme event influenced by human-driven climate change was the Palisade and Eaton wildfires that ripped through suburban Los Angeles in January.

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Economic losses from destroyed properties and other damage caused by the catastrophic blaze surpassed $US60 billion. Other expensive disasters include cyclones in November that triggered destructive flooding and landslides in Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Malaysia. The tropical storms and extreme monsoon system was thought to cost about $US25 billion, making it the second-most expensive event of 2025. Alfred wreaked havoc on parts of Queensland and NSW in March 2025. AFR The flooding disaster also claimed more than 1750 lives, making it among the years deadliest climate events.

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Extreme rainfall and flooding in China in June and August was the third-most costly event. Cataloguing extreme weather events is an annual undertaking for the charity seeking to underline the economic and human toll of a changing climate. It draws on economic loss calculations made by insurance giant Aon, with most estimates based on insured losses and missing the full costs of lost income, environmental degradation and human displacement. A tin roof hangs on a powerline on in Brisbane amid the cyclone. Getty Images The growing body of research linking rising greenhouse gas emissions to specific weather events also informed the report.

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Following ex-tropical cyclone Alfred, which was the eighth-most costly disaster listed, ClimaMeters rapid attribution study found the storm dumped more rain than it would have without human-driven climate change. Related Article Climate crisis The $31 billion a year threat to the Australian dream: Climate change The storm, which threatened to barrel through densely-populated urban centres as a category four tropical cyclone before it was downgraded ahead of landfall, owed much of its intensity and rainfall extremes to above-average ocean temperatures. Researchers also noted Alfred tracked further south than was normal, sparking concerns warmer ocean temperatures would allow windstorms to veer into new territory and through settlements unprepared for them. Scientists broadly expect fewer cyclones under a warming climate but the ones that do form are more likely to be more intense.

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Davide Faranda, research director at the Laboratoire de Science du Climat et de lEnvironnement, said the documented events were not isolated disasters or natural. They are the predictable outcome of a warmer atmosphere and hotter oceans, driven by decades of fossil fuel emissions, he said. A truck partly submerged due to flash flooding in Brisbane on Sunday. Getty Images Wealthy countries tend to place higher on the disaster cost ranking as they typically have higher property prices and residents are better able to afford insurance. Yet the economies of poorer nations are usually hit harder by climate change extremes as these countries have fewer resources to respond.

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Christian Aid chief executive officer Patrick Watt said the findings underlined the urgent need for adaptation, particularly in the Global South where resources are stretched. A tree near the shore collapsed facing an apartment complex on March 9 in Scarborough in Redcliffe near Brisbane. Getty Images The poorest communities are first and worst affected, he said. AAP
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Exclusive NationalNSWCourts Former prison finance officer stole $315,000 from inmates family members Clare Sibthorpe December 28, 2025  7:30pm 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 A A A

As family members of inmates at a major Sydney prison complex paid significant amounts of money to secure their loved ones release on bail, Rabhi Sobhi oversaw the systems management. However, behind closed doors, the 47-year-old regularly abused this position of trust, exploiting people during incredibly stressful times by stealing or misappropriating about $315,000 over more than two years. Rabhi Sobhi enters Darlinghurst District Court ahead of his sentence. Edwina Pickles Sobhi avoided jail for his crimes  largely due to what a judge described as the longest delay shed seen in her 30-year-career  in the NSW District Court earlier this month. Between January 2012 and August 2014, Sobhi was employed by Corrective Services New South Wales as the Sole Finance Officer of Public Funds at the Silverwater Correctional Complex in Sydneys west.

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Before sentencing him to a three-year intensive correction order for 103 larceny and fraud offences, Judge Sharon Harris outlined the agreed facts. She said Sobhi was financially stable during his relatively unsophisticated offending and was not riddled by debt or addiction, leaving his motive unclear. It was opportunism in a workplace where significant sums of cash were readily available, and the offender was systematically stealing, Harris said, adding he destroyed and manipulated documents to remain undetected. It is important to emphasise the offenders abuse of his position of trust. The judge described Silverwater prisons finance office at the time as shambolic, short-staffed and having procedures that were not always followed, creating an ideal environment for Sobhis deception.

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Inmates supporters would visit a window to deposit cash, either as bail surety  when an acceptable person guarantees a defendants adherence to bail by pledging money to the court that is forfeited if certain conditions are breached  or to be used at the prisons canteen. Cashiers would place a cash-filled envelope and manual receipt in a safe, which Sobhi had access to. On 63 reported occasions from 2012 to 2014, Sobhi took the cash from these envelopes before it could be taken to the bank. He would then change numbers on the balance-counting Excel spreadsheets made by junior cashiers to reflect reduced bank deposits. He would move funds between different ledgers to cover financial holes, and physically alter end of month reports. In one instance, he removed the digits 159 in a report showing a missing $159,100 to make the amount read $100. His fraud only unravelled because Corrective Services ordered an early ledger close for the end of the 2014 financial year. Their head office saw a $159,000 gap before Sobhi had a chance to manipulate the report.

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Auditors discovered that a years worth of original Excel sheets had been purged from the server, while an external investigation concluded Sobhi had consistently understated balances. Sobhi was arrested in August 2014, more than 11 years before he would learn his punishment. The delay since Mr Sobhi was charged is extraordinary, Harris said. Putting to one side accused persons who abscond or are in custody in another jurisdiction, or are perhaps the subject of a number of retrials, I do not know of any case involving such a lengthy delay, having practised in the law for almost 30 years. The setback was partly due to the unexplained and unacceptable years-long gap leading to Sobhis prosecution, followed by the Crowns late service of material and issues with defence availability.

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Sobhis first trial was postponed by the suspension of jury trials during the COVID pandemic, lasted 16 weeks and ended in a hung jury. A 2025 retrial resulted in guilty verdicts for more than 100 offences, including larceny, dishonest financial gain and publishing false material. Harris noted the psychological and financial strain the uncertain suspense had caused Sobhi and his family, as he continued to repay family members roughly $240,000 in legal debts. This stress significantly contributed to the avoidance of full-time custody, she said. In recent years, Sobhi had become heavily involved in his local church and charity groups. He had been promoted to site supervisor at a Sydney Fish Market store, where he worked from 2am to 8am before attending each day of his trial. While maintaining his innocence and therefore lacking remorse, Harris found his pro-social life and community support meant he would likely have been rehabilitated.

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Mr Sobhi states his intention is to continue contributing positively to his family and community and to overcome the mental and financial challenges that have arisen from these proceedings, Harris said. Sobhi, who was supported in court by his wife and children, was sentenced to a supervised three-year intensive correction order, with the first 12 months to be served in home detention. The court heard the Crown intends to seek a repayment order for the stolen $315,000. 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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NationalNSWBondi shooting Police to carry weapons you havent seen before at Sydney New Year events Matt Wade December 28, 2025  2:01pm 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 A A

NSW police will carry large, long-arm weapons for the first time at major New Year celebrations to strengthen public safety following the Bondi Beach shooting. Premier Chris Minns has urged people in Sydney to step out and do what you would ordinarily do over the New Year period, but he warned the public might be unfamiliar with firearms carried by police. NSW Premier Chris Minns says Sydneysiders should not be cowed by extremists. Sam Mooy NSW police will be out in massive numbers, in some cases carrying firearms and weapons that you havent seen before, he said. But we judge it absolutely necessary to send a clear message that we will keep the public safe and do everything we can to restore confidence as Sydneysiders go about enjoying the most beautiful city on earth. It is not traditional for NSW police to carry long-arm weapons at large gatherings, but Minns said he believed the public would feel more comfortable if they did.

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He said there will be an increased security posture at New Year celebrations. This masthead revealed on Saturday that members of the Jewish Community Security Group had warned the NSW police that the Chanukah by the Sea event targeted on December 14 was high risk. Minns said the government is considering allowing members of the volunteer-led Community Security Group to carry arms as part of a sweeping security review following the deadly shooting on Hanukkah celebrations at Bondi Beach on December 14. While police were present during the Bondi Beach Hanukkah celebrations, Minns said it was clearly not enough to deal with the threat. Two gunmen opened fire at those attending, killing 15 and wounding dozens. As history has tragically shown, and the truth of the matter is we need to do things vastly differently in the future, Minns said.

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That includes the government having a longer, deeper look at allowing the Community Security Group to be armed in future. Editor's pick Bondi shooting Glimpses, maybes and a ping: On the murky trail of the Bondi gunmen in the Philippines That is a step that we havent taken in the past, but the truth of the matter is when it comes to ensuring that the community, the Jewish community in this case, feels safe within their own community, when they have community events, we need to be able to show and demonstrate that there is going to be security in place to deal with the threat, Minns said. The premier confirmed the government is considering asking for members of the army to be deployed in NSW to bolster public safety, including at synagogues and Jewish schools. Were in discussions about it, he said. Im not going to rule anything out.

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Minns joined Waverley Mayor Will Nemesh and NSW Minister for Jobs and Tourism Steve Kamper in calling on people to return to the area and support businesses. I hope all Sydneysiders can find the time to come down to Bondi over the summer period, grab a meal, go shopping, get a haircut, Nemesh said. It will mean more to us than you really know. 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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NationalNSWBondi shooting This is part of our history now: How Bondi plans to rebuild after horror Megan Gorrey December 29, 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 A A A

The Liberal mayor in charge of Bondi says all levels of government must unite across political divides to help the community heal and prevent another tragedy, as the council considers how to memorialise the massacre at Australias most famous beach. As federal Coalition politicians seized the terrorist shooting to criticise Prime Minister Anthony Albaneses government for not doing enough to combat antisemitism, Will Nemesh, the Jewish mayor of Waverley who for months sounded the alarm about rising violence directed at his community, has taken a different approach. Waverleys Mayor Will Nemesh says: At times like this, it needs to be above politics. This is about the nation, and the community, that we want to be. Flavio Brancaleone Nemesh has urged a nonpartisan response from local, state and federal governments  and broader society  to combat antisemitism without stoking further division as the Bondi and Jewish communities attempt to rebuild. This is part of our history now, and I think what we do next is extremely important. For our community, never again cant just be words, it needs to be action.

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Bondi shooting Jewish community asked for stronger police presence at Hanukkah festival Our next steps will really define how we are, and who we are, as a nation. Its going to be a moral imperative, and it needs to rise well above politics. The council will reconvene in mid-January to discuss matters related to the shooting, including a possible permanent memorial to victims, and the future of the footbridge where two gunmen fired at the Hanukkah event in Archer Park on December 14. This months shooting that killed 15 innocent people and injured dozens has become a lightning rod for worldwide debate about antisemitism and safeguarding the Jewish community. For Nemesh, who started a two-year term as mayor in 2024, it has also been deeply personal. He has lived in Waverley most of his life and knew rabbis Eli Schlanger and Yaakov Levitan, who died in the shooting.

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Antisemitic episodes in the Waverley area  where about 16 per cent of residents identify as Jewish  prompted councillors in March to adopt a model antisemitism strategy for local councils. The plan aimed to educate local communities on how Jew hatred manifested, how to respond to antisemitic attacks, and ways in which they could boost social cohesion. The month prior, Nemesh, Liverpools Ned Mannoun and Inner Wests Darcy Byrne, hosted a roundtable to discuss with 20 mayors from across Sydney how they could protect citizens from antisemitic vandalism, graffiti and threats. The council will consider the future of the Bondi footbridge where two gunmen positioned themselves to kill 15 people in a terrorist attack. Sitthixay Ditthavong What this [terrorist attack] has shown is, even with the best endeavours of different leaders at different levels, weve clearly not done enough. I think all of us collectively need to acknowledge that, and see where we can improve, and do better, so this doesnt happen again, Nemesh said. Nemesh said Albanese had phoned him last Thursday to offer his solidarity and support, and the pair had a very forthright discussion. My sense was that he recognises the challenges that were facing, Nemesh said.

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He would not be drawn on state or federal politicians responses to antisemitism, or the mass shooting, but stressed he now wanted to see leadership at all levels working cohesively and constructively together. Related Article Crime Im not scared: In the heart of Jewish Melbourne, a community reckons with hate I think thats going to help our community pull together and get through this. If we create division, that is only to our detriment. Nemesh said reforms related to gun control, hate speech and protests were matters for state and federal governments, but councils had a crucial role in setting the tone for how communities functioned and interacted. The scourge of antisemitism must be defeated, and that will take all levels of government, civil society, everybody to make a concerted effort in our schools, universities and workplaces to call out not just antisemitism, but racist, extremist ideology.

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Waverley Council has urged visitors to return to Bondi to help small businesses and the community to recover. The council said staff were working closely with the Jewish community and other residents on numerous ideas for a potential permanent tribute or memorial to honour the victims and survivors of the shooting. There are many ideas, and this process will take time, a council spokesperson said. Waverley Council issued a plea for Sydneysiders and visitors to return to Bondi to support small businesses. Steven Siewert The council also said it was aware of numerous views regarding the future of the footbridge where gunmen Naveed, 24, and Sajid Akram, 50, stood as they fired at the crowds; however, no decisions had been made. Any decision-making regarding the bridge will require consultation from the Jewish community, the Waverley community, the families of the victims and the NSW government. As an interim measure, signage on the footbridge will remind passersby to be respectful, the spokesperson said.

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Nemesh had been due to speak at the Chanukah by the Sea event targeted in the attack, but could not attend for family reasons. Instead, he spent many hours fielding phone calls from panic-stricken friends caught up in the attack as the council tried to ensure staff, particularly lifeguards who had rushed to help the victims, were safe. Related Article Exclusive

Resolve Political Monitor Australians want tougher visa screening, half in favour of royal commission after Bondi attack He said survivors and the community faced a long, difficult road as they grappled with the grief, shock and devastation of losing 15 beautiful souls  in the most horrific of circumstances. But he praised Bondi residents for responding to the attack with an outpouring of love, strength and resilience. Were an incredibly close community, the Waverley community, but especially the Jewish community. Everyone knows someone affected, directly or indirectly. We were all there for one another, and thats extraordinary for a community to go through all it did to be as resilient as it has.

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Nemesh said the outpouring of support from across the nation, particularly those who visited the flower memorial at the Bondi Pavilion after the attack, had been deeply moving, and also deeply powerful. That was a microcosm of what we need to do to get through this: to be there for one another, be kind, be compassionate, check in on our friends, our neighbours, even strangers, and ask them how theyre doing, Nemesh said. Hanukkah is the story of light triumphing over darkness, and we need to make sure our good deeds and light shine brightly and drown out that darkness that has occurred. The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.
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NationalScience Smartwatches track plenty of health data. How much of it is actually useful? Liam Mannix December 28, 2025  1:16pm 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 A A

Stefanos Sifandos has access to just about every recovery toy available. But before the chief wellness officer at P3 Recovery straps on his self-inflating compression trousers or ventures into the hyperbaric oxygen chamber, he needs to answer a central question: how is his recovery tracking? Naum Sekulovski inside a red light therapy bed at P3 Recovery Centre in Richmond. Justin McManus Exercise is the deliberate stressing of, to the point of minor damage, our bodies. Micro-tears open across our muscles. Inflammatory cascades begin. If done right, we wake the next day aching, as our bodies begin to adapt and grow stronger. But how do we know when adaptation has occurred, and when we are ready to go again? Sifandos turns to the metrics at his wrist, tracked by his smartwatch. Theyre great at showing trends  sleep duration, heart-rate variability, resting heart rate, he says. These three metrics, as well as sleep quality, he says, tend to be the most useful.

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Most modern smartwatches give you this data; some now combine various data points into sleep, recovery (Whoop) or readiness (Fitbit and Pixel) scores. But what is this data really telling us about our health? And how can we make the most of it? An Apple Inc. Watch Ultra 2 smartwatch on display at an Apple store. Bloomberg Heart rate, resting heart rate, and heart rate variability Our hearts sit roughly in the centre of our chest, beating about 100,000 times a day. Each beat pushes about 70 millilitres of blood, about a quarter of a baking cup. The average person has a heart rate around the high-70s.

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And dont try to compare your resting heart rate with your friends, Scott says. Were all getting older. Maintaining the same resting HR, rather than improving it, is still an improvement. If you put your finger to your pulse, it feels steady and rhythmic. But under close examination, the rhythm reveals minute variation  literally between every heartbeat. The Apple Watch emits a green light when measuring the wearer's heart rate. SMH / Supplied Why? Because of the way the heart is wired up. The heart beats in response to electrical signals from the nervous system. The two halves of our nervous system  the sympathetic and parasympathetic  are designed to be in constant tension with each other. The parasympathetic nervous system is our brake, always pulling us towards calmness and tugging our heart rate down (when the parasympathetic nerve is cut during a heart transplant, heart rhythm rapidly accelerates). The sympathetic nervous system is our accelerator, looking for stress, primed to trigger our fight or flight response.

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Related Article Cardiovascular health Why swapping your shower for a bath is good for your heart Theres always a tension between the two. If heart rate variability is high, thats a really robust nervous system, says Dr Kegan Moneghetti, head of cardiovascular clinical services at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute. Having a higher heart rate variability is good for the heart, and good for the body. Higher heart rate variability is a sign both sides of the nervous system are in robust health. As we become more stressed, our sympathetic nervous system grows more active, and our heart rate variability falls: researchers consistently see lower HRV in people who are sick. Its a sensitive metric, pushed up by exercise and down by alcohol, weight gain, or job stress. And it is an excellent measure of how well your body is adapting to training, says Professor Andrew McKune, senior adviser on recovery to the Australian Institute of Sport. Generally, the average weekend athlete will see their HRV increase after training, as their bodies adapt to stress. But if they approach exhaustion-levels of exercise, their HRV will fall, only rebounding after a big rest-break. For myself  as much as I can be a bit of a sceptic for these  it does seem to be a pretty good indicator of when Im going to get sick. I can see it trending down for three or four days, and Ill say uh oh to my wife, says David Scott.

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But he and other experts caution against reading too much into the exact HRV your smartwatch spits out. McKune typically spends a month monitoring an athletes HRV to work out the baseline. Your individual trend  up or down  is what matters. Its one component you might look at with interest. But we dont say your HRV is 20, you need to do this and this, says Moneghetti. Sekulovski in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber at P3 Recovery. Justin McManus Sleep, recovery, and readiness scores First-generation smartwatches merely tracked our health metrics. The modern versions try to turn these data points into scores: sleep scores, recovery scores, even readiness scores.

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Beyond that, is there an optimal amount of REM or deep sleep we should target? I hear it all the time: Im not getting enough REM, or enough slow-wave, says Lee. There is no great robust evidence that says increasing or decreasing certain stages is beneficial. Related Article Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos. Sleep Everything you need to know about getting a good nights sleep Even with those limitations in mind, Lee sees a role for smartwatch sleep scores, but suggests you focus on the trend, not on how you did in any individual night. Be fascinated by the data that comes back from the devices, he says. If there are problems, talk to a sleep doctor. Thats sleep. What about recovery? A small meta-analysis of seven studies on HRV, published in October, concluded heart rate variability did change meaningfully as people went through periods of stress and recovery. A 2023 meta-analysis of 17 studies found various recovery techniques  including massage, cold water immersion, stretching and massage  meaningfully increased HRV.

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But just because HRV is a useful metric, it does not mean recovery or readiness scores are. HRV is a component of these scores, but they are generally proprietary, and the companies do not share how they are calculated. We cant get into them to understand how they are developed, says David Scott. The reality is, theres not a lot of evidence behind them as to do they really predict if were prepared for peak performance. Which leads us to perhaps the most fascinating data-point in recovery: a systematic review by Deakin University researchers looking at what metric best captured how fatigued an athlete was and how well they were recovering. Sekulovski in a pair of compression pants at P3 Recovery Centre. Justin McManus The researchers looked at heart rate, blood markers, oxygen consumption, HRV and a bunch of other measures. But one surprise metric beat them all: how stressed or recovered the athletes felt. Your best indicator is how you are feeling physically and mentally, says Scott. Dont become too dependant or get lost in these metrics.

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Trends Stairway to hell: How the fitness tracker ruins my life Cherie Gilmour Freelance writer Recovery: what really matters The AISs McKune advocates thinking about your recovery strategies like a pyramid. At the bottom are the foundations that everyone needs to get right. Its not going to be anything special, says McKune. Make sure youre sleeping seven to nine hours a night. Refuel with carbohydrates and rebuild with protein. Replace lost fluids. As you go higher up towards the point, they become more specific to the preferences of the individual athletes, says McKune. The sort of stuff Stefanos Sifandos has at P3.

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Sifandos sees a role for sauna, red light therapy and hyperbaric oxygen  but ultimately agrees with McKune. The basics are key: sleep, hydration, light movement. Most people want the hacks, says Stefanos, but real recovery is unbelievably simple. 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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WorldNorth AmericaUS politics Opinion Trumps Golden Fleet battleship plan a disaster waiting to happen

Tom Sharpe December 28, 2025  1:37pm 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 A A

On December 22, at his Mar-a-Lago resort, US President Donald Trump unveiled plans for a new Trump-class battleship as the centrepiece of his Golden Fleet initiative. We now have renderings of the proposed USS Defiant  a 30,000 to 40,000-ton behemoth, possibly nuclear-propelled and armed with hypersonic missiles, railguns, lasers and nuclear-tipped cruise missiles. Trump declared these vessels would be the fastest, the biggest, and by far 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built. Starting with two ships, the goal is to have 20 to 25. Timelines for completion are not clear, but the first hulls in the mid-2030s is suggested. Based on the renderings and descriptions, this new proposal by US President Donald Trump resembles a large guided missile cruiser. AFP Reactions have been enthusiastic from the Presidents personal MAGA base, generally with some caveats. Others have shown bemusement, given the other more obvious priorities for the US Navy, and still others have ridiculed the plan. Trump talking about it in terms that an eight-year-old would find patronising and calling it after himself led many into the third camp. Im trying my best to remain in the middle group. Historically, the word battleship is derived from the line-of-battle ship, the ship of the line of the days of sail. These sailing ships, with two or three decks of cannon  HMS Victory, still preserved in commission at Portsmouth, is an example of the class  were deemed powerful enough to stand in the line of battle during a major fleet action. Smaller warships such as frigates (sometimes known as cruisers back then) could not stand in the line and were not battleships.

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Then came the days of steam, armour and gun turrets. The new battleships now carried heavy armour and came to devote most of their carrying capacity to the biggest guns possible  they were all big gun designs, the first being the British Dreadnought class of 1906. This same design philosophy lasted into World War II, with gun calibres escalating from 12-inch to 15- and 16-inch and finally to the enormous 18-inch weapons mounted in the Japanese super-battleships Yamato and Musashi. Not every detail of the Trump class is clear, but it seems the two main features of that last generation of battleships  armour and big conventional guns  will be lacking, which is reasonable enough as they arent much use in the modern world. Based on the renderings and descriptions, this new proposal actually resembles a large guided missile cruiser, probably closer to Russias Kirov class rather than an Iowa. The Iowa class (which Trump seems to have in mind) and the Kirov class are two of the best-looking warships ever built. You can see why a mash-up might appeal to someone striving for form over function. Its the function that is the problem. This mega-cruiser/battleship concept flies directly in the face of all that. Nearly all modern naval doctrine and thinking is heading in the direction of dispersal over concentration. Proliferating high-speed missiles, drones  above, on and under the water  alongside advanced sensors and communications all push us towards a dispersed, distributed force. This also increases redundancy and our ability to be in multiple places at once. Combine this with universal budget constraints, yard shortages for building large hulls and crewing leanness, and the direction of travel is obvious. This mega-cruiser/battleship concept flies directly in the face of all that.

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The other issue is fleet balance. For this, a navy needs a combination of high and low-end capabilities, both crewed and uncrewed. Its ironic that one of the first US strategists to openly discuss this hi-lo mix was Admiral Elmo Zumwalt whose name was given to a class of large, high-end destroyers which became so complex it had to be cancelled after just three were built. You have to be very optimistic not to see how the Trump class could go the same way. At the high end, the US Navy excels with its huge aircraft carriers and amphibious ships  although by hull numbers at least, the Chinese Navy is becoming a serious adversary. Then there are surface warships and attack submarines. Here, again, the US Navy is leagues ahead, although some of their destroyers, whilst still excellent, are ageing, and their ancient missile cruisers are on the way out. These old Ticonderoga-class cruisers are essentially larger destroyers with more Vertical Launch Systems (VLS) and a refined ability to direct area air defence. Destroyers and dispersed systems can handle these tasks, and for me, that would take priority over a new class of cruiser or battleship. A Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam sails in the South China Sea. US Navy/AP Below this, the US Navy starts to look thin. They dont have a frigate  a specialist anti-submarine warfare (ASW) ship  and the Russian, Chinese and rogue conventional and uncrewed threat demands this now more than ever. The US Navy does need a large number of lower-end cutter-type ships, but it also needs dedicated submarine hunters. This large and important gap in the US Navy remains. Navies and often external analysts tend to obsess over high-end roles, writing off anything that isnt peer-combat capable. But this ignores the fact that naval forces spend nearly all their time setting the conditions to avoid conflict. This is why mass and presence are so important. It has to be backed up by the high-end stuff if the deterrent effect is to be maximised, but its frustrating to see how many people write off things like the cutter plan as useless before seeing what it can do.

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Against all this, can a case for an American battleship/cruiser be made? Yes, it can. This ship represents ambition, presence, and symbolism  all good, positive things. At a more operational level, it would house a vast quantity of missile launch tubes and large radars optimised for hypersonic missile tracking. It would have lots of room for useful guns in calibres suited to anti-drone use  and maybe one day electrically powered railguns, if that technology ever matures. The US has given up trying to build railguns, but Japan is still working on them. If nuclear propulsion is chosen, the new battlewagon could have near-unlimited range and massive power generation. The power would not be for greater speed, but for data processing, electronic warfare, laser weapons and possibly railguns. New battleships could take on the fleet Command and Control function currently provided by the ageing Mount Whitney class. Related Article USA Piracy: US seizes oil tanker off Venezuela to enforce Trumps blockade However, I sincerely doubt that any new battleship could survive a hit from the champion ship killer, the heavyweight torpedo. After all, the old armoured battleships could be sunk by torpedoes. They could also be sunk by aircraft bombs, and there are plenty of anti-ship missiles out there that hit just as hard as bombs. So the Trump class ships would need layers of defence like those provided for aircraft carriers: and the outer layer is provided by the carriers fighter jets, which the battlewagon would not have. And while it is true that the proposed battleships would have useful things, it would usually make more sense to break them up across smaller, more numerous platforms. So that leaves us with presence and prestige as the only unique things the battleships would bring to the party.

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Then, estimates suggest these ships will cost $US9 billion per hull if made in numbers: $US14 billion for the first one. Thats the same as a Ford class supercarrier, even more if nuclear propulsion is chosen. Thats a lot of money in one hull when most of what you want it to do can be done better and more cheaply by something else. What price prestige? This before the matter of yard capacity to build it is discussed, which has even the most ardent optimists scratching their heads. Or pulling their hair out in frustration at what has become of US shipbuilding. Meanwhile, China, with impeccable and probably not coincidental timing, has just permitted the circulation of images of a container ship  Zhong Da 79  fitted with containerised VLS (around 60 missile tubes), radars and close-in weapons systems (CIWS  auto gun systems that can take out incoming missiles and drones). The Chinese have got the dispersal memo. The weight of fire, deception and sheer numbers this option could provide is deeply worrying. Their direction of travel is clear, albeit they are also continuing with high-end warship design and build at a high rate. As a concept, arming merchant vessels has been around for decades and has been trialled by both US and British navies. Until now, no one has taken it seriously. Related Article Analysis

US politics Whats in a name? Trumps vainglorious branding stunts point to underlying phobia The Chinese threat and the good health of the US Navy concerns us all. The mistakes of the Zumwalt, Littoral Combat Ship and Constellation classes made us all less safe, not just the US Navy. All three were actually needed to a greater or lesser degree. All three were botched in the delivery to the point of early cancellation, and billions were wasted. The trouble with the Trump ship is it feels like a fourth mistake waiting to happen. If their yards were churning out frigates and patrol vessels and had plans for the replacement destroyer, and the President wanted battleships as a status symbol on top of that, that would be fine. The problem is that this project is likely to divert money and yard capacity away from things that are needed more.

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Sipping deep from the Christmas cup of optimism, maybe this idea, and the presidential impetus behind it, will breathe new life into the US shipbuilding system, even if the golden mega-ship never materialises. I hope so, because that is everyones business. Tom Sharpe was a British Royal Navy officer for 27 years, commanding four warships. Telegraph, London Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on whats making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.
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December 28, 2025  3:34pm 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 A A

The US Great White Fleet sailed into Sydney Harbour in August 1908 and virtually the entire city turned out to greet the ships. There were parades, balls and parties as we fell for the first time under Americas beguiling sense of power. The fleet had circumnavigated the globe to trumpet the USs arrival as a world naval power and now President Donald Trump plans to set to sea in Theodore Roosevelts wake. What the planned new Trump-class warship should look like - if all goes to plan AP Trump has announced that the US will commission a new series of heavily armed battleships named after himself, as part of a revamped Golden Fleet aimed at expanding the US Navy to catch up with China. Theyll help maintain American military supremacy, revive the American shipbuilding industry and inspire fear in Americas enemies all over the world, Trump said. He boasted the new class of warships would be 100 times more powerful than previous battleships and larger than any other surface combatant on the oceans. He criticised current warships as ugly, apparently unaware that their designs reflect radar and he has mooted aesthetics as a criterion for US Navy design teams.

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Long fascinated with battleships, Trump was unable to resist his passion for branding himself on favourite projects. However, dubbing the new ships Trump class breaks naming conventions, including not naming ships after living persons. Related Article Analysis

US politics Whats in a name? Trumps vainglorious branding stunts point to underlying phobia But he had to float something big to create the impression that both American industry and military were poised to regain hegemony on the high seas. The US has faded considerably as a maritime power since the 1940s and although there were fits at rebuilding, the fleet has languished and now numbers some 300 vessels. For the first time in living memory, the US faces a serious competitor for naval dominance in the form of the Peoples Republic of China. Beijing moved to fill the void and, with some 400 ships, the Chinese navy is now the biggest in the world. Not only that, about 60 per cent of worldwide orders now go to Chinas shipyards. But the Trump class battleship has a major credibility problem.

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The ship will take years to design; it will cost an estimated $US13.4 billion each to build; and it flouts the US Navys new concept of operations: high-speed missiles, drones  above, on and under the water  alongside advanced sensors and communication. Nearly all modern naval doctrine and thinking is heading in the direction of dispersal over concentration. Battleships grew out of the days of sail, when concentration was good and bigger ships were powerful enough to stand in the line of battle during a major fleet action. With their massive armour and big guns, they remained on duty for three centuries, until the end of the Cold War turned speed and dexterity into more potent weapons. Trumps vainglorious need to dwell in the past of his childhood days has impressed few outside his circle of friends. The economic and logistical challenges and the diversion of money from the development of more effective ships has convinced most naval experts that his ship will never sail.
Iran says launches three satellites into space from Russia



Tehran, Dec 28 (AFP) Dec 28, 2025



Iran launched three domestically built observation satellites into space from Russia on Sunday, state television reported, marking a new step for Tehran's space programme despite Western sanctions.

The country maintains that its aerospace industry is peaceful and complies with UN Security Council resolutions imposed over its nuclear programme.

"Three Iranian satellites, Zafar-2, Paya and Kowsar 1.5, were launched into space by a Soyuz rocket from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia," Iranian television reported.

The satellites were to be used for "observation" and were designed by "the private sector", the official IRNA news agency said.

Paya is Iran's most advanced domestically produced imaging satellite, using artificial intelligence to improve image resolution, IRNA said.

It said the satellite would focus on water resource management, environmental monitoring and mapping.

The Russian Soyuz launcher was chosen because it is one of the most reliable in the world for transporting sensitive satellites, according to the Fars news agency.

Iran has carried out 10 satellite launches in the last two years, including one in July from the same launch site in Russia.

Western countries fear that these satellite launch systems incorporate technologies interchangeable with those used in ballistic missiles, potentially capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.

Tehran denies those accusations and refutes that it is trying to acquire nuclear weapons.
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22:08 Airlines briefly face baggage handling system glitch at Delhi airport Airlines faced baggage handling system glitch at the Delhi airport on Sunday afternoon and the issue was resolved later, according to sources. The sources said there was a glitch with the baggage handling system for around 15-20 minutes starting around 1.45 pm on Sunday. The glitch... Read more >

21:51 Himachal doctors' strike called off after CM Sukhu reopens probe into brawl Doctors of Indira Gandhi Medical College called off their strike in Shimla after Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu assured that the patient-physician brawl that led to the doctor's removal from service would be looked into again.A statement by the Resident Doctors Association of IGMC, Shimla,... Read more >

21:43 MPCB shuts 4 non-compliant concrete plants in Mumbai The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board on Sunday shut down four ready-mix concrete plants in Mumbai and initiated action against 37 units, recovering penalties of Rs 1.87 crore amid stepped-up measures to curb air pollution. Special flying squads will immediately begin inspections to verify... Read more >

21:38 SC to hear CBI plea against suspension of Sengar's life term on Monday Unnao rape convict Kuldeep Singh Sengar/File image The Supreme Court is slated to hear on Monday a plea by the CBI challenging the Delhi high court order suspending the life sentence of expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the Unnao rape case.According to the cause list, a three-judge vacation bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and... Read more >

21:23 Congress faces embarrassment for incorrect singing of National Anthem in Kerala The Congress party in Kerala found itself in an embarrassing situation when a line of the national anthem was sung incorrectly during a program at its state headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.This happened during the 141st foundation day celebration of the Indian National Congress at... Read more >

21:17 Messi event chaos: Court extends police custody of chief organiser till Jan 9 A court in West Bengal on Sunday extended till January 9 the police custody of Satadru Dutta, the chief organiser of Argentine footballer Lionel Messi's event that dissolved into disorder earlier this month.After the completion of his initial police custody, Dutta was produced before the... Read more >

21:17 Messi event chaos: Court extends police custody of chief organiser till Jan 9 A court in West Bengal on Sunday extended till January 9 the police custody of Satadru Dutta, the chief organiser of Argentine footballer Lionel Messi's event that dissolved into disorder earlier this month.After the completion of his initial police custody, Dutta was produced before the... Read more >

21:07 3 fishermen arrested by Sri Lanka, Stalin tells Centre; seeks action Sri Lankan Navy arrested 3 Tamil Nadu fishermen and seized their fishing boat, Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday apprised External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and urged the Centre to get the fishermen and their boat released at the earliest.The fishermen had ventured for fishing from Mandapam... Read more >

20:58 Rajasthan: Tigress translocated from MP enters Ramgarh Vishdhari forest A tigress (PN-224) translocated from Madhya Pradesh's Pench Tiger Reserve was released into the forest at Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan's Bundi district on Sunday as part of the Inter-State Tiger Reintroduction Programme, forest officials said.As part of the prescribed... Read more >

20:19 Rusted mortar shell defused near LoC in J-K's Poonch A rusted mortar shell was defused in a village near the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Sunday. The mortar shell was noticed by some locals in forward Bandi Chechian village of Haveli tehsil on Saturday evening, the officials said.They said... Read more >

20:17 Probe ordered into Chhattisgarh mine stir violence File image A day after several policemen were injured and vehicles were set ablaze during a protest against a coal mining project in Tamnar in Chhattisgarh's Raigarh district, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Sunday said an inquiry will be conducted and strict action will be taken against those found... Read more >

20:00 Raj: Student jumps to death after getting caught cheating in college exam A 19-year-old college student in Jaipur allegedly jumped off from the 12th floor of an under-construction building after he was caught cheating in an exam, police said on Sunday. The incident occurred on Saturday in the Bagru area, they said.The student, Priyanshu Raj, a native of Patna in... Read more >

18:38 Biker killed in explosion while carrying detonators in MP A 20-year-old rider was killed when his motorcycle exploded in Madhya Pradesh's Sehore district on Sunday, the police said. The deceased, identified as Sukhram Barela, was engaged in blasting work at wells and other locations. He was allegedly carrying a large quantity of detonators... Read more >

18:32 Assam: Over 87 acres of grazing land cleared in eviction drive File image An eviction drive to clear over 87 acres of grazing land in Assam's Biswanath district was carried out by the administration on Sunday, affecting more than 360 families, an official said. He said the exercise was conducted in a peaceful manner. Biswanath district commissioner... Read more >

18:18 Bengal: Humayun Kabir's son held for assaulting cop Janata Unnayan Party chief Humayun Kabir/ANI Photo Janata Unnayan Party chief Humayun Kabir's son Golam Nabi Azad was on Sunday detained for allegedly attacking a policeman posted at their residence in West Bengal's Murshidabad district, an officer said.... Read more >

17:48 Telangana plant explosion: Sigachi Industries CEO held A top level executive of Sigachi Industries was arrested in connection with the explosion at its pharma plant in Sangareddy district of Telangana in June this year that killed 46 people, police said on Sunday.The managing director and CEO of Sigachi Industries Amit Raj Sinha, who was named... Read more >

17:30 French legendary actress Brigitte Bardot passes away at 91 Actress Brigitte Bardot/File image French film legend Brigitte Bardot has passed away at the age of 91.The news of her demise was announced by her foundation, as per CNN.The Brigitte Bardot Foundation pays tribute to the memory of an exceptional woman who gave everything and gave up everything for a world more respectful of... Read more >

17:14 BLO found dead in Bengal, work-related pressure alleged A Booth Level Officer was found dead in West Bengal's Bankura district on Sunday, triggering allegations that work-related pressure linked to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls may have played a role, the police said.The incident occurred in Ranibandh block, where the... Read more >

16:58 Two suspected Kashmiris detained in UP's Bareilly The Uttar Pradesh police detained two suspected Kashmiri men, allegedly after villagers complained about their suspicious activities in Bareilly district, officials said on Sunday. The incident came to light on Saturday morning when villagers complained, on the police's X handle, about two... Read more >

16:53 Prez Murmu undertakes submarine sortie at Karwar naval base President Droupadi Murmu, with Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, embarks on the Navy's indigenous Kalvari class submarine INS Vaghsheer at Karwar Naval Base, in Uttara Kannada/ Courtesy @rashtrapatibhvn X/ANI Photo President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday undertook a sortie onboard Indian Navy's frontline submarine INS Vaghsheer on the Western seaboard.Murmu became the second President to undertake a submarine sortie. In February, 2006, APJ Abdul Kalam became the first president to experience a submarine... Read more >

16:27 Organisation should be strengthened: Tharoor supports Digvijaya views Congress MP Shashi Tharoor At the 140th Foundation Day event at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi on Sunday, Shashi Tharoor supported the views of his party colleague Digvijaya Singh, saying the organisation should be strengthened. Tharoor was seated next to Digivijaya Singh during the function at the party's... Read more >

16:24 Two booked for using VPN on mobiles in J-K's Doda Two men were booked for allegedly using Virtual Private Network applications on their mobile phones, violating the orders of Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district administration, the police said on Sunday.The action was taken following strict enforcement of prohibitory orders issued by the Doda... Read more >

15:51 On second day of SIR hearing, 'unmapped voters' crowd camps Hearings under the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls were underway in West Bengal for the second day on Sunday with people queuing up in front of 3,234 centres across the state, a senior official said. Around 32 lakh unmapped voters, those who are unable to establish linkage with... Read more >

15:28 SIR row: Centre gives Y-plus security to Bengal CEO West Bengal CEO Manoj Agarwal/ANI Photo The Centre has provided an armed security cover to West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal in the wake of a potential threat to him due to the ongoing SIR exercise in the state, officials said on Sunday.A Y-plus category cover of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has... Read more >

15:20 Right-wing activists disrupt birthday party alleging 'love jihad' in UP A group of right-wing activists barged into a restaurant in Bareilly and gate-crashed a birthday party, alleging love jihad. The police got involved and fined two Muslim youths, who were among the 10 attendees of the party, and a staffer of the establishment for disturbing the peace.The... Read more >

14:50 J-K lecturer to be suspended over prayer platform in school File image Authorities in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district have recommended the suspension of an Arabic lecturer of a government higher secondary school for allegedly ordering the construction of a platform on the school building to be used for offering prayers, officials said on Sunday. Quoting a... Read more >

14:13 Mobile net services restored in violence-hit Assam districts Mobile internet services in violence-hit Karbi Anglong and West Karbi Anglong districts of Assam were restored on Sunday following improvement in the law and order situation, an official order said.Strict security vigil continued in the districts, along with the deployment of additional security... Read more >

13:53 EC halts Bengal hearings over 2002 electoral roll glitch The EC has issued fresh instructions to district election officials in West Bengal, directing that voters marked as unmapped in the BLO app due to technical issues linked to the digitisation of the 2002 electoral rolls during the ongoing SIR exercise should not be called for hearings, even if... Read more >

13:49 CPM MLA, BJP councillor spar over office space in Kerala BJP councillor and Kerala ex-DGP R Sreelekha (middle) A ruling CPI-M MLA and a newly elected BJP councillor on Sunday sparred over an office space located in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation building, before shaking hands over the matter and burying the hatchet. Vattiyoorkavu MLA V K Prasanth told reporters that councillor R Sreelekha... Read more >

13:15 Fire breaks out at commercial building in Mumbai, no casualties A fire broke out at a six-storey commercial building in the eastern suburbs in Mumbai in the wee hours of Sunday, civic officials said.There were no reports of injuries in the blaze that erupted on the sixth floor of Emgeen Chambers in the Kalina area of Santacruz East around 2.30 am, they said.A... Read more >

13:07 Missing boy found dead in village pond in Kerala's Palakkad A six-year-old boy, who had been reported missing after leaving his house in this north Kerala district, was found dead in a pond on Sunday morning, the police said.The body of the boy was found floating in the village pond close to his home.As soon as Suhan had gone missing from his house on... Read more >

12:35 Pak kabbadi player banned for representing Indian team Ubaidullah Rajpoot/Courtesy Ubaidullah Rajpoot/X A well-known Pakistan international kabaddi player, Ubaidullah Rajpoot, has been banned indefinitely by the national federation after he appeared for an Indian team in a private tournament in Bahrain earlier this month.The Pakistan Kabaddi Federation (PKF) imposed the ban following an emergency... Read more >

12:17 'Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri' earns Rs 21.24 cr at box office Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri, featuring Ananya Panday and Kartik Aaryan in the lead roles, has collected over Rs 20 crore at domestic box office in three days of its release. The makers shared the box office numbers with a post on their Instagram handle on Sunday, which had the film's... Read more >

11:57 Shiv Sena, BJP seat-sharing talks for BMC polls in final stages, says minister The seat-sharing talks between the Shiv Sena and the BJP for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections are in the final stages, Maharashtra minister Uday Samant has said. Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Sawant said it is certain that the polls will be contested by the... Read more >

11:22 Gautam Adani, Sharad, Ajit Pawar share stage in Baramati Industrialist Gautam Adani inaugurated the Sharadchandra Pawar Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence at Baramati in Maharashtra's Pune district on Sunday.The centre of excellence, funded by the Adani Group chairman, has been established under Vidya Pratishthan, the educational institute... Read more >

11:07 Bangladesh's ex-PM Khaleda Zia in 'extremely critical' condition Bangladesh's former prime minister Khaleda Zia is in an extremely critical condition, her personal physician has said. Zia, the 80-year-old chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, has been undergoing treatment at Dhaka's Evercare Hospital since November 23 for multiple health... Read more >

11:03 Every Indian should learn one South Indian language, says Union Minister Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday advocated learning at least one South Indian language and said he was trying to learn a South Indian language.Speaking at a mega farmer seminar on sustainable tree-based agriculture held under the aegis of the Isha Foundation in Hosur,... Read more >

11:00 'Acts of hatred': US Congressman condemns Dipu Das lynching Indian-American lawmaker Ro Khanna has condemned the killing of a Hindu garment factory worker in Bangladesh, urging the global community to speak out against such vile acts of hatred and bigotry. Dipu Chandra Das, 27, was lynched by a mob and his body set on fire over alleged blasphemy in... Read more >

10:42 Bihar: 8 wagons of goods train derail, rail traffic disrupted Representative image Eight wagons of a goods train have derailed in Bihar's Jamui district, causing disruption of railway services on the Howrah-Patna-Delhi route, officials said.No casualties have been reported so far, they said.The accident took place between Lahabon and Simultala railway stations under the Asansol... Read more >

10:32 Consensus eludes Thackerays, Sena-BJP over seat sharing Consensus on seat sharing for the January 15 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections eluded both the Thackeray cousins and the BJP-Shiv Sena camps, as leaders from the respective parties held hectic parleys on Saturday.The Shiv Sena-UBT, led by Uddhav Thackeray, and the Maharashtra Navnirman... Read more >

10:14 Adani to share stage with Sharad Pawar, Ajit Pawar Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani will inaugurate the Sharad Pawar Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence in Baramati in Pune district on Sunday, centre officials said. NCP-SP head Sharad Pawar, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Baramati MP Supriya Sule and Rajya Sabha... Read more >

09:09 IndiGo cancels 57 flights due to 'bad weather' on Saturday Domestic carrier IndiGo on Saturday cancelled 57 flights across its network, citing bad weather at various airports, according to the airline's website. The airline has also cancelled 13 flights, as of now, for Sunday, with two of them for operational reasons, and the remaining... Read more >

09:05 UP khap panchayat bans kids from wearing half pants in public A khap panchayat in Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh has banned children from keeping smartphones or wearing half pants in public places. Instead, boys are advised to wear kurta-pyjamas and girls salwar-kurta. The panchayat said that boys and girls seen in public places wearing half... Read more >

08:54 Himachal: Pilot killed in paragliding accident at Bir Billing Representative image An experienced pilot was killed when a tandem paraglider reportedly developed a technical malfunction shortly after take-off, lost balance mid-air, and crashed near the road below the launch site in Kangra district, officials said on Saturday. The incident occurred at the internationally... Read more >
Israeli air force deploys first laser interception system



Jerusalem, Dec 28 (AFP) Dec 28, 2025



Israel's defence ministry said on Sunday it had deployed a new "Iron Beam" laser system for the air force to intercept aerial threats.

The laser system's main developers, the ministry's research and development department and defence contractor Rafael, delivered it to the air force at a ceremony in northern Israel.

"For the first time globally, a high-power laser interception system has achieved full operational maturity, successfully executing multiple interceptions," Defence Minister Israel Katz said at the ceremony, according to a statement.

"This monumental achievement... delivers a critical message to our enemies, near and far alike: do not challenge us, or face severe consequences," he said.

The handover marks a major milestone in a project more than a decade old.

"Israel has become the first country in the world to field an operational laser system for the interception of aerial threats, including rockets and missiles," said Yuval Steinitz, chairman of Rafael.

The laser system seeks to enhance and slash the cost of Israel's interception of projectiles, and will supplement other aerial defence capacities such as the more well-known Iron Dome.

Iron Dome offers short-range protection against missiles and rockets. The David's Sling system and successive generations of Arrow missiles are Israeli-American technology built to bring down ballistic missiles.

The defence ministry announced in early December that the laser system was complete, and would be deployed by the end of the month.

During the 12-day war launched by Israel against Iran in June, the country's missile defence system failed to intercept all the projectiles fired by Tehran toward Israeli territory.

Israel has since acknowledged being hit by more than 50 missiles during the war with Iran, resulting in 28 deaths.
It does feel a bit like cheating to add this one to the list, seeing as it comes out on New Years Eve in the US - but still, its out at 1am in the UK, which officially makes this the first must-watch show of 2026. The Duffer Brothers have a lot of tying-up of loose ends to do: theres the monstrous Vecna to defeat, Will suddenly has superpowers and also the US military is on the loose. Chances that at least one of the 12 main cast members will die is decent.
"It seemed as if an issue was flagged up to the Border Force officers at passport control at Stansted, which led to police being called. He was questioned then taken away," they said.
They said he had many interests and was always there with a smile and cheeky sense of humour, adding: He was a loving son, brother, nephew, grandson, friend and we will never recover from the loss and not having him in our lives.
Halloween - Once a US export, now a staple of the British calendar - Halloween filled London with spooky costumes, as revellers headed to the city centre for a night of spooky delights, from Soho to Leicester Square. Elsewhere Londoners took advantage of a converted Harry Potter Studio Tour, which saw the iconic Great Hall decked out with more than 100 floating pumpkins and Dementors filling The Forbidden Forest. The popular Rooftop Film Club featured special spooky screenings, and the Science Museum even welcomed Halloween-lovers in for after-hours access to its exhibits.
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I remember theres a letter at the end of this book that Will has written to Lou, and I remember writing it and sobbing so hard that the man in the next office came next door to see if I was OK and I had to sort of say snottily, its going really well, thanks for asking.
Top view, Team engineer building inspection use tablet computer and blueprint working at construction site. Civil Engineer, Contractor and Architect discussing in construction site. Akacin Phonsawat/Getty Images A group of homebuilders in the Rio Grande Valley say construction has slowed amid an increase in arrests by immigration officers. Michael Gonzalez/For the Texas Tribune

McALLEN  One morning in mid-November, Mario Guerrero, the executive director of the South Texas Builders Association, was checking a group chat when a video of federal agents detaining people from a construction site popped up.

He watched the video of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detaining workers who were pouring cement in front of a home in an idyllic neighborhood here in the Rio Grande Valley.

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Guerrero has been watching similar videos or reading news reports of arrests and raids for nearly a year. This was the last straw.

The raids and the specter of more to come have struck fear in construction workers, causing many to stay home. ICE agents have arrested more than 9,100 people in South Texas  nearly one-fifth of all such arrests in the entire state since Trump took office, according to government data provided by ICE in response to a Freedom of Information Act request to the Deportation Data Project and analyzed by the Texas Tribune.

Without enough workers, construction has slowed, sending a ripple effect throughout the economy. Economists suggest that this will drive housing costs up  even as Texas officials focus on bringing such costs down.

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Later that afternoon, Guerrero posted a video of his own on the associations Facebook page in which he addressed the construction community, local elected officials and the public.

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I would like to start off this video by saying that I am an American citizen, and its crazy that were living in times where you actually have to state that, Guerrero began.

He said he believed law enforcement should do their jobs, but he was disturbed by the fact that ICE agents were operating without arrest warrants  which they are legally allowed to do  and detaining people who have proper authorization.

Its whats happening across the Rio Grande Valley at construction sites, he said.

He ended the video by calling on local leaders to attend a meeting later that month to discuss the ongoing challenges facing the construction industry because of ICE raids.

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Its time that we have our leaders show up, he said. Our people are hurting, our businesses are hurting. Theres no labor.

Guerreros candor about how the construction industry is suffering as a result of ICE raids grabbed the attention of the Rio Grande Valley community.

For months, residents openly assumed that the construction industry was being negatively affected, but had yet to hear anyone in the industry officially acknowledge it. Data from the Federal Reserve of Dallas shows a 5% drop in construction jobs during the third quarter of this year, the single largest dip in jobs in the region.

ICE did not respond to an interview request or a list of questions that the Texas Tribune sent.

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With his comments, Guerrero opened the door for others to finally speak openly about it, catching the attention of state and federal officials.

Construction cant continue

When the day of the meeting arrived, more than 380 people filled the room at the Brookhaven Event Center in Pharr. It was packed with people who worked in nearly every facet of construction and development, including concrete, lumber, real estate and lending. A handful of elected officials also attended.

During the roughly hour and a half that they met, those industry representatives took turns to discuss the hits their businesses had taken because workers were too frightened that ICE would show up at construction sites. They also warned of how the larger Rio Grande Valley economy would suffer if the ICE arrests didnt stop.

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Business is down significantly, Ronnie Cavazos, board president of the South Texas Builders Association, told the crowd. If we continue on this trajectory, we will see a lot of businesses fail.

Isaac Smith, a co-owner of Matts Building Materials, said his familys stores were struggling to get lumber out the door.

If job sites are getting raided, at any level, the construction cant continue, Smith told the Tribune. Its not a fun situation to be in.

Smith said his sales had seen a rate of decline in the double digits since the ICE operations began. Hes also seen an increase in late payments from customers with a credit line from the store.

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That takes an adverse effect on our cash flow and how we operate, how we manage expenses, and money coming in, and money going out, Smith said.

We wish it would stop

During the Nov. 17 meeting, Cavazos took a moment to bring attention to the people directly affected by the raids  the workers.

Let me tell you about immigrants in this country. Nobody believes in the American dream more than them, Cavazos said in his remarks. The immigrant should be celebrated, treated with dignity and allowed to work and provide for their families.

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Every few days, videos of ICE operations gain widespread attention. Jesus, a 42-year-old construction worker who asked his last name not be used because he and his wife are undocumented, said he and his fellow workers keep a lookout for ICE when theyre out on a job  if they go to work.

Jesus has drastically decreased the number of jobs he takes, just enough to ensure his family can survive.

We hardly work anymore; were afraid to go out into the street, he said. We dont look for work because were scared.

He estimates he brings in about 60% less than he used to before the raids began. He, his wife and their four children try to survive off the diminished salary that he brings in.

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We wish it would stop, but we dont control these things, Jesus said. The government does.

Unintended consequences

With fewer construction workers available to build homes, delays in building could result in a shortage of homes and cause home prices to rise.

It would not be the first time that changes in immigration policy could be at least a partial factor in housing unaffordability.

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Researchers found that under an Obama-era immigration enforcement program, deportations led to a shortage of labor in the construction sector and, therefore, fewer new homes.

The program, called Secure Communities, was launched during the George W. Bush administration but was expanded under former President Barack Obama, leading to more than 300,000 deportations from 2008 to 2013.

Nationwide, there was a 2% to 3% decrease in labor in the construction industry and a 5.7% decrease in new constructions during that time. The new constructions that were getting built went up in price by 4.4%, according to Dayin Zhang, one of the researchers and an assistant professor at the Wisconsin School of Business.

It is difficult to forecast the future, as many economic conditions have changed over the past two decades, Zhang said. However, given the current pace of deportations, it is reasonable to expect that shortages in construction labor and housing will become more severe than the period of Secure Communities.

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How that might translate to today likely will depend on the total number of people deported under the Trump administration. The administration says more than 600,000 have been deported since Trump took office in January, though immigration advocates have questioned the accuracy of their numbers.

Thrust into the spotlight

Since the meeting, Guerrero has received an unusual amount of attention for someone who usually stays off social media.

His video grabbed the attention of U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Laredo Democrat, who asked to meet. The meeting, held at a seafood restaurant, went well, Guerrero said, with Cuellar expressing a desire to bring awareness to the issue at the congressional level.

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On Dec. 10, Guerrero attended a private meeting with Gov. Greg Abbott when the governor swung through the Valley to champion his proposals to cut property taxes.

At the end of the meeting, Guerrero introduced himself to Abbott, but the governor appeared to already know who he was. During their brief exchange, Guerrero handed him a letter and invited him to another builders meeting in January.

Abbotts office did not respond to a request for comment.

Hes gotten some negative feedback, too. People have left messages on social media accusing him of wanting to exploit cheap labor. He strongly pushed back against that accusation, adding that entry-level laborers are paid the equivalent of $15 per hour.

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People on social media also commented that he should be prosecuted or investigated, and told him he shouldnt be calling out local elected officials.

Guerrero isnt backing down.

For the January meeting, he has invited more elected officials at all levels of government. He hopes these ongoing public gatherings will bring greater awareness to their plight.

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A voter casts a ballot at a polling location at Randalls on Brodie Lane in Austin on Oct. 27, 2025. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman

When the calendar rolls to 2026, the political drama that has been on high a simmer in Texas for several months will spring into a rolling boil.

And by the time the votes are tallied in the primaries  and perhaps the runoffs  one or both parties could see a generational transformation that sets the stage for one of the state's most tumultuous Novembers. Given the foreshadowing from the handful of states and cities that held off-year elections late in 2025, it's tempting to launch into bold predictions about what might be in store for Texas during the coming midterms, but let's keep that pot of stew on the back burner for now.

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The top prize for both Democrats and Republicans in the March 3 primaries is the race for U.S. Senate. And on each side are studies of contrasting styles and divergent personalities.

We'll start with Republicans, where four-term incumbent John Cornyn is desperately fighting to keep alive his party's longest winning streak in Texas statewide elections. At 73, Cornyn is the last of the Bush Republicans in Texas. He won his first election to the Texas Supreme Court in 1990, the year of then-President George H.W. Bush's only midterm election in the White House.

But Cornyn's rise to prominence was lifted eight years later in large part by the long coattails of George W. Bush. That year, Cornyn was the GOP nominee for Texas attorney general while Bush was running for reelection as governor. Running is an understatement. Cruising  even soaring  would be more accurate.

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Bush raked in 68.26% of the vote. Cornyn, who made sure there was never a dime's worth of daylight between him and Bush on the issues, ran 14 points behind the governor. But that was still enough to carry him past his Democratic opponent. Four years later, with Bush in the White House and still wildly popular in Texas, Cornyn made clear his continuing allegiance and comfortably won election to his first term in the U.S. Senate.

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Now, the Bush Republican brand of "compassionate conservativism" and bipartisan consensus-building has given way to the take-no-prisoners style of President Donald Trump. And both of Cornyn's primary opponents  Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt of Houston  have embraced the new order just as tightly as a then-rising Cornyn clasped on to Bush a generation before.

Cornyn sought to keep Trump at arm's length at the start of both the 2016 and 2024 presidential campaigns. Now, the senator touts his 99% pro-Trump voting record as a way to court Republican primary voters who have moved on from the Bush era. The question heading into the homestretch of the 2026 primary is whether they've also moved on from Cornyn.

While Texas Democrats will choose between two liberal-leaning millennials in their Senate primary, the race is a contrast of gender, race and style. U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, 44, of Dallas, would be the first female Democratic U.S. senator from Texas. Two Black Democrats  Ron Kirk, Cornyn's 2002 opponent, and Colin Allred in 2024  made it as far as the general election. But, if elected, Crockett would become Texas' first Black U.S. senator.

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At 36, state Rep. James Talarico of Austin would be the youngest senator to represent Texas since John Tower, then 35, won a special election in 1961 to replace Lyndon Johnson, who gave up his seat to become vice president. Talarico, who is white, has targeted what he sees as complacent national Democrats who've grown comfortable with losing, even as he assails Republicans whom he says will stop at nothing to win.

But he seldom misses an opportunity to point out that he's reached across the partisan divide to enact legislation capping insulin copayments and allowing home-schooled students to take part in interscholastic activities. It's a subtle contrast to Crockett's hard-charging style, which has sometimes devolved into partisan name-calling aimed at Republicans such as Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and conservative U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green of Georgia.

READ MORE: A look at the Texas Republican candidates running for US Senate

For voters in both parties, the Senate race could also become a contest between their hearts and their heads. Among the 2025 backstories that could carry into the new year is a familiar concern: motivating the bases that dominate the primaries may be at odds with winning in November.

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Cornyn, even when Paxton was an unannounced Senate candidate, has not been shy about highlighting the attorney general's legal challenges, including an impeachment by the Texas House, a securities fraud indictment that led to a settlement requiring him to pay nearly $300,000 in restitution, and a divorce petition in which his wife of 34 years alleged infidelity.

The indictment, and even the whispers of marital discord, haven't proved much of a problem among Republican primary voters in past attorney general races or when Paxton faced underfunded Democratic opponents. But all that could change in a high-profile U.S. Senate race that has already attracted the national spotlight, or so the thinking goes.

Crockett jumped into the Senate race in early December with polling showing her as the new Democratic frontrunner. But that polling also showed that 49% of general election voters would reject her in favor of any Republican in November.

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In an ordinary election, that number might not alarm Democrats. Since 1998, well over 50% of Texas voters have rejected just about every Democrat who's run statewide. But early signs suggest 2026 could be a rough midterm for Republicans as Trump's approval ratings remain underwater and voters are increasingly nervous about the economy.
Skeeter Miller, left, and Ed Norton pose at The County Line on the Hill, 6500 W. Bee Cave Road in 2015. Ricardo Brazziell/American-Statesman

Reader Mark Goodrich asks about the origins of the County Line barbecue joint as well as the lost Soap Creek Saloon, both hidden in the first hills of the Hill Country.

By way of coincidence  or perhaps not  the County Line celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.

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Hi, I wonder if you have written about the original County Line building, or if you can find info on its history? Goodrich writes. Years before the restaurant opened, I attended a party there, (in the) early 1970s, which lasted all night and was, as typical of the times, made more exciting with generous use of herbal remedies and psychedelic adventures.

Oh yes, those times. Your From the Archives columnist remembers them  in patches.

The place was packed with people, Goodrich continues. A young family, with a kid or two, was living there and hosted the festivities. I think the husband's aunt owned the place and let them live there.

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"It was mainly just a big open area, tables and chairs gone if I remember correctly, a slightly raised bandstand on the northwest corner of the interior, which served as the hosts' bedroom. There was commercial kitchen equipment near the southwest corner of the building. Two very basic restrooms were on the east wall, along with, I think, a few small tables attached to the wall.

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Goodrich recalls tales about an illicit honky-tonk there. On a tangential note, he wondered about the original Soap Creek Saloon location off Bee Cave Road and the second County Line on Lake Austin.

Before County Line, it was a drinking lodge

Goodrich was in luck. I had, indeed, written about all those things.

In a 2016 American-Statesman story that ran under the headline Fonda San Miguel, ThunderCloud Subs and County Line Make It To 40, I reached back beyond the opening of the barbecue joint.

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Before it became a barbecue place, the County Line on the Hill, off of RM 2244, was outside the city limits and once served as a speakeasy.

It was originally built as the Moosehead Lodge, which burned down, leaving only the red-tinted slab and the mirror of the two moose fighting that still hangs in the bar, said Scott Ziskovsky, director of marketing and advertising for County Line. It was rebuilt as the Cedar Crest Lodge around 1934, which went through various owners and changes and finally closed in 1960. It sat empty for the next 15 years.

Empty except for some parties like the one that Goodrich attended. The County Line on the Lake, off RM 2222, was once the Bull Creek Lodge. So much drinking in them thar hills!

Founder Skeeter Miller, still a great storyteller, I hear, told me about his joints origins, how he and management engendered loyalty in customers and staff, and how County Line became a cultural landmark of sorts.

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We have customers that come every week on a Monday night at 6 p.m., Miller said. They want to sit at the same table with their favorite waiter and two scotch-on-the-rocks  one with a straw and one without. They want their dessert to go, so they can enjoy it at home. They never look at the menu, and they never have to order. We know exactly who they are and what they want. They feel like royalty, and the staff calls them by name. In fact, several of them have plaques dedicating certain tables or chairs to them.

Many times, I find myself talking to a complete stranger on a plane, at a meeting, or even another restaurant, and they start telling me about a great memory they have about eating at a County Line, Miller said. We have longtime customers that have called and had family members in their final hours, and they have requested County Line for their last meal. When we surprised the family and showed up at their home with the food, there were tears of joy at a time of sadness.

And now for the famed Soap Creek Saloon

Willie Nelson and Charley Pride host a Country Music Association party at Soap Creek Saloon in 1976. Contributed by Scott Newton Austin American-Statesman

In November 2017, I filed a story under the headline, "Austin Answered: Where was the old Soap Creek Saloon?"

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If you never visited the legendary music venue, its then-remote location outside the city limits surely must appear shrouded in the fog of history. Even if you did go  given the heady times  you might not recall the exact spot very well.

The short answer: You headed out RM 2244 just past Old Walsh Tarlton to about 3200 Bee Cave Road  the original address is gone  and took a left onto a rutted dirt road that led up to a roadhouse on a hill.

The original building no longer exists. Former owner George Majewski told the American-Statesman in 1996: There are now $200,000 condos where my septic tank used to be. Imagine what those condos go for now.

The longer answer: Soap Creek was a matchstick for cultural fusion  home to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Marcia Ball, Doug Sahm and others  when musical styles mixed at the Armadillo World Headquarters, Castle Creek and elsewhere.

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Soap Creek Saloon calendar. March 1978. Kerry Awn's Soap Creek Saloon posters helped establish the club's visual aesthetic and advertised performances for several years. Based on a photograph by Ken Hoge, the portrait captures the young Stevie Ray Vaughan with his band of Austin blues regulars. Courtesy of the Wittliff Collections, Texas State University. Austin 360

Soap Creek Saloon, actually, had more to do with sinking the nail of the times  hippies mixing with rednecks  than the Armadillo, says Eddie Wilson, keeper of the Armadillo flame. We were more All in the Family by comparison. Soap Creek was out of town. Right before your eyes, you could see the rednecks coming out of the hills with the slightly longer hair. It was the hippie chicks fault.

In 1978, Soap Creek moved into town, first to the old Skyline Club, a venerable country spot on North Lamar Boulevard, then later to South Congress Avenue and Academy Drive before closing in the 1980s. In the Austin Chronicle, the late Margaret Moser called the alignment of that final Soap Creek with the Continental Club and Austex Lounge the South Austin Triple Crown.

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Braver Angels member Roger Haynes talks to voter Roma Tragon, right, at a Southwest Austin polling place on Election Day in 2024 to raise awareness about the need for civility and listening to others with different political views. Jay Janner/American-Statesman

Perhaps your New Years resolution is to exercise more, spend less, eat healthier or carve out more time for an activity you enjoy.

To that may we add: Let 2026 be the year we strive for civility. Let it be the year we shun meanness and cruelty in whatever spaces we can.

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This is not a Pollyanna plea to be nice, to politely paper over our very real differences with others. We deserve a robust debate over the challenges facing Texas and the nation, from the cost of goods and the access to health care to the security of our communities.

For that debate to be anything more than a shouting match, however, it must be grounded in mutual respect. The toxic tenor of our politics  the flatness of an us vs. them worldview in which they are irredeemable  is stifling the collaboration needed to tackle our toughest problems.

Cruelty poses as toughness. In reality, it is weakness, a shortcut to avoid the hard work of persuasion.

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What we have is a culture problem, and politicians don't make the culture. They come from the culture. They respond to the culture, Bee Moorhead, executive director of the interfaith advocacy group Texas Impact, told us. So when a public figure says something offensive, Moorhead said, Don't start by saying, That's an outlier. Ask What has given them permission to do that?

In countless everyday ways, regular Americans set the tone for what well tolerate  in the unkind remarks that go unchallenged in our own conversations, in the sharing of inflammatory social media posts, in the votes we cast placing people into elected office. Compared to some of the most divisive actions our government takes, political rhetoric can feel like a secondary concern. But the way we talk about one another shapes which policies are possible  and which people are treated as if they matter.

We have an obligation to improve our political culture, in the small ways within our reach, if we want a government focused on real problems and real solutions.

Yet as we head into a contentious midterm election year, the countercurrents are stronger than ever: combative politics that feed on polarization, social media platforms that prize provocation over understanding, a growing hopelessness that were impossibly far apart.

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In the latest Texas Politics Poll, 82% of Texans agreed to some extent that a lack of shared values poses a serious threat to the United States. Similarly, 78% agreed that a declining commitment to democracy poses a serious threat.

Perhaps we have more in common than we think.

At the same time, were disappointed across the board by what were getting. In that same poll, Texans gave dismal approval ratings to Republicans (38%), Democrats (31%), the Texas Legislature (28%) and the U.S. Congress (19%). Those numbers reflect an inescapable reality: Most Texans view both parties and multiple levels of government as being out of touch with their priorities and unresponsive to their needs. Vilifying the other side isnt working out for anyone.

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None of us can single-handedly repair our broken politics, but it wont get fixed without many of us trying. What does that look like in our daily lives?

Speak up against the unkind things people say when they assume its OK here, among like-minded people. Its not OK.

Find new spaces to engage with people, whether its through volunteer work, a book club, a running group or another activity.

Learn where other people are coming from  for instance, ask your Uber or Lyft driver about their experiences instead of talking about your own.

Seek out opportunities to communicate across partisan divides, through events held by groups such as Braver Angels and Common Ground USA.

Limit your exposure to social media, where algorithms distort our discourse by stripping away nuance and rewarding outrage.

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It starts with remembering the people on the other side of our disagreements are, in fact, people  neighbors, coworkers and fellow Texans. If we want leaders who listen, govern and compromise, we must first show that those qualities matter to us.

So yes, in the new year, exercise more if you can. Maybe spend a little less. Maybe eat a little better. And resolve, too, to practice civility  not because its easy, but because the difficult work of governing ourselves starts with listening to one another.
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: AI-generated image

When Heidi Tarr was a teenager, she used a tanning bed several times a week with her friends because they all wanted to glow like a celebrity.

"It was just the thing to doeveryone wanted that nice, dark, tan skin," the 49-year-old market researcher told AFP via video call from Chicago.

Then one day in her 30s, Tarr noticed a strange mole on her back.

It was melanomathe deadliest form of skin cancer. She was lucky to have caught it early on, but has needed over a dozen biopsies to remove more moles.

Now her 15-year-old daughter Olivia is seeing trending videos on TikTok of people showing off their tan linesand is asking her mother how to get some.

So Tarr was inspired to get yet another skin sample removed, this time to be used in research published in the journal Science Advances.

The study found that people who use tanning beds are nearly three times more at risk of getting skin cancer.

It also marked the first time researchers have pinpointed how sunbeds cause DNA mutations in the skin that make users more susceptible to cancer.

More than 80% of the most common melanomas are caused by exposure to ultraviolet radiation, according to the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

These rays are created naturally by the sunor artificially by tanning beds.

Skin cell damage

Pedram Gerami, a dermatologist and researcher at Northwestern University in Illinois, told AFP he started looking into this subject after an "unusually" high number of younger women came into his clinic with multiple melanomas.

The cancer was also on parts of their bodies normally "relatively protected from the sun," said the study's author.

His team compared the medical records from 3,000 people who used tanning beds to those of similarly aged people who had not.

Melanoma was diagnosed in 5% of the tanning bed users, compared to 2% of the other group, the study said.

After adjusting for a variety of factors such as age, sunburn history and family history, the researchers estimated tanning bed users were nearly 2.9 times more at risk of getting a melanoma.

Tanning bed users were also more likely to develop melanoma on parts of their body that are normally shielded from the sun, such as the lower back and buttocks.

The researchers also sought to find out how much damage tanning beds do to the DNA of skin cells, because it can build up into cancer.

They sequenced 182 biopsies, including one from Gerami's patient Tarr.

New technology was used to specifically look at melanocytes, which are rarer skin cells that create molesor melanoma.

The researchers found that the melanocytes of tanning bed users had nearly twice as many mutations.

"If you're already halfway there in a lot of your skin, it doesn't take much additional damage to get to melanoma," Gerami said.

"Tanning bed users in their 30s and 40s had even more mutations than people in the general population who were in their 70s and 80s," study co-author Bishal Tandukar said in a statement.

'It needs to be banned'

Melanoma killed almost 60,000 people worldwide in 2022, according to the IARC, which classifies tanning beds in its highest level of cancer risk alongside smoking and asbestos.

A few countries completely ban tanning beds, such as Australia and Brazil. In others, including the UK and France, they are prohibited for people under 18.

In the United States, it depends on the state.

"At the very minimum, it needs to be banned for minors," Gerami emphasized.

There have also been fears that young people sharing their tanning goals on social media could be driving a new generation towards sunbeds.

"For those who might be thinking about using a tanning bedor for parents who might be thinking of letting their teenagers use a tanning bedI just would extremely recommend: don't use them," Tarr said.

She recommended that people who have used the beds regularly inspect their skin and consider seeing a dermatologist for a proper check.

And if you're looking for that tanned look, try a lotion or spray tan, Tarr added.

Publication details Pedram Gerami et al, Molecular effects of indoor tanning, Science Advances (2025). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ady4878. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.ady4878 Journal information: Science Advances

Key medical concepts MelanomaMelanocytesUltraviolet Rays

 2025 AFP
Chus Heredia Malaga Sunday, 28 December 2025, 07:32 | Updated 07:38h. Share

The heavy downpours of rain that fell during the late hours of Saturday and the early hours of Sunday, with high volumes concentrated in a very short time, have caused the river flows in many parts of Malaga province to rise sharply. One of the most dangerous areas is always that of the Guadalhorce as it passes through Cartama, where there are many buildings in flood-prone areas. As a result, just after midnight, the Junta de Andalucia's Hidrosur network issued a red flood warning. The river's flow measured 1,053 cubic metres per second (more than 1 million litres), very close to its historic level. The depth was close to 5.5 metres. Cartama Estacion was already suffering serious problems with its road connections.

Zoom Salvador Salas

Much of the nourishment of the lower course of the Guadalhorce is produced by the river Grande, which collects the flows of the Sierra de las Nieves. On its passage through the Aljaima measuring station, already flowing into the Guadalhorce, it measured 274 cubic metres per second and reached a depth of 1.16 metres. To give an idea of the amount, the flow injected into the Malaga city network is 1,600 litres per second. These inflows are used on the surface at the weir located at this point, in the municipality of Cartama. This is water that is not stored, so only what the system can use in real time can be used. The regulation of the Rio Grande with the pending Cerro Blanco dam would be key to containing the river's floods.

River network sensors down

Upstream, the Rio Grande itself registered a depth of 1.11 metres and a flow of 15.41 cubic metres per second at the Las Millanas measuring station.

The rest of the province's watercourses remain without warnings. In fact, at another of the regular trouble spots, Campanillas, the river was flowing at just 1.8 cubic metres a second after midnight. This river, regulated by the Casasola dam, is a tributary of the Guadalhorce on the left and has recently been the scene of numerous episodes of flooding and evictions. The channelling of the urban section of the river is still pending.

The Turon river on its way through Ardales on its way to the Conde del Guadalhorce reservoir also registered floods but no alert. At around one o'clock in the morning it measured 14.85 cubic metres a second. This is another river which overflowed on several occasions at the beginning of the year during the 'Danas' and storms.

The Genal as it passes through Jubrique indicated a depth of 0.63 metres after one o'clock in the morning, by which time most of the Hidrosur network sensors were down. The river was approaching a yellow alert level at that time.

The town halll of Cartama in Malaga has reported that the A-7057 road between the town and Estacion de Cartama has been cut off following rainfall in the area, which remains under a red warning for rainfall.

On the other hand, the mayor of Cartama, Jorge Gallardo, in a post on social media networks, also warned of the flooding of the Guadalhorce river, saying that it has broken its banks. "This is looking bad again," said Gallardo. The emergency services were alerting residents in the Dona Ana area and in the rural areas of the river's flooding.

The council has also raised the municipal emergency plan to phase 1 due to the heavy rainfall and the red warning. The town hall has asked for maximum care and urged people not to travel. Caution should also be exercised in the streets due to manholes that may be raised.

Similarly, it is recommended to avoid areas near rivers and streams due to the possibility of flooding. Local Police, Guardia Civil officers, Civil Protection volunteers, fire brigade staff and town hall operatives are on the ground to deal with any incidents that may arise.
SUR Malaga Sunday, 28 December 2025, 13:16 | Updated 13:23h. Share

The heavy rain that has affected much of southern Spain's Andalucia region since Saturday has left a total of 339 incidents related to the effects of the adverse weather phenomenon, mostly in the province of Malaga which recorded the bulk of the emergency calls (304), as reported by 112 Andalucia, parts of the Junta's emergency agency of Andalusia (EMA).

In the early hours of this morning, the town of Cartama was one of the worst affected areas, with flooding of homes, premises, basements, garages, plots of land and the rise of the Guadalhorce river which forced some residents of the Dona Ana area to move from their homes.

In addition, there were some evacuations in Alhaurin de la Torre and Cartama, who have been able to relocate to a hostel, as well as to the homes of family and friends. At the moment, no one has gone to the shelter that was set up to receive them.

It is worth remembering that on Saturday night the Junta sent a mass ES-Alert warning message to the 27 municipalities of the meteorological areas of the western Costa del Sol and Guadalhorce valley affected by the red weather warning - for extreme danger - which remained in force until 4am this morning.

In addition, there has been constant coordination with the mayors of the affected areas and everything necessary was put in place to manage any incidents that might occur.

Three rescued

Firefighters have rescued three people (two adults and a minor) trapped in a house flooded by the overflowing of the Vadeurraca stream; while on a farm in Nueva Aljaima they rescued two other people who could not get out of their house.

Today, the EMA has sent an operations technician, two fire engines and two Plan Infoca specialist groups to Cartama to support the recovery and restoration work in the affected areas.

In addition, a brigade, three groups of specialists and two more fire engines have been put on alert to be deployed in Malaga province this Sunday, if necessary.

Historical levels of the Guadalhorce river

The Guadalhorce river rose last night and reached historic levels, although at the moment its level is falling.

In terms of incidents on the railway tracks, up to five local Cercanias trains were stopped at stations and halts between Los Prados and Benalmadena on the Costa del Sol due to the effects of the rain.

For now there are no roads closed in Andalucia, but the weather is leaving difficult traffic conditions (red level) on two roads in Almeria province: the AL-8105 Las Cunas - Burjulu, and the AL-8106, in Villaricos - El Arteal.

As for the accumulated rainfall, on Saturday the weather station in Marbella and the Puerto (Malaga) reached 77.8mm, while 73.8mm were collected in Coin, 63.4 in Benahavis and 30.6 in Alora, also in the province of Malaga, while in San Roque (Cadiz) 54.6mm were also recorded.

The Junta's regional minister for emergencies, Antonio Sanz, elevated the plan for the risk of floods to emergency phase, operational situation 1, on Saturday, in view of the weather forecasts and the incidents recorded at some points. It should be remembered that the plan had already been in the pre-emergency phase since last Thursday (24 December).

The emergency phase refers to those situations involving damage for which necessary measures are implemented for the relief and protection of people and property, which can be controlled through the use of the ordinary means and resources available in the Junta de Andalucia or occasional support from the national Civil Protection system.

In addition, a total of 33 Andalusian municipalities activated their local territorial civil protection emergency plans (PTEL), some 23 in Malaga province and ten in Granada.

Warnings to the public

The state meteorological agency (Aemet) is maintaining warnings for rainfall in the Axarquia area in Malaga, Granada (coast) and Almeria (Almanzora Valley, Los Velez and Levante) for this Sunday.

Yellow warnings for rain are also active in the province of Malaga (Antequera, Sol and Guadalhorce), Granada (Nevada and Alpujarras) and Almeria (Poniente, Almeria city, Nacimiento and Campo de Tabernas).

In view of the rain warnings, 112 Andalucia recommends extreme caution and following some self-protection guidelines to prevent risks and guarantee safety.

Safety guidelines

- On days of heavy rainfall and storms, it is preferable to avoid travelling by road. If it is essential to travel, it is important to find out about the state of the roads you are going to travel on before setting off, and once you are on your way, follow the instructions on information panels and from the authorities, as well as keeping up to date with the weather forecast through the media and social networks.

- When driving in the rain, slow down and increase the safety distance. Never drive through a flooded area or an area with pools of water. If you have crossed a flooded area for any reason, then you should test the brakes by lightly applying the brakes. If, in addition, you are caught in heavy flooding, be prepared to leave the vehicle immediately when the water rises above the wheel axle.

- Also, do not camp or park near riverbeds, even if they are dry, to avoid being caught in a flash flood. In the countryside and in stormy weather, isolated or solitary trees and stones attract lightning and should be avoided, as should metal objects.

- In coastal areas and in stormy weather, avoid walking along promenades, breakwater areas and lookout points, as the waves could suddenly sweep you into the sea. At home, in the event of rising water levels, go to the highest floors and avoid basements and garages.

In any emergency situation, you should call the 112 Andalucia number, free of charge and available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
SUR in English Malaga Sunday, 28 December 2025, 09:23 Share

The 'Dia de los Santos Inocentes' (Holy Innocents' day) on 28 December in Spain, is a day of pranks and practical jokes. It is similar to April Fools' Day in the United Kingdom, but the Spanish version has somewhat dark roots.

The date marks the day when, according to the Bible, King Herod ordered all baby boys under the age of two in Bethlehem, to be killed. He was afraid that the baby Jesus would become a powerful enemy.

Jesus, however, had been taken away to Egypt by Mary and Joseph. The 'joke', therefore, was on Herod and this is thought to be the origin of the tradition of playing pranks on family and friends. According to religious beliefs, the babies murdered by Herod went to heaven as the first Christian martyrs.

Practical jokes and fun

Much like April Fools, celebrated in the UK and United States, the 'Dia de los Santos Inocentes' is a day of practical jokes and fun, with the prankster yelling out 'Inocente, inocente!' when they reveal the joke.

Many towns and villages across Spain have their own traditional way of celebrating this day. One of the most widespread pranks is to stick a figure, cut out of paper, on someone's back without them realising.

Examples of more specific celebrations include 'Los Locos', or lunatics, in Valencia, where the mayor of the lunatics governs the town for 24 hours, and the Baile de Los Locos in Cordoba.

In Ibi in Alicante the celebrations, reinstated in 1981, take the shape of the 'Festa dels Enfarinats', where a 'battle' takes place, using eggs, flour and other ingredients and firecrackers as ammunition. After being halted for several decades due to the Civil War and the turbulent times that followed, on 28 December 1981 the Day of the Holy Innocents or 'El dia de los Santos Inocentes' was celebrated once again in the Alicante town of Ibi.

Crazy 'laws'

The festivities traditionally begin around eight in the morning when locals, in mock military uniform, stage a fake coup and take control of the town, enacting all sorts of crazy 'laws'. Those who break the pretend rules are fined, with the money raised going to charity.

Eventually, a battle begins between the 'rulers' and the 'opposition'. Festive dancing marks the end of the celebration.
With polls looming, the BJP has prepared a rebel watchlist across all 227 civic wards, aimed at spotting and neutralising internal dissent before it can dent its ambitions.



According to party sources, the BJP has identified the top three potential rebels in every ward, leaders or local influencers whose dissatisfaction could either split votes or sabotage official candidates. These rebels can harm or gain votes for our candidates, a BJP functionary said.



To deal with this, the party has already put together a special reconciliation team, drawing members from different communities, linguistic groups and regions, tasked exclusively with damage control.



We have finalised a team that can convince these rebels. The team represents various communities, languages and regions, so the outreach is targeted and effective, the source added.



Party leaders admit the threat of rebellion is higher this time due to seat-sharing compulsions. In 2017, the BJP had contested the civic polls independently. This time, it is fighting in alliance with the Shiv Sena, limiting the number of wards it can contest directly.



Earlier, we fought on our own. This time, because of the alliance, we cant contest as many seats. That naturally leads to resentment  either against our candidates or against our alliance partner, a BJP leader said.



The strategy, therefore, goes beyond just stopping rebels from filing nominations.



Even if someone doesnt contest, an unhappy local leader or influential worker can quietly impact voting. We are engaging with them early to ensure there are no surprises, the leader said. This time, every single vote matters.



The BJP is eyeing 130 to 140 seats out of the 227-member BMC, while being prepared to cede around 87 seats to its alliance partner.



Significantly, the party has trained its focus on central Mumbai  including Mahim, Worli, Lalbaug, Parel and Sewri, areas long considered part of Uddhav Thackerays political stronghold. BJP insiders say expanding influence in these traditional bastions is key to tipping the mayoral math in their favour.




Syracuse, N.Y.  This is the heart of it. The plates that arrive, stop the conversation and make you forget how long youve been sitting there. The entrees that linger in your memory well after the check is paid.

Over the past year, Jared Paventi, Jacob Pucci, Danielle Benjamin and Charlie Miller chased those moments all over Central New York. We ate in polished dining rooms and no-frills joints, at neighborhood staples and brand-new spots still finding their footing. We followed tips, trusted instincts and occasionally ordered the thing the server said theyd eat if it were their last meal.

What follows are the entrees that defined our 2025 coverage  dishes that delivered, surprised us or simply nailed exactly what they were trying to be. As always, this list reflects only the restaurants we featured on syracuse.com and The Post-Standard this year. The map is big, the scene is deep and theres always more waiting for next year.

Italian pot roast with potatoes and carrots over creamy polenta at Avicolli's Coal Fire, Fayetteville, N.Y. (Jared Paventi | jaredpaventi@gmail.com) Jared Paventi | jaredpaventi@gma

Address: Avicollis Coal Fire, 104 Limestone Plaza, Fayetteville

From Jared Paventi: Italian pot roast reads a lot easier on a menu than steak pizzaiola, but its the same dish. Beef chuck, potatoes, carrots and onions were slow-cooked in this dish, just like the American comfort classic. Instead of beef stock, everything was braised in an herbaceous tomato sauce. It was all served over a rich polenta packed with cheese, creating a hearty, filling dish that was among my favorites of the past year.

Pork volcano with brown butter gnocchi at Grotto, North Syracuse, N.Y. (Jared Paventi | jaredpaventi@gmail.com) Jared Paventi | jaredpaventi@gmail.com

Address: Grotto, 101 S. Main St., N. Syracuse

From Jared Paventi: Pork shanks are a cheap cut of meat, but a flavorful one when cooked slowly. Grottos pork volcano was full of umami, having been braised in a soy-spiked broth, which also left it fall-apart tender. It was paired with brown butter gnocchi, which was a natural accompaniment to the pan sauce. It was a simple dish that was full of flavor.

Pulpo a la parilla, or grilled octopus, is served with roasted potatoes and grilled vegetables. Dinner at Inka's, Syracuse, N.Y. (Jared Paventi | jaredpaventi@gmail.com) Jared Paventi | jaredpaventi@gmail.com

Address: Inkas, 201 S. Salina St., Syracuse

From Jared Paventi: A truly excellent dish marries style with substance, and the pulpo a la parilla is at the exact point on the diagram where they meet. Grilled octopus is not an uncommon find in the area. Inkas ups the ante, by serving it with grilled potatoes and vegetables on a sizzling platter on a raised platform shaped like a Japanese torii gate. Each forkful brought with it grill smoke, citrus and natural flavors of the mollusk, while the presentation drew every eye in the dining room to our table when it was served.

My lunch from Brickyard Tavern and Barbecue in LaFayette: The Trinity (ribs, sausage and brisket with sides of BBQ beans, mac & cheese, and an order of wings). (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com) (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)

Address: Brickyard Barbecue, 2611 U.S. Route 11, LaFayette

From Charlie Miller: This plate is Central Texas barbecue turned up to 11. Brickyards Trinity brings together thick slices of pepper-crusted brisket, a smoky house-made sausage link with a loud snap, and an absurdly large rib. Each piece stands on its own, but together they make a bold statement about fire, patience and not cutting corners.

Pitmaster Davey Rickenback handles the meats with zero shortcuts: long smokes, careful trimming and sausage made from rib and brisket trim. My sides of mac and cheese and beans were excellent, but clearly secondary to the main event.

This is an aggressive amount of food. The kind of plate that makes you reassess your lunch plans and clear your afternoon. Rich, smoky and deeply satisfying, its the dish that defines what Brickyard is trying to be. Its also the reason why people still line up until they sell out.

Pho with steak and meatballs at Mr. Pho, Syracuse, N.Y. (Jared Paventi | jaredpaventi@gmail.com) Jared Paventi | jaredpaventi@gmail.com

Address: Mr. Pho, 216 Walton St., Syracuse

From Jared Paventi: It stands to reason that if you name your restaurant after a dish, it better be good. Thankfully, Armory Squares Mr. Pho threads the needle with its pho bo. My order was pretty traditional  thin-sliced steak and garlicky meatballs with rice noodles  but the base broth was stunning. Charred ginger, onion, cinnamon and clove added depth to the slow-cooked beef bone broth. This soup was so darn good that I didnt mind eating it on a 90-degree day in August.

Creme Brulee French Toast from At Long Last diner in Auburn, the seventh stop on our Diners of CNY tour. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com) (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)

Address: At Long Last, 3193 E. Genesee St., Auburn (just west of Skaneateles)

From Charlie Miller: An entree doesnt have to arrive at dinner. Sometimes it shows up at breakfast and refuses to be treated like a side thought.

At At Long Last, the creme brulee French toast earns that status. Thick slices of house-baked bread are soaked in custard, cooked until rich and tender, then finished with powdered sugar and fresh fruit. Its indulgent without being over the top. Its also sweet, comforting and substantial enough to anchor an entire meal.

Chef Zach Piraino treats it with the same care youd expect from a dinner plate, which is why it belongs here. Proof that some of the years best entrees happen before noon.

Chicken-fried chicken with pepper gravy over mashed potatoes at Ruby Begonia's, Chittenango, N.Y. (Jared Paventi | jaredpaventi@gmail.com) Jared Paventi | jaredpaventi@gmail.com

Address: Ruby Begonias, 236 Genesee St., Chittenango

From Jared Paventi: If youre going to call yourself a Southern restaurant, you better have a decent fried chicken. Chittenangos Ruby Begonias has three fried chicken items on the menu, including the chicken-fried chicken that stopped us in our tracks. The kitchen starts by pounding a chicken breast thin, then dredging it in seasoned flour. It gets a dunk in egg wash then it goes back in the flour mixture again before hitting the hot oil. Its smothered in a savory country-style pepper gravy that added complexity and spice, while keeping the mashed potatoes beneath the chicken from getting too tacky.

Mandi, or Kurdish dumplings stuffed with beef and spices, at K Kurdish Mediterranean Restaurant, Tully, N.Y. (Jared Paventi | jaredpaventi@gmail.com) Jared Paventi | jaredpaventi@gma

Address: K Kurdish Mediterranean Restaurant, 6 Elm St., Tully

From Jared Paventi: Kurdish mandi are like a cross between a dumpling and German spaetzle. At K Kurdish Mediterranean, egg pastry is filled with beef cooked with sumac, garlic and onion, and tied closed like a purse. They get sauteed in butter and are served over a garlicky yogurt and finished with an Aleppo pepper-infused olive oil. Theres so much flavor in this dish that its tough to know where to start, with the yogurt and oil offering fiery spice and coolness, both enhancing the manti and its filling.

My 14-ounce New York strip steak with a loaded baked potato at Stone Creek in Marcellus. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com) (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)

Address: Stone Creek, 69 North St., Marcellus

From Charlie Miller: This is the kind of steak that reminds you why people still go out for steak. Stone Creeks New York strip is a 14-ounce cut of certified Angus beef, cooked medium rare and delivered without unnecessary theatrics. Its just deep beef flavor and a proper sear.

It comes paired with a loaded baked potato, piled high with real Vermont cheddar, sour cream and bacon. Its classic, generous and satisfying.

Chef Steve Tross isnt trying to reinvent the steakhouse here; hes trying to execute it right. And so far, hes done quite well.

Shrimp and grits from Touche, 309 W. Fayette St., Syracuse. Jacob Pucci

Address: Touche, 309 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

From Jacob Pucci: The menu at this Appalachian-inspired French bistro is always changing, and the downtown Syracuse restaurant isnt currently serving brunch, as they were during our visit earlier this year, so its possible itll be awhile before we see this version of shrimp and grits grace the menu once again. But it should. Ive eaten shrimp and grits throughout the Carolinas and Touches version bested them all. The grits were rich with butter and cream, with not a single lump to be found, and the etouffee sauce that smothered the grits and plump shrimp was one of the single best things Ive eaten all year. Theres no doubt that Touche has one of the most talented kitchens in CNY and their take on this Southern brunch staple is proof.

Beef brisket "macadilla", filled with macaroni and cheese and shredded brisket. Angry Pig BBQ, 2935 Lamson Road, Phoenix. Jacob Pucci

Address: The Angry Pig BBQ, 2935 Lamson Road, Phoenix

From Jacob Pucci: The question is not whether to order the brisket at Angry Pig BBQ, but rather what form youd like your brisket served. The Texas-style barbecue is good enough to stand on its own, but I havent found a food that wasnt improved by the addition of macaroni and cheese and this overloaded quesadilla is no exception. Even though its not the star of the dish, the sharp cheddar mac is a standout. Its a little over the top in a way thats fun, indulgent and delicious.

Lamb shank masala served with tikka masala sauce, a chef's special at Raj Saffron House in Syracuse. Jacob Pucci

Address: Raj Saffron House, 124 Dell St., Syracuse

From Jacob Pucci: The menu at Raj Saffron House is lengthy, including several dozen entree options. Yet only four rise to the ranks of chefs specials, including the lamb shank masala  and for good reason. The meat on this bone-in cut was meltingly tender and the tikka masala sauce struck the ideal balance of tang, spice and cream. Its a simple dish, essentially just meat in sauce, but like so many Indian dishes, the complexity hides in plain sight.

Mapo eggplant from Old Chengdu Cafe in Syracuse. Jacob Pucci

Address: Old Chengdu Cafe, 1113 E. Fayette St., Syracuse

From Jacob Pucci: Vegetables are all too often relegated to a supporting role, but at Old Chengdu Cafe, theyre a star. This variation of the Sichuan staple mapo tofu instead features large pieces of skinless eggplant that are fried until firm on the outside and soft and custardy in the middle. Theyre then tossed in a spicy sauce flavored with ground pork, ginger, garlic and chilies, among other things, with just enough sweetness to keep everything in check. Add some white rice on the side and youre golden.

Peanut Sauce with Chicken at Bangkok Thai in Liverpool (Danielle Benjamin | Contributing Writer) Danielle Benjamin

Address: Bangkok Thai, 7421 Oswego Road, Liverpool

From Danielle Benjamin: This house special is your choice of protein breaded and bathed in the most scrumptious peanut sauce you can imagine. It was sweet without being overly sugary, savory without too strong of an umami taste, and so thick it hugs every crevice of meat without drying out your mouth. Served over a bed of sauteed vegetables alongside a bowl of rice, this meal earned the gold star of the evening.
The 21-year-old woman killed in a raging fire at a home in Needham, Massachusetts, on Christmas Eve has been identified as Kayla Corrigan, a college student who was set to graduate next year.

Corrigan was a senior in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University studying marketing management and was on track to graduate this spring, according to a university official.

Syracuse Senior Vice President and Chief Student Experience Officer Allen W. Groves announced Corrigans death in a letter posted to the universitys website on Friday.

Kayla immersed herself into internships strengthening her understanding of navigating marketing decisions in an evolving global landscape. Outside of the classroom she was an active member of Sigma Delta Tau, Groves wrote.

Corrigan graduated from Newton Country Day School in 2022, according to her LinkedIn page, and a photo showing several young women holding their diplomas was posted to her Instagram account on June 12, 2022, with the school tagged as the location.

A GoFundMe launched by Amy Lund of Millis, along with Christa Corrigan and benefitting Alyssa Corrigan, also identified Kayla Corrigan as the person who died in the house fire.

Words cannot express the depth of our grief or the shock of this loss, the page reads. Kayla was a beautiful 21 year old girl who was deeply loved by many. Her absence has left a space that can never be filled. We will carry her memory with us always.

A photo of Kayla Corrigan used on the GoFundMe page also appears on her Instagram account, posted in May with the caption Besos para Barcelona" or Kisses for Barcelona.

Corrigans LinkedIn page says she was a fundraising coordinator for her sorority for the 2023-24 school year and that she helped raise more than $12,000 for a non-profit in Syracuse that provides emergency housing and resources for domestic abuse survivors.

The page also says she interned last summer at a public relations and communication firm in Boston.

What happened on Christmas Eve

Firefighters responded to 28 Woodworth Road just before 5 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 24, and arrived as smoke and flames billowed from the three-story home, according to the State Fire Marshals office. The first responders attempted to push into the home but were turned back as flames spread quickly through the building.

Two other adults who were in the home escaped. Corrigan was later found dead inside.

Its just a heart-wrenching event for them and the community, Needham Fire Chief Thomas Conroy said Wednesday as he offered condolences.

State officials said Friday that the fire appeared to have originated in the garage and sparked accidentally.

The fire is still under investigation, but preliminary evidence suggested the cause was not suspicious, the Department of Fire Services said.

How to help

The GoFundMe page says donations from the fundraiser will help cover funeral costs and temporary living expenses for the Corrigan family. The fundraising goal is $150,000, and as of Sunday morning, more than $146,000 had been raised. About 1,900 people have donated so far.

Battling the fire

Seventy-five firefighters from departments across the region battled for seven hours Wednesday morning to bring the flames under control at the Needham home, the office of State Fire Marshal John M. Davine said.

Firefighters from Boston, Brookline, Dedham, Natick, Newton, Norwood, Milton, Wellesley and Westwood provided mutual aid during the four-alarm response.

The six-bedroom, 6,500-square-foot home was built in 2014. It is assessed at $2.5 million, according to town property records.

On Christmas morning, a Needham Police cruiser sat parked out front of the home as yellow police tape surrounding the lawn fluttered in the wind.

Flames had scorched the wood and stone structure, leaving a broad hole in the right side of the roof visible from the road. Some of the windows were broken, and an open front door provided a clear view through the darkened first floor and into the tree-lined backyard.

Christmas wreaths hung above the entrance way and on either side of the front door. Strands of Christmas lights lined the edge of the roof, some of them tattered and hanging off the home.

The torched shells of two cars sat just outside a garage on the right of the home.

An examination of the scene, witness interviews and other evidence led investigators to believe the fire started in the back of the attached garage. Investigators identified several heat sources that could have contributed to the fire, all of which would have been accidental, Davines office said.

Our thoughts have been with the family since the early morning hours of December 24 and they remain with the family today, Conroy, the Needham fire chief, added Friday. I want to recognize the outpouring of compassion from Needham residents who are sending their love and support.

Fires like this are more common in the winter, Davine said Wednesday.

Please be sure you have working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms on every level of your home and a practiced escape plan in the event of an emergency, he said.

Nicole Simmons contributed to this report.
The rise of twerking, the celebration of curvy bodies, and the sudden popularity of slang like gyatt reveal how quickly digital culture reshapes beauty ideals. A decade ago, mainstream Western media still clung to a thin, almost angular aesthetic. But as Black and Latin dance traditions moved from clubs and community spaces to music videos, concerts, and eventually TikTok (in America), they brought with them a different celebration of the human body. Twerking, with its focus on hip isolation and rhythmic movement of the buttocks, placed a spotlight on curves. What was once local became global, and what was once subcultural became aspirational.



The slang word gyatt, used online to express exaggerated admiration for someones large buttocks, has become a digital applause. This phenomenon is not about anatomy alone. It is about visibility, attention, and affirmation. Twerking framed the stage. Slang like gyatt provided the soundtrack. And



the global audience followed. But little do they know that this is the kind of body that was once celebrated in Sanskrit literature.



Classical Indian poets paid great attention to the human form, especially the lower body, which they saw as a marker of grace, fertility, and sensuality. Words for hips and buttocks appear often in poetry, in epics, and even in medical texts. They are not meant to be crude. They are part of a cultural language that appreciates beauty through metaphor drawn from nature, rivers, mountains, and everyday life.



One common word is nitamba. Kalidasa uses it with great skill in his Meghaduta. The same word can mean the slope of a mountain or the bank of a river. So when he describes a woman with heavy hips, he is not merely speaking of anatomy. He is creating an image of gentle curves that slow her walk the way a riverbank slows the river. This appears in one verse where the cloud messenger is asked to observe a woman whose gait becomes slow because of the weight of her hips. The image is sensual but also elegant. Nature and body become one continuous language.



The epics use another word: shroni. It appears in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata whenever a womans beauty is described. An adjective derived from this, prithu shroni, simply means someone with large hips. In the Bhagavata Purana, this appears as praise. Another phrase, shroni bhara, speaks of the weight of the hips, again treated as a sign of beauty. In ancient Indian aesthetics, fullness suggested abundance and prosperity, never excess.



A more general term is jaghana, which covers the lower body, including hips, loins, and even the pubic region. It can refer to buttocks depending on the context. This makes it a flexible word in poetry and in conversation. Poets used it when the exact anatomical detail was less important than the sense of the lower torso shaping a womans movement.



These words also appear in medical and anatomical literature. Nitamba is identified as a marma, a vital point in the body located above the pelvis. This reminds us that poetry and medicine shared vocabulary in ancient India. The same term that evokes beauty in verse could refer to a sensitive spot in healing traditions.



Dictionaries and general usage provide many descriptive compounds that show how poets imagined the body. Sphita nitamba describes someone with full buttocks. Sunitambini means a woman with beautiful hips. Ratha anga shroni bimba compares rounded buttocks to the circular form of a chariot wheel. These images show a world where the human body was read through symbols drawn from crafts, vehicles, and landscapes.



Together these terms show how classical India read meaning into form. The hips were not just flesh. They were signs of rhythm, wealth, youth, and vitality. They shaped a womans walk, and through poetry, they shaped the imagination of generations.



But when dance was sanitised in the colonial period, so was language. The erotic was taken out of the classical and exiled into the world of bar dancers. It became cheap, vulgar and low. Much like in America, where the culture of the non-white people was seen as tribal, inferior, savage and pagan. The world evoked by gyatt is very different from the world of ballroom dancing and ballet.



But today, as millions consume short videos daily, the body itself turned into a performance gadget. A silhouette that looked good in motion, especially in dances that emphasise the lower body, became a desirable asset. A body shape becomes fashionable when it is repeatedly rewarded with likes and comments. Together they created a feedback loop that pushed the curvy aesthetic into the global mainstream. Gyatt they say in American teenage circles. Should the local Sanatani Gen Z start saying Nitamba!




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In 1958, an article in the LA Mirror asked: Should we ban Brigitte Bardot?

Every time I pick up a newspaper or go by a theatre marquee there she is, blasted all over the place with her stringy, unkempt hair, her plunging necklines, her bare feet, her vapid eyes and her half-opened mouth, complained columnist Dick Williams. Her casual attitude towards marriage is both shocking and immoral.

The pearl-clutching journalist wasnt alone in being outraged by Brigitte Bardot. The Parisian actor, model and animal rights activist, who has died at the age of 91, lived a life that was never far from scandal.

She became an international star with the release of 1956s And God Created Woman, in which she played a scantily clad teenage orphan with a free-spirited attitude to sex. The film made $4m in the United States, a record at the time for a foreign film. It was helped rather than hindered by the uproar over Bardots performance and appearance. The film was banned in several states, while a district attorney in Philadelphia declared it to be of a lascivious, sacrilegious, obscene, indecent, or immoral nature. No wonder audiences couldnt get enough.

open image in gallery The term sex kitten was originally a nickname for Brigitte Bardot, pictured here in 1960 ( Hulton Archive/Getty )

The philosopher Simone de Beauvoir wrote an essay in 1959 titled The Lolita Syndrome about Bardots youthful appeal, observing that a saint would sell his soul to the devil merely to watch her dance. Bardots early film roles were credited with igniting the sexual revolution on both sides of the Atlantic, and the phrase sex kitten was coined specifically to describe her. She refused to work in Hollywood, turning down several sizeable financial offers, and quit acting entirely before she turned 40.

In recent years, she attracted a different sort of controversy, fined by the French government both for making hurtful remarks in her memoir about wanting to abort her son and for inciting racial hatred with comments about Islam and Reunion islanders. Since her retirement, she had dedicated her time to her own animal welfare charity, the Brigitte Bardot Foundation. I gave my youth and beauty to men, she once said. I am going to give my wisdom and experience to animals.

Bardot was born in Paris on 28 September 1934. She grew up in an upper-middle-class family and attended private school before enrolling in the Conservatoire de Paris in 1949 to study ballet. At the age of 15, she was photographed for the cover of Elle magazine, which brought her to the attention of filmmakers. She auditioned for a film by director Marc Allegret, and while she didnt get the part, she did fall in love with the screenwriter Roger Vadim. Her parents forbade the 16-year-old Bardot from marrying Vadim, who was 22, and she attempted suicide. The couple eventually married in 1952, after Bardot turned 18.

open image in gallery Bardot running barefoot on the sands at Cannes in 1956, the year of her breakout performance in And God Created Woman ( George W Hales/Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty )

She had already made 15 films with varying degrees of success before Vadim cast her in his directorial debut, And God Created Woman. The film was a sensation, although it ended their marriage when Bardot had an affair with her co-star Jean-Louis Trintignant. Although Bardot and Vadim divorced, they continued to work together. By 1958, she was the highest-paid actress in France.

In 1959, Bardot married fellow actor Jacques Charrier, and they had a son, her only child, Nicolas-Jacques, early the following year. Bardot wrote in her 1996 memoir about her unhappiness at becoming pregnant, describing her unborn son as a cancerous tumour. She said she repeatedly punched herself in the stomach and asked a doctor for morphine, as abortion was illegal in France at the time. She told a press conference she would have preferred to give birth to a little dog. In 1997, she and her publisher were ordered to pay 28,000 in damages to Charrier and her son over the remarks.

open image in gallery Bardot is surely the only person ever to have been mentioned by name in songs by Bob Dylan, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Olivia Rodrigo and Chappell Roan ( Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty )

Shortly after giving birth, Bardot starred in the courtroom drama La Verite (The Truth). It was one of the best-received films of her career, earning a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, but the production was troubled. She had an affair with one of her co-stars, Sami Frey, and attempted suicide again during her messy break-up with Charrier.

Arguably, Bardots finest screen performance came in Jean-Luc Godards 1963 drama Le Mepris (Contempt), playing the wife of a playwright as their marriage disintegrates and she begins an affair during the production of a film adaptation of Homers Odyssey.

That same year, Bardot released her debut album, Brigitte Bardot Sings, featuring covers of songs by various French musicians, including Serge Gainsbourg. The pair had first met in 1959, when Gainsbourg had a small role in her 1959 film Voulez-vous danser avec moi? (Come Dance With Me) but reunited in 1967 and became lovers. After a disappointing date, she challenged him to write for her as penance the most beautiful love song he could imagine. In response, that night he composed Bonnie and Clyde and Je taime... moi non plus for her.

They recorded both songs together, releasing the former on his 1968 album Initials B.B., but the latter proved problematic as it included the pair indulging in what the recording engineer described as heavy petting. At the time, Bardot was married to the millionaire Gunter Sachs, who furiously demanded that the song not be released. Gainsbourg acquiesced and re-recorded it with Jane Birkin, while the original Bardot version was eventually released years later.

open image in gallery Bardot delivered her most acclaimed performance in Jean-Luc Godards Contempt (1963)

In 1973, Bardot reunited with her first husband Vadim to star in his film Don Juan ou Si Don Juan etait une femme (Don Juan, or If Don Juan Were a Woman) and gave her final screen performance in the comedy Lhistoire tres bonne et tres joyeuse de Colinot Trousse-Chemise (The Edifying and Joyous Story of Colinot). She subsequently announced her retirement from both film and music, aged 39, saying she wanted a way to get out elegantly.

She moved to Saint-Tropez, the glamorous Riviera town she had helped put on the map years earlier when it provided the setting for And God Created Woman. She lived there largely as a recluse, devoting herself to animal activism and establishing her own charity in 1986.

In 1992, she married her fourth and final husband, Bernard dOrmale, an adviser to the ultra-right-wing National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen. In her later years, she became prone to causing offence with her public remarks. In a 2004 book, she referred to gay people as fairground freaks, complained about the scandal of unemployment benefits, and claimed that France was being infiltrated by sheep-slaughtering Muslims.

open image in gallery Bardot with her fourth husband Bernard dOrmale at her foundation for animals in Saint Aubin, in 1997 ( PA )

Between 1997 and 2008, she was hauled into court five times on charges of inciting racial hatred, and was fined 15,000 for saying: I am fed up with being under the thumb of this population [the Muslim community] which is destroying us, destroying our country and imposing its acts. In 2019, she was sued by officials from the French island of Reunion after writing in an open letter that its inhabitants were aboriginals who have kept the genes of savages.

She continued to be outspoken until her death. In one of her final interviews, conducted in May 2025 on French television, she disparaged the #MeToo movement, defended Gerard Depardieu against sexual assault allegations, and declared: Feminism isnt my thing. I like guys.

open image in gallery Bardot became an outspoken figure in her later years and was fined for inciting racial hatred ( PA )

While some of Bardots views may have been retrograde, her progressive influence on style and culture remains undimmed. She is surely the only person ever to have been mentioned by name in songs by Bob Dylan, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Olivia Rodrigo and Chappell Roan. As a fashion icon, she is credited with popularising everything from striped shirts and gingham dresses to ballet flats and the bikini.

Even now, after her death, she will likely remain a muse and continue to inspire new art. As for her own creative career, she reflected in her 2025 interview that she had no regrets about retiring so young. I had nothing more to say, she explained. I am aware that not everyone liked it. In my life, I was often photographed and filmed. Now I love nature, peace. Many people were angry with me for that.
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EastEnders is set to deliver a dramatic New Year's Day special, featuring a flashforward episode that sees long-running character Max Branning walk down the aisle for the fifth time.

Actor Jake Wood, who plays Branning, described the one-off instalment as "brave, big and bold".

The 30-minute BBC1 broadcast will transport viewers exactly one year into the future, placing Branning at the heart of multiple unfolding situations on his wedding day.

Wood, 53, describbed the format-breaking special episode as brave, big [and] bold.

Its a real privilege to be a part of it, he said.

I think the build up to New Year is a busy time for the Brannings. Max is trying to sort of reconnect with his kids, and not doing a very good job of it.

I think hes probably at an all time low on New Years Eve. Then we go to the flash forward.

Max Branning and his son Oscar ( BBC )

He called the two episodes a stark contrast and said: We see a man whos maybe at the lowest weve ever seen him, and then we flash forward and things are maybe not quite as bad.

EastEnders executive producer Ben Wadey said: For Max, life is like one big game of Kiss, Marry, Kill.

This idea set something running for us that we got really excited about.

There is a whole heap of chaos.

Jacqueline Jossa, who plays Lauren Branning, said that the new year will be very interesting for her on-screen family.

Referencing her character Laurens infant son, the 33-year-old said: We have a christening, which is for little Jimmy.

You can imagine how it goes, but its very, very interesting. We see people meet for maybe the first time.

Its very dramatic, but such good television.

EastEnders previously showcased a flashforward scene in February 2023, depicting one aspect of the 2023 Christmas Day storyline.

Woods character Max first arrived in Walford in June 2006, bringing his then-wife Tanya and their daughters Lauren and Abi with him.

He left the BBC soap in 2021 when his characters affair with Linda Carter ended, before returning earlier this year.
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Chase Stokes has opened up about the end of Outer Banks after over six years of the hit Netflix show.

The 33-year-old actor, who has played John B. Routledge on the show since its premiere in 2020, said he and his co-stars are welcoming the end of the globally popular series, saying the cast is thankful for the run, and were ready for it to be done.

We want the story to end on the right note versus [turning] four seasons into season nine and we're going after aliens or something, he told People. We want to cut the cord before we lose the plot.

The fifth and final season is slated to come out in the new year after it recently wrapped up shooting in Dubrovnik, Croatia, and South Carolina. After Stokes posted on Instagram about the end of shooting just last week, he teased that the series finale is exactly how I was told when I started the show.

Outer Banks has been one of Netflixs most-watched original streaming series as the show. Set in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, the saga follows two group of teens embarking on a treasure hunt for gold.

open image in gallery Chase Stokes plays John B. Routledge in Netflix drama 'Outer Banks' and says the cast is ready for the show to be done ( Getty Images for Netflix )

open image in gallery Stokes and Madelyn Cline have starred in the series since its release in 2019 (  2024 Netflix, Inc. )

Stokes stars in the teen drama alongside actors Drew Starkey, Madelyn Cline, Madison Bailey, Jonathan Daviss, Rudy Pankow, Carlacia Grant, and Austin North. The show, created by Josh Pate, Jonas Pate, and Shannon Burke, quickly skyrocketed to popularity in part due to its release a month after lockdown began during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Uglies star told People, Theres just so much gratitude because I was a kid who had a dream and no access to an industry, never really even knew what the process was. Ive checked so many boxes that I thought it would span the course of the next 40 years of my career.

Starkey, 32, similarly said last year that the show coming out during the pandemic helped him ease into life in the spotlight.

I think it was a good thing, the Queer star told The Independents Adam White in December 2024. It happens a lot, especially with younger actors, where you get on a project and all of a sudden youre thrown into the world. So weirdly Covid helped ease me into attention a lot softer than it could have been otherwise. We had this safety cushion.
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Influencer Mike Holston, who makes videos of himself interacting with wildlife, was injured during a skydiving accident.

The social media star, known as the Real Tarzann online, shared a post on Instagram Saturday to share that he was hospitalized. In the photo, he was lying in a gurney, with his right leg wrapped up and his neck in a brace.

Yesterday I had a Skydiving accident Ill probably be out for a few weeks! he wrote in the caption. Im pretty banged up at the moment in some pretty good pain but just happy to be alive. I know a lot of yall want to see me down but dont count on it too long, enjoy while you can !

Holston shared a series of updates on his Instagram Story, featuring videos of himself in the hospital. In one clip, when he was lying down in the gurney, he was asked how bad his pain was.

Gettin' there. Getting better, he said. I was f***ed up for like three hours. I couldn't even breathe. My chest was killing me.

Animal influencer Mike Holston was hospitalized after skydiving accident ( Getty Images )

In the following video, he reassured fans that he was making a steady recovery.

What's up family? Thank God all is well. They didn't get me off this Earth today, but love you all, happy holidays, he said. Nothing to worry about. Just another rough day in the office. I love you all. And hopefully we will see you all soon.

The influencer has more than 16 million followers on Instagram, where he posts videos of himself interacting with different animals, like reptiles and primates. He also uses his account to promote wildlife conservation and respect for nature.

However, he sparked outrage in September when he shared a video on Instagram of himself chasing and wrestling a freshwater crocodile in Australia. At the time, an animal advocacy organization, Community Representation of Crocodiles (CROC), condemned the video on Instagram, saying Holstons behavior was distressing for the animal.

When its promoted on large social media platformswithout permits or authority to handle wildlifeit sets a dangerous precedent, the organization wrote.

Bob Irwin, the father of the late Australian wildlife expert Steve Irwin, also critcized Holstons video, saying content creators like him should be booted out the door if they dont respect Australias wildlife.

This isn't a Steve Irwin issue. This is about an individual illegally interfering with protected fauna, he said in a statement, according to the BBC. Anyone who actually knows how to handle crocodiles knows they don't respond well to capture. It's a specialised skill to do it without causing dangerous stress and lactic acid build-up  and this bloke clearly had no clue.

However, Holston clarified in the comment of the video that the crocodile was released after a few up-close looks and photos, according to the BBC. He also said he didnt encourage anyone to try to recreate his videos.
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One person is dead and three others were injured after a group of gunmen opened fire on a Lamborghini SUV in Chicago early Sunday, one of several mass shootings reported across the country during the final weekend of 2025.

Chicago police said the shooting happened around 2:35 a.m. in the 400 block of North LaSalle Drive in the River North neighborhood.

Four men were getting into a green Lamborghini SUV when four suspects approached on foot and began shooting, according to police. A 34-year-old man was shot multiple times and later died at Northwestern Hospital.

Three other men were wounded, including a 36-year-old who was shot in the chest, a 43-year-old shot in the back, and a 35-year-old shot multiple times to the body.

All three injured men were taken to Northwestern Hospital, where they are being treated for their injuries. Details of their conditions were not immediately available. What led to the shooting is unclear.

open image in gallery One person is dead and three others injured after a group of gunmen opened fire on a Lamborghini SUV in Chicago December 28, among several mass shootings ove the final weekend of 2025 ( WLS )

The suspects fled the scene in a vehicle and remain at large. Video from the area shows police taping off the scene around a green SUV as investigators collected evidence, WLS reported.

No one is in custody as of Sunday evening, police said. Cook County Crime Stoppers announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

This was a brazen and violent act that took one life and left three others fighting for their lives, said Paul Rutherford, executive director of Cook County Crime Stoppers. Someone knows who is responsible. Your information, no matter how small it may seem, could be the key to bringing justice to the victims and their families.

open image in gallery There were more than 400 mass shootings in the US in 2025, including a recent shooting at Brown University that killed two students and injured nine others ( Getty Images )

The shooting in Chicago was among several violent incidents reported nationwide over the weekend after Christmas.

In downtown Fort Lauderdale, Florida, five people were hospitalized after a shooting early Sunday near the 300 block of Southwest 2nd Street, an area with multiple late-night bars. Authorities said the incident appears isolated and that there is no ongoing threat to the public, NBC6 reported. No arrests have been made.

And in downtown Phoenix, a man is fighting for his life and three women were injured after a shooting just before 2:30 a.m. Sunday near 1st and Washington streets, AZFamily reported.

Police said the man suffered life-threatening injuries, while the women are expected to survive. Investigators have not identified any suspects.

Nearing the end of 2025, there have been at least 405 mass shooting incidents nationwide, according to the Gun Violence Archive, down from 503 shootings during the same period in 2024 and continuing a downward trend from 2021 when there were at least 689 mass shootings.

The Gun Violence Archive defines mass shootings as a minimum of four victims shot, either injured or killed, not including any shooter who may also have been killed or injured in the incident.
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Three inmates who escaped a Georgia jail allegedly hijacked a Lyft and kidnapped the female driver at knifepoint after putting a rope around her neck and threatening to kill her as they fled to Florida, court documents state.

Stevenson Charles, 24, Yusuf Minor, 31, and Naod Yohannes, 25, are back in custody this week after a terrifying 10-hour ordeal for the Lyft driver.

After escaping from Georgias DeKalb County Jail at some point December 22, the men were picked up by an unnamed man and taken to one of their girlfriends homes, according to police. There, a Lyft ride was arranged to whisk them away to Florida, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court.

The driver, who was not named in the complaint, later told investigators that it appeared that the car was ordered by a woman. Prosecutors said Minors girlfriend is the one who called the Lyft for the three male passengers.

During the car ride to Miami, the men bound the drivers hands, wrapped a rope around her neck and repeatedly threatened to kill her, according to the complaint.

open image in gallery Three inmates  Stevenson Charles, Yusuf Minor and Naod Yohannes  hijacked a Lyft and kidnapped a driver for 10 hours after escaping Georgia jail, according to the FBI ( DeKalb County Sheriff's Office )

She was dragged into the backseat and warned not to struggle or they would rape and kill her, according to the FBI. The driver estimated she was held captive for up to 10 hours, the complaint states.

After trying to escape at one point, the driver endured increased threats of being shot, raped, and tortured, the FBI agent wrote in the complaint.

The men then allegedly used the drivers credit cards to rent a short-term rental property in Miramar, Florida, which is about 25 miles north of Miami.

At some point, Charles and Yohannes left the rental in the drivers stolen vehicle, while Minor stayed behind, according to the complaint.

The stolen vehicle was detected with the use of license plate readers, which led to the arrests of Charles and Yohannes, federal prosecutors said.

Minor was arrested a short time later at the rental, where authorities found the victim, according to the complaint. Its not clear if the victim sustained any serious injuries.

open image in gallery DeKalb County Sheriff Melody Maddox speaks to reporters after the three escaped inmates were captured in Florida ( AP )

In an statement provided to NBC News, a Lyft spokesperson said the company was concerned by this incident and relieved that the driver is safe.

Our hearts are with the driver and we have reached out to offer support, the spokesperson said. Lyft is working closely with law enforcement to assist in any way we can as the investigation continues.

All three men are back in custody and now face additional kidnapping charges.

According to online inmate records, Minor and Yohannes were serving life sentences for murder at the time of the escape. Charles was being held on charges of murder and armed robbery.

DeKalb County Sheriff Melody Maddox told reporters that the men escaped from an Atlanta-area jail that is deteriorating right before our eyes. The inmates were able to compromise a part of the facility, which investigators and jail officials are now repairing.
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An 18-year-old man was arrested after allegedly shooting both of his parents, killing his mother, at their home in Pennsylvania, police said.

Jarrod Noll was taken into custody Saturday evening in West Virginia, after authorities say he allegedly shot both of his parents at their home in New Freeport, Pennsylvania, the day after Christmas, according to Pennsylvania State Police.

Police were called to the home, located just north of the West Virginia border, and found a woman and a man with gunshot wounds.

The victims, who police determined were husband and wife, were transported to a nearby hospital. The woman was in critical condition and died at the hospital, while the man was treated and released in stable condition.

Police determined that their son, the suspected shooter, had fled the scene on foot, prompting a widespread search, according to the report.

open image in gallery Jarrod Noll is being held as a fugitive in West Virginia and will be extradited to Pennsylvania to face homicide and attempted homicide charges ( West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation )

Noll was armed when he was apprehended Saturday in West Virginia.

He is being held as a fugitive in West Virginia and will be extradited to Pennsylvania to face homicide and attempted homicide charges.

We used tracking dogs, we used helicopters, and we used police on foot searching rough terrain, according to Pennsylvania State Police Sergeant Richard Sizer. Obviously, when you have someone on the run with a homicide warrant, on the run with a gun, it is a huge danger to the community.

open image in gallery Noll, 18, was captured in West Virginia after allegedly shooting both of his parents and killing his mother before running on foot from Pennsylvania, police said ( Pennsylvania State Police )

Authorities said that Nolls younger siblings were home at the time of the shooting, which took place just outside the home. The children, whose ages were not shared, are now in the custody of a family member.

It was not immediately clear what led up to the shooting. Authorities have not shared a potential motive.

State police noted on social media that the shooting appeared to be an isolated incident and that there was no threat to the public.

We thank the community; we kind of moved in here and were walking their properties and taking over streets and things that we needed to do to successfully resolve the incident, Sizer said. Were glad its over.
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A Texas father heroically saved his teenage daughter by tracking her cell phone to find her after she had been abducted by a knife-wielding man on Christmas Day, authorities said.

The 15-year-old girl had been walking her dog near her familys Porter, Texas, home, around 4:50 p.m. on Christmas when she was abducted, the Montgomery County Sheriffs Office wrote on Facebook.

Authorities learned that the girl had taken her dog out for a walk and when she did not return at her usual time, her parents became concerned.

Using her phones location, the concerned father was able to track her to a wooded area nearly two miles away, where she was found inside a maroon-colored pickup truck with a partially nude man.

The father helped his daughter escape and called law enforcement, who promptly arrested 23-year-old Giovanni Rosales Espinoza, the sheriffs office said.

open image in gallery A man has been arrested after abducting a teenage girl and her dog while they were on a walk on Christmas in Texas, authorities said ( Montgomery County Sherrif's Office )

Espinoza was taken into custody without incident and charged with aggravated kidnapping and indecency with a child.

He is being held in the Montgomery County Jail with no bail, authorities said.

Christmas is a day meant for joy, but this man chose to shatter that joy by targeting a child, Sheriff Wesley Doolittle said.

I am incredibly proud of our deputies and detectives who worked tirelessly to ensure this dangerous predator was swiftly apprehended and is now off our streets. Rest assured that your Sheriffs Office remains vigilant every hour of every day to keep your families safe.

The sheriffs department said its investigation remains ongoing, but no further information can be released at this time.
Mumbai is a city that measures its progress in decibels and asphalt. We are currently a metropolis under construction, a landscape of coastal roads, metro pillars, and the relentless mechanical tunes of development. Yet, three years ago, we briefly glimpsed a different version of our streets. From 6 AM to 10 AM, the hierarchy of the road was inverted. The car was banished, and the citizen was reinstated.



The initiative was Sunday Streets, a formal vision launched on March 25, 2022. It was the brainchild of former Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey, implemented with a directive signed by Raj Tilak Roushan, then IPS and DCP (Traffic), who coined the name. The goal was simple: reclaim the streets for recreation and offer a stress-free morning. What started on six stretches grew to nine, transforming arteries like Marine Drive and Bandras Carter Road into temporary urban sanctuaries. Today, those mornings are a memory  a ghost that haunts a city increasingly starved for breathable public space.



The architecture of connection



For a city often accused of being a collection of isolated silos, Sunday Streets acted as a social glue. Mario Fishery, 48, a Bandra-based educator who documented the movement via his Mumbai Citizen Forum, saw it as more than just a fitness drive. He would cycle from his home to Carter Road with his son, then a student at St Stanislaus School. Sunday Streets always gave me a strong sense of community, connection and wellbeing, Fishery recalls. The absence of vehicles allowed the neighbourhood to slow down and actually interact. Spread across Bandra, the promenade near Pali Naka, Marine Drive and parts of South Mumbai, the initiative, at one point, covered malocations across the city; it allowed people to rediscover a sense of belonging as the city emerged from the pandemic.



In South Mumbai, the experience was equally transfo-rmative. Mahendra Hemdev, a Marine Drive resident and social worker, worked as a coordinator between the local police and the community. For him, the sight of a vehicle-free promenade was a reclamation of dignity. One unforgettable memory was a cloudy Sunday when the police band performed and celebrities like Akshay Kumar joined in, Hemdev says. You felt like the roads belonged to the people. There was a sense of ownership and connection to the neighbourhood, something we had lost amid constant construction and congestion.



The play gap



Perhaps the most poignant impact was on the citys youngest residents. Mumbai is notorious for its lack of safe, accessible playgrounds. Heena Shah, 56, who lives at Marine Drive, frequently hosted her six-year-old granddaughter, Rahi. While Rahi had open spaces at her home in Kandivali, visiting south Mumbai usually meant being confined by traffic and noise. During the event in the mornings, you would see the roads empty and open to walk freely and play without fear. Its a different feeling from a playground, especially for Mumbaikars, Shah says. Watching Rahi dance and skip rope on a major thoroughfare was a revelation. Shah even recalls meeting a working mother who travelled from Vasai just to give her children a safe place to run. It was perfect for people like her. She told me she only gets some time off on Sundays, and this was her chance to spend time with her children.



This sentiment is shared by Meena Mutha, 70, a Churchgate resident who runs a rehabilitation daycare centre for psychiatric patients. As a regular morning walker, she found the atmosphere lively. It felt like a community space, Mutha says. Between yoga sessions and sharing jalebi and ganthiya with fellow residents, she saw the streets become a platform for upcoming artists, a rare democratic stage in a crowded city.



A stage without a ceiling



For the creative fringe, Sunday Streets was a sanctuary. Nishal Bharat, 23, a street busker from Thane with seven years of experience, saw the streets finally offering a place where expression felt welcome. In a city where street art is often met with bureaucratic resistance, these four hours were sacred. Children, elders, artists and families shared the space. That level of acceptance was deeply meaningful, Bharat says. He remembers the bond formed with performers like lyrical dancer Raaj Kamble at Bandstand and Aakash at Carter Road. The streets finally offered a place where expression felt welcome.



The friction of the road



If the initiative was a triumph of the spirit, it was, however, a victim of logistics. The downfall was caused by a mix of administrative fatigue and local friction. Hemdev points to the invisible cost of policing: The police are already stretched, and Sundays are often their only day off.



There were also the Not In My Backyard (NIMBY) complaints. Shah notes that some residents complained about noise, though she found the music far less disturbing than the 24/7 traffic they usually endure. Logistical strain also played a role. Sunayana Sadarangani, 72, a Churchgate resident who attended as an observer, noted that crowd control became difficult as the events popularity surged. When something is treated as free for all, people take liberties, she observes, noting that activities often spilled beyond designated zones without clear management.



Bring it back



These were not ideological failures. They were design and governance gaps. Sunday Streets did not collapse because people rejected the idea of shared public space. It stalled because the city did not evolve the framework quickly enough to match its popularity. In this crowded city, even good ideas need structure to survive scale.



The context is now shifting. Hemdev points to the Coastal Road promenade as a space that can host large crowds without overwhelming neighbourhood streets. Hiring private security can ease the burden on police, he says. Fishery adds that any revival will need clear top-down leadership, with commitment from the police commissioner or elected representatives.



Still, Sunday Streets did prove one thing for sure: when space is offered, people use it meaningfully. The question is no longer whether such mornings are desirable, but whether Mumbai is prepared to plan for them deliberately, consistently, and at scale.




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Sponsored BusinessCompaniesBulls N' Bears Dollar Bill: The algorithm ate my broker  but should it? Brought to you by BULLS N BEARS Bill McConnell December 28, 2025  12:23pm 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 A A

Bulls N Bears Dollar Bill has enjoyed (but often ignored) the advice of the same broker for nearly thirty years. George was an old university friend and never much good at anything but somehow turned a shared love of cheap wine and bad poetry in the back room of the Club into a career dispensing financial advice to a tight circle of members. None of us really cared that he was a Muppet, because he was our Muppet. The algorithm ate my broker  but should it? The ritual with Georgie was as tired as the carpets at the Club. One of us would lean back in the leather, sip something brown and ask for advice. It was free, and probably worth about as much. To be fair to the old boy, he did have a strike rate of sorts with maybe one in ten coming good. Buy gold, was his evergreen contribution, a line that required little thought. He also liked to chirp out short the banks, although most of us suspected a personal grudge was doing the heavy lifting there. Around the room, polite nodding would follow, accompanied by the unspoken acknowledgement that our kids could probably offer better insight. The real theatre though, happened on the phone. Dollar Bill, like so many others, would dial in with a trading idea seeking confirmation  or at least constructive advice why not. The well-meaning George would hum thoughtfully, make a show of sounding informed, then do exactly what he was told, tacking on a more-than-decent commission for good measure.

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For a while this pantomime worked. There was comfort in the illusion that wisdom was being offered, and perhaps more importantly that his Club fees might one day be paid. But markets have changed faster than those of us trading them. What was once tolerable has become absurd. The man who once provided little more than rote stock tips has been replaced by systems that dont pause to breathe and execute for cents in the dollar. And even when George did stumble across something useful, most of us would hang up and punch the instruction into CommSec which also didnt present us with the concern of being half drunk. I know, I know. Broker advice and execution have gone the way of the fax machine, the bowler hat and the ashtray on a Qantas flight - although Dollar Bill still owns one each of the first two. ASIC, in its 597 Report estimates roughly 85 per cent of all trades in Australian listed equities are now sourced via programs and apps. The vast majority of quotes, cancellations and orders that make the market hum are now fired off by an algorithm somewhere in the cloud. Yet for all that automation, theres still the odd human clinging to the trade blotter like driftwood. Brokers havent vanished entirely  a quick glance around the bars of Australia Square in Sydney will confirm that point. But these days, at least when it comes to the buy and sell, brokers are being out-talked and out-serviced by the algorithm. Globally, the numbers are just as stark. JP Morgan estimates more than 80 per cent of global equity turnover is now program-driven, and European research house GreySpark Partners - a major advisor to investment banks with 1000s of employees spread across 40 cities - claims algorithmic and quant strategies account for nearly 70 per cent of European equity market turnover. Advice meanwhile, has thinned to little more than small talk.

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In 2019 Australia had almost 28,000 licensed financial advisers. By mid-2025, fewer than 15,500 remained. To be fair, the AMP scandal of charging dead people advice fees and tighter regulation took a chunk out of the industry. But even allowing for that, the numbers represent a 40 per cent collapse in a little over five years. With the possible exception of taxi drivers, its hard to think of another profession thats been technologically euthanised in such a short space of time. Treasurys 2023 report; Quality of Advice Review called it a crisis of accessibility. Advice hasnt just become scarcer; it now appears increasingly like a luxury good. The human pause - that fragile gap between thought and trade - is being automated out of existence. Retail traders, armed with dashboards and dopamine, can push a junior explorer 40 per cent higher by the time the morning tea trolley swings by at the Club. Often there are no new assays, just new hashtags. CommSec now boasts over three million users, nearly half under 40, with the vast majority trading without a single conversation. Add Stake, Superhero and a dozen others  most of which Dollar Bill learnt about from his 19 year old son - and Australia now has more than four million app-based accounts driving about three-quarters of retail flow. What used to be a phone call has become a thumb swipe, not all that dissimilar to that Tinder thingy. Todays brokers increasingly survive on the oxygen of corporate-finance, raisings, IPOs and placements. Global ETF assets have swollen past US$13 trillion, while Australian ETFs manage nearly A$300 billion. Its automation over advice, index over instinct.

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But despite all that, some of Dollar Bills best trades still come from a hybrid model - a human whisper from a Club member executed cleanly via app. And yes, on occasion, Dollar Bill does still follow the advice of a broker  just not Georges. ASICs August 2025 consultation paper on trading systems (Paper 386), proposed kill-switches for runaway algos and the US SEC has floated similar circuit-breaker rules. When the plumbers start worrying about the pipes, you know the waters running too fast. This isnt to say its all bad. Information has never been freer, access never easier, and the new generation of investor is sharper and faster than Dollar Bills old-school lot ever was. But the tide has turned and advice givers are now an endangered species. When Dollar Bill ran this thesis past a few learned colleagues at the Club, it rattled more than one cage. While some laughed, a few in particular - brokers and good ones - wanted to know whether Dollar Bill really believed the human adviser was finished. The truth, as we discussed deep into the night, is more complicated. Yes, algorithms dominate the tape. Yes, 8085 per cent of equity volume globally is now machine-generated. And yes, adviser numbers have collapsed with more than half the country trading through an app while waiting for a flat white.

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But markets arent just math. They reflect behaviour, panic, ego, denial, fatigue, optimism and fear and none of those have been automated out of existence. In fact, if anything, theyve been amplified. When volatility spikes, people dont open an algorithm; they open a whisky. They call someone who knows the difference between a trade and a tantrum. And this isnt nostalgia. Three of the largest money managers on the planet - Vanguard, Fidelity and Russell Investments - have all published variations of the same finding: advised clients outperform self-directed ones by 23 percentage points a year largely because a human adviser stops them making emotionally catastrophic decisions. Panic selling, overtrading and momentum chasing require restraint no algorithm can provide. The brokers greatest value is often preventing a trade, not executing one. Try getting CommSec to talk you out of a terrible idea. All you get is a pop-up box and a How was your experience? survey. Try navigating a placement without a human. Try reading managements body language on a site visit from an algorithm. Try calling an app after-hours to ask whether a CEO looked nervous or whether the third row of the drill core tray seemed suspiciously light. There are things the machines can do - speed, precision, pattern-recognition - but intuition still lives in the human spine.

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Then theres the long lunch factor; the part the academics never model. Markets are built on relationships; the whisper networks, dinner conversations, misread signals and gossip you hear at the bar. Cities have been bankrupted on rumours and fortunes have been made on a shared hunch over a fillet mignon with a good pinot. So maybe the algorithm hasnt eaten my broker after all but merely swallowed the routine. What remains - judgement, context, restraint and the ability to read the room - still resides with people. And while poor old George was always destined to be replaced, some of his colleagues, admittedly fewer by the year, still offer something machines dont. Only people can provide guidance and a filter to the endless chatter. Only people can stand between investors and their worst impulses. And in a market increasingly driven by algorithms and speed, its this service that may be the rarest and most valuable of all. Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au

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Eating outFood The best things we ate in Brisbane in 2025 From chicken shawarma in the far-flung suburbs to Patagonian toothfish and mud crab claypot in the heart of the CBD, here are the dishes were still thinking about. Matt Shea December 29, 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 A A A

In all my years as a food journalist, I dont think Ive ever eaten quite as well as I did in 2025. That might be because our reporting took us to a greater variety of eateries in far-flung corners of the city, whether it was charcoal chicken shops in Upper Mount Gravatt or shawarma spots in Underwood. Shane Delias Layla in West End. Courtesy of Delia Group So compiling a list of the best dishes of 2025 is almost impossible. Instead, think of this simply as a list of the dishes that still stick in my mind as we head into the new year. These arent my absolute favourite things to eat around town. Thats another story for another time. And theyre not all from new venues, either.

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Related Article Young-gun Snug chefs open fancy Coorparoo deli selling fancy sangers My only rule of thumb when selecting these dishes? I had to have tasted the dish for the first time this year. Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox. Sign up Queensland mud crab claypot at The Fifty Six I ate many things at The Fifty Six this year and all of them were excellent  chef Gerald Ong is the real deal when it comes to Cantonese food. Still, its something off his new(ish) menu that stuck with me: a Queensland mud crab claypot with vermicelli noodles and finished with chicken fat and aged Shaoxing. Mud crab claypot at The Fifty Six.

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Vermicelli cooked in the claypot has a long history in China. Perhaps the best-known version is served with prawns, the vermicelli slowly soaking up the richness of the stock and other ingredients. Ong, though, has given it an upgrade with a cloudy fish stock made with fish bones, ginger and spring onions  think of it like a fish version of a tonkotsu, he says  topping it with the rich sweetness of the mud crab and umami of the Shaoxing. The result is a dish as sophisticated as it is soul-warming. Habibi butter chicken at Layla Much was made of Laylas habibi butter chicken when the restaurant opened in late March. When I first tried it, it was a touch disappointing, but I suspect a line chef may have chucked the wrong herbs on top. Something wasnt right. Laylas habibi butter chicken with ras-el-hanout butter chicken gravy. Courtesy of Delia Group

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The second time, I got what everyone was raving about  tender chicken set in a rich, deeply flavoured sauce given a brilliant kick with ras-el-hanout. Its fabulous, clever cooking, and captures on a plate Laylas intent to illustrate the subcontinents long influence on Middle Eastern cuisine. Quail cotoletta at Summit Restaurant I have a thing for cotoletta, and the best I ate in 2025 was at the rebooted Summit Restaurant atop Mount Coot-tha. Coominya quail cotoletta with Jerusalem sage, buerre noisette, cress, radish and fennel shoots. Markus Ravik Made with quail, chef Kym Machin sourced larger birds from Coominya, deboned and crumbed them with sourdough, herbs and dried scamorza. On the plate, the dish was finished with almonds, radish, Jerusalem sage and beurre noisette. The crumb was pretty much perfect, with the texture of the dish rounded out by the almonds, a sprinkle of capers and the velvety burnt butter. Think of it as the ultimate comfort food.

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You mightve noticed, though, this is all written in the past tense, and thats because its not currently on Summits menu. Bummer. But the dish was and is a good indicator of the quality of the food generally at Summit, which, given the tourist-trap location, is much, much better than it perhaps needs to be. Chicken shawarma at Zooroona God, I love this place. After two different restaurateurs raved about the shawarma at Zooroona in a single week, I finally made the trip to Underwood. It didnt disappoint. Chicken shawarma at Zooroona. Markus Ravik Owner Mohamed Ghadban has hired Diab Kubahji in the kitchen. Half Syrian, half Lebanese, Kubahji had only just arrived in Australia as a refugee when he met Ghadban, but he has 20 years under his belt working as a shawarma chef.

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Kubahjis beef shawarma is good, but I think the chicken is even better. Tightly wrapped in house-made, lightly toasted saj with pickled cucumber and toum, it couldnt be simpler. Ghadban reckons the secret is the imported Lebanese lamb tail fat, which is placed atop Zooroonas vertical spit and drips down through the protein as it slowly cooks. It gives the chicken a savoury richness thats struck through by the pungent, zesty toum. Related Article This ugly-delicious Happy Boy classic is one of Brisbanes best dishes Better than anything I had in Sydney, one of those restaurant owners told me. I cant confirm that, but its the best Ive had in Brisbane. Charcoal chicken at Sizzling Birds

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When you think of charcoal chicken in Brisbane, its usually the shops dotted along Beaudesert Road in Acacia Ridge. But Sizzling Birds beats them all, I reckon. Sizzling Birds brilliant charcoal chicken. Markus Ravik Kesra Sefian uses a recipe mostly developed by his father, who owned takeaway shops in Sydney. Sefian is tight-lipped about the specifics, but he uses halal chicken from ABD Food Services that he seasons with Middle Eastern herbs, sea salt and plenty of fresh lemon. He then cooks the birds over mangrove charcoal that gives you this nice smoky flavour and burns perfectly. Chicken is enjoying a resurgence on Australian menus, but this is easily the best Ive eaten in 2025. Theres also a very good halal snack pack that comes topped with toum and sliced pickles bought off the shelf at Lebanese grocer Watany Manoushi just down the road. The beef brisket sandwich at Sarni

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This is as close to the ideal sandwich as Ive had in this town. Sarnis beef brisket sandwich. Markus Ravik First, theres the bread. Marty Coard, who co-owns Sarni on Racecourse Road with Noam Lissner, Hugo Hirst and Mat Drummond, describes it as not quite a sourdough, although it is fermented for 72 hours. Its pretty much the perfect sanger bread. Then theres the brisket, which is Angus beef brined for seven days, then smoked. The chunks of beef are luscious, with plenty of texture, but dont stray into being dry or stringy. The sauce is the stroke of genius. A Laotian-style jeow som chock-full of coriander and chilli, it gives the sandwich a fresh, herby note, and offsets the beef.

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Related Article Exclusive The light, bright and beautiful Cibaria is a restaurant fit for Noosa Theres some iceberg lettuce for texture and moisture, and a bone marrow beef fat mayo thats packed with umami. The final element is some fried shallots for a spike of flavour and extra crunch. The only catch? Sarnis menu is constantly changing, and this sanger with it, but its just about always for the better, as Coard and co continue to refine their processes and ingredients. In short, please eat at your earliest convenience. Patagonian toothfish at Opa Bar and Mezze

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Toothfish has become a popular addition to upmarket menus around town, but I havent seen it done quite as well as this. Patagonian toothfish at Opa Bar and Mezze. Filleted and cooked on the grill, the buttery, meaty fish is served atop a refined take on spanakorizo given a lovely zesty touch by the addition of a ladolemono sauce. Its a total winner, full of flavour and texture but never in danger of overwhelming its own protein (which can sometimes happen when chefs get carried away with toothfish). Restaurateur Michael Tassis venues are always consistent, but theyre at their best when leveraging his long history with the regions seafood suppliers, this dish being a prime example. Related Article One uppercut after another: Brisbane dining 2025 in review Related Article Brisbanes most exciting food and drink openings of 2025

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For subscribers Matt Shea is Food and Culture Editor at Brisbane Times. He is a former editor and editor-at-large at Broadsheet Brisbane, and has written for Escape, Qantas Magazine, the Guardian, Jetstar Magazine and SilverKris, among many others.
David Gordon of Cranebrook isnt barking mad when he says: Rob Woof of South Hurstville recently gets a mention in Column 8 (NRMA Pilot sign in Banksia), while Peter Woof of Mollymook gets a run in letters regarding gun technology. Woof isnt a common surname like Smith or Jones. Are Rob and Peter related?

There might have been an NRMA Pilot station on Parramatta Road opposite Ashfield Park, but Im not aware of it, posits David Evans of Annandale. There was definitely, however, one on Liverpool Road outside the park about 150 metres back from Parramatta Road. Its a No Stopping zone now, and I think the sign may have disappeared in the mid-80s. Time for the NRMA to weigh in to the discussion.

Ian Nicholls scooter-bound Oslo saviour (C8) reminded Ken Finlayson of East Corrimal that In 1975, looking for a parking spot in Barcelona near the bullring, a young lad (probably noting the UK number plates) waved us to follow him and lead us to an underground car park, whereas my fellow-traveller found a street park. After the corrida, we left the arena to find my mates car (also with UK plates) broken into, with the luggage stolen. I ran to check mine in the underground park. All was secure, so I gave the puzzled attendant a cash bonus.

Camouflage is for sissies, reckons Peter Miniutti of Ashbury, who wonders if the new Trump-class warships will be painted orange.

A bit of science fact now from Natasha Lee of Alexandria: After reading Mary Cardes contribution (C8) on having to tap the box I am not a robot I wonder at what point do people with a range of medical devices such as cochlear implants, pacemakers, and prosthetics can honestly say I am not a robot?
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PoliticsFederalPolitical leadership Opinion 2025, a year best to forget? We never will George Brandis Former high commissioner to the UK and federal attorney-general December 29, 2025  5:00am

December 29, 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 A A A

The year 2025 will be forever defined in our history by the horror of December 14. But as it ends in sorrow, this is the time to reflect on all the other things for which 2025 will also be remembered. Here is my pastiche of a year none of us will forget, even if we wish we could. 2025: A year to forget? Back row: Murray Watt; James Paterson; Matt Canavan; Jacinta Nampijinpa Price. Middle: Trump; Putin; Sanae Takaichi. Bottom: Albanese; Troy Bramstons book cover; Sarah Hanson-Young; Its time 50th Anniversary. Benke Most shameful day  December 14: Why did it take the slaughter of 15 innocent souls to awaken the government to the magnitude of the danger about which Jewish Australians have been warning, with ever-greater urgency, ever since the pogrom of October 7, 2023? Real leadership required more from Anthony Albanese than formulaic condemnations of antisemitism and words of sorrow for the victims. His stubborn refusal to hold the royal commission for which there is such overwhelming demand underlines the inadequacy of his response. Best performance by a minister  Murray Watt: The Queensland senator, promoted after the election to the difficult environment portfolio, emerged this year as cabinets best fixer. His success in landing a last-minute deal with the Greens to secure the governments environment legislation was the latest of several tricky issues he has handled with skill. With the reputations of the other two Left faction ministers in the Senate, Penny Wong and Katy Gallagher, so diminished by revelations of their ugly role in falsely maligning former Liberal minister Linda Reynolds (about which more is likely to be revealed next year in Reynolds action against the Commonwealth), Watts future looks bright. Best performance by an opposition minister  James Paterson: Yet again this year, Paterson was the Coalitions most effective voice. Alone among his colleagues, he emerged from the catastrophic Liberal campaign with his standing enhanced. In the months of mayhem that followed, he remained calm, reasoned and resolutely on-message. His Tom Hughes Oration  which was bracingly candid about the Liberal Partys obligation to learn the lessons from its electoral calamity  was the best Coalition speech of the year. Patersons wise counsel that the party cannot succeed by trying to be Farage lite will be heeded by every Liberal with a brain.

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Related Article 'They're not the nutters they used to be': Liberal Party open to Greens 'arrangement' Best performance by a crossbencher  Sarah Hanson-Young: Hanson-Young achieved something I never thought possible for a Green: she managed to sound sensible. Her critique of the Optus Triple Zero debacle was measured and forensic. Her pragmatism (a very un-Green virtue) landed the deal with Labor on environment laws. And she had the most brutal cut-through line on the Coalitions decision to abandon net zero: Theyre nutters. Perhaps its the fact that she has served in the Senate for longer than any of her Greens colleagues that has made Sarah a political grown-up. No wonder they wont make her leader. Best performance by a backbencher  Matt Canavan, by a country mile: The net zero debate was undeniably the most vexed issue for the opposition this year. Canavan effected a policy change first within the National Party, and then he strong-armed the Liberal Party into following suit. Whether or not you agree with him, theres no doubt that he shaped the politics and led the debate. As a result of relentless tenacity and effective advocacy, he ended up getting everything he wanted. And all from the backbench. Fastest falling star: Jacinta Nampijinpa Price: From her disastrous performance during the election campaign, when she gave Labor its best line tying Peter Dutton to Donald Trump, to her embarrassing run at the Liberal deputy leadership, in which she fell flat on her face (and ratted on the National Party in the process), to her insults to Indian Australians at the very time Liberals needed to rebuild trust with multicultural communities, the star of the No case in 2023 spent 2025 proving just how bad she is at politics. Jacinta Nampijinpa Price: The fastest-falling star. Fairfax Media

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Most important new face on the world stage  Sanae Takaichi: Japans first female prime minister quickly showed that her reputation as the Japanese Margaret Thatcher was more than just caricature. Amping up her rhetoric towards China, she declared that a naval blockade of Taiwan could be considered a survival-threatening situation which, under Japans pacifist constitution, might justify its military response. The fury of Chinas reaction was a measure of its concern that the new PM meant what she said; the cost to China of invading Taiwan just got significantly higher. Deterrence only works as a diplomatic strategy when the threats are credible  as Takaichi no doubt learnt from Thatcher. You only get one Donald Trump in your lifetime, as Russian President Vladimir Putin might have said. AP Most cringeworthy moment in global politics  Donald Trump greeting Vladimir Putin in Alaska: As the US president rolled out the red carpet for the worlds most dangerous autocrat, Russias attack on Ukraine accelerated. Trump got precisely nothing out of the meeting, except for the chance to hang out with a gangster he so obviously admires and of whom he is embarrassingly in awe. At an event designed more for photo opportunities than diplomacy, the image that captured the moment best was that of Putin, gazing through the window of Trumps limousine, looking like the cat that had swallowed the canary. Although normally as inscrutable as the KGB officer he once was, that bemused smirk left no one in any doubt what he was thinking. Akin to what Kerry Packer said of Alan Bond, you only get one Donald Trump in your lifetime. Best political book  Troy Bramstons Gough Whitlam: The Vista of the New: While clearly sympathetic to his subject, Bramston avoids the hagiography in which so many of Whitlams biographers have indulged, with measured and sometimes scathing assessments. His account of the Khemlani loans affair made me laugh out loud: did Australia really once have senior ministers, like Rex Connor and Jim Cairns, who were such clueless suckers? In the chapters on the blocking of supply and the Dismissal, Bramston is as unsparing of Whitlams tactical obtuseness as he is of Sir John Kerrs lack of candour, while comprehensively demolishing the conspiracy theory, based on a tortured reading of the palace letters, promoted by less forensic Whitlam biographers.

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Norman Gunston (Garry McDonald) with Gough Whitlam on the day of the Dismissal. ABC Most embarrassing commemoration  50th anniversary of the Dismissal conference: This gathering brought together most of the luminaries of the left, with a token sprinkling of Liberals, at the superbly atmospheric Old Parliament House. It could have been a serious opportunity to discuss still-unresolved constitutional issues while marking a defining historical event. Instead, it degenerated into a festival of Gough, as true believers of a certain age hugely enjoyed themselves reliving those long-ago days of wine and rage (as Frank Moorhouse called them). Sadly, the wine had been cellared for far too long; the rage  aside from the customary ritualistic denunciations of Kerr  was that so few people cared any more. The conference dinner ended in sublime self-parody, as that songstress of the 1970s, Little Pattie, led the thinning ranks of Whitlam warriors in a croaking rendition of their tribal anthem Its Time with all the gusto of a nursing home singalong. It was time  for bed. I wish all of my readers a restful holiday and a better year ahead. George Brandis is a former high commissioner to the UK, and a former Liberal senator and federal attorney-general. He is now a professor at the ANUs National Security College. Get a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform your own. Sign up for our Opinion newsletter.
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PoliticsFederalClimate crisis The $31 billion a year threat to the Australian dream: Climate change Shane Wright December 28, 2025  12:44pm 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 A A

Australia must enter a desalination plant building boom to offset the impact of growing water demand and take urgent action to avoid climate change-related damage to homes that could cost the economy more than $700 billion by the end of the century. New Productivity Commission research warns state and federal governments to start spending billions of dollars as soon as possible to protect the nations housing stock from these threats or face a $31 billion annual damage bill. Australian houses will face greater threats from climate change that will require changes to planning and construction, the Productivity Commission has warned. Louie Douvis The commission has used a series of reports to look at policies that would increase the speed at which the economy could grow without adding to inflationary pressures. In its report on moving to a net zero economy, the commission also conducted modelling into the impact of climate change on the nations housing stock.

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It found action in the near term such as requiring homes be at least half a metre above ground in flood-prone areas and preventing ember attacks could save taxpayers and residents hundreds of billions of dollars. The single largest threat the commission found was riverine flooding which, in todays dollars, it estimated could cost $241 billion in damage by the end of the decade. Surface-water flooding  water overwhelming drainage systems  could cost another $164 billion. Related Article Letters Resource-hungry data centres are costing the planet Tropical cyclones ($74 billion), fires ($70 billion) and extreme wind ($100 billion) all pose growing risks to the nations homes. According to the commission, as more homes are built to accommodate the nations growing population, the risk to those and existing properties will grow due to the impact of climate change on the natural environment.

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Without targeted action, many existing dwellings will remain exposed to increasing climate risks for decades to come, it warned. Population growth and housing stock turnover are key drivers of future exposure. Continuing to build housing in high-risk areas will increase exposure and asset losses. The commission estimates that by the end of the century, the annual damage caused to homes by climate change will be $31 billion or 1 per cent of GDP in todays dollars. Cumulatively, the cost between 2025 and 2100 will be at least $744 billion. It argued preventive measures now could drastically reduce that cost. Making homes more resilient to climate change would save $186 billion while preventing the construction of new properties in high-risk areas, such as on floodplains, could save another $54 billion. It found moving quickly would deliver substantial benefits. A five-year program of work could prevent $38 billion in damages by the end of the century. But dragging it out over 30 years would cost an additional $44 billion in damages.

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According to the commission, the federal government should develop a climate resilience star rating system that potential buyers could use to identify homes at risk of climate-related damage. All levels of government should work together on ways to protect properties including the retrofitting of existing properties and through planning rules. Floods such as those that hit Lismore in 2022 are expected to hit more often and cause more damage over coming years. Getty Images Over the years ahead, boosting our resilience to the impacts of climate change will lower costs to the economy, society and the environment. We need to create the foundations for effective adaptation now, it found. The opportunity to act is greatest when new homes are being planned and built, allowing those benefits to be realised with less disruption and, in many cases, likely at lower cost than retrofitting existing homes, it found.

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Its not only homes at risk. Oxford Economics Australia believes access to drinking water will be put under greater pressure in coming years. Economist Dominic McNally said the country is likely to go through a $23 billion desalination plant construction boom as a growing population, construction of data centres and climate change put pressure on drinking water supplies. Last week, Melburnians were warned they could face water restrictions for the first time in a decade after Victoria experienced its lowest inflows on record between January and June. Rainfall in south-west WA including Perth has dropped by 20 per cent since the mid-1970s and reduced stream flow by an average 80 per cent. Perth already has two desalination plants and is in the process of building a third in the citys north.

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Oxford said construction on four desalination plants was under way across the country. That will grow to 11 by the end of the decade. A desalination construction boom is imminent as water authorities look to desalination plants as the solution to Australias impending water shortages, he said. The most expensive is likely to be a $5 billion plant to service South-East Queensland, while expansions to current plants in Sydney ($920 million) and Melbourne ($840 million) were likely to be needed. Get to the heart of whats happening with climate change and the environment. Sign up for our fortnightly Environment newsletter.
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Grieving families of Jewish victims of the Bondi shooting have urged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to hold a Commonwealth royal commission into the rise of antisemitism and other failures that contributed to Australias worst mass killing in decades. Declaring the federal government has done not nearly enough since the incident that left 15 innocent people dead and dozens injured, 17 families connected to most of those killed on December 14 said in a statement they wanted a royal commission to examine the rapid rise in antisemitism after the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, as well as failings in law enforcement, intelligence and policy. Family members of most of those killed in the Bondi shooting have called for a Commonwealth royal commission. Aresna Villanueva We demand answers and solutions, the statement said. We need to know why clear warning signs were ignored, how antisemitic hatred and Islamic extremism were allowed to dangerously grow unchecked, and what changes must be made to protect all Australians going forward. As proud Australians and proud Jews, we have endured more than two and a half years of relentless attacks. Our children feel unsafe at school and university. Our homes, workplaces, sporting fields, and public spaces no longer feel secure. It is an intolerable situation that no Australian should have to endure.

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Two weeks after the shooting, which targeted a Jewish event on the first night of Hanukkah, there is fierce political debate about whether the federal government has done enough to combat antisemitism in Australia. Of the two suspected Islamist extremists who fired on the Bondi Beach Hanukkah celebration, Sajid Akram, 50, was killed at the scene while son Naveed, 24, survived. They allegedly had a homemade black Islamic State flag in their car at the time of the attack. As of Sunday, 10 patients remained in hospital, including three in critical but stable conditions. One of the flashpoints since the attack has been Albaneses reluctance to hold a federal royal commission, although he has said he would support one at state level. NSW Premier Chris Minns has indicated he wants to hold a royal commission, and in a visit to Bondi Beach on Sunday he said it was needed to get the information to provide it to government so that we can make the changes to keep the community safe.

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The call from the families, who represent most of those killed in the attack, follows pressure on the federal government not only from Albaneses political opponents but also from security experts, former heads of intelligence services and the family of Katrina Dawson, who was killed in the Lindt cafe siege in 2014. A former royal commissioner has also supported the idea, while 139 eminent legal figures, including a former chief justice and multiple judges, signed an open letter in support last week. A call for a Commonwealth royal commission also received a rousing cheer at the vigil marking a week since the Bondi massacre. About half of voters surveyed back the idea of a royal commission into antisemitism, a Resolve Political Monitor poll showed last week: 48 per cent said they supported one, while 34 per cent were unsure or neutral and 17 per cent were opposed. In their statement, the Bondi victims families ask how Albanese could not support a royal commission into the deadliest terrorist attack on Australian soil when they had been held into banks and aged care.

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We have lost parents, spouses, children, and grandparents, the families said. Our loved ones were celebrating Chanukah at Bondi Beach, a festival of light and joy, in an iconic public space that should have been safe. You owe us answers. You owe us accountability. And you owe Australians the truth. Police patrolling Bondi Beach near tributes to those killed and injured in the shooting. Flavio Brancaleone Albanese has been resisting a royal commission, instead focusing on a short inquiry headed by former Defence Department secretary Dennis Richardson into federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies to see if they need new powers.

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He has said a full royal commission would take years, noting that the Coalitions own proposed inquiry would have more than 100 separate areas of investigation. Federal Local Government Minister Kristy McBain said on Sunday that the government wanted a speedy response to the Bondi tragedy. She said Richardson had been given until April to report on the nations security laws. Weve given him a short timeline to actually come back to us with some answers on how [the shooters] were radicalised, what methods were used, and how we can continue to combat antisemitism, as well as the response of our agencies, including ASIO and the AFP and how they worked with the NSW police force, she said. Editor's pick Exclusive

Bondi shooting Luca dreams of becoming a paramedic. He was one of the first on the scene after the Bondi attack Opposition Leader Sussan Ley at the weekend reiterated her call for the immediate creation of a royal commission, saying it should shine a light on how antisemitism had grown across the country.

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She said the Coalitions own terms of reference could be changed to accommodate the government. We can refine them. We can change them. We can put them forward. We can consult with the Jewish community as we must and as we have, and start a process which sees a Commonwealth royal commission established, she said. Former treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the drums are beating loudly for a Commonwealth royal commission and the intervention of the families was extremely significant. With recent polls showing the Australian people agree with the long list of legal, national security and political leaders who have called for a royal commission, its now time for the prime minister to listen and act. The voices are too loud and too important to ignore, he said. Related Article Bondi shooting This is part of our history now: How Bondi plans to rebuild after horror

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The families said senior legal, security and political leaders had come together in an unprecedented display of public support for a Commonwealth royal commission. The rise of antisemitism in Australia goes far beyond one state jurisdiction. It is a national crisis that demands a powerful national response, the statement said. It also made reference to antisemitic attacks since the massacre, and said the threat to the Jewish community was real and escalating. The dangerous rise of antisemitism and radicalism in Australia is not going away, it said. We need strong action now. We need leadership now. You cannot bring back our loved ones. But with a well-led Commonwealth royal commission and strong action, you may be able to save many more. Questions about security and intelligence shortcomings have also dominated debate in the past fortnight.

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Minns acknowledged on Sunday the police presence at the Hanukkah event at Bondi on December 14 was clearly not enough to deal with the level of threat. As history has tragically shown, the truth of the matter is we need to do things vastly differently in the future, he said. Minns also urged Sydneysiders to thumb your nose at the terrorists and celebrate as normal over New Year. Related Article Updated

Bondi shooting I was holding her: Shattered father reveals Matildas final moments as more families share tributes We cant let these people win, he said. We have to show defiance by going out and spending time with family and friends over the New Year period.

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But Minns warned the public to expect to see police carrying weapons you havent seen before as security is stepped up ahead of New Year events. Minns also announced the NSW government would take action to shut down any venue being used for hate speech, including by turning off water and electricity supply. We need to be in a position where we are confronting and closing down hate preachers wherever and whenever we see them as soon as possible, he said. If were going to combat racism and antisemitism, we have to do it at every single level, whether its a violent activity in the streets of Sydney, whether its an antisemitic chant at a protest, or whether its happening behind closed doors. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
HAMMONTON, N.J. (AP)  Two helicopters crashed midair in New Jersey on Sunday, killing one person and critically injuring another, authorities say.

Hammonton Police Chief Kevin Friel said rescuers responded to a report of an aviation crash at about 11:25 a.m. Video from the scene shows a helicopter spinning rapidly to the ground. Police and fire crews subsequently extinguished flames that engulfed one of the helicopters.

The Federal Aviation Administration described the crash as a midair collision between an Enstrom F-28A helicopter and Enstrom 280C helicopter over Hammonton Municipal Airport. Only the pilots were on board each aircraft. One was killed, and the other was transported to a hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Sal Silipino, owner of a cafe near the crash site, said the pilots were regulars at the restaurant and would often have breakfast together. He said he and other customers watched the helicopters take off before one began spiraling downward, followed by the other.

It was shocking, he said. Im still shaking after that happened.

Hammonton resident Dan Dameshek told NBC10 that he was leaving a gym when he heard a loud snap and saw two helicopters spinning out of control.

Immediately, the first helicopter went from right side up to upside down and started rapidly spinning, falling out of the air, Dameshek told the TV station. And then it looked like the second helicopter was OK for a second, and then it sounded like another snap or something  and then that helicopter started rapidly spinning out of the air.

Hammonton is a town of about 15,000 people located in Atlantic County in the southern part of New Jersey, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) southeast of Philadelphia. The town has a history of agriculture and is located near the Pine Barrens, a forested wilderness area that covers more than 1 million acres (405,000 hectares).

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will be investigating the crash, Friel said.

Investigators will likely first look to review any communications between the two pilots and whether they were able to see each other, said Alan Diehl, a former crash investigator for the FAA and NTSB.

Virtually all midair collisions are a failure to what they call see and avoid, Diehl said. Clearly theyll be looking at the out-of-cockpit views of the two aircraft and seeing if one pilot was approaching from the blind side.

Although it was mostly cloudy at the time of the crash, winds were light and visibility was good, according to the weather forecasting company AccuWeather.

___

Associated Press writer Sean Murphy contributed from Oklahoma City. Fernando reported from Chicago.

By CHRISTINE FERNANDO and MINGSON LAU

Associated Press
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InspirationFoodie travel The 18 most underrated, and nine most overrated, things in global food Traveller Team December 29, 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 A A A

Non-alcoholic drinks and Australian chefs get a big tick in our underrated and overrated travel list, while QR codes and kids menus are given the thumbs down. UNDERRATED Amsterdams brown cafes Anything but boring, despite the name: A brown cafe in Amsterdam. Alamy Amsterdam is so popular that its hard to get an authentic taste of Dutch life. However, the citys brown cafes  simple old-school cafe-bars with notably brown decor  offer a glimpse of life beyond canal cruises and art museums. Traditionally local hangouts, they have a relaxed vibe and serve a range of drinks and food (including the classic bar snack bitterballen), and have loads of atmosphere. For a starter, try canalside Cafe t Smalle, which dates to 1780. See t-smalle.nl

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Michelins Green Star rating Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now. Foodies obsess about Michelin starred-eateries but often overlook the Green Star, introduced in 2021 to promote restaurants that combine culinary excellence with outstanding eco-friendly commitments. In London youll find four Green Star eateries, including St Barts, a stylish space overlooking the cloisters of Londons oldest church, and Silo, the worlds first zero-waste restaurant in hipster hotspot Hackney Wick. All serve fabulous fare that can be enjoyed with a clean conscience. See guide.michelin.com Dining in Helsinki The Finnish capital may only have five Michelin-starred restaurants compared to Copenhagens 20, but youll find a similarly high standard of cuisine, with a comparable focus on foraged ingredients and hyper-seasonal produce. The big difference? The price tag. Check out Flor, a Michelin-recommended restaurant that serves innovative share plates (think sauna-smoked perch in a rich bourguignon sauce), and Skord, an intimate nine-table eatery where every ingredient apart from the salt is from Finland. See myhelsinki.fi The Dubai food scene

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Spices in Deira: The magic of old Dubai still exists. Getty Images If your idea of good food is three-star, fine-diners and big-name celebrity chefs, then yes, you will find that in Dubai. The city is famous for it. If, however, your idea of an amazing meal is affordable, authentic cuisine from around the Middle East  everything from Lebanese to Persian, Iraqi to Palestinian  then you will also find this in Dubai, though not in the glam hotels, but on the low-key, low-rise streets of the likes of Deira and Al Satwa. See visitdubai.com Seasonal konbini snacks in Japan Plenty of Japanese convenience store staples have become firm favourites with travellers (in particular the practice of taking a packet egg sandwich and adding a hot famichiki, or fried chicken fillet, for the ultimate budget-meal hack). Dont forget, however, that konbini stores such as 7-Eleven and Family Mart also stock a range of seasonal snacks, everything from chestnut-rich Mont Blancs in autumn, to hot, filling oden in the winter. And theyre incredibly affordable. The Loire Valley, France

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Amazing, accessible wine: The Loire Valley in France. Getty Images You will rarely find the Loire Valley mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Bordeaux or Champagne; however, this region in the heart of France has an amazing, accessible wine scene thats vastly underrated. This is the land of chenin blanc, itself an underrated varietal, and in the likes of Saumur, Vouvray and Anjou you will find affordable drops of the highest quality, served at cellar doors, wine bars and restaurants that are also accessible and enjoyable. Seefrance.fr Remote cellars of note Oenophiles might love the idea of hunkering down for a secluded stay and opening a bottle of something special  but often the cellars offerings are unimpressive or come with a huge mark-up. Neither of those things is true at Crystal Creek Rainforest Retreat, which is snuggled up against the NSW-Queensland border. Its newish bar lounge includes a cellar of more than 1500 reasonably priced bottles. See ccrr.com.au Fun farm tours

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In-season produce at Tropical Fruit World in Duranbah, NSW. Tropical Fruit Worlds oversized tractor-train tour is proof that wholesome family activities can be fun for big kids as well. This Tweed Valley institution in lush far-northern NSW nurtures more than 500 fruit species from around the globe. Tour the hillside orchards, stop to crack open as many macadamia nuts as you like, and sample exotic produce such as the chocolate pudding fruit. See tropicalfruitworld.com.au Australian chefs overseas Dubais Dinner by Heston, where Chris Malone is head chef. It might feel weird seeking out Australian chefs when youre overseas, but our compatriots are doing amazing things in around the globe. London-based Brett Graham is probably the leader, the only Australian at the helm of a three-Michelin-star restaurant (the Ledbury). But then theres Shaun Kelly and James Henry at Frances Le Doyenne, Dave Pynt at Singapores Burnt Ends, Chris Malone at Dubais Dinner by Heston, and many more whose work is worth experiencing.

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Australias wine regions McLaren Vale in South Australia. Getty Images While we tend to thirst for the Old World classics when it comes to wine, Australias own regions  particularly the likes of Tasmania, the Mornington Peninsula, Beechworth, Margaret River and Adelaide Hills  are producing some of the most exciting wines in the world, and they should form part of your next domestic holiday. Cellar doors in this country are relaxed and friendly, and the quality of the product is sky-high. See australia.com Buenos Aires food (thats not steak) For the steak-lover it can be difficult to move past the parrillas in Buenos Aires and consider cuisine thats not meaty and fire-grilled. But you should because this is a city that has top chefs pushing the boundaries with thoughtful, delicious, non-beef cuisine  some of it even vegetarian. Check out Crizia, Aramburu, Chui and MARTi as a good taster. See argentina.travel

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Sandwiches in central Europe Travelling in central Europe is fun, but it can also be expensive, considering the cost of accommodation and museum-entry fees. Luckily, this part of Europe is particularly good at producing tasty breads, meats and cheese, which means its takeaway sandwiches are a cut above. Theres no shame in dropping into the likes of convenience stores Zabka in Poland, Migrolino in Switzerland, or any German bakery chain to pick up an affordable, delicious lunch. Non-craft beer As travellers, were supposed to be obsessed with the local and the artisanal, which goes for beer too. Thats why youll often find yourself nursing American pale ales, IPAs, NEIPAs and the like on your travels. And theyre all great. But still, theres something to be said for a plain, ice-cold, mass-produced lager after a long day travelling. A Sapporo on tap, or a frosty Peroni? Few things are better. Micro-menus

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Rather than big menus which dont change, many restaurants are cutting the number of core items and rotating in small mini-menus or limited-time offers to keep the offering fresh and lean, and to reflect produce that is in season. Simpler menus reduce waste, streamline operations and tend to make their offerings feel more special. We dont need American-style menu mini-novels. Non-alcoholic drinks Cocktails without the alcohol. Getty Images As younger people drink less, the world has undergone an increase in the offerings of non-alcoholic drinks. No longer just given an uninspiring option of water or soft drinks at bars or restaurants, there are now plenty of choices  from mocktails (using distilled non-alcoholic spirits, like Seedlip, which taste like the real thing) to great non-alcoholic wines (from what once tasted like grape juice) and as many beer choices as regular drinkers. Austrian wines

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Whoever heard of Austrian wine? Have you ever tried it? Indigenous grape varieties such as Gruner Veltliner and Blaufrankisch are delicious. But Austrias small production scale and smaller family-run vineyards mean less global marketing and not so many export chances. So when you get a chance to drink one, go for it. And any Austrian wine region visit will always give you the chance to meet the families who make the wine  and have done for hundreds of years. See austrianwine.com Singapore hawker centres (with kids) Singapores hawker centres are child- friendly. Getty Images Are you really going to take your young kids to a Singapore hawker centre? A place filled with spicy, unfamiliar street food? Im here to tell you that yes, thats exactly what you should do. As intimidating as these places may seem for children with picky palates, there is something to suit almost everyone at these Singaporean institutions (Hainanese chicken rice is a perfect, approachable local dish, and there is also nasi lemak, kaya toast, and even waffles and pancakes). And the price is right. See visitsingapore.com Hotel dining

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Would you really want to eat at your hotel (see overrated, below)? Would you hope to find an authentically local, high-quality, enjoyable dining experience with good atmosphere and excellent service in the same building youre sleeping in? The answer, not so long ago, was no. But things have changed in hotels around the world for the better, and the restaurants at many establishments now offer some of their destinations finest food. Japan and France are excellent for this, though Australia is catching up. OVERRATED Automated ordering Is ordering by QR code really easier? And how do you keep the personal touch? Getty Images Tech is inevitable, of course. Travel and youll find mobile ordering, kiosks and QR-code menus  every kind of AI imaginable. But what about old-fashioned service? What happened to the human side of eating overseas? Wasnt that part of why we travelled? To meet all these kinds of people  not just hotel staff and guides. You try asking a mobile kiosk what its really like living where youre travelling.

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Premium water Cactus water, electrolyte popsicles, hydrogen water, alkaline, loaded water  you name it and your boutique hotel probably has it: they charge big time for it. But most of us dont need super-charged hydration drinks. Plain water will do us fine, thanks  and might we have it filtered please, and served in a glass, or in our water bottle to take with us to cut down on all the plastic or cardboard? Fusion everything Pan-Asian meets Mexican tacos, Italian pasta fused with Cambodian spices: sure, it can sound fun and experimental, but it comes at the cost of authenticity. The combinations often exist as much for Instagram as for regular diners anyway. And what happened to wanting a local chef show the best of their cuisine? Expensive non-alcoholic alternatives

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Alcohol is expensive because its taxed higher, as a luxury good  its even given a sin tax in certain countries. While the rise of non-alcoholic alternatives is great, why do they have to be so expensive when there are far fewer duties and taxes on the primary ingredient? Tell us why a mocktail has to cost as much as a cocktail in so many bars and restaurants? Sugar rocks Sugar rocks no, it doesnt. Alamy Often found in fancier establishments, these rustic, cube-shaped rocks (and sometimes the even more annoying swizzle stick version) are not only impossible to measure accurately (do I need one lump or two?), but take forever to dissolve and are horribly unhygienic (just watch someone rummaging around in the bowl as they pick one). Just give us granulated sugar and a spoon, please. Kids menus

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Lets see: nuggets and chips, burger and chips, fish and chips on every single menu. Childrens meals for travellers are so disappointing, offering nothing local, nothing interesting, nothing you would actually feel excited to order for your child. Sometimes theres a place for nuggets  but a little creativity would also be welcome. Related Article Foodie travel The worlds top 10 destinations for foodie travellers next year Degustation menus If youve ever sat, jet-lagged, through a seven-course degustation (plus amuse-bouche and palate cleansers) and not face-planted, exhausted into one of the later courses, congratulations, youve survived gastronomic hell. Its a classic first-world problem, but travel and tasting menus often dont mix. We may be excited to dine at that highly reviewed restaurant, but if only it would offer the option of a simple entree, main and dessert, we could sample its magic before going to bed satiated, not stuffed, and the experience would end up in the happy holiday memories  not the horrible ones. Gourmet in-house hotel restaurants

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Dont we travel to explore cuisine and culture? Unless were really strapped for time, wouldnt you rather travel up the street and experience food in a local setting that looks nothing like the lobby of where youre sleeping? And you know all those extra charges hotels add on is going to make the convenience of eating downstairs cost you dearly. Flat whites overseas Aside from iron ore, this is one of Australias prolific exports. Pity most cups made overseas taste nothing like a flat white from the land in which they were invented. One exception: New Zealand, and thats where the origins of the drop get complicated, seeing the Kiwis cheekily claim they invented it. Contributors: Ben Groundwater, Julietta Jameson, Brian Johnston, Kristie Kellahan, Katrina Lobley, Rob McFarland, Julie Miller, Tim Richards, Craig Tansley, Sue Williams

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InspirationSpain This hotel is why three-star stays rule in Europes top cities Shaney Hudson December 29, 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 A A A

I have a dirty little travel secret: I really dont like staying in five-star, branded chain hotels. Sure, they deliver on luxury, but they often leave me feeling cold. Instead, give me a family-run, owner-operated three- or four-star hotel any day of the week. The trouble is, good family-owned hotels can be hard to find  especially in popular tourist cities such as Seville, Spain. Enter Hotel Becquer, located less than a block from the river and a 10-minute walk to the iconic Seville Cathedral. The entrance to Hotel Becquer in Seville, Spain. Founded in 1973, Hotel Becquer is run by the fifth generation of the Martinez Fonseca family, who have managed hotels in Seville since the 1920s. But the Becquers history goes back further; it was the 19th-century palace house of the Marquises of Torres de la Presa, a Spanish noble title. I check in on the final day of my trip on the Al Andalus Train, a seven-day luxury trip across Andalusia. After a morning visiting the Alcazar palace, Im lucky enough to stay at the Hotel Becquer just a month after its renovation, which emphasised using recycled materials and implemented energy-saving systems. Theyve also avoided hiking up the price.

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Im staying in a deluxe room with a balcony. The design is contemporary and understated: theres a smart TV, coffee maker, bathroom with double vanity and a king-size bed that I could happily collapse into after a whirlwind few days, were it not for my plan to meet friends later. To ensure I dont crash, I go to the rooftop pool. Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now. The hotel features local touches throughout. The entire rooftop is packed: every sun lounger is occupied, and everybody else is in the pool. The view stretches across the rooftops to the cathedral, but with my swimmers downstairs and the temperature punching past 43 degrees, I retreat to the air-con. Among the traits that set a family owned and operated hotel apart from the pack are the feel of the place and the obvious pride taken in their hometown. On my floor, there is a display of typical Andalusian tiles by the lift, with explanations in Spanish and English. A cabinet in the lobby features the black felt sombrero cordobes worn by men and the pericon, the delicate fans used by women, alongside a flamenco guitar. Breakfast is this hotels secret weapon, leaning heavily into regional specialities. Seville is famous for its oranges, and there are two machines pumping out fresh juice at the push of a button. Andalusia is one of the worlds biggest producers of olive oil, and theres an olive oil tasting station.

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Theres a basket of crisp tortas de aceite from the famous 115-year-old Sevillian bakery Ines Rosales, each hand wrapped in their blue and white transparent wax paper. Platters of jamon serrano, Spanish tortilla and platters of seven types of home-cooked cookies, cake and fried pastry complement the usual buffet spread The courtyard in the hotel. It might seem silly to praise the breakfast buffet so highly, but this is Spain, and if you dont come with a growling stomach, its hardly worth visiting. But they do one thing I havent seen other hotels do  they give every guest their own stainless steel tongs for the buffet. After years of dealing with germy handles, Im thrilled. I do have one little obstacle, however. Its the end of my trip and my card is no longer working, so I need to break a 50 note for my taxi to the station. I tentatively ask at the front desk, expecting a no (after all, who carries cash any more?). Instead, with no hesitation and an easy smile, the concierge complies and points out the taxi rank across from the hotel. A recently renovated guest room.

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When it comes to hotels, hospitality often feels like a dying art, something lost to economies of scale and brand homogeneity. But stay in a smaller, independent and family-run place like the Hotel Becquer, and youll remember just how magical a hotel can be  at once welcoming, comfortable and accommodating, leaving you eager to return. Related Article 

Hotel reviews Its more than 1000 years old, but this European hotel is still cutting edge THE DETAILS Stay

The Hotel Becquer has rooms from 109 ($195) a night; breakfast is extra. See hotelbecquer.com Fly + train

Virgin Australia (virginaustralia.com) flies daily to Madrid via Doha. The fast train (renfe.com) from Madrid to Seville takes about three hours.

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The Al Andalus offers six-night, seven-day luxury train journeys throughout Andalusia at selected times throughout the year, staying in meticulously restored 1920s wagons originally used by royalty. Cabins have en suites and meals and tours are included; fares from 11,200 ($19,910). See eltrenalandalus.com The writer travelled as a guest of Tourism Espana. See spain.info

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Hotel reviews Shaney Hudson is an award-winning freelance travel writer based in Sydney. Specialising in family travel, she likes to go where the wild things are.

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Reviews & adviceAir travel A new scam is catching out airline passengers at their most distracted Rachel Dodes December 29, 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 A A A

When an actual human being answered an airline customer-service hotline after a single ring, I probably should have known I was being scammed. At the time, I wasnt exactly thinking critically. My family was about to miss our flight to Berlin, stuck in traffic en route to the airport in Newark, New Jersey. Blame a combination of poor planning, construction on the I-95 highway and five consecutive cancelled Ubers. Scammers are creating websites that look like the official sites of airlines, then paying to come at the top of search results. So when an empathetic-sounding man identified himself as a United Airlines agent named Sheldon and immediately asked for my phone number in case we got disconnected, I felt nothing but an overwhelming sense of relief. Sheldon told me not to worry. Hed get my family to Berlin. Sheldon, you are an angel, I said through tears, explaining that my father had died in July and this was to be our familys first Thanksgiving without him. Sheldon told me, with what seemed like genuine emotion, that he was terribly sorry for my loss. The good news was he could get us on a Lufthansa flight later that night, going through Munich. All I had to do was cover the price difference between the tickets: $US1415.97 ($2136.72) for the three of us. I sighed and gave Sheldon my American Express card number.

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Thats when I became the latest victim of what the US Federal Trade Commission calls a business-impostor or business-impersonator scam. Like thousands of others  including one reader of Traveller, who fell victim in Canada  I fell for this increasingly sophisticated deception, in which someone claims to represent a trusted company to extract money and personal data from an unsuspecting victim. Sign up for the Traveller newsletter The latest travel news, tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox. Sign up now. The specific techniques the scammers use vary: some pose as airlines on social media and respond to consumer complaints. Others use texts or emails claiming to be an airline reporting a delayed or cancelled flight to phish for travellers data. But the objective is always the same: to hit a stressed out, overwhelmed traveller at their most vulnerable. A sponsored scam In my case, the scammer exploited weaknesses in Googles automated ad-screening system, so that fraudulent sponsored results rose to the top. After I reported the fake United Airlines ad to Google, via an online form for consumers, it was taken down. But a few days later, I entered the same search terms and the identical ad featuring the same phone number was back at the top of my results. I reported it again, and it was quickly removed again. We have zero tolerance for scam ads and take extensive measures to keep them off our platforms, a Google spokesman said in a statement. If we identify a scam that temporarily evades our detection, well take quick action to suspend the advertisers account, as weve done here.

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Part of the problem is the explosion of AI tools, which are supercharging fraud, says John Breyault, vice president of public policy at the US National Consumers League, a consumer advocacy organisation. The technology enables scammers to do what theyve always done, but in a more efficient way, at a bigger scale and lower cost. Related Article Scams Tech giants claim banks should be on the hook for scam refunds He says scammers are using large language models to craft ever-more-convincing phishing texts and emails; seeding the internet with false customer service numbers that get swept up in AI-driven search results; and building fake websites that look indistinguishable from the real thing. And they excel at doing all this at times of peak stress  when it comes to airline scams, consumers are particularly vulnerable around the holidays. Urgency is what the scammers depend on to defraud their victims, Breyault says. Nothing feels more urgent than sitting in an airport figuring out what to do so you can be with your family for the holidays. When I reached out to United to find out what the airline was doing to combat impostor scams, a spokesman emailed this statement: United works diligently to protect our customers from scams and actively investigates areas of potential fraud. We encourage customers to only use customer service contact information that is listed on our website and app.

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After I shared a screenshot of the fraudulent ad I saw on Google, the United spokesman wrote that the company refers additional questions to websites posting incorrect information. So I asked Google. A spokeswoman there said the company was constantly evolving its tactics to stay ahead of bad actors. Of the 5.1 billion ads blocked by the company last year, she said, 415 million had been taken down for scam-related violations. Google updated its ads misrepresentation policy in 2024 to include impersonating or falsely implying affiliation with a public figure, brand or organisation to entice users to provide money or information. Still, many impostor ads slip through the cracks. In retrospect, my refusal to face reality was my biggest mistake. We were still in traffic, set to arrive at the airport just as United Flight 962 was beginning to board, with three large suitcases to check. We had zero chance of making it. The replacement of humans with not-always-helpful AI-powered customer service tools makes it easier for an airline scammer to lure frustrated travellers. Thats what happened to me in the back of the taxi when I opened the United app on my phone and began furiously texting, first with a bot, then with an actual representative, who sent me a link for the companys Agent on Demand service to help passengers in urgent situations. The link didnt work. When I tried to text the agent on the app, the connection got lost and I was back to square one, chatting with a bot. Time was running out. Exasperated, I closed the app and typed United airlines agent on demand into Google. The top search result on my phone said United.com, had a phone number next to it and said it had had 1M+ visits in past month. In other words, it looked legit. I tapped the number. Thats when I first connected with Sheldon.

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Not a good sign After paying for the new tickets, I received a confirmation email from an unfamiliar domain. Sheldon was still on the line with me, so I asked him what was going on. Shouldnt the confirmation come from United.com, not some random site called Travelomile? Sheldon said that because Lufthansa operated the new flight and the changes were so last-minute, United used the site as its payments-processing partner. This didnt quite make sense, but I suppose I still wanted to believe in Sheldon. Related Article Travel tips Despite being an expert traveller, I still got scammed in Italy It wasnt until he asked me to upload images of my familys passports to a janky-looking website that my head started to spin. When our cab pulled into the departures zone, I hung up on Sheldon and ran to Uniteds customer service counter in tears. I showed the agent behind the counter our boarding passes. I dont know what these are, but I will help you, the agent said. He booked us on the next flight, through Frankfurt, at no extra cost  a holiday miracle.

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When we arrived at our gate, I called American Express and contested the charge from Travelomile before cancelling my credit card. I then contacted Experian, one of the three major credit bureaus, to put a fraud alert on my file. Next, I filed a complaint with the FTC and reported the fake ad to Google. Later, I looked up Travelomile on TrustPilot, an independent customer review platform, and found 47 one-star ratings out 297 ratings total. Many of those one-star reviews were from people who said they had fallen for a similar scam. American Express wound up resolving the dispute in my favour. Travelomile did not respond to requests for comment. We made it to Berlin just in time for Thanksgiving. Sheldon left a couple of messages, saying it was important I call him back regarding my flight reservation, but I decided it was best to avoid further communication with a criminal. Just when I thought we were out of the woods, the scammer struck again. We were on our way to a friends party in Berlin when we got an email from United with the subject line: Your flight cancellation has been confirmed. At first I dismissed it as another attempted scam, one I would not be falling for this time, thank you very much. But when I opened the United app, our reservation had disappeared. This was Sheldons parting gift to us, cancelling our reservation on the night before we were set to depart. The refund for the cancellation went back to my own credit card.

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Once I knew I was going to be writing about this experience, I called Sheldon and left a message requesting comment. He didnt call me back. We missed our friends party because it took three hours to rebook our flights. We got middle seats all in different rows at higher prices. The memories of this chaotic Thanksgiving will stay with us forever. Related Article Opinion

Tripologist The 24 common scams and traps travellers fall for (and how to avoid them) Michael Gebicki The Tripologist Stay on guard when you travel What consumers can do to protect themselves from travel scammers, according to John Breyault of the National Consumers League:

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Save the airlines real number in your contacts prior to travelling. If you reach out to the airline, do it through its official app. If youve been defrauded by an impostor, contact your bank or credit card company immediately. File a complaint with consumer authorities. Never share your reservation confirmation code with anybody except those who absolutely need it. Set up multifactor authentication on airline accounts to prevent scammers from stealing your rewards points and data or tampering with future reservations. Bloomberg

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Updated WorldNorth AmericaRussia-Ukraine war As Trump praised Putin, Zelensky tilted his head and smiled Andrea Shalal and Gram Slattery Updated December 29, 2025  10:03am ,first published 5:20am 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 A A

Palm Beach/Washington: US President Donald Trump says he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are getting a lot closer, maybe very close to an agreement to end the war in Ukraine, while acknowledging that the fate of the disputed Donbas region remains a key unresolved issue. The two leaders spoke at a joint press conference after meeting at Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Sunday afternoon (early Monday AEDT). Both reported progress on two of the most contentious issues in peace talks  security guarantees for Ukraine and the division of eastern Ukraines Donbas region that Russia has sought to capture. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump shake hands at the start of a joint news conference following the meeting at Trumps Mar-a-Lago club. AP They offered few details and did not provide a deadline for completing a peace deal, although Trump said it would be clear in a few weeks whether negotiations to end the war would succeed. He said a few thorny issues around territory must be resolved. Zelensky said an agreement on security guarantees for Ukraine had been reached. Trump was slightly more cautious, saying they were 95 per cent of the way to such an agreement and that he expected European countries to take over a big part of that effort with US backing.

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French President Emmanuel Macron, in an X post after the meeting, said progress was made on security guarantees and that countries in the so-called coalition of the willing would meet in Paris in early January to finalise their concrete contributions. Zelensky has said previously that he hopes to soften a US proposal for Ukrainian forces to withdraw completely from the Donbas, a Russian demand that would mean ceding some territory held by Ukrainian forces. While Moscow insists on getting all of the Donbas, Kyiv wants the map frozen at the current battle lines. Loading Both Trump and Zelensky said after the meeting that the future of the Donbas had not been settled, though the US president said discussions were moving in the right direction. The United States, seeking a compromise, has proposed a free economic zone if Ukraine leaves the area, although it remains unclear how that zone would function in practical terms. Its unresolved, but its getting a lot closer. Thats a very tough issue, Trump said.

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The pair also did not offer much insight into what agreements they had reached on providing security for Ukraine after the war ends, something Zelensky described as the key milestone in achieving a lasting peace. Zelensky said any peace agreement would have to be approved by Ukraines parliament or by a referendum. Trump said he would be willing to speak to parliament if that would secure the deal. Trump and Putin speak before Zelensky meeting Shortly before Zelensky and his delegation arrived at Trumps Florida residence, Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke in a phone call described as productive by the US president and friendly by Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov. US President Donald Trump (right) meets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) at Mar-a-Lago. AP Ushakov, in Moscow, said Putin told Trump that a 60-day ceasefire proposed by the European Union and Ukraine would prolong the war. The Kremlin aide also said that Ukraine needed to make a decision on the Donbas without further delay.

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Trump said he and Putin spoke for more than two hours, and the Russian president pledged to help rebuild Ukraine, including by supplying cheap energy. Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed, Trump said. It sounds a little strange. As Trump praised Putin, Zelensky tilted his head and smiled. Trump said he would call Putin again following the meeting with Zelensky. The Kremlin expressed support for Trumps negotiations.

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The whole world appreciates President Trump and his teams peace efforts, Kirill Dmitriev, Putins special envoy, posted on X after the talks. Related Article Updated

Russia-Ukraine war Russian drones, missiles pound Ukraine ahead of Zelensky-Trump meeting Nuclear plant discussed US negotiators have also proposed shared control over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Power line repairs had begun there after another local ceasefire brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the agency said on Sunday. Negotiators, Trump said, had made progress on deciding the fate of the plant, which could start up almost immediately. The US president said, its a big step that Russia had not bombed the facility.

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Russia controls all of Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, and since its invasion of Ukraine nearly four years ago has taken control of about 12 per cent of its territory, including about 90 per cent of Donbas, 75 per cent of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and slivers of the Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions, according to Russian estimates. The day before Zelensky arrived in Florida to meet with Trump, Russian forces attacked Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine with hundreds of missiles and drones, knocking out power and heat in parts of the Ukrainian capital. Zelensky has described the weekend attacks as Russias response to the US-brokered peace efforts, but Trump said he believed Putin and Zelensky were serious about peace. Related Article Russia-Ukraine war Zelensky agrees to troop withdrawal in new peace draft, awaits Russias response After Saturdays air attacks, Putin said Moscow would continue waging its war if Kyiv did not seek a quick peace. Russia has steadily advanced on the battlefield in recent months, claiming control over several more settlements on Sunday. Zelenskys past encounters with Trump have not always gone smoothly, but the latest meeting follows weeks of diplomatic efforts. European allies, while cut out of the loop at times, have stepped up efforts to sketch out the contours of a postwar security guarantee for Kyiv that the US would support.

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European heads of state joined at least part of Sundays meeting by phone. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X that Europe is ready to keep working with Ukraine and our US partners, and added that having ironclad security guarantees would be of paramount importance. A spokesman for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said European leaders underlined the importance of robust security guarantees and reaffirmed the urgency of ending this barbaric war as soon as possible. Reuters Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on whats making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.
Dominicas President Sylvanie Burton has severely criticized the United States policy towards Venezuela, calling for President Trump to stop attempting to bully smaller countries into submission.

Instead of moving to each others countries because we are smaller than you and you are more equipped than us and bullying us into submission. And so for us in the Caribbean we are calling on the US to cease that aggression against Venezuela, Burton stated.

The President made the remarks to the China Media Group indirectly accusing the Trump Administration of attempting to remove the Maduro government stating: Every government must be respected. Our appeal to the US is to let there be discussions, let us sit at the table instead of having wars. Instead of trying to remove governments in power.

I think the entire Latin America and the Caribbean is singing one voice and we can only hope that the US will listen and will respect Venezuelas sovereignty, she said.

Just last week, the United States announced a partial ban for Dominican citizens wishing to travel to that country beginning in January 2026. It said the decision was based on the countrys failure to adopt a residency criterion for persons wishing to access passports under the countrys Citizenship By Investment (CBI) Program.

It also comes at a time of heightened tensions in the Region where the United Staes has put in place a naval blockade on oil coming from Venezuela. This has been enforced by the presence of US naval and military assets around the country, and the seizure of at least four oil tankers off the Venezuelan coast.

The United States have also accused Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro of drug trafficking and targeted several alleged drug smuggling boats killing over a hundred persons over the past few weeks.
CM honours 4 young heroes for exceptional courage





Staff Reporter :

Raipur :

On the occasion of Veer Bal Diwas, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Friday night honoured four children from different parts of Chhattisgarh for exemplary acts of courage and presence of mind at a special ceremony held at the Chief Ministers residence. The programme, organised by Chhattisgarh Civil Society (CCS), commemorated the supreme sacrifice of the four Sahibzadas of Guru Gobind Singh and sought to recognise contemporary examples of bravery among children. Chief Minister presented the awards, describing the young achievers as symbols of courage whose actions inspire society at large. Among the awardees, Om Upadhyay of Kohka, Bhilai, received the Sahibzada Ajit Singh Award for bravely saving children from an attack by aggressive dogs, despite sustaining injuries himself. Kanti, a seven-year-old from Mohanpur village in Surguja district, was conferred the Sahibzada Jujhar Singh Award for rescuing her younger sister from the midst of a marauding herd of elephants. Anshika Sahu of Sambalpur village in Dhamtari district was honoured with the Sahibzada Zorawar Singh Award for her quick thinking in saving her elder sister who had come in contact with a live electric wire. Premchand Sahu of Rampur (Dangania), Raipur, received the Sahibzada Fateh Singh Award for risking his life to rescue a drowning child from a pond. Addressing the gathering, Chief Minister Sai said the courage displayed by the children reflected the same spirit of fearlessness and moral strength that the Sahibzadas stood for. He announced that Veer Bal Diwas would be observed in a more structured and statewide manner in the coming years, and noted that chapters on the Sahibzadas had been introduced in school textbooks to familiarise young students with their legacy. Durg Lok Sabha Member Vijay Baghel and Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha Member Santosh Pandey also addressed the ceremony, describing the children as living symbols of courage whose actions inspire society at large. Convener of the programme, Dr Kuldeep Singh Solanki of CCS delivered the welcome address and provided a detailed overview of the initiative, recalling the organisations role in advocating for national recognition of Veer Bal Diwas. Among those present on the occasion were Chairman of Chhattisgarh State Renewable Energy Development Agency Bhupendra Sawanni, Chairman of Chhattisgarh State Youth Commission Vishwa Vijay Singh Tomar, Director of Ramkrishna Care Hospitals Raipur Dr Sandeep Dave, Vice-Chancellor of Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya Dr Girish Chandel, IMA President Dr Neeraj Sharma, social activist Ajay Kale, Sanjay Joshi, and members of Chhattisgarh Civil Society.
CNG pipeline project gathers momentum





Business Reporter :

With the project of laying a gas pipeline from Mumbai to Nagpur along the Samruddhi Expressway on the verge of completion, consumers in many localities are expected to receive an uninterrupted supply of compressed natural gas (CNG) directly to their homes.

Consumers in many localities in the southern tip of the city like Chinchbhawan, Hingna and MIHAN will be getting piped CNG connection in the next three to four months. Deepak Sawant,

President of HCG Group, told The Hitavada that over 25,000 consumers will be connected by the pipeline. In the following months, the network will be gradually expanded till Sitabuldi and within a span of eight years, it will cover the entire city. Gas consumers in Sitabuldi and other nearby places are likely to get the connection by the end of 2026. While the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) is laying gas pipeline from Mumbai to Nagpur along the 700-km Samruddhi Mahamarg, HCG Nagpur Private Limited, has been developing a network for CNG distribution within the city.
Cong leader held for sharing AI image depicting Kerala CM with Sabarimala gold case accused





KOZHIKODE :

A CONGRESS leader was taken into custody on Saturday for allegedly sharing an AI-generated photograph depicting Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan along with Unnikrishnan Potty, an accused in the Sabarimala gold case, police said. The Chevayoor police took N Subramanian, a member of the state unit of Congresss Political Affairs Committee, into custody after registering a case against him. Later, a notice was issued to appear for the interrogation whenever required, and he was released, police said. Though police earlier said that his arrest was recorded, later they clarified that it was not. Subramanian was booked for sharing a post on a social media platform that included a photograph of the Chief Minister and Potty together, with a caption questioning the reason for their alleged close relationship.

As part of the probe, a police team reached Subramanians house on Saturday morning to record his statement. Later, it was decided to take him to the police station for detailed interrogation, officials said. We contacted Subramanian multiple times on Friday, but he did not attend the calls. Later, his phone was found switched off at night. Hence, we took him into custody for the interrogation, a police officer told PTI. Police officials denied the claim by Congress leaders that he had been arrested and released on bail. Since only bailable offences were charged against him, we decided to give him a notice and interrogate him further later, the officer said.

The CPI(M) has claimed that the picture circulating on social media is AI-generated. Meanwhile, before being taken to the police station, Subramanian told reporters that the picture he shared was not AI-generated, but was taken from a video released by the Chief Ministers Office. What the police say are the words of the government. They are branding everything as AI-generated, he alleged. He further claimed that one of the photographs he posted was also seen on the social media account of BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar on November 29, but no case was registered against him.

I will try to prove the authenticity of the photograph. Anyway, the case will reach the court, he said. Subramanian alleged that the governments policy was to take action against people criticising the CM by sending them to jail. People will not shut their mouths with such actions, he said. He also said that in his social media post, he had mentioned that the photograph was taken from Facebook. Lets wait and see, he added.

The Police said a case has been registered under Section 192 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause a riot and Section 120(o) of the Kerala Police Act for causing annoyance through communication. Congress activists led by Kozhikode DCC president K Praveenkumar held a protest in front of the police station, terming the police action as illegal and unreasonable, as only bailable sections were invoked against Subramanian. He alleged that police surrounded Subramanians house as if action was being taken against a hardcore criminal. Subramanian was in Kozhikode, and the police could have served a notice instead of creating drama by surrounding his house.

The police will face the consequences of their actions, he said. KPCC president Sunny Joseph said the Chief Ministers Office was trampling upon democracy and freedom of expression by registering a case alleging incitement to riot against N Subramanian for sharing the picture. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is now leading Kerala on the path shown by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP Government.

These actions will not weaken or destroy democratic, secular Kerala, nor will they succeed in silencing the state, he said. Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly VD Satheesan, said fake campaigns using AI tools were mostly carried out by the CPI(M). Mr Pinarayi Vijayan, who are you trying to scare? Are you trying to scare us? This is the end phase of your governance, he said. He alleged that the government granted parole to a CPI(M) leader just a month after he was imprisoned for hurling explosives at police personnel. You are in charge of the police and the Home department. Your DIG is accepting bribes and releasing prisoners on bail, he alleged. Satheesan said the chief minister should not attempt to intimidate Congress workers, as they would not budge under such tactics. If you act in an autocratic manner, we are not afraid of you. You will have to arrest all of us. Such a chief minister is a shame for Kerala, he said.

He said the CPI(M) had failed to learn from the public warning delivered through the local body elections. There is a bigger lesson waiting for you in the Assembly elections, he said. Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala said that the police action against Subramanian has a purposeful agenda - to prevent anyone from posting anything against the chief minister on social media platforms. Even after people taught a lesson to the chief minister in the local body election, he has not learnt anything. We are not scared of such action, Chennithala said. While interacting with reporters, AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal said, Police remain silent when cyber attacks are carried out against Sonia Gandhi and others, but they act with undue haste the moment Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is criticised. It is a double standard, he said.
Guru Gobind Singh an embodiment of courage, compassion, sacrifice





NEW DELHI :

PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said Guru Gobind Singh remains an embodiment of courage, compassion and sacrifice and his life and teachings inspire everyone to stand for truth, justice, righteousness and to protect human dignity. Modi said that the vision of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru, continues to guide generations towards service and selfless duty. On the sacred Parkash Utsav of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji, we bow in reverence to him. He remains an embodiment of courage, compassion and sacrifice.

His life and teachings inspire us to stand for truth, justice, righteousness and to protect human dignity, he said in a post on X. The Prime Minister also shared a few pictures of his visit to the Takhat Sri Harimandir Patna Sahib earlier this year, where he also had darshan of the holy Jore Sahib (a pair of shoes) belonging to Guru Gobind Singh and Mata Sahib Kaur. On January 9, 2022, Modi had announced that December 26 would be observed as Veer Bal Diwas to commemorate the martyrdom of Sahibzades Baba Zorawar Singh and Baba Fateh Singh, the sons of Sri Guru Gobind Singh.

To mark Veer Bal Diwas, the Government is organising programmes across the country aimed at informing and educating citizens about the extraordinary courage and supreme sacrifice of the Sahibzades. PM Modi has attended an event organised on the occasion of Veer Bal Diwas on Friday where he said the supreme sacrifice of the sahibzades (sons) of Guru Gobind Singh, represents the ultimate expression of Indias indomitable courage, valour and bravery against the cruel Mughal Sultanate, shaking the very existence of religious fanaticism and terror. Guru Gobind Singh symbol of grace, inspired people to live righteously: President Murmu: PRESIDENT Droupadi Murmu on Saturday extended warm greetings on the birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh and hoped his teachings for building a harmonious society based on unity, compassion and respect for all continue to guide humanity. Murmu said Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh guru, is a symbol of grace amidst adversities and sacrifice for ideals. May his teachings for building a harmonious society based on unity, compassion and respect for all continue to guide humanity, she said in a post on X.

Warm greetings to all on the sacred occasion of the Prakash Purab of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji! With indomitable courage and rare sagacity he inspired people to live righteously, welded his followers into a force that would bravely take on far mightier adversaries as it was fired by the zeal to protect the ideals of justice and self-respect, the President said. Path shown by Guru Gobind Singh for human welfare, courage and truth will always inspire us, says Congress: On the occasion of Guru Gobind Singh's Parkash Purab on Saturday, the Congress said that ideals and path shown by the tenth Sikh Guru, for human welfare, courage and truth will continue to inspire generations. Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, took to social media platform X to convey his greetings. Many many congratulations to all of you on the birth anniversary of Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji.

The ideals and path shown by him for human welfare, courage and truth will always inspire us, he said. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also extended his wishes on the occasion. In a post on X, he said, Heartiest greetings on the occasion of Prakash Parv of Sarbans Daani, Sahib-e-Kamal and the tenth Guru of Sikhism and founder of Khalsa Panth, Dhan Dhan Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji. Kharge highlighted the Gurus universal message, saying that Guru Gobind Singh gave the message of peace, love, unity, equality and brotherhood to all humanity.
MP Congress Media President Mukesh Nayak resigns





By Bhavana Aparajita Shukla :

On one hand, senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh is talking about strengthening the Congress organisation at the grassroots level. He underlines it was much needed in the fight against the ruling BJP and to oust it from power in Delhi. But on the other, in his own State Madhya Pradesh, the State Congresss Media Department has been in turmoil for the past 24 hours. It seems that factionalism revisited the grand old party. The issue revolves around a talent hunt program for party spokespersons.

Different committees and orders were issued by various officials for the same task, clearly demonstrating a lack of co-ordination. Amid all these, Mukesh Nayak, President of Media Department of the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee and a former minister in the State Government, has resigned from his post, saying that senior leaders should make way for new people in the organisation.

Although his resignation was rejected. The party sought to send a message that there was no room for infighting or factionalism within the party. The root of the controversy was the ongoing talent hunt within the Congress media department. In his resignation letter addressed to MP Congress Committee President Jitu Patwari, Nayak said that during the management committee meeting held a day earlier, he had appealed for creating space for new leadership and has now voluntarily stepped down from his position.

In the letter, Nayak described his two-year experience of working with an honest, hardworking and capable party president as positive and memorable. He extended his best wishes and expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve the party in the media department. Meanwhile, following the directions of MP Congress Committee President Jitu Patwari, a 13-member committee has been constituted under the partys Media Department for the Talent Hunt programme. The initiative aims to identify and promote new talent within the organisation.

For the smooth implementation of the Talent Hunt program, all districts across Madhya Pradesh have been divided into clusters, and cluster in-charges have also been appointed. The Talent Hunt programme is expected to strengthen the partys media network and encourage fresh participation at the grassroots level. Talking to The Hitavada, Congress leaders say everything is all right. Nayakji is our senior leader.
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Mpl poll schedule to help parties tackle rebellion





By Vikas Vaidya :

Major political parties  Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress  in Nagpur are facing the issue of satisfying a lot of aspirants of Nagpur Municipal polls. Usually disappointed ones get involved in party-hopping or try to contest as an independent-- a rebel candidate. But the election schedule and the strategy of the leaders may prevent the rebellion. BJP has experienced a torrent of aspirants for contesting the polls.

There are 151 wards while the number of aspirants approaching BJP has exceeded 3,000. It means almost 20 aspirants are competing among each other for one Prabhag. City President Dayashankar Tiwari drafted criterias as an eligibility for aspiring candidates. Tiwari himself reached 2,168 booth heads in city much before the announcement of the elections. He explained to them the criterias and also asked to reach out to the aspirants to make them aware of it.

The party conducted surveys also and clearly told the aspirants that on the basis of the surveys the names will be finalised. The election schedule is tight and no major parties have declared their candidates till now. Last minute declaration will prevent the disappointed aspirants to switch to other parties or contest as independent as they will not get time to file nominations.

If they are able to file nominations they wont get much time for campaign (Last date of filing nomination is December 30 and the date of allotment of symbol is January 3, 2026. Even if they succeed in filing nominations, they wont be able to reach over 50,000 people of the Prabhag within 12 days as voting will be held on January 15, 2026). The schedule doesnt favour friendly fights. It cant be predicted if some leaders had asked their confidants to be prepared to contest polls even if they dont get Partys ticket officially. Only such rebellions may succeed as they were expected to have high preparedness.

BJP may send AB forms directly to candidates The BJP in Nagpur is adopting a strategic approach for the municipal polls, likely sending AB forms directly to candidates to avoid internal conflicts. Congress is expected to contest 125 seats, distributing the remaining 26 among Maha Vikas Aaghadi constituents. In the meeting of Partys Parliamentary Board, the High Command finalised the number. In BJP, Chandrashekhar Bawankule had a meeting with Sena leaders Uday Samant, Adv Ashish Jaiswal, Sanjay Rathod, Kiran Pandav, after which he declared the alliance, but didn't specify the seat sharing. It means the confusion reigns supreme in Mahayuti about the seat sharing. The BJP's alliance with Sena is unclear, with internal opposition to the alliance, fearing it may impact their chances of winning more seats.
Rukaris Millecento... From Pune with love





By Aryan Khartad :

FRESHLY restored and made whole just 15 days before the deadline, Amit Vilas Rukaris love story with the Fiat Millecento of 1955 is truly heart-warming. Automobile dealer, distributor of Fuchs Lubricants, and owner of a car garage, Rukari drove his newly restored Millecento from Pune to Nagpur for the Rotary-The Hitavada Vintage Car Rally organised in association with Cent Ind Vintage Automobile Association (CIVAA), at St Ursula High School ground on Sunday.

The Millecento, restored on December 12, boasts a 1100cc petrol engine. It has an Italian design with original column-shift gear, slim steering wheel, and front door openings. Rukari was invited by his close aide for the rally. Veteran vintage automobile collector Dhananjay Badamikar had invited me for this meet in Nagpur, and I tagged along with him in my car. Though now in his possession, Rukari had eyed this car for about eight years before the owner decided to sell the vehicle in 2020, finally handing over the Millecento in January 2021.

The car, when bought from Belgaum, was in a condition to run, but we took every part we could from Pune to Belgaum and brought it to Pune. The fuel tank was rusted away, so we had to put a tin bucket under the bonnet and drive the car up to Pune, Rukari explained his dedication towards the vehicle. The Fiat Millecento is one of the cars I own, along with a Morris and Mercedes-Benz W124 300D of the 1980s, informed expert automobile restorer Rukari. It was manufactured in India in July 1955.

 Though maintenance is rare, restoration was not a problem thanks to Rukaris able senior mechanic, Dattabhau Pant from Pune. I have restored it to a level at which the car can survive for more than 15 years without any complaint, said the expert restorer. It was a challenging task to gather all original and old parts and accessories of the car and maintain them; it was very time-consuming as well, he said. The original colour of the car was black and has been changed to Arancio Gustoso. The reason this car has my heart is because ever since I was a kid I have seen my ancestors and parents use these cars. Ever since that day, it became my dream to own a vintage car, Rukari explained the real reason for his passion. Vintage vehicles remind us where we came from and inspire where were going, Rukari wrapped up.
Temp drops to 4.6C in city; State records seasons lowest minimum of 2.9C





Staff Reporter :

Madhya Pradesh is heading into the New Year under the grip of intense cold, with temperatures dipping sharply across several regions of the State. Bhopal recorded a minimum temperature of 4.6 degrees Celsius in the last 24 hours, while Mandsaur emerged as the coldest place in the state with the mercury plunging to 2.9 degrees Celsius. Cold wave conditions prevailed in parts of Bhopal, Sehore, Rajgarh, Indore, Shajapur, Shahdol and Mandsaur districts, as per the Meteorological Department.

Weather remained dry across all divisions of the state during the past 24 hours, with no rainfall recorded anywhere. Maximum temperatures showed no significant change but remained appreciably below normal in Ujjain division by around 3.1 degrees Celsius and below normal by 1.9 to 2.7 degrees Celsius in parts of Indore, Rewa and Shahdol divisions. Minimum temperatures were also appreciably below normal by 3.6 to 4.3 degrees Celsius in Bhopal and Ujjain divisions.

Northern districts of the state remained under the influence of fog, with shallow fog reported in Datia and Satna districts, while moderate to dense fog conditions prevailed at isolated places in Gwalior, Datia, Bhind, Rewa, Sidhi, Singrauli, Satna, Panna and Chhatarpur. Foggy conditions significantly reduced visibility during late night and early morning hours, affecting road and rail movement in several pockets. Among cities recording the lowest minimum temperatures, Mandsaur stood at 2.9C, followed by Girvar in Shajapur at 3.1C, Kalyanpur in Shahdol at 3.2C, Rajgarh at 3.8C and Bhopal and Nowgong at 4.6C each. On the other hand, Kannod in Dewas recorded the highest minimum temperature at 12.4C.

In terms of daytime temperatures, Khandwa recorded the highest maximum temperature at 28.1C, while Chitrakoot in Satna remained the coolest during the day at 20.3C. In Bhopal, the weather turned notably colder, with the minimum temperature settling at 4.6C, which was about 6.1 degrees below normal. The city recorded a maximum temperature of 23.6C, also below normal by 2.2 degrees. Morning humidity levels remained high at around 89 per cent, while evening humidity dropped to nearly 47 per cent.

Winds remained light to moderate, blowing at speeds of around 6 to 10 kmph, predominantly from the northwest, further enhancing the chill factor during early morning and night hours. Meteorological conditions responsible for the cold include an active western disturbance in the form of a trough in the middle tropospheric westerlies, with its axis located north of latitude 32N. In addition, a strong subtropical westerly jet stream with core wind speeds of around 220 kmph at an altitude of 12.6 km above mean sea level is prevailing over northeast India.

Another fresh western disturbance is likely to affect the western Himalayan region around December 30, the impact of which is expected to be felt over Madhya Pradesh within the next two to three days, potentially intensifying cold wave and fog conditions.

The Meteorological Department has issued warnings for cold wave conditions at isolated places in Bhopal, Sehore, Rajgarh, Indore, Shajapur, Mandsaur, Anuppur, Shahdol and Seoni districts. Dense fog is likely at isolated places in Singrauli, Sidhi, Rewa, Mauganj, Satna, Panna and Chhatarpur, while moderate fog may occur in Gwalior, Datia, Bhind, Umaria, Tikamgarh, Niwari and Maihar.

Residents have been advised to avoid unnecessary travel during dense fog, drive cautiously with fog lights, and take adequate precautions against cold-related health issues. Farmers have been asked to protect crops from excess moisture due to prolonged fog and ensure proper shelter and care for livestock as cold conditions persist across the State.
Thailand, Cambodia sign new ceasefire agreement to end border fighting





BANGKOK :

THAILAND and Cambodia signed a ceasefire agreement on Saturday to end weeks of fighting along their border over competing territorial claims. The agreement took effect at noon (0500 GMT) and calls for a halt in military movements and airspace violations for military purposes. Only Thailand has carried out airstrikes, hitting sites in Cambodia as recently as Saturday morning, according to the Cambodian Defence Ministry. The deal also calls for Thailand, after the ceasefire has held for 72 hours, to repatriate 18 Cambodian soldiers it has held as prisoners since earlier fighting in July.

Their release has been a major demand of the Cambodian side. Within hours of the signing, Thailands Foreign Ministry protested to Cambodia that a Thai soldier sustained a permanent disability when he stepped on an anti-personnel land mine, which it charged had been laid by Cambodian forces. Defence Ministers met at the border to sign the agreement The agreement was signed by the countries defence ministers, Cambodias Tea Seiha and Thailands Nattaphon Narkphanit, at a border checkpoint. It followed three-day lower-level talks by military officials. It declares that the sides are committed to an earlier ceasefire that ended five days of fighting in July and follow-up agreements.

The original July ceasefire was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by pressure from US President Donald Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed. It was formalised in more detail in October at a regional meeting in Malaysia that Trump attended. Despite those deals, the countries carried on a bitter propaganda war, and minor cross-border violence continued, escalating in early December to widespread heavy fighting. Thailand has lost 26 soldiers and one civilian as a direct result of the combat since Dec. 7, according to officials.

Thailand has also reported 44 civilian deaths. Cambodia hasnt issued an official figure on military casualties, but says that 30 civilians have been killed and 90 injured. Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated on both sides of the border. Todays ceasefire also paves the way for the displaced people who are living in the border areas to be able to return to their homes, work in the fields, and even allow their children to be able to return to schools and resume their studies, Cambodias Defence Minister Tea Seiha told reporters after the signing. Each side blamed the other for initiating the fighting and claimed to be acting in self-defence.

The agreement also calls on both sides to adhere to international agreements against deploying land mines, a major concern of Thailand. Thai soldiers along the border have been wounded in at least 10 incidents this year by what Thailand says were newly planted Cambodian mines. Cambodia says the mines were left over from decades of civil war that ended in the late 1990s. Following the latest injury on Saturday, Thailands Foreign Ministry noted that the new agreement includes key provisions on joint humanitarian demining operations. to ensure the safety of military personnel and civilians in the border areas as soon as possible. Another clause says the two sides agree to refrain from disseminating false information or fake news.

 The agreement calls for a resumption of previous measures to demarcate the border. The sides also agreed to cooperate in suppressing transnational crimes. Thats primarily a reference to online scams perpetrated by organised crime that have bilked victims around the world of billions of dollars each year. Cambodia is a centre for such criminal enterprises. Malaysias leader hails the agreement Malaysias Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who was instrumental in putting together the original ceasefire, said the new agreement reflects a shared recognition that restraint is required, above all in the interest of civilians. Many clauses similar to those in Saturdays agreement were included in Octobers ceasefire document, and were open to various interpretations and generally honoured only in part. These included provisions concerning land mines and the Cambodian prisoners.

The fragility of the new agreement was underlined by Thailands Defence Ministry spokesperson Surasant Kongsiri in a news briefing after Saturdays signing. He said that the safe return of civilians to their homes would indicate the situation had stabilised enough to allow the repatriation of the captured Cambodian soldiers. However, if the ceasefire does not materialise, this would indicate a lack of sincerity on the Cambodian side to create a sure peace, he said. Therefore, the 72- hour ceasefire beginning today is not an act of trust nor unconditional acceptance but a time frame to tangibly prove whether Cambodia can truly cease the use of weapons, provocations and threats in the area.
Trade and industry bodies, professionals elect new leaders





Business Reporter :

At The 61st annual general meeting of the Vidarbha Industries Association (VIA), held on June 28, Prashant Mohota was unanimously elected as President for 2025-26 while Kaushal Mohta was elected as Secretary.

The Lady Entrepreneurs Wing of Vidarbha Industries Association (VIA LEW) also held its elections and unanimously elected Yogita Deshmukh as the new Chairperson and Poonam Gupta, Secretary of VIA LEW for the year 2025-26. Setting aside their differences, the two main factions of the Nag Vidarbha Chamber of Commerce (NVCC) in October joined hands to elect the new team of office-bearers for 2025-26 term.

The regions leading body of traders unanimously elected Farooq Akbani and CA Hemant Sarda as the new President and Secretary at its 81st annual general body meeting. CA Dinesh Rathi was unanimously elected as the Chairman of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

(ICAI) Nagpur Branch of WIRC for 2025-26. CA Swaroopa Wazalwar was elected as the Vice Chairperson, while CA Deepak Jethwani became the Secretary. The 88th annual general meeting of the Nagpur Chamber of Commerce Ltd (NCCL) was held in October. On the occasion, elections were conducted wherein CA Kailash Jogani was elected as President and Tarun Nirban as Secretary.
Violence erupts over coal block protest in Tamnar SDMs vehicle torched, woman SHO injured





Our Correspondent :

RAIGARH :

A prolonged protest against coal block allocation in Tamnar block of Raigarh district spiralled into violence on Saturday, triggering stone-pelting, arson and clashes between villagers and police. Tension gripped the area after angry protesters set fire to the Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDM) vehicle, while a woman Station House Officer (SHO) sustained serious injuries in the unrest.

The violence broke out when police moved to clear a sit-in protest at CHP Chowk, where villagers had been agitating for the past 15 days demanding cancellation of a proposed public hearing related to a coal mining project. Protesters allege the project would cause severe environmental damage and lead to large-scale displacement. As police action began, the situation deteriorated rapidly.

Around 30 to 35 villagers were detained and taken to the police station, following which protesters turned aggressive, pelting stones at the police from multiple directions. Reinforcements were rushed in to control the situation. A bus was vandalised during the violence. In the chaos, woman SHO Kamla Pusam was allegedly assaulted and suffered serious injuries. She was immediately admitted to hospital.

The situation worsened further after a villager reportedly sustained injuries in a road accident during the clearance operation, fuelling anger among the crowd. The protest centres around land acquisition and the proposed mining of the Gare-Pelma Sector-1 coal block in the Dhaurabhatha area of Tamnar, allocated to Jindal Industries. What began as a confrontation at

CHP Chowk soon escalated into a full-scale clash. According to local sources, arson incidents were reported at multiple locations. Protesters targeted the SDMs official vehicle and set it ablaze, prompting the administration to deploy additional police forces and intensify surveillance in the area. The situation in Tamnar remains tense, though police officials while confirming the incident claimed it is under control. Continuous patrolling is being carried out to maintain law and order. The district administration has appealed to residents to maintain peace and warned that strict action will be taken against those involved in violence and vandalism.
Wild animal snatches away 8-mth-old baby in Narsala, mutilated body found





Staff Reporter :

An eight-month-old girl was allegedly snatched by a wild animal from her familys temporary hut during the night in Narsala area. The infants mutilated body was later found nearby which left her migrant labourer parents shattered and the entire locality gripped by fear and grief. Preliminary findings suggest the attack may have been carried out by a fox or hyena, rather than a leopard. The deceased has been identified as Anushka Ravikishan Meda, whose family originally hails from Similia village in Madhya Pradesh. According to police, around eight months ago, Anushkas father Ravikishan arrived in Nagpur along with about 25 other labourers and their families to work on a sewer pipeline project in the Narsala area.

The contractor had arranged makeshift huts for the workers in an open field near the Narsala crematorium. These huts have since been home to the labourers and their families, including small children. On Friday night, Ravikishan, his wife, and their infant daughter were asleep inside their hut. In the dead of night, an animal is believed to have entered the hut silently and carried the baby away.

It was around 2 am when Ravikishan woke up and realised that Anushka was missing. He immediately woke his wife and alerted nearby workers. A frantic search began, but there was no trace of the child. As panic spread, someone informed the police control room, which alerted Hudkeshwar police. ACP Narendra Hiware and ACP Satyaveer Bandiwar and other police personnel, rushed to the spot and joined the search operation. After some time, the babys body was found about 30 metres away from the hut.

A police official said that the sight was devastating. Parts of the childs body were missing, and the grieving parents collapsed in shock and sorrow, he said. Fellow labourers tried to console them. The Forest Department was also informed, and its officials examined the scene. Preliminary observations suggested that the animal involved may not have been a leopard, but possibly a fox or a hyena that wandered into the area and attacked the child. Police conducted an initial investigation at the spot and later sent the body to the Government Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem examination. Hudkeshwar police have registered a case of accidental death.
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Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd. (OTCMKTS:JMHLY  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 11,434 shares, a growth of 109.5% from the November 30th total of 5,458 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 14,795 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.8 days. Currently, 0.0% of the companys shares are sold short. Currently, 0.0% of the companys shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 14,795 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.8 days.

Jardine Matheson Stock Performance

Shares of Jardine Matheson stock traded down $2.36 on Friday, hitting $66.58. 7,780 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,813. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $64.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.01. Jardine Matheson has a 1-year low of $35.25 and a 1-year high of $69.99.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Macquarie upgraded shares of Jardine Matheson from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Jardine Matheson has a consensus rating of Strong Buy.

Jardine Matheson Company Profile

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Jardine Matheson Holdings Limited is a Bermuda-registered investment holding company with a primary listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and American depositary shares trading on the OTC Markets under the symbol JMHLY. Established in 1832 by William Jardine and James Matheson, the group has evolved from a trading house in Canton to a diversified conglomerate with operations throughout Asia.

The company holds controlling interests in a portfolio of businesses spanning property, retail, hospitality, automotive, and engineering.

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WisdomTree Equity Premium Income Fund (NYSEARCA:WTPI  Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 84,792 shares, a growth of 176.8% from the November 30th total of 30,632 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 139,686 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.6 days. Approximately 0.9% of the companys stock are short sold. Approximately 0.9% of the companys stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 139,686 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.6 days.

WisdomTree Equity Premium Income Fund Price Performance

NYSEARCA WTPI traded down $0.15 during trading on Friday, reaching $33.39. 154,336 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 93,909. WisdomTree Equity Premium Income Fund has a fifty-two week low of $27.00 and a fifty-two week high of $34.07. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $33.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.88.

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WisdomTree Equity Premium Income Fund Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 10th were given a $0.7218 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 10th.

Institutional Trading of WisdomTree Equity Premium Income Fund

About WisdomTree Equity Premium Income Fund

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Comerica Bank bought a new stake in shares of WisdomTree Equity Premium Income Fund in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC acquired a new position in WisdomTree Equity Premium Income Fund in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in WisdomTree Equity Premium Income Fund in the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. REAP Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of WisdomTree Equity Premium Income Fund during the 3rd quarter valued at $91,000. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in WisdomTree Equity Premium Income Fund during the third quarter worth about $206,000.

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The WisdomTree Equity Premium Income Fund (Ticker: WTPI) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) managed by WisdomTree, Inc The fund seeks to provide investors with consistent income by selling put options bi-weekly on the S&P 500 Index, targeting a 2.5% premium. This strategy aims to capitalize on the volatility premium in the options market, potentially offering attractive income opportunities, especially in flat-to-down market conditions.

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Alger Mid Cap 40 ETF (NYSEARCA:FRTY  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 8,537 shares, an increase of 128.5% from the November 30th total of 3,736 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 72,786 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.1 days. Currently, 0.1% of the companys shares are sold short. Currently, 0.1% of the companys shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 72,786 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.1 days.

Alger Mid Cap 40 ETF Price Performance

NYSEARCA:FRTY traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $21.36. 12,198 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 40,446. Alger Mid Cap 40 ETF has a 52-week low of $13.56 and a 52-week high of $23.36. The firm has a market cap of $122.61 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.46 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.71.

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Alger Mid Cap 40 ETF Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.041 per share. This represents a yield of 20.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 18th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alger Mid Cap 40 ETF

Alger Mid Cap 40 ETF Company Profile

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in Alger Mid Cap 40 ETF stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Alger Mid Cap 40 ETF ( NYSEARCA:FRTY Free Report ) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 44,214 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $850,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.83% of Alger Mid Cap 40 ETF at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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The Alger Mid Cap 40 ETF (FRTY) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the Russell Midcap Growth index. The fund is an actively-managed, non-transparent ETF that provides exposure to US mid-cap companies with growth characteristics. The fund utilizes the Precidian non-transparent model. FRTY was launched on Feb 26, 2021 and is managed by Alger.

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ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,928,345 shares, a growth of 70.7% from the November 30th total of 1,715,465 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the companys shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,504,272 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Based on an average daily volume of 1,504,272 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Currently, 0.4% of the companys shares are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ArcelorMittal

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of ArcelorMittal by 3.1% during the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 9,453 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $342,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares in the last quarter. GK Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in ArcelorMittal by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. GK Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,129 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in ArcelorMittal by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 7,359 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in ArcelorMittal by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,749 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in ArcelorMittal by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,826 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. 9.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MT has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c) rating on shares of ArcelorMittal in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a cautious rating and issued a $39.00 price objective (up from $33.00) on shares of ArcelorMittal in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a neutral rating on shares of ArcelorMittal in a research report on Friday, October 10th. UBS Group lowered shares of ArcelorMittal from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a buy rating on shares of ArcelorMittal in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $38.98.

ArcelorMittal Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NYSE MT traded up $1.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $46.31. 1,089,459 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,189,551. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market cap of $35.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.78, a PEG ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 1.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $41.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.61. ArcelorMittal has a 12 month low of $21.59 and a 12 month high of $46.60.

ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $15.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.88 billion. ArcelorMittal had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 4.94%. ArcelorMittals revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that ArcelorMittal will post 3.72 EPS for the current year.

About ArcelorMittal

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ArcelorMittal is a multinational steel manufacturing company formed in 2006 through the merger of Arcelor and Mittal Steel. Headquartered in Luxembourg, the company is one of the worlds largest producers of steel and operates an integrated value chain that spans raw material extraction, steelmaking, processing and distribution. Its product portfolio includes flat and long carbon steel products, coated and specialty steels, tubular products and value-added solutions tailored for sectors such as automotive, construction, household appliances, energy and packaging.

ArcelorMittals operations are global in scope, with production facilities, distribution networks and commercial activities across Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

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Shares of Ardmore Shipping Corporation (NYSE:ASC  Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of Moderate Buy from the six research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $13.6667.

ASC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a buy rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Zacks Research cut shares of Ardmore Shipping from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Ardmore Shipping from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c-) rating on shares of Ardmore Shipping in a report on Wednesday.

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Ardmore Shipping Stock Up 1.1%

NYSE:ASC opened at $10.83 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 4.46, a quick ratio of 4.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Ardmore Shipping has a twelve month low of $8.32 and a twelve month high of $13.85. The company has a market cap of $439.75 million, a PE ratio of 13.88 and a beta of -0.11. The companys 50 day moving average is $12.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.41.

Ardmore Shipping (NYSE:ASC  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The shipping company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $81.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.38 million. Ardmore Shipping had a net margin of 11.50% and a return on equity of 6.69%. Ardmore Shippings quarterly revenue was down 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Ardmore Shipping will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Ardmore Shipping Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. This is an increase from Ardmore Shippings previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. Ardmore Shippings payout ratio is 51.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ardmore Shipping

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Ardmore Shipping by 6.3% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 17,263 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $173,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the first quarter worth approximately $371,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in Ardmore Shipping during the second quarter worth approximately $21,019,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 2nd quarter valued at $334,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ardmore Shipping in the 2nd quarter valued at $434,000. 62.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ardmore Shipping

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Ardmore Shipping Corporation is a Bermuda-based provider of seaborne transportation services for refined petroleum products. The company owns and operates a modern fleet of product tankers, including medium-range (MR), long-range 2 (LR2) and Aframax vessels. Ardmore Shipping focuses on the ocean carriage of clean and dirty petroleum products under time charters, bareboat charters and spot voyages, serving a diverse customer base that includes major oil companies and trading houses.

Since its founding in 2005, Ardmore Shipping has grown its fleet through newbuilding contracts, second-hand acquisitions and fleet renewals, aiming to maintain a high quality, fuel-efficient profile.

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Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG  Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of Moderate Buy by the twenty brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $302.2222.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AJG. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $272.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $329.00 to $285.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $353.00 to $334.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC set a $272.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Thursday, December 18th.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 1,250 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.74, for a total value of $313,425.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 17,327 shares in the company, valued at $4,344,571.98. This represents a 6.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link . Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $4,041,750.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 79,549 shares in the company, valued at $20,284,995. The trade was a 16.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure . Insiders have sold 23,100 shares of company stock worth $5,921,175 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.60% of the companys stock.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 870.0% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 97 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 209.1% during the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 102 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the companys stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $261.74 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a 50-day moving average of $255.11 and a 200-day moving average of $287.00. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $236.34 and a twelve month high of $351.23. The firm has a market cap of $67.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.12 and a beta of 0.69.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 13.58% and a return on equity of 11.98%. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.26 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.86%.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The companys core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.

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ASOS Plc (LON:ASC  Get Free Report) shares crossed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of GBX 281.89 and traded as low as GBX 269. ASOS shares last traded at GBX 269, with a volume of 25,922 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Berenberg Bank reiterated a buy rating and issued a GBX 600 price objective on shares of ASOS in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of ASOS from GBX 270 to GBX 240 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on ASOS from GBX 440 to GBX 375 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Peel Hunt reissued an add rating and issued a GBX 335 price objective on shares of ASOS in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Panmure Gordon reaffirmed a hold rating and set a GBX 350 target price on shares of ASOS in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of GBX 383.33.

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ASOS Stock Down 0.4%

The firms fifty day moving average price is GBX 250.45 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 281.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 187.55, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of 321.30 million, a P/E ratio of -1.08, a PEG ratio of -1.26 and a beta of 2.86.

ASOS (LON:ASC  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 21st. The company reported GBX (250.10) EPS for the quarter. ASOS had a negative return on equity of 59.37% and a negative net margin of 11.66%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that ASOS Plc will post 12.4165252 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Aaron Izzard sold 604 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 219, for a total transaction of 1,322.76. Also, insider Jose Antonio Ramos Calamonte sold 13,061 shares of ASOS stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 219, for a total value of 28,603.59. 18.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

ASOS Company Profile

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ASOS Plc operates as an online fashion retailer in the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, and internationally. It offers womenswear and menswear products. The company sells its products under the ASOS Design, ASOS Edition, ASOS Luxe, ASOS 4505, Collusion, Reclaimed Vintage, Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge, HIIT, AsYou, Dark Future, UNRVLLD/SPPLY, Crooked Tongues, Daysocial, Actual, and Weekend Collective brands, as well as through third-party brands.

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BlackRock Health Sciences Trust (NYSE:BME  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 30,636 shares, an increase of 146.0% from the November 30th total of 12,455 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 37,256 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.8 days. Based on an average daily volume of 37,256 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.8 days.

BlackRock Health Sciences Trust Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of BlackRock Health Sciences Trust stock traded up $0.00 during trading on Friday, hitting $41.41. The stock had a trading volume of 28,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 48,323. The business has a fifty day moving average of $39.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.70. BlackRock Health Sciences Trust has a fifty-two week low of $34.18 and a fifty-two week high of $41.72.

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BlackRock Health Sciences Trust Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 22nd will be paid a $0.2621 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 22nd. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.6%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock Health Sciences Trust

About BlackRock Health Sciences Trust

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in BlackRock Health Sciences Trust by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,417 shares of the companys stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. Comerica Bank increased its stake in shares of BlackRock Health Sciences Trust by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 4,807 shares of the companys stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in BlackRock Health Sciences Trust by 5.9% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 6,715 shares of the companys stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its holdings in BlackRock Health Sciences Trust by 20.3% during the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 2,780 shares of the companys stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of BlackRock Health Sciences Trust by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 143,546 shares of the companys stock worth $5,546,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares in the last quarter.

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BlackRock Health Sciences Trust (NYSE: BME) is a closed-end management investment company that seeks long-term total return through a combination of dividend income and capital appreciation. Managed by BlackRock Fund Advisors, the trust invests primarily in the equity securities of domestic and international issuers engaged in the health sciences sector. The portfolio typically includes common stocks, corporate bonds and convertible securities of companies involved in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and healthcare services.

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Dec. 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Law Offices of Jason Turchin, a Florida-based personal injury and wrongful death law firm, is helping families pursue justice after the tragic loss of a loved one due to negligence, medical errors, defective products, or accidents. Under Florida's Wrongful Death Act, families may be entitled to compensation when a preventable death occurs because of someone else's misconduct or carelessness.

"Wrongful death cases are about more than financial recovery. They're often about accountability and helping families find closure," said Jason Turchin, Esq., who has represented hundreds of families in wrongful death claims across Florida. "We can walk beside our clients through one of the most difficult times of their lives."

Types of Wrongful Death Cases Handled

The firm investigates and litigates claims involving:

Fatal car and truck accidents

Medical malpractice or hospital negligence

Nursing home abuse or neglect

Defective products and consumer goods

Cruise ship deaths and drownings

Negligent security and violent crimes

Families may recover compensation for:

Funeral and burial expenses

Medical bills related to the final injury or illness

Loss of companionship and emotional support

Loss of financial support and services

Mental pain and suffering of surviving family members

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim in Florida?

Under Florida law, a personal representative of the deceased's estate files the lawsuit on behalf of the surviving family members. Eligible beneficiaries often include a spouse, children, parents, or other dependents. The statute of limitations for most wrongful death cases is two years, but there are exceptions so acting quickly can be crucial.

"We're here to help families get answers and hold the responsible parties accountable," adds Turchin. "Our team handles the legal burdens so families can focus on healing."

Contact the Law Offices of Jason Turchin

If you lost a loved one due to someone else's negligence in Florida, call the Law Offices of Jason Turchin at (800) 337-7755 or visit www.jasonturchin.com for a free and confidential consultation.

About the Law Offices of Jason Turchin

The firm represents families in wrongful death and personal injury claims across Florida. Jason Turchin, Esq. has been featured in CBS Evening News, Forbes, and Rolling Stone for his work advocating for injury victims and their families.

SOURCE Law Offices of Jason Turchin
Women named Deondra are typically characterized by a blend of strength and compassion that reflects their name's divine origins. They often possess natural leadership abilities combined with deep emotional intelligence, making them effective in both professional and personal relationships. Their intuitive nature and strong moral compass frequently guide them toward helping professions or creative pursuits where they can make a positive impact on others' lives. Deondras are known for their resilience and ability to maintain grace under pressure, qualities that others often find inspiring and comforting.



In social settings, Deondras tend to be warm and engaging, with a genuine interest in understanding different perspectives. They often serve as peacemakers or mediators in conflicts, using their diplomatic skills to find common ground. Their spiritual connection, suggested by their name's meaning, frequently manifests as a deep sense of purpose and inner peace that others are drawn to. While strong-willed and determined when pursuing goals, they typically balance this drive with empathy and consideration for others, creating relationships built on mutual respect and trust. This combination of strength and sensitivity makes Deondras particularly effective in roles that require both conviction and compassion.
BondBloxx Bloomberg Twenty Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF (NYSEARCA:XTWY  Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,257 shares, a decrease of 38.5% from the November 30th total of 5,298 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 8,392 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.4 days. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 8,392 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.4 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BondBloxx Bloomberg Twenty Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of XTWY. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in BondBloxx Bloomberg Twenty Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF by 369.8% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 27,504 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 21,649 shares during the period. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc bought a new stake in BondBloxx Bloomberg Twenty Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,667,000. Valtinson Bruner Financial Planning LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BondBloxx Bloomberg Twenty Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Valtinson Bruner Financial Planning LLC now owns 477,925 shares of the companys stock valued at $18,436,000 after buying an additional 27,202 shares during the period. Flow Traders U.S. LLC boosted its stake in shares of BondBloxx Bloomberg Twenty Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF by 243.5% in the 2nd quarter. Flow Traders U.S. LLC now owns 146,760 shares of the companys stock worth $5,661,000 after buying an additional 104,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HBW Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of BondBloxx Bloomberg Twenty Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF in the third quarter worth $706,000.

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BondBloxx Bloomberg Twenty Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF Stock Performance

NYSEARCA:XTWY traded down $0.19 on Friday, reaching $38.24. 7,296 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 24,612. BondBloxx Bloomberg Twenty Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF has a 1-year low of $36.04 and a 1-year high of $41.70. The companys 50 day moving average is $39.01 and its 200-day moving average is $38.48.

BondBloxx Bloomberg Twenty Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF Company Profile

The Bondbloxx Bloomberg Twenty Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF (XTWY) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in investment grade fixed income. The fund is passively managed to invest in a portfolio of US Treasury securities with a target duration of twenty years. XTWY was launched on Sep 13, 2022 and is managed by BondBloxx.

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Shares of TopBuild Corp. (NYSE:BLD  Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of Moderate Buy from the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $437.0640.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BLD shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on TopBuild from $518.00 to $536.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on TopBuild from $449.00 to $448.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of TopBuild in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. They issued a sector perform rating and a $410.00 price target for the company. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of TopBuild from $444.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c+) rating on shares of TopBuild in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th.

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TopBuild Stock Up 1.0%

BLD stock opened at $432.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.90 and a quick ratio of 2.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.95, a P/E/G ratio of 7.20 and a beta of 1.67. TopBuild has a 52-week low of $266.26 and a 52-week high of $461.49. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $432.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $403.76.

TopBuild (NYSE:BLD  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The construction company reported $5.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.22 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.38 billion. TopBuild had a net margin of 10.84% and a return on equity of 27.10%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.68 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that TopBuild will post 20.97 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other TopBuild news, VP Luis Francisco Machado sold 1,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.40, for a total value of $450,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 9,349 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,210,789.60. The trade was a 9.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of TopBuild

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AIA Group Ltd bought a new position in shares of TopBuild in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $768,000. Lindenwold Advisors INC acquired a new position in TopBuild during the third quarter valued at approximately $350,000. Mirabella Financial Services LLP raised its position in shares of TopBuild by 160.9% in the third quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP now owns 5,747 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $2,242,000 after purchasing an additional 3,544 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its position in shares of TopBuild by 1,058.1% in the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 9,265 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $3,621,000 after purchasing an additional 8,465 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of TopBuild by 7.4% in the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 8,580 shares of the construction companys stock worth $3,354,000 after buying an additional 588 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.67% of the companys stock.

About TopBuild

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TopBuild Corp. (NYSE: BLD) is a leading installer and distributor of insulation and building material products serving primarily the U.S. construction market. Headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida, the company was formed in 2011 as a spin-off from ABF Freight System and has since grown through a combination of organic expansion and targeted acquisitions. TopBuilds core mission is to enhance energy efficiency and comfort in new residential and light commercial construction projects by providing comprehensive insulation solutions and related services.

The company operates through two main segments.

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CACI International (NYSE:CACI) executives outlined plans to acquire Arca Group in an all-cash deal they said will expand CACIs position in the national security space market, add complementary sensing and intelligence-processing technologies, and support longer-term growth in revenue and free cash flow per share.

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On a conference call discussing the pending transaction, President and CEO John Mengucci described Arca as a leading technology provider to the national security space community and said the acquisition aligns with CACIs stated M&A focus areas over the past year, including electronic warfare and space. Chief Financial Officer Jeff MacLauchlan and Chief Technology Officer Jason Bales also participated.

Strategic rationale: sensing, sense-making, and adjacent optical technologies

Sensing: Space-based imaging and remote sensing technology provided to national security customers, including through prime satellite contractors. Mengucci said Arca is one of only a few companies capable of providing advanced imaging payloads and that its technology is deployed across all orbits. He referenced initiatives including Golden Dome and support of INDOPACOM.

Space-based imaging and remote sensing technology provided to national security customers, including through prime satellite contractors. Mengucci said Arca is one of only a few companies capable of providing advanced imaging payloads and that its technology is deployed across all orbits. He referenced initiatives including Golden Dome and support of INDOPACOM. Sense-making: Software-based capabilities for end-to-end intelligence generation, including radar and image processing, mission management, and sensor orchestration. CACI emphasized Arcas first mover position in operationalizing agentic AI-based systems in classified environments to automate intelligence production and related functions.

Software-based capabilities for end-to-end intelligence generation, including radar and image processing, mission management, and sensor orchestration. CACI emphasized Arcas first mover position in operationalizing agentic AI-based systems in classified environments to automate intelligence production and related functions. Other optical technology: Laser warning systems and directed energy components, which management described as adjacent capabilities that could provide optionality alongside CACIs own optical work.

Mengucci said Arcas business is focused in three primary areas:

Management framed the combination as extending CACIs sensor portfolio beyond its land, air, and sea deployments into space-based imaging. The company also emphasized an opportunity to combine Arcas GEOINT-related ground processing with CACIs SIGINT processing to broaden multi-source intelligence (multi-INT) capabilities. Bales said Arcas processing supports electro-optical IR sensor data workflows for detection of threats, and that combining that with CACIs SIGINT exploitation could strengthen a multi-INT portfolio for missions such as Golden Dome and INDOPACOM.

Financial terms and expected impact

MacLauchlan said CACI will acquire Arca for an all-cash purchase price of $2.6 billion. Due to transaction structuring, CACI expects an ongoing tax benefit with a stated present value of $225 million, resulting in effective consideration of $2.375 billion. Based on next 12 months performance, management characterized the deal as a 16x EBITDA multiple.

Over the next 12 months, CACI expects Arca to deliver approximately $650 million of revenue and $145 million of EBITDA. Management described Arca as having a track record of double-digit revenue growth and EBITDA margins in the low 20% range. The company said the acquisition will be highly accretive to CACIs revenue growth and EBITDA margin.

On earnings and cash flow, MacLauchlan said that after accounting for one-time transaction-related expenses, the deal is expected to be neutral to adjusted EPS and free cash flow in fiscal 2027 (the first full year) and firmly accretive in fiscal 2028. CACI said it will provide updated fiscal 2026 guidance after closing.

Financing and leverage expectations

MacLauchlan said CACI executed a committed bridge facility alongside the purchase agreement and expects permanent financing to be in place at closing. Based on current market conditions, the company plans to issue $1.3 billion of new transaction debt made up of:

$800 million of a new seven-year Term Loan B

of a new seven-year Term Loan B $500 million of senior notes

The remainder of the purchase price is expected to be funded under CACIs existing revolving credit facility. Management expects the deal to close near the end of CACIs third quarter of fiscal 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and customary conditions.

Post-closing, CACI expects leverage of 4.3x net debt to trailing 12 months pro forma EBITDA. While noting its stated target range of 2.5x to 3.0x, management said it has been willing to go higher for the right opportunity. CACI expects leverage to return to the low threes within six quarters of closing based on combined cash flow characteristics.

Business profile, backlog visibility, and classified nature

MacLauchlan said approximately 90% of Arcas revenue is with national security customers and pointed to a high fixed-price mix tied to IP-based differentiation. During Q&A, management said Arca has virtually nothing in terms of notable recompete exposure in 2026 and even into 2027, adding that greater than 90% of Arcas fiscal 2026 financial position is locked and loaded through execution or backlog.

On backlog, management described a distinction between contracted backlog and longer-horizon franchise positions. MacLauchlan cited about $600 million under contract, plus more than $2 billion in a five-year planning window of non-competitive franchise revenue tied to named programs and proliferated systems.

Executives repeatedly noted the classified nature of much of Arcas work, limiting program-level detail. Mengucci said customer specifications are tight and that decisions on payloads are largely made by the end customer, with Arcas sensors get[ting] a ride on somebody elses satellite. He also characterized barriers to entry as extremely high, citing long-standing production requirements and specialized talent, including roughly 1,000 engineering personnel at Arca, with more than a third described as software engineers working on ground processing.

In response to questions about Arcas exposure to SDA and SpaceX, management said Arca has a small role in the SDA world and that its focus is highly classified intel space assets, with the company planning to share more after closing.

About CACI International (NYSE:CACI)

CACI International Inc is a leading provider of information solutions and services to the U.S. federal government, with a primary focus on defense, intelligence, homeland security and federal civilian agencies. The company delivers advanced technology and domain expertise to support mission-critical operations, offering capabilities in areas such as data analytics, cyber security, network integration, enterprise IT modernization and logistics support. By integrating software, hardware and professional services, CACI helps clients enhance situational awareness, improve decision making and maintain critical infrastructure resilience.

Founded in 1962 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, CACI has evolved from a small consulting operation into a global enterprise.

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Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Copa (NYSE:CPA  Free Report) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on CPA. Itau BBA Securities assumed coverage on shares of Copa in a research note on Sunday, November 30th. They issued a market perform rating for the company. Raymond James Financial set a $164.00 target price on shares of Copa and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Copa from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Copa from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a buy (b) rating on shares of Copa in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Copa currently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $159.43.

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Copa Stock Performance

NYSE:CPA opened at $121.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $122.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $117.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.01 billion, a PE ratio of 7.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.90. Copa has a 52-week low of $82.54 and a 52-week high of $130.00.

Copa (NYSE:CPA  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 19th. The transportation company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $4.03 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $913.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $917.51 million. Copa had a return on equity of 26.39% and a net margin of 18.83%.The businesss quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.50 EPS. Analysts forecast that Copa will post 15.48 EPS for the current year.

Copa Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $1.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $6.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. Copas dividend payout ratio is 40.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Copa

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp purchased a new position in shares of Copa in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Copa by 408.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 249 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Copa by 90.2% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 253 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Copa by 271.4% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 260 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Copa during the first quarter worth $36,000. 70.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Copa Company Profile

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Copa Holdings, SA (NYSE:CPA) is a Panamabased aviation holding company that provides passenger and cargo air transportation across the Americas and the Caribbean. Through its principal subsidiary, Copa Airlines, the company operates a modern fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft, offering scheduled flights that connect passengers through its Tocumen International Airport hub in Panama City. The company also offers dedicated cargo services under the Copa Cargo brand, leveraging belly hold capacity on its passenger flights to transport freight throughout its network.

The roots of Copa Holdings trace back to 1947, when Compania Panamena de Aviacion began operations as the flag carrier of Panama.

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Compagnie de Saint-Gobain (OTCMKTS:CODYY  Get Free Report) and Owens Corning (NYSE:OC  Get Free Report) are both construction companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Compagnie de Saint-Gobain and Owens Cornings net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

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Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Compagnie de Saint-Gobain N/A N/A N/A Owens Corning -4.46% 24.42% 8.53%

Dividends

Compagnie de Saint-Gobain pays an annual dividend of $0.31 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Owens Corning pays an annual dividend of $2.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Owens Corning pays out -48.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Owens Corning has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years. Owens Corning is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Valuation and Earnings

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Compagnie de Saint-Gobain $50.40 billion 1.00 $3.08 billion N/A N/A Owens Corning $10.98 billion 0.85 $647.00 million ($5.72) -19.87

This table compares Compagnie de Saint-Gobain and Owens Cornings gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Compagnie de Saint-Gobain has higher revenue and earnings than Owens Corning.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

88.4% of Owens Corning shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of Owens Corning shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Compagnie de Saint-Gobain and Owens Corning, as provided by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Compagnie de Saint-Gobain 0 4 0 2 2.67 Owens Corning 2 5 10 0 2.47

Owens Corning has a consensus price target of $155.58, indicating a potential upside of 36.91%. Given Owens Cornings higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Owens Corning is more favorable than Compagnie de Saint-Gobain.

Summary

Owens Corning beats Compagnie de Saint-Gobain on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Compagnie de Saint-Gobain

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Compagnie de Saint-Gobain S.A. designs, manufactures, and distributes materials and solutions for the construction and industrial markets worldwide. It operates through five segments: High Performance Solutions; Northern Europe; Southern Europe Middle East (ME) & Africa; Americas; and Asia-Pacific. The company offers glazing solutions for buildings and vehicles under the Saint-Gobain, GlassSolutions, Vetrotech, and SageGlass brands; plaster-based products for construction and renovation markets under the Placo, Rigips, and Gyproc brands; ceilings under the Ecophon, CertainTeed, Eurocoustic, Sonex, and Vinh Tuong brands; and insulation solutions for a range of applications, such as construction, engine compartments, vehicle interiors, household appliances, and photovoltaic panels under the Isover, CertainTeed, and Izocam brands. It also provides mortars and construction chemicals under the Weber, Chryso, and GCP brands; exterior products comprising asphalt and composite shingles, solar roofing solutions, roll roofing systems, and accessories under the CertainTeed and Brasilit brands; and pipes under the PAM brand, as well as abrasives, adhesives, sealants, tapes, composites, and films. In addition, the company provides interior and exterior systems for construction and housing sectors; ceramics under the SEFPRO brand; polymer shakes and shingle, and insulation cladding solutions; and barriers, terraces, and balustrades. Further, it distributes heavy building materials; plumbing, heating, ventilation, and sanitaryware products; timber and byproducts; bathrooms and kitchens; and site equipment, PPEs, and tools. The company was founded in 1665 and is headquartered in Courbevoie, France.

About Owens Corning

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Owens Corning manufactures and sells building and construction materials in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Roofing, Insulation, and Composites. The Roofing segment manufactures and sells laminate and strip asphalt roofing shingles, oxidized asphalt materials, and roofing components used in residential and commercial construction, and specialty applications. This segment sells its products through distributors, home centers, and lumberyards, as well as to roofing contractors for built-up roofing asphalt systems; and manufacturers in automotive, chemical, rubber, and construction industries. The Insulation segment manufactures and sells thermal and acoustical batts, loosefill insulation, spray foam insulation, foam sheathing and accessories under the Owens Corning PINK, and FIBERGLAS brands; and glass fiber pipe insulation, energy efficient flexible duct media, bonded and granulated mineral wool insulation, cellular glass insulation, and foam insulation under the FOAMULAR, FOAMGLAS, and Paroc brand names used in construction applications. This segment sells its products primarily to the insulation installers, home centers, lumberyards, retailers, and distributors. The Composites segment manufactures, fabricates, and sells glass reinforcements in the form of fiber; and glass fiber products in the form of fabrics, non-wovens, and composite lumber. Its products are used in building structures, roofing shingles, tubs and showers, pools, decking, flooring, pipes and tanks, poles, electrical equipment, and wind-energy turbine blades. This segment sells its products directly to parts molders, fabricators, and shingle manufacturers. The company was incorporated in 1938 and is headquartered in Toledo, Ohio.

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Teekay Tankers (NYSE:TNK  Get Free Report) and COSCO SHIPPING (OTCMKTS:CICOY  Get Free Report) are both transportation companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, valuation and risk.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

52.7% of Teekay Tankers shares are held by institutional investors. 1.9% of Teekay Tankers shares are held 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.

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Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Teekay Tankers and COSCO SHIPPING, as reported by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Teekay Tankers 0 0 3 2 3.40 COSCO SHIPPING 2 2 0 0 1.50

Earnings & Valuation

Teekay Tankers currently has a consensus price target of $65.00, indicating a potential upside of 19.44%. Given Teekay Tankers stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Teekay Tankers is more favorable than COSCO SHIPPING.

This table compares Teekay Tankers and COSCO SHIPPINGs revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Teekay Tankers $951.88 million 1.97 $403.67 million $9.00 6.05 COSCO SHIPPING $32.53 billion 0.86 $6.84 billion N/A N/A

COSCO SHIPPING has higher revenue and earnings than Teekay Tankers.

Profitability

This table compares Teekay Tankers and COSCO SHIPPINGs net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Teekay Tankers 32.87% 10.63% 9.58% COSCO SHIPPING N/A N/A N/A

Dividends

Teekay Tankers pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. COSCO SHIPPING pays an annual dividend of $0.57 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.5%. Teekay Tankers pays out 11.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Teekay Tankers has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Risk & Volatility

Teekay Tankers has a beta of -0.28, suggesting that its share price is 128% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, COSCO SHIPPING has a beta of 1.14, suggesting that its share price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Teekay Tankers beats COSCO SHIPPING on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Teekay Tankers

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Teekay Tankers Ltd. provides crude oil and other marine transportation services to oil industries in Bermuda and internationally. The company offers voyage and time charter services; offshore ship-to-ship transfer services of commodities primarily crude oil and refined oil products; and tanker commercial and technical management services. It also engages management of vessels, procurement, and equipment rental businesses. Teekay Tankers Ltd. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.

About COSCO SHIPPING

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COSCO SHIPPING Holdings Co., Ltd., an investment holding company, engages in the container shipping, managing and operating container terminals, and other terminal related businesses in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, Mainland China, and internationally. It operates through Container Shipping Business and Terminal Business segments. The company offers freight forwarding and transportation, vessel chartering, container transportation, marine, vessel management and manning, cargo and liner agency, logistics, document, shipping agency and other sea transport, container stack, cargo storage, and cargo transportation services. It is also involved in the design and manufacture of computer software, as well as provision of technology services and solutions; asset management business; and operation of terminals. The company was formerly known as China COSCO Holdings Company Limited and changed its name to COSCO SHIPPING Holdings Co., Ltd. in November 2016. COSCO SHIPPING Holdings Co., Ltd. was incorporated in 2005 and is based in Shanghai, the Peoples Republic of China.

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Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Dimensional International Value ETF (NYSEARCA:DFIV  Free Report) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 226,942 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 10,086 shares during the quarter. Dimensional International Value ETF makes up about 3.7% of Maryland Capital Advisors Inc.s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc.s holdings in Dimensional International Value ETF were worth $10,467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Dimensional International Value ETF by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,914,126 shares of the companys stock valued at $167,642,000 after acquiring an additional 289,313 shares during the period. Eclectic Associates Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in Dimensional International Value ETF by 42.6% during the third quarter. Eclectic Associates Inc. ADV now owns 607,571 shares of the companys stock valued at $28,021,000 after purchasing an additional 181,412 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Dimensional International Value ETF in the second quarter valued at about $833,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Dimensional International Value ETF by 603.1% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,220,435 shares of the companys stock valued at $102,406,000 after purchasing an additional 1,904,648 shares during the period. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Dimensional International Value ETF by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 98,486 shares of the companys stock worth $4,218,000 after purchasing an additional 3,570 shares during the last quarter.

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Dimensional International Value ETF Stock Performance

Shares of Dimensional International Value ETF stock opened at $50.06 on Friday. Dimensional International Value ETF has a twelve month low of $34.28 and a twelve month high of $50.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.23 billion, a PE ratio of 12.09 and a beta of 0.71. The firms 50-day moving average price is $47.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.73.

Dimensional International Value ETF Company Profile

The Dimensional International Value ETF (DFIV) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI World ex USA (net div.) index. The fund is an actively managed fund that provides exposure to large value stocks from developed markets while minimizing federal taxes on performance returns. DFIV was launched on Apr 16, 1999 and is managed by Dimensional.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DFIV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Dimensional International Value ETF (NYSEARCA:DFIV  Free Report).

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Eagleford Energy Inc. (OTCMKTS:GRUSF  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 32,154 shares, a decline of 64.7% from the November 30th total of 90,974 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 567,128 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.1 days. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 567,128 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.1 days.

Eagleford Energy Price Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS:GRUSF opened at $0.46 on Friday. Eagleford Energy has a twelve month low of $0.28 and a twelve month high of $0.68. The companys 50 day moving average is $0.35 and its 200 day moving average is $0.39. The company has a current ratio of 4.78, a quick ratio of 3.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $95.17 million and a PE ratio of 22.86.

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Eagleford Energy (OTCMKTS:GRUSF  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 11th. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $5.36 million during the quarter. Eagleford Energy had a net margin of 31.81% and a return on equity of 28.90%.

Eagleford Energy Company Profile

Grown Rogue International Inc, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells cannabis products in the United States. It offers a range of cultivars for consumers, such as indicas, sativas, and hybrids; strain-specific prepackaged flowers; and pre-roll pack products, as well as provides consulting services. The company sells its products through direct-to-retail delivery and third-party delivery, wholesalers, and processors. Grown Rogue International Inc is headquartered in Medford, Oregon.

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Fuji Media Holdings, Inc. (OTCMKTS:FJTNF  Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 336,858 shares, a drop of 43.7% from the November 30th total of 597,827 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 0 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently  days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 0 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently  days.

Fuji Media Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of FJTNF stock traded up $0.35 on Friday, hitting $23.35. The companys stock had a trading volume of 500 shares, compared to its average volume of 167. Fuji Media has a fifty-two week low of $22.44 and a fifty-two week high of $27.73. The stocks 50 day moving average is $23.44 and its 200-day moving average is $23.86.

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About Fuji Media

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Fuji Media Holdings, Inc (OTCMKTS: FJTNF) is a Tokyo-based media conglomerate that operates as the holding company for a diverse portfolio of broadcasting and contentproduction businesses. Its primary subsidiary, Fuji Television Network, produces and airs a wide range of television programming, including news, sports, dramas and variety shows. The company also maintains radio operations through Nippon Broadcasting System and offers advertising sales and media planning services to domestic and international clients.

In addition to its core broadcasting activities, Fuji Media Holdings develops and distributes content across multiple platforms.

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Fujifilm Holdings Corp. (OTCMKTS:FUJIY  Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 119,055 shares, an increase of 121.3% from the November 30th total of 53,807 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the companys stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 478,394 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.2 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 478,394 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.2 days. Approximately 0.0% of the companys stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Zacks Research upgraded Fujifilm from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Strong Buy.

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Fujifilm Stock Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS FUJIY traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $10.72. The company had a trading volume of 187,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 203,145. The stock has a market cap of $26.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Fujifilm has a 1 year low of $8.69 and a 1 year high of $12.99. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $10.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $11.23.

Fujifilm (OTCMKTS:FUJIY  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The technology company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.58. Fujifilm had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 8.31%.The company had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $5.31 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Fujifilm will post 0.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Fujifilm

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Fujifilm (OTCMKTS:FUJIY) is a Tokyo-based multinational conglomerate originally founded in 1934 as Fuji Photo Film Co, Ltd. Over the decades the company has evolved from a photographic film manufacturer into a diversified technology group operating across imaging, information, highly functional materials and healthcare. Fujifilm Holdings Corporation serves customers worldwide with a combination of hardware, consumables, software and services.

The companys product and service portfolio spans consumer and professional imaging products, commercial and industrial printing systems, and office document solutions including printers and copiers.

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Individuals named Dichali typically exhibit strong communication skills, often displaying natural eloquence and the ability to articulate complex ideas with clarity. They tend to be expressive, sociable, and comfortable in leadership roles where verbal communication is essential. Their talkative nature often makes them effective storytellers, teachers, or advocates who can captivate audiences and build strong social connections.



Dichali's personality often includes a curious mind and quick wit, enabling them to engage in diverse conversations and adapt their communication style to different situations. While their verbal expressiveness is a strength, it may sometimes manifest as a tendency to dominate conversations or struggle with active listening. Overall, they are often perceived as charismatic, persuasive individuals who use their gift of speech to inspire, educate, and connect with others in both personal and professional contexts.
Hannover Ruck SE (OTCMKTS:HVRRY  Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 21,166 shares, an increase of 92.6% from the November 30th total of 10,989 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the companys stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 20,550 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.0 days. Based on an average daily volume of 20,550 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.0 days. Currently, 0.0% of the companys stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on HVRRY shares. UBS Group raised shares of Hannover Ruck from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Zacks Research cut shares of Hannover Ruck from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut Hannover Ruck from a moderate buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hannover Ruck has an average rating of Moderate Buy.

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Hannover Ruck Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of HVRRY traded up $0.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $52.52. 2,591 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,498. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.14 and a quick ratio of 0.14. Hannover Ruck has a 52 week low of $41.49 and a 52 week high of $55.40. The company has a market cap of $38.00 billion, a PE ratio of 13.82 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.32.

Hannover Ruck (OTCMKTS:HVRRY  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The financial services provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.07 by ($0.02). Hannover Ruck had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 9.44%.The business had revenue of $8.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.27 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Hannover Ruck will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hannover Ruck Company Profile

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Hannover Ruck (OTCMKTS: HVRRY), commonly known as Hannover Re, is a global reinsurance group headquartered in Hannover, Germany. The company underwrites treaty and facultative reinsurance across a broad spectrum of risks, including property & casualty and life & health lines. Its product suite encompasses traditional proportional and nonproportional treaty contracts, facultative placements, structured reinsurance, retrocession, and capital marketlinked solutions such as insurancelinked securities, tailored to transfer and manage insurance risk for primary insurers and other reinsurers.

Founded in the 1960s, Hannover Re has developed into one of the major international reinsurers, building a presence across Europe, the Americas, AsiaPacific and other global markets.

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Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Heico (NYSE:HEI  Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on HEI. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an outperform rating and set a $375.00 price objective (up from $350.00) on shares of Heico in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of Heico in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. They set a neutral rating and a $330.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a buy (b-) rating on shares of Heico in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Heico from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, UBS Group restated a neutral rating and issued a $371.00 target price (up previously from $359.00) on shares of Heico in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $357.07.

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Heico Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HEI opened at $334.99 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $46.68 billion, a PE ratio of 68.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 1.04. The firms fifty day moving average is $316.25 and its 200-day moving average is $316.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.83. Heico has a 52 week low of $216.68 and a 52 week high of $340.11.

Heico (NYSE:HEI  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The aerospace company reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Heico had a return on equity of 16.80% and a net margin of 15.39%.Heicos quarterly revenue was up 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.99 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Heico will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Heico Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 5th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a yield of 8.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 5th. Heicos payout ratio is 4.89%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Julie Neitzel purchased 676 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $243.93 per share, with a total value of $164,896.68. Following the purchase, the director owned 676 shares in the company, valued at $164,896.68. This represents a  increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark H. Hildebrandt acquired 676 shares of Heico stock in a transaction on Friday, October 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $243.93 per share, with a total value of $164,896.68. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 49,423 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $12,055,752.39. This trade represents a 1.39% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 4,448 shares of company stock valued at $1,086,933. Corporate insiders own 9.55% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Heico

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HEI. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Heico by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 86 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Heico in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. acquired a new position in Heico during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its stake in Heico by 36.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 131 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Andra AP fonden purchased a new stake in shares of Heico in the second quarter worth approximately $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 27.12% of the companys stock.

About Heico

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HEICO Corporation is an aerospace, defense and electronics company that designs, manufactures, and sells a range of products and provides repair and aftermarket services. Headquartered in Hollywood, Florida, HEICO supplies replacement components, repair services and engineered systems for commercial and business aviation, military and space markets as well as for selected industrial and medical customers. The companys offerings are focused on sustaining and improving the reliability and availability of complex equipment across its end markets.

HEICO operates through two principal business areas.

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Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft (OTCMKTS:HBGRF  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 22,266 shares, a drop of 73.1% from the November 30th total of 82,623 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 0 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently  days. Based on an average trading volume of 0 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently  days.

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft Price Performance

HBGRF remained flat at $2.20 during trading on Friday. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $1.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.86. Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft has a fifty-two week low of $1.01 and a fifty-two week high of $2.20.

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About Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft

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Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft, commonly known as Heidelberg, is a German precision mechanical engineering company headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany. Tracing its roots back to the mid-19th century, the company has grown into a leading global manufacturer of printing presses and related technologies. Its core offerings include sheetfed offset pressesmost notably the Speedmaster seriesdigital printing systems under the Primefire brand, finishing equipment and a comprehensive range of consumables such as inks, blankets and chemicals.

In addition to hardware, Heidelberg provides a suite of software and services designed to streamline print shop operations.

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Shares of Hermes International SA  Unsponsored ADR (OTCMKTS:HESAY  Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of Hold from the five research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company.

Several analysts have commented on the company. DZ Bank raised Hermes International from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays cut shares of Hermes International from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered Hermes International from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd.

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Hermes International Price Performance

Hermes International Company Profile

Shares of Hermes International stock opened at $247.50 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 4.50 and a quick ratio of 3.65. Hermes International has a 1 year low of $228.82 and a 1 year high of $303.00. The companys fifty day moving average is $248.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $253.28.

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Hermes International is a French luxury goods company renowned for its high-end leather goods, scarves, ready-to-wear apparel, watches, jewelry, fragrances and home accessories. Founded in 1837 as a harness and bridle workshop, the firm has evolved into one of the worlds most recognizable luxury maisons, known for artisanal craftsmanship, quality materials and a focus on timeless design. The company is headquartered in Paris and maintains a strong heritage identity that influences its product development and brand positioning.

Key product categories include leather goods and iconic handbags, silk scarves and ties, fashion and accessories, timepieces and fine jewelry, as well as fragrances and selected home collections.

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Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H  Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of Moderate Buy by the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $161.5333.

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays raised Hyatt Hotels from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and increased their price objective for the company from $161.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Hyatt Hotels from $155.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c-) rating on shares of Hyatt Hotels in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Hyatt Hotels from $159.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Hyatt Hotels in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They set an overweight rating and a $178.00 price objective on the stock.

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Insider Activity

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hyatt Hotels

In other news, insider Peter Sears sold 12,394 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.51, for a total transaction of $1,927,390.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,594 shares in the company, valued at $869,922.94. This trade represents a 68.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink . Also, insider David Udell sold 4,300 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.00, for a total value of $713,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 13,746 shares in the company, valued at $2,281,836. This represents a 23.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure . Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,835 shares of company stock valued at $3,737,955. 23.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 450.0% during the 3rd quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 176 shares of the companys stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 98.2% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the companys stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 86.7% in the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 239 shares of the companys stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hyatt Hotels during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in Hyatt Hotels in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.54% of the companys stock.

Hyatt Hotels Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Hyatt Hotels stock opened at $165.73 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. Hyatt Hotels has a twelve month low of $102.43 and a twelve month high of $168.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.74 billion, a PE ratio of -178.20, a P/E/G ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 1.29. The firms 50-day moving average price is $155.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.91.

Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.30) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.79). The firm had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.82 billion. Hyatt Hotels had a positive return on equity of 3.22% and a negative net margin of 1.27%.Hyatt Hotelss quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Hyatt Hotels will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hyatt Hotels Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 24th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Hyatt Hotelss dividend payout ratio is currently -64.52%.

About Hyatt Hotels

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Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE: H) is a global hospitality company that develops, owns, manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts and vacation properties. Its portfolio spans a range of price points and styles under brands such as Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt, Andaz, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Centric, Hyatt Place, Hyatt House, Thompson Hotels, Alila and Destination by Hyatt. In addition to accommodations, the company provides meeting and event spaces, food and beverage outlets, spa and wellness centers, and a variety of guest services designed to cater to both leisure and business travelers.

Hyatts business model combines property ownership, management contracts and third-party franchising.

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NovaPoint Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM  Free Report) by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,892 shares of the technology companys stock after acquiring an additional 2,346 shares during the quarter. International Business Machines makes up approximately 1.6% of NovaPoint Capital LLCs holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. NovaPoint Capital LLCs holdings in International Business Machines were worth $6,741,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of IBM. Family CFO Inc acquired a new position in International Business Machines during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new stake in International Business Machines in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Silicon Valley Capital Partners lifted its stake in International Business Machines by 322.6% in the first quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 131 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 85.0% during the second quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 111 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Copia Wealth Management grew its position in shares of International Business Machines by 57.6% during the second quarter. Copia Wealth Management now owns 134 shares of the technology companys stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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International Business Machines Trading Up 0.2%

International Business Machines stock opened at $305.22 on Friday. International Business Machines Corporation has a 12-month low of $214.50 and a 12-month high of $324.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $285.30 billion, a PE ratio of 36.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $303.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $280.86.

International Business Machines Announces Dividend

International Business Machines ( NYSE:IBM Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The technology company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.20. International Business Machines had a return on equity of 37.76% and a net margin of 12.09%.The firm had revenue of $16.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.30 earnings per share. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a dividend of $1.68 per share. This represents a $6.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. International Business Machiness payout ratio is presently 80.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a market perform rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of International Business Machines from $295.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on International Business Machines from $310.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on International Business Machines from $256.00 to $252.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on International Business Machines from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, International Business Machines presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $293.38.

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About International Business Machines

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International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is a global technology and consulting company headquartered in Armonk, New York. Founded in 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) and renamed IBM in 1924, the company has evolved from early electromechanical machines to a diversified technology provider serving enterprises and governments worldwide. IBM is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol IBM.

IBMs principal businesses encompass cloud computing and software, infrastructure and systems, consulting and technology services, and research and development.

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IRSA Inversiones Y Representaciones S.A. (NYSE:IRS  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 459,062 shares, a decrease of 37.5% from the November 30th total of 734,627 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 144,233 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 144,233 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IRSA Inversiones Y Representaciones

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in IRSA Inversiones Y Representaciones by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 53,817 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $694,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new position in shares of IRSA Inversiones Y Representaciones during the third quarter worth $25,000. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of IRSA Inversiones Y Representaciones by 23.2% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 16,721 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 3,148 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its holdings in IRSA Inversiones Y Representaciones by 42.7% in the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 21,341 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 6,390 shares during the period. Finally, Systrade AG raised its position in IRSA Inversiones Y Representaciones by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Systrade AG now owns 110,000 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,532,000 after purchasing an additional 6,399 shares during the last quarter. 45.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IRS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of IRSA Inversiones Y Representaciones from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Saturday, December 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c) rating on shares of IRSA Inversiones Y Representaciones in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold.

IRSA Inversiones Y Representaciones Price Performance

Shares of IRS stock traded up $0.42 on Friday, hitting $16.09. 96,628 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 139,757. The company has a 50 day moving average of $14.99 and a 200 day moving average of $14.27. The stock has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 2.52. IRSA Inversiones Y Representaciones has a 12 month low of $10.61 and a 12 month high of $17.21.

IRSA Inversiones Y Representaciones (NYSE:IRS  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $93.69 million for the quarter. IRSA Inversiones Y Representaciones had a return on equity of 27.35% and a net margin of 86.65%.

IRSA Inversiones Y Representaciones Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 24th were paid a $1.4151 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 24th. This represents a dividend yield of 998.0%. IRSA Inversiones Y Representacioness dividend payout ratio is currently 28.17%.

About IRSA Inversiones Y Representaciones

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IRSA Inversiones y Representaciones SA (NYSE: IRS) is Argentinas leading real estate company, specializing in the development, acquisition and management of commercial, office, residential and hospitality properties. The companys core operations encompass the planning and operation of shopping centers, premium office towers in Buenos Aires, urban residential complexes and full-service hotels. IRSA leverages its extensive land bank and development expertise to create mixed-use destinations that cater to evolving urban lifestyles.

IRSAs shopping center division features a portfolio of flagship malls in Argentina, complemented by its Mall Plaza platform, which develops and operates retail destinations in Chile, Peru and Colombia.

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iShares MSCI Pacific ex Japan ETF (NYSEARCA:EPP  Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 506,804 shares, an increase of 150.0% from the November 30th total of 202,693 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the companys shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 297,506 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days. Based on an average daily volume of 297,506 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days. Currently, 1.5% of the companys shares are short sold.

Institutional Trading of iShares MSCI Pacific ex Japan ETF

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in iShares MSCI Pacific ex Japan ETF by 94.6% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 613 shares of the companys stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Pacific ex Japan ETF by 130.7% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,336 shares of the companys stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 757 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI Pacific ex Japan ETF during the third quarter worth $245,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its stake in iShares MSCI Pacific ex Japan ETF by 6.2% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 6,167 shares of the companys stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in iShares MSCI Pacific ex Japan ETF in the third quarter valued at $479,000. 74.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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iShares MSCI Pacific ex Japan ETF Trading Up 0.4%

NYSEARCA:EPP traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $51.45. 1,085,369 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 352,187. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.02 and a beta of 0.85. iShares MSCI Pacific ex Japan ETF has a one year low of $38.44 and a one year high of $52.72. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.70.

About iShares MSCI Pacific ex Japan ETF

iShares MSCI Pacific ex Japan ET (the Fund), formerly iShares MSCI Pacific ex-Japan Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of publicly traded securities in the aggregate in the Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Singapore markets, as measured by the MSCI Pacific ex-Japan Index (the Index). The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities that collectively has an investment profile similar to the underlying index.

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J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM  Free Report) by 10.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 59,803 shares of the CRM providers stock after selling 6,658 shares during the quarter. Salesforce accounts for about 1.2% of J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc.s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. J. L. Bainbridge & Co. Inc.s holdings in Salesforce were worth $14,173,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Painted Porch Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Salesforce by 260.0% during the 2nd quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 90 shares of the CRM providers stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Salesforce during the second quarter valued at $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 314.8% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 112 shares of the CRM providers stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its stake in Salesforce by 383.3% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 116 shares of the CRM providers stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maseco LLP bought a new position in Salesforce in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity at Salesforce

In other news, CEO Marc Benioff sold 2,250 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.56, for a total value of $575,010.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,911,571 shares in the company, valued at $3,044,121,084.76. This trade represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director G Mason Morfit acquired 96,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $260.58 per share, for a total transaction of $25,015,680.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 2,994,509 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $780,309,155.22. This trade represents a 3.31% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 166,284 shares of company stock worth $39,439,229 over the last quarter. 3.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Salesforce from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $316.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a buy rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Salesforce from $360.00 to $340.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Salesforce from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-nine have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $326.68.

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Salesforce Price Performance

Shares of Salesforce stock opened at $266.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Salesforce Inc. has a one year low of $221.96 and a one year high of $367.09. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $249.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $251.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $249.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.25.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $3.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.39. Salesforce had a return on equity of 14.41% and a net margin of 17.91%.The firm had revenue of $10.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.41 earnings per share. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Salesforce has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.020-3.040 EPS. Analysts forecast that Salesforce Inc. will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.416 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 18th. This represents a $1.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Salesforces payout ratio is 22.16%.

About Salesforce

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Salesforce, founded in 1999 and headquartered in San Francisco, is a global provider of cloud-based software focused on customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise applications. The company popularized the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model for CRM and has built a broad portfolio of products designed to help organizations manage sales, service, marketing, commerce and analytics through a unified, cloud-first platform.

Core offerings include Sales Cloud for sales automation, Service Cloud for customer support, Marketing Cloud for digital marketing and engagement, and Commerce Cloud for e-commerce.

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Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA  Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of Buy from the twenty-nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-one have issued a buy recommendation and five have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $657.48.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Compass Point set a $620.00 price target on shares of Mastercard and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mastercard from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Sunday, December 14th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Mastercard from $685.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Mastercard from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Mastercard from $669.00 to $660.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st.

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View Our Latest Analysis on Mastercard

Mastercard Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of Mastercard stock opened at $579.61 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $520.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $555.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $565.67. Mastercard 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 2.40, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 45.28% and a return on equity of 202.03%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.89 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Mastercard will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be given a $0.87 dividend. This is a positive change from Mastercards previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. Mastercards payout ratio is 22.25%.

Institutional Trading of Mastercard

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in Mastercard in the 3rd quarter worth $88,000. AIA Group Ltd grew its position in shares of Mastercard by 48.0% in the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 43,495 shares of the credit services providers stock valued at $24,740,000 after purchasing an additional 14,108 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Mastercard by 4.7% in the third quarter. Peterson Wealth Management now owns 8,810 shares of the credit services providers stock worth $5,011,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the period. Saranac Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 3rd quarter worth about $8,160,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Mastercard by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 17,153 shares of the credit services providers stock valued at $9,759,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051 shares during the period. 97.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Mastercard

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Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.

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Individuals named Fia are often perceived as having a calm, centered presence that brings peace to chaotic situations. They typically possess an intuitive understanding of others' emotions and can navigate complex social dynamics with grace. Their 'dark peace' quality suggests depth and mystery - they're not superficial personalities but rather individuals with rich inner lives and strong convictions. Fias tend to be independent thinkers who value authenticity over conformity, often serving as quiet leaders who influence through wisdom rather than force.



These individuals combine emotional intelligence with practical problem-solving skills, making them excellent mediators and trusted advisors. While they may appear reserved initially, those who know them well appreciate their loyalty, wit, and the surprising strength that underlies their peaceful demeanor. Fias often display remarkable resilience, able to weather storms that would overwhelm others while maintaining their core serenity. They're typically creative, with an appreciation for art, nature, and meaningful connections. Their combination of depth and peacefulness makes them particularly effective in helping roles, whether as counselors, artists, or community leaders.
Matthews International Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in HDFC Bank Limited (NYSE:HDB  Free Report) by 82.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 217,266 shares of the banks stock after purchasing an additional 98,430 shares during the period. HDFC Bank makes up 1.7% of Matthews International Capital Management LLCs holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Matthews International Capital Management LLCs holdings in HDFC Bank were worth $7,422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HDB. New Vernon Capital Holdings II LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HDFC Bank during the 1st quarter worth about $1,546,956,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in HDFC Bank by 3,715.5% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,199,717 shares of the banks stock worth $279,029,000 after buying an additional 4,089,647 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in HDFC Bank by 53.5% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 11,214,711 shares of the banks stock worth $745,107,000 after buying an additional 3,907,637 shares during the period. CCLA Investment Management increased its position in shares of HDFC Bank by 104.2% during the third quarter. CCLA Investment Management now owns 4,352,450 shares of the banks stock valued at $148,952,000 after acquiring an additional 2,221,419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G PLC raised its stake in shares of HDFC Bank by 184.2% in the 2nd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 3,407,929 shares of the banks stock valued at $262,411,000 after acquiring an additional 2,208,824 shares during the period. 17.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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HDFC Bank Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:HDB opened at $36.45 on Friday. HDFC Bank Limited has a 12-month low of $28.89 and a 12-month high of $39.81. The firm has a market cap of $185.92 billion, a PE ratio of 22.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $36.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.55.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HDFC Bank ( NYSE:HDB Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $8.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.98 billion. HDFC Bank had a return on equity of 11.49% and a net margin of 14.94%. Equities analysts forecast that HDFC Bank Limited will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a hold (c-) rating on shares of HDFC Bank in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut HDFC Bank from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Finally, Zacks Research raised HDFC Bank from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, HDFC Bank has an average rating of Moderate Buy.

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HDFC Bank Company Profile

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HDFC Bank Limited is one of Indias leading private sector banks, headquartered in Mumbai. Incorporated in 1994 and promoted by Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), the bank provides a full range of banking and financial services to retail, small and medium-sized enterprises, and corporate customers. It is publicly listed and also accessible to international investors through American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol HDB.

The banks core activities include retail banking (deposit accounts, personal loans, home loans, auto loans, and credit cards), commercial and corporate banking (working capital finance, term lending, trade finance and treasury services), and transaction banking (cash management and payment solutions).

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Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG (OTCMKTS:MNHFF  Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 361 shares, a growth of 139.1% from the November 30th total of 151 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 0 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently  days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 0 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently  days.

Mayr-Melnhof Karton Stock Performance

Shares of Mayr-Melnhof Karton stock remained flat at $95.00 during trading on Friday. Mayr-Melnhof Karton has a 12-month low of $72.00 and a 12-month high of $111.28. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $92.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.08.

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Mayr-Melnhof Karton Company Profile

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Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG is an Austria-based producer of cartonboard and folding carton solutions. As part of the Mayr-Melnhof Group, the company focuses on manufacturing high-quality, coated recycled cartonboard for packaging applications. Its offerings include a wide range of white-lined recycled board grades, coated kraft board, and specialized barrier boards, serving customers across the food, beverage, consumer goods and industrial markets.

Founded in 1930 and headquartered in Vienna, Mayr-Melnhof Karton operates several production facilities throughout Europe, with additional sales and distribution offices in key markets.

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Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW  Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on MPW. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a sell (d-) rating on shares of Medical Properties Trust in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Reduce and an average target price of $6.17.

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Read Our Latest Analysis on Medical Properties Trust

Medical Properties Trust Stock Up 0.7%

MPW stock opened at $5.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.31 and a beta of 1.44. Medical Properties Trust has a fifty-two week low of $3.51 and a fifty-two week high of $6.34. The business has a 50-day moving average of $5.19 and a 200-day moving average of $4.77.

Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.16 by ($0.03). Medical Properties Trust had a negative net margin of 75.76% and a negative return on equity of 14.82%. The firm had revenue of $237.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $244.89 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.16 EPS. The companys revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Medical Properties Trust will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medical Properties Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 11th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.1%. This is a boost from Medical Properties Trusts previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Medical Properties Trusts dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -30.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Medical Properties Trust

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Medical Properties Trust during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 346.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 7,274 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 5,645 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Medical Properties Trust during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in Medical Properties Trust in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Medical Properties Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors own 71.79% of the companys stock.

Medical Properties Trust Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Medical Properties Trust, Inc is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on acquiring, financing, and owning net-leased hospital facilities. Through sale-leaseback transactions, direct acquisitions and recapitalizations, the company provides capital to healthcare operators while maintaining long-term, triple-net lease agreements. Its portfolio encompasses general acute care hospitals, rehabilitation facilities and other healthcare-related real estate assets and is structured to deliver stable, long-duration rental income streams.

Founded in 2003 and based in Birmingham, Alabama, Medical Properties Trust completed its initial public offering in 2004.

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Raiffeisen Bank International AG (OTCMKTS:RAIFF  Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 59,820 shares, an increase of 92.7% from the November 30th total of 31,051 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 0 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently  days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 0 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently  days.

Raiffeisen Bank International Price Performance

Raiffeisen Bank International stock remained flat at $42.94 during trading hours on Friday. The companys fifty day simple moving average is $36.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.71. Raiffeisen Bank International has a 12-month low of $27.79 and a 12-month high of $42.94.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Citigroup lowered shares of Raiffeisen Bank International to a neutral rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Raiffeisen Bank International presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.

About Raiffeisen Bank International

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Raiffeisen Bank International (OTCMKTS:RAIFF) is an Austrian banking group headquartered in Vienna, serving as the central and eastern European platform of the Raiffeisen Banking Group. The bank offers a comprehensive suite of financial services to retail, corporate and institutional clients, leveraging its strong regional presence to facilitate trade, investment and day-to-day banking needs.

In its corporate and investment banking division, Raiffeisen Bank International provides lending, trade finance, project financing, cash management and capital markets services.

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Sapient Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE  Free Report) by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,538 shares of the industrial products companys stock after purchasing an additional 2,580 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLCs holdings in Deere & Company were worth $12,863,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the second quarter valued at about $1,578,243,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 573.9% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 842,882 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $428,597,000 after acquiring an additional 717,808 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 132.0% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 721,638 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $366,946,000 after acquiring an additional 410,636 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in Deere & Company by 97.1% during the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 733,871 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $344,442,000 after acquiring an additional 361,526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Deere & Company by 50,691.9% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 332,179 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $168,910,000 after purchasing an additional 331,525 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In related news, CEO John C. May II sold 11,106 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.08, for a total transaction of $5,553,888.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 112,453 shares in the company, valued at $56,235,496.24. The trade was a 8.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a market perform rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of Deere & Company from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $525.00 to $515.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $488.00 to $467.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an overweight rating and set a $560.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $522.70.

View Our Latest Report on DE

Deere & Company Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:DE opened at $468.84 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $473.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $484.92. The stock has a market cap of $126.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Deere & Company has a 12 month low of $403.01 and a 12 month high of $533.78.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 26th. The industrial products company reported $3.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $3.96 by ($0.03). Deere & Company had a return on equity of 20.54% and a net margin of 11.00%.The company had revenue of $12.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.55 earnings per share. Deere & Companys quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. Deere & Companys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.01%.

Deere & Company Profile

(Free Report)

Deere & Company, commonly known by its brand John Deere, is a global manufacturer of agricultural, construction and forestry machinery, as well as turf care equipment and power systems. Founded in 1837 by blacksmith John Deerewho developed a polished steel plow to improve tillage in tough prairie soilsthe company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois, and has grown into one of the largest and most recognizable names in equipment manufacturing worldwide.

The companys principal businesses include a broad portfolio of agricultural equipment such as tractors, combines, planters, sprayers, harvesters and tillage implements, complemented by precision agriculture technologies and telematics that support farm management, yield optimization and equipment connectivity.

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Sapient Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Barrick Mining Corporation (NYSE:B  Free Report) (TSE:ABX) by 795.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 114,198 shares of the gold and copper producers stock after buying an additional 101,440 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLCs holdings in Barrick Mining were worth $3,785,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Barrick Mining during the 2nd quarter worth $352,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Barrick Mining in the second quarter valued at about $464,000. Fractal Investments LLC bought a new stake in Barrick Mining during the second quarter worth about $341,000. Hedges Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Barrick Mining during the second quarter worth about $1,249,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC bought a new position in Barrick Mining in the 2nd quarter valued at about $76,000. Institutional investors own 90.82% of the companys stock.

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Barrick Mining Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:B opened at $46.16 on Friday. Barrick Mining Corporation has a 52-week low of $15.31 and a 52-week high of $46.45. The company has a market capitalization of $77.72 billion, a PE ratio of 22.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a current ratio of 2.94. The company has a fifty day moving average of $38.34 and a 200-day moving average of $30.21.

Barrick Mining Increases Dividend

Barrick Mining ( NYSE:B Get Free Report ) (TSE:ABX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The gold and copper producer reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.01. Barrick Mining had a return on equity of 9.48% and a net margin of 24.53%.The business had revenue of $4.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.09 EPS. Barrick Minings quarterly revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Barrick Mining Corporation will post 1.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were paid a $0.175 dividend. This is an increase from Barrick Minings previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. Barrick Minings payout ratio is currently 33.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

B has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Barrick Mining from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Barrick Mining from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Scotiabank raised Barrick Mining from a sector perform rating to a sector outperform rating and raised their target price for the company from $27.50 to $43.00 in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on Barrick Mining from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a buy (b) rating on shares of Barrick Mining in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Barrick Mining has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $47.17.

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Barrick Mining Profile

(Free Report)

Barrick Gold Corporation, commonly known as Barrick, is a Torontoheadquartered mining company focused on the exploration, development, production and sale of gold and copper. Listed on major exchanges (including the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol B), Barrick operates as an integrated minerals producer, running largescale mining complexes, processing facilities and related support services for extraction and metallurgical treatment of ore.

The companys activities span the full mining value chain: greenfield exploration, feasibility and permitting, mine construction, ongoing operations, and closure and reclamation.

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Shaker Investments LLC OH purchased a new stake in Crane (NYSE:CR  Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,574 shares of the conglomerates stock, valued at approximately $842,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CR. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Crane during the 2nd quarter valued at about $190,533,000. Bain Capital Public Equity Management II LLC lifted its holdings in Crane by 117.3% in the first quarter. Bain Capital Public Equity Management II LLC now owns 937,237 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $143,566,000 after buying an additional 505,983 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Crane by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 864,230 shares of the conglomerates stock valued at $164,135,000 after acquiring an additional 4,744 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Crane by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. now owns 736,943 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $139,938,000 after acquiring an additional 8,151 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Crane by 23.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 440,817 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $67,524,000 after acquiring an additional 84,278 shares during the period. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on CR. CJS Securities upgraded Crane to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. DA Davidson set a $235.00 price objective on Crane in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Wolfe Research set a $215.00 target price on shares of Crane and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Crane from $202.00 to $200.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a buy (b-) rating on shares of Crane in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Crane currently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $221.83.

Crane Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CR opened at $187.75 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $186.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $186.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market capitalization of $10.81 billion, a PE ratio of 24.87, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.24. Crane has a 1-year low of $127.04 and a 1-year high of $203.89.

Crane (NYSE:CR  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The conglomerate reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $589.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $578.54 million. Crane had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 24.45%. Cranes revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. Crane has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.750-5.950 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Crane will post 7.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Crane Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. Cranes payout ratio is presently 14.74%.

About Crane

(Free Report)

Crane Co, headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, is a diversified manufacturer of engineered industrial products serving customers around the world. The company operates through two primary segments: Aerospace & Electronics and Engineered Materials. Its Aerospace & Electronics division designs and produces valves, fittings, manifolds, and filtration systems for aircraft fuel, hydraulics, and environmental control systems. The Engineered Materials segment focuses on advanced polymers, heat exchangers, and specialized composite solutions for industries including chemical processing, semiconductor manufacturing, and power generation.

With roots dating back to its founding in 1855 in Chicago by R.T.

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Shaker Investments LLC OH lowered its position in Paycom Software, Inc. (NYSE:PAYC  Free Report) by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,619 shares of the software makers stock after selling 3,679 shares during the quarter. Shaker Investments LLC OHs holdings in Paycom Software were worth $2,210,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new position in Paycom Software during the second quarter worth about $29,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new position in Paycom Software in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Paycom Software by 540.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 205 shares of the software makers stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Paycom Software by 651.9% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 203 shares of the software makers stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of Paycom Software during the second quarter worth $55,000. 87.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Paycom Software

In related news, CFO Robert D. Foster sold 1,300 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.66, for a total value of $211,458.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,398,747.02. The trade was a 8.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 10.90% of the companys stock.

Paycom Software Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of PAYC opened at $160.49 on Friday. Paycom Software, Inc. has a 12-month low of $156.50 and a 12-month high of $267.76. The company has a market cap of $9.03 billion, a PE ratio of 19.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $171.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $205.35.

Paycom Software (NYSE:PAYC  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The software maker reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.96 by ($0.02). Paycom Software had a return on equity of 24.79% and a net margin of 22.65%.The company had revenue of $493.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $492.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Paycom Software, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Paycom Software Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 24th were issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 24th. Paycom Softwares payout ratio is currently 18.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Paycom Software from $235.00 to $220.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Paycom Software in a research note on Friday, September 26th. They issued a buy rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research upgraded Paycom Software from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Paycom Software from $220.00 to $180.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Paycom Software from $191.00 to $185.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $221.00.

Read Our Latest Analysis on PAYC

Paycom Software Profile

(Free Report)

Paycom Software, Inc (NYSE: PAYC) is a cloud-based human capital management (HCM) software provider that delivers an end-to-end solution for human resources, payroll, talent acquisition, time and labor management, and talent management. Its single-database platform enables organizations to process payroll, track time, administer benefits, and manage recruiting and employee development through a unified system. Paycoms software is designed to streamline administrative tasks, improve data accuracy, and provide real-time reporting and analytics to support strategic HR decisions.

The companys core offerings include payroll processing with built-in tax compliance, employee self-service functionality, automated time tracking, and customizable talent acquisition tools that allow employers to create and post job requisitions, screen candidates, and conduct onboarding electronically.

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Anhui Conch Cement Co. (OTCMKTS:AHCHY  Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,223 shares, a decrease of 44.9% from the November 30th total of 4,031 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the companys stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 20,301 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.1 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 20,301 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.1 days. Currently, 0.0% of the companys stock are short sold.

Anhui Conch Cement Stock Performance

Shares of Anhui Conch Cement stock opened at $14.81 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.93, a current ratio of 3.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firms 50 day moving average price is $14.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.77. Anhui Conch Cement has a 52-week low of $11.82 and a 52-week high of $17.11.

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Anhui Conch Cement (OTCMKTS:AHCHY  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter. Anhui Conch Cement had a return on equity of 4.68% and a net margin of 11.15%.The company had revenue of $2.80 billion during the quarter.

Anhui Conch Cement Company Profile

Anhui Conch Cement Company Limited (OTCMKTS: AHCHY) is one of Chinas leading cement manufacturers, specializing in the production and sale of cement, clinker and related building materials. Headquartered in Wuhu, Anhui Province, the company operates an integrated network of production facilities that serve residential, commercial and infrastructure markets across multiple regions in China. Its product portfolio covers a broad range of cement types, including ordinary portland cement, blended cement and special-purpose cements for roads and highperformance construction projects.

Established in 1997 as part of the Anhui Conch Groups expansion into building materials, Anhui Conch Cement was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2003.

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Invesco Food & Beverage ETF (NYSEARCA:PBJ  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 6,562 shares, a decline of 39.1% from the November 30th total of 10,778 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the companys stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 16,503 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.4 days. Based on an average daily volume of 16,503 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.4 days. Currently, 0.3% of the companys stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in Invesco Food & Beverage ETF during the 1st quarter worth approximately $51,000. Howe & Rusling Inc. grew its stake in shares of Invesco Food & Beverage ETF by 2.7% in the first quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 46,932 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,251 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in Invesco Food & Beverage ETF during the third quarter worth about $80,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Invesco Food & Beverage ETF by 231.6% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,789 shares of the companys stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 1,948 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Invesco Food & Beverage ETF by 21.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,163 shares of the companys stock valued at $835,000 after purchasing an additional 3,207 shares during the period.

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Invesco Food & Beverage ETF Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSEARCA PBJ traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $45.16. The company had a trading volume of 10,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,170. Invesco Food & Beverage ETF has a 1-year low of $42.57 and a 1-year high of $49.33. The firms 50 day moving average is $44.65 and its 200-day moving average is $46.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.61 million, a P/E ratio of 19.85 and a beta of 0.56.

Invesco Food & Beverage ETF Company Profile

PowerShares Dynamic Food & Beverage Portfolio (the Fund) is based on the Dynamic Food & Beverage Intellidex Index (Index). The Fund seeks investment results that generally correspond to the price and yield of the Index. The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its total assets in common stocks that consists of the Index. The Index is designed to provide capital appreciation by evaluating companies based on a variety of investment merit criteria, including fundamental growth, stock valuation, investment timeliness and risk factors.

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Women named Firenze are often perceived as having a gentle yet resilient nature, much like flowers that bend with the wind but maintain their beauty. They typically exhibit a creative and artistic temperament, with a deep appreciation for aesthetics and natural beauty in all forms. Their personality is frequently described as nurturing and compassionate, with an innate ability to bring comfort and joy to those around them, similar to how flowers brighten their surroundings.



Firenze individuals often possess strong intuitive abilities and emotional intelligence, allowing them to connect deeply with others. They tend to be adaptable and graceful under pressure, demonstrating the same resilience that flowers show in changing seasons. While they may appear delicate, they usually have an inner strength and determination that enables them to flourish in various circumstances. Their presence is often calming and uplifting, making them natural peacemakers and sources of inspiration in their communities.
John Hancock Income Securities Trust (NYSE:JHS  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 4,154 shares, a decrease of 61.4% from the November 30th total of 10,764 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 31,218 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.1 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 31,218 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.1 days. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

John Hancock Income Securities Trust Stock Performance

JHS stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $11.54. The company had a trading volume of 52,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 33,023. John Hancock Income Securities Trust has a one year low of $10.62 and a one year high of $12.09. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $11.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.52.

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John Hancock Income Securities Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 11th will be given a $0.1831 dividend. This is a positive change from John Hancock Income Securities Trusts previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 11th. This represents a $0.73 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On John Hancock Income Securities Trust

John Hancock Income Securities Trust Company Profile

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Riverbridge Partners LLC grew its holdings in John Hancock Income Securities Trust by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC now owns 96,001 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,083,000 after buying an additional 2,954 shares in the last quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in John Hancock Income Securities Trust during the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of John Hancock Income Securities Trust by 5,395.0% in the second quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 5,495 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 5,395 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp increased its holdings in shares of John Hancock Income Securities Trust by 16.1% during the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 78,037 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $911,000 after purchasing an additional 10,836 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of John Hancock Income Securities Trust by 23.9% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 60,103 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 11,587 shares during the period.

(Get Free Report)

John Hancock Income Securities Trust (NYSE: JHS) is a diversified, closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide shareholders with high current income while preserving capital. Trading on the New York Stock Exchange since its launch in the late 1970s, the trust offers investors access to a broad portfolio of fixed-income securities under a professional management structure.

The funds primary investment activities include purchasing U.S. government and agency obligations, investment-grade corporate debt, mortgage- and asset-backed securities, preferred stocks, and selected foreign debt instruments.

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Macro Bank Inc. (NYSE:BMA  Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 459,375 shares, a decline of 37.3% from the November 30th total of 732,390 shares. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 320,907 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 320,907 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Macro Bank Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Macro Bank stock traded up $0.56 during trading on Friday, hitting $91.57. 136,801 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 280,976. The stock has a market cap of $5.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.46. The firms 50-day moving average price is $82.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Macro Bank has a 12-month low of $38.30 and a 12-month high of $118.42.

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Macro Bank (NYSE:BMA  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 26th. The bank reported ($0.39) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($1.06). The firm had revenue of $668.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $590.57 million. Macro Bank had a return on equity of 8.15% and a net margin of 6.11%. As a group, analysts forecast that Macro Bank will post 7.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Macro Bank Increases Dividend

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Macro Bank

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th were paid a $0.3585 dividend. This is a boost from Macro Banks previous monthly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Macro Banks dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 194.57%.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BMA. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Macro Bank during the 1st quarter worth about $422,000. Vident Advisory LLC grew its stake in Macro Bank by 81.4% during the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 4,835 shares of the banks stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 2,169 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Macro Bank by 87.9% in the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 107,053 shares of the banks stock worth $8,084,000 after acquiring an additional 50,067 shares in the last quarter. Amundi purchased a new position in shares of Macro Bank in the 1st quarter valued at $1,576,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Macro Bank by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 572,464 shares of the banks stock valued at $43,227,000 after acquiring an additional 33,390 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Macro Bank from $79.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Macro Bank to a strong-buy rating in a report on Monday, November 10th. Itau BBA Securities upgraded shares of Macro Bank from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Macro Bank from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Macro Bank in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. They issued a buy rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Macro Bank presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $103.75.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on BMA

Macro Bank Company Profile

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Macro Bank (NYSE: BMA) is the American depositary receipt program of Banco Macro SA, one of the largest privately owned banks in Argentina. Headquartered in Buenos Aires, the institution delivers a comprehensive suite of banking solutions to retail, corporate and agricultural customers across the country. Through its extensive branch network and digital platforms, Macro Bank aims to serve diverse client segments with tailored financial products and services.

The banks offerings span traditional deposit accountsincluding checking, savings and term depositsalongside payment and transaction services.

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Thompson Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C  Free Report) by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 146,436 shares of the companys stock after selling 7,653 shares during the period. Citigroup comprises about 2.0% of Thompson Investment Management Inc.s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Thompson Investment Management Inc.s holdings in Citigroup were worth $14,863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Citigroup by 131.6% in the 1st quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 433 shares of the companys stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in Citigroup in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. grew its position in Citigroup by 157.1% in the second quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 414 shares of the companys stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Citigroup during the first quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Citigroup during the second quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.72% of the companys stock.

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Citigroup News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Citigroup this week:

Positive Sentiment: Regulatory relief, progress on the Banamex stake sale and growing turnaround optimism are boosting Citis valuation narrative  investors view these developments as freeing capital and reducing legacy overhang, supporting a re-rate. Citigroup (C): Valuation Check After Regulatory Relief, Banamex Stake Sale Progress and Turnaround Optimism

Regulatory relief, progress on the Banamex stake sale and growing turnaround optimism are boosting Citis valuation narrative  investors view these developments as freeing capital and reducing legacy overhang, supporting a re-rate. Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage notes Citi can benefit from an eventual Fed easing cycle  lower funding costs and stronger loan demand would help net interest margins and fee income across big banks, giving Citi upside if macro shifts as expected. The Zacks Analyst Blog Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Citigroup

Analyst coverage notes Citi can benefit from an eventual Fed easing cycle  lower funding costs and stronger loan demand would help net interest margins and fee income across big banks, giving Citi upside if macro shifts as expected. Positive Sentiment: Recent sessions showed Citi outperforming peers on bouts of buying interest, indicating pockets of accumulation from traders expecting the turnaround story to play out. Citigroup Inc. stock outperforms competitors on strong trading day

Recent sessions showed Citi outperforming peers on bouts of buying interest, indicating pockets of accumulation from traders expecting the turnaround story to play out. Neutral Sentiment: Market-support readings and technicals are mixed  some analyses flag that Citis momentum indicators and short-interest/market-structure signals leave room for consolidation instead of a clean breakout. Is Citigroup Inc Gaining or Losing Market Support?

Market-support readings and technicals are mixed  some analyses flag that Citis momentum indicators and short-interest/market-structure signals leave room for consolidation instead of a clean breakout. Negative Sentiment: Execution risk and headline sensitivity remain  delays or a smaller-than-expected Banamex sale, plus below-average trading volume and profit-taking after a strong run, can pressure the stock even with positive fundamentals. (Related coverage on the Banamex/regulatory story above.)

Citigroup Stock Performance

Shares of Citigroup stock opened at $120.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.18. Citigroup Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.51 and a fifty-two week high of $122.84. The firm has a market cap of $215.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.21.

Citigroup (NYSE:C  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 14th. The company reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $22.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.92 billion. Citigroup had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 8.73%.The businesss quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.51 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Citigroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Monday, November 3rd were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 3rd. Citigroups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on C shares. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Citigroup from $112.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Citigroup from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a buy rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. UBS Group restated a neutral rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of Citigroup in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Citigroup from $123.00 to $120.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $114.50.

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Citigroup Company Profile

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Citigroup Inc is a global financial services company headquartered in New York City with roots tracing back to the City Bank of New York, founded in 1812. The modern Citigroup was created through the 1998 merger of Citicorp and Travelers Group and has since operated as a diversified bank holding company that provides a broad range of banking and financial products and services to consumers, corporations, governments and institutions worldwide.

Citis principal businesses include retail and commercial banking, credit card and consumer lending products, wealth management and private banking, and a full suite of institutional services.

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IREN, Freeport-McMoRan, Caterpillar, Hecla Mining, Newmont, First Majestic Silver, and Pan American Silver are the seven Mining stocks to watch today, according to MarketBeats stock screener tool. Mining stocks are shares of publicly traded companies involved in exploring for, developing, and producing mined commodities such as gold, copper, coal, lithium, and other metals and minerals. For investors, they offer leveraged exposure to commodity prices and potential high returns but also carry significant risks from volatile commodity markets, operational problems, environmental regulations, and geopolitical factors. These companies had the highest dollar trading volume of any Mining stocks within the last several days.

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IREN (IREN)

IREN Limited, formerly known as Iris Energy Limited, owns and operates bitcoin mining data centers. The company was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Sydney, Australia.

Freeport-McMoRan (FCX)

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. engages in the mining of mineral properties in North America, South America, and Indonesia. It primarily explores for copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and other metals. The company's assets include the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia; Morenci, Bagdad, Safford, Sierrita, and Miami in Arizona; Chino and Tyrone in New Mexico; and Henderson and Climax in Colorado, North America, as well as Cerro Verde in Peru and El Abra in Chile.

Read Our Latest Research Report on FCX

Caterpillar (CAT)

Caterpillar Inc. manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in worldwide. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, road reclaimers, forestry machines, cold planers, material handlers, track-type tractors, excavators, telehandlers, motor graders, and pipelayers; compact track, wheel, track-type, backhoe, and skid steer loaders; and related parts and tools.

Read Our Latest Research Report on CAT

Hecla Mining (HL)

Hecla Mining Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides precious and base metal properties in the United States, Canada, Japan, Korea, and China. The company mines for silver, gold, lead, and zinc concentrates, as well as carbon material containing silver and gold for custom smelters, metal traders, and third-party processors; and dore containing silver and gold.

Read Our Latest Research Report on HL

Newmont (NEM)

Newmont Corporation engages in the production and exploration of gold. It also explores for copper, silver, zinc, and lead. The company has operations and/or assets in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Peru, Suriname, Argentina, Chile, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Ecuador, Fiji, and Ghana.

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First Majestic Silver (AG)

First Majestic Silver Corp. engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of mineral properties with a focus on silver and gold production in North America. Its projects include the San Dimas mine covering an area of approximately 71,867 hectares located in Durango State, Mexico; the Santa Elena that covers an area of approximately 102,244 hectares located in Sonora State, Mexico; and the La Encantada covering an area of approximately 4,076 hectares located in Coahuila State, Mexico.

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Pan American Silver (PAAS)

Pan American Silver Corp. engages in the exploration, mine development, extraction, processing, refining, and reclamation of silver, gold, zinc, lead, and copper mines in Canada, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, and Brazil. The company was formerly known as Pan American Minerals Corp. and changed its name to Pan American Silver Corp.

Read Our Latest Research Report on PAAS

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Shares of The Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD  Get Free Report) (NYSE:TD) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$108.86 and traded as high as C$129.71. Toronto-Dominion Bank shares last traded at C$129.16, with a volume of 1,117,183 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on TD shares. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank from C$122.00 to C$126.00 in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank from C$114.00 to C$125.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank from C$125.00 to C$130.00 in a research report on Friday, December 5th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank from C$122.00 to C$126.00 in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Toronto-Dominion Bank from C$128.00 to C$135.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Toronto-Dominion Bank has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of C$128.17.

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Toronto-Dominion Bank Trading Up 0.2%

The firms fifty day moving average price is C$118.72 and its 200-day moving average price is C$108.95. The firm has a market cap of C$226.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.17, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.98.

Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD  Get Free Report) (NYSE:TD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The company reported C$2.18 earnings per share for the quarter. Toronto-Dominion Bank had a net margin of 15.80% and a return on equity of 7.84%. The firm had revenue of C$16.03 billion during the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Toronto-Dominion Bank will post 7.2160149 earnings per share for the current year.

Toronto-Dominion Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a $1.05 dividend. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. Toronto-Dominion Banks payout ratio is presently 36.33%.

Insider Transactions at Toronto-Dominion Bank

In related news, insider Ajai Bambawale sold 7,328 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$112.07, for a total transaction of C$821,248.96. Following the transaction, the insider owned 800 shares in the company, valued at C$89,656. This trade represents a 90.16% decrease in their position. Also, Director Nathalie Palladitcheff purchased 1,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of C$112.64 per share, for a total transaction of C$112,640.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,292 shares of the companys stock, valued at C$370,810.88. This trade represents a 43.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. Over the last three months, insiders sold 84,384 shares of company stock valued at $9,456,915. Insiders own 0.08% of the companys stock.

Toronto-Dominion Bank Company Profile

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Toronto-Dominion is one of Canadas two largest banks and operates three business segments: Canadian retail banking, U.S. retail banking, and wholesale banking. The banks U.S. operations span from Maine to Florida, with a strong presence in the Northeast. It also has a 13% ownership stake in Charles Schwab.

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Vontobel Holding Ltd. decreased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP  Free Report) by 38.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 10,250 shares of the energy producers stock after selling 6,437 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 136.8% in the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 315 shares of the energy producers stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in ConocoPhillips by 249.5% in the 2nd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 325 shares of the energy producers stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new position in ConocoPhillips in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.36% of the companys stock.

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ConocoPhillips Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of COP stock opened at $91.53 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $90.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.52. ConocoPhillips has a 12-month low of $79.88 and a 12-month high of $106.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $113.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.32.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

ConocoPhillips ( NYSE:COP Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The energy producer reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $15.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.51 billion. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 13.64% and a net margin of 14.25%.The companys revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. This is a boost from ConocoPhillipss previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. ConocoPhillipss payout ratio is 47.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ConocoPhillips news, CEO Ryan Michael Lance sold 500,708 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.50, for a total value of $46,315,490.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 325,972 shares of the companys stock, valued at $30,152,410. The trade was a 60.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William H. Mcraven purchased 5,768 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, November 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $86.68 per share, with a total value of $499,970.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,768 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $499,970.24. This trade represents a  increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 0.24% of the companys stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $115.00 to $111.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on ConocoPhillips from $122.00 to $117.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on ConocoPhillips from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 15th. Roth Capital dropped their price target on ConocoPhillips from $108.00 to $100.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on ConocoPhillips in a report on Friday, October 17th. They set an equal weight rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $114.08.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips Profile

(Free Report)

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) is a Houston-based international energy company focused on exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Formed in 2002 through the merger of Conoco Inc and Phillips Petroleum Company, the firm operates as an independent upstream company that explores for, develops and produces crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids across a portfolio of global assets.

The companys activities span conventional and unconventional resources and include onshore and offshore operations in multiple regions around the world.

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Voya Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL  Free Report) by 24.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 203,330 shares of the basic materials companys stock after acquiring an additional 39,540 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLCs holdings in Hecla Mining were worth $2,460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 7.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,032,111 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $179,892,000 after purchasing an additional 2,029,327 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Hecla Mining by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 20,118,397 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $120,509,000 after purchasing an additional 2,574,855 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 40.6% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,052,346 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $102,144,000 after buying an additional 4,928,130 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 20.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,285,345 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $23,827,000 after buying an additional 739,360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc raised its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 73.4% in the second quarter. Man Group plc now owns 3,493,325 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $20,925,000 after buying an additional 1,479,049 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.01% of the companys stock.

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Hecla Mining Stock Performance

Shares of Hecla Mining stock opened at $20.18 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.52 billion, a PE ratio of 65.09 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Hecla Mining Company has a 52 week low of $4.46 and a 52 week high of $21.19. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $15.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.96.

Hecla Mining Dividend Announcement

Hecla Mining ( NYSE:HL Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.01. Hecla Mining had a net margin of 16.35% and a return on equity of 7.87%. The firm had revenue of $409.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.03 EPS. Hecla Minings revenue was up 67.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Hecla Mining Company will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 24th were issued a $0.0038 dividend. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 24th. Hecla Minings dividend payout ratio is currently 3.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HL. Roth Capital set a $8.75 price target on shares of Hecla Mining and gave the stock a sell rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. CIBC boosted their target price on Hecla Mining from $15.00 to $16.50 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a hold (c+) rating on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Hecla Mining in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They set a sector perform rating and a $15.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Hecla Mining from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Sunday, November 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hecla Mining currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $10.22.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on HL

Insider Activity at Hecla Mining

In related news, CFO Russell Douglas Lawlar sold 148,372 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.00, for a total transaction of $2,225,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 347,402 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,211,030. This trade represents a 29.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP David C. Sienko sold 207,553 shares of Hecla Mining stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.42, for a total value of $4,030,679.26. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 906,370 shares of the companys stock, valued at $17,601,705.40. The trade was a 18.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 374,460 shares of company stock worth $6,534,655. Company insiders own 0.62% of the companys stock.

About Hecla Mining

(Free Report)

Hecla Mining Company, founded in 1891 and headquartered in Coeur dAlene, Idaho, is one of the oldest publicly traded precious metals companies in the United States. Originally established to develop the rich silver deposits of the Coeur dAlene district, Hecla has evolved into a diversified mining enterprise focused on the exploration, development and production of silver and gold, with by-product credits from lead and zinc.

The companys principal operations are located in North America and Latin America.

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Voya Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Haemonetics Corporation (NYSE:HAE  Free Report) by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 48,211 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock after selling 10,393 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLCs holdings in Haemonetics were worth $2,350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Haemonetics by 63.4% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 495 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Haemonetics by 2,640.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 411 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Haemonetics by 59.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 443 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Haemonetics by 91.7% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 669 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Haemonetics in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the companys stock.

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Haemonetics Stock Up 0.3%

HAE opened at $80.27 on Friday. Haemonetics Corporation has a 12 month low of $47.31 and a 12 month high of $87.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $71.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.17. The company has a market cap of $3.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Haemonetics ( NYSE:HAE Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $327.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $311.61 million. Haemonetics had a return on equity of 27.22% and a net margin of 12.67%.Haemoneticss quarterly revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. Haemonetics has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.800-5.00 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Haemonetics Corporation will post 4.55 EPS for the current year.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HAE. Weiss Ratings restated a hold (c) rating on shares of Haemonetics in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Haemonetics from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Sunday, December 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Haemonetics from $87.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. BTIG Research reissued a buy rating and set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Haemonetics in a report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, CJS Securities upgraded Haemonetics to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $84.10.

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Haemonetics Profile

(Free Report)

Haemonetics Corporation is a global provider of blood management solutions that support the collection, processing and transfusion of blood and blood products. The companys offerings are designed to enhance patient safety and operational efficiency for blood centers, hospitals and plasma collection facilities. Haemonetics serves healthcare providers worldwide by delivering integrated systems, software and consumables that address critical needs throughout the continuum of blood management.

The companys product portfolio includes automated apheresis and plasma collection systems, surgical blood salvage and coagulation monitoring devices, and pathogen reduction technologies.

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WisdomTree International High Dividend Fund (NYSEARCA:DTH  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 62,214 shares, an increase of 94.1% from the November 30th total of 32,055 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 33,721 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days. Based on an average daily volume of 33,721 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

WisdomTree International High Dividend Fund Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of DTH traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $51.59. 35,476 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 40,206. WisdomTree International High Dividend Fund has a fifty-two week low of $37.11 and a fifty-two week high of $51.97. The businesss 50 day moving average is $49.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $515.90 million, a P/E ratio of 11.30 and a beta of 0.66.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On WisdomTree International High Dividend Fund

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in WisdomTree International High Dividend Fund by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,388,373 shares of the companys stock valued at $68,241,000 after acquiring an additional 37,179 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its stake in shares of WisdomTree International High Dividend Fund by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 449,513 shares of the companys stock worth $22,094,000 after purchasing an additional 108,475 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of WisdomTree International High Dividend Fund by 980.8% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213,838 shares of the companys stock worth $9,080,000 after purchasing an additional 194,052 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in WisdomTree International High Dividend Fund by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 160,243 shares of the companys stock valued at $7,425,000 after buying an additional 3,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in WisdomTree International High Dividend Fund by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Stonebridge Wealth Management LLC now owns 149,473 shares of the companys stock valued at $7,347,000 after buying an additional 1,339 shares during the last quarter.

WisdomTree International High Dividend Fund Company Profile

WisdomTree DEFA Equity Income Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results that closely correspond to the price and yield performance of the WisdomTree DEFA Equity Income Index (the Index). The Index is a fundamentally weighted Index that measures the performance of companies with high dividend yields selected from the WisdomTree DEFA Index. At the Index measurement date, companies within the WisdomTree DEFA Index with market capitalizations of at least $200 million and average daily trading volumes of at least $200,000 for the prior three months are ranked by dividend yield.

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Worth Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:HYG  Free Report) by 34.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 102,225 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after buying an additional 26,041 shares during the period. iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF comprises approximately 3.7% of Worth Asset Management LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Worth Asset Management LLCs holdings in iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF were worth $8,300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF by 23.1% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 103,036 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $8,310,000 after buying an additional 19,309 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new position in shares of iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF during the second quarter worth approximately $121,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF by 21.8% during the 2nd quarter. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,518 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $1,735,000 after purchasing an additional 3,848 shares in the last quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF in the second quarter valued at $760,000. Finally, Amarillo National Bank increased its position in shares of iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF by 6.5% during the second quarter. Amarillo National Bank now owns 190,207 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $15,340,000 after acquiring an additional 11,598 shares in the last quarter.

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iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF Stock Performance

Shares of NYSEARCA HYG opened at $80.60 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $19.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.79 and a beta of 0.41. iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF has a fifty-two week low of $75.08 and a fifty-two week high of $81.36. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $80.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.52.

iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF Profile

iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the Markit iBoxx USD Liquid High Yield Index (the Index), which is a rules-based index consisting of liquid the United States dollar-denominated, high yield corporate bonds for sale in the United States, as determined by the index provider. The Index may include large-, mid- or small-capitalization companies, and components primarily include consumer services, financial, industrials, and oil and gas companies.

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The symbolic resonance of Kontxesi extends far beyond its literal religious meaning to encompass broader themes of cultural purity and resilience. The name symbolizes the idea of cultural transmission without contamination - much like the theological concept it references, it represents something preserved in its original, authentic form despite external pressures. This makes Kontxesi a powerful metaphor for the Basque language and culture's survival through centuries of political and cultural challenges. The name also carries feminine symbolism, representing the protective, life-giving qualities traditionally associated with both the Virgin Mary and the Basque concept of 'Ama Lurra' (Mother Earth). In contemporary contexts, Kontxesi has come to symbolize the successful integration of tradition and modernity - the ability to maintain cultural authenticity while engaging fully with the contemporary world. For many in the Basque cultural movement, the name represents hope for the future preservation of their unique heritage.
Yousif Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Shell PLC Unsponsored ADR (NYSE:SHEL  Free Report) by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 31,934 shares of the energy companys stock after selling 6,985 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLCs holdings in Shell were worth $2,284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SHEL. Westside Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Shell in the second quarter worth $25,000. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Shell by 102.9% during the 1st quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 420 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in Shell by 50.5% in the 2nd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 480 shares of the energy companys stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Shell in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $67,000. Finally, Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Shell during the third quarter worth approximately $75,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.60% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SHEL. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Shell to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Citigroup reissued a neutral rating on shares of Shell in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Shell from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. UBS Group lowered Shell from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Shell in a report on Friday, October 17th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $79.91.

Shell Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE SHEL opened at $72.78 on Friday. Shell PLC Unsponsored ADR has a twelve month low of $58.54 and a twelve month high of $77.47. The stock has a market cap of $209.25 billion, a PE ratio of 14.91, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.16. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The energy company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.14. Shell had a return on equity of 10.49% and a net margin of 5.34%.The firm had revenue of $68.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.50 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Shell PLC Unsponsored ADR will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Shell Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th were given a $0.716 dividend. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. Shells dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.61%.

About Shell

(Free Report)

Shell plc (NYSE: SHEL) is a global integrated energy company that operates across the full oil and gas value chain as well as in developing lower-carbon energy solutions. The company traces its roots to the early 20th century merger of Royal Dutch Petroleum and Shell Transport and Trading, and today it is organized to explore for and produce hydrocarbons, process and refine them, manufacture petrochemicals, and market fuel, lubricants and related products under the Shell brand around the world.

Shells principal activities include upstream exploration and production of oil and natural gas, integrated gas operations including liquefied natural gas (LNG), and downstream refining, supply and marketing.

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Yousif Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (NYSE:AWI  Free Report) by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,628 shares of the construction companys stock after selling 2,770 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLCs holdings in Armstrong World Industries were worth $2,671,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Armstrong World Industries during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Armstrong World Industries in the second quarter valued at approximately $46,000. MAI Capital Management bought a new position in Armstrong World Industries in the second quarter worth approximately $47,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in Armstrong World Industries during the 2nd quarter worth $58,000. Finally, Bare Financial Services Inc increased its holdings in Armstrong World Industries by 1,789.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 359 shares of the construction companys stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. 98.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America upped their target price on Armstrong World Industries from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a buy (b) rating on shares of Armstrong World Industries in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Armstrong World Industries from $178.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Vertical Research assumed coverage on shares of Armstrong World Industries in a report on Monday, October 20th. They set a buy rating and a $238.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Armstrong World Industries from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $207.50.

Armstrong World Industries Trading Up 0.5%

AWI opened at $192.38 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $8.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.52, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.30. Armstrong World Industries, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.37 and a 12 month high of $206.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $189.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $185.06.

Armstrong World Industries (NYSE:AWI  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 6th. The construction company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $325.00 million for the quarter. Armstrong World Industries had a return on equity of 38.97% and a net margin of 19.08%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Armstrong World Industries, Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Armstrong World Industries Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 6th were given a $0.339 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 6th. This is an increase from Armstrong World Industriess previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. Armstrong World Industriess payout ratio is presently 19.46%.

Armstrong World Industries Company Profile

(Free Report)

Armstrong World Industries, Inc is a leading global manufacturer of commercial ceiling and wall solutions. The company offers a diverse portfolio of acoustical, decorative and specialty ceiling systems designed to enhance interior environments in offices, healthcare facilities, schools, retail outlets and other non-residential settings. Through its focus on performance, aesthetics and sustainability, Armstrong World Industries addresses both functional and design requirements for architects, contractors and building owners.

Armstrongs product range includes mineral fiber, fiberglass, wood wool, metal and stone wool ceiling panels, as well as suspension and grid systems.

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Yousif Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Jackson Financial Inc. (NYSE:JXN  Free Report) by 18.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,347 shares of the companys stock after selling 5,343 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLCs holdings in Jackson Financial were worth $2,363,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in JXN. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. raised its holdings in Jackson Financial by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 1,699,087 shares of the companys stock valued at $150,862,000 after buying an additional 33,040 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in Jackson Financial by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,359,477 shares of the companys stock valued at $120,685,000 after acquiring an additional 20,212 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Jackson Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $102,131,000. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Jackson Financial by 28.3% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 836,238 shares of the companys stock valued at $74,250,000 after acquiring an additional 184,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Jackson Financial by 21.3% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 719,575 shares of the companys stock worth $63,891,000 after purchasing an additional 126,264 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.96% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Jackson Financial from $125.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a hold (c+) rating on shares of Jackson Financial in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Jackson Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $105.00 target price on shares of Jackson Financial in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Jackson Financial from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $109.60.

Jackson Financial Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:JXN opened at $108.29 on Friday. Jackson Financial Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.70 and a 1 year high of $109.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The businesss 50-day moving average is $99.22 and its 200-day moving average is $95.19. The company has a market capitalization of $7.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.98 and a beta of 1.45.

Jackson Financial (NYSE:JXN  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 22nd. The company reported $6.26 earnings per share for the quarter. Jackson Financial had a return on equity of 15.73% and a net margin of 1.73%.The business had revenue of ($1,162.00) million during the quarter. Equities research analysts predict that Jackson Financial Inc. will post 20.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Jackson Financial announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 14.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the companys management believes its stock is undervalued.

Jackson Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 4th were paid a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 4th. This represents a $3.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Jackson Financials payout ratio is currently 44.26%.

Jackson Financial Company Profile

(Free Report)

Jackson Financial Inc is a U.S.-based financial services holding company headquartered in Lansing, Michigan. The company operates primarily through its principal subsidiary, Jackson National Life Insurance Company, and specializes in designing and distributing retirement products. Jackson Financial has been publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker JXN since its initial public offering in May 2022.

The companys core offerings include a broad range of fixed, variable and indexed annuity products aimed at helping individuals preserve and grow retirement assets.

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ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM  Free Report) by 9.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 85,947 shares of the oil and gas companys stock after acquiring an additional 7,240 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.s holdings in Exxon Mobil were worth $9,691,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Exxon Mobil by 0.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 431,058,875 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $46,468,147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111,231 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Exxon Mobil by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 96,307,931 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $10,345,132,000 after buying an additional 342,967 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Exxon Mobil during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,163,719,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Exxon Mobil by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 46,598,313 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $5,023,298,000 after buying an additional 1,274,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Exxon Mobil by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 33,500,304 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $3,611,553,000 after acquiring an additional 1,126,912 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.80% of the companys stock.

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Exxon Mobil Stock Performance

NYSE:XOM opened at $119.09 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $502.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.31, a P/E/G ratio of 7.49 and a beta of 0.38. Exxon Mobil Corporation has a twelve month low of $97.80 and a twelve month high of $120.81. The companys 50-day moving average price is $116.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Exxon Mobil Increases Dividend

Exxon Mobil ( NYSE:XOM Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $57.55 billion during the quarter. Exxon Mobil had a net margin of 8.99% and a return on equity of 11.22%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Exxon Mobil Corporation will post 7.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from Exxon Mobils previous quarterly dividend of $0.99. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. Exxon Mobils dividend payout ratio is presently 59.88%.

Insider Transactions at Exxon Mobil

In other Exxon Mobil news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 3,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total value of $351,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 28,584 shares in the company, valued at $3,349,758.96. This represents a 9.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

XOM has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group reiterated a buy rating on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Exxon Mobil from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Exxon Mobil from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Exxon Mobil from $156.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Exxon Mobil from $119.00 to $118.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $129.45.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on XOM

Exxon Mobil Profile

(Free Report)

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM) is an integrated oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, production, refining, distribution and marketing of petroleum products and the manufacture and sale of petrochemicals. Its operations span the full energy value chain, including upstream exploration and development of crude oil and natural gas; midstream transportation and storage; and downstream refining, product distribution and retail. The company also produces a broad range of chemical products for industrial and consumer applications.

ExxonMobil markets fuels and lubricants under well-known brands such as Exxon, Mobil and Esso, and its Mobil 1 motor oil is a prominent consumer product.

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Will Manipur University be a problem creator or MPSC?

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Dr Chakpram Hemanta Singh

Regarding the notification dated 19th December 2025 for the appointment of Assistant Professor notified by Manipur Public Service Commission ( MPSC), I would like to express some views concerning the concerned/ allied/ relevant subjects. The matter of concerned/ allied/ relevant subjects should be decided by the university concerned. Here, the MPSC refers to Manipur University in connection with the concerned/ allied/ relevant subjects. However, the Manipur University keeps on changing its concerned/ allied/ relevant subject from time to time by the equivalent committee. Are these reasonable questions? Is there any vested interest in this regard? No authority can decide the equivalency except the University concerned. I would like to mention a particular subject for more understanding and better discussion. Lets us pickup  Education. In pursuance of the Resolution No.9 of the Equivalence Committee meeting held on 15.07.2025 a lot of subjects are identified as the Allied Subject and Education is one of them. For the department of Education, the allied subjects are Adult Education, Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology and Teacher Education. Does it mean that a candidate having M.A in Adult Education or Philosophy or Psychology or Sociology or Teacher Education besides fulfilling the required qualification like NET or JRF and even getting their Ph.D in a concerned or relevant subject can apply in the post of Education? On the other hand the equivalent committee does not offer any allied subject in the Department of Sociology. It is very interesting to know the fact that the allied subjects which are referred to the Office Order No/325 of the Manipur University by the Manipur Public Service Commission is only for the admission to Ph.D programme not the recruitment of the Assistant Professor. The Office Order say like this : No MU/1/EQ/ O4 (Pt.1) In pursuance of the Resolution No.9 of the Equivalence Committee meeting held on 15.07.2025, the following subjects are hereby identified as the Allied Subjects for Admission to Ph.D programme of the respective Department as indicated against each

On the other hand, as per criteria for short-listing of candidates for interview for the post of Assistant Professor a few Academic Record, Score, Maximum Score are mentioned in Appendix -1 Table -3. Some of the academic records are Graduation 80% & above =21 score, 60% to less than 80%=19, 55% to less than 60%=16 and 45% to less than 55% =10 and so on. Here, the pertinent question is how score can be awarded to those candidates who did not offer the concerned subject or relevant subjects or allied subjects whether Honours or subsidiary subjects coming from different streams in the First Degree but MA or Msc. The graduation score must be given to those candidates who offer the same subject in both BA/Bsc and MA/Msc. Preference would be given to those candidates who offered the same subject in BA and MA. Besides, regular mode of learning would be given more preference rather than irregular mode of learning. Further it may be mentioned that in reply to a letter dated 19 October 2015 of the Deputy Secretary ( Hr.&Tech.Edn) Government of Manipur, the Manipur University gave the comments of the concerned Deans / Heads of Department regarding the equivalency of the degrees 1. M.A Education is not equivalent to MA ( Adult Education ) even with NET. 2. (a) MA English with NET in Linguistics/NET in Folk Literature (b) MA Linguistics, NET with Linguistics. Both cannot be treated as equivalent to M.A English with NET. 3. M.Sc Zoology is not equivalent to M.Sc Fishery. 4. A Master Degree in Sociology is not equivalent to Social Work and Population Studies. 5. A Master Degree in Economics is not equivalent to M.Sc. Agricultural Economics. 6. Master Degree in Computer Science with M.Tech with NET or Phd. Only M.Tech in Computer Science , Information Technology and Information Science are equivalent to Master Degree in Computer Science. Further the then Vice-Chancellor of Manipur University has approved the proceedings of the Departmental Meeting of the Education Department held on 31st October 2016 under Resolution No 2 and reproduced as under:  Resolved that MA ( Education ) is Master of Arts in Education and M.Ed is Master of Education. They are not equivalent as MA ( Education ) is purely academic and M.Ed is professional . So, their apex bodies are different.

In conclusion: I would like to state that the professors of a University are highly academic and they are respected everywhere. It is the University where many scholars, intellectual persons, Philosophers and think-tanks gather knowledge and share their thoughts. They should solve difficult problems and they should not be problem creators. Or Will Manipur University be a problem creator or MPSC?
Individuals named Lin are often perceived as dynamic and adaptable, much like the flowing water their name references. They tend to be quick-thinking, resourceful, and able to navigate changing circumstances with grace. Their personality often combines a calm exterior with deep currents of emotion and intellect beneath the surface. Lin's are typically seen as persistent and determined individuals who, like a steady stream, continue moving forward despite obstacles.



They often possess strong communication skills and natural charisma, making them effective in leadership roles or creative pursuits. While they can be reserved initially, once comfortable, they reveal depth of character and loyal companionship. The name suggests someone who is both reflective and activeable to contemplate deeply while also taking decisive action when needed. This balance between thoughtfulness and movement makes Lin's well-suited for careers that require both creativity and practical problem-solving.
State failures vis-a-vis Manipur crisis

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No one needs any reminder that the month of December is drawing to a close and with that, the year 2025 will soon become a part of history, more precisely another dark chapter in the long history of Manipur. Yet it appears that the state needs this reminder in view of the fact that the state gave a commitment to resettle and rehabilitate all internally displaced persons or IDPs by the end of December 2025. No doubt, some IDPs have been resettled but a vast majority of the IDPs are still languishing in relief camps. For two years and seven months, the IDPs, uprooted from their homes and cut off from their livelihoods, have been living a distressing life under sub-human conditions. Does the state need another reminder that resettlement, rehabilitation of all displaced persons and ensuring security of every citizen are its primary duties and responsibility? It was the states failure which cut short the lives of many people and threw the entire population of Manipur into such a miserable situation. The state has failed not once but several times. First, the state was caught napping when heavily armed persons joined the so called Tribal Solidarity Rally on May 3, 2023 in Churachandpur. Together with those men armed with sophisticated weapons, the participants of the rally marched all the way from Churachandpur to Torbung and unleashed terror upon the unarmed and unsuspecting villagers. Even as hundreds of houses were burnt down at Torbung, security forces did nothing to control the mayhem. It was this act of terror unleashed at Torbung which sparked a vicious cycle of violence in different parts of Manipur. The states failure to contain violence was not restricted to Churachandpur or Torbung. The state failed miserably at Moreh, Kangpokpi and Imphal too, and later at Jiribam.

If one talks about state failures, the list will go on and on. Soon after violence erupted, Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited Manipur and more than 60,000 armed forces were deployed in the state but this huge number of armed forces too could not contain the violence. The violence raged on and the state watched as if it was totally helpless. Incidentally, the violence subsided only after Presidents Rule was imposed in the state in place of the elected government. As the violence subsided, Union Home Minister Amit Shah made a bold announcement that there will be free movement of all people on all roads and highways in Manipur with effect from March 8, 2025. During a high level meeting held at New Delhi on March 1, 2025 where Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, senior army officers and top paramilitary officers were present, Amit Shah not only directed authorities to ensure the free movement of people on all roads in Manipur starting March 8, 2025 but also warned of strict action against those creating obstructions. But the Union Home Ministers bold announcement was reduced to nought on March 8, 2025 by a group of protesters who challenged the government of Indias initiative to open National Highway-2 (Imphal-Dimapur road), and Amit Shahs strict actions never came. After this miserable failure, the government of India has not made any second attempt to open the highway and one community is still denying another community access to the particular highway. The failure to contain violence for a long period even after deployment of more than 60,000 troops and the inability to ensure free movement of all citizens paint a very bad picture of the state. Many across the world still cannot believe that the Indian state could not contain violence raging within its territory or open its roads to all citizens. This gives rise to a general perception that the state was half-hearted or not sincere enough in its efforts to contain violence and open highways. Then came the soothing announcement that IDPs will be resettled by December 2025. Since the announcement was made on July 4, 2025, some IDPs have been resettled but a vast majority of the IDPs have been eagerly awaiting resettlement even though just three days are left before the end of December. Even after whatever resettlement efforts made by the state were undermined by militants by attacking returning IDPs with sophisticated firearms and bombs at Torbung and Phougakchao Ikhai on December 16, 2025, there has been no visible deterrence from the state so far, thereby evoking serious questions on the states commitment to resettlement. After all its failures, the state can make some amends to its waning credibility by fulfilling its promise of resettlement within the deadline it set. Is the state ready to make amends for its failures?
As an unusually eventful year draws to a close, a development offers quiet reassurance about the health of our parliamentary processes. Amid frequent commentary on legislative disruption and partisan gridlock, I had the privilege of participating in a rare bipartisan exercise that has, thankfully, defied the prevailing circumstances.

Last week, the Select Committee on the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) unanimously submitted its report to the Lok Sabha after completing its scrutiny of the governments proposed overhaul of the 2016 law. There was recognition that the IBC has helped turn around banks non-performing assets (NPAs) with recoveries in recent years of Rs50,000-Rs60,000 crore per annum. There was also broad consensus that a major reboot is required to tighten resolution timelines and incorporate several important suggestions from stakeholders.

I had the honour of chairing this cross-party committee, and what made the exercise particularly satisfying was the spirit in which MPs, from both the governing and opposition parties, workedin a cordial, cooperative and professional atmosphere. Crucially, this work unfolded away from the glare of cameras.

IMAGE AI

That absence is not incidental. While the proceedings of both houses of Parliament are broadcast live, boosting transparency, parliamentary committees remain outside this ambit. Decades ago, then speaker Somnath Chatterjee resisted calls to allow live coverage of committee hearings. His judgment, with the benefit of hindsight, appears prescient. Cameras, while valuable for public accountability, can also distort systemic incentives.

For elected representatives, the presence of cameras often triggers a performative instinctthe temptation to speak over colleagues, and, instead, address an external audience. In Parliament, this has often translated into grandstanding and disruption by the opposition, even when it compromises their ability to exert pressure on the government through questions, debates, amendments and other procedural tools. Committees, insulated from this dynamic, have therefore retained their character as spaces for genuine deliberation.

What TV cameras did to legislators, social media has now done to society at large. Social media platforms, through algorithm-driven amplification, increasingly shape how citizens encounter information. By flooding users with content aligned to their initial clicks, these platforms create echo chambers that crowd out alternative viewpoints and narrow discourseconditions hardly conducive for reasoned discussions or inferences.

This amplification of selective perspectives runs counter to rational inquiry. Human progress has rested on questioning assumptions, weighing evidence and engaging with competing ideas. When debate gives way to emotional reinforcement, whether through political theatre or algorithmic feeds, the quality of collective decision-making suffers severely.

Against this backdrop, the work of the IBC Select Committee offers a modest but meaningful counter-example. It demonstrates what can be achieved when systemic incentives favour cooperation over confrontation, and when policy is examined through a pragmatic, problem-solving lens rather than partisan reflex.

The existing IBC has helped make Indias banking sector stand on a far firmer footing, even by international standards. This major reboot will further dramatically improve the situation. There are many parliamentary committees that have had similar outcomes. That is reason enough for optimists to hope forand contribute toa more effective democracy.

Baijayant Jay Panda is National Vice President of the BJP and is an MP in the Lok Sabha.
OVER 43 YEARS, many words have appeared and reappeared on THE WEEKs cover, except one. Scoop! made a solitary appearance on our 1996 cover of the Purulia arms drop case, and never reappeared despite many exclusives gracing the pages in the years that followed.

The reporter, Jon Stock, later wrote Last Word for THE WEEK. He is now an author who writes thrillers under his own name and the pen name J.S. Monroe. Jons wife, Hilary, is a fine-art photographer. He worked in THE WEEK and lived in Kochi for a year or so with their three children, before moving back to England.

In the cover article, Stock painted a vivid picture of Peter Bleach. So, who exactly is Bleach, known as the Milk Tray man because of his ability to get in and out of anywhere? Stock asked and answered in the article. (There is a famous television advertising campaign in Britain featuring a stealthy man in black who delivers boxes of Milk Tray chocolates to women by parachute and speedboat.) And how come he is languishing in the squalid Presidency Jail in Calcutta?

Why am I writing about this now? This is the 30th anniversary of the case. Special Correspondent Prema Rajaram and Photo Editor Salil Bera visited Purulia and met original witnesses and other stakeholders. One of the CBI investigating officers of the case, former Kerala DGP Loknath Behera, now heads the successful Kochi Metro Rail. Senior Special Correspondent Tapash Ganguly, who contributed to the original cover, passed away in February 2023.

All this talk of spies and guns will be complete only with wine and women. Blame James Bond and shaken vodka martinis for that. But there is only wine in this issue, figuratively. There is a lot of it, and it is all Indian. Senior Assistant Editor K. Sunil Thomas looks at Indian alcohol brands that are the toast of the world, and how the Indian tippler is shedding the colonial hangover to embrace spirits born closer to home.

Having been involved in newspaper and magazine redesigns over the years, I should appreciate the thought that goes into bottle and label design. One of my pet peeves is the sarkari sticker slapped onto these finely designed labels. Lately, some labels have incorporated the statutory warning and other information into their designs. That is pre-emptive design thinking at its finest, I should say.

I should clarify that THE WEEK does not endorse the consumption of alcohol. As a media organisation, we are interested only in the industry itself and the trends it drives.

Chief of Bureau (Chennai) Lakshmi Subramanian looks at the young crop of archaeologists who are driving discoveries in Keeladi, the Iron Age site near Madurai, which has been in the news recently.

There is Ajay Kumar Ramamoorthy, who graduated in commerce before being drawn to archaeology. Victor Gnanaraj, who wanted to be an aeronautical engineer, led a team that found the first scientifically dated terracotta sarcophagus in Tamil Nadu. R. Kavya studied science and aspired to join the civil services before discovering the Konthagai burial cluster, where the ancients interred their dead. When I look at the achievements of our youth, I do not doubt that we live in wonderful times.

Let me close with the maker of mysteries. Special Correspondent Anjuly Mathai marks 50 years since the passing of Agatha Christie. On THE WEEKs desk, editors think that half the pull lies in the name of her novels. They Do it with Mirrors, A Pocket Full of Rye, Elephants Can Remember, Murder on the Orient Express, Death On The Nile, Murder in Mesopotamia, And Then There Were None.

Do you have a favourite? And, why? Id love to know. Merry Christmas.
Remember the song of the Nonnberg Abbey nuns about the novice Maria in The Sound of Music? Out of focus and bemused, unpredictable as weather, as flighty as a feather... They had many a thing to tell her, many a thing she ought to understand. But how do you make her stay, and listen to all you say?... How do you keep a wave upon the sand? In short, How do you solve a problem like Maria?

Replace the shes in the song with hes, and hers with his. Bingo! You get what every Congress leader is saying about Rahul Gandhiout of focus and bemused, unpredictable as weather, and as flighty as a feather. They have many a thing to tell him, many a thing he ought to understand; but how do they make him stay, and listen to all they say?

In short, how do you solve a problem like Rahul?

Among the first to feel so was Himanta Sarma. After several pleas a decade ago, he made Rahul stay for him, but couldnt make him listen to all he had to say. Sarma found the young Gandhi keener on feeding his dog than on listening to what crises were dogging the Congress in Assam. Disgusted, Sarma quit the party, joined the BJP, and rose to be the Congresss nemesis in Assam.

Rahul Gandhi | PTI

Mohammed Moquim, the latest, didnt reach that far. For three years the poor Odisha ex-MLA had been seeking an audience with Rahul. Frustrated, he wrote to his mother about the emotional disconnect felt by workers across India, who feel unseen and unheard. No sooner had he made the letter public, than he was kicked out of the party.

Every opposition MP might have felt much the same during the closing days of the winter session of Parliament. The Narendra Modi regime was moving to remove the name of the revered Father of the Nation from modern Indias kindest-ever poor welfare scheme, introduced by a Congress-led governmentone that had saved millions of Bapus daridra narayanas (God in the poor) from hunger, one that had been the closest to Rahuls mothers heart, and one that the leftists had hailed for its bleeding-heart welfarism and the rightists had applauded for putting money in the pockets of the poor who began buying shop goods.

The outraged opposition MPs expected Rahul, as the honble leader of the opposition, to come charging, lead the assault on the government, and defend the honour of the Mahatma. In vain. They couldnt make him stay, or listen to all they say. Like Maria who was singing in the woods when she should have been praying in the chapel, he was riding a BMW bike in Munich instead of leading the charge in Parliament. When asked, partymen said sheepishly that he was discussing democracy and global climate responsibility with German think-tanks. Any better ideas?

There is more. Rahul had shaken the nation and the whole democratic world with his stellar show over the vote theft charge, and had led a rally through Bihar. But when he found his allies had other campaign issues for the assembly polls, he simply scooted, only to surface towards the end of the poll campaign. By then most Congress voters had bolted.

Mend your ways, young man, like Maria did. The flighty-as-a-feather girl matured when she found the von Trapp kids needed love, care and attention, and she could provide them all those. Your mother had been providing all these to the Congress for the last quarter century and more. She is tired; she needs rest.

Its time you stayed, and listened. Congressmen have many a thing to tell you, and many a thing you ought to understand. Give them your ear immediately. They have very little patience left.

prasannan@theweek.in
After her over two-hour sortie onboard the submarine INS Vaghsheer, President Droupadi Murmu noted that the Indian Navy is combat-ready under any circumstances. Murmu is the second president to undertake a submarine sortie.

President Murmu spent over two hours onboard the indigenously-built submarine INS Vaghsheer on Sunday. Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi accompanied the president during the dived sortie.

Murmu is the second supreme commander of the armed forces to undertake a submarine sortie. Former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam undertook a similar sortie onboard INS Sindhu Rakshak in February 2006.

The president embarked on the submarine at Karwar Naval Harbour, Karnataka, and during the over two-hour sortie, she interacted with the submarine's crew and witnessed the operational demonstrations, the president's office said in a statement.

Lauding the Indian Navy and subramine's crew, in the visitor's book, Murmu wrote, "The multiple successful firings and challenging operations carried out by INS Vaghsheer demonstrate the crew's exceptional preparedness and dedication, in accordance with its motto 'Veerta Varchasva Vijaya'."

Calling it a "very special experience", Murmu said, "Witnessing the discipline, confidence and enthusiasm of the Vaghsheer crew assures me that our submarines and the Indian Navy are combat-ready against any threat and under all circumstances."

During the trip, President Murmu was briefed on the role of the submarine arm in India's maritime strategy, and the operational capabilities as well as contributions in safeguarding national maritime interests, it said.

In November last year, the President witnessed an operational demonstration by the Indian Navy onboard the indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.

INS Vaghsheer, the sixth and final submarine of the P75 Scorpene project, was commissioned into the Navy in January. It is one of the most silent and versatile diesel-electric submarines in the world, Nay officials told PTI. INS Vaghsheer was designed to undertake a wide range of missions, including anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, area surveillance, and special operations, they said.
A new study published in The Lancet Psychiatry identifies six specific depressive symptoms that, when experienced in midlife, are linked to a substantially higher risk of developing dementia later in life, with symptoms associated with nearly a 50 per cent increase in risk. These symptoms range from losing your self-confidence and not feeling warmth or affection for others to feeling stressed all the time and finding it difficult to concentrate.

"A distinct set of midlife depressive symptoms was associated with an increased risk of dementia, suggesting that these symptoms might be early markers of underlying neurodegenerative processes," according to the study.

The findings are significant as dementia is one of the fastest-growing public health challenges in the world today, and despite decades of research, scientists are still unable to pinpoint a single cause of dementia.

What is Dementia?

Dementia is not one particular disease, but "a group of symptoms affecting memory, thinking and social abilities," and can be caused by many diseases. These symptoms can affect daily lifefrom quality of life to productivity. While Alzheimer's and dementia are used interchangeably to refer to memory loss in older adults, they are distinct. Alzheimer's is the most common disease that causes dementia in adults.

Second, though memory loss is a common symptom associated with dementia, not all memory loss is dementia, and dementia is not just memory loss. It is "an ongoing decline of brain functioning," and is "not a natural part of ageing." It affects more than just memory loss, and affects " the way you speak, think, feel and behave."

For your daily dose of medical news and updates, visit: HEALTH

In 2021, an estimated 57 million people globally were living with dementia, a broad term used to describe progressive neurological conditions that impair memory, thinking, behaviour, and the ability to carry out everyday activities. Evidence suggests that the condition develops over many years, shaped by a complex mix of genetic susceptibility, environmental exposures, lifestyle factors, and long-term health conditions.

One such condition is depression, particularly when it occurs during midlife. Depression affects approximately 332 million people worldwide and is especially common among working-age adults, often driven by chronic stress, long working hours, financial insecurity, and social pressures. Growing evidence suggests that the effects of depression may extend far beyond mental health, with implications for long-term brain health.

What are the six identified depression symptoms?

The findings come from a large prospective, observational cohort study based on the UK Whitehall II study, a long-running research project launched in 1985 to examine how social, psychological, and biological factors influence long-term health.

For this analysis, researchers focused on participants who were 35 to 55 years old at the time of enrolment and had complete data on depressive symptoms, along with successful linkage to national health records. Individuals who already had dementia at baseline were excluded from the analysis.

The baseline assessment for this study took place between 1997 and 1999, when participants underwent a clinical examination and completed the 30-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-30), a validated screening tool used to identify clinically significant psychological distress in the general population.

A GHQ-30 score of five or higher was used to define threshold-level depression. Participants were then followed for up to 25 years, with incident dementia identified through linkage to UK National Health Service hospital records, the Mental Health Services Data Set, and national mortality records, covering the period from April 1997 to March 2023.

When researchers analysed individual depressive symptoms rather than depression as a single diagnosis, six specific symptoms emerged as robust predictors of increased dementia risk in later life. These were - Losing confidence in myself, not able to face up to problems, not feeling warmth and affection for others, nervous and strung-up all the time, not satisfied with the way tasks are carried out and difficulties concentrating. Each of these symptoms was independently associated with a higher risk of dementia, even after adjusting for age, sex, ethnicity, and genetic risk factors.

At the studys conclusion, researchers found that participants who reported five or more depressive symptoms in midlife had a 27 per cent higher risk of developing dementia compared with those who reported fewer symptoms. However, this elevated risk was not evenly distributed across all symptoms. Instead, the majority of the association between midlife depression and later dementia was driven by the six specific symptoms identified in the analysis. Among participants younger than 60 years at baseline, these six symptoms fully accounted for the link between depression and dementia risk.

The 27 per cent higher risk confirms that depression in midlife is associated with dementia many years later, but on its own it doesnt tell the full story, Philipp Frank, PhD, senior research fellow in the Division of Psychiatry at University College London and lead author of the study, told Medical News Today.

Whats important is that this overall increase was not evenly distributed across all depressive symptoms. When we looked more closely, we found that the elevated risk was driven by a small subset of symptoms rather than depression as a single diagnosis, he added.

Why confidence and coping ability may signal higher dementia risk

A deeper analysis of the findings revealed that not all depressive symptoms carried the same level of risk. Of the six symptoms identified, loss of self-confidence and difficulty coping with problems emerged as the strongest predictors, each linked to about a 50 per cent increase in dementia risk later in life. Researchers say these two symptoms appear to be particularly informative indicators of long-term brain health vulnerability.

This finding is striking because it shows that some symptoms carry far more information about dementia risk than others, Philipp Frank said. These symptoms appear to be particularly important early markers of long-term dementia risk, long before a dementia diagnosis is made.

Frank explained that focusing on specific symptoms may also help clarify why earlier research on depression and dementia has produced inconsistent results. This may also help explain why previous studies of depression and dementia have produced mixed results, as many have treated depression as a simple yes or no diagnosis. Our study highlights the value of looking beyond diagnosis to specific symptom patterns, he said.

According to Frank, the results suggest a shift in how clinicians approach depression in midlife. Rather than relying solely on broad diagnostic categories, the findings may encourage more meaningful, symptom-focused conversations in clinical settings. Our study shows that not everyone with depression in midlife has a higher risk of developing dementia later in life; instead, the increased risk appears to be driven by a small number of specific symptoms, he explained.

Importantly, the study found that several commonly reported depressive symptoms were not associated with an increased risk of dementia. Some of the most commonly seen symptoms in both our study and routine clinical practice, such as low mood or sleep disturbances, were not associated with increased dementia risk, Frank noted. Rather, the symptoms linked to dementia risk included loss of confidence, reduced ability to cope with problems, impaired social connections, and persistent nervousness.

By narrowing the focus to these specific experiences, researchers believe the findings could support earlier and more targeted intervention strategies. Focusing on issues like confidence, coping, and social engagement opens the door to practical, supportive advice about mental and brain health, while reassuring patients that not everyone with depression is at higher risk of dementia, Frank added.

Limitations of the study

The authors caution that the findings should be interpreted in light of several important limitations. First, the study was observational in nature, which means it cannot establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship between depressive symptoms and dementia. As the researchers noted, our study was based on observational data, precluding the possibility of inferring causation. In addition, people with lived experience were not involved in the design or reporting of the study.

Another limitation relates to how depression was assessed. Depressive symptoms were measured using a self-reported questionnaire, the 30-item General Health Questionnaire, which may not fully capture the breadth, severity, or clinical complexity of depression. The authors acknowledged that our depression measure was based on self-report and limited to 30 items, adding that future studies should use more comprehensive, clinically validated assessments across multiple timepoints to better understand symptom trajectories and the effects of long-term or recurrent depression.

Dementia diagnoses were identified through hospital records, mortality data, and the Mental Health Services Data Set, which may miss milder or undiagnosed cases. Coding practices vary, and records often default to unspecified dementia without specialist assessment or biomarker confirmation. The authors noted that under-recognition is common, though diagnosis rates have improved.

Despite these challenges, the researchers believe the limitations likely did not bias the results, as they would affect participants with and without depressive symptoms similarly. Sensitivity analyses, including those restricted to ICD-10diagnosed cases and later follow-up years, supported this interpretation.

The authors also acknowledged possible indication bias, where individuals with depressive symptoms might be more likely to receive a dementia diagnosis. However, this would mainly affect those with threshold-level depression, not participants with only one or two specific symptoms, who drove much of the observed association.

Questions around generalisability also remain. Dementia incidence rates in the Whitehall II cohort were lower than those typically seen in the general population, reflecting the healthier occupational profile of civil servants and the under-ascertainment of dementia in electronic health records - a phenomenon known as the healthy worker effect. While this may lead to an underestimation of absolute dementia risk, previous research suggests it is unlikely to substantially distort associations between risk factors and disease.

In addition, the study sample included fewer women than men, limiting the ability to examine sex-specific differences in the relationship between depressive symptoms and dementia. The authors emphasised that further research is needed to establish whether our findings can be replicated in other study populations, including minority ethnic populations, and across different countries and settings.

Despite these limitations, experts note that focusing on individual depressive symptoms rather than treating depression as a single, uniform condition can provide greater clinical insight. Symptom-level approaches add value beyond traditional approaches that conceptualise depression as a single, uniform entity, obscuring clinically and biologically meaningful heterogeneity, the study highlights.

If these findings are replicated, they could help clinicians distinguish between middle-aged patients whose depression reflects an elevated dementia risk and those whose symptoms are more likely due to other causes, supporting clinical evaluation and more tailored treatments. This perspective underscores the importance of nuanced assessment in improving early identification and intervention strategies for dementia risk.

This story is done in collaboration with First Check, which is the health journalism vertical of DataLEADS.
Union Minister Amit Shah targeted Congress and Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi over its losses in elections. Shah asked how the Congress would win if it opposed all popular programmes.

Addressing an event in Ahmedabad, the Union minister said there is a disconnect between Congress and the national pulse, hence it is repeatedly losing in elections. Shah said that Rahul Gandhi's repeated failures at the polls are a direct result of prioritising legal technicalities over the "politics of development", ANI reported.

The Union minister claimed that while the Bharatiya Janata Party won repeatedly in elections by winning the public's trust, Congress is losing because it is at odds with issues that have significant public support. Shah said Gandhi failed to understand public sentiments and the politics of development.

Rahul Gandhi's repeated failures at the polls are a direct result of prioritising legal technicalities over thepolitics of development," Shah said.

Shah charged Rahul Gandhi with focusing on issues such as FIRs instead of addressing public issues. "Instead of understanding governance and public issues, Rahul Gandhi is busy understanding FIRs, which is not even his responsibility," ANI reported, quoting the Union minister.

Shah claimed the Congress will continue to lose in the upcoming assembly polls in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, while the BJP will return to power again in 2029, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Union minister charged Congress opposed every move that had popular support, including the construction of the Ram Temple, air strikes against Pakistan, action against Bangladeshi infiltrators, the abrogation of Article 370 and temple construction in Kashi, the publication reported. "When you oppose everything that the people support, where will the votes come from?" he asked.
The BJP in Karnataka on Sunday accused Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal of acting as a super CM of the state by intervening in its administration. This allegation came in response to Venugopals comments on the demolition drive in Bengaluru.

"Karnataka is not a colony of Rahul Gandhi and his coterie," BJP leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Assembly, R. Ashoka, stated.

On Saturday, Venugopal had posted on social media that he had spoken to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar, expressing the AICC's serious concern over the eviction drive. He stated that the party leadership believed such actions should have been carried out with more caution, sensitivity, and compassion, keeping the human impact at the forefront.

"They have assured that they will personally engage with the affected families, put in place an appropriate mechanism for addressing grievances, and ensure rehabilitation and relief for those impacted," he added.

Spoke to Karnataka CM @siddaramaiah and DCM @DKShivakumar regarding the demolition of unauthorised constructions in Kogilu village, Bengaluru.



Conveyed the AICCs serious concern that such actions should have been undertaken with far greater caution, sensitivity, and  K C Venugopal (@kcvenugopalmp) December 27, 2025

In a sharp response to Venugopal's remarks, Ashoka questioned: "Who is K.C. Venugopal to intervene in the administration of Karnataka? Is he a Super CM, or does the Congress high command believe elected state governments function on Delhi diktats?"

Ashoka further accused the Congress of overstepping its boundaries, calling it a "blatant overreach" and an insult to federalism.

The AICC's intervention came after Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan criticised the demolition of Fakir Colony and Waseem Layout, areas where Muslim families had lived for many years.

Ashoka claimed that this selective outrage revealed the true nature of the Congress high command's politics, particularly its focus on Kerala appeasement and election optics, especially since Priyanka Gandhi represents the state in the Lok Sabha.

Karnataka's dignity, self-respect, and administrative authority cannot be compromised to please party managers sitting in Delhi. The people of this state did not vote for a remote control government," Ashoka said.
Women named Okimma typically exhibit strong independent thinking and creative problem-solving abilities. They often possess a natural confidence that allows them to stand firm in their convictions while remaining open to different perspectives. Their 'one of a kind' nature manifests as innovative approaches to challenges and unique ways of expressing themselves, whether through art, leadership, or personal style. These individuals tend to be deeply intuitive and often develop strong spiritual or philosophical frameworks that guide their decisions and relationships.



In social settings, Okimmas are known for their ability to connect with diverse groups while maintaining their distinct identity. They often serve as bridges between different communities or ideas, bringing people together through their inclusive yet principled approach. Their strength lies in balancing individuality with compassion, making them both inspiring leaders and loyal friends. While they may sometimes be perceived as unconventional, their authenticity and integrity typically earn them deep respect. Their life journey often involves discovering and embracing their unique purpose, then using that understanding to make meaningful contributions to their communities.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, known for his candid expression of differences with the party, has voiced his support for his colleague Digvijay Singh over the latter's call for reform.

Singh had caused a stir by praising the organisational strength of the RSS-BJP, prompting many party leaders to move into damage control mode and insist that Congress has nothing to learn from the Sangh.

When asked whether he had spoken to Singh about the controversy, Tharoor responded, "We are friends, and having a conversation is natural. The organisation must be strengthenedthere is no question about it."

The Thiruvananthapuram MP also highlighted the importance of discipline in maintaining a strong organisation. "We have a 140-year history; there's a lot we can learn. I also want the organisation to be strong. Discipline is essential. That's logical. There must be discipline within our organisation," he said.

On Saturday, Singh had shared an old photograph of Narendra Modi with BJP leader L.K. Advani on social media, commenting on how a grassroots worker rose to become both chief minister and prime minister by learning from their leadership.

However, distancing itself from Singhs comments, Congress linked the RSS to Mahatma Gandhis assassin Nathuram Godse, asserting that the party has nothing to learn from it.

"There's nothing to learn from the RSS. What can an organisation known for Godse teach an organisation founded by Gandhi?" Congress leader Pawar Khare asked.

Singhs remarks came ahead of the CWC meeting, where the party decided on its agitational plan against the scrapping of MGNREGA, set to take effect from January 5.

A PTI report quoted sources saying Singh had raised the issue of strengthening the Congress organisation at the grassroots level, asserting that it was crucial in the fight against the ruling BJP and in efforts to oust it from power.
The survivor of the Unnao rape case has now demanded that the CBI file an FR against the outgoing investigating officer of the case. She alleged that the officer was clouded by the former BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh, the main convict in the case, and influenced the outcome.

The victim claimed in a six-page complaint that the officer in charge of the case investigated in a manner that benefited the former MLA and the other accused in the case, Aaj Tak reported. She said that the officer made omissions in the investigation and that the facts were manipulated to provide the accused with a better legal position.

The investigating officer allegedly used a fake school document in the charge sheet, according to the complaint.

The charge sheet in the original case had listed her as a student of a government school, which she said she never attended, and gave the wrong date of birth. The charge sheet also stated that she used a mobile phone belonging to a woman named Heera Singh, which the victim denies ever happening.

Several statements that she had never made were also attributed to her, according to the complaint.

She said that the previous complaints she filed against the investigating officer were not taken seriously. He also cited a trial court order where the investigating officer was questioned on the manner in which the statements were recorded. The court had said that the investigation was not conducted in a proper manner and that the statements of the family were undermined.

The court's observations were challenged by the CBI later in the Delhi High Court.

The Delhi High Court recently granted conditional bail to Sengar, suspending his life sentence.

The Unnao rape victim and her mother, along with supporters, staged a protest on Sunday at the Jantar Mantar in Delhi. Supporters of Sengar and members of the Purush Aayog also showed up. One man shouted, BJP Zindabad. The victim's mother, who had been demanding the death penalty for convicted Kuldeep Sengar, subsequently fainted after that.
Saudi Arabia has launched airstrikes in Yemen targeting a separatist militia backed by the UAE. This follows a warning issued days ago that Riyadh would intervene unless the group withdrew from the strategically vital Hadhramaut province. The escalation signals a deepening rift between the two Gulf powers, who were once the primary pillars of the anti-Houthi coalition. The UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) expressed serious concern, accusing Saudi Arabia of targeting its elite units in Hadhramauta province that shares a critical border with the Saudi kingdom.

The escalation represents a critical fracture within the anti-Houthi alliance, with Saudi Arabia now confronting a group that has, until recently, operated as a nominal partner in the wider campaign. In a bold military push, the STC, a separatist movement seeking to re-establish the independent state of South Yemen that existed prior to unification in 1990, moved to seize control of Hadhramaut and the eastern province of al-Mahra, expelling forces loyal to Yemens internationally recognised government.

For latest news and analyses on Middle East, visit: Yello! Middle East

Hadhramaut and al-Mahra contain Yemens largest oil fields, represent a vast portion of the countrys landmass, and border both Saudi Arabia and Oman. Control of these provinces offers not only economic leverage but also strategic depth, something that has alarmed Riyadh. Saudi Arabia, which leads the coalition backing the official Yemeni government, quickly issued an ultimatum demanding that STC forces withdraw peacefully and return control of the territories. Major General Turki al-Malki, the coalitions spokesman, warned that any military activity undermining de-escalation efforts would be dealt with directly and immediately.

That warning soon appeared to be enforced. The STC accused Saudi Arabia of launching air strikes on its positions in the Wadi Nahb area of Hadhramaut. Video footage circulated by separatist-aligned media showed columns of smoke rising from the area, while STC officials described the incident as a surprising aerial bombardment. Saudi Arabia has not publicly confirmed the strikes, but analysts described them as a clear warning intended to halt the STC advance rather than to cause widespread casualties. Reports suggested the air strikes themselves caused no deaths, although clashes with Saudi-aligned tribal forces reportedly killed two STC fighters.

The latest escalation points to a shadow war between Saudi Arabia and the UAE. While Riyadh insists on preserving Yemens territorial integrity and stopping the STCs expansion into provinces bordering Saudi territory, the UAE has long cultivated ties with the STC, providing it with financial assistance, training and military equipment. Although Abu Dhabis foreign ministry issued a statement formally welcoming Saudi efforts to stabilise Yemen, observers note that the STCs operational strength would be impossible without Emirati backing. This tension is not confined to Yemen. Analysts point to a broader geopolitical split, noting that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are also backing rival factions in Sudan, where the UAE-supported Rapid Support Forces have seized strategic assets in a pattern that mirrors the STCs grab for oil-rich territory.

The timing of the STCs offensive appears to be driven by fear of political marginalisation. The group is deeply concerned about potential de-escalation agreements between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis in the aftermath of the Gaza war. Worried that such talks could produce a settlement that ignores southern aspirations, the STC has moved to secure territory and resources to strengthen its bargaining position and ensure it has, as one analyst put it, a piece of the pie.

For the STC, the campaign is an existential attempt to restore the borders of the former South Yemen. However, its advance into Hadhramaut has met resistance from local actors. The province has a strong and distinct identity, and some local groups favour a federal arrangement rather than domination by the STC, raising the risk of a destructive south-on-south conflict.

The Houthis, who control northern Yemen and the capital, Sanaa, are happy to see their opponents turn on one another, allowing them to conserve resources and beef up their defences. Analysts have noted that the group has remained conspicuously quiet, avoiding rhetoric that might otherwise unite the fractured coalition against it.

As global concern grows, diplomatic leaders are moving to prevent a resurgence of conflict in Yemen. American Secretary of State Marco Rubio has urged all parties to exercise restraint and prioritise de-escalation. The UN, too, has advised restraint, warning that a return to war would be catastrophic for Yemen and the broader Middle East.
Painted on a glorious Super Panavision 70 canvas, British director David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia is such a stunning and lavishly mounted epic that no other film made since has come close to attaining its level of immense grandeur, ambitious storytelling, and gigantic scale. Based on T.E. Lawrence's chronicle of his wartime experiences, "Seven Pillars of Wisdom", the film is a staggering and vivid exploration of the psyche of a bewilderingly complex individual. The protagonist T.E Lawrence, played by Peter OToole, is reminiscent of another famous movie character, Charles Foster Kane, from Orson Welles' Citizen Kane.

Even the opening of the film bears a resemblance to the Citizen Kane opening. At his memorial service, several characters claim to have known Lawrence, but it is quite clear that none of them knew him that well. This is the story of a man who was so many things to so many people. The film then tracks back to Lawrences days as a British Army lieutenant stationed in Cairo with a dreary desk job. He yearns to go out in the open, in the scorching desert, having fun and wild adventures. He gets his chance when his superiors take into account his extensive knowledge of the Middle East and hand him an assignment: to observe the Arab revolt against the Turks.

For latest news and analyses on Middle East, visit: Yello! Middle East

Lawrence is ordered to establish contact with Prince Feisal (Alec Guinness) and report on the likelihood of him launching an attack on the Turks. When he finally meets Feisal, he convinces him to attack the Turkish stronghold of Aqaba, much to the chagrin of his superiors. But Lawrence believes that this move will strengthen the position of the British forces in the region, and with the support of an unlikely ally in the form of Sherif Ali (Omar Sharif), Lawrence undertakes the perilous journey of crossing the mysterious and formidable Nefud desert. It's after this journey that he comes face to face with a ferocious mercenary named Auda Abu Tayi (Anthony Quinn).

Lawrence succeeds in persuading Auda and his tribe to support their cause and help attack Aqaba. The endeavour is a huge success. All hail Lawrence as a hero. The path is then set for a guerrilla war, planned and executed by Lawrence. However, he slowly begins to become disillusioned by the war after being subjected to several challenging and tragic circumstances. Lawrence is no longer the same man he was before. Towards the end, we find Lawrence as a man emotionally shattered, brought about by the moral disintegration of the inhabitants of the desert that he so hoped to reform.

In the beginning, we find Lawrence oddly mesmerised by the vast expanse of the sprawling desert landscape; he is enticed by the unseen possibilities that lie ahead. The Arabs dont see things the same way he does. As Alec Guinnesss Prince Feisal observes at one point, No Arab loves the desert. We love water and green trees. There is nothing in the desert, and no man needs anything. To them, it is a desolate place, whereas Lawrence envisions it as something out of a Utopian dream  a place he can escape to, paint his own reality and weave his lofty dreams and aspirations. Its a place where he wont be bothered by all the fat people back home. He doesn't see himself as one of them, and when an Arab asks, "You are not fat?", he replies, "No. I'm different."

Lawrence is repeatedly reminded of the dangers of the place, but for him, its a playground upon which he can entertain his fancies, vent his frustrations, ruminate on the complexities of life and above all, be somebody that others would look up to. But in the end, the desert turns into a bleak wasteland  a burial ground for his shattered hopes and dreams. Cinematographer Freddie Young captures the splendour of the desert in a way that no one else has done before. The characters are dwarfed by the backdrop of the vast stretches of sand that lie around them. Each frame is perfectly composed and resembles an immaculately drawn painting. It should be noted that another famous British director, Nicolas Roeg ("Don't Look Now"), was one of the second unit cameramen.

The casting of the then-unknown Peter O'Toole posed a considerable challenge for the filmmakers. Toole was not the initial choice to play Lawrence, and other actors were considered for the role, like Robert Donat, Leslie Howard, Laurence Olivier, Alec Guinness and Dirk Bogarde. But Lean and producer Sam Spiegel were finally convinced that Toole was the perfect choice for the role. Some critics have criticised Tooles slightly effeminate portrayal of the role because it implied that Lawrence was a closeted homosexual. He is also portrayed as a shameless exhibitionist, as remarked by one of the characters early on in the film.

This is a film that reveals new layers upon every revisit. The probable homosexual subtext, for instance. Upon first viewing of the film in my school days, I found something strange about Toole's performance. His slightly effeminate personality made more sense years later, when I was in my teens. And when you get to your adult phase, you begin to realise that this is an ambiguous character, and that there are several clues in the film to suggest that whatever you are guessing could be right after all. Today, Ive come to regard Tooles performance as one of the finest of his career.

This performance has garnered praise from a majority of critics who, after doing a careful and thorough scrutiny of the writings of T.E Lawrence, have concluded that Toole has effectively captured the many nuances of the characters persona. With the laser precision of an expert surgeon, Lean unflinchingly conducts an incisive probe of the psyche of this deeply flawed and compelling protagonist, managing to draw a not-so-flattering portrait of him. Lean makes no attempts to gloss over some of the unpleasant aspects of the characters, such as his inherent narcissism and sadomasochistic tendencies. Compared to the characters presented here, those present in the rest of Lean's films pale in comparison. Anyone who thinks that Lawrence is a conventional movie hero must have been watching the wrong film.

But if there is one actor whose presence looms large over the film, it is that of the charismatic Egyptian actor Omar Sharif. As Sherif Ali, his commanding performance nearly overshadows Tooles. His famous introduction sequence, captured in a magical long shot, is arguably the greatest character entry moment in cinema history. In the neatly and patiently composed scene, Sharif initially appears as a speck on the desert horizon, who is then slowly revealed to be an Arab man on horseback dressed in black garb, his face concealed by his headgear. Legend has it that Sharif's performance made such a strong impact that he decided to keep that moustache for the rest of his career. After seeing the talents of this magnetic actor, one wonders why Lean did not bother to cast other outsiders in the roles of Prince Feisal and Auda. But I'm not complaining, as the presence of these actors lends a certain gravitas to an already majestic film.

Only a few films of a nearly four-hour-long runtime can boast of never ever inducing boredom. Lawrence of Arabia is certainly one of them. In fact, its one of those films that one wouldnt mind seeing even if it were 5 or 6 hours long. The 7 Oscars  Best Picture, Best Director and Best Cinematography  all well-deserved. The film continues to inspire both young and old filmmakers alike and remains Leans greatest accomplishment even to this day. Nothing like it has been made since, and I don't think we'll get to see a rare cinematic gem like this ever again. This is old-school storytelling at its finest.


Bangladesh on Sunday dismissed India's concerns over attacks on minorities in the neighbouring country as "exaggerated" and "misleading". Bangladesh accused India of portraying isolated incidents as "religious persecution".

In a statement, the Bangladesh foreign affairs ministry dismissed India's recent remarks on the situation in Bangladesh "do not reflect the ground reality". "Bangladesh categorically rejects any narrative that misrepresents the countrys long-standing tradition of communal harmony," the ministry said.

Rejecting India's comments, Dhaka called New Delhi's comments as "a systematic attempt to portray isolated criminal incidents as organised persecution of Hindus and to use such narratives to spread anti-Bangladesh sentiments in parts of India," Dhaka Tribune reported.

During a recent press briefing, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal expressed concern over turmoil in the neighbouring country and attacks against minorities. Jaiswal expressed concern over the killing of Dipu Chandra Das and highlighted over 2,900 incidents of violence. India also expressed concern over the killing of Amrit Mondal, allegedly a criminal involved in extortion.

"Some quarters were selectively publicising and misrepresenting incidents to incite ordinary Indians against Bangladesh, its diplomatic missions and institutions in India," Bangladesh charged. Dismissing India's comments, Bangladesh said Mondal was a listed criminal and was killed during an extortion attempt. "Portraying the incident as a minority-related issue was not only inaccurate but also misleading," it said.

Bangladesh urged various quarters in India to refrain from spreading misleading narratives that undermine good neighbourly relations and mutual trust, the publication reported.
A major gas line explosion on Saturday evening (local time) in California's Castaic region has caused the temporary closure of the 5 Freeway, a major highway connecting parts of California with Los Angeles.

When it was first reported at around 4:20 PM near the Ridge Route Road and Pine Crest Place, just south of an elementary school, locals reported hearing "loud, jet-like" noises as they suddenly saw thick gas clouds in the sky.

A few others also reported hearing a loud explosion. Eyewitness footage shows thick, yellowish-brown clouds at the site of the gas line rupture, followed by 'whooshing' sounds.

#BREAKING: shelter-in-place has been issued after a Major natural gas line exploded



#Castaic | #California



At this time, law enforcement and emergency crews have issued a shelter-in-place order following a major natural gas explosion in Castaic, California. Numerous pic.twitter.com/z4q9tCiEx2  R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) December 28, 2025

Soon after, the LA County Fire Department Station 149, nearly 2km away from the site of the gas leak, reported smelling gas as well.

Though no injuries have been reported yet, the authorities have issued a shelter-in-place orderleading to the evacuation of nearly 15,000 residentswell into Saturday night.

It is unclear when the Lake Hughes stretch of the 5 Freeway will reopen, as crews continued working there later into the night on Saturday.

Fire officials confirmed the leak came from a 34-inch transmission linea major natural gas pipeline that runs alongside the 5 Freeway, and declared that there was no explosion, despite what eyewitnesses said, as per an ABC7 report.

SoCalGas, one of the largest natural gas distribution facilities in the US, has said that their crews were engaged in the disaster mitigation efforts as well.

Officials added that the pipeline had been under extreme pressure, and when it failed, the gas in it was released forcefully, which reportedly caused the rupture.

SoCalGas and firefighting crews in the area later confirmed that they managed to isolate the damaged section of the pipeline and stop the leak. Gas flow here has also been shut off.

"Once remaining natural gas in the damaged pipeline section is safely vented, crews will assess the damage and make repairs to the pipeline," SoCalGas said, echoing the authorities in saying that there was no more risk to the public.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) reportedly confirmed that the prime accused in the murder case of Sharif Osman Hadi has fled to India along with an associate. Two Indian nationals who aided their escape were arrested by the Meghalaya Police, the DMP added. Additional Commissioner S. N. Nazrul Islam on Sunday reportedly identified the arrested Indian nationals as Purti and Sami.

Hadi murder accused Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Sheikh fled Dhaka for Aminbazar in an auto-rickshaw, where a car was waiting to take them to Kalampur. According to a police official, another vehicle then took them to the Mymensingh border. It was here that Faisal and Alamgir were picked up by Philip Pal and Sanjay, who illegally smuggle people across the border. Mymensingh District in Bangladesh shares its border with India's northeastern states, primarily Meghalaya. It is reportedly home to the Haluaghat crossing point, which is a key illegal entry/exit point between the two countries.

Crossing over to Meghalaya with the help of Pal, the duo met up with Purti at a place called Tura. Sami was the driver of the car which was used to transport Faisal and Alamgir, Prothom Alo quoted the Additional Commissioner as saying. However, it was not mentioned if the duo are still in Meghalaya or where they were taken by Sami.

ALSO READ | Act in 24 hours: Osman Hadi ally warns Muhammad Yunus-led interim govt

Additional Commissioner Nazrul reportedly added that a total of 11 people have been arrested so far in connection with the murder of Hadi. Many of those behind the murder have been identified. For the sake of the investigation, all names cannot be disclosed. Based on the information received so far, it appears to be a political killing, the DMP official reportedly said.

ALSO READ | After Osman Hadi, another leader shot in the head in Bangladesh ahead of elections

Sharif Osman Hadi was a prospective candidate from the Dhaka-8 constituency. On 12 December, shortly after Friday prayers, the Inquilab Mancha leader was shot while he was riding in a rickshaw on Culvert Road in the capitals Purana Paltan area. The assailants fled on a motorcycle after shooting him in the head from close range. Hadi was later taken to Singapore for advanced treatment, where he died on 18 December.
Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a stern warning to Ukraine, stating that Moscow would not hesitate to achieve the objectives of its special military operation "by force" if Kyiv refused to resolve the conflict peacefully.

Putin said that Russia could see Ukraine was in no hurry to end the conflict by peaceful means, according to a report by the Interfax news agency on Saturday.

 NEW: Vladimir Putin, in full military uniform, just said the quiet part out loud: if Kyiv wont accept Russias terms, Moscow will pursue its goals by force. This isnt diplomacy, its an ultimatum backed by guns. pic.twitter.com/hnKp1PFzvY  Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) December 27, 2025

His statement comes ahead of a crucial meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska on Sunday.

Earlier, in response to Russia's recent missile and drone attacks on Kyiv, Zelenskyy labeled Putin a "man of war."

"We want peace, and he is a man of war," he said.

Russia had launched several Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, four Iskander ballistic missiles, and a series of Kalibr cruise missiles at the Ukrainian capital on Friday. According to CNN, the assault lasted more than 10 hours, disrupting daily life in Kyiv and causing widespread power outages that lasted for several hours.

During his meeting with Trump, Zelenskyy is expected to present a 20-point peace plan aimed at ending the nearly four-year-long conflict. Trump has indicated that any peace proposal would require his "approval."

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy held discussions with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and leaders from NATO and the European Union.

"Strong positions are needed both on the frontlines and in diplomacy to prevent Putin from manipulating and avoiding a real and just end to the war. The world has enough strength to guarantee security and peace," he wrote on X following the meetings.

Canadian PM Mark Carney meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and condemns Russia's "barbaric" overnight attack on Kyiv.



Zelenskyy adds that "this shows that Putin doesn't want peace... We want peace. He's a man of war"



Live updates: https://t.co/TtjIBETXze pic.twitter.com/WdcnB2ldhb  Sky News (@SkyNews) December 27, 2025

Zelenskyy stated that the talks with Trump would focus on long-term security guarantees for Ukraine and the role of its allies in ensuring stability after the war.
As the unrest and collapse of law and order plunge Bangladesh into chaos, a report emerging from the country states that the condition of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia is critical. Khaleda Zias health update comes as her son, Tarique Rahman, acting chairman of the party, returned home after 17 years, just two months before the general elections.

The 80-year-old first female prime minister of Bangladesh is passing through a critical moment, according to Dr AZM Zahid Hossain, a member of the medical board formed for her treatment. Naturally, it cannot be said that her condition has improved Her condition is extremely critical, and she is going through a critical phase, he told reporters on Saturday night, adding that they were trying everything."

The press briefing was done in front of the hospital without any prior announcement at 12:30 am on Sunday, stoking rumours that Zia could be in extremely critical condition.

She was admitted to the hospital on November 23, but her physical condition deteriorated rapidly after admission. She was first transferred to the CCU and later to the ICU.

According to hospital sources, Khaleda Zia is suffering from multiple complex physical problems triggered by diabetes, kidney, heart, and lung problems. She is undergoing regular medical tests and is being kept under observation. Although the BNP has offered to take her abroad for better treatment, doctors have said that flying is not possible due to his current physical condition.

Tarique Rahman, who many claim could be the next Prime Minister, visited his mother on the day he arrived. After a day full of various engagements on Saturday, he again went to see her. He stayed there for more than two hours and left the hospital at 11:58 pm, according to Bangladeshi media reports.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director Kash Patel has a number of quirks that are slowly getting on his agents' nerves, a new report has found.

One of the most shocking accusations the agents make is that Patel often told them to inform him of high-profile arrests in advance, so that he could arrive on the scene to grab the spotlight.

The report said that Patel's unique demand allegedly impacted a recent FBI operation, in which agents were advised to keep their heads down and not engage with the target, as per a source in the know.

The source added that he ironically did not even arrive at the crime scene either.

These allegations were part of an Axios report examining bizarre quirks of the Donald Trump administration's national security team.

This is not all that the FBI chiefwho allegedly has too little prior experience to lead the agencyhas been accused of.

Patel's media presence is another issue that seems to have ruffled feathers in the FBI.

In fact, in two of the most high-profile crime cases in the US this yearthe Charlie Kirk assassination and the Brown University shootingPatel had quickly taken to social media to demand arrests and please his following.

The subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody. Thank you to the local and state authorities in Utah for your partnership with @fbi.

We will provide updates when able.  FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) September 10, 2025

However, it was soon revealed that the perpetrators had still been at large at the time he posted on social media, causing backlashon the outside, and allegedly inside the FBI too.

To add insult to injury, a podcast featuring Patel and his girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins, was also released barely a week after the Brown University shooting that killed two people. Though it was taped before the horrific incident, it still caused backlash because of the timing and its topic (their relationship).

Even his fashion sense has annoyed agents in the FBI, the report added, citing a recently retired agent who called him out for often wearing FBI windbreakers (light jackets) for the cameras.

"You're the director of the FBI. Wear a f*****g suit," the agent said.

Patel has reportedly insisted on wearing his chosen outfits multiple times, including at one point after the Kirk killing, when he even refused to get out of an FBI jet until agents hunted down a medium-sized raid jacket for him and removed their own SWAT patches to decorate it.

Patel apparently did not have his own FBI raid jacket with him and refused to step from the plane without wearing one, another FBI dossier said earlier this month.

The dossier, compiled by both active-duty and retired FBI agents, had already critiqued a number of flaws in Patel's reign as FBI chief, including his inexperience, insecurities, and more.
Individuals named Rigby are often perceived as strong-willed and independent, with a natural leadership quality that stems from the name's 'ruler' connotations. They tend to be practical and grounded, reflecting the 'valley' aspect of the name's meaning, which suggests stability and connection to the earth. Rigbys are typically seen as reliable and steadfast, people who build their lives on solid foundations rather than fleeting trends. There's often an undercurrent of quiet confidence rather than overt arrogance, making them respected rather than feared leaders.



The name also carries hints of introspection and depth, possibly influenced by the cultural shadow of the lonely Eleanor Rigby character, suggesting someone who thinks deeply about life's meaning and human connections. This combination of strength and sensitivity makes Rigbys complex individuals who can both lead effectively and understand human vulnerability. They often display a unique blend of traditional values and independent thinking, making them both dependable and interesting companions. The geographical origins of the name suggest someone who is deeply connected to their roots while having the vision to see beyond their immediate surroundings.
The U.S. State Department has condemned the recent wave of religious violence in Bangladesh and called on the government to take measures to protect minority communities.

The Department also described the recent killing of Dipu Chandra Das, a Hindu factory worker, as "horrific".

"The United States supports religious freedom and freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association," a State Department spokesperson was quoted as saying by IANS news agency.

"The United States unequivocally condemns religious violence in all its forms, and we welcome measures the Bangladeshi interim government is taking to ensure the safety and security of all communities in Bangladesh," he added.

The spokesperson's response comes amid growing concerns among the US lawmakers over the reports of a broader pattern of attacks on minority communities in Bangladesh.

Terming the killing of Das as "horrific", Congressman Ro Khanna recently took to X, calling for strong condemnation of such incidents.

"We must unequivocally condemn and speak out against these vile acts of hatred and bigotry," he said.

The fresh wave of protests and violence erupted in Bangladesh after the killing of prominent youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi. The Inqilab Mancha spokesperson died at a Singapore hospital on December 18, days after he was shot in the head.

The country has witnessed a spate of attacks on minority communities, with two Hindu men, Amrit Mondal and Dipu Chandra Das, being lynched.

India expressed grave concern on Friday about the "unremitting hostilities" against minorities in Bangladesh, demanding punishment for those involved in the lynching of the Hindu youths.
Vikram Achanta

INDIA HAS A rich history of alcohol. The vedas frequently mention soma rasa, the nectar of the gods. Thanks to Indias cultural and religious diversity, it hosts a tremendous range of native brews. Most of them are crafted from local grains or starchessuch as coconut sapyet many have not transitioned beyond backyard stills, as they often turn sour within hours.

Two breakthrough spirits, feni and mahua, are currently competing for the title of Indias true native spirit. In a country this vast, there is ample room for both to flourish, and perhaps others also like arrack, if legalised.

Mahua is perhaps Indias oldest known spirit. The mahua tree holds a connection to the lands inhabitants. The spirit is derived from the trees flowers which, once dried, undergo fermentation and distillation. As no other flower remains so sugar-rich when dried, mahua is regarded as the worlds only spirit originating from a flower.

In 1892, to protect the economic interests of British alcohol imports, the British passed the Bombay Abkari Act and the Mhowra Act, which banned the production and collection of the flower. This severely impacted South Seas Distilleries, a company with a century-old heritage. South Seas recently launched Six Brothers Mahura, a premium product retailing in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Goa and shortly to be available in Haryana, Chandigarh as also Gujarat.

Fenis journey is equally storied. Following the liberation of Goa in 1961, feni remained under older legal frameworks. It did not fit the Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) classification applied to British-style spirits like whisky or rum. Instead, it was classified as country liquor. While this kept taxes low and the spirit accessible, it restricted exports to other Indian states and somewhat diminished its status.

There are two primary types of feni: One made from the cashew fruit, and the other distilled from coconut tree sap. There are believed to be 19 variations of coconut feni, each defined by a single flavouring agent. Unlike gin, which uses multiple botanicals, feni uses a potli (sack) tied to the stills mouth, allowing flavours to pass into the liquid via vapour infusion. Historically, these were used medicinally: jeera (cumin) for upset stomach, aale (ginger) for sore throat, and kodu (bitter) for diabetes.

The tide is turning. Entrepreneurs are raising the bar for quality and branding. Both cashew and coconut feni have received geographical indication (GI) status. Furthermore, states like Madhya Pradesh are reclassifying mahua as a heritage spirit, moving it away from the country liquor label.

Tourism is also playing a role. The Cazulo Fazenda in Goa has become a destination for its Floating Feni experience. Meanwhile, sophisticated cocktail bars in Mumbai, Bhopal and Panjim are integrating these spirits into evolved beverage programmes. Recently, at the prestigious Spirits Selection by CMB in Mexico, Six Brothers Mahura and Cazulos Dukhshiri Feni won silver medals, marking a global coming-of-age for Indias native spirits.

The writer is founder & CEO of Tulleeho, one of Indias leading alcobev consultancies and also co-founder of 30BestBars India and the India Bartender Show.
ANASUYA RAY WAS understandably confused during her induction at AB InBev India, the brewers of Budweiser beer. Coming from the FMCG sector, the alcobev space was entirely new to her. However, the source of her confusion wasnt the brewing process, but a supply chain colleague who kept briefing her on exporting from here and importing there.

I was wondering, What is he talking about? We are just sending goods from Bengaluru to Hyderabad. Where is the export and import happening? Ray recounted. She eventually learned that alcohol consignments require export and import passes just to cross state borders.

To top it all off, when goods are transferred from one country to another, there is actually an excise official sitting inside that truck to ensure the inter-border transfer happens, she said. In this day and age, when we track food through Zomato, we are still dependent on a person rather than GPS tagging? Things need to change!

Rules do change in India, but rarely in the way manufacturers hope. Every year, on April 1, state excise policies are overhauled. What happens then? Every label you see on our bottles has to change, said Ray. Everything must go for renewal. And every renewal means vast amounts of money, energy and resources being poured into it.

Navigating the laws governing Indias alcohol sector is like entering a maze filled with paperwork in triplicate and random inspections. Because alcohol is a state subject under the 7th Schedule of the Constitution, each state is free to legislate as it pleases. This has resulted in a patchwork of regulations that can be diametrically opposite once you cross a state line.

Every year, what the state government does determines our future, said Anant S. Iyer, director-general of the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC). One day the sun can be shining, and suddenly it sets without warning. It depends entirely on the whims and fancies of whoever wants to change policy.

This legislative freedom has led to total prohibition in states like Gujarat and Bihar. Even in wet states, the complexity is staggering. Tax structures vary so wildly that the price of the same bottle can double from one state to the next.

Historical quirks also persist. Until the 2000s, a provision in the Punjab Excise Act (which then governed Delhi) prohibited bars from displaying bottles, fearing they would provide unwise temptation to patrons who were, ironically, already inside the bar.

These restrictions arent merely a post-1947 phenomenon. The British introduced several restrictive laws, such as the Bombay Abkari Act of 1878, to suppress Indias indigenous alcohol cultureslike toddy, arrack, and mahuain favour of revenue-generating foreign-made liquor. Post-independence, Gandhian sentiments led to Article 47 of the Constitution, which recommends that the state endeavour to bring about prohibition, even as the power to tax remained firmly with the states.

Today, alcohol is the golden goose of state revenue; many state economies would crumble without it. Yet, this dependency creates an intricate trap for distillers, bar owners and tourists alike.

The legal drinking age is a prime example of the lack of uniformity. It ranges from 18 in Goa and Sikkim to 25 in Delhi. Maharashtra employs a curious permit systema legacy of the 1949 Bombay Prohibition Actwhere a drinker technically needs a permit to consume alcohol. The state also sets the age limit for beer and wine at 21, but raises it to 25 for spirits.

Distribution is equally varied. In Tamil Nadu, the state body TASMAC is the sole distributor. Dry days fluctuate wildly. In Kerala, the first of every month is dry, though this has recently been relaxed for star hotels to serve liquor during pre-approved events. Meanwhile, states like West Bengal and Odisha have embraced modernity by allowing alcohol delivery via apps.

Further complications often come from the courts. In the mid-2010s, a Supreme Court order banned liquor sales on national highways to curb drink-driving. However, because national highways double as the main thoroughfares in most Indian towns, the ban threatened to shut down a massive portion of the industry. In response, several states reclassified their national highways as state roads to circumvent the ruling.

Price discrepancies also fuel booze tourism and smuggling. Because Goa and Puducherry have much lower taxes than neighbouring Maharashtra or Tamil Nadu, excise officers constantly patrol state borders. In dry Gujarat, it is a common weekend sight to see tourists flocking across the border to Mount Abu in Rajasthan, primarily to partake in the potions forbidden at home.

When India moved to a unified Goods and Services Tax (GST) in 2017, two sectors were excluded at the states instance: fuel and liquor. This remains a point of contention for manufacturers.

Alcohol is not under GST, but please remember all our inputs are, Ray explained. The beer industry uses barley and malt, and all these things are charged GST. This creates a broken tax chain where manufacturers pay GST on raw materials but cannot claim credits against the excise duty paid on the final product.

While uniform alcohol laws may be a distant dream given the current political climate, the industry continues to push for modernisation. Tweak these laws and look ahead, said Ray. Get some benchmarks from across the world and implement them. Indias time is here and now, and every change is a step forward in the journey.
It was Mahatma Gandhi who saved the new Indian liquor story from being stillborn.

Yes! When the Jagdales, who launched the first Indian single malt whisky, had a tough decision to makethe whisky, called Amrut, had not really taken off and the company was bleeding moneyBapus spirit came to their rescue.

Indian single malts, Over the past decade, have evolved remarkably to become the fastest-growing spirits segment in the world. Diego Bianchi, vice president, global hubs, Sazerac

While the father, Neelakanta, wanted to give up and cut losses, son Rakshit wanted to give it another shot. Unable to reach a consensus, they took a walk from their hotel in London to the nearby Tavistock Square and sat down in front of the bronze statue of Gandhi.

It came to me: our entire history would have been different if Gandhi, too, had gone back on what he had resolved to do, Neelakanta had recounted later in an interview. There I was thinking small, worried about losing a few crores, while there was this big opportunity to establish an Indian whisky brand abroad and make the country proud. What I learnt, looking at Gandhi ji, was about hope and inspiration.

All that, and some skilful innovation and deft marketing, not only made Amrut a marquee brand but has also given Indian alcohol a leg up in the global alcoholic beverage industry (alcobev) space.

The success of the Indian single maltswith brands like Paul John, Rampur and Indri that followed Amrutis only one part of the story. There is a whole lot of craft innovation, from gin to indigenous liquors, happening. And the world is taking note.

Hows the josh?

The josh is indeed high. On the one hand, premiumisation has seen more and more Indians going for better quality liquor. This has pushed Indias domestic alcohol market to a valuation of Rs3.25 lakh crore in 2025, as per a study by Technopak, with a yearly growth of about 10 per cent. Ten of the 30 fastest-growing liquor brands in the world are Indian. Diageos McDowells No.1 is the largest-selling whisky in the world. More excitingly, a plethora of Indian brands has gone global in recent years, spawning an export market that is growing at 20 to 26 per cent.

It is a dramatic shift from the stereotype of Indian liquor being cheap and low-quality. More and more craft Indian brands are being launched, and are being lapped up by discerning urban Indians.

Photo: Sanjay Ahlawat, Model: Vivan Tiwari, Stylist: Harsh Gupta, Assistant to stylist: Sanjiv Pukhram, Hair & Make-up: Deepak Patel

The world, too, cant have enough of it. Indri, a single malt whisky distilled in the namesake village in Haryana, was adjudged the Worlds Best Whisky twice. Gianchand, from Jammus DeVANS, won International Whisky of the Year and Grand Gold at Meiningers International Spirits Award. Five Indian brands won top honours at the Whiskies of the World awards this yearsomething unimaginable a few years ago!

Take the case of Nikita, who lives in Delhi and used to look forward to picking up liquor from the duty-free on her way back from visiting her brother in Singapore. He is now asking me to pick up the new Indian brands for him when I go visiting! she said.

The Distilled and Bottled in India tag is finding takers all over the world. Radico Khaitan exports brands like Rampur, its single malt, and craft gin Jaisalmer to more than 100 countries. Grovers wines are now being served even in Paris restaurants. Because of its unique terroir and climate India offers a very different malt experience. Vast temperature variation, especially in north India, not only ensures that malt matures at an aggressive pace, but also imparts unique flavours, without compromising on complexity or balance, said Sanjeev Banga, president (international business), Radico Khaitan. Rampur single malt is named after the town in Uttar Pradesh the company started distilling in 1943.

Indian single malts are now meeting and exceeding the global benchmarks of quality, said Diego Bianchi, vice president, global hubs, Sazerac. Over the past decade, the category has evolved remarkably to become the fastest-growing spirits segment in the world.

It isnt just whisky. Jin Jiji Indian dry gin, distilled in Uttarakhand, received a gold medal at the London Spirits Competition this year, while Cherrapunji ginwhich uses purified monsoon water from Cherrapunji and Mawsynram in Meghalayawon a double gold at the SIP Awards 2025. Bandarful, a cold brew coffee liqueur crafted from Chikmagalur coffee and Himalayan spring water, was crowned the worlds best liqueur at the 2025 USA Spirits Ratings.

What was once a tricklean Amrut here or a Paul John therehas now become a torrent. Indian liquor exports crossed Rs3,000 crore last year. Estimates are that they will cross $1 billion (around Rs9,000 crore) a year before this decade is through.

The churning of the ocean

When the Jagdales decided to make Amrut, the liquor scene in India was very different. Stifling laws and regulations had stunted the industry, not to mention a few entrenched players with political patronage who did not make the entry of a startup easy. This meant that the industry remained shackled, with unremarkable products aimed at the mass market. With alcohol governed as a state subject, manufacturers had to navigate a maze of laws as they moved from state to state.

Even the products were questionable. A European trade official once wondered how India could ask for more market access for whisky in trade negotiations when Indian whiskies should actually be classified as rum because they use molasses (a byproduct of sugarcane refining) instead of grains.

Into that quagmire entered the Jagdales, closely followed by Paul John with his eponymous single malt. In both cases, curiosity and aspiration paved the way.

John, son of a Karnataka politician and a fan of the single malt scotch Glenmorangie, made many trips to Scotland to figure out why the best whisky could only be made in Scotland. In fact, I brought water back from there and got it tested over here. And I realised that theres no rocket science in it. India has pretty much everything that we need to make good quality single malts, he said. It took me three years. I had no experience. We were just shooting in the dark.

Up for grabs: Jeet Rana (left) and Chirag Pal, co-founders of Barbet & Pals bar in Delhi | Sanjay Ahlawat

But John, just like the Jagdales, realised early on that creating quality alcohol was one thing, and making it break through the clutter was another. Amrut and Paul John, as well as the likes of Indri, hit upon a two-pronged marketing strategy. One: launch internationally first. Second: craft a marketing strategy that highlights the products exotic Indianness.

Amrut was launched in the UK in 2004. But even after three years, when the Jagdales took their walk to the Gandhi statue, it had failed to make a dent in the market. But with a renewed marketing strategywhich went to town talking about being made out of grains grown at the foothills of the Himalayas to being aged in unique tropical conditionsit started getting attention.

The turning point, not just for Amrut but for the whole industry, came in 2009 when Amrut was recognised by Malt Maniacs and then by the prestigious Whisky Bible of Jim Murray, which adjudged Amrut Fusion as the third best in the world.

While John now has about 300 international awards on his mantlepiece, Indri, created by the Sharmas of Piccadily Agro, has scored Worlds Best Whisky more than once for its Diwali Edition. Piccadily has long been a wholesale manufacturer and distributor for many liquor brands before it launched its own single malt from the banks of the Yamuna canal in a small village in Haryana.

The award is what really blew things open for them, said Vikram Achanta, founder & CEO of Tulleeho, an alcobev consultancy. They were able to make that viral messaging so strong about the award that it worked brilliantly from a social media, PR and news media perspective. Everybody started saying I want to drink Indri, and since the award-winning Diwali Edition was a limited edition, the demand percolated down to the rest of the product portfolio.

Storied success

The sudden transformation of Indias alcobev industry is not just the case of a few brands winning awards. Along with the manufacturers efforts, there has been a sea change in society.

Indians all over the world are waking up. And we dont have the colonial hangover the last generation had, said Praveen Kumar Malviya, CEO of Piccadily Agro, the parent company of Indri. It starts with not looking down upon yourself.

Add to that the growth in disposable income, exposure to the world, and the desire for new experiences, and the stage was set.

The new age brands not only ensured that they were making a world-class product, but also got the right background story in place. That is why, for each of these brands, you will find reference to their unique Indianness, from Himalayan spring water, botanicals, monsoon rainwater from Cherrapunji, or even the aridness of Rajasthan that adds flavour. Cazulo feni from Goa, for instance, is aged in casks made of local Miri hardwood underwater, and it uses clay condensers, not copper.

You need that powerful original story, and while everybody has got a story, the India story, particularly of its indigenous spirits, is powerful. No one else has it, said Hansel Vaz, who founded Cazulo craft feni and was part of the move to get the feni-making process certified so as to qualify for the heritage tag.

Many feel that Indias indigenous brews are just waiting to be rediscovered. Some are even going beyond. Restaurateur Rakshit Dhariwal hit upon the idea of launching Asias first agave-based drink, called Maya Pistola Agavepura, when he realised during the lockdown that the fastest-moving categories after beer and wine were agave spirits.

I started thinking, agave has been growing in India for 300 years. Why is it that we dont have a premium agave spirit offering in India? And thats how I started working on it, said Dhariwal. Last year, Diageo came knocking and took a stake in the startup.

The powers-that-be take note

It has helped that the government, too, has taken note of the good press Indian alcobev has been getting. FSSAI has come out with standards a whisky has to meet to be called an Indian single malt, while the Madhya Pradesh government took the initiative to decriminalise the making of mahua. Made from a local wild flower, it was banned by the British back in the 19th century.

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal expressed his pleasant surprise at the rise of Indian spirits when he told Parliament in February that a Swiss minister told him there was an Indian whisky which was world-famous and almost impossible to get on the shelves in Europe. He said the Swiss leader told him that it was tastier than the whiskies made by other countries.

The ecosystem, too, has taken shape, with the club/pub culture of nights-out giving way to cocktail bars, lounges and speakeasies. Whisky clubs, wine societies and cocktail weeks have mushroomed in all big cities. The focus everywhere, as lifestyle influencer Pallavi Moda Ninja Singh put it, was literally about the cocktail, tasting and experiencing them, and no longer about clubbing and getting drunk.

Jeet Rana, who recently co-founded a cocktail bar in the national capital called Barbet & Pals, concurs, We are proud that we have some spirits that are as great as some of the best international brands and we are able to use them to make cocktails. Consumers coming in are actually asking for these particular Indian brands.

The world is not enough

Even global alcohol biggies like Diageo and Pernod Ricard are launching premium Indian whiskies for the international market. Pernods Longitude 77, named after the east meridian that passes through India, is manufactured in Nashik, Maharashtra. Diageos single malt Godawan is made in Rajasthan.

Think good whisky, you think of Scotland, Japan; you think pristine air and clean water and great temperature. Rajasthan is everything but thatvery arid, dry air, and temperatures that go as high as 50 degrees on one end and as low as six to eight degrees on the other. A harsh land from which nobody would imagine a great whisky could come, said Diageos chief innovation officer Vikram Damodaran, encapsulating the entire new-age Indian whisky journey into one unique enterprisecraftsmanship.

Diageo has gone further, launching a platform called The Good Crafts Company, which is an R&D lab for alcobev. It is also investing in startups. One of the companies it acquired was Nao Spirits, a startup which launched Indian gins Greater Than and Hapusa.

Other investors, too, hope to get a high in this sunrise sector. Shah Rukh Khan and son Aryan recently partnered with Radico Khaitan and Zerodhas Nikhil Kamath to launch a luxury tequila. Others include Ajay Devgn (the GlenJourneys single malt), Sanjay Dutt (the Glenwalk blended scotch), Vivek Oberoi (stake in a Scottish company that makes tea-infused gin) and Rana Daggubati with Anirudh Ravichander (Loca Loka tequila).

Work in progress

With all the action, the Indian alcobev industry faces two big challenges. One is over-regulation, with rules varying from state to state adding to the complexity. Indias dated notions of culture and puritanism mean most state governments find simplifying liquor laws a hot potato better left untouched.

The other is the tough task of establishing Indian alcobev on the global stage as a force. While the recent awards and export spurt are a good start, the road ahead is long and arduous. Take, for instance, Japan. Its spirits had to really work at it for several decades before getting international acceptance as a category at par with Scotch whiskies.

India has its task cut out. It is a matter of time, but it is also a matter of concentrated brand building, said Damodaran of Diageo. Building something like this of value requires time.

Perception is another wall to be surmounted, sip by sip. Pramod Mohandas, who works in a luxury resort in the UAE, says Indian premium spirits have already reached a point of dominance in places like Dubai. Its not just NRIs who are lapping it up. I see colleagues at work and friends on social media chatting about the rise of Indian alcobev all the time. My Irish friends love them, and I have seen Russian tourists trying them out and then buying them as presents when they go back. Its only the Brits and Scots who have a problem in accepting the rise of Indian spirits, he said.

It doesnt fluster Himanshu Ashar much. The global brand ambassador of Paul John keeps pitching the next symbolic move for Indian alcobev to everyone he meets at tasting sessions. The English say cheers, while the Spanish say salud, he said. Here in India, I think its time we came up with our own custom. Its time we started saying Jai Ho! instead of cheers.
Shinhan Financial Group Co Ltd (NYSE:SHG  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 249,837 shares, a growth of 109.4% from the November 30th total of 119,313 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 169,458 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days. Approximately 0.1% of the companys shares are short sold. Approximately 0.1% of the companys shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 169,458 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shinhan Financial Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Shinhan Financial Group by 152.0% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 582,570 shares of the banks stock worth $18,689,000 after purchasing an additional 351,413 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Shinhan Financial Group by 16.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 979,011 shares of the banks stock valued at $44,232,000 after buying an additional 138,779 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Shinhan Financial Group by 57.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 323,444 shares of the banks stock valued at $10,376,000 after buying an additional 118,548 shares during the last quarter. Arbiter Partners Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Shinhan Financial Group by 246.4% during the third quarter. Arbiter Partners Capital Management LLC now owns 137,169 shares of the banks stock valued at $6,909,000 after acquiring an additional 97,569 shares during the period. Finally, Virtus Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Shinhan Financial Group during the third quarter worth about $4,507,000. 7.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Shinhan Financial Group Stock Down 0.3%

Shinhan Financial Group stock traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $53.97. 127,201 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 158,673. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $53.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $26.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.01. Shinhan Financial Group has a 1 year low of $28.76 and a 1 year high of $56.13.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Shinhan Financial Group ( NYSE:SHG Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 14th. The bank reported $2.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.97 by $0.08. Shinhan Financial Group had a return on equity of 12.45% and a net margin of 22.38%.The company had revenue of $2.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.79 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Shinhan Financial Group will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SHG shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Shinhan Financial Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a buy (b) rating on shares of Shinhan Financial Group in a research report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Shinhan Financial Group from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold.

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Shinhan Financial Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Shinhan Financial Group is a South Koreabased financial holding company headquartered in Seoul. Established in 2001 as a banking and financial services group, it brings together a range of financial subsidiaries operating under the Shinhan brand, including commercial banking, card services, life insurance, securities and asset management businesses. The group serves both retail and corporate clients and is one of the leading diversified financial institutions in Korea.

The companys principal activities span retail and corporate banking, credit card issuance and payment services, life insurance and related protection products, brokerage and investment banking, and asset and wealth management.

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Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund (NYSE:JQC  Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 263,763 shares, an increase of 105.5% from the November 30th total of 128,341 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 813,879 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.3 days. Based on an average trading volume of 813,879 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.3 days.

Institutional Trading of Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund by 166.7% during the third quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 8,000 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund during the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund by 138.3% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 8,902 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 5,166 shares during the period.

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Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund Trading Up 0.1%

JQC traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $5.06. 785,125 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 874,292. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $5.28. Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund has a 1 year low of $4.60 and a 1 year high of $5.82.

Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund Dividend Announcement

Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund Company Profile

The company also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.054 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 12.8%.

(Get Free Report)

Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund (NYSE: JQC) is a closed-end, diversified management investment company that seeks to provide current income while preserving capital. The fund pursues its objective by investing primarily in a broad range of credit instruments, including corporate debt obligations, bank loans, mortgage-related and asset-backed securities, and credit-linked notes. Through active portfolio management, JQC aims to capture income opportunities across different sectors and credit quality tiers.

JQCs portfolio construction emphasizes flexibility, enabling the fund to shift allocations among investment-grade and below-investment-grade credit depending on market conditions.

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Douglas Elliman (NYSE:DOUG  Get Free Report) and Kennedy-Wilson (NYSE:KW  Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, valuation, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Douglas Elliman and Kennedy-Wilson, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

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Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Douglas Elliman 1 0 0 0 1.00 Kennedy-Wilson 2 1 0 0 1.33

Kennedy-Wilson has a consensus price target of $10.00, indicating a potential upside of 2.72%. Given Kennedy-Wilsons stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Kennedy-Wilson is more favorable than Douglas Elliman.

Volatility & Risk

Profitability

Douglas Elliman has a beta of 1.75, meaning that its stock price is 75% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kennedy-Wilson has a beta of 1.04, meaning that its stock price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500.

This table compares Douglas Elliman and Kennedy-Wilsons net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Douglas Elliman -5.76% -3.19% -0.93% Kennedy-Wilson 1.59% 19.00% 2.22%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Douglas Elliman and Kennedy-Wilsons top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Douglas Elliman $995.63 million 0.21 -$76.32 million ($0.70) -3.39 Kennedy-Wilson $531.40 million 2.53 -$33.00 million ($0.26) -37.44

Kennedy-Wilson has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Douglas Elliman. Kennedy-Wilson is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Douglas Elliman, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

59.6% of Douglas Elliman shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.7% of Kennedy-Wilson shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.8% of Douglas Elliman shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 20.3% of Kennedy-Wilson shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Kennedy-Wilson beats Douglas Elliman on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Douglas Elliman

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Douglas Elliman Inc. owns Douglas Elliman Realty, LLC, operating as a residential brokerage company in the United States with operations in New York, Florida, California, Texas, Colorado, Nevada, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. In addition, Douglas Elliman sources, uses and invests in early-stage, disruptive property technology (PropTech) solutions and companies and provides other real estate services, including development marketing, property management and settlement and escrow services in select markets.

About Kennedy-Wilson

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Kennedy-Wilson Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a real estate investment company. The company owns, operates, and invests in real estate both on its own and through its investment management platform. It focuses on multifamily and office properties located in the Western United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Italy, and Japan. The company had ownership interests in multifamily units, office space, retail and industrial space, and a hotel. It is involved in the development, redevelopment, and entitlement of real estate properties. Kennedy-Wilson Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California.

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Zepp Health (NYSE:ZEPP  Get Free Report) and Biotricity (OTCMKTS:BTCY  Get Free Report) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

52.6% of Zepp Health shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.9% of Biotricity shares are held by institutional investors. 36.0% of Zepp Health shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 10.1% of Biotricity shares are held 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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Risk & Volatility

Zepp Health has a beta of 1.41, meaning that its stock price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Biotricity has a beta of 1.33, meaning that its stock price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Zepp Health 1 0 1 0 2.00 Biotricity 0 0 0 0 0.00

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Zepp Health and Biotricity, as reported by MarketBeat.

Zepp Health presently has a consensus target price of $64.37, suggesting a potential upside of 127.56%. Given Zepp Healths stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Zepp Health is more favorable than Biotricity.

Profitability

This table compares Zepp Health and Biotricitys net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Zepp Health -28.28% -21.45% -9.20% Biotricity -30.02% N/A -75.50%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Zepp Health and Biotricitys gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Zepp Health $182.60 million 2.25 -$75.73 million ($4.11) -6.88 Biotricity $13.79 million 0.56 -$8.42 million ($0.17) -1.62

Biotricity has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Zepp Health. Zepp Health is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Biotricity, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Zepp Health beats Biotricity on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Zepp Health

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Zepp Health Corporation operates as a smart wearable and health technology company worldwide. The company operates in two segments: Self-Branded Products and Others, and Xiaomi Wearable Products. It empowers users to live lives by optimizing health, fitness, and wellness journeys through its consumer brands, Amazfit, Zepp Clarity, and Zepp Aura. The company through its proprietary Zepp Digital Management Platform, which includes the Zepp OS, AI chips, biometric sensors, and data algorithms, delivers cloud-based 24/7 actionable insights and guidance to help users attain wellness goals. The company offers smart bands, watches, modules, and scales; and associated accessories, smart hearable products, sportswear, home fitness equipment, home appliances, and smart watch accessories. It also provides charts and graphs to display analysis of the activity and biometric data collected from users through its Zepp Life and Zepp mobile apps. It offers its products under the Amazfit and Zepp brand names in approximately 90 countries. The company was formerly known as Huami Corporation and changed its name to Zepp Health Corporation in February 2021. Zepp Health Corporation was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Hefei, the People's Republic of China.

About Biotricity

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Biotricity, Inc., a medical technology company, provides biometric data monitoring solutions in the United States. The company focuses on delivery of remote monitoring solutions to medical, healthcare, and consumer markets, including diagnostic and post-diagnostic solutions for lifestyle and chronic illnesses. It offers Bioflux mobile cardiac telemetry solution, an integrated ECG device; and ECG analysis software that analyzes and synthesizes patient ECG monitoring data, as well as software components. The company is based in Redwood City, California.

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WisdomTree Europe SmallCap Dividend Fund (NYSEARCA:DFE  Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 33,774 shares, an increase of 99.8% from the November 30th total of 16,906 shares. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 6,551 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.2 days. Based on an average trading volume of 6,551 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.2 days. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

WisdomTree Europe SmallCap Dividend Fund Trading Down 1.0%

NYSEARCA DFE traded down $0.74 on Friday, reaching $71.52. 54,951 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,929. WisdomTree Europe SmallCap Dividend Fund has a one year low of $54.22 and a one year high of $72.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.22 million, a PE ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 0.96. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $69.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.01.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On WisdomTree Europe SmallCap Dividend Fund

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in WisdomTree Europe SmallCap Dividend Fund by 1,031.0% during the second quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 54,503 shares of the companys stock worth $3,822,000 after buying an additional 49,684 shares during the period. 3EDGE Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of WisdomTree Europe SmallCap Dividend Fund during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,929,000. Virtus Family Office LLC grew its holdings in WisdomTree Europe SmallCap Dividend Fund by 75.3% during the 3rd quarter. Virtus Family Office LLC now owns 28,063 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,976,000 after purchasing an additional 12,050 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in WisdomTree Europe SmallCap Dividend Fund in the 1st quarter worth about $688,000. Finally, Flow Traders U.S. LLC purchased a new stake in WisdomTree Europe SmallCap Dividend Fund in the 2nd quarter worth about $748,000.

About WisdomTree Europe SmallCap Dividend Fund

The WisdomTree Europe SmallCap Dividend Fund (DFE) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the WisdomTree Europe SmallCap Dividend index. The fund tracks a dividend-weighted index of small-cap, dividend-paying stocks in Europe. DFE was launched on Jun 16, 2006 and is managed by WisdomTree.

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Harleysville Savings Financial Corp. (OTCMKTS:HARL  Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 152 shares, a drop of 56.6% from the November 30th total of 350 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,704 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.0 days. Approximately 0.0% of the companys stock are sold short. Approximately 0.0% of the companys stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 3,704 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.0 days.

Harleysville Savings Financial Stock Up 0.4%

OTCMKTS HARL traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $25.10. 166 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,404. The firm has a market cap of $90.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.62 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a 50 day moving average of $24.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.99. Harleysville Savings Financial has a 52-week low of $21.75 and a 52-week high of $25.50.

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Harleysville Savings Financial (OTCMKTS:HARL  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The bank reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter. Harleysville Savings Financial had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 21.91%.The business had revenue of $8.04 million during the quarter.

Harleysville Savings Financial Company Profile

Harleysville Savings Financial Corp. is the bank holding company for Harleysville Savings Bank, a community-based financial institution founded in 1871 and headquartered in Harleysville, Pennsylvania. As a federally chartered savings bank, Harleysville Savings Financial focuses on traditional banking services, including accepting deposits, offering checking and savings accounts, and providing certificates of deposit and individual retirement accounts. The companys mission centers on delivering personalized financial solutions to individuals, families, and small businesses across its core markets.

In addition to deposit products, Harleysville Savings Financials primary revenue drivers include residential mortgage lending, home equity lines of credit and installment loans.

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John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III (NYSE:HPS  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 58,336 shares, a drop of 58.6% from the November 30th total of 140,914 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 85,659 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.7 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 85,659 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.7 days.

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HPS traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $14.45. The company had a trading volume of 78,989 shares, compared to its average volume of 65,732. John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III has a 52 week low of $13.08 and a 52 week high of $15.68. The businesss 50-day moving average is $14.94 and its 200 day moving average is $14.80.

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John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 11th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.1%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III

About John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III by 10.8% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,141,593 shares of the companys stock worth $17,626,000 after acquiring an additional 111,560 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III by 13.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 268,253 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,142,000 after buying an additional 32,293 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its stake in John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III by 55.8% in the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 175,335 shares of the companys stock worth $2,500,000 after acquiring an additional 62,819 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 147,907 shares of the companys stock worth $2,284,000 after acquiring an additional 898 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 142,701 shares of the companys stock worth $2,203,000 after acquiring an additional 4,993 shares during the period.

(Get Free Report)

John Hancock Preferred Income Fund III (NYSE:HPS) is a publicly traded, closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide a high level of current income. The fund offers investors access to a diversified portfolio of income-producing securities, with a primary focus on preferred stocks and similar instruments. As a closed-end fund, HPS issues a fixed number of shares that trade on the New York Stock Exchange, allowing investors to participate in its income strategy through the open market.

The fund pursues its objective by investing primarily in preferred securities of U.S.

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Four Seasons Education (Cayman) Inc. Unsponsored ADR (NYSE:FEDU  Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 706 shares, a decrease of 64.9% from the November 30th total of 2,009 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 584 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days. Approximately 0.1% of the companys shares are short sold. Approximately 0.1% of the companys shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 584 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days.

Four Seasons Education (Cayman) Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of Four Seasons Education (Cayman) stock traded up $0.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $11.76. 6,038 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,207. Four Seasons Education has a 1-year low of $3.69 and a 1-year high of $17.30. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $13.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.35.

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Four Seasons Education (Cayman) (NYSE:FEDU  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 2nd. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $10.19 million during the quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a sell (d+) rating on shares of Four Seasons Education (Cayman) in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Sell.

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Four Seasons Education (Cayman) Company Profile

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Four Seasons Education (Cayman) Inc is a China-based provider of K-12 educational services, offering a continuum of academic programs from pre-kindergarten through senior high school. The company operates private schools under the Four Seasons Education brand, delivering a blend of core curriculum subjects alongside international programs such as Cambridge Assessment International Education. Instructional offerings include full-time day and boarding school options, after-school tutoring, summer enrichment courses and test-preparation services, designed to meet the needs of students aged three to eighteen.

The companys schools are located primarily in eastern China, with campuses in provinces such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui.

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Grupo Televisa S.A. (NYSE:TV  Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,195,086 shares, a decrease of 63.1% from the November 30th total of 3,237,900 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the companys shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,711,755 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.7 days. Based on an average daily volume of 1,711,755 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.7 days. Approximately 0.2% of the companys shares are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of Grupo Televisa from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. UBS Group restated a buy rating on shares of Grupo Televisa in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a sell (d-) rating on shares of Grupo Televisa in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $5.07.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Grupo Televisa

Grupo Televisa Stock Performance

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TV. Strid Group LLC purchased a new stake in Grupo Televisa during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC purchased a new stake in Grupo Televisa in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Grupo Televisa by 68.8% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 10,685 shares of the companys stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 4,355 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Grupo Televisa during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in Grupo Televisa during the second quarter worth $34,000. 55.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Grupo Televisa stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $2.96. 451,507 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,826,745. Grupo Televisa has a 12-month low of $1.55 and a 12-month high of $3.36. The stock has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.93 and a beta of 1.96. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $2.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 2.31.

Grupo Televisa (NYSE:TV  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 24th. The company reported ($0.19) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $798.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $14.66 billion. Grupo Televisa had a negative return on equity of 9.49% and a negative net margin of 18.27%. Equities research analysts predict that Grupo Televisa will post -0.07 EPS for the current year.

Grupo Televisa Company Profile

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Grupo Televisa, SAB. is a leading Mexican multimedia conglomerate headquartered in Mexico City, specializing in the creation, production and distribution of Spanish-language content. The company operates free-to-air television networks, subscription pay-TV services, broadband and telephony under its cable arm, and a range of digital streaming platforms. Grupo Televisas portfolio spans news, sports, telenovelas, reality programming and original series, positioning it as one of the largest content producers in the Spanish-speaking world.

Televisas broadcast division includes flagship channels such as Las Estrellas and Canal 5, while its pay-TV segment features operations under brands like Sky Mexico and Izzi Telecom.

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Henkel AG & Co. KGaA (OTCMKTS:HENOY  Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 11,183 shares, a decline of 65.2% from the November 30th total of 32,143 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 25,950 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.4 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 25,950 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.4 days.

Henkel AG & Co. KGaA Trading Down 0.0%

OTCMKTS:HENOY traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $20.50. The stock had a trading volume of 2,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,655. The businesss 50 day moving average is $20.51 and its 200 day moving average is $20.43. Henkel AG & Co. KGaA has a fifty-two week low of $18.12 and a fifty-two week high of $23.83.

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About Henkel AG & Co. KGaA

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Henkel AG & Co KGaA is a global leader in adhesive technologies, beauty care, and laundry & home care products. Founded in 1876 by Fritz Henkel and headquartered in Dusseldorf, Germany, the company has built a reputation for innovation and quality across its core business units. Henkels Adhesive Technologies segment serves industrial and consumer markets with solutions ranging from structural adhesives and sealants to DIY products for home improvement.

In its Beauty Care division, Henkel offers hair care, hair styling, hair coloring, and oral care products under brands such as Schwarzkopf, Dial, and Syoss.

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El Puerto de Liverpool, S.A.B. de C.V. (OTCMKTS:ELPQF  Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 189,531 shares, an increase of 89.5% from the November 30th total of 100,003 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 189,531.0 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 189,531.0 days.

El Puerto de Liverpool Price Performance

ELPQF remained flat at $5.18 during mid-day trading on Friday. El Puerto de Liverpool has a twelve month low of $4.64 and a twelve month high of $5.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $5.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.95.

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About El Puerto de Liverpool

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El Puerto de Liverpool SAB. de C.V., commonly known as Liverpool, is Mexicos leading department store chain. Founded in the mid-19th century, the company has grown from a single urban emporium in Mexico City into a nationwide retail network. Over its history, Liverpool has positioned itself as a full-service retailer, catering primarily to middle- and upper-income consumers seeking apparel, footwear, accessories, cosmetics and home furnishings.

Liverpool operates its flagship stores under the Liverpool name and maintains a secondary banner, Suburbia, which targets value-oriented shoppers.

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Invesco China Technology ETF (NYSEARCA:CQQQ  Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 416,767 shares, a drop of 69.5% from the November 30th total of 1,366,967 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,156,742 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.4 days. Approximately 0.8% of the companys shares are sold short. Approximately 0.8% of the companys shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,156,742 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.4 days.

Invesco China Technology ETF Price Performance

CQQQ stock traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $52.23. The company had a trading volume of 1,179,492 shares, compared to its average volume of 912,481. The company has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $53.57 and a 200 day moving average of $51.25. Invesco China Technology ETF has a 12 month low of $35.62 and a 12 month high of $61.20.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CQQQ. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Invesco China Technology ETF by 98.3% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 9,352 shares of the companys stock worth $414,000 after buying an additional 4,635 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Invesco China Technology ETF in the first quarter valued at about $589,000. Comerica Bank lifted its stake in Invesco China Technology ETF by 12.0% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 2,884 shares of the companys stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Invesco China Technology ETF during the 1st quarter worth about $8,571,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Invesco China Technology ETF by 1,936.5% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 207,501 shares of the companys stock worth $9,193,000 after acquiring an additional 197,312 shares in the last quarter.

Invesco China Technology ETF Company Profile

Guggenheim China Technology ETF (the Fund), formerly Claymore China Technology ETF, seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before the Funds fees and expenses, of an equity index called the AlphaShares China Technology Index (the Index). The Fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets in common stock, American depositary receipts (ADRs), American depositary shares (ADSs), global depositary receipts (GDRs) and international depositary receipts (IDRs) that comprise the Index and depositary receipts or shares representing common stocks included in the Index (or underlying securities representing ADRs, ADSs, GDRs and IDRs included in the Index).

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Wall Street Zen lowered shares of ICICI Bank (NYSE:IBN  Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a hold (c) rating on shares of ICICI Bank in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ICICI Bank presently has a consensus rating of Hold.

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Check Out Our Latest Analysis on IBN

ICICI Bank Stock Down 0.0%

ICICI Bank stock opened at $30.03 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $30.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.85. ICICI Bank has a twelve month low of $27.42 and a twelve month high of $34.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $107.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.53, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

ICICI Bank (NYSE:IBN  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, October 18th. The bank reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.02. ICICI Bank had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 24.91%.The business had revenue of $6.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.37 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that ICICI Bank will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ICICI Bank

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IBN. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in ICICI Bank during the first quarter worth $1,666,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in ICICI Bank by 53.2% in the 1st quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,521 shares of the banks stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the last quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE lifted its stake in shares of ICICI Bank by 7.2% during the first quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 8,033,218 shares of the banks stock valued at $253,207,000 after buying an additional 539,038 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of ICICI Bank by 34.2% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 794,262 shares of the banks stock worth $25,035,000 after purchasing an additional 202,469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. grew its holdings in ICICI Bank by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 24,047 shares of the banks stock valued at $758,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 18.18% of the companys stock.

About ICICI Bank

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ICICI Bank Limited is an Indian multinational banking and financial services company that provides a broad range of products and services to retail, corporate and institutional customers. The bank traces its origins to the Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India, founded in 1955, and was converted into a commercial bank during the 1990s as part of its evolution into a full-service financial institution. It is one of Indias largest private-sector banks and is listed in the United States as an American depositary receipt under the ticker IBN.

The banks core activities include retail banking (deposit accounts, consumer loans, mortgages, credit cards and payments), corporate and commercial banking (working capital, term lending, trade finance and cash management), and treasury operations.

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Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG  Free Report) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on SIG. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Signet Jewelers from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Signet Jewelers from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a hold (c) rating on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Signet Jewelers in a report on Thursday, December 11th. They issued a neutral rating and a $96.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stephens started coverage on Signet Jewelers in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. They set an overweight rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $109.67.

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Signet Jewelers Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of Signet Jewelers stock opened at $85.04 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a PE ratio of 25.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.12. Signet Jewelers has a 52 week low of $45.55 and a 52 week high of $110.20. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $94.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $89.51.

Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 2nd. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.47. Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 24.44% and a net margin of 2.13%.The firm had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.25 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Signet Jewelers has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-9.59 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Signet Jewelers will post 8.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Signet Jewelers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 23rd will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 23rd. Signet Jewelerss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.21%.

Institutional Trading of Signet Jewelers

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SIG. Hood River Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Signet Jewelers in the second quarter worth approximately $56,537,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 321.8% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 861,769 shares of the companys stock valued at $68,554,000 after purchasing an additional 657,444 shares in the last quarter. Divisadero Street Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Signet Jewelers in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,342,000. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Signet Jewelers during the 3rd quarter worth $47,837,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Signet Jewelers by 263.4% during the third quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 567,300 shares of the companys stock worth $54,415,000 after purchasing an additional 411,200 shares in the last quarter.

Signet Jewelers Company Profile

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Signet Jewelers Ltd is the worlds largest retailer of diamond jewelry, operating a diversified network of retail stores across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Its portfolio includes well-established banners such as Kay Jewelers, Zales, Jared The Galleria of Jewelry, H.Samuel, Ernest Jones, Peoples and Piercing Pagoda, offering customers a range of shopping environments from suburban malls to high-street locations.

The companys product assortment encompasses engagement rings, wedding bands, fine fashion jewelry and timepieces, complemented by services including jewelry cleaning, repairs, appraisals and extended care plans.

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Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of North American Construction Group (NYSE:NOA  Free Report) (TSE:NOA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of North American Construction Group from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Loop Capital set a $24.00 price objective on North American Construction Group in a research note on Friday, December 19th. ATB Capital reissued a sector perform rating on shares of North American Construction Group in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a hold (c) rating on shares of North American Construction Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $24.00.

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North American Construction Group Price Performance

NOA opened at $13.80 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $401.30 million, a PE ratio of 14.68 and a beta of 1.14. North American Construction Group has a 1 year low of $12.12 and a 1 year high of $22.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The businesss 50-day moving average is $14.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.68.

North American Construction Group (NYSE:NOA  Get Free Report) (TSE:NOA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The oil and gas company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.50 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $280.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $231.58 million. North American Construction Group had a net margin of 3.02% and a return on equity of 13.29%. Research analysts anticipate that North American Construction Group will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

North American Construction Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. This is a positive change from North American Construction Groups previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 26th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. North American Construction Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.17%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On North American Construction Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Aegis Financial Corp acquired a new position in North American Construction Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $11,965,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of North American Construction Group by 70.3% during the 1st quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 1,740,985 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $27,577,000 after buying an additional 718,884 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of North American Construction Group by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,704,392 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $38,409,000 after buying an additional 459,755 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of North American Construction Group by 50.1% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,179,482 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $16,763,000 after buying an additional 393,679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewGen Equity Long Short Fund acquired a new stake in North American Construction Group during the 3rd quarter worth $4,719,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.99% of the companys stock.

North American Construction Group Company Profile

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North American Construction Group Ltd (NYSE: NOA) is a Canadian industrial company headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, that specializes in providing integrated heavy construction equipment solutions. Through its two core segmentsSales and Rentalsthe company offers a comprehensive portfolio of new and used off-highway trucks, wheel loaders, hydraulic excavators, dozers and motor graders, along with aftermarket parts and maintenance services.

In its Sales division, North American Construction Group partners with leading global equipment manufacturers to distribute and support a broad range of heavy machinery across multiple industries.

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McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC  Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of Hold from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five 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 $78.00.

MKC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c-) rating on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $76.00 to $71.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $78.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $83.00 to $82.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 25th.

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Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, major shareholder Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 39,014 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.54, for a total transaction of $2,517,963.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website . Also, CEO Brendan M. Foley sold 57,144 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.56, for a total transaction of $3,746,360.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 108,652 shares in the company, valued at $7,123,225.12. This trade represents a 34.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure . Insiders sold a total of 146,158 shares of company stock worth $9,557,324 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 23.80% of the companys stock.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKC. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 37.0% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 207,613 shares of the companys stock valued at $17,089,000 after acquiring an additional 56,090 shares during the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. raised its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 15.9% during the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 3,141 shares of the companys stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 4,263 shares of the companys stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,908 shares of the companys stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank grew its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 28.9% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 125,788 shares of the companys stock valued at $10,354,000 after buying an additional 28,234 shares in the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MKC opened at $68.95 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $66.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $18.50 billion, a PE ratio of 23.86, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 0.62. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $62.64 and a 52 week high of $86.24.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 7th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.46% and a return on equity of 14.30%. The firms revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.050 EPS. Analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 12th. Investors of record on Monday, December 29th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 29th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from McCormick & Company, Incorporateds previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. McCormick & Company, Incorporateds payout ratio is 62.28%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company Profile

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McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE: MKC) is a global leader in spices, seasonings and flavor solutions. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, the company traces its origins to the late 19th century and has grown into a major manufacturer and marketer of branded and private?label flavor products for consumer, industrial and foodservice markets.

McCormicks product portfolio includes pure spices and herbs, blended seasonings, marinades, rubs, sauces, extracts and specialty flavorings, along with ingredient systems and custom flavor development for manufacturers and foodservice operators.

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Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ (OTCMKTS:SVNLY  Get Free Report) and Intesa Sanpaolo (OTCMKTS:ISNPY  Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, dividends and earnings.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ and Intesa Sanpaolos top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

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Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ $17.44 billion N/A $2.60 billion $0.61 11.91 Intesa Sanpaolo $48.17 billion 2.51 $9.38 billion $3.36 12.40

Profitability

Intesa Sanpaolo has higher revenue and earnings than Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ. Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Intesa Sanpaolo, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

This table compares Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ and Intesa Sanpaolos net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ 15.97% 12.80% 0.68% Intesa Sanpaolo 22.67% 13.57% 0.97%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

1.2% of Intesa Sanpaolo shares are held by institutional investors. 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.

Dividends

Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.3%. Intesa Sanpaolo pays an annual dividend of $1.87 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ pays out 98.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Intesa Sanpaolo pays out 55.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ and Intesa Sanpaolo, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ 2 5 0 0 1.71 Intesa Sanpaolo 0 4 2 1 2.57

Risk and Volatility

Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ has a beta of 0.56, suggesting that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Intesa Sanpaolo has a beta of 0.75, suggesting that its stock price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Intesa Sanpaolo beats Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Svenska Handelsbanken Ab Publ

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Svenska Handelsbanken AB (publ) provides various banking products and services for private and corporate customers primarily in Sweden, the United Kingdom, Norway, the Netherlands, the United States, Luxembourg, Finland, and Poland. The company offers savings, transactions, business, currency, and investment accounts, as well as accounts for cash pool, and forestry and agriculture; mortgage and committed loans, and private loans; mutual funds; pension products; credit and debit cards; and payment and reconciliation services, as well as foreign exchange rate services. It also provides financing for investments, such as equipment, cars, computers, and other inventories, as well as vehicle and real estate financing services; green loans and advisor services; investment and other financing services; medical care, and group and health insurance products; forestry and farming banking products; and online and mobile banking services, as well as various banking services for children and young people. In addition, the company offers financial services, that includes asset management, transactional banking, corporate finance, financing, markets, trade finance, market information and research services to large corporations; cash management solutions; and various corporate banking services to small and medium-sized companies and large corporates, as well as private banking services. Svenska Handelsbanken AB (publ) was incorporated in 1871 and is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.

About Intesa Sanpaolo

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Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. provides various financial products and services primarily in Italy. It operates through six segments: Banca dei Territori, IMI Corporate & Investment Banking, International Subsidiary Banks, Asset Management, Private Banking, and Insurance. The company offers lending and deposit products; private and commercial banking, corporate and transaction banking, structured finance, investment banking, public finance, and capital markets; industrial credit, leasing, and factoring; asset management; life and non-life insurance and pension products; asset and wealth management; private investments; and bancassurance products. The company serves individuals, small and medium-sized businesses, non-profit customers, corporates and financial institutions, public administration, private clients and high net worth individuals, institutional clientele, and other customers. Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Turin, Italy.

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Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Inc. (TSE:SWP  Get Free Report) shares rose 0.9% on Friday . The stock traded as high as C$4.54 and last traded at C$4.54. Approximately 100 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 99% from the average daily volume of 8,503 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$4.50.

Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 216.18, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of C$43.33 million, a PE ratio of 56.75 and a beta of 1.44. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of C$4.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$4.30.

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Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee (TSE:SWP  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported C$0.02 EPS for the quarter. Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee had a return on equity of 0.39% and a net margin of 0.13%.The firm had revenue of C$62.75 million during the quarter.

Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Company Profile

Swiss Water Decaffeinated Coffee Inc is a specialty coffee company, that offers green coffee decaffeination and Seaforth Supply Chain Solutions Inc providing green coffee handling and storage services. It is a premium green coffee decaffeinator located in the Canadian state of British Columbia. It employs the proprietary Swiss Water Process to decaffeinate green coffee without the use of chemicals, leveraging science-based systems and controls to produce coffee. The companys sales are primarily generated in a single segment of decaffeination of green coffee.

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The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES  Get Free Report) has received an average rating of Moderate Buy from the twelve analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $23.8333.

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c-) rating on shares of AES in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of AES from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of AES from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Argus raised shares of AES from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $18.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of AES from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th.

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AES Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AES opened at $14.08 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.15, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.72. AES has a one year low of $9.46 and a one year high of $15.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.80, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.01. The companys fifty day moving average is $13.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.25.

AES (NYSE:AES  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.06. AES had a net margin of 9.47% and a return on equity of 18.83%. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.71 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. AES has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.100-2.26 EPS. Analysts forecast that AES will post 1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AES Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a $0.176 dividend. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. AESs payout ratio is 43.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AES. Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AES during the 3rd quarter worth about $297,000. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in AES by 14.1% during the third quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 134,910 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $1,775,000 after acquiring an additional 16,664 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in AES in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $557,000. Seven Mile Advisory acquired a new position in AES in the 3rd quarter valued at $140,000. Finally, Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC lifted its stake in shares of AES by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 7,882,251 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $103,730,000 after purchasing an additional 69,622 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.13% of the companys stock.

AES Company Profile

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AES Corporation is a global energy company focused on the generation and distribution of electricity across diversified markets. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, AES develops, builds and operates power plants and distribution systems that serve residential, industrial and commercial customers. The companys portfolio includes thermal, renewable and battery energy storage facilities designed to deliver reliable and sustainable electricity solutions.

Through its subsidiaries, AES operates a balanced mix of power generation assets, including natural gas, coal and renewables such as solar and wind.

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HBW Advisory Services LLC trimmed its stake in General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS  Free Report) by 64.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,705 shares of the companys stock after selling 28,087 shares during the period. HBW Advisory Services LLCs holdings in General Mills were worth $792,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kera Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in General Mills in the second quarter worth $222,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of General Mills in the 2nd quarter worth about $417,508,000. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 22.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 383,877 shares of the companys stock worth $19,889,000 after acquiring an additional 70,800 shares during the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of General Mills during the 2nd quarter worth about $439,000. Finally, CHICAGO TRUST Co NA purchased a new stake in General Mills in the 2nd quarter worth about $267,000. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Activity at General Mills

In other General Mills news, insider Paul Joseph Gallagher sold 1,500 shares of General Mills stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.15, for a total value of $72,225.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 48,568 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,338,549.20. The trade was a 3.00% 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 the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $63.00 target price on General Mills and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Bernstein Bank reduced their target price on General Mills from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Cowen reiterated a hold rating on shares of General Mills in a research note on Monday, December 15th. HSBC lowered their target price on shares of General Mills from $59.00 to $57.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a hold (c-) rating on shares of General Mills in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $53.44.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on GIS

General Mills Price Performance

Shares of GIS opened at $47.08 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $47.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.27. General Mills, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.15 and a fifty-two week high of $67.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.12 billion, a PE ratio of 10.12, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of -0.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.66.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 17th. The company reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.07. General Mills had a net margin of 13.51% and a return on equity of 21.41%. The company had revenue of $4.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.78 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. General Millss revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. General Mills has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.580-3.790 EPS. Equities analysts predict that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

General Mills Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be given a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. General Millss payout ratio is presently 52.47%.

About General Mills

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General Mills, Inc (NYSE: GIS) is a multinational consumer foods company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of branded food products. Its product categories include ready-to-eat and hot cereals, baking mixes and ingredients, snacks and bars, refrigerated and frozen doughs, yogurt and other dairy products, and a variety of shelf-stable meals and meal components. The companys portfolio features widely recognized consumer brands across grocery store, mass channel and foodservice outlets.

Founded in the early 20th century and incorporated under its current name in 1928, General Mills has grown through both internal brand development and strategic expansion to become a global food company.

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Pacer Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI  Free Report) by 10.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 364,330 shares of the business services providers stock after selling 40,536 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.s holdings in Robert Half were worth $12,380,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Robert Half by 80.3% during the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,377,277 shares of the business services providers stock worth $97,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058,569 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Robert Half by 25.7% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 404,024 shares of the business services providers stock worth $16,585,000 after purchasing an additional 82,645 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Robert Half by 7.4% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,212,441 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $49,771,000 after purchasing an additional 83,232 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its stake in Robert Half by 531.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 28,371 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $1,165,000 after buying an additional 23,878 shares during the period. Finally, Martin Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Robert Half by 68.6% in the 3rd quarter. Martin Capital Partners LLC now owns 165,729 shares of the business services providers stock worth $5,631,000 after buying an additional 67,419 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.41% of the companys stock.

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Robert Half Stock Performance

RHI opened at $27.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a PE ratio of 18.00 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $27.40 and a 200-day moving average of $34.03. Robert Half Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.22 and a 52-week high of $72.31.

Robert Half Dividend Announcement

Robert Half ( NYSE:RHI Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The business services provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.43. Robert Half had a return on equity of 11.76% and a net margin of 2.85%.The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Robert Half has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.250-0.350 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Robert Half Inc. will post 2.48 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 25th were paid a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 25th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.5%. Robert Halfs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 153.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on RHI. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Robert Half from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a sell rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Truist Financial set a $35.00 price objective on Robert Half in a research report on Friday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Robert Half from $36.00 to $31.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded Robert Half from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut Robert Half from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and set a $22.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Reduce and a consensus price target of $32.22.

Read Our Latest Analysis on RHI

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Dirk A. Kempthorne sold 6,505 shares of Robert Half stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.87, for a total value of $187,799.35. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,712 shares in the company, valued at $338,125.44. This trade represents a 35.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 3.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Robert Half Company Profile

(Free Report)

Robert Half International Inc, founded in 1948 by Robert Half, is a global professional staffing and consulting firm headquartered in Menlo Park, California. As a pioneer in specialized staffing, the company has built a reputation for matching skilled professionals with leading organizations across a range of industries. Robert Halfs shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker RHI, reflecting its position as one of the longest?standing and best?known firms in the staffing sector.

The company offers a comprehensive suite of services, including temporary staffing, permanent placement, and consulting solutions.

Further Reading

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Zijin Mining Group Company Limited (OTCMKTS:ZIJMY  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 8,781 shares, a growth of 61.6% from the November 30th total of 5,435 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 40,442 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.2 days. Based on an average daily volume of 40,442 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.2 days.

Zijin Mining Group Stock Performance

OTCMKTS:ZIJMY opened at $92.50 on Friday. Zijin Mining Group has a 12 month low of $33.65 and a 12 month high of $94.27. The companys 50-day moving average price is $83.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.16.

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Zijin Mining Group Company Profile

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Zijin Mining Group Co, Ltd. (OTCMKTS: ZIJMY) is a China-based mining company primarily engaged in the exploration, mining, smelting and refining of gold, copper, zinc, lead and other precious metals. Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Fujian Province, the company has grown into one of the worlds largest gold producers, with integrated operations spanning the full value chain from resource development to metal processing.

The companys core business activities encompass mineral exploration, underground and open-pit mining, ore processing and concentrate smelting.

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Henderson Land Development (OTCMKTS:HLDCY  Get Free Report) and British Land (OTCMKTS:BTLCY  Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

Risk & Volatility

Henderson Land Development has a beta of 0.5, suggesting that its stock price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, British Land has a beta of 1.19, suggesting that its stock price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500.

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Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Henderson Land Development and British Lands revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Henderson Land Development $2.63 billion 6.91 $807.15 million N/A N/A British Land $571.65 million 9.36 $431.25 million N/A N/A

Henderson Land Development has higher revenue and earnings than British Land.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Henderson Land Development and British Land, as reported by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Henderson Land Development 0 0 0 1 4.00 British Land 0 1 2 2 3.20

Profitability

This table compares Henderson Land Development and British Lands net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Henderson Land Development N/A N/A N/A British Land N/A N/A N/A

Dividends

Henderson Land Development pays an annual dividend of $0.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. British Land pays an annual dividend of $0.21 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%.

Summary

British Land beats Henderson Land Development on 5 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Henderson Land Development

(Get Free Report)

Henderson Land Development Company Limited, an investment holding company, engages in the property development and investment activities in Hong Kong and Mainland China. The company operates through Property Development, Property Leasing, Department Stores and Supermarket-Cum-Stores Operations, Hotel Room Operation, Other Businesses, and Utility and Energy segments. The Property Development segment develops and sells real estate properties. Its property portfolio primarily includes offices, shopping arcades, shopping malls, commercial complexes, and residential properties. The Property Leasing segment leases properties. The Department Stores and Supermarket-Cum-Stores Operations segment operates and manages department stores and supermarket-cum-stores. The Hotel Room Operation segment operates hotel properties. The Other Businesses segment operates and manages hotels; provides construction, finance, project management, property management, agency, and cleaning and security guard services; and trades in building materials. It also engages in food and beverage, and travel operations. The Utility and Energy segment is involved in production, distribution, and marketing gas; and water supply and environmentally friendly energy businesses. Henderson Land Development Company Limited was founded in 1976 and is based in Central, Hong Kong. Henderson Land Development Company Limited is a subsidiary of Henderson Development Limited.

About British Land

(Get Free Report)

Our portfolio of high quality UK commercial property is focused on London Campuses and Retail & London Urban Logistics assets throughout the UK. We own or manage a portfolio valued at 13.0bn (British Land share: 8.9bn) as at 31 March 2023 making us one of Europe's largest listed real estate investment companies. We create Places People Prefer, delivering the best, most sustainable places for our customers and communities. Our strategy is to leverage our best in class platform and proven expertise in development, repositioning and active management, investing behind two key themes: Campuses and Retail & London Urban Logistics. Our three Campuses at Broadgate, Paddington Central and Regent's Place are dynamic neighbourhoods, attracting growth customers and sectors, and offering some of the best connected, highest quality and most sustainable space in London. We are delivering our fourth Campus at Canada Water, where we have planning consent to deliver 5m sq ft of residential, commercial, retail and community space over 53 acres. Our Campuses account for 63% of our portfolio. Retail & London Urban Logistics accounts for 37% of the portfolio and is focused on retail parks which are aligned to the growth of convenience, online and last mile fulfilment. We are complementing this with urban logistics primarily in London, focused on development-led opportunities. Sustainability is embedded throughout our business. Our approach is focused on three key pillars where British Land can create the most benefit: Greener Spaces, making our whole portfolio net zero carbon by 2030, Thriving Places, partnering to grow social value and wellbeing in the communities where we operate and Responsible Choices, advocating responsible business practices across British Land and throughout our supply chain, and maintaining robust governance structures.

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NovaPoint Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN  Free Report) by 25.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 10,823 shares of the information technology services providers stock after selling 3,701 shares during the period. NovaPoint Capital LLCs holdings in Accenture were worth $2,669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Accenture by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,129,782 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $19,466,641,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315,548 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Accenture by 1.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,016,605 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $8,373,925,000 after purchasing an additional 326,979 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Accenture by 1.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,042,843 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $4,182,331,000 after purchasing an additional 147,931 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Accenture by 0.6% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,998,826 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $2,689,659,000 after buying an additional 56,108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Accenture during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,637,640,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.14% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity

In related news, insider Manish Sharma sold 6,902 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.01, for a total transaction of $1,725,569.02. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,860 shares in the company, valued at $465,018.60. The trade was a 78.77% 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, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.57, for a total transaction of $2,246,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 23,516 shares of the companys stock, valued at $5,868,888.12. This represents a 27.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 33,319 shares of company stock valued at $8,335,225. Company insiders own 0.02% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ACN shares. HSBC boosted their price target on Accenture from $215.00 to $235.00 in a report on Friday, December 19th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Accenture from $348.00 to $309.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $300.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, December 18th. UBS Group set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Accenture in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. They issued an equal weight rating and a $251.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $298.29.

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Accenture Trading Up 0.4%

Accenture stock opened at $271.03 on Friday. Accenture PLC has a 52-week low of $229.40 and a 52-week high of $398.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.40, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $255.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $262.07.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.21. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.65% and a net margin of 10.76%.The company had revenue of $18.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $18.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.59 earnings per share. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.520-13.900 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Accentures dividend payout ratio is presently 53.88%.

Accenture Company Profile

(Free Report)

Accenture is a global professional services company that provides a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. The firm works with organizations across industries to design and implement business transformation programs, deploy and manage enterprise technology, optimize operations, and develop customer and digital experiences. Its offerings encompass management and technology consulting, systems integration, application and infrastructure services, cloud migration and managed services, as well as security and analytics capabilities.

The company delivers industry- and function-specific solutions, combining consulting expertise with proprietary tools, platforms and partnerships with major technology vendors.

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NovaPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Prologis, Inc. (NYSE:PLD  Free Report) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 7,684 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock, valued at approximately $880,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PLD. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Prologis by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 121,741,332 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $12,797,449,000 after purchasing an additional 401,922 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Prologis by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 58,640,842 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $6,164,325,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088,544 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Prologis by 1.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 22,416,833 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $2,345,922,000 after buying an additional 310,333 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Prologis by 1.6% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 16,506,899 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $1,735,205,000 after buying an additional 253,338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Prologis during the second quarter worth $1,288,936,000. 93.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Prologis news, Director Cristina Gabriela Bita sold 621 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.60, for a total transaction of $79,239.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,047,340.80. This represents a 7.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 1,621 shares of company stock worth $198,655 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the companys stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on PLD. Bank of America raised shares of Prologis from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the company from $118.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Truist Financial restated a buy rating and set a $131.00 target price (up previously from $120.00) on shares of Prologis in a research report on Monday, October 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised Prologis from an underperform rating to a market perform rating and set a $119.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Barclays dropped their price target on Prologis from $119.00 to $118.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Prologis from $118.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $127.00.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Prologis

Prologis Stock Down 0.2%

PLD stock opened at $128.83 on Friday. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $126.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.06. Prologis, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.35 and a fifty-two week high of $131.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $119.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.40.

Prologis (NYSE:PLD  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter. Prologis had a return on equity of 5.55% and a net margin of 36.71%. On average, research analysts expect that Prologis, Inc. will post 5.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Prologis Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.01 per share. This represents a $4.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 16th. Prologiss payout ratio is 117.78%.

Prologis Company Profile

(Free Report)

Prologis, Inc is a real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in logistics and distribution facilities. The company focuses on acquiring, developing, and managing high-quality industrial real estate assets that support supply chain infrastructure for third-party logistics providers, e-commerce businesses, retailers and manufacturers. Its portfolio primarily consists of warehouse and distribution centers designed to optimize goods movement and storage near key transportation hubs.

With a global presence, Prologis serves customers across the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PLD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Prologis, Inc. (NYSE:PLD  Free Report).

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Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC reduced its position in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF (BATS:EFV  Free Report) by 19.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 128,667 shares of the companys stock after selling 30,618 shares during the quarter. iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF makes up about 0.9% of Mayflower Financial Advisors LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLCs holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF were worth $8,727,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 70,125,413 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,451,560,000 after buying an additional 23,376,524 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF by 28.6% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 15,814,518 shares of the companys stock worth $1,003,906,000 after purchasing an additional 3,518,683 shares in the last quarter. Hamilton Capital LLC purchased a new stake in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $197,545,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co grew its stake in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF by 296.7% during the second quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 3,963,000 shares of the companys stock valued at $251,571,000 after acquiring an additional 2,964,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF by 68.6% in the 2nd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 5,691,240 shares of the companys stock worth $361,280,000 after purchasing an additional 2,316,220 shares in the last quarter.

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iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF Stock Up 37.1%

EFV opened at $71.63 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $29.37 billion, a PE ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.14. iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF has a 52 week low of $51.05 and a 52 week high of $66.83.

iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF Profile

iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares MSCI EAFE Value Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI EAFE Value Index. The Index is a subset of the MSCI EAFE Index and constituents of the Index include securities from Europe, Australasia (Australia and Asia), and the Far East. The Fund invests in sectors, such as financials, energy, healthcare, telecommunication services, industrials, utilities, consumer discretionary, materials, information technology and consumer staples.

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Lincoln Capital Corp trimmed its position in iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (BATS:QUAL  Free Report) by 35.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 24,715 shares of the companys stock after selling 13,791 shares during the period. iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF comprises approximately 1.7% of Lincoln Capital Corps portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Lincoln Capital Corps holdings in iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF were worth $4,807,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in QUAL. Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID bought a new position in iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. CX Institutional grew its holdings in iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF by 151.9% during the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 204 shares of the companys stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF during the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000.

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iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF Stock Up 13.8%

QUAL stock opened at $201.03 on Friday. iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF has a twelve month low of $148.34 and a twelve month high of $187.26. The company has a market cap of $58.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.59 and a beta of 1.05. The businesss fifty day moving average is $196.87 and its 200-day moving average is $190.64.

About iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF

The iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (QUAL) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI USA Sector Neutral Quality index. The fund tracks an index of US large- and mid-cap stocks, selected and weighted by high ROE, stable earnings growth and low debt\u002Fequity, relative to peers in each sector. QUAL was launched on Jul 18, 2013 and is managed by BlackRock.

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Sapient Capital LLC increased its holdings in VanEck Gold Miners ETF (NYSEARCA:GDX  Free Report) by 308.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,393 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after acquiring an additional 35,042 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLCs holdings in VanEck Gold Miners ETF were worth $3,513,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in VanEck Gold Miners ETF by 30.0% in the second quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 6,511,070 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $338,966,000 after purchasing an additional 1,503,884 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of VanEck Gold Miners ETF by 766.7% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,977,932 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $207,091,000 after purchasing an additional 4,574,598 shares during the last quarter. Slate Path Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of VanEck Gold Miners ETF in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $123,070,000. Pureheart Capital Pte Ltd. increased its position in VanEck Gold Miners ETF by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Pureheart Capital Pte Ltd. now owns 1,339,000 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $69,708,000 after buying an additional 19,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in VanEck Gold Miners ETF by 99.1% during the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 1,306,000 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $67,990,000 after buying an additional 650,000 shares in the last quarter.

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VanEck Gold Miners ETF Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSEARCA:GDX opened at $91.29 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.67. VanEck Gold Miners ETF has a 12-month low of $33.42 and a 12-month high of $91.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.70 and a beta of 0.55.

About VanEck Gold Miners ETF

The Fund seeks to match as closely as possible the price and yield performance of the AMEX Gold Miners Index. The Fund, utilizing a passive or indexing investment approach, attempts to approximate the investment performance of the Index by investing in a portfolio of stocks that generally replicate the Index.

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Sapient Capital LLC increased its position in Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE:AEM  Free Report) (TSE:AEM) by 96.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,823 shares of the mining companys stock after purchasing an additional 4,819 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLCs holdings in Agnico Eagle Mines were worth $1,638,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Agnico Eagle Mines by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,216 shares of the mining companys stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Agnico Eagle Mines by 51.7% during the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,347 shares of the mining companys stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp acquired a new position in Agnico Eagle Mines in the first quarter worth $237,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Agnico Eagle Mines by 157.6% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 175,155 shares of the mining companys stock valued at $18,989,000 after purchasing an additional 107,149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flputnam Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Agnico Eagle Mines during the first quarter valued at $257,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.34% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AEM. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Agnico Eagle Mines from $140.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. TD Securities raised their target price on shares of Agnico Eagle Mines from $154.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America upped their target price on Agnico Eagle Mines from $209.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on Agnico Eagle Mines from $155.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Agnico Eagle Mines from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Sunday, November 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $201.60.

Agnico Eagle Mines Price Performance

NYSE AEM opened at $183.32 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $167.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $149.36. Agnico Eagle Mines Limited has a 52 week low of $76.91 and a 52 week high of $187.50. The stock has a market cap of $91.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Agnico Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM  Get Free Report) (TSE:AEM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The mining company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.93 billion. Agnico Eagle Mines had a return on equity of 15.64% and a net margin of 32.62%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Agnico Eagle Mines Limited will post 4.63 EPS for the current year.

Agnico Eagle Mines Profile

(Free Report)

Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE: AEM) is a Canadian-based senior gold producer headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The company is principally engaged in the exploration, development, production and reclamation of gold-bearing properties. Agnico Eagle pursues both greenfield and brownfield exploration to expand its resource base and operates a portfolio of producing mines and development projects to generate long-life gold production.

Its core business activities span the full mining lifecycle: grassroots and advanced-stage exploration, prefeasibility and feasibility studies, mine construction, underground and open-pit mining, ore processing and metal recovery, and post-mining reclamation and closure.

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Sowell Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF (NYSEARCA:PPA  Free Report) by 147.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,150 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 15,006 shares during the quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF worth $3,910,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPA. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 360,983 shares of the companys stock valued at $50,473,000 after acquiring an additional 13,405 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF by 3.4% in the second quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 358,675 shares of the companys stock valued at $50,821,000 after purchasing an additional 11,909 shares during the period. Meitav Investment House Ltd. increased its position in Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF by 2.1% during the second quarter. Meitav Investment House Ltd. now owns 275,480 shares of the companys stock worth $39,033,000 after purchasing an additional 5,634 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF by 12.1% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 206,410 shares of the companys stock worth $29,257,000 after purchasing an additional 22,282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF by 8.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 175,903 shares of the companys stock worth $20,501,000 after purchasing an additional 14,386 shares during the period.

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Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of PPA opened at $158.94 on Friday. Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF has a fifty-two week low of $100.39 and a fifty-two week high of $160.49. The companys fifty day moving average is $153.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.15. The firm has a market cap of $6.91 billion, a PE ratio of 30.91 and a beta of 0.87.

About Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF

PowerShares Aerospace & Defense Portfolio (Fund) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield of the SPADE Defense Index (the Index). The Index is designed to identify a group of companies involved in the development, manufacturing, operations and support of the United States defense, homeland security and aerospace operations. The modified market-cap portfolio is rebalanced quarterly and reconstituted annually. The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its total assets in common stocks that comprise the Index.

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Paradiem LLC lifted its stake in shares of Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH  Free Report) by 858.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 234,833 shares of the utilities providers stock after acquiring an additional 210,333 shares during the period. Black Hills makes up 3.4% of Paradiem LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Paradiem LLC owned about 0.32% of Black Hills worth $14,463,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Black Hills by 37.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 641 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 9,068 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $509,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Black Hills by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,300 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Black Hills by 13.6% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,206 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $124,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First PREMIER Bank boosted its stake in Black Hills by 1.4% in the second quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 19,833 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $1,113,000 after buying an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.71% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity at Black Hills

In other news, CFO Kimberly F. Nooney sold 14,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $1,025,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,447,704.70. This represents a 29.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.63% of the companys stock.

Black Hills Stock Performance

Shares of BKH stock opened at $69.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.51, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.74. Black Hills Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $54.92 and a fifty-two week high of $74.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $69.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.37.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.45. Black Hills had a net margin of 12.54% and a return on equity of 7.86%. The company had revenue of $430.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $439.96 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Black Hills Corporation will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Black Hills Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a dividend of $0.676 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. Black Hillss dividend payout ratio is 68.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank raised shares of Black Hills from a sector perform rating to a sector outperform rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a buy (b-) rating on shares of Black Hills in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Black Hills presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $71.00.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Black Hills

Black Hills Profile

(Free Report)

Black Hills Corporation is a diversified energy company based in Rapid City, South Dakota, that provides electricity and natural gas distribution services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Through its regulated utility subsidiariesBlack Hills Power, Cheyenne Light & Power, and Black Hills Energythe company delivers reliable energy across Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming.

In addition to its distribution operations, Black Hills owns and operates a generation portfolio that includes natural gasfired plants, coal-fired units, hydroelectric facilities and wind projects.

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Paradiem LLC bought a new position in Grupo Supervielle S.A. (NYSE:SUPV  Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 73,434 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $363,000. Paradiem LLC owned 0.08% of Grupo Supervielle as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sparta 24 Ltd. bought a new stake in Grupo Supervielle in the second quarter worth $27,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Grupo Supervielle by 29.3% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 26,500 shares of the companys stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 6,000 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Grupo Supervielle by 197.0% in the 2nd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 38,202 shares of the companys stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 25,340 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in shares of Grupo Supervielle by 243.7% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 48,977 shares of the companys stock worth $519,000 after purchasing an additional 34,726 shares during the period. Finally, Titan Global Capital Management USA LLC boosted its stake in shares of Grupo Supervielle by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Titan Global Capital Management USA LLC now owns 54,048 shares of the companys stock worth $572,000 after purchasing an additional 2,711 shares during the period.

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Grupo Supervielle Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE SUPV opened at $12.12 on Friday. Grupo Supervielle S.A. has a twelve month low of $4.54 and a twelve month high of $19.75. The firm has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a PE ratio of 100.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 44.68 and a beta of 1.76. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Grupo Supervielle ( NYSE:SUPV Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 25th. The company reported ($0.43) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.46). The firm had revenue of $178.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $252.85 billion. Grupo Supervielle had a return on equity of 1.15% and a net margin of 0.69%. Analysts expect that Grupo Supervielle S.A. will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Several brokerages have issued reports on SUPV. Itau BBA Securities started coverage on shares of Grupo Supervielle in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. They issued an outperform rating and a $15.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Grupo Supervielle from an underweight rating to a neutral rating and raised their price target for the stock from $5.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Bank of America restated a neutral rating on shares of Grupo Supervielle in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Grupo Supervielle in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. They issued a neutral rating and a $13.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Grupo Supervielle from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Saturday, December 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Grupo Supervielle currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $13.33.

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Grupo Supervielle Profile

(Free Report)

Grupo Supervielle (NYSE: SUPV) is a diversified Argentine financial services holding company headquartered in Buenos Aires. Through its principal subsidiary, Banco Supervielle, the group offers retail and commercial banking products including checking and savings accounts, consumer and corporate loans, credit and debit cards, treasury services and foreign exchange solutions. These services cater to individual customers, small and medium-sized enterprises and larger corporates throughout Argentinas provincial and urban centers.

Beyond traditional banking, Grupo Supervielle operates in insurance and asset management.

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British American Tobacco p.l.c. (OTCMKTS:BTAFF  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 138,969 shares, a drop of 54.2% from the November 30th total of 303,407 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,352 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 31.9 days. Based on an average trading volume of 4,352 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 31.9 days.

British American Tobacco Stock Down 4.7%

British American Tobacco stock opened at $56.31 on Friday. British American Tobacco has a 12 month low of $34.79 and a 12 month high of $59.72. The stocks 50 day moving average is $55.91 and its 200-day moving average is $54.23.

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British American Tobacco Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

British American Tobacco plc (OTCMKTS:BTAFF) is a global consumer goods company primarily engaged in the manufacturing and sale of tobacco and nicotine products. Founded in 1902 through the merger of the Imperial Tobacco Company and the American Tobacco Companys international operations, the firm is headquartered in London, England. Over more than a century, the company has grown into one of the worlds leading tobacco producers, known for its extensive brand portfolio and international distribution network.

The companys core business encompasses the production and marketing of cigarettes, including signature brands such as Dunhill, Kent, Lucky Strike, Pall Mall and Rothmans.

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Shares of Staffline Group plc (LON:STAF  Get Free Report) passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 45.07 and traded as low as GBX 44. Staffline Group shares last traded at GBX 44, with a volume of 65 shares trading hands.

Staffline Group Trading Down 2.7%

The business has a 50 day moving average of GBX 45.34 and a 200 day moving average of GBX 45.11. The firm has a market capitalization of 51.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 47.04, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

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Insider Activity

In related news, insider Thomas Spain purchased 138,612 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 46 per share, with a total value of 63,761.52. In the last three months, insiders sold 497,273 shares of company stock worth $22,688,983. 33.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Staffline Group Company Profile

Staffline Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides recruitment and outsourced human resource services, and skills and employment training and support services in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It operates through three segments: Recruitment GB, Recruitment Ireland, and PeoplePlus. The company provides solutions to the agriculture, supermarkets and retail, drinks, driving, food processing, manufacturing, and logistics sectors. It also offers adult and prison education, skills-based employability programmes and support, recruitment process outsourcing, and managed service provider solutions; branches, permanent, and contract recruitment solutions; generalist recruitment services; workforce recruitment and management to industry customers; and technical and engineering recruitment services.

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Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA  Free Report) by 2.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 44,020 shares of the credit services providers stock after buying an additional 1,042 shares during the quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLCs holdings in Mastercard were worth $25,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MA. LGT Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in Mastercard in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mastercard in the first quarter worth $27,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard in the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Robbins Farley raised its position in shares of Mastercard by 50.0% in the third quarter. Robbins Farley now owns 54 shares of the credit services providers stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. 97.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI set a $610.00 target price on Mastercard in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Mastercard from $645.00 to $654.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Compass Point set a $620.00 target price on shares of Mastercard and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup raised shares of Mastercard to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mastercard from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Sunday, December 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $657.48.

Mastercard Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:MA opened at $579.61 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $520.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.87. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12-month low of $465.59 and a 12-month high of $601.77. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $555.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $565.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $4.31 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $8.53 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 202.03% and a net margin of 45.28%.The businesss quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 9th. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Mastercards previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Mastercards dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.25%.

Mastercard Profile

(Free Report)

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.

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Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in McDonalds Corporation (NYSE:MCD  Free Report) by 4.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,949 shares of the fast-food giants stock after purchasing an additional 2,692 shares during the quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLCs holdings in McDonalds were worth $18,218,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of McDonalds in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,780,712,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in McDonalds by 29,382.3% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,737,548 shares of the fast-food giants stock worth $1,676,339,000 after acquiring an additional 5,718,087 shares in the last quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC bought a new position in McDonalds in the second quarter worth approximately $1,412,069,000. Viking Global Investors LP grew its stake in McDonalds by 171.7% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 3,125,432 shares of the fast-food giants stock valued at $913,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,974,998 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in shares of McDonalds by 96.0% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 4,032,676 shares of the fast-food giants stock valued at $1,188,147,000 after acquiring an additional 1,974,751 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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More McDonalds News

Here are the key news stories impacting McDonalds this week:

McDonalds Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $310.61 on Friday. McDonalds Corporation has a 1 year low of $276.53 and a 1 year high of $326.32. The company has a market capitalization of $221.20 billion, a PE ratio of 26.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $308.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $304.09.

McDonalds (NYSE:MCD  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $7.10 billion. McDonalds had a negative return on equity of 280.89% and a net margin of 32.04%.McDonaldss quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonalds Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonalds Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This is a positive change from McDonaldss previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. McDonaldss dividend payout ratio is presently 63.48%.

Insider Activity at McDonalds

In other news, CFO Ian Frederick Borden sold 17,134 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $5,311,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 26,353 shares in the company, valued at $8,169,430. This trade represents a 39.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 3,195 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.82, for a total value of $977,094.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 6,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,861,832.16. The trade was a 34.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 42,516 shares of company stock valued at $13,036,090 over the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on MCD. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of McDonalds from $381.00 to $375.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. BTIG Research restated a neutral rating on shares of McDonalds in a report on Friday, October 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of McDonalds in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. They issued a sector perform rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a market perform rating on shares of McDonalds in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a neutral rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of McDonalds in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $324.57.

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About McDonalds

(Free Report)

McDonalds Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is a global quick-service restaurant company best known for its hamburgers, French fries and breakfast offerings. The company develops, operates and franchises a system of restaurants that sell a range of food and beverage items, including signature products such as the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets, McCafe coffee beverages and a variety of salads, desserts and seasonal menu items. McDonalds serves customers through company-operated restaurants and franchised locations, and it supports sales via dine-in, drive-thru, digital ordering platforms and third-party delivery partnerships.

Founded in 1940 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald as a single San Bernardino, California restaurant, the business was transformed into a franchising model after Ray Kroc joined in the mid-1950s and led the brands national and international expansion.

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Canada Goose Holdings Inc. (NYSE:GOOS  Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of Hold from the ten research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $15.00.

Several brokerages recently commented on GOOS. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Canada Goose from $13.00 to $11.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Cowen raised shares of Canada Goose from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Canada Goose from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Canada Goose from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Canada Goose from a hold rating to a buy rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Monday, September 8th.

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Read Our Latest Report on GOOS

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Canada Goose Price Performance

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Canada Goose in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. US Bancorp DE bought a new stake in shares of Canada Goose during the 3rd quarter worth $83,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Canada Goose during the 3rd quarter worth $88,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Canada Goose in the second quarter worth $139,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC bought a new position in Canada Goose in the second quarter valued at $151,000. 83.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Shares of NYSE GOOS opened at $12.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.89. Canada Goose has a fifty-two week low of $6.73 and a fifty-two week high of $15.43. The stock has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 71.22 and a beta of 1.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $13.24 and a 200-day moving average of $12.96.

Canada Goose (NYSE:GOOS  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $195.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $274.05 million. Canada Goose had a return on equity of 15.35% and a net margin of 1.96%.The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.05 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Canada Goose will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Canada Goose Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Canada Goose Holdings Inc, traded on the NYSE under the symbol GOOS, is a Canadian design and manufacturing company specializing in premium outerwear. The firm is best known for its down-filled jackets and parkas, engineered to deliver high performance in extreme cold weather. Over time, Canada Goose has expanded its product range to include knitwear, fleece, footwear, and accessories, all designed with an emphasis on technical innovation, quality craftsmanship, and functional style.

Founded in 1957 as Metro Sportswear Ltd.

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Sapient Capital LLC reduced its holdings in Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP  Free Report) by 32.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 73,172 shares of the railroad operators stock after selling 35,383 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLCs holdings in Union Pacific were worth $17,282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in UNP. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Union Pacific by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 93,337 shares of the railroad operators stock worth $21,475,000 after purchasing an additional 8,925 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its holdings in Union Pacific by 26.4% in the second quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 23,875 shares of the railroad operators stock worth $5,494,000 after buying an additional 4,980 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA raised its position in Union Pacific by 9.8% during the third quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 52,849 shares of the railroad operators stock valued at $12,492,000 after acquiring an additional 4,707 shares in the last quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC raised its position in Union Pacific by 165.2% during the second quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC now owns 34,808 shares of the railroad operators stock valued at $8,009,000 after acquiring an additional 21,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Union Pacific by 0.8% in the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,549,118 shares of the railroad operators stock valued at $366,165,000 after acquiring an additional 12,251 shares during the last quarter. 80.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays restated an overweight rating and set a $285.00 price target (up previously from $270.00) on shares of Union Pacific in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $245.00 target price on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a hold (c+) rating on shares of Union Pacific in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Loop Capital raised Union Pacific from a sell rating to a hold rating and increased their price objective for the company from $214.00 to $227.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $263.00 price objective on Union Pacific and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $260.33.

Union Pacific Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UNP opened at $233.23 on Friday. Union Pacific Corporation has a 12 month low of $204.66 and a 12 month high of $256.84. The company has a market cap of $138.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.99. The businesss 50 day moving average is $227.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $226.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The railroad operator reported $3.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $6.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.24 billion. Union Pacific had a return on equity of 42.23% and a net margin of 28.73%.The firms revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.75 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Union Pacific Corporation will post 11.99 EPS for the current year.

Union Pacific Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. Union Pacifics dividend payout ratio is presently 46.90%.

About Union Pacific

(Free Report)

Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP) is one of the largest freight railroad companies in the United States. Its principal operating subsidiary, Union Pacific Railroad, has roots that trace back to the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 and the construction of the first transcontinental rail link completed in 1869. The company is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, and operates as a holding company for rail transportation and related services.

Union Pacifics core business is the movement of freight by rail across an extensive rail network serving the western two?thirds of the United States.

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PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL  Free Report) by 27.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,604,089 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 344,700 shares during the period. Colgate-Palmolive comprises about 0.8% of PineStone Asset Management Inc.s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. PineStone Asset Management Inc. owned 0.20% of Colgate-Palmolive worth $128,231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 85.5% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 282 shares of the companys stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 86.1% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 335 shares of the companys stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. 80.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CL shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $87.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Colgate-Palmolive from $106.00 to $91.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $86.00 target price on Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Argus restated a hold rating on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $88.81.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of CL opened at $79.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.90, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.93. Colgate-Palmolive Company has a fifty-two week low of $74.54 and a fifty-two week high of $100.18. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.69. The company has a market capitalization of $64.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 0.30.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.02. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 333.39% and a net margin of 14.47%.The firm had revenue of $5.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. The firms revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Colgate-Palmolive Company will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 21st will be given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 21st. Colgate-Palmolives dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.26%.

Colgate-Palmolive Company Profile

(Free Report)

Colgate-Palmolive Company is a global consumer products company with a long history in household and personal care categories. The business traces its roots to the early 19th century and has evolved into a multinational manufacturer and marketer of everyday consumer goods focused on health, hygiene and home care.

The companys core activities center on oral care, personal care, home care and pet nutrition. Its product portfolio includes toothpaste, toothbrushes and mouthwash in oral care; soaps, body washes and deodorants in personal care; dishwashing liquids, surface cleaners and other household products in home care; and scientifically formulated pet foods under its pet nutrition business.

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ProShares UltraShort Silver (NYSEARCA:ZSL  Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 713,154 shares, a decline of 36.0% from the November 30th total of 1,114,094 shares. Approximately 22.9% of the companys stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 7,358,578 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.1 days. Based on an average daily volume of 7,358,578 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.1 days. Approximately 22.9% of the companys stock are sold short.

ProShares UltraShort Silver Stock Performance

NYSEARCA:ZSL opened at $4.65 on Friday. ProShares UltraShort Silver has a fifty-two week low of $4.64 and a fifty-two week high of $42.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $10.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.40.

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Hedge Funds Weigh In On ProShares UltraShort Silver

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in ProShares UltraShort Silver stock. Flow Traders U.S. LLC boosted its holdings in ProShares UltraShort Silver (NYSEARCA:ZSL  Free Report) by 159.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,666 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after acquiring an additional 31,120 shares during the quarter. Flow Traders U.S. LLC owned 3.59% of ProShares UltraShort Silver worth $1,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

About ProShares UltraShort Silver

ProShares UltraShort Silver (the Fund) seeks daily investment results that correspond to twice (200%) the inverse (opposite) of the daily performance of silver bullion as measured by the United States dollar fixing price for delivery in London. The Fund will not directly or physically hold the underlying silver, but instead will seek exposure to silver through the use of financial instruments, whose value is based on the underlying price of silver to pursue their investment objective. The benchmark price of silver will be the United States dollar price of silver bullion as measured by the London fixing price per troy ounce of unallocated silver bullion for delivery in London through a member of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) authorized to effect such delivery.

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Total Wealth Planning LLC lifted its holdings in Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF (NYSEARCA:VOE  Free Report) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 173,377 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 4,765 shares during the period. Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF comprises 3.5% of Total Wealth Planning LLCs holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Total Wealth Planning LLC owned 0.16% of Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF worth $30,268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Founders Financial Securities LLC increased its stake in Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF by 56.0% during the 3rd quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 12,257 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,140,000 after purchasing an additional 4,402 shares in the last quarter. Dougherty Wealth Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF by 3.5% during the third quarter. Dougherty Wealth Advisers LLC now owns 87,941 shares of the companys stock worth $15,353,000 after buying an additional 2,958 shares during the period. American Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF during the second quarter valued at $919,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 83,409 shares of the companys stock valued at $14,198,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF by 464.7% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 28,679 shares of the companys stock worth $5,007,000 after acquiring an additional 23,600 shares during the last quarter.

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Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF Stock Performance

Shares of VOE opened at $179.40 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $175.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $171.56. Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF has a one year low of $139.38 and a one year high of $181.92. The stock has a market cap of $19.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.19 and a beta of 0.94.

Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF Company Profile

Vanguard Mid-Cap Value Index Fund (Fund) is an open-end investment company, or mutual fund. The fund offers two classes of shares: Investor Shares and ETF Shares. Investor Shares are available to any investor who meets the funds minimum purchase requirements. ETF Shares can be purchased and sold through a broker.

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Intesa Sanpaolo SpA (OTCMKTS:ISNPY  Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 138,652 shares, a decrease of 36.2% from the November 30th total of 217,364 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 362,960 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.4 days. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 362,960 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.4 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ISNPY. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Intesa Sanpaolo from a moderate buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley reissued an overweight rating on shares of Intesa Sanpaolo in a research note on Monday, November 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Intesa Sanpaolo from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Intesa Sanpaolo in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a moderate buy rating for the company. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Intesa Sanpaolo from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Intesa Sanpaolo has an average rating of Moderate Buy.

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Intesa Sanpaolo Trading Down 0.1%

Intesa Sanpaolo Dividend Announcement

Shares of OTCMKTS ISNPY opened at $41.65 on Friday. Intesa Sanpaolo has a one year low of $23.45 and a one year high of $42.15. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $39.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.88 billion, a PE ratio of 12.40, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.75.

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.9325 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a yield of 445.0%. Intesa Sanpaolos payout ratio is presently 55.65%.

About Intesa Sanpaolo

(Get Free Report)

Intesa Sanpaolo is an Italian banking group formed in 2007 through the merger of Banca Intesa and Sanpaolo IMI. The group is one of Italys largest financial institutions, serving a wide range of clients from individual retail customers to large corporations and institutional investors. Its long heritage traces to several regional banks and savings institutions that became part of the consolidated group, giving it a prominent role in the Italian financial system.

The company operates across multiple business lines, including retail banking (current accounts, deposits, mortgages and consumer loans), corporate and investment banking (cash management, lending, capital markets and advisory), private banking and wealth management, asset management and insurance.

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AGF Management Limited (OTCMKTS:AGFMF  Get Free Report)s share price passed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $10.43 and traded as high as $11.98. AGF Management shares last traded at $11.98, with a volume of 100 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AGFMF shares. BMO Capital Markets restated a market perform rating on shares of AGF Management in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of AGF Management in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. They issued an outperform rating for the company. Desjardins reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of AGF Management in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a sector perform rating on shares of AGF Management in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy.

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AGF Management Stock Performance

AGF Management Company Profile

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $10.43 and a 200-day moving average of $9.74.

(Get Free Report)

AGF Management Limited is a Canadian-based investment management firm that offers a broad suite of products and services to retail, institutional and private wealth clients. The companys core offerings include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), managed solutions and separately managed accounts. AGFs investment platforms span equity, fixed-income, multi-asset and alternative strategies, allowing clients to access active management and customized portfolio solutions.

Founded in 1957 and headquartered in Toronto, AGF Management operates additional offices in Montreal and other locations across Canada.

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PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL  Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of Buy by the twelve analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $41.20.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PPL. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of PPL from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley reissued an overweight rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of PPL in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on PPL from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a buy (b) rating on shares of PPL in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th.

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Hedge Funds Weigh In On PPL

PPL Stock Up 0.4%

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in PPL during the third quarter valued at $173,000. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 29,947 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $1,113,000 after purchasing an additional 925 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC grew its position in shares of PPL by 2.2% during the third quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 24,991 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $929,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. von Borstel & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the third quarter worth about $235,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 3.8% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,325 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the companys stock.

NYSE PPL opened at $35.10 on Friday. PPL has a 52 week low of $31.22 and a 52 week high of $38.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $25.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.69. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $35.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.78.

PPL (NYSE:PPL  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.02. PPL had a return on equity of 9.08% and a net margin of 12.16%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. The companys quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. PPL has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.780-1.840 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that PPL will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 10th. PPLs dividend payout ratio is presently 73.65%.

About PPL

(Get Free Report)

PPL Corporation is an energy company that owns and operates electric transmission and distribution infrastructure and provides related customer services. The companys core business centers on delivering electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers through regulated utility operations, maintaining grid reliability, responding to outages and managing customer billing and account services.

PPLs activities include construction and maintenance of distribution and transmission lines, meter and grid management, and programs to support energy efficiency and the interconnection of distributed resources.

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Voya Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HII  Free Report) by 23.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,340 shares of the aerospace companys stock after selling 2,517 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLCs holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries were worth $2,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,047,205 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $252,403,000 after purchasing an additional 16,236 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 666,440 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $160,919,000 after buying an additional 25,737 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 465,250 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $112,337,000 after buying an additional 18,777 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in Huntington Ingalls Industries by 94.0% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 408,305 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $83,311,000 after buying an additional 197,825 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new position in Huntington Ingalls Industries during the second quarter worth about $93,332,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.46% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a hold (c) rating on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Saturday, November 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $316.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. TD Cowen raised their price target on Huntington Ingalls Industries from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a market perform rating and issued a $362.00 price objective on shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries in a report on Friday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $325.75.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Stock Performance

Shares of HII stock opened at $351.11 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $315.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $282.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.78 billion, a PE ratio of 24.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. has a 52 week low of $158.88 and a 52 week high of $360.20.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The aerospace company reported $3.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $3.29 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Huntington Ingalls Industries had a return on equity of 11.79% and a net margin of 4.74%.The companys revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.56 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. will post 13.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were given a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from Huntington Ingalls Industriess previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. Huntington Ingalls Industriess dividend payout ratio is 38.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Christopher D. Kastner sold 15,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $321.06, for a total value of $4,815,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 68,139 shares of the companys stock, valued at $21,876,707.34. This trade represents a 18.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Edmond E. Jr. Hughes sold 850 shares of Huntington Ingalls Industries stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.44, for a total transaction of $268,124.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 8,731 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,754,106.64. This represents a 8.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 17,103 shares of company stock worth $5,477,768 over the last 90 days. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Huntington Ingalls Industries

(Free Report)

Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE: HII) is Americas largest military shipbuilding company and a leading provider of professional services to the U.S. government. Headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, HII designs, constructs and maintains nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, submarines and other complex vessels for the U.S. Navy. The companys products include nuclear aircraft carriers, Virginia-class and Columbia-class submarines, as well as amphibious assault ships, destroyers and cutters.

Established in 2011 as a spin-off from Northrop Grummans shipbuilding operations, HII traces its heritage to two historic builders: Newport News Shipbuilding, founded in the 19th century, and Ingalls Shipbuilding, founded in 1938.

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Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME  Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,966 shares of the technology companys stock, valued at approximately $2,061,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AMETEK in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bares Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in AMETEK in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 628.6% in the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 153 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 129.7% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 170 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, SouthState Corp increased its position in shares of AMETEK by 47.4% during the second quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 202 shares of the technology companys stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.43% of the companys stock.

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AMETEK Stock Performance

NYSE AME opened at $208.20 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $47.93 billion, a PE ratio of 32.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $196.87 and a 200-day moving average of $187.96. AMETEK, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.02 and a 52-week high of $210.14.

AMETEK Announces Dividend

AMETEK ( NYSE:AME Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The technology company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.13. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.66% and a net margin of 20.50%.The company had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.66 earnings per share. The firms quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. AMETEK has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.900-1.950 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 7.320-7.370 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. AMETEKs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AME shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on AMETEK from $212.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Truist Financial upped their price target on AMETEK from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of AMETEK from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Cowen raised shares of AMETEK from a sell rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of AMETEK from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $216.55.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on AME

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Thomas C. Marecic sold 14,310 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.11, for a total value of $2,892,194.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,607,662.79. This represents a 25.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas M. Montgomery sold 6,388 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.05, for a total value of $1,309,859.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 22,116 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,534,885.80. This represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 163,378 shares of company stock valued at $32,471,654. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AMETEK Company Profile

(Free Report)

AMETEK, Inc is a global manufacturer of electronic instruments and electromechanical devices that serves a broad range of industries. Headquartered in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, the company designs and produces precision instruments, electronic measurement devices, specialty sensors, and electric motors and motion control systems. Its product portfolio includes analytical and monitoring instruments, calibration equipment, power supplies, embedded electronics, and industrial motors and drives used for critical applications.

The company operates through two primary business platforms  an electronic instruments group focused on analytical, test and measurement and sensor products, and an electromechanical group that supplies motors, actuators, and related power and motion solutions.

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PineStone Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX  Free Report) by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,338,547 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock after selling 351,826 shares during the period. TJX Companies accounts for about 3.9% of PineStone Asset Management Inc.s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. PineStone Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.39% of TJX Companies worth $627,094,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lavaca Capital LLC acquired a new stake in TJX Companies in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of TJX Companies in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in shares of TJX Companies in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of TJX Companies by 776.7% during the second quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC now owns 263 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.09% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity

In other TJX Companies news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 24,363 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.31, for a total value of $3,686,365.53. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 510,780 shares in the company, valued at $77,286,121.80. The trade was a 4.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Amy B. Lane sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.40, for a total transaction of $75,700.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,212 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,362,896.80. This represents a 2.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,863 shares of company stock worth $8,226,366. Insiders own 0.13% of the companys stock.

TJX Companies Stock Performance

Shares of TJX opened at $157.14 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $149.16 and a 200 day moving average of $138.48. The company has a market capitalization of $174.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.69, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.76. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $112.10 and a 12 month high of $157.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 19th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $15.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.80 billion. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 58.30% and a net margin of 8.68%.The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. TJX Companies has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 1.330-1.360 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 4.630-4.660 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

TJX Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 12th. TJX Companiess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TJX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $168.00 price target (up previously from $160.00) on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Guggenheim upgraded TJX Companies to a strong-buy rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a buy (b+) rating on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Cowen restated a buy rating on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-three have issued a Buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $161.50.

Read Our Latest Report on TJX

About TJX Companies

(Free Report)

TJX Companies, Inc is a leading off-price retailer of apparel, footwear, home fashions and other consumer goods. The company operates multiple retail concepts that offer discounted brand-name and designer merchandise, including well-known banners such as T.J. Maxx and Marshalls in the United States, HomeGoods for home furnishings, TK Maxx in parts of Europe, and Winners and Homesense in Canada. Merchandise categories span womens, mens and childrens apparel, accessories, beauty, home decor, kitchenware and small furniture, with frequent changes in assortment that create a treasure-hunt shopping experience for consumers.

The companys business model centers on opportunistic buying, purchasing excess, irregular or out-of-season inventory from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers, and passing savings to customers through lower prices.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TJX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX  Free Report).

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Vontobel Holding Ltd. decreased its stake in Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH  Free Report) by 83.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,370 shares of the companys stock after selling 33,101 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.s holdings in Cardinal Health were worth $1,000,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Cardinal Health by 198.3% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 21,112 shares of the companys stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 14,034 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Cardinal Health by 75.0% in the 2nd quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 175 shares of the companys stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Cardinal Health by 55.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 200 shares of the companys stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in Cardinal Health by 100.0% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 214 shares of the companys stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in Cardinal Health in the second quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CAH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a buy (b) rating on shares of Cardinal Health in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Cardinal Health from $195.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. UBS Group upped their target price on Cardinal Health from $185.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Cardinal Health from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on shares of Cardinal Health from $189.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $209.00.

Cardinal Health Trading Up 0.3%

Cardinal Health stock opened at $208.19 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.63. The firms fifty day moving average price is $196.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.14. Cardinal Health, Inc. has a 1-year low of $117.53 and a 1-year high of $214.93.

Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.33. Cardinal Health had a net margin of 0.68% and a negative return on equity of 84.37%. The company had revenue of $64.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.88 EPS. The firms revenue was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Cardinal Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.650-9.850 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Cardinal Health, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Cardinal Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.5107 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Cardinal Healths payout ratio is presently 30.77%.

About Cardinal Health

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Cardinal Health is a multinational healthcare services and products company headquartered in Dublin, Ohio. Tracing its roots to the early 1970s, the company has grown into a major provider of supply chain and distribution services for the healthcare sector. Cardinal Health operates across a range of service lines that support hospitals, health systems, pharmacies, physician offices and clinical laboratories.

The companys core activities include the wholesale distribution of branded and generic pharmaceuticals, the supply and distribution of medical-surgical products, and the provision of logistics and inventory management solutions.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CAH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH  Free Report).

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Fifth Street Asset Management Inc. (OTCMKTS:FSAM  Get Free Report) shares passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $0.01 and traded as high as $0.0144. Fifth Street Asset Management shares last traded at $0.0141, with a volume of 38,100 shares traded.

Fifth Street Asset Management Stock Down 2.1%

The firms fifty day simple moving average is $0.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $0.01.

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About Fifth Street Asset Management

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Fifth Street Asset Management (OTCMKTS:FSAM) is a registered investment adviser specializing in private credit and specialty finance strategies. The firm focuses on structuring and managing credit-oriented solutions designed to meet the financing needs of middle-market companies. Headquartered in New York, Fifth Street Asset Management serves a broad range of institutional investors, including pension funds, endowments, foundations and insurers.

The companys core activities include direct lending, mezzanine debt, sponsor-to-sponsor financing and special situations investments.

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Great Lakes Graphite Inc (CVE:GLK  Get Free Report) passed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of C$0.03 and traded as high as C$0.04. Great Lakes Graphite shares last traded at C$0.04, with a volume of 73,021 shares trading hands.

Great Lakes Graphite Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of C$4.64 million and a P/E ratio of -1.75. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of C$0.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$0.04.

About Great Lakes Graphite

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Great Lakes Graphite Inc, doing business as NovoCarbon Corporation, engages in the acquisition and exploration of mineral properties in Canada. It holds a 100% interest in the Lochaber graphite project, which includes 45 claims covering 2,649 hectares located in the Buckingham Graphite region in Outaouais/Gatineau, Quebec. The company was formerly known as Shield Gold Inc and changed its name to Great Lakes Graphite Inc in May 2014. Great Lakes Graphite Inc is based in Toronto, Canada.

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iShares MSCI South Africa ETF (NYSEARCA:EZA  Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 750,877 shares, a decline of 36.6% from the November 30th total of 1,183,529 shares. Approximately 9.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 247,279 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days. Based on an average daily volume of 247,279 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days. Approximately 9.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Trading of iShares MSCI South Africa ETF

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barometer Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI South Africa ETF during the 3rd quarter worth $320,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in iShares MSCI South Africa ETF by 65.9% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 9,141 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $491,000 after acquiring an additional 3,631 shares in the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new position in shares of iShares MSCI South Africa ETF in the third quarter worth about $631,000. Innealta Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI South Africa ETF by 138.7% in the third quarter. Innealta Capital LLC now owns 21,697 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $1,391,000 after acquiring an additional 12,608 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI South Africa ETF by 386.7% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 27,327 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $1,752,000 after purchasing an additional 21,712 shares in the last quarter.

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iShares MSCI South Africa ETF Stock Up 0.6%

NYSEARCA:EZA opened at $70.31 on Friday. iShares MSCI South Africa ETF has a 12-month low of $39.74 and a 12-month high of $70.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $555.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.34 and a beta of 0.78. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $66.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.76.

About iShares MSCI South Africa ETF

iShares MSCI South Africa ETF, formerly iShares MSCI South Africa Index Fund (the Fund), is an exchange traded fund. The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of publicly traded securities in the aggregate in the South African market, as measured by the MSCI South Africa Index (the Index). The Index seeks to measure the performance of the South African equity market. The Index is a capitalization-weighted index that aims to capture 85% of the (publicly available) total market capitalization.

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Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Celsius, Canadian Natural Resources, Canadian Solar, Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian National Railway, and Unifirst are the seven Canadian stocks to watch today, according to MarketBeats stock screener tool. Canadian stocks are shares of ownership in companies that are domiciled in Canada or listed on Canadian exchanges (for example, the Toronto Stock Exchange or TSX Venture Exchange) and give investors a claim on the companys earnings and assets. For investors, they provide exposure to the Canadian economy and common sectors like financials and natural resources, and involve considerations such as Canadian regulatory rules and Canadian-dollar currency risk. These companies had the highest dollar trading volume of any Canadian stocks within the last several days.

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Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM)

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, a diversified financial institution, provides various financial products and services to personal, business, public sector, and institutional clients in Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through Canadian Personal and Business Banking; Canadian Commercial Banking and Wealth Management; U.S.

Celsius (CELH)

Celsius Holdings, Inc. develops, processes, markets, distributes, and sells functional energy drinks and liquid supplements in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canadian, European, Middle Eastern, Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company offers CELSIUS, a fitness drink or supplement designed to accelerate metabolism and burn body fat; various flavors and carbonated and non-carbonated functional energy drinks under the CELSIUS Originals and Vibe name, as well as functional energy drink under the CELSIUS Essentials and CELSIUS On-the-Go Powder names; and CELSIUS ready-to drink products.

Read Our Latest Research Report on CELH

Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ)

Canadian Natural Resources Limited acquires, explores for, develops, produces, markets, and sells crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). The company offers light and medium crude oil, primary heavy crude oil, Pelican Lake heavy crude oil, bitumen (thermal oil), and synthetic crude oil (SCO).

Read Our Latest Research Report on CNQ

Canadian Solar (CSIQ)

Canadian Solar Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides solar energy and battery energy storage products and solutions in in Asia, the Americas, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, CSI Solar and Recurrent Energy. The CSI Solar segment designs, develops, and manufactures solar ingots, wafers, cells, modules, and other solar power and battery storage products.

Read Our Latest Research Report on CSIQ

Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP)

Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates a transcontinental freight railway in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The company transports bulk commodities, including grain, coal, potash, fertilizers, and sulphur; merchandise freight, such as forest products, energy, chemicals and plastics, metals, minerals, consumer products, and automotive; and intermodal traffic comprising retail goods in overseas containers.

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Canadian National Railway (CNI)

Canadian National Railway Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the rail, intermodal, trucking, and marine transportation and logistics business in Canada and the United States. The company provides rail services, which include equipment, custom brokerage services, transloading and distribution, business development and real estate, and private car storage services; and intermodal services, such as temperature controlled cargo, port partnerships, and logistics parks.

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Unifirst (UNF)

UniFirst Corporation provides workplace uniforms and protective work wear clothing in the United States, Europe, and Canada. The company operates through U.S. and Canadian Rental and Cleaning, Manufacturing, Specialty Garments Rental and Cleaning, and First Aid segments. It designs, manufactures, personalizes, rents, cleans, delivers, and sells a range of uniforms and protective clothing, including shirts, pants, jackets, coveralls, lab coats, smocks, and aprons; and specialized protective wear, such as flame resistant and high visibility garments.

Read Our Latest Research Report on UNF

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Laird Superfood (NYSEAMERICAN:LSF) CEO Jason Vieth announced that the company has entered into an agreement to acquire Navitas LLC, the owner of the Navitas Organics brand, in a cash transaction valued at $38.5 million. Vieth described the deal as a pivotal step in Laird Superfoods strategy to build a scaled, diversified platform in functional nutrition.

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The acquisition is expected to be funded through a $50 million convertible preferred equity instrument from Nexus Capital Management. Vieth added that the investment includes an option for Laird Superfood to draw up to an additional $60 million for future strategic opportunities. Both the Navitas acquisition and the Nexus investment are expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, subject to customary approvals, including shareholder approval.

Navitas Organics profile and strategic rationale

Vieth said Navitas Organics, founded in 2003, has been operating in the superfoods category for more than 20 years. He highlighted Navitas focus on high-quality, organic, nutrient-dense products, citing examples such as cacao powder, chia seeds, and goji berries. According to Vieth, Navitas product positioning aligns with Laird Superfoods emphasis on clean, real food products tied to performance and wellness.

Financially, management said Navitas generated nearly $36.4 million in revenue in 2024 and has built distribution across natural and conventional grocery, club channels, and e-commerce. Vieth also emphasized Navitas profitability at the gross margin level, citing a 32.7% gross margin for 2024 and describing the business as growing double digits. In the Q&A session, he reiterated that the company is not yet providing detail below gross margin, noting that Laird has nine months of financials and expects to provide more information in connection with proxy materials.

Combined scale and expected benefits

Vieth said Laird Superfood generated more than $43 million in net sales in fiscal 2024 and expects net sales growth of 15% in 2025 versus the prior year. With Navitas, management expects the transaction to be immediately accretive and to create a combined pro forma annual revenue base of approximately $80 million for 2024.

In addition to scale, Vieth outlined several areas where the combination could create operational and commercial benefits:

Supply chain and sourcing: Vieth said the companies sourcing networks and supply chains are highly complementary. He noted that both businesses use co-manufacturing and third-party logistics (3PL), and management sees an opportunity to optimize costs by combining those networks.

Vieth said the companies sourcing networks and supply chains are highly complementary. He noted that both businesses use co-manufacturing and third-party logistics (3PL), and management sees an opportunity to optimize costs by combining those networks. Distribution expansion: Management expects to expand reach through shared channels, including retail partners and e-commerce platforms.

Management expects to expand reach through shared channels, including retail partners and e-commerce platforms. Cross-portfolio innovation: Vieth pointed to potential new product development that blends Navitas raw organic superfoods with Lairds performance-oriented functional ingredients such as adaptogens and mushrooms.

He also said Laird is excited to welcome the Navitas team, led by CEO Ira Haber, and characterized the combination as a step toward building a broader portfolio of health and wellness brands.

Channel mix differences and cross-selling opportunities

During Q&A, Vieth said Navitas has a more established wholesale business than Laird Superfood. He framed that as an opportunity for Laird, which has stated a goal of increasing its wholesale presence, to learn from Navitas relationships and approach in that channel.

Conversely, Vieth said Laird Superfood has a more established e-commerce business, particularly direct-to-consumer (DTC), and more experience in Amazon. He described Navitas Amazon presence as nice but more nascent than Lairds, suggesting Lairds experience could help accelerate Navitas e-commerce performance. Vieth also indicated that consumer overlap between the brands should support cross-selling efforts.

M&A strategy and timeline considerations

Analysts asked whether Laird plans to pursue additional acquisitions and whether management would wait for full integration of Navitas before doing another deal. Vieth said the company intends to keep a wide aperture in evaluating potential targets across functional foods, particularly premium, value-added products with functional benefits. He noted that the combined portfolio will be largely shelf-stableprimarily bags of productwhile also reiterating interest in functional beverages, an area Laird has discussed previously.

On timing, Vieth said management does not want to box itself into a rigid integration timeline, adding that the businesses are similarly sized and not overly complicated. He said Laird expects to merge backbones including IT and systems to run efficiently across the two platforms. While he acknowledged there will likely be a little bit of a pause after completing the Navitas deal process, Vieth said the company views the current environment as an opportune moment to be aggressive, and that it will remain active in evaluating a potential third pillar acquisition.

Vieth said investors should expect additional updates, including more financial information and an investor presentation around the time the company files its proxy in January.

About Laird Superfood (NYSEAMERICAN:LSF)

Laird Superfood, Inc (NYSE American: LSF) is a consumer wellness company specializing in plant-based superfood and functional beverage products. Founded in 2015 by big-wave surfer and entrepreneur Laird Hamilton, the company develops creamers, coffees, hydration mixes and culinary superfood blends designed to deliver energy, focus and nutritional support. Laird Superfoods offerings leverage premium ingredients such as coconut milk, aquamin sea minerals, functional mushrooms and adaptogens to address growing consumer demand for clean-label, nutrient-rich alternatives.

The companys core product lines include coconut-based coffee creamers, plant-based creamers, instant coffee blends combined with superfood ingredients, hydration mixes and culinary seasonings.

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Advanced Medical Isotope Corporation (OTCMKTS:RDGL  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 62,811 shares, a decline of 43.4% from the November 30th total of 110,911 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 816,554 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.1 days. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 816,554 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.1 days.

Advanced Medical Isotope Stock Up 1.3%

RDGL stock traded up $0.00 during trading on Friday, reaching $0.07. The stock had a trading volume of 429,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 376,928. The stocks 50 day moving average is $0.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $0.10. Advanced Medical Isotope has a 52 week low of $0.04 and a 52 week high of $0.17.

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About Advanced Medical Isotope

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Vivos Inc, a radiation oncology medical device company, develops brachytherapy devices for the treatment of non-resectable tumors in the United States. It develops yttrium-90 based RadioGel device, an injectable particle-gel for brachytherapy radiation treatment of cancerous tumors in people and animals; and IsoPet for the treatment of solid tumors in animals. The company was formerly known as Advanced Medical Isotope Corporation and changed its name to Vivos Inc in December 2017. Vivos Inc was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in Richland, Washington.

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Tejon Ranch (NYSE:TRC  Get Free Report) and Deutsche Wohnen (OTCMKTS:DWHHF  Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Tejon Ranch and Deutsche Wohnen, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

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Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Tejon Ranch 0 1 0 0 2.00 Deutsche Wohnen 0 0 0 0 0.00

Risk & Volatility

Tejon Ranch has a beta of 0.64, indicating that its stock price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Deutsche Wohnen has a beta of 0.82, indicating that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

Profitability

60.6% of Tejon Ranch shares are owned by institutional investors. 22.4% of Tejon Ranch shares are owned by company 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.

This table compares Tejon Ranch and Deutsche Wohnens net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Tejon Ranch 6.41% 0.61% 0.48% Deutsche Wohnen N/A N/A N/A

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Tejon Ranch and Deutsche Wohnens gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Tejon Ranch $41.89 million 10.20 $2.69 million $0.12 132.42 Deutsche Wohnen $1.49 billion 6.80 -$638.98 million ($1.70) -14.94

Tejon Ranch has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Deutsche Wohnen. Deutsche Wohnen is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Tejon Ranch, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Tejon Ranch beats Deutsche Wohnen on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Tejon Ranch

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Tejon Ranch Co., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a diversified real estate development and agribusiness company. It operates through five segments: Commercial/Industrial Real Estate Development, Resort/Residential Real Estate Development, Mineral Resources, Farming, and Ranch Operations. The Commercial/Industrial Real Estate Development segment engages in the planning and permitting of land for development; construction of infrastructure projects, pre-leased buildings, and buildings to be leased or sold; and sale of land to third parties for their own development. It is also involved in the activities related to communications leases, a power plant lease, and landscape maintenance. This segment leases land to various auto service stations with convenience stores, fast-food operations, service diner-style restaurant, a motel, an antique shop, and a post office; various microwave repeater locations, radio and cellular transmitter sites, and fiber optic cable routes; and package of land for an electric power plant. The Resort/Residential Real Estate Development segment engages in land entitlement, planning, pre-construction engineering, stewardship, and conservation activities. The Mineral Resources segment includes oil and gas royalties, rock and aggregate royalties, and royalties from a cement operation leased to National Cement Company of California, Inc.; and the management of water assets and infrastructure projects. The Farming segment farms permanent crops, such as wine grapes, almonds, and pistachios in package of land. It also manages the farming of alfalfa and forage mix on package of land in the Antelope Valley; and leases package of land for growing vegetables, as well as almonds. The Ranch Operations segment provides game management and ancillary land services comprising grazing leases and filming, as well as various guided hunts. Tejon Ranch Co. was founded in 1843 and is based in Lebec, California.

About Deutsche Wohnen

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Deutsche Wohnen SE develops and manages residential properties in Germany. The company operates through Rental, Value-add, Recurring Sales, Development, and Care segment. The Rental segment offers value-enhancing management to residential real estate portfolio. The Value- add segment engages in the core business of letting. This segment also includes multimedia services and the supply of energy. The Recurring Sales segment includes sales of individual condominiums and single-family homes. The Development segment includes project development to create new living space. The care segment includes all activities related to the management of care facilities and the leasing of care properties. Deutsche Wohnen SE was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Berlin, Germany. Deutsche Wohnen SE operates as a subsidiary of Vonovia SE.

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American Shared Hospital Services (NYSEAMERICAN:AMS  Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,720 shares, a decrease of 39.4% from the November 30th total of 6,135 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 10,522 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.4 days. Approximately 0.1% of the companys stock are short sold. Approximately 0.1% of the companys stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 10,522 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.4 days.

American Shared Hospital Services Stock Up 1.9%

AMS stock traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $2.14. The company had a trading volume of 18,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,761. The company has a market capitalization of $14.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.29 and a beta of 0.12. American Shared Hospital Services has a 52 week low of $2.01 and a 52 week high of $3.39. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20.

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American Shared Hospital Services Company Profile

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American Shared Hospital Services operates as a specialized healthcare services company focused on delivering diagnostic imaging solutions to community and rural hospitals across the United States. Through strategic joint ventures and management agreements, the company collaborates with hospital partners to develop and operate outpatient imaging centers that provide advanced modalities while sharing the capital and operating costs. By partnering directly with hospitals, American Shared Hospital Services enables facility owners to offer in-house diagnostic capabilities without the burden of full operational oversight and significant equipment investment.

The companys service portfolio encompasses a wide range of imaging technologies, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT), mammography, ultrasound, bone densitometry (DEXA) and nuclear medicine.

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flatexDEGIRO AG (OTCMKTS:FNNTF  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 59,739 shares, a drop of 52.6% from the November 30th total of 126,157 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 8,897 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.7 days. Based on an average daily volume of 8,897 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of flatexDEGIRO in a research report on Friday, October 10th. They issued a buy rating on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a buy rating on shares of flatexDEGIRO in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, flatexDEGIRO presently has an average rating of Buy.

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flatexDEGIRO Price Performance

About flatexDEGIRO

OTCMKTS FNNTF remained flat at $32.50 on Friday. The stocks fifty day moving average price is $32.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.38. flatexDEGIRO has a 12 month low of $14.40 and a 12 month high of $32.80.

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flatexDEGIRO AG is a Germany-based digital brokerage firm formed through the merger of German online broker flatex AG and Dutch discount broker DeGiro in 2020. The combined entity offers a unified trading platform designed for retail investors, aiming to provide low-cost access to global financial markets. Headquartered in Frankfurt am Main with regional offices across Europe, flatexDEGIRO serves as one of the continents leading online brokers.

The companys core offerings include execution and custody services for equities, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), bonds and derivatives.

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Rocket Companies, Society Pass, Joint Stock Company Kaspi.kz, UP Fintech, DeFi Development, LexinFintech, and IDT are the seven Fintech stocks to watch today, according to MarketBeats stock screener tool. Fintech stocks are shares of public companies that develop or deploy technology to deliver financial servicesexamples include digital payments, online lending, mobile banking, wealth-management platforms, insurtech, and blockchain infrastructure. To investors, they are often viewed as growth-oriented, combining tech and financial-sector exposure with higher volatility and regulatory/execution risk, but with potential for rapid disruption and revenue expansion. These companies had the highest dollar trading volume of any Fintech stocks within the last several days.

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Rocket Companies (RKT)

Rocket Companies, Inc., a fintech holding company, provides mortgage lending, title and settlement services, and other financial technology services in the United States and Canada. It operates through two segments, Direct to Consumer and Partner Network. The companys solutions include Rocket Mortgage, a mortgage lender; Amrock that provides title insurance, property valuation, and settlement services; Rocket Homes, a home search platform and real estate agent referral network, which offers technology-enabled services to support the home buying and selling experience; and Rocket Loans, an online-based personal loans business.

Society Pass (SOPA)

Society Pass Incorporated acquires and operates fintech and e-commerce platforms and mobile applications for consumers and merchants in Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, the United States, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Thailand. It operates through Online Grocery and Food and Groceries Deliveries, Digital marketing, Online ticketing and reservation, Telecommunications Reseller, e-Commerce, and Merchant Point of Sale segments.

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Joint Stock Company Kaspi.kz (KSPI)

Joint Stock Company Kaspi.kz, together with its subsidiaries, provides payments, marketplace, and fintech solutions for consumers and merchants in the Republic of Kazakhstan. It operates through three segments: Payments Platform, Marketplace Platform, and Fintech Platform. The Payments Platform segment facilities transactions between customers and merchants.

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UP Fintech (TIGR)

UP Fintech Holding Limited provides online brokerage services focusing on Chinese investors. The company has developed a brokerage platform, which allows investor to trade stocks, options, warrants, and other financial instruments that can be accessed through its APP and website. It offers brokerage and value-added services, including investor education, community engagement, and IR platform services.

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DeFi Development (DFDV)

We are a B2B fintech marketplace connecting commercial property borrowers and lenders with a human touch. We seek to revolutionize the commercial real estate lending market by making it hyper-efficient, transparent, and accessible to all rather than the few. Through our online platform, we provide technology that connects commercial mortgage borrowers looking for capital to refinance, build, or purchase commercial property, including, but not limited to, apartment buildings, to commercial property lenders.

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LexinFintech (LX)

LexinFintech Holdings Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides online consumer finance services in the People's Republic of China. The company operates Fenqile.com, an online consumption and consumer finance platform that offers installment purchase and personal installment loans, as well as online direct sales with installment payment terms; and Le Hua Card, a scenario-based lending.

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IDT (IDT)

IDT Corporation provides communications and payment services in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through Fintech, National Retail Solutions, net2phone, and Traditional Communications segments. The company operates point of sale, a terminal-based platform which provides independent retailers store management software, electronic payment processing, and other ancillary merchant services; and provides marketers with digital out-of-home advertising and transaction data.

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BlackRock MuniHoldings New Jersey Quality Fund, Inc. (NYSE:MUJ  Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 247,641 shares, an increase of 71.2% from the November 30th total of 144,642 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 148,156 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days. Based on an average trading volume of 148,156 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days.

BlackRock MuniHoldings New Jersey Quality Fund Stock Performance

BlackRock MuniHoldings New Jersey Quality Fund stock traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $11.96. The companys stock had a trading volume of 100,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 128,831. BlackRock MuniHoldings New Jersey Quality Fund has a twelve month low of $10.50 and a twelve month high of $12.18. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $11.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $11.37.

Get BlackRock MuniHoldings New Jersey Quality Fund alerts:

BlackRock MuniHoldings New Jersey Quality Fund Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.054 per share. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 22nd.

Institutional Trading of BlackRock MuniHoldings New Jersey Quality Fund

BlackRock MuniHoldings New Jersey Quality Fund Company Profile

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MUJ. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in BlackRock MuniHoldings New Jersey Quality Fund in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,785,000. Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock MuniHoldings New Jersey Quality Fund in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,089,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock MuniHoldings New Jersey Quality Fund in the third quarter valued at approximately $838,000. Breakwater Capital Group raised its holdings in shares of BlackRock MuniHoldings New Jersey Quality Fund by 35.4% during the third quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 194,398 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $2,253,000 after buying an additional 50,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DnB Asset Management AS acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock MuniHoldings New Jersey Quality Fund during the first quarter worth approximately $38,694,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 15.13% of the companys stock.

(Get Free Report)

BlackRock MuniHoldings New Jersey Quality Fund (NYSE: MUJ) is a closed-end management investment company that seeks to provide shareholders with a high level of current income exempt from federal and New Jersey state income taxes. The fund primarily invests in investment-grade municipal securities issued by or on behalf of the State of New Jersey and its municipalities, authorities, and instrumentalities. By concentrating on high-quality New Jersey public finance obligations, MUJ aims to offer tax-efficient income for investors with exposure to the states credit profile.

The funds portfolio is actively managed by BlackRocks municipal fixed income team, which conducts credit analysis and sector allocation to identify opportunities within New Jerseys diverse municipal marketplace.

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More than a few things to consider right now as cinematic icon Brigitte Bardot joins the ranks of the angels as we take a peek at pop culture, community reporting and top headlines.

Check TKC news gathering . . .

Cowtown Chill Today

Brief period of snow Sunday afternoon could cause travel disruption A cold front blasting through the Kansas City area Sunday afternoon could bring a brief period of blowing snow that could cause disruptions in travel.

Suburban Santa Send Off

Johnson County parks taking Christmas trees and recycling them into free mulch If you have a fresh-cut Christmas tree in your home, experts say you should get rid of it after about four weeks. Here's why:

Holiday Good Deeds

Kansas City church gave away 20K lbs. of free groceries day after Christmas A Kansas City church is set to give away 20,000 lbs. of free groceries the day after Christmas.

Local Life Lessons

Kansas City lawmaker seeks to expand agriculture-based science education in statewide program After the state's education department oversaw a pilot program teaching science through agriculture, lawmakers saw an opportunity for more.

Medieval Times Illuminated

Kansas City Renaissance Festival offers free admission for donations during final Knights of Lights shows The Kansas City Renaissance Festival has operated for decades, but Knights of Lights is only in its sixth year.

Icon Earns Her Wings

Brigitte Bardot, sex goddess of cinema, has died Legendary screen siren and animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot has died at age 91. The alluring former model starred in numerous movies, often playing the highly sexualized love interest.

European War Talk Cont'd

Trump and Zelenskyy meeting in Florida to talk Ukraine peace plan - live updates President Trump said Sunday that he had a "good and very productive" call with Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of the meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Progressively Getting In Their Own Way

The Dilemma for the Democrats in 2026 is ... the Democrats As we head into the new year and its critically important November elections, several questions arise for the Democrats as they gaze into the mirror.

Iran From More Threats

Iran Warns 'Full-Scale War' Underway with U.S., Europe and Israel Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian warned his country is in a full-scale war with the U.S., Europe and Israel ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's meeting Monday with President Donald Trump.

Beltway Gossip For Holiday Week

FBI Agents Leak Keystone Kash's Absurd Diva Demands Kash Patel has strict directions for his costume department and agents.

Social Media Flex Against Migra

Abrego Garcia Makes TikTok Videos As DHS Stays Silent Under Gag Order Kilmar Abrego Garcia has been creating TikTok videos while the Trump administration has been forced to keep quiet under an Obama-appointed judge's gag order.

El Papa Picks Progressives

Pope Leo's pick to lead New York Catholics signals shift away from Maga Progressive Catholics, including some in Vatican, felt church had allied too closely with Republican party

Old School Influence

The many contributions of Allen Burr Harrison McGee, a Kansas City pioneer From tavern owner to outfitter, Kansas City would be different without the influence of ABH McGee

Winter Blows Through Town . . .

AM rain for some, then cold & windy to finish the day AM rain showers dissipate by the afternoon but we could see a few flurries as temperatures drop this PM.

Journey - Wheel in the Sky is the Sunday song of the day and this is the OPEN THREAD for right now.
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BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 28. The funds Iran receives from crude oil sales return to the country through accounts controlled by the Central Bank, Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad told local media, Trend reports.

According to him, Iran's crude oil sales consist of two parts. The first is marketing, negotiation, and implementation of the sales operation. This part is fully under the responsibility of the Ministry of Oil, and the necessary steps are taken by the ministry.

Paknejad said that the second is the return of the money from the sold oil to the country. This money is paid into accounts approved by the Central Bank.

The Iranian minister said that the Oil Ministry does not interfere in banking matters and does not have the ability to investigate accounts, payments, and other issues related to funds. All these activities are carried out under the supervision of the Central Bank. Therefore, it is the Central Bank's responsibility to ensure that the funds for the oil sold are paid for on time. In case of any problems with payments, the Central Bank contacts the Ministry of Oil, and the Ministry of Oil takes the necessary steps regarding purchases and sales.

Iran's total hydrocarbon reserves are 1.2 trillion barrels. Iran can extract 340 billion barrels of it with its existing technologic-al equipment. Iran can use about 30 percent, and 70 percent remains unused underground.

To note, due to the imposition of sanctions, Iran does not share information about oil production and sales.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 28. US President Donald Trump held a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trend reports.

Trump revealed the details of the call in a post on Truth Social.

Before meeting with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, I had a good and productive phone conversation with Russian President Putin, Trump wrote.
On Saturday, December 27, Lithuania officially withdrew from the Ottawa Convention, which prohibits the use, stockpiling, and production of anti-personnel mines.

This was reported by LRT, according to Ukrinform.

It is noted that December 27 marks exactly six months since Lithuania officially notified the UN Secretary-General of its withdrawal from the convention banning anti-personnel mines.

Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence had previously stated that following the official withdrawal, the country would begin negotiations on the possible procurement or production of anti-personnel mines.

As reported by Ukrinform, Latvias decision to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention officially also took effect on December 27.

In March, the defence ministers of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Poland issued a joint statement calling on their countries to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention; Finland later joined the initiative.

In May, the Lithuanian Seimas also approved the countrys withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention.

Most European Union member states are parties to the Ottawa Convention, while China, Russia, the United States, India, and Pakistan have not joined it.

Photo: pexels
Polands Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosaw Sikorski has drawn attention to an anti-Ukrainian post on social media by Polish defector judge Tomasz Szmydt, who fled to Belarus.

He wrote about this on the social media platform X, Ukrinform reports.

If anyone still had doubts about whose instructions traitors are carrying out, Sikorski wrote, pointing to Szmydts anti-Ukrainian post.

Photo: screenshot from X

Commenting on the post, Ambassador of Ukraine to Poland Vasyl Bodnar thanked Sikorski and everyone who supports Ukraine.

When someone flees to Belarus, seeks shelter from the Lukashenko regime, and earns money from propaganda, his opinions say more about himself than about reality. Authoritarianism clearly fosters sudden ideological revelations. We sincerely thank everyone who supports Ukraine! Bodnar wrote.

As reported, in May 2024, Judge Szmydt of the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Warsaw fled to Belarus, where he requested political asylum. He explained his decision, among other things, by his disagreement with Warsaws policy toward Belarus and the Russian Federation.

Read also: Poland scrambles fighter jets over Russian attack on Ukraine

Polands National Prosecutors Office launched an investigation into the case of Judge Szmydt of the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Warsaw, and in June of the same year, he was placed on an international wanted list on suspicion of espionage on behalf of Belarus.
Lithuania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent a note of protest to Russia in connection with the intensified shelling of Ukraine last Saturday.

According to Ukrinform, LRT reported this in an article.

"Lithuania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent a note of protest to Moscow over the escalation of attacks on Ukraine," the statement said.

Today, the note was handed to a representative of the Russian embassy. It condemns the Kremlin's attempt to undermine the efforts of the presidents of the United States and Ukraine to end the war, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said.

"The Republic of Lithuania views the massive attacks on Ukraine on the eve of the meeting between the presidents of the United States and Ukraine as clear evidence that Russia seeks to sabotage peace negotiations and continue the war," the document states.

According to the Lithuanian ministry, as a result of the Russian attack on Saturday, one million residents of Kyiv were left without electricity and heating, while missiles and drones struck more than ten high-rise residential buildings, including the building of the Ministry of Education and Science.

The note emphasizes that "targeted attacks on energy infrastructure constitute a direct mass attempt on the lives of civilians, which is tantamount to a war crime".

As Ukrinform previously reported, following the massive enemy attack on December 27, power engineers in Kyiv restored electricity supply to 748,000 households.
Since 1991, the year Ukraine became an independent republic after the dissolution of the USSR, NATO has been building a network of ties within the Ukrainian armed forces. Simultaneously, through the CIA and other intelligence services, neo-Nazi militants are recruited, funded, trained, and armed. Photographic documentation shows young Ukrainian neo-Nazi militants from UNO-UNSO being trained in Estonia in 2006 by NATO instructors, who teach them urban combat techniques and the use of explosives for sabotage and attacks. This neo-Nazi paramilitary structure came into play on February 20, 2014, in Maidan Square in Kyiv, during a political demonstration where supporters and opponents of Ukraines accession to the EU clashed. While armed and organized groups stormed government buildings, "unknown" gunmen (who later turned out to be snipers recruited in Georgia) fired with the same sniper rifles at both protesters and police officers, causing dozens of deaths. On the very day of the Maidan Square coup, the NATO Secretary General addressed the Ukrainian armed forces in a commanding tone, warning them to "remain neutral" under penalty of "serious negative consequences for our relations." Abandoned by the top brass of the armed forces and by a large part of the government apparatus, President Yanukovych was forced to flee.

The Maidan Square coup was followed by an immediate attack against Russians in Ukraine and Ukrainians friendly to Russia. It was a wave of terror, organized with a precise strategy: headquarters of the Communist Party of Ukraine and other political movements were devastated, leaders were lynched, journalists were tortured and murdered; activists were burned alive in the Odessa Labor House; unarmed residents of eastern Ukraine of Russian origin were massacred in Mariupol, and white phosphorus bombed in Sloviansk, Luhansk, and Donetsk. Faced with the offensive against Russians in Ukraine, the Supreme Council of the Republic of Crimeaa Russian territory transferred to Ukraine during the Soviet era in 1954voted for its secession from Kyiv and its re-annexation to the Russian Federation. The decision was confirmed with 97% of the vote in a popular referendum. On March 18, 2014, President Putin signed the treaty granting Crimea the status of an autonomous republic in the Russian Federation.

While in the Donbas the self-proclaimed Peoples Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, inhabited by Russian populations, resist attacks from Kyiv that have caused 14,000 deaths, the roadmap for NATO-Ukraine military-technical cooperation, signed in 2015, fully integrates the armed forces and the war industry into those of the Alliance under US leadership. Neo-Nazi groups are integrated into the National Guard, trained by hundreds of US instructors from the 173rd Airborne Brigade, transferred from Vicenza to Ukraine, along with others from NATO.

Kyivs Ukraine became a breeding ground for resurgent Nazism in the heart of Europe. Neo-Nazis from all over Europe (including Italy) and the USA arrived in Kyiv, recruited primarily by Pravy Sektor and the Azov Battalion, whose Nazi identity is embodied by its emblem, a copy of that of the SS Das Reich division. After being trained and tested in military actions against Russians in Ukraine in the Donbas, they were allowed to return to their country with the privilege of using Ukrainian passports. At the same time, Nazi ideology was being disseminated among younger generations in Ukraine. The Azov Battalion played a key role in this, organizing military training camps and ideological indoctrination programs for children and teenagers, who were taught above all to hate Russians.

In the 2019 Ukrainian elections, actor Volodymyr Zelenskyfamous for his television series about high-level political corruption in which he played a professor who is unexpectedly elected presidentactually became president of Ukraine. During his campaign, Zelensky promised to end the war in the Donbas and clean up the oligarch-dominated government system, accusing the wealthy Poroshenko, then president, of hiding his assets in foreign tax havens. But once elected president, Zelensky did everything he could to fuel the de facto NATO-led war against Russia. Regarding his second commitment, to eliminate corruption, particularly the export of capital to tax havens, the facts speak for themselves in a documented investigation by The Guardian: Zelensky is a co-owner of three companies headquartered and capitalized in Belize, the British Virgin Islands (Central America), and Cyprus. Through these companies, he receives more than $40 million from obscure financiers. An investigative documentary by Scott Rittera career US Marine specializing in intelligence, who headed the UN inspectors in Iraq from 1991 to 1998shows the luxurious villas Zelensky owns in Miami (this one alone is worth $34 million), Israel, Forte dei Marmi in Italy, London, Georgia, Greece, and other countries.
Peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are dragging on. Clearly, the Russian side, confident of victory, intends to liberate what remains of the Donbas as soon as possible, while the Ukrainian side refuses to concede anything.

The Europeans of the EU and the UK are holding numerous meetings, almost one a day, with the sole obsession of continuing the war, with or without the United States.

Two new events have changed the situation: Washington is considering leaving NATO, and the Ukrainians are accepting the idea of selling their country.

Washington and NATO

On December 1st, a secret videoconference was held with the participation of:

the French (Emmanuel Macron) and Finnish (Alexander Stubb) presidents, the German Chancellor (Friedrich Merz), the Polish (Donald Tusk), Italian (Giorgia Meloni), Danish (Mette Frederiksen), and Norwegian (Jonas Gahr Stre) prime ministers, the NATO Secretary General (Mark Rutte), the President of the European Commission (Ursula von der Leyen), and the President of the European Council (Antonio Costa).

According to Der Spiegel, which obtained a copy of the meetings minutes, the NATO Secretary General stated that he agreed with the Finnish president and that Europeans should be wary of the peace talks in Ukraine being negotiated by President Donald Trumps special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. [1]

This is the first time a sitting NATO Secretary General has dared to openly criticize a sitting US President.

The National Security Strategy, published on December 4 by the White House, mentions NATO five times. However, it is no longer a crucial alliance for the United States, given that President Trump has declared the end of the "American Empire." Washington is too preoccupied with its $33 trillion debt to dedicate itself to the defense of Western Europe. The document therefore merely notes that the member states of the Atlantic Alliance will have to ensure their own security by allocating 5% of their gross domestic product (GDP), a far cry from their current spending. It also notes that the alliance is not expected to expand further [2].

On December 9, five days later, a Republican representative, Thomas Massie (Kentucky), introduced a bill (HR 6508) aimed at withdrawing the United States from NATO. This bill was referred to the Foreign Affairs Committee on December 12 [3]. This is the first time this subject will be addressed in Congress.

It is too early to draw any conclusions, but we must already acknowledge that there is a current within the Trump administration opposed to the Atlantic alliance, and that European states are aware that they will not be able to simultaneously ensure their own national defense and attack the Russian Federation.

Privately, President Trumps associates maintain that he will withdraw from the alliance by mid-2027; a deadline that could be brought forward.

The leaders of the European Union are well aware of this. The President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, declared on December 8th before the Jacques Delors Institute: If we want to protect ourselves, not only against our adversaries, but also against allies who challenge us, we must strengthen Europe. We need to work together to build a Europe that understands that the relationships between allies and the alliances formed after the Second World War have changed.

Certainly, but EU members simply dont have the resources of the United States. They cannot ensure their own defense alone. Moreover, if they wished to, they would have to organize themselves around one of the three nuclear powers in their region: France, the United Kingdom, or Russia.

Dictator Zelensky and the Elections

A month ago, on November 11, Marco Rubio, Secretary of State, gave the signal for Operation Midas. The main allies of the unelected Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, fell, one by one. It is inconceivable that he is not one of the main beneficiaries of the embezzlement of funds from Ukraine and the extortion of Ukrainian businesses. Yet no one dares to arrest him. Clearly, he is trying to cling to power to secure his gains or transfer them abroad.

He first rallied Ukraines supporters, holding numerous meetings in Athens, Paris, London, Brussels, Rome, and Berlin, while his special representative and the secretary general of his Defense Council, Rustem Umerov, was already in hiding. Power in Ukraine is therefore now a shadowy affair: the unelected president could fall at any moment, and his chief negotiator can no longer return to his homeland.

In an interview with Politico on December 9 [4], President Trump made the following statement:

 Dasha Burns: Is it time for Ukraine to hold an election, do you think?

 Donald Trump: Yes. I think so. Its been a long time. Its, uh... it hasnt gone particularly well. Yes, I believe its time. I think its an important moment to hold elections. Theyre using the war not to hold an election, but, uh, I think the Ukrainian people should... should have that choice. And maybe Zelenskyy would win. I dont know who would win. But they havent had an election in a long time. You know, they talk about a democracy, but its getting to the point where its no longer a democracy.

The unelected president immediately replied: "I am ready for elections. I am now asking, I am stating this openly, the United States to help me, possibly with European colleagues, to ensure security for holding elections."

It is important to know that the Ukrainian Constitution prohibits elections during periods of martial law. Martial law was first imposed in 2018 by President Petro Poroshenko during the presidential election campaign [5].

Then, a second time, in 2022, by President Volodymyr Zelensky during the Russian special military operation.

Martial law institutes nine measures:

 Restrictions on the constitutional rights and freedoms of civilians;

 Introduction of a "work obligation," applicable to everyone, whether employed or not, and which may include service in the military;

 Seizure of state-owned property, or "forcibly disposing of" communal and private property "for the needs of the state";

 Introduction of a curfew;

 Introduction of military checkpoints and restrictions on "the freedom of movement of citizens, foreigners, and stateless persons, as well as the movement of vehicles";

 Verification of individuals documents and inspection of their locations;

 Prohibition of peaceful demonstrations, gatherings, and mass events;

 Prohibition or restrictions on the media;

 Prohibition or restrictions on the transfer of information on social media.

In both cases, the aim was clearly to establish an authoritarian regime. While Poroshenko only implemented it for thirty days, Zelensky has renewed it every three months since February 2022. According to the sixteenth presidential decree on the matter that he promulgated, it is extended until next February.

According to the Constitution, Volodymyr Zelenskys term expired in May 2025. Since then, the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, should have been serving as interim president. Not only did he not request this position, but he accompanied the outgoing president on his initial trips to assert his legitimacy.

If elections were held today, the electoral lists would be falsified, as hundreds of thousands of soldiers killed in action are still listed. Under these circumstances, it would be childs play for the regime to rig the ballot boxes.

The Russian side has repeatedly emphasized that it cannot sign a peace agreement with an illegitimate figure. It recalls that President Poroshenko declared the Minsk agreements, signed by his special envoy and predecessor, Leonid Kuchma, null and void overnight because this high-ranking official had not been validated by him or by the Verkhovna Rada.

The announcement by the now unelected Ukrainian president that he would agree to hold elections is therefore likely just a way to buy time and further postpone peace.

Selling Ukraine to the Highest Bidder

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham (South Carolina) estimated the value of Ukraines rare earth elements at between $10 trillion and $12 trillion during a June 9, 2024 interview on "Face the Nation" (CBS News).

President Trump had mentioned the possibility of transferring them to the United States a few months earlier to repay what the war cost them. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent traveled to Kyiv on February 12 to discuss the matter with President Zelensky.

So, on December 10, the unelected president, Volodymyr Zelensky, convened a videoconference with Scott Bessent, Jared Kushner (not as a negotiator in Moscow, but as head of the Affinity Partners fund), and Larry Fink (head of the BlackRock fund and already owner of a large portion of the farmland) [6]. The purpose was clearly to assess what could be purchased in exchange for the rare earths. What was unthinkable ten months ago had suddenly become possible.

A second meeting was held the following day, December 11. Zelensky brought together the main US negotiators and invited the NATO Secretary General. The aim was to review security guarantees, given that NATO is no longer a permanent entity.
Skiers hit slopes below snow-covered volcano in Sicily.

Mount Etna, the volcano on the Italian island of Sicily, erupted on Saturday, emitting huge plumes of ash and smoke as skiers used the slopes below.

The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) said that volcanic activity had intensified at the site, which is Europe's largest active volcano.

Scientists issued an aviation pre-alert however the nearby Catania airport remained open and authorities said flights would continue to operate as normal unless ashfall increased.

Sicilian civil protection authorities on Saturday issued a warning for "high probability of imminent lava fountains occurring" however the alert was downgraded later that evening.

The volcanic activity is linked to Etna's northeast crater, with winds carrying the ash cloud in a northeasterly direction, amid reports of ash falling in Piano Provenzana and Taormina.

Photo La Sicilia
By Cillian Sherlock, Press Association

A junior minister urged the Government not to be hiding from debate during the divisive 1995 divorce referendum campaign, which passed by the slimmest of margins.

Government files from 30 years ago made public by the National Archives of Ireland this weekend reveal details of government plans for the vote.

The November 1995 referendum passed by 50.28 per cent to 49.72 per cent, leading to amendment of the Constitution to allow for divorce under certain conditions.

A mother and her baby attend a rally in Dublin to lend their support for the Yes campaign (PA)

The contentious campaign was marked by slogans like hello divorce, goodbye daddy and give someone you know a second chance.

The high-profile nature of the vote  and ambiguity on the approach of Government  led Irelands ambassador to the Holy See seeking advice on how to approach the matter with the Vatican.

In a letter to the Department of Foreign Affairs secretary general almost two years before the referendum, ambassador Gearoid O Broin wrote: I note references in the press from time to time about a possible referendum on the question of divorce in Ireland next year.

As you can imagine, this is a matter in which the Holy See authorities can be expected to take a keen interest and I would expect them to take their line from that adopted by the Catholic hierarchy in Ireland.

There is a possibility the secretariat of state may raise the matter with me directly at some stage. In the event that they do, it occurs to me that it would be useful for me to have a background brief on the issues, Mr O Broin wrote.

In a follow-up letter in January 1994, from the departments secretary general Noel Dorr to his counterpart in the Department of Equality and Law, Bernard McDonagh, Mr Dorr said it would be desirable to give Mr O Broin some guidance.

You will be conscious, I am sure, of the potential political importance of the position which will be taken by the Roman Catholic hierarchy on the issue, and this will no doubt be influenced by  and will in turn influence  the views of the authorities in the Holy See.

One of the billboards urging people to oppose the divorce referendum (PA)

At first sight one might be inclined to respond that the question of holding a referendum to effect constitutional change on this issue is one which the government should regard as purely internal and domestic.

Nevertheless, it may be desirable at the right time, and without prejudice to positions of principle, to allow the ambassador to brief the secretariat of state in the Holy See on the governments proposals as this may, indirectly, help to facilitate the acceptance of these proposals by the electorate here.

In a separate file, Labour TD and minister of state at the Department of Equality and Law Reform Mervyn Taylor urged his Government colleagues to engage in open debate ahead of the vote.

He wrote to Jim Higgins, the chief whip of the rainbow coalition of Fine Gael, the Labour Party, and Democratic Left, opposing the proposal to take the divorce Bill to a limited committee instead of a more usual Dail debate.

He said: This Bill is exceptionally important and the government should not be seen to be hiding from debate on it.

Every member who so wishes should be entitled to contribute on committee stage, and while this would be possible in a special committee, it would be much more appropriate to have the debate in the full Dail.

The government should not leave itself open to the suggestion it was avoiding a full debate in Dail Eireann.

 This article is based on documents contained in the files labelled 2025/115/85, 2025/115/86, 2025/115/82, 2025/115/830, 2025/115/8 2025/1/1090, and 2025/115/83 in the National Archives of Ireland.
One of the stalwarts of Waterford music was honoured with a Mayoral Reception in City Hall.

Mayor of Waterford City and County, Cllr Seamus Ryan, received Michael Doody into the Mayor's Parlour in December in recognition of him having given 50 unbroken years service to City of Waterford Brass.

In his speech Mayor Ryan noted how Michael joined the band - which was known as St Patrick's Brass Band at the time - in 1975, when he was still in school.

In his speech Mayor Ryan noted how Michael joined the band - which was known as St Patrick's Brass Band at the time - in 1975, when he was still in school.
I never met my grandfather. Tom Abbott of Emmet Place died before I was born and a grainy grey photo that my mother kept in her drawer was the only image my young mind could conjure of him.

A postman, that much I knew, along with some brief remembrances my mother would have on rare occasions.

When researching and building a family tree I learned little more about Tom Abbott the man, but I was able to piece together information about his forebears.

His grandfather William Kiely lived in the Jenkins Lane and Little Patrick Street area of Waterford City. Like many Waterford citizens of the era he signed up to join the British Army. Originally enlisting in the Connaught Rangers, in September 1915 he was transferred to the Royal Army Medical Corp (RAMC).

While serving on a ship that was transferring wounded Allied soldiers from areas such as Gallipoli, William contracted pneumonia. He was admitted to the No. 15 General Hospital in Alexandria, Egypt and died there on December 23, 1915.

This must have been devastating news to his wife Catherine and their family, including my seven-year-old grandfather Tom, with the information maybe only reaching Waterford during the Christmas period. The postcard shown here was sent home by many of those serving or infirmed in No.15 as a Christmas greeting in 1915.

The Commonwealth war graves records show that William is buried in Alexandria (Chatby) Military and War Cemetery in plot C 105. He was 53 when he died, which is quite old for a soldier and I often wonder what led him to that path of war.

My plans to visit his grave in Egypt over the last couple of years have been put on hold due to the catastrophic events in the Middle East.

Williams son Patrick Kiely was another casualty of that same war. Patrick was killed in action on May 10, 1917, in France, most likely during the Battle of Arras - a major offensive by the Allied forces on the Western Front and typical of the horrific trench warfare of the time.

The Registry of Soldiers Effects shows that both men left small sums of money to Tom Abbott's mother, my great-grandmother  Maggie Abbott.

Toms in-laws werent spared the harrowing loss through war either. His wife, Mary Denn, was my grandmother. Both Mary and her mother Johanna died within months of each other when I was young but I have very brief recollections of my great-grandmother Johanna lamenting the loss of her brother in the Great War many years previously.

The Will of Pierce Butler who was killed in action in France, 1916.

It was seldom spoken of but did stay with me. Years later I was able to put a name to her brother  Pierce Butler from Slievekeale. He was also killed in action in France, in June 1916. A note written on the back of his pocket service book is his handwritten will, where he left all of his belongings to his mother, Mary Butler.

The loss of Irish men fighting in Europe in the years around 1916 has long been a source of shame and hushed remembrance in this country. That, thankfully, has recently begun to be lifted.

However, the real shame today is in a world that is returning to killing fields, heart-broken families and lost generations.

Our globe is fragile, lets hope that peace and understanding can prevail.
Global investment bank Jefferies has increased its allocation to India and Taiwan in its Asia Pacific ex-Japan relative-return portfolio, while trimming exposure to China and Indonesia, citing evolving macroeconomic conditions and relative growth prospects across the region. In its latest strategy note, Jefferies said it has raised the weightings of India and Taiwan by one percentage point each, funded through a reduction in allocations to China and Indonesia. It says, "The weightings in India and Taiwan in the Asia Pacific ex-Japan relative-return portfolio will be increased by one percentage point each by reducing the weightings in China and Indonesia." According to Jefferies' Asia Pacific ex-Japan asset allocation, India's recommended weighting has been increased to 17 per cent, while Taiwan's allocation has also been raised, underscoring confidence in their medium-term earnings outlook and structural growth drivers. In contrast, China's weightage has been pared, while Indonesia has seen a marginal reduction. The reallocation comes as Jefferies assesses heightened uncertainty around China's economic recovery and policy trajectory, alongside selective opportunities emerging in other Asian markets. It says, India continues to benefit from resilient domestic demand, infrastructure-led growth, and improving corporate balance sheets, making it a preferred market within the region. Taiwan, meanwhile, remains a key beneficiary of global demand for advanced semiconductors, with its technology sector continuing to play a central role in global supply chains. Jefferies highlighted Taiwan's strong positioning in high-end chip manufacturing and sustained capital expenditure by leading technology firms as supportive factors. Beyond the Asia Pacific ex-Japan portfolio, Jefferies also announced changes across its global and international long-only equity portfolios. The firm said it has removed Bank Central Asia from both the global and international portfolios and replaced it with Samsung Electronics, reflecting a shift toward large-cap technology exposure. Jefferies noted that these portfolio adjustments are part of its periodic review process, which takes into account macroeconomic developments, central bank policy expectations and stock-specific factors. The firm reiterated that portfolio weightings may continue to evolve in response to global economic trends and market conditions. (ANI)
Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Saturday said that he spoke with Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami regarding the tragic death of a student who was brutally assaulted by a group of miscreants in Dehradun on December 9. In a post on X, CM Saha said, "Spoke with Hon'ble Chief Minister of Uttarakhand @pushkardhami Ji, regarding the tragic incident involving our student Angel Chakma, a resident of Nandanagar, Debram Thakur Para, who was brutally assaulted by a group of miscreants in Dehradun on 9th December and later he expires at Graphic Era Hospital." https://x.com/DrManikSaha2/status/2004899682133385313 The Chief Minister said that during his conversation with Pushkar Singh Dhami, he was informed that five accused have already been arrested in connection with the case. He added that further investigation is underway and assured that justice would be delivered. "The Hon'ble Chief Minister informed me that, in connection with the case, five accused have already been arrested. Further investigation is underway, and he has assured that justice will be delivered," the post further read. Five people have been arrested in connection with the brutal attack on two students from Tripura in Dehradun, in which one of them later succumbed to his injuries, police said. Speaking to ANI, Pramod Kumar, Superintendent of Police (City), provided details of the case, saying the incident occurred on the evening of December 9 in the Premnagar police station area. "Two students from Tripura, Angel Chakma and his brother, Michael Chakma, lived near Nanda Chowki in the Premnagar police station area. This incident happened on the evening of the 9th, when they had gone to Selaqui for some work," he said. The SP added that the two got into an argument with some local youths and another youth from the Northeast. "A fight broke out between them, during which it is reported that they were attacked with knives and other blunt objects. As a result, they were seriously injured. Their brother took them to the hospital, and subsequently, an FIR was registered," he said. According to the police, the FIR was initially filed against unknown persons. "The police made every effort and worked diligently. CCTV footage was reviewed, and information was gathered from people in the surrounding area. Four or five names then came to light," Kumar said. He further stated that five accused have been arrested in the case. "Those whose names came to light were arrested by the police. A total of five people have been arrested in this case. Three -- Avinash Negi, Suraj Khawas, and Sumit -- were sent to jail. Two of them were juveniles and were sent to the correctional home," he added. The official also confirmed that Angel Chakma died while undergoing treatment at the hospital. "Two days ago, Angel Chakma died while undergoing treatment at the hospital. A murder charge has been added to the case," he said. Kumar further informed that one of the accused is still absconding. "A person, Yagya Awasthi, is wanted in the case. He is originally from Nepal. We have issued a non-bailable warrant for his arrest, and a reward of Rs 25,000 has been announced. We will arrest him soon," he added. (ANI)
Assam Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, Jayanta Mallabaruah approved a series of decisions aimed at strengthening land rights, modernising governance, boosting infrastructure, and improving administrative and policing efficiency across the state. According to a release, the Cabinet approved the settlement of 732 proposals for Government Khas and ceiling surplus land in Kamrup (Metro) district under Mission Basundhara 3.0, benefitting indigenous and landless families for homestead purposes. Additionally, 168 proposals under Mission Basundhara 2.0 were approved for the settlement of Government land in the same district after realisation of the applicable settlement premium. These decisions are expected to provide secure land tenure, promote housing investment, and improve access to basic civic amenities. To modernise revenue administration, the Cabinet approved amendments to the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation, 1886, by inserting Rules 183A and 186A. The amendments will enable digital hearings, electronic submissions, and technology-driven service delivery, reducing pendency and enhancing transparency while providing legal sanctity to electronic proceedings. The move aligns Assam with the National Incentive Framework, enabling the State to avail incentives of up to Rs 150 crore. In a significant decision to promote cultural and religious tourism, the Cabinet approved the allotment of land at Amerigog village in Sonapur in favour of Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam, which is expected to emerge as a major spiritual and cultural centre in the North East, said the release. On the administrative front, the Cabinet approved the absorption of eight staff members of Assam Bhawan, Mumbai as contractual employees, who have been providing essential support to seriously ill cancer patients. The Cabinet has also approved the temporary upgradation of the post of Liaison Officer, Assam Bhawan, New Delhi, to Senior Liaison Officer, enabling the in situ promotion of Smti Abha Lohia, whose husband was killed in a terrorist attack and is currently serving as a Liaison Officer, the release said. To accelerate infrastructure development, approval was given for raising a Rs 115.11 crore NABARD loan under RIDF XXXI for road improvement projects in Karbi Anglong, West Karbi Anglong, North Cachar Hills, and Tinsukia districts. The Cabinet also approved amendments to the Assam Police Manual to allow both Armed and Unarmed Branch personnel to appear for promotion to Assistant Sub Inspector of Police, promoting merit-based advancement and improved policing efficiency. (ANI)
Its been over a year since French actress and model Brigitte Bardot was seen out in public.

As Parade reported, Bardot died at the age of 91 at her home in southern France. The sad news was confirmed by Bruno Jacquelin of the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the Protection of Animals.

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Bardot was an international sex symbol who quit acting and modeling at the age of 39. Since then, Bardot led a very private life in France, making only rare public appearances.

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The last time Bardot was seen in public was in September 2024. According to People, the actress was photographed celebrating her 90thbirthday in Saint-Tropez, France.

Before that, Bardot was spotted in July 2023 posing with a dog. Animals, especially dogs, held a very special place in Bardots heart. Its why in 1986, over a decade after she left acting and modeling behind, Bardot opened the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the Welfare and Protection of Animals.

The foundation and animal rights became her focus as she enjoyed living a low-key life in France. Several organizations have shared tributes to Bardot following her death, commenting on the work she did for animals.

Related: Fans & Friends Honor Brigitte Bardot After Her Death at 91

News of Bardots death comes just a couple of months after she told fans to calm down when rumors about her health ran wild because of a surgery she had at Saint-Jean Hospital in Toulon, France. Her foundation set the records straight, declaring that falsified information about her health was being spread at the time.

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Brigitte Bardot rose to fame as a French actress, model, and sex symbol. However, it was her animal activism that was her passion. The actress is survived by her only child, estranged sonNicolas-Jacques Charrier.

Next: 90s R&B Legend Gets Greatest Christmas Gift Amid Second Cancer Battle

This story was originally published by Parade on Dec 28, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Uncle Nearest founder received backlash after an interaction between her and a fan who claimed to be her middle school classmate went viral.

Fawn Weaver and her middle school classmate are making light of the viral incident from earlier this month that caused some backlash for the Uncle Nearest founder.

On Instagram, Saturday, December 27, Weaver posted a skit where she and that same man, E. Jermon Manuel, reversed roles, and now she is seen approaching him at a signing with fans. In the caption, she wrote, Same place. Same people. Plot twist.

All of this began when Weaver was left defending herself after an awkward interaction at her bottle signing event in Georgia. When she arrived, she took photos with fans outside of the building, but made haste to enter the event. Manuel approached her, asking if she remembered him from middle school, claiming they had the same classes for three years. Weaver told him that she did not remember him, and then broadcast the situation to the rest of the crowd standing there.

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Can I tell yall that this man just said, Do you remember me? Make it make sense to me, she told the onlookers. He said we were in the same class in the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades.

Are you serious? I do not. Im sorry. I dont remember the sixth, the seventh, or the eighth grade, shes heard saying in the video.

She posed for a photo with the man before hurriedly making her way to other fans and then heading inside.

The interaction with Manuel, which was caught on camera, led to backlash for Weaver, with many comments saying her treatment of him was unnecessary. She later apologized on her Instagram for how she acted during the viral interaction, explaining that she couldnt fully read whether the situation was dangerous and had tried to make light of it without involving security. She also claimed that many of the commenters were bots rather than actual people reacting.

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Weaver responded to a number of comments on the new post, including one that questioned whether she remembered him yet.

We had a great connect over cigars and Uncle Nearest shortly after the viral video, Weaver detailed. And we shared what we remembered. But that didnt actually help until I saw a 6th grade yearbook pic and then knew who he was, as he looks nothing now like he did then. That said, hes a super cool person and Im happy he reconnected me with people from 35+ years ago.

We had a lot of fun doing it, she shared with another commenter, who commended her on the redo. Especially, because so many of the people who were standing up close the first time where there and giving us tips on how to redo it most accurately based on their memories. And then the brunch afterwards was even better. Cheers! 

It appears that Weaver and Manuel moved past the incident in the new collaborative post. In her apology post from last week, Weaver also shared that Manuel did not take offense to the interaction.

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Last year, Alabama Barker went seriously viral when she shared her jaw-dropping $80,000 Christmas haul  and she has somehow managed to outdo herself this year with a $200k haul detailed in a video that is just under nine minutes long.

John Nacion / Getty Images

For reference, Alabama turned 20 on Christmas Eve, and is the daughter of Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and his ex-wife, Shanna Moakler . As youre probably aware, Travis married Kourtney Kardashian-Barker in 2022, making Alabama an extended part of the Kardashian-Jenner family.

Taking to her TikTok account late on Friday night, Alabama told her 5.8 million followers: I am beyond blessed, grateful, thankful. Im everything, and Im so happy. Getting right to it, she started with the gift she received from her step-grandma Kris Jenner , which was $1,250 Oran sandal slides from Hermes. In the video, Alabama explained that she had lost all of her old slides on trips.

Alabamas old babysitter got her a pair of $114.95 leopard print Uggs, and she also received a pair of $620 ERL shearling slippers  Alabama did not specify if these were also from her former babysitter or somebody else.

TikTok @alabamabarker / Via tiktok.com

Related: 18 Celebrity Interview Moments From This Year That Are SoOoOoOo Awkward, I'm Feeling Major Secondhand Embarrassment

The influencer then admitted that her dad went a little crazy with the heels as she showed off the multiple pairs of Rene Caovillas shed received from him. These were a $2,190 pair of the brands Chandelier black sandals, $1,890 Braid Cleo dove grey sandals, $1,820 Cleo black sandals, and $1,730 Dalilah white sandals.

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From her boo, who Alabama said followers wont be seeing, she received a $1,145 pair of faux fur satin mule pumps from Louboutin.

Sharing other shoes that she received without specifying who they were from, Alabama showed off a pair of $1,375 Chanel sneakers, $1,000 Chanel sneakers, and $1,575 Chanel sneakers.

At this point, Alabama also revealed that she received personalized travel bags from the woman who does her "full body" laser, which she plans to keep in her car.

As they are custom-made and the brand name wasnt revealed, the price of these items is unknown.

Alabama then revealed the $9,950 Chanel handbag that she had received, though she didnt say who it was from. From her boo, Alabama also received a $7,250 mini pearl crush Chanel handbag in pink, which she called one of her favorite bags she got this year.

TikTok @alabamabarker / Via tiktok.com

Alabama went on to show off the diamond "A" necklace that her brother, Landon Barker, got her from XIV Karats, an exclusive jewelry store in Beverly Hills. While the price isnt available online, they are thought to retail for around $940. Travis also got his daughter a pair of multi-cluster diamond earrings from Lorraine Schwartz, which typically retail for upwards of $11,000.

Travis also bought Alabama two JAdore Dior tank tops  one in pink and one in black  which retail for $1,500 each.

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Related: I'm Sorry, But If You're Under 50 There's No Way You'll Know Who Most Of These Actors From The Golden Age Of Hollywood Are

Back to shoes, Alabama showed off a pair of $1,195 Saint Laurent Nue sandals, then a vintage Chanel bikini set, which is currently available to buy online for $7,794.69.

TikTok @alabamabarker / Via tiktok.com

Then there were the $6,200 Chrome Hearts Sugar Jones Glitter Star boots, and a Goyard Saigon leather handbag, which retails for around $5,500.

Alabama paused to show off the perfumes that she received this year, but said she got so many shed break them down in a separate video. Its worth noting that multiple designer brands are visible on the packaging.

Next up was a Gucci beanie, which can be found online for $620:

Related: 28 Celebrities Whose Vibes Just Give People The Ick

Back to her boo, Alabama showed off multiple Chanel gift bags he gifted her, which included three silk satin scarves that are thought to retail for around $675 each.

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Then there was a pair of $735 Chrome Hearts gloves, a $15,025 Chrome Hearts cow print purse, and a Rimowa luggage set. This included a $1,200 cross-body bag, a $265 toiletry pouch, and two cases that Alabama said were too big to show, but likely cost upward of $3,000 each.

Alabama then showed off a box full of Victorias Secret lingerie. A set from the brand can retail for anything between $35 and $100 each.

Kylie Jenner got Alabama a $3,680 vintage Chanel denim handbag/ vanity case, and Kendall Jenner got her a Balenciaga bag that retails for $2,990.

TikTok @alabamabarker / Via tiktok.com

Back to clothes, and Alabama received a $577 Chrome Hearts tank top, a $458 Chrome Hearts tank top, and $1,034 Chrome Hearts sweatpants, as well as a $5,300 Chrome Hearts hoodie.

Travis also got Alabama a $1,899 pink Apple desktop computer, and she received a $1,299 iPad, too:

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Alabama went on to show off a $14,000 Chrome Hearts bracelet, and a $1,250 vintage Chanel whistle:

TikTok @alabamabarker / Via tiktok.com

Related: Here Are 12 Celebrity Couples Who Stayed Together After Some Messy Scandals Youve Probably Forgotten About, Vs. 9 That Broke Up

She also received more lingerie, this time from Agent Provocateur, saying that her dad went a little crazy in there  although she clarified that it was Kourtney who picked out most of it. A lingerie set from this brand retails for anything between $240 and $600. Alabama also received four corsets from the same brand, which retail for around $620 each, plus a $600 leopard print slip negligee, and a $1,000 sheer red robe.

Alabama said that her sister, Atiana De La Hoya, also got her a robe from there, which retails for around $1,000.

Travis also bought Alabama a $15,200 pink Chrome Hearts bag, she then showed off her "new baby," a pink Birkin from Hermes that retails for around $24,000. Alabama explained that the Birkin was from Kourtney, but Kourtney had enlisted Kylie to help choose which one to get for her.

TikTok @alabamabarker / Via tiktok.com

At this point, Alabama found another pair of Rene Caovilla jeweled sandals that she had forgotten about; these retail for around $2,000.

Then she went back to some custom jewelry and watch travel boxes that she received from Kourtney, although she did not specify the brand.

Finally, Alabama showed off a $32,000 Love bracelet from Cartier that she received from Travis, casually stating that she gets one every year.

If you're wondering, with just the specific prices that we can be sure of, Alabamas 2025 Christmas haul comes in at well over $200,000.

You can watch the full video below and, as always, let me know your thoughts in the comments!

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TikTok @alabamabarker / Via tiktok.com

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Royal fans continue to be fascinated by Princess Diana and King Charles's marriage decades after it ended. Having announced their separation in December 1992, Charles and Diana finalized their divorce on August 28, 1996. The split was contentious, and resulted in multiple media storms and leaks taking place. Now, a report from 1995 has revealed that Diana was viewed as being much more savvy when it came to the royal "media war."

As reported by the Times, 30-year-old files regarding Charles and Diana have just been released from Ireland's National Archives. Diplomats working on behalf of the Republic of Ireland penned the report regarding the media war between Diana and Charles, which is sure to raise some eyebrows.

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Referencing an official visit to Ireland in June 1995, the report discusses a series comments made by King Charles's then-deputy press secretary, Sandy Henney, to diplomat Joe Hayes. Celebrating the success of Charles's visit, Henney reportedly "remarked that if practice to date was any guide we could shortly expect an approach from Princess Diana!"

Hayes continued, "I took this as a joke until she repeated it and assured me that in the media battle between the two, the princess was by far the more predatory and skilled and her staff devoted a great deal of time to finding ways and means of upstaging St. James's Palace."

"The princess was by far the more predatory and skilled." | Credit: Getty Images

The report also called Charles's visit to Ireland "part of a long-term public relations strategy to rehabilitate the prince in the eyes of the British public." At the time, details of The King's extramarital relationship with Queen Camillathen-Camilla Parker Bowleshad been made public. As a result, it makes sense that Charles would want to generate some good publicity.

"Her staff devoted a great deal of time to finding ways and means of upstaging St. James's Palace." | Credit: Getty Images

As revealed by the release of reports from Ireland's National Archives, Charles's team viewed Diana as a threat after their split, particularly when it came to engaging with the press.
A vivid $77 million sexual assault and sexual battery lawsuit against Tyler Perry filed by the same lawyer behind a similar action earlier this year is just more of the same in search of a payout, claims the betrayed Madea stars high-profile attorney.

Having recently failed in another matter against Mr. Perry, the very same lawyer has now made yet another demand from more than a decade ago which will also be a failed money grab, Alex Spiro said today of the big-bucks jury-trial-seeking claims from Mario Rodriguez against Perry and Boo! A Madea Halloween distributor Lionsgate.

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Spiro, who has successfully repped Alec Baldwin, Jay-Z and many an A-lister over the years with a sluggers approach, is certainly putting forth the narrative of how he wants the Jonathan Delshad-represented Rodriguezs Los Angeles Superior Court case to go down in flames.

There is no denying Rodriguezs suit is similar in tone and format to the ongoing $260 million sexual harassment and assault suit initially filed in June in LASC by Delshad for his client, The Oval actor Derek Dixon, against Perry. At the same time, there is no denying that Rodriguezs 23-page complaint filed December 25 is full of potentially damning text message screen grabs, remarks about oral sex and other suggestive conversation from an allegedly predatory Perry. There are also apparent cringey proclamations by the filmmaker like, You know Mario, Im not a bad person to know and have in your corner.

Focusing on the making of Boo! and a number of subsequent meet-ups  such as a November 14, 2018 Beverly Hills dinner at Mastros Steakhouse to discuss more potential roles for model Rodriguez that saw a cameo of sorts from John Cena  the complaint is also full of graphic and specific details. Mr. Perry reached into Mr. Rodriguezs underwear and grabbed his penis, the filing exclaims of an alleged assault eight years ago. Mr. Perry was making sexual moaning noises and saying, Stay here, stay here, while he pressed his body against Mr. Rodriguez and continued to grab his penis.

Capping off that alleged incident, the filing claims Perry stuffed $5,000.00 in Mr. Rodriguezs pocket as the slightly inebriated Rodriguez was waiting for an Uber to take him home from Perrys house. Other alleged attempts by Perry to offer Rodriguez financial security and on-screen roles for what the plaintiff understands to be sex followed up to 2024.

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Claiming PTSD  psychological, emotional and economic injuries from Perrys alleged actions towards him, Rodriguez (who did play a very good looking college student in 2016s Boo!) and lawyer Delshad have hauled Lionsgate into all this.

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Their argument is disarmingly simple, though with an odd misspelling of the studios name. Lions Gate should have known of Perrys misconduct as Perry has had many such allegations made against him in the past, the complaint states. But for Lions Gates failure to act and enforce their morality clauses and other safeguards, the sexual assaults would not have occurred as Perry would not have been in a position of power.

Lionsgate, as it is actually spelled, did not respond tonight to Deadlines request for comment on the lawsuit and its place in it.

In terms of someone who did respond, Spiro may be swinging in defense of his client, but the NYC-based Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan partner is not altogether off the mark with his strong statement. Rodriguez decided to take action with his claims after a Sean Diddy Combs-referencing friend texted him on June 18 with news of Dixons case.

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Mr. Rodriguez realized that Mr. Perry was continuing to use his power and influence to sexually assault hopeful actors, and, with the voice of others, decided it was time to tell his story, obtain justice, and finally stop Mr. Perry, this weeks filing says. When Perry became aware that Rodriguez was going to file this action, Perry once again reached out to Rodriguez by text, telling Rodriguez that Perry did so much to help Rodriguez and was that (sic) Perry was feeling betrayed by Rodriguez, the document adds.

Interestingly, with all the text exchanges displayed in Rodriguezs filing, this possibly explosive one is not there to see.

Now, to Spiros slamming of Rodriguez via Delshad and the Dixon matter, it is more nuanced in reality. For instance, the case hasnt actually failed, as Spiro claims.

Delshads case against Perry for Dixon hasnt exactly nosedived, but it has had an unconventional path through the legal system so far. Filed in LASC in June, the matter was pulled from state court in California and moved to federal court in the Golden State earlier this year. Then Dixon filed to have his case remanded back to LASC. On December 12, a federal judge ruled that Dixon had not proved he had residence in the state and denied the return to state court. A consequence of Judge John Walkers decision was that Dixons case was then shifted to federal court in Georgia, Perrys home base.

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Sitting with Judge Sarah E. Geraghty in the Peach State the past two weeks of this holiday season, Dixons case hasnt seen much more movement. Which means, once Lady Justice picks up the pace and assuming there is no settlement, 2026 could very likely see Tyler Perry fighting pricey sexual assault cases on two sides of the country.

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Brigitte Bardot, the French film goddess who has died aged 91, was the original sex kitten, celebrated for her piquant air of Lolita-ish sensuality which heralded a new era of permissiveness in the cinema, and created a cult of imitators around the world.

It did not matter that the 46 films she made ranged, as a rule, from the mediocre to the forgettable. Provocative, rebellious, heedless of convention, she captured the free-living spirit of the time, and defined an image, the Bardot look  tumbled blonde hair; petulant pout; and gamine, bikini hips  which nourished countless male pin-up fantasies.

Her following was greatest in France, where young girls slavishly copied her style, leading her to complain of being fed up with seeing Bardots all over the place. She was also frequently mobbed in Britain and America. During the filming of Adorable Idiot, at Hampstead in north London, the director was obliged to pack up and go home, for fear that his leading lady would be crushed to death under the squall of peroxided screamers.

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We should be as proud of BB, one Paris editor wrote, as of Roquefort cheese and the wine of Bordeaux.

In fact, though, Brigitte Bardot was rarely allowed to demonstrate her fair talent as an actress. Her role was always the same  the perpetual adolescent frolicking in varying degrees of undress on bed or beach, sulkily insouciant of the effect she was having on whichever lovelorn (and Humbertish) male was at hand.

In Scotland filming A Coeur de Joie (Two Weeks in September), directed by Serge Bourguignon, 1966 - Jacques Haillot

Even her more arresting films  And God Created Woman (1956), Babette Goes to War (1959), La Verite (1960), Le Mepris (1963), Vive Maria! (1965)  were little more than vehicles for her erotic potential. Fragile and insecure, she spent most of her life feeling suicidal.

The Bardot myth was largely the work of Roger Vadim, the execrably suave film producer, who never missed an opportunity to relate the tale of his discovery of the young Brigitte as a teenage lyceenne in the South of France.

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It was Vadim who, mindful that mere sexual allure was no guarantee of international stardom, billed her not just as a film actress, but as a symbol of the Swinging Sixties, a barometer of the changing mood of the times. The idea caught on, and soon serious French penseurs were describing Brigitte Bardot as not so much a girl, as an exciting philosophical attitude.

But the sociological honeymoon could not last forever. As The Daily Telegraph was moved to lament in 1963: What at first looked like a genuine protest against prudery  a movement, almost, against the more repressive forms of puritanism  soon rounded out into box-office contours.

At the Cannes film festival, 1953 - SIPA / Rex Features

Brigitte Bardot herself did little to further her cause as a social radical. When asked whether her emancipated behaviour was intended to be of the feminist sort, she retorted: Absolutely not. Though men can be beasts, womens lib is idiotic.

Indeed she conceded little at all to the demands of public opinion. She reserved a bolshie contempt for Hollywood (never once accepting an offer to act there), and cared even less for the lofty opinions of the French intelligentsia or the Catholic Church, which was wont to attack her for presenting an injurious example to the nations youth.

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As she gained in experience and years, Brigitte Bardot seemed to become less and less tolerant of the glittering world she inhabited. An amusing talker when in the mood, she described herself as cleverly silly. More often than not, though, she affected the kind of nonchalant melancholy often taken in stars to be a mark of intelligent self-awareness  or at least a healthy attitude towards the tawdry showbiz merry-go-round.

Bardot proved the queen of such capricious boudeur, prone to muttering about her spiritual home being a leetle ut by the sea, far away from the gilded splendour of the worlds best hotels.

On the set of the comedy-adventure film Viva Maria, 1965 - Douglas Kirkland

Her supporters and detractors alike would talk of Brigitte Bardot as the little girl who never grew up. And there was indeed a vulnerable immaturity in her approach to life. Though cosseted by a string of rich older men, she saved money zealously, declaring: Bardolatry is a cult that may not last.

She had simple personal habits, with only a small wardrobe; and said she possessed no watch because she did not want to know the time. Her one luxury was a vintage white Rolls-Royce, steered by a handsome black chauffeur.

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Her romantic life was rather more extravagant, but no more fulfilling  an unhappy series of quick takes and slow, painfully public dissolves. In 1966 she made a typically blase reference to this dismaying syndrome when, on her return from her third marriage to Gunther Sachs, she told a reporter: The honeymoon was marvellous, but I dont mind going back to work. Its good to have a change  honeymoon, work, honeymoon, work. . .

She said she needed love affairs to supply the confidence she lacked. And this became an ever more pressing theme as she moved into her mid-thirties, when the once divinely beautiful face began show signs of strain.

With Gunther Sachs, her third husband, in Rome - Jean-Pierre BONNOTTE/GAMMA

Brigitte Bardot grew, a la Monroe, into an increasingly troubled woman, distrustful and vulnerable to the wrong sort of attentions, unable to reconcile herself to the ephemeral and essentially artificial nature of her achievement.

In 1973, at the age of 39, she suddenly announced she was retiring from the screen, and turning her attention to her soul  or rather, the animal kingdom.

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I gave my youth and my beauty to men, she remarked ominously, now Im giving my wisdom and experience to animals.

In the early 1980s she retired to a villa La Madrague at St Tropez on the Riviera, which she eventually shared with 60 cats, 14 dogs, a herd of goats, sundry sheep, a donkey, and a cow she had saved from the local abattoir.

Thereafter she emerged only occasionally, under cover of a cowboy hat, to embark on the campaign trail  demonstrating against the culling of seals, or the illegal massacre of turtle doves in the Gironde region; protesting against that bloody operetta, bullfighting; or fulminating against feline discrimination after a magazine reported that 30 per cent of cats in France were infected with Aids.

At Louveciennes, in 1952, aged 18 - adoc-photos

She became increasingly misanthropic  I detest humanity, Im allergic to it  and, having alienated the movie world, also began to fall foul of her neighbours in St Tropez.

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After the local mayor banned dogs from the beach, the former pioneer of free love complained that the resort had been taken over by vice, money, homosexuality and exhibitionists. The mayor reposted that Miss Bardot was losing her head.

That same year she became embroiled in another local scandal, when a neighbour left his donkey, Charley, in her care during a trip abroad, only to return and find that she had paid a veterinary surgeon to castrate the animal for its own good.

After a long court case she was cleared of the charges brought against her, but the seriousness of her cause had taken a knock.

For Brigitte Bardot herself, the gloom was punctuated only by suicide attempts, and the odd ill-advised love affair  in spite of her repeated insistence that, since discovering animals, the last thing I need is a man about the place.

In 2001, visiting a dog refuge - Charly Hel/Prestige

In 1992 she caused a stir when she exchanged symbolic marriage vows with M Bernard dOrnale, a leading member of the extreme Right in France, whom she described as intelligent, straight, romantic, sensitive, with the character of a pig.

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Finally, in 1990, Brigitte Bardot sealed her break with the past, announcing (as if anyone had doubted it) that she would never, ever act again: For me the cinema is linked with such a circus in my life that I dont want to ever hear it talked about.

She also publicly disavowed all her films, with the exception of La Verite. Only Henri Clouzot, she went on, had succeeded in turning her, albeit briefly, from a sex symbol into a real actress in that film, which featured a crime passionnel and a suicide. Clouzot harassed me and cut me up in every possible imaginable way. But I understood it was for the film, and not just stupid sadism.

It was a sad, muted finale to a career which had, in reality, already ended many years before.

At the Cannes film festival, 1953 - SIPA / Rex Features

Brigitte Bardot was born at Passy, in Paris, on September 28 1934, the daughter of Louis Bardot, a rich industrialist who manufactured liquid gas and acetylene. Her mother had studied dancing and acting in Milan.

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Brigitte and her younger sister were brought up in an atmosphere of aloof luxury. After early schooling from a governess, she attended an exclusive private school and went on to take dancing lessons from a member of the Paris Opera Ballet and then at the Conservatoire Nationale de Danse.

As a schoolgirl she was rather plain, and professed to have developed a permanent fear of looking ugly. But in adolescence she blossomed, and at 15 was propelled into a teenage modelling career after posing as a mannequin dancer in a dress shop that her mother opened.

A shot of her on the cover of Elle appealed to Marc Allegret, a film producer, who sent his young Franco-Russian assistant, Roger Vadim (aka Vladimir Plemiannikov) to suggest a film test. He and Brigitte duly fell in love, and when her father opposed their marriage, she made the first of many suicide attempts.

Brigitte Bardot in 1963 - Corbis

In 1952 they married, and after studying acting under Rene Simon, BB made her film debut in Crazy for Love. At 18 she gained the leading role in The Lighthouse Keepers Daughter, and over the next three years landed several small parts in films such as The Son of Caroline Cherie and Helen of Troy.

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An unexpected boost came in 1954, when on a visit to the Cannes Film Festival she attracted all the photographers away from the leads. The next year she went to London to give a fair performance opposite Dirk Bogarde in the comedy Doctor at Sea; and then, after a secondary role in Rene Clairs Les Grandes Manoeuvres (1955), she was a virtuoso of decolletage in The Light Across the Street (1955).

By now firmly nailed to Vadims mast, she made a quick succession of films  Cette Sacree Gamine, Neros Weekend and Mamselle Striptease!  before going to the Riviera in the summer of 1956 to star in his erotic sensation And Woman Was Created.

This film, little more than an excuse for his young starlet to strip off on St Tropez beach, told of an 18-year-old who finds herself fatally attracted towards men. It ran into a few censorship difficulties, but was otherwise gratefully received by audiences throughout France, Britain and America.

On the set of Jean-Luc Godard's 1963 film Le Mepris (Contempt) - Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images

Over the next few years her most significant films included Une Parisienne (1957), with Charles Boyer and Henri Vidal, about a French ministers daughter and a visiting royal consort; In Case of Adversity, in which she was cast as a prostitute; and Babette Goes to War (1959), an amusing romp about a Free French heroine pitched against the Nazis, for which she practised her parachuting at the RAF station at Abingdon. The other star was Jacques Charrier, who became her second husband, and with whom she had a son.

La Verite, which sought the truth about passion and misery in the Latin Quarter, gave her, at 26, an unexpected chance to convey some of her acting ability  she gained a European grand prix for her intriguing beatnik performance. The films production was held up, however, by another suicide attempt.

Please Not Now!, in 1962, was a trivial story about cover girls and lecherous photographers. And the next year came Le Mepris, a welter of destructive passion, directed by Jean-Luc Godard. Viva Maria!, by contrast, filmed in Mexico in 1965, with Jeanne Moreau as co-star, was about a couple of soubrettes who ended up leading a revolution in Central America.

In 1968 Brigitte Bardot made what would prove to be one of her best films, Shalako (1968), a story of aristocrats on safari, cowboys and Indians in the 1880s, filmed in Spain, with Sean Connery.

Brigitte Bardot in 1960 - Bettmann

A string of less enthralling items ensued  The Bear and the Doll (1970), The Novices, a tale of a nun who becomes a prostitute, and Les Petroleuses, a dismal rendering of Mexican oil rivalry, co-starring Claudia Cardinale.

Don Juan 73, another of Vadims ideas, about a modern femme fatale, was considered trendy and tedious. That year, she made her last film, The Joyous Story of Colinot, a most inauspicious Middle Ages comedy with Laurent Vergez.

And so began the long journey into the wilderness, as Brigitte Bardot laboured to cut out the past and recast herself in a more acceptable image. It was not long before the role of the benevolent celebrity, too, began to pall, however. By gradually auctioning off the huge collection of jewels she had been given over the years, she saved enough money to realise her dream of setting up a Brigitte Bardot Foundation devoted to the welfare of animals  though this was soon dismantled.

After an initial burst of enthusiasm for the campaign trail, she went on fewer and fewer trips abroad, preferring to pronounce from the privacy of her own homes (besides the St Tropez villa, she owned a flat in Paris, an alpine chalet and a smattering of farm houses).

Old friends were not exempt from the animal duties  Marlon Brando once called on Brigitte Bardot at her villa, only to be roped into one of her regular sorties into the back streets of the town in search of abandoned pets.

Brigitte Bardot with Jean Rochefort on the set of A Coeur Joie (Two Weeks in September) directed by Serge Bourguignon, 1966 - Sunset Boulevard

In truth, though, fewer and fewer of her friends seemed inclined to visit, apparently put off by the prospect of the hostesss menagerie of dogs, cats and goats, which roamed at liberty, ate at her table and slept on her bed.

And woe betide any acquaintance who fell foul of her laws. After Alain Delon, whom she had known for nearly 25 years, appeared on a television commercial advertising fur coats, she spat on his memory, and pledged never to forgive him.

Nor did she ever let Valery Giscard dEstaing forget the evil of his attachment to hunting. Their relationship dated back to the days of the 1974 election campaign, when she had slithered around St Tropez wearing a Giscard-emblazoned T-shirt.

In 1983 she again tried to kill herself when her long-term boyfriend, Allain Bougrain, the television journalist, walked out. He was soon replaced, with Denis, an actor 16 years her junior.

Motherhood provided no greater security or happiness. For all her obsessive love of animals, she seemed brutally indifferent to her only child, the son she had borne Charrier. When they divorced in 1963, Brigitte Bardot, declaring herself too immature to bring up a child, gave custody of Nicholas to his father  she later claimed that it was the boy himself who had done the abandoning.

Posing for the press in 1957 - Sunset Boulevard

Nicholas hasnt wanted anything to do with me for years, she explained. He hides himself away somewhere in Scandinavia. In 1992, though, after more than 10 years silence, mother and son were reunited.

Latterly, as her long, stringy hair hung in ever more languid loops about her face and the eyes took on a wild, staring fearfulness, Brigitte Bardot began to bear an increasing resemblance to the scores of creatures on whom she doted. Her concern for humanity, meanwhile, fell further and further behind the standard of the times. Her many open letters earned her, in total, six convictions for inciting racial hatred.

In 1999, she lamented the invasion of her homeland by an overpopulation of foreigners, especially Muslims, a crusade she continued throughout the 2000s, despite frequent fines. Her 2003 book Un cri dans le silence attacked, in addition to Muslims, gays, the unemployed, illegal immigrants and teachers, and called for a return of the guillotine. Her final conviction came in 2021, for calling the Hindu Tamils of Reunion, a French territory in the Indian Ocean, degenerate savages.

Her eccentricities were, as a rule, not widely noticed outside France until 2018, when she dismissed the actresses coming forward with #MeToo allegations as hypocritical, ridiculous, and without interest... lots of actresses will try to play the tease with producers to get a role and then they say they were harassed. She ended her life as a recluse.

Brigitte Bardot was divorced from Roger Vadim in 1957 and married Jacques Charrier, the film actor, in 1959. After a divorce in 1963 she married Gunter Sachs, the German millionaire in 1966, and was divorced in 1969. In 1992, she married Bernard dOrmale, a former adviser to Jean-Marie Le Pen of the Front National. He survives her, along with her son.

Brigitte Bardot, born September 28 1934, died December 28 2025

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Khleo Thomas has kept in touch with a few of his Holes costars

The actor, 36, shares with PEOPLE which of the actors he's closest to

"Me and Miguel Castro are partners in crime," he says

Over 20 years ago, Khleo Thomas joined a cast of fellow teens in the deserts of California to film the 2003 hit Holes.

Now, the 36-year-old actor reveals to PEOPLE who he still keeps in touch with from the coming-of-age film.

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Me and Miguel Castro, the actor who plays Magnet, we're very close," Thomas shares. "He's a big community guy. He's constantly giving back. He is constantly doing really cool things for the city of Los Angeles."

I was in Orlando, and he FaceTimes me. He'll do that. He won't tell me, but he'll just FaceTime me. When he FaceTimes me, I know he's at a school," the Roll Bounce actor adds. "He'll FaceTime me, and he'll be in a classroom, and you'll just hear the kids go crazy. Me and Miguel Castro are partners in crime.

Bei/Shutterstock Khleo Thomas and Miguel Castro Khleo Thomas and Miguel Castro

Castro played one of the young boys at the fictional Camp Green Lake, alongside Thomas character Zero, in Holes, based on the 1998 book by Louis Sachar. Along with Thomas and Castro, the Andrew Davis-directed movie starred Shia LaBeouf, Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight, Patricia Arquette and Eartha Kitt, to name a few.

Sachar's book follows Stanley Yelnats, played by LaBeouf in the movie, as he is sent to a boys' desert detention center after being wrongfully convicted of theft. At the "camp," he and a group of boys are tasked with digging holes every day under the watch of the strict warden. As the boys got closer together in the film, so did the actors.

Khleo Thomas/YouTube 'Holes' cast and crew reunite for 20th anniversary in 2023, including Shia LaBeouf, Miguel Castro, Jon Voight, Byron Cotton, and Khleo Thomas. 'Holes' cast and crew reunite for 20th anniversary in 2023, including Shia LaBeouf, Miguel Castro, Jon Voight, Byron Cotton, and Khleo Thomas.

Recently, Thomas reunited with Weaver, who played Warden Walker in the film, at the Star Wars celebration in Japan.

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I got a chance to see Sigourney Weaver this year at Star Wars celebration in Japan, which was on the day of the anniversary of Holes, which was crazy," he tells PEOPLE. "How are we both in Japan at this time? It was amazing. It was meant to be.

Thomas also shared a picture of the two on Instagram at the time, captioned, 22 years TODAY Holes hit the big screen. And on the anniversary I stood across from The Warden herself, the legendary Sigourney Weaver. No shovel in hand, just a heart full of gratitude," he wrote, calling the moment "surreal."

Thomas also recently tapped back into nostalgia with a partnership with Froot Loops. The actor partnered with the cereal brand for theFollow Your Ears campaign, which celebrates the 1,000+ Hip-Hop shoutouts to the brand in songs. Fans could comment on which songs featured the Froot Loops mention for a chance to win Kristopher Kites' designed jewelry inspired by the brand.

Holes is available to stream on Disney+.



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Credit: CJ Entertainment

Decision to Leave is one of my favorite movies of 2022. It even joined the rankings as one of my favorite movies of all time. Therefore, I was ecstatic when I got a chance to see Park Chan-wooks latest film No Other Choice at the 61st Chicago International Film Festival.

No Other Choice is a black comedy all about the lengths one man goes through to stay on top. The satirical film makes you take a hard look at society and the dog-eat-dog philosophy when it comes to success. No Other Choice is hilarious at times and quietly somber at other moments. Its a compelling film that has a lot to say about the job industry.

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Warning: No Other Choice spoilers are ahead. Proceed with caution.

Credit: CJ Entertainment

I Love How No Other Choice Explores The Idea Of Destroying Others For Personal Success

Yoo Man-su (Lee Byung-hun) starts killing other men who stand in his way of employment. After over a year of not obtaining a job in the paper industry, he decides his best way to secure his familys financial future is through murder. This is an extreme decision. However, we live in a world that makes the job market incredibly competitive. Many people go to desperate measures to find work, not as intense as murder, but I am sure some have done insidious things in the pursuit of financial security.

I wouldnt say Yoo Man-su is an antihero with justified motives, but I think his story is grounded in the reality of the intensity of the current job market - not just in South Korea, not just in America, but all over the world. The fear of not securing work again is why some stay at unsatisfying jobs. No Other Choice wants the audience to see the devastation, frustration, and suffering people sometimes endure when their livelihood is put in jeopardy.

It can lead to extreme measures, such as a crime, and in Yoo Man-sus case, murder. I noticed a trend in many of the 2025 award contender movies and some of the upcoming 2026 films, and its the society monsters and greedy corporations destroying lives. Filmmakers are exploring this topic a lot this year because its sadly relevant. More and more people are being laid off, corporations continue to grow more powerful, and people are resorting to desperate acts just to survive. Its a bleak situation. No Other Choice captures this and somehow makes it hilarious, despite the gravity of it all.

Credit: CJ Entertainment

Yoo Man-su is A Perfect Antihero Because You See His Road To Corruption

Yoo Man-su starts the movie off as a simple family man who loves his life. Then things grow darker and darker until he kills without much remorse. Man-su becomes a typical antihero. His actions (murder) are not heroic but he does it because hes trying to help his family. It has a lot to do with his own selfishness and ego, but he believes these actions are necessary to keep his wife and children happy and surviving.

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He would rather kill others than change careers, have more major life downgrades, or let his wife work more. His sense of manhood depends on whether he obtains a new job in his chosen field. However, he has a false sense of purpose. He must kill others because its the only way to make his family happy and return to his old success. Yoo Man-su is not a noble man but sees his pursuits as so. This makes him a hero in his own eyes but a villain in most others eyes.

He fits best in the antihero category. He starts as a good man, tries crime and fails, then starts to succeed at it. Eventually, he leaves a trail of bodies on his quest for employment.

Credit: CJ Entertainment

No Other Choice Really Made Me Ponder When The Concept Of Whatever Takes Goes Too Far

I love writing about pop culture, but I am not committing crimes to continue this work. However, someone who runs a billion-dollar company may be willing to commit crimes to continue the companys success. Everyone has a line they will or wont cross for financial success. No Other Choice showcases an intense measure of financial stability, but the extremity very much relates to how others engage in dangerous or destructive behavior to succeed.

Credit: CJ Entertainment

In My Eyes, Yoo Man-su Still Feels Pathetic, Despite His Newfound Confidence, And That Makes The Movie Such A Stronger Tale

Yoo Man-su gains his confidence back after he becomes more accustomed to killing his competition. Signs of the old Man-su start to resurface. However, he is still an unlikable lead because his behavior never feels completely justified. He puts his family in danger and doesnt seem to really care about their wants or needs.

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His pride surpasses all reason. His family would rather he didnt end up in prison or die, but he risks both to gain another job. Its not this grandiose selfless gesture. Its a dangerous and ridiculous one.

In No Other Choice, I didn't root for Man-su. He is an interesting character, and you sympathize with him at points, but I never fully join his side. I still judge his actions and dont think a job is worth that, but I am viewing the movie through a logical lens.

Thats part of the movie's point. These actions are not logical or necessary, but they feel that way to Man-su. The viewers arent in the same seemingly desperate situation, so we can judge him but also understand the No Other Choices purpose and message.

Credit: CJ Entertainment

I Love How Ironic, Relevant, And Sad The No Other Choice Ending Is Because Of The State Of The Workforce

No Other Choice ends with Man-su getting a job, but hes the only human at his job. He will be operating automated machines that have replaced all the workers. Man-su celebrates this win, but you feel the doubt and fear creep into his brain already. This job could and probably will replace him one day. He may have to eventually return to his murderous ways for his next position.

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He temporarily solved his problem. He did all this and could rejoin the workforce at any time. Its a sobering reminder that all jobs have an expiration date. Theyre not worth the damage and sacrifice one may make to get or keep them. No Other Choice also makes us remember how AI and things of that nature are making it harder for humans to find work.

AI could eventually wipe out the job market. This all makes Man-sus decisions and actions almost useless. Hes another character who makes bad decisions that may end up being a waste of his time and have dire consequences. It seems like Man-su got away with the murders, but his family looks at him differently now. They may never fully recover from all this. The one thing he tried to protect may have endured the most damage.

No Other Choice is a must-see film, so make sure you catch it if you havent. Its one of the new 2025 movies worth checking out.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) appeal on December 29, challenging the Delhi High Court's decision to suspend the life sentence of expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the Unnao rape case. A three-judge vacation bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant will hear the plea of the CBI. Sengar was convicted in December 2019 in the Unnao rape case and sentenced to life imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 25 lakh. Though granted bail in this case, he will continue to remain in jail as he is serving a 10-year sentence in another CBI case related to murder. The victim of the 2017 Unnao rape case, along with her mother, met officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the national capital on Saturday and submitted a complaint alleging that the investigating officer (IO) colluded with a judge to ensure the accused side wins. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, the victim said she had sought to meet a senior official but was told it was a holiday and that she should return on Monday. However, she said a junior official accepted her complaint."The junior official has received my application and said that the senior official will meet on Monday," the victim told ANI. Alleging serious misconduct, she claimed that the Investigating Officer (IO) had acted against her interests. "The complaint is that the investigating officer has wronged me. He colluded with the judge to ensure that the other party won, so that the rape victim would lose, her courage would be broken, and she would not be able to pursue the case further," the victim pointed out. The victim's mother also spoke to ANI, stating that they are ready to go to the Supreme Court. "They have received my complaint. Now we have to see when the authority meets us. We trust the Supreme Court," she said. She further added that while the CBI is handling the matter, the family's faith would depend on whether the agency stands by them during legal proceedings. "The CBI is there, but I will only trust them if they stand by my side in the Supreme Court," the victim's mother added. Earlier on Friday, the CBI filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) before the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court's December 23, 2025, order that suspended Sengar's life sentence pending appeal and granted him bail. (ANI)
Kanye West made an unannounced appearance during a comedy show by Deon Cole at the Hollywood Improv on Saturday night (Dec. 27), briefly stepping onstage and confirming that a new album is in the works.

Cole shared footage from the night on Instagram after the show, posting a short clip and writing, About last night. What a great time. Laughter & love wins again. Hollywood improv.

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In the video, Cole invites West onto the stage and introduces him to the audience as a good friend, thanking the rapper for attending the show. After confirming that he enjoyed the set, West laughs as Cole pokes fun at his famously restrained reactions.

You werent giving me no sympathy laughs, right? Cole asks in the clip, drawing a grin from West as the crowd reacts.

The moment then turns to what fans might expect next from the artist. You got anything we could look out for? Cole asks. No music, no shirts or sweaters or some boots?

West responds without elaboration: New album, prompting loud cheers from the room.

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Cole follows up with a joking request to appear on an interlude on the forthcoming project, then asks whether West could send him a care package of clothes  which West agrees to  before exiting the stage.

Back in November, Ye also popped up during Travis Scotts Circus Maximus show in Japan last for an unannounced set at the Belluna Dome in Tokorozawa on Nov. 8.



In fan-shot footage circulating online, West  who had his face covered  pulled off his mask mid-show to roaring applause before launching into his 2007 anthem Cant Tell Me Nothing.

Scott remained onstage as a hype man and support act throughout Yes mini-set, which included hits like Runaway, Heartless, Flashing Lights, Stronger, and All of the Lights. The duo performed together in front of a packed Tokyo crowd as part of Scotts two-night Japan stopover.

Ye will also return to Italy to headline the brand new Hellwatt Festival, which will take place at the RCF Arena over three weekends, from July 4-18, and will be officially presented in late January or early February 2026.



The news of Yes concert in Italy comes nearly two years after the lengthy back-and-forth over the live presentation of Vultures, his Billboard 200-topping joint album with Ty Dolla $ign, which concluded without a concert but with a listening party held at the Unipol Forum in Milan and the Unipol Arena in Bologna in February 2024.

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Dancing With the Stars Jordan Chiles and partner Ezra Sosa are setting the record straight amid false claims regarding a secret engagement.

It appeared that the public got a little carried away following the duos undeniable chemistry on stage.

For almost three months, viewers witnessed dazzling performances and intense competition between 14 celebrity contestants and their professional dancing partners who were all vying for the coveted Mirrorball Trophy.

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From social media star Alix Earle to actresses Danielle Fishel and Elaine Hendrix to Australian wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin, viewers were entertained not only by their impressive moves but also by the connection they shared on the dance floor.

Jordan Chiles and Ezra Sosa at 'DANCING WITH THE STARS' finale episode. Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty Images) (Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty Images))

However, just when fan theories werent enough, the two-time Olympian and Sosa literally made headlines after a publication ran a story about their alleged engagement and Chiles potential return to compete in the upcoming Olympics.

The news was titled BIG SECRET REVEALED: Jordan Chiles is secretly engaged to her DWTS dance partner Ezra Sosa after finishing 3rd in the finals, but at the same time revealed plans to drop out of UCLA to prepare for her comeback at the 2028 LA Olympics with a new Beyonce routine. It sparked immediate reaction from the duo, who addressed the fake news head-on.

Sosa shared the screenshot on his Instagram Stories as he cleared up misconceptions, noting, News to me.

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Moreover, he also tagged the Olympic gymnast and playfully commented, Congratulations to us.

As for Chiles, she reposted it with a laughing emoji signaling shes not taking the rumors seriously.

Jordan Chiles and Ezra Sosas reaction re secret engagement pic.twitter.com/1PrabIB5Xa  Polly (@pollygarcia0915) December 28, 2025

Its no secret that the pair built genuine connections on and off the camera but theyve drawn the line at going as far as having a secret engagement.

Prior to the finale episode, the 24-year-old gymnast penned a sweet message for Sosa whom she called best partner ever.

In an Instagram post, she expressed how grateful she was for the friendship and the experience of being with him in the competition.

Wow! Ummm idk what to truly say about this whole experience but one thing I can say is that god gave me the best partner ever and I am going to miss this whole experience with you! Ezra you have turned me into a ballroom dancer and also helped me tell my story! I dont want this to end but HAPPY FINALE DAY!!! You have inspired me in so many ways and I hope I did the same for you! To many more memories to make and more food to order! I love you DIVAAAAAA @ezra.sosa, she wrote.

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As for the DWTS pro dancer, he also expressed his support for Chiles in a heartfelt way by defending her against those who were labeling her a mean girl online.

It was during the Disney Night-themed episode that aired on Oct. 7 when Chiles abruptly turned and walked away after host Julian Hough mentioned a big announcement to the viewers.

Sosa briefly explained in the video what really happened, clarifying that it was all a misunderstanding on the part of the viewers.

Related: 'DWTS' Star Jordan Chiles Reveals Reason for Breakup With On-and-Off Boyfriend

This story was originally published by Parade on Dec 28, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Robert Patrick is setting the record straight.

The Tulsa King star, who portrayed Davey Scatino in The Sopranos, has responded to theories that his character killed James Gandolfinis Tony Soprano after the screen cut to black in the iconic series finale of David Chases hit HBO crime drama.

I think that was interesting. Did that really get a lot of traction? Patrick, 67, asked TV Insider regarding the online theories. David Chase is the only one who knows. I was never contacted about it. I dont know.

Robert Patrick during TVfest in Atlanta, Georgia, on Feb. 4, 2017. Getty Images for SCAD

Robert Patrick and James Gandolfini in The Sopranos. HBO

However, the Terminator 2 star wouldnt rule the possibility out.

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Was there a guy that might have looked like me, or people thought that it was me? Its interesting, Patrick continued. Yeah, I wonder. I dont know.

I feel blessed that people would really still be thinking about my character at the end, he added. But boy, what a great experience.

Robert Patrick during German Comic Con on Dec. 1, 2018. Getty Images

James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano in the finale episode of The Sopranos.

Patrick joined The Sopranos during its second season in 2000. His character was Tonys childhood friend, and he reconnected with the mob boss through a high-stakes poker game.

A compulsive gambler, Davey ignored Tonys warnings and racked up massive debt. He was quietly destroyed in a mob bust-out and lost his sporting goods business and family over the course of three episodes before fleeing New Jersey for Nevada.

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But some Sopranos fans think that Patricks character may have returned to get his revenge and kill Tony during the shows ambiguous final episode in 2007.

James Gandolfini in a 1999 publicity still for The Sopranos. Getty Images

James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano in The Sopranos. Getty Images

James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano, Edie Falco as Carmela and Robert Iler as A.J. moments before the screen cut to black in the series finale of The Sopranos. ASSOCIATED PRESS

Although the screen famously cuts to black as Tony sits with his wife, Carmela, and son, A.J., at Holstens diner, eagle-eyed viewers believe that a man who looks like Davey Scatino enters the diner to kill Tony.

While Chase has described the final moment of The Sopranos as Tonys death scene, it was not always how he planned to end the six-season story.

The scene I had in my mind was not that scene. Nor did I think of cutting to black, he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2021. I had a scene in which Tony comes back from a meeting in New York in his car.

James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano in The Sopranos. Getty Images

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Steve Schirripa, Richard Botto, James Gandolfini and David Chase behind the scenes of The Sopranos. WireImage

At the beginning of every show, he came from New York into New Jersey, and the last scene could be him coming from New Jersey back into New York for a meeting at which he was going to be killed, the director revealed.

As for Patrick, who currently stars in Tulsa King alongside Sylvester Stallone, he acknowledged that there are many similarities between the Paramount+ crime drama and The Sopranos.

The fans are there, he told TV Insider. Thats a throughline there for sure.

James Gandolfini at a movie premiere on Nov. 26, 2012. Nicholas Hunt /PatrickMcMullan.c

Robert Patrick during a motorcycle event at Harley-Davidson in Glendale, California, on Sept. 8, 2025. Getty Images

Patrick also revealed that he paid tribute to Gandolfini, who died from a sudden heart attack at the age of 51 in June 2013, in a scene from Season 3 of Tulsa King.

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Thats why I threw out that line, Hows your balls, Manfredi?' the Peacemaker star shared. That came from Jimmy Gandolfini. Thats what Jimmy came in and said to me right before we shot that scene where he beats me up in my office to collect.

Jimmy came up to me and said to me, as Jimmy to Robert Patrick, Hows your balls?' he continued. So I threw that out there to Stallone, he loved it: Hows your balls, Manfredi?'
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True Detective season 5 has officially been greenlit. | Credit: HBO

True Detective season 5: key information

- Renewed in February 2024

- Production may begin in February 2026

- HBO's Francesca Orsi mentioned a 2027 release

- Expected to be an entirely new cast

- Nicolas Cage reportedly "deep in talks" to star

- Plot details remain firmly under wraps

- Issa Lopez signed on as showrunner after Night Country success

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True Detective season 5 is officially on the way and while there's no confirmation from HBO Max on a release date, there's certainly been some hints. Fortunately, we've been putting in some of our own dossier together with all the intel on the next instalment  and there's plenty to talk about.

The anthology drama has been a huge success since its first season in 2014. A new murder case, a new cast, and new ways to thrill its audience has followed for the four seasons since. And the last season was a total hit with 93% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics, making its season 5 renewal totally understandable.

So, when it comes to True Detective season 5, here's everything we know so far from release date prediction, predicted cast, plot rumors, and more.

Full spoilers for True Detective seasons 1-4 to follow. Plus, potential spoilers for True Detective season 5.

True Detective season 5: is there a release date?

True Detective season 5 was given its official renewal in February 2024, as reported by Variety. And it's looking like a 2027 release window, if the words of HBO's Head of Drama Series and Film, Francesca Orsi, hold true.

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Speaking to Deadline, she revealed the new season's potential launch date way back in February 2025, as well as revealing an entirely new setting: "It's set in New York, in Jamaica Bay. Issa has a lot to say, not unlike she did with Night Country. It's a different milieu but just as powerful."

And, as hinted at by Orsi, Issa Lopez, the creator of True Detective: Night Country will be continuing to take the lead in season 4, thanks to a new overall multi-year deal with HBO.

Deadline goes on to report that filming on the new season was "slated to begin in the coming months", but it seems that those coming months has turned into a year with the official FTIA listing revealing a shoot date of February 2, 2026. Though nothing has been confirmed yet by HBO.

True Detective season 5 trailer

There's no True Detective season 5 trailer just yet | Credit: HBO

Given the cast and crew are yet to enter production and a reported release window of 2027, there's no True Detective season 5 trailer just yet.

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For season 4, the trailer came out just a month before the show premiered on HBO. So, I'd predict we won't be seeing a trailer until at least late 2026, early 2027, which would mark three years since season 4's release.

Sounds like a lot, right? Well, season 4 came out five years after season 3 and season 3 came out four years after season 2. So, we might actually be getting spoiled.

True Detective season 5 predicted cast

Issa Lopez will reportedly take the reins for season 5 | Credit: HBO

Spoilers follow for True Detective seasons 1-4.

At time of writing, there were no official cast announcements for True Detective season 5. But, one big screen star was reportedly "deep in talks", as per The Hollywood Reporter in August 2025.

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And that star is Nicolas Cage, somewhat of a stranger to the world of TV aside from his upcoming role in Prime Video's live-action Spider-Man Noir series or hosting a singular season of Netflix comedy History of Swear Words.

Nothing's confirmed though, but THR reported he was "up for an as-yet-unknown role in the anthology drama."

Here's to hoping he's as good at solving crime as he is at stealing the Declaration of Independence.

Responding to the news of Cage's potential role, Matthew McConaughey, who famously played Ruse Cohle in season 1, even threw his hat in the ring.

During a conversation with Variety in September 2025, he said: "We nailed that first season. But if it's a script like that first one, with that fire and originality, I'd do it."

True Detective season 5 story speculation

A new murder case and a whole new cast seems likely | Credit: HBO

Full spoilers follow for True Detective seasons 1-4.

The last instalment of True Detective was season 4's Night Country starring Jodie Foster and Kali Reis, and it left some serious questions unanswered.

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But, as is the case with an anthology series, each season is self-contained. So, it seems incredibly unlikely that we can use any of the previous seasons to hint at what's to come for True Detective season 5.

Historically, every season of True Detective starts with a new murder. And we'd imagine an entirely new cast and story will spawn for this next season.

One thing we do know is that whoever this new cast are and whatever mysterious plot comes next, it'll take us away from Alaska and into New York. Jamaica Bay, to be precise.

And, as far as Issa Lopez is concerned, there's going to be a lot to love about this new season. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, she revealed: "Im dying for everyone to know because its very different and very exciting. Its even darker and even more twisted. I cant wait to put it out there. "

Will True Detective return after season 5?

Could McConaughey and Harrelson reprise their roles?

There's no official news on whether True Detective will return for a season 6, but that's not totally surprising given season 5 is yet to get a release date.

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But, there is something we should talk about and that's thanks to the show's creator, Nico Pizzolatto.

Speaking to Variety back in May 2025, Pizzolatto mentioned that there's a potential for Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson to return: "I actually have another story for Cohle and Hart that  who knows?  maybe well do it one day.

"Its character-based again. But its not something Ive written or anything. Its just, I had that in my head. And weve talked about getting back together and doing it, and I think the guys are open to it. Its just a question of whether that would ever happen or not."

Add this to what McConaughey said about being open to a script, as discussed above, it feels like something's simmering under the surface.

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Whether it turns into a full boil, I'll keep my ear to the ground and update here whenever there's any official news.

For more Max-focused coverage, read our guides on The Pitt season 2, The Last of Us season 2, and Peacemaker season 2.
NEED TO KNOW

Fallout season 2 premiered on Dec. 16

Season 1 was primarily filmed in New York, but production moved to California

Fallout season 2 features Lucy and The Ghoul traveling to New Vegas, which was recreated in North Hollywood

Welcome back to the dystopian world of the Wasteland.

On Dec. 16, Fallout season 2 premiered, taking viewers to the year 2296, centuries after a nuclear war ravaged America.

The story and retro-futuristic look of the Fallout game franchise have enthralled video game players since the first title debuted in 1997.

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Now, nearly 30 years later, Fallout has reached an even larger audience after it was adapted into one of Prime Video's most popular original shows in April 2024.

In the second installment, Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell) and The Ghoul (Walton Goggins) embark on a journey to a post-apocalyptic Sin City now called New Vegas. While Fallout season 1 was mostly shot in New York, production was relocated to California for season 2 to capture more memorable scenes.

So, where was Fallout filmed? Here's everything to know about the real-life locations the cast worked in.

Brotherhood of Steel Base

Lorenzo Sisti/Prime 'Fallout.' 'Fallout.'

Location: Wendover Airfield, Utah

In the series, Maximus (Aaron Moten) is a soldier for the Brotherhood of Steel, a semi-religious military faction that uses advanced technology.

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Production for the Prime Video show moved to Utah, where Wendover Airfield was used to film scenes set at the base of the Brotherhood of Steel in season 1, according to the Utah Film Commission, per ABC 4.

The Wendover Army Air Force Base opened in March 1942, following the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. The base played a key role during World War II, where it was the testing and training ground for the atomic bomb. The Air Force base was operational until 1963.

The Wasteland

Courtesy of Prime Video 'Fallout.' 'Fallout.'

Location: Namibia, Africa



The post-apocalyptic version of Los Angeles featured in Fallout wasn't filmed in California, but in Africa.

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The nuclear-ravaged city was shot in the country of Namibia, located on the southwestern coast of the continent. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Elizabeth Bay region, a largely abandoned mining town, served as a stand-in for the California city.

"Its just so gorgeously destroyed," Fallout production designer Howard Cummings told the outlet. "Every day for years, 60 mph winds with sandstorms have pitted all the surfaces."

He continued, "When they abandoned the giant processing facility, they blew up the manufacturing parts. That was perfect for us; it looked like an atomic bomb went off. We had to do so little to really make it come alive."

The famous Ferris wheel on the Santa Monica pier and the Malibu mountains were added digitally.

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"The biggest challenge for us, visual effects-wise, was combining Namibia, New York and Utah to make it look like post-apocalyptic L.A.," said visual effects supervisor Jay Worth.

According to Kodak, other scenes were also filmed in Kolmanskop, another nearby ghost town.

"We were transported, truly, to a desolate set. It became our set, the sands of Namibia," Moten told GamesRadar+ in April 2024. "That first feeling  I remember walking out and doing the scene. It took away a lot of the work you sometimes have to do as an actor. I obviously believe where we are."

"It felt like I got to reinvest in my scene partners and really dig deep into the story," he added.

The Vault, Enclave Research Facility, Red Rocket Gas Station and more

Courtesy of Prime Video 'Fallout.' 'Fallout.'

Location: New York

The first season of Fallout was primarily filmed in and around New York City, as well as in other parts of New York state.

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One major setting, the Vault tunnels, was built on sets in Brooklyn, N.Y., per Kodak. According to The New York Times, the series filmed on soundstages at the Brooklyn Army Terminal, which fans spotted it used as the Enclave Research Facility.

In addition, production took place at the Widow Jane Mine in Rosendale, N.Y. and at a quarry in Sojourner Truth State Park in Kingston, N.Y., per The Poughkeepsie Journal.

"Its a favorite location that weve recommended many times. Fallout was by far, the largest production to ever film there," said Laurent Rejto, Hudson Valley Film Commission executive director, about the Widow Jane Mine.

The Fallout franchise's iconic gas station chain, Red Rocket, was also brought to life in New York. According to PC Gamer and Comic Book Resources, a gas station in Nyack, N.Y., was transformed into a retro-futuristic filling station.

New Vegas

Prime Video/YouTube 'Fallout.' 'Fallout.'

Location: California

Season 2 of Fallout moved production from New York to California, receiving $25 million in tax credits for filming in the Golden State, as Variety reported.

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According to Deadline, shooting happened at Melody Ranch in Santa Clarita, Calif., though production was temporarily paused in January 2025 due to the devastating L.A.-area wildfires.

A setting for Fallout season 2 is New Vegas, which was recreated in North Hollywood. Per TV Insider, the series changed the Valley Plaza strip mall to look like a dystopian Sin City.

Read the original article on People
Key Takeaways

Many Asian countries offer beautiful landscapes, delicious food, rich history and culture, and a friendly atmosphere for retirees seeking destinations abroad.

Monthly living costs in these countries range from under $300 to $600 (excluding rent)up to four times cheaper than in the U.S.

Your dollar can stretch three to four times farther in Asia than in the U.S. In India, you can live comfortably on about $270 a month, excluding rent. In Thailand, about $600 a month gets you beach access, excellent street food, and world-class health care. And in Vietnam, $350 covers your monthly expenses in a country where a full meal costs less than a Starbucks latte.

These destinations arent just less costly, but offer stunning landscapes, rich cultures, and safety levels that rival Western nations, plus visa programs tailored to retirees and remote workers. If youre hoping to make your retirement savings last far longeror simply want a higher quality of life for lessthese Asian destinations deliver affordability and adventure.

Thailand

Dragonite_East / Getty Images Khao Sok National Park features limestone "karsts" rising from Cheow Lan Lake, one of Thailand's protected natural areas that draws retirees and digital nomads to the country's interior beyond the famous beaches. Khao Sok National Park features limestone "karsts" rising from Cheow Lan Lake, one of Thailand's protected natural areas that draws retirees and digital nomads to the country's interior beyond the famous beaches.

Why? Beaches along 2,000 miles of coastline, modern hospitals with English-speaking doctors at one-third Western costs, a year-round warm climate, and extensive infrastructure in cities like Chiang Mai and Bangkok.

Visa options : Retirement visa (50+), tourist visa extendable to 60-90 days, and, for digital nomads, the Destination Thailand Visa (DTV).

Estimated cost of living: $600 (Here and below, the cost of living is estimated for one person per month, without rent.)

Vietnam

tawatchaiprakobkit / Getty Images Hoi An's UNESCO World Heritage ancient town preserves traditional architecture dating to the 15th century, offering foreign residents a walkable riverside community with French colonial influences and modern amenities. Hoi An's UNESCO World Heritage ancient town preserves traditional architecture dating to the 15th century, offering foreign residents a walkable riverside community with French colonial influences and modern amenities.

Why? Rapid economic growth, UNESCO World Heritage sites including Ha Long Bay and Hoi An, French colonial architecture, one of Asia's lowest crime rates, and coastal cities with modern amenities.

Visa options: Vietnam offers a 90-day visa for travelers. It doesnt specifically have a retirement or digital nomad visa, but this can be worked around by establishing or investing in a Vietnamese business or securing a business visa.

Estimated cost of living: $350.



Malaysia

wichianduangsri / Getty Images Kuala Lumpur's Petronas Towers dominate a skyline that reflects Malaysia's status as one of Southeast Asia's most developed economies, with English widely spoken and world-class health care. Kuala Lumpur's Petronas Towers dominate a skyline that reflects Malaysia's status as one of Southeast Asia's most developed economies, with English widely spoken and world-class health care.

Why? English is an official language, Kuala Lumpur is among Asia's most livable cities, and tropical rainforests cover 60% of the country.

Visa Options : Malaysia has specific visa programs for retirees and digital nomads, while travelers generally use short-term tourist visas that last up to 90 days.

Estimated cost of living: $450.



Indonesia

Tuul & Bruno Morandi /Getty Images The 17th-century Ulun Danu Beratan Temple sits on Bali's Lake Bratan at 4,000 feet elevation, where cooler mountain climates provide an alternative to the island's tropical coastal regions popular with expatriates. The 17th-century Ulun Danu Beratan Temple sits on Bali's Lake Bratan at 4,000 feet elevation, where cooler mountain climates provide an alternative to the island's tropical coastal regions popular with expatriates.

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Why? With more than 17,000 islands offering diverse climates and lifestyles, Bali boasts an established tourist community featuring Western amenities, volcanic landscapes, and equatorial weather with consistently warm temperatures ranging from 80F to 90F year-round.

Visa options : The tourist visa is valid for 60 days and can be extended twice. There's also a retirement visa for individuals aged 55 and older, as well as a digital nomad visa specifically designed for remote workers.

Estimated cost of living: $375.

Philippines

Marco Bottigelli / Getty Images A woman bamboo rafting through Bohol's Loboc River showcases the Philippines' 7,600 islands, where English proficiency and Spanish colonial heritage create cultural familiarity for Western expatriates. A woman bamboo rafting through Bohol's Loboc River showcases the Philippines' 7,600 islands, where English proficiency and Spanish colonial heritage create cultural familiarity for Western expatriates.

Why? English is an official language and widely spoken; 7,600 islands provide endless beach access, Manila offers international connections with direct flights to major cities, and Spanish and American influences provide familiar cultural touchstones for Westerners.

Visa options : The Philippines offers visas for travelers and retirees aged 60 or above, and in 2025, it introduced a specific visa for digital nomads.

Estimated cost of living: $410.

Cambodia

Martin Puddy / Getty Images Siem Reap's jungle beyond this infinity pool shows the natural beauty near available near Angkor Wat, where dollar-denominated pricing and relatively low property costs attract long-term foreign residents. Siem Reap's jungle beyond this infinity pool shows the natural beauty near available near Angkor Wat, where dollar-denominated pricing and relatively low property costs attract long-term foreign residents.

Why? The U.S. dollar is the de facto currency (eliminating exchange rate risk), and Phnom Penh has minimal bureaucracy for long-term stays and a rapidly developing infrastructure.

Visa options : Cambodia offers travelers an extendable 30-day visa and for retirees with enough funds a one-year renewable visa. As of 2025, there's no digital nomad visa, and many remote workers use the renewable ordinary traveler visa and then extend it to an EB business visa.

Estimated cost of living: $450.

Laos

zhouyousifang / Getty Images Scenes like this one, ang Vieng's karst mountains along the Nam Song River have long drawn visitors to this landlocked nation. Scenes like this one, ang Vieng's karst mountains along the Nam Song River have long drawn visitors to this landlocked nation.

Why? Less developed than its neighbors, Laos has fewer tourists, Mekong River access, a French colonial influence in Vientiane and Luang Prabang, and Buddhist temples throughout the country.

Visa options : For digital nomads and retirees, there are no specific visas; long-term stays are generally pursued through LA-B2 business visas arranged via a sponsor or agency.

Estimated cost of living: $375.

Sri Lanka

John Crux Photography / Getty Images Wijaya Beach on Sri Lanka's southern coast remains relatively undeveloped compared to neighboring beach destinations, offering solitude and lower costs just hours from Colombo's international airport. Wijaya Beach on Sri Lanka's southern coast remains relatively undeveloped compared to neighboring beach destinations, offering solitude and lower costs just hours from Colombo's international airport.

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Why? The island nation has about 1,000 miles of coastline, eight UNESCO World Heritage sites, tea plantations in the cooler hill country, and Colombo's international airport connects to major Asian and Middle Eastern hubs.

Visa options : The most straightforward approach is to enter on a tourist visa, which lasts 30 days but can be extended for up to 270 days. However, digital nomads will soon be able to apply for a new visa specifically designed for remote workers, while retirees could qualify through the My Dream Home Visa program.

Estimated cost of living: $400.

Nepal

franck metois / Getty Images Phewa Lake in Pokhara provides views of the Annapurna range, making this Himalayan city Nepal's second-largest and a base for trekkers and spiritual seekers at significantly lower costs than Western mountain destinations. Phewa Lake in Pokhara provides views of the Annapurna range, making this Himalayan city Nepal's second-largest and a base for trekkers and spiritual seekers at significantly lower costs than Western mountain destinations.

Why? Himalayan mountain access, including Everest base camp treks; Kathmandu Valley's ancient temples and palaces; spiritual tourism sites; and living costs that rank among Asia's lowest.

Visa options : Nepal offers a standard tourist visa, a residential visa for retirees that requires a certificate of regular income of at least $20,000 per year, and is set to launch a new five-year visa for remote workers.

Estimated cost of living: $270.



India

Tuul & Bruno Morandi / Getty Images The ghats of Varanasi on the Ganges River represent India's 5,000-year continuous civilization, where daily ceremonies and ancient traditions coexist with modern infrastructure in one of the world's oldest inhabited cities. The ghats of Varanasi on the Ganges River represent India's 5,000-year continuous civilization, where daily ceremonies and ancient traditions coexist with modern infrastructure in one of the world's oldest inhabited cities.

Why? A large country offering vastly different climates, cuisines, and cultures, colonial-era hill stations with temperate weather, Goa's beach communities popular with long-term foreign residents, and a massive English-speaking population.

Visa options : India doesnt have a specific digital nomad or retirement visa. Options include applying for a one-year or five-year e-tourist multiple-entry visa or a one-year business e-visa.



Estimated cost of living: $270.

Read the original article on Investopedia
Its easy to believe that a college degree is a must to secure a good-paying job. Unfortunately, for many, attending college is becoming increasingly expensive, with the average tuition for a public, four-year in-state school costing $11,610, according to the College Board.

Pursuing a trade is a worthy consideration for students who arent convinced that they must attend college to land in a stable, well-paying career field. In fact, only one in four Americans believes its very or extremely important to have a four-year degree to secure a well-paying job, according to Pew Research.

For Americans considering a blue-collar job with no college requirements, choosing the right opportunity is key. You want to consider your strengths, goals and what opportunities there may be for advancement. Employers who prioritize upskilling can help employees earn additional certifications, gain specialized skills, and increase income, according to The Blue-Collar Recruiter.

Explore More: 12 Totally Free Ways To Make Enough Passive Income To Quit Your Job

Find Out: 8 Unusual Ways To Make Extra Money That Actually Work

A recent study by Resume Genius identifies the top ten highest-paying, fast-growing jobs that dont require a college degree. These rankings are based on median annual salary, top 10% of earners, number of jobs, estimated job growth until 2034 and education requirements. Here are the best-paying, fast-growing jobs you can get without a college degree.

Elevator and Escalator Technician

Median annual salary : $106,580

Median hourly wage : $51.24

Top 10% of earners : $149,250

Number of jobs : 24,200

Estimated job growth (2024-2034) : 5%

Education: High school diploma or equivalent

Electrical Power-Line Installer and Repairer

Median annual salary : $92,560

Median hourly wage : $44.50

Top 10% of earners : $126,610

Number of jobs : 127,400

Estimated job growth (2024-2034) : 7%

Education: High school diploma or equivalent

Aircraft Avionics Equipment Mechanic and Technician

Median annual salary : $79,140

Median hourly wage : $38.05

Top 10% of earners : $120,080

Number of jobs : 160,800

Estimated job growth (2024-2034) : 5%

Education: Postsecondary nondegree award (FAA-approved program)

Railroad Worker

Median annual salary : $75,680

Median hourly wage : $36.38

Top 10% of earners : $100,130

Number of jobs : 77,900

Estimated job growth (2024-2034) : 1%

Education: High school diploma or equivalent

Stationary Engineer and Boiler Operator

Median annual salary : $75,190

Median hourly wage : $36.15

Top 10% of earners : $121,200

Number of jobs : 33,300

Estimated job growth (2024-2034) : 2%

Education: High school diploma or equivalent

Industrial Machinery Mechanic

Median annual salary : $63,510

Median hourly wage : $30.53

Top 10% of earners : $85,790

Number of jobs : 538,300

Estimated job growth (2024-2034) : 13%

Education: High school diploma or equivalent

Plumber, Pipefitter and Steamfitter

Median annual salary : $62,970

Median hourly wage : $30.27

Top 10% of earners : $105,150

Number of jobs : 504,500

Estimated job growth (2024-2034) : 4%

Education: High school diploma or equivalent

Wind Turbine Technician

Median annual salary : $62,580

Median hourly wage : $30.09

Top 10% of earners : $88,090

Number of jobs : 13,600

Estimated job growth (2024-2034) : 50%

Education: Postsecondary nondegree award

Electrician

Median annual salary : $62,350

Median hourly wage : $29.98

Top 10% of earners : $106,030

Number of jobs : 818,700

Estimated job growth (2024-2034) : 9%

Education: High school diploma or equivalent

Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Installer

Median annual salary : $51,860

Median hourly wage : $24.93

Top 10% of earners : $80,150

Number of jobs : 28,600

Estimated job growth (2024-2034) : 42%

Education: High school diploma or equivalent

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A four-year degree isnt the only path to a high-paying and stable career, said Nathan Soto, Career Expert at Resume Genius. Were seeing a surge in demand for skilled blue-collar professionals, and our data shows employers are willing to pay a premium for their expertise: for nine jobs on our list, the top 10% of earners make six figures a year. Many of these jobs only require a high school diploma, and all are expected to grow over the next decade  that means the path to a six-figure salary is more accessible than many think.

Before committing to college, consider whether its worth it for your career aspirations and if you might enjoy greater advancement in a blue-collar role. Exploring training programs or apprenticeships can help you determine if a blue-collar career is a fit and set you on a path toward higher income and growth.

Need a little extra breathing room in your budget? MoneyLion, a sister company of GOBankingRates, is giving away $2,000 a day through Jan. 24, 2026. Sign up here and see if a cash boost is in your future.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 2026s 10 Highest Paying, Fast-Growing Jobs That Dont Require a College Degree
Innovative ideas are not always appreciated in their time. History is full of examples of people whose work was rejected, vilified, or simply mocked  only to reach notoriety shortly after the creator's death. Recently, redditor Bob_the_blacksmith asked, " Who died believing themselves a failure, but was judged otherwise by history? " and the answers will have you rethinking how you look at all the brilliant folks around you.

1. Kotoku Wamura , the mayor of Fudai village, built a huge and expensive tsunami defense wall and gate system. In 2011, when the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami hit, Fudai was saved. Unfortunately, Wakura died in 1997, never knowing how many were saved by his flood defenses."

u/Ub3r_Bland

"He went way above budget to get the extra height for the walls, while all the townspeople were mad about the tax expenditure waste. Only one person died in 2011  a fisherman who went out to check on his boat." u/Sergovan

2. "Ludwig Boltzmann was a theoretical physicist who laid the foundation for statistical mechanics , essential to understanding fundamental physics today. He spent most of his life defending his theories, which were derided by his peers. He died by suicide before his work became generally accepted by the community and part of every undergraduate physics course. His equation defining entropy is engraved on his tombstone."

u/Frisk_Alive

3. Vincent van Gogh is a classic example. He thought hed failed his whole life, sold almost no paintings, and struggled with mental health. Today, hes celebrated as one of the greatest painters in history. Wild when you think about it."

Zhe Ji / Getty Images

u/Bignigcountry

Related: These Are 20 Very Famous People From The 1950s, And I Am Genuinely Curious If You Have Any Idea Who They Are

4. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) died suddenly before the books were published. Never saw them explode globally. Never saw the movies. Never saw the hundreds of millions of copies sold. He died thinking he was a journalist with a side project." Stieg Larsson (author of) died suddenly before the books were published. Never saw them explode globally. Never saw the movies. Never saw the hundreds of millions of copies sold. He died thinking he was a journalist with a side project."

u/Dr-Figgleton

5. "John Kennedy Toole died by suicide after not being able to get his book published. A decade after his death, his book, A Confederacy of Dunces , was published and won the Pulitzer Prize ."

Grove Press / Via amazon.com

u/DrGeraldBaskums

6. Alfred Wegener' s continental drift theory was laughed at, because he was seen as an outsider to the scientific community. He died in an expedition without knowing if his theory was proven true or not."

u/ayam_goreng_kalasan

7. Ignaz Semmelweis came up with the brilliant idea that doctors should wash their hands before seeing patients, particularly before seeing women in labor. He figured this out before the inception of germ theory and was basically shunned and mocked by the medical community. He had a mental breakdown and ended up dying in an asylum, following an infection he received after being beaten by guards."

Dirk Waem / Getty Images

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u/so-so-it-goes

u/black_flag_4ever

Related: I'm Sorry, But The Only People Passing This Difficult Retro Logo Quiz Are Those Born Between 1952 And 1983

9. Carmen, was a failure. After his death, it would go on to be one of the most frequently produced operas of all time." Georges Bizet died at 36 , thinking that his opera,, was a failure. After his death, it would go on to be one of the most frequently produced operas of all time."

Xinhua News Agency / Getty Images

u/NoticeSignificant785

10. Confucius died believing his political and moral frameworks on how to live and govern harmoniously would die out with him. His students continued his legacy and Confucian ideas continue to deeply influence norms and values across East Asia."

u/Intellectual_wizzard

11. Rent, "Jonathan Larson, the creator of the musical died hours before the show's premiere . It's not exactly the same thing, you might say, but he never lived to see his creation recognized as the most successful musical of his era and learn how many people were truly touched by his work."

Daniel Perez / Getty Images

u/CountySpirited5051

u/Candy_Beauty105

Related: If You Can Identify These 15 Vintage Cartoon Characters, You Definitely Grew Up A Looooooooooooooooooong Time Ago

Andylid / Getty Images

u/futuresdawn

14. The Empire Strikes Back. He died in 2019, without ever having achieved fame. He was completely unaware that this "Egbert Sen was a Pakistani-born British musician who earned extra money by working as an extra in British-produced film and TV in the '70s and '80s. One of these minor roles was as a man in an orange jumpsuit evacuating Cloud City in a hurry in. He died in 2019, without ever having achieved fame. He was completely unaware that this one minor character would attain a massive cult following amongst Star Wars fans , purely because he ran holding an ice cream maker as though his livelihood depended on it. He was completely unaware that this character would have a trading card, action figure, be frequently cosplayed by fans."

LucasFilm

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u/Intelligent-Twist874

15. "Aaron Swartz co-founded Reddit and died by suicide after the federal government decided to press stacked charges against him for downloading JSTOR content. He's considered a martyr by many people today.

Medianews Group / Getty Images

u/MkVsTheWorld

16. "F. Scott Fitzgerald died penniless, unaware that his novel, The Great Gatsby , would go on to become THE quintessential Great American Novel."

u/Dry-Excitement1757

"One of the primary reasons The Great Gatsby DID become one of the Great American Novels is because the U.S. military included copies in GI rations during WWII, and suddenly everyone loved the thing."

u/hi_imjoey

17. "Toussaint Louverture, leader of the Haitian revolution , didnt necessarily see himself as a failure, but he didnt live to see the results of the slave rebellion he led against France . He died in a French prison."

u/Fitzgnarl

18. Alan Turing was criminally persecuted , stripped of his dignity, and died thinking he was a disgrace, when in reality he basically helped save millions of lives and laid the groundwork for modern computing."

u/Mother-Ad-6360

Related: 18 Human Accidents That Actually Had A Huge Impact On History And Society

19. Ada Lovelace was a genius mathematician who invented computer programming in her teens. She worked with Charles Babbage via correspondence on the designs for the first computer. Both of them died before the technology was developed to actually build a computer. Babbage had plenty of other accomplishments to his name, but Lovelace took up drinking and gambling and died without ever knowing how important her contribution to the world would become."

Antoine Claudet / Via commons.wikimedia.org

u/Yeti_Detective

20. Ralph Wood was the architect behind Causey Arch, completed in 1726, and the largest single-span bridge in the world at the time. It remained so for the next 30 or so years. At its peak, over 900 horse-trucks would cross it every day! However, Ralph believed the arch would collapse, and in 1727, he leapt to his death from the arch. It remains standing today."

u/AnnualAntics

21. "Wounded in the Civil War, Dr. John S. Pemberton became addicted to morphine while trying to treat his own illness. So, he invented a drink designed to help cure his addiction. He sold the formula to a business partner and died poor and in obscurity. His drink did not go unnoticed; today, its called Coca-Cola."

Fotoatelie / Getty Images

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u/HiddenHolding

Can you think of any other people who died before seeing their work appreciated by the masses? Share them in the comments or anonymous form below.

Note: Responses have been edited for length/clarity.

Also in Rewind: "The Evil Rich Dude Was Forced To Drink Molten Gold": 11 Horrible People Whose Deaths Were 100% Karma, Bitch

Also in Rewind: 17 Celebrities Who Were Forced To "Hide" Their Ethnicity To Make It In Hollywood

Also in Rewind: 24 Absolutely Bizarre Historical Events I Can Hardly Believe Actually Took Place

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3...2...1...Happy New Year!

OK, youre probably not actually reading this at midnight on New Years Eve, but a new destination in New York lets you live the magic of the Times Square ball drop year-round.

One Times Square, the building with the ball on its roof, recently completed a major renovation that allow guests a new view on the crossroads of the world, along with exhibits on the neighborhoods history and, most excitingly, the opportunity to get up close to arguably the most famous ball in the world. You can even touch it if youre willing to pay for a deluxe ticket.

A newly created New Year's eve ball adorned with 5,280 Waterford crystals is raised for the first time above One Times Square ahead of the New Year's Eve ball drop in New York City, Nov. 24, 2025. A view of the Times Square New Year's Eve ball during a media tour in Times Square in New York City, on Nov. 24, 2025. The Times Square ball will be dropped as part of New Year's Eve celebrations on December 31. The brand-new ball is the ninth iteration since the Times Square New Year's Eve tradition began in 1907. A newly created New Year's eve ball adorned with 5,280 Waterford crystals is raised for the first time above One Times Square ahead of the New Year's Eve ball drop in New York City, Nov. 24, 2025. Confetti falls as the Times Square New Year's Eve ball is unveiled in Times Square in New York City, on Nov. 24, 2025. A newly created New Year's eve ball adorned with 5,280 Waterford crystals is raised for the first time above One Times Square ahead of the New Year's Eve ball drop in New York City, Nov. 24, 2025. A newly created New Year's eve ball adorned with 5,280 Waterford crystals is raised for the first time above One Times Square ahead of the New Year's Eve ball drop in New York City, Nov. 24, 2025. A newly created New Year's eve ball adorned with 5,280 Waterford crystals is raised for the first time above One Times Square ahead of the New Year's Eve ball drop in New York City, Nov. 24, 2025. Confetti falls as the Times Square New Year's Eve ball is unveiled in Times Square in New York City, on Nov. 24, 2025. The Times Square ball will be dropped as part of New Year's Eve celebrations on December 31. The brand-new ball is the ninth iteration since the Times Square New Year's Eve tradition began in 1907. A newly created New Year's eve ball adorned with 5,280 Waterford crystals is raised for the first time above One Times Square ahead of the New Year's Eve ball drop in New York City, Nov. 24, 2025. See the first look at the 2025 Times Square New Years Eve ball 1 of 9 A newly created New Year's eve ball adorned with 5,280 Waterford crystals is raised for the first time above One Times Square ahead of the New Year's Eve ball drop in New York City, Nov. 24, 2025.

Why Times Square matters

A lot of people think Times Square got its name from the fact that the countrys most famous New Years Eve celebration takes place there, but the name is really more of a happy coincidence. The area was originally called Longacre Square, but was renamed when The New York Times moved its headquarters to the building that is now home to the ball.

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In fact, the ball drop itself started as a sort of publicity stunt for the newspaper. When the Gray Lady first moved to Longacre Square in 1904 (the area was renamed shortly after the move) the papers publisher wanted to stage a fireworks show to ring in 1905. The tradition continued but the company wanted something bigger a few years later, and the first ball drop happened in 1907, after the city banned fireworks in the square.

But up until now, even the New Years Eve revelers have been kept dozens of storeys away from the ball.

We have never allowed the public to come visit the ball, Delfin Ortiz, general manager of One Times Square, told USA TODAY. We're taking New Year's Eve and making it a year round a year-round experience.

The viewing deck at One Times Square is still in previews, meaning all of the exhibits at the building are not yet fully open, but Ortiz said it will be completed in 2026. For now, tickets to the lower viewing deck, which is already open, cost $28, and tickets to the platform with the ball, which is also already open, cost $78. Prices will likely rise when the full experience is finished.

The Times Square ball seen from the newly-opened lower viewing platform at One Times Square.

What to see and do

One Times Square viewing deck  This newly-opened attraction gives visitors to New York an all-new way to see one of the worlds most famous intersections. I want to send a note to my fellow New Yorkers: Give Times Square another chance. Come to One Times Square, Ortiz said. Beautiful views, incredible immersive experiences. You're going to love it.

Up close with the ball at One Times Square.

Broadway shows  Times Square isn't just where the world rings in the new year; its also the heart of Manhattans famous theater district.

Rockefeller Center  Just a few blocks from Times Square is another New York media and holiday landmark. If youre in town during the festive season, pop over to check out the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree before or after seeing the Times Square ball to get the best of both holiday icons.

Local hidden gem or a trendy spot

New York City is full of trendy spots, and just a few subway stops away is Madison Square Park, where you can relax if the weathers nice and grab a bite at the original Shake Shack.

Best time to visit

Theres no wrong time to visit Times Square, but whenever you go, be prepared for crowds. Its one of the most popular spots for tourists in the city. The One Times Square viewing deck is open year-round.

Looking over Times Square from the viewing platform at One Times Square.

Travel tips

Times Square is the heart of New York City in many ways, and its best accessed on foot or public transit.

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If you dont want to pay for the One Times Square viewing deck, the TKTS stairs on the other side of the square are a nice, free alternative.

The neighborhood is also especially impressive at night when you can really get a better sense of the bright city lights.

If you go

Getting there: The 42nd Street-Times Square subway station is served directly by the 1, 2, 3, 7, N, Q, R and W lines, as well as the shuttle to Grand Central during most of the day. The station is also linked for free transfers to the A, C and E lines at 42nd Street-Port Authority Bus Terminal at all times, and the B, D, F and M lines at 42nd Street-Bryant Park during most of the day. Pennsylvania Station, Grand Central Terminal and the Port Authority Bus Terminal are also all nearby.

According to Google Maps, Times Square is about an hour by public transit from all three of New Yorks major airports, and driving time can range from about 30 minutes to an hour and a half or more, depending on traffic.

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Where to stay: There are nearly unlimited hotel options at different price points in Manhattan.

Nearby add-ons: Other nearby viewing decks include the Empire State Building, Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center and The Edge at Hudson Yards.

The reporter on this story received access from One Times Square. USA TODAY maintains editorial control of content.

Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and writes the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY. He is based in New York and you can reach him at zwichter@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: You can meet the official indicator of the new year, Times Square ball
The U.S. national parks system is known as America's best idea. Across 400+ designated sites, it draws millions of visitors each year (per National Park Service data). These preserved public lands rank among the country's greatest treasures and are havens for nature lovers and outdoor enthusiasts. From the vast deserts of Death Valley to the alpine peaks of the Rocky Mountains, each national park offers an atmosphere all its own.

While some of these amazing places can be expensive to visit, not all of them cost an arm and a leg to explore. Several parks have no or low-cost entrance fees, and many offer modestly priced camping facilities. Plus, the America the Beautiful National Park Pass gives you a full year of access to over 2,000 federal recreation areas for just one fee.

All these factors mean that, whether you're ready to embark on a scenic wildflower drive through Zion or see the most stunning waterfall views at Cuyahoga Valley, you can experience the country's best landscapes without overspending. If you're ready for an affordable getaway, get some inspiration from these five U.S. national parks that are perfect for budget-friendly outdoor adventures.

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Read more: The Best Vacation Destinations Where The US Dollar Goes Furthest

Zion National Park, Utah

Sunset roadside view in Zion National Park - Badrakumar/Shutterstock

A stunning desert oasis located in southern Utah , Zion National Park earns its place on the list primarily thanks to the cheap and frequent flights available into the area. Per a 2025 Dollar Flight Club analysis, travelers can expect to pay as little as $29 for summertime economy flights into Las Vegas' Harry Reid International Airport, which is a less-than three-hour drive from Zion's south entrance.

Once you've reached your destination, experiencing the beauty of Zion National Park typically costs nothing but the entrance fee ($20-35). As one of the best national parks you can visit without a car, the site makes transportation easy with its free Zion Canyon Shuttle System. Hop aboard for a scenic drive that stops at viewpoints, visitor centers, and trailheads. For a more intense (but still free!) activity, hike a portion of the Narrows, where you'll wade through water in a slot canyon carved by the Virgin River.

If you're looking for inexpensive accommodations near Zion, Tripadvisor recommends visiting in the winter. Avoid autumn months, though. From September through November, hotel prices in the area skyrocket.

Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Mountains along Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park - Davealan/Getty Images

Known for towering peaks, alpine lakes, and expansive views, Rocky Mountain National Park is one of the most iconic destinations in the U.S. Located in northern Colorado, this well-known spot offers dramatic scenery that gives pricey mountain destinations like Vail and Aspen a run for their money with a much lower price tag. A visit here remains affordable despite its popularity, thanks to its collection of self-guided activities and its proximity to cities like Denver, Boulder, and Fort Collins. Plus, flights to Denver International Airport (under two hours from the park) are often well-priced. Budget-friendly lodging can also be found in nearby towns or at campgrounds within the park.

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After paying the entrance fee ($15-30, per the National Park Service), travelers can keep costs low by enjoying free activities like scenic drives, day hikes, and picnics. One of the most epic adventures here is a trip along Trail Ridge Road, aka America's highest continuous paved road. This route takes visitors above the tree line for sweeping panoramic views of the Rockies. For a closer look at alpine lakes, wildflower-filled meadows, and rugged mountain overlooks, the park also offers plenty of hiking trails. Expect to see wildlife like elk, bighorn sheep, marmots, and moose throughout the region.

While this area offers something special in every season, the best time for penny-pinchers to visit depends on a few factors. If you're flying in, Skyscanner recommends a January visit for the cheapest tickets. Meanwhile, Tripadvisor notes that lodging prices dip the lowest from June through August. Need help sorting through all the facts? Check out these essential tips for making a Rocky Mountain National Park visit affordable.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio

Brandywine Falls in Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad - Wildnerdpix/Shutterstock

Tucked between the cities of Cleveland and Akron in northeast Ohio, Cuyahoga Valley National Park is a peaceful and incredibly accessible escape from urban life. Unlike many remote parks, Cuyahoga Valley is a reasonable road trip's-length from much of the Midwest and East Coast, meaning many visitors can save a ton on airfare. This National Park Service site also charges no entrance fee, and most activities there are free or affordable. All these factors contributed to Budget Travel naming Cuyahoga Valley one of the most budget-friendly national parks in the U.S.

Scenic stretches of forest, winding rivers, and picturesque waterfalls characterize this destination. While you can shell out the money to see all those sights during a Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad trip (one of the Midwest's top train rides), activities such as hiking to spots like Brandywine Falls and biking along the historic Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail don't cost a thing.

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Curious about the most affordable times to visit this Ohio gem? Consider planning your vacation for some time between spring and summer.

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Colorado

Sunset view on top of dunes in Great Sand Dune National Park - Seanxu/Getty Images

Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve, located in southern Colorado, is home to the tallest dunes in North America. Set among the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, this natural wonder is great for a budget-friendly getaway. According to Outside Magazine, a four-day trip here (that includes a car rental, park fees, and simple lodging or camping) can cost as little as $244. Airfare isn't included in this price, but flights to and from Denver International Airport are frequent and affordable from lots of major U.S. cities. The park is about a four-hour drive south of Denver, so renting a car is the best way to get there and for exploring.

Adventures in the Great Sand Dunes can be found in all terrains. Sand sled down the massive dunes, hike along forest trails, or splash at the unique seasonal beach that forms near Medano Creek. Just keep in mind that while these activities are free to enjoy (park entrance fees notwithstanding), the equipment needed to do so may not be. To cut costs, you can bring your own gear, but be sure to review Great Sand Dunes' sandboarding equipment guidelines if you plan on packing your own sled. After all, not all materials are suited to navigating sandy conditions.

For affordable prices, you'll also want to know when to visit this destination. While some say winter and early spring are the most affordable seasons here, Outside suggests planning your trip between May and October.

Death Valley National Park, California and Nevada

Looking out from Zabriskie Point viewing area in Death Valley National Park - Joecho-16/Getty Images

Death Valley National Park is the hottest, driest place in North America. Spread across California and Nevada, this stunning destination is easy to access from major cities in both states. Visitors are drawn to its wild and rugged landscapes that make you feel like you're stepping onto another planet. Salt flats, sand dunes, badlands, and slot canyons make up the park's terrain, along with towering mountain peaks thousands of feet high.

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Full of free things to do and sights to see, Death Valley is an outstanding spot for desert lovers on a budget. Start by seeing the highest and lowest points in the continental U.S. from the spectacular trail to Telescope Peak. Other popular outdoor adventures here include hiking through Mosaic Canyon, catching sunrise at Zabriskie Point, sandboarding at Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, and stargazing under some of the darkest skies in the country.

To get to Death Valley, most travelers fly into Las Vegas' Harry Reid International Airport and make the two-hour drive to the park. According to Outside, a four-day, three-night trip here (with a rental car and accommodations) can cost as little as $235 (after airfare), especially if you're camping. The best time to visit for affordable hotels is March through May (per Tripadvisor), and May typically offers the cheapest flights (per Skyscanner).

Methodology: Why did these parks make the list?

Valley and river views in Zion National Park - Ganz Twins/Shutterstock

In order to provide you with the lowdown on affordable U.S. national parks, this list referenced information from numerous travel resources across the web. Articles such as Outside's "The 10 Most Budget-Friendly National Parks" provided valuable overall cost estimates, Dollar Flight Club contributed helpful airfare data, and Tripadvisor delivered insight into each destination's most inexpensive seasons for travel. This guide also drew on sources such as Budget Travel, the National Park Service, and AllTrails for specifics regarding low-cost lodging, outdoor recreation, and transportation in these regions.

For more budget sightseeing advice, check out these 10 thrifty tips for making travel more affordable. If you like solo adventuring, read up on how to avoid paying extra for traveling alone, too.

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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.
AICC National Media Coordinator-West Bengal Mahima Singh on Saturday said that MGNREGA is not just a scheme which can be bulldozed in the shortest winter session of the Parliament. Speaking to ANI in Kolkata, she said, "MGNREGA is not just a scheme which can be bulldozed in the shortest winter session of the Parliament, it is the soul of the poor labourers of the nation...Now the funding ratio has been increased to a 60:40 split between the Centre and states...We will be launching an agitation against the VB-G RAM G scheme." Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the campaign would be launched in response to what he termed the Centre's attempt to weaken a landmark welfare law that guarantees employment to rural households. Speaking to media representatives at Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi, the Chief Minister expressed concern over the central government's decision and emphasised the importance of preserving the original scheme named after Mahatma Gandhi. In a post on X, Siddaramaiah wrote, "At today's Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting at Indira Bhawan, New Delhi, we unanimously condemned the Union Government's anti-federal and anti-national move to weaken the very spirit of the Employment Guarantee Programme by changing the name and structure of MGNREGA."He also mentioned that the meeting focused on upcoming poll preparations, developing strategies to prevent vote theft, and addressing the country's significant challenges. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge echoed similar sentiments, announcing that the party would launch a nationwide movement from January 5 to protect the scheme. Speaking to the media, Kharge said that party leaders took an oath during the meeting to protect MNREGA and oppose any attempt to weaken or alter the scheme."In the meeting, we took an oath. We decided to launch a massive movement across the country, making the MNREGA scheme the central point. Indian National Congress party, taking a leading role, will launch the MNREGA Save Campaign from January 5th," Kharge said. On December 21, President Droupadi Murmu gave assent to the VB-G RAM G Bill, 2025, which replaced MGNREGA. The Act enhances the statutory wage employment guarantee to 125 days per financial year for rural households. It seeks to advance empowerment, inclusive growth, convergence of development initiatives and saturation-based delivery, thereby strengthening the foundation for a prosperous, resilient and self-reliant Rural Bharat. (ANI)
Bush pilots are to Alaska what Pony Express riders were to the Wild West. For nearly 100 years they have tamed Americas last frontier by combining the raw survival skills and courage of explorers with the savvy and gut instincts of saloon poker players. Each decision a bush pilot makes is a calculated risk in a wilderness filled with hazards. A misread river, engine failure or a sudden storm might result not only in the loss of an aircraft, but also in the loss of life.

Bush-pilot lore celebrates the humor, quick thinking, grace under pressure and flying skills that sum up what it means to be an Alaska bush pilot. Here are a few of the pilots and their stories.

Archie Ferguson Gets Rescued by a Swearing Parrot

The period from the 1920s to the 1940s was the Golden Age of Alaska bush pilots. Aviators like Noel Wien and Carl Ben Eielson made frequent headlines with their pioneering firsts. Their notoriety made the eras most colorful bush pilot, Archie Ferguson, feel a bit cheated. If you didnt know of his own exploits, he made sure to remedy that in a hurry.

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The Saturday Evening Post once described Archie as the craziest pilot in Alaska. Many of his colleagues thought the label too kind, and for good reason.

For Archie, sin and service were the same, as long as the job got done. He acknowledged that he never attended flight school because he was always too busy flying. He lived his life as he typically landed his airplane  in a borderline-controlled crash. Archie crashed better than anyone alive  about 24 planes in his flying career, 12 of those in one year. Like a charmed cat, he walked away from every one.

Perhaps his most memorable crash-landing is the one known as The Rescue of the Swearing Parrot. The dean of Alaska bush pilots, Bud Helmericks, was a friend of Archies and likes to tell the story.

Archie would never admit it, but there were two heroes to the story  Archie of course, and a parrot he had purchased from a group of sailors, who had reportedly taught the bird every cuss word known to man. The bird and Archie flew together often, and the two conversed in the same colorful language.

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On one trip from Fairbanks to Kotzebue, Archie and the bird were flying in pilot Maurice Kings plane. King had his hands full with some of the roughest turbulence either pilot had ever encountered. The plane dropped and rolled violently. The parrot went berserk, screaming and screeching. Archie tried to control it, to help King focus on the flying, but to no avail. They eventually made it, but the parrot hated Archie thereafter, always biting and cursing him. A short time later, Archies dog somehow caught and ate the bird.

What probably irritated Archie beyond measure was that even after it was long dead, the ill-tempered, foul-beaked parrot actually saved his life.

Years later, Archie was flying freight and two passengers from Fairbanks to Kotzebue, along the same route he had flown with King. It was midwinter, and he was at the controls of a plane that was icing up heavily and suddenly stopped flying. The plane dropped below tree line, bounced over the frozen tundra, hit a tree and ripped off a wing. The impact tore the engine from its mounts and flung it into a snowbank. Engine oil splattered across the cockpit and onto Archie, who was unconscious with a broken arm.

Bush Pilot Maxims

Its a good landing if you can walk away from it.

The propeller is just a big fan in the front of the plane to keep the pilot cool. Want proof? Make it stop; then watch the pilot sweat.

Learn from the mistakes of others. You wont live long enough to make all of them yourself.

The only time you have too much fuel is when youre on fire.

Flying is the second-greatest thrill known to man. Landing is the first!

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His two passengers were unharmed. They thought Archie was dead until he woke and surveyed the situation. It was 20 below zero, and they were more than 200 miles from Fairbanks with one sleeping bag and no food.

Archies first concern was for his passengers. He placed his arm in a sling and started to chop trees to build a snow shelter. He also attempted to repair the radio. After two days, with no rescue in sight, his passengers were depressed and hungry. Archie announced that he was going hunting. He soon returned, saying he had found a bear den and needed their help to kill the hibernating bears.

Archie chopped off a thick branch to use as a club to bludgeon the bears and gave an ax to the others to finish them off. He cleared away brush from the bear den and crawled inside, his companions timidly following. Lacking enough room to swing his club, he suddenly began to punch the bears.

Theres two of them, he yelled. Oh, bejeezuz, here they come!

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The passengers lost their composure and half ran, half stumbled back to the safety of the plane. Archie hobbled back and chided them to return to the den so they could have some bear stew that night. They refused, never knowing for certain whether there were actually any bears in the den.

Archie finally rewired the circuits of the broken radio. He slowly warmed the frozen battery to coax just enough power to transmit a simple yet revealing sentence: Tell King Im down where we had trouble with the parrot.

The battery gave out, but not until after his dispatcher received the cryptic message and passed it along to King. King, who had been searching for Archie since the plane ditched, never forgot the area, the parrot or the turbulence, and immediately flew to the wreckage to rescue his friend.

Another one of Fergusons crashes that is worth recounting is the time he managed to shoot down his own plane. It was during his first aerial wolf hunt. Because of his bad aim he blasted the tip off his planes wooden propeller and crashed. He chopped off a similar length of propeller from the other side and managed to get the plane airborne again.

Larry Suiters Life-and-Death Struggle for Control of His Plane

Larry Suiter has flown in the worlds worst weather on the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island. Yet his most terrifying moment as a pilot didnt have anything to do with the weather, the terrain or a mechanical failure. It was because of a passenger.

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He had just landed on Nonvianuk Lake and loaded two anglers and a guide into his Cessna 206. The angler who was riding copilot weighed about 350 pounds, while the two men in back were an easy 220 each. The temperature was in the upper 80s, the lake was flat calm and the plane was loaded with fuel.

Its going to take me a while to get airborne, Larry told his party. We have plenty of lake. Ill get us on step, lift up one float and pop the other, and we should be airborne.

The 206 has a yoke on the passenger side. Larry warned Carl, the angler seated there, that it would be coming back toward him on takeoff.

All was going as planned. When Larry pulled back on the stick, the copilot yoke dug slightly into Carls midsection. Not wanting it to come back any farther, Carl grabbed it and held it in place. Larry couldnt level the aircraft and was losing control.

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Let go of the yoke! he yelled. Dammit, let go! Carl didnt respond. Larry threw a hard punch into Carls left shoulder, and he finally released his grip.

Bush planes parked on an airstrip in Kotzebue. Photo by Natalie Krebs

The plane, now in a slanted, nose-up attitude, was in trouble. The stall buzzer screeched.

I was in crash mode, Larry recalled. All I could do was drop the nose and feather it a bit.

The plane slammed flat on its floats, and water geysered up past the wings.

Why did you grab the yoke? Larry asked.

Why did you hit me? asked Carl, rubbing his shoulder.

Larry shut down and checked the aircraft to make sure no bolts were sheared from the impact.

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Neither Larry nor Carl said a word to each other until Larry taxied to the end of the lake and they were once again ready for takeoff.

Before throttling up Larry turned to Carl and said with all seriousness, You so much as move your hands, and Ill punch your lights out.

Ill do better than that, Carl said. He buried his hands under his seat belt, locking them in place.

Gayle Ranney Flight into a Christmas Typhoon

Gayle Ranneys U.S. Postal mail contract for 2000 required her to deliver Christmas boxes and cards to the remote villages along the Prince William Sound coastline. For adults and kids alike, the 60-year-old veteran bush pilot was Santa Claus. Because of the extremely short Alaska days, she had less than five hours to make all her stops and return to Cordova.

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Shortly after the 10 a.m. sunrise, her Cessna 185 was fully loaded and she was heading across the open water of eastern Prince William Sound. The small islands looked beautiful even in the cold gray fog, but Gayle knew that looks can be deceiving. Foul Pass, Lone Passage, Dangerous Passage and Mummy Bay were the landmarks below her. They had earned their names thanks to a dangerous mix of tide, wind and weather.

Gayle saw the gray line of a snow squall headed her way. Wet snow sticks to aircraft wings and makes flying impossible. She radioed dispatch that she was going to wait out the squall, then landed and taxied into a semi-protected cove on Green Island. She knew most snow squalls blow through in a couple of hours

The clouds thickened and visibility worsened. By twilight, the squall had turned into a full-fledged storm. She would have to spend the long winter night in the plane.

Maintaining an airplane for a night on Green Island would be a grueling task for a pilot half Gayles age. Every couple of hours in the dark, she pulled and pushed the fully loaded plane any way she could to reposition it in the constantly changing tide and wind. She had numerous hazards to contend with. Mud suction could keep the plane from floating on an incoming tide, sinking it. Wave action could lift and drop the plane onto shoreline rocks, puncturing the floats and sinking the aircraft. Gusts could drift her plane into the trees and crush a wing.

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The aircrafts half-submerged floats were showing the weight of accumulated snow. In the dark, during the howling storm, Gayle climbed up and out onto the slippery aluminum wings. The wet, driving snow soaked her skin. One misstep and she could slide headfirst into the ocean, be knocked unconscious and drown. Throughout the long winter night, despite the bone-numbing cold, she methodically cleaned off the wings and fuselage with one sweep of her arm at a time.

The 50-mph winds created a chill factor that hovered around 5 degrees. She had no heat in the plane, no food, no hot drinks and no dry change of clothes. The next morning she was unable to establish radio contact with any other aircraft or dispatch. But the weather had improved and the gusts had died down a bit, so she decided to chance a return to Cordova.

Clearing the protection of the trees, she encountered turbulence unlike anything she had ever experienced. Unknown to her, she had just flown out of the eye of the worst storm to hit the area in recent years, a Category 1 typhoon. Her plane bounced and twisted in the buffeting 80-mph winds. Equipment ricocheted off the aircrafts walls. Gayle was catapulted to near weightlessness in powerful gusts that reached 140 mph.

Turning back would be suicide. She kept her hand on the throttle in case she flipped or hit a downdraft. She focused all her attention on flying the aircraft. Her life depended on it.

Covering ground in Alaska is most efficiently done by bush plane. The beauty is unmatched, but with it comes risks. Photo by Scott Haugen

Gayle made radio contact, and the news was not good. Cordova was an official disaster area. The Whirlwind Laundromat was completely flattened. Roofs had been blown off buildings and boats overturned.

Debris was swirling everywhere as she extended the wheels on the amphib floats to land. She flew in fast and the headwind stopped her almost instantly. The danger was not yet over, however. A Cessna 185 has a 55-mph takeoff speed. Even if it is stationary with the engine off, strong winds can lift the plane in place, flip it over or blow it away. Gayles hanger crew rushed out, quickly grabbed wing and tail ropes and muscled the plane into the hangar.

The next day, the typhoon subsided to a winter calm. Gayle was back in the air and delivered the Christmas mail on time to the coastal villages.

Bud Helmericks Engine Failure on the Arctic Ice Pack

According to veteran bush pilot Bud Helmericks, engine failure cant be anticipated. You just react based on experience, as he did when he made the fastest forced landing of his career.

It was the 1960s, and Bud was guiding for polar bear on the arctic ice pack with client Vic Calcattera of Detroit. It was early spring, and Bud had flown out over the arctic ice pack about 110 miles beyond the northern coast of Alaska. It was 30 below zero, and thick wisps of steam rose from the black, open leads where the ocean ice was breaking up.

Bud was flying at about 400 feet when the engine stuttered and started to rev down. This was not a place for mechanical failure. His right hand darted about the dash as he increased throttle, switched fuel tanks and turned on the carburetor heat. Suddenly, the propeller stopped, and there was only the sound of the wind whistling outside. Bud nosed the plane into a glide path for his only landing spot: a floating slab of ice with pressure ridges reaching 20 feet high on all sides. He focused on a flat stretch of newly formed sea ice on the far side, near the open water. Would it be thick enough? Could he stop in time? He touched down lightly, jumped out and tested the ice thickness with his ax. For the moment, they were safe.

All around, ice was grinding and moving, as ridges rose and cracked in the wispy ice fog. Bud immediately covered the engine with an insulated cover. Even if the floating island didnt disintegrate, rescue was unlikely.

But luck was with them. The heat from the engine thawed the ice that had formed in the carburetor screen. The engine soon started and ran perfectly, and they were able to take off with the help of a slight breeze.

A pilot cant be indecisive in situations like that, he recalls. You have to act, and always be looking for a place to put down, just in case. And when you need to do it, do it.

Marvin Warbelows Race to Rescue Hunters from a Flooding River

Around the middle of September, Marvin Warbelow was at work at 40-Mile Air in Tok when he was asked for help with a rescue. He was contacted by a registered guide/bush pilot who had crashed his plane in a remote river in the Alaskan interior. The guide had left his three hunters on an island and spent a day walking out to the Alaska Highway, which brought him to Tok a couple of days before.

Warbelows reaction to the guides dilemma and bewildering actions was swift and angry. What have you been doing all this time? he asked.

The guide replied that he was looking for a way to get his hunters out that wouldnt cost him anything. Theyve only been out there for three days, so they should be okay, he said.

Despite the steady downpour and the low-hanging fog, Warbelow gassed up the plane at once and flew to the area. It was a sight to remember. The rain in the high country had swollen the river beyond its banks. One hunter had shinnied up a tree; the others were standing in knee-deep water. Warbelow touched down in the swirling floodwaters and taxied to a stop in some flooded brush.

Those hunters were fighting to be the first one on the plane, he recalls. They were terrified they were going to drown. I assured them that I would get them all out that morning.

On the flight out, Warbelow noticed that one hunter looked particularly gaunt. To make conversation, he asked what food the hunter was looking forward to eating once he got back.

The hunter didnt hesitate in his reply, blurting out, The first thing Im going to do is kill that S.O.B. who left us stranded out there.

Of course, the guide was nowhere to be found until long after the hunters had left the state.

Bush planes at Talkeetna, Alaska. Photo by Ibrester / Adobe Stock

Look Out Below!

Don Omens was flying passengers and his common-law wife to Fairbanks when she decided to step out of the aircraft and commit suicide. Another passenger grabbed her leg and held on as she squeezed through the open door. She dangled near the landing gear, screaming. Omens flew low on approach and told the passenger to let go. His wife dropped like a bomb into a deep snowbank. A dog team arrived and transported her to the landing strip, where she was treated for minor injuries.

Guts and Stamina

In the winter of 1940, Steve Advise crash-landed near Cordova, wedging his foot between the front engine panel and the floor. He sat helpless as his foot froze from the loss of blood and circulation. He was able to reach a pistol and eventually shot his foot free of the entrapment.

Read Next: The Bush Plane Engine Died Mid-Flight  and Other Close Calls While Flying the Alaskan Wilderness

Bear Toys

J.W. Smith runs a fly-in fishing camp on the Alaska Peninsula, an area noted for its large population of big brown bears. I reckon a bear must have seen the moonlight reflecting off the tail of our Super Cub parked in the grass, he said. It clawed up and over the fuselage and jumped on the tail as if it were a trampoline. Its claws punched and ripped holes in the fabric and it bent the frame.

Smith radioed for a mechanic to fly in to replace the tail section. Ten days later, the bear returned. This time it broke the planes tail completely off.

After shelling out a total of $25,000 for repairs, Smith now monitors a series of motion sensors hes placed on the trails to the aircraft.

A bear walking down the trail at night sounds like one of those dinosaurs in a Jurassic Park movie, he said. The bears always seem amazed when they see me standing by the plane with my shotgun.

This story, White Knuckle Tales from Alaskan Bush Pilots, appeared in the February 2004 issue of Outdoor Life.
Getting into a disagreement with another person is never easy. It often brings up uncomfortable feelings like stress, anger or sadness. But while arguments are generally uncomfortable with just about anyone, they are extra difficult with narcissists.

Narcissists are manipulative and have a desire to control others, making disagreements really, really frustrating, said Monica Cwynar, a licensed clinical social worker with Thriveworks in Pittsburgh.

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Just because you have an unpleasant interaction with another person doesnt make them a narcissist. Just .5-5% of the U.S. population has narcissistic personality disorder, or NPD, according to Manahil Riaz, a psychotherapist in Houston and the owner of Riaz Counseling in Texas. So while someone can have narcissistic traits  such as self-centeredness or a lack of empathy  it does not mean they have NPD, Riaz added.

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Instead, narcissism is a continuum that ranges from healthy narcissism, which is defined as an integrated sense of self and healthy self-esteem to pathological narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder, Justine Grosso, a somatic trauma psychologist, told HuffPost via email.

Someone with pathological narcissistic traits may meet some but not all criteria for NPD, Grosso added. These criteria includes entitlement, a lack of empathy, a desire for praise and admiration, exploiting others, arrogance and grandiosity, Grosso said.

These traits are hard to deal with on a normal day, and are that much harder when a narcissist is upset with you. We asked therapists to share the phrases and behaviors narcissists commonly use in conflict. Heres what they are:

Relationship: There Are Different Types Of Narcissists. Any Of Them Sound Familiar?

1. Youre overreacting.

When talking to someone with pathological narcissism or NPD, they may repeatedly dismiss, deflect, or invalidate your concerns or hurt feelings in order to avoid taking accountability for their impact on you, Grosso said.

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This can sound like phrases such as youre overreacting or youre too sensitive, which can be used to control the narrative, said Cwynar, and make you feel like youre the one causing a problem.

Instead of doubling down on your stance, comments like this likely make you doubt yourself and your feelings, and withdraw your complaint, Grosso said.

2. Im not angry, youre angry.

People with pathological narcissism or NPD use an unconscious defense mechanism called projection in which they disown their own emotions and believe they belong to someone else, Grosso said.

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Say youre in the middle of a fight with a narcissist, you may hear them telling you that youre the angry one as they yell, scream and say condescending things, Grosso gave as an example.

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People with pathological narcissism or NPD deny their vulnerable feelings because of toxic shame and emotion phobia, she said.

3. I cant believe youre attacking me, I always get blamed.

No matter how wrong your loved one is, they can never see themselves that way. Instead, theyre always the victim.

Narcissists often see themselves as victims due to their deep-seated sense of entitlement, fragile self-esteem and lack of empathy for others, Cwynar said. This victim mentality leads narcissists to believe they are constantly being wronged or mistreated by others.

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You may hear a narcissist say things like, I cant believe youre attacking me like this. Im the one who always gets blamed for everything, even when its not my fault, or No matter what I do, its never good enough for you. Im constantly being criticized and judged unfairly, she said.

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By portraying themselves as victims, narcissists can manipulate others to gain attention, sympathy or control in relationships, Cwynar said. They may use their perceived victimhood as a tool to elicit support or to shift focus away from their own problematic behavior.

As a result, they can deflect blame and responsibility, and instead put the blame on someone or something else, she noted.

Phrases that are meant to control and manipulate are commonly used during conflict with narcissists. Kinga Krzeminska via Getty Images

4. If you loved me, you would do this.

During a conflict, its common for narcissistic people to lean into manipulation, according to Cwynar. This language is intended to control so they can get what they want.

They will use strong language like ... If you love me, [youd do this for me] ... if you dont do this, I might hurt myself ... if you leave here, then you never loved me, Cwynar explained.

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Statements like this make it hard to stand up to the person youre quarreling with, likely leading you to retreat and put the control back in their hands.

5. You should have known I was upset.

While many people with personality disorders and relational trauma may believe that others should read their mind, this is especially prominent in people with NPD, said Grosso.

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So, you may hear someone with narcissistic personality disorder say, You should have known I was angry, fully expecting you to anticipate their emotions and understand what theyre feeling without any kind of communication.

A phrase like this may lead the other person to feel hypervigilant, like theyre walking on eggshells, Grosso explained.

Additionally, feelings of fear, guilt and obligation may bubble up, too, which takes power away from the wronged individual, she noted.

6. Long-winded expressions that dont touch on the point.

Theres this concept called word salad, where they just might say things that dont make sense, said Riaz. So, they may spout statements that dont connect just to confuse you, she added.

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Like, I do everything for this family, you sit at home, and Im thinking about the future and what we can do better, and Im trying to get my education, Riaz said. And they just go on and on and on and on.

Eventually, you forget why youre even fighting because the conversation has gone so far left, she added.

A bonus red flag: Theres often little or no negotiation or compromise.

When in an argument with another person, typically there is some sort of negotiation. Maybe after a fight about cleanliness, you agree to take the trash out more often while your partner agrees to wipe down the countertops after they cook.

This is not the case for someone in a relationship with someone with narcissistic personality disorder. Theres typically no negotiation because their patterns are just so disagreeable, Riaz said.

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Additionally, negotiation isnt a goal because this person just wants to get their way, Cwynar noted. So, if theyre having a disagreement with you, its about them being able to control the narrative, control the situation, Cwynar said, not to get to a solution or compromise.

If you are in a relationship with a narcissist, its important to take care of yourself.

All in all, its really tough to frequently deal with someone who uses the controlling, manipulative behavior mentioned above.

To cope, Riaz said its important to seek therapy. A good therapist will help you recognize, Wow, it sounds like youre really struggling, youre trying everything you can  maybe its not you, Riaz said. Therapy can help you decide what you want to do about this relationship while processing the impact it has on you.

You need to set boundaries so that you can maintain a healthy relationship with the person, Cwynar said. If this is a person you need to have in your life, its important to have boundaries to protect yourself from them.

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Its also important to have a support system, whether thats family, friends or a church group, said Riaz. You need folks you can count on and talk to about the things going on in your life. If you dont have this kind of support, its important to create it by joining local groups, signing up for clubs and meeting new people, Riaz added.

When it comes to the toxic relationship itself, If you can walk away, I would definitely say walk away, Riaz said. But she acknowledged that its not always possible to do so, like if you co-parent with someone who has narcissistic personality disorder or have a narcissistic boss at a high-paying job that you cant leave.

So, either we can walk away and do no contact, or we can have really strong boundaries and have low contact, Riaz said.

In the end, its important that you take care of your physical and emotional needs. Understanding the why behind abusive behavior does not excuse the impact and harmful nature of the behavior on your well-being, Grosso said.

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Need help? In the U.S., call 1-866-331-9474 or text loveis to 22522 for the National Dating Abuse Helpline.

Related...

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While New Jersey has long been known for its brain drain, with more than 50% of its students leaving the state for college, it may be a smart move to stick around.

The key reasons local students choose to attend college in New Jersey often focus on accessibility and finances. New Jerseys community colleges offer more than 1,700 degree and certificate programs and are available to all students with a high school diploma. Although there are 18 community colleges, students typically enroll at the one in their county unless it doesnt offer their desired course of study. This is often the most affordable option for higher education. 

Students who reside in Somerset or Hunterdon counties, for example, can attend Raritan Valley Community College. Full-time tuition and fees for the 2025-26 academic year is $7,350. Students in Mercer and Middlesex counties will find comparable charges at Mercer County Community College and Middlesex College. After earning an associates degree, which typically takes two years, students can transfer to one of New Jerseys public four-year institutions to earn their bachelors degree.

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More: The best admission strategies to get into college | College Connection

Or students can start out at one of New Jerseys highly ranked four-year public colleges or universities. Rutgers University in New Brunswick ranked No. 42 for best national university, according to the 2026 U.S. News & World Reports Best Colleges guide. Current annual tuition and fees for New Jersey residents is $18,827. Students who choose to live on campus will need to add on the room and board expense of $16,720.

The College of New Jersey (TCNJ), located in Ewing, is ranked the No. 1 Top Public Regional University-North. Its tuition and fees for the 2025-26 academic year stand at $20,378 for in-state students. Room and board add another $16,369.

New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), in Newark, is ranked No. 80 for best national university. Tuition and fees for New Jersey residents total $21,162. Living on campus adds on the room and board expense of $17,580.

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More: These are NJ students' favorite colleges | College Connection

Of course, students are often offered merit scholarships and/or need-based aid which can further reduce these costs.

New Jersey is also home to many private colleges and universities, including Princeton University, which has been ranked as the best national university for 15 years. Stevens Institute of Technology, in Hoboken, is renowned for its majors in engineering and computer science. Seton Hall University, a Catholic university in South Orange, is popular for its dual degree programs for physician assistants and physical and occupational therapists.

In short, New Jersey students may find that great options for their higher education are located quite close to home.

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Susan Alaimo is the founder & director of Collegebound Review, offering PSAT/SAT preparation & private college advising by Ivy League-educated instructors. Visit CollegeboundReview.com or call 908-369-5362.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Advantages of staying in New Jersey for college | Opinion
When Ubud starts to feel a bit overwhelming during your trip to Bali, it is time to go searching for hidden waterfalls. Suwat Waterfall is the perfect escape from the crowds and the heat. You just have to find this lesser-visited spot first.

Ubud is the cultural and spiritual heart of Bali. So it is not surprising that more than 3 million people visit the area each year. But most visitors stick to the center of town. They do not explore the rice fields and the rainforest, the rivers and the waterfalls of Gianyar, the regency that extends all the way to Bali's southeast coast. You can raft through Bali's hidden jungle canyons along the Ayung River here. You can also find natural pools that the hordes have not discovered yet. Suwat Waterfall is one of those peaceful places.

To reach Suwat Waterfall, you can either rent a scooter or hire a driver for the day. Though it is less than 10 miles from the center of Ubud, the drive will take almost half an hour. Head east before veering north on narrow, palm-lined roads, and the entrance to the waterfall is found where the road ends. You would never know it was there if it were not for the red sign above the entrance gate. Yes, the gate is in the shape of a turtle, a nod to when the area was highly populated by them.

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Read more: 50 Of The Most Mesmerizing Places On Earth

Follow the footpath to Suwat Waterfall

the path leading to the Suwat Waterfall in Gianyar on the island of Bali in Indonesia - 4ngeee_beyond/Shutterstock

From the entrance, where you will pay 40,000 IDR (about $2.50 USD), it's an easy walk to the waterfall. The well-maintained footpath meanders around a rice field, through a picturesque bamboo forest, and down stone steps. The tropical plants are lush and green. There are even vendors selling drinks and snacks along the way. Stone carvings in the shapes of turtles and fish stand at the end of the path. So does a well-placed bathroom and changing room. Your focus has already turned to the water, though.

How could it not? The scene in front of you is gorgeous. A waterfall, surrounded by rocks and greenery, drops into a large pool. Though it's only about 15 meters tall (nearly 50 feet), the waterfall flows all year, even during the dry season. The water below is crystal clear and perfect for a swim. You can also jump off the rocks or float on a locally made bamboo raft. Best of all, while you likely won't have the place to yourself, there typically are not large crowds.

Climb behind the waterfall

the base of Suwat Waterfall in Gianyar on the island of Bali in Indonesia - Courtesy of Bali Golden Tour

After cooling off in the pool of water, there is one more thing you should do at Suwat Waterfall  climb into the cave behind it. Depending on the water level and how slippery the rocks are, it can be hard to reach. But if you time it right, particularly when the sunlight hits it in the afternoon, you might see colorful rainbows through the sprays of water, taking in the beauty before you dive back into the pool right beneath the waterfall. Refreshing is an understatement.

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Though it might end up being your favorite, Suwat Waterfall is not the only stunning waterfall on Bali. If you head northeast, into the Bangli Regency, you will find Tukad Cepung. This Instagram-famous curtain waterfall in Indonesia has a uniquely enchanting look. Closer to the North Coast, in the Buleleng Regency, you will discover Kroya Waterfall. This beautiful Bali waterfall forms the best natural waterslide to satisfy any thrill-seeker. Then, you might just keep searching for more hidden waterfalls. You are sure to see the best of Bali along the way.

Ready to discover more hidden gems and expert travel tips? Subscribe to our free newsletter for access to the world's best-kept travel secrets. You can also add us as a preferred search source on Google.

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NEED TO KNOW

April Martinez and Shawnpail Fields of Jarrell, Texas, became parents to quadruplets Artemis, Curtis, Denahi and Eudora on July 13

It is one of the rare instances in which quadruplets were conceived naturally without fertility treatments

"I just started crying. I couldn't believe it," Martinez tells PEOPLE when she was told by a doctor she was pregnant with quads

A Texas couple achieved a feat that has been described as about 1 in a million: conceiving quadruplets naturally without fertility treatments.

In July, April Martinez and her husband Shawnpail Fields, both 25, welcomed sons Artemis, Curtis and Denahi and daughter Eudora in a multiple birth first reported by the Austin American-Statesman.

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The kids join three siblings in the Martinez-Fields' family of nine.

It hasn't sunk in at all, Martinez , of Jarrell, Texas, tells PEOPLE about the birth of her quads. I don't feel like it's ever going to, because I still don't believe it."

"To me, I don't feel we did anything crazy," she adds. "This is what our life is.

Martinez says that she and Fields learned that she was pregnant on Jan. 20. She had just recently begun serving as a corrections officer, so she waited for her insurance to start up before making an appointment to see her OB/GYN.

However, she later experienced pain at the job and went alone to the ER where she had an ultrasound performed.

April Martinez A then-pregnant April Martinez A then-pregnant April Martinez

One of the nurses that had come in was kind of joking, 'What would you do if you're having more than one?'  Martinez recalls. I was like, Oh, that'd be crazy. She's like, What would you do if you're having more than two? I was like, Y'all might have to admit me. I think I might lose it. 

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She just laughed and walked out the room, Martinez continues. Then she came back with the doctor, and the doctor was like, In my 20 years, I've never got to tell anybody this. You're having quads. I just started crying. I couldn't believe it.

Martinez called her husband from the hospital and told him that they were going to expect more than one child.

He was like, We're having twins? I was like, Nope. More than that. He was like, Triplets? No, stop playing. I was like,No, I'm not playing. It's more than that. He was like, Four? He couldn't believe it.

Dr. Jasbir Singh, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at St. David's North Austin Medical Center in Austin, Texas, oversaw Martinezs care following the ultrasound, describing the natural conception of the quadruplets as out of the ordinary.

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He called the probability of having natural quadruplets is between 1 in 700,000 and one in a million.

We see twins and triplets rather frequently these days, given infertility treatments, he tells PEOPLE. But hers was a spontaneous quadruplet pregnancy, which is extraordinarily unique and rare and made it very special. And even more so was that there were three identical babies, which is just remarkable.

He says that in Martinezs situation, she was carrying four babies but only had two placentas. The placenta is basically the lung-heart machine, or the roots of the tree, that provide nutrients to the tree, he says. So three babies were sharing one root system.

April Martinez April Martinez and Shawnpail Fields (standing) with their quadruplets April Martinez and Shawnpail Fields (standing) with their quadruplets

Singh recommended to Martinez that she start bedrest around the 26th week of her pregnancy, with the delivery of the babies expected at 30 weeks. Quadruplets are very complicated, he says. Multiple gestations are very complicated because they have an extraordinarily high preterm delivery rate. The average gestational delivery of twins is about 36 weeks. And for triplets, it's about 32 weeks. You can imagine it's even earlier for quadruplets, but there are a number of complications that can occur throughout the pregnancy.

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Martinez continued to work at her job until she experienced contractions and was admitted to St. Davids North Austin Medical Center on June 14. During her stay, she was visited by her three children and her husband Shawnpail, who brought over a PlayStation to the hospital to keep her entertained.

April Martinez April Martinez before the birth of the quadruplets with her three elder children April Martinez before the birth of the quadruplets with her three elder children

It took us a while to figure out how to hook it up to the hospital, Martinez recalls. Once we figured it out, me and my dad would play Call of Duty every night. It was pretty nice to get a kind of sense of normal when you're there. So crocheting [baby blankets] and Call of Duty were my biggest time consumers.

On July 13, an issue involving the delivery of nutrients through the cord of Artemis, one of the quads, prompted the delivery. He was not getting as much as he should be like the others are, Martinez says. We were all on Artemis' timeline.

[Artemis] got really small and really sick, says Singh, and we wanted to maximize the pregnancy for the benefit of them all, because you can't go in and deliver one baby and leave the others behind. We really had to push the envelopes for that small baby so that the other babies could benefit and maximize their potential. So we gritted our teeth for quite a while, but ultimately that baby declared itself sick enough that we had to deliver it.

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The delivery occurred in an operating room large enough to fit in as many medical personnel required. They say usually when you go in it's a team for yourself, the people are gonna be doing your C-section, and then a team for the baby, Martinez recalls. So they had to have four separate teams, one for each baby. It was pretty packed in there.

April Martinez April Martinez with two of her quadruplets. April Martinez with two of her quadruplets.

Then the quads popped out: Artemis at 2 lbs., 1 oz.; Denhai at 3 lbs., 1 oz.; Curtis at 3 lbs., 2 oz., and Eudora at 2 lbs. and 13 oz. Because they were born prematurely, each of them was wheeled off to the NICU where they were seen later by their mother after she recovered in the postpartum room.

After Martinez was discharged from the hospital three days after the delivery, she and Fields took turns visiting the quads based on the couple's work schedules and who would be available to babysit their elder children.

In late August, Curtis, Denahi and Eudora were able to go home while Artemis stay at the hospital took a while longer due to issues with his feedings. He was finally discharged on Nov. 9. Now with all of her quads at home, Martinez says that she can now breathe again. I felt like I had just been waiting and waiting and waiting. We feel complete now. We can resume our new normal life."

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When they discovered that they were going to have quads early on in the pregnancy, Martinez and Fields bought a van to accommodate their large brood. The family recently moved into a new home after previously living in an apartment.

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.

April Martinez April Martinez and her husband Shawnpail Fields with their quadruplets April Martinez and her husband Shawnpail Fields with their quadruplets

We're just doing our best trying to figure it out and see what works best for us, Martinez says of the couples new adjustment. My husband is back at work now, too, So when he's at work, it's me at home with the babies and my [elder] girls go to school.And then when he's home in the afternoon, it's kind of like, all right, now I get a little bit of break, you know? So we'll kind of trade off for a little bit so it works. We'll figure it out.

After the delivery of the quads, Martinez had her tubes tied as this was her last pregnancy. The family is planning to spend the holidays at the home of Martinezs sister. She's got the biggest living room, so we're gonna fill it up, Martinez says. It's gonna be awesome. Artemis did miss Halloween, but that's nothing crazy. He's gonna be here for Christmas. I can't wait.

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Looking back at the experience of giving birth to quadruplets, Martinez says, When you're just doing it, you don't really have time to think about it because you're pretty busy. But I guess from an outsider's perspective, that's pretty crazy."



Read the original article on People
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Rose Marie Cromwell

In Portobelo, a lush village on Panama's Caribbean coastline where the line between history and myth can feel faint, Sandra Eleta is known as the Great Witch. A wry and regal 83-year-old whose striking photos of the town's Afro-Panamanian community have made her one of the country's most celebrated artists, she has lived for over 50 years in an eclectic compound teeming with folkloric murals, feathered masks, and mirrored canvases. The works, some of which are arranged shrine-like, reflect Eleta's reverence for the area's descendants of enslaved Africans from the Congo, who were first brought to Panama by Spanish colonialists in the 1500s. As I enter the property, long run as an informal artists' residency and hotel called La Morada de la BrujaThe Witch's AbodeEleta greets me with an embrace, a chilled red wine, and words that carry the whiff of a mantra.

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While here, she says, you are free to do whatever you'd like to do.

Rose Marie Cromwell

Eager to get intimate with a prismatic nation still viewed by many through the tight lens of its storied canal, I'm in Portobelo on the first day of a freewheeling road trip. Traveling with me is a friend, the photographer Rose Marie Cromwell, who once studied under Eleta in Portobelo and whose tales of past trips through Panama's less-trodden regions inspired our zigzagging itinerary. While many visitors hole up in a resort town like Bocas del Toro or pass through on a cruise, our drive to Portobelo from Panama City provided an initial taste of the pleasures of exploring a famously narrow country by car. Crossing from the Pacific to the Atlantic in less than two hours, we traded the capital's sprawling skyline, a symbol of Central America's fastest-growing economy, for this drowsy hideaway of candy-colored buildings where the dominant sound is the throaty roar of howler monkeys. Life here is different than anywhere else in Panama, Eleta says as we settle in at an outdoor table over bowls of tangy ceviche. You will seeit's like a Garcia Marquez novel.

Rose Marie Cromwell

What sounds intriguingly abstract in the moment comes into sharp relief over the next two days. Rose and I are here to wander the adjacent UNESCO-designated ruins of the Fortress of San Fernando de Omoa, which the Spanish built between 1756 and 1775 during Portobelo's long run as a critical port for shipping gold and silver to Spain. It's one of three crumbling forts on the Caribbean side of Panama; the stone walls and rust-scabbed cannons stand as echoes of a fascinating and often terrible past. For centuries the harbor was the site of attempted raids and violence by pirates. Francis Drake died of dysentery off the coast in 1596. His crew placed his remains in a lead-lined coffin and dropped it to the seafloor. Despite numerous searches, it has never been found.

Portobelo is filled with such lore. Nowhere do I encounter this more viscerally than when I enter the Church of San Felipe, a hushed, drafty cathedral that houses the town's most revered figure: the Black Christ. According to one legend, the enormous statue of a dark-skinned Jesus bearing a cross was found bobbing in the harbor in the 1600s and became an immediate totem to the Afro-Panamanians. Centuries later it remains a hallowed symbol of both spiritual faith and resistance to colonialism. In a mass ritual that occurs every October, tens of thousands make a pilgrimage to view the effigy and seek penance, with some trekking over 50 miles barefoot in atonement.

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The town's allure, however, is hardly limited to its evocative heritage. To stay at Eleta's hotel, for starters, is to feel connected to the many artists who have whiled away days in the ornate hammocks hung in the open-air verandasamong them Amy Sherald, the acclaimed portraitist of Black subjects including Michelle Obama. Sandra has a lot of adopted children like me, Rose remarks one afternoon as the three of us sit for a sprawling lunch of shrimp cooked in a garlicky coconut-based sauce.

This part of the country was unheard-of when I first came here, Eleta tells us. I wanted to create a place to bring my friends from different parts of the world, to share my experience of this town that still many Panamanians do not visit.

Rose Marie Cromwell

Then there is Portobelo's beauty: raw and free of the commercial polish that can strip such destinations of authenticity, as I discover on another day with Rose spent bopping around to secluded beaches reachable only by boat. We sail through a labyrinth of mangroves, their spider-like roots forming an aquatic alleyway that leads to a lagoon, where we swim in waters that glitter like polished quartz. Then we head to a nearby village where Eleta has arranged for a local to cook us octopus stewed in coconut milk, a regional dish of African influence.

We leave Portobelo at sunrise, crisscrossing Panama's isthmus twice to reach a road that, following a gauntlet of harrowing switchbacks, deposits us at Puerto de Carti. This is the gateway to the Guna Yala Islands. Known as the San Blas Islands until 2011, when the government reverted to the Indigenous name, it's a mesmerizing archipelago autonomously governed by the Guna people, a native group who won independence from Panama in 1925.

Rose Marie Cromwell

While some opt for day trips here and others stay in one of the thatched-roof hostelries operated by the Guna people, we've chartered a sailboat, the most immersive, comfortable way to experience the islands. From the dock Rose and I are ferried to our vessel, a 52-foot catamaran called El Gitano del Mar (The Gypsy of the Sea), which is part of a fleet contracted by San Blas Sailing, an outfitter that has operated in the islands with Guna permission since the late 1990s. Our captain, Arvin Haghnazarian, is a dreadlocked poet-philosopher originally from Armenia who has spent most of the past 15 years on the water. He welcomes us aboard wearing a shirt that reads Fucking Bueno!!!an apt motto for the two days ahead.

Rose Marie Cromwell

Imagine a version of paradise almost too pristine for this world: a desert isle of bone white sand, the palm tree arcing over water so blue it feels backlit. Now picture more than 300 of these islands and layer in an ancient culture, and you begin to grasp Guna Yala. Yet it's also among the most vulnerable places on the planet. Every year the sea takes a little bit more, notes Haghnazarian, who has seen some islands reduced to wispy sandbars in just the eight years since he first started sailing the region. Acknowledging the effects of climate change, Panama's government has asked that the Guna people move to the mainland; last year more than a thousand of them resettled into newly built homes on the coastlinean omen that one of the country's most astonishing treasures might not exist much longer.

Rose Marie Cromwell

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Hopping from island to island on the catamaran, we surrender to elemental pleasures: drinking from coconuts macheted open, paddleboarding over sinuous stingrays, sipping potent rum cocktails prepared by Haghnazarian, who entertains us with colorful tales of his seafaring life. My favorite thing is sleeping because, in a boat, you don't sleep in a normal way, he says. Awake, asleep, you are kind of always dreaming. As we sail, Guna people often paddle up to us in canoes. Some sell molas, the hand-stitched textiles that are part of their traditional garb; others offer freshly speared seafood that the boat's chef, a Frenchwoman named Coline Potier, turns into exquisite lunches and dinners: lobster ceviche, sesame-crusted tuna.

At an island called Banedup, we stop for coconut bread at Ibin's Beach Restaurant, a rustic wood structure stilted over turquoise water, where its namesake owner, Ibin Linares, holds court at a table. Raised on the islands, he worked in Panama City restaurants for years before deciding during the pandemic to return to Guna Yala and open his own place. Everything here we built by hand, he notes proudly. We don't owe anyone anything. When I mention the artwork hanging in the restaurant (enormous canvases referencing both Guna tradition and alien spacecrafts), the conversation shifts to the metaphysical. We are here, you and me, in the third dimension right now, he says. But there's another dimension the Guna believe you can inhabit, the fourth, that is all about a transfer of energy. You become like wind, like water.

Rose Marie Cromwell

The following day Haghnazarian anchors the boat near a small island that, like so many, the Guna people farm as a coconut plantation.

Feel like swimming with some sharks? he asks.

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Peering over the ship's stern, I see a half dozen nurse sharks circling, each larger than I am. I edgily enter the warm seawater. The panic is piercing, at least initially. But once I just take the plunge, I realize this is one of those singular thrills that could happen only during opportunities like this.

From the Guna Yala Islands we drive into Panama's interior, ending the day in El Valle de Anton, a town of rugged charm built inside the nearly four-mile-wide caldera of an extinct volcano. Here the air is cooler, driera welcome respite after the unrelenting humidity of the Caribbean. Come nightfall, the chatter of a dizzying array of bird species (tanagers, toucans, motmots) gives way to a symphony of croaking frogs.

While Panama has long been a mainstay among backpackers, the country has historically lagged behind its northern neighbor, Costa Rica, in offering lodging to lure a wider spectrum of travelers. An exception to that is La Compania del Valle, which opened just a few weeks before our arrival. Among its most striking features are the hundreds of art installations that, confoundingly, seem to have been airlifted in from Burning Man. Out in the lawn, surrounding a stately tree, enormous white fiberglass fingers emerge from the grass as if trying to communicate some message I can't decode.

I made all that with AI, says La Compania del Valle's owner, a garrulous Canadian named Chris Lenz, a former Hong Kong nightlife entrepreneur. Something comes into my head andboomI type it into my phone and have it made. After our days spent immersed in Panama's more traditional cultures, El Valle de Anton takes some getting used to; still, it's a posh and whimsical retreat for exploring an area that remains off the radar of most tourists.

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Following lunch in El Valle de Anton's central market, a bustling maze of kiosks offering everything from exotic fruits to handwoven baskets, Rose and I drive to our final destination: the Azuero Peninsula. Jutting into the Pacific Ocean from Panama's southern coast, it's a landscape dominated by arching skies, cattle ranches, and undulating hills that change dramatically throughout the year: bursting with greens during the rainy season, when we visit, and turning flaxen in the dry months. Long the purview of vagabond surfers, its coastline is peppered with small towns, like Venao, Guanico, and Cambutal, that are in various stages of being reshaped by bohemian expats. But it's outside the village of Pedasi where we encounter yet another side of Panama: the way the country is quietly evolving to cater to the international jet set.

Rose Marie Cromwell

Rose and I pull into Casa Loro, down a paved road that fades into a muddy track. The mansion is one of a connected trio of palatial estates set amid 1,527 acres of reforested ranchland that's been christened the Reserva Ecologica Panamaes. Set on a cliff with theatrical views of the churning Pacific, the property serves as the private retreat of Aerin Lauder when it's not being rented out. We're met in the drive by Maria de los Angeles Echeverria, Casa Loro's director of hospitality, who ushers us into a life of refinement. Following some welcome cocktails, we sit for a beet salad flecked with cacao soil and fresh shrimp paired with a zesty passion fruit salsa. Afterward, aided by a floral Chilean white wine, I sink into a slumber that feels like hibernation.

One morning we wake early and walk to the property's small beach, where we're met by a slick boat; minutes later we're in open water, drifting alongside a pod of humpback whales. One of the boat's expert fishermen hooks a feisty, formidable yellowfin, then hands me the rod to clumsily reel it in. We then decamp for a decadent breakfast on the property before surfing off the meal at the nearby Playa Los Panamaes, a primordial expanse of sand dotted with jagged boulders where Rose and I have the curling break to ourselves.

Rose Marie Cromwell

I ponder whether days like these are how the 1% achieves that supple, burnished glow throughout our stay at Casa Loro: over a lunch that includes crudo made from the tuna I'd pulled in hours earlier; while riding horseback through the surrounding jungle at sunset; sitting one evening for a meal prepared by Andrea Pinzon, a young vegetarian chef brought in from Panama City whose inventive dishes (banana blossom empanadas, cashew apple ceviche) arrive like a celebration of Panama's undiscovered bounty.

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And yet it is a much more primal moment that lingers above the rest. One night, shortly after sunset, we are driven hurriedly to the reserve's turtle nursery, a slip of protected beach where more than 60 green turtles have just hatched. In the dark, Rose and I help transfer their tiny, wriggling bodies to the sand, then watch as they shuffle toward the rhythm of the breaking waves. Moments later they are swept away by the waters.

Rose Marie Cromwell

Rose Marie Cromwell

How to do this trip

Road-tripping across Panama's diverse terrains is easier than you might think and allows travelers to see both coasts. Start by flying into Panama City and staying a night or two at the excellent Hotel La Compania Casco Antiguo (from $279), which has an unbeatable location in the historic section. Then rent a car (the writer used Avis) with four-wheel driveyou'll need it for the stretch to get to Guna Yalaand make your way some 90 minutes north to the village of Portobelo. There, stay with Sandra Eleta at La Morada de la Bruja (from $200), her laid-back hotel and artists' residency, or at her cousin Aurora's upscale retreat, El Otro LadoPrivate Retreat (from $7,000), across the Bay of Portobelo. Take the winding roads across the countrythey're all paved, but the last stretch through the rainforest is steep and dampto Puerto de Carti, the gateway to the Guna Yala Islands. To best see this archipelago, we recommend chartering the catamaran El Gitano del Mar (from $400) via San Blas Sailing. Then resume your drive by doubling back past Panama City to El Valle de Anton, a town built inside the crater of an extinct volcano. Check in to La Compania del Valle (from $240), a luxe new wellness stay that is a departure from Panama's usual low-key hotel options. Your last stop is the Azuero Peninsula, dotted with small towns and sophisticated estates like Casa Loro (from $15,000) and AMA Estancia (prices available upon request), as well as the more accessible stilted cabanas of Eco Venao (from $60). For the smoothest possible arrangements, enlist Journey Costa Rica, a regional specialist that can create such luxe trips throughout Panama (four-night itineraries from $500 a night).

This article appeared in the January/February 2026 issue of Conde Nast Traveler. Subscribe to the magazine here.

Originally Appeared on Conde Nast Traveler

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America has a lot of national parks  63 at last count. The first one was Yellowstone, established in 1872 by President Ulysses S. Grant. The latest one was the New River Gorge National Park in Virginia, so designated by Donald Trump at the end of 2020.

Some folks have made it their life's work to visit them all, and that's no small undertaking. They're spread across 30 states, including nine in California, eight in Alaska and five in Utah. For those who can't get around to see them along with those who do, many collect literature and souvenirs from the parks, and there are some great such items to be had. Today let's focus on the Depression-era park booklets printed by the Department of the Interior via the U.S. Government Printing Office. They're hugely interesting.

For starters, the "Circular of General Information" for Yellowstone National Park, dated 1932, is an 82-page booklet printed on cheap Depression newsprint. It's black and white and features a photo of Mammoth Hot Springs Terrace on the front along with the bison insignia of the Department of the Interior. That logo dates to 1917 when it replaced a dated eagle design and is still in use today.

Depression-era guides to Americas national parks make for some fascinating reading.

Inside, the booklet features descriptions of park highlights, a number of black-and-white photos and maps and information on hospitality, side trips and more. There are warnings about bears, tips on trout fishing and a guide to identifying the park's various trees. Considering the era in which it was written and the staggering number of visitors the park gets today (nearly five million in 2024), it's a fascinating reminder of a more crowd-free time.

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Among the other notable bits is a price guide for services provided within the park. At the time, the Yellowstone Park Hotel Company maintained four different facilities with varying degrees of hospitality. A four-and-one-half day tour through the park included 14 meals and four nights of lodging in rooms without baths for $29 per person. Without the tour, food and lodging for one person was $7 per night. Dinner by itself with no lodging was $1.50. If you felt the need for personal grooming during your stay, a shave was twenty-five cents, women's shampoo $1 to $1.50 (depending on the length of your hair) and manicure seventy-five cents to $1. To rent a horse and saddle for the day, the cost was $3.50 and mounted guides were available at a daily rate of $5.

If Yosemite National Park (established 1890) was a bit more to your liking during that time, you might have picked up the official guide dated 1935. Its 40 pages include a history of the park, a similar warning about bears and a note that nearly 500,000 visitors had enjoyed its beauty in 1932. Today that annual number is right around four million. There is much on the Park's history, waterfalls and fauna. Quotes from the naturalist John Muir are sprinkled throughout the booklet, and the room rate at Yosemite Lodge is quoted at $3 per night, or a little less if your stay extended beyond two nights. The famous Ahwahnee Hotel, opened in 1927 and still operating today, provided deluxe accommodations with meals starting at $10 per day. Today that rate has increased more than 100-fold.

If you're a fan of our national parks, and millions of people are, these booklets provide fascinating looks at places that are deeply embedded in American culture. They're not expensive and galleries like ours often have good selections to choose from. And aside from national parks, there are more than 430 other sites managed by the National Park Service for recreational use. They include battlefields, coastal areas, monuments and other sites that could become national park designees in the future.

So, get out there and look around! With American tourists not so welcome abroad these days, it might be a good idea to stay a little closer to home.

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Mike Rivkin and his wife, Linda, are long-time residents of Rancho Mirage. For many years, he was an award-winning catalogue publisher and has authored seven books, along with countless articles. Now, he's the owner of Antique Galleries of Palm Springs. His antiques column appears Sundays in The Desert Sun. Want to send Mike a question about antiques? Drop him a line at info@silverfishpress.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: What's collectible about a national park?
Travel expert and public television host Rick Steves knows a thing or two about getting the most value out of your European travels. In favor of more personal adventures, Steves can tell you how to beat the crowds in busy cities like Venice and how to find great, affordable meals anywhere on the continent. However, if there is one experience he claims to be one of Europe's all time greatest values, it's hiking in the Alps. "Even if you pay for a lift ticket to get you quickly into the high country, the glories of the Alps are one of Europe's great values. The Alps are littered with helicopter-supplied mountain huts offering cheap beds and menu prices that don't go up with the altitude," Steves writes for his blog.

The Alps stretch across Europe, beginning in the Mediterranean foothills of France and extending northeast across Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and Slovenia. Each of these countries offer tourists affordable opportunities to get up close and personal with Europe's great mountains, while also inviting travelers into the culture of the local communities.

"All you need is 20 bucks and a sunny day, and you can get to the top of the Alps," Steves said in one of his travel seminars. Thanks to an investment in infrastructure, the Alps are easier to experience than ever before. So, whichever country's mountain region you want to visit, you can be sure to experience some of the best hikes in all of Europe.

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Read more: Rick Steves Recommends Cinque Terre's Only Resort Town For A Vibrant Italian Getaway

Rick Steves favorite Alpine hikes

Hikers relaxing on the Tour du Mont Blanc - Julia Mountain Photo/Shutterstock

While the Alps contain many of Europe's most technically demanding hikes, there are nevertheless very doable routes for novice hikers who might not be keen on tackling 10,000 plus foot peaks. One of the most accessible mountains in the Alps is Germany's Zugspitze. A 10-minute cable car ride takes you straight to the summit, where you can enjoy a meal at the mountain restaurant and take a short journey up to the official peak for a stunning view across the Alps.

A trek that involves a little more walking, but with no less beautiful views, are the meadow paths of the Alpe di Susi in the Italian Dolomites. This car-free zone, dotted with bucolic farms and alpine huts, is connected by cable cars and a convenient shuttle. "Meadow walks are ideal for flower lovers and strollers, while multiple chairlifts serve as springboards for more dramatic and demanding hikes. Mountain bikes are easy to rent, welcome on many lifts, and permitted on the meadow's country lanes," Steves writes.

However, if there is one Alpine hiking experience Steves recommends above all others, it's the Tour du Mont Blanc. The trail that literally changed Steves' mind about hiking, the Tour du Mont Blanc is a 100-mile jaunt that circumnavigates Europe's highest peak. It's a perfect trek for novice hikers, and provides some truly astonishing scenery and chances to really experience the culture of the French and Swiss Alps.

How to plan your Alpine hiking adventure

Female traveler planning destinations - Maskot/Getty Images

Any good hiking trip to the Alps is one that needs to be planned thoroughly. But instead of trekking from one tourist hot spot to another, Steves' approach to getting the most value out of a hiking vacation to the Alps is to cater to what most interests you. Steves paints a beautiful picture of Alpine adventure potential one of his travel seminars: "Imagine walking on a ridge ... On one side, you got lakes stretching all the way to Germany. On the other side, you got the most incredible alpine panorama anywhere, the Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau ... That's a beautiful experience ... Everybody can have that. But you got to find that ridge and you got to get out there. And you can do that. In fact, you could put a bunch of those days together, connected by beautiful mountain lodges high in the mountains."

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Thankfully, compiling a vacations worth of Alpine hikes is incredibly easy to do. Most of Europe is connected by efficient train systems, and the Alps are no exception. One beautiful example is Switzerland's Glacier Express, which brings you by some of the countries most stunning mountain scenery. While not a hike, it's a great connector to some of the Alps best resort towns, and provides all the glorious scenery you could want.

So, whether you're trekking to Austria or enjoying an Italian mountain meadow, the Alps offer tremendous adventures at a great value.

Ready to discover more hidden gems and expert travel tips? Subscribe to our free newsletter for access to the world's best-kept travel secrets. You can also add us as a preferred search source on Google.

Read the original article on Explore.
One person was killed and 15 others were injured Sunday in a major early morning crash on the southbound 5 Freeway in Boyle Heights.

The collision happened just south of 4th Street around 5 a.m. Details are limited, but the California Highway Patrol told ABC7 a semi-truck collided with multiple vehicles.

One person died at the scene. The Los Angeles Fire Department says 15 people were assessed for injuries, 10 of whom were sent to local hospitals. Their conditions are unknown.

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Investigators also said at least one of the vehicles involved caught fire but it has since been extinguished.

Officials say nine vehicles suffered major front-end damage. It's unclear what caused the crash.

Meantime, the 5 Freeway reopened Sunday afternoon after being shut down for most of the morning.
With 2026 on the horizon, talk persists regarding President Donald Trump's $2,000 tariff stimulus checks.

The president committed to administering the rebates to low- and middle-income Americans in mid-to-late 2026, using funds acquired from his widespread import duties. But roadblocks remain, including the upcoming U.S. Supreme Court case that will determine the legality of Trump's sweeping tariffs, uncertainty surrounding whether duty revenue is enough to finance extensive checks and necessary congressional approval.

Though Trump has spoken publicly about the plan since July, there is no guarantee it gets carried out. Many Republican lawmakers, including Ohio's own Sen. Bernie Moreno, have expressed skepticism over the proposal and its likelihood of getting through Congress, indicating they'd rather see tariff revenue go toward eroding the country's $38 trillion in debt.

President Donald Trump delivers remarks on tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 2, 2025.

Some members of Trump's administration have chimed in on the president's tariff rebate plan, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent throwing out an income benchmark of $100,000 to be eligible for the dividends, and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick maintaining the stimulus checks' legitimacy.

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Most recently, White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett said on CBS News' "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" that the fate of the plan "depend(s) on what happens with Congress."

"The deficit relative to last year is down by $600 billion, and so in the summer, I wasn't so sure that there was space for a check like that, but now I'm pretty sure that there is, and so I would expect that in the new year, the President will bring forth a proposal to Congress to make that happen," said Hassett, director of the White House's National Economic Council, in the Dec. 21 interview.

What does Congress have to do with Trump's $2,000 tariff rebate plan?

Simply put, Congress controls federal spending.

Congress would need to write and pass a bill to appropriate enough funds for the stimulus checks, estimated by independent tax policy think tank The Tax Foundation to cost between $279.8 billion and $606.8 billion. The group approximated that Trump's tariffs will yield $207.5 billion in 2026, in addition to the $205 billion raised through October of this year, and other dollars made in 2025's remaining months.

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In his "Face the Nation" appearance, Hassett suggested rebate funding could come from other sources beyond just tariff revenue.

"It could come from from tariff revenue, but in the end, you know, we get taxes, we get tariffs, we get revenue from lots of places, and then Congress decides how to spend those monies," he said. "That's an appropriation."

What are Trump's 'Warrior Dividends?'

Trump announced earlier this month that military members would receive $1,776 bonuses  or "Warrior Dividends"  by the end of the year, citing tariff revenue as a source of that funding.

A Pentagon official, however, confirmed that the Defense Department would be funding the $2.6 billion program, not the president's duties. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed the Pentagon to issue the bonuses using an existing $2.9 billion in military housing funds, an appropriation included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" law that was approved by Congress over the summer.

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"We made a lot more money than anybody thought because of tariffs, and the bill helped us along," Trump told the nation in his Dec. 17 address. "Nobody deserves it more than our military."

The money was originally originally intended to go toward the Basic Allowance for Housing, a program that helps service members pay for off-base housing.

Reporter Emma Wozniak can be reached at ewozniak@dispatch.com or @emma_wozniak_ on X, formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Warrior dividends? Tariff rebates? What to know about Trump checks
The SG Palya police station in Bengaluru has registered an FIR, arrested and remanded three men to judicial custody, who, according to a witness, were harassing a girl for several kilometres on a main road. According to the police, the incident happened on Thursday night. The SG Palya police station, in response to X's post about a man who identified himself as Abhinav Vasudevan, stated that it had initiated suitable legal action and was considering the complaint. The three men were identified as Roshan (19), Ayan (19) and Rihan Khan (18). The bike allegedly involved in the harassment incident was also identified. The X post stated, "regarding this post, suitable legal action has been taken. An FIR has been registered, the accused persons have been arrested and remanded to judicial custody." https://x.com/sgpalyaps/status/2004857498835292342 The complainant and witness 'Abhinav Vasudevan' in his X post, alongwith the video as evidence of the harassment, stated, "Saw a girl being harassed by a group of guys for several kms on a main road, & this was before 10. I took a video as evidence and intervened, in they immediately fled. @BlrCityPolice @blrcitytraffic." https://x.com/abhyn0w/status/2003877268624695607 He tagged the Bengaluru City Police and the Bengaluru City Traffic Police on his X post to initiate appropriate legal action. Earlier, Bengaluru's Jnanabharathi Police arrested a man accused of harassing a young woman in Bengaluru. He forced the woman to create a romantic connection and harassed her by trying to tear off her clothes. In a recent incident in Bengaluru, a man had begun pestering a woman by repetitively forcing her into a relationship after introducing himself through Instagram. The harassment escalated further as he would follow her wherever she went, hit her with his hands and use abrasive and abusive language towards her. On December 22, the accused came to the PG she was living in and started to force her to fall in love with him. It escalated when he started hitting her on her head, back, and neck. He grabbed her by her hand to try to tear off the shirt she was wearing and ran away from the scene after the harassment. Based on this information, the Jnanabharathi Police Station registered a case under the relevant sections on the same day. That included Sections 74, 75, 76, 78, 79, and 351(2) of BNS-2023, and further investigation was conducted to apprehend the accused.These sections primarily address criminal offences against women, while Section 351(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertains to criminal intimidation. The police acted swiftly and arrested the accused within 24 hours. They identified and located him for further investigation into the matter. The DCP of the South-West Division, Anita B Haddannavar IPS and ACP of Kengeri Sub-Division, Basavaraj Teli, Police Inspector of Gnanabharathi Police Station, Ravi M.S., Police Sub-Inspector, Vijay Kumar S.M., Police Sub-Inspector Kiran Kumar G.K., and staff members Hanumant H.C. and Omkar Kulkarni were involved in the prompt arrest of the accused. (ANI)
Three suspects have been identified in connection with the discovery of a body along a scenic road in the Great Smoky Mountains.

Thomas Pheasant Jr. was shot and killed on Dec. 19 or Dec. 20, with his body found dumped near New Found Gap, the Charlotte Observer reports.

The Cherokee Indian Police Department reported that they were alerted by a vague tip about a possible shooting. Following an investigation, it was determined that Pheasant was shot multiple times at a residence on Galamore Road in Cherokee.

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Timothy Jason McCoy has been arrested and charged with first-degree homicide, assault with a deadly weapon and assault by pointing a gun, the Charlotte Observer reports.

Two additional suspects, Derrick Jenkins and Victoria Thompson, have been charged as accessories after the fact and for obstruction of governmental functions. Investigators did not provide specifics on their involvement in the case.

The body of Thomas Pheasant Jr. was located near New Found Gap, which is a popular tourist destination in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Charlotte Observer reports.

The investigation into the shooting remains ongoing. Further updates on the case are expected as new information becomes available.

WATCH: MEDIC: 1 seriously hurt in east Charlotte shooting
The Atlanta Police Department said that a situation at Atlantic Station involving fireworks, juveniles and a gunfight led to five juveniles being detained.

Channel 2 Action News was at Atlantic Station on Saturday night, when police say security there called for backup while responding to a group of juveniles fighting on Market Street.

When APD officers arrived to provide support to Atlantic Station security personnel, they found a very large crowd of young people.

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During the investigation, police said they determined fireworks had been lit and shot off in and around Atlantic Station.

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While assisting on-location, police said they coordinated a strategic and safe dispersal of the crowd, with assistance from multiple law enforcement units and agencies from across Atlanta.

As dispersal efforts continued, police said they saw a group of juveniles exchanging gunfire near 17th Street and Spring Street, which damaged nearby businesses.

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At the time, police had set up a road block on 17th. Damage was visible at the Invesco office building on Spring Street as well.

Thats where five juveniles were detained as part of the investigation.

Throughout the incident, police said no one was injured and only property damage was reported.

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A Chinook helicopter flies over a stretch of desert in Iraq. Many ancient cities that have not been found are in the Middle East. | Credit: Owen Franken/Getty Images

Archaeologists have been very busy excavating lost civilizations, but they haven't found everything. There are still prominent ancient cities, including capitals of large kingdoms and empires, that have never been unearthed by scholars.

We know these cities exist because ancient texts describe them, but their location may be lost to time.

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In a few cases, looters have found these cities, and have looted large numbers of artifacts from them. But these robbers have not come forward to reveal their location. In this countdown Live Science takes a look at six ancient cities whose whereabouts are unknown.

1. Irisagrig

Ancient inscriptions, some of them from Irisagrig, are on display at a ceremony where they were returned to Iraq. | Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Not long after the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, thousands of ancient tablets from a city called "Irisagrig" began appearing on the antiquities market. From the tablets, scholars could tell that Irisagrig was in Iraq and flourished around 4,000 years ago.

Those tablets reveal that the rulers of the ancient city lived in palaces that housed many dogs. They also kept lions which were fed cattle. Those that took care of the lions, referred to as "lion shepherds," got rations of beer and bread. The inscriptions also mention a temple dedicated to Enki, a god of mischief and wisdom, and say that festivals were sometimes held within the temple.

Scholars think that looters found and looted Irisagrig around the time the 2003 U.S. invasion took place. Archaeologists have not found the city so far and the looters who did have not come forward and identified where it is.

2. Itjtawy

The remains of the pyramid of Amenemhat I at Lisht. The capital city he built has never been found, although scholars think that it is likely somewhere near Lisht. | Credit: DeAgostini/Getty Images

Egyptian pharaoh Amenemhat I (reign circa 1981 to 1952 B.C.) ordered a new capital city built. This capital was known as "Itjtawy" and the name can be translated as "the seizer of the Two Lands" or "Amenemhat is the seizer of the Two Lands." As the name suggests Amenemhat faced a considerable amount of turmoil. His reign ended with his assassination.

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Despite Amenemhat's assassination, Itjtawy would remain the capital of Egypt until around 1640 B.C, when the northern part of Egypt was taken over by a group known as the "Hyksos," and the kingdom fell apart.

While Itjtawy has not been found, archaeologists think it is located somewhere near the site of Lisht, in central Egypt. This is partly because many elite burials, including a pyramid belonging to Amenemhat I, are located at Lisht.

3. Akkad

A bust of Sargon of Akkad, an early ruler of the Akkadian Empire. | Credit: Photo12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

The city of Akkad (also called Agade) was the capital of the Akkadian Empire, which flourished between 2350 and 2150 B.C. At its peak the empire stretched from the Persian Gulf to Anatolia. Many of its conquests occurred during the reign of "Sargon of Akkad," who lived sometime around 2300 B.C. One of the most important structures in Akkad itself was the "Eulmash," a temple dedicated to Ishtar, a goddess associated with war, beauty and fertility.

Akkad has never been found, but it is thought to have been built somewhere in Iraq. Ancient records indicate that the city was destroyed or abandoned when the Akkadian empire ended around 2150 B.C.

4. Al-Yahudu

A painting dating to 1830, which depicts Jewish exiles in the Babylonian empire. | Credit: ARTGEN/ Alamy

Al-Yahudu, a name which means "town" or "city" of Judah, was a place in the Babylonian empire where Jews lived after the kingdom of Judah was conquered by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II in 587 B.C. He sent part of the population into exile, a practice the Babylonians often engaged in after conquering a region.

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About 200 tablets from the settlement are known to exist and they indicate that the exiled people who lived in this settlement kept their faith and used Yahweh, the name of God, in their names . Al-Yahudu's location has not been identified by archaeologists, but like many of these lost cities, was likely located in what is now Iraq. Given that the tablets showed up on the antiquities market, and there is no record of them being found in an archaeological excavation, it appears that at some point looters succeeded in finding its location.

5. Wassukanni

A cylinder seal from the Mitanni empire. It is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. | Credit: Gift of Martin and Sarah Cherkasky, 1987; Metropolitan Museum of Art; Public Domain

Wassukanni was the capital city of the Mitanni empire, which existed between roughly 1550 B.C. and 1300 B.C. and included parts of northeastern Syria, southern Anatolia and northern Iraq. It faced intense competition from the Hittite empire in the north and the Assyrian empire in the south and its territory was gradually lost to them.

Wassukanni has never been found and some scholars think that it may be located in northeastern Syria. The people who lived in the capital, and indeed throughout much of its empire, were known as the "Hurrians" and they had their own language which is known today from ancient texts.

6. Thinis

The Narmer palette, shown here, depicts King Narmer  also known as Menes  smiting an enemy. It dates back around 5,000 years ago to when Egypt was being unified. | Credit: Werner Forman/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

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Thinis (also known as Tjenu) was an ancient city in southern Egypt that flourished early in the ancient civilization's history. According to the ancient writer Manetho, it was where some of the early kings of Egypt ruled from around 5,000 years ago, when Egypt was being unified. Egypt's capital was moved to Memphis a bit after unification and Thinis became the capital of a nome (a province of Egypt) during the Old Kingdom (circa 2649 to 2150 B.C.) period, Ali Seddik Othman, an inspector with the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, noted in an article published in the Journal of Abydos .

Thinis has never been identified although it is believed to be near Abydos, which is in southern Egypt. This is partly because many elite members of society, including royalty, were buried near Abydos around 5,000 years ago.
As the year comes to a close, it can be challenging to recall all the ways in which K-12 education changed in Tampa Bay over the past 12 months.

Here are seven numbers that show whats going on in K-12 education in the region this year.

376,837

Thats the number of students enrolled in Tampa Bay school districts this semester. Hillsborough County, the nations seventh largest school district, had 213,513 students enrolled by October. Pinellas and Pasco had 76,955 and 86,369 students, respectively. At the beginning of the semester, all counties saw a drop in enrollment from the previous school year.

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According to the Florida Department of Education, Pinellas and Hillsborough saw steep enrollment drops from last year, with districts enrolling 10,921 and 6,924 fewer students, respectively.

At the start of the year, Pasco was closest to hitting its projections with a net reduction of nearly 800 students. Now, according to state and district data, the district has only 242 fewer students than last fall.

As more families pivot to homeschooling and take advantage of the school voucher program throughout the state, public school districts expect to see continued enrollment declines.

62,510

Step Up for Students, a nonprofit that administers about 99% of the states education choice scholarships, has administered 62,510 scholarships throughout Tampa Bay so far this year  already more than last years total.

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Floridas scholarship programs, which operate as education savings accounts, evolved from school vouchers intended only for private schools. Now, these funds are flexible, allowing families more options in how to spend them.

Hillsborough had the biggest increase in scholarships with 1,432 more disbursed than last year. Tampa Bay scholarships make up about 12% of all scholarships administered to students throughout the state as of November.

64

This is the number of charter and public schools that now serve kindergartners to eighth graders in the Tampa Bay area, a model that has increasingly grown in popularity. At least 15 schools alsoserve pre-kindergartners.

The belief among some parents and educators that this model provides an easier transition between grades for younger children, combined with research showing the model has positive academic benefits, is among the reasons for the boom in K-8 schools throughout the region.

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Hillsborough has 39 K-8 schools, Pinellas has 13 and Pasco has 12.

Pinellas small public K-8 community welcomed Walsingham Oaks K-8 in Largo as the districts third public K-8 campus. Two new Pasco K-8 schools made their debut this fall in New Port Richey and Lutz.

112

This is the number of letters of intent to open Schools of Hopesent to districts in Tampa Bay region. Schools of Hope are charter schools originally created as alternatives for low-performing district schools. In November, the law governing the charter institutions expanded greatly, allowing the charters to occupy space without paying rent on public campuses that have extra space, based on student enrollment. Maintenance, construction and food services are among the fees public school districts will have to foot on their co-inhabiters behalf, drawing concernamong public school officials and families.

Nearly 42% of letters of intent involving Tampa Bay schools were from Mater Academy, with 40 school occupation requests: 22 in Hillsborough, 12 in Pinellas and six in Pasco.

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According to the Florida Policy Institute, the rest came from BridgePrep Academy and Somerset Academy, charter operators that are not state-approved in the Schools of Hope program. Somerset sent 22 requests to Hillsborough, 12 requests to Pinellas and six to Pasco; BridgePrep sent 32 requests to Pinellas.

40,567

This is the number of students enrolled throughout Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas who are classified as English language learners and receiveaccommodations and support services thisyear. Students speak at least 29 home languages throughout the Tampa Bay region.

As of October, Hillsborough had28,493 suchstudents, down nearly 4,500 from last fall, according to data provided by the district. Pinellas has 6,346 students enrolled as of September, 341 fewer than at the same time last fall. Pasco had 5,728 English language learners as of November, down 349 fromlast year.

18,720

This is the number of teachersemployed at Hillsborough and Pasco public schools, according to metrics provided by the districts. Hillsborough has 13,438 instructors as of December, and Pasco has 5,282 as of November.

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Pasco employs nearly 500 fewer instructors than last school year, according to Florida Department of Education data on full-time teachers. Despite its student population drop, Hillsborough saw a sharp uptick from last fall, with more than 1,000 new instructional staff this fall.

The Florida Department of Education reported that Pinellas had a full-time instructional workforce of 6,070 last school year. Pinellas did not respond to requests about this school years metrics.

373

There were 373 instructor vacancies throughout the region as of Dec. 27. Pasco has 59 part- and full-time classroom teacher vacancies, according to the districts job dashboard. Pinellas job dashboard showed 36 instructional vacancies. Hillsborough had 278 vacancies under its instructional category on its career site.

At the start of this semester, the Florida Education Association reported public school districts have struggled to hire and retain teachers. Despite this, according to data from the organization, Hillsborough saw a decline of more than 400 teacher vacancies in August. Pasco and Pinellas both saw declines as well, with 45 and 54 fewer vacancies, respectively. The Florida Education Association pinned this on extensive budget cuts which have led to districts cutting thousands of positions.

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All districts throughout the region reached agreements with teacher unions for pay increases in September, moves that may help with teacher employment and retention.

Editors note: This story has been updated to reflect the combined number of public school teachers in the Hillsborough and Pasco school districts.

Nakylah Carter is a data reporter covering education as a member of the Tampa Bay Times Education Hub in partnership with Open Campus. You can contribute to the hub through our journalism fund byclicking here.
Italian police arrested nine people accused of financing Hamas through charitable associations that investigators said raised at least 7.3 million for the Palestinian militant group.

Police and the Guardia di Finanza executed arrest warrants and seized more than 8 million in assets in an operation coordinated by Genoa's District Anti-Mafia and Anti-Terrorism Directorate.

The investigation, which began before the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, revealed what prosecutors described as a complex network of international financial transfers through three Italian associations based in Genoa and Milan.

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Investigators allege seven people arrested were members of Hamas' foreign operations wing, while two others provided external support.

Of the nine arrest warrants issued, seven were executed in Italy, with two suspects believed to be in Turkey and Gaza, Genoa chief prosecutor Nicola Piacente said.

Who are the suspects and how was the money used?

Mohammad Hannoun, 63, president of the Association of Palestinians in Italy and founder of the Associazione Benefica di Solidarieta con il Popolo Palestinese (ABSPP), was identified by investigators as the alleged leader of the Italian cell.

Prosecutors said more than 71% of donations collected by ABSPP and related associations went to entities controlled by or linked to Hamas.

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The associations under investigation are ABSPP, founded in 1994, a second ABSPP organisation established in 2003 and La Cupola d'Oro, created in Milan in December 2023.

According to court documents, the suspects evaded banking controls by creating new associations after financial institutions including UniCredit, Credit Agricole and Poste Italiane closed accounts linked to Hannoun following alerts from Israeli and US authorities.

Prosecutors said funds were sent through foreign intermediaries to associations in Gaza, the West Bank or Israel that Israeli authorities declared illegal because of Hamas connections, or directly to Hamas members, including Osama Alisawi, who served as transport minister in Hamas' de facto government in Gaza from 2008 to 2014.

Investigators said the money also supported families of people involved in suicide attacks or imprisoned for terrorism offences, which prosecutors argued strengthened Hamas' operational capacity.

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The investigation utilised phone taps, financial monitoring and cooperation with authorities in the Netherlands and other European countries.

Prosecutors said intercepted communications showed expressions of approval for terrorist attacks and connections between suspects and senior Hamas figures.

Hannoun an 'immediate flight risk'

Judge Silvia Carpanini wrote in a 306-page custody order that Hannoun posed a "concrete and immediate flight risk," citing evidence he planned to relocate to Turkey. Intercepts showed the plan was being put into motion at the time of arrests, the judge said.

Hannoun attended a meeting in Turkey in December with Ali Baraka, described by investigators as a senior Hamas foreign operations official, according to domestic media reports citing court documents.

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The US Treasury designated Hannoun and ABSPP as terrorist financiers in 2023. Genoa prosecutors previously investigated Hannoun in the early 2000s, but that case was archived.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni expressed "appreciation and satisfaction" for the operation, while Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said the sting "lifted the veil" on activities that used humanitarian initiatives to conceal support for terrorist organisations.

Hannoun's lawyer Fabio Sommovigo told Italian news agency AGI the case was based on Israeli authorities' interpretation of money movements and that funds were collected peacefully for humanitarian purposes.
NEED TO KNOW

Nine people are dead, including five children, after a man attacked a group of people in the South American country of Suriname

Police said in a statement that a man killed four adults and five children with a sharp object at a residence in the town of Richelieu on Saturday, Dec. 27

Suriname President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons said the incident involved "a father who takes the lives of his own children and at the same time kills his neighbors"

Nine people are dead, including five children, after a man attacked a group of people in Suriname.

Police said in a statement that a man  whose identity has not been made public  killed four adults and five children with a sharp object at a residence in Richelieu, a town in the Commewijne district of the South American nation.

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He also "seriously injured" a sixth child and another adult during the attack, which took place late at night on Saturday, Dec. 27, into the early hours of Sunday, Dec. 28.

Officials said the two injured people were taken by ambulance to the emergency room of the Academic Hospital Paramaribo in the capital city of Paramaribo and were admitted for treatment.

The suspect attempted to attack police officers from the Eastern Region who responded to the scene, and the man was injured during his arrest, sustaining gunshot wounds to his legs. He has since been hospitalized and is currently being monitored, police said.

RANU ABHELAKH/AFP via Getty Riot police are photographed in Paramaribo, Suriname, in March 2023. Riot police are photographed in Paramaribo, Suriname, in March 2023.

"Further details regarding the true circumstances of this tragic attack will follow," police said.

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According to the Daily Mail, local media who spoke to the man's neighbors reported that he allegedly had mental health issues.

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.

Suriname President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons shared a statement about the killings on Facebook, writing that she was "shocked by the violent incident in Commewijne."

"In a time when family and friends should hold and support each other, we are faced with the harsh reality that the world also knows another side," she wrote in Dutch. "A father who takes the lives of his own children and at the same time kills his neighbors. Wishing all the bereaved much strength, power and comfort at this unimaginably difficult time."



Read the original article on People
Severe weather is impacting the Chicago area Sunday.

Tornado Warnings began around 3:30 p.m. in the southern part of Kankakee County and the northern part of Iroquois County in Illinois before moving quickly moving into Newton and Jasper counties in Indiana. The warnings have since expired.

Heavy rain and possible thunderstorms were forecast to bring some isolated pockets of flooding into Sunday evening.

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Rain and storms continued through parts of Sunday afternoon, with a couple of strong storms south of and along I-80. Gusty winds were already the main concern before the storms also brought Tornado Warnings.

A confirmed tornado was observed near St. Anne, Illinois as it moved towards Northwest Indiana, according to radar data and the National Weather Service.

A Tornado Watch was also issued Sunday evening for most counties south of the Chicago area in Illinois and Indiana.

The severe storms caused damage across parts of the area, including Livingston County.

It's not yet clear whether what hit in Livingston was a tornado or something different, but debris left behind observed by ABC7 crews was part of a roof that was ripped off a home over a block away before it came to its landing spot. The Livingston County Sheriff's Department is still assessing the damage.

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The roofs of not one, but at least two homes were ripped off in the Motorola Subdivision in Pontiac Sunday afternoon. A fast-moving storm raced through the area around 3 p.m., leaving debris, not just from the roofs, but from downed trees strewn all over the area. Sunday evening, repair crews remained on site, with much of the neighborhood pitch black.

Livingston County was battered by storms all day, and 23 miles away in the village of Forrest, a line of storms passed through Sunday morning leaving behind a downed tree.

"I heard a big crash at this end of the house," a resident named Tina said. "When I was able to come look this tree had come down and it put a hole in the roof of my house and a hole in the roof of my garage."

More significantly, part of the roof was torn off the gymnasium at Prairie Central Junior High School. Luckily, between the weekend and it being winter break, no one was inside at the time.

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"We got some water damage on the inside but for now it looks like most of the damage was contained to the gymnasium," said Brian Quam, Sup.t of Prairie Central Schools. "The educational spaces are in good shape and unaffected."

The good news is at this point no injuries have been reported as a result of Sunday's storms.

As of 6:45 p.m., ComEd said 1,144 customers were without power due to the storms.

HOLIDAY TRAVEL | New winter storm heads for Midwest, Northeast with 40 million people on alert

Chicago airports were impacted Sunday morning as visibility was less than half a mile across the area. An AccuWeather Alert was issued in the early morning due to dense fog.

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Multiple ground stops were issued at O'Hare Airport Sunday morning.

As of 6:45 p.m. Sunday, there were 108 flight cancellations at O'Hare with average delays of 42 minutes, and there were seven flight cancellations at Midway with average delays of 24 minutes, according the city's Department of Aviation.

A cold blast of air arrives Sunday night. Wind picks up in the evening, and it remains windy through Monday afternoon.

A Wind Advisory will be in effect between 6 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday.

Wind gusts will be between 45 to 55 miles per hour. That is enough to break tree branches which could lead to isolated power outages.

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Wind chills will be between -5 to 10 degrees on Monday.

Light snow is possible with the blast of cold air Monday morning. Little to no accumulation is expected. Isolated slick spots are possible.

Wind chills will be below zero in some locations Monday morning.

The Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation announced Sunday evening that it will be deploying salt-spreaders in response to the expected winter weather.




Dec. 27Editor's note: The Aiken Standard is counting down its top 10 local stories for 2025 from Dec. 18-31.

AIKEN  The Savannah River National Laboratory opened the doors on its Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative this August, a 60,000-square-foot space on the edge of the University of South Carolina Aiken's campus that will potentially be a key piece in winning the global race for AI dominance.

SRNL Laboratory Director Dr. Johney Green said that research done here will be focused on advancing nuclear technology, grid infrastructure and environmental technology.

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"This could become a huge center for developing data centers, for developing next generation nuclear, for modern manufacturing," Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said of the facility.

"The pro-freedom, pro-commerce, pro-independence United States has got to be the leader in this space," Wright also said. "The spurring of the next generation of nuclear, that's going to be technologies coming out of the Savannah River National Lab. Think of Silicon Valley."

State and local leaders appeared on site Aug. 7 for a ribbon-cutting marking the official opening of the $50million facility, which took 13 years to fully develop.

"We'll be working with academia and private sector partners to look at automation, additive manufacturing (3D printing), artificial intelligence and chemical separations to advance these technologies...we hope it's a great economic engine for this area and a great beacon for our innovation for the region," Green said.

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SRNL will operate the facility and plans to bring new technology and manufacturing to the region. The goal is to also bring new talent to support the Savannah River Site's environmental cleanup mission.

"The opening of this facility is a success story of how the government, private sector, and institutions of higher education can come together to drive meaningful innovation and opportunities for the community and nation," said U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., who once worked at Savannah River Site. "I am grateful to represent the Savannah River Site and its workforce and will continue to work with President Trump, Energy Secretary Wright, Congress, and local leaders to reinvigorate the nuclear industrial base at the site and support peace through strength.
$19.5 Billion

That's how much money Ford is writing off on its electric-car programs. The automaker is cutting its losses on such would-be superstars as the F-150 Lightning, which too often ended up riding the showroom bench. If you're looking for the most vivid sign yet of an industry retreat from EVs, this one's a veritable jumbotron.

That unfathomable sum of stranded investment underscores a slowdown in EV sales, but also the regulatory and political whiplash facing American automakers. One minute, President Biden is doling out subsidies for EV and battery factories, $7500 credits to consumers, and pledging to put a DC fast-charger on every street corner. Next, President Trump is casting EVs as the enemy of the job market and setting pollution and fuel-economy rules back decades. For an industry that moves at a notoriously glacial pace, the lack of a stable footing is maddening and expensive.

getty images

"If it takes four years to develop and launch a vehicle, and it's then in market for five to 10 years, you've vastly outweighed the time period of one administration," says Mark Wakefield, global automotive market lead at Alix Partners. "We've had a few back-and-forths now, and that's tricky. The one good thing is that it's tricky for every automaker."

EV Whiplash

Ford, GM, and Stellantis are laying off thousands of EV employees, idling some plants, and reimagining others. Ford envisioned its Blue Oval City in Tennessee cranking out 500,000 electric trucks a year. This Emerald City of EVs will now become Tennessee Truck, a meat-and-potatoes ICE plant. Ford has killed off some EVs, including a second-gen Lightning and a Transit-style van, which will cost it $8.5 billion. Axing a joint battery venture with South Korea's SK On will result in another $6 billion charge.

Ford

Despite the chaos, automakers are now free to make whatever they like, at least until the next sheriff arrives in Washington. "Choice" is the new mantra. Unsurprisingly, their choice is to make hay and haul it by building more high-margin SUVs and pickup trucks. The Trump administration and supporters have cast this as a win for affordability, as long as one ignores the potential fuel savings over the lifespan of more efficient ICE and electric models. Feature-laden pickups and SUVs are also the models that drove the price of the average new car past $50,000 for the first time, leaving consumers with fewer affordable alternatives.

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That said, the Biden administration's rules would have required companies to make about 56 percent of new passenger vehicles fully electric by 2032, up from 9 percent today. The targets, together with carrots in the form of IRA subsidies and consumer credits, led automakers to invest tens of billions of dollars in U.S. EV and battery factories, as well as tech R&D. But the goals proved too ambitious, says Sam Fiorani, vice president of AutoForecast Solutions.

"This EV transition was not going to take place overnight," Fiorani says. "Automakers have filled in all the early adopters; now they have to work on the rest, and that's going to take a decade or two. Until that happens, you need gasoline-powered cars that mainstream people buy."

getty images

Ford, after losing nearly $13 billion on EVs since 2023, reached the same conclusion. "We can't allocate money for things that will not make money," CEO Jim Farley told Reuters. "As much as I love those products, the customers in the U.S. were not going to pay for them. And that was the end of that."

The Lightning, a Ford executive told Car and Driver, actually did OK for a pioneering electric truck. Critics lauded its performance and tech, including its mobile-power capabilities. The Ford outsold the Tesla Cybertruck and Rivian R1T, along with all three of GM's electric pickups combined. But initially strong sales stalled, on pace for about 30,000 this year. The executive said emission targets would have compelled Ford to sell hundreds of thousands of Lightnings a year to offset thirstier trucks like the Super Duty series, among the brand's most profitable models. From an initial ratio of roughly one Lightning for every 10 gasoline F-series, Ford projected it would need a one-to-one sales split to meet 2032 standards. Other options, all unpalatable, involved buying climate credits or offering steep discounts to drive sales. Ultimately, the math didn't add up. Ford knew it had to pull its chips off the table.

What's Next?

Ford's follow-up to the Lightning will become a series plug-in hybrid that automakers like to call an "Extended Range Electric Vehicle (EREV)." That new Lightning will be built in the same Detroit factory, with beefed-up towing stamina as part of a total driving range of about 700 miles. For consumers attuned to energy savings or electric advantages, a planned wave of EREV modelsfrom brands such as VW's Scout, Ram, and Hyundaimay be the most significant showroom change sparked by the EV pullback.

Scout Motors

These EREVs are looking like an intriguing hedge for automakers and buyers. They mix electric and internal-combustion power, but with considerably more pure-electric range to sidestep the chief criticism of more common parallel plug-in hybrids. Yet akin to the latter PHEVS, it remains to be seen whether enough consumers will understand the technology's potential or pay a premium for it. Automakers are racing back to hybrids as well, where Toyota is sitting pretty: Nearly half of Toyota's U.S. sales are now hybrids, after the company faced withering criticism for not keeping pace on EVs.

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Even across the pond, where EV's are nearing 20 percent of the market, the European Commission is backing away from plans to prohibit sales of new ICE cars beginning in 2025, under intense pressure from German automakers, especially.

"This all felt like an existential crisis to Western automakers, but now they've got that breathing room," Wakefield says.

Automakers, even as they spend billions of dollars on Trump tariffs, aim to earn that money back. "To build what customers really want is going to be a tailwind for us," Farley said in a quarterly earnings call, citing a "multi-billion-dollar opportunity."

Ram

Stellantis has granted a reprieve to its beloved Hemi V-8s, with the option returning on the 2026 Ram 1500, and the Durango SUV still comes with eight cylinders. "And this will mean to us a lot of additional profit," CEO Antonio Filosa said. And a certain set of guzzlers will pop corks on New Year's Day, with Stellantis expected to announce the Lazarus-like return of the Ram TRX and its supercharged 6.2-liter V-8.

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Wakefield says automakers are definitely in line for a windfall. For now, they will not face fines for falling short of C02 or mileage standards. Nor must they buy climate credits from the likes of Tesla, which padded profits via $10.7 billion in credit sales since 2012. And companies no longer need to develop and build as many EVs to meet federal targets, in a market that still faces daunting barriers to adoption. In China, Wakefield notes, EVs typically cost 5 to 10 percent less than comparable gasoline models. "Here, they still cost 25 to 30 percent more," he says. "But maybe by the end of this decade, we'll start seeing real cost parity."

Yet domestic automakers face a familiar dilemma. They must build popular cars at home without ignoring the wider world, including the potential existential threat of China. The CEOs of the Detroit Three insist they're not walking away from EVs.

Ford

Ford intends to bring a $30,000 electric pickup to showrooms by 2027, from its skunkworks project in California. That mid-size truck will ride on a "Universal EV Platform" designed to radically reduce costs. Ford expects EVs, EREVs, and hybrids to make up 50 percent of its global cars by 2030, or triple its 17 percent today.

Here at home, all those pickups and SUVs will continue to haul home the majority of profits. Fiorani says they can't haul every egg in automakers' baskets.

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"When you're isolated like the North American market is, you lose track of what the rest of the world is making," Fiorani says. "They could lose their edge even more if they don't keep up. And they're not going to keep Chinese automakers out forever."

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Earlier, Union Health Minister JP Nadda and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav offered prayers at the temple and sought the blessings of Lord Shiva on Tuesday.

Union Minister Nadda and Chief Minister Yadav entered the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, performed Jalabhishek, and worshipped Lord Mahakal.

Speaking to reporters on the occasion, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said, "Union Health Minister JP Nadda has come here today, and we all took the blessings of Baba Mahakal (Lord Shiva) here."

He further said, "By the grace of the Lord and under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is being distinctly recognised across the globe."

The Chief Minister also highlighted that Union Health Minister Nadda would lay the foundation stone of two new medical colleges in the state on Tuesday.

"The Union Health Minister has arrived here, and the foundation stone of two new medical colleges in Dhar and Betul will be laid today. With the two new medical colleges, the total number of medical colleges in the state will rise to 35," CM Yadav added.

He further said that the two new medical colleges are being established through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.

According to the schedule, Union Minister Nadda will first lay the foundation stone and inaugurate other development works in Dhar and thereafter proceed to Betul, where he will lay the foundation stone and inaugurate medical college-related and other development works in the afternoon.

Earlier on Monday evening, Union Health Minister JP Nadda arrived in Madhya Pradesh and was welcomed by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav at Indore airport. Later, Nadda reached Ujjain and attended the Shayan Aarti at the Mahakaleshwar Temple. (ANI)
This article is the second in a three-part series discussing animal shelters in Schuylkill County that will run on consecutive Sundays. The first article discussed the capacity crisis and staffing; the third article will discuss animal dumpings.

In Schuylkill County, local animal shelter employees say that education about pets medical needs is one of the most crucial aspects of being a pet owner. But, in their experiences, it is also one of the most often overlooked.

People dont really realize how important it is to spay and neuter your dog, Haley Weist, Dog Manager at Hillside SPCA in Pottsville, said. Not only to not have litters of puppies, but in medical terms, like avoiding pyometra.

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Across the country, veterinarian bills have been on the rise  earlier this year, The State of Pet Care released a report citing that vet costs have risen by over 60% in the last decade. Because of rising costs, approximately 52% of pet owners in the U.S. either refused recommended treatment or missed necessary vet visits last year.

If pet owners are having a hard time paying vet bills  even those with higher incomes, as the study finds  the problem is only exacerbated for local nonprofits, who are having to shoulder the costs of an increasing population of animals with medical needs.

Hillside SPCA in Pottsville, pictured Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)

Veterinary attention is necessary

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Employees at local shelters and rescues say pets should receive a multitude of medical services, ideally during their youth, to help them stay both healthy and safe. Many of these more major procedures are just one-time endeavors.

Having a pet spayed or neutered  in other words, sterilized  is the most frequently performed type of surgery by veterinarians. As a low-risk procedure, its biggest benefit is eliminating the chance of a pet having unwanted litters. The procedure can contribute to a pets overall healthiness, too, by preventing uterine infections and reducing the risk of some types of cancer.

Just like with humans, pet vaccines are important, too. The most emphasized ones help prevent death and illness from myriad diseases, including heartworm, lyme disease and parvovirus. Getting a rabies vaccine is even required by Pennsylvania law.

Having a pet microchipped is also highly recommended amongst veterinarians. The microchipping process has been around since the 1990s and, to the animal, it is no different than receiving a shot  a needle implants an electric chip the size of a grain of rice under the animals skin. When scanned by a veterinarian, the microchip can provide information regarding the animals ownership.

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A study done by the American Veterinary Medical Association found that stray dogs and cats who had microchips were returned to their owners at double the rate than non-chipped animals.

Yet many animals coming into Schuylkill County shelters lack one, multiple or sometimes all of these essential medical services.

Shouldering the costs

At Hillside, Weist says about 95% of dogs brought in are not already spayed or neutered. The same can be said for vaccines and microchips  a majority of animals come in without having had any of these procedures done.

This number has grown in recent years; before the COVID-19 pandemic, Weist says this estimate would have been closer to 75%.

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I just got a 13-year-old dog in and shes not fixed, Weist said. And she probably wont be, shes too old, too many medical issues.

Not attaining sterilization procedures means pets are more likely to have unexpected litters, litters which owners often do not have the means to take care of. Jessica Hazelton, Hillsides Office Manager, says there have been increases in the number of dog and cat dumpings recently, partly due to low sterilization rates, and in turn worsening the capacity crisis being experienced at shelters throughout the county.

If an animal comes into Hillside, Char Wills German Shepherd Rescue in New Ringgold, or Ruth Steinert Memorial SPCA in Pine Grove missing some essential medical treatments, it becomes the staffs responsibility to make sure that they receive them  each nonprofit has a commitment to making sure all animals are medically up-to-date before adoption.

Luckily, Hillside has an onsite clinic, with 3 staff members who can provide most medical needs that arise.

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But at Char Wills and Ruth Steinert, services are outsourced  all three nonprofits end up shouldering the costs.

We need their support

Kerrie Klahr, Office Manager at Char Wills, says they have dogs in need of medical attention all the time, and that the frequency is only increasing. The rescue brings four to five German Shepherds to a local vet once or twice a week where they receive vaccinations, are fixed and can receive other necessary treatments.

Diane Buhl, Founder of Char Wills, estimates that the rescue spends at least $8,000 a month on medical costs. She says about 75% of dogs who come in need some sort of medical attention.

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Sometimes, there are extreme outliers that worsen the situation. Just last week, Buhl says the rescue had to take a dog with pneumonia to an emergency vet in the middle of the night, resulting in a $10,000 medical bill for just one dog.

Buhl is grateful for the local veterinarians who partner with the rescue to cut them affordable rates. Char Wills gets most of their funds from fundraising events and community donors, without which she doesnt know how the rescue would manage.

Hillside also relies on these types of financial streams. But with a difficult economy stretching many peoples wallets, Weist says donations have been down and the SPCAs resources are wearing thin.

Hillsides adoption fees, which are typically around $60 for cats and $250 for dogs, are intended to cover the cost of having the animal spayed or neutered. With more animals coming in without vaccines and microchips, the SPCAs expenditures are growing. Plus, Hillside also has to account for food, grooming and operating costs.

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We are spending way more on the dog than what we get back, Weist said.

At Ruth Steinert, the story is the same; Shannon Shuttlesworth, Operations Manager at Ruth Steinert, says about 75% of donations they receive go towards outsourced vet services.

Shuttlesworth says one tray of 25 vaccines costs the shelter between $200-300. A single dogs spay or neutering procedure can also cost around $200.

Like Char Wills, Ruth Steinert also receives lower rates from local veterinarian groups. But Shuttlesworth says the shelter is forced to plead with its community supporters for financial aid.

We need their support, Shuttlesworth said.

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Happy to send people any information

Local employees agree that rising veterinary costs are one reason for why there are so many animals in need of medical attention  but education is, too.

For example, Buhl says many owners of male dogs might not think they need to get their pet neutered, because there is no chance of him having a litter. But other problems can arise from a lack of these procedures; for example, pets that are not spayed or neutered can exhibit more aggressive behavior. Nationwide, around 80% of dog bites are from unneutered male dogs.

Weist also thinks that many folks may not realize the low cost animal clinics that are available to them in the region. Hillsides on-site clinic offers spaying and neutering services to pet owners with the cheapest rates in the region; for cats, costs vary between $75 and $120 and for dogs, costs vary between $200 and $400. Hillside staff members are also eager to share information with pet owners about financial resources and other local clinics.

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Buhl runs a nonprofit called Make it Pawsible, which raises money to help Schuylkill County pet owners spay or neuter their pets. Tractor Supply Co. locations in St. Clair and Pine Grove also hold pet vaccination clinics every Sunday.

These pets need to done, were in crisis mode, Hazelton said. Im happy to send people any information.
Guest Opinion. Weapons of mass destruction have traditionally been characterized by the acronym CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear), but WMDs can also include devices such as bombs and explosives. These categories have been incorporated into federal law over time in response to attacks, disasters, and international obligations. The federal crime involving the possession or use of biological weapons was enacted in 1989 pursuant to the Biological Weapons Convention. In 1994, Congress passed a criminal statute covering all weapons of mass destruction, including radiological and nuclear weapons. The Chemical Weapons Convention, which entered into force in 1997, likewise required the enactment of criminal statutes punishing the possession or use of chemical weapons.

Now, another substance threatening national security has been added to the list.

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On Dec. 15, 2025, President Trump added illicit fentanyl and its core precursor chemicals to the short list of weapons of mass destruction. Why did fentanyl, a deadly street drug, become a weapon of mass destruction? The policy rationale is stated in the executive order as follows:

Illicit fentanyl is closer to a chemical weapon than a narcotic. Two milligrams, an almost undetectable trace amount equivalent to 10 to 15 grains of table salt, constitutes a lethal dose. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have died from fentanyl overdoses.

Why, then, is designating fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction useful? In summary, it increases potential penaltiesincluding the death penaltywhen the use of fentanyl results in death, and it authorizes the use of military resources to assist the Department of Justice when the militarys unique capabilities are necessary to respond to a fentanyl-related emergency.

Authority to Use the Military

One of the primary consequences of designating illicit fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction is that military resources may be deployed in emergency situations to assist the Department of Justice. Federal law specifically authorizes military support when responding to weapons of mass destruction, a provision cited in the executive order.

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The statute defines such an emergency as one that poses a serious threat to the interests of the United States, where national security interests are at stake and only the militarys resources can uniquely assist the Department of Justice.

Fentanyl Defined as a WMD?

Federal law authorizing military support for responses to weapons of mass destruction also references statutes defining those weapons: biological weapons, chemical weapons, nuclear weapons, and other weapons of mass destruction.

Under 18 U.S.C.  2332a, a weapon of mass destruction is defined, in part, as:

any weapon that is designed or intended to cause death or serious bodily injury through the release, dissemination, or impact of toxic or poisonous chemicals, or their precursors.

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Under this definition, illicit fentanyl could fall within the scope of a weapon of mass destruction.

On Death Row: Fentanyl Distribution and the Death Penalty

Under existing drug statutes, the maximum penalty for the distribution of fentanylincluding conspiracyis generally 20 years. By contrast, the maximum penalty for the use of a weapon of mass destruction that results in death is the death penalty.

Because the executive order describes illicit fentanyl as akin to a chemical weapon, enforcement is likely to rely on this statutory definition of a weapon of mass destruction. That statute authorizes the most severe penalties:

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[A violator] shall be imprisoned for any term of years or for life, and if death results, shall be punished by death or imprisoned for any term of years or for life.

What About Medical Fentanyl?

One potential unintended consequence of criminalizing fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction is the concern that hospitals and medical providers could be prohibited from possessing or purchasing it. A comparable situation exists with botulinum toxin, which is classified as a select agent and criminalized as a weapon of mass destruction when possessed in amounts not permitted under federal law.

When Botox came under scrutiny for potentially violating criminal statutes, regulators drew a distinction between FDA-approved medical products and non-FDA-registered uses of botulinum toxin. Similarly, FDA-approved medical uses of fentanyl should be exempt from the application of federal chemical weapons statutes or from the executive order specifically designating fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction.

Final Thoughts

Increasing penalties and expanding resources to address the fentanyl crisis represents the latest effort in a decades-long national struggle, from the War on Drugs in the 1970s to the creation of the Drug Czar position, the Just Say No campaign, and litigation against opioid manufacturers. Fentanyl has created a new and devastating crisis, resulting in hundreds of thousands of deaths while funding drug cartels and, increasingly, terrorist organizations.

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This new designation may mark a turning point in addressing a problem that has long resisted solutions. Fortunately, existing law may now provide a path to finally confront the threat more effectively.

To read more articles by Professor Sutton go to: https://profvictoria.substack.com/

Professor Victoria Sutton (Lumbee) is a law professor on the faculty of Texas Tech University. In 2005, Sutton became a founding member of the National Congress of American Indians, Policy Advisory Board to the NCAI Policy Center, positioning the Native American community to act and lead on policy issues affecting Indigenous communities in the United States.

About the Author: "Levi \"Calm Before the Storm\" Rickert (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation) is the founder, publisher and editor of Native News Online. Rickert was awarded Best Column 2021 Native Media Award for the print\/online category by the Native American Journalists Association. He serves on the advisory board of the Multicultural Media Correspondents Association. He can be reached at levi@nativenewsonline.net."

Contact: levi@nativenewsonline.net
An area man who started in a reality show is now facing sex crimes.

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Tony McCollister, 43, is facing a felony count of pandering obscenity involving a minor and a misdemeanor count of sexual conduct with an animal, according to CBS affiliate WKRC in Cincinnati.

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Online jail records show that he was arrested on Tuesday, Dec. 23, at the 800 block of Memorial Drive.

Cincinnati TV station WLWT-TV reports that court documents say that McCollister is accused of knowingly uploading child sex abuse material to his Google account.

He started on A&Es Neighbors with Benefits back in 2015.

Cincinnati media outlets report that his next scheduled court appearance is Dec. 30.

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US senator Bernie Sanders amplified his recent criticism of artificial intelligence on Sunday, explicitly linking the financial ambition of the richest people in the world to economic insecurity for millions of Americans  and calling for a potential moratorium on new datacenters.

Sanders, a Vermont independent who caucuses with the Democratic party, said on CNNs State of the Union that he was fearful of a lot when it came to AI. And the senator called it the most consequential technology in the history of humanity that will transform the US and the world in ways that had not been fully discussed.

If there are no jobs and humans wont be needed for most things, how do people get an income to feed their families, to get healthcare or to pay the rent? Sanders said. Theres not been one serious word of discussion in the Congress about that reality.

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Related: From shrimp Jesus to erotic tractors: how viral AI slop took over the internet

Days from being scheduled to help swear New York mayor-elect and democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani into office, Sanders said the richest people in the world were pushing the technology. He singled out tech moguls Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Peter Thiel while questioning their motives.

You think theyre staying up nights worrying about working people and how this technology will impact those people? Sanders said. They are not. They are doing it to get richer and even more powerful.

Sanders also pointed to studies that show dependence on AI chatbots for emotional support. If this trend continues, what does it mean over the years when people are not getting their support, their interaction from other human beings, but from a machine? he said. What does that mean to humanity?

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That theme was taken up separately on State of the Union by Katie Britt, an Alabama Republican senator and co-sponsor of legislation to protect minors from chatbots.

The proposed measure  the Guardianship Over Artificial Intelligence Relationships (Guard) Act  seeks to ban providing AI companions to minors. It also mandates that AI companions disclose their non-human status and lack of professional credentials. The measure seeks to establish criminal liability if companies make AI companions available to minors that solicit or produce sexually explicit content  or encourage self-harm or violence.

Britt said she had met with parents who have told her devastating stories about their children where chatbots ultimately, when they kind of peeled everything back, had isolated them from their parents, had talked to them about suicide.

She said: If these AI companies can make the most brilliant machines in the world, they could do us all a service by putting up proper guardrails that did not allow for minors to utilize these things, that also told the user consistently that they are not a physician, they are not a psychiatrist, I am a machine.

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Britt said AI companies should be held criminally liable if they create spaces where chatbots are having these types of sensual and sexual relationships with young people or encouraging suicide.

Related: From that bird guy to bus aunty: the real social media personalities rising above AI slop

The remarks by Sanders and Britt offer a rare convergence of thinking from the left and right on aspects of the issue of governing AI. Sanders said Congress needed to vigorously study the impact that AI is having on the mental health of our country.

I worry very much about kids spending their entire days getting emotional support, he added. So we have got to take a hard look on that. The senator said lawmakers need to be thinking seriously about a moratorium on new AI datacenters.

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Frankly, I think you have got to slow this process down, he said. Its not good enough for the oligarchs to tell us, its coming, you adapt. What are they talking about? They going to guarantee health care to all people?

What are they going to do when people have no jobs? What are they going to do, make housing free? So I think we need to take a deep breath, and I think we need to slow this thing down.
NEED TO KNOW

Alabama boy Jace Watkins, 11, died on Dec. 27 after being hospitalized due to complications from the flu

A GoFundMe page for Watkins stated that he suffered a seizure days after falling ill

Sabrina Parsons, his aunt, wrote on Facebook, Jace never even got to open his Christmas gifts ... What do we even do now?

An 11-year-old boy in Alabama died after a severe case of the flu.

Jace Watkins died on Saturday, Dec. 27, after being hospitalized due to complications from the flu, according to Fox 8.

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The boy received treatment from the Childrens of Alabama intensive care unit. During his illness, he suffered seizures and had trouble breathing.

Earlier in the week, his family said he was not receiving enough oxygen to his brain due to swelling.

Watkins' aunt, Sabrina Parsons, said he had no underlying health issues, per Fox 8. "He was a premature baby, but other than that, hes had inhalers and stuff, but thats been years ago," she said. "He was telling everybody he was fine, he felt fine. And then, I guess he started throwing up that night and had a seizure."

gofundme Jace Watkins Jace Watkins

Watkins was a fifth-grade student at Hueytown Intermediate School. The schools principal Cari McClellan shared an emotional statement in honor of the boy via Facebook on Dec. 28, writing, "Our hearts are broken this morning. ... Jace Watkins passed away last night after a brief and sudden illness. There really arent words to adequately describe what were feeling right now."

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McClellan continued, "Jace was a bright light to everyone who knew him. His sweet genuine smile will be missed by all. Please continue to pray for his family, and our school family, as we all work to navigate this unimaginable loss."

A family friend organized a community prayer vigil for the boy on Dec. 23, the school shared in a previous statement.

gofundme Children's of Alabama hospital Children's of Alabama hospital

A GoFundMe created for Watkins and his family has raised more than $6,000 so far.

The description for the page stated that Watkins fell ill and visited a doctor the following day. He was told, at the time, that his "lungs sounded clear." Days later, he had a seizure and was taken to the hospital where he was diagnosed with the flu.

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The page said, at one point, Watkins was placed on a ventilator.

Sabrina made an emotional Facebook post on Dec. 28, writing, "I just want to say.. Jace never even got to open his Christmas gifts ... What do we even do now?"

She continued: "This will forever weigh over our family."

Watkins' grandmother, Joann Clayton Parsons, also paid tribute to the boy and thanked the community for their support. "I just want to think each and every one of you for all the sweet kind words and the prayers for my sweet great grandson Jace Watkins," she wrote in a Facebook post.

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"He was so loved by everyone [and] our hearts are [broken], but you will never know what it meant to us for yall to show so much love to us and to Jace," Joann said.

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.

Cases of the flu continue to be on the rise in the United States, with the most recent data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control showing a 14% increase in hospitalizations and a 4% increase in visits to a medical care provider for respiratory illness.

Two pediatric deaths from the flu were also reported, the agency said. Per the American Academy of Pediatrics, last years flu season hit a tragic milestone as the most fatal for children, with 288 kids dying from influenza.

Read the original article on People
Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) called on Congress to pass her legislation to protect minors from the dangers of artificial intelligence (AI), saying social media companies wont act because they prioritize profit over actual people.

In an interview on CNNs State of the Union, Britt said parental controls that companies like OpenAI have said theyre rolling out are definitely steps in the right direction but said its up to Congress to take action.

How long is it going to take Congress to actually act? Britt said in the interview. I mean, you think about this, we have been talking about this for years. How many parents are going to have to come and tell us a devastating story before we actually pass legislation?

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Britt said while social media companies have the potential to institute their own changes, they lack an incentive to do so.

The truth is, these A.I. companies can absolutely do much of this on their own, but we know consistently, time and time again, whether its been social media companies or now some of the A.I. space, that we consistently see people putting their profits over actual people, Britt said.

Britt drew on her own experience as a mom of a 15-year-old and 16-year-old, saying, I dont have to ask people what its like to raise kids right now. I am living it.

So when you come with that perspective, you know that there are parents out there that are looking for tools to help keep their children safe, she added.

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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 The Hill.
People have less than 90 days before THC drinks will be banned across Ohio.

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As reported on News Center 7 at 11:00, businesses in the Oregon District say that they will start losing money because of the line-item veto Governor DeWine made on intoxicating hemp products.

He signed Senate Bill (SB) 56 into law on Dec. 19. It bans all weed products from being sold outside licensed dispensaries.

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It starts in March 2026 and will last one year.

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Businesses told News Center 7s Malik Patterson that they feel like their votes two years ago dont matter.

They were happy with the drinks and the economic impact they had.

Bars were allowed to sell THC drinks that had a low dosage, but the new veto has stopped it.

Colin McHenry said that this is getting out of hand.

This kind of crusade thats going on about it just needs to stop, said Colin McHenry. Its unnecessary, and its invalid. Let these companies continue to run and make a profit and benefit the community.

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Patterson said that DeWines signing comes a day after President Trump reclassified weed and THC from a Schedule 1 drug to a Schedule 3 drug.

Colin said that he was excited for the new federal rescheduling until this happened.

Its bringing people out who were once shamed for something they did in public. Theyre going to want to interact more. Theyre going to feel more comfortable doing this, he said.

Patterson also spoke with Raychel Loney, the general manager of Troll Pub in the Oregon District.

She said this decision came as a shock.

Im not reordering, so like at this point, I would love for things to change and for us to be able to maintain the status quo, she said.

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Loney said these drinks were very successful from a business standpoint.

Yeah, our guests love it. My employee loves or love it. They love selling it, she added.

Loney added that they have had this rule in place for years.

As an industry, we have been treating it like alcohol in terms of, you know, not allowing people under 21 to use it, she said.

Loney told Patterson that she is worried about the long-term impact that this ban will have across the state.

Its a bad choice for Ohios economy. And the hemp industry has been booming lately, and all those people are going to be out of jobs, she stated.

The ban goes into effect in March 2026.

News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.

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A 76-year-old Odessa woman awaiting trial on capital murder and arson charges has died.

According to Ector County District Court records, the district attorneys office moved to have the charges filed against Linda Marlene Letcher in July 2021 dismissed Dec. 19 citing her death as the reason.

Letcher was indicted on two charges, arson causing death and capital murder by terror by other felony in the April 24, 2021 death of Tommie Jone Rister.

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The indictments alleged Letcher placed burning refuse into the enclosed carport of a home in the 6400 block of St. Louis knowing it would endanger Risters life because she was inside and Rister died as the result of the fire or an explosion.

According to authorities, firefighters and deputies became aware of the fire at 2 p.m. on the day in question and found Rister, 77, inside. She died at a Lubbock hospital.

According to her obituary, Rister was known as a fiery red head with a big heart and an amazing belly laugh. She was preceded in death by her husband of 51 years and she left behind four children and numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.

Court records indicate that prior to Letchers death, she was housed at the Big Spring State Hospital due to competency issues.

The post Capital murder defendant dies appeared first on Odessa American.
BJP Tripura state General Secretary Bipin Debbarma on Saturday described the death of a student from Tripura in Dehradun as "deeply saddening for all the people of Tripura" "This is deeply saddening for all the people of Tripura... The CM of Tripura has held talks with the CM of Uttarakhand, and those who are involved in this incident will be brought to justice...," Debbarma told ANI. Five people have been arrested in connection with the brutal attack on two students from Tripura in Dehradun, in which one of them later succumbed to his injuries, police said. Speaking to ANI, Pramod Kumar, Superintendent of Police (City), provided details of the case, saying the incident occurred on the evening of December 9 in the Premnagar police station area. "Two students from Tripura, Angel Chakma and his brother, Michael Chakma, lived near Nanda Chowki in the Premnagar police station area. This incident happened on the evening of the 9th, when they had gone to Selaqui for some work," he said. The SP added that the two got into an argument with some local youths and another youth from the Northeast. "A fight broke out between them, during which it is reported that they were attacked with knives and other blunt objects. As a result, they were seriously injured. Their brother took them to the hospital, and subsequently, an FIR was registered," he said. According to the police, the FIR was initially filed against unknown persons. "The police made every effort and worked diligently. CCTV footage was reviewed, and information was gathered from people in the surrounding area. Four or five names then came to light," Kumar said. He further stated that five accused have been arrested in the case. "Those whose names came to light were arrested by the police. A total of five people have been arrested in this case. Three -- Avinash Negi, Suraj Khawas, and Sumit -- were sent to jail. Two of them were juveniles and were sent to the correctional home," he added. The official also confirmed that Angel Chakma died while undergoing treatment at the hospital. "Two days ago, Angel Chakma died while undergoing treatment at the hospital. A murder charge has been added to the case," he said. Kumar further informed that one of the accused is still absconding. "A person, Yagya Awasthi, is wanted in the case. He is originally from Nepal. We have issued a non-bailable warrant for his arrest, and a reward of Rs 25,000 has been announced. We will arrest him soon," he added. Meanwhile, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Saturday said that he spoke with Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami regarding the tragic death of a student who was brutally assaulted by a group of miscreants in Dehradun on December 9. In a post on X, CM Saha said, "Spoke with Hon'ble Chief Minister of Uttarakhand @pushkardhami Ji, regarding the tragic incident involving our student Angel Chakma, a resident of Nandanagar, Debram Thakur Para, who was brutally assaulted by a group of miscreants in Dehradun on 9th December and later he expires at Graphic Era Hospital." The Chief Minister said that during his conversation with Pushkar Singh Dhami, he was informed that five accused have already been arrested in connection with the case. He added that further investigation is underway and assured that justice would be delivered. (ANI)




Back in the 1990s, Stafford Hemmer would visit San Francisco's Castro-Mission Health Center near his home every three months or so for an HIV test.

He was having "constant unprotected sex" at the time but was still somehow convinced he was invincible. So it was a gut punch when he tested positive in July 1996. Though staff at the clinic tried to set him up with care, Hemmer ran out the door. "I wasn't the kind of person who could readily ask for help," he said.

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Hemmer stopped going to the clinic for years, because he no longer needed testing. But a new health problem led him back there 10 years ago, and the clinic has become his primary medical care home: Hemmer, now 59, gets all of his health care there, from HIV meds to flu shots and cyst removals.

Hemmer's relationship with the center mirrors the role that the Castro-Mission Health Center has played in San Francisco public health, and in that evolving neighborhood, for 60 years.

The Castro-Mission Health Center opened in 1965 as a neighborhood center, and over the past six decades as the city's primary public health clinic, it's been on the front lines of the AIDS epidemic and COVID. Doctors there now care for everyone from longtime HIV survivors to multigenerational Latino families and homeless transgender youths.

Dr. Jacob Arellano-Anderson adjusts an electric exam chair at the Castro-Mission Health Center. (Bronte Wittpenn/S.F. Chronicle)





"This is a neighborhood clinic, and we are tailored to this community in the Castro and the Mission," said Dr. Jacob Arellano-Anderson, who practices family medicine and HIV care at the clinic. "Here, if you don't speak Spanish, if you don't know HIV medicine, if you don't know gender health or addiction medicine or good old primary care, you couldn't serve these patients well."

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The Castro-Mission clinic in its early years provided basic primary care to mostly Latino families, and then to a growing gay population in the Castro. AIDS arrived in the early 1980s, and as testing became available, the clinic was one of the main sites for gay men like Hemmer to go.

During the brutal early years of the epidemic, most people with AIDS were treated at San Francisco General Hospital - they'd go to Ward 5A when they needed hospitalization for opportunistic infections, or to Ward 86, the HIV outpatient clinic, for checkups. Once medications to treat HIV arrived, in the mid-1990s, San Francisco providers began to move care out of the hospital setting and into clinics and doctor offices.

That movement out of the hospital was part of the San Francisco model of AIDS care, which at the time was a revolutionary shift toward broadening the scope of services provided to people with serious, life-threatening diseases. The Castro-Mission clinic was one of the first places where that care branched out of the hospital.

Notes of appreciation for nurse practitioners are displayed at the Castro-Mission Health Center. (Bronte Wittpenn/S.F. Chronicle)





"We knew when we started treating folks with the new antiretroviral (medications) that Ward 86 was going to get flooded," said Ricardo Duarte, a longtime public health nurse manager who retired from the clinic this summer. "They couldn't take any more. So the thought was, how can the health centers take some of these folks?"

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Duarte, who had been working on Ward 5A in the late 1990s, helped shift that care to the Castro-Mission clinic. Staffers at the health centers were initially reluctant to begin treating people with HIV, Duarte recalled. Many thought the care was too challenging and could be handled only by experts in certain settings.

"It took a special group of folks to say, We can do this,'" Duarte said. "We were in the Castro anyway, right? We had to do it."

Since then, Castro-Mission and other neighborhood clinics have been the main providers of HIV care for many San Francisco residents, including thousands of long-term survivors who were infected in the 1980s.

When drugs to prevent HIV infection - called PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis - were developed, the Castro-Mission and other clinics were the main avenues for getting the medication to the city's most vulnerable populations. Now, as San Francisco seeks to wipe out HIV and stop all new infections, the clinic continues to play a critical role.

Dr. Jacob Arellano-Anderson says the Castro-Mission Health Center specializes in reaching vulnerable populations. (Bronte Wittpenn/S.F. Chronicle)





"Everyone's super invested in ending the epidemic," Arellano-Anderson said. "And I think it's possible, if we can just reach the populations that are specifically vulnerable." Many of those populations - including Latino men and transgender women - are part of the Castro-Mission community.

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But as HIV has become a treatable condition instead of a death sentence - and one that doesn't require intense treatment, but for many one daily pill - the Castro-Mission clinic has evolved too. HIV now is just one chapter of its care catalog.

Hemmer said he didn't think much of the clinic where he'd tested positive until 20 years later - in 2016 - when he found himself in the throes of methamphetamine addiction.

"There was one time I went into the clinic and I was crying uncontrollably, and I don't even know why," Hemmer said. "Everybody there, from the receptionist to the nurses, was really very patient with me. And my relationship with the center has gone on since then."

Providers there helped Hemmer get sober, and the clinic became his main health care home. He gets his HIV meds there and will sometimes talk with doctors about adjusting them or trying something new. But mostly he gets his primary care there.

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"I go to them for everything - for every health issue that I have a problem with," Hemmer said. "When I meet with the doctor, I usually have a laundry list of issues I want to talk about."

A few years ago Hemmer told a doctor at the Castro-Mission clinic that he was having some strange pain centered in three isolated spots in his body. The doctor suspected viral meningitis, and was right - Hemmer was hospitalized for two weeks fighting the infection.

"She came in to check on me, and I really appreciated that," Hemmer said. "That's been the case every time there's been some kind of intense hospital issue - the doctors have made an effort to have a personal relationship with me."

This article originally published at This Castro clinic was on the front lines of HIV care. After 60 years, it's still changing lives.
The AI boom currently underpinning the United States economy has led to a rapid expansion of data centers. These facilities are necessary for processing AI calculations, especially for cloud services, but they also have downsides. Data centers, especially those built for AI, are enormous. The big data centers can take up millions of square feet to house racks of interconnected supercomputers. That means they draw a lot of power and create a lot of noise. As it turns out, a large and growing number of people would prefer not to live alongside gargantuan buildings spewing smoke into the sky, driving away wildlife with constant noise, and increasing their power bills in the process. Now, communities across the country are pushing back.

Not only is the backlash widespread, it is both bipartisan and effective. In communities from Arizona to Virginia, residents have banded together to slow or outright stop the construction of new AI data centers, stymying expansion plans from hyperscalers. The efforts to put the kibosh on new server farm construction have only just begun to draw journalistic scrutiny, but they have been well underway. It seems people across the country leapt to attention after waves of press highlighting the negative externalities of data centers for nearby residents, including one xAI data center in Memphis, Tennessee, powered by 33 methane gas turbines. Nicknamed "Colossus" by owner Elon Musk, the server farm has increased smog in the city by as much as 60%, according to the Tennessee Lookout. The city's racially diverse and economically disadvantaged residents had little say and even less recourse.

Eager to prevent a similar fate in their own respective locales, here's how concerned citizens across the U.S. are pushing back on AI data centers.

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Read more: How To Make Your Phone Last Longer Than You Thought Possible

Residents buck AI hyperscaling projects in communities nationwide

Cooling towers for an AI high-performance computing (HPC) data center - eric1207cvb/Shutterstock

Despite the unprecedented levels of investment being directed toward AI hyperscaling  in other words, building more and bigger data centers than ever before  communities across America are pushing back. In some cases, they have managed to block entire construction projects.

In Chandler, Arizona, a proposed data center project was shot down in a unanimous mid-December city council vote after locals voiced fierce opposition, Fox Business reported. Former Senator Kyrsten Sinema, now president and CEO of the Arizona Business Roundtable lobbying organization, had been supporting the proposal. When the project was forwarded for council approval in October, the vote was almost entirely flipped, passing with a margin of 5-1.

Bipartisan resistance from residents in Franklin Township, Indiana, led Google to pull a proposed data center project in the same county, reported WFYI, and opposition is strong across the state. And in Lansing, Michigan, Planet Detroit reported on organized efforts to place a statewide moratorium on new AI data centers. Too, resistance has emerged in the Western mountain region, per CPR. All in, The Verge found that Americans have managed to halt or block "tens of billions of dollars worth of potential investment" into AI infrastructure. Data Center Watch, a research firm, found that opposition had grown 125% in the second quarter of 2025 alone, with 66% of tracked data center projects stalled or blocked.

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These local pockets of pushback closely mirror similarly organized efforts to reject new AI surveillance cameras. Americans appear to be increasingly opposed to the whims of big tech after years of negative sentiment. People may love their iPhones, but have soured on social media and never got sweet on AI to begin with. The question, now, is, 'What have you done for me lately?'

Americans don't want to foot the bill for AI computing, so who will?

Winschoten Data Center aerial view - Make more Aerials/Shutterstock

The speed and scale of localized opposition to AI hyperscaling have alarmed some in the AI industry, since the construction of these sites is central to the supercharged growth of AI companies in recent years. But word of their downsides has fomented rebellion faster than projects can be approved. If the response from major players spells anything out, it is that they, like others, seem to have identified rising electricity costs as a primary motivator of anti-data center sentiment. Microsoft, Amazon, and industry consortium The Data Center Coalition all highlighted commitments to paying for their own energy in responses to an Investor's Business Daily piece. Meanwhile, recent reporting has shown the opposite: even as some data centers sit empty, the data center boom is already inflating the power bill for people who live near massive computer farms. The threat of a slimmer wallet is a powerful coalition builder.

There is a global cost to local resistance, however. If hyperscalers cannot build in wealthy areas, they are likely to target poorer ones, as in the case of xAI's Memphis site. Likewise, if they cannot build in Imperial Core nations, they are likely instead to build in Peripheral nations, where opposition can be more easily pushed back with a firehose of capital investments. Costs Americans do not wish to bear  rising energy costs, pollution, and so on  will instead be borne by the periphery, echoing a longstanding historical pattern of exploitation. Powerful governments in core nations will need to rein in the scope and sustainability of AI development worldwide to prevent a game of global hot potato from dumping data centers on the most vulnerable communities in the U.S. and abroad.

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For many drivers, the cost of fuel is an ever present concern that affects everything from getting to work to visiting family. It can be especially troubling for residents of the Golden State, as California is home to the nation's highest gas prices. Now there's some more bad news, as Valero Energy is closing its Benicia refinery in 2026. State officials warn that this closure, combined with the shutdown of Phillips 66's Los Angeles plant, could eliminate about a fifth of the state's gas refining capacity. This would tighten California's supply, and increase the likelihood that gas prices will go up.

Valero's decision to leave stems from California's complex regulation standards, as well as the high cost of doing business in the state. The company just couldn't find a way to generate profit in California when compared to other areas. Phillips 66 had similar reasons for closing its operations in late 2025, along with an uncertainty about the future of its LA refinery in the long-term.

As of this writing, the average cost of gas in California, a state that actually wants drivers to start paying by the mile, is around $4.30 per gallon. This is about $1.44 higher than the national average. But if some experts are correct in their assessment of the situation, the state could see gas prices jump upwards of $10 per gallon or possibly even more. Since Valero's refinery won't officially close until April of 2026, the future of gas prices in the state won't be known for months to come.

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Read more: Avoid These 5 EV Charging Habits For Maximum Battery Health

California's fragile gas supply and what happens next

Motorists drive on Interstate 210 during the morning commute - Mario Tama/Getty Images

Governor Gavin Newsom has urged the California Energy Commission to coordinate with local refineries to ensure a steady, yet affordable, supply of gas for residents. This comes after the exit of the two refineries, leaving a gap that the commission believes may be filled by adding additional import infrastructure. This could lead to the importing of more fuel, and possibly an increase in transportation and delivery costs. Unfortunately, this also means gas prices could remain as high as they are now, if not a bit higher.

The reason California's gas prices are the highest in the country to begin with is due to a combination of factors. First, the state has some of the highest taxes and fees on fuel, which increases the price residents pay with every fill-up. Then there's the costly environmental compliance policies, and the fact that California's clean-burning fuel mix is already limited. The absence of major pipelines delivering fuel to the state doesn't help, and even with California's new laws aimed at slashing prices, drivers still may not save money.

That's why the current loss of refineries is such a blow to the state, and explains why Governor Newsom is actually calling for more in-state drilling. But critics warn that there would be negative environmental impacts, which contradict the state's clean energy approach. Others believe the very problems that caused the refineries to leave weren't properly addressed from the start, leading to the issues the state now faces.

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By Heejin Kim

SEOUL, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Online retailer Coupang's founder Kim Bom apologised for the first time for a recent leak of customer data and pledged to unveil a compensation plan as soon as possible, in a statement posted on the South Korean company's website.

Coupang's U.S.-based chairman said in Korean that he "sincerely apologises" for the data breach, which was first revealed in November, and also pledged investments and reforms to prevent data breaches.

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Kim has faced intense criticism in South Korea for failing to attend parliamentary hearings held in Seoul earlier this month on one of the country's worst data breaches.

On Sunday, Rep. Choi Min-hee of the ruling Democratic Party posted on Facebook a photo of a document that Kim sent to the National Assembly saying he would again be unable to attend a hearing, scheduled for this week, citing other appointments.

"What in his schedule could be more important to him than this hacking incident?" Choi said. "Kim is insulting the public."

Kim said the company, cooperating with the government, has restored all leaked personal information, and confirmed that data from 3,000 of Coupang's 33 million customers had been saved by a suspect on his personal computer but was not transferred or sold to any third party.

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Coupang will announce a compensation plan for South Korean customers as soon as possible, he said, without elaborating.

South Korean lawmakers are seeking to take legal action against the company's billionaire founder, arguing the New York-listed online retailer earns most of its revenue from sales in South Korea.

Kim said Coupang had worked closely with the South Korean government's investigation into the breach, while maintaining confidentiality.

The comment followed a complaint by the government that the firm unilaterally disclosed information that the suspect was a former employee.

(Reporting by Heejin Kim; Editing by Sonali Paul)
According to KAN, police no longer attribute any involvement in Kassaus disappearance to the suspect, though the investigation into the Beersheba incident will remain under Lahav 433's authority.

Israel Police said on Sunday that a 63-year-old Beersheba resident suspected of sexually assaulting a minor is no longer considered a suspect in the disappearance of nine-year-old Haymanut Kasau from Safed, while requesting that his detention be extended by another three days, in connection with the Beersheba incident.

At a hearing at the Rishon Lezion Magistrates Court in Rishon LeZion, Judge Menachem Mizrahi extended the suspects detention by three days at the request of police, citing evidence supporting the suspicion of an indecent act and assault against a 12-year-old girl in Beersheba, as well as concerns over potential obstruction of the investigation.

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At the same time, the court accepted the position that the suspect should be cleared of suspicion in Kasaus disappearance, nearly two years after she vanished, following a significant weakening of the evidentiary link between the two cases.

According to KAN, police no longer attribute any involvement in Kassaus disappearance to the suspect, though the investigation into the Beersheba incident will remain under the authority of the Lahav 433 major crimes unit.

The suspect was arrested after a 12-year-old girl in Beersheba told investigators that a man arrived at her home under the pretense of visiting her father, a friend of his. According to her account, reported in detail by Haaretz, the man entered the apartment, asked for water and a towel, went to the bathroom, and, upon returning, allegedly hugged her and grabbed her arm as she tried to leave.

I was really scared, the girl told Haaretz. She said she managed to escape the apartment, screamed, and sought help from a neighbor, who contacted the police.

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The suspect has denied the allegations, telling the court: I only went to visit a friend, her father. I didnt do anything.

Mizrahi ruled that while the suspicion regarding Kasaus disappearance had not been substantiated, the Beersheba case justifies continued detention. He also cited grounds of dangerousness and concerns that the suspect could interfere with the investigation.

Haymanut Kasau last seen in Safed

Haymanut Kasau, a nine-year-old girl from Safed, was last seen on February 25, 2024, near the absorption center where she lived with her family. Security camera footage shows her smiling and running back toward the building with election leaflets in her hands. She has not been seen since.

Search efforts were initially halted about three weeks after her disappearance and later resumed. Kasaus family has long argued that all signs point to an abduction and has fought to have her classified as a kidnapping victim rather than a missing person - a distinction they say has significant implications for the scope and tools of the investigation.

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According to Haaretz, police assessments in recent weeks indicated that no direct evidence was found tying the Beersheba suspect to Kasaus disappearance, despite earlier judicial determinations that there was reasonable suspicion linking him to both cases.

The family has also sought to involve the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) in the investigation, but police acknowledged only recently - following criticism in the Knesset - that contrary to earlier statements by senior officers, the security agency had not been involved in the case, according to Channel 13.

About two weeks ago, Police Commissioner Daniel Levi ordered that the Kasau case be transferred to the Lahav 433 National Crime Unit, following reports by Channel 13 alleging investigative failures in the handling of the case.

The Rishon LeZion Magistrates Court subsequently imposed a broad gag order on details of the investigation, including the suspects identity and evidence collected, citing concerns over obstruction of justice. According to KAN, both police and the suspects defense attorneys supported extending the publication ban.

The investigation remains ongoing.
Data centers dominated local news throughout 2025, ushering in an unprecedented onslaught of new development and packing public meetings with standing-room-only crowds of concerned residents.

Only one year ago, data centers were largely unheard of in Lackawanna County, with neighboring Luzerne County receiving some of the earliest proposals, including Amazons plan to build a data center campus tapping into Talen Energys nuclear power plant in Salem Twp. and NorthPoint Developments proposed Project Hazelnut in Hazle Twp. Entering 2026, Lackawanna and Luzerne counties have now received proposals to construct over 100 data center buildings across more than a dozen campuses as developers and tech giants look to cash in on the rapidly growing industry driven by a race for artificial intelligence dominance, making Northeast Pennsylvania a data center hot spot not only in the state, but nationally.

Data centers promise significant tax revenue, infrastructure investment, construction jobs and full-time positions operating the high-tech facilities  at the cost of straining local utilities due to the large quantities of electricity needed to fuel them and high volumes of water to cool them; impacting residents with proposals to build near homes, schools and parks; and wiping out local ecosystems by building across hundreds of acres of untouched land while local governments scrambled to update their land-use laws to address the new industry.

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Unlike the regions most recent boom, the warehousing and logistics industry, data center proposals often place the facilities much closer to residential areas, moving from mostly industrial parks to land in the middle of communities.

Rising above local politics, state and federal leaders have championed data centers, from Gov. Josh Shapiros June announcement of Amazons plans to invest $20 billion into Pennsylvania for artificial intelligence infrastructure  including in Salem Twp.  to President Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick touting more than $90 billion in planned investments into about 20 artificial intelligence and energy projects across the state  largely in Northeast Pennsylvania, Western Pennsylvania and the Susquehanna Valley  during an Energy and Innovation Summit in July at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Further supporting artificial intelligence and data centers, Trump signed a Dec. 11 executive order aimed at limiting how states can regulate data centers, instead trying to govern the industry with a minimally burdensome national policy framework for AI.

Fearing the impacts data centers could have on their homes, residents spent 2025 researching data centers, filling public meetings and pleading with elected officials to protect their communities. While Northeast Pennsylvania residents are familiar with controversial developments that packed public hearings, like the Keystone Sanitary Landfill in Dunmore and Throop or the Lackawanna Energy Center natural gas-fired power plant in Jessup, no industry has generated so much controversy across so many communities, making data centers The Sunday Times newsmaker of the year for 2025.

Archbald resident Tamara Misewicz-Healey, standing at podium, addresses borough council during a data center zoning hearing at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Archbald, on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. (FRANK WILKES LESNEFSKY / STAFF PHOTO)

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Location is key

John Augustine, the president and CEO of Penns Northeast, considers data centers to be the fourth industrial revolution in Northeast Pennsylvania. Penns Northeast is a Pittston-based collective that promotes Northeast Pennsylvania for new investments, jobs and business opportunities.

First, it was coal, then manufacturing with work in industries like metal fabrication and plastics, followed by warehousing and distribution as the third, Augustine said.

(Data centers) just happen to be the fourth, he said. Location is key. It was for warehouse and distribution centers, as it is for data centers.

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Just like the regions proximity to major interstates attracts warehouses, the high-tension power lines slicing through the area attract data centers.

The warehousing and distribution industry thrived over the past decade as major e-commerce firms like Amazon and Chewy opened sprawling warehouses in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties, and an increased reliance on online shopping during and after the COVID-19 pandemic only helped to sustain that industry, though new warehouses tend to be smaller than the 1-million-square-foot facilities often proposed almost a decade ago.

Both Augustine and Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce President Bob Durkin agree that the warehousing industry is still active locally, though the attention has shifted to data centers.

Companies like Mericle and NorthPoint continue to build warehouses on speculation, meaning constructing them without a specific tenant in mind, Augustine said.

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I dont really see a lot of slowing down on the warehouses and distribution, he said.

Both the warehousing and data center industries have focused on this area, despite not really being targeted by economic developers, Augustine said.

Theyve basically chosen us because of our location, he said.

Although the Scranton chamber and its development arm, the Scranton Lackawanna Industrial Building Company, or SLIBCO, have moved away from warehousing, private developers continue to work toward larger facilities, Durkin said. Developers also continue to look at manufacturing locally, he said.

There are markets out there  the markets for manufacturing are not dead, theyre just below the radar, Durkin said, citing non-disclosure agreements. One of the reasons you dont hear about a lot of these things is that you wont hear about them until theyre a done deal.

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Members of SLIBCO recently traveled to Philadelphia to entertain about a dozen site selection professionals and major commercial Realtors, and while there was a lot of discussion about manufacturing, there wasnt a word about data centers, he said.

We want to continue to diversify, Durkin said. We want to continue to have quality jobs that come from advanced manufacturing.

The rise of data center proposals locally is unprecedented, but not unexpected, Durkin said.

We had been monitoring this for quite some time, he said.

Augustine first had high-level talks with some data center representatives about two years ago, with the earliest talks of Amazons Talen Energy project dating back to early-mid 2024.

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That certainly turned a lot of peoples heads and kind of put us on the map where others started to say, Amazon picked this. Why did they pick this area? Augustine said. Thats a major headline. Thats an economic development marketing tactic that we take quite often  not that just were a great area for business, but we let company locations do a lot of the talking for us.

Ongoing projects

Augustine is aware of at least 22 proposed data center campuses along the Interstate 81 corridor in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Schuylkill, Monroe and Carbon counties, with Lackawanna County especially serving as the hotbed for them.

Lackawanna Countys first data center proposal came during an Archbald Borough Council work session in January when a firm approached the town touting an estimated $2.1 billion investment known as the Wildcat Ridge AI Data Center Campus. Proposed across nearly 400 mountainside acres along Business Route 6 and Wildcat Road, the data center campus would be 17.2 million square feet with 14 three-story-tall data center buildings, each with a 126,500-square-foot footprint.

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The application prompted Archbald officials to explore amending their zoning to address data centers  a challenge faced by municipalities across Northeast Pennsylvania. Municipalities in Pennsylvania are required to allow for every lawful land use somewhere within their borders, including data centers. Zoning ordinances governing those land uses can be 10 to 20-plus years old, requiring amendments to keep pace with new industries. To regulate data centers, communities have most often designated them as conditional uses in special overlay districts. Conditional uses allow towns to establish a slew of criteria that data centers must adhere to in order for borough councils or township supervisors to approve them, with common conditions addressing concerns like noise, water and electricity use, visual aesthetics, preparing first responders and on-site power generation.

Conditional uses also require developers to attend public hearings where residents have the opportunity question them and testify for or against the projects.

However, when developers apply for data centers before a municipality has started the zoning amendment process, they are grandfathered in under their legacy zoning at the time of their application, giving them a much more direct path forward without having to adhere to additional conditions specific to data centers. That pressure leaves local governments scrambling to update their land-use laws as billion-dollar developments bear down on them.

Archbalds Wildcat Ridge proposal led to a deluge of additional data center applications, with Lackawanna Countys Midvalley region becoming a hotspot as developers look to tap into the power lines strung across the valley.

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By May, Archbald had already received applications for two more data centers: Project Gravity, which proposes up to seven data centers along Eynon Jermyn Road and Business Route 6, and Project Boson, which originally proposed three data centers at the site of the former Highway Auto Parts junkyard on Eynon Jermyn Road but later merged those into a nearly 620,000-square-foot data center, akin to four data center buildings in one. In October, a different developer applied to build 22 more data center buildings across two campuses on either side of Project Gravity, bringing Archbald up to 44 proposed data centers.

Neighboring Jessup also received applications for seven data centers across two campuses; developers applied for and withdrew plans to build up to four data centers in Blakely amid intense community opposition that made approval unlikely; and most recently, a developer proposed to build four data center buildings on the mountain above Business Route 6 in Dickson City.

To the south, in Lackawanna Countys largest individual proposed campus, a developer wants to build around 30 data centers along Interstate 380 in Clifton and Covington townships.

And still farther south, in Schuylkill County, Amazon applied in November for two permits for a data center in Kline Twp., and just 3 miles away, Amazon is also interested in building a data center in Banks Twp. near Little Leaf Farms greenhouses in the McAdoo Industrial Park.

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NorthPoint Development plans a 15-building data center for 1,250 acres it has purchased surrounding the planned Tomhicken substation on a proposed PPL power line in Hazle Twp. near the Sugarloaf Twp. border.

Luzerne County is experiencing its own influx of data centers, including the Talen Energy project. NorthPoint wants to create a campus with 19 buildings in Hazle Twp. known as Project Hazelnut, though township supervisors denied approval for that project in November. LBT Investment Group LLC of Chicago also proposed a six-building data center in Sugarloaf Twp., and West Hazleton Borough Council members are drafting a zoning ordinance for data centers, though a proposal to build a data center in the town was withdrawn.

Augustine believes there are three classes of data center proposals locally: tech giants like Amazon and its Amazon Web Services, Google, Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI, although Amazon is the only firm with a local presence so far; third-party operators looking to lease out their data centers to other companies; and prospectors who purchase land around transmission lines and try to market it for data centers without having an actual company behind them.

Not enough power

Neither Durkin nor Augustine anticipate every data center proposal will actually materialize.

As a chamber of commerce, were not opposed to this, Durkin said. I just find it difficult to do the math  the unofficial math  and say that theres going to be 60, 70, 80 of these buildings. I just dont see it.

Although PPL Electric Utilities is required under state law to provide power for any customers who meet its technical, financial and procedural requirements, both Durkin and Augustine believe power will be a limiting factor.

Theres not an unlimited amount of power thats available to be able to feed these things, Durkin said. If you dont have the power, you dont have a data center.

Augustine expects only about one-third of all local proposals will move forward, and power generation will play a key role in 2026.

Right now, theres only so much power thats available on the grid, Augustine said. Theres certainly not enough power for every one thats been proposed.

As towns continue to navigate zoning for data centers, he expects siting them will also be a debate as local governments increasingly apply stricter zoning to data centers.

I am absolutely for data centers when done the right away, placed in the right location, paying their fair share and affecting residents as little as possible, he said.

Data centers will provide both jobs and tax revenue for the region. Beyond the construction jobs to build them, data centers, on average, employ about 25 to 30 people per building across three shifts, Augustine said, explaining they are 24/7 operations. Those jobs are in the $80,000-plus salary range. They will provide opportunities for specialized jobs like engineers and machine operators, as well as more basic skill sets requiring certificates or two-year degrees, he said. Data centers additionally open up ancillary industries, like landscaping, equipment servicing, security and the hospitality industry, Augustine said.

Data centers will also bring significant tax revenue, though not at the level of Loudoun County, Virginia, Durkin said. Loudoun County earned the nickname Data Center Alley due to its concentration of data centers, with about 200 existing facilities and 70 to 80 more proposed there.

Property taxes in Pennsylvania are based only on real property  land and buildings  but Virginia includes a personal property tax, which taxes data centers on the expensive computer equipment housed in them, Durkin said. Loudoun County brought in about $1.1 billion from data centers last year, and about 70% of that came from personal property taxes, he said.

The real money comes from whats inside the guts of the building, he said, adding that one very large data center could have $500 million to $1 billion worth of equipment inside.

Durkin floated the possibility of Pennsylvania passing a law allowing counties to enact personal property taxes specifically on data centers, though the legislation would have to be written to avoid unintended consequences, he said.

Whether its taxable or not, a $500 million building is still a $500 million building going up in your community, and that money has a way of finding its way into your community, not just in the form of tax returns, but in terms of local businesses, Durkin said, pointing to everything from restaurants, gas stations and retail to professional services like HVAC, plumbers and electricians. All you have to do is talk to someone from the unions, and theyll tell you they like this idea. They love this idea because its going to be full employment for people in the trades for years to come.

In the shorter term, towns will also see revenue from permit fees and transfer taxes for data centers, Augustine said.

For data centers that have already applied locally, they will continue to navigate the land-use process in their host municipalities, as well as permitting at the state level.

Why us?

While the total number of data centers that will actually come to fruition is unclear, continued community opposition and scrutiny is virtually guaranteed.

The Archbald Neighborhood Association formed more than five years ago, and co-founder Kayleigh Cornell used the associations Facebook page to share community news and events. While the page still shares community events, data center updates are juxtaposed with posts about local restaurants and visits from Santa. Cornell, who has a young daughter in the borough, initially posted about the Wildcat Ridge AI Data Center in January when the firm approached the borough.

At first, she didnt think much of the proposal.

Then, as it got further, we learned more about data centers and just the extent of it, she said. Thats when we started being more vocal.

Residents grew increasingly concerned as they learned about the potential impacts of data centers and close proximity to residential areas, Cornell said.

Its been really alarming, she said. Were kind of wondering, Why us?

At the same time, Cornell finds inspiration seeing the educated, intelligent residents who have come together to fight data centers in their communities, comparing it to a full-time job.

They havent just been coming to one or two meetings. Were talking every day, Cornell said. I feel like we lost some relationships with the borough, but we gained some more from local residents.

Kayleigh Cornell, co-founder of the Archbald Neighborhood Association, speaks during the community meeting at the Archbald Borough Building Monday, November 24, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

Cornell teared up when she saw 200-plus residents packing St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Archbald on a Monday night in September for a public hearing on Archbalds then-proposed data center ordinance.

At least 200 concerned residents packed a data center zoning hearing at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Archbald, on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. (FRANK WILKES LESNEFSKY / STAFF PHOTO)

Residents dont want to have to fight, she said.

At the same time, its just been awe-inspiring to see everybody come out, Cornell said. It just shows how important of an issue this is, and it just isnt our area, its across the whole country.

Moving forward, she questioned whether residents next recourse will be legal action, though she hopes we could somehow reach a consensus and keep the Archbald that we all know and love.

Were not going to stop the fight, Cornell said.

Talen Energy Corporation sold its Cumulus Data Center, located adjacent to the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, Talens nuclear power plant in Salem Twp., to Amazon Web Services for $650 million. (FILE)
One person was killed and another critically injured after two helicopters collided midair and crashed Sunday morning in Hammonton, according to local authorities.

Emergency crews responded to reports of an aviation crash around 11:25 a.m. in the 100 block of Basin Road, the Hammonton Police Department confirmed. Officers arriving at the scene found one of the helicopters engulfed in flames, which firefighters quickly extinguished.

The investigation could take months to complete. Preliminary findings typically emerge within days of major aviation accidents.

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Police said the collision involved two helicopters, though officials have not yet released details about the aircraft, flight paths, or what led to the midair impact.

Video shows one of the helicopters involved in the crash spinning out of control before hitting the ground. https://t.co/GuJ9WqObr5 pic.twitter.com/PB0APdy6em  Breaking911 (@Breaking911) December 28, 2025

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have been notified and will lead the investigation into the crash, authorities said.

New Jersey Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way acknowledged the incident in a post on X, stating that state and local emergency personnel were actively responding at the scene.

The Atlantic County Office of Emergency Management, Hammonton Police Department, and New Jersey State Police personnel are on the scene, Way wrote.

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Officials have not yet released the identities of the victims or confirmed whether the helicopters were conducting training, private flights, or commercial operations.

The investigation remains ongoing, and additional details are expected to be released as federal authorities assess the wreckage and flight data.
BALTIMORE  The Maryland Office of the Attorney Generals Independent Investigations Division announced Friday that it is investigating an individuals death after police released him from custody earlier this month.

Montgomery County police took the yet-unnamed decedent into custody while responding to a 911 call for a person experiencing a mental health crisis on the night of Dec. 15, according to a news release from the attorney generals office. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service transported the man to a local hospital for an emergency evaluation.

About two hours after being admitted to the hospital, he suffered an unspecified medical crisis and died Dec. 22, investigators said.

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The attorney generals office did not further specify the medical crisis when contacted by The Baltimore Sun on Friday. Anyone with information about the investigation is asked to contact the Independent Investigations Division at 410-576-7070 or by email at IID@oag.state.md.us.

The Independent Investigations Division is tasked with investigating all police-involved deaths or incidents in which police actions cause injuries that are likely to result in death.

The division typically releases the names of the decedent and the officers involved in its investigations within two business days, and body-worn camera footage within 20 business days of the death or grievous injury. That timeline can sometimes be extended.
NEED TO KNOW

A Delta Air Lines flight made an emergency landing after the cabin crew detected an unusual odor

The flight, headed from Orlando to Los Angeles, was diverted and made an emergency landing in Tampa at around 11:30 a.m. local time on Saturday, Dec. 27

A Delta spokesperson told PEOPLE that 194 passengers and six crew members were onboard the Airbus A321, and the diversion was made "out of an abundance of caution"

A Delta Air Lines flight heading to Los Angeles made an emergency landing after the cabin crew detected an unusual odor in the plane.

In a statement to PEOPLE, a Delta spokesperson said Flight DL504 was headed from Orlando to Los Angeles before being diverted and making an emergency landing at Tampa International Airport at around 11:30 a.m. local time on Saturday, Dec. 27.

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The Airbus A321 made the emergency landing "out of an abundance of caution after the flight crew detected an odor onboard," the spokesperson said.

At the time, 194 passengers and six crew members were onboard.

"Customers were accommodated on an alternate aircraft and departed for Los Angeles earlier this afternoon," the Delta spokesperson said, noting the flight departed Tampa shortly after 3 p.m. and arrived at Los Angeles International Airport at 5:40 p.m. local time.



Chris Urso/Tampa Bay Times/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock The control tower at Tampa International Airport photographed on Nov. 6, 2025. The control tower at Tampa International Airport photographed on Nov. 6, 2025.

Officials have not said if the cause of the odor is known.

"At Delta, the safety of our customers and crew comes before anything else, and we appreciate our customers' patience," the Delta spokesperson added.

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This weekend's incident comes just weeks after a similar incident involving a strange odor as a Delta plane was landing in Texas.

On Dec. 16, a Delta flight landing in Texas requested emergency services after reporting an unknown odor or fumes inside the cabin.

When the aircraft arrived at San Antonio International Airport, five individuals reported falling ill. The San Antonio Fire Department told PEOPLE at the time that notes indicated an unknown odor or fumes inside the cabin of the inbound Delta plane.

When the aircraft landed safely, all off-airport units were canceled with the exception of one EMS team.

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The EMS and four airport fire department units then evaluated five individuals from the flight who were reportedly not feeling well, according to the statement.

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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released a notice on Sept. 4 stating that studies have shown aircraft cabin air is as good or better than the air found in offices and homes. However, rare mechanical issues such as failures of an engine oil seal or recirculation fan bearing can cause fumes to enter the cabin.



Read the original article on People
The Thwaites Glacier, an enormous shelf of ice in the Antarctic, has been given the ominous nickname of the Doomsday Glacier  because if it were to change collapse, it could have profound implications for the future of sea level rise and the fate of coastal communities.

Scientists have watched in horror as its retreat has accelerated significantly. Now, as detailed in a study published by the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration (ITGC) and spotted by Wired, large cracks forming in the ice shelf are continuing to weaken its structural integrity. Doomsday has never been closer.

If it were to collapse under its own weight, scientists suggest it could ultimately trigger up to 11 feet of global sea level rise, meaning certain devastation for tens of millions of people.

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Now, a team of researchers from the University of Manitoba have analyzed satellite data from 2002 to 2022, and observed how cracks in the Thwaites Glacier continued to grow around a shear zone.

Over the past two decades, the shelf has experienced progressive fracturing around a prominent shear zone upstream of its pinning point, gradually compromising its structural integrity, the paper reads.

Over the two decades, satellite images showed the total area length of fractures growing from around 100 miles to over 200 miles, but the average length actually decreased, suggesting major new stresses acting on the glacier.

A similarly alarming situation is playing out below the water line as well. Another recent study observed how warming ocean waters are melting ice shelves like the Thwaites Glacier, changes that can be tracked not just over years, but mere hours and days as well as swirling eddies of water that can measure up to six miles across spin and burrow underneath these glaciers.

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The international team of researchers also identified a worrying feedback loop: new cold water from the ice shelf mixes with warmer saltier ocean waters, causing ocean turbulence, which in turn, melts even more ice.

This positive feedback loop could gain intensity in a warming climate, coauthor and UC San Diego assistant professor Lia Siegelman told CNN.

Scientists are still racing to fully understand the devastating effects of global warming on the Doomsday Glacier. One things for sure: the prognosis isnt great. According to the ITGCs 2025 report, the glaciers retreat has accelerated considerably over the past 40 years.

Although a full collapse is unlikely to occur in the next few decades, our findings indicate it is set to retreat further, and faster, through the 21st and 22nd centuries, the report reads.

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Immediate and sustained climate change mitigation (decarbonisation) offers the best hope of delaying this ice loss and avoiding initiation of similar unstable retreat in marine-based sectors of East Antarctica, the group wrote.

More on glaciers: The Sounds of a Dying Glacier Might Make You Cry
Odisha Congress President Bhakta Charan Das met with the family members of the minor who was allegedly raped and murdered in Chandbali and demanded Rs 50 lakh ex-gratia from the state government. A minor was allegedly raped and murdered in the Chandbali area of Odisha on December 24. Speaking to ANI on Saturday, Bhakta Charan Das said that the family of the victim is demanding immediate relief and capital punishment for the perpetrator. The Congress leader said, "I met the family members of the victim. The family and the locals are demanding immediate relief, and the culprit should be hanged. Police protection should be given to the family of the victim. The CM has declared ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh, which should be given. We are demanding Rs 50 lakh." In an X post, Bhakta Charan Das demanded a "decisive and exemplary action" in the case, while stating that justice must not be delayed or denied. "Met the grieving family of the little girl who was brutally raped and murdered in Chandbali, Bhadrak.I strongly demand the strictest possible punishment for the culprit and adequate compensation for the family. Justice must not be delayed, diluted or denied. This heinous crime demands decisive and exemplary action," the Congress State President wrote. Director General of Police (DGP) Yogesh Bahadur Khurania said that the police arrested the accused within 24 hours and declared it a "red flag" case. "An inhuman incident occurred in Chandbali. The police not only identified him but also arrested him within 24 hours. We have declared this case a red flag case. District police have been asked to complete the investigation at the earliest. After that, we will try to ensure that the prosecution is done at the earliest so that the accused can be strictly punished and a message reaches society that perpetrators of such crimes will not be spared," the police official said. (ANI)
President Donald Trump got upset with a reporter for asking a dumb question less than two minutes after greeting Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky in front of his Mar-a-Lago resort on Sunday, as the two leaders are working on a deal to end the Russia-Ukraine War.

The TV microphones barely picked up the male reporters voice  but he appeared to be asking Trump if he was prepared to sign security documents today.

Trump was irritated by the question, stopping himself mid-sentence to bash the reporter.

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Well, it depends on what the security agreements  what a dumb question. Nobody even knows what the security agreement is going to say, Trump said. But there will be a security agreement, itll be a strong agreement, and the European nations are very much involved in that. Theyll be involved in protection, etc.

The president then told a female reporter a moment before that he has no deadline for ending the war  he just wants it to end ASAP. Trump said there was nothing more important to him.

The Trump-Zelensky meeting comes after the Ukrainian leader shared an updated 20-point peace plan this week, which included security guarantees and a deal to change contested territories into a demilitarized free economic zone.

I just had a good and very productive telephone call with President Putin of Russia prior to my meeting, at 1:00 P.M. today, with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, Trump wrote. The meeting will take place in the main dining room of Mar-a-Lago. Press is invited.

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When asked about this new plan, Trump told Politico the Ukrainian president doesnt have anything until I approve it, adding, So well see what hes got.

Trump also spoke with Russian leader Vladimir Putin before Zelensky arrived on Sunday. He told reporters in front of Mar-a-Lago that he planned on calling Putin back after the meeting to continue pretty complex, but not that complex negotiations.

The president warmly greeted Zelensky with a big handshake when he arrived; the Ukrainian leader was wearing a black dress shirt and black overcoat.

Trump praised Zelensky and said his country has endured a brutal war for nearly four years. He said Ukraine has done some very strong attacks against Russia and that he was not saying that negatively.

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There have been some explosions in various parts of Russia, and it looks to me like, I dont know, it didnt come from the Congo, Trump continued. I dont think it came from the United States of America. It possibly came from Ukraine, but I havent asked that question  maybe I wont bother asking.

Watch above via Fox News.

The post What a Dumb Question! Trump Scolds Reporter Pressing Him While Greeting Zelensky at Mar-a-Lago first appeared on Mediaite.
The importance of effective early childhood education can hardly be overstated. In addition to improving the future quality of life and opportunities for children by better preparing them for success in school, such options are crucial to working parents. My firm recently examined this phenomenon through an economic cost and benefit lens, and the results make a compelling case for substantial and sustained investments.

Empirical studies (including by Nobel Laureate Jim Heckman) have quantified direct effects, including future earnings, parental earnings, crime and social costs, and health and quality of life benefits. Using this excellent work as a starting point, the related and comprehensive dynamic effects which ripple through the economy were modeled using our complex systems. Earnings from future generations due to breaking the poverty cycle were also incorporated.

When these major categories of benefits were quantified, the analysis indicates that $1.00 invested in early childhood education yields $60.04 in aggregate net benefits over time. This return on investment includes the total effects (direct, indirect, and induced) associated with increased lifetime earnings of the children and their parents, benefits to future generations, reductions in crime, enhanced health outcomes, and other reduced social costs measured in 2025 dollars on a net present value basis (for additional detail, see https://www.perrymangroup.com/publications/brief/2025/12/9/essential-early-education/).

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The gross product generated per dollar invested in early childhood totals $32.36, which is a return on investment much higher than the return on virtually all other types of public and private investments, including any form of infrastructure. In addition to these results, I also estimated the fiscal benefits per dollar invested (tax revenue associated with the increase in economic activity as well as reduced social costs), and they are substantial.

In compiling the research for this assessment, we found a number of supporting facts including that only 4% of kids who read at grade level by the third grade fail to finish high school, and that 16% without early childhood education dont finish (poverty dramatically compounds the problem). Texas-specific studies have found positive gains in third grade reading level associated with early childhood education for disadvantaged children. The National Academies of Sciences has determined that brain development is also positively affected.

According to the National Institute for Early Education Research, Texas ranks 35th in State funding, 40th in overall funding, and only meets two of 10 critical milestones. Committing resources to effective early childhood education (particularly for vulnerable students) can greatly enhance opportunities for improved success in school and the quality and quantity of the current and future workforce as well as their quality of life. Its also one of the highest-return investments the State can make, helping to foster improved health, reduced social costs, and multi-generational prosperity. Stay safe!

The post THE ECONOMIST: Essential early education appeared first on Odessa American.
NEW YORK  Elon Musk threw cold water on Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdanis pick of Lillian Bonsignore as the citys FDNY commissioner, warning it would have dire consequences because she lacks firefighting experience.

People will die because of this. Proven experience matters when lives are at stake, the Space X and Tesla owner said early Friday evening in a post on X, which he also owns.

Bonsignore will be the first LGBTQ head of the FDNY in its 160-year history, a fact conservative critics who piled on against her on Friday find especially galling.

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I know if Im burning to death in a building Ill at least be happy knowing that while the FDNY commissioner never ever served as a firefighter, shes a lesbian, Brianna Lyman, an elections correspondent at The Federalist, scoffed on X.

Joining in on the attack, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, sarcastically quipped of Bonsignores appointment, A great idea! unless theres a fire. 

Bonsignore served in the FDNY EMS for more than three decades, rising to chief of the EMS division, holding the top post for three years before retiring in 2022. Her tenure as EMS chief overlapped with the COVID-19 pandemic, a period that saw the departments EMTs and paramedics under tremendous strain.

Like her, the citys past two Fire Department commissioners also were never firefighters. Outgoing Commissioner Robert Tucker previously worked in global security and cyberintelligence. His predecessor, Laura Kavanagh, organized political campaigns before joining the FDNY, where she held various senior roles, though never as a firefighter, before Mayor Eric Adams tapped her to be the Bravests first female commissioner.

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Meanwhile, Saturday evening, Mamdani went back at Musk, posting, Experience does matter, which is why I appointed the person who spent more than 30 years at EMS. You know, the workforce that addresses at least 70% of all calls coming into FDNY?

Others also had the back of Bronx native Bonsignore, including Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y.

Lillian Bonsignore is a 31-year veteran of the FDNY. The far right never lets facts get in the way of their narrative, Torres retorted.

If you think that a Fox & Friends weekend host is qualified to be the Secretary of Defense but dont think that a 9/11 first responder, with 31 years of experience, with the FDNY, should not be the Commissioner, then you just may be dumb as st, fumed X poster Turnbull, who frequently skewers conservatives and their policies.

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John Macari Jr., a retired New York Police Department lieutenant-turned-podcaster, also lashed back at Musk and the right-wingers, posting, The last 2 FDNY Fire Commissioners appointed by Eric Adams had 0 actual FDNY operational experience. Eric Adams current NYPD Police Commissioner also has 0 Law Enforcement experience. Lillian Bonsignore has 30 years of FDNY EMS experience. The overwhelming majority of calls handled by firefighters are EMS runs.

The nasty criticism, however, is unlikely to rattle the long-time FDNY EMS pro.

I know the job, Bonsignore said confidently on Tuesday when Mamdani announced her appointment. I know what the firefighters need and I can translate that to this administration, whos willing to listen. I know what EMS needs, I have been EMS for 30-plus years.
Pieces of a seldom-seen creature from the North Sea's twilight zone have been found on a beach near Aberdeenshire, Scotland, according to the BBC.

The discovery spotlights that our understanding of the seas' depths and the creatures in it remains murky.

What's happening?

The sucker-laden remains belong to a blob-like, seven-armed octopus that lives at depths of up to 3,900 feet. Females can be large, weighing 165 pounds, but males are much smaller, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute reported.

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Strangely, one of the male's seven appendages also serves as a reproductive organ, the BBC added.

East Grampian Coastal Partnership marine biologist Lauren Smith called the species  ID'd as Haliphron atlanticus in biology books  "remarkable" and "incredibly rare."

"These were something we clearly hadn't seen before, with a large diameter and big suckers  far too big for the common curled octopus we see around the shore here," Forvie National Nature Reserve manager Catriona Reid added in the story.

The arms were found on the reserve.

Why is the sighting important?

Experts interviewed by the BBC aren't sure why the octopus pieces rose from the creature's dim dwelling layer and washed ashore. It could have died and been pushed by currents or caught by fishing rigging. Often, rare sightings are random occurrences with no clear cause.

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But in some cases, the appearances can be a signal that something is amiss. So-called doomsday fish sometimes turn up before disasters such as earthquakes. As a result, the oarfish is considered a bad omen by many.

But researchers don't have to look very deep to see some problems happening in our oceans that can impact most sea creatures and even humans. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that our seas absorb 91% of the planet's excess heat, contributing to rising coastlines, fishery changes, and coral bleaching.

Dying reefs lower fish harvests, reduce food supplies, and lower economic value for an industry crucial to millions of people in the Philippines and elsewhere, nonprofit Oceana reported.

What's being done to help?

The octopus arms have been frozen and preserved for future analysis, according to the BBC. Better understanding the species can help researchers learn more about how human activity is impacting it.

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On land, trail cameras have become powerful tools in helping experts observe animals, often capturing rare creatures. Some are rebounding after being endangered, while others are an expanding threat. Staying informed about endangered and invasive species can help you find ways to make an impact, even at home. A rewilded yard can be a boon for challenged pollinators, for example.

And sometimes, as is the case with the octopus arms, evidence emerges from unlikely places.

"The discovery highlights both the scientific value of community wildlife reporting and the enduring mysteries of the deep ocean," Smith said in the BBC's report.

Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips to save more, waste less, and make smarter choices  and earn up to $5,000 toward clean upgrades in TCD's exclusive Rewards Club.
Claim:

In December 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice released an FBI tip in which a complainant alleged President Donald Trump witnessed her uncle kill her newborn child and dispose of the body in Lake Michigan when she was 13 and being trafficked for sex by Jeffrey Epstein.

Rating:

Rating: True

Context:

Although the document is real, its claims have not been substantiated.

After the U.S. Department of Justice released a slew of files related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in December 2025, a claim emerged on multiple social media platforms (archived, archived, archived, archived) that someone who claimed to have been trafficked for sex by Epstein submitted a tip to the FBI that U.S. President Donald Trump witnessed her uncle kill her newborn child and dispose of the body in Lake Michigan in 1984, when she was 13.

Turns out that when Trump talked about post-birth abortions, he was describing his own practices throwing newborn babies into Lake Michigan. pic.twitter.com/L6uuHnwWdU  Andrew#IAmTheResistance (@AmoneyResists) December 24, 2025

Snopes readers also emailed us and searched our site for information about the rumor.

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The document is authentic; the complainant, whose identity was redacted, submitted the tip to the FBI National Threat Operations Center on Aug. 3, 2020, while Trump was running against Joe Biden, then a former vice president, for a second term in office.

Although many users online took this rumor as fact, the claims that person made have not been independently substantiated, and the information did not line up with the established timeline of Trump's friendship with Epstein.

In an email to Snopes, the FBI declined to comment on whether it had investigated the tip.

What did the tip allege?

The complainant submitted the tip  viewable on the DOJ's website  on the FBI's website as a follow-up to a phone call she allegedly had with a detective who had reached out to her after she submitted an initial anonymous tip three or four weeks earlier. The text read, in part:

I talked to [the detective] for about 20 or 30 minutes about my being sex trafficked by my uncle and Jeffrey Epstein in 1984 while I was 13 and pregnant. I told him some other important information about other high profile individuals involved in my sex trafficking and the murder and disposal of my newborn daughter because I gave birth to her while in the middle of this sex trafficking ordeal.

The tip went on to allege that Epstein and the complainant's uncle arranged a scheme "where different men, and a few women and girls, would come to a variety of boats and yachts and pay money to force me to [redacted] with them."

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The complainant wrote that Trump "participated regularly in paying money to force me to [redacted] with him and he was present when my uncle murdered my newborn child and disposed of the body in Lake Michigan." There was no additional mention of Trump in the tip.

https://media.snopes.com/2025/12/case_id__50d-ny-3027571.pdf

Is there evidence the tip isn't legitimate?

While the tip alleged the incident occurred in 1984, Trump reportedly did not meet Epstein until the late 1980s.

Trump bought Mar-a-Lago in December 1985, and Epstein bought his Palm Beach residence in 1990, though evidence suggests he may have frequented Palm Beach in the 1980s. In 2002, Trump told New York magazine he'd known Epstein for 15 years  suggesting they met in or around 1987. The New York Times published a 1986 photo of Epstein with Wall Street stockbroker Nikki Haskell, whom the Times described as a close friend of Ivana Trump's  Trump's then-wife, indicating they may have had overlapping social circles in New York before Epstein bought property in Palm Beach.

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It's unclear why Trump and Epstein would have been in a small town in Michigan when neither of them had any documented links to the immediate area at the time. Trump did own a riverboat casino on Lake Michigan for years  but that riverboat, based in Gary, Indiana, did not open until 1996, according to news reports from the time.

We reached out to the Muskegon County Sheriff's Office seeking any information regarding a sex trafficking ring in the county  where the incident allegedly took place  in the 1980s, and did not immediately hear back.

The complainant did not name any other prominent people involved in the alleged incident besides Trump and Epstein  who were both heavily featured in the news cycle shortly after Epstein's death by suicide in 2019 and leading up to the 2020 presidential election. She wrote only: "I told [the detective] some other important information about other high profile individuals involved in my sex trafficking."

Has the White House responded to the allegations?

We reached out to the White House seeking comment on the allegations, and a spokesperson responded with a link to an X post (archived) by the DOJ that read: "Some of these documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims made against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election."

The Department of Justice has officially released nearly 30,000 more pages of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein.



Some of these documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims made against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election. To be  U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) December 23, 2025

In sum 

The document containing an FBI tip alleging Trump witnessed infanticide involving an Epstein victim is authentic and was available on the DOJ website. Snopes has not substantiated any of the claims in the tip, some of which did not align with the established timeline of Trump and Epstein's relationship, and the FBI declined to comment on it.

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For further reading, we investigated a letter the DOJ released, purportedly from Epstein to fellow sex offender and former U.S. gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar, that said, in part, "Our president shares our love of young, nubile girls."

Sources:

Baltz, Holly. 'Jeffrey Epstein Timeline: How the Palm Beach County Case Led to 15 More Years of Sex Abuse'. The Palm Beach Post, https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/2024/07/08/jeffrey-epstein-case-timeline-why-early-case-failed-in-palm-beach/70351312007/. Accessed 26 Dec. 2025.

Callaway & Price, Inc. 'Callaway & Price, Inc. Real Estate Appraisers And Consultants'. 19 Sept. 2019, https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/2023-10/px-01444-callaway-price-appraisal-of-mar-a-lago-july-11-2007.pdf.

Enrich, David, et al. 'Scams, Schemes, Ruthless Cons: The Untold Story of How Jeffrey Epstein Got Rich'. The New York Times, 16 Dec. 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/16/magazine/jeffrey-epstein-money-scams-investigation.html.

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'Epstein Library'. U.S. Department of Justice, https://www.justice.gov/epstein.

Esposito, Joey. 'Investigating Letter Epstein Allegedly Sent to Larry Nassar That Mentioned Trump'. Snopes, 23 Dec. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/epstein-nassar-letter/.

Federal Bureau of Investigation. 'Case ID #: 50D-NY-3027571'. U.S. Department of Justice, 24 Dec. 2025, https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%208/EFTA00025010.pdf.

Jr, Landon Thomas. 'Jeffrey Epstein: International Moneyman of Mystery'. New York Magazine, 28 Oct. 2002, https://nymag.com/nymetro/news/people/n_7912/.

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Telling, Gillian. 'Ivana Trump's Friend Fought Her About Needing Live-in Help the Day Before She Fell Down Stairs (Exclusive)'. People.Com, https://people.com/ivana-trump-death-preventable-friend-says-exclusive-7560997. Accessed 26 Dec. 2025.

'Trump Casino in Gary, Indiana'. The Daily Journal [Franklin, Indiana], 12 June 1996, p. 9. newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-journal-trump-casino-in-gary/187490576/.

'Trump Casino Sailing to Gary, Indiana'. Journal and Courier [Lafayette, Indiana], 7 Apr. 1996, p. 10. newspapers.com, https://www.newspapers.com/article/journal-and-courier-trump-casino-sailing/187490693/.
Politicians from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) will be allowed to attend a high-profile forum for debating international security policy in 2026 after being excluded from recent editions, a conference spokesman said on Sunday.

Invitations for the Munich Security Conference were recently sent to politicians from all parties represented in the German parliament, he told dpa, with the selection focussing on lawmakers serving on committees relevant to foreign and security policy.

The decision was taken by the conference's current chairman, Wolfgang Ischinger, in consultation with the conference's board of trustees.

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The AfD, which is Germany's biggest opposition party, has mobilized voters with a hardline anti-immigration platform, while many of its members are seen as sympathetic to Russia.

In May, the populist party was decreed as "confirmed right-wing extremist" by Germany's domestic intelligence service, a designation that inflamed debate about whether the party should be banned. The classification has since been put on hold pending a legal challenge.

AfD parliamentary co-leader Alice Weidel has not yet received an invitation, dpa has learned.

The spokesman said, however, that the invitation process was still ongoing and that the Munich Security Conference reserved the right to invite additional political figures from Germany and abroad.

The conference, regarded as one of the worlds leading forums on international security policy, will be held from February 13 to 15, 2026. Dozens of world leaders, as well as foreign and defence ministers, are expected to attend the annual event at Munich's Hotel Bayerischer Hof.
NEED TO KNOW

A father in Texas tracked down his kidnapped 15-year-old daughter by using her phones location via parental controls, according to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office



Police said the suspect had threatened the victim with a knife and abducted her from the street

Giovanni Rosales Espinoza, 23, was arrested and charged with aggravated kidnapping and indecency with a child

A kidnapped teen was saved thanks to her fathers quick thinking.

The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) shared on Facebook that deputies responded to a report of a kidnapping of a 15-year-old female in Porter, Texas, at around 4:50 p.m. on Dec. 25.

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Investigators learned that the teenager had taken her dog out for a walk and when she did not return at her usual time, her parents grew concerned. Her father then used parental controls in order to locate his daughters phone, which had pinged in a partially wooded area in Harris County nearly 2 miles away.

The father was able to locate his daughter through the phone and found her and the dog inside of a maroon-colored pickup truck with a partially nude 23-year-old male, per MCSO. He then helped his daughter escape from the truck and contacted law enforcement.

Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Giovanni Rosales Espinoza Giovanni Rosales Espinoza

Investigations revealed that the suspect had threatened the victim with a knife and abducted her from the street, the MCSO said.

People who witnessed the incident gave a detailed description of the truck, which helped deputies locate and identify the suspect in the incident. MCSO identified the suspect as 23-year-old Giovanni Rosales Espinoza of Porter.

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Detectives with the MCSO major crimes unit responded to the scene.

Espinosa was arrested and charged with aggravated kidnapping and indecency with a child, the MCSO noted. As of Dec. 26, he remained in custody at the Montgomery County Jail with no bond.

Christmas is a day meant for joy, but this man chose to shatter that joy by targeting a child, said Sheriff Wesley Doolittle in a statement. I am incredibly proud of our deputies and detectives who worked tirelessly to ensure this dangerous predator was swiftly apprehended and is now off our streets.

Rest assured that your Sheriffs Office remains vigilant every hour of every day to keep your families safe, he added.

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The family of the kidnapped teen, who requested to remain anonymous, told KHOU11 that they were thankful that the teen was safe and back at home recovering. They also noted that none of the family members knew the suspect.

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.

The incident is still under investigation, the MCSO said.



Read the original article on People
WASHINGTON, Dec 28 (Reuters) - The FBI has "surged" investigative resources and personnel to Minnesota, bureau Director Kash Patel said on Sunday, in the latest instance of the Trump administrations fraud investigations that have largely targeted the state's Somali immigrants.

Federal officials in recent weeks have portrayed Minnesota's Somali community as a hotspot for fraud involving millions of federal dollars intended for social services. Immigrant-rights advocates have accused the administration of using the fraud investigations as an excuse to target Somali immigrants more broadly.

The FBI declined to provide further details about Patel's comment. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Patel on Sunday referenced "recent social media reports in Minnesota," without being more specific. But his X post came two days after an online video documented allegedly inactive daycare facilities that had received public funds as part of a wider network of allegedly fraudulent activities.

U.S. Representative Tom Emmer, a Minnesota Republican, shared the video in a Friday social media post asking for a response from Walz. Vice President JD Vance shared the report with his followers on X the next day.

Most people charged in major fraud cases announced recently in Minnesota are of Somali descent, CBS News reported, citing the U.S. Attorney's Office for Minnesota. Federal prosecutors and officials have clashed with state officials over how the fraud investigations have been handled in recent months, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune.

U.S. President Donald Trump, a Republican, has cited those investigations in criticism of the Somali diaspora and of Walz, who was the Democratic nominee for vice president in the 2024 election.

(Reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington and AJ Vicens in Detroit; Editing by Sergio Non and Matthew Lewis)
Family, friends, and coworkers of fallen Washington State Patrol Trooper Tara-Marysa Guting were joined by hundreds of mourners Saturday to lay her to rest at Life Center Church in Tacoma.

Guting had only been a trooper for about a year leading up to her death. During that time, she touched many lives and earned a reputation for going above and beyond her job description.

During an emotional service, mourners recounted Gutings life, including her early days in Hawaii, her service with the National Guard, her marriage to her husband Timothy, and her time with the state patrol.

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Tara, while today our hearts ache with your absence, we know you did not leave us behind, Shannen Tanaka, Gutings sister, said. You remain bound to us by a love that does not end, walking with us just beyond our sight until the day we are able to be together again.

Guting was struck and killed while working a crash near the Port of Tacoma last Friday. She was just 29 years old.

Tara, you were my safe place, Lily Guerrero, a friend of Gutings, said. You made the world feel softer, more funny and exceedingly more manageable.

One fellow trooper shared a story of a time Guting responded to a car broken down in the road, which he said was emblematic of her time with WSP.

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He said Guting paid for the car to be towed out of her own pocket so its owner, who was facing financial troubles, wouldnt have his only means of transportation impounded.

Just to help that random person who she had never met and would never meet again, Trooper Harrison Klever said. I asked her why she did it. She just responded, He needed some help and it was the right thing to do.

Friends and coworkers say such acts of kindness were nearly constant. Even through smaller actions like friendly phone calls or bringing snacks to share at work, she inspired others to be their best selves.

The world is worse off without Tara, but she will never be gone, Clever said. I know myself and every person in this room will carry her with us every single day.

According to Tacoma police, one of two drivers to hit Guting left the scene. Investigators reportedly found the truck described as a vehicle of interest, but there is no word on any arrests or charges.
Chairman of the Media and Publicity Department of Congress, Pawan Khera, on Sunday, took a dig at party leader Digvijaya Singh for praising the organisational strength of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), stating there is nothing to learn from the Sangh. Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has sparked a row within the party after sharing an old photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LK Advani and lauding the RSS's organisational structures. In a sharp jibe at the Sangh, Khera linked the RSS to Nathuram Godse, a Hindutva ideologue who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi. Congress leader Pawan Khera says, "There's nothing to learn from the RSS. What can an organisation known for Godse teach an organisation founded by Gandhi?" Digvijaya Singh had shared a black-and-white photograph from the 1990s, found on social question-and-answer website Quora, showing a young Narendra Modi seated on the floor near senior BJP leader LK Advani at an event in Gujarat. In a post shared on X, Singh remarked on how individuals who once worked at the grassroots level could rise through the organisational hierarchy to become Chief Minister and eventually Prime Minister. He described this as the "power of organisation", while tagging senior Congress leaders, including party president Mallikarjun Kharge, MPs Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Jairam Ramesh, as well as PM Modi. "I found this picture on the Quora site. It is very impressive. In what way did the grassroots swayamsevak of RSS and the worker of Jan Sangh @BJP4India sit on the floor at the feet of leaders and become the Chief Minister of the state and the Prime Minister of the country? This is the power of the organisation. Jai Siya Ram. @INCIndia @INCMP@kharge @RahulGandhi @priyankagandhi @Jairam_Ramesh @narendramodi," Singh's X post read. Offering a clarification, he said that he firmly opposes the Sangh's ideology but admires their organisational capacity. Speaking to ANI, Singh said, "I've been saying this from the beginning: I am opposed to the ideology of the RSS. They neither respect the Constitution nor the country's laws, and it's an unregistered organisation. But I admire their organisational capacity because an organisation that isn't even registered has become so powerful that the Prime Minister says from the Red Fort that it is the world's largest NGO." He further claimed the lack of transparency in the organisation, stating, "If it is an NGO, then where are its rules and regulations? But still, I admire their organisational capacity." Meanwhile, commenting on the Congress party's organisational strength, Singh said there is scope for improvement. "I can say this much that there is room for improvement, and every organisation should always have room for improvement," he said. Describing the Congress as a movement-based party, Singh added, "The Congress party is fundamentally a party of a movement. I have said this many times that the Congress party is and should remain a party of a movement. But converting that movement into votes, that's where we fall short." (ANI)
A natural gas line ruptured north of Los Angeles on the afternoon of Saturday Dec. 27, shutting down portions of Interstate 5, a heavily trafficked north-south route.

The California Highway Patrol began reopening the freeway around 9:30 p.m. Local media outlets reported that officials lifted a shelter-in-place order that was in effect in parts of northern Los Angeles County near Castaic, California.

The California Department of Transportations local district said the hazmat incident fully closed Interstate 5 between S.R. 138 and S.R. 126. AVOID THE AREA, seek alternate routes, Caltrans said in an X post at 6:40 p.m. local time.

From a short-lived tornado warning to flooding, Southern Californians' Christmas Eve is being shaped by the weather amid an atmospheric river that officials have warned about for days.



People sit on the roof of a building while they are stranded during floods partially submerging the surrounding area in the aftermath of torrential rains, in San Bernardino County, California, U.S. December 24, 2025 in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. A vehicle stands across flood waters flowing on a road after torrential rains in San Bernardino County, California, U.S. December 24, 2025 in this screengrab from a handout video. Flood waters flow as houses ad trees remain partially submerged after torrential rains in San Bernardino County, California, U.S. December 24, 2025 in this screengrab from a handout video. A helicopter flies over a flooded area after evacuating people stranded on the roof of a building in the aftermath of torrential rains, in San Bernardino County, California, U.S. December 24, 2025 in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. Flood waters flow as houses remain partially submerged after torrential rains in San Bernardino County, California, U.S. December 24, 2025 in this screengrab from a handout video. People get into a helicopter after they were stranded on the roof of a building as floods partially submerged the surrounding area in the aftermath of torrential rains, in San Bernardino County, California, U.S. December 24, 2025 in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. Cars drive through a large puddle at Cortez Street in El Rio as a major storm moved across Ventura County, Calif. on Dec. 24, 2025. A tree limb was left dangling on some wires on Orange Drive and Balboa Street in El Rio as a major storm moved across Ventura County, Calif. on Dec. 24, 2025. Cars drive through a large puddle at the intersection of Cortez Street and Ventura Boulevard in El Rio as a major storm moved across Ventura County, Calif. on Dec. 24, 2025. Steve Cruz, a Camarillo city worker, moves large chunks of a fallen tree off Santa Rosa Road after a major storm moved across Ventura County, Calif. on Dec. 24, 2025. A car drives through a flooded road on La Cienega Boulevard on Dec. 24, 2025 in Los Angeles, Calif. A major winter storm rolled into California on December 23, forcing hundreds of evacuations in burn areas while threatening flooding and travel delays through Christmas for much of the state, officials said. A "strong atmospheric river brings heavy rain, snow, and wind to California through Friday," the National Weather Service said in a statement on December 23, warning anyone in northern, central and southern parts of the state to "exercise extreme caution." Heavy rain is seen from Kenneth Hahn Park blocking the view of the city skyline on Dec.24, 2025 in Los Angeles, Calif. A major winter storm rolled into California on December 23, forcing hundreds of evacuations in burn areas while threatening flooding and travel delays through Christmas for much of the state, officials said. A "strong atmospheric river brings heavy rain, snow, and wind to California through Friday," the National Weather Service said in a statement on December 23, warning anyone in northern, central and southern parts of the state to "exercise extreme caution." (Photo by Apu GOMES / AFP via Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 776435280 ORIG FILE ID: 2252763571 Workers cut and move a tree which fell at the Westfield Topanga shopping centre in the Canoga Park area of Los Angeles, Calif. on Dec. 24, 2025. Shoppers walk through a parking lot on a rainy Christmas Eve morning at the Westfield Topanga shopping centre in the Canoga Park area of Los Angeles, Calif. on Dec. 24, 2025. A man checks the damage caused by driving through a flooded road on La Cienega Boulevard on Dec. 24, 2025 in Los Angeles, Calif. A major winter storm rolled into California on December 23, forcing hundreds of evacuations in burn areas while threatening flooding and travel delays through Christmas for much of the state, officials said. A "strong atmospheric river brings heavy rain, snow, and wind to California through Friday," the National Weather Service said in a statement on December 23, warning anyone in northern, central and southern parts of the state to "exercise extreme caution." A car drives through a flooded road on La Cienega Boulevard on Dec. 24, 2025 in Los Angeles, Calif. A major winter storm rolled into California on December 23, forcing hundreds of evacuations in burn areas while threatening flooding and travel delays through Christmas for much of the state, officials said. A "strong atmospheric river brings heavy rain, snow, and wind to California through Friday," the National Weather Service said in a statement on December 23, warning anyone in northern, central and southern parts of the state to "exercise extreme caution." Cars drive through puddles as heavy rain falls due to an atmospheric river, in an intersection in the Woodland Hills area of Los Angeles, Calif. on Dec. 24, 2025. Cars drive through puddles as heavy rain falls due to an atmospheric river, in an intersection in the Woodland Hills area of Los Angeles, Calif. on Dec. 24, 2025. City workers try to remove a tree that felt on a wall next to the Hollywood Water Reserve on Dec.24, 2025 in Los Angeles, Calif. A major winter storm rolled into California on December 23, forcing hundreds of evacuations in burn areas while threatening flooding and travel delays through Christmas for much of the state, officials said. A "strong atmospheric river brings heavy rain, snow, and wind to California through Friday," the National Weather Service said in a statement on December 23, warning anyone in northern, central and southern parts of the state to "exercise extreme caution." Leticia Serafin (R) cooks tamales with her husband Paul Fonseca, center, and friend Pedro Jimenez, who holds up his phone light, ahead of the atmospheric river storm on Dec. 23, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. The couple lost their home of 25 years in the Eaton Fire and are residing in a donated travel trailer on their property as they make plans to rebuild. They make tamales every year to distribute to family and friends on Christmas Eve, and continued the tradition this year. A flood watch will be in effect for much of the region through Christmas Eve, with evacuation warnings in place for residents near recent burn areas. Meteorologists are calling for five straight days of precipitation, with the highest rainfall totals predicted for Christmas Eve, along with heavy snow in higher elevation mountain regions. Strong atmospheric river brings floods, snow, high winds to California 1 of 20 From a short-lived tornado warning to flooding, Southern Californians' Christmas Eve is being shaped by the weather amid an atmospheric river that officials have warned about for days.



People sit on the roof of a building while they are stranded during floods partially submerging the surrounding area in the aftermath of torrential rains, in San Bernardino County, California, U.S. December 24, 2025 in this screengrab obtained from a social media video.

The cause of the leak wasnt immediately known.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom's office said he had been briefed on the commercial pipeline rupture and state emergency services officials were responding to the scene.

The smell from the natural gas leak reached miles away in the San Fernando Valley, within Los Angeles city limits, according to a city fire department alert.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Interstate 5 reopens near Los Angeles after gas line rupture
Police in Germany are urging the public to take care as firework sales begin ahead of New Year's Eve, a time of celebration also often marred by accidents.

Firecrackers for New Year's Eve may be sold starting Monday and online retailers may deliver any ordered ahead on the last three working days of the year.

"People are becoming increasingly reckless and using legal items such as firecrackers and rockets improperly," Jochen Kopelke, chairman of the GdP police union, told dpa.

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Officials issue such warnings annually, and lawmakers also weigh banning firecrackers every year due to serious incidents. Currently, many are concerned about ball bombs, which are not approved for general use due to their high explosive power.

Five men died in firecracker accidents last New Year's Eve and there were also attacks on emergency services.

The GdP called for more firework bans and protection zones in cities, saying such measures would make the celebrations safer and reduce the number of attacks.

The police and customs authorities have been seizing illegal pyrotechnics. Berlin police reported that they had seized huge quantities of illegal firecrackers, rockets, ball bombs and other fireworks earlier in the month.

Customs authorities warn that some products offered in neighbouring countries or online do not meet German safety standards. Pyrotechnics were also seized during checks at the border with other European countries.
Police in Germany are urging the public to take care as firework sales begin ahead of New Year's Eve, a time of celebration also often marred by accidents.

Firecrackers for New Year's Eve may be sold starting Monday and online retailers may deliver any ordered ahead on the last three working days of the year.

"People are becoming increasingly reckless and using legal items such as firecrackers and rockets improperly," Jochen Kopelke, chairman of the GdP police union, told dpa.

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Officials issue such warnings annually, and lawmakers also weigh banning firecrackers every year due to serious incidents. Currently, many are concerned about ball bombs, which are not approved for general use due to their high explosive power.

Five men died in firecracker accidents last New Year's Eve and there were also attacks on emergency services.

The GdP called for more firework bans and protection zones in cities, saying such measures would make the celebrations safer and reduce the number of attacks.

The police and customs authorities have been seizing illegal pyrotechnics. Berlin police reported that they had seized huge quantities of illegal firecrackers, rockets, ball bombs and other fireworks earlier in the month.

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Customs authorities warn that some products offered in neighbouring countries or online do not meet German safety standards. Pyrotechnics were also seized during checks at the border with other European countries.

Not everyone is a fan

While many in Germany celebrate the turn of the year by setting off fireworks and firecrackers, critics include animal welfare and environmental groups. Wild animals, including birds are frightened and use up energy reserves that they need to get through the winter.

In cities such as Berlin, New Years Eve celebrations are frequently compared to scenes from a war zone. And environmentalists point to the debris generated by fireworks and to the waste of resources.

But the interior ministers of the 16 states have been unable to agree on a ban, and a ban on private fireworks displays on the German North Sea island of Fohr was recently overturned by the courts.
Ohio Rep. Mike Turner struggled to answer when asked whether the president supported a side in the Russia-Ukraine War.

Clearly, Trump is on the side of peace, and hes trying to balance these two forces, which is very, very difficult to bring these two parties together, he told host Jonathan Karl on ABCs This Week Sunday after seconds of fumbling for words.

He added, But in balancing it, we have to understand that Russias goal is to take from someone else something thats theirs. And Ukraine has to have a sense of security assurances that Russias not coming back.

Mike Turner told Jonathan Karl that Trump was 'on the side of peace' after a few seconds of flailing. / ABC

Moments before, the congressman was firm that the U.S. needed to stand with Ukraine in defending its independence.

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Obviously, we need to be on the side of what they want, which is sovereignty. Theyre on the side of democracy, liberty, and Russias on the side of authoritarianism and aggression, he said.

Karl seemed less sold that Trump was on the side of peace, referencing Trumps frequent victim-blaming of Ukraine for entering war with Russia.

Host Karl asked whether Trump's ability to broker peace was hindered by his frequent blaming of Ukraine. / ABC

I mean, Ukraine didnt start this war. They were invaded. So how does that affect his ability to try to broker a peace deal? Karl asked.

Turner again stated that Russia was the aggressor, but his words became more riddle-like when answering for Trumps behavior.

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Clearly, a war of aggression was started by Russia and has been started by Russia, he said.

And I think that inthat Trumps sense of wanting peace is incredibly important, and I think its a noble goal, and I think were getting closer. I think that Zelenskys coming with a plan that is workable and could get us there.

Trump has flip-flopped from vowing to end the Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours of the beginning of his second term to focusing on his friendship with Putin. So far, it seems that Putin might be getting the better end of the deal.

Hes barely doing this one move at a time, former Trump advisor John Bolton said of Trumps relationship with Putin on The Daily Beast Podcast earlier this month.

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I think because he thinks Vladimir Putin is his friend and, in the context of Ukraine, he trusts Putin more than he trusts Zelensky, I think what youre seeing is that Putin, going back to the first term, used his KGB training to figure out how to manipulate Trump. Other foreign leaders have figured it out, too.

After an announcement that Russia was 'fully committed' to peace, Trump's pal Putin bombed Kyiv on Saturday morning. / Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Just days after U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff publicly celebrated that Russia was fully committed to peace with Ukraine, Putin showed what he thought of Trumps peace talks by bombing Kyiv on the morning of December 27.

Trumps intentions in the ongoing peace talks might not solely be focused on ending the conflict. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that his envoys, Witkoff and Jared Kushner, were more interested in Russias vast resources and setting up profit-making schemes for when the war is over.
Gov. Josh Greenwho began his Hawaii medical career as a rural Hawaii island emergency room physicianon Friday mourned the death of Hilo Benioff Medical Center emergency room Dr. Judy FitzGerald, 74, who was killed by a suspected drunk driver on Christmas Eve.

Green continued to work Big Island emergency room shifts as lieutenant governor until he was elected governor and prohibited by state law from having outside employment.

We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Dr. Judith Judy FitzGerald, a beloved emergency physician who dedicated her life to caring for the people of Hawai i,  he told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in a statement Friday.

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FitzGeralds death represents a devastating reminder that we have now reached 128 traffic fatalities statewide this year128 lives lost, 128 families forever changed,  Green told the Star-Advertiser. We all have a responsibility to do better on our roads by slowing down, driving sober, staying focused and looking out for one another. Thats how we honor Dr. Fitz Geralds legacy and protect the lives of those we love.

Police believe speed, alcohol and /or drugs and reckless driving were primary factors in the Christmas Eve crash near the 13-mile marker on Daniel K. Inouye Highway.

Hawaii County police said that a 34-year-old Hilo woman sustained minor injuries and was later arrested on charges of first-degree negligent homicide, driving under the influence of an intoxicant, and reckless driving. She was released from custody on Thursday at 7 :55 p.m. pending further investigation.

An outpouring of messages was posted in comments on Hilo Benioffs Facebook page, speaking highly of FitzGerald and her work as a well-known emergency room physician. She was called a great mentor and friend, and an amazing physician, colleague and person.

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Lisa Rantz, executive director at Hilo Benioff Medical Center Foundation, wrote that FitzGerald worked every holiday so that others could be home with their families.

She made the drive between Kona and Hilo for more than 20 years without incident,  wrote Rantz. My heart breaks for all of us that know and love her. Fitz will be deeply missed across Hawaii Island and beyond. Her impact and passion for caring for our community will live on through her colleagues who will continue her legacy of care. Sending healing thoughts and prayers  to all that knew and cared for Fitz.

Hilo Benioff spokesperson Elena Cabatu said, she was such a big part of our community  and that she had spunk, and the kind of energy needed to train others on advanced life support.

A biography said Fitz Gerald received her medical degree from Nova Southeastern University-College of Osteopathic Medicine and had been in practice for more than 20 years.

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Hilo Benioff Medical Center CEO Dan Brinkman said, One of our HBMC family has passed. We are all sad. Our sincere condolences to her family and friends. She will be missed.

According to police, the driver of a 2020 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck was traveling Hilo-bound when it crossed the center line and struck a 2025 Mazda two-door convertible head-on as it was traveling Kona-bound.

The driver of the Mazda was transported to Hilo Benioff Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at around 8 p.m.

Hilo Benioff Medical Center announced Thursday that FitzGerald, of Kailua-Kona, was involved in a tragic motor vehicle accident (Wednesday ) night that was not survivable.

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In the hospitals social media post, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kathleen Katt said, Dr. FitzGerald was a long-time emergency physician and physician leader whose impact on our organization and our region cannot be overstated. From Kea au to Hilo Benioff Medical Center, this loss is deeply felt. She was an integral part of our Emergency Department and Urgent Care teams and played a vital role in ACLS (Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support ) training throughout the region.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact Officer Johnathan Rapoza at 808-961-2339 or email Johnathan.Rapoza @hawaiipolice.gov. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 808-961-8300.Star-Advetiser reporter Nina Wu contributed to this story.
New York City is preparing to roll out a guaranteed income program that will provide $15,800 per person to disadvantaged residents.

What Happened: The New York City Council has set aside $1.5 million in its 2026 budget for a new initiative titled Cash with Care. The program is aimed at assisting residents grappling with housing insecurity.

As per the council report, the main goal of this guaranteed income program is to support young individuals transitioning from homelessness by offering a consistent, flexible income and comprehensive services.

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Under the initiative, 60 young New Yorkers aged 18 to 24 who are currently living in homeless shelters or similar facilities will be selected.

Participants will receive a monthly cash stipend of $1,200 for nine months, along with a one-time $5,000 payment that can be accessed at any point during the first nine months of the 12-month program.

The "Cash with Care" program is a joint initiative of the City Council and the youth homeless shelter Covenant House New York.

It follows a similar effort launched by the New York City Council to support expectant women experiencing homelessness.

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Why It Matters: The introduction of the guaranteed income program by the New York City Council is a significant step towards addressing the issue of housing insecurity. By providing a steady income to disadvantaged residents, the program aims to alleviate the financial burden faced by these individuals and aid in their transition from homelessness.

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The success of this initiative could potentially pave the way for similar programs in other cities, contributing to a broader effort to combat homelessness and housing insecurity across the nation.

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This article Guaranteed Income Is Coming to NYC in 2026  Here's What It Means originally appeared on Benzinga.com
Odds are high that plenty of Nashvillians have been spending their time and money on holiday shopping lately.

While the National Retail Federation last year estimated that 38.2 million people planned to complete their last-minute gift shopping completely online, those same estimates predicted that well over 100 million American shoppers planned to shop either exclusively in-store or a combination of in person and online.

In person, for many, likely means the mall. The Mall at Green Hills, Opry Mills mall and Tanger Outlets are the big-ticket destinations of today, but what about the malls of yesteryear?

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Heres what happened to some of them.

Hickory Hollow Mall

The 1.1 million-square-foot Hickory Hollow Mall in Antioch opened for business in August 1978 and thrived for the next several decades, at its peak containing nearly 250 stores and clocking in as the highest-grossing mall in the state.

Despite a 2013 effort to revitalize shopping center as Tennessees first international mall, dubbed Global Mall at The Crossings, the mall closed for good by 2019. Part of the mall property has since been replaced with a Nashville Public Library Branch and the Southeast Community Center, and one of the Nashville Predators Ford Ice Centers opened on the north side of the mall in 2014.

The city purchased the property and an adjoining office building in 2022 for $44 million, intending to partner with Vanderbilt University Medical Center to transform the property into a hybrid medical and community hub. The Nashville Fire Department set up a temporary headquarters on the property in October as work begins to build a new home base on Second Avenue North.

RiverGate Mall

While RiverGate Mall remains open today, the property appears poised to travel down the same track as Hickory Hollow Mall.

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The Goodlettsville shopping center opened in October 1971, featuring more than 1.1 million square feet of leasable retail space, about 80 stores and restaurants, and a food court.

The property was sold to Atlanta-based Hendon Properties in 2013, then was listed for sale again about 10 years later in March 2024 for an undisclosed price. In May, Nashville Mayor Freddie OConnells office announced a redevelopment deal for the property in partnership with real estate development company Merus, with plans calling for a mix of housing, retail, office spaces and more.

Bellevue Center

Bellevue Center began operating in 1990, with capacity for more than 90 stores across nearly 850,000 square feet of retail space. But it would close by 2008 and was demolished in 2015.

Curiously, thats an outcome that some Bellevue residents celebrated. Thats because a new development was poised to take its place.

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A few years later, One Bellevue Place was nearing completion and already bringing life to the West Nashville neighborhood. Today, its home not only to retail stores and restaurants but also to apartment and senior living communities, a community center and another of the several Ford Ice Centers operated by the Nashville Predators.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Look back at Nashvilles former retail hubs, closed malls
Emporia State University president Ken Hush, who fired tenured and tenure-track faculty, outlined his philosophy of higher education administration for members of the Kansas Senate's government efficiency committee. (Grace Hills/Kansas Reflector)

Ken Hush gave Emporia State University the best Christmas present possible in 2025.

He quit.

The former Koch executive and higher education outsider spent roughly four years as ESUs president, claiming he was reshaping the institutions future. What he actually did was create chaos. His successor, a veteran administrator named Matthew Baker, will now have to figure out how to rebuild a city and college fractured by ignorance.

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Hushs place on the naughty list was secure years ago.

He oversaw the firing of 30 tenured and tenure-track faculty without warning. Legal action continues. He funneled secret bonuses to dozens of professors without explanation. He closed programs and departments. When enrollment cratered, he lobbied the Kansas Legislature ceaselessly for special, ESU-only payments (and received $18 million to balance the books). All the while, he refused to voice a scintilla of doubt about his path of destruction.

With his exit fast approaching, Hush embarked on a news media tour of sorts, talking about his tenure with the Lawrence Journal-World and pledging to donate the equivalent of his salary for the past four years to the university. Thats a cool $1.4 million, in case you wondered.

Generous? Perhaps. To me, it proves that Hush torched peoples lives and careers for the fun of it. He did it for free.

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Who knows when  or if  ESU can fully recover. I doubt that highly qualified professors will want to take a risk on a university that has treated their peers so shabbily.

The American Association of University Professors 2023 report on the mess put it this way: Remarkably, the Kansas Board of Regents and the ESU administration have insisted that they support tenure and academic freedom. If we take them at their word, we must conclude that they are unfit to lead, least of all during a crisis.

House Speaker Dan Hawkins appears April 27, 2023, on the House floor with an image of Corky, the Emporia State University mascot. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Emporia students fled in the aftermath, likely leading to attendance increases at other Kansas colleges. Hush and his cronies have hailed a recent increase in students attending, but even a dead cat will bounce off the pavement when dropped from a great height. ESUs enrollment is still down more than 17% over the past five years.

We should note that Hush and his administration treated both student and professional journalists with contempt. They stonewalled open record requests, lied about our persistent and accurate coverage in public letters, and repeatedly refused to answer reporters questions.

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They may have felt confident in their ability to steer the narrative to their own purposes. But all they did was wound a campus and town that needed care and attention rather than high-handed hackery.

I know that good people in Emporia wince when I write columns like this. Theyre trying, theyve told me. They want to build something great and strengthen their town. Look past any temporary issues we might have with leadership and take in the big picture, they urge.

Those of us at Kansas Reflector have deep-seated connections to the university. We empathize. Our editor in chief Sherman Smith graduated from ESUs (now-defunct) journalism program. Sunday columnist Max McCoy ran that very program. My parents received undergraduate and graduate degrees from the school. If they hadnt met in Emporia, I quite literally wouldnt exist.

We get it. We really do. But ESU was never going to turn a corner with Hush in charge. The man wasnt a temporary obstacle; he was a brick wall into which Emporia slammed at high velocity. The fact that the Kansas Board of Regents picked a thoroughly experienced university administrator to succeed Hush tells us all we need to know.

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Baker is a proven leader with extensive experience developing and implementing initiatives designed to help students succeed in college and after graduation, said regents chairman Blake Benson.

It would have been nice to have had one of those earlier, huh?

The ESU model has exploded in a shower of flaming debris, in much the same as that former Kansas Gov. Sam Brownbacks tax-cutting experiment. An ideologically driven chief executive wrecked something beautiful and precious. Now its up to the rest of us to clear the rubble and build anew.

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.
Haredi protesters block Highway 4 near Bnei Brak during a protest denouncing the IDF draft, December 28, 2025. (photo credit: David Cohen/Flash90)

Members of the Peleg Yerushalmi anti-IDF draft group blocked Highway 4 near Bnei Brak, as Border Police moved to disperse demonstrators and reopen the road.

The Peleg Yerushalmi anti-IDF draft haredi (ultra-Orthodox) activist group blocked Highway 4 near Bnei Brak on Sunday afternoon, Israel Police confirmed.

Israel Police officers attempt to disperse Peleg Yerushalmi haredi anti-draft protesters blocking Highway 4, December 28, 2025. (credit: ISRAEL POLICE)

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Highway 4 was closed between the Aluf Sade interchange and the Em Moshavot interchange in both directions, police noted, adding that traffic south of the Em Moshavot interchange is being redirected to Petah Tikva.

The highway reopened on Sunday evening, police updated.

Video footage shared by Walla appears to show Border Police officers attempting to disperse the protesters, who are blocking vehicles from passing by sitting in the road.

Police officers arrested at least three of the protesters, the police later confirmed.

Police officers attempt to disperse Peleg Yerushalmi protesters blocking Highway 4 near Bnei Brak, December 28, 2025. (credit: SCREENSHOT/VIA SECTION 27A OF THE COPYRIGHT ACT)

Protesters allegedly shouted that the police officers attempting to disperse the protest were "Nazis," Walla reported.

Border Police officer suspended after video appears to show irresponsible violence, slapping, choking protester

One Border Police officer was filmed appearing to slap and choke a teenage protester, before throwing him to the floor, in video footage shared on social media.

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Police Commissioner Inspector-General Daniel Levi ordered an immediate investigation and suspended the officer until the investigation into the incident is complete, Israel Police confirmed.

An earlier anti-draft haredi protest blocked the highway near Ashkelon earlier on Sunday, but the road was quickly reopened after police arrived at the scene and dispersed protesters.

A similar protest by the group occurred on Monday at the same location.

Hodaya Ran and Reuters contributed to this report.

This is a developing story.
A Harford County Detention Center inmate died Saturday following multiple hospital visits related to cardiac issues, according to a news release from the Harford County Sheriffs Office.

George Kenney, 69, was serving an 18-month sentence related to a driving while impaired charge originating Aug. 11, authorities said.

Our Correctional Deputies and contracted medical staff acted quickly and professionally during multiple medical emergencies at the detention center, doing what they could, Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said in a statement. Mr. Kenneys medical condition was not survivable.

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The Harford County death is at least the fourth reported inmate death in Maryland custody this month, including three at state prisons.

At North Branch Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Jordan Polston, 32, was found unresponsive in a cell and pronounced dead Dec. 23. Another inmate has been identified as a suspect, with the cause and manner of death pending an autopsy.

Wenhui Sun, 36, died Dec. 16 at the Maryland Correctional Training Center in Hagerstown after what investigators believe was an altercation involving three inmates, according to Maryland State Police.

At Jessup Correctional Institution, Deon Sheridan Smith Jr., 23, was found unresponsive and died under suspicious circumstances on Dec. 13. State police said a suspect, also an inmate, had been identified.

Have a news tip? Contact Bridget Byrne at bbyrne@baltsun.com or 443-690-7205.
Heartiest greetings to every Congressman on the Foundation Day of the Indian National Congress today, Rahul Gandhi said.

"Congress is not just a political party; it is the voice of India's soul - which has stood with every weak, every deprived, and every hardworking person. The resolve is to fight even more strongly the battle for truth, courage, and the protection of the Constitution against hatred, injustice, and dictatorship," Rahul Gandhi said in a post in hindi on X.

https://x.com/RahulGandhi/status/2005152875564204212?s=20

"We pay homage to that historic legacy and those great sacrificers who won freedom for India, laid the foundation of the Constitution, and strengthened the values of democracy, secularism, social justice, and equality," the Congress MP added in his post

Congress, on its X handle, also congratulated party members.

"Heartfelt congratulations to all Congress members on the Foundation Day of the Indian National Congress.

The party also took a veiled dig at the BJP-led Union Government.

"The Congress Party fought for India's independence and worked to advance the nation. Meanwhile, today, when those in power are promoting hatred, injustice, and oppression in the country, we are still fighting against it with full vigour," Congress wrote on X.

The Indian National Congress was founded on December 28, 1885, in Bombay (Mumbai) in the presence of 72 delegates at the Das Tejpal Sanskrit College.

Its founder, General Secretary, was AO Hum,e and Vyomesh Chandra Banerjee was made president. (ANI)
As Akron celebrated its bicentennial in 2025, we looked back at two centuries of headlines.

Heres what happened the week of Dec. 28 in local history:

1825: Tavern keepers could breathe a sigh of relief. The Ohio House considered a bill to prevent the pernicious effects of public drunkenness. The proposal called for penalizing all individuals who sold spirituous liquor to habitual drunkards, except for medical purposes, and under the certificate of a physician. Revolutionary War soldiers who had no family would also be exempt. Legislators voted 51-15 against the bill.

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1875: Thermometers neared 80 degrees as an unusual heat wave ushered in the new year. Akron residents opened their windows to let in a breeze and left home without wearing coats. Some children played outside in their bare feet on Jan. 1. Under such auspices, the observance of the day could not help but be general and genial, and the best possible time was had by everyone, the Summit Beacon reported.

Akron Bicentennial logo.

1925: Prominent Akron citizens were asked to name the citys greatest needs for 1926. The responses included improved schools, better parenting, additional parking, greater hospitals, new playgrounds, a first-class park system, a civic auditorium and a renewed community spirit. And then there was this response: Akrons greatest need in 1926, and at all times, is a good 5-cent cigar selling for 5 cents.

1975: Summit County commissioners officially agreed to buy the Ohio Building at 175 S. Main St. for $1.7 million. The officials wanted the downtown complex to expand government operations, including additional space for the countys growing computer system. Current tenants, including the Akron City Club, would be permitted to stay in the 1916 landmark.

2000: Tens of thousands of revelers braved a 1-degree wind chill during New Years Eve festivities at First Night Akron. More than 100 performers entertained audiences at 30 venues downtown. About 25,000 people counted down to midnight and cheered as a colorful fireworks display ushered in 2001.

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Postscript: Thats a wrap on Akrons bicentennial year. Thank you for reading This Week in Local History throughout 2025. May Akrons next 200 years be as memorable as the first 200 years.

Mark J. Price can be reached at mprice@thebeaconjournal.com

More: Memories and melodies: ABJ readers share tales of special songs

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: This week in Akron history for Dec. 28, 2025
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem accused Lebanon of inaction over the reported kidnapping of former officer Ahmad Shukr and reiterated Hezbollahs refusal to disarm.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem denounced the Lebanese government's lack of action towards the apparent kidnapping of former senior security officer Ahmad Shukr.

Qassem's comments came in a speech shared by Al Mayadeen, a media outlet linked with the terror group, on Sunday.

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"Where is the state regarding the recent kidnapping of retired officer Ahmad Shukr in the Zahle area?" he asked.

On Tuesday, London-based newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported that Shukr was kidnapped by Israel.

He is suspected of having been involved in the disappearance of Israel Air Force pilot Ron Arad.

The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) declined to respond to a request for comment by The Jerusalem Post and referred the issue to the IDF. The Mossad also declined to respond to a request for comment.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem appears on a screen delivering a speech, during a ceremony held by Hezbollah to commemorate the first anniversary of their late leader Hassan Nasrallah's killing by Israel, on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon, September 27, 2025; illustrative. (credit: REUTERS/MOHAMED AZAKIR/FILE PHOTO)

Qassem: Disarmament is an 'American-Israeli project,' affirms Hezbollah will not give up weapons

Qassem affirmed his views that disarmament is a joint US-Israeli project, Hezbollah's 'resistance' and Lebanon adhered to agreements made under the terms of the ceasefire, and that Israel has continuously violated it.

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Raising the issue of disarmament while "Israeli aggression" continues is "tantamount to working in Israel's interests," he added.

The US and Israel are aiming to "eliminate the resistance," he continued.

He also blamed all problems facing Lebanon on the "tyrannical United States and the Israeli enemy."

Qassem added that any attempts to pressure the terror group will not alter their stance.

"Do your worst and cooperate with the most ruthless of God's creatures, but we will not back down, we will not surrender, and wewill defend our rights," he stated.

Hezbollah will "persevere and achieve its goals, even if it takes time," he stressed.
The court rejected challenges to Zinis integrity and the process behind his appointment, saying there were no grounds for judicial review. Justice Amit dissented, citing procedural flaws.

The High Court of Justice on Monday dismissed petitions challenging the governments appointment of IDF Maj.-Gen. (res.)David Zini as head of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency).

Zini was appointed by the government on September 30. The proposal came from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the appointment went through after Zini was approved by the Grunis Committee, the Senior Appointments Advisory Committee charged with examining the integrity and suitability of candidates for Israels most sensitive public offices.

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He officially stepped into the role on October 5, after interim requests to freeze the appointment were denied.

Deputy Supreme Court PresidentNoam Sohlberg wrote for the majority that the claims raised by the petitioners - including allegations concerning Zinis integrity and ethical conduct - did not present legitimate grounds for judicial review. Justice David Mintz joined the opinion.

Shin Bet director David Zini participates in the state memorial ceremony for the October 7 massacre on Mount Herzl, in Jerusalem, October 16, 2025 (credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/POOL VIA REUTERS)

Sohlberg further emphasized that the conclusions of the Grunis Committee - which some petitioners also sought to challenge - carried decisive weight.

No room for judicial intervention

He cited prior case law holding that where an appointment mechanism has been approved by both the government and legal authorities, there is generally no room for judicial intervention absent exceptional circumstances.

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Supreme Court President Isaac Amit, writing in the lone dissent, argued that the appointment process raised substantive difficulties.

He said the government should, at a minimum, be required to explain why the matter should not be returned to the Grunis Committee for reconsideration, noting that the committees review of ethical and moral considerations focused solely on Zini himself and did not examine the conduct of other figures involved in the appointment process.
View of the IDF

Defense Minister Israel Katz announced the decision to shutter the military broadcaster last week, with the closure slated to take effect in March.

Ahead of the scheduled hearing, and just hours after the government and the attorney-general submitted their preliminary responses, Supreme Court President Isaac Amit on Sunday ordered that the governments decision to shutter Army Radio be frozen until further notice.

The interim order comes amid a widening legal clash between the government and the A-G over the decision to close the military broadcaster, with Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara warning the High Court that the move is legally flawed and risks causing irreversible harm.

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The decision is laden with errors, Baharav-Miara said, noting that the court is expected to hear the case by the end of January.

Representing IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, the attorney-generals Office, submitted an accompanying advisory opinion urging the court to issue an interim order freezing both the governments decision and any preparatory steps taken to implement it until the court rules.

It further noted that the time between the decision and its execution is only about two months.

Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara attends the Knesset in Jerusalem. November 18, 2024. (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)

Katz announces decision to close Army Radio

Defense Minister Israel Katz announced the decision to shutter the military broadcaster last week, with the closure slated to take effect in March.

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Army Radio has been broadcasting for 75 years and has long served as a training ground for generations of Israeli journalists. The government has argued that the army has no business operating a news station, especially one that it especially one that it claims leans toward one side of the political map.

Baharav-Miara warned that the damage that will be caused by actions taken now to shutter the station will be both significant and irreversible.

The legal advisory's position is that an interim injunction is warranted both on procedural and substantive grounds.
A Hawaiian Redditor has been butting heads with a neighbor over long branches from trees, and they looked to the community at r/treelaw for advice.

"Neighbor keeps cutting down my palms," wrote the original poster. "Reaching over my fence. I went over there to talk to him and he basically claims that they overhang his property so he can cut them."

(Click here to watch the video if the embed does not appear.)

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Sadly, this kind of behavior isn't uncommon among neighbors. Some in Ohio have crossed property lines to cut mature buckeye trees down, while others have cut trees over a hundred years old in Germany. Some homeowners even catch neighbors in the act of cutting down trees they have no rights over.

These threats by zealous neighbors are compounded by natural risks, such as growing pest infestations and wildfires, both exacerbated by increasing atmospheric pollution.

While there's a big problem with property rights and financial recuperation in instances like the one in Hawai'i, these trees also represent a massive ecosystem loss. Trees play a vital role in preventing soil erosion thanks to their deep root systems.

They can also mitigate surface flooding conditions by guiding water down along roots, preventing property damage. Thanks to shade and transpiration, mature trees fight heat island effects and can even lower home cooling costs. Trees also improve local air quality while sequestering carbon.

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By growing and maintaining a tree-friendly yard, you're not only enjoying all of these benefits, but you're also providing them to those living around you.

The Reddit community had a wealth of advice given their situation with a neighbor cutting down their palm trees.

"Only the parts that overhang the property, if he cuts more, you can sue for damages," said one commenter.

"Police report, ISA Consulting Arborist for valuation, lawyer, lawsuit. Order some cameras while you're at it," replied another.

Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips to save more, waste less, and make smarter choices  and earn up to $5,000 toward clean upgrades in TCD's exclusive Rewards Club.
BALTIMORE  Democratic lawmakers in Annapolis say their relationship with Gov. Wes Moore is on ice  a revelation that comes just weeks before the 2026 legislative session in which lawmakers aim to close Marylands $1.4 billion budget deficit and lower energy costs among a host of other pressing issues.

The Baltimore Sun spoke to several members of the Maryland House and Senate who said the relationship is tense between them and the governor. They cited moments where lawmakers felt Moore had slighted them or was uncooperative in ensuring Democrats could enact their legislative agenda.

The fallout, lawmakers said, culminated when the General Assembly overrode 19 of 29 bills on Dec. 16 that Moore vetoed in the 2025 legislative session. Moores redistricting push has also left some members feeling as though hes put the desires of national Democratic leadership over Marylanders opposition to eliminating the states lone Republican congressional seat.

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The honeymoon is over, said Del. C.T. Wilson about the Democratic governors relationship with party leaders in the General Assembly.

There was a honeymoon phase when he was new and things were kind of going the right way, Wilson, who chairs the House Economic Matters Committee, said in a phone interview with The Baltimore Sun.

Now, Wilson added, some House Democrats feel Moore hasnt built and nurtured the relationships required to ask that the General Assembly execute lofty policy demands.

The complaint is that hes not politicking, Wilson, who later added that he remains in regular communication with Moore and his staff, said. Me and my colleagues may want more attention, more of a conversation. And I think the governor is still learning (how to handle) the egos of the elected. And I told him many, many times (that) most of the people that I serve with (also) envision themselves being governor, president, congressman or senator one day. They have egos too.

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The tension was on display on Dec. 18 when Senate President Bill Ferguson accused Moores redistricting commission of approving redrawing Marylands congressional maps before the commissions members had even met.

A few days earlier, Democrats in the House also harbored hard feelings toward Moore when they gathered for a special session to override the bills he previously vetoed.

Del. Emily Shetty, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, told The Sun that while she played no direct role in it, there were tensions, particularly around the veto overrides. The vetoes included bills that sought to: create a commission to study the effects of slavery in Maryland and recommend restitution to descendants of people once enslaved in the state, study the impact of building data centers in the state and fund climate change studies. The General Assembly on Dec. 16 then overrode 19 of those vetoes during a special session.

I know that those conversations were difficult and that there has been some ill will generated potentially around those, Shetty said in a phone interview with The Sun.

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A senior House Democrat, who requested anonymity to be frank about private matters , was more blunt. Democrats whove served longer terms have often felt that vetoes were punitive measures, particularly under former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, this Democrat said. Those instincts havent subsided, the senior House Democrat added.

Peoples feelings may still be in tangles from what happened, the senior House Democrat said. But genuinely, I do believe  because I was involved very deeply with this. I lost some relationships in this entire ordeal  that people forgot that we are on the same team.

The senior House Democrat added that Moore has the right to veto bills he doesnt agree with, but some lawmakers treat legislation like their children, but a veto doesnt make it personal.

So are there some colleagues of mine who are probably absolutely walking around upset? I know there are, for sure, this senior House Democrat said.

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As far as Moore is concerned, hes very eager to work with Marylands General Assembly.

I respect the legislative branch as I respect the judicial branch, as they should respect the executive branch. We all have our roles and our responsibilities, Moore said in a wide-ranging interview on Dec. 18 with Armstrong Williams, co-owner of The Baltimore Sun.

But he also accused the Maryland legislature of being sluggish at attaining policy wins.

I am very much a do it now kind of leader, and we want to make sure that we do not miss this moment, he said. I feel like we have to be a state that goes from no and slow to yes and now.

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Moore didnt immediately respond to requests for comment.

To Republicans, the rift between Moore and Democrats isnt surprising. House Minority Whip Jesse Pippy noted that Moore entered Maryland politics as an outsider and has had his work cut out for him, winning over Annapolis politicians who Pippy feels are very much stuck in their ways. Compounded on that, Pippy added, are reports suggesting Moore may run for president in 2028.

The governor may have some national ambitions, maybe have some other ideas of what he wants to do, Pippy told The Sun. If thats not in alignment with what the powers in Annapolis want, hes certainly going to run into issues.

Pippy added that a lack of cohesion on policy goals has also contributed to the animosity between Moore and some Annapolis Democrats. He described the veto overrides as pretty unusual and predicted that the stark differences in legislative goals will play out during the session.

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I think a lot of that comes from the fact that their policy goals are not always on the same page, Pippy said, adding that redistricting is a strong example.

Some House Democrats believe the governor will work with the legislature.

Sen. Karen Lewis Young told The Sun she received a call from someone she identified as Moores senior staffer who deals with energy policy, before Moore vetoed her bill that aimed to analyze the impact of building data centers across Maryland. She was disappointed in Moores decision but the veto the House and Senate.

He called me to tell me that the governor was vetoing the bill, so at least I found out by telephone before I read it in the newspaper, Lewis Young said of Moores staffer. I thought that was courteous, and I was told what everybody else was told that it was a financial decision because there were too many studies that were too costly.

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Lewis Young added that Moore is also accessible, noting that she had a 15-minute private conversation with him last week ahead of an event in her district.

The governor didnt say anything negative about that veto or any other veto decision. So theres him taking a leadership role in deescalating the temperature, Lewis Young said.

Sen. Jim Rosapepe, vice chair of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, also sang Moores praises, arguing that relations with the governor are as good or better than they were under (former Republican Gov. Larry) Hogan or under (former Democratic Gov. Martin) OMalley.

Rosapepe added that Moore often reaches out to him, seeking advice on policy issues. And when Moores current chief of staff, Lester Davis, began his role, Rosapepe appreciated that Davis personally called him to introduce himself.

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I said, Lester, youre the first governors chief of staff who has ever called me on their own initiative just to (ask) what can they do to help,' Rosapepe recalled their conversation. That clearly comes from Wes Moore.

Democratic leaders would rather members address their issues behind closed doors.

When this all started there was no need to have disagreements with our governor in public, the senior House Democrat said. If you felt that he vetoed the bill that you supported, alright, you now have a constitutional obligation to veto override. But if you look at some of the articles, there was just a lot of back and forth in the press.

Democrats are better off putting egos aside here and focus on bringing forward that essential collaboration that is critical to being able to tackle the challenges that were facing right now, Del. Joe Vogel, a Montgomery County Democrat, said in a phone interview with The Sun.

I choose to focus on areas where we can find that common ground, he said.

_____

(Mennatalla Ibrahim contributed to this story.)

_____
Dec. 27MORGANTOWN  In a competitive sense, the spectators who fill WVU's Hope Coliseum are always looking to turn up the heat on the competition.

From a comfort standpoint, they could go for a little air conditioning now and then.

That's to say nothing of the friends, family and graduates who make their way into the massive concrete saucer for May commencement ceremonies.

During the most recent session of the WVU Board of Governors, President Michael Benson said improvements to Hope Coliseum are among the priorities being advanced by the university as the West Virginia Legislature prepares to convene on Jan. 14.

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Others include additional support for deferred maintenance and an expansion of the WVU School of Medicine.

"And the third is for help with renovation of Hope Coliseum, so that we can make that a year-round venue  actually add HVAC, air conditioning, which we do not have  and increase the capacity at the Coliseum, " Benson said.

As for the medical school, Benson said, "It is an expansion of our medical school in terms of the infrastructure, so we can put in more lecture halls and class spaces to increase that size."

Benson said the university is working "shoulder-to-shoulder " with Marshall University in asking for three comparable requests.

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While the specific capital projects are unique to the schools, they're both pushing for additional support for deferred maintenance.

In 2024, WVU received approximately $47 million for deferred maintenance as part of a $209 million pool set aside by the West Virginia Legislature and former Gov. Jim Justice to address infrastructure needs at public colleges and universities across the state.

That money was spread across dozens of projects on WVU's Morgantown, Keyser and Beckley campuses, some 15 of which involved the repair or replacement of roofs on a handful of the 500-plus buildings across the WVU system.

Some of those funds (an estimated $4.8 million) are addressing, or have addressed, the maintenance needs of the steam tunnels that that deliver heat to the Morgantown Campus ; structural support of the Purinton House (Morgantown ; $1.4 million), a new pedestrian bridge at the Engineering Sciences Building (Morgantown ; $1 million); improvements to Davis Hall (Keyser ; $7.8 million) and repairs to Carter Hall (Beckley ; $2.4 million) among a number of other projects.

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"As we prepare for each legislative session, WVU leadership shares potential opportunities for state investment. We know that for every $1 invested in WVU, $9 is returned to the economy, " Executive Director of Strategic Communications Shauna Johnson said, explaining Benson's comments about Hope Coliseum and the medical school expansion represent just some of the ideas under consideration.

"These are simply options at this point, and whether or not they proceed will be determined as we work with our state leaders during the 2026 Legislative Session."
The Department of Homeland Security is incensed that former detainee Kilmar Abrego Garcia is no longer in their custody and is free to post to social media.

Department spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin reposted an X post by MAGA YouTuber Benny Johnson in which he shared a video posted by Abrego Garcia to TikTok on Saturday, writing, So we, at @DHSgov, are under gag order by an activist judge and Kilmar Abrego Garcia is making TikToks. American justice ceases to function when its arbiters silence law enforcement and give megaphones to those who oppose our legal system.

Tricia McLaughlin/X

In the video, which was posted to TikTok on Friday, Abrego Garcia can be seen lip-syncing to Himno de Victoria by Danny Berrios. In a second video posted to the platform, Abrego Garcia records the sky and trees before turning the camera toward himself and singing along to Jesus Adrian Romeros Sumergeme.

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Employees of the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice are under a gag order preventing them from making comments that could prejudice the public or interfere with Abrego Garcias right to a fair trial.

Earlier this month, Abrego Garcias lawyers accused Border Patrol officer Greg Bovino of repeated violations of the gag order, citing comments made on national television in which he referred to Abrego Garcia as an alien smuggler and wife beater, then asked the court to impose sanctions.

Under the auspices of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, senior officials in the Department of Homeland Security, including Noem herself, have worked overtime to smear Abrego Garcia, repeatedly describing him as a monster, human trafficker, domestic abuser, child predator, and MS-13 gang member.

Abrego Garcia, who has lived in Maryland for years with his American wife and child, has not been convicted of any crimes, and denies any involvement in MS-13.

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Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March, has become one of the most high-profile targets of President Donald Trumps aggressive deportation strategy.

Abrego Garcia was released on Dec. 11 following a judge's order. / Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images

After a judge ordered that the 30-year-old be returned to the U.S., the Trump administration immediately began working to deport him again, considering locations like Uganda and Liberia, countries to which he has no ties, and indicting him on human smuggling charges in Tennessee.

Abrego Garcia was released from custody on Dec. 11 after a federal judge determined that the government had no viable plan for deporting him.

Abrego Garcia has agreed to be deported to Costa Rica, and the Costa Rican government has agreed to accept him on humanitarian grounds, but the Trump administration has insisted that Costa Rica is unwilling to accept him despite evidence to the contrary.

On Tuesday, a federal judge canceled Abrego Garcias trial in Tennessee and instead scheduled a hearing for late January to examine whether or not prosecutors have been acting vindictively and selectively targeting him.
(Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP photo)

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) is once again under fire  this time because her husband Tim Mynetts $25 million venture capital firm, Rose Lake Capital, reportedly purged key officer details amid growing questions about the couples wealth and Minnesotas ongoing welfare fraud investigations.

According to her latest financial disclosure in May, the couples net worth surged 3500% in just one year; their net worth is now anywhere from $6 million to $30 million. The venture capital firm alone, per the filing, is worth between $5 million-$25 million.

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The New York Post was the first outlet to report Mynetts firm scrubbed names on Saturday.

Theres a lot of strange things going on, Paul Kamenar, counsel to the National Legal and Policy Center, told the Post. She was basically broke when she came into office and now shes worth perhaps up to $30 million  she needs to come clean on these assets.

Rose Lake Capital allegedly had less than $1,000 in assets in 2023, according to the financial disclosure for that year  leading many to question the firms skyrocketing fiscal growth.

Between September and October, nine officer and advisor details were removed from the site, including former Obama officials, according to the NYP. These names include former Obama Ambassador to Bahrain Adam Ereli; former Obama Ambassador to China Max Baucus; DNC Finance Chair associate Alex Hoffman; former DNC treasurer William Derrough and former ex-CEO of Amalgamated Bank Keith Mestrich, per the New York Posts findings.

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This move comes amid growing scrutiny of Omar.

Ninety people have been accused, and in many cases convicted, of defrauding the state of hundreds of millions of dollars  three of whom have alleged ties to Omar, though she has not been charged herself.

Some of the scrutiny toward Omar comes from her support of reforms that have since been exploited in this fraud scheme, which includes the MEALS Act  changes to the federal reimbursement rules during the COVID-19 pandemic, waiving oversight requirements to increase timely access to meals for children.

When asked by Fox News Digital if she regretted pushing for the bill and thinks it led to fraud, she offered a brief response: Absolutely not. It did help feed kids.

The post Ilhan Omars Husband Reportedly Purges Names from Firms Website Amid Minnesotas Massive Welfare Fraud Investigation first appeared on Mediaite.
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AP)  Officials said a train accident in southern Mexico killed at least 13 people and injured dozens, halting traffic along a rail line connecting the Pacific Ocean with the Gulf of Mexico.

The Interoceanic Train linking the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz went off the rails Sunday as it passed a curve near the town of Nizanda.

The Mexican Navy has informed me that, tragically, 13 people died in the Interoceanic Train accident, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum posted on X, adding that 98 people are injured, five of them seriously.

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She said she instructed the secretary of the navy and the undersecretary of human rights of the Ministry of the Interior to travel to the site and personally assist the families.

In a message on X Sunday, Oaxaca state Gov. Salomon Jara said several government agencies had reached the site of the accident to assist the injured.

Officials said that 241 passengers and nine crew members were on the train when the accident occurred.

The Interoceanic Train was inaugurated in 2023 by then President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. The rail service is part of a broader push to boost train travel in southern Mexico, and develop infrastructure along the isthmus of Tehuantepec, a narrow stretch of land between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.

The Mexican government plans to turn the isthmus into a strategic corridor for international trade, with ports and rail lines that can connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The Interoceanic train currently runs from the port of Salina Cruz on the Pacific Ocean to Coatzacoalcos, covering a distance of approximately 180 miles (290 kilometers) .
Haryana Director General of Prisons, Alok Kumar Roy, inspected the Karnal jail and underscored the importance of counselling for prisoners and their mental health. Responding to a question about the repeated suicide incidents amongst the prisoners, he stated that there are counsellors available in the jail, as many of the convicted felons become depressed after coming here, which could lead to such incidents. He added that many crimes are committed by individuals with no prior criminal history. When they get sent to jail for punishment, it takes a toll on them mentally, leading to severe depression. He supported his claim with a statistic, saying, "Around 60 to 70 per cent of people in jail are not habitual criminals and stay in depression." Explaining the importance of councillors, he noted that such incidents are inevitable, as crimes are sometimes committed without strong intent. Additionally, he responded to citizens' criticism about why prisoners are receiving work and food as punishment. Emphasising the need for these practices, he stated that the process is grounded in the Criminal Justice System and its principles. He explained the three concepts in relation to public criticism and stated that, under our Justice system, prisoners would be given a chance to better themselves. "The first one is Punitive, which means that appropriate punishment would be given. Second is Reformative, meaning prisoners would be rehabilitated and reintegrated into society. And the third is retribution, which essentially means "an eye for an eye". The punishment of the crime should be related to the brutality of the crime." It was said as a response to critics who state that prisoners should not be given work and counselling as they are there for punishment. He added that the previous culture, which glorified gangsters who influenced young people, has also largely been dismantled. He described the prisoners' routine as simple, and that's what awaits anyone who enters. (ANI)
Israels systematic campaign of violence against Palestinian journalists since October 2023 has peaked in 2025 with the targeting of dozens of members of the press, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate says.

In a statement released on Friday, the Freedoms Committee of the syndicate said Israel is implementing a policy of silencing the press through killing, injury and permanent disability.

The Israeli occupation shifted from a policy of restricting journalistic work to a policy of neutralising the press through deadly force, with the aim of silencing witnesses, preventing the documentation of crimes, and undermining the Palestinian narrative on the ground, the statement said.

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By the end of November 2025, at least 76 Palestinian journalists had been killed and wounded by Israel, a figure the committee described as a dangerous indicator of the escalating targeting policy pursued by Israeli authorities. Journalists are no longer merely potential targets, but rather confirmed and frequent targets, the committee said.

Over the past year, Israel killed several journalists in Gaza in targeted assassinations  most notably Al Jazeeras Anas al-Sharif  falsely claiming that they are members of Hamas.

Press freedom groups have been condemning the Israeli attacks on journalists, but the killings have proceeded with impunity. Israel has never arrested or charged any of its troops for killing journalists.

While the targeting of the press intensified during the genocidal war in Gaza, Israel has killed dozens of Arab journalists over the past two decades, including Al Jazeeras veteran correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh in the occupied West Bank in 2022.





Muhammad al-Lahham, head of the Committee for Freedoms at the syndicate, said the scale and consistency of the attacks amount to international crimes.

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The events of the past year, he said, constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity, and represent a systematic targeting of a protected group, journalists, within the framework of an official policy to silence the media by force.

Al-Lahham rejected claims that journalists had been caught accidentally in hostilities, describing instead a deliberate operational logic. What Israel was enforcing, he said, was a field doctrine based on the principle of no witnesses, no narrative, no image'.

In December, a report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) found that Israel killed more journalists in 2025 than any other country.

Silencing witnesses

The report described 2025 as a year of repeated mass targeting, particularly in tents, hospitals, and press gatherings, warning that Palestine had become one of the most dangerous places in the world to practise journalism.

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Several Al Jazeera journalists have been among those killed, in some cases alongside members of their families.

In August, Israeli attacks killed al-Sharif and three other Al Jazeera journalists. They are among nearly 300 journalists and media workers killed in Gaza during the war over 26 months  an average of about 12 journalists a month  according to Shireen.ps, a monitoring website named after Abu Akleh.

Beyond fatalities, the committee documented a sharp rise in life-altering injuries. Many journalists suffered amputations, paralysis or blindness after strikes to the head, neck, chest and abdomen. The dangers did not come solely from the Israeli army, the report said, but also from settlers.

Al Jazeera journalists killed by Israel earlier this year: From left, Anas al-Sharif, Mohammed Noufal, Ibrahim Zaher and Mohammed Qreiqeh [Al Jazeera]

April and May marked what the committee called a phase of deliberate media massacres. On April 7 and 8, Israeli strikes hit a journalists tent at Nasser Hospital, wounding nine reporters and destroying equipment. Several died of their injuries later.

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This documented and recurring incident occurred and involved the use of heavy weaponry, amounting to a complex war crime and a collective targeting of the press, the committee said.

By mid-2025, patterns of permanent disability had emerged. Journalist Akram Dalloul lost his sight, Jamal Badah had his leg amputated, and Muhammad Fayeq was left paralysed.

The committee stressed that most attacks occurred while journalists were clearly identifiable, wearing protective gear and press badges, and working in locations long recognised as media gathering points. Many were targeted repeatedly, it added, underscoring what it described as Israels sustained assault on the Palestinian press.
The terrorist was reportedly taken from an area near Palestine Square in Gaza City. The IDF has declined to comment on the matter, according to Army Radio.

Israel kidnapped a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror organization during covert operations to locate the remains of slain hostage St.-Sgt.-Maj. Ran Gvili in Hamas-controlled areas of the Gaza Strip, Saudi state-run outlet Asharq Al-Awsat reported on Sunday.

The terrorist was reportedly taken from an area near Palestine Square in Gaza City. The IDF has declined to comment on the matter, according to Army Radio.

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The allegedly kidnapped terrorist was reportedly among those Israel identified to Cairo as being responsible for the October 7 abduction and subsequent holding of Gvilis remains, according to the Saudi outlet.

Earlier this month, the PIJ claimed that it had handed over the final hostage in its possession.

Hamas and the PIJ "know where Gvili's remains are located, and have the ability to find them. The problem is they are not motivated to do so," a security source told Maariv earlier this month. "We believe they can put in more effort."

Hamas terrorists walk with Red Cross vehicle to area within the Yellow Line, Gaza City, November 20, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/DAWOUD ABU ALKAS)

Hamas, Red Cross search for Gvili's remains

Hamas and the International Committee of the Red Cross have conducted searches for Gvilis remains in Zeitoun, pausing recently due to inclement weather conditions when Storm Byron hit.

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"We are applying very strong and clear pressure. Until Gvili's remains are returned, there will be no progress. Everyone knows we are in an interim situation," a second security source previously told Maariv.

"This stage also has disadvantages for Hamas, as they will not receive anything that will allow the rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip. There will be no concrete, no concrete mixers, no discussion of a new Yellow Line, no opening of the Rafah Border Crossing - and more!" the source added.

James Genn and Anna Barsky contributed to this report.
The Knesset moved to prohibit brothel operations nationwide, with officials stressing that prostitution will not disappear without coordinated action and local enforcement.

The Knessets Internal Affairs and Environment Committee has commenced action to ban the operations of brothels, the governing body announced on Sunday.

Committee chairman MK Yitzhak Kreuzer said that prostitution exists in the State of Israel and will not disappear without being properly addressed. In February 2025, Justice Minister Yariv Levin announced that a once-temporary law, which prohibited the consumption of prostitution, introduced in July 2020, became permanent.

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The law made it illegal for individuals to purchase sex, with penalties ranging from administrative fines to criminal charges. These efforts were cited as efforts to combat human trafficking within Israel.

"There are authorities that deal with it, and there are those that ignore it, and in many cases, the phenomenon only worsens, Kreuzer stated, adding that the topic was discussed following a request from Israeli NGO, Task Force on Human Trafficking and Prostitution.

Moriah Rodel-Silfan, CEO of the organization, said in a statement that authorities can either ignore the issue or approach it head-on for a solution. She called on local authorities to act to eradicate the issue.

prostitution (credit: Reuters)

Sex workers in Israel

Lior Rosenbaum, a representative of the headquarters to combat trafficking of women, added that failing to act on the issue would only allow it to grow. Rosenbaum praised the Tel Aviv municipality for its successful fight against prostitution, resulting in the closure of brothels and discreet operations in the city.

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Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem Adir Schwartz told authorities in the Knesset that in Jerusalem, prostitution is largely concentrated on youth from the Haredi community, noting municipal plans and efforts to reduce prostitution.

Health Ministry representatives added that sex workers in Israel are not largely street workers, and outside enforcement would be needed to combat efforts.

Maya Baron, Director of the Extreme Risk & Trauma Field at Israeli NGO ELEM, focused on youth in distress in Israel, noted the difference between prostitution in men and women in a statement. Women engage in prostitution in discreet apartments, while men are on the street. Opening the doors of local authorities and acquiring the appropriate knowledge will enable assistance and response."

During the meeting, MK Adi Aziz, among others, questioned police representatives about police raids on brothels and discreet apartments. She stated that raids were often not conducted in helpful manners to girls impacted; she cited a lack of social workers involved in the matter to assist survivors during the investigation and help them navigate alternative housing and rehabilitation.

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Police representatives responded, stating that additional brothels would soon be closed through administrative orders, as well as additional efforts to be made in rehabilitation for survivors in cooperation with the Social Affairs Ministry.

Survivors testified in Knesset, including D. McCullough, who emphasized local authorities' role in combating prostitution. The prostitution industry is not only a crime but also an industry, and if it has no way of making money, it will not operate. The local authorities have the power to strangle the prostitution industry economically, and that is enormous power, McCullough told Knesset representatives.

If the brothel is masquerading as residential apartments, then the apartment is not operating according to its purpose, and therefore the brothel needs to be closed, and the more you close, the less profitable it will be for pimps to open in the city. Every brothel that is closed saves a lot of women and girls, they added. A brothel that closes saves the ugly spots from your city, so you should close them."
Itamar Ben-Gvir. (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)

The minister emphasized that he lacks the authority to act on broader border security issues.

Israel Police and the National Security Ministry are not responsible for the infiltration ofillegal Palestinian entrants into Israel, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said following the deadly terrorist attack in the North on Friday that left 68-year-old Mordechai Samson and 17-year-old Aviv Maor dead and two others wounded.

Speaking to Udi Segal and Anat Davidov on 103FM, Ben-Gvir stated that the responsibility for the security fence does not lie with the police. The issue of illegal entrants is unfortunately not my responsibility, because responsibility for the fence is not that of the Israel Police, he said.

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Ben-Gvir added that the police are responsible only for the Jerusalem Envelope sector of the seam line, and claimed a pilot program launched there is making an impact.

They started a nice pilot, shooting illegal entrants; its starting to bring the numbers down, he said.

The minister emphasized that he lacks the authority to act on broader border security issues.

NATIONAL SECURITY Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir speaks to the media before a cabinet meeting at the Prime Ministers Office in Jerusalem. (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)

There is a problem with the fences, and unfortunately, I dont have the authority to touch the fence. Where my responsibility lies, things are working.

Negev unrest a response to enforcement

Ben-Gvir claimed that recent unrest in the Negev is a response to increased police enforcement measures implemented during his tenure.

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This is a price tag for my activity. In the past month, we have reduced shooting incidents in the Negev by 60 percent. We are doing in the Negev what hasnt been done in 30 years.

He also addressed recent incidents of car torching in the South, which he described as retaliation against his policies.

Its a way of telling me, Ben-Gvir, be careful, watch out, dont continue. Ill take this opportunity to tell the rioters who are listening to us on the radio: Not only will I continue, I will intensify.

During the interview, Ben-Gvir also commented on Eli Feldstein, a former employee, and pushed back against suggestions that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be held accountable for the actions of people linked to

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Ben-Gvir said that representatives acting on his behalf had warned the Prime Ministers Office about Eli Feldstein before his appointment.

Speaking on Channel 14s The Patriots program, Ben-Gvir claimed that a close associate contacted officials in the Prime Ministers Office on two occasions, warning that Feldstein was unreliable.

Ben-Gvir did not name the individuals involved but said they were familiar to the interviewers.

We warned Netanyahus office beforeFeldstein started working there, he said.
Israel's military has taken delivery of a high-power laser interception system known as Iron Beam, which will be integrated into its existing multi-layered missile shields.

The laser system has been handed over to the armed forces following its development by Israeli defence firms Elbit Systems and Rafael, the Defence Ministry said on Sunday.

Iron Beam is designed to work alongside the Iron Dome, David's Sling and Arrow defence systems.

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Tests have shown the system can reliably intercept rockets, mortar rounds, aircraft and drones, the ministry said, adding that it is significantly cheaper to operate than conventional missile-based systems.

According to US estimates, the laser weapon can neutralize drones at a cost of around $4 per interception, compared with the much higher cost of Israels existing missile defence systems.

Defence Minister Israel Katz described the deployment as a "historic moment" that fundamentally changes the threat landscape. The system is fully operational, he said, and sends a clear message to Israel's adversaries: "Do not challenge us."

Amir Baram, director general of the defence ministry, said the handover marked "the beginning of a technological revolution" in air defence. While production of the system is now under way, work has already begun on the next generation of defences for both ground and aerial use, he said.

Rafael chairman Yuval Steinitz called the development a milestone, saying: "Today marks the beginning of the era of high-energy laser defence."
Dec. 27---- Kandiyohi County's application for state funds to help fill the gap in weather radar coverage in western Minnesota was denied earlier this month.

In November,

approved a grant application to the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources.

The $1.25 million grant would have allowed for a private-public partnership to install and maintain radar in several counties across the state to provide coverage to undermonitored areas. The project would have included a system proposed to be located in Renville and serve what was described in the grant materials as the Kandiyohi County and Renville County region.

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Four new radar systems would have been built through the proposed project. The other regions to be served were Beltrami County, Faribault County and Crow Wing County. The grant also would have supported previously constructed radar in Grant County.

According to Kandiyohi County Emergency Management Director Ace Bonnema, the grant was denied during the commission's Dec. 10 meeting in part due to it not meeting the criteria for the funds sought from the emerging issues account.

According to the

that account is intended for "unexpected and urgent" needs that cannot be accommodated through standard funding cycles.

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The 17-member commission  made up of five state senators, five state representatives, five citizens appointed by the governor, one citizen appointed by the Senate and one citizen appointed by the House  otherwise makes funding recommendations to the Legislature for projects that help maintain and enhance Minnesota's environment and natural resources.

Sen. Torrey Westrom, a member of the commission, "mentioned that our project wasn't an emerging issue because we have always had weather so it was nothing new," Bonnema said in a meeting Dec. 16.

That meeting led by the Kandiyohi County Board was an opportunity for county leaders to discuss a broad array of county needs with local legislators, the radar gap among them.

western Minnesota has large areas with little to no radar coverage beneath certain elevations: A lack of low-elevation radar in an area means less accurate information about weather in that area.

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In order to avoid being blocked by trees and buildings, radar is pointed upward in a conical shape. This angle, combined with the curvature of the earth, leaves some spaces beneath the radar untracked. The further away an area is from the origin point of the radar, the worse the coverage at lower elevations. The nearest radar to Kandiyohi County is in the Twin Cities metro area.

Areas lacking radar coverage are forced to rely upon spotters on the ground tracking storms. This puts spotters at risk as they travel during harsh rains, winds and blizzards.

Previous efforts, in partnership with the private company Climavision, allowed for the installation of a radar system in Wendell, Minnesota. Further funding would expand on this model.

Despite not receiving funding, the project was highly ranked in priorities among submitted applications.

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"Out of the six projects (that applied under the emerging issues account), ours was tied for the highest priority. However, we did not receive the invitation to do a presentation. It was a little frustrating because trying to explain this in two pages proved to be really difficult," Bonnema said during the Dec. 16 meeting with lawmakers. "Also it looked like there would have been enough funding for all six projects."

Bonnema has not given up hope on securing funding for weather radar in western Minnesota. At the meeting with State Sen. Andrew Lang, Rep. Dave Baker and Rep. Scott Van Binsbergen, Bonnema asked if 2026 would be a good time to push for state funding.

"I have been a supporter of this project. Truthfully, it is new ground, using a private-public partnership. It is a little strange for the state of Minnesota. However, I think there is a path. I don't know what that path is specifically," Lang said.

Lang suggested that the path forward could still be through the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources or through the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

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Bonnema mentioned two other possible solutions, firstly the county purchasing its own radar, which could cost twice as much without the help of a state grant, or seeking funds through state bonding.

Next year will be a potential bonding year for the state of Minnesota. The Legislature during even years typically considers a bonding bill to borrow money for larger public infrastructure projects.
In a response to the High Court, Defense Minister Katz accused Army Radio workers of presenting false claims amid legal challenges to the stations closure.

Defense Minister Israel Katz sharply criticized the Army Radio workers' union in his response to the High Court of Justice on Monday, accusing the organization of attempting to mislead the court through what he described as false affidavits.

Katz's accusations came in response to the petition filed by Army Radio workers, which challenged the decision, with a consolidated hearing scheduled for the end of January.

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Katz announced the decision to shutter the military broadcaster last week, with the closure slated to take effect in March.

Army Radio has been broadcasting for 75 years, and has long served as a training ground for generations of Israeli journalists. The government has argued that the army has no business operating a news station, especially one that it especially one that it claims leans toward one side of the political map.

Petitions were immediately filed against the decision. Supreme Court President Isaac Amit said a hearing would be set for the end of January, but declined to issue an interim order freezing the decision.

Another petition was issued two days later, when workers said they had received notice that their employment would be frozen as early as this week. The Defense Ministry denied these claims.

A narrative conjured from nothing

In his response on Sunday, Katz argued that the arguments - backed by affidavits signed by two senior figures in the radio station - were a case of creation ex nihilo - a narrative conjured from nothing. In reality, none of it occurred.

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Following the government's vote to shutter the station last week, Katz issued two directives: first, to cease recruiting for Army Radio and redirect those already recruited to other military tracks; second, to start the process of transferring current military personnel at the outlet to other posts by February 15.

This would not apply to Galgalatz, the popular music station operated by the IDF.

Part of the issue is the advisers to the station. The government's decision includes, as preparation for the new calendar year, processes that ensure that the contracts of these advisors don't extend beyond February 2, to pave the way for the stations closure.

Katz's response attacked the petition, which, according to the defense minister, falsely portrayed the situation as if operations would be effectively stalled on January 1.

Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with state-run media that Europe has been the main obstacle for peace amid its war in Ukraine since President Trump returned to office earlier this year.

In an interview with TASS published Sunday, the foreign minister praised Trump and sought to blame the Europeans for slow progress on peace talks to end the war with Ukraine.

After a new administration came to power in the United States, Europe and the European Union emerged as the main obstacles to peace. They are making no secret of the fact that they are getting ready to fight it out with Russia on the battlefield, Lavrov said.

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The interview comes amid a renewed push to bring about an end to the war with Ukraine and ahead of Trumps meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday in Florida.

Lavrov said Russia appreciates Trumps efforts.

Russia appreciates efforts by President of the United States Donald Trump and his team to achieve a peace settlement. We are committed to continuing to work with the American negotiators to devise lasting agreements for addressing the conflicts root causes, he said.

The Ukrainian leader on Sunday is expected to present a revised 20-point peace plan, which reportedly outlines a plan to have Russian forces withdraw from the Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Kharkiv regions and build an $800 billion fund for post-war recovery efforts.

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But Trump downplayed Zelenskys sense of optimism about the meeting, saying, in an interview with Politico on Friday, that the Ukrainian leader doesnt have anything until I approve it. So well see what hes got.

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.
MISRATA, Libya (AP)  Hundreds of people on Sunday mourned western Libyas military chief and four others who were killed in a plane crash in Turkey.

The coffins of Gen. Muhammad Ali Ahmad al-Haddad and two others were brought into a stadium in the coastal city of Misrata, their hometown, for a funeral ceremony that included Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah and other military and political leaders. The bodies will be taken by their families for a private burial elsewhere.

Ceremonies were also held in Ankara and Tripoli on Saturday.

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A private jet with al-Haddad and four other military officers and three crew members crashed on Tuesday after taking off from Ankara, Turkeys capital. Libyan officials said the cause was a technical malfunction on the plane but the investigation is still ongoing in coordination with Turkey.

Libya plunged into chaos after the countrys 2011 uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. The country split, with rival administrations in the east and west, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments. The country is governed by Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibahs government in Tripoli and the administration of Prime Minister Ossama Hammad in the east.

Turkey has been the main backer of Libyas government in the west, but has recently taken steps to improve ties with the eastern-based government.
A local preschool student is dead, and several others are injured after a crash involving a motorhome in Florida on Saturday.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

As reported on News Center 7 at 6:00, the student attended Enon Elementary School in the Greenon Local School District.

Several people spoke with News Center 7s Malik Patterson off-camera. They said that this has been extremely hard to process.

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Greenon Local Schools Superintendent Darrin Knapke sent the following statement to News Center 7.

The Greenon Local Schools community is heartbroken following a tragic accident in Florida involving members of our school family. We mourn the loss of Tucker, who was a preschool student at Enon Elementary, and the son and grandson of our staff members at Greenon. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this incredibly difficult time.

Members of the Enon community are praying for Tuckers family.

Im sorry for that, and I pray for them. I really will, said James Warren. I mean, its tough. I hope all of them make it out and everybody can help.

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As previously reported by News Center 7, the crash happened on U.S. 27 in Marion County, Florida, around 5:45 a.m.

The motorhome was carrying 15 people, all from Clark County.

It was heading south on U.S 27 while an SUV was going west on County Road (CR) 316 in Florida, the crash report said.

The two vehicles collided, causing the motorhome to overturn.

Tucker was a passenger in the motorhome and died on the scene.

Medics transported 12 other occupants from the motorhome to the hospital with critical injuries, according to the crash report.

The SUV driver also went to the hospital with critical injuries.

News Center 7 is working to learn more and will continue to follow this story.

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The victim of the Unnao rape case on Sunday expressed hope that the Supreme Court will deliver justice as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a petition challenging the Delhi High Court's order suspending the life sentence of expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar. Speaking to ANI, the victim said, "I have faith in the Supreme Court that it will give me justice. I am raising the voice of every woman. Had the CBI taken action earlier, I would have got justice. His bail would have been rejected because he raped me. My father was killed. My family members were killed. The security of my family members and witnesses was removed. My husband was fired from his job. My children are unsafe at home." The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) appeal on December 29, challenging the Delhi High Court's decision to suspend the life sentence of expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the Unnao rape case. A three-judge vacation bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant will hear the plea of the CBI. On Friday, the Central Bureau of Investigation filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) before the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court order that suspended the sentence and granted bail to former Uttar Pradesh MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the Unnao rape case. The SLP was filed against the Delhi High Court's order dated December 23, 2025, which suspended Sengar's life sentence pending disposal of his appeal and granted him bail subject to certain conditions. Sengar was convicted in December 2019 in the Unnao rape case and sentenced to life imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 25 lakh. Though granted bail in this case, he will continue to remain in jail as he is serving a 10-year sentence in another CBI case related to murder. (ANI)
Lou Gerstner, who led IBM's turnaround in the 1990s, has died, the company told staff.

He kept IBM intact and refocused it on customers during a period of crisis.

Gerstner reshaped IBM's strategy and culture after years of decline.

Lou Gerstner, the former CEO of IBM who led the company through one of the most consequential turnarounds in corporate history, died on Saturday at the age of 83, the company said.

Gerstner ran IBM from 1993 to 2002, arriving at a time when the company was under severe pressure, and its future was in doubt. IBM was losing money, the tech industry was shifting rapidly, and there was widespread expectation that the company would be broken up.

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Instead, Gerstner chose to keep IBM together. He pushed the company to organize around customer needs rather than internal divisions, helping reposition IBM as a provider of integrated technology and services for large enterprises. That decision became central to IBM's recovery and renewed relevance.

Gerstner also drove cultural change inside the company. He emphasized direct decision-making, accountability, and execution, while insisting that innovation mattered only if it translated into real value for clients. The approach marked a sharp break from IBM's inward-looking habits that had taken hold before his arrival, IBM said in its announcement of Gerstner's death.

His tenure included painful restructuring. IBM abandoned long-standing traditions, including its decades-long "cradle to grave" no-layoff policy, as it sought to stabilize its finances and compete more aggressively. Many credit those moves, along with Gerstner's strategic focus, with saving the company from collapse.

Before joining IBM, Gerstner built a high-profile career in corporate America. He was a partner at McKinsey & Company, later served as president of American Express, and was CEO of RJR Nabisco. After leaving IBM, he chaired the Carlyle Group and focused on philanthropy, particularly in education and biomedical research.

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A native of Long Island, New York, Gerstner earned a degree from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Harvard. IBM said it plans to hold a celebration of his legacy in the new year.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Dec 28 (Reuters) - Louis Gerstner, the former CEO and chairman of IBM, died on Saturday, aged 83.

IBM chairman and CEO Arvind Krishna announced Gerstners death in an email sent Sunday to employees, but did not provide a cause of death.

"Lou arrived at IBM at a moment when the company's future was genuinely uncertain. His leadership during that period reshaped the company. Not by looking backward, but by focusing relentlessly on what our clients would need next", Krishna said in his email.

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Gerstner moved to IBM from being the CEO of RJR Nabisco in April 1993 after stints at American Express and the consultancy McKinsey, becoming the first outsider to run Big Blue, as IBM was called.

During the nine years he led the computer giant, he was widely credited with turning around a company that was facing potential bankruptcy, pivoting the company to business services. He radically changed IBM's culture and focus while slashing expenses, selling assets and repurchasing stock.

Gerstner retired as CEO of IBM in 2002, with the stock some 800% higher than when he had started, moving to become the chairman of Carlyle Group until his retirement in 2008.

The author of "Who Says Elephants Can't Dance" and co-author of "Reinventing Education: Entrepreneurship in America's Public Schools," Gerstner was on the board of several companies including Bristol-Myers, the New York Times, American Express, AT&T and Caterpillar.

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Gerstner was passionate about public education in the U.S, launching an initiative at IBM to use company technology in schools.

He established the Gerstner Philanthropies in 1989, which included the Gerstner Family Foundation, emphasizing support for biomedical research, environmental and education initiatives, and social services serving New York City, Boston, and Palm Beach County, Florida.

(Reporting by Chandni Shah in BengaluruEditing by Nick Zieminski)
Chicago police are investigating a deadly shooting in downtown on Sunday.

The Cook County Crime Stoppers is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

Officers responded to the call of the shooting at about 2:35 a.m. in the 400-block of North LaSalle Drive, police said.

CPD said four victims were getting into a car when four male suspects approached by foot and started shooting.

Video showed Chicago police placed crime scene around a green SUV early Sunday.

A 34-year-old man was shot multiple times. Police said he died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

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A man, 36, was shot in the chest, a man, 43, was shot in the back, and a 35-year-old man was shot multiple times to the body, according to police.

"A lot of people down here last night it's just sad in the city of Chicago wherever you go you always have to keep your head on a swivel," community activist Andrew Holmes said. "There's been a bigger police presence here but you can have a large amount of police but this happened after the police just pulled off they said police was here for a while and they left."

Chicago police said all the shooting victims were being treated at Northwestern Hospital.

"This was a brazen and violent act that took one life and left three others fighting for their lives... unfortunately incidents like this dampers the holiday" said Paul Rutherford, Executive Director of Cook County Crime Stoppers. "Someone knows who is responsible. Your information, no matter how small it may seem, could be the key to bringing justice to the victims and their families... I encourage anyone in the area or knows something about this incident we offer up to 10,000 cash reward for information that leads to an arrest you don't have to give your name it's total anonymity."

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Anyone with information is asked to call 1-800-535-7867 or visit www.CPDTIP.com

The suspects got into a car and fled the scene. Nobody is in custody as Chicago police continue to investigate.

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A Massachusetts State Police trooper was able to walk away after their cruiser was involved in a rollover crash amid icy conditions Sunday morning.

The cruiser crashed near the off-ramp at Exit 123 on the MassPike in Weston around 8:00 a.m. Sunday morning, an MSP spokesperson told Boston 25 News.

An initial investigation indicated that icy conditions contributed to the crash, according to state police.

No one was seriously injured.

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Native Vote. Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, a citizen of the White Earth Nation and a candidate for the U.S. Senate, is facing backlash from right-wing commentators after wearing a hijab during a visit to a mosque this month, a gesture she said was meant to show respect and solidarity with Muslim communities amid growing concerns about religious intolerance and hate.

In a video released on Christmas and aired on SomaliTV of Minnesota and later posted to YouTube, Flanagan is seen wearing a hijab while speaking in defense of Minnesotas Somali community, which has been the target of repeated attacks by President Donald Trump.

At a cabinet meeting Tuesday, Trump said he does not want Somali people in the United States.

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They contribute nothing. I dont want them in our country. Their country is no good for a reason. Your country stinks and we dont want them in our country, Trump said.

Flanagan, who has served as an elected official in Minnesota for more than a decade  first as a state representative and now as lieutenant governor  expressed a sharply different view.

I am incredibly clear that the Somali community is part of the fabric of the state of Minnesota, Flanagan said while speaking at Karmel Mall in Minneapolis alongside local officials.

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Her remarks come as federal immigration agents have stepped up arrests of people in the country illegally who are linked to serious crimes in the Twin Cities area, and as Minnesota continues to see ongoing fraud investigations.

Flanagan, who identifies as Catholic on her campaign website, sought to reassure members of the Somali community during her visit.

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Weve got your back, she said. Things are scary right now, and just know that there are more people who are looking out for you than you know.

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The appearance drew swift criticism online from some pro-Trump commentators. Far-right activist and former congressional candidate Laura Loomer wrote, Any politician who embraces Islam must be removed from office. Former Trump strategist Steve Bannon also criticized the visit, writing that it amounted to Christians and Catholics bending the knee to appease what he described as an entitled Somalian thug ethos.

Muslim women say wearing a hijab is both a personal expression of faith and, for many, a religious obligation, though practices vary. Advocates note that misunderstandings about the garment have often fueled discrimination.

Flanagan said the visit reinforced her commitment to opposing hate and supporting religious freedom.

Minnesotas strength is its diversity, she said. Everyone deserves to feel safe practicing their faith and living openly as who they are.

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The visit comes as state and local leaders nationwide grapple with rising hate crimes and efforts to build trust across communities. For Flanagan, she said, that work begins with showing up.

While the lieutenant governor was showing her support for small businesses and communities being terrorized by ICE, she was handed a scarf by a friend and briefly wore it out of respect, said Alexandra Fetissoff, a spokesperson for Flanagan.

The real outrage should not be a scarf, but masked men throwing American citizens into vans and violating the Constitution, Fetissoff said.

Flanagan is running in the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party primary for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Tina Smith, who is not seeking reelection in November 2026. Her main opponent is U.S. Rep. Angie Craig.

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About the Author: "Levi \"Calm Before the Storm\" Rickert (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation) is the founder, publisher and editor of Native News Online. Rickert was awarded Best Column 2021 Native Media Award for the print\/online category by the Native American Journalists Association. He serves on the advisory board of the Multicultural Media Correspondents Association. He can be reached at levi@nativenewsonline.net."

Contact: levi@nativenewsonline.net
The Qatargate case revolves around suspected influence by Qatari-linked individuals close to Netanyahu.

Efforts were allegedly made to block a sensitive security review involving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, following a request by MK Naama Lazimi that he be questioned over Qatargate and recent reports published in Germanys Bild, journalist Ben Caspit reported on Sunday.

Lazimi had sent a letter two days earlier to Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) Director David Zini, transmitted via the Prime Ministers Military Secretarys Office in accordance with protocol. However, according to Caspit, the request appears to have been halted at that stage.

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On Sunday morning, Lazimi reportedly received a response indicating the letter had never reached the Shin Bet director.

According to the explanation cited by Caspit, Zini was deemed to have a conflict of interest and therefore could not handle the matter.

Caspit harshly criticized the justification as amateurish, arguing it should not impede the agencys ability to respond to the request. He questioned why other officials, such as those in the investigations division, could not take on the matter.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a ceremony in Rishon LeZion ahead of the start of construction works for the Red Line of the light rail, which will extend to the city, December 25, 2025. (credit: Tal Gal/Flash90)

To circumvent the apparent roadblock, Lazimi has since directed a replacement letter to the Shin Bets investigations branch, bypassing the Prime Ministers Office altogether. Caspit noted it remains to be seen whether another creative reason might be used to delay or prevent a review.

Allegations surround Qatari-linked influence and Bild reporting

The Qatargate case revolves around suspected influence by Qatari-linked individuals close to Netanyahu.

It is separate from the so-called Bild affair relating to reports in the German outlet. The Jerusalem Post has previously reported on intensified scrutiny of both tracks, as well as on the appointment of Shin Bet Director David Zini and recent leadership changes within the agency.
A Montana cattleman and his wife are giving away their $21.6 million ranch instead of selling it, a rare move as land prices climb and multigenerational ranches disappear across the West.

Dale and Janet Veseth, whose family has ranched in northwestern Montanas Phillips County for generations, are donating their roughly 38,000-acre spread to the Ranchers Stewardship Alliance, a rancher-founded nonprofit that works to keep land in cattle production.

The couple will continue to manage the ranch for the rest of their lives, with ownership transferring to the group later.

Dale and Janet Veseth said they chose donation over sale to keep their ranch intact and in agricultural use for future generations. Ranchers Stewardship Alliance

The organization says it is the largest recorded donation of a working ranch in Montana history.

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For Dale Veseth, 63, the decision reflects the financial reality facing modern ranchers.

His familys ties to the land run deep. His father ran cattle there. So did his grandfather.

Veseth has spent 35 years refining a rotational grazing system on the property, including using remote-controlled collars to move cattle up to 170 times a year across the ranch.

But rising land prices and outside buyers have reshaped the high northern plains, making it harder for family ranches to survive.

The ranch has supported multiple families over the decades, but today only three remain working the land, according to Dale Veseth. Ranchers Stewardship Alliance

For people to go out and pay $20 million to have an average job, that probably isnt going to work, Veseth told Cowboy State Daily.

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Land is just one aspect. You have cattle. You have equipment, you have labor, he said. And (everything) to make all these things go. We thought it was pretty hard to recruit the next generation of people who produced our food.

The ranchs footprint reflects decades of consolidation.

Veseth has spent more than three decades refining rotational grazing practices across the property. Ranchers Stewardship Alliance

Veseth has said at least 76 homesteads are now incorporated into his deeded acres.

Including Bureau of Land Management grazing lands, he estimated roughly 100 families once worked the land that today supports just three.

They all had dreams and interests, he said.

The Ranchers Stewardship Alliance was formed in 2003 as ranchers pushed back against outside interests buying up land in northern Montana.

The Ranchers Stewardship Alliance says the donation is the largest recorded gift of a working ranch in Montana history. Ranchers Stewardship Alliance

Angel DeVries, the groups executive director, told Cowboy State Daily the organization formed when ranchers began speaking up to say they had long been stewarding the land.

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RSA Communications Director Haylie Shipp described the groups goal simply.

What can we do for ranchers so that they never have to sell their ranches out of production agriculture? he told the outlet.

Rising land prices have made it increasingly difficult for younger ranchers to buy or inherit large operations in the region. Ranchers Stewardship Alliance/Facebook

Veseth said the donation is intended to create access for people without the means to buy land outright, as the average rancher is now about 60 and just 12 percent of full-time ranchers are under 35.

RSA is going to have a forum, Veseth said. They will have an avenue for people that have spent their life on the land and want other people to have that opportunity, raise food and be the backbone of these rural local communities.

Im extremely happy Im a rancher, he added. I think I had one of the few opportunities that most people will never have.
Hours after the explosion, an armed group known as Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah claimed responsibility through an official statement.

Friday afternoon was far from ordinary in the Wadi al-Dahab neighborhood of Homs, as the city witnessed one of the deadliest attacks on civilians and places of worship in recent times.

While worshippers were performing Friday prayers at the Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque, a violent explosion shook the entire building, spreading panic and chaos among the congregants, who suddenly found themselves engulfed in a cloud of smoke, blood, and shrapnel.

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The bombing caused widespread shock inSyria, particularly since the targeted mosque was in a predominantly Alawite area. The mosque is considered an important religious and social center, with worshippers frequently attending.

Targeting this mosque during prayer is not viewed merely as an attack on a place of worship, but is also a direct threat to civil peace, deepening fears of attempts to incite sectarian strife and threaten fragile stability in a city that has long suffered from the effects of war and violence.

A security spokesperson told The Media Linewhile refusing to disclose his identitythat the bombing constitutes a heinous and cowardly terrorist act that targeted unarmed civilians while they were performing their religious rituals, stressing that this attack represents a blatant violation of all human and religious values.

While worshippers were performing Friday prayers at the Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque, a violent explosion shook the entire building, spreading panic and chaos among the congregants, who suddenly found themselves engulfed in a cloud of smoke, blood, and shrapnel. (credit: Ahmed Al-Khatib/The Media Line)

'A red line that will not be allowed to be crossed'

He added that security services immediately launched an extensive investigation to uncover the circumstances of the bombing and the parties involved, emphasizing that targeting places of worship, regardless of their sect, is a red line that will not be allowed to be crossed.

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The spokesperson also affirmed that the state is committed to protecting all citizens without discrimination and that such acts will not succeed in undermining the national fabric or dragging the country into a new cycle of sectarian violence.

It occurred around 12:30 p.m. on Friday, at a time when the mosque was crowded with worshippers, which resulted in a relatively high number of casualties in a short space of time.

According to the official tally released by the Homs Health Directorate, the attack left eight dead and 19 wounded with varying degrees of injuries, two of them in critical condition. The injured were quickly transported to hospitals for treatment amid a state of medical and security alert.

Bashar Mohieddin Al-Issa, one of the survivors, told The Media Line about what he experienced inside the mosque. Bashar said the explosion occurred during the first phase of prayer while most worshippers were in prostration.

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I heard a tremendous roar, felt as if the air vanished instantly, then a strong pressure knocked me to the ground, said Bashar, who suffered shrapnel injuries to his leg and back. When I lifted my head, people were screamingsome bleeding, others motionless. The carpet was torn, and blood was everywhere. I couldnt understand what happened; everything collapsed in an instant.

In a weary voice, he added, We entered the mosque to pray; we never expected to leave it wounded. That is what hurts the most.

Abu Ahmed, a resident of the neighborhood, was slightly injured but lost his nephew in the blast.

He told The Media Line: We entered the mosque together; he was a few steps ahead of me. After the explosion, I didnt see him. I shouted his name, but my voice was lost among the screams.

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Shoes were scattered, blood on the floor and walls. I was looking for him among the corpses and injured. I wasnt looking for a wounded person  I was looking for a part of me," he continued.

Ahmed added, This explosion didnt just kill people; it broke something inside us. Even the mosque is no longer the same.

The effects of the explosion did not stop with those inside the mosque. Umm Khaled, also a neighborhood resident, told The Media Line that her husband never returned late from Friday prayers.

I was preparing lunch and waiting for him as usual. But this time, the wait was long, she said. I heard the explosion from home. At first, I didnt understand, but my heart sank. Minutes later, people started running in the street, and I realized the mosque had been targeted.

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She rushed to the mosque, but security personnel prevented women from approaching. I stood at the door, crying and praying that he would return safely. Shortly after, her husband emerged on a stretcher, injured by shrapnel in his shoulder and chest.

When I saw him lying there, it felt as if the ground had slipped from under me. I didnt scream; I just held his hand. She concluded bitterly: How do I explain to my children that their father was injured just for going to pray? Fear has entered every home.

Dr. Nizar Al-Soum, director of Karam Al-Louz National Hospital, told The Media Line that the hospital received an immediate report of the explosion and raised its alert level, summoning medical staff, including doctors and nurses. He added that some injuries required urgent surgical intervention, while critical cases were transferred to other hospitals depending on the severity of wounds. He confirmed that most cases were stable, except for two under close observation.

Authorities imposed a full security cordon around the mosque and surrounding areas. Hassan Al-Farij, Homs security operations official, explained that preliminary investigations indicate the explosion was caused by an explosive device planted inside the mosque and that work is ongoing to identify the perpetrators and clarify the circumstances of the incident.

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Rabee Jundiyeh, director of Emergency and Disaster Management in Homs, told The Media Line that civil defense teams responded immediately, secured the entire site, and transported the injured with the help of residents. The bodies were removed following protocols intended to respect the victims families.

Hours after the explosion, an armed group known as Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah claimed responsibility through an official statement. Meanwhile, authorities emphasized that investigations are ongoing to identify those responsible and uncover the motives behind the attack.

Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah is a new jihadist group in Syria that has, in recent months, pledged to pursue members of the Alawite, Shiite, and Druze sects. It has claimed responsibility for numerous killings and has also threatened to pursue those referred to as the remnants of Assad. It has likewise not concealed its disdain for the government of interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, although it has not called for confronting him.

Its connections to other jihadist movements have not yet become clear, but it appears to be proceeding along the path of the organization known as the Islamic State (IS).

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The group announced its emergence in late January of last year via a Telegram account. The groups messages initially included threats against Alawites regardless of their gender or age, as it stated, although it later toned down the severity of these threats. Nevertheless, its rhetoric in general is extremely violent, and its contempt for Shiites closely resembles the rhetoric of IS and its supporters.

Since then, the group has continued incitement and threats, in addition to claiming attacks primarily targeting members of the Alawite sect, to which former President Bashar Assad and those described as remnants of his regime belong. The group has also claimed responsibility for attacks on what it described as shrines of the polytheists, referring to some Shiite religious sites in Syria.

The relatively new jihadist group announced responsibility for the attack on the Mar Elias Church in Damascus on June 22, which claimed the lives of at least 25 people, describing it as a response to Christian provocations against Sunnis.

Syria's government strongly condemned the bombing, describing it as an attempt to destabilize security and order, affirming that the perpetrators would be pursued and security measures around places of worship would be strengthened.

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The United Nations secretary-general condemned the attack on the Imam Alil Mosque, describing the targeting of a mosque during prayers as a horrific crime and a blatant violation of international humanitarian law, calling for accountability for those responsible and protection for civilians.

A UN humanitarian coordinator in Syria also expressed shock, emphasizing that targeting civilians in places of worship exacerbates the communitys suffering. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, and Egypt also condemned the attack, calling it a cowardly terrorist act against innocents that undermines stability, while Turkey stressed the need to confront extremist organizations.

Effects of the explosion went beyond the casualty numbers, affecting the Homs psychological and social fabric. In the Wadi al-Dahab neighborhood, grief and anger prevailed, along with the daily, fearful question: Are places of worship still safe?

Analysts say that targeting a mosque during Friday prayers aims to undermine collective feelings of security and spread terror, emphasizing that confronting such attacks requires not only heightened security but also long-term psychological and social support for the victims.

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Killing individuals is not the sole aim of the attack; terrorists seek to undermine community trust in protection and safety, creating an atmosphere of fear and chaos, according to analysts.

The attack on Imam Ali Mosque in Homs was not just a security incident; it was a deep human and societal tragedy that affected the entire citys sense of safety. It forced the local community to reevaluate its confidence in the security of places of worship. The incident left profound psychological scars on survivors and residents.

At the same time, international and regional condemnations highlighted the imperative to protect civilians and places of worship as a global humanitarian and moral duty.
CNNs Scott Jennings  making a rare appearance on ABC  argued Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) went off the deep end after being spurned by President Donald Trump.

Appearing on ABCs This Week to promote his new book, Jennings was asked by anchor Jonathan Karl to weigh in on the burgeoning split in MAGA-world.

The, kind of, divide in MAGA, Karl said. Which is a relatively new phenomenon  I mean, there was always a little bit there, but if I were to say what the most surprising story [of the year] was, I would say Marjorie Taylor Greene becomes not just a Trump critic, but a

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Jennings cut him off.

MTG becomes a lib! Jennings said.

The CNN contributor went on to swipe at Greene  arguing that her feud with the president was personal rather than ideological.

She got a little bent out of shape because the president wouldnt support her for a statewide office in Georgia  which she was going to lose if she had gotten into it, by the way, Jennings said. And so she goes off the deep end.

Jennings went on to downplay the notion that there are cracks within MAGA.

Look, I dont think these divisions and all this fraying are as big a deal as some people make it out to be, Jennings said. Trump is still extraordinarily popular among Republicans. Hes the strongest party boss in the modern era. And he can get his allies in Congress to do most anything he wants them to do  which is why I think in the coming year they really ought to spend some time trying to codify  his executive orders and some of the other initiatives that hes had, really try to make it stick and really fight it out. Because I think a lot of the things he did would actually be pretty popular political debates to have.

Watch above, via ABC.

The post MTG Becomes a Lib! Scott Jennings Swipes at Marjorie Taylor Greene  Claims She Went Off the Deep End first appeared on Mediaite.
WASHINGTON  In addition to articles already covered by Native News Online, here is a roundup of other news released from Washington, D.C. that impacts Indian Country recently.

Tribal Energy Development Capacity Grant Program to Open in 2026

The Tribal Energy Development Capacity (TEDC) Grant Program will open in the first quarter of 2026, offering awards ranging from $10,000 to $450,000.

Please support our year-end campaign. CLICK HERE TO DONATE.

Never miss Indian Countrys biggest stories and breaking news. Click here to sign up to get our reporting sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning.

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The program, administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, invites proposals from federally recognized tribal entities seeking to build capacity to manage and regulate energy resources on tribal lands. The grants are intended to help tribes establish the frameworks needed to maximize economic benefits from energy development.

Eligible activities include establishing tribal business entities, utility authorities or energy offices; developing or updating energy policies, tribal charters and legal codes related to energy projects; and conducting feasibility studies for energy resource management or tribal utility authorities.

Grants may also be used to develop long-term strategies for sustainable energy or fuel management to support ongoing tribal needs.

Rights-of-wayrelated activities are eligible for funding, including reviewing project proposals, negotiating agreements, monitoring compliance, and developing related policies or regulations for energy projects.

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For more information, contact grants@colusaindianenergy.com.

Legistlation Introduced to Expand Tribal Internet

Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., and U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., introduced the Tribal Internet Expansion Act of 2025, legislation aimed at expanding telecommunications and information services to Tribal communities.

Access to reliable, high-speed internet is no longer a luxury; its a necessity, Ruiz said. For too long, many Tribal communities have been left without dependable, affordable broadband needed for students to learn, patients to access care, and families to stay safe and economically secure. The Tribal Internet Expansion Act will strengthen the Universal Service Fund so it better serves Indian Country and helps ensure Tribal nations have the digital infrastructure they need to fully participate and thrive in todays online world.

This legislation strengthens the foundation for expanding broadband and telecommunications access to Tribal lands, supporting the needs of communities to utilize technologies vital to economic growth and success, Schiff said. Im proud to join Rep. Raul Ruiz in this effort to bridge the digital divide and ensure that this necessary resource is reliable, accessible and affordable in every region.

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The Tribal Internet Expansion Act of 2025 would update the Communications Act of 1934 to explicitly include Indian Country and expand essential broadband access to rural, insular and high-cost Tribal and Indigenous communities. With roughly one in four people on Tribal lands still lacking access to reliable, high-speed internet, the bill aims to ensure federal broadband and telecommunications programs better address persistent connectivity gaps in these historically underserved areas.

The legislation has already received widespread support from Tribal leaders and organizations.

About the Author: "Native News Online is one of the most-read publications covering Indian Country and the news that matters to American Indians, Alaska Natives and other Indigenous people. Reach out to us at editor@nativenewsonline.net. "

Contact: news@nativenewsonline.net
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar visited Udayagiri and Khandagiri caves in Odisha with his family. He said that these caves are symbols of the country's cultural heritage. Speaking to reporters, Gyanesh Kumar said, "These caves are symbols of our cultural heritage. The way our architects made these 2000 years ago is still preserved even today. We had the fortune to visit these caves. We also came to know about Jainism. We came to Bhubaneswar and very happy to see these caves. We also visited Dhauli Shanti Stupa, from where the message of peace spreads in the entire world. We experienced how thousand years ago Samrat Ashok gave the message of peace." On Saturday, CEC Gyanesh Kumar visited the Konark Sun Temple in Puri, Odisha, along with his wife, Anuradha Kumar, a retired IAS officer and praised the temple's architecture, calling it the country's honour and pride. He emphasised the temple as a marvel for its sculptures, mythology, and the scientific methods used in its construction. He said that the architecture of the temple reflected how advanced the culture and science of India might have been many years ago. Speaking with the reporters, he said, "This temple not only reflects the rich cultural heritage of Odisha, but it also shows how advanced the culture and science of India were many years ago." He added, "The area's sculptures, mythology and the scientific ways in which this sun temple was built, I get surprised, and the belief is also set in stone that Konark's temple is the country's honour and pride." According to the Odisha government's official tourism website, the Sun Temple at Konark is the pinnacle of Odisha Temple Architecture and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The temple is a culmination of seven hundred years of grind in search of perfection. Built in the 12th Century AD by King Narasimha Deva I and dedicated to the Sun God, the Sun Temple at Konark continues to leave us spellbound with its massive structure, symmetry, precision and intricate detailing. (ANI)
A natural gas leak near the 5 Freeway in Castaic on Saturday forced a major freeway shutdown and gridlock traffic, and raised concerns for nearby communities.

Natural gas leaked from a main gas line in Castaic, just east of the southbound lanes of the 5 Freeway near the intersection of Ridge Route Road and Pine Crest Place. It was first reported around 4:20 p.m.

The sight and strong smell prompted safety concerns and shut down the 5 Freeway in both directions. The freeway reopened around 8:45 p.m.

GOOD NEWS! SIGALERT CANCELLED IN CASTAIC.



BOTH NB AND SB I-5 BETWEEN SR-126 AND SR-138 IS NOW OPEN.



THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE AS OUR OFFICERS AND LACOFD WORKED TO ENSURE THE AREA IS SAFE.@CHPsouthern @CHP_Newhall  CHP_LA_TRAFFIC (@CHP_LA_TRAFFIC) December 28, 2025

By nightfall, the strong smell of natural gas in the air had mostly subsided.

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The area remained restricted as crews continued working, even though officials said the immediate danger had passed.

Fire officials confirmed the leak came from a 34-inch transmission line -- a major natural gas pipe that runs near the 5 Freeway.

They say there was no explosion, even though many people thought that's what they were seeing or feeling.

Officials explained that the pipe was under extreme pressure, and when it failed, the gas was released forcefully, kicking up dirt and debris, which was visible to drivers in the area.

Eyewitness News spoke to Los Angeles County fire officials, who said they did not believe land movement seen in aerial footage above the scene played a factor in the gas leak. They said their initial investigation at the scene would have unveiled that. However, SoCal Gas acknowledged that there has been significant land movement in the area after recent storms, and said they are not ruling that out as a cause. The cause of the break is still under investigation.

According to SoCal Gas, crews safely isolated the damaged section of the pipeline and stopped the leak. They said there is no indication of an ignition or explosion.

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Officials said once the remaining natural gas in the damaged pipeline section is safely vented, crews will assess the damage and make repairs.

SoCal Gas said fewer than five non-residential natural gas customers were experiencing outages due to the break.

Officials say there is no longer a danger to the public. No injuries have been reported.

The 5 Freeway was shut down for hours, causing major traffic delays for drivers in the area before it reopened. Some drivers told Eyewitness News they were stuck in traffic for nearly three hours.

A shelter-in-place was in effect for the immediate area as a precaution while crews continued to work on a permanent fix. That included Charley Canyon, Hillcrest and Wayside. Approximately 14,900 people live in the impacted area. The shelter-in-place order was lifted around 10 p.m.

#HondaIC Update



Shelter in place orders have been lifted.#LACoFD personnel and utility crews remain on scene. https://t.co/4qN990mK1j  LACoFD (@LACOFD) December 28, 2025

Fire officials say winds pushed the gas south, which is why people miles away in areas like Santa Clarita reported a strong smell. Now that the gas is off, they expect the smell to continue to fade.

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All of this happened just days after Christmas, one of the busiest travel periods of the year, leading to hours of gridlock and major backups on the 5 Freeway before it reopened.

Los Angeles County fire officials stressed that there is no danger to the public.

"Because of the potential, you know, we had a potential of an explosion. That's when we said, 'Shut down all immediate freeways.' Our hazmat team is actually testing the area and the surrounding area. They're doing more tests at the site just to make sure. But right now, they got one part per million, which is basically like a single-family house with a gas leak, so in other words, we're safe," Capt. Brian Knight said.

Any rumbling or shaking people might have felt would make sense given just how intense the pressure was inside that pipe when it failed, Knight said.

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the gas leak.

The gas leak may have been triggering for many people living in the North San Fernando Valley.

Back in 2015, the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility suffered a blowout and turned into the largest natural gas leak in our nation's history. For four months, 97,000 tons of noxious gases were sent into the surrounding communities of Porter Ranch, Granada Hills and beyond.

Residents suffered headaches, rashes and nose bleeds. Pets died, schools closed and thousands were forced to leave their homes and find temporary housing.

Many residents say they are still suffering effects from the blowout to this day.
Zohran Mamdani will become mayor of New York City on Jan. 1 with nearly half the city's voters not supporting him.

While his Nov. 4 victory was celebrated by progressives and younger voters in areas like Brooklyn and South Asian Queens communities, it was greeted with negative reaction in many of the city's more suburban, middle-class outlying areas.

While Mamdani, 34, earned nearly 51% of the vote, over 49% of voters cast their ballots against the mayor-elect, overwhelmingly for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo  who ran as an independent after losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani  and in smaller numbers for Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.

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And the high turnout  over 2 million New Yorkers came to the polls, the most for a city election in over 50 years  indicates unusual enthusiasm not just to vote for him, but to vote against him. In other words, he enters office with an intensity of both support and opposition that no other recent mayor has faced.

Even in a city that typically favors Democrats by wide margins, many moderate members of his own party strongly opposed Mamdani's candidacy. Some raised concerns about his democratic socialist ideology and proposals to expand social programs such as creating universal childcare. Others objected to his past calls to defund the police and to boycott Israel.

"They're going to have to live with him, and they're going to be watching him very carefully," said Hank Sheinkopf, a longtime political consultant who has opposed Mamdani.

On the eve of his inauguration as New York City's first Muslim and first South Asian mayor, those voters are left trying to figure out how to respond over the next four or eight years.

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Some are looking to actively support Israel in light of Mamdanis opposition to the country's existence as a Jewish state and promise to arrest its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza.

Others are thinking about working to elect moderate Democrats in the 2026 midterm elections. Many Mamdani opponents vowed to flee the city altogether if he won, but so far the data shows no exodus at all.

This is not the time to run, said Rabbi Avi Weiss, who plans to hold a vigil of conscience at Mamdanis inauguration. The more we run, the worse its going to become, and the more were going to be overwhelmed.

New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani arrives for a press conference at City Hall Park on Nov. 20, 2025 in New York. US President Donald Trump said he will host New York's Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani for a meeting Friday, Nov. 21, 2025 after fiercely attacking the 34-year-old self-described Democratic Socialist during his recent campaign. Zohran Mamdani (D-NY) was elected Mayor of New York on Nov. 4, 2025. He was born in Uganda and moved to New York City with his family at the age of 7. He drew historic numbers of South Asian and Muslim voters in the 2025 New York City election to vote for the first time.



Pictured here, Mamdani waves on stage after winning the 2025 New York City Mayoral race, defeating Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa. New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani (R) and New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch speaks with reporters after their visit to the New York City Police Memorial on Nov. 19, 2025. New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, right, and New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch visit the New York City Police Memorial, on Nov. 19, 2025 in New York City. Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani announced that he has chosen to keep Jessica Tisch as New York City Police Commissioner. New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani interacts with Pre-K students at Friends of Crown Heights Education Center on Nov. 13, 2025 in the Flatbush neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough in New York City. Mamdani along with Assemblymember Monique Chandler-Waterman and Councilmember Rita Joseph met with educators and visited with young students, speaking about his campaign promise of free care for children starting at 6 weeks old. New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani serves meals during a Veterans Day event on Nov. 11, 2025, in the Bronx borough. Zohran Mamdani met his wife, Rama Duwaji, on the dating app Hinge, a rival to Tinder and Bumble. The pair got married in early 2025.



Duwaji is a Syrian-American illustrator and animator. After the election of Mamdani as New York City Mayor, she is now the citys first Gen Z first lady. Supporters attend the election watch party for New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani at the Brooklyn Paramount on Nov. 4, 2025 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Mamdani defeated Independent candidate Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa in the closely watched election for New York City mayor. Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani participates in the second New York City mayoral debate with Independent candidate and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, Queens, New York, on Oct. 22, 2025. He drew historic numbers of South Asian and Muslim voters in the 2025 New York City election to vote for the first time. 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. New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani pauses while speaking about Islamophobia outside of the Islamic Cultural Center of the Bronx in New York City on Oct. 24, 2025, New Yorkers will cast their votes for mayor on November 4, 2025. Mamdani, the Democratic candidate, is the current frontrunner ahead of former New York Governor and independent candidate Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa. (L-R) New York mayoral candidate, State Rep. Zohran Mamdani (D-NY) stands with his mother Mira Nair, and father Mahmood Mamdani as they celebrate during an election night gathering at The Greats of Craft LIC on June 24, 2025, in the Long Island City neighborhood of the Queens borough in New York City. Mamdani was announced as the winner of the Democratic nomination for mayor in a crowded field in the City's mayoral primary to choose a successor to Mayor Eric Adams, who is running for re-election on an independent ticket. (L-R) Mira Nair, New York mayoral candidate, State Rep. Zohran Mamdani (D-NY), Rama Duwaji and Mahmood Mamdani celebrate on stage during an election night gathering at The Greats of Craft LIC on June 24, 2025 in the Long Island City neighborhood of the Queens borough in New York City. Mamdani was announced as the winner of the Democratic nomination for mayor in a crowded field in the City's mayoral primary to choose a successor to Mayor Eric Adams, who is running for re-election on an independent ticket. Democratic mayoral candidates Andrew Cuomo (L), and Zohran Mamdani (2R), present arguments as Whitney Tilson (2L) and Michael Blake (R) look on during a Democratic mayoral primary debate, at NBC's 30 Rockefeller Center studios in New York on June 4, 2025. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks as New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani listens during the Fighting Oligarchy town hall at the Leonard & Claire Tow Center for the Performing Artson Sept. 6, 2025 in New York City. Mamdani joined Sanders at his New York town hall after marching with union members in Manhattan's Labor Day parade. Sanders, an early backer of Mamdani's primary bid, has staged 34 rallies in 20 states since launching his "Fighting Oligarchy" tour this year, aimed at challenging the power of billionaires and corporations in U.S. politics. New York mayoral candidate, State Rep. Zohran Mamdani (D-NY) rides the subway as he prepares to head to Albany on March 24, 2025 in New York City. Mamdani announced that he is halting fundraising efforts after his campaign raised over $8 million, the spending cap for the upcoming June primary. Director Mira Nair and Music Supervisor Zohran Mamdani attend the Gala Screening of Disney's 'Queen Of Katwe' during the 60th BFI London Film Festival at Odeon Leicester Square on Oct. 9, 2016, in London. (L-R) Tendo Nagenda, Lupita Nyong'o, David Oyelowo, director Mira Nair and Zohran Mamdani attend the Gala Screening of Disney's 'Queen Of Katwe' during the 60th BFI London Film Festival at Odeon Leicester Square on Oct. 9, 2016, in London. (L-R) Music supervisor Zohran Kwame Mamdani, Director Mira Nair, Mahmood Mamdani and Nishant Tharani arrive at the world premiere of Disney's Queen of Katwe at Roy Thompson Hall as part of the 2016 Toronto Film Festival where the cast, filmmakers and real-life stars received a standing ovation. The film, starring David Oyelowo, Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o and newcomer Madina Nalwanga, is directed by Mira Nair and opens in U.S. Theaters on Sept. 23, 2017. (L-R) Nishant Tharani, Director Mira Nair and music supervisor Zohran Kwame Mamdani arrive at the world premiere of Disney's Queen of Katwe at Roy Thompson Hall as part of the 2016 Toronto Film Festival where the cast, filmmakers and real-life stars received a standing ovation. The film, starring David Oyelowo, Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o and newcomer Madina Nalwanga, is directed by Mira Nair and opens in U.S. Theaters on Sept. 23, 2017. Meet Zohran Mamdani, New York City Mayor-elect 1 of 20 New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani arrives for a press conference at City Hall Park on Nov. 20, 2025 in New York. US President Donald Trump said he will host New York's Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani for a meeting Friday, Nov. 21, 2025 after fiercely attacking the 34-year-old self-described Democratic Socialist during his recent campaign.

Supporting Israel

Weiss is the founding rabbi of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, a modern Orthodox synagogue in the Bronx, which has a Israeli flag in front. Calling Mamdani antisemitic for his criticism of Zionism, Weiss is among the roughly two-thirds of Jewish New Yorkers who opposed Mamdani, according to exit polls. Jews make up about one in 10 New Yorkers, with many having ties to Israel. About a third of Jewish voters backed Mamdani.

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New York City Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker, who is Jewish, submitted his resignation over Mamdani's views toward Israel. In another blow, Mamdani's incoming director of appointments resigned a day after her job announcement because of antisemitic social media posts she made over a decade ago.

Weiss cited Mamdanis response to a November protest outside Manhattans Park East synagogue, which held an event by an organization that promotes Jewish immigration to Israel and the occupied West Bank. While Mamdani condemned slogans used by demonstrators, he said places of worship shouldnt violate international law, referring to illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

His comments drew swift pushback from many Jewish groups, including from Weiss, who attended an early December protest in support of Israel outside Park East. But he said those in attendance didnt call out Mamdani and seemed to want to negotiate with Mamdanis administration.

But, Weiss said, the more we speak out, the more it doesnt weaken the negotiators. It strengthens them. It gives them the ability to say, Look at our community. Our community is upset with you.

People hold flags of the United States and Israel during a rally on the steps of New York City Hall against New York City Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, in New York City, U.S., July 14, 2025. REUTERS/Adam Gray

Cuomo voters as opposition

J.C. Polanco, an assistant professor at University of Mount Saint Vincent and a political analyst, said opposition is composed primarily of those who backed Cuomo, who lost to Mamdani in the Democratic primary and again in the general election.

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With 41% of votes in the general election, Cuomo garnered an array of moderate Democrats, independents and even Republicans who supported him over Sliwa. Cuomos supporters have to now back incumbent Democrats in the midterm elections against progressive primary challengers who are aligned with Mamdani, said Polanco, a former GOP candidate for city Public Advocate who identifies as an independent. Democrats far outnumber Republicans in New York City, and Democrats have dominated in local and federal elections.

The Democratic Socialists of America, of which Mamdani is a member, has racked up recent wins in New York elections, starting with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's upset of Rep. Joe Crowley in 2018. More moderate politicians are now targeted for primary challenges. For example, Rep. Dan Goldman, an Israel supporter who declined to endorse Mamdani, will have to defend his seat against New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who backed Mamdani in the general election after cross-endorsing with him in the primary under the city's ranked-choice voting system.

If they want to see another day, they have to stand firm and support normal Democrats, Polanco said.

New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani attends a press conference in Central Park in the East Harlem neighborhood of New York City, U.S., November 24, 2025.

'Wait and see' in Mamdani's NYC

Mamdani saw the citys elite pour millions against him and for Cuomo. Some said they will flee New York if Mamdani won.

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Bill Ackman, a billionaire hedge fund manager, criticized Mamdani's advocacy for Palestinian rights and his socialist politics. John Catsimatidis, owner of the Gristedes grocery chain, vowed to close his supermarkets. Former Mayor Mike Bloomberg, with a net worth of $109.4 billion, donated nearly $10 million to boost Cuomo's failed campaign.

Stratis Morfogen, owner of Diner 24 NYC in Manhattan, said he has held back for at least a year from signing three additional leases to expand locations of his 24-hour diner. Morfogen vehemently disagreed with Cuomos COVID-19 pandemic-era restrictions. But in the general election, he supported Cuomo to block Mamdanis socialist policies, especially against Mamdanis proposal to raise the minimum wage to $30 by 2030, which Morfogen said would hurt small businesses.

Now its a wait and see in New York City, he said. Morfogen is now considering moving to South Florida, where he previously lived for five years.

Fernando Mateo, a former Republican candidate for mayor who co-founded the United Bodegas of America association of small deli owners, said people opposed to Mamdani will have to see which policies actually go into effect.

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Many of Mamdani's ideas, like free buses and childcare, require tax increases to pay for them. That means they will need approval from Gov. Kathy Hochul, a moderate Democrat who has been hesitant to raise taxes, Mateo noted.

Well give him the benefit of the doubt until he (expletive) it up himself," Mateo said.

Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Reach him by email at emcuevas1@usatoday.com or on Signal at emcuevas.01.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Where anti-Mamdani voters go next as NYC mayor takes office
While Lindsay Sims is sad that her small retail business on Colley Avenue in Ghent had to close, she is happy and proud she made her dream of opening a brick-and-mortar a reality.

It was really special to see it come to fruition, she said.

The roughly 2,000-square-foot store, Maison Soleil, closed on Christmas Eve. The fair trade boutique sold ethically sourced, artisan goods  including clothing, jewelry, home decor and other gift items.

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I didnt know if people really cared, until we started closing, Sims said. People started coming out of the woodwork saying how much they loved the store.

Sims, a 2008 graduate of Kellam High School, earned a degree in accounting from Old Dominion University. In 2013, she moved to Washington to attend graduate school at American University.

I also decided to start a business venture, she said. Im very analytical, but at the same time, Im very creative.

For five years, she did pop-ups in and around D.C.  all while working full-time in accounting. In 2022, she and husband Jake moved back to Hampton Roads with the intent for her to open a standalone business.

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I wanted a space where people could come, hang out and chill  with more of a community feel, she said. Kind of like Central Perk in Friends. 

Within six months, she established her store, but had to maintain her full-time job. She employed a staff that could run the business when she couldnt be present.

Initially, it was really great, Sims said.

Money earned and saved from a Christmas market in Washington helped her to jumpstart the larger endeavor.

But, it wasnt really enough, so I did put a lot of my own money into the business, she said. And I kept having to do that.

She hoped it would improve with time, but it grew worse economically and financially each year, she said. She didnt give up easily. She tried different marketing plans, rebranded, changed up the store, hired staff to enhance the displays and merchandising, and held in-house events, including open mics, sip and paint nights and sober storytelling with Free Life.

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It wasnt the lack of customers, Sims said. It was really the lack of everybody spending more versus less.

Sims said while economists say otherwise, she feels we are in a recession.

Sales dropped by half at the beginning of the year, she said, and were down to a quarter of what they were last year at this time.

I dont think the tariffs or the shutdown helped the economic situation in this country, she said, adding small retailers also compete with online shopping.

Ultimately, she said the closure is a result of a combination of reasons. Sims said she was months behind on her rent  and other bills associated with the business, too  when she made the decision to close.

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Its just that when you run out of ideas and youre stressed and burnt out, its so hard to continue, she said.

As a former small business owner, she wanted to share advice: I would encourage people to shop from local small businesses in their neighborhood, if they want it to stay that way. Otherwise, youre going to see the big businesses and corporations take over and its not going to be so fun and whimsical anymore.

As for whats next, she said she and her husband have a whole new adventure theyre expecting.

Their first child is due in the spring.

Sandra J. Pennecke, 757-652-5836, sandra.pennecke@pilotonline.com
A new threat faces Texas grasses and could spread to nearby states: the pasture mealybug has made an appearance.

What's happening?

The pasture mealybug, originally discovered and named in Australia in 1928, is now wreaking destruction on grasses and crops in Texas. Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller issued words of caution, directing producers to check their pastures for signs of the pest, according to KFGO.

Originally a South Asian species, it has become noxious in Australia. KFGO reported that it has caused the destruction of "millions of acres of grazing land."

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Texas A&M's AgriLife Extension described it as an "introduced pest." This means it somehow made its way onto U.S. soil, likely through other transported plants in the nursery trade.

Why is the pasture mealybug's invasion important?

According to the Extension, the pasture mealybug can destroy entire fields of grass through a process called pasture dieback. The bugs cause this damage in their nymph stage (adults don't eat).

At that age, they suck the sap from grasses by piercing the stalks near the root. They then infect the plant with a toxic saliva, weakening it and making it vulnerable to other infections and fungi. That weakness and vulnerability ultimately destroy crops.

Stephen Biles, a pest management entomologist in the Texas A&M Department of Entomology, Port Lavaca, told AgriLife Today, "In one case, a 10-acre Bermuda grass hay field went completely brown and never came back."

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Invasive species can harm ecosystems outside of their native territories. Pests like the spongy moth in Canada or spotted lanternflies now all over the continental U.S. disrupt ecosystems. They can throw off the balance that's necessary for sustaining species like important pollinators, which can drastically affect food supply security.

What's being done about the pasture mealybug?

Texas has taken the approach of vigilance, asking landowners and producers to watch out for signs of pasture dieback.

It's hard to manage this species, especially because they can live through the winter months by going underground. According to the Extension, female pasture mealybugs can survive dry and cold temperatures in the soil.

The Texas Department of Agriculture is rushing to find a solution to its new, unwanted insect inhabitants.

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In a TDA press release, Miller said, "TDA is working hand-in-hand with federal and university partners to respond swiftly and protect our producers from this unprecedented threat."

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Scientists are warning that the world is closing in on a temperature threshold once considered avoidable. Data cited by Euronews shows this follows a stretch of extreme heat that has already been above average since records began.

What's happening?

According to the U.K.'s Met Office, global temperatures in 2026 are expected to land between 1.34C and 1.58C (34.41F and 38.84F) above the 1850-1900 average, with a central estimate of 1.46C (34.6F) above.

Professor Adam Scaife, who led the forecast, said this would mark the fourth consecutive year above 1.4C. As Euronews reported, Copernicus climate data shows that 2024 was the hottest year on record, while 2025 is tied with 2023 as the second warmest.

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"This highlights how rapidly we are now approaching the 1.5C Paris Agreement target," Met Office scientist Dr. Nick Dunstone told Euronews.

Why are these warnings important?

Scientists have warned that sustained warming increases the risk of cascading impacts. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, rising global temperatures are directly linked to the intensity and duration of wildfires, as hotter conditions reduce moisture in soils.

Scientists have long documented high temperature predictions and hotter, drier conditions. For example, in an interview with NASA, scientist James Hansen told The New York Times that researchers understood decades ago that continued pollution would drive temperatures higher. Hansen said records have confirmed those early projections.

A 2023 World Economic Forum risk analysis surveyed 1,490 risk experts worldwide; almost two-thirds said they expect a higher likelihood of global catastrophes in the next 10 years.

What's being done about rising temperatures?

The United Nations Environment Programme released a report calling for global change to transition to circular-economy models, decarbonize the energy system, eat and shop for groceries sustainably, restore the ecosystem, and reduce waste.

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At the household level, going solar remains one of the most impactful upgrades (especially paired with battery storage), as it can lower bills and improve energy resilience during extreme heat, storms, grid outages, and other events.

EnergySage offers free tools that connect households with installers who are experts in helping homes make the switch to solar, and it can help save you thousands on installations through competitive quotes.

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Two pilots were killed after their helicopters collided in midair over Hammonton, New Jersey on Sunday.

Michael Greenberg, 71, of Sewell, N.J. was pronounced dead at the scene.

Kenneth L. Kirsch, 65, of Carneys Point, N.J. was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The crash happened around 11:25 a.m. near the intersection of Route 30 and Basin Road, about a mile from the Hammonton Municipal Airport.

Both helicopters went down in a nearby field, with one bursting into flames, police said.

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Chief Kevin Friel of the Hammonton Police Department said early reports indicate the aircraft were flying close together shortly after departure.

"Reports were that they were flying in tandem, that they were flying close together, which is probably what caused the collision to occur," Friel said.

Aerial footage shows aftermath of deadly helicopter collision on Dec. 28, 2025.

The helicopters - an Enstrom F-28A piloted by Kirsch, and an Enstrom 280C piloted by Greenberg - had just lifted off after the pilots stopped for breakfast at the airport cafe, where they were regular customers, according to the cafe's owner.

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"They were just at our cafe having breakfast, they're regulars, they come in, they seem to be very nice people," said Sal Silipino, owner of the Apron Cafe. "I saw one go down, and then I saw the other one go down and it was a little disbelief, like, 'Is that really happening?'"

Witnesses across the area described seeing the helicopters flying unusually close before the collision.

"They were flying lower than I would presume a helicopter would be, and they were flying really close together, like too close," said Diana Cleuff of Shamong, New Jersey. "I say to myself, 'My God, I hope they are just flying too close, I hope they don't clip each other.' And the minute I said it to myself, the impact occurred."

Cleuff said she watched in horror as one helicopter crashed and the other appeared to struggle in the air.

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One dead after helicopter collision in Hammonton, New Jersey

"It was horrifying, I watched the one just crash and the other one, I felt horrible because he was trying to get control," she said. "It's something no one should actually see in their lives."

One of the helicopters came down in the backyard of Hammonton resident Caitlyn Collins, who said she and her husband heard the aircraft moments before the crash.

"I just heard this wub, wub, wub sound...and I was like, 'What is that?'" Collins said. "My husband just starts screaming, 'Call 911.'"

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Collins said she and her husband, along with a neighbor who is an off-duty Hammonton police officer, rushed to the crash site.

"There was a man in there, he was conscious and breathing, and kind of just looking around," she said. "The only thing I could think to do was hold his hand and talk to him, so I just laid in the ground next to him and was like, 'Hey, we're here, don't worry.'"

The injured pilot was taken to a trauma center, where he later died.

"One of the helicopters burst into flames; luckily, there was not any industry or commercial buildings or populated areas it went down in," Friel said. "It could have gone a lot worse, and there could have been a lot more loss of life."

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The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating. The NTSB will lead the investigation, which will examine the pilots, the aircraft and the operating environment.

According to FAA records, one helicopter is registered to a charter company in Lancaster, Pa., while the other is privately owned out of Carneys Point, N.J.

A preliminary report is expected within 30 days. A final report, including a probable cause, could take up to two years.
Four pets have died, and over 30 residents have been displaced after an apartment fire in Hamilton County.

In Harrison Township, fire crews were dispatched to the 1100 block of Tall Oaks Circle around 7:47 p.m. on Saturday, according to our news affiliate, WCPO.

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The fire was isolated to one unit, and no one was injured.

Five animals were involved, and at least four of them have died.

30 to 35 people have been displaced as a result of the fire.

The Red Cross was called to the scene to assist with the displaced residents.

The Hamilton County Fire Investigation Unit is assisting the Harrison Fire Department with the investigation.

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Several new state laws are set to go into effect in early 2026, laws that offer new tax credits to laws that ban hair discrimination and force schools to be more transparent about weapons incidents.

The Working Pennsylvanians Tax Credit is part of the new state budget, which Gov. Josh Shapiro signed into law Nov. 12.

More: Who are the winners, losers after Pennsylvania's split legislature passes $50.1B budget?

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It provides a refundable tax credit to low- and middle-income workers, similar to the federal Earned Income Tax Credit. Anyone who qualifies for the latter will also qualify for this new state provision. Income, filing status and number of dependents play a factor in eligibility and the amount of the refund, but it will be 10% of what a person receives from the EITC.

The Working Pennsylvanians Tax Credit is capped at $805. It can be claimed when people file their taxes for the 2025 tax year.

Trimming the fat

Another provision of the budget, aimed at cutting costs, means that popular GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic, when used for obesity and weight loss, will no longer be covered by Medicaid. However, state Medicaid will continue to cover the drugs for treatment of diabetes.

More: Dont let copycat GLP-1 weight loss drugs exploit Pa.'s most vulnerable people | Opinion

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A new law taking effect Jan. 23, S.B. 88, will require insurers to cover the costs of mammograms and breast cancer screenings and exams. The sponsor, Sen. Frank Ferry, said the legislation builds off of Act 1 of 2023, which was passed last session. Act 1 is a comprehensive breast cancer screening and genetic testing law.

"Under our proposal, similar to HRSA (Health Resources and Services Administration) guidance, patients would be able to receive supplemental screenings and diagnostic examinations without cost-sharing if they are at average risk or higher for breast cancer," Ferry said in his co-sponsorship memo in June.

Gov. Josh Shapiro joined elected officials and local business owners to sign House Bill 439 into law on Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025, officially prohibiting discrimination based on a person's hair type, hair texture or hairstyle in Pennsylvania.

The ABLE Age Adjustment Act amends the law so it applies to disabled people whose disability started before age 46. It previously applied to anyone whose disability began before age 26.

ABLE accounts are tax-free savings accounts that allow a disabled person to save money for housing, health care, transportation and other expenses without affecting their eligibility for means-tested benefits like Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income or housing and food assistance programs.

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The expanded eligibility takes effect Jan. 1.

The Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act bans discrimination based on hairstyles, including braids, dreadlocks, twists and Afros, and head coverings. The law amends the state's Human Relations Act by adding hair textures and styles to protected characteristics.

Your hair is enough: Pennsylvania now protects natural hairstyles

Some 27 states, including neighboring New York, New Jersey and Maryland, have so-called CROWN laws. The laws have been passed both in blue and red states, from California, which was the first to pass such legislation in 2019, to Texas and Arkansas. Pennsylvania's law takes effect Jan. 24.

Weapons notification

Sponsored by Republican state Sen. Jarrett Coleman, R-16th Dist., S.B. 246 requires all K-12 schools, including public, private, charter and career and technical schools, to notify parents, guardians and school employees within 24 hours of any incident involving a weapon that takes place on school grounds, during school-sponsored activities or on school transportation.

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2024: Trained security is now required in Pa. schools

Schools must use a form of communication most likely to reach the intended recipients to make notification.

Citing law, Coleman noted that school districts now are only required to notify the Department of Education when students are expelled for weapons violations.

"There should be a much higher level of transparency around weapons brought to schools," Coleman wrote in his co-sponsorship memo of the legislation.

The new law, which garnered bipartisan support, takes effect Jan. 6.

Gov. Josh Shapiro signs the fiscal year 2025-26 budget surrounded by General Assembly members on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, at the Capitol in Harrisburg. The state budget had been due June 30, and Pennsylvania the final state in the country to approve a funding deal.

Second phase

Pennsylvania's new distracted driving law, Paul Miller's Law, named for a man who was killed by a distracted driver, took effect in June.

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More: Distracted driving law goes into effect in June in Pennsylvania

It added to the state's definition of distracted driving the holding or supporting of a phone or similar electronic device with your hands or body, and using more than a single button to answer a phone call, among other things. The new provisions apply to times when a driver is temporarily stopped, like at a stop light or sign or simply stuck in traffic.

But the first phase of the new law has been merely educational in nature. Starting June 6, 2026, law enforcement officers will be able to cite a driver for the summary offense, instead of issuing a written warning. A first offense will result in a $50 fine, court costs and other applicable fees.

Matthew Rink is a USA TODAY Network Pennsylvania investigative journalist.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Tax credit, hair discrimination ban among PA's new laws for 2026
Police shot and wounded an armed man late Saturday, Dec. 27, after investigators say he fired a handgun at them in north Phoenix.

Around 11:34 p.m., officers responded near Cactus Road and Interstate 17 in north central Phoenix for an unrelated call, according to Sgt. Lorraine Fernandez, spokesperson for the Phoenix Police Department.

As officers were concluding that call, police said an adult man began yelling at them. When officers returned to their vehicles, the man stood behind a block wall, raised a handgun over it and fired one shot at officers, Fernandez said.

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Officers returned fire, striking the man, who ran north on 28th Drive a short distance before collapsing from his injury, police said.

Officers gave commands, approached the man and took him into custody, then immediately began rendering lifesaving aid until the Phoenix Fire Department arrived and transported him to a nearby hospital.

Police said the man was rushed into surgery and is being treated for a non-life-threatening injury. The investigation is being conducted by the Arizona Department of Public Safetys Major Incident Division.

The identity of the man who was shot was not immediately released.

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No one else was injured in the shooting.

Rey Covarrubias Jr. covers grocery shopping, business and breaking news for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Email him at: rcovarrubias@azcentral.com, and connect with him on Instagram, Threads, Bluesky and X (formerly Twitter) at @ReyCJrAZ.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix police shoot man who fired at officers
The current US administration under President Donald Trump has approached Pakistan to explore partnerships in the sale of American locomotives and cooperation in mineral exploration, including assessment studies and agreements aimed at accelerating extraction, The Express Tribune reported, citing claims made by sources from Pakistan's Government. According to The Express Tribune, sources claimed that discussions on the matter took place during Pakistan's Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb's visit to Washington in October, on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meetings. Pakistani authorities have since held internal consultations to evaluate US interest in the transport and minerals sectors. The Express Tribune reported that the Pakistani Finance Minister held several meetings with senior US officials, including Raymond Emory Cox, Special Assistant to the US President for International Economic Relations, and Ricky Gill, Special Assistant to the US President and Senior Director for South and Central Asia, according to sources. The sources claimed that during the meetings, Gill had requested Pakistan's support for the purchase of American locomotives under a tender that had already been issued. Pakistan had previously procured 55 locomotives from the United States. However, Pakistan Railways is currently facing liquidity constraints and is relying mainly on repairs and refurbishment of its existing fleet, according to The Express Tribune. The sources further claimed that Gill also sought favourable consideration of Starlink's licence application to provide high-speed internet services in Pakistan, particularly in rural and remote areas, The Express Tribune reported. The report further claimed that US officials said protecting and advancing American commercial interests was a key priority of President Trump's administration and stressed the need for a level playing field for US companies. They also appreciated Pakistan's decision to withdraw a proposed 5 per cent digital services tax to facilitate a trade understanding, the sources said, as reported by The Express Tribune. Further sources noted that US officials highlighted cooperation in critical minerals as a major priority. The US Congress has established a USD 135 billion fund for global investments in critical minerals, while the US Exim Bank has approved a USD 1.25 billion loan for the Reko Diq Mining Company in Balochistan, The Express Tribune reported. In a separate meeting, Thomas Lersten, a senior official at the US State Department's Bureau of Economic, Energy and Business Affairs, reiterated Washington's interest in Pakistan's critical minerals sector, sources claimed, as reported by The Express Tribune. He proposed collaboration on reserve assessments and offtake agreements to expedite extraction and noted that artificial intelligence would be a strategic US priority. Aurangzeb also met with Robert Kaproth, Assistant Secretary of State for International Finance, who discussed regional financial developments and outlined the US focus on private-sector digital finance solutions and cross-border digital frameworks, according to sources reported by The Express Tribune. (ANI)
BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP)  Voters in the Central African Republic cast their ballots to elect a new president and federal lawmakers Sunday, with incumbent President Faustin Archange Touadera seen as likely to win a third term after trying to stabilize the country with the help of Russian mercenaries.

Touadera is one of Russias closest allies in Africa and analysts say a third term win for him would likely consolidate Russias security and economic interests in the country even as Moscow faces growing scrutiny over its mercenaries roles in Africa.

The Central African Republic was among the first in Africa to welcome Russia-backed forces, with Moscow seeking to help protect authorities and fight armed groups. Tensions, though, have grown this year over Moscows demand to replace the private Wagner mercenary group with the Russian military unit Africa Corps.

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Some 2.4 million voters were registered to vote in Sundays national elections, which was unprecedented in scope as it combines the presidential, legislative, regional and municipal ballots.

The voting process was generally smooth after initial delays at some polling stations. Voting ended around 7 p.m. local time followed by the counting of ballots. Electoral officials had yet to share any assessment of voter turnout.

Provisional results are expected in a weeks time. A runoff will be held if no presidential candidate gets more than 50% of the votes cast.

Touadera faced challenges from six candidates, including prominent opposition figures Anicet-Georges Dologuele and Henri-Marie Dondra, both former prime ministers. The election is being held without the main opposition coalition, the Republican Bloc for the Defense of the Constitution, which said in October that it will boycott the election after denouncing what it called an unequal political environment. Neither Dologuele nor Dondra are part of it.

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Analysts say Touadera is a clear favorite after consolidating his control of state institutions in recent years, and due to the absence of strong opposition.

Backed by Russia, he has hinged his campaign on efforts to achieve peace, stability and economic recovery in the country of about 5.5 million people, long battered by conflict.

The landlocked country has been plagued by fighting between pro-government forces and armed groups, particularly since 2013 when predominantly Muslim rebels seized power and forced then President Francois Bozize from office. A 2019 peace deal only partially lessened the fighting, and some of the 14 armed groups that signed it later withdrew from the agreement and continued their fighting.

Our country has suffered greatly from brutal regime changes, a cycle that repeats itself every ten years. I call on the people of the Central African Republic to choose the stability of institutions and a prosperous Central African Republic, Touadera told The Associated Press in a recent interview.

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Touadera's closest challenger is believed to be Dologuele, a candidate in the 2016 and 2020 elections who has promised in his campaigns to restore a damaged Central African Republic. His priorities include sustained peace and economic recovery based on agriculture and other key sectors.

President Touadera destroyed everything. Our programme is a solid summary to get the country out of poverty. What country is this that produces nothing and exports almost nothing, except beer? We must revive the economy, he said.

The most important factor for voters is the countrys security situation, analysts said.

The United Nations peacekeeping mission, MINUSCA, present in the country since 2014, has been crucial with election logistics in the past. It currently has around 14,000 military personnel and 3,000 police members who will help guard election sites.

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The vast but sparsely populated nation is crisscrossed by dense forests, rivers and bad roads, and the electoral body faced challenges getting election materials to some hard-to-reach communities.

In November, the U.N. Security Council extended the mission by a year but said its presence would scale down due to budget constraints.

Because of the peace deals, United Nations peacekeeping efforts and security support from Wagner and from the Rwandans, the country is in a more secure place than it was during the last electoral cycle in 2020, said Lewis Mudge, the Central Africa director at Human Rights Watch.
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP)  Serbia's protesting university students on Sunday collected signatures throughout the country for their request for an early parliamentary election that they hope would oust the autocratic government of President Aleksandar Vucic from office.

Braving freezing weather, the students set up nearly 500 stands in dozens of cities, towns and villages in the Balkan country for residents to sign the election demand, which isn't a formal petition. Students have said that Sundays action was meant to put further pressure on Vucic and as a test of support.

Young protesters have been at the forefront of a nationwide movement against Vucic's populist rule in Serbia. More than a year of street protests first started in November 2024 after a train station disaster that killed 16 people.

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The concrete canopy collapse in the northern city of Novi Sad was widely blamed on alleged rampant corruption and disregard of construction and safety rules during renovation work at the station. No one has been held responsible for the tragedy.

Vucic has refused to schedule an immediate early vote, but has suggested that it could be held sometime next year. Both parliamentary and presidential elections are otherwise due in 2027.

We have stands that serve to connect with the citizens," said Igor Dojnov, a student manning one of the points in central Belgrade.

Youth-led protests during the past year have shaken Vucic more than ever during his 13-year-long tenure. Serbia's populist prime minister resigned in January, and Vucic later launched a crackdown on protesters that also drew international criticism.

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While street protests have subsided, discontent with Vucic's government is believed to be widespread.

Milca Cankovic Kadijevic, a resident of Belgrade, said that she supported the students, because I have a desire to live decently  me, my children and my grandchildren."

Vucic has formally promised to take Serbia into the European Union, but he has maintained close links with Russia and China, while facing accusations of clamping down on democratic freedoms and allowing corruption and organized crime to flourish.

He has denied this, and accused the protesters of attempting to orchestrate a color revolution under unspecified orders from the West. The term color revolution has been used to describe a series of mass protests at the beginning of the 21st century that sometimes led to the toppling of governments in the former Soviet Union states, the former Yugoslavia, the Middle East and Asia.
Our Sunday Viewpoints section this week focuses on 2026 priorities.

The year ahead, just a week or so away, will call for critical decisions to be made  perhaps more so than usual. A new governor and a new state schools superintendent will be chosen, along with other state officials, legislators and members of Congress. The Legislature will face tough spending choices in a climate of uncertainty about the economy and federal assistance. Tough questions will need to be answered: how to address poverty in the state and improve the public school system; how to improve the relationship between state officials and Oklahoma's sovereign Native American tribes; how to keep taxes, utility rates and insurance costs affordable, boost economic growth and create new jobs.

In these columns the governor, legislative leaders and others outline their ideas on what paths should be followed in the year ahead. We'll offer more in the weeks and months ahead, and we invite you to join the conversation. Send us your own opinions in letters and op-ed columns. Your views are important and so is your participation in the political process.

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More: Got something you want to share? Here's how to submit letters, commentary to The Oklahoman's Viewpoints

Oklahoma's governor, legislative leaders and others outline their ideas on what paths should be followed in the year ahead.

Stitt: Dream is possible in Oklahoma

I remain on the taxpayers side, Gov. Kevin Stitt writes. Limited government and lower taxes are what make the American Dream possible.

Shawnee chief: Collaboration is key

Tribal nations are not adjacent to Oklahomas story  we are central to it. We want what every Oklahoman wants for the future, writes Shawnee Chief Ben Barnes.

Kantz: Oklahoma is worth the investment

For years, Oklahoma's leaders have treated tax cuts as a shortcut to prosperity  but this policy isnt working and it's leaving people behind. Shiloh Kantz, executive director of the Oklahoma Policy Institute, says we must decide that Oklahomans are worth investing in.

Kirt: Legislators must work together

Oklahoma Senate Minority Leader Julia Kirt writes that a top priority has to be working together. "Democrats are willing to work across the aisle on issues critical to Oklahomans. The question is, will our Republican colleagues join us?"

Hilbert: We need strong readers

The upcoming Oklahoma legislative session gives us an opportunity to recommit to improvement in our public schools, writes House Speaker Kyle Hilbert. Our state's future depends on developing strong readers.

Skeffington: More than a 'fixer-upper'

Fixing education, taking care of people, cooperating with Native tribes and thinking BIG need to be tops on our renovation list, writes Ryan Skeffington, an oil & gas engineer from Oklahoma City.

McBride: We can fix our schools

Oklahoma can improve its schools, as Mississippi did, writes Mark McBride  with a sound plan and a Legislature that stays out of the way of professional educators.

Nuttle: OK-DOGE provides stability

Oklahoma is uniquely vulnerable to federal budget changes. OK-DOGE's leader, Marc Nuttle, says his agency will help state maintain crucial programs and priorities.

William C. Wertz

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Stitt, McBride want to see tax changes, reading help in 2026 | Opinion
(Editor's note: This is one of a package of columns written for The Oklahoman's Sunday Viewpoints section on the important priorities for the state in 2026.)

In February of this year, Gov. Kevin Stitt announced a new OK-DOGE Initiative. The project was designed to be objective driven. The purpose was to find a designated amount of state funds that could be saved or re-assigned to match potential cuts in federal funding. The projected number, based on Elon Musks proclamations, was $1.5 billion.

This was to be achieved without the unrestricted slashing of state programs. Policy program deliverables are the authority of the state legislature. Instead, emphasis was placed on efficiency. The priority was to establish a new fiscal relationship and partnership with the federal government.

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No government program or services were to be cut. No jobs were to be eliminated. No state or county government or local jurisdiction (including school districts) was to be consolidated.

In May, DOGE achieved this goal by recommending options to re-adjust the state budget by $1.5 billion fully meeting the efforts criteria as set out above.

This stated criteria remains as the DOGE operating protocol.

By April, the DOGE process in Washington, DC, had changed. Elons chain saw was replaced by the Big Beautiful Bill. BBBs impact on state budgets still was negatively manifested in an increase of program management costs and loss of Federal revenue, resulting in states fund reduction of about 15% (particularly by reforms in Medicaid enrollment qualifications)

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Oklahoma is uniquely vulnerable to these reforms. Why? Because Oklahoma is more rural per capita than any other state. Rural hospitals are challenged to maintain services as a result of even minimal reduction of revenue.

The reason for this situation is, historically Oklahoma has been a government experiment for national solutions to solve key local societal issues. From the public land strip (No Mans Land) and Indian Territory to Oklahoma Territory and Sequoyah merging to become the 46th state of the United States, the people of the great state of Oklahoma have adjusted and met every challenge. Each step was unique in scope and expectation.

Oklahomans have always exemplified the compassion of helping one another, guest columnist writes. We have pursued this spirit in spite of federal experiments for government policy.

None were more unique than the land runs. Rural areas were populated and structured as independent county economic units. Other states with less population, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana for instance, developed by residents living in urban areas managing rural properties from central cities. They are less rural per capita.

To properly support both the rural and urban areas, critical services dictate that Oklahoma government leaders must think through transformative reform.

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To lay the foundation for this transformation, a deep dive analysis into the fiscal facts of Oklahoma was conducted. Applying AI was essential. This involved analyzing all revenue sources, state, federal and user fees. Understanding cost choices of critical services, sizing potential savings as leveraged across all expenditure platforms and unlocking efficiency through data driven choices in operations, procurement and services delivery was inclusive.

More: Meet some of the most interesting Oklahomans we've talked to this fall

Certain findings were of merit for strategic planning purposes.

Oklahomas state budget is overly dependent on federal funds.

Rural hospitals seek stable funding commitments.

Primary education requires more specialized programs in reading and the sciences.

Jails statewide are in need of additional resources for inmate transition to long-term incarceration and rehabilitation.

Infrastructure demands increased spending to facilitate economic development.

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All these priorities must be solved simultaneously to reach critical mass for reform. Denying any one of the element's solutions prohibits ultimate success.

To implement transformation necessitates: a rapid assessment of fiscal headwinds and opportunities, a prioritization of the sequence of steps to realize opportunities, a benchmarking of annual goals, the redirection of roll-over funds, and the private sector relationships for funding of state projects without the direct use of state funds saving money for the state critical needs.

In this review of the state's overall fiscal picture, importance is placed upon:

Recognizing facts that are not in dispute.

Addressing immediate fiscal pressures of anticipated federal funding shortfall.

Planning strategically for the states long-term fiscal transformation.

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Oklahomans have always exemplified the compassion of helping one another. We have pursued this spirit in spite of federal experiments for government policy.

Native Americans are critical partners in the long-term fiscal transformation of our state. As leaders of sovereign governments, Oklahoma and Native American leadership have an opportunity to directly impact the outcome of both sovereign entities futures.

We have the resources to accomplish transformation.

The question is, do we have the will.

We, as a people, may not be able to create our own future, but we can together position our state more favorably, regardless of events, by taking control of our own destiny. By this we provide financial flexibility and independence from forces and influences outside of our control.

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In so doing, the Oklahoma Standard becomes the Oklahoma Promise as a gift to America rendering a solution template to the other 49 states.

And the Oklahoma way of life is sustained for the generations.

Marc Nuttle.

Marc Nuttle is a Norman attorney specializing in international trade and politics. In February he was named by Gov. Kevin Stitt to head the state's Division of Government Efficiency (DOGE-OK).

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: More support needed for education and jails statewide | Opinion
Rep. Mike Turner on Sunday defended the White Houses decision to launch airstrikes against ISIS targets in Nigeria on Christmas Day.

In an interview with ABCs This Week, the Ohio Republican declined to say if the U.S. was in a military conflict with Nigeria but said the strikes were a continuation of conflict with ISIS.

We're, of course, seeing that ISIS around the world has not been defeated but will continue to be a target and something that  with our allies, were going to have to continue to respond to, or theyre going to continue to be a threat, said Turner, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee.

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Turner added that the strikes were undertaken with the cooperation of the Nigerian government, which the Pentagon previously confirmed to POLITICO.

Despite host Jonathan Karl remarking that the recent strikes differ from President Donald Trumps military action in his first term, Turner said Trump has been taking a linear path to foreign policy.

If you take the linear aspects of the foreign policy of the first term into the second term with respect to the policy of ISIS, it's very consistent, both in Iraq in defeating ISIS and then in Syria and then, of course, here in Nigeria, Turner said.

Trump announced in a post on Truth Social on Thursday that he had ordered a powerful and deadly strike on Islamic State terrorists in Nigeria. The strikes were part of the presidents ongoing focus in the region where he says Christians are being persecuted.

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I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was, Trump said in his post. The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing.

Nigeria has denied that Christians are being persecuted in the region, but Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth warned that the nation may face more strikes if the persecution does not stop.

The President was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria (and elsewhere) must end, Hegseth wrote on X. The @DeptofWar is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight  on Christmas. More to come
Time to embrace gerrymandering

Its time for Washington Democrats to scrap the Washington Redistricting Commission and join California and Virginia in redistricting their state to counteract Donald Trumps push to rig the 2026 midterm elections. Republicans are in the process of redistricting Texas, Missouri, South Carolina to eliminate Democratic representatives. Without the commission, Washingtonians can respond in kind.

All Republicans have given America in the 21st Century is government debt, two lost wars, recessions, a mishandled pandemic and a failed insurrection. This week, the Trump administration has lifted export control of the United Sates most advanced computer chips and allowed them to be sold to China. These chips, Nvidia H200s, are six times more powerful than the ones that China currently uses in their AI computers and missiles. Not anymore; in exchange for a cut of the proceeds, Trump will allow the Chinese to use our computer chips in their weapons.

During all this, Reps. Dan Newhouse and Mike Baumgartner have supported Trump. Without the WRC, we can gerrymander both out of their seats and fill them with Democrats.

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Christopher Nutt, Tacoma

University Place traffic dangerous

Im writing because the traffic situation in University Place has reached a point where its not just inconvenient, but actively disrupting daily life for students. When my family moved into our house ten years ago, turning onto Bridgeport was a simple, automatic task. Now its an exercise in patience and probability. I routinely sit at the same stop sign for nearly ten minutes, watching an uninterrupted stream of cars waiting for a chance to go.

This congestion doesnt just make mornings annoying; it makes them unpredictable. Despite leaving earlier and earlier, I still end up late to school through no fault of my own. And taking the bus isnt a solution; its the same problem, just with more people and less personal space. By the time we finally get moving, it feels like everyone on board has already given up on the day.

As a local high school student, I can see that our infrastructure wasnt built for the volume of traffic we now have. I hope the city will take this seriously. Students shouldnt have to factor in near-gridlock conditions just to get an education.

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Alex Bachmann, University Place

Stop funding genocide

The US has sent $21.7 billion in military aid to Israel in the past two years. Our tax dollars are the engine that drives the genocide in Gaza.

The UN, International Association of Genocide Scholars, BTselem (Israeli), Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Doctors Without Borders, European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention, all accuse Israel of committing genocide.

Amnesty International recently said that Israel continues committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza without pause, despite the ceasefire. Hamas has released all of the hostages, and Israel did not stop killing Palestinians, making clear that those who said all Hamas has to do is release the hostages were lying on behalf of a genocidal apartheid regime.

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These actions have catalyzed what has become known as the biggest anti-war movement since the 1960s invasion of Vietnam. Now, like then, calls for justice, accountability and equal rights are being ignored, particularly by politicians who eagerly accept money from a foreign lobby, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

What would it look like if instead of sending billions of our tax dollars to Israel they were instead pumped into our schools, healthcare, infrastructure and small businesses?

Michelle Ryder, Bonney Lake
In the remote forests of central Peru, stingless bees are doing far more than making honey. They're anchoring an entire way of life.

Their presence shapes crop yields, cultural traditions, and the long-term health of one of the world's most threatened ecosystems. For many Indigenous communities, protecting these bees isn't a niche environmental effort but a safeguard for their own future.

"Without them we would not live. They pollinate the plants we eat," Ashaninka beekeeper Micaela Huaman Fernandez told Inside Climate News.

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Chemical biologist Rosa Vasquez Espinoza has become one of their most committed partners. Through Amazon Research Internacional, she works with families who have relied on meliponine bees for generations, connecting ancestral practices with modern research to prove what locals have long understood: These insects are essential workers in the forest's survival.

Outside of the forests, "they've been invisible," Espinoza said, describing how decades of policy and science overlooked the species even as heat, deforestation, pesticide drift, and invasive honeybees hollowed out their populations.

Espinoza's path back to the Amazon was shaped by her own upbringing in Quechua communities and her desire to ground scientific research in lived experience rather than extract it from afar. That approach has reshaped how conservation takes place in the Avireri-Vraem Biosphere Reserve, where communities now co-manage a first-of-its-kind legal framework recognizing stingless bees as rights-bearing beings.

Written by local leaders, the Satipo (Peru) Declaration: Rights of Native Stingless Bees gives residents a formal tool to challenge habitat loss, restrict destructive pesticide use, and block unauthorized beekeeping that harms native colonies, placing decision-making power directly in the hands of the people most dependent on the forest.

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"It is the first time that any legal entity in the world recognizes the rights of an insect," said Espinoza, who has spent the last few years pushing for legal protections for stingless bees.

The day-to-day work on the ground blends ecology with economic stability. Families are trained in meliponiculture methods that expand colonies without disturbing wild nests. They map foraging routes to create bee corridors, replant native flowering species across damaged landscapes, and restore areas hit by wildfires. Their honey  valued for its antiviral and antibacterial properties  creates a stable income stream that supports families and reduces pressure to engage in environmentally risky work. "This is not just any honey," explained Cesar Delgado, a Peruvian entomologist.

If Espinoza's work proves anything, it's that conservation gains momentum when local knowledge leads the way. Through her efforts, several communities have made stingless bees visible in the eyes of law, science, and markets, shifting agency to the people who live beside them.

The new declaration makes that relationship explicit. "The rights of stingless bees of the Peruvian Amazon are intrinsic and inseparably connected with the human rights and welfare of present and future generations," it states.

Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips to save more, waste less, and make smarter choices  and earn up to $5,000 toward clean upgrades in TCD's exclusive Rewards Club.
The publication of Havkins identity was permitted following requests by major Israeli media outlets, including Walla, Channel 13, News1, and Haaretz, after months under a sweeping gag order.

Retired Israel Police Chief Superintendent Tzachi Havkin was named on Sunday as the senior police officer arrested in September, alongside several other suspects, in a widening corruption investigation centered on the Lahav 433 National Crime Unit, on suspicion of leaking sensitive police information to the criminal organization headed by the Mosli family.

The publication of Havkins identity was permitted following requests by major Israeli media outlets, including Walla, Channel 13, News1, and Haaretz, after months under a sweeping gag order.

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According to investigators, the affair concerns alleged illicit ties between past and present Lahav 433 officers and organized crime figures. Havkin, a former senior investigator in the unit and now a practicing attorney, is suspected of passing internal police information to the Mosli crime group, allegedly in exchange for bribes. The suspected offenses include accepting and offering bribes, conspiracy to commit a felony, and obstruction of justice.

The Mosli organization, led by brothers Eli, Nissim, and Yossi Mosli, has long been linked to associates of the notorious Abergil crime family.

General view of the Lahav 433 police unit headquarters in the city of Lod on April 2, 2025. (credit: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Havkin was held in custody for 12 days before being released. Shortly thereafter, he began testifying as a defense witness in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus criminal trial. His testimony, which the defense considers significant, is currently ongoing.

Havkin is represented by attorney Dubi Shertzer, a former senior official in the Justice Ministrys Police Investigation Department, which investigates allegations of police misconduct. Both Havkin and Shertzer have appeared as defense witnesses in Netanyahus trial.

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The Jerusalem Magistrates Court initially barred publication of Havkins name due to his current occupation as a lawyer. In late November, however, Magistrates Court Judge Gad Ehrenberg ruled that the gag order should be lifted, citing the strengthening of the suspicions since Havkins arrest and the public significance of his testimony in the Netanyahu trial.

That ruling was upheld last week by Jerusalem District Court Judge Nimrod Flax, who rejected Havkins appeal, finding that he had failed to show publication would cause him exceptional harm, a prerequisite for maintaining a publication ban.

There is a significant and exceptional public interest in publishing the appellants name, Flax wrote, pointing to the fact that Havkin is testifying publicly while sharply criticizing the conduct of law enforcement authorities. In these circumstances, the public has the right to know that a witness appearing in the public arena and criticizing police actions is himself under investigation on suspicion of serious offenses.

Flax added that Havkin cannot hold the stick at both ends  publicly criticizing the police while seeking to conceal that he is a suspect in a criminal investigation  and stressed that transparency regarding figures involved in public legal proceedings is essential to democratic integrity and public trust in the justice system.

Havkin a key suspect in Lahav 433 corruption probe

According to Walla, Havkin is considered the central suspect in what has been described as a serious corruption affair within Lahav 433, involving a coordinated chain of former and serving police officers suspected of cooperating with criminal elements.

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Channel 13 reported that the Police Internal Department raided Havkins law office in September and arrested five suspects in total, including two additional police officers and Eli Mosli himself. Investigators suspect the group leaked sensitive police information to the Mosli organization in exchange for money and other benefits.

Channel 13 further reported that a well-known businessman, whose name remains under a publication ban, is being investigated on suspicion of bribery and money laundering in connection with the affair, including allegations that funds were transferred both to police officers and to members of the Mosli crime group in order to obtain information from law enforcement.

Investigators are also examining whether Mosli associates attempted to extort the businessman using the leaked information.

Separately, Channel 13 noted that in February last year, an indictment was filed against seven members of the rival Hiyya crime group accused of attempting to assassinate Mosli using a four-kilogram explosive device placed beneath his armored vehicle.

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During his testimony in Netanyahus trial, Havkin  who was involved in investigative work related to Case 4000  alleged serious flaws in the conduct of the probes against the prime minister. He testified that investigative summaries omitted material that could have undermined the bribery theory, that key witnesses were not confronted with contradictory evidence, and that investigators exerted improper pressure on potential state witnesses.

Havkin has denied all allegations against him. In a statement issued on his behalf, he said he categorically rejects the suspicions and maintains that any information he shared was publicly available and not obtained during his police service.
A US Navy veteran working in Ukraine said using robots to evacuate the injured is effective.

He said they're often quite cheap, which is good since these systems are targets.

He said that the lesson for the West is that having more of the cheap systems is best.

With drones always buzzing overhead, ready to dive bomb soldiers or relay targeting data to an artillery gun crew, it can be far too dangerous to send a human being to rescue the wounded, so Ukraine is turning to robots to evacuate injured troops.

A US veteran in Ukraine who saw them in action told Business Insider they're effective  and said Ukraine is right to keep them simple and cheap, given that many may not make it back.

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Ukraine is using a growing number of ground robots, a kind of drone, to combat Russia's invasion by carrying supplies, acting as bombs, and evacuating injured soldiers.

Many of these systems come from Ukrainian companies and manufacturers located within Ukraine's European partners. It's technology that militaries are increasingly paying attention to, seeing it as a solution that could save lives on the modern battlefield, though across NATO and Western forces, the focus is mainly on doctrine, testing, and prototyping.

Even in Ukraine, uncrewed ground vehicles (UGVs) only make up a small fraction of the drones in use in battle.

Ground robots are being used for a host of functions in Ukraine, like installing anti-tank mines. AP Photo/Andrii Marienko

Jeffrey Wells, a US Navy veteran with experience in Afghanistan and Iraq, is now helping out a nonprofit in Ukraine. He told Business Insider that using ground robots for casualty evacuation isn't perfect, but it's useful. He said that the West should take note but avoid overengineering or overspending on these kinds of systems.

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The robots are "not always a success, but at least it's something," he said.

The casualty evacuation robots function like remote-controlled stretchers, but rescuing wounded troops is far from foolproof: with so many drones overhead, they're easy to spot  and just as easy to attack.

Ukrainian soldiers have pointed to the limits of ground robots in evacuating the wounded, noting that while they can be a lifeline for a wounded soldier when it is too unsafe for their comrades to come get them, they can be jammed, they break down, and they can be targeted just like anything else moving in battle.

Oleksandr Yabchanka, head of robotic systems for the Da Vinci Wolves Battalion, previously told Business Insider that they are a last resort tool because a wounded soldier could wind up in "an even worse situation."

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They are a "last hope kind of thing," Wells explained. "And that shouldn't cost a lot of money and should be something that's easily developed, replaced, and deployed."

Wells' work in Ukraine aims to help civilians survive the war. He is there with Task Force Antal, a nonprofit organization run by US veterans that provides medical training, supplies, and evacuation support to civilians, especially in front-line areas.

The robots Ukraine is using for evacuations range in sophistication and price. Mykhaylo Palinchak/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

He said that the evacuation robots don't need to be flawless technology  the tech is evolving so fast that whatever works today may well be redesigned next week anyway. What matters, he said, is getting something usable into the field now, because saving lives outranks engineering elegance.

More of the cheap robots

Wells said the robot he saw in action was "low tech" but got the job done, explaining that he would rather have 10 robots worth $1,000 than one that was more advanced and worth $100,000.

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"You kind of just need something that's effective, essentially a stretcher with wheels that gives hope to the person that's injured." It doesn't need to be more complicated than that.

In talks with Business Insider, Ukrainian soldiers, foreign volunteers, and arms makers have emphasized key lessons for the West: prioritize more cheap systems over a few exquisite ones, dont pour money into technology that may quickly become obsolete, and resist the urge to overengineer and overspend on gear meant for a battlefield that changes every week.

When it comes to robots for evacuation, Wells said that the best thing is to keep technology cheap and expendable so troops don't think they "have to use this because it costs so much money."

Robots can be used in situations where it's too dangerous to risk troops. AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko

Western militaries are increasingly concerned and thinking about casualty evacuation in a high-intensity fight, recognizing that it won't look like it did in the Middle East, where they controlled the skies.

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For decades, Western forces have counted on the golden hour," the crucial first 60 minutes after injury when prompt treatment dramatically boosts the chances of survival. But Ukrainian troops often dont get care within that window, and militaries warn it could vanish in a high-intensity fight with Russia or China as well.

In this kind of combat, it's harder to get wounded troops off the battlefield. Without air superiority, flying a Black Hawk into medevac an injured soldier to care at a field hospital simply isn't possible without putting even more troops at risk.

That's why an increasing number of Western militaries are turning to robots for these missions.

The US Army, for instance, has been exploring using uncrewed systems for casualty evacuation for years. In a 2016 test, the Army's Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center used a ground robot to evacuate a casualty to an uncrewed aircraft, which then flew the patient to a medical facility for treatment.

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After a 2025 event that experimented with drones in casualty evacuation, an Army aeromedical officer said drone technology could "be used to transport wounded soldiers to ambulance exchange points. That capability could preserve the 'golden hour' in large-scale combat operations and drastically increase survivability."

US Army Col. Johnny Paul, a Medical Service Corps officer, wrote in an article this past summer that UGVs are "the next big thing in battlefield CASEVAC," but the ground robots don't need to be strictly for casualty evacuation operations.

"Developing medical-only UGVs could be a mistake. Single-use platforms may limit operational flexibility and make them vulnerable to targeting," he said, writing that the Army should pursue multi-role platforms.

Cost, however, is also a key consideration, as Wells pointed out. US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll made that point this year when explaining the problems with the Robotic Combat Vehicle program, which was looking into robots worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. We cant sustain a couple-million-dollar piece of equipment that can be taken out with an $800 drone and munition, he said.

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Some Ukrainian uncrewed systems also cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, but many are far cheaper. Tencores Termit robot, for example, runs about $14,000, and commanders say many of the machines their units use cost under $10,000. Even at that low price point, one commander said that three or four might be destroyed in a week  meaning costs add up fast.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The student-led National Citizen Party (NCP), which was formed during the July Uprising last year, leading to the ousting of former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has now found itself divided over alliance and seat-sharing discussions with the Islamic conservative party Jamaat-e-Islami for the upcoming national elections. One of the prominent NCP leaders, Tasneem Jara, announced that she is rejecting the party's candidacy and will run independently in the upcoming national elections, scheduled for February next year. "My dream was to enter parliament through the platform of a political party and serve the people of my constituency and the country. However, due to the current realities, I have decided not to contest the election as a candidate of any specific party or alliance," Jara wrote in a Facebook post. "I promised you and the people of the country that I would fight for you and for building a new political culture. No matter the circumstances, I am firmly determined to keep that promise. Therefore, in this election, I will contest as an independent candidate from Dhaka-9," she added. Samanta Sharmin, another senior leader of the NCP, has issued a statement opposing the NCP's alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami. "Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami is not a reliable ally. I believe that entering into any cooperation or understanding with Jamaat-e-Islami--given its political position and ideology--would force the NCP to pay a heavy price," Sharmin said in a statement. "According to the National Citizen Party's (NCP) long-standing position, its core principles and vision of the state are completely different from Jamaat's. NCP is a party formed around justice, reform, and the election of a constituent assembly--what it calls the Second Republic. Therefore, alignment on these three issues is a prerequisite for any political alliance," the statement added. She stated that her current stance aligns with the party's position over the past one and a half years, noting Jamaat's obstruction in reforms by demanding proportional representation (PR) in the lower house. She also noted that allying with Jamaat does not imply support for the BNP. She stated that NCP's longstanding positions were correct and that she will remain committed to that ideology. "My current position is consistent with the party's stance over the past one and a half years. Jamaat had engaged in obstructing reforms by raising demands for PR (proportional representation) in the lower house. As a result, the NCP convener stated that an alliance with those who are not in favour of reform is not possible. Consequently, after the July march, multiple leaders--including the convener--announced that NCP would field single candidates in all 300 seats, and candidates from across the country were invited with the declaration that NCP would contest the election independently," the statement read. "Any alliance with either BNP or Jamaat would mean deviating from NCP's organisational and political policies,' the statement added. The students who led the uprising against Sheikh Hasina in July 2024 are the same ones who formed the NCP. Since the party took the initiative to form an electoral alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami, divisions have emerged within the party, with female leaders in particular strongly opposing the move. (ANI)
Many high school seniors are currently in the midst of the college application process or are already waiting to hear back from their selected schools.

For high school students in rural parts of the United States, the frantic pace of the college application process can look a bit different. For starters, some of these rural students might not have large numbers of elite universities and colleges coming to admissions fairs in their areas. They might not have all of the required high school courses to attend some of these schools, either, according to Sheneka Williams, a scholar of educational leadership and rural education who graduated from a small, rural high school in Alabama.

Amy Lieberman, the education editor at The Conversation U.S., spoke with Williams to understand the particular experiences of rural students  and what, exactly, coming from a rural background can mean as students think about college.

How are rural high school students experiences unique?

Nationally, nearly 10 million students  or 1 in 5 public school students in the U.S.  attended rural schools in the fall of 2022.

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Research suggests that rural students finish or complete high school at a higher rate than urban students.

While approximately 90% of rural high school students graduated in 2020, 82% of urban high school students got their diplomas that year.

But rural students college entrance rate is lower than that of urban and suburban students.

Within four years of graduating high school, 71% of rural students attended college, compared to 73% of suburban and 71% of city students who also went to college, according to 2023 findings by the National Center for Education Statistics.

Why are rural students finishing high school at a higher rate than their suburban and urban peers but attending college at a lower rate?

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First, we know that some colleges are not really recruiting students in rural areas. If these universities dont know you exist, and if your parents havent gone to college and dont know how the admission system works, you might not have help as you move closer to attending college. Some rural schools also do not have college counselors.

There are other reasons why some rural high school graduates are not going to college, I have personally seen. Some students are apprehensive about leaving home. They have close-knit families and communities, and they might be wondering where they fit in at a school in a large place that is much bigger than where they grew up.



(Rory Doyle for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Do any of these scenarios describe your own educational journey?

I grew up in a small town in Alabama and was different from some of the other Black students, since I came from a family of educators who had gone to college for two generations.

But when I did go to college, I went to a campus that was two times the size of my hometown, which has a population of just 12,000. It takes a confident student, as well as encouragement from parents or mentors, to believe that you can go to school away from home.

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We had some college fairs in high school, but the visiting colleges were state universities and regional schools. You did not have selective schools coming to recruit.

Students today can learn about schools online, but there is still the issue that universities are not, on their own, connecting enough with rural students.

Do rural students fit into universities diversity goals?

Only recently have people begun to think and talk more about what rural really means. Some people use the U.S. Census Bureaus definition of rural, which is all population, housing, and territory not included within an urban area.

But thats a somewhat surface definition. Its hard for some scholars to agree on what counts as rural, including me. It feels like something you have to experience and know, and that is hard to define. Part of the issue is that rural has been defined by what urban is not, and that makes it seem it doesnt deserve its own definition.

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Universities are beginning to think about these rural students more and the particular challenges they experience in school. That includes not necessarily having stable access to high-speed internet, which approximately 22.3% of Americans in rural areas and 27.7% of Americans in tribal areas dont have, compared to only 1.5% of Americans in urban areas.

Another issue is that even for rural students who want to go to college, they might not have the right qualifications, such as certain courses they have completed.

I am currently involved in research with sociologists Barbara Schneider and education scholars Joe Krajcik and Clausell Mathis about how some rural high schools in Alabama and Mississippi arent able to teach physics or chemistry. Physics and chemistry are both gateway courses to college, and if you want to be an engineer or STEM major, you have to complete these courses in order to have a shot at certain colleges.

Rural high schools tend to have a lack of resources, in terms of both budget and their staffing. Schools not being able to find teachers who are qualified or certified in certain subject areas, such as science courses, is a nationwide problem. But this issue is tougher in smaller, rural towns.

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Schools will say they dont have students interested in those subjects. But the states also arent requiring that these classes are offered.

This lack of science course offerings can create a whole block of students who are not going to college. And if we are talking about the South, in particular, and states that have a high population of Black students in rural areas, we are talking about a whole swath of students who dont have this education and would find it a struggle to get into larger, splashier schools that are not near home.

What do you think are some of the solutions to these challenges?

There are many local efforts to offer tutoring and things of that nature for rural high school students. Some of those efforts have been blunted because schools are funded by property taxes, and some of them just dont have the revenue to pay for these add-ons without federal support.

I think colleges need to do a better job of recruiting students at rural high schools. I also think that once these students make it to college, it would help if there were support or affinity groups.

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Some colleges have not thought enough about rural students. I think the narrative around rural students and college needs to shift  these students may want to go to college, but nobody is looking for them. When you live in small, geographically isolated places, sometimes you only know what you see.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Gorillas in the Virunga mountains. Dian Fossey came to study the endangered population of mountain gorillas in the late 1960s, and returned until her murder in 1985. | Credit: Brent Stirton/Getty Images for WWF-Canon

QUICK FACTS

Milestone: Dian Fossey found murdered

Date: Dec. 27, 1985

Where: Karisoke Research Center in Rwanda

Who: The murderer remains unknown

In late December 1985, a worker opened the door to a remote cabin in the Virunga Mountains of Rwanda and encountered a horrific scene: Gorilla researcher Dian Fossey, whose aggressive approach to conservation had pitted her against the local community, had been hacked to death with a machete, and her cabin had been ransacked.

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Fossey had been working with an endangered gorilla population in Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park since the late 1960s. Along with Jane Goodall and Birute Galdikas, she was one of the three "trimates" chosen by Louis Leakey to study primates in their natural habitat.

Fossey had no formal training in ethology, the science of animal behavior, when she set out for Africa. She began her field work in Kabara, Congo, living in a tiny tent and venturing out to study mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) there. After civil war broke out in 1967, she escaped to the Rwandan portion of the mountains and set up a new research project near Mount Karisimbi in Rwanda.

Fossey was inspired by the work of George Schaller, a biologist who, in 1959, had also studied the gorillas of the Virunga Mountains.

"I knew that animals try to stay out of your way. If you go quietly near them, they come to accept your presence. That's what I did with gorillas. I just went near them day after day, which was fairly easy because they form cohesive social groups. Soon, I knew them as individuals, both their faces and their behavior, and I just sat and watched them," Schaller said in a 2006 interview .

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Fossey operated on this same principle of patient, unobtrusive observation. Still, the gorillas initially fled from her, and she spent hours tracking and trailing them across the misty forest.

Dian Fossey in 1983, the year her book "Gorillas in the Mist" came out. Fossey's aggressive tactics to protect the gorillas did not earn her good will with the locals. | Credit: Peter Breining/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

After a year, they stopped fleeing at her presence and started beating their chests and vocalizing. It was a bluff meant to scare her off, but it was still far from their ordinary, natural behavior, she said in a 1973 lecture . After two years, she received two young gorillas, Coco and Pucker; rehabilitated them; and learned about gorilla young by observing them.

"I came to know the gorillas' need for love and affection, and the young gorillas' need for constant play," she said.

It would take three years before the gorillas came to accept her presence and reveal more naturalistic behavior, she said in the lecture.

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During her decades in Virunga, Fossey described and learned to mimic the vocalizations of gorillas , including the "belch vocalization" that signifies contentment. She also elucidated their tight-knit family structures, courtship and mating rituals , as well as documented the occasional murder of infant gorillas by rival males.

Although she would eventually earn her doctorate in zoology from the University of Cambridge, Fossey spent her first years studying the gorillas with no formal training. Perhaps because of her initial lack of training, she formed close bonds with individual animals and tended to ascribe more humanlike motivations and descriptions to their actions than is typically accepted in formal zoology. She often described gorillas as more altruistic than humans.

"You take these fine, regal animals,'' she told an interviewer, as reported by The New York Times . ''How many fathers have the same sense of paternity? How many human mothers are more caring? The family structure is unbelievably strong.''

She formed a particularly close bond with a gorilla she nicknamed Digit  so named for his damaged finger  who did not have playmates his age. Digit was killed by poachers in 1977.

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The last years of Fossey's life were increasingly focused on conserving the gorillas' dwindling habitat and combating poachers. She used confrontational methods, such as burning snares, wearing masks to scare poachers, and spray-painting cattle to prevent herders from bringing them into the national park, according to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund .

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She also shot over the heads of tourists to scare them away and told her graduate students to carry guns, according to The Washington Post .

Given that many of the people living on the fringes of the park lived in poverty and resorted to expansion and herding to survive, this did not earn her good will with many of the locals.
National Weather Service forecasters are monitoring the potential for severe weather in the Louisville area the night of Dec. 28, with the main threat being strong wind gusts of more than 40 mph.

The gusty winds are expected to come from a "thin line of rain showers," which could arrive in Louisville sometime between 9 p.m. and midnight. Temperatures will begin to plummet, falling from around 72 degrees at 6 p.m. to about 33 degrees by 6 a.m. Dec. 29, according to a chart provided by the National Weather Service in Louisville.

Due to the strong winds, Louisville is under a marginal risk for severe weather, the lowest of five categories from the National Weather Service. Jasper, Indiana, and northern Orange and Washington counties in Indiana, are under a slight risk for severe weather, the second-highest category. Storms may arrive in southern Indiana between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., according to NWS Louisville.

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The cities of Lexington, Frankfort and Bowling Green in Kentucky are not under a severe weather risk, but gusty winds and rain showers are expected to arrive overnight.

Louisville, along with parts of central Kentucky and southern Indiana, will be under a wind advisory from 6 p.m. Dec. 28 to 7 a.m. Dec. 29.

"Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects," weather service officials wrote in an update about the wind advisory. "Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result."

Localized damaging winds of 60 mph or greater are also possible in Louisville the night of Dec. 28, according to the weather service. The strongest winds are expected to occur from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. Dec. 29.

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"Record warm temperatures" ranging from the mid to low 70s will develop in Louisville the afternoon of Dec. 28, National Weather Service officials said. After temperatures drop overnight, the high Dec. 29 will be in the 30s. The coldest wind chills will be in the teens Dec. 29 and in the single digits Dec. 30.

More: Disasters keep pummeling Kentucky. Is the state prepared for more?

Reach reporter Leo Bertucci at lbertucci@usatodayco.com or @leober2chee on X, formerly known as Twitter

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville severe weather forecast includes strong winds, rain showers
The Cleveland County Sheriffs Office located a missing 74-year-old Lula Kay Griffin Oliver, who was reported missing after walking away from her home in the 600 block Casar Belwood Road.

ALSO READ: Ashe County deputies locate missing 17-year-old girl

Oliver is 52 and weighs 116 pounds. At the time she was last seen, she was wearing a red and black hoodie, blue jeans, black shoes and possibly a pink ball cap. She has dementia.

She was found around 7:40 p.m. Saturday.

WATCH: Crews locate missing man last seen in McAdenville
As 2025 comes to a close, the Ottumwa Courier is looking back on a year of news that shaped the community. This year-in-review series is presented in four installments, each highlighting a quarter of the year. Part 2 covers the months of April, May and June. The headlines were selected by Courier staff and are drawn from reporting by the Courier and its news partners.

APRIL

Tensions surfaced at Ottumwa legislative forum

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A legislative forum hosted by the League of Women Voters in Ottumwa drew brief disruptions in April as Republican lawmakers fielded questions on transgender rights, abortion, education funding and other divisive issues. State Sen. Cherielynn Westrich and Reps. Hans Wilz and Austin Harris appeared at the forum, where a small number of attendees voiced frustration during exchanges on gender identity and womens health.

Lawmakers also defended Iowas Education Savings Accounts program, which allows public funds to be used for private schooling, and addressed questions on property tax reform, cancer rates and pending legislation. Despite the tense moments, most of the 90-minute forum proceeded without incident, with legislators providing session updates and answering questions from the audience.

Ottumwa schools held property tax rate steady

Ottumwa Community School District officials decided in April not to move forward with a proposed property tax increase, keeping the districts levy rate unchanged for the fiscal year. Superintendent Mike McGrory told the school board the district would maintain a rate of $14.67, reversing an earlier proposal that would have raised taxes by 32 cents.

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District leaders said enrollment growth and a strong financial position allowed the schools to hold the levy steady despite uncertainty over state funding. The decision came as city and county portions of local property tax bills were expected to increase.

Chief Wapello association marked 50th anniversary

The Chief Wapello Memorial Park Association marked its 50th anniversary in April with a weekend of public events recognizing the history of the cemetery near Agency. The celebration included historical displays, presentations and a banquet highlighting the associations work preserving the site.

Founded in 1975 after local residents organized to restore the neglected cemetery, the association has focused on maintaining the burial site of Chief Wapello and Gen. Joseph M. Street. The cemetery is considered historically significant for its ties to early Iowa history and treaty negotiations that led to the settlement of the region.

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MAY

County advanced plan for publicly funded EMS

Wapello County officials moved forward in 2025 with steps toward creating a publicly funded emergency medical services system, approving resolutions that declared EMS an essential service and established an advisory committee to study countywide needs. The actions marked the beginning of a formal process outlined in state law to determine how EMS could be funded and delivered.

Supervisors outlined options that could eventually be placed before voters, including a property tax levy, a local sales tax surcharge or a combination of the two, which would require 60% approval. An advisory committee made up of local officials, EMS providers and medical professionals was tasked with evaluating service gaps and recommending a funding level, with additional public meetings expected as the process continued.

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Plans take shape for former St. Joseph Hospital site

The former St. Joseph Hospital property in Ottumwa remained a focal point of local development discussions in 2025 after the site returned to local ownership the previous year. While no construction occurred, local partners said groundwork was underway to determine how the long-vacant property could be redeveloped.

Environmental and geotechnical studies were completed on the 10-acre site, confirming the land was suitable for future development and eliminating unknowns that had discouraged potential developers in the past. Development officials said those studies were a necessary step before soliciting formal proposals.

Leaders with the Greater Ottumwa Development Foundation said the long-term goal was to pursue market-rate housing on the site to address a shortage of higher-end homes in Ottumwa. Officials acknowledged the lack of visible progress but emphasized the importance of planning and due diligence before moving forward with infrastructure and developer negotiations.

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JUNE

Child care challenges highlighted across southeast Iowa

Child care and preschool availability remained a major issue in southeast Iowa in 2025, as providers across the region faced staffing shortages, funding uncertainty and uneven enrollment. Reporting examined the contrasting situations of Wigwam Daycare and Preschool in Bloomfield, Sieda Child Development Center in Ottumwa and Pickwick Early Childhood Center, illustrating the broader pressures on early childhood education in what many described as a child care desert.

At Wigwam, longtime operator Traci Wiegand reduced enrollment by more than half in an effort to prioritize quality and sustainability after years of staffing and financial strain. Meanwhile, Siedas child development center, which offers both Head Start and child care, struggled to consistently fill available slots despite ongoing concerns about access, highlighting challenges related to affordability, staffing ratios and public expectations.

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Pickwick Early Childhood Center faced uncertainty of its own as school officials awaited legislative action on the Shared Visions grant program, which funds much of its preschool programming. Lawmakers ultimately extended the funding for another year, allowing Pickwick to continue serving hundreds of children while emphasizing social, emotional and academic development.

Job Corps future uncertain after protests, court action

Students and staff at Ottumwa Job Corps protested in late March after President Donald Trumps proposed fiscal year 2026 budget called for eliminating funding for the Job Corps program nationwide. Protesters warned the $1.5 billion cut would end a program they described as vital to workforce training and stability for young adults across southeast Iowa.

In early June, the federal government ordered Job Corps centers nationwide to shut down, prompting Ottumwa Job Corps to begin transitioning students off campus and preparing for closure. Community partners organized a resource fair to assist students with employment, education and basic needs as uncertainty grew around the programs future.

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Later that month, a court injunction allowed the Ottumwa center to reopen while a lawsuit challenging the federal action moved forward. At years end, the center remained operating under the injunction, with the long-term future of Job Corps still unresolved.

Pride Month proclamation sparked council debate

A routine Pride Month proclamation became a point of controversy in June after it was pulled from Ottumwa City Councils consent agenda and debated during a public meeting. After a tense discussion involving council members, the mayor and members of the public, the proclamation was ultimately approved on a 4-1 vote, with councilmember Dan Reid opposed.

Supporters of the proclamation said it was a longstanding practice and a symbolic affirmation of inclusion, noting the city had issued Pride Month proclamations for several years without issue. Opponents argued the proclamation elevated one group over others and questioned whether such recognitions aligned with their views on equality.

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The debate highlighted broader tensions over diversity and inclusion in the community, with council members citing the citys comprehensive plan and the role of proclamations in recognizing different groups.

WWII soldier laid to rest in Appanoose County

The remains of U.S. Army Pvt. James Harrington were laid to rest in June at Pleasant Hill Cemetery near Cincinnati, Iowa, bringing his journey home to a close more than 80 years after his death during World War II. Harrington, who was killed on D-Day in 1944, was buried with full military honors following his identification through modern forensic testing.

Harrington, a native of Cincinnati, was serving with the 149th Engineer Combat Battalion when his landing craft struck a mine en route to Omaha Beach. His remains were identified decades later after being exhumed from a military cemetery in France, allowing family members and the community to honor his service and sacrifice at home.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC)  This flu season is no longer just severe. Its historic.

New York is now facing the worst flu surge on record, and health officials warn the timing could make it even more dangerous.

With the holidays underway, urgent cares and hospitals are filling fast.

We saw 20,000 more cases the week ending December 20 than the week before, New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald told News 8. We saw over 3,600 people in the hospital. That was more during the week ending December 20 than the peak of last year.

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More than 71,000 positive flu cases were reported in New York in just seven days  the most since influenza became a reportable disease in 2004.

Hospitalizations are climbing just as fast, jumping 63 percent in one week.

About 85 to 90 percent of the patients were seeing every day are testing positive for flu. Its spreading like wildfire right now, Patty Venniro, a family nurse practitioner at Family Health NP Immediate Care in Ontario said.

With 2,300 flu cases reported in Monroe County in just one week, Venniro said her team sees the strain on urgent cares and emergency rooms.

We see everybody we can, Venniro said. Yes, sometimes theres a line out the door and people have to wait, but everybody seems pretty patient, and we get them in and see them, and get them back home to hopefully start feeling better.

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Doctors say vaccination, staying home when sick, washing hands, and wearing masks in crowded places can help slow the spread. And stressing, there is still time if you have not gotten your flu shot yet.

Flu can be treated with an antiviral medication and help shorten the duration of illness and maybe keep someone out of the hospital, Dr. McDonald said.

Healthcare providers add if flu symptoms including high fever, body aches, cough, or extreme fatigue last longer than a week, or suddenly worsen, its important to get checked out.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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For 2026, the Virtual Boy is being reborn as an add-on for the Switch 2 and it's still as weird and eccentric as ever. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
India's swift and precise retaliation against Pakistan following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack not just rattled the country militarily but also instilled fear among its top leadership, with its President admitting he was advised to take shelter in a bunker during the May escalation. Speaking during an event on Saturday, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari revealed that during New Delhi's retaliatory strikes in May, his Military Secretary urgently advised him to move to a bunker for safety, highlighting the intense fear gripping Pakistan's top leadership amid the Indian operation. The escalation in May is referred to as India's Operation Sindoor, which came in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 civilians. India's armed forces carried out strategic precision strikes on Pakistani military installations in May, following operations that targeted nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). Despite a warning from Zardari's Military Secretary, the Pakistani President offered only rhetoric, stating that he had refused to enter the bunker. "My MS (Military Secretary) was there. He came to me and said, 'Sir, the war has started.' I had actually told him four days earlier that a war was going to happen. But he came to me and said, 'Sir, let's go to the bunkers.' I said, 'If martyrdom is to come, it will come here. Leaders don't die in bunkers. They die on the battlefield. They don't die sitting in bunkers'," Zardari said. The Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor in the early hours of May 7 as a retaliatory response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. Following India's operation, the conflict between India and Pakistan deepened, which resulted in increased cross-border shelling from Pakistan and retaliatory action from the Indian Armed Forces. A surprising sequence of events unfolded as Pakistan's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) proposed a ceasefire to India's DGMO, which was accepted. Pakistan's DGMO called India's DGMO to propose a ceasefire, which India accepted. The contact from the Pakistani side was also confirmed by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, who noted that the two sides agreed to halt all military operations - on land, at sea, and in the air. (ANI)
Somalia has demanded Israel reverse its recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland, condemning the move as an act of aggression that will never be tolerated.

Ali Omar, Somalias state minister for foreign affairs, told Al Jazeera in an interview on Saturday that the government would pursue all available diplomatic means to challenge what it described as an act of state aggression and Israeli interference in the countrys internal affairs.

The sharp rebuke came a day after Israel became the first nation in the world to formally recognise Somaliland, triggering swift condemnation across African and Arab nations, and raising concerns about whether the move was part of an alleged Israeli plan to forcibly displace Palestinians.

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Somaliland broke away from Somalia in 1991 following a brutal civil war but has never secured recognition from any United Nations member state. The self-declared republic has established its own currency, flag and parliament, though its eastern territories remain disputed.

This will never be acceptable or tolerable to our government and people who are united in defending our territorial integrity, Omar said. Our government strongly advises the State of Israel to rescind its divisive actions and abide by international law.

Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, known locally as Cirro, had been signalling for weeks that recognition by an unnamed state was imminent, though he didnt clarify which country. Somalilands capital Hargeisa had been dotted with billboards in recent weeks, telling residents that recognition was coming.

Omar said the strategic importance of the Horn of Africa was driving foreign interference and interest. The importance of this region isnt new. It is still important for international trade today, he said.

Displacement of Palestinians

Omar accused Israel of pursuing Somalilands recognition in order to further displace Palestinians from Gaza. One of the motivating factors is the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, he told Al Jazeera. It has been widely known  Israels goal on that issue.

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Palestines foreign ministry backed Somalia, recalling that Israel had previously identified Somaliland as a potential destination for forcibly displacing Palestinians from Gaza, which it described as a red line.

On Saturday, Somalilands Cirro defended the Israeli move, insisting it was not directed against any state, nor does it pose a threat to regional peace.





Hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the recognition on Friday, Somalias prime ministers office issued a statement describing Israels action as a deliberate attack on Somalias sovereignty and an unlawful step, and emphasising that Somaliland remains an integral and inseparable part of the Somali territory.

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Netanyahu framed the diplomatic breakthrough with Somaliland as being in the spirit of the Abraham Accords and said he would champion Somalilands cause during his meeting with United States President Donald Trump on Monday. Netanyahu also invited Cirro to Israel, which the latter has accepted.

But Trump has distanced himself from close ally Netanyahu on the issue, telling The New York Post newspaper he would not follow Israels lead.

Somalias Public Works Minister Ayub Ismail Yusuf welcomed Trumps stance, writing on social media: Thank you for your support, Mr. President.

Trumps comments marked a shift from August, when he told a news conference his administration was working on the Somaliland issue. In recent weeks, the US president has frequently attacked the Somali community in the US and Somalia.

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The US has also expressed frustration with Somalia, saying at a recent UN Security Council meeting that Somali authorities had failed in improving security in the country despite billions in aid, and signalling it will not continue to fund a costly peacekeeping mission.





Meanwhile, the African Unions chairperson, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, rejected any initiative aimed at recognising Somaliland as an independent nation, warning it would set a dangerous precedent with far-reaching implications. The continental bloc cited a 1964 decision on the intangibility of borders inherited at a countrys independence as a fundamental principle.

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit also condemned what he described as a provocative Israeli assault on the sovereignty of an Arab and African state. He said the Israeli recognition was a clear violation of international law and a flagrant infringement of the principle of state sovereignty.

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Despite the international reactions, thousands poured onto the streets of Hargeisa on Friday to celebrate what many saw as the end of 30 years of diplomatic isolation. The Israeli flag was emblazoned on the national museum as residents welcomed the breakthrough.

Somalia has historically had contentious relations with Israel, stemming from Israels historic ties with Somalias regional rival, Ethiopia.

During the Cold War, Israel provided Ethiopia with military training, intelligence and weapons, while Somalia, aligned with Arab states hostile to Israel, was defeated in the 1977 Ogaden War, a setback that helped fuel decades of civil unrest.

Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 following persecution under former leader Mohammed Siad Barre, but Somalia has never recognised the breakaway region.

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Earlier this month, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel revealed there had been communication with Somalias government about shared concerns over Houthi influence in the region.

But Omar, the Somali state minister for foreign affairs, strongly denied any ties with Israel, stating that the countrys position on Israeli policies remained unchanged.
CNNs Jake Tapper on Saturday admonished the awful people who continue to shout slurs at Tim Walzs (D-MN) house in a parroting of President Donald Trumps month-old Truth Social insult aimed at Minnesotas governor.

In his Thanksgiving message to the American people on Truth Social, Trump called Walz seriously retarded for welcoming Somalian immigrants to his state. When asked about the offensive slur, Trump stood by his choice of words, telling a reporter:

Yeah, I think theres something wrong with him. Absolutely. Sure. You have a problem with it? You know what? I think theres something wrong with him. Anybody that would do what he did, anybody that would allow those people into his state and pay billions of dollars out to Somalia We give billions of dollars to Somalia. Its not even a country because it doesnt function like a country. Its got a name but it doesnt function like a country.

Walz responded by urging Trump to release his MRI results.

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On Saturday, Tapper retweeted a post from Dear America founder Graham Allen who told his 550,000 followers, THIS IS HILARIOUS: People are still going to Tim Walzs house and yelling retard.'

Allens post shows people in a black SUV honking their horn outside Waltzs home and yelling the word.

Everyone really needs to take a breath and stop being awful, stop rewarding awfulness, and stop promoting awfulness with your algorithms, Tapper wrote on X, adding, Happy & fulfilled & confident people dont spend time doing any of this.

Everyone really needs to take a breath and stop being awful, stop rewarding awfulness, and stop promoting awfulness with your algorithms. Happy & fulfilled & confident people dont spend time doing any of this. https://t.co/Gv9yvOMxb8  Jake Tapper  (@jaketapper) December 27, 2025

Walzs 24-year-old daughter, Hope, recently fumed about the harassment on TikTok.

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The president calling my dad what he did has unleashed a f*cking sh*tstorm, regarding, like, offensive language towards me, and my family, and specifically my brother. When its Gus, f*ck-to-the-no, Hope Walz said.

The governors 17-year-old son, Gus Walz, lives with a nonverbal learning disorder, which his parents told People Magazine, affects his spatial-visual skills.

The post Stop Being Awful Jake Tapper Slams Hooligans Yelling Retard at Tim Walzs House first appeared on Mediaite.
This story was originally published on mynorthwest.com.

The man accused of pulling a state trooper out of her patrol vehicle and taking it on a dangerous, high-speed joyride down I-5 Christmas Day told officers he had smoked meth.

According to a police report released Saturday, the 24-year-old suspect had dilated pupils, looked confused and pale, and was found to have two glass pipes with dark-looking, tar-burned residue inside.

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The suspect was arrested after one of four troopers pursuing him on the freeway performed a Precision Immobilization Technique (PIT) maneuver to get the unmarked state patrol cruiser stopped.

The defendant refused to appear in a jail courtroom Friday, but a judge determined there is probable cause to keep him in custody.

According to the police report, the incident started just before 11:00 a.m., when the man was walking along the left shoulder of the freeway, just north of the Lake City Way exit.

When officers spoke to him, he agreed to cross I-5, then walk to the Northgate exit.

Shortly after that, troopers say the man ran out onto the freeway, then approached a female trooper in an unmarked utility vehicle, opened her door, and yanked her out.

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Thats when they say he drove off and started a several-mile pursuit.

Washington Department of Transportation cameras showed images of the suspect driving northbound on I-5, north of N. 130th.

Another DOT cam showed the vehicle taking the exit to 196th St. S.W. in Everett, then heading westbound.

Troopers saw the driver in the carjacked state patrol vehicle at 196th and 44th W.

Shortly after, he re-entered the freeway at 196th St. and headed south on I-5.

Police pursued him with emergency lights flashing and sirens.

They say the suspect continued driving at very high speeds, swerving to avoid collisions with other cars in poor-visibility conditions, due to the heavy rain.

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Four state patrol vehicles continued their pursuit, until one trooper was able to perform the PIT maneuver, disabling the stolen vehicle on the left shoulder near 224th S.W. in Snohomish County.

Several officers came up to the vehicle and pulled the driver out.

Seattle Police officers were also on the scene, including one SPD officer who tased the suspect.

No one involved in the suspects pursuit suffered serious injuries.

Officers took the man into custody. They say he refused to give his name, but they found a wallet on him, to determine his identity.

His drivers license photograph matched the driver.

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Police say the suspect stated that he had started smoking meth earlier.

But they say its unknown at what time he smoked the drug.

Police requested a warrant to take a blood sample from the suspect.

Two vials of blood were taken as evidence just after 6:00 p.m. by a medical technician at Harborview Medical Center.
NEED TO KNOW

Texas teen Christian Hall worked as a deckhand on a 74-foot sailboat

In Nov. 2005, he set sail for Florida with the boat's owner  without his parents' permission

No one ever heard from Christian again

To make extra money, 15-year-old Christian Hall worked as a deckhand on the 74-foot sailboat Gypsy II off the coast of Corpus Christi, Texas.

In November 2005, the adventure-seeking teen asked his family if he could go on a trip with the boats owner, David Dusty Andrews, 39, for whom Christian was working.

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To him, it would be the trip of a lifetime.

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

His family said no, but Christian went anyway.

On Nov. 24, 2005, Christian and Andrews set sail for Florida, leaving from where the boat was docked on the John F. Kennedy Memorial Causeway that connects Laguna Madre and North Padre Island in Corpus Christi.

But the two never made it to Florida and were never heard from again.

Twenty years later, Christian's family is still looking for him, with the help of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).

Christians aunt, Carla Boehm, told NCMEC she thinks her nephew could still be alive. If he is, she wants him to know that his family loves him and would love to see him again.

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If he thinks nobody cares, maybe he's not even trying to come home, Boehm told NCMEC.

Now the organization is releasing a new age-progressed image created by a forensic artist to show what Christian may look like today at 35.

Over the years, very little information about what happened to Christian and Andrews has surfaced.

Andrews did not have permission to take the teen with him on the boat, authorities have said.

On Jan. 4, 2006, Christian's family reported him missing.

The Texas Department of Public Safety also put out a bulletin that Christian was missing, along with a picture of Andrews and the boat.

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What authorities do know is that Christian and Andrews, now 59, were in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana when the sailboat signaled for mayday, NCMEC reports.

The boat was taking in water, but the two declined any help, authorities said.

Boehm remains hopeful that she and her family will be reunited with Christian.

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.

I hope he's out there, and that he sees this new picture and realizes people are looking for him, and that he's wanted, she told NCMEC.

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Anyone with information about Christian Hall or his disappearance is asked to contact NCMEC at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or the Corpus Christi Police Department at 1-361-886-2600.



Read the original article on People
Christmas arrived early for shoppers at an H-E-B grocery store in Burleson when a computer glitch halted checkouts on Monday, prompting the chain to hand out free groceries to those waiting in line.

Video footage from shopper Shelley Browder showed a store manager named Destanie speaking to the gathered crowd.

We love having you as our customers. Thank you for waiting with us. Unfortunately, the computers are not coming back up right now, she said, before adding the welcome news: Today, everything that you have, we are going to bag you up. And we hope every one of you have a very Merry Christmas and continues to shop with us.

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The announcement drew cheers and applause from the lines of customers.

This is why we love our H-E-B!! Browder exclaimed in the video.

One shopper described the giveaway as a Godsend, telling Dallas ABC affiliate WFAA she had waited two hours and filled her cart with items to feed her children and grandchildren over the holidays.

Another customer, Melinda Brown, shared her reaction online: (It) brought tears to my eyes (and) we all gave them a round of applause. She added, I asked the checker, for real? and she said yep! Merry Christmas. What a gift!

In a statement, H-E-B emphasized its dedication to patrons during peak times.

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During this busy holiday season when our registers were temporarily down at one of our stores, we gave all those with full baskets their groceries for free, it said. The customer experience is at the heart of what we do!

The incident comes as H-E-B pushes further into North Texas, where it has built a fervent base. The chain currently runs stores in Allen, Frisco, McKinney, Plano, Prosper, Melissa, Rockwall, Fort Worth, Hudson Oaks, Mansfield, Burleson, Waxahachie, Cleburne, Granbury, and Corsicana, along with Central Market and Joe Vs Smart Shop outlets. More sites are slated for Dallas, Murphy, the Mid-Cities area, and Denton.
Over the past six days, we have reflected on the years top stories from a variety of categories.

While some stories and events cannot be limited to one category, they are some of the most important things the Republican Herald covers. These are the top News stories of 2025.

After 10 years of searching, Tamaqua woman finds remains of her boyfriend

It was 10 years ago that Rachel Carroll drove down a trail in the dark woods behind Tamaqua High School, beeping her car horn and yelling the name of her longtime boyfriend  Jesse  as she listened for an answer.

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She kept returning to that mountain again and again over the years to walk the steep, rocky banks and look for some sign of him, even as her hopes of finding him alive dimmed.

This fall, after a decade of questions and heartache, Rachel found some of Jesse Farbers remains.

She recently discovered bones in the Walker Township woods from where he last called her, and a group of ATV riders also found bones which have been confirmed as Jesses.

The discoveries have left Rachel, now 36, flooded in emotions that range from relief to sorrow.

I am grateful, and Im also devastated, she said. I feel both ways.

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In the meantime, as she waits for answers from Jesses death investigation and continues searching, Rachel feels some of that same pain as when he first went missing.

Its one thing to suspect that someone is dead, and another to know it, she said.

As sad as it was to break the news to their son and daughter, who are now 15 and 11, at least their children will no longer have to deal with the lingering uncertainty of where their dad is, she said.

I want some type of healing for them,she said.

ICE arrests Pottsville man, a native of Mexico who came to U.S. in 2009

A city man living in the United States for 16 years was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on May 30.

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ICE agents detained Ruben Rojas-Vargas, 32, an employee at Fratellos Bistro in Pottsville, his older brother confirmed.

The arrest took place in the Schuylkill County Courthouse, the brother said.

Rojas-Vargas, a native of Mexico, was held at the Moshannon Valley ICE Processing Center in Phillipsburg, Centre County. He was later released from ICE custody.

Pottsville Police Chief John R. Morrow said he was unaware that ICE agents had taken Rojas-Vargas into custody until reports surfaced on Facebook.

Pottsville police had no role in the arrest, Morrow indicated.

To his knowledge, Rojas-Vargas was the first person in Pottsville that ICE had taken into custody, the chief said.

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Man charged with setting off explosive device in chapel

A Mahanoy City man was charged with arson after police say he detonated an explosive device on the altar inside St. Teresa of Calcutta Adoration Chapel on May 6.

Police arrested Kyle Kuczynski on charges of felony arson, reckless burning or exploding, possessing an explosive or incendiary material, risking a catastrophe, institutional vandalism, criminal mischief and ethnic intimidation.

Security camera footage showed a man going into the chapel, which was open 24/7, just after 9 p.m. on May 6. He lights something and then hurries to leave. An explosion occurs moments later.

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Kuczynski was denied bail because he is a threat to public safety, according to court documents.

He pleaded not guilty at his formal arraignment on Sept. 23.

The explosion caused an estimated $27,000 in damages from the blast, according testimony from the Rev. Kevin Gallagher, the pastor of St. Teresa of Calcutta Church.

The chapel was repaired and reopened in late September  just days after Kuczynskis arraignment  though it is no longer open 24 hours.

Some of the stained glass windows still contain chips and scars from the blast, but those are reminders that the chapel carries on despite a terrible crime, Ghallager said.

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It looks amazing, longtime church secretary Diane Britton said. I think people are going to be very happy when they see it. I think some of them will be in tears.

Kuczynski remains in Schuylkill County Prison as he awaits trial.

Shenandoah investigates financial mismanagement

At the January borough council meeting, borough manager Mike Cadau, who was appointed Jan. 2, outlined some financial issues he said are concerning for the borough.

Cadau reported that the borough entered 2024 with a minus budget of $661,445, meaning it was operating at a significant deficit. He questioned how the shortfall occurred and why officials failed to address it earlier.

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Since then, a forensic audit unveiled what Cadau says are financial improprieties and misappropriation in the way previous borough administrators did business.

Local accountant Joe Yanushefsky Jr., who the borough hired earlier to conduct the forensic audit, previously said that Shenandoahs accounting system prior to this year was not in conformity with government accounting principles.

On Oct. 9, borough officials announced that the ongoing forensic audit had exposed financial irregularities by former officials  namely under Borough Manager Anthony Sajone  which they estimated could cost the borough $241,833.35.

A second report was published on Oct. 15 and alleged that, in 2020 and 2021, a Shenandoah employee signed over workers compensation checks to the borough. Payroll records show the employee also received paychecks from the borough during that time, according to Yanushefsky.

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A third report on Nov. 4 alleged that former Borough Manager Joseph Palubinsky received over $50,000 in retirement benefits he was not entitled to. The report said Palubinksy accrued and used paid time off after his retirement on May 30, 2015 and collected associated payments at the boroughs expense.

Officials issued another report on Nov. 28, revealing that the borough may owe upwards of $163,000 to the national treasury due to improper use of COVID relief funds.

The report alleges the borough allocated relief funds towards pension fund deposits, debt service payments or legal settlements  all of which is not permitted under federal guidelines while Sajone was borough manager and Palubinksy was serving as a consultant.

The investigation is ongoing.

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Pottsville City Council fires police officer

Pottsville City Council fired Matthew Waite, the Pottsville police officer charged with assault and harassment, on June 9.

The Schuylkill Haven man had been suspended with pay since Feb. 28, the same day Schuylkill Haven Police charged him with a misdemeanor of simple assault and a summary charge for harassment.

Waite had been an officer in the city since December 2023.

Pottsville Police Chief John Morrow confirmed an internal investigation was completed, but declined to reveal the findings.
Israel, Greece, and Cyprus sign 2026 trilateral work plan for military cooperation, December 28, 2025. (photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON

The force would not be a permanent standing unit but one that could be deployed quickly in times of crisis on land, at sea, or in the air.

Israel, Greece, and Cyprus have signed a trilateral work plan for military cooperation for 2026, the IDF told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.

Although the signing took place last week in Nicosia, Cyprus, the military only revealed the development on Sunday.

The Israeli delegation was led by the IDF's International Cooperation Division chief Brig. Gen. Amit Adler, who met with his Greek and Cypriot counterparts.

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Among other things, the plans include joint exercises and training, working groups in various fields, and strategic military dialogue on issues of joint interest.

The signing of the plans constitutes another step in deepening military cooperation among the countries and contributes to strengthening stability, security, and peace in the eastern Mediterranean region, the IDF said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, December 22, 2025. (credit: MA'AYAN TOAF/GPO)

Initiative meant to deter Turkey's military activity in the region

The concept the three countries discussed envisions a unit of about 2,500 personnel, some 1,000 soldiers each from Greece and Israel, and 500 from Cyprus, Greek news site Tanea reported.

Senior officials from Israel, Greece, and Cyprus were discussing the possibility of establishing a rapid-response force composed of units from each of their armed forces, the Post reported on December 18.

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The initiative is part of a broader effort to deter Turkeys military and strategic activities in the Eastern Mediterranean, three sources told the Post.

The force would not be a permanent standing unit but one that could be deployed quickly in times of crisis on land, at sea, or in the air.

There is significant involvement from the Israel Air Force, the International Cooperation Division, and the Israel Navy, coordinated through interservice and government channels, a person familiar with the matter told the Post.

Last week, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides came to Israel for a summit with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the developments.

Amichai Stein contributed to this report.
A 57-year-old man faces felony charges after officials said he recklessly caused a September wreck that injured two Lubbock County Sheriff's Deputies at a south Lubbock overpass.

Gregory Vaught was booked Dec. 20 into the Lubbock County Detention Center.

More: Lawsuit filed against company, driver in south Lubbock crash that injured deputies

Jail records state he was arrested Nov. 25 in Watseka, Illinois, about a week after a Lubbock County grand jury returned an indictment against him, charging him with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony that carries a punishment of two to 20 years in prison.

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His charges stem from a Texas Department of Public Safety investigation into a Sept. 8 crash on the overpass at the intersection of I-27 and 98th Street that injured two Lubbock County Sheriff's deputies.

The Lubbock Police Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety are investigating a crash that injured two Lubbock County Sherriff's Deputies helping a stranded motorist on top of an overpass at the intersection of 98th Street and U.S. 87.

Lubbock County Sheriff Kelly Rowe said in a news conference a day after the crash that the deputies - 49-year-old Andrew Cavasos and 36-year-old Jorge Martinez - were helping divert traffic at the top of the overpass on the interstate to protect Brandon and Zane Martinez, who were changing a tire on the shoulder of the overpass.

Officials said a semi-trailer rear-ended one of the patrol vehicles, pushing it toward the deputies and pinning them against a concrete barrier.

Cavasos was pushed partially over the overpass but was pinned to the wall, which kept him from falling.

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As the deputy dangled over 98th Street, patrons at a nearby gas station rushed to the scene and held on to Cavasos to keep him from falling as Martinez was unable to reach him, according to a Lubbock police news release.

Rowe said during the news conference that a briefing from the Lubbock Police Department and DPS investigators indicated that the driver of the 18-wheeler, later identified as Vaught, got distracted while trying to reconnect a Bluetooth device.

"(He) didn't look up in time until he ended up rear ending both of the sheriff's vehicles there on the overpass," Rowe said.

A civil suit against Vaught and his employers was filed shortly after the crash and is pending in the 99th District Court.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Truck driver charged in September crash that injured Lubbock deputies
Approximately half of the recommendations in Project 2025 have become official policies, presidential directives or overall goals of the Trump administration in the first 12 months of President Donald Trumps second term.

The nearly 1,000-page ultra-conservative policy blueprint emerged from the Heritage Foundation think tank in 2023 and was widely seen as a possible manifesto for a second Trump turn despite denials by the candidate himself and many of those around him.

Filling the federal workforce with political appointees, phasing out the Department of Education, rolling back major Biden administration-era policies on climate change, axing diversity polices and offices, as well as ramping up immigration deportations, were some of the major policy changes that aligned with the conservative mandate.

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Its an unsurprising finding, given that major Trump administration officials are authors or contributors to Project 2025, including Office of Management and Budget director Russell Vought, border czar Tom Homan, FCC chairman Brendan Carr, CIA director John Ratcliffe, trade adviser Peter Navarro, SEC chairman Paul Atkins and many more.

Yet, the president appeared to downplay his understanding of it in June 2024 when he declared, I know nothing about Project 2025 and I have no idea who is behind it.

Many of Trumps executive orders appear to align closely with Project 2025s recommendations (Getty Images)

Here are the areas where The Independent found Trump administration polices that reflected ideas set out in the 887 pages of Project 2025.

The federal workforce

Project 2025s recommendations regarding the restructuring of the executive office and federal workforce have some of the most significant overlap with the Trump administrations agenda.

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The overall goal for the federal workforce, specifically within the executive branch, was to remove career civil servants and ensure that most employees are aligned with the presidents agenda while also reducing the size of the workforce by making cuts to grants and funding.

Project 2025 called for reinstating Trumps first-term executive order, making 50,000 employees easier to dismiss by classifying them under Schedule F, designating them as at-will roles which made it easier to fire them. Trump did that on day one. Also successfully implemented was Project 2025s call for the Office of Personnel Management to take more control over the federal workforce hiring process.

Thousands of federal employees have been forcibly removed from their positions through reductions-in-force at the hands of the Trump administration  though Project 2025 does encourage the president to be wary of such (AFP via Getty Images)

While the Department of Government Efficiency was not part of Project 2025, its swift efforts to make sweeping cuts have helped cut down the workforce. Approximately 317,000 employees have left government jobs.

In addition, Project 2025 calls for the president to exert more authority over the executive branch by pushing for the Supreme Court to overturn a precedent that prohibits the president from firing individuals. The high court is currently considering this case.

Cuts to grants and funding

Project 2025 recommends that nearly every government department and agency conduct thorough reviews of grants and contracts to ensure no money is being allocated to projects that do not align with the presidents agenda.

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Trump has fulfilled that goal, first by attempting to freeze all grants and then by taking a steadier approach to cutting back funding for polices or projects he does not agree with. Much of that impacted the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Throughout the year, the administration has cut funding to nonprofits or organizations embarking on green energy projects, as well as scrapping research projects aimed at renewable energy.

Project 2025 explicitly asks the administration to cut funding to public media such as NPR, PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting  all of which the president has done.

Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon have vowed to shut down the Department of Education and move its functions to separate departments  a suggestion from Project 2025 (REUTERS)

Education

Trump and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon have made it clear they intend to phase out the Department of Education  a suggestion Project 2025 clearly recommends.

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While completely shutting down the department requires an act of Congress, Project 2025 lists ways the administration can reduce the departments powers. The Trump administration has turned many of those suggestions into policy.

That includes getting rid of Bidens student loan forgiveness policy, removing protections for transgender or nonbinary students, scrapping diversity initiatives, and promoting parents choice.

Trump also implemented Project 2025s call for the administration to withhold or review accreditation for colleges and universities that adopt DEI policies or are not deemed to be doing enough to protect religious freedom.

Immigration

Project 2025s policies on harsher immigration policies are synonymous with the Trump administration and, if anything, the president has taken further steps to crack down on legal and nonlegal immigration than the mandate suggests.

Cracking down on immigration has been a staple policy of the administration  both a promise from Trumps campaign and a suggestion from Project 2025 (Getty Images)

The president has tightened restrictions on foreign-born worker visas, penalized sanctuary cities, directed harsher penalties against undocumented immigrants with criminal records, expanded countries with travel bans and sought to redefine birthright citizenship (though Project 2025 does not call for that.)

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Project 2025 asks the president to consider utilizing the National Guard or other military personnel to assist in immigration operations along the border and to consider increasing federal law enforcement presence in sanctuary cities.

Trump has taken up both suggestions and also combined them to deploy the National Guard in cities conducting immigration operations.

DEI and protections for LGBTQ+

The Trump administration quickly fulfilled Project 2025s goal of removing all mentions of diversity, equity and inclusion in department policies, but it has also taken up suggestions to punish those who participated in promoting DEI.

Trump also removed protections for transgender individuals by redefining sex and gender to no longer include nonbinary or trans people, which Project 2025 calls for.

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The administration also restored a former Trump administration policy that prohibits transgender individuals from serving in the military and eliminated a Biden-era policy to protect transgender student-athletes.

Democrats including Colorado governor Jared Polis used warnings about Project 2025 to try to sway voters away from Trump  however, the president distanced himself from the Heritage Foundations mandate (AFP/Getty)

The administration has taken up other specific suggestions in Project 2025, such as eliminating Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood, modernizing nuclear facilities, and removing environmental protections to increase oil and gas drilling.

Going into 2026, the administration is likely to take up other suggestions in Project 2025 that it wasnt able to implement swiftly  namely, implementing policies and goals that combat China.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday visited a command post of the Russian Armed Forces and his remarks there that if Ukraine refuses to end things peacefully, Russia would meet the challenges with force, as reported by TASS. RT reported that Putin said, "If Kiev does not want peace, Russia will achieve all Special Military Operation goals by military means". Putin said that the establishment of a buffer zone on the Russian-Ukrainian border is proceeding well, and that Russian Armed Forces are advancing in Donbass and the Zaporozhye Region along the entire line of engagement. Putin made the remarks after his meeting with Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov and the commanders of the battle groups. He also heard on the liberation of Gulyaipole in the Zaporozhye Region and Dimitrov in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) as per TASS. It further reported that the remarks by the head of state and the Chief of the General Staff highlighted that the regime leaders in Kiev are in "no hurry" to resolve the conflict peacefully. His remarks came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated that the territories which Russia occupied during the four-year-long running war and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) are "red lines" for Ukraine, emphasising that any sensitive decisions would require consultation with the Ukrainian people through a referendum or legislative changes, ahead of his meeting with US President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday. In a series of posts on X, Zelenskyy, while en route to the US, said that Ukraine aims to minimise unresolved issues in any future settlement but underscored that questions related to territory, the Zaporizhzhia NPP, and national sovereignty remain highly sensitive. He emphasised that strong security guarantees are Ukraine's top priority in any peace process. (ANI)
A Trump administration official credited the president with making small business owners excited to pay their taxes thanks to tax cuts and less regulation.

Kelly Loeffler, administrator of the Small Business Administration, told Fox Newss Sunday Morning Futures that small business optimism is above its 52-year average.

Loeffler said a lot of the optimism is due to the Working Families Tax Cut in Donald Trumps One Big Beautiful Bill.

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Small businesses finally have certainty about what their tax rates going to be, Loeffler said. That 20% pass-through deduction, now the 179 expensing that means higher limits on the ability to expense immediately for purchases they make in capital equipment, and also R&D expensing.

Those factors, according to Loeffler, actually have small business owners jazzed about writing a check to Uncle Sam.

I dont think small business owners have ever been so excited to pay their taxes thanks to President Trump! Loeffler said. He brought us the blue collar boom in his first term, and now hes going to add to that the small business boom.

Host Cheryl Casone, in for Maria Bartiromo, asked Loeffler about those onerous federal regulations under the Biden administration, and whether removing them could be another way to boost the health of small business.

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Absolutely. Regulation is a tax on a small business, and under President Trump in his first year, about $200 billion in regulations have been cut, Loeffler said.

The SBAs goal for 2026 is to make sure that small businesses are able to have relief after four very active years of regulating under Joe Biden that heaped trillions of dollars on the backs of small businesses, Loeffler said. So, were leading a strike force at the SBA to roll back even more regulations.

Loeffler has been criticized for aggressively cutting staff at the SBA, and for rolling back Biden administration changes aimed at easing access to credit for the smallest enterprises, The New York Times reported.

The changes are especially problematic for Black, Hispanic and immigrant entrepreneurs, the report continued. In the name of eradicating diversity, equity and inclusion practices, the Small Business Administration is shedding programs aimed at helping disadvantaged businesses, including those run by women.

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Watch above via Sunday Morning Futures on Fox News.

The post Trump Official Brags On Fox News: I Dont Think Small Business Owners Have Ever Been So Excited to Pay Their Taxes! first appeared on Mediaite.
PALM BEACH, Florida  President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emerged from more than two hours of talks on Sunday expressing optimism that they were on the precipice of a peace deal to end the largest war in Europe in 80 years.

A few more weeks, Trump suggested, could be all that is needed to iron out the remaining, critical sticking points.

But the bilateral press conference also revealed that for all the optimism, there remain several major obstacles to a lasting peace, not least of which is the agreement of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has not commented publicly on the latest 20-point plan.

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Other major issues include control of Ukraines Donbas region, firming up American postwar security guarantees and determining the timing and sequencing of any potential ceasefire, which Putin opposes.

I think we'll get it done, Trump said following the meeting at his Mar-a-Lago estate. I don't want to say when, but I think we're going to get it done.

Zelenskyy said he believed the U.S. and Ukraine were 90 percent agreed on the revised 20-point peace plan and 100 percent agreed on security guarantees, though the details of what that would entail have not been made public.

Trump, however, acknowledged that an impasse remains over the contested Donbas region, which Zelenskyy has proposed be left as a free economic zone while Putin has pushed to claim the entire region.

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Asked if he and Zelenskyy had agreed on what would happen to the contested territory, Trump said the word agreed is too strong.

I would say not agreed but we're getting closer to an agreement on that, Trump said.

Trump suggested that it may be in Ukraines interest to make a deal soon before Russia, which has far greater resources, captures more territory.

Some of that land is maybe up for grabs, but it may be taken over the next period of a number of months, Trump said. And you're better off making a deal now.

At the very least, Zelenskyy emerged from Sundays meeting presenting a more united front with Trump than he did after their last sit-down at the White House this fall.

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The president praised Ukraines leader for his courage in seeking peace and offered to travel to Kyiv to address the countrys parliament in the event of a future vote over land concessions in exchange for peace.

But for all Zelenskyys work to show that Ukraine is the only party in the conflict making real concessions in pursuit of peace, Trump continued to assert that Putin wants to see [the war] end despite Russias ongoing bombardment of Ukraines largest cities, including a major assault on Kyiv just a day earlier.

He even claimed that Putin, who he spoke to by phone before meeting with Zelenskyy, was very generous in his feeling toward Ukraine succeeding [after the war ends], including supplying energy, electricity and other things at very low prices. Trump said it sounds very strange but that Russia wants to help Ukraine rebuild.

Zelenskyy rolled his eyes, chuckled and looked a bit befuddled by the suggestion but did not dispute Trump.

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The president was noncommittal when asked before his meeting with Zelenskyy if the billions Europe holds in Russia frozen assets would go to Moscow or to Ukraine to rebuild after the war ends.

Trump said that working groups would accelerate talks with Ukraine and, separately, with Russia. The U.S. contingent, he said, would include special envoy Steve Witkoff, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine and possibly Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, among others.

He also praised the group of European heads of state, several of whom he and Zelenskyy spoke with by phone during their meeting, for their ongoing support and efforts to continue to provide Ukraine with billions in defense aid as well as postwar commitments for security guarantees aimed at deterring Russian aggression.

Zelenskyy said that Trump could host him, as well as European leaders, at the White House in the coming weeks and the president added it could be in Washington or someplace.

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But when asked what he would do should talks sputter in the coming weeks, Trump did not threaten to ratchet up pressure on Russia or provide additional support to Ukraine. Rather, he suggested that he could wash his hands and walk away.

If things don't happen, they keep fighting and they keep dying, he said. And we don't want that to happen.

Speaking to the press earlier in the afternoon as he welcomed Zelenskyy in the driveway of his Florida estate, Trump walked back his past comments imposing various deadlines for negotiations and said he didnt have a hard deadline for a deal but asserted that talks are now in the final stages.

Were going to see  otherwise [the war is] going to go on for a long time. It will either end or its going to go on a long time and millions of additional people are going to be killed, millions.

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Trump also said that intended to call Putin a second time after sitting down with Zelenskyy.

Zelenskyy has worked in recent weeks with European leaders and Trumps top two interlocutors, Witkoff and Kushner to revise an initial 28-point plan offered by the White House.

Zelenskyy said it was important to travel to the U.S. to discuss the plan with Trump in person to try to make progress on several unresolved issues, including territorial concessions in the Donbas, future control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and nailing down the specific American security guarantees that would serve as a deterrent to Russia eventually resuming the war.

We want peace, and Russia demonstrates a desire to continue the war, Zelenskyy told reporters on Saturday prior to arriving in Florida. If anyone  whether the U.S. or Europe  is on Russias side, this means the war will continue.

Veronika Melkozerova contributed to this report.
The United States launched more than a dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles on Nigeria on Christmas Day after President Donald Trump accused the West African countrys government of failing to protect persecuted Christians.

U.S. military officials said the attack, which they said was coordinated with Nigerian authorities, targeted ISIS-linked groups that Trump has accused of targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries.

But the strikes follow the Trump administrations drastic reduction of the number of refugees admitted into the United States each year, while adding Nigeria to a growing list of countries where travel and immigration into the country has been severely restricted.

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Over the last decade, Nigerians received an average of 128,000 immigrant and nonimmigrant visas on an annual basis, nearly all of which will now face severe restrictions, blocking most legal pathways into the country, according to an analysis from the American Immigration Council.

Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, has long been plagued by violence, and analysts and local officials have argued that Nigerians of many faiths  including Christians and Muslims  have suffered under the web of armed groups in conflicts that the Trump administration has now waded into.

The US military launched Christmas Day airstrikes in Nigeria after the Trump administration accused the government of failing to stop ISIS-linked groups from targeting Christians (AP)

The Trump administrations operation appears to follow a months-long narrative from Republican officials and Trump-aligned Christian evangelical groups that Christians are the targets. Last month, the president suggested the United States could enter the country guns-a-blazing, and he has since promised more attacks if the slaughter of Christians continues.

The Christmas strikes hit Sokoto State, a majority-Muslim area where recent violence is linked to a group called Lakurawa, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project. Some analysts have linked the group to the Islamic state while others have argued a connection to a rival al-Qaeda outfit Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin.

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Trumps targeting of the area, coupled with the American narrative, is politically convenient, according to Mustapha Alhassan, a security analyst in Nigeria who spoke to The Washington Post.

Nigerians would welcome the help if it was hitting precise targets, he said. But that doesnt seem to be what is happening. All of this is to what end?

In October, Trump designated Nigeria a country of particular concern under the U.S. International Religious Freedom Act.

The largely symbolic label is given to countries that have engaged in severe violations of religious freedom and instructs nations to take targeted responses to violations of religious freedom.

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Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said that the characterization of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality, nor does it take into consideration the consistent and sincere efforts of the government to safeguard freedom of religion and beliefs for all Nigerians.

The Trump administration has meanwhile severely restricted Nigerians from traveling into the US and cut off legal immigration pathways as it overhauls the nations refugee system (REUTERS)

At the same time, the Trump administration is limiting the number of refugees admitted into the United States each year  and handing most of those limited slots to white South Africans.

Refugee admissions will now explicitly prioritize Afrikaners for resettlement, and the ceiling for admissions has been radically reduced from 125,000 people to only 7,500 for the next year.

The move represents a stark break from a refugee policy informed by humanitarian needs, not ideology or identity, according to refugee resettlement groups.

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The administrations latest expansion of the travel ban bars people from an additional seven countries from entering the United States on immigrant and non-immigrant visas, while Nigeria has been added to a list of countries banned from all immigrant visas and all tourist, student, and exchange visitor visas.

U.S. officials are using the language of security to justify blanket exclusions that punish entire populations, rather than utilizing individualized, evidence-based screening, Global Refuge president Krish OMara Vignarajah said earlier this month in response to the expanded travel ban.

Security is essential, but it demands precision, Vignarajah added. Blanket bans only serve to weaken our system by replacing careful vetting with collective punishment.
Following the report, officers from the Coordination and Liaison Administration provided immediate protection to the Israelis and coordinated their transfer to the IDF through established

Two Israelis were rescued after the Civil Administration received reports of them entering a garage on the outskirts of Tulkarm in the West Bank, the administration said in a Sunday statement.

Following the report, officers from the Coordination and Liaison Administration provided immediate protection to the Israelis and coordinated their transfer to the IDF through established channels.

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A preliminary inquiry showed that the two entered a garage in the area while under the influence of alcohol," the statement read, noting that the incident has since been transferred to Israel Police.

Israeli security forces at the scene near the city of Tulkarm in the West Bank, September 11, 2025. (credit: Tal Gal/Flash90)

Border Police officer enters Palestinian village near Hebron to visit boyfriend

Previously, a female Border Police officer illegally entered Yatta, a Palestinian village near Hebron, while wearing her uniform in order to visit her boyfriend on Thursday.

The IDF later corroborated the report, confirming that security forces operated to rescue her and that no injuries were reported.

The officer, based in the West Bank, was picked up by a Palestinian vehicle, Israeli public broadcaster KAN News reported. Army Radio's Doron Kadosh noted that she was picked up near Kiryat Arba.

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Security officials contacted Palestinian officials in order to locate her, Kadosh reported.

She was carried out on a stretcher by her Palestinian boyfriend and transferred to security forces outside Yatta, Kadosh reported.
The protesters, a group of young right-wing nationalists, took to the streets to mark five years since the death of hilltop youth Ahuvia Sandak.

Two Israel Police officers were lightly injured after they were hit with stones thrown during a protest in Jerusalem on Saturday night.

Two protesters have been arrested, Ynet reported later on Saturday.

The protesters, a group of young right-wing nationalists, took to the streets to mark five years since the death of hilltop youth activist Ahuvia Sandak.

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Police said dozens of protesters began blocking roads at the entrance to Israel's capital, adjacent to the Chords Bridge, causing a disruption to public order.

According to Ynet, protesters have also blocked the light rail.

Young hilltop youth block roads in Jerusalem

Footage shared by police shows the protesters, a young group of religious Jews, blocking key roads at Jerusalem's entrance and halting traffic in the city.

Footage shared by police shows the protesters, a young group of religious Jews, blocking key roads in Jerusalem, December 27, 2025 (ISRAEL POLICE)

After declaring the protests to be unlawful, police attempted to evacuate the demonstrators to the sidewalk, who hurled stones at the officers in response, lightly injuring two.

Police forces operated at the scene to restore order as traffic in and out of city was blocked intermittently.
A trip to President Donald Trump's Florida resort by Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy failed to cement a peace plan for his war-torn nation as Trump said progress was made but "very thorny" question remain unresolved.

Trump and Zelenskyy said the vast majority of a peace deal had been finalized after a day of intense negotiations that included an extensive phone conversation between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

An agreement "is very close," Trump said, but he later acknowledged that negotiations had been difficult and might not produce results. "Its possible it doesnt happen," he added.

Staff and security agents wait for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's arrival to meet U.S. President Donald Trump at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla. on Dec. 28, 2025. A machine-gun mounted U.S. Coast Guard boat turns away recreational boaters in the water near U.S. President Donald TrumpOs Mar-a-Lago club ahead of his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the club in Palm Beach Fla. on Dec. 28, 2025. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky checks his cell phone as he arrives to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club on Dec. 28, 2025 in Palm Beach, Fla. Trump invited Zelensky to his private club to work on a U.S.-proposed peace plan to end the war in Ukraine as the conflict approaches four years since the sudden full-scale invasion by Russia on February 24, 2022. President Donald Trump greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy upon his arrival for meetings at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach Fla. on Dec. 28, 2025. PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 28: U.S. Donald Trump greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at his Mar-a-Lago club on Dec. 28, 2025 in Palm Beach, Fla. Trump invited Zelensky to his private club to work on the U.S.-proposed peace plan to end the war in Ukraine, as the conflict approaches four years since the sudden full-scale invasion by Russia on February 24, 2022. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy take questions from the media upon Zelenskiy's arrival for meetings at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach Fla. on Dec. 28, 2025. President Donald Trump welcomes Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach Fla. on Dec. 28, 2025. News reporters work near U.S. President Donald TrumpOs Mar-a-Lago club ahead of his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the club in Palm Beach Fla. on Dec. 28, 2025. President Donald Trump, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine and White House Chief of Staff Susan Wiles, meets with a Ukrainian delegation led by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at TrumpOs Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach Fla. on Dec. 28, 2025. President Donald Trump speaks during the meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at his Mar-a-Lago club on Dec.28, 2025 in Palm Beach, Fla. Trump invited Zelensky to his private club to work on the U.S.-proposed peace plan to end the war in Ukraine as the conflict approaches four years since the sudden full-scale invasion by Russia on February 24, 2022. Turkey vultures gather on the sand across the water from U.S. President Donald TrumpOs Mar-a-Lago club ahead of his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the club in Palm Beach Fla. on Dec. 28, 2025. Trump and Zelenskyy work on Ukraine peace plan at Mar-a-Lago 1 of 11 Staff and security agents wait for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's arrival to meet U.S. President Donald Trump at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla. on Dec. 28, 2025.

Among the toughest questions are territorial concessions, or as Trump described it, "the land." Ukrainian leaders have resisted ceding land to Russia, but Trump said their position could weaken.

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"Some of that land may be up for grabs," Trump said. "But it may be taken over the next period of a number of months, and youre better off making a deal now."

Trump spoke with Putin before welcoming Zelenskyy at Mar-a-Lago

Zelenskyy emphasized areas of agreement between U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators in a 20-point peace plan that has emerged out of negotiations, reiterating his comments leading up to the meeting that they are aligned on 90% of the deal.

But he noted that the question of how to handle contested territory is a "very difficult question."

"We have to respect our law and our people," Zelenskyy said. "We respect the territory which we control."

One potential compromise on disputed areas, in the form of a demilitarized free trade zone, remains "unresolved," Trump said.

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Though Trump and Zelenskyy projected optimism that a deal could be reached, it was not clear whether Putin would accept any peace plan that emerges. Putin said in a news conference Dec. 19 that Russia's terms for ending the war havent changed, and he did not show any signs of being willing to compromise.

Trump spoke with Putin before welcoming Zelenskyy to Mar-a-Lago, describing the call in a social media post as "very productive." The president said he planned to call Putin again after his talk with Zelenskyy.

Windows have been broken in an apartment inside a residential building badly damaged during Russian missiles and drones strikes, on Nov. 25, 2025, in Kyiv, Ukraine. A Russian missile and drone strike hit Kyiv overnight, causing civilian casualties. According to Kyiv authorities, at least 6 people died and 13 others, including one child, have been injured. The attack also led to widespread power outages in several parts of the city due to emergency measures taken by Ukraine's national energy provider, Ukrenergo. Emergency services have rescued 18 people from the rubble. In the morning, another missile strike using Kinzhal and Iskander systems was reported. This photograph shows the view from an apartment heavily damaged during Russian air attacks, on Nov. 25, 2025 in Kyiv, Ukraine. A Russian missile and drone strike hit Kyiv overnight, causing civilian casualties. According to Kyiv authorities, at least 6 people died and 13 others, including one child, have been injured. The attack also led to widespread power outages in several parts of the city due to emergency measures taken by Ukraine's national energy provider, Ukrenergo. Emergency services have rescued 18 people from the rubble. In the morning, another missile strike using Kinzhal and Iskander systems was reported. A communal worker sweeps off debris in front of a residential building that was damaged during Russian strikes, on Nov. 25, 2025 in Kyiv, Ukraine. A Russian missile and drone strike hit Kyiv overnight, causing civilian casualties. According to Kyiv authorities, at least 6 people died and 13 others, including one child, have been injured. The attack also led to widespread power outages in several parts of the city due to emergency measures taken by Ukraine's national energy provider, Ukrenergo. Emergency services have rescued 18 people from the rubble. In the morning, another missile strike using Kinzhal and Iskander systems was reported. People walk on a non-illuminated street during blackout hours in the southern city of Odesa, on Nov. 25, 2025, following Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A person walks down a non-illuminated street during blackout hours in the southern city of Odesa, on Nov. 25, 2025, following Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. People look out from the observation area overlooking the Podil neighborhood in downtown Kyiv, on Nov. 25, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian rescuers work in the damaged residential building following Russian missiles and drones strikes in Kyiv on Nov. 25, 2025, amid Russian invasion in Ukraine. Russia rained missiles and drones on Kyiv overnight, killing six people, as frantic diplomatic efforts over a draft US plan to end the war intensified. This photograph shows a crater at the site of an air attack in Zaporizhzhia, on Nov. 20, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A woman sells vegetables in a an underground passage during a blackout in Kyiv on Nov. 9, 2025, following Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. Ukrainian crews scrambled on Nov. 9, 2025 to repair damage caused by one of the most devastating Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Moscow, which has escalated attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure in recent months, launched hundreds of drones at energy facilities across the country overnight into Nov. 8, 2025. This photograph shows a fire at the site of a Russian drone strike in the city of Chuguiv, Kharkiv region, early on Nov. 7, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This photograph taken on Oct. 30, 2025 shows a destroyed apartment in a heavily damaged building following an air attack in Zaporizhzhia, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russian strikes on Ukraine overnight killed one person, wounded 17 and caused emergency power outages across the country, Ukrainian authorities said on Oct. 30, 2025. Local residents stand outside a damaged building following an air attack in Zaporizhzhia on Oct. 30, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russian strikes on Ukraine overnight killed one person, wounded 17 and caused emergency power outages across the country, Ukrainian authorities said on Oct. 30, 2025. Friends and colleagues kneel as servicemen from a guard of honor carry the coffin of late Ukrainian serviceman Kostiantyn Guzenko, 28, during farewell ceremony in central Kyiv on Nov. 7, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Kostiantyn Guzenko was a famous Ukrainian art and documentary photographer, who joined the army in early 2024 and was serving as a staff sergeant with the press service of the 35th Separate Marine Brigade. Residents collect cardboards to repair their house's windows after a drone attack on Nov. 12, 2025 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities said the area was hit by three Shahed drones, an Iranian-designed loitering munition used often by Russian forces, damaging a warehouse of the SAT transport company. Ukrainian emergency personnel work at the scene of a drone attack on Nov. 12, 2025 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities said the area was hit by three Shahed drones, an Iranian-designed loitering munition used often by Russian forces, damaging a warehouse of the SAT transport company. See life in Ukraine after more than three years of war with Russia 1 of 15 Windows have been broken in an apartment inside a residential building badly damaged during Russian missiles and drones strikes, on Nov. 25, 2025, in Kyiv, Ukraine. A Russian missile and drone strike hit Kyiv overnight, causing civilian casualties. According to Kyiv authorities, at least 6 people died and 13 others, including one child, have been injured. The attack also led to widespread power outages in several parts of the city due to emergency measures taken by Ukraine's national energy provider, Ukrenergo. Emergency services have rescued 18 people from the rubble. In the morning, another missile strike using Kinzhal and Iskander systems was reported.

Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said after the call between Trump and Putin that the two leaders do not support a push by Ukrainian and European officials for a temporary ceasefire ahead of a final deal. Trump earlier in the day brushed off a question about whether Russia's continued bombardment of Ukraine raised doubts about whether Putin is serious about peace.

"He's very serious," Trump said.

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Trump is trying to cement an agreement to end nearly four years of fighting after Russia invaded Ukraine and kicked off the largest conflict in Europe since World War II. The 20-point peace plan negotiators are trying to finalize includes security guarantees to protect Ukraine from further attacks, allows the country to keep an 800,000-troop military, provides help for rebuilding the nation's economy, and crafts a plan for membership in the European Union.

Security guarantees are the most important aspect of the potential deal, Zelenskyy said in a Dec. 27 social media post. Asked about the provision the next day before negotiations began, Trump said that "nobody even knows what the security agreement is going to say."

"There will be a security agreement," he added. "A very strong agreement. The European nations are very much involved in that."

The 20-point proposal

Trump's latest meeting with Zelenskyy comes after a roller-coaster year of negotiations to end the war. The president came into office promising a swift end to the conflict, but a deal has proven elusive, and Trump has lashed out at both sides.

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Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Zelenskyy in a televised meeting in February that ended with the Ukrainian leader booted from the White House. He returned in August for discussions that went smoothly. Their latest encounter at Mar-a-Lago was cordial, and Trump described Zelenskyy as "very brave."

Zelenskyy said the leaders discussed a follow-up meeting in January hosted by Trump that would include European officials.

Zelenskyys second trip to the White House came after Trump rolled out the red carpet for Putin Aug. 15 for a summit in Alaska. The Putin meeting didnt produce a breakthrough and alarmed European leaders, who then joined Zelenskyy at the White House.

Since then, Trump has applied more pressure on Russia with sanctions on the nations two largest oil companies.

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The latest flurry of negotiations began last month. Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner met with Putin in Moscow Dec. 2 and had a phone call with Zelenskyy on Christmas Day.

The Trump administration crafted a 28-point peace plan for Ukraine that drew criticism as being heavily tilted toward Russias interests. Ukrainian officials worked with U.S. negotiators to revise the plan and unveiled a new 20-point proposal Dec. 24.

The question of territorial concessions continues to be a sticking point, though.

A key point of disagreement is eastern Ukraines Donbas region, where Russia has sought full control, including over lands still held by Kyiv. Ukrainian leaders want to halt the conflict at current battle lines, but Zelenskyy has expressed openness to a proposal to withdraw troops in the part of the Donetsk region that Kyiv controls and create a demilitarized, free economic zone.

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Leaders in the region also have disagreed over the operation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which Russia controls. The United States proposed a joint operating agreement between Russia, Ukraine and the United States, but Ukraine and Russia each want to exclude the other. Trump said he has discussed the power plant with Putin.

Russian forces gained ground in Ukraine in 2025, steadily seizing territory. The day before Zelenskyy and Trump met, Russia unleashed a barrage of missiles and drones on Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine.

Contributing: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump and Zelenskyy say peace deal is close, but issues remain
Its often noted PragerU  which promotes politically conservative educational materials and long has been touted by former state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters  is not a real university. But the California-based nonprofit has worked a deal with a Florida university through which the university will grant college credit for taking a PragerU course.

Southeastern University, a private school in Lakeland, Florida, has partnered with PragerU on a course called American History Through Presidential Biographies. It features PragerUs five-minute videos combined with professor-built curriculum and reading materials.

PragerU has always believed in delivering serious, truthful, and values-based education, said Marissa Streit, PragerUs chief executive officer. Weve been accused of not being a real university  so we decided to fix that. Were grateful to Southeastern University for helping make PragerU materials credit-worthy.

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The PragerU videos used in the course also are free to watch.

Former state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters is a strong proponent of PragerU.

Ryan Walters' history with PragerU

Walters worked closely with PragerU during much of his two years and nine months in office. He encouraged schools to use PragerU-developed curriculum  including cartoon videos depicting its version of historical events  in classrooms.

Under his direction, the Education Department created a new "civics seal" that Oklahoma students can earn on their high school diplomas if they meet certain requirements. Joining PragerForce, PragerU's online network of "thousands of young patriots," counts toward one of the requirements.

Most prominently, Walters unsuccessfully tried to institute a so-called woke test that teachers moving into Oklahoma from Democratic-controlled states, such as California and New York, would be required to pass before being issued an Oklahoma teaching license. He said the test, dubbed the America First Assessment, would be developed by PragerU. The nonprofit debuted the test with an ad in The New York Times in August.

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The 34-question test was posted on the PragerU website, where individuals who passed the test can get a printable certificate of completion. To take the test, users were required to provide an email address and other information.

Many of the questions covered political viewpoints, civics, the Constitution, biology, gender identification and key U.S. historical figures and dates.

While the partnership between Walters and PragerU gained national attention, the deal was apparently not on paper. In October, new Superintendent Lindel Fields said no contract exists between the Oklahoma State Department of Education and PragerU.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Walters-backed PragerU says it's now connected with Florida university
Wetherspoon staff were wrong to refuse to serve gender-critical campaigners, Sir Tim Martin has said.

The co-leaders of For Women Scotland (FWS), the group that pushed for the Supreme Court ruling on the biological definition of a woman, were turned away from one of the chains Edinburgh pubs while celebrating the ruling in April.

Susan Smith and Marion Calder, who featured on the front pages after Aprils ruling, said the situation was resolved after they tipped off a local journalist about what had happened.

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The pair said the reporter phoned the Wetherspoon communications chief, who immediately called the branchs manager. The members of staff then left, Ms Calder said.

Sir Tim, the founder and chairman of the chain, told The Telegraph his staff had been wrong to refuse to serve them.

He said: If you win a court case, especially a Supreme Court case, you would expect to be allowed to celebrate in a pub, so glad they were able to do so  albeit after an initial hiccup.

Sir Tim Martin, the founder of JD Wetherspoon, told The Telegraph: If you win a court case, you should be allowed to celebrate in a pub - Tim Ireland/spoon. Photo credit should read: Tim Ireland/

The Supreme Court ruled that the term sex in the Equality Act refers to biological sex as opposed to gender identity.

Businesses and public bodies are awaiting new guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to explain their legal requirement to protect single-sex spaces.

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Despite receiving the proposed guidance more than three months ago, Bridget Phillipson, the Women and Equalities Secretary, has yet to rubber-stamp it, describing the proposed rules as trans-exclusive.

Ms Smith accused both the UK and Scottish Governments of going out of their way to thwart the judgment, adding: Phillipson in particular is trying to fudge the law by sitting on the Equality and Human Rights Commission guidance, and it is having a serious impact on women.

If Bridget Phillipson and Keir Starmer dont like what the Supreme Court did, they have the power to change it. But theyre not going to do that, because they know it would be incredibly unpopular and stupid and theyd lose support.

So instead theyre playing silly buggers and trying to change the law by stealth.

Common sense exceptions

Ms Phillipsons opposition to the EHRC guidelines was made clear in her High Court submission as an interested party in a case being brought by the Good Law Project, a non-profit organisation, which is challenging an interim version of the guidelines published earlier this year.

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In her submission, she said the guidelines failed to take into account common sense exceptions, such as pregnant women using mens loos to avoid queues at theatres.

A ruling on the case is imminent, and a Whitehall source told The Telegraph there is a growing belief that, if the Good Law Project wins its case, Ms Phillipson will tell the EHRC to reconsider its guidance.

Trina Budge, FWSs third founder, said she had asked if the group could meet Ms Phillipson just before the verdict last April, but the request was rejected.

John Swinney, the First Minister, has still not met the group despite promising to do so in March, citing the fact that FWS is in a new legal battle over Scottish ministers failure to repay the campaigners legal costs.
The calendar is about to flip from 2025 to 2026, and whether you're looking to start off the new year with a cup of coffee, a sit-down breakfast or looking for some retail therapy, consumers should have some options on New Year's Day.

Most restaurant, grocery and retail chains will be open on Jan. 1, although under adjusted hours. Banks, post offices, shipping services and the stock market, however, will be closed on the federal holiday.

Here's everything you need to know about what's open and closed on Jan. 1. Remember, it's best to check with your local Louisville store or restaurant online before leaving home, as hours and closures can vary by location.

When is New Year's Day 2026?

New Year's Day is Jan. 1.

Is Walmart open on New Year's Day?

Yes, Walmart stores will be open regular hours on Jan. 1, the company told USA TODAY.

Is Target open on New Year's Day?

Yes, Target stores will be open regular hours Jan. 1, the company confirmed to USA TODAY.

Are Costco and Sam's Club open on New Year's Day?

No, both will be closed on New Year's Day, according to the companies' websites.

Will Home Depot, Lowe's or Ace Hardware be open on New Year's Day?

Home Depot stores will open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Jan. 1, the company told USA TODAY.

Lowe's stores will open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on New Year's Day, according to the company.

Ace Hardware stores are independently owned and operated, so hours vary by location. Customers are encouraged to contact their local store for specific holiday hours.

Are pharmacies like CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid open on New Year's Day?

CVS pharmacies will be open on New Year's Day, although some locations may have reduced hours, the company told USA TODAY. The company encourages customers to call their local store before visiting or checking hours on CVS.com.

Walgreens told USA TODAY a majority of pharmacies will be closed on Jan. 1, except for 24-hour locations and other select pharmacies. The retail portion of Walgreens locations will be open regular hours.

Rite Aid locations will be open on New Year's Day with varying hours of operation, the company told USA TODAY. Customers are encouraged to check Rite Aid's website for holiday store hours.

Is the post office open on New Year's Day? Will mail be delivered?

U.S. Postal Service post offices will be closed Jan. 1, and mail will not be delivered, the USPS told USA TODAY. USPS will resume regular operations Jan. 2.

Are banks open on New Year's Day?

Branches of Capital One, Bank of America, PNC, Truist and CitiBank, among others, will be closed Jan. 1, the companies confirmed to USA TODAY. Capital One Cafes will also be closed on New Year's Day, the company said.

Are shipping services like UPS and FedEx open on New Year's Day?

UPS pickup and delivery services will not be available on New Year's Day, and UPS Store locations may be closed, according to the company's website. Customers are encouraged to check with their local stores for specific hours of operation. UPS Express Critical is available 365 days a year, according to the company. For more information, call 1-800-714-8779 or visit upsexpresscritical.com.

FedEx pickup and delivery services will also not be available Jan. 1, and FedEx Office locations will also be closed on the day, according to the company's website. FedEx Custom Critical is available 365 days a year. For more information, call 1-800-762-3787.

What retail stores are open on New Year's Day?

The following retail stores will be open on New Year's Day. Hours are listed for the companies that provided them:

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One notable retail chain that will be closed on New Year's Day is IKEA.

What grocery stores are open on New Year's Day?

The following grocery stores will be open on New Year's Day. Hours are listed for the companies that provided them.

Walmart; 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Target

Most location in the Kroger family of stores will be open (hours vary). The Kroger family of stores includes: Bakers, City Market, Dillons, Food 4 Less, Foods Co, Fred Meyer, Frys, Gerbes, Jay C Food Store, King Soopers, Kroger, Marianos, Metro Market, Pay-Less Super Markets, Pickn Save, QFC, Ralphs, Ruler and Smiths Food and Drug.

Publix; Select stores close at 7 p.m. while most others close at 8 p.m.

Meijer; 6 a.m. to midnight

Whole Foods; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

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The following grocery stores will be closed on New Year's Day:

What restaurants are open on New Year's Day?

The following restaurants will have at least some of their locations open on New Year's Day. Hours are listed for the companies that provided them.

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Carl's Jr. and Hardee's restaurants will be closed Jan. 1, the company told USA TODAY.

New Year's Day 2026: Here are 16 restaurants for your New Year's Day brunch in Louisville

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. Reach Marina Johnson at Marina.Johnson@courier-journal.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: What's open, closed on New Year's Day in Louisville? Restaurants, stores, more
US President Donald Trump on Sunday (local time) said he had a "good and very productive" phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, shortly before his scheduled meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Florida. "I just had a good and very productive telephone call with President Putin of Russia prior to my meeting, at 1:00 P.M. today, with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine," Trump wrote on Truth Social. Both leaders also agreed to speak after Trump's meeting with Zelensky, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said, CNN reported. The Kremlin also described the call positively. Kirill Dmitriev, a Kremlin envoy, said Trump's conversation with Putin was "good and very productive." He shared the update on X shortly before Trump was set to meet Zelenskyy at Mar-a-Lago, where the talks were expected to take place in the resort's main dining room. The phone call, which lasted 1 hour and 15 minutes, came hours after Russia launched a major attack on Kyiv, killing two people and injuring at least four others. CNN reported that this was the first direct conversation between Trump and Putin since October call this year, when both leaders had agreed to hold a summit in Budapest. That proposed meeting was later cancelled by Trump, who said it would be a waste of time. Zelenskyy arrived in the United States on Sunday to meet Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Before sitting down with the US president, the Ukrainian leader held consultations with NATO and European Union allies as part of his diplomatic outreach, CNN reported. Earlier in the day, Zelenskyy spoke by phone with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, briefing him on preparations for the Trump meeting and the latest developments on the battlefield. In a post on X, Zelenskyy said, "Thank you, Keir, for the constant coordination! I started my morning in Florida today with a detailed phone call with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. We discussed preparations for the meeting with President Trump, as well as all our contacts with European partners. I informed him on the situation on the frontline and on the consequences of Russian strikes. We greatly value the United Kingdom's support. We will stay in contact!" Zelenskyy also said the coming days could be crucial for efforts to end the war, even as Russia continues to step up missile and drone attacks across Ukraine amid intense diplomatic activity. Russia is not represented at Sunday's meeting in Florida, and there is still no clarity on whether Moscow is ready to accept an immediate ceasefire. Trump has earlier said that both Russia and Ukraine have, at times, acted as obstacles to peace. A day before the meeting, Putin warned that Russia would continue its military campaign if talks failed. According to Russian state media cited by CNN, the Russian president said that "if Kyiv is not willing to resolve the matter peacefully, Russia will accomplish all the aims of the special military operation by military means." (ANI)
Newly declassified documents have revealed the White Houses concern over a potential photograph of Bill Clinton shaking Gerry Adams hand during his landmark 1995 visit to Belfast.

The papers, released annually by the National Archives in Dublin, detail extensive diplomatic efforts between Irish and US officials to meticulously plan the Clintons trip to the island of Ireland.

Among the discussions were considerations regarding whether the presidential couple should stay overnight in Northern Ireland. Furthermore, a genealogy experts research, commissioned as part of the preparations, dismissed suggestions of Mr Clintons Co Fermanagh ancestry as "fantasy," though acknowledging possible roots elsewhere in Ulster.

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The Clintons itinerary saw them visit Northern Ireland before travelling to Dublin, with a reception scheduled for November 30 at Whitla Hall, Queen's University in Belfast.

Bill Clinton shook hands with the public on the Shankhill Road during his 1995 visit (Adam Butler/PA)

A letter from the Irish joint secretary of the Anglo-Irish Secretariat, David Donoghue, sent to Sean O hUiginn at the Anglo-Irish Division, said that the Americans originally wanted to hold the reception and confine it to 120 people.

He said the British side insisted that the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Patrick Mayhew, should host it, which was agreed, and the guest list was expanded to 300 people.

The ostensible intention is to enable the president to meet a wider range of people in Northern Ireland he wrote on November 28 1995.

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The real purpose, of course, is to de-emphasise the political nature of the occasion and to create a broader community event which, the British calculate, will make it easier for unionists to attend alongside Sinn Fein.

Mr Donoghue said that the representatives would form pods at the reception  a UUP pod, an Alliance pod etc  determined on a pro rata basis in light of respective electoral strengths.

In other words, each will form a distinct cluster of people to whom the president will be introduced in turn (on the lines of Buckingham Palace receptions).

He also said that Peter Bell, from the Northern Ireland Office, had indicated the Americans would prefer to avoid a handshake photograph between the president and Adams.

Bill Clinton made a speech in Dublin during the trip (John Giles/PA)

He also said that while one-on-one meetings had been planned with John Hume in Derry and David Trimble in a car journey after the reception at Queens, there was a general US reluctance to meet one-on-one with Adams, Ian Paisley, or John Alderdice.

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The general assumption, however, is that the president will take relevant individuals aside for separate private conversations on the margins of the reception.

The two men shook hands for the first time in March of that year at the White House, as part of events held to mark St Patricks Day  but after photographers had left the room.

Mr Clinton was reportedly put under pressure at the time from then British prime minister John Major not to give Mr Adams a warm embrace at the luncheon, according to the New York Times.

On the morning of November 30, before the reception in Belfast that evening, Mr Clinton met Mr Adams on the Falls Road in Belfast.

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As he left his car he paused to shake Mr Adamss hand  a moment captured by an official White House photographer.

Mr Clinton would later say of the handshake that it was a big deal and it felt at the time as though the pavement was about to crack open.

Plans for the Clintons visit to Dublin, from December 1-2 1995, show that a US embassy official estimated that there was a 50/50 chance the visit would go ahead.

An Irish genealogy expert also said claims that Clinton had Cassidy ancestors, who were from Co Fermanagh, were based largely on fantasy  but the White House still wanted Cassidy aspects added to the visit.

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It had been claimed that Mr Clinton had Irish ancestry through his mother, Virginia Cassidy.

Genealogist Sean Murphy, from Bray, Co Wicklow, undertook the task of tracing Bill Clintons Irish ancestry after media dissemination of claims concerning the presidents Irish ancestry which proved to be baseless, yet were left un-contradicted by any authoritative source.

He told the taoiseachs office that the earliest trace of the presidents maternal ancestors of this line is probably Zachariah Cassidy, born in about 1750-60 in South Carolina, and his son Levi.

The Cassidy clan claim that the earliest ancestor was a Luke or Lucas Cassidy of Roslea, Co Fermanagh, appears to be based largely on fantasy, he wrote on October 16.

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The biblical forenames Zachariah and Levi suggest a Protestant, and probably Presbyterian or Dissenter, as opposed to Catholic origin, and it is reasonable to speculate that the Cassidys would have been most likely to have emigrated to America from an Ulster county.

In notes of a meeting with the US embassy held three days later, Irish officials said that a planned stop off in Lismore, Co Fermanagh, was being dropped, but the White House was still interested in using the Cassidy connection in a low-key way.

They said this could mean casually passing a Cassidy premises.

Mr Clinton would go on to visit Cassidys Bar in Dublin for an hour during the 1995 trip.

This article is based on documents contained in the file labelled 2025/115/827 in the National Archives of Ireland.
University of Georgia (UGA) Ph.D. candidate Erin Ulrey and a team of researchers sprinkled cracked corn over an open field at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, S.C., where they waited for wild turkeys to emerge from the hardwood forest.

"Some days, you may get lucky," said Ulrey. "Some days, you might not see any."

But food is scarce in the winter, and the turkeys are hungry. Once an unsuspecting flock waddled into their trap, the team fired a few rockets into the air, trapping about seven turkeys in a weighted net about the size of a backyard swimming pool.

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Quickly, they isolated each bird into a turkey-tailored cardboard box, and slipped child-sized socks over their heads to prevent cries of distress that could set off a flock-wide panic. Dodging the sickled spurs jutting from the males' heels, the team banded their left legs and strapped backpacksa paracord-like rope tied to a GPSonto their wings. An antenna sticks out of each radio-turkey, which can carry them around for up to a couple of years, Ulrey observed.

UGA and Louisiana State University (LSU) researchers began GPS-tracking wild turkeys about 15 years ago, when they noticed a two-decade decline across Southeast and Midwest populations, said UGA National Wild Turkey Federation Distinguished Professor Michael Chamberlain. Much of the decline is driven by habitat loss, especially of hardwood forests providing seeds and acorns crucial in winter. It's "a double hit," as Chamberlain put it.

Despite their penchant for blocking roads, wild turkeys are elusive. Brown and grey feathers blend into forest foliage; a 340-degree field of vision alerts them of predators. They can even see colors on the UV spectrum, invisible to the human eye. Researchers don't know how many wild turkeys there are in Georgia and in the country, Chamberlain said. Instead, they study other measures to assess population health, such as genetic diversity. The greater the diversity, the more resilient a population is to disaster, disease and other disturbances.

Over the past few years, Ulrey along with UGA and LSU researchers have been gathering genetic data, capturing hundreds of wild turkeys across Georgia, South Carolina and Louisiana. But instead of extracting just blood samples as the labs had usually done, they followed hens to their nests and collected egg membranes, inspired by the work of other avian-minded colleagues.

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And they discovered something unexpected.

In three sites where turkeys are hunted, it appeared that females were more likely to produce other females. That was not the case at the Savannah River Site, where hunting is prohibited. While Ulrey and Chamberlain offer some possible explanations, "we need to continue the work," said Chamberlain. "There could be multiple things that are interacting to cause observations in the natural world."

Eastern wild turkey with a sock covering its head, a hole cut out for its beak

More: Georgia likely to extend shrimp season as imports pressure mounts

The talking toms

In turkey world, male and female interactions are pretty much business-only. They flock apart for most of their lives, then come together during the spring to breed, featuring courting males' diva-like displays of gobbling, strutting and wing-dragging. As soon as a day later, hens lay their eggs, about a dozen per clutch.

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Despite the hens' patient squatting and sitting for about 28 days, just about a third of their nests are successful, said Ulrey. The rest can be lost to predation, flooding or just pure probability.

Meanwhile, the turkey toms (males) have ventured off into posses. They embark on their own tests, or flappy chest-puffing, beak-poking fights with one another. In their pecking order, the strongest toms get to reproduce with the most hens. Over half of females, on the other hand, mate with just one male, Ulrey's study showed.

Because of this mating system, Ulrey hypothesized hens would hatch more males. Toms can spread their seed more widely, and also their mother's genetics. Adult avian males also tend to exhibit higher survival rates, as nesting takes more energy and leaves stationary mothers at greater risk of predation. So, more male offspring would be evolutionarily advantageous for the mother in the long run, Ulrey and other researchers surmised.

In the field, researchers thought they could already be witnessing this phenomenon. Winter traps caught few juvenile turkeys, a "perplexing" potential sign of low population productivity, said Chamberlain. But when researchers did catch a juvenile, they tended to be male.

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"Our thinking was, maybe they're just hatching more males," said Chamberlain.

An eastern wild turkey strapped with a GPS tracker walks on the road

It's (more likely) a girl!

After winter trapping in the spring and summer, Ulrey and her team at the Savannah River Site tracked the hens to their nests in the upland pines, which provide wooded protection from predators and an understory of insects and seeds she can forage without traveling too far from her nest. In all four locations across the three states, researchers sampled over 700 egg membranes, the papery film between shell and egg that protects the embryo.

It was a scramble to get to the eggs that cooked in summer temperatures reaching the mid-90s, Ulrey recalled. Researchers monitored them daily, racing against a 24-hour clock after every egg's hatching. High heat and humidity could degrade the DNA samples past that point.

Once Ulrey analyzed the trove of DNA she helped collect for three years, she noticed a difference between the offspring at the Savannah River Site and the other study areas.

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"We were simply trying to study sex ratios, and in doing so, we found this really interesting result," said Chamberlain.

The chance of producing male offspring at the hunted sites was 47% lower than at the Savannah River Site, where hunting is prohibited.

This bias for female offspring suggests two possible explanations.

One is that stressed-out hens on hunted sites might be producing more maternal glucocorticoid hormones that are deposited into the egg yolk and impact offspring development, including the sex.

Another possibility is that males are hunted more than females.

In the spring hunting season, males are often the first to go, Ulrey said. Flamboyant, large, sporting iridescent red, white, and bluish feathers, and attracted to the gobbles a hunter might reproduce with devices, they make for an easier target than their smaller, shier female counterparts.

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And Ulrey's results reflect that trend. Adult female survival on the hunted sites proved to be higher.

As for the male advantage researchers initially predicted, it could be irrelevant in spring hunting sites. Many males were likely killed before they bred. Therefore, the evolutionary benefits of passing on their mothers' genes could have been nixed, Ulrey said.

So, hens may be adapting by producing more female offspring with higher survival in spring-hunted areas. In humans, males with XY chromosomes determine the sex of the child. But in avian species including turkeys, females determine the sex.

A clutch of hatched wild turkey eggs, to be sampled in the study

More questions than answers

Still, the findings have left researchers puzzled. Why did they catch fewer juvenile females in the winter, but find more female hatchings in the spring and summer?

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"We're losing these young females," said Chamberlain. "It's not something that can be easily explained."

Part of getting to the answer is figuring out whether the driving force behind female-biased offspring is indeed hunting pressure, Chamberlain added. More non-hunted sites will have to be tested beyond the Savannah River Site.

"We are now seeking routes to conduct research on other non-hunted populations. As you can imagine, it's not easy to find," said Chamberlain. "It's [also] just trying to get the resources, to do that work."

That's work including yet more cycles of winter trapping, spring tracking and summer number-crunching all over again.

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Jillian Magtoto covers climate change and the environment in coastal Georgia. You can reach her at jmagtoto@usatodayco.com.

This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Green South Foundation, Prentice Foundation and Journalism Funding Partners.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: More females are hatching in spring hunting grounds, one study suggests
AUSTIN (KXAN)  As a cold front pushes across Texas from the northwest, public safety agencies issued warnings about fire safety amid gusty windy conditions.

Meteorologist Rich Segal the front will push strong northwest to north wind toward Austin, with gusts exceeding 30 to 35 mph in many locations late Sunday. A Wind Advisory for all of the area starts at 6 p.m.

Gusts could reach as high as 40 to 45 mph late tonight Wind Advisory tonight through tomorrow morning

Alerts were issued on social media by agencies from across Central Texas.

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The Texas A&M Forest Service said on Facebook and on X that wildfires were possible from Wichita Falls to Lubbock and said to avoid outdoor burning.

A&Ms post included an image that warned that 90% of wildfires were caused by human activity. The image reminded Texans not to park on dry grass and to avoid dragging tow chains behind vehicles to avoid sparks.

Northeast Burnet County Fire/Rescue echoed the warnings on its social media pages, asking everyone to avoid outdoor fires.

If you will be doing any outdoor burning today, please ensure your fire is fully extinguished by 5pm, the agency said on Facebook. (Outdoor) burn (permits) will be deactivated for the day at 1pm.

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Williamson County posted information about the Wind Advisory, pointing out that unsecured objects and small tree limbs could pose a threat to safety and property.

Secure objects and use caution when driving, Preparing WilCos social media post warned.

According to drought.gov, the Austin area is experiencing moderate to severe drought conditions, and 49.6% of Texas is considered to have some level of drought.

See more about the winter weather outlook from the KXAN First Warning Weather team.

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 KXAN Austin.
Detectives are investigating after a woman was found dead in Pittsburghs North Side early Sunday morning.

A Pittsburgh Public Safety spokesperson says police, fire and EMS were called to the 100 block of Watson Boulevard in Perry North around 2 a.m. for reports of an unconscious woman.

Once on scene, first responders found a woman who was unconscious and not breathing. Medics pronounced her deceased on scene.

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The Allegheny County Medical Examiners Office identified her as Michelle Sturdivant, 44. Her cause and manner of death have not yet been determined.

The public safety spokesperson says the incident is suspicious in nature and is being investigated by Violent Crime Unit detectives.

No one has been arrested at this time.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

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Eastern red cedars surround the Rockefeller Prairie from all sides at the University of Kansas field station north of Lawrence, where researchers have studied the effects of both fire and grazing on grassland ecosystems. (Photo by Erin Socha for Kansas Reflector)

LAWRENCE  This past March, a wildfire caused by high winds and a smoldering brush pile tore through 130 acres in Yates Center, consuming the Yates Center Health and Rehabilitation Center, a senior living facility, and causing nearly $5 million in damage. All residents were safely evacuated, but their home burned to the ground.

Cowboys of Conservation

A series of articles exploring the relationship between cattle ranching and grassland conservation in Kansas. Grazing culture, from Indigenous tribes to the earliest settlers, was instrumental in both shaping and preserving the prairie ecosystems that define the state.

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Part one: The single greatest conservation threat of our lifetime

Part two: Bill Sproul, the Flint Hills, and community-based conservation

Part three: Bill Barby, developing a culture of fire in the Red Hills

Part four: Out west, an exportable conservation model in Smoky Valley Ranch

Dense stands of eastern red cedar trees near the building provided ample kindling for the blaze.

The fire jumped the road and got into the cedars, Yates Center Fire Chief Brandon Gaulding told KOAM News. It went through the cedars so fast that by the time we got to the nursing home, we tried to do everything we could to save it, but the wind was too much.

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The highly flammable trees are everywhere in Kansas, including places they never used to grow.

Ecosystems across the state are undergoing a fundamental change. Prairie is being converted to forest as trees expand across the landscape, at the expense of grassland species. Woody encroachment, as this phenomenon is known, now converts more grassland in the Great Plains than row crop agriculture. Ranchers, conservationists and ecologists in Kansas have been documenting this shift for decades.

Kansas, however, is not alone.

This is something that is happening in every grassy area on our planet right now, said Jesse Nippert, a distinguished professor of biology at Kansas State University who studies woody encroachment. Whether youre talking about the steppes up in Alaska, whether youre talking about sub-Alpine regions in Colorado, whether youre talking about the Pampas and steppes in Argentina, this is literally happening in every grassland of our planet.

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It is the single greatest conservation threat of what will be my lifetime, Nippert added.

The causes are myriad, he said. While every region has unique factors, increased atmospheric carbon on a global scale plays an enormous role, researchers like Nippert have found. Trees, especially eastern red cedar, are thriving in arid regions of Kansas where they never before survived.

As the CO2 continues to go up, the space that these plants can occupy also goes up, because now they can grow and survive on less water, he said.

Rockefeller Prairie, at the University of Kansas field station north of Lawrence, is surrounded by encroaching eastern red cedar trees. The university has conducted land management experiments involving both fire and grazing for five decades. (Photo by Erin Socha for Kansas Reflector)

The repercussions extend beyond habitat loss to larger societal impacts, Nippert said.

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Loss of rangeland for cattle is costing Kansas millions of dollars. Wildfires and tick-borne diseases are increasing, while available water has dramatically decreased. Woody species suck up more than twice as much water as grassland species, while their roots make the soils more porous, leading to further water loss. The changes are happening right down to the bedrock, Nippert said.

It is a complete change in the fabric of the ecosystem, he said.

Changes in land use are a major contributor to the increase in tree cover, but changes in land management also hold one of the keys to protecting what grassland remains, said Rob Manes, co-director of regenerative grazing lands strategy for the Nature Conservancy.

In Kansas, 15 million acres of grassland support cattle ranchers, the largest agricultural industry in the state. Regenerative grazing, a land management practice built on holistic practices such as prescribed fire and the rotation of cattle through pastures, encourages grassland resiliency and can keep species like eastern red cedar at bay.

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If we can establish a grazing regime that leaves enough residual grass to create a hot enough fire to kill cedar trees, then we increase forage for cattle, we increase drought resiliency, and we bring back lesser prairie chickens, Manes said. Economy and ecology, right there.

An eastern red cedar tree establishes a foothold on Rockefeller Prairie, an experimental site at the University of Kansas field station north of Lawrence where researchers have studied burning and grazing as tools for land management. (Photo by Erin Socha for Kansas Reflector)

Across Kansas, from the tallgrass prairie of the Flint Hills to the shortgrass prairie out west, cattle ranchers find themselves on the front lines of woody encroachment and habitat loss.

But many ranchers are fighting back.

Ranchers tend to think ecologically, said Chris Helzer, director of science and stewardship for the Nature Conservancy of Nebraska. Theyre out there living in the ranch, because they love the nature around them, and they love the complex system. And they think about how to make that complex system stay complex and work for them.

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Grasslands, it turns out, not only benefit from grazing, but they need it to survive, said Phillip Simmonds, regenerative livestock manager for the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska.

Phillip Simmonds, regenerative livestock manager for the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, says large grazing animals were fundamental to prairies evolution. (Photo by Erin Socha for Kansas Reflector)

Thats how the prairie systems evolved, Simmonds said, with a large grazing ruminant on it. So, if you dont have them, you dont have the prairies.

For centuries, wild bison filled that role. Cattle, he said, are different but can achieve the same goals.

Justin Roemer, who manages both cattle and bison on the Smoky Valley Ranch near Colby, said that when cattle are rotated and pastures arent overgrazed, they provide similar benefits to grasslands.

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If youre managing for resiliency, in that conservation strategy or regenerative way, I dont think youre going to see a difference in the way that they graze, he said. I say that because I havent seen an impact between where our cattle graze and where our bison graze.

Regenerative grazing practices can look a little different throughout the state, depending on where the ranch is located, but the fundamental principles are the same, Manes said.

Regenerative grazing is nothing new, he said. Its what nature has done with grazing lands.

But, he said: There are ways to graze that dont leave the land healthy. Regenerative grazing means the full scope of sustainable, which means that the ecosystem ends up healthy, the people who consume that animal protein that results from it end up healthy, and the economies of the communities that are involved in those enterprises are also healthy.
Some animals fared better than others this year, with antelopes, lynxes, koalas and turtles having a better year than white rhinos, arctic seals and corals, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Germany said in a report released on Sunday.

Many birds also fared worse worldwide, with bird flu particularly affecting cranes in Germany, the organization said. The decline in phytoplankton also threatens a key food element of the oceans, according to the WWF report.

The main causes of species extinction are habitat destruction, poaching, overuse, invasive species, environmental pollution and the climate crisis, said Kathrin Samson, director of nature conservation at WWF Germany.

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"But that also means that humans hold the key to solving this crisis."

Setbacks for seals, birds and white rhinos

This year's update of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of endangered species shows a "worrying trend" for birds in particular, with 61% of all bird species declining. The negative trend for the entire bird class is "alarming," the report said.

In addition, for thousands of cranes, the southward migration over Germany became their last due to bird flu.

In October, three Arctic seal species were also upgraded on the Red List. The situation is particularly critical for the hooded seal, which is now considered "critically endangered." It has not been a good year for white rhinos either. According to a survey, their population fell by 11% in 2025.

Tropical coral reefs were already among the WWF Germany's losers last year, where large scale destruction continues. Many such reefs may be lost forever if the international community does not take swift action against rising temperatures, the report stated.
Tara-Marysa Guting was more than just a Washington State Patrol trooper.

She was a doting wife and supportive sister, a dedicated best friend who always offered a shoulder to cry on, a proud pet mom and a lover of video games, fishing and crochet.

These were just some aspects of Gutings vibrant personality that loved ones shared during her memorial service at Life Center Central Campus on Saturday.

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Guting died on duty the night of Dec. 19 after being struck by a car while investigating a crash on state Route 509. She is one of 34 WSP troopers to die in the line of duty in the agencys 105 years of service.

Prior to joining the state patrol, the 29-year-old from Honolulu, Hawaii, served in the Army National Guard for eight years as a Signals Intelligence Analyst. During that time in August 2019, she married her husband, Timothy.

Her lifelong dream of joining law enforcement was fulfilled in January 2024, when she joined the Washington State Patrol. She served in District One in Tacoma with the badge number 720, a WSP press release said.

Her colleagues remember her as an enthusiastic coworker who took the time to make sure everyone around her felt seen.

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Her attitude was infectious, and it just spread like wildfire through everybody that she worked with, said WSP Sergeant Tyler Gold, a classmate of Gutings who spent their first year as troopers in Tacoma. It felt like every other day she was bringing some sort of gift or Hawaiian snacks to literally every single person in the building where we worked, just to spread a bit of joy.

Gold recalled an incident a few months ago where Guting came to help a car disabled on the side of the road that needed to be towed. The cars driver was flat broke and couldnt afford the cost of towing. If the car was impounded, he would lose his only means of transportation.

Without hesitation, Guting pulled out her wallet and paid the complete strangers tow fee on the spot, an example of her unfailing kindness, Gold said.

Gutings best friend Lily Guerrero met her for the first time at a party when she was sitting alone, scared to talk with anyone. Before Guerrero could muster the courage to get up and talk to people, Guting sat right next to her and started a conversation.

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From there a beautiful friendship emerged, and whenever the two had time for each other they made the most of it, playing video games for hours, reading books together and wandering random markets.

Tara was the person I could sit in silence with and feel completely, deeply comfortable, Guerrero said. [Tara] made the world feel softer, more funny and exceedingly more manageable just by being in it.

Guting was a big fan of the Disney character Stitch, who her siblings say exemplified her boundless energy and small-but-mighty attitude.

Theres a famous quote from the movie Lilo and Stitch: Ohana means family, family means nobody gets left behind. Guting lived her life by that sentiment, going the extra mile to show unconditional love and inclusion, her sister Shannen Tanaka said.

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We know you did not leave us behind, Tanaka said. You remain bound to us by a love that does not end, walking with us just beyond our sight until the day we are able to be together again.

The Incident

Guting was investigating an unrelated crash near milepost two on SR-509 the night of Dec. 19 when she was struck by a car and thrown into the right lane, police say.

A dark-colored pickup truck then struck Guting while she was incapacitated and drove away without stopping, police said.

The first vehicles driver remained on the scene and wasnt arrested, Chris Loftis, WSPs director of public affairs, previously said.

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The Tacoma Police Department recently impounded a vehicle believed to be the second car.

The incident is still under investigation.

Authorities encourage anyone who witnessed the collisions or have dash camera footage from southbound SR-509 near Port Tacoma Road between 7:20 p.m. and 7:30 p.m to contact Crime Stoppers.
The European Space Agency (Esa) is planning a mission to hunt for alien life on the surface of one of Saturns moons.

Scientists want to send a probe to the icy world of Enceladus, which contains a warm saltwater ocean beneath a thick frozen crust, and could harbour tiny organisms living in volcanic vents.

Enceladus  the sixth largest of Saturns 274 moons  has been a target in the search for extra-terrestrial life since Nasas Cassini spacecraft flew over it in 2005 and spotted geyser-like jets shooting water vapour and ice particles into space.

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2712 Saturn analysis

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The water plumes are coming from cracks in the icy crust which reach down to the ocean, and offer a tantalising glimpse of what is underneath. They revealed the ocean was rich in organics, salts, and essential elements for life.

A recent review of the Cassini data found that the sprays contain complex organic molecules, suggesting chemical reactions are happening deep below the ice, increasing hope that the moon is habitable.

The new mission, which is scheduled for launch in 2042 or 2043, would see a spacecraft make a soft landing on Enceladus and take samples of water raining down on to the surface from the plumes.

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1112 Saturn mission

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Dr Joern Helbert, the head of the solar system science directorate at Esa, said: In Enceladus, we have a very special case because ocean water is being expelled, so you can sample it.

It makes a super fascinating target because you have heat, you have liquid water, you have organics, so you basically have everything you would need naturally to form life.

I think there is agreement in the science communities that Enceladus is a potentially habitable world.

The team will be hunting for biosignatures  chemical fingerprints or structures that are exclusively produced by life.

For example, on Earth, amino acids and other molecules can exist in two mirror-image forms, like a pair of gloves that reflect each others shape, rather than copying it.

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But amino acids that are used to build proteins are only left-handed. They have no mirror image. Similarly, all DNA and RNA  structures which help build proteins  are made of right-handed sugars.

The concept is known as chirality, and if it were seen on Enceladus, it would hint that biological life is present.

Clusters of life could be breakthrough

Life also tends to cluster together, so if biosignatures are found in high quantities in certain areas, it could suggest living organisms are grouping together in hospitable locations.

The team has also not ruled out that life itself may get inadvertently sucked up through the ice cracks and ejected on to the surface, but say it is not as likely as finding biosignatures.

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Its a very strong speculation, and I would never say no (to finding organisms) but what we are looking for is things like complex amino acids, said Dr Helbert.

I mean, if under the microscope we see something moving, then yeah, but we would not build the mission on the assumption that we need to see something moving under our microscope.

Encedalus reflects light against a backdrop of Saturns rings - Universal Images Group via Getty Images

If life does exist on Encedalus, scientists think it could be similar to the extremophile microorganisms which live in the hydrothermal vents known as black smokers where superheated, mineral-rich water emerges from the ocean floor, forming chimneys.

Black smokers are swarming with life; from microbes which use chemicals like hydrogen sulphide instead of sunlight for energy, to giant tubeworms, clams, and scale worms that have symbiotic relationships with chemosynthetic bacteria.

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If youve ever seen the black smokers in the depths of the ocean on Earth, they are teeming with life, and there are extremophiles that dont depend on sunlight, said Dr Helbert.

It might not look like life on Earth, but life tends to cluster, and even if you dont know what life it is, if we see theres this clustering pattern, instead of just a distribution, that would again, be a very strong hint that there is life activity.

The mission will take around eight years to reach Saturns system, and then will make fly-bys of Titan, Saturns largest moon, using it for a gravity-assist to help the spacecraft drop into the orbit of Enceladus around 2055.

Enceladus is not well mapped, and it is currently unknown if the surface is hard ice or soft snow.

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The mission will spend one to two months mapping the moons South Pole, where the ice is the thinnest, to find a suitable landing spot and avoid hazards before releasing the lander.

An artists impression of the southern polar region of Enceladus, which the spacecraft will scan for a potential landing spot - Esa

If hints of life are found, then there would be follow-up missions which would seek to go beneath the surface, into the ocean itself.

Nasa is currently developing a shoal of dozens of tiny swimming robots which could explore the oceans on moons, looking for chemical and temperature signals.

The plan is to send the robots inside a nuclear-powered thermal drill which would melt the miles-thick ice, creating a tunnel so that the robot swim team can reach the liquid ocean beneath.

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Previously, scientists have tended to look for life on rocky planets like Earth, which fall in the Goldilocks Zone, where conditions are neither too hot, nor too cold for liquid water.

It is unknown if the surface of Enceladus is hard ice or soft snow - Universal Images Group via Getty/Universal History Archive

But if life is found on Enceladus it would open up the possibility that life could be present on trillions of icy worlds.

It would really redefine our definition of the habitable zone, added Dr Helbert.

The mission was funded by European science ministers at an Esa conference in November.

Dr Joseph Aschbacher, the head of Esa, said: When we talk about this we all get very excited because astrobiology is saying, if you are looking for places of life somewhere in the Solar System, outside planet Earth, this is the place you would look.

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We know from planet Earth that life is possible in darkness, without oxygen, without light.

Just imagine for a moment what this means to go there to search, possibly find traces of life. I think this is just too amazing.

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Freed on a $760,000 bail, 20-year-old Bita Shafiei spoke out after weeks in solitary confinement. Her mother is still imprisoned under alleged threats and coercion.

After a month and a half in prison, young Iranian activistBita Shafiei was released on bail on Saturday, with bail set at four billion toman (approximately $760,000). Her mother, Maryam Abbasi-Nikoo, remains in detention. Shafiei, who was 19 at the time of her arrest, reportedly turned 20 in confinement.

Shafiei, a resident of Shahinshahr in central Iran, was arrested on November 13 by Iranian security officials after posting videos deemed anti-regime and expressing support for Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi. Her mother, who had previously been detained by the authorities, was arrested shortly afterward.

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The arrests came days after Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) security officials raided the familys home while searching for Abbasi-Nikoo, who was not present at the time.

According to reports from activists, the two women were held at Dowlatabad Prison in Isfahan, where interrogators from Irans intelligence services subjected them to solitary confinement and torture.

During their detention, reports emerged that authorities were attempting to force both women to sign confessions admitting guilt, a practice long documented by human rights groups as part of the Islamic Republics repression since 1979.

Bita Shafiei has not been heard from in over two weeks after she and her mother were arrested by Iranian security officials. (credit: screenshot/section 27a copyright act)

According to a source close to the detained mother and daughter, interrogators threatened Abbasi-Nikoo that if she refused to accept dictated statements as forced confessions, they would kill her young son and abandon his body in the desert. The same source said interrogators also threatened to shoot Shafiei in the leg and falsely claim she had attempted to escape.

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After their arrest in Shahinshahr, the two were reportedly transferred to security detention centers, where they were pressured to rehearse confession scenarios prepared by interrogators.

Outrage among Iranian activists

Shafieis detention sparked outrage among activists inside Iran and in the diaspora, who launched the Free Bita campaign calling for her release. Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi condemned the arrests, describing them as part of a broader crackdown by Iranian authorities.

The abduction of Bita Shafiei and arrest of her mother, Maryam, is just the latest example of an increasingly desperate and fractured regime, Pahlavi said in a statement. As Bita herself said, I am a young woman who wants to live, not simply exist My dream is to see Iran free one day. Bita has asked us to be her voice. We will not let her down.

Shafieis case has drawn attention as emblematic of the risks faced by young women across Iran who seek to express dissent or support for opposition figures. This was not the first time she had been detained by Iranian authorities. In August 2023, she was arrested during protests against chemical attacks on schools.

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In a video circulated on social media at the time, Shafiei warned that the government thrives on instilling fear and said that without public support, the regime would not hesitate to use violence and extreme punishments against protesters.

Shafiei has also previously said she endured torture during detention, including the fracturing of her fingers during her trial.

Her mother remains in custody.
Young people in the United Kingdom say they haven't seen much of a change in their peers' vaping habits despite a ban on disposable e-cigarettes going into effect in June. The ban reportedly aimed to improve health and address environmental concerns tied to vape waste.

In mid-November, the BBC explored the progress the country has made toward its goal of reducing youth vaping. Since 2024, the use of e-cigarettes daily or occasionally among 16-24 year olds has gone down modestly.

Chloe Jennison, who is 20 and vapes, told the news outlet that young people still seem to be getting their hands on the devices, even with the ban in effect.

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"I even sit in bed vaping," said Jennison, who took up the habit to try to quit regular cigarettes. "I think they need to put warning signs like what they do on cigarette packets with the lungs. You don't really know what vaping is doing to your insides."

She thinks reducing the colors and flavors of the products and their accessibility could make a difference. That's part of what the Tobacco and Vapes Bill aims to do by restricting packaging, flavors, and the display of vapes and nicotine products. The BBC reported that the bill is "progressing through Parliament."

According to the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, the nicotine found in e-cigarettes can disrupt brain development in young people. These devices also contain thousands of other dangerous chemicals, including carcinogens like acetaldehyde and formaldehyde.

Vape materials can present environmental dangers too, especially single-use devices, which are meant to be thrown away and end up flooding landfills and dotting sidewalks as litter.

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The BBC, referencing data from the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, reported that almost five million single-use vapes were thrown away each week in 2023. And this stuff isn't just ugly to look at  discarded e-cigarettes can also leach toxic chemicals into soil systems and waterways. Meanwhile, lithium batteries from these devices are highly flammable and can create a fire hazard in landfills.

Still, there are signs of hope when it comes to e-cigarette waste in the UK. Though a waste management firm told the BBC that they had seen a 3% rise in discarded vapes incorrectly mixed in with general recyclables since the ban, a local litter cleaner in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, said that her group had seen a significant reduction in the number of discarded vapes on the ground in the last two years.

Youth vaping is an issue around the globe, and countless medical groups and nonprofits are trying to get the word out about the dangers of this addiction. For instance, MD Anderson Cancer Center has a page with information for parents to help them talk about vaping with their kids.

"As their parent, you are your child's primary teacher," the site says. "Start a conversation to find out what your child knows about vaping."

Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips to save more, waste less, and make smarter choices  and earn up to $5,000 toward clean upgrades in TCD's exclusive Rewards Club.
Trump, who is known for setting deadlines on most issues, said he has no deadline this time for a Russia-Ukraine peace deal as he welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Sunday. Speaking to reporters outside the resort, when asked whether he had set any deadline for ending the Russia-Ukraine war, Trump made it clear that he has no deadline for a peace deal this time. "I don't have deadlines. You know what my deadline is, getting the war ended," Trump said. The meeting and dinner hosted by the US President are underway at his club, with several Trump administration officials in attendance. Along with Trump, his foreign envoy Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, and others also attended the dinner. Trump confirmed that after the talks with Zelenskyy, he will hold a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He also had a one-hour-and-15-minute phone conversation with Putin before meeting Zelenskyy.Trump said he believes that both Putin and Ukraine are very serious about peace this time. When asked if he thinks Putin is serious about peace, Trump said, "Yes, I do (believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin is serious about peace this time). I think he is. I think they both are... They have to make a deal... Too many people have died, and both Presidents want to make a deal," Trump said while speaking to reporters at Mar-a-Lago. "I am also calling President Putin back after the meeting, and we will continue the negotiations, pretty complex, but not that complex," he added. The meeting comes on the heels of a massive Russian attack on Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, which killed at least two people and injured several others. (ANI)
Thats one hell of a markup.

Whoever moves into NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdanis rent-stabilized apartment in Queens will be shelling out an extra $800  or 35%  more per month than what the socialist nepo baby did, The Post has learned.

The Astoria apartment  which has quietly attracted interest from potential tenants for the past few weeks  is now commanding $3,100 per month while still remaining rent stabilized, sources said.

The newest resident for Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdanis rent-stabilized apartment in Astoria, Queens, will be paying an extra $800 per month, The Post has learned. Andrew Schwartz / SplashNews.com

Mamdani  wholl be moving into Gracie Mansion with his aloof artist wife Rama Duwaji sometime after being sworn in Jan. 1  caught a break during the seven years hes rented the one-bedroom Astoria pad, paying about $2,300 because his landlord charged him a much lower rate than what was allowed by law.

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The son of millionaire award-nominated filmmaker Mira Nair and tenured Columbia professor Mahmood Mamdani was getting whats known as a preferential rent  a temporary discounted rate landlords sometimes offer on rent-stabilized apartments to attract tenants in softer markets.

But with the Big Apple rental market in shambles and rents at an all-time-high since he moved in, the next renter wont enjoy that same benefit.

Isnt that just the Democratic Socialists of Americas New York in a nutshell? said NYC Council Minority Leader Joanne Ariola (R-Queens).

A nepo baby leaves his under-market apartment for a mansion, the price gets jacked up for the next guy, and some ill-conceived legislation forces the landlords to make an off-market listing to avoid the fees progressive policies shoved down their throats.

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Mamdani  who was elected on promises of affordability and a pledge to freeze rent increases confirmed to The Post last week hes ditching his proletariat digs.

Mamdani, along with Rama Duwaji, will move into Gracie Mansion sometime after Jan. 1. Brigitte Stelzer

Im giving it up! insisted Mamdani to a Post reporter outside the 35th Street apartment building on Dec. 20, before laughing off questions about whether hes sad to leave and heading inside.

Adding insult to injury, Mamdanis unit is being leased off-market  a practice that has exploded since the citys new Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses (FARE) Act went into effect in June.

The controversial broker-fee ban  which Mamdani himself lobbied for as a state Assemblyman  sent prices through the roof as the fee became baked into rents.

The extra $800 per month in rent at the Astoria complex is a 35% increase from what the socialist nepo baby paid. J.C. Rice

Since the FARE Act, new listings on the Real Estate Board of New Yorks Residential Listing Service collapsed 77% as an increasing number of brokers kept exclusive listings off market as a way to bypass the ban, an analysis by real estate firm UrbanDigs found.

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Together with the 2019 rent reforms that resulted in a number of landlords finding it more financially viable to leave rent-stabilized units vacant rather than rent them, it has put supply at an all-time low, and rents at an all-time high.

Several tenants have inquired about the space at 32-15 35th Street. MQ Realty LLC

This is exactly what New Yorkers are sick of: politicians who benefit from housing arrangements while pushing policies that make rents higher and listings disappear for everyone else, said Councilman Robert Holden, a conservative Queens Democrat.

It is always the same story with nepo baby communists backed by trust funds who never pay the price for the policies they impose. If Mamdanis idea of affordable housing only works for him and no one else, then it is not affordable. It is hypocrisy.

Mamdani faced criticism during the mayoral campaign for living in his dirt-cheap digs for years  despite his $142,000 salary as a Queens assemblyman and vast family wealth.

Mamdani and his wife will move into Gracie Mansion after he gets sworn in as mayor. AP

The socialist said he first got the pad in the so-called Peoples Republic of Astoria in late 2018 when he was only earning about $47,000 a year as a foreclosure prevention housing counselor  and has claimed he didnt know the unit was rent-stabilized.

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The next year, he whined about the rent.

Today, our 1 bedroom rent stabilized apartment in Astoria costs us $2000/month. In 1984, this same apartment cost $290.60/month. What is this, if not theft? he raged on X in November 2019, urging his followers to check their apartments stabilization status and request their rent history.

Mamdani confirmed to The Post last week that he will be leaving his Astoria apartment for Gracie Mansion. Brigitte Stelzer

Despite its good intentions, Gothams rent-stabilized system has become so competitive its been criticized for only favoring a select few  often well-connected or high earners  while distorting the broader market by pushing landlords to hike market-rate rents to subsidize stabilized units.

Mamdanis camp did not return The Posts calls and messages about the price of his Astoria pad.
Zohran Mamdanis election as New York Citys next mayor has become something larger than a historic first for many Muslim New Yorkers  it marks a rare moment of visibility and unity across the citys Muslim community, and a particularly meaningful one for Shia Muslims, who have often felt sidelined, even within their own faith, they told NBC News.

That sense of possibility crystallized for Fizza Jaffari the night Mamdani won.

She recalled watching the election returns from a cafe in Astoria, a diverse Queens neighborhood with a large Muslim population, when cheers erupted and car horns blared as Mamdani made history, not just as the citys first Muslim mayor, but as the first Shia Muslim to hold the office.

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It was a once-in-a-lifetime type of moment, Jaffri, 33, told NBC News. I havent really experienced that, especially because were not always in these high-power offices.

As Mamdani prepares to take office on Jan. 1, Shia Muslim New Yorkers say his election is already reshaping conversations about faith, identity and belonging.

Zohran Mamdani celebrates with his wife, Rama Duwaji, at an election night rally in New York on Nov. 4 after winning the New York mayor's race. (Jeenah Moon / Reuters file) (Jeenah Moon)

For Mamdani, the moment is rooted in lessons passed down by his paternal grandparents on justice, dignity and standing against oppression through his Shia identity.

They didnt just teach me what it meant to be Shia. They didnt just teach me what it meant to be a Muslim, Mamdani told NBC News in an interview at his office. They also used those lessons to teach me what it meant to be a good person.

A minority within a minority

Growing up, Maira Raza said she often hesitated to tell Sunni Muslim friends that she is Shia, fearing misconceptions or judgment.

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People Ive spoken to or friends Ive had have ostracized me or made me feel other than because of it, said Raza, 32, adding that her Shia identity has also limited marriage prospects within the community.

The divide between Shia and Sunni Muslims dates back to the seventh century, when followers of Islam disagreed about who should succeed the Prophet Muhammad after his death. Those who supported Ali, the prophets cousin and son-in-law, became known as Shia, while Sunni Muslims believed leadership was decided through an election.

The schism deepened over time, particularly after the killing of Hussein, the prophets grandson, an event central to Shia identity that is commemorated annually as a symbol of resistance against injustice. Differences persist over religious practices, including prayer and commemorations.

Mamdani sits among people as he visits a mosque in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Nov. 7. (Ricardo Arduengo / Reuters file) (Ricardo Arduengo)

Despite theological differences, Shia and Sunni Muslims share core beliefs. In the U.S., Shia Muslims make up about 10% to 15% of the Muslim population and often face discrimination from within their own communities.

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Raza said that feeling is not unique to her experience. Sectarianism has fueled violence in parts of the Muslim world, including her native Pakistan.

Against that backdrop, Mamdanis victory stood out as a rare moment for Shia New Yorkers who saw someone like them embraced broadly by the citys Muslim community.

I have so many Sunni friends, and none of them have said anything about him being Shia, Raza said. Everyones just like, Hes Muslim, and theyre just so proud.

Faith, identity, politics

Mamdani has not shied away from his Shia identity. During the campaign, he attended a gathering in Queens marking the martyrdom of Imam Hussein.

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Mamdani said his grandparents teachings continue to inform how he approaches politics, influencing how he thinks about justice and solidarity beyond sectarian divisions.

I learned at a young age the importance of fighting injustice and the struggle that it necessitates, Mamdani said. And the importance of fulfilling that struggle in creating a more just world for everyone.

Ali Nasser, a Sunni Muslim who has lived in New York for more than 10 years, said Mamdanis message of representing all New Yorkers resonated with him.

Mamdani calls it an "immense privilege" to represent all New Yorkers. (Roshni Khatri for NBC News) (Roshni Khatri for NBC News)

As Muslims, especially in the Trump era, its more important for us than ever to be united, regardless of faith, regardless of race, regardless of status, Nasser said. I feel like Mamdani sends a message of unity that transcends all these identities.

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Jiniya Azad, a Sunni Muslim and the creator of MuslimFoodies on Instagram, used her platform to spread awareness about Mamdanis campaign and encourage her followers to vote. She defended Mamdani when a follower attacked his Shia identity. The 29-year-old told NBC News it doesnt matter if he is Shia.

He was elected because he has New York values, the lifelong New Yorker said. Hes grown up in New York as a brown man, and he knows there is more to this city than the superfluous glitz and glam and corruption. We need someone who stands up and protects us New Yorkers first more than anything else.

Pride and affirmation

At the Islamic Center at New York University, conversations about Mamdanis victory spilled into prayer spaces and hallways in the days after the election.

Sheikh Faiyaz Jaffer, a Shia scholar and the centers executive director, said he witnessed a shared sense of affirmation among congregants  especially important amid rising Islamophobia nationwide.

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Ive heard from Shia and Sunni community members alike who felt a shared sense of pride in this victory, regardless of sect, Jaffer said. Moments like this remind us that our collective struggles and aspirations are far greater than the differences that often divide us.

Khalid Latif, a Sunni imam at the Islamic Center of New York City and Jaffers predecessor, also celebrated Mamdanis win, calling it a restoration of hope for New Yorkers across backgrounds.

Mamdani greets a supporter ahead of an Eid service and prayer at the Parkchester Islamic Center on June 6. (Shuran Huang for The New York Times via Redux file) (Shuran Huang for The New York Times via Redux file)

Raza, an ICNYU congregant, said she had goose bumps watching Mamdanis victory speech, in which he described himself unapologetically as a young Muslim and a democratic socialist.

He was so certain of who he was, Raza said. If he can do this, anyone can do anything.

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Azad felt an immense sense of pride in her city and in being Muslim when Mamdani won. It still feels surreal, she said.

We now have a Muslim mayor in NYC who started this all grassroots, the Queens native said. A mayor that cares about affordability and also eats biryani in Jackson Heights.

Mamadani said representing New Yorks Muslim communities is not something he takes lightly. His political journey, he said, started in 2015 when he joined the Muslim Democratic Club of New York, an organization aimed at increasing Muslim civic engagement.

Its been an immense privilege, Mamdani told NBC News. Some of the most special moments of this past year have been those where I can see New Yorkers start to see themselves in the politics of the city and representation.

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Jaffer said Mamdanis election could also help spark conversations about sectarianism within the citys Muslim community.

Unity doesnt require erasing our differences, he said. It does require choosing dignity and compassion over division.

Mamdani said his "dream" is to create a New York where everyone can be the "fullest version of themselves." (Roshni Khatri for NBC News) (Roshni Khatri for NBC News)

Stepping out of the shadows

Throughout the campaign, Mamdani faced Islamophobic attacks from political opponents. During a radio interview, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo appeared to suggest Mamdani would cheer on another 9/11. Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa accused him of supporting global jihad, while Mayor Eric Adams insinuated that Mamdani is an extremist who supports burning churches.

For Nasser and other Muslim New Yorkers, the attacks underscored that Islamophobia remains deeply entrenched. What stood out, Nasser said, was Mamdanis response: calling the attacks baseless and racist while staying focused on affordability and equality.

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He navigated it with a lot of grace and patience, the 40-year-old said. It takes a lot of resolve and a lot of patience to be able to get criticized and attacked for these Islamophobic, baseless claims and be able to come out the opposite side, still wearing a smile.

Shortly before his election, Mamdani released a six-minute video message to Muslim New Yorkers denouncing the racism that has forced many to hide who they are.

Mamdani prepares to speak outside a Bronx Mosque and cultural center on Oct. 24. (Spencer Platt / Getty Images file) (Spencer Platt)

I will no longer look for myself in the shadows. I will find myself in the light, Mamdani said in the video.

This message resonated with Raza, who said she spent much of her life feeling pressured to stay invisible.

I dont want to do that now, and I dont think anyone should have to do that now, Raza said. Mamdani is so unapologetically himself, and he makes it seem so natural. And I think thats his power.

Mamdani says many people reached out to him after the video aired, including an older man who told him that he, too, was ready to step out of the shadows.

My dream is to lead a city where every New Yorker can live the fullest version of themselves and not feel as if they have to hide any part of themselves in order to be here, in order to call themselves a New Yorker, Mamdani said.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Questen Inghram is a Murrow News Fellow at the Yakima Herald-Republic whose beat focuses on government in Central Washington communities. Email qinghram@yakimaherald.com or call 509-577-7674.

This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, email news@yakimaherald.com.
The attack took place in Meerzorg, a town located across the Suriname River from the capital, and began on Saturday evening. Media reports said the suspect attacked members of his own family as well as neighbours. Among those killed were the man's four children.

Police arrested the suspect shortly after the incident. Authorities have not yet disclosed a motive for the attack, and an investigation is ongoing, Xinhua reported.

The killings have sent shockwaves across the country, with leaders and residents expressing grief and disbelief over the violence.

Surinamese President Jennifer Simons reacted to the incident in a post on social media, expressing her shock and condolences to the victims' families.

"At a time when family and friends should be holding on to and supporting each other, we are confronted with the harsh reality that there is another side to the world," she said on Facebook. "I wish all the bereaved much strength, courage, and comfort during this unimaginably difficult time."

Officials have not released further details about the victims or the circumstances leading up to the attack.

Police said more information would be shared as the investigation progresses. (ANI)
A 50-year-old Hindu man, Khokon Das, was attacked and set on fire by a mob in Shariatpur, Bangladesh, on December 31, marking the fourth assault on Hindus in two weeks, amid rising violence against minorities and growing diplomatic concern from India.
A look at Indias overseas financial support, where it is directed and how New Delhi balances global assistance with its own economic priorities.
The Uttar Pradesh government has launched a major initiative to strengthen employment opportunities and improve awareness of welfare schemes at the village level.
Somaliland Recognition: Israel has become the first nation to formally recognize Somaliland as a country, over three decades after the region broke away from Somalia. Meanwhile, the UNSC will convene an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss Jerusalem's decision.
GIFU, Dec 29 (News On Japan) - Gifu Prefecture officials have urged climbers heading into the Northern Alps over the year-end and New Year holiday period to submit climbing plans and ensure they are fully equipped, as part of efforts to prevent mountain accidents.

The call was made in the Okuhida Onsen area of Takayama, which serves as a major gateway to the Gifu side of the Northern Alps, as the number of climbers heading to peaks such as Mount Yari and Mount Nishi-Hotaka tends to rise during the holiday season.

On the morning of December 27, staff from Gifu Prefecture and members of the prefectural police mountain rescue unit distributed safety leaflets in front of the Shinhotaka Mountaineering Guidance Center, while also explaining key precautions for winter climbing to visitors.

Komatsuki Yoshimi, head of the Mountain Rescue and Volcano Disaster Management Office at the Gifu Prefectural Disaster Prevention Division, said climbers should be sure to submit a climbing plan, carry proper equipment such as helmets, and be prepared to turn back if conditions appear dangerous.

According to the prefectural government, snowfall in the Northern Alps this season has so far been lighter than usual, but the risk of avalanches remains, and caution is still required.

Source: Nagoya TV News
December 27, 2025: Back in September Russian drones hit an American factory in western Ukraine and two European diplomatic facilities in the Ukrainian capital. Russian drones regularly fly over Poland, a NATO member and the strongest European military power. All this is nothing new because for more than a year Russia has been covertly attacking economic targets in Europeans NATO countries.

Earlier in the year Russia increased its sabotage and destabilization efforts against NATO nations that support Ukraine in its resistance to the Russian invaders. Successes have been few and disappointments many. The invasion caused formerly neutral Sweden and Finland to join NATO. Now Russia faces a wall of NATO nations from the Arctic to the Mediterranean. Russias only allies are threadbare North Korea and a smoldering Iran. Russia expected to obtain more missiles from Iran, but now what missiles Iran has left are being fired, without much effect, at Israel. This came about when Israel recently launched a 200 aircraft attack on Iran to devastate the Iranian nuclear weapons program. The Americans joined in on that one, agreeing that Iranian nuclear weapons were bad for business and the world economy. China might quibble about that because they get most of their oil from Iran. For that reason the Iranian oil operations were largely unaffected.

Meanwhile Russia, unable to subdue Ukraine with military force, concluded that the most vulnerable aspect of the Ukrainian war effort was the support received from NATO countries. For over a year Russia has been attacking NATO nations clandestinely with disinformation and sabotage using a combination of specialized diplomats and sleeper agents who have long been living in Europe. The sleeper agents usually dont carry out the sabotage themselves, but hire criminal networks in Europe to do it. European police and security agencies were aware of these plans and, when these sabotage activities were detected, the criminals were sought, and some were arrested. Some of these men confirmed the Russian source of these attacks. With these Russian efforts no longer secret, Russian recruiting efforts were crippled, but not halted, because of fears that anyone who worked for Russia would be quickly identified and arrested. Since Russia invaded Ukraine, public opinion in Europe has been hostile to Russia. Undeterred, the Russian sleepers faded deeper into the background and use one or more levels of intermediaries to identify criminal groups who were willing to carry out the sabotage if the financial rewards are high enough.

Russia continues its sabotage and destabilization efforts in NATO Europe. There have been a few railway accidents that upon reexamination turned out to be Russian sponsored acts of sabotage. Another favorite is jamming of GPS signals; this continues to be a problem in several European countries. There was also a thwarted plot to assassinate the head of German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall. Russia denies any involvement, but the evidence of Russian complicity grows with each incident. In this respect Russia is at war with European nations and these attacks have led to further economic sanctions. Russia sees this as an attack on their economy and their coordinated sabotage campaign in Western Europe is their response.

Russia had sleeper agents in Ukraine since the 1990s, after Ukraine became an independent state in 1991. The sleepers were not fully activated until Russia realized their 2022 invasion was faltering. There was no public announcement of this but by 2024 the Ukrainian security service, or SSU, detected several Russian agents operating in Kherson, which is near the Black Sea northwest of Crimea. Three Russian spies were arrested and apparently none of these men admitted to being sleepers or knowing anything about sleepers. That was not unusual, as sleepers and the agents they hire locally know that as long as they disclose nothing, Russia will do whatever they can to free these loyal agents.

Each of the arrested men appeared to be operating independently, without knowledge of other agents. This was true, but these men also knew the sleeper network existed and said nothing about it. The Russian sleepers and spies were working jobs, like driving a cab, that allowed them to get around without raising suspicions. Interrogators did discover that the Russian agents were currently seeking locations and status of Ukrainian air defense systems and other military targets, especially those difficult to identify using aerial reconnaissance. Earlier SSU had disrupted an espionage network seeking location of Ukrainian HIMARS missile launcher vehicles. These are kept hidden because the Russians fear these mobile missile launchers, and the damage they do to Russian artillery units and supply storage sites.

Eastern Ukraine always had a large Russian population because during the 1930s Russians were brought into eastern Ukraine to replace all the Ukrainians who died during the Holodomor or Great Famine. The famine was caused by the Soviet government exporting nearly all grain produced in that part of the country for several years. This was part of a Soviet plan to raise additional foreign currency to pay for importing Western machinery needed to industrialize Russia. This plan worked, and leader Josef Stalin saw the dead Ukrainians as necessary to enable Russia to build factories for producing commercial and military products, including tanks and the new multiple cell rocket launchers they had recently invented.

Now, nearly a century later, there is another war because Russian forces invaded independent Ukraine in 2022. Stalin would have seen this as a civil war, but times have changed. Some things going on today Stalin would see as familiar. For example the post 1991 Russian government lost most of its destabilization skills. A century ago, the new communist government in Russia came to power because of the communists ability to subvert their opponents and eliminate opposition without a lot of bloodshed. A more recent destabilization effort involved an effort to destabilize countries in Africa to distract attention mass media paid to the Russian campaign in Ukraine. Russian mercenaries and spies are busy trying to cause as much distracting chaos as possible in the rest of the world. This includes covert operations in Europe, mercenaries operating throughout Africa, establishing links with Moslem organizations in Central Asia and Europe and blowing up Western airliners.

Russia believes that conventional warfare waged in Ukraine and the unconventional warfare carried out worldwide complement each other. Russian efforts to destabilize Africa are supposed to divert attention and resources headed to Ukraine. To make this happen, Russian spies, assassins, and propagandists continue their efforts.

Revolution and subversion efforts worldwide have long been used by the Soviet Union and later Russia to exploit whatever opportunities were available to disrupt and diminish support for groups hostile to Russia, while encouraging local leaders that support Russian objectives. For example, in 2016, Russian operatives recruited criminal gangs to cause trouble in the tiny Balkan state of Montenegro and disrupt efforts by that country to join NATO. That attempt failed when several foreign agents and pro-coup Montenegrin politicians were detected, arrested, prosecuted, and imprisoned.

In February 2022, Russian agents tried to organize widespread protests that would justify Russian military intervention, aided by pro-Russian factions in the Ukrainian government. These factions were supposed to make it possible for pro-Russian groups belonging to the Ukrainian parliament and government to seize power. That effort failed because the Russians overestimated the number of pro-Russian officials in the Ukrainian government and the Russian invasion did not immediately succeed, as the Russians expected. There were too many Ukrainians willing and able to fight and defeat the Russian invaders.

The Russian FSB is the post-Soviet version of the KGB but has demonstrated a shortage of skills and ability to match the performance of the KGB in its prime. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 was made possible, in part, because the KGB had also lost its ability to get things done. By the end of 2022, the military failures in Ukraine gave the FSB more political and financial support to move forward with spending more time, money and effort on their sleepers program. The FSB had to call on retired agents who had served during the pre-1991 Soviet Union era. Many Russian sleepers were exposed in the 1990s because Soviet archives were open to foreign historians, some of them secretly working for Western intelligence agencies. Many Russian sleepers were identified and arrested. That put an end to Western researchers studying KGB archives. Russia considers arresting their sleepers in Europe and North Americans a hostile act. The Russians quietly began rebuilding and expanding their sleeper network. Meanwhile the Russians arrested innocent Western visitors to Russia and kept them in prison until they could be exchanged for arrested Russian sleepers.

Western intelligence agencies now spend a lot of time trying to identify sleepers and pay more attention to acts of sabotage. These acts are often disguised as accidents or the result of a local feud. For the last two years, sleepers have become prime suspects. When pursuing whoever was responsible for acts of sabotage, sleepers are often at the top of the list of possible perpetrators.
SAPPORO, Dec 29 (News On Japan) - North Safari Sapporo, a zoo located in Minami Ward, Sapporo, which closed in September, reached its deadline on December 26 to remove illegal structures from the site.

Despite the deadline, many buildings remain standing, and animals can still be seen inside the snow-covered grounds. Zebras and kangaroos were spotted walking through the enclosure on December 26, highlighting the slow pace of removal work.

About three months have passed since the zoo closed. You can still occasionally hear animal noises, but it doesnt look like the removal work has progressed much. It seems likely this situation will carry over into the new year, said Masanori Koide, a director involved with the site.

North Safari Sapporo was forced to close in September 2025 due to the presence of numerous illegal animal enclosures and other structures. In October, Sapporo city issued a recommendation ordering the removal of all 122 illegal buildings on the premises by December 26.

According to officials familiar with the matter, the zoos operators reported to the city in December that the number of illegal structures had been reduced to double digits. However, it remains unlikely that all of them were removed before the deadline.

In light of the situation, the city plans to conduct an on-site inspection in January to assess the current conditions and will consider issuing a formal demolition order, which carries legal force.

As of November, 256 animals were still being kept at the former zoo site.

Source: UHB
The year 2025 will be remembered as a watershed in Moroccos decades-long effort to defend its sovereignty over the Sahara, under the leadership of King Mohammed VI.

Through sustained diplomacy, strategic alliances, and proactive multilateral engagements, Rabat transformed the autonomy plan from a regional proposal into an internationally recognized framework for peace.

The culmination of 26 years of diplomatic perseverance culminated in October with the adoption of UNSC Resolution 2797. For the first time, the Council explicitly invited parties to negotiate on the basis of Moroccos autonomy initiative under its sovereignty.

The resolution signaled a decisive shift toward realism and pragmatism, as major powers, including the US, France, UK, hailed the resolution as a breakthrough.

To celebrate the event, Morocco declared Oct 31 an annual national Unity Day.

The same year, two influential African nations, Ghana and Kenya, broke with past ambiguity and endorsed the autonomy plan as the only viable solution.

Ghana went further by suspending ties with the Polisario Front, while Kenya reaffirmed its support for Moroccos autonomy plan for the Sahara territory. These moves underscore Moroccos success in building African consensus around its vision.

Following Resolution 2797, the European Union welcomed the decision and backed negotiations grounded in Moroccos autonomy proposal. Belgium backed the plan as serious, credible, and realistic, while the Netherlands joined Rabat in a joint declaration affirming autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty as the most feasible solution.

These recent endorsements reflect a growing European alignment with Moroccos position.

In June, Londons endorsement of the autonomy plan during the MoroccoUK Strategic Dialogue was coupled with economic commitments, including a 5 billion fund for projects in the Sahara.

Across the Atlantic, the US maintained its recognition of Moroccan sovereignty and encouraged American companies to invest in the southern provinces, reinforcing the link between diplomacy and development, while over 30 countries opened consulates in Laayoune and Dakhla.

2025 showcased Moroccos ability to convert diplomatic capital into tangible recognition. Today, more than 124 countries back the autonomy initiative, making it the dominant paradigm for resolving the Sahara dispute.
Delegate Minister for Investment, Convergence and Public Policy Evaluation Karim Zidane affirmed that Moroccos new support framework for very small, small, and medium enterprises strongly favors investment and job creation.

Speaking at the seventh regional information caravan stop dedicated to presenting the new framework in the Casablanca-Settat region, Zidane explained the operation implements the new Investment Charter according to Royal Directives promoting investment to revitalize the national economy and establish effective territorial equity.

The framework seeks to valorize each regions resources and support young entrepreneurs with financial assistance representing up to 30% of project costs, he specified, noting Settat provinces potential in agricultural and industrial sectors. Settat Governor Mohamed Ali Habouha stated the caravan responds to small business managers questions and provides detailed information on mechanisms established by public authorities within the new framework.

While highlighting Moroccos significant infrastructure advances in airport, port, and highway sectors, Habouha emphasized the private sectors major role in wealth and employment creation. He underscored the National Human Development Initiatives substantial contributions to this dynamic and Regional Investment Centers role in supporting entrepreneurs, concluding with calls to align university and vocational training with employment market requirements.

Regional Investment Center Casablanca-Settat Director General Salmane Belayachi presented detailed incentives introduced by the new small business framework, eligibility criteria, and access procedures, which are simplified and entirely digitalized.

Designed to publicize provisions contained in this new framework developed by the Investment Ministry implementing the new Investment Charter, the caravan launched November 26 in Sidi Bennour before stopping subsequently in Berrechid, Nouaceur, Benslimane, Casablanca, and Mohammedia. The initiative represents governmental efforts to decentralize investment promotion and ensure entrepreneurs across Moroccos regions access support mechanisms facilitating business creation and expansion within the kingdoms economic development priorities.
Moroccos preschool education has experienced notable access improvements between 2015 and 2025, with enrollment rates for children aged four to five years rising from 50.2% to 70.4%, according to National Evaluation Authority Director Hicham Ait Mansour.

Since launching the 2018-2028 preschool development and generalization program, significant advances have occurred particularly in rural areas, where rates jumped from 36.3% to 75.6%, surpassing urban levels, Ait Mansour told journalists Thursday in Rabat following presentation of the 2024-2025 school year preschool evaluation report.

Public preschool units increased from 6,185 to 23,182 between 2018-2019 and 2024-2025, while unstructured units declined significantly from 18,882 to 4,946 units. Public preschool education budget more than doubled from 1.13 billion dirhams to approximately 3 billion between 2019 and 2025, with progressive shift from investment expenditures toward operational costs.

The National Evaluation Authority evaluation, conducted in partnership with UNICEF, examines preschool conditions for the 2024-2025 academic year amid structural transformations. The assessment analyzes preschool education within Moroccos changing context, examining learning environment quality, reception conditions, pedagogical practices, and socio-emotional and cognitive competencies children develop by preschool completion.

The study highlights significant challenges requiring attention, including rural-urban disparities in learning quality, infrastructure and sanitation facility improvement needs, sector governance and financing strengthening, quality standards unification and application particularly regarding educator training and qualification, and improved social and economic conditions for teaching staff.

The report documents persistent territorial and social access disparities, limited interactive pedagogical classroom practices, fragile inclusion of children with disabilities, and heterogeneous working conditions and professional supervision of educators, particularly in public and unstructured education, affecting professional stability and pedagogical practice quality. The evaluation covered 180 preschool units across public, private, partnership, and unstructured categories, involving 871 children, 180 educators, 180 establishment managers, 624 parents, and 180 classroom observation sessions.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, when oil prices fell to a record low, governments and energy companies worldwide began to shift their focus to green alternatives. Many governments introduced ambitious climate pledges and introduced decarbonisation targets, encouraging industries to explore ways to cut carbon. One of the most promising energies for reducing emissions in hard-to-abate industries is green hydrogen, as it can be used for a variety of applications. However, the race to develop commercial green hydrogen seems to have lost momentum as the sector faces several challenges.

Unlike grey and blue hydrogen, which are produced using natural gas, green hydrogen is made using renewable energy to power an electrolyser, which splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. The gas is then burned to produce power and emits only water vapour and warm air, making it carbon-free. Several energy companies announced plans to invest in green hydrogen production during the pandemic, as it aligned with plans to diversify their portfolios to support a gradual green transition.

The green hydrogen industry rapidly expanded in several parts of the world, such as Europe and the Middle East, as governments and energy companies invested heavily in the sector. Europe and the Middle East were vying for the top spot as green hydrogen producers, as global demand increased in line with aims to decarbonise industry. In 2022, Spain announced a 50 million green hydrogen plant in Puertollano and the U.K. revealed a 150 million plant in Felixstowe.

However, as several energy companies, such as BP, have backtracked on their renewable energy pledges, the development of the green hydrogen industry is faltering. Several more challenges stand in the way of sectoral progress, such as the need to use renewable energy for power rather than for green hydrogen electrolysis, and the high cost of production. At present, Europes green hydrogen output is forecast at around 1.7 million tonnes by 2030, compared to the previous target of 10 million tonnes mentioned in the European Unions REPowerEU.

The growing need for renewable electricity to power data centres supporting advanced technologies is making it harder to justify the use of clean energy to power green hydrogen operations. In addition, the cost of producing green hydrogen remains extremely high as the industry has not scaled at the rate needed to drive down prices. The current cost of producing green hydrogen stands at between $5.78 and $23.27 a kilogram, compared to roughly $2 to $3.50 per kg of blue hydrogen.

In April, the announcement of the signing of a joint development agreement on the worlds first liquid hydrogen corridor, connecting Oman, the Netherlands, and Germany, provided greater optimism around a major advancement in green hydrogen connectivity. The corridor is expected to connect Omans Port of Duqm with the Port of Amsterdam in the Netherlands and the Port of Duisburg in Germany. In total, 11 parties entered the deal, including Omans national green hydrogen orchestrator Hydrom and Dutch steel producer Tata Steel.

However, in September, Oman called on the EU to halt ongoing changes to its renewable hydrogen definition, stating that the regulatory uncertainty was deterring final investment decisions in major export projects. Omans Energy and Minerals Minister, Salim bin Nasser Al Aufi, said, Oman is ready to deliver clean hydrogen globally, forging partnerships that drive decarbonisation and sustainable economic prosperity Do not change the EU's green hydrogen definition while projects are still under development.

This is not the first time that the EU has been criticised for stalling progress because of its inability to define green hydrogen. In January, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for the EU to relax its stringent definitions of the fuel, suggesting that the existing standards were too strict and hindered the competitiveness of planned projects.

Nevertheless, recent developments offer hope for sectoral advancement. In December, the European Commission announced the approval of 100 cross-border hydrogen and electrolyser projects as part of a $1.75-trillion energy infrastructure investment pipeline between 2024 and 2040. The selected projects will be eligible for EU financing from the Connecting Europe Facility and will be provided with more streamlined approval and regulatory processes. These cross-projects will strengthen energy connectivity across the continent, bringing nearer the completion of the Energy Union, the Commission stated.

Spains government also announced a $483.3 million contribution to the European Hydrogen Bank's community auction-as-a-service (AaaS) scheme to support the development of new domestic green hydrogen projects. The countrys Deputy Prime Minister, Sara Aagesen, said, With this contribution, we have reached the figure of 3.155 billion to make hydrogen a reality.

Since the pandemic, the outlook for green hydrogen has yoyoed. Initially, several companies seemed highly optimistic about an accelerated rollout of green hydrogen projects, backed by major investments. However, ongoing challenges to the commercial deployment of the clean fuel and complex regulatory standards in the EU have stalled progress. Now, with a fresh promise of investment from the European Commission and several state governments, there is still potential for the green hydrogen industry to grow over the coming decades.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

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At the end of 2024, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported that there had been disappointingly slow growth in the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) sector. However, one year on, there is greater promise around the expansion of the SAF industry, as several countries begin to develop their SAF industries.

SAF is an alternative fuel made from non-petroleum feedstocks that reduces emissions from air transportation. SAF can be blended at different levels with limits between 10 percent and 50 percent, depending on the feedstock and how the fuel is produced. According to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), over 360,000 commercial flights have used SAF at 46 different airports, largely concentrated in the United States and Europe.

In December 2024, the IATA reported that SAF volumes had doubled to 1 million tonnes, compared to 0.5 million tonnes in 2023. However, it contributed just 0.3% of global jet fuel production, suggesting that much more needs to be done to decarbonise the aviation sector. Previous SAF production estimates put output at 1.5 million tonnes for 2024, but several delays at new facilities led companies to fall short on predictions. At this point, the IATA anticipated SAF production would grow to 2.1 million tonnes in 2025.

SAF volumes are increasing, but disappointingly slowly. Governments are sending mixed signals to oil companies, which continue to receive subsidies for their exploration and production of fossil oil and gas. And investors in new generation fuel producers seem to be waiting for guarantees of easy money before going full throttle, said the IATAs Director General, Willie Walsh.

In October, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) published its first ReFuelEU Aviation Annual Technical Report, outlining the achievements being seen in the SAF sector. EASA found that the EU is on track to meet the compulsory SAF blend of 6 percent by 2030, even though the technology is still in an early stage in the EU. The research showed that 25 fuel suppliers provided SAF to 33 EU airports across 12 EU Member States.

In 2025, the EU and the U.K. imposed a mandate requiring 2 percent of jet fuel to be sustainable. This figure rises to 6 percent in the EU and 10 percent in the U.K. by 2030. However, some airlines are concerned about the lack of availability of SAF and the high cost of the fuel. The CEO of low-cost airline Ryanair, Michael OLeary, has dismissed the need to shift to SAF. It is all gradually dying a death, which is what it deserves to do. We have just about met our 2 percent mandate. There is no possibility of meeting 6 percent by 2030; 10 percent, not a hope in hell. Were not going to get to net zero by 2050, said OLeary.

Meanwhile, the IATAs Willie Walsh suggested that a 5 percent target by 2030 might be more realistic. Walsh stated in October that he was disappointed with progress in the SAF industry and does not believe that target can be achieved given where we are in terms of SAF production. He also said that there was a clear case for SAF, We now need to turn what we know is technically possible into something thats commercially possible and commercially viable for the industry.

However, the U.K. is hopeful about the potential for SAF production, with the Department for Transport allocating $84.2 million to 17 companies looking to produce SAF in the U.K. in July.

Meanwhile, we are seeing significant SAF production expansion in new markets, including India, Argentina, and Indonesia. India Oils Panipat refinery was recently certified to produce SAF from cooking oil, making it the first plant in the country with this capability. Indian Oil will use abundant waste feedstocks to produce SAF.

In Argentina, the state-owned oil company YPF announced plans to invest $400 million in its joint venture Santa Fe Bio, where it will produce SAF from agricultural residues and waste oils. This is expected to help establish the South American country as a regional SAF hub in the coming years.

In Indonesia, Pertamina has delivered its first SAF shipment, produced at its Cilacap refinery, to SoekarnoHatta Airport. The firm is using a mix of waste cooking oil and conventional jet fuel to produce SAF, with a production capacity of 1,400 kilolitres a day. It hopes to deliver 1.7 million litres to Jakarta this year.

However, some SAF projects in more conventional production hubs, such as the United States, have faltered. Several companies have been forced to delay production or halt operations due to a plethora of challenges, such as high costs and a lack of industry commitment to SAF. Some airlines were engaged in a pretty disingenuous effort to put out press releases overstating their commitment to SAF projects, said World Energys CEO Gene Gebolys. People sometimes said too much in the past and did too little.

While new SAF-producing powers are beginning to emerge in unexpected parts of the world, other, more traditional SAF producers are falling behind on their targets. To increase SAF production on a global scale, the aviation industry must follow through on its commitment to decarbonise, which could be supported through stricter government mandates with clear SAF blend targets.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com
By Taxpayers Association of Oregon Foundation,

The State of Oregon is giving away $17 million in cash grants to businesses that buy electric vans, buses and trucks under the Zero-Emission Rebate for Oregon Fleets Program.

You can get up to $120,000 rebate per vehicle in some circumstances.

This comes at the same Oregon has announced that we may experience rolling blackouts next year due to limited energy supply from our grid.

This is how we got a shortage of electricity in Oregon:

 Oregon closed its only coal plant.

 Oregon just demolished a fully functioning hydro dam.

 Liberal activist blocked a critical power station expansion in Portland.

 Politicians paid tech companies to move here (lavish tax credits) that use extreme amounts of electricity.

 Politicians paid rich Oregonians to buy EV vehicles (lavish tax credits), which drains our energy supply.
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:

Moment 0, 1, and 2 maps of the ALMA Cycle 0 observations of NGC 1266. Credit: arXiv (2025). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2512.09889

By analyzing the archival data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), an international team of astronomers has inspected the outflow of a nearby galaxy known as NGC 1266. Results of the new study, presented Dec. 11 on the arXiv pre-print server, could help us better understand the nature of this galaxy.

Early-type galaxy with massive molecular outflow

Located some 97.5 million light years away, NGC 1266 (also known as PGC 12131) is a nearby lenticular galaxy in the constellation Eridanus. It is a quenching, early-type galaxy with a half-light radius of 9,650 light years and an estimated mass of about 25 billion solar masses.

Previous observations of NGC 1266 have found that it hosts an obscured active galactic nucleus (AGN) and that it experiences a massive molecular outflow likely driven by this AGN. A group of astronomers led by Justin Atsushi Otter of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, decided to take a closer look at this outflow, hoping to unveil its impact on global star formation regulation across the galaxy.

"NGC 1266 is an excellent case study for investigating the outflows and star formation quenching because it is a nearby (D30 Mpc) AGN host galaxy with an outflow driving shocks through the interstellar medium (ISM) and has recently quenched its star formation outside the nucleus," the scientists explain.

Exploring gas emission

As part of the study, Otter's team combed through the datasets containing ALMA Band 3, 6, and 7 observations of NGC 1266 obtained with the 12-m array in Cycle 0 in the extended configuration. All of these observations were centered on the coordinates of the galaxy's optical center.

The researchers focused on the hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and carbon monoxide (CO) emission in the outflow of NGC 1266. They detected substantial HCN emission in the outflow, with HCN/CO flux ratio consistent with early type galaxies. Moreover, they identified a highly optically thin CO-emitting gas in the outflow with low 13CO abundance.

The astronomers assume that the HCN-emitting gas likely traces a denser phase of the outflow than the diffuse gas traced by optically thin CO emission.

"This denser phase may be concentrated in clumps entrained in the outflow, while the surrounding molecular gas traced by CO is warm, diffuse, and optically thin," the authors of the paper conclude.

Losing all its gas reservoirs

Based on the collected data, the scientists were able to calculate the upper limit of the molecular outflow rate, which was estimated to be 85 solar masses. This value suggests that NGC 1266 will deplete its gas reservoirs in 450 million years or longer.

The scientists conclude that the estimated gas depletion time for NGC 1266 indicates that low-level AGN activity is likely capable of slowly expelling the molecular gas through the post-starburst phase, potentially resulting in long-term quiescence.

Written for you by our author Tomasz Nowakowski, 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.

Publication details Justin Atsushi Otter et al, Clumpy, dense gas in the outflow of NGC 1266, arXiv (2025). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2512.09889 Journal information: arXiv

 2025 Science X Network
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Arrow point types, including triangular points with serrated stems and barbs, needle-like, swallowtail, and leaf-shaped.

For decades, research and understanding of the diverse bone raw material used by the Late Prehispanic Period (~1220 to 330 cal BP) people of the Sierras de Cordoba were scarce. However, Dr. Matias Medina and his colleagues, Sebastian Pastor and Gisela Sario, have published a technological analysis of the manufacturing technique used to create one of the most numerous bone tool types, bone arrow points.

The research, published in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, successfully fills a major gap in understanding how these ancient communities organized their craft production and daily life.

Previous research and history

The Late Prehistoric Period in Argentina's Sierras de Cordoba was characterized by communities practicing flexible mixed economies by mixing hunting and gathering with farming practices. This allowed them to maintain high mobility while occupying seasonal camps and to adapt their lifestyles to the optimal subsistence strategy at the time.

However, they also produced only scattered, low-visibility archaeological material, including bone tools, which were an important yet until recently understudied aspect of their material culture.

"Publications dealing specifically with bone technology were, for decades, scarce, especially in South America," explained Dr. Medina.

"What was known about them usually came from site reports that contained simple descriptions of worked bone assemblages as cultural or chronological markers, because archaeology prioritized answering chronological questions through the temporal analysis of artifact typologies.

"The manufacturing techniques used to produce bone arrow points in the Sierras de Cordoba (Argentina), for example, have never been analyzed in depth, and the issue warrants incorporation into discussions of weapon-delivery systems, now including the finished projectile points and any by-products of the production process."

Analysis of the bone arrow points

To address this knowledge gap, the study examined 117 bone artifacts collected from the Museo Arqueologico Numba Charava in Argentina. All items were collected non-systematically over the course of the 20th century from various sites in the southern Punilla Valley; therefore, many pieces lack precise provenance.

It was found that the primary raw material used was Lama bones, likely from the guanaco, which was hunted for food; their bones were subsequently retrieved or reworked into tools.

Bones from other animals, such as pampas deer, were rarer. Typically made from metapodia (the long bones of the hand and feet), the bones were first split lengthwise to create workable blanks. These were flattened by grinding on abrasive stones, then scraped and whittled into the shape of an arrowhead.

In some cases, barbs and stems or decorative items were included before points were smoothed and polished to create a shiny surface that reduced air resistance and protected against weathering.

Decorative points were rare, explained Dr. Medina, "Only three bone arrow points with incised decoration on the blade were reported in the archaeological literature  Incised decoration was composed mainly of lines and small triangles, similar to those observed on decorated pin-shaped subtype spatulas and ornaments from central Argentina.

"We think bone arrow points were primarily used for warfare rather than hunting. Thus, incised decoration or other stylistic attributes, such as extra-barbs, express social identity and leave a potent reminder of the makers cultural affiliation on wounded enemies."

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The study's significance

The study provides new insights into how the Southern Punilla Valley communities organized their tool-making, and these implications may be extended to other regions where bone arrow points were crucial.

Arrowheads were produced locally, with each point being unique, even if only a few cases showed decoration. The production of these points was time-consuming but standardized, and would likely have been transmitted from parent to child within the nuclear family.

This finding is significant as it reinforces the overall evidence that the nuclear family was the primary social unit for food and tool production during the Late Prehispanic Period.

"Comparisons are needed, especially with neighboring regions near the Sierras de Cordoba, such as the Low Parana and Uruguay River floodplains, located more than 500 km away, and with sites dated to the last 1,500 years," explained Dr. Medina.

"There, a complex bone technology was developed to withstand the stress of the low availability of stone raw materials and a broad-spectrum foraging base based on aquatic resources, including bone harpoons and arrow points made on deer or bird bones. Specific taxa, skeletal parts, and manufacturing methods were selected that were likely different from those in our archaeological example.

"A new technological comparison that accounts for stone availability and subsistence organization will offer insights into the implications of various technological alternatives and identify critical areas for future research."

Written for you by our author Sandee Oster, 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 Matias E. Medina et al, Bone Arrow Points Manufacturing in Prehispanic Sierras de Cordoba, Argentina, International Journal of Osteoarchaeology (2025). DOI: 10.1002/oa.70056

 2025 Science X Network
December 26, 2025: In the first half of the year, Islamic terrorists carried out nearly 600 attacks in nine countries. These attacks were carried out by five factions of the Islamic State. These include ISWAP/Islamic State West Africa Province which carried out 240 attacks throughout Nigeria, Niger, and Cameroon. ISCAP/Islamic State Central Africa Province carried out over 100 attacks in Congo and Uganda.

ISMP/Islamic State Mozambique Province expanded into Mozambiques Niassa province despite military pressure. ISMP conducted 69 attacks against pro-government militias, Christian civilians, and the Mozambican armed forces. Its attacks were mostly in the neighboring province of Niassa, particularly the Niassa Special Reserve and the district of Mecula. The most significant attack was against a Mozambican army camp in the district of Macomia at the end of June. The Islamic terrorists attack ended with the destruction of an army camp, stealing weapons and ammunition, and killing as many as 30 soldiers.

ISSP/Islamic State Sahel Province carried out attacks in Niger and Mali. ISSP carried out attacks in the Gao and Menaka regions of Mali, as well as the Sahel Region of Burkina Faso. Niger has seen an increase in ISSP attacks in rural areas, including a major offensive against the Nigerien army and the National Guard in Bani-Bangou territory in the Tillaberi Region. In addition, ISSP attacked a Malian army base in the town of Tessit in the Gao Region. ISSPs attacks have reached as far as the Dosso and Tahoua regions in the southwest.

ISS/Islamic State Somalia continued operations in Puntland, although that activity has been blocked by local security forces. ISS also carried out 128 attacks in Puntland, while ISCAP carried out 107 attacks in the eastern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu. Islamic State militants are maintaining their positions despite the efforts of the U.S.-backed Puntland security forces and joint counterterrorism operations by the Congolese and Ugandan armies. Even where the Islamic terrorists have been repelled or defeated in some areas, they are still able to fall back to other positions, demonstrating substantial persistence.

Attacks by ISCAP and ISS are increasing against military forces and, in the case of Congo, against Christian civilians. Attacks by the ADF/Allied Democratic Forces against Christians in northeastern Congo include a major attack in mid-May in Lubero Territory in North Kivu Province.

Islamic terrorists continue to claim they are conducting successful terror attacks in Congo. The ISCAP/Islamic State in Central Africa Province claimed it conducted a suicide bombing in eastern Congos North Kivu province, when a bar in the city of Beni was attacked. Islamic terrorists are particularly hostile to alcohol, especially when men and women are consuming it together. For the record, ISCAP is also known as the ADF/Allied Democratic Forces. They now claim they are a component of Islamic State of ISIL/Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. However, several analysts and security personnel doubt that ISIL has any influence over the ADF. Its an information operation to give the appearance of a global coalition. The ADF existed long before the Islamic State. ISIL and ADF each also have ties to Al Shabaab in Somalia. ISIL also has similar affiliates in Mali, Nigeria, North Africa and possibly Mozambique, in southern Africa, as well.
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A symbolic funeral was held in the Swiss Alps in 2019 to mourn the disappearance of the Pizol glacier.

Thousands of glaciers will vanish each year in the coming decades, leaving only a fraction standing by the end of the century unless global warming is curbed, a study showed on Monday.

Government action on climate change could determine whether the world loses 2,000 or 4,000 glaciers annually by the middle of the century, according to the research.

A few degrees could be the difference between preserving almost half of the world's glaciers in 2100or fewer than 10%.

"Our results underscore the urgency of ambitious climate policy," said the study published in the journal Nature Climate Change and led by glaciologist Lander Van Tricht.

Researchers usually focus on the loss of mass and area of the world's ice giants, but Van Tricht and his colleagues set out to determine how many individual glaciers could melt away annually in this century.

While the melting of smaller individual glaciers may have less impact on sea-level rise than larger ones, their loss can significantly harm tourism or local culture, the scientists said.

"The disappearance of each single glacier can have major local impacts, even if its meltwater contribution is small," Van Tricht from ETH Zurich and Vrije Universiteit Brussel, told reporters.

Co-author Matthias Huss, also a glaciologist at ETH Zurich, took part in 2019 in a symbolic funeral for the Pizol glacier in the Swiss Alps.

"The loss of glaciers that we are speaking about here is more than just a scientific concern. It really touches our hearts," he said.

'Peak extinction'

The scientists examined the satellite-derived outlines of 211,490 glaciers from a global database to determine the year when the largest number will disappeara concept they coined "peak glacier extinction."

They used glacier computer models under several different warming scenariosranging from a world in which temperatures rise by 1.5C from pre-industrial levels to one where they climb by 4C.

Today, the world is losing around 1,000 glaciers every year but the study warned that the pace is set to accelerate.

The number of glaciers disappearing annually will peak at 2,000 by 2041, even if warming is limited to 1.5Cthe threshold countries pledged to pursue under the Paris Agreement to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

At that pace, 95,957 glaciers would be left standing around the planet by 2100, or just under half.

The United Nations, however, has warned that warming is on track to exceed 1.5C in the next few years.

Using projections showing temperatures would rise 2.7C under government policies, around 3,000 glaciers would disappear every year between 2040 and 2060, the glaciologists said.

By 2100, only one in five glaciers, or 43,852, would have survived in a 2.7C world.

Under a worst-case scenario where temperatures rise by 4C, as many as 4,000 glaciers would disappear each year by the mid-2050s.

Only 9% of glaciers, or 18,288, would remain by the end of the century.

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Almost zero

The timing of peak glacier disappearance varies between regions, depending on their size and location.

In areas with predominantly smaller glaciers, such as the European Alps and subtropical Andes, half could be gone within two decades.

In parts of the world with larger glaciers, such as Greenland and the Antarctic periphery, peak glacier disappearance will occur later in the century.

The researchers stressed that while glacier disappearances will peak in every scenario, the pace only begins to decline because there are fewer glaciers left and the bigger ones take more time to melt away.

For example, Van Tricht said, the loss rate in the Alps will fall to almost zero by the end of the century "just because there are almost no glaciers left."

Key concepts effects of climate change

 2025 AFP
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:

This artist's concept shows what a thick atmosphere above a vast magma ocean on exoplanet TOI-561 b could look like. Measurements of light captured from the planet's dayside by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope suggest that in spite of the intense radiation it receives from its star, TOI-561 b is not a bare rock. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI)

A Carnegie-led team of astronomers detected the strongest evidence yet of an atmosphere around a rocky planet beyond our solar system. Their work, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, used NASA's JWST to reveal an alien atmosphere in an unexpected placean ancient, ultra-hot super-Earth that likely hosts a magma ocean.

TOI-561 b is a rocky world that's about twice Earth's mass but bears little resemblance to our home planet due to its proximity to its host star. Although the star is slightly less massive and cooler than our sun, the planet orbits at one fortieth the distance of Mercury in our own solar system. On TOI-561 b, a year lasts just 10.56 hours, and one side of the planet is in perpetual daylight.

"Based on what we know about other systems, astronomers would have predicted that a planet like this is too small and hot to retain its own atmosphere for long after formation," explained Carnegie Science Postdoctoral Fellow Nicole Wallack, the paper's second author. "But our observations suggest it is surrounded by a relatively thick blanket of gas, upending conventional wisdom about ultra-short-period planets."

In our own solar system, smaller and hotter planets were not able to hang on to the primordial envelope of gas that surrounded them in their formative years. But TOI-561 b's host star is much older than our sun and its atmosphere remains intact.

This artist's concept shows what the ultra-hot super-Earth exoplanet TOI-561 b could look like based on observations from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and other observatories. Webb data suggests that the planet is surrounded by a thick atmosphere above a global magma ocean. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI)

The presence of this atmosphere could help explain the planet's unusually low density.

"It's not what we call a super-puffor 'cotton candy' planetbut it is less dense than you would expect if it had an Earth-like composition," explained Carnegie Science astronomer Johanna Teske, the paper's lead author.

In designing the observing program, the team considered that the planet's low density could be explained by a relatively small iron core and a mantle made of rock that is less dense than the rocks that comprise Earth's interior.

Teske notes that this could make sense: "TOI-561 b is distinct among ultra-short period planets in that it orbits a very oldtwice as old as the suniron-poor star in a region of the Milky Way known as the thick disk. It must have formed in a very different chemical environment from the planets in our own solar system."

An emission spectrum captured by NIRSpec (the Near-Infrared Spectrograph) on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope in May 2024 shows the brightness of different wavelengths of 3- to 5-micron light coming from the ultra-hot super-Earth exoplanet TOI-561 b. Comparisons of the data to theoretical models suggest that the planet is not a bare rock, but is instead surrounded by a volatile-rich atmosphere. The data (white circles) are based on measurements of the change in brightness of the star-planet system before, during, and after the secondary eclipse, when the planet moves behind the star. Although TOI-561 b is too close to the star to see on its own, the amount of light coming from the planet can be calculated by subtracting the brightness of the star (measured when the planet is behind the star) from the brightness of the planet and star combined (measured when the planet is beside the star). TOI-561 b is thought to be tidally locked, which means that most of the planetary light measured during this observation is coming from the dayside. Three model spectra are shown for comparison. If TOI-561 b has a dark bare-rock surface with no atmosphere (smooth gray line), or a thin rock-vapor atmosphere (jagged purple line), the dayside of the planet should appear significantly brighter than it actually does. Instead, the data are much more consistent with an atmosphere rich in volatiles like water, oxygen, and carbon dioxide. (The model shown here assumes an atmosphere that is 100% water vapor.). Credit: Image - NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI) Data - Johanna Teske (Carnegie Science Earth and Planets Laboratory), Anjali Piette (University of Birmingham), Tim Lichtenberg (Groningen), Nicole Wallack (Carnegie Science Earth and Planets Laboratory)

This means that its composition could be representative of planets that formed when the universe was relatively young.

But an exotic interior composition can't explain everything.

In deciding to study TOI-561 b, the research team also suspected that it might be surrounded by a thick atmosphere that makes it look larger and thus less dense.

To test the existence of TOI-561 b's atmosphere, the astronomers used JWST's Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) instrument to measure the planet's dayside temperature based on its brightness in the near-infrared. The technique, which involves measuring the decrease in brightness of the star-planet system as the planet moves behind the star, is similar to that used to search for atmospheres in the TRAPPIST-1 system and on other rocky worlds.

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If TOI-561 b were a bare rock with no atmosphere to carry heat around to the nightside, its dayside temperature should be approaching 4,900 degrees Fahrenheit (2,700 degrees Celsius). But the NIRSpec observations show that the planet's dayside appears to be closer to 3,200 degrees Fahrenheit (1,800 degrees Celsius)still extremely hot, but far cooler than expected.

To explain the results, the team considered a few different scenarios. The magma ocean could circulate some heat, but without an atmosphere, the nightside would probably be solid, limiting flow away from the dayside. A thin layer of rock vapor on the surface of the magma ocean is also possible, but on its own would likely have a much smaller cooling effect than observed.

"We really need a thick volatile-rich atmosphere to explain all the observations," said co-author Anjali Piette, of University of Birmingham, United Kingdoma former Carnegie Science Postdoctoral Fellow. "Strong winds would cool the dayside by transporting heat over to the nightside. Gases like water vapor would absorb some wavelengths of near-infrared light emitted by the surface before they make it all the way up through the atmosphere. (The planet would look colder because the telescope detects less light.) It's also possible that there are bright silicate clouds that cool the atmosphere by reflecting starlight."

While JWST's observations provide compelling evidence for such an atmosphere, the question remains: How can a small planet exposed to such intense radiation hold on to any atmosphere at all, let alone one so substantial? Some gases must be escaping to space, but perhaps not as efficiently as expected.

"We think there is an equilibrium between the magma ocean and the atmosphere. At the same time that gases are coming out of the planet to feed the atmosphere, the magma ocean is sucking them back into the interior," said co-author Tim Lichtenberg from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, who is also a member of the Carnegie-led Atmospheric Empirical Theoretical and Experimental Research (AEThER) project team. "This planet must be much, much more volatile-rich than Earth to explain the observations. It's really like a wet lava ball."

Concluded Teske: "What's really exciting is that this new data set is opening up even more questions than it's answering."

These are the first results from JWST's General Observers Program 3860, which involved observing the system continuously for more than 37 hours while TOI-561 b completed nearly four full orbits of the star. The team is currently analyzing the full data set to map the temperature all the way around the planet and narrow down the composition of the atmosphere.

Teske and Wallack's leadership on this JWST paper represents a tradition of Carnegie Science excellence dating back to the mission's earliest conception three decades ago and extending through the first four cycles of time allocation on the revolutionary space telescope.

Since JWST finished calibrations and began collecting data for astronomical research programs, Teske, Wallack, and other Carnegie Earth and Planets Laboratory and Observatories-affiliated scientists have led more than a dozen JWST teams and announced groundbreaking results about exoplanet atmospheres, galaxy formation, and more.

"These JWST powered breakthroughs tap directly into our long-standing strength in understanding how exoplanet characteristics are shaped by planetary evolution and dynamics," said Earth and Planets Laboratory Director Michael Walter. "There are more exciting results on the horizon and we're poised for a new wave of Carnegie-led JWST science in the year ahead."

Publication details Johanna K. Teske et al, A Thick Volatile Atmosphere on the Ultrahot Super-Earth TOI-561 b, The Astrophysical Journal Letters (2025). DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/ae0a4c Journal information: Astrophysical Journal Letters
Nava Thakuria

Bangladesh, which recently witnessed turmoil following the demise of a young radical leader Sharif Osman Bin Hadi amid anti-India rhetoric, now gradually returns to normalcy, as the south Asian nation also prepares for its next general election scheduled for 12 February 2026. The highly sought after polls, as the sitting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina faced an overthrow in the backdrop of a student-led mass uprising in July-August 2024, however misses the participation of Hasina's party Awami League, which used to rule the Muslim majority country of 170 million people for several years.

The ousted premier along with thousands of her party men continue to stay in neighbouring India even after she faces a death sentence by a Bangladeshi court for her crimes against humanity during last year's rebellion that resulted in the casualties of over 1400 individuals including the minors. Ignoring repeated official communiques from the current interim regime led by Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus in Dhaka, India still remains non-committal over her repatriation. It caused a strain on diplomatic relations between Dhaka and New Delhi, and lately Bangladesh's bilateral ties with the billion plus nation have only worsened.

Many anti-Hasina campaigners rumoured that the Hadi's killers entered the Indian territory soon after the shooting attack in Dhaka on 12 December, following which the Inqilab Mancha leader was later flown to Singapore for advance-treatment but he succumbed to injuries on 18 December evening. The prime accused Faisal Karim Masud, who was associated with Chhatra League, the student wing of Awami League, continues to be traceless and a large section of Bangladeshi nationals believe with no justification that he was receiving support & hospitality from New Delhi. Thus the entire fury went against India and motivated elements stepped up activities targeting the Hindu families in different parts of Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, the horrific mass killing of Deepu Chandra Das, 27, a garment worker in Bhaluka of Mymensingh locality by an angry mob alleging an unconfirmed derogatory remarks against the Islam on 18 December, and Uttam Kumar Barman, 45, a grocery shop owner of Rangpur locality with same allegation of blasphemy on 13 December aroused massive protests in India. The agitators demonstrated their anger in front of all Bangladesh diplomatic missions demanding justice to the victims and ensuring security to the non-Muslims in the country. The interim government firmly stated that the killing of the Mymensingh worker was a heinous criminal act with no justification. Recently, education adviser Prof CR Abrar visited the family of Deepu to convey the government's sympathy and assurance of support during this difficult time. He reaffirmed the authority's unwavering commitment to the rule of law and informed that over 10 people were arrested in connection with the crime.

In a recent report, the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) pointed out that Hasina's presence in India has been a major factor in the simmering tensions between the two neighboring countries. Almost immediately after taking office, the interim government began pushing for Hasina's extradition under a 2013 treaty, but the Indian officials were never likely to agree to send her back, added the report. Probably New Delhi did not prefer to 'look like an unreliable ally to other governments in the region' by her extradition and hence it staunchly supports Hasina. Dr Yunus personally urged Prime Minister Modi to prevent the disgraced premier from making political statements while in India, warning that her interventions in Bangladeshi politics emerged as an unfriendly gesture. His remarks were not well received by New Delhi and Bangladesh further aggrieved for allowing thousands of Awami League activists to undertake political activities from Kolkata and New Delhi, stated the conflict prevention organization.

Recently, Hasina came out with a critical comment over the current turmoil in Bangladesh accusing the Yunus-led interim government as a failed entity. She termed the tragic killings as a reflection of lawlessness that has become the norm where the interim government either denies it or remains powerless to address it. Alleging that the current authority put 'extremists' in top positions, released convicted terrorists from prison and allowed international terrorists to play roles in public life, Hasina also blamed it for the strained relations with India.

Hasina also rejected any call to return back to Bangladesh 'to face political assassination' until a legitimate government is installed in Dhaka that supports an independent judiciary. She did not forget to offer thanks to New Delhi for its continued hospitality since her departure from Dhaka last year. India's stand on Hasina's stay is clear which is guided by its civilizational ethos and humanitarian tradition of offering refuge to individuals facing circumstances of grave distress or existential threat. New Delhi had earlier sent a strong message demanding justice for Deepu saying that India remains concerned over the deteriorating security situation in Bangladesh affecting the religious minorities.

But the question that arises is, why Hasina should not tender an apology to the Sanatani Hindu society as she too failed to protect the Hindus and other minority families as well as their religious institutions (but pretending to be their saviour always) during her long tenure as the premier of Bangladesh. Initially she was reported to prepare moving to a third country, but till date none has offered asylum to the lady and not even appreciates New Delhi for rescuing Hasina from a possible death in Ganabhawan on 5 August 2024. Hasina remains compelled to stay in a Hindu majority country for more than a year as no nation across the world has come forward supporting Hasina in her time of distress. Should it not be her first priority to beg forgiveness from the Hindus in Bharat!

The writer is an eastern Bharat-based journalist and can be contacted at +91 98640 44917
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Almost a year ago, I took the reins as co-host of ICYMI. Id been covering internet culture on and off for 10 years, and my brain was filled with some of the most unexpectedand unnecessaryfacts. I know the names of all of Trisha Paytas children, for instance, and what Grumpy Cats fur felt like. Ive had dinner in Caroline Calloways West Village apartment and am on an email basis with Club Chalamet.

I was prepared for my new role to be filled with similarly ridiculous internet antics. But this year, things were different. Thats not to say there werent antics (trying MomToks favorite dirty soda live on mic and calling in an exhausted teacher to explain six-seven come to mind), but they were no longer the norm. They were a reprieve.

From my very first episode, we were dealing with a changed world. Donald Trump had been elected as president for the second time, and we were watching everything we thought we knew about American politics and culture rapidly unravel. The internet changed too. Its not just a crucial part of how we process the worldit is the world, and that made the task of covering it on ICYMI even more significant.

Everything we need to understand about what happened IRL this year is explained by what happened online. In todays episode of ICYMI, internet culture reporter Kat Tenbarge and I talk through the most important online moments of 2025. Here are the first five:

The TikTok Ban That Never Was

After the Supreme Court in 2024 upheld the decision to ban TikTok, the app finally went down on Jan. 19, 2025. And then, less than 15 hours later, it was up againbut no one was celebrating. Returning users were greeted with this message: Welcome back! Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trumps efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.! Trump had not yet been sworn in for a second term, but this message was a clear sign that this time things would be different. TikTok was just the first of many major apps and tech companies who would publicly align themselves with Trump, complying with his agenda in advance by loosening restrictions on hate speech, for instance, or donating to his inauguration fund. These digital town squares were no longer for the people but openly under the discretion of Trumps agenda.

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Adolescence Unmasking the Manosphere

To be clear, journalists have for years been raising the alarm about the manosphere (the online communities that radicalize young men against women and toward male supremacy). But when the limited series Adolescence premiered on Netflix on March 13, the conversation finally went mainstream. It tells the story of Jamie (Owen Cooper), whose arrest on suspicion of killing his female classmate appears wrongful until his father (Stephen Graham) and the police learn more about his online activity. The series is powerful in not just its performances but the way it illustrates how young men can fall prey to this rhetoric in private without anyone, not even their parents, noticing in public. The series didnt just draw 24.3 million viewers in its first weekit also appears to have inspired England to introduce training for teachers to help spot misogyny in the classroom and a scheme to send high-risk pupils on behavioral courses.

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Charlie Kirks Shitpost Assassination

On Sept. 10, far-right political commentator Charlie Kirk was shot and killed while speaking in Utah. Unlike past political assassinations, which were often carried out with a clear agenda, the motive of alleged shooter Tyler Robinson is unclear. All we know? He was online. The bullets he used, including the one that killed Kirk, were inscribed with obscure references to things like the furry community (Notices bulge OwO whats this?), gaming (Hey fascist! Catch! , ,   ), and a general apathy that has come to define a certain kind of online humor (If you read this you are gay lmao). It was, in other words, a shitpost, and the nonsense has only continued. Kirks death is now a meme, with A.I. parody songs memorializing his legacy and his face plastered onto figures like Shrek.

But the problem with one of the most prominent political assassinations in recent memory being diluted into something so unserious is that it also softens the significance of Kirks rhetoric. What started as an act of online rebellion has, in some cases, algorithmically backfired, with these memes pushing users down the very far-right rabbit hole they were designed to mock. When everythings a shitpost and nothing means anything, then the only thing that matters online is attentionand as this assassination shows, people might go to deadly lengths to get it.

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The Coldplay-Astronomer Saga

It was a first date but the end of two careers. When a camera at a July 16 Coldplay concert surprised a couple by projecting them onto a large screen, the pair quickly stopped embracing and dove out of view. Their suspicious behavior, captured on a TikTok video, was enough to pique peoples curiosity, and within hours online users had dug up all the details: The video featured Andy Byron, the CEO of a software company called Astronomer, and Kristin Cabot, the companys chief people officer, seemingly having an affair, as their online footprints suggested that they each had their own spouses. Within days, both of them had departed the company, but it took almost six months for Cabot to speak her truth in a profile for the New York Times. She claims she and Byron were already separated from their partners and hadnt even kissed until that ill-fated evening, but the damage of the harassment, and the intensity of social medias self-imposed, gleeful surveillance state, had already wrecked almost every part of her life.

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Six-Seven. Just: Six-Seven.

What a fittingly nonsensical end to an extremely nonsensical year. If youre a parent or teacher, or happen to have in any way interacted with a child this year, then you too have likely been subjected to the scourge of six-seven, a meme with no meaning except for the ability of its meaninglessness to confuse adults. The craze, which literally just involves saying six-seven and moving your hands up and down, is, however, a sign of Gen Alphas broader style of internet humor: brain rot. The bad news is that this is just the beginning. The good news is that if an adult like me is writing about six-seven now, then its already over.

To hear the rest of this years list, and their contributions to 2025 digital culture discussed in full, listen to Our Year of Brain Rot and Tech Dystopia.
CAN 2025 / Equatorial Guinea - Sudan: who holds the historical edge?

CAN 2025 / Equatorial Guinea - Sudan: head-to-head history

The history between Equatorial Guinea and Sudan is brief but unequivocal. Two meetings, two victories for Equatorial Guinea: a pragmatic 1-0 win in Bata in 2018, followed by a resounding 4-1 triumph the following year on Sudanese soil. A straightforward dominance on paper, yet one that carries significant weight heading into this third encounter.

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This Sunday, December 28, 2025, the stage shifts: Stade Mohammed V, Casablanca, a true CAN 2025 atmosphere where the outcome is decided on the pitch, not on paper. Sudan is determined to break the cycle.

Equatorial Guinea, meanwhile, approaches with a cold-blooded certainty: history has always been on their side. But the Africa Cup of Nations never follows a script. Today, the tide could turn.

As a reminder, both teams sit in 3rd and 4th place in Group E of CAN 2025 with zero points after defeats to Algeria and Burkina Faso on the opening day.
December 28, 2025: While Russia was an early user of Iranian Shaheed drones against Ukraine, the Ukrainians developed more drone innovations and out-produced the Russians, until now. After more than a year of effort, and the use of a special task force called Rubicon Center for Advanced Unmanned Technologies, or just Rubicon, these Russian efforts to reform and upgrade their drone operations have paid off. This year Russia is sending nearly ten times the number of drones against Ukrainian targets than they did last year.

New Russian drones are more capable and are usually sent out in multiple large groups called swarms. The swarms come at targets from different directions and approach at different altitudes before diving at the target. Russia began using more decoys and continually upgraded their electronic warfare techniques to protect the swarms. Russian electronic warfare has always been excellent at protecting troops and facilities from attacks. The Ukrainian drones still get through, but in smaller numbers.

For the first time in over three years of war, the Russians have an advantage in drone war operations. The Ukrainians responded quickly, but suffered a lot of damage while doing so. The novel Russian tactics and equipment prompted the Ukrainians to quickly develop effective countermeasures. Still, there was an increase in Russian drone victories. Ukraine is always working on new technologies and tactics and it will be interesting to see how Ukraine adapts to the new Russian methods.

After all, the original Ukrainian drone proliferation began when many individual Ukrainians, or small teams of civilians, designed and built drones. The drones served as potential candidates for widespread use and mass production. This proliferation of designers and manufacturers led to rapid evolution of drone capabilities and uses. Those who could not keep up were less successful in combat and suffered higher losses. Each month nearly 400,000 drones are now built in Ukrainian factories or home workshops. Most of these workshops are informal affairs, located in spare rooms, garages, barns, empty industrial space or anyplace protected from the weather and aerial surveillance. Russia will hit any drone manufacturing sites if they can identify them.

One result of the Ukraine War was the emergence of inexpensive drones as a decisive weapon as well as a reconnaissance and surveillance system. In 2023, a year after Russia invaded Ukraine, the Ukrainians were building their own drones, often at home or scattered workshops. By late 2024 Ukrainians were producing over 15o,000 drones a month. In 2025 Ukraine will produce over 400,000 drones a month. By purchasing components in bulk, thousands of Ukrainian men and women are building these drones for the armed forces or for someone they know in the military. Troops at the front also build and modify drones to fit their immediate situations. For the soldiers, designing better drones is often a matter of life or death.

This competitiveness led to First Person View/FPV drones as well as drones guided via Fiber Optic cable Guidance or FOG. Electronic jamming was useless against the FOG drones. The only limitation was the length of the cable. This meant the operator had to be at one end of the kilometers long cable. Operators could be further away if there was time to lay another kilometer or two of cable further to the rear. Ukrainian drone operators often worked in drone workshops before entering the military and were accustomed to upgrading drone operator equipment while in the combat zone. Any successful innovations were made known to workshop operators throughout Ukraine.

This is how the Ukrainians maintain a lead over the Russians in drone technology and production. The Russian government discourages, or even outlaws, individuals building drones, and centralizes drone production. This gives the Ukrainians an edge in drone quantity and quality. The Ukrainians are defending their homeland and Russia is having an increasingly difficult time justifying continued fighting and over a million Russians killed or disabled in Ukraine.

NATO countries are trying to adopt drone technology and use it for their own armed forces. Ukraine has received over $200 billion in military and economic assistance from NATO countries and shares their drone experience and technology with their benefactors. Drones have revolutionized warfare and are causing 70 percent of casualties in Ukraine. The Ukraine War is a battle between industrialized countries employing modern weapons. It is the war of the future that has become what all armed forces in the world must adopt to remain competitive.

Even before the Ukraine War, drones were being used in irregular warfare in the Middle East, Afghanistan and Africa. Drug gangs have used drones to smuggle drugs into the United States, or into a prison to aid in an escape attempt. Drones are everywhere, despite laws in some countries restricting or prohibiting their use.

The latest innovation in drone warfare is 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 FPV drones. These drones are an omnipresent aerial threat to all vehicles, including heavily armored tanks, 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

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 which 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.
Its been quite a year for humanoid robots, with all manner of increasingly advanced designs coming to our attention. The selections here focus more on physical movement than AI smarts, with the latter expected to come to the fore next year.

H1 by Unitree

So many humanoid robots still walk as if theyre desperately looking for a bathroom. But Unitrees H1 robot not only walks like a human, it runs like one, too. The impressive contraption proved itself at the first-ever World Humanoid Robot Olympics in August, picking up four gold medals, three silver, and four bronze in various track events.

The H1 robot won its first gold in the 1,500 meters, completing it in style in 6 minutes and 34 seconds (the world record is 3 minutes and 26 seconds). Hitting a top speed of 4.78 meters a second, the humanoid robot ran with ease and grace, its arms and legs moving in perfect sync to maintain balance, speed, and momentum.

Only Head by AheadForm

At first glance, you might think that this video of a robotic head was generated by AI. It wasnt. The work of Chinese firm AheadForm, the so-called Only Head is described as a face robot thats been designed for research, interaction, and high-end displays.

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Its movements are astonishingly lifelike, so much so that the footage will likely creep you out. The setup incorporates a complete facial actuation system with as many as 25 micro motors enabling lifelike expressions capable of portraying every human emotion. Only Heads pupils incorporate cameras for visual perception, and built-in microphones and speakers enable real-time audio interaction.

ALLEX by WIRobotics

One of the greatest challenges for engineers developing humanoid robots is achieving natural hand movements, with the fine movement and sensitivity of human fingers proving extremely hard to replicate. South Korean tech firm WIRobotics is having a good go at it, however, with its ALLEX (from All EXperience) humanoid robot demonstrating amazingly versatile finger movements.

Once perfected, you can imagine those hands  and the rest of the robot  being deployed on a production line, or even used for prosthetics. WI robotics says its also working with an AI startup to develop ALLEXs AI smarts in a bid to make what could become a truly remarkable robot.

G1 by Unitree

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Heres another one from Unitree. This one is a bit smaller than the adult-sized H1 robot that did so well at the robot Olympics. The G1 has garnered attention for its amazing balance and ability to recover after being pushed over. The team behind it call it the anti-gravity mode.

In any robot uprising, you can imagine the G1 leading the way, with human fighters unable to quell the onslaught from waves of G1 robots who just wont go down  though lets hope it never comes to that.

The flop  AIDOL by Artificial Intelligence Dynamic Organism Lab

For talented roboticists, this video will be a hard watch. It shows a new humanoid robot from Russia called AIDOL. Its creators unveiled AIDOL at a special event in November, but seconds after tottering onto the stage, the robot lost its balance and took a spectacular tumble.

In a desperate bid to preserve any last of strands of dignity, several assistants dashed out and tried to put a sheet over AIDOL, but that went wrong, too, as it became tangled and failed to cover up the robot. It meant we got to witness AIDOL being hauled off the stage  back to the workshop, we assume. Or a dumpster.

The post Four impressive robot demos from 2025, and one epic fail appeared first on Digital Trends.
HCMC to launch Free Trade Zone linked to Cai Mep Ha Port

By Chau Anh Sun, December 28, 2025 | 8:00 am GMT+7

Ho Chi Minh City plans to establish a free trade zone (FTZ) linked to Cai Mep Ha Port, with future expansions to Can Gio, An Binh and Bau Bang, optimizing unique local advantages while maintaining a unified management model, according to a new resolution.

The municipal Peoples Council on Friday approved a draft resolution outlining the procedures for establishing, expanding, and adjusting the boundaries of the FTZ.

The move implements the parliaments Resolution 260 amending and supplementing some articles of Resolution 98/2023 on piloting special mechanisms and policies for HCMCs development.

Accordingly, the southern metropolis will initially establish a single FTZ at Cai Mep Ha in the former Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, covering roughly 3,800 hectares.

Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Binh Duong provinces in July merged with HCMC to form the new HCMC.

Cai Mep-Thi Vai is Vietnams largest deep-sea port complex. Photo courtesy of Nhan Dan (People) newspaper.

The Cai Mep Ha area has been designated as the core zone, aiming to leverage the advantages of Cai Mep-Thi Vai, Vietnams largest deep-sea port complex.

From the core zone, functional subzones will be developed in areas with specific advantages in logistics, port infrastructure, and transport connectivity.

The expansion will not be confined to geographically contiguous areas and may include non-adjacent zones, provided they can link to technical infrastructure and logistics networks and share the management system of the Cai Mep Ha core zone.

This approach ensures unified governance, prevents institutional fragmentation, and maximizes the advantages of each area.

Under the plan, the An Binh subzone, located in the former Binh Duong province, is planned to integrate with existing inland ports and logistics centers. Positioned near major transport arteries and interregional transport hubs, it is well-suited for goods transfer by road and rail.

An Binh is designated as a satellite logistics subzone, supporting cargo consolidation and distribution, and direct connectivity with the Cai Mep Ha core zone.

Similarly, the Bau Bang subzone, also in the former Binh Duong province, has a strategic advantage in rail connectivity. It is linked to the HCMC-Loc Ninh railway, connecting the Cai Mep-Thi Vai deep-water port cluster with inland areas and the trans-Asia economic corridor.

Bau Bang is expected to serve as a hub for transferring goods from the Central Highlands, Cambodia, and northern provinces of Vietnam to the international port system.

The Can Gio subzone is projected to be linked with an international transshipment port project. Strategically located at a maritime gateway, it is well-positioned for container transshipment, international logistics services, and marine-related commercial activities.

Once integrated into the FTZ, Can Gio will serve as a transshipment gateway, supplementing functions that the Cai Mep Ha core zone cannot accommodate due to space constraints for large-scale port development.

The choice of a one zone, multiple subzones model stems from authority limits and the need for flexibility in implementation. Under Resolution 260, HCMC is only authorized to establish an FTZ linked to Cai Mep Ha. Therefore, to include other areas in the system, the city must use an expansion mechanism rather than create independent zones.

Under general regulations, functional subzone expansions are normally allowed only once the established zone reaches around 70% occupancy. However, the resolution permits expansions even if the Cai Mep Ha core zone has not met this threshold, provided they serve national objectives or urgent requirements for integration and strategic investment attraction.

The FTZ is designed to operate under a duty-free model, applying special customs and management mechanisms to facilitate international trade. All subzones, even if non-contiguous, will follow the same policy framework and be managed under a single authority, ensuring consistency and seamless governance.

HCMC expects that the model will generate a new growth engine, leveraging port facilities, logistics, and regional connectivity. The model is also seen as a key foundation for the city to strengthen its position in the global supply chain while reinforcing the Southeast regions role as an economic driver in the coming period.
Top 10 standout international events in 2025

By Vietnam News Agency Sun, December 28, 2025 | 12:40 pm GMT+7

The U.S.'s imposition of reciprocal tariffs, the Thailand-Cambodia border conflict, and the AI race are among the 10 prominent international events in 2025 as selected by Vietnam News Agency.

1. U.S.s imposition of reciprocal tariffs heightens global trade tensions

The Port of Long Beach in California, the U.S. Photo courtesy of AFP/VNA.

On April 2, U.S. President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs ranging from 10% to 49% on most imports to protect domestic production, thereby disrupting the global trade order, interrupting supply chains, and pushing gold prices to record highs.

Economies around the world were forced to adjust policies in response and accelerate negotiations to reach trade agreements. As a result of the tariff war, trade tensions between the U.S. and China have reached their most severe level since 2018.

2. Outbreak of Thailand-Cambodia border conflict

A Thai vehicle near the Thailand-Cambodia border. Photo courtesy of Reuters/VNA.

Border tensions between Thailand and Cambodia intensified following clashes between the two countries militaries on the morning of May 28, seriously affecting bilateral relations and regional stability.

ASEAN and the international community pushed for diplomatic solutions, leading to a peace agreement under which both sides established a joint patrol mechanism, strengthened border security coordination, and pledged to enhance bilateral dialogue.

However, the peace agreement has been repeatedly violated. Experts warn that the deal remains fragile due to the history of conflict between the two countries.

3. Global economy projected to grow 3.2%

The headquarters of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, D.C., the US. Photo courtesy of Xinhua/VNA.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) project global economic growth at 3.2% in 2025, reflecting strong resilience and adaptability among many economies despite the global tariff war, conflicts in various regions, and the prolonged shutdown of the U.S. government.

Throughout the year, gold, crude oil and stock markets have experienced sharp volatility, with gold prices hitting a historic high of $4,503.3 per ounce in the December 23 trading session in the US.

4. Artificial intelligence  a new front in global competition

The race in artificial intelligence (AI) has intensified. Photo courtesy of AFP.

The race in artificial intelligence (AI) has intensified as technology companies develop low-cost AI systems and generative AI, profoundly reshaping the structure, scale and distribution of the global workforce. AI is no longer merely a technology but becoming a new geopolitical arena where technological power determines strategic advantage.

At the AI Action Summit held in Paris (France) in February 2025, representatives from 61 countries adopted a joint declaration calling for open, inclusive, and ethical AI development.

5. Comprehensive escalation of conflicts in the Middle East

Smoke is seen after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza. Photo courtesy of Xinhua/VNA.

The Middle East witnessed a full-scale escalation of conflicts, peaking with 12 consecutive days of reciprocal airstrikes between Israel and Iran from June 13 to 24, followed by Israeli airstrikes on Qatar, and the spread of tensions to Lebanon and Yemen.

Despite diplomatic efforts leading to a ceasefire agreement and hostage exchange between Israel and Hamas, the peace process remains fragile and highly vulnerable to collapse due to strategic calculations and mistrust among the parties involved.

6. Diplomatic efforts stepped up to end Russia-Ukraine conflict

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Photo courtesy of Getty/VNA.

Diplomatic efforts have been promoted to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with the U.S. and Europe putting forward peace proposals. U.S. President Donald Trump held separate meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but has yet to arrange direct negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian leaders. Meanwhile, the fighting has continued in new forms, causing heavy losses to both sides.

7. The world witnesses a year of record natural disasters

Vietnamese rescue forces take part in search operations following the earthquake in Myanmar in April 2025. Photo courtesy of VNA.

Climate change has reached unprecedentedly extreme levels, with severe natural disasters occurring in many parts of the world: earthquakes in Myanmar; super typhoons and floods in many Asian countries and the Caribbean; wildfires in Greece, Canada, the US and Australia; among others.

Natural disasters claimed thousands of lives, disrupted the lives of millions of people, and caused economic losses estimated at $220 billion. In that context, the 30th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP30) in Brazil failed to reach an agreement on cutting fossil fuels, highlighted the need for further global efforts to curb global warming.

8. Commemorations of the 80th anniversary of victory over fascism

The military parade marks the 80th anniversary of the Victory over Fascism on the Red Square in Moscow, Russia. Photo courtesy of VNA.

Russia, China and many countries around the world commemorated the 80th anniversary of the Victory over Fascism, with outstanding activities such as military parades on the Red Square in Moscow and Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

The events recalled the historic victory, achieved at the cost of enormous sacrifices by nations, including the decisive role of the Soviet army and people; and sent a strong message about the shared global responsibility to prevent extremism and neo-fascism, and to strive for a peaceful, stable and sustainable world.

9. ASEAN admits Timor-Leste as its 11th member

The signing ceremony of the declaration on the admission of Timor-Leste into ASEAN. Photo courtesy of VNA.

The official admission of Timor-Leste into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on October 26 marked an important step, affirming the blocs determination to strengthen internal solidarity and expand regional cooperation space; and demonstrated ASEANs commitment to building an inclusive Community that leaves no Southeast Asian country outside the common development process.

The admission of a new member also created additional momentum for ASEAN to enhance coordination in addressing regional and global challenges.

10. Advances in gene therapy bring hope to patients with incurable diseases

CRISPR is a groundbreaking medical technology that allows precise identification and repair of faulty DNA segments. Photo courtesy of VNA.

Doctors in the UK successfully treated Hunter syndrome, a rare genetic disorder, in a three-year-old patient using an advanced gene therapy. The UKs National Health Service officially rolled out the Casgevy therapy based on CRISPR gene-editing technology to treat patients with sickle cell anemia and inherited anemia caused by gene mutations.

CRISPR is a groundbreaking medical technology that allows precise identification and repair of faulty DNA segments, opening up the potential to treat genetic diseases, cancer, HIV and other disorders by correcting genes directly within the body or by editing cells outside the body before reintroducing them.
December 28, 2025: The military is constantly exposed to new technologies and must accurately determine how a new tech can be used for military tasks. Some new technologies, like smokeless gunpowder, were quickly adopted because of the obvious value and battlefield advantages of it. Other technologies require more work, especially radically new technology. One such example is Generative AI/Artificial Intelligence, or GAI. ChatGPT and Grok are two current and widely used GAI systems. When used with sufficiently complete information, GAI systems can write reports, monitor manufacturing operations and provide a short list of the best future options a company or organization should pursue.

What makes GAI popular is that it can be verified for accuracy and completeness. There are various statistically valid and proven techniques for selecting samples of data to manually check and verify if the GAI is operating reliably. Organizations that fail to conduct these quality control procedures eventually run into problems with unreliable GAI data, and are reminded of how important quality control is. GIGO, or Garbage In/Garbage Out is an old axiom that still applies in the age of GAI.

This is where we face the problem of monitoring GAI when it is used in combat operations. While military planning and operations involves a lot of double checking and quality control, if you take you GAI into combat, you want the highest level of reliability you can get. No existing or previous military weapon, equipment or support activities were perfect. But there was a limit to how much bad data could be tolerated. Russia, which has openly pursued computer assisted command and control systems for decades, tolerates a lot more errors than NATO nations, or most other industrialized nations.

In Ukraine, during the first war Russia had an opportunity to use GAI, they used it mainly to create and fine tune their information warfare. This is also known as propaganda. Russia also used GAI for disinformation campaigns. This is a subset of information warfare that the Russians have always been active in and often very good at it. Another Russian specialty is disinformation operations.

Twitter/X, the popular messaging app, began in 2006 and soon became a favorite tool for Russian dezinformatsiya/disinformation operations. That was because it was easier to conceal Russian involvement. Messages were limited to 140 characters, meaning Russian dezinformatsiya operatives could be convincing even if their written English was not fluent. This aspect of Twitter and its relationship with Russian dezinformatsiya operations received little attention in the West until 2016 and, even then, it was inaccurately described. But often that was because of local politics and the use of disinformation. Meanwhile Twitter became a media powerhouse. Six years after Twitter began, it had over 100 million users who were posting over 340 million tweets a day. At that point, Russian disinformation operations were increasingly using Twitter as their primary international messaging platform. It was cheap, anonymous and Russians with a basic knowledge could convincingly use it.

How this Russian dependence on dezinformatsiya came about went something like this. During the Cold War the communist rulers of the Soviet Union invented or expanded on all sorts of propaganda, deception and indoctrination techniques that are still widely copied and often condemned because they work. At least sometimes. In the end, all that dezinformatsiya did not prevent the Soviet empire from collapsing and disintegrating. Some of those techniques have been updated and continue to serve the current rulers of Russia. One of them involves the Internet and is believed particularly useful or at least thought to be in Russia as well as worldwide.

How Russian dezinformatsiya worked in the United States became easier to understand in October 2018 when Twitter released a 350 GB file containing over 10 million tweets from 3,800 accounts belonging to Russian organizations that engage in media manipulation. There were also one million tweets by Iranian trolls seeking to influence public opinion. These tweets date from 2013. Actually, Russia has been using information war techniques like this for over a decade and Iran followed the Russian example.

It may be a while before we find out how well or not Russian use of GAI worked for their information warfare operations. For all we know Russia may be using GAI for their combat operations. The Russians have not done well since they invaded Ukraine in 2022. But they have had some successes, especially in the last year. Was any of that due to GAI? Russia is more willing than NATO to lose troops while testing new tactics or technology.

Currently, NATO nations, especially the United States, will probably test GAI in simulated combat followed by use with some special operations troops.
The World Bank Group has officially opened its new, energy-efficient offices here, which will serve as the hub for its Caribbean operations.

The building brings the Banks Caribbean team together in one physical space, which will strengthen the institutions presence and support in Jamaica and the wider region.
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by Ken MacVey

Donald Trump has creatively explored ways to monetize the presidency. These include launching the $TRUMP crypto business a few days before resuming office on January 20, 2025 or using Truth Sociala private business venture he helped start to platform his presidential and personal pronouncements.

Monetization began early in the first Trump administration with the Trump International Hotel in Washington DC, which became, according to an October 18, 2024 House Committee on Oversight staff report, a hotel of choice for foreign and domestic influencers and would-be appointees to government positions, such as judgeships and ambassadorships. According to the report, it was also the hotel of choice for various presidential pardon recipients. This report alleged that at least five such recipients stayed at the hotel spending thousands of dollars in 2017 and 2018. The report went on: [T]hese expenditures are particularly troubling in light of allegations that former President Trumps former personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, was involved in efforts to sell presidential pardons for $2 million apiecean amount Mr. Giuliani reportedly planned to split with President Trump. (These allegations stem from a lawsuit against Giuliani by someone who used to work for him Giuliani denies the allegations.) Since this report, Trump has pardoned Giuliani for his role in attempting to overturn the 2020 election.

A number of Trump pardons in the last few months have caught the publics eye. For example, in October Trump pardoned billionaire crypto entrepreneur and convicted felon, Changpeng Zhao. Zhao and his company pled guilty to failing to stop money laundering, which according to the Department of Justice aided terrorist groups like Isis. Forbes reported that Zhaos company had made a deal in May 2025 with a Trump family affiliated company that helped boost Trumps net worth by hundreds of millions of dollars. Liz Oyler, head pardon attorney for the Department of Justice until last March, is quoted by Forbes as saying: Trump has created a pay-for-play pardon system.

Maybe even more controversial is Trumps December pardon of former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was convicted in federal court of running a massive drug trafficking ring that imported hundreds of millions of dollars of illegal drugs (e.g., cocaine) into the United States. Political strategist Roger Stone, also someone Trump had recently pardoned, urged Trump to pardon Hernandez. For many the Hernandez pardon was a head scratcher, hard to reconcile with the Trump administrations campaign to blow up and kill drug importers on international waters allegedly because their cache of imported drugs (e.g., cocaine) threatened to kill Americans.

Whatever is really fueling these or other pardon decisions we may never know. Nonetheless, despite public concerns about these pardons, violation of federal anti-corruption statutes is unlikely, especially given the Supreme Courts recent narrow interpretation of those statutes in reversing federal bribery convictions. But if a president were ever to actually take a bribe for granting a pardon the Supreme Court has made it legally insurmountable for a president to be prosecuted or convicted in court.

As discussed below, the issue of bribes for pardons came up in 2024 in Trump v. United Statesthe presidential immunity decision regarding Trumps indictment for attempting to overturn the 2020 election. In that decision the Supreme Court held that current and former presidents have conclusive and preclusive immunity from criminal prosecution based on the exercise of their core constitutional powers. This means the claim of immunity can never be challenged with respect to a presidents exercise of such powers.

On the other hand, the decision held non-core presidential official acts within the outer perimeter of a presidents official responsibility are subject to a presumption of immunity. This possibly means in theory the presumed immunity could be overcome with the burden on the challenger to justify the challenge. The Supreme Court, however, did leave it an open question whether a president could ever be prosecuted for any official action. The Court did hold there is no immunity for a presidents unofficial actions. But (and this is a big but) in parsing official from unofficial conduct, the Supreme Court held courts may not inquire into a presidents motives.

This convoluted framework of presidential immunity is nowhere set forth in the text of the Constitution. Nor did the Framers and ratifiers of the Constitution recognize presidential immunity from criminal prosecution. To the contrary, as Justice Sotomayer noted in her dissent in Trump v. United States, Alexander Hamilton wrote in the Federalist Papers (No. 69) that former presidents would be liable to prosecution and punishment in the ordinary course of law. Chief Justice Roberts justified construction of this arc of immunity not on originalist interpretive grounds but on the Courts own judgment that such immunity is necessary for the effective exercise of executive power. Another way some have put itit was just made up.

The dissent by Justice Sotomayer and joined by Justices Kagan and Brown, raised the concern that taking bribes for pardons would be immune. She wrote if a president  Orders the Navys Seal Team 6 to assassinate political rivals? Immune. Organizes a military coup to hold onto power? Immune. Takes a bribe for a pardon? Immune. Immune, immune, immune.

Chief Justice Roberts in his opinion contemptuously dismissed these concerns as overwrought and improbable. But he did respond in a footnote to Justice Barretts concern in her concurring opinion that the Courts decision could mean barring evidence in a bribery prosecution. Chief Justice Roberts tried to alleviate this concern by saying the prosecutor may point to the public record to show the fact that the President performed an official act. He went on: And the prosecutor may admit evidence of what the President allegedly demanded, received, accepted, or agreed to receive or accept in return for being influenced in the performance of the act. What the prosecutor may not do, however, is admit testimony or private records of the President or his advisers probing the official act. Left unanswered is how practically meaningful these assurances are if a president still could use an adviser as a go-between whose communications with the president, wrapped in a cocoon of executive privileged confidentiality, would be free from outside probing and public scrutiny.

In any case, what is clear is that Justice Sotomayer is right under the decision a president would be immune from prosecution for taking a bribe in return for a pardon. That is because the presidents power to pardon is a core constitutional power. Article II Section 2 Clause 1 of the Constitution states a president has the Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment. Chief Justice Roberts declared : The Presidents authority to pardon, in other word is conclusive and preclusive . . . He further affirmed the pardon power cannot be regulated by Congress. And nowhere in his opinion did he deny in response to Justice Sotomayer that a president would be immune for taking a bribe in trade for a pardon.

Immunity from criminal prosecution relating to exercise of the pardon power appears to be absolute. That means if a president takes a bribe for granting a pardon, the president will never need a get-out-of-jail card because a president will never have to worry about getting in jail in the first place. Nor need a president worry about a bribe coming to public light due to investigation by a prosecutor. As Chief Justice Roberts wrote: In dividing official from unofficial conduct, courts may not inquire into the Presidents motives. For that reason the testimony or private records of the President or his advisers are off limits. (An interesting side question: does this principle also mean that Nixons White House secret tapes were private records and therefore Nixon should never have been legally required to produce them in response to a judicial subpoena as the Supreme Court had ruled in United States v. Nixon in 1974 ? Very possibly. If so, so much for that Watergate precedent. )

A hundred years ago the Supreme Court was faced with the question whether the presidential pardon power extended to criminal contempt for violating court orders. It has been long acknowledged in the law that courts have not only statutory but also inherent civil and criminal contempt powers to enforce their orders. But former President and then Chief Justice Taft in writing an opinion in 1925 on behalf of the Court found presidents do have the power to pardon criminal contempt. The concern was that extending the pardon power to criminal contempt would undermine the judiciarys authority to enforce its orders against a president. Perhaps thinking more like an ex-president than a chief justice, Taft rejected this concern in Ex Parte Grossman:

If it be said that the President, by successive pardons of constantly recurring contempts in particular litigation, might deprive a court of power to enforce its orders in a recalcitrant neighborhood [sic], it is enough to observe that such a course is so improbable as to furnish but little basis for argument. Exceptional cases like this, if imagined at all, would suggest a resort to impeachment, rather than to a narrow and strained construction of the general powers of the President.

A century later, a presidents systematic abuse of the pardon power is no longer so unimaginable. What has become less imaginableafter two recent failed presidential impeachments and the Supreme Courts presidential immunity decision is that such abuse, even if corrupt, could ever be checked by impeachment or the courts.
If I asked you (the reader): do you think most people can be trusted? Would you answer yes o
PHOENIX  It will be 50 years this coming June since Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles was killed in a car bombing linked to an investigation he was doing.

And Rep. Selina Bliss says she thinks the timing may finally be right to line up the votes  and overcome some opposition from a few within her own Republican Party  to allow a memorial to him to be placed across the street from the Capitol in Wes Bolin Plaza.

It isn't a question of money.

HB 2079 sponsored by the Prescott lawmaker says any funds for its construction have to be privately raised. And that's been the financial case now for the entire time since the idea was first proposed in 2023 by Phoenix Democratic Rep. Jennifer Longdon and Republican Sen. T.J. Shope from Coolidge.

Prior efforts have run up against Sen. Jake Hoffman, the Queen Creek Republican, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee. Though Hoffman has never explained his opposition, he has used his position to block memorial plans.

And Senate President Warren Petersen has chosen in the past not to exercise his ability to have the proposal sidestep Hoffman's committee.

Bliss, a Prescott Republican, picked up the cause after Longdon left the Legislature. She said she thinks maybe this is the year, particularly since prior efforts by her and others have produced more than enough bipartisan support to get the necessary votes.

"I spoke with his daughter,'' she told Capitol Media Services, referring to Diane. "She is stepping up to support the effort,'' with an eye on the 50th anniversary.

"This is it,'' Bliss said.

Her original bill cleared the House on a 45-15 bipartisan margin, only to be assigned by Petersen to Hoffman's committee, where it died.

So she cooked up a plan: Bliss got permission from Sen. Janae Shamp, R-Surprise, to tack the exact same language onto an unrelated bill that had already passed the Senate when it went to the House. Again, a 45-11 approval.

That sent the now-amended bill back to the Senate, where Petersen could simply have brought the new version up for a final vote of the full chamber, without further committee action. He did not. And the bill died.

"Senate leadership failed to move it forward,'' Bliss said.

And this year?

"I wonder if Senate President Petersen can assign it to a different committee to give it a chance?'' Bliss asked.

Petersen did not respond to multiple inquiries asking whether he will again assign any House-passed bill to Hoffman's committee, where it would again meet the same fate. Nor would he say whether he would use his power to get around Hoffman.

Still, some things are different this year.

Petersen, now running for state attorney general, is looking at a larger constituency than just his home community.

And there's something else.

The Senate president is pushing his own plan to create an honor for someone else who was struck down. He wants to rename a 78-mile of freeway that loops in and around Phoenix for Charlie Kirk, killed in a shooting earlier this year in Utah, as memorial.

"It is right that Arizonans are regularly reminded of the tremendous legacy of this champion for free speech who was assassinated for his stand, which is why I introduced this bill,'' Petersen explained earlier this month.

Bliss took note.

"When I saw the Charlie Kirk proposal, I thought, 'Well, this is perfect,' because the precedent will be set that Sen. Warren Petersen is going to run an individual out there that's part of our history,'' she said. "So this makes the Don Bolles bill even more applicable to this movement to acknowledge these individuals and their important part of history.''

That history is what Bliss, who grew up in Arizona, said drives her on this issue.

"I think I was 13 when this happened,'' she said. "It very much affected me to think that this could happen in the United States of America, someone being assassinated with a car bomb for discovering the truth.''

Bolles had gone to the Clarendon Hotel in midtown Phoenix in 1976 to meet with a source. That person, later identified as John Harvey Adamson, never showed up.

As he was backing out, six sticks of dynamite, which had been attached to his 1976 Datsun 210, were detonated by remote control. He died 11 days later.

Adamson, seeking to avoid the death penalty, agreed to testify against Max Dunlap, saying he had ordered Bolles to be killed, with police saying that was because of a story the reporter had written about a friend, liquor magnate Kemper Marley.

Dunlap eventually was sentenced to life behind bars after a first conviction was overturned. He died in prison after a clemency plea was rejected.

Adamson and James Robison, who was accused of actually planting and detonating the bomb, also have since died.

Bliss said it's important for people to be told that story.

"We have so many people that come to Arizona and they do not understand our important, rich history,'' Bliss said. "And this is very much a part of it.''

Now the question for lawmakers is whether Bolles deserves to be honored in Wesley Bolin Plaza in the same way that Arizona honors various veterans, pioneer women, the Ten Commandments, and Jesuit missionary Father Kino. The plaza already is home to more than two dozen plaques, statutes and other memorabilia, including large guns from the USS Arizona and USS Missouri.

State law requires that any memorial, regardless of whether, as in this case, the tab is to be picked up through private donations, must get legislative approval and the signature of the governor.

The idea has had its detractors.

One was Rep. Jacqueline Parker, who was a Mesa Republican representative in 2023.

"So, the only thing this guy accomplished is that he was a reporter?'' she asked in voting against the measure.

It also initially drew opposition from Rep. Alexander Kolodin.

But the Scottsdale Republican, now running for secretary of state, later changed his mind after saying he had developed a new appreciation for Bolles  even if it came with a slap at other reporters.

"Don Bolles, as opposed to the current hacks that we have in the liberal media, was actually a newsman,'' Kolodin said.

Bolles' assassination, unusual in the United States, provoked an immediate and unique response within the journalism community. Nearly 40 reporters from newspapers around the country, sponsored by Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc., launched an extensive probe that resulted in a series of stories about organized crime in Arizona.

The series was printed in the Arizona Daily Star and many newspapers around the country, though not by the Arizona Republic, where Bolles had worked.

Memorials at Wesley Bolin Plaza have not been without their controversy.

In 2011, the Senate voted to tear down part of a memorial to the victims of the 2001 terrorist attack at the World Trade Center after some lawmakers said they were upset by some of the phrases carved into the ring. Then-Sen. Al Melvin, R-Tucson, said the memorial should have only "patriotic, pro-American words'' and not phrases that represented attitudes at the time, like "fear of foreigners.''

And in 2020, a monument to Confederate troops was removed from the park at the request of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the group that had placed it there in 1961 during increased activity in the civil rights movement.

The group stated that the monument was in need of repair. But there was also something else, with demonstrations and it being vandalized since the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The organization said it would be "unwise'' to repair it where located "due to the current political climate.''

It has never been replaced.
Wrong again

Here are some real figures. Total deaths of Palestinians is 60,000-69,000. Over 145,000 wounded. This does not include the nearly 10,000 not accounted for and presumed buried under the ruble. More than 18,500 were children; 10,000 were women. Israel has disputed this, but Israel has not provided its own comprehensive account of Palestinian casualties. Every day we saw Israel bombing hospitals, schools and places of worship. If they suspected Hamas in those places why not send troops to root them out instead of killing everyone? I used to support Israel, but not now or ever again. What we saw was genocide, period.

Kym Jones

Midtown

Include public in your healthcare plans

Dear Congress members and Senators 

The public wants a healthcare plan identical to yours. Your healthcare comes via the DC Health Link, which was established by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The federal government covers 72-75% of your premium on your plans. When you are in Washington, D.C., you get care from the Office of the Attending Physician for exams, consultations, and tests ($650/year). Middle- and lower-income Americans would love to have these benefits. With the expiration of ACA supplements, will your plans greatly increase in cost to you?

You can retain this insurance after five years in office, whether you resign, retire, or are voted out of office, unless convicted of a felony while in office. This does not apply if you have immunity status from the Supreme Court. By the way, the healthcare plans for the Supremes are even more benevolent.

How can you consciously let the supplement to the public for the ACA terminate while you are so coddled?

Jay Gandolfi

Northeast side

Help with TDS

I've got it, and I can still function as a civil, functioning member of society.

First, TDS is not fatal. Every day or every other day I see a live picture of this sham of a man and you can see him deteriorating in his looks and mental acuity. I know we are all getting older, but you can really see this man on a daily basis sliding "downhill." Using his own volition, he won't make it to the end of his elected term.

Second, I am revisiting the television series "The West Wing" ...which I really enjoyed in the early 2000s.

I was reluctant to view, but I have not seen the technological drawback that I was anticipating. It's just real quality programming, and many storylines are still in today's news.

I'm getting through my TDS by watching Martin Sheen do what is morally right (in most cases) for America.

Bert Hanson

Northwest side

The double standard lives on

A Christmas letter ignores the point my letter makes, it was a war in Gaza. This is what happens in war, however the writer wants this war to be judged differently. This writer belittled that 54,000 civilians died monthly in the Korean War, but that's the analogy the Chair of Urban War at West Point uses, who continues, " If we used (that) logic, every major war would be called genocide." My critic speaks of limiting food aid into Gaza, while reality is that Israel facilitated more than 2 million tons into Gaza. The Lieber Institute says, "Legally there is no obligation to provide humanitarian relief to the civilian population under the control of the other party (Hamas)." No historical precedent exists for the vast quantity of aid Israel facilitated into Gaza. The writer laments Israel's not giving land back. Israel tried that in 2005, giving back all the land, resulting in Palestinians electing Hamas and attacking Israel.

Barbara Katz

Green Valley

Excellent opinion pieces

I'd like to offer a thousand thanks to the Star for printing two exceptional opinion pieces, one by Robert Gavlak and the other by Robert Kimball Shinkoskey. Mr. Gavlak speaks to the inappropriate pairing of science and religion in the same classroom. The piece is articulate, intelligent and generally spot on as it clearly and concisely explains the wildly disparate positions of evolutionary theory and Intelligent Design, and why one should stay in the classroom while the other should remain in the church. Mr. Shinkoskey's article, "A trend worse than gerrymandering," absolutely nails the current Republican governing theory - one which rejects governance as public service to the country in favor of "too much is never enough"  translated as however much corruption they can get away with and how much money they can stuff in their pockets. Both of these articles soar a million miles above the MAGA mindset op-eds that have appeared in some recent editions. Thank you!

S. Ross Emmanuel

Southeast side

Appalling comparison

The LTE comparing MLK and Charlie Kirk was appalling. Aside from both meeting violent ends, there are no similarities. MLK, putting aside his personal shortcomings, was a consummate humanitarian. Charlie Kirk, by his own words, was a racist and bigot. Simply including both in the same LTE is offensive.

Kenneth Haber

Northwest side

Cows for generals

Trump strikes again. This time, Nigeria, but he is still involved in Venezuela by sea, and soon by land. Yes, our Peace President has ambitious plans to expand American influence worldwide. No country is safe. Our trailblazing despot is doing this, not by charity and diplomacy, but by fire and annihilation. Murder is always on the docket. None dare call it murder, however, since the Supreme Court has given him the authority to carry on as he pleases.

Trump is a man to fear, not just here at home with his personal police force, ICE, but everywhere his military can reach. He has no fear that his generals will refuse to carry out his orders. In this, they are more cows than bulls. They sit quietly when he walks into a room.

President Trump has a big appetite for conquest, even if no one else has the stomach for it.

Ron Lancaster

North side

Cure for TDS

... don't think I could make this up ...

Elise "all hat no cattle" Shamp wants to spend money researching this.

Isn't the cure obvious? Impeachment!

So un-MAGA to waste money on science.

Richard Eaton

West side

Stamp out Shamp

Arizona Senator Janae Shamp joined the list of sycophants trying to get President Trump's attention and favor. As sponsor of SB 1070, Stamp proposes using taxpayer money to examine the origins, manifestations, and long-term effects on individuals, communities and the public discourse of a fabricated term, Trump Derangement Syndrome. Stamp's ludicrous bill would distract from the efforts of the state health department to control the growth of infectious diseases like measles and other contagious diseases. Refusing to make additional comments about her grandstanding efforts, Stamp adds to the many ill-conceived legislative bills proposed by Arizona legislators. Hopefully, Arizona voters will send a veto to Shamp by voting her out of office.

Roger Shanley

East side

Study TDS

I'm so glad they finally want to investigate the derangement of Trump voters. Why do intelligent moral people vote for a man who bragged about the felony sexual assault he has committed? Who enthusiastically told of walking into the dressing rooms of underage girls? Who likes girls "young" with the "too young" age being 12? All his own stories. What patriot votes for a man orchestrating a coup? Who supports dictator Putin? A six-times-bankrupt businessman? Who puts a video of himself bombing his citizens with feces, who proudly claims he hates his opponents, his fellow citizens? This is a short list of available topics but how deranged are you to keep voting for him expecting him to be a decent moral president? Oh wait  the study on TDS is about studying people appalled by his character and actions? Wow, that is a truly deranged study.

William Garrity

Foothills

Precise statement

The opinion piece by Robert Gavlak is not only timely in these uncertain times, but probably the most precise statement I have yet to come across that makes the necessary demarcation of science and religion so necessary. It should go without saying that the only reason that 'religious' interests continue to try and invade the secular is that by whatever name they may wish to describe themselves, their own dogma and doctrine are without the insight or authority to achieve their ends. That should, in itself, expose their fake claims to speak for a deity. What true God would leave his servants without the power to achieve His ends?

Robert Landbeck

Patagonia

Crying til I laughed

I love reading the Arizona Daily Star, not just for the news, but for the humor. It often is found in unexpected places. For instance, in the Dec. 26 Section B Page 1, there is a sad piece about self-deporting through the CBP Home app. It is the best gift that an illegal alien can give themselves and their families this holiday season, "fast, free, and easy ... download the app ... fill out your information. The inducement has increased to $3,000 until the end of the year. Now the laughter part begins. DHS will take care of the rest including arranging and paying for your travel back home. Does that include the armor tank, the Gestapo? Are you laughing yet? If not, close your eyes and imagine the scenes passing through your mind. Youve seen them before. Arent they etched there?

Margaret Gordon Magruder

Downtown

Taxes: Thanks, TUSD

Thanks to the TUSD Board for the tax rate increase and the increase in my taxes. My impound account increase has consumed my entire 2026 Social Security COLA increase.

William Long

Foothills

Religion, science in the classroom

As a non-religious person who firmly believes in the separation of church and state, I began reading Robert Gaviaks column Religions, science dont belong in the same classroom thinking I would agree with it entirely, but then there was an aspect of it that I found disturbing: his one-sided portrayal of religion as something that has remained throughout history the blunt instrument of oppression used to cudgel humankind into submission through discouragement of independent thought an deterrence of self-determination. This view of religion is both unfair and harmful to our society. First, there are numerous scientists who are still members of a religious community, and religious people who respect the findings of science. And in our current highly polarized society, defaming a large percentage of our population in this way can only lead to further strife. We need to find a path of respect for each others beliefs  or non-beliefs.

Thomas Kovach
Shaun Tans Tales from Outer Suburbia

Haunting, mesmerising, with touches of surrealism, behold a slice of Australian life seen through the eyes of a child.

You can tell from the opening, animated frames of Shaun Tans Tales from Outer Suburbia that youre in for a treat.

Long grass a water buffalo a crowsunset tall electricity pylons dotted through suburbia.

Not far from an empty playground and the remains of battered old Drive-in, the family of 12yo Klara (Brooklyn Davies), brother Pim (Felix Oliver) and mum Lucy (Geraldine Hakewill) arrive in their modest new home. The front door knob is broken, the wall phone -yes, really- falls to the floor and there are weeds growing inside the window sill.

But they are welcomed and supported by Grandma (Dawn French) and Grandpa (Tony Nikolakopoulos) on what will be the first day of the next chapter of their lives. Even if Klara is against the move. After all, who wants to share a bedroom with a six year old?

It will feel like home before you know it  Lucy.

I need my own space -Klara.

In this Perth working-class suburb the streets are wide and spartan. Across the road is an ominous-looking house inhabited by an old woman. And while there are a couple of neighbourhood bullies on bikes, Klara encounters the mysterious and nimble Cat (Andrea Solonge) who has a cat-like tail and bounds from roofs to fences with feline precision.

She also goads Klara into exploring her own wild side, with a little backyard trespassing, and even accidentally smashing a window.

Wanna have some fun? I can show you round this dump of a town? -Cat

This includes meeting the other feline character, Esme (Shabana) who has the face of a cat, human hands and dwells in an old, abandoned drain. Unlike Cat, she is elusive, grounded, and artistic.

Her skills match those of Klara, who is a talented sketcher, her main escape from a bleak new existence.

But scratch the surface and there are hints of deep layers this family is facing. Lucy is now a single mother which, from the quiet tears and sadness that surrounds her, suggests the death of a husband. Still, she digs deep for her children looking forward in the face of adversity.

When Pim wanders off there are moments of fear at the same time as the neighbourhood is explored. Dont ask me why he encounters a lone water buffalo or a deep sea diver inhabiting his suburb, but they are variously haunting and mesmerising, largely because we see them through the eyes of a child.

There is also a suggestion of tragedy facing one neighbour, contrasted by the optimism of local shop manager (Michael Theo) who has aspirations for music.

No review can look beyond the music of Ned Beckley and Josh Hogan whose captivating soundtrack evokes feelings of whimsy, mystery, humour. It elevates this project in ways dialogue cannot.

So too does the animation by Flying Bark & Highly Spirited Productions. They have created a tapestry of instantly recognisable Australian touchstones, fused with surrealism and imagination, kissed with the heat rising from the asphalt or the sounds of local fauna.

Its easy to lose yourself in this kaleidoscope of sight and sound, and to feel for the family at its centre, forging new connections, soldiering on despite lifes daily toils. As the press kit suggests, Theres Nothing Ordinary About Growing Up.

The sum total could not be further from other ABC animations Bluey or Do Not Watch This Show, but this is the more poetic work of them all.

Like those, it is uniquely Australian and surely deserves to travel the world too.

Shaun Tans Tales from Outer Suburbia. Thursday 1 January at 6am on ABC iview and Sundays at 7:30pm on ABC Family.
A bus plunged into a ravine along Guatemalas Inter-American Highway, killing at least 15 people, authorities said.

President Bernardo Arevalo declared three days of national mourning following the crash, which occurred on 26 December near the 174km marker of the highway.

The mountainous area is known as Cumbre de Alaska, in the western department of Totonicapan.

The bus was traveling from Guatemala City to Totonicapan when it lost control and fell approximately 330 feet (100 metres) into a ravine.

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Emergency crews spent more than two hours trying to rescue the injured and retrieve the bodies of the dead.

Authorities also worked to clear the wreckage, which led to a temporary suspension of traffic along the busy route.

In a message posted online, President Arevalo expressed his condolences to the victims' families.

Read more from Sky News:

Details of military gap year for UK's under 25s revealed

Thailand and Cambodia sign ceasefire agreement

"I deeply regret the tragedy that occurred on the Inter-American Highway," he said.

"From the government of Guatemala, we have been coordinating all necessary assistance for those affected, while standing with those who have lost family members and loved ones."

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Traffic accidents involving public transportation remain a major concern in Guatemala.

Between January and October 2025, the National Transit Safety Observatory recorded 446 accidents involving public transport vehicles, which led to 111 deaths and 623 injuries.
Namibia and Angola have agreed to take back their citizens deported from the UK weeks after the home secretary gave them an ultimatum.

Shabana Mahmood said last month she could stop issuing visas to foreign nationals from certain countries if those governments do not step up co-operation on the removal of illegal migrants from the UK.

Mahmood identified Namibia, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as the first to face a possible ban, claiming they had frustrated efforts to remove thousands of illegal migrants and criminals.

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Angola and Namibia have now agreed to new processes, under which the UK will be able to return illegal migrants and foreign national offenders in the coming months, the Home Office said.

It is now calling on the DRC to "do the right thing" and follow suit.

However, figures suggest that the three African nations account for a "tiny" number of people migrating illegally to the UK, a human rights lawyer has suggested.

How has the Home Office threatened to restrict visas?

Mahmood unveiled sweeping reforms last month aimed at deterring migrants from seeking asylum in the UK and making it easier to remove people with no right to be in the country.

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She gave what the Home Office describes as "a first-of-its kind warning" to Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), threatening visa penalties if co-operation did not improve within a month".

With the DRC so-far refusing to cooperate, according to the government, the UK has revoked fast-track visa processing and halted preferential visa treatment for diplomats and VIPs as a "warning".

It is not clear what further steps the government will take, but The Times previously suggested that the Home Office had planned a "sliding scale" of sanctions, beginning with softer penalties on VIPs and diplomats, who would lose priority visa access even for tourist visits.

A lawyer has said the latest announcement on Angola, Namibia and the DRC has little to do with Channel crossings and other irregular routes into the UK. (Alamy) (Gareth Fuller, PA Images)

Comparing the government's strategy to "Trump-style visa sanctions", the newspaper added: "More serious penalties will follow if co-operation does not improve, ending with a ban on all citizens gaining visas to come to the UK."

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The home office said there "since been some engagement" from the DRC but has warned it is willing to take "further action", with Mahmood calling on it to "do the right thing" and take back its citizens.

A government source said the home secretary wont hesitate to go further and ban visas to other countries who refuse to take their citizens back.

Mahmood added: We expect countries to play by the rules. If one of their citizens has no right to be here, they must take them back.

Meanwhil, foreign secretary Yvette Cooper has told British diplomats to take a more transactional approach to illegal migration, instructing them to "make returns a top priority"

Why is the UK targeting Namibia, Angola and the DRC?

The government said the three countries had unacceptably poor and obstructive returns processes, accusing them of refusing to process paperwork.

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It also said requirement of individuals to sign their own documents  effectively allowed them to block their own deportations.

However, the three nations are not among the most common nationalities of migrants to enter the UK legally or illegally.

The Home Office did not provide a breakdown of migration figures when it announced on Saturday, 27 December, that Angola and Namibia had agreed to change its visa processes.

Figures show the three countries accounted for a tiny proportion of the more than 800,000 visas granted for employment, study, family or humanitarian reasons in the year to June.

Of those, 299 came from the DRC, 273 from Angola and 140 from Namibia.

Foreign secretary Yvette Cooper has instructed British diplomats around the world to make migrant returns a 'top priority'. (Alamy) (ZUMA Press, ZUMA Press, Inc.)

They also made up only a handful of illegal migrants recorded as having entered the UK through so-called "irregular routes" (such as crossing the Channel) in that same timeframe.

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Only 11 came via these routes from the DRC, three from Angola and none from Namibia.

"This is nothing to do really with people coming across the channel," human rights lawyer David Haigh told GB News. "It doesn't mean they're going to be able to be sent to a different country for processing.

"This means essentially a number of people from those countries that are already here, failed asylum seekers, overstayers will be able to be sent back a little bit easier than they are at the moment."

"When you're looking at asylum seekers from these countries, you're probably looking about 10 or 20 in the last few years. If you're looking at (visa) overstayers, figures hard, but a couple of thousand. So it's tiny numbers."

Will the Home Office's plan work?

As the Home Office made its announcement on Saturday, Cooper said the agreement with Angola and Namibia "shows that when countries work with us, we can achieve more rapid results".

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Since coming into government, we have removed more than 50,000 people with no right to be here, an increase of almost a quarter on the same period before the election, and we are determined to keep up that momentum," she added.

But Haigh said he doubted that threatening foreign governments with visa bans would prove much of a deterrent to people already in the UK who are overstaying their visas.

He said one positive of returns deals like this is that "you have better communications between the governments", but said he doesn't "think that's a problem".

"If it was somewhere like, for instance, Iran, Afghanistan, Sudan, then I think we should be jumping up and down with joy, because I think that would be a fantastic achievement by the government. It's not."

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Since July 2024, the government has already removed and deported nearly 50,000 people with no right to be in Britain  a 23% increase, the home office said.

During the same period, over 7,000 foreign national offenders have been returned from the UK.

However, government figures also show that in the year ending June 2025, there were 49,000 irregular arrivals detected in the UK, 27% more than the previous year.

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Dao Manh Tuan, born in 2000 in Phuong Duc commune, Hanoi, held his wedding on December 2728, 2025.

A few days earlier, he posted a TikTok video inviting strangers to celebrate his special day.

The clip quickly went viral, drawing nearly one million views on TikTok.

There were two reasons I invited strangers to my wedding, Tuan explained.

First, Im a content creator with a decent following, many of whom have supported me for a long time. I wanted to extend an invitation to them.

Second, I dont have many friends. Ive been living and working in Japan for the past four years, so my close circle has gotten even smaller.

Seeing young people joining the trend of attending strangers weddings, I thought, why not invite the internet crowd to mine?

Dao Manh Tuans wedding ceremony held on December 2728, 2025, in Hanoi.

On December 24, Tuan uploaded a wedding photo on TikTok with the caption: Internet friends, please help! Im getting married on December 2728. My relatives are many, but my friends are few. Im in Hanoi - if you want to come, Ill send you an invitation.

To his surprise, the post received an overwhelming response, with thousands of comments sending blessings and promises to attend his wedding.

Friends from different provinces gathered before the wedding day.

Seeing this, Tuan created a chat group and pinned it to his TikTok page so that anyone interested could join.

He was once again shocked when the number of members skyrocketed - within just a few hours, hundreds had joined.

After one day, I approved nearly 300 people to join, while another 700 were still waiting for approval.

But I could only accept a few hundred of the first registrants and had to apologize to the rest, Tuan said.

I felt deeply touched by everyones kindness and enthusiasm. Still, to make sure I could host everyone properly, I had to limit the number of guests.

Within the group, Tuan created polls to confirm who could actually attend.

After two rounds of voting, more than 50 people confirmed their presence.

They then formed a separate chat to plan how to attend the Hanoi grooms wedding.

Once the number of internet guests was finalized, Tuan informed his parents to adjust the food preparation and hospitality plans.

Initially, I told my parents wed need 10 tables for friends and colleagues, he recalled.

But after the online invitation, we had to increase it to 20 tables.

I also invited the internet guests to both wedding days - the pre-ceremony feast and the main day.

Tuan said his guests came from many provinces - some even traveled hundreds of kilometers from Thanh Hoa, Lang Son, and Son La to attend.

In the days leading up to the wedding, the internet guests attending Tuans wedding chat group was buzzing with excitement.

Members discussed bringing surprise gifts for the bride and groom.

Guests in colorful, quirky outfits joined the celebration.

On the evening of December 26, those living nearby gathered for a cheerful meet-up, while others planned to arrive on December 27.

Some friends from afar coordinated to take the same bus to Hanoi.

Locals offered to host them overnight until the wedding day.

On the morning of December 27, everyone sent photos in their best outfits to the group chat, ready to party at my wedding.

Their excitement truly moved me, Tuan shared.

Tuan and his group of internet guests also planned to head to the brides house - about three kilometers away - on the evening of December 27 to continue the celebration.

He affirmed that he and his family would welcome every guest warmly to show appreciation for their enthusiasm.

Thanh Minh
Once admired for their business acumen and inspiring presence on Shark Tank Vietnam, several of the shows prominent investors have since fallen from grace. Multi-million-dollar scandals have exposed the dark side behind the glitz and motivational speeches of Vietnams startup elite.

Shark Thuy held responsible for over USD 308 million

Shark Thuy among 28 defendants indicted on multiple charges. Photo: AD

Nguyen Ngoc Thuy (Shark Thuy), Chairman and CEO of Egroup and Egame, has been indicted by the Supreme Peoples Procuracy on charges of bribery, fraud, and offering bribes.

According to the indictment, Thuy is primarily responsible for defrauding 10,063 victims, involving total debts exceeding 7.677 trillion VND (approximately USD 308 million), of which only about USD 80,000 has been recovered.

Between 2015 and 2023, although Egroups registered capital was just 32 billion VND (about USD 1.3 million), Thuy allegedly directed the sale of over 209 million shares to investors through 26,354 contracts, raising more than 7.765 trillion VND (USD 312 million).

Only 3.2 million shares were legally transferable, sold to 60 investors with a remaining principal of about USD 3.5 million. The rest-over 206 million shares-were sold beyond the companys charter capital to 10,063 investors, creating a massive financial liability.

Nguyen Ngoc Thuy gained nationwide fame through his role as a judge on the first three seasons of Shark Tank Vietnam.

Shark Binh indicted over cryptocurrency scheme

Nguyen Hoa Binh. Photo: CACC

On October 10, 2025, Hanoi Police launched criminal proceedings and detained Nguyen Hoa Binh (Shark Binh) and several associates in connection with the AntEx cryptocurrency project.

Investigators allege that despite aggressive promotions, the project lacked transparency, legality, and operational substance.

Authorities claim that Binh and shareholders of NextTech, the company he co-founded, used the AntEx brand to solicit investment, then funneled investor funds through virtual exchanges and various VND accounts, causing major financial losses for thousands.

NextTech has since shut down, with an estimated 30,000 investors reportedly losing their money. Binh has also been charged with tax evasion.

Known for his confident persona and sharp business instincts, Shark Binh joined Shark Tank Vietnam in 2019 for its third season and quickly became one of the shows most active investors.

Shark Tam faces smuggling and tax evasion charges

Pham Van Tam. Photo: STVN

In Ho Chi Minh City, prosecutors have filed formal charges against Pham Van Tam, 45, former Chairman of Asanzo Group, for smuggling and tax evasion.

Asanzo, founded in 2016, became a sensation in Vietnams electronics market with ultra-low-cost televisions-3040% cheaper than competitors-dominating rural areas, which accounted for 70% of sales.

In 2017 alone, Asanzo sold roughly 710,000 TVs, earning revenues of more than 4.6 trillion VND (USD 184 million), including USD 168 million from TV sales, positioning the company behind only Samsung, LG, and Sony in market share.

However, Tam and Asanzo were soon accused of misrepresenting their products as Japanese technology. Investigations later revealed that Asanzo imported components mainly from China and assembled them locally, misleading consumers about their origin.

Once announced as a Shark Tank Vietnam investor for the 2019 season, Tam was later removed and did not appear in the recorded or aired episodes.

Shark Khai and the Made in Vietnam scandal

Hoang Khai. Photo: STVN

Hoang Khai (Shark Khai), Chairman of Khai Silk Group and a guest investor on Shark Tank Vietnams first season, once impressed audiences with his eloquence about business ethics and integrity.

His quotes-I do business with honesty and Never sacrifice long-term goals for short-term gains-became emblematic of the principled entrepreneur he projected.

That image crumbled when he was caught in the Khaisilk scandal, involving fake Made in Vietnam silk products that were, in fact, imported from China.

The revelation sent shockwaves through the business community, as Khaisilk had long been promoted as a symbol of Vietnamese luxury craftsmanship.

On October 25, 2017, Hoang Khai publicly admitted to selling Chinese-made silk under Vietnamese labels and issued an apology to consumers.

A Ministry of Industry and Trade investigation later confirmed multiple legal violations, including selling counterfeit goods, mislabeling products, tax and invoice irregularities, and providing false information to customers. The case was referred to criminal investigators for further action.

Duy Anh
Instead of his trademark yellow tie associated with LPBank, businessman Nguyen Duc Thuy - widely known as Bau Thuy - appeared this week wearing a dark blue tie, the signature color of Sacombanks brand identity.

A surprising leadership transition

The hot seat in the banking sector became a center of attention this week as a string of senior executives either stepped down or transitioned to new roles.

The biggest surprise came from LPBank (Loc Phat Bank), where several senior leaders simultaneously submitted their resignations citing personal reasons.

Bau Thuy before and after joining Sacombank: a new tie, a new era in Vietnamese banking.

Among them, Chairman Nguyen Duc Thuy resigned from the board along with his younger brother, Nguyen Van Thuy. Deputy CEO Nguyen Thi Kieu Anh also stepped down - just days after her appointment on December 12.

An extraordinary general meeting on December 23 approved their resignations and elected Ho Nam Tien, formerly Standing Vice Chairman, as the new Chairman of LPBanks Board of Directors.

That same day, Sacombank announced the appointment of Nguyen Duc Thuy as Acting CEO, replacing Nguyen Thanh Nhung, who had held the position since May 2025 following the departure of Nguyen Duc Thach Diem.

A new image, a new team

The image of Bau Thuy at Sacombank - still impeccably dressed but now without his signature yellow tie - symbolized a shift not only in branding but in leadership.

Sacombank also appointed Nguyen Thi Kieu Anh as Deputy CEO effective December 23, suggesting the beginning of a Bau Thuy team within the banks executive structure.

His arrival immediately triggered further leadership adjustments. Duong Thanh Tuan relinquished his role as Chief of the Board Office and Corporate Governance Officer as of January 1, 2026, and will now serve as Deputy Director of the Administrative Management Division.

The position was handed to Duong Trung Loi, who previously served as Assistant to Chairman Duong Cong Minh - a figure who, before leading Sacombank, was also Chairman of LPBank (formerly LienVietPostBank).

Sacombanks internal restructuring continued on December 25, with the appointment of Ha Van Trung (born 1974) as Standing Deputy CEO and Vu Minh Quan (born 1972), Director of the Debt Resolution Center and Assistant to the Chairman, as Deputy CEO.

From LPBank dividends to Sacombank restructuring

Sacombank has spent the past nine years in an intensive restructuring phase. The bank has recovered and handled non-performing loans and frozen assets totaling over 103.988 trillion VND (around USD 4.2 billion) - well above its original restructuring plan of 76.695 trillion VND (USD 3.1 billion).

However, the heavy burden of bad debt has prevented Sacombank from paying dividends for nearly a decade.

In contrast, under Nguyen Duc Thuys leadership since 2022, LPBank has consistently approved generous dividend payouts - a move that boosted investor interest but also drew scrutiny over its sustainability.

BVBank and Eximbank also see changes

Elsewhere in the sector, BVBank announced on December 26 the election of a new board of directors and supervisory board for the 20252030 term.

Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thanh Phuong, along with Ngo Quang Trung and Phan Thi Hong Lan, will not continue on the new board or supervisory committee.

BVBank explained that the changes comply with Vietnams amended Law on Credit Institutions, which prohibits executives from simultaneously holding management positions in multiple financial organizations.

Nevertheless, Nguyen Thanh Phuong will remain closely involved with the bank as Chairwoman of the Strategy and Innovation Committee, overseeing strategic planning, modernization, and human resources development.

At Eximbank, a leadership transition also took place. As of December 4, 2025, Pham Thi Huyen Trang was elected Chairwoman of the Board of Directors for the 20252030 term, succeeding Nguyen Canh Anh, who resigned for personal reasons but remains a board member.

Nguyen Canh Anh had been elected to Eximbanks board in September 2023 and later assumed the chairmanship and legal representative role in April 2025.

These back-to-back leadership shifts across LPBank, Sacombank, BVBank, and Eximbank reflect a broader realignment in Vietnams banking sector - where personalities, policies, and brand identities continue to reshape the landscape of corporate finance and governance.

Tuan Nguyen
The Government has issued Decree No. 339/2025, establishing policies to support lunch meals for primary and secondary students in land-border communes.

According to the decree, each student will receive a monthly allowance of 450,000 VND (about $18) and 8 kilograms of rice.

The duration of support will depend on the actual number of school months, but not exceed nine months per academic year.

For students who transfer schools, the subsidy will be calculated based on the number of actual study days and the average daily allowance and rice quantity.

First-grade students who are ethnic minorities and attend Vietnamese language preparation courses before entering Grade 1 will receive one additional month of the same support.

Illustration by Cong Sang.

Under the decree, schools will receive assistance to organize lunch meals for students.

For every 45 students having lunch at school, the institution will receive 2,369,000 VND (about $94) per month to organize meals.

If there are 20 or more additional students, another full allowance will be added.

Schools with fewer than 45 students having lunch collectively will still receive one full allocation.

This support is also limited to nine months per school year.

Educational institutions will be provided with investment in facilities, equipment, and utensils for organizing school lunches, following government regulations on educational infrastructure standards.

They will also receive subsidies for electricity and water used in lunch preparation-7.5 kWh of electricity and 1.5 cubic meters of water per student per month, based on local utility rates, for up to nine months.

In areas without stable electricity or water supply, schools are permitted to use the allocated funds to purchase or rent generators and clean water equipment to ensure meal preparation.

Depending on local conditions, schools with satellite campuses may also receive financial support for lunch organization as per the same regulations.

At the beginning of each school year, schools are required to publicly inform students and parents about the support policy.

If any student voluntarily declines the support, their parents or guardians must notify the school.

Students who are eligible for other forms of social or educational allowances-such as scholarships or special aid-will still receive this lunch and rice support under Decree 339/2025.

However, students who do not eat lunch at school will not be entitled to the policy.

Students transferring to non-border communes during the school year will no longer receive the support from the transfer date.

Conversely, students moving to border communes will become eligible from their first day of attendance in those areas.

This decree represents the Governments continued commitment to improving nutrition, learning conditions, and equity for children in border and ethnic minority regions.

Tran Thuong
Seonguk and Simon, two Korean men living in Vietnam, were joined by their friend Tan - a Korean expat who uses a Vietnamese name.

The trio has lived in Vietnam for five years, studying Vietnamese while running a YouTube channel dedicated to food and travel experiences across the country.

In a recent video, the three revealed that they had traveled to a small eatery in Xuan Hoa Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, to try one of the most beloved Mekong Delta specialties - ca keo (mudskipper fish).

They enjoy Mekong Delta dishes made from ca keo at a local restaurant on Ngo Thoi Nhiem Street.

Tan said he had tried the dish before and found it delicious, so he wanted his friends to experience it as well.

Good restaurants usually attract a lot of locals, he remarked.

Simon agreed and was surprised to see the restaurant packed by 7 p.m.

To enjoy the full experience, the group ordered the two best-selling dishes: ca keo hotpot and ca keo grilled with chili and salt.

Ca keo belongs to the goby family and lives mainly in brackish water in Vietnams southern provinces.

Its tender, aromatic flesh and high nutritional value make it a popular choice for dishes such as dried ca keo, ca keo braised in clay pots, and grilled ca keo with chili salt.

However, the most famous - and most loved - versions are the hotpot and grilled dishes.

Unlike traditional hotpots, ca keo hotpot stands out for its tangy, distinctive broth made with la giang leaves.

Two popular dishes made from ca keo: grilled fish with chili salt and ca keo hotpot.

Simon noted that Koreans also have a ca keo soup, but the preparation is different.

In Korea, the fish is cooked first - usually steamed or boiled - then the bones are removed and the flesh is ground into a porridge, he explained.

Its a common dish for people recovering from illness because its considered restorative.

When their order arrived, the group eagerly started with the grilled ca keo.

Simon commented that the fish was flavorful and aromatic, though it didnt have much meat.

Tan admitted it was tricky to eat because the fish was skewered lengthwise on bamboo sticks, but he said the texture and seasoning made the challenge worthwhile.

Sharing the same opinion, Seonguk praised the grilled fish, eating two in a row with visible delight.

Seonguk tasting the grilled ca keo - he enjoyed it so much that he ate two in a row.

Simon and Tan enjoying the ca keo hotpot, praising its rich and fresh taste.

Photos: YouTube channel Ba anh em

Next came the hotpot, served with a vibrant platter of fresh vegetables including dien dien flowers, water spinach, water mimosa, banana blossoms, and bitter herbs.

Simon described the hotpot as hard to put into words.

The fish is tender, fragrant, and easy to eat since its not too bony, he said.

The liver is slightly bitter, but it adds to the flavor. I actually prefer the hotpot over the grilled dish.

Impressed by the hotpot, Simon even ordered an extra serving of live ca keo.

The fish, considered clean and nutritious, is sometimes kept alive until just before cooking.

When customers order, the staff skillfully drop the live fish into the boiling broth and quickly cover the pot to prevent them from jumping out.

This lively cooking method gave Simon mixed feelings - he described it as a bit scary, but really delicious.

By the end of the meal, all three guests said they were satisfied and delighted by both dishes.

They added ca keo hotpot and grilled fish to their list of favorite Vietnamese foods and promised to recommend them to friends.

Thao Trinh
At just 18 years old, Au Viet Hoang, an ethnic Nung student from Huu Lung High School in Lang Son, achieved a remarkable score of 29 in Vietnams 2025 national high school exam - Math 9.5, Chemistry 10, Biology 9.5 - making him the top scorer in Lang Son province for the science-oriented block B.

With this result, Hoang earned admission into the Medicine program at Hanoi Medical University, one of Vietnams most competitive majors, without needing any regional or ethnic preference points.

Hoang also holds a 7.0 IELTS certificate, underscoring his academic diligence and drive to reach beyond local boundaries.

I was overwhelmed with pride and excitement when I learned I would attend Hanoi Medical University, Hoang shared.

Inspired by a fathers compassion

Au Viet Hoang - top scorer in block B, Lang Son province, 2025. (Photo: NVCC)

Hoangs dream of becoming a doctor took root early in life, shaped by memories of watching his father, a rural doctor, treating patients at a small health station in their commune.

Seeing my father treat people, especially the poor, filled me with admiration. His dedication made me realize that medicine is not just a job, but a way to serve humanity, he said.

Adapting to university life

After almost a semester in Hanoi, Hoang admits that medical school is no easy path.

Coming from a provincial high school, I initially found the coursework quite heavy, he said. But I remind myself that perseverance and hard work will help me keep up. Surrounded by talented classmates, I feel motivated to improve every day.

To stay grounded and focused, Hoang maintains the habits that carried him through high school: strict self-discipline, intellectual curiosity, and a healthy lifestyle.

To study well, you must take care of both your mind and body - eat properly, sleep enough, and stay healthy. Thats how I keep my energy for learning, he said.

He finds strength in shared effort and quiet companionship.

Sometimes we dont even tutor each other - just sitting together and seeing everyone focused is enough to keep me going.

Dreaming beyond limits

Hoang with his family - the foundation of his dreams. (Photo: NVCC)

Hoang hopes to inspire others to set bold goals and believe in their potential, no matter their background.

There were times I doubted my abilities, but aiming higher pushed me forward. No matter your background, you have the right to dream and to strive for success.

Living in the university dormitory, he is adjusting to life away from home - budgeting, managing his time, joining clubs, and even tutoring high school students in his spare time to support his living expenses.

I want to tell other young people that in todays connected world, everyone has the opportunity to learn. Success depends on determination, not on where you come from.

Recognized for excellence

With his impressive academic record and clear sense of purpose, Au Viet Hoang was among 150 outstanding ethnic minority students and youth honored at the 2025 National Commendation Ceremony in Hanoi. The annual event recognizes resilience, academic excellence, and community contributions by ethnic minority youth across Vietnam.

This ceremony doesnt just honor results - it celebrates young people like Hoang who pursue personal dreams with the hope of serving others and improving their communities.

Thanh Hung
Vietnam sells over 223,200 tons of black gold, earning record revenue.

According to data from the General Department of Customs, Vietnam exported over 223,242 tons of pepper in the first 11 months of 2025, generating more than $1.5 billion in revenue - a historic record, surpassing the previous peak set in 2016.

White pepper exports saw positive growth during the same period, reaching 24,000 tons valued at approximately $189.7 million. This marks a 23.7% increase in volume and a 53.6% surge in value compared to the same period in 2024. Meanwhile, exports of other pepper types declined in volume but rose in value.

The proportion of black pepper exports dropped from 70.9% in 2024 to 68.8% in 2025. In contrast, processed pepper products saw modest increases: ground black pepper rose from 15.4% to 15.9%, and white pepper grew from 8.2% to 10.7%.

The United States, Germany, and India remained Vietnams top three pepper export markets over the past 11 months, generating $373.4 million, $114.8 million, and $74.2 million in revenue respectively.

Data from the International Trade Centre (ITC) revealed that the U.S. imported 64,260 tons of pepper in the first nine months of 2025, valued at $488.6 million. Although volume decreased by 12.1% year-on-year, the import value surged by 29.8%.

Vietnam emerged as the U.S.s largest pepper supplier, contributing 69.3% of the nations total pepper import value.

Moreover, Vietnams pepper commanded the highest export prices among the top five suppliers to the U.S. - Vietnam, Indonesia, Brazil, China, and Zimbabwe. The average export price of Vietnamese pepper to the U.S. reached $7,752 per ton, up 52.1% from the same period in 2024 and surpassing the U.S. markets average import price of $7,603 per ton.

Pepper - often dubbed Vietnams black gold - is now exported to 110 countries and territories. Vietnam currently accounts for about 60% of global pepper export volume, with an increasingly diversified product portfolio.

The global pepper market is under pressure due to declining output in many major producing countries. Vietnam continues to play a crucial role in the supply chain. However, unfavorable weather and reduced cultivation areas during previous low-price periods have directly impacted the country's productivity and output this year.

By years end, Vietnams pepper exports could exceed $1.6 billion - the highest ever.

Tam An
At the Ministry of Science and Technologys (MOST) 2025 year-end conference held on December 26 in Hanoi, Minister Nguyen Manh Hung declared that this year represents not just a policy milestone, but a transformation in mindset.

Vietnam must now grow through total factor productivity, technological depth, and the strength of domestic enterprises, he said. Science, innovation, and digital transformation are the foundations of a new development era.

2025 - The year of transition

Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung delivers the opening speech at the conference. Photo: Ministry of Science and Technology.

Minister Hung described 2025 as a pivot year, marking the end of the old development logic and the beginning of a new national framework where science and innovation are central to productivity and resilience.

He noted that this vision has been institutionalized through key legislative reforms and Resolution No. 57 of the Politburo, which elevates the three pillars - science and technology, innovation, and digital transformation - to the highest strategic level, driving Vietnam toward high-income status.

In the past five years, Hung said, we have built a new frame of reference - a new way of thinking, new approaches, and new roles. From here, our task is no longer to talk about concepts, but to turn them into measurable national capabilities.

Never before has science been so close to business

Former Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Quan speaks at the event. Photo: Ministry of Science and Technology.

Former Minister Nguyen Quan praised the sectors achievements in 2025, calling it a breakthrough year in connecting scientists with enterprises and strengthening the triple helix of the State, academia, and business.

He also commended the Ministrys pioneering work in reforming management mechanisms and drafting landmark legislation - including new laws on artificial intelligence and digital industry, alongside revisions to existing science and technology laws.

These were not just routine amendments, Quan noted. They required enormous intellectual and physical effort from our teams to deliver on the scale demanded by Resolution 57.

Science and technology revenue surpasses 5 quadrillion VND

Deputy Minister Bui Hoang Phuong reported that 2025 was a record year for the science and technology sector, achieving total revenue of 5.465 quadrillion VND, contributing 1.44 quadrillion VND directly to GDP and 115 trillion VND to the state budget.

He said Vietnam has shifted from management to creation, with institutional reforms serving as the breakthrough of breakthroughs - the essential condition for science and innovation to become a real growth engine.

Within 10 months of restructuring, MOST drafted and submitted 10 laws, 1 resolution, 22 decrees, 5 Prime Minister decisions, and 49 circulars, creating a comprehensive legal framework for the nations strategic technology pillars: digital industry, artificial intelligence, high technology, nuclear energy, metrology, standards, technology transfer, and intellectual property.

For the first time, Vietnam has issued a National List of Strategic Technologies and Products, setting clear priorities for innovation-led growth.

Deputy PM outlines 5 priorities for 2026

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung outlines five key priorities for the science and technology sector in 2026. Photo: Ministry of Science and Technology.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung, attending the conference, praised the sectors progress, noting that the Ministry has fulfilled most of its 473 assigned tasks under Resolution 57.

He highlighted three core achievements:

A breakthrough in institutional building,

Strengthened national science and technology capacity, and

A decisive shift in governance mindset.

However, he also warned of ongoing challenges - including slow Internet access in remote areas, uneven 5G rollout, and delays in implementing some national programs.

Looking ahead to 2026, he outlined five key priorities:

Completing and implementing new science and technology policies in practice;

Expanding national science programs;

Building a robust innovation ecosystem;

Deepening the link between science, innovation, and the National Digital Transformation Program (Project 06);

Accelerating from planning to measurable results.

If 2025 was the year of preparation and institutional readiness, Dung said, then 2026 must be the year of action - moving from doing something to doing it thoroughly and effectively.

He expressed confidence that, with unity, intellect, and determination, Vietnams science and technology community will achieve breakthroughs in 20262030 - laying the groundwork for a prosperous, innovation-driven economy.

Du Lam
Firms are encouraged to collaborate and build robust global distribution channels for Vietnamese wood products.

Closing out a turbulent 2025, Vietnams wood industry - a pillar of its agricultural economy - is on track to reach $17.3 billion in export value, marking the highest figure in its history and a full recovery from the post-Covid downturn.

Export records rewritten

According to industry data, Vietnamese wood and wood products are now present in over 160 countries and territories. The United States, Japan, China, South Korea, and the European Union remain the top five markets, accounting for more than 90% of the sectors total export value.

Despite challenges such as traceability issues, illegal timber concerns, anti-dumping investigations, and U.S. countervailing tax policies, the industry still earned $16.3 billion by mid-December - a figure that secures its top position in agriculture and places it among Vietnams seven largest export sectors overall.

Vietnam has also climbed to 5th place globally in total wood export value and ranks 2nd worldwide, behind only China, in exporting high-value wood products such as indoor and outdoor furniture.

According to the Department of Forestry and Forest Protection (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment), Vietnams wood industry has posted continuous growth over the past 24 years, often breaking its own records. From just $219 million in 2000, wood exports surged to $16 billion in 2022.

After a steep drop to $13.5 billion in 2023 due to post-pandemic impacts, the industry bounced back strongly in 2024 and is poised to achieve an all-time high in 2025.

Forecasts from the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of Ho Chi Minh City (HAWA) project a year-end export value of $17.3 billion for the sector.

In addition, the trade surplus remains high. In 2023, wood products generated a $11.33 billion surplus; in 2024, this figure rose to $13.55 billion, accounting for 75.7% of the agricultural sectors trade surplus. As of December 15, 2025, the wood industrys trade surplus had reached $13.3 billion.

Strategic transformation fuels resilience

Experts attribute this success to the industrys complete and efficient value chain. Unlike other agricultural sectors focused on raw exports, Vietnams wood industry emphasizes deep processing, exporting fully finished products.

There has also been a notable shift in sourcing strategy: domestically grown plantation wood now dominates production, reducing dependency on imported wood and strictly prohibiting the harvesting of natural forests.

Vietnamese wood companies have also demonstrated high adaptability, especially in the face of global uncertainties such as U.S. countervailing taxes. Many firms have opted to sacrifice margins to retain orders, while actively pursuing international e-commerce platforms to diversify revenue.

Huynh Le Dai Thang, Director of Nghia Son Wood Co., Ltd., shared that four years ago, his company began exploring interior sales via major platforms like Amazon, Walmart, and Wayfair. This shift quickly expanded their market and boosted sales.

In 2025, Nghia Sons export revenue grew by 40%, with a sharp increase in U.S. orders. The company shipped over 1,000 containers this year, with bookings already placed through May 2026.

According to Thang, most Vietnamese wood firms operate under the B2B wholesale model. However, in tight markets, international buyers pressure producers on price, reducing them to mere manufacturers without brand value.

If businesses invest seriously in e-commerce, they can scale quickly and make breakthroughs, Thang said, citing a Chinese wood firm that grew online revenues from zero to $400 million in just four years.

Nguyen Chanh Phuong, Vice President of HAWA, emphasized that branding and design are essential for online success. In the e-commerce space, distinctive, original products are a must - not copied designs or contract manufacturing.

In the long term, he added, enterprises should unite to build strong global distribution systems. This could include dedicated e-commerce firms supporting local manufacturers in managing and optimizing international sales.

Future-proofing with policy, innovation, and sustainability

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Nguyen Quoc Tri stressed that to meet new global standards, especially on legal timber and technical barriers regarding origin and emissions, the industry must renew its mindset and operating models.

For the 20252030 period, he urged trade associations to help businesses resolve obstacles, participate in policymaking, and expand into new markets. He also called on them to develop high-value products and shape a wood-processing sector that is transparent, environmentally friendly, and aligned with increasing global demands.

Ha Giang










English News China will firmly respond to any external interference in its internal affairs

Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 26 Decembre 2025



Any political attempt to exploit the Taiwan question for military expansion or any form of military adventurism that disregards prevailing global trends and China's resolve for national reunification, will be met with resolute countermeasures by the Chinese people. Such actions are bound to draw firm opposition from peace-loving nations across Asia.

By Yang Bojiang, Tang Yongliang This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, and the 80th anniversary of Japan's defeat.



At such a historically significant moment, the provocative remarks made by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi regarding Taiwan and her refusal to retract them constitute a blatant challenge to the post-war international order, a serious breach of China-Japan relations, and an open affront to China's core interests.



Taiwan's return to China is an important outcome of the victory of World War II and a cornerstone of the post-war international order. In 1894, Japan launched the First Sino-Japanese War and forced the Qing government to sign the unequal Treaty of Shimonoseki the following year, seizing Taiwan and occupying it for 50 years. In 1945, Japan signed the Instrument of Surrender and formally accepted international legal documents including the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation, which stipulated the return of Taiwan to China. As territory once seized through aggression, Taiwan was rightfully restored to China both legally and factually.



Upholding the one-China principle is a solemn political commitment that Japan must continue to honor. In 1972, the two countries signed the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement and officially established diplomatic relations. Article 3 of the statement affirms that the Government of Japan fully understands and respects this stand of the Government of the People's Republic of China, and it firmly maintains its stand under Article 8 of the Potsdam Proclamation. When the two countries signed the Treaty of Peace and Friendship in 1978, they codified the principles of this joint statement in legally binding form.



The third and fourth political documents between China and Japan, issued in 1998 and 2008, reaffirmed Japan's commitment to the position on the Taiwan question set forth in the joint statement. The China-Japan Joint Declaration on Establishing a Partnership of Friendship and Cooperation for Peace and Development released in 1998 explicitly stated that Japan undertook to "continue to maintain its stand on the Taiwan question which was set forth in the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement" and "reiterated its understanding that there is one China." It is stated in the document that Japan will continue to only maintain its exchanges of private and regional nature with Taiwan, which ruled out the legal possibility of Japan developing official relations with Taiwan.



In 2007, during then Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's visit to China, the Japanese side further clarified that it would not pursue "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan," that it does not support "Taiwan independence," and that it does not support Taiwan seeking to "join" the United Nations, nor any "United Nations membership referendum."



In contrast to these solemn commitments, Takaichi's recent remarks starkly contradict the principles established in these foundational documents, undermining the political foundation and mutual trust that underpin China-Japan relations.



Should Japan attempt to interfere in China's internal affairs by force, it will undoubtedly face a firm and determined response from China. Japan's militarist aggression inflicted immense suffering on the Chinese people during the 14-year war of invasion, with atrocities too numerous to recount. Under extremely difficult domestic and international conditions, the Chinese people persevered with extraordinary resilience and ultimately secured victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.



Japan's militarist aggression also brought devastating consequences upon its own people, and its post-war Pacifist Constitution emerged from reflection on the lessons of war. However, by disregarding the foundations of Japan's post-war economic and social development -- rooted in a commitment to peace and historical accountability -- Takaichi appears intent on reviving its historical path of militarism driven by populist sentiment.



Any political attempt to exploit the Taiwan question for military expansion or any form of military adventurism that disregards prevailing global trends and China's resolve for national reunification, will be met with resolute countermeasures by the Chinese people. Such actions are bound to draw firm opposition from peace-loving nations across Asia.



(Yang Bojiang, Tang Yongliang are distinguished research fellows with the Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.)



Dans la meme rubrique : < > Reading China's modernization through 50,000 kilometers of high-speed rail New landscape of opening up reflected in world's first port to handle 1.4 billion tons 'Food banks' mirror China's new approaches to food conservation Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena)










English News Why is China actively expanding voluntary opening up?

Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 25 Decembre 2025



Expanding voluntary opening up serves a dual purpose: domestically, it strengthens China's capacity to harness opening up as a driver of reform and development; internationally, it enhances China's role in promoting global cooperation and win-win outcomes. This strategic approach benefits both China and the broader international community.

By Luo Shanshan, People's Daily On Dec. 18, China launched island-wide special customs operations in the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP). As of Nov. 10, China had extended its unilateral visa-exemption arrangements for 48 countries. In an era of rising global protectionism, why is China choosing to further expand voluntary opening up?



Let's start with the Hainan FTP.



Starting Dec. 18, 2025, Hainan has launched island-wide special customs operations, allowing freer entry of overseas goods, expanding zero-tariff coverage, and introducing more business-friendly measures. This initiative will significantly ease the entry and exit of people, goods, capital and data across Hainan, enhancing its position as a hub of global exchange.



What has expanded opening up brought?



The results are evident in Hainan's development. Since the release of an overall plan for the development of the Hainan FTP in June 2020, Hainan has attracted102.5 billion yuan ($14.56 billion) in foreign investment, with an average annual growth rate of 14.6 percent. Additionally, trade in goods and services increased by average rates of 31.3 percent and 32.3 percent respectively, while the province's economic openness reached 35 percent. With the formal launch of island-wide special customs operations, Hainan is well-positioned to seize new opportunities for growth and global integration.



Looking back at China's reform and opening-up process, the use of opening up to drive reform and development has been a key factor behind the country's continued progress and achievements.



By the end of 2024, the number of foreign-funded companies in China had grown to nearly 1.24 million, with almost 700,000 foreign trade companies engaging in import and export activities. Foreign trade and foreign investment have directly or indirectly created jobs for more than 200 million people. In November this year, China's actual foreign direct investment jumped 26.1 percent year on year.



In today's increasingly turbulent and complex international environment, where protectionist tendencies are on the rise, expanding opening up has become more challenging. This requires a dynamic balance between opening up and ensuring security. The key to achieving this balance lies in China's approach to voluntary opening up.



Voluntary opening up is a defining feature of China's high-level opening up in the new era. It is an approach driven by China's own development needs while also fostering constructive interaction with the rest of the world. This method involves a measured, well-defined and multi-tiered approach, tailored to the specific needs of different industries and sectors. Central to voluntary opening up is the notion of initiating openness on China's own terms, emphasizing cooperation and mutually beneficial outcomes.



Voluntary opening up is neither driven solely by reciprocity nor by external pressure. Rather, it is rooted in China's modernization efforts and founded on principles of independence and self-reliance.



China has enacted a series of voluntary opening up policies, including the promotion of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, the expansion of pilot free trade zones, and the establishment of platforms such as the China International Import Expo. Furthermore, China has granted zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent tariff lines to all least developed countries with which it has diplomatic relations, while steadily expanding the list of countries eligible for unilateral visa-free entry.



These efforts not only support China's domestic development, but also bring tangible benefits to the wider world.



The level of opening up is closely linked to the depth of reform and the stage of economic development, with each reinforcing the other in a virtuous cycle. Deeper reform and higher-quality development enhance a country's capacity to open up further, while broader opening up drives continued reform and fosters better development outcomes.



Today, China is home to the world's largest middle-income group, offering vast market potential and growth prospects. It has a complete industrial system with more than 200 mature industrial clusters, as well as a large pool of highly skilled workers and entrepreneurs.



These advantages provide China with substantial capacity to engage proactively with international markets and shape a favorable external environment, thereby gaining a competitive edge in economic development and international competition.



Expanding voluntary opening up serves a dual purpose: domestically, it strengthens China's capacity to harness opening up as a driver of reform and development; internationally, it enhances China's role in promoting global cooperation and win-win outcomes. This strategic approach benefits both China and the broader international community.



Dans la meme rubrique : < > Reading China's modernization through 50,000 kilometers of high-speed rail New landscape of opening up reflected in world's first port to handle 1.4 billion tons 'Food banks' mirror China's new approaches to food conservation Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena)
On December 22, 2025, in Mirabelli v. Olson, a federal trial court judge in California, Roger Benitez, handed parents a big Christmas present in upholding their rights to be informed when their minor children transition socially at school. Benitezs well-reasoned fifty-two page opinion invalidated a school policy based on Californias Parental Exclusion Policies requiring educators to hide the gender identities or social transitioning status of minors from their parents. In a separate four-page order Benitez permanently enjoined the statewide enforcement of Californias policies; state officials appealed almost immediately.

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Mirabelli v. Olson

Litigation ensued in Mirabelli when two Christian middle school teachers in the Escondido Union School District, joined by other educators and parents, challenged the boards policy. The policy forbade teachers from notifying parents whose children, as young as fifth grade, adopted gender identities and/or used pronouns different from their birth sexes unless the students agreed to such disclosures.

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In the opening paragraph of his opinion, Benitez quoted the Supreme Courts declaration that [i]t is cardinal with us that the custody, care and nurture of the child reside first in the parents, whose primary function and freedom include preparation for obligations the state can neither supply nor hinder. Benitezs second paragraph posed four questions starting with whether the nondisclosure-secrecy policy violated both the parents Fourteenth Amendment substantive due process right to information about their children and their First Amendment rights to the free exercise of religion.

Turning to the teachers, Benitez asked if they could provide gender information to parents under the First Amendments free exercise clause. He also questioned whether teachers had the right to communicate accurate gender information to parents under the First Amendments free speech clause.

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Benitez answered that [i]n each case, this Court concludes that, as a matter of law, the answer is yes. Benitez began his analysis by commenting that [t]he Supreme Court has long recognized the fundamental right of parents to make decisions concerning the care, custody, and control of their children. He thus first invalidated the policy as violating the parents rights to participate in important matters in the lives of their children.

Second, Benitez addressed the parents First Amendment religion rights under the Supreme Courts June 2025 ruling in Mahmoud v. Taylor. In Mahmoud the Justices upheld the rights of an inter-faith coalition of parents in Maryland to opt their children, some as young as three, out of explicit sex education instruction involving LGBTQ+ characters and themes as transgressing their free exercise rights because the materials were inconsistent with their faiths. By hiding important information about their children, Benitez held that educators contravened their religious rights to raise their young in a manner consistent with their faiths.

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Third, Benitez vitiated the policy for violating the teachers free exercise rights because if they complied, they faced an unlawful choice between sacrificing their faith and sacrificing their teaching position[s] because they could have been fired for speaking to parents about their children. Fourth, Benitez ruled that obligating teachers to obey the policy violated their First Amendment free speech rights because it would have compelled them either to not inform parents about the status of their children or deliberately convey an illegal message when responding honestly to inquiries.

In language worth repeating in full enjoining the policys enforcement, Benitez separately ordered California officials to post the following statement state-wide within twenty-days noting that

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Parents and guardians have a federal constitutional right to be informed if their public school student child expresses gender incongruence. Teachers and school staff have a federal constitutional right to accurately inform the parent or guardian of their student when the student expresses gender incongruence. These federal constitutional rights are superior to any state or local laws, state or local regulations, or state or local policies to the contrary."

Whose Values Will Prevail?

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Early in his opinion, in his only reference to it, Judge Benitez cited 1925s Pierce v. Society of Sisters, the Supreme Courts earliest and arguably most significant case on parental rights, wherein it first explicitly acknowledged their rights to direct the education and upbringing of their children. Affirming the right of non-public schools to operate, the Pierce Court emphasized that [t]he child is not the mere creature of the state; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations.

At its heart, Mirabelli is a clash over whose values will prevail. In other words, will parents retain their God-given fundamental right in effect since time immemorial to direct the education and upbringing of their children in accordance with their religious values and beliefs or will they be forced to defer to the seemingly ever-changing dictates du jour of public officials in a dystopian turn of events. In Mirabelli, then, it is perplexing why state and local educational officials sought to trammel parental rights by refusing to inform them about what was happening with their young children on such an important matter as their emerging, albeit confused, awareness of their sexuality.

Equally troubling in Mirabelli is how state and local educational officials, following the directive promulgated by the state attorney general, sought to enforce a policy that flies in the face of clear one-hundred-year-old Supreme Court precedent starting in Pierce defining the substantive due process rights of parents as the primary caregivers of their children. In light of the unequivocal guidance on parental rights the Supreme Court reaffirmed earlier this year in Mahmoud, it is puzzling that public officials, whether legislators, the attorney general, in the state department of education, and/or local school boards, would exclude parents helping their children deal with such a significant matter as uncertainty over their genders.

The boards policy ran roughshod over the free exercise rights of parents by interfering in their ability to raise their children in accord with their religious beliefs. The board simultaneously infringed on the teachers religious rights by forcing them to choose between following a directive inconsistent with their own faiths at the risk of losing their jobs while restricting their free speech rights if they commented honestly to parents about what students were experiencing.

Children undergoing gender dysphoria certainly need care, compassion, respect, and guidance, especially from their parents. Yet, it hardly seems caring or compassionate to allow youngsters to live what amounts essentially to bifurcated lives by referring to themselves by one name and gender at school and another at home because this would only add to their confusion. Hopefully educators in the guise of activists, whether in California or elsewhere, however well-intentioned they may be, will honor the primacy of parental rights by refraining from interfering in family matters by no longer refusing to inform caregivers about issues and developments of great importance in the lives of their children.

Finally, state and local educational officials must respect the First Amendment religious and free speech rights of teachers by not attempting to compel them to violate their faiths in prohibiting them from talking openly and honestly with parents about the gender identities and other significant issues impacting the lives of their children.

Charles J. Russo, M.Div., J.D., Ed.D., is the Joseph Panzer Chair in Education in the School of Education and Health Sciences and Research Professor of Law in the School of Law at the University of Dayton, Ohio

Image: Pixabay
Charlie Kirk was a one-off, it seems. His assassination and the turning over of TPUSA to his wife, Erika, may prove that his legacy handoff is more than she is able to effectively manage. So much of what I saw at this weeks Am Fest, triggered by Tucker Carlson (and Jack Posobiecs cosplaying Jesus Christ Superstar while posing with a disgusting anti-Semite) undercuts -- indeed denigrates -- what Charlie and TPUSA once stood for. While Vice President J.D. Vance used his opportunity there to respond to groyper Nick Fuentess attacks on Vances charming wife, Usha, he missed his opportunity to criticize Carlson, whose promotion of this disgusting man made him more prominent than he ever was or would be without the podcasters reach. (Maybe, because once upon a time Carlsons favorable coverage was significant in putting Vance into the vice presidents office, and he feels loyal to Tucker.)

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This kind of divisive behavior by ambitious people during a leadership void is far from unusual. My own feeling is that TPUSA will continue on at college campuses, but with far fewer fireworks than we saw at AmFest. Still, without more effective leadership at the top, its national reach will be far more limited. I think Candace Owens has finally limited her appeal to the insane, and Megyn Kelly to those lacking sense, sensibility, and memories longer than a nanosecond. Carlson, with his love notes to Qatar, a major funder of terrorism, is, I think, soon heading for a flameout.

The division he inspired at TPUSA has also affected the once formidable think tank, Heritage, whose head, Kevin Roberts, failed to take on Carlson regarding things that matter to the strongest supporters of the organization. Many donors and board members have fled, and this week, the staff departures reached DefCon levels. Over a dozen staffers and three board members left the organization -- and they were significant contributors to its work. Leadership from its legal, economic, and data teams moved over to another conservative foundation headed by Mike Pence, Advancing American Freedom (AAF).

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Among the most prominent departures from Heritage are John Malcolm and Cully Stimson, who cited Roberts failure to condemn anti-Semitism and a drift from the organizations key principles. Also among those who left are Hans von Spakovsky, a competent analyst of election fraud, and noted legal scholar Josh Blackman.

Blackmans departure letter to Roberts made his point clear:

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Heritage came to a crashing halt after your infamous video. Your initial remarks were indefensible. Your apology was underwhelming. And the lack of any meaningful followup over the past three months has been telling. For reasons only you know, you aligned the Heritage Foundation with the rising tide of antisemitism on the right. As Senator Ted Cruz observed, "this poison of antisemitism on the right... is spreading with young people." I agree with Ben Shapiro: "If Heritage Foundation wishes to retain its status as a leading thought institution in the conservative movement, it must act as ideological border control." Antisemitism is always the canary in the coalmine. History teaches us that any society that fails to protect its Jewish people is destined for despair. I am not alone in recognizing how you wounded Heritage's moral standing. For more than a year, the Meese Center was planning a massive book signing at the Federalist Society National Convention. Heritage generously donated nearly 1,500 copies of the Guide, and everyone in attendance would have received a free copy. We arranged for nearly one-hundred contributors to autograph the book. Regrettably, your ill-timed remarks came only a few days before the Convention began. In short order, contributors told us that they could no longer autograph a book they already contributed to. The Heritage brand, once iconic, instantly became toxic. We made the difficult decision to cancel the book signing. This was a point of personal sadness, as John and I were so eager to celebrate the launch of this important work with the conservative legal movement. Advertisement The fallout is even greater. Judges who have spoken at Heritage told me they would no longer affiliate with Heritage, and would no longer recommend their clerks attend the Clerkship Academy. Scholars who won prizes from Heritage told me they would no longer contribute to any Heritage publications. Public interest litigators have tweeted that they will no longer attend the Legal Strategy Forum. The Heritage Foundation is greater than any single President. But one President has done what was once unthinkable. The Meese Center cannot survive under Heritage's current leadership, and the damage to the Meese Center brand has been irreparable. My only hope is that the important scholarship in the Heritage Guide can continue to be studied. Advertisement

No, the departed staffers are not supporting a rumored Pence run for president by moving to his organization. Reportedly, they will occupy a separate pod headed by former Attorney General Ed Meese (the Edwin Meese III Institute for Rule of Law) and will supply funding from their own donors.

Former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese III said in a statement that AAF will now be the home for the new Edwin Meese III Institute for the Rule of Law, headed by Malcolm. Stern will lead the Plymouth Institute for Free Enterprise at AAF, and Dayaratna will lead the Center for Statistical Modeling & Scientific Analysis at AAF. Advertisement

All of this, as I said, is not an unusual development when important institutions age and fall into the hands of those incompetent to carry on their work. For those who pessimistically imagine Qatar, through Carlson, is somehow going to give the Democrats a leg up in the midterms -- I wouldnt count on it.

The Democrats are broke and facing a cash crunch. Trumps curtailment of funding to USAID, which channeled a lot of their grants back to the Left, certainly hurt. So did Kamalas profligate spending, and their troubles are mounting as the administration targets the fraudulent contributions to their coffers from ActBlue. Finally, growing interest and results in election integrity and the Supreme Courts likely putting the kibosh on race-based remedies like majority-minority districts will shift the electoral map. These contretemps at TPUSA and Heritage are less significant than the Democrats legal and economic challenges.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky is returning to the White House on January 28 to discuss the Russia-Ukraine War. The visit ostensibly concerns a proposed twenty-point peace plan that European Union elites have constructed to counter President Trumps ongoing peace negotiations with Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin. Given that the European proposal essentially denies Russia any of its stated military objectives, Zelenskys efforts appear to be little more than another theatrical scene designed to demonstrate to the world his (insincere) willingness to sue for peace.

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President Trump has already hinted that he expects little of value to come from Zelenskys return to the White House. He told Politico after Christmas that Ukraines holdover president (who has remained in office nearly two years beyond his elected term by declaring a state of martial law) doesnt have anything until I approve itSo well see what hes got. Still, President Trump continues to give Zelensky and Europes mouthy warmongers (or as Europes militarily weak but loud and threatening leaders prefer to describe themselves, the coalition of the willing) every opportunity to bark like small dogs, run in circles, nip at Americas heels, and pee on the Oval Office carpet.

Zelenskys visit comes after Ukraines president/dictator made a number of controversial statements in the lead-up to Christmas. While speaking at a European Union-arranged press conference in Brussels, Zelensky all but admitted that he and Europes aristocratic ruling class had secret plans for Ukraines future that first required President Trumps death or departure. The United States currently does not see us in NATO. Everything in our life is for now. The position may change in the future, Zelensky said confidently before adding, Politicians change, some live, some die. While President Trump, Vice President Vance, and Secretary of War Hegseth have stated clearly that Ukraine will not be admitted as a member of NATO, Europes eminences grise have apparently assured Z-Man that things will change quickly once Trump is gone.

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Then on Christmas Eve, President/Dictator Zelensky (dressed in all black as is his sartorial wont) delivered an address to the Ukrainian people in which he prayed for President Putins death. Taken together with Zelenskys prior allusion to Trumps passing, the comedian-turned-make-believe-Churchill now putatively in charge of Ukraine appeared to have the disappearances of Trump and Putin at the top of his macabre Christmas wishlist. Sure sounds like a dependable and strategic partner whose angry, petulant outbursts have nothing to do with a mood-altering cocaine habit!

However much my Cold War memories have left me perpetually wary of Russia, I have never believed the U.S.-NATO proxy war in Ukraine was worth the inherent risks of a wider European war or, God forbid, a nuclear confrontation. The disputed territories at the heart of this conflict  Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhia, and Crimea  were part of the Russian Empire, have much more in common both culturally and linguistically with Russia than Ukraine today, and have voted overwhelmingly to separate from Ukraine and affiliate with the Russian Federation. Yet Napoleon Zelensky and his fevered band of European Union misfits, provocateurs, and saboteurs climb upon their high horses to lecture the world about self-determination, sovereignty, and democracy.

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Given that the people of these disputed territories have voted to leave Ukraine and that the Russian Federation has de facto control over most of the region in question, one might reasonably conclude that democracy and self-determination have settled the issue of sovereignty for good. But Z-Man and Europes residual feudal lords continue to rally the continents commoners to prepare for war against Russia in defense of Russian-speaking provinces whose people wish to join the Russian Federation but  in the name of the rules-based-order, democracy, and European Union superiority!  must be forced to remain second-class citizens of Ukraine! Never has a cause been so just since Don Quixote was tilting at windmills!

Most people who see war firsthand and live to walk away do not romanticize it in later years. There are real heroes during combat who win battles and save lives but most would have preferred to avoid those engagements entirely. War is filled with senseless violence, and the line separating those who survive from those who dont is bent and blurry. When governments organize men to murder men organized by other governments, those on both sides of the murdering eventually begin to wonder why so many of their friends perished while so many in government profited.

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Right now it is terribly obvious that far too many government officials in Europe are profiting from the Russia-Ukraine War.

Members of the United Kingdoms military and security services are warning the British people that Russia may invade at any time. Germany is spending money that it doesnt have to expand its defense capabilities. The European Commission  that authoritarian body headed by Queen Ursula von der Leyen  wants to confiscate the Russian Federations assets for its own purposes. No matter how awful the reality of war, politicians and corporations always look for ways to benefit politically and financially.

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Europes Big Three leaders  the U.K.s Prime Minister Starmer, Frances President Macron, and Germanys Chancellor Merz  have popular support somewhere between ten and twenty percent! Their countries are in various stages of pre-civil war due to decades of mass immigration that have splintered their societies and transformed their once unified nations into multinational zones of occupation. Zeal for authoritarian socialism has led European governments to pursue suicidal green energy policies that have crippled their economies, suffocated innovation, and condemned their citizens to future poverty. Now that much of the European electorate has awakened to the many ways in which Europes leaders have condemned the continent to obsolescence, the European ruling class has frantically concluded that it can survive only if it imposes widespread censorship, speech codes, and mass surveillance, while arbitrarily reconfiguring which rights lowly citizens will be permitted to have.

For European leaders desperate to escape the consequences of decades of failed policies, war with Russia is an expedient distraction. Dont like higher food and fuel prices? Blame Russia! Dont like social media censors scouring the Internet for disinformation? Blame Russia! Dont like higher taxes? Blame Russia! Dont like the millions of unassimilated Islamic militants who rape children, burn down synagogues and Christian churches, steal taxpayer dollars, and finance domestic terrorism? Blame Russia (I guess)!

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Across Europe, the political elites have been repeating the same refrain for four years: This is no time to complain about domestic problems; Europe is under attack!

Moreover, during times of war, there is so much money to be made. Governments get to steal more from citizens in the form of taxes becausewar! Central banks and politically connected financial institutions get to print money and inflate the currency-denominated value of assets becausewar! Defense companies get to make more money than ever before becausewar! Investment houses get to profit from the defense companies that help blow things up and then get to profit from the engineering, infrastructure, and construction projects required to rebuild becausewar! While Ukrainian and Russian servicemembers die and European parents are bombarded with enough fear porn to conclude that they must sacrifice their children to future conscription, the worst people in Europe make money.

As every sensible economist knows, if you want more of something, subsidize it. For four years, U.S.-NATO and Europe have been throwing money at the Russia-Ukraine War, and the world has predictably gotten more of it. At some point, sane people who want to put an end to the slaughter and prevent the possibility of even more slaughter on a continental scale must say, Enough is enough, and walk away. War may be a boon to politicians and bankers, but it is life-or-death for everyone else.

Image via Raw Pixel.
Some things, death and taxes among them, never change. In the same category are the specious arguments of anti-liberty/gun cracktivists. Whenever a horrific crime like a mass shooting occurs, they blame the gun and the Americans who would never commit such a crime.

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They also have additional narratives they hope Americans can be tricked into believing, such as virtually every mass attack is carried out by white men, all of whom are domestic terrorist, racist, transphobic white supremacist, Ultra-MAGA, Nazi, haters determined to destroy our democracy.

One such cracktivist is apparently John Davenport:

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Graphic: Fordham University Faculty Site. Public Domain.

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Dr. Davenport tells us the idea of greater security for students and the public at large is a fallacy, and would not make us much safer. He should know. Hes a professor of peace and justice studies, which obviously makes him an expert about peace and justice and stuff.

Think about it for a minute. How much would it actually cost to put armed guards in every single store and restaurant, every 300 feet or so on beaches and at open air events, in every movie theater and every 200 feet at concerts, at every entrance to every building at any hospital, college, school, church, temple or mosque, at all streets junction where lots of traffic piles up  and so on? Advertisement

Actually, hes sort of right. In 2013 even the NRA was advocating armed guards in every school. The usual suspects were against that, and the idea eventually died because the costs wereand aresimply too high. The numbers arent exact, but there are more than 110,000 K-12 public and private schools in America. missiongraduatenm.org/number-of-schools-in-the-us/ Putting even one, full-time armed guard in each school is prohibitively expensive, and far more than one would be necessary.

Unfortunately, general trust is declining in America  an effect of high inequality and other factors that is further exacerbated by gun violence. While Americans now spend more than $3 billion a year to turn their schools into fortresses, people in some of Icelands small towns still leave their doors unlocked, or even leave keys in their cars for neighbors to borrow and return as needed. High trust is correlated with happiness. Advertisement

Talk about fallacies. A high-trust society does tend to be happier, but thats not quite the point. Countries like Iceland are relatively safe because of the very nature of their societies, which tend to be homogenous. Their people are of a common culture, with common beliefs, beliefs that emphasize personal responsibility, kindness, a common language and history, cooperation and civic mindedness.

When such countries allow mass immigration of fractious cultures things quickly change for the worse. Gang rape is common in many European and Scandinavian nations, and hand grenade attacks are common in Sweden. Thats rather more destructive than the occasional shooting or car theft.

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Yet the gun lobby, fueled by enormous cash flows from selling military-grade weapons to average people, will fill the media with howls of fury that someone was able to enter a building at Brown without passing through a massive security apparatus.

Compared to many other industries, gun industry profits are low. Davenport also misleads with the common military-grade weapons lie. The guns Democrats most hateAR-15s--merely outwardly resemble actual, fully automatic, military assault rifles. There is no such thing as an assault weapon, and those look-alikes available to citizens are semi-automatic only, and fire intermediate, not high-powered cartridges.

No one is arguing for a massive security apparatus everywhere. But many sane Americans are suggesting schools like Brown ought to actually use the video systems and other security measures they have in place rather than reportedly turning them off to avoid photographing illegal aliens or domestic anarchists and terrorists.

In the United States, the only way we can really reverse this growing nightmare is to address the gun fixation in the American mind itself and work to break its stranglehold on the young male mind.

And the minds of women of all ages who, in recent years, have been buying guns at record levels.

As a country, we need to take on the gun lobby just as we beat Big Tobacco. What just happened at Brown University should never happen again.

It appears the professor is a bit light on the justice part. The right to keep and bear guns is a fundamental, unalienable right. Smoking isnt. If its in the Constitution banning it is off the table. And if we want to deter and stop attacks, we need to ensure many willing citizens are armed in colleges and everywhere else and potential attackers know it.

Thats what saves lives, not disarming people who would harm no one. You know, the peaceful and just?

Become a subscriber and get our weekly, Friday newsletter with unique content from our editors. These essays alone are worth the cost of the subscription.

Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu (D) recently said that Somalis are to thank for pretty much every achievement that the city has ever had.

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According to Wu:

You cannot talk about any achievement that the city of Boston has had in safety, jobs, and economic development, in education, without talking about the Somali community that has lifted our city up. We are proud and we are grateful for our Somali community and for our Somali American neighbors. Advertisement

She added:

"We will use every attack to actually strengthen and expand the services [available to Somalis]. Advertisement

She also opined that Somalis are:

setting the example for the rest of the country." Advertisement

That may be true, in that alleged Somali fraud rings are popping up across the fruited plain.

Was Mayor Wu telling the truth?

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Were Somalis responsible for the Boston Tea Party? Building Faneuil Hall? The Old South Meeting House? Were they instrumental in founding the Celtics, Red Sox, or Bruins?

And I thought it was slaves  and/or members of the LGBTQ community  that built this nation.

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What changed? When the next wave of immigrants arrives from, say, the Republic of the Congo, Burkina Faso, or Mongolia, will we have to claim they built this country, too?

I mean, WTH! Who would go along with this bull***t  and why?

Democrats  to secure their power in the future. They perceive, possibly correctly, that white folks will be an ever-diminishing minority in the years to come, and as such will no longer be an important voting bloc.

Of course, Minnesotas politicians were not to be outdone in kowtowing to Somalians.

Democratic state Sens. Ann Johnson Stewart and Steve Cwodzinski tearfully offered their apologies  and support -- to the states vast Somali population at the Irshad Islamic Center in Eden Prairie, recently.

What were they apologizing for, given that Somalis have been implicated in scamming billions upon billions of dollars from Minnesota taxpayers in various fraud schemes?

Lets let them tell us, shall we?

In a video shared by a Somali T.V. station available on Facebook, Stewart said:

We are heartbroken by the horrible actions of our government, and we want you to know that at the state level we will do all that we can to support you. Whether you live in our district or not, we are here. We are 100% committed to helping you. You are welcome here, you belong here, and we are here for you.

Translation: We hate the Orange Man and all conservatives. And we hate the law. Therefore, we are absolutely committed to allowing you to continue to break the law and steal taxpayers hard-earned money, because we believe it will benefit us in the long run. And thats really all that matters.

And then she said, I apologize, I have to leave for another commitment. Say what? Was she leaving to go apologize to another group of minorities/illegals she believes is vital to Democrats chances of holding power for eternity?

But even that level of cravenness and obsequiousness wasnt enough for Minnesota Democrats.

So, the states Lt. Gov. (and U.S. Senate candidate) Peggy Flanagan wore a hijab to a local mall, a gesture of surrender proudly aired by a Somali T.V. station.

Flanagan obligingly stated "The Somali community is part of the fabric of the state of Minnesota," while looking into the camera.

This level of incredibly misplaced, lily-livered and faint-hearted virtue-signaling may be unprecedented in human history.

Did policemen and G-men publicly kiss the boots of mafia dons? Did English leaders don German army uniforms during the early days of World War II? Did European Christians bow to Mecca during the Crusades? I mean, what the bleep?

We would be far better served by proclaiming our independence once again, than we are by submitting to a Muslim invasion and the Diversity cartel.

Image: Screen shot from Nick Shirley X video.
Police Chiefs in blue cities are hired for one essential quality: political reliability. They must be totally committed Democrats, the more to the left the better and enforce nothing but Democrat policies. They dont have to know much, if anything, about law enforcement. They certainly dont need to know anything about religion, though they are apparently expected to mix what they dont know about religion with Democrat orthodoxy.

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One such police chief is Brian OHara of Minneapolis. Minneapolis became infamous as ground zero for the 2020 Summer of Love following the drug abuse suicide by cop of George Floyd, a violent convicted felon who killed himself while resisting arrest. Democrats saw an opportunity to push virtually all their cherished narratives, Floyd became a leftist saint, and the Minneapolis City Council were pioneers of Defund the Police hysteria.

They pushed out their black police chief, cut the police budget and surprise, surprise, crime skyrocketed. Within four years they lost 40% of the police force, hired OHara, and have been utterly unable to rehire enough qualified people. It turns out not many people want to be cops in a city whose downtown McDonalds lock their doors during business hours.

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They are also repelled by spectacles like this:

During a press conference with Mayor Jacob Frey Tuesday, OHara lamented the very, very difficult time communities are experiencing because of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers operating in the area. He likened the scenario to Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem before the first Christmas. Advertisement Its especially personal to me, having been raised a Catholic, to be in a Christian church this morning as we are approaching Christmas, OHara said. And I cannot help but think of what is happening in our city today and how that echoes with how outsiders have been treated for thousands of years. How Mary and Joseph themselves were considered outsiders and forced to stay in a barn. Advertisement Thats what were getting ready to commemorate as Christians around the world while all of this fear is happening in our town, he added.

Apparently Chief OHara didnt pay much attention during his Catholic education, as Luke 1: 1-7 notes:

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At that time a proclamation was made by Caesar Augustus that all the inhabited world should be registered. This was the first census, undertaken while Cyrenius was governor of Syria and everybody went to the town of his birth to be registered. Joseph went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Davids town, Bethlehem, in Judea, because he was a direct descendant of David, to be registered with his future wife, Mary, now in the later stages of her pregnancy. So it happened that it was while they were there in Bethlehem that she came to the end of her time. She gave birth to her first child, a son. And as there was no place for them inside the inn, she wrapped him up and laid him in a manger.

OHara compared Mary and Joseph to illegal immigrants, calling them outsiders. They werent. They, like all citizens of the Holy Land were traveling to be enrolled in the census. Comparing Mary and Joseph with illegal immigrants, and particularly the kinds of criminals ICE is removing from Minneapolis, is nonsensical and deceptive. Is OHara truly that clueless about the historical facts surrounding Christs birth, or is he merely doing his duty to please his Democrat employers? In either case, hes lying.

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Graphic: Social Media Post

No one forced the holy family to stay in a barn. So many were traveling to be enrolled in the census, there were no available lodgings, so they stayed in a manger, which was not unheard of in those days, and was surely ordained by God to demonstrate Christs humble, very human beginnings as the Word became flesh as was foretold. OHara doesnt know this? Many do know the truth:

Graphic: Social Media Post

In a comment to Fox News Digital, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson condemned OHaras speech as unconscionable. Its unconscionable that anyone would compare criminal illegal aliens to the Son of God, Jackson said. Law enforcement officials should enforce the law, not allow dangerous criminal illegal aliens to terrorize American communities while making absurd comparisons.

This observation about Democrats warping of narrative is particularly apt:

Graphic: Social Media Post

The historical record is more than clear. Mary And Joseph werent outsiders, refugees or illegal immigrants. They were traveling to obey the law, not violate it. There is no comparison between them and contemporary illegals, and trying to make such a comparison is a sign of religious ignorance and potentially a willingness to warp the Scriptures for contemporary political ends. Weve come to expect that from people like OHara.

Become a subscriber and get our weekly, Friday newsletter with unique content from our editors. These essays alone are worth the cost of the subscription.

Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.
The Mar-a-Lago facility was originally built by Marjorie Merriweather Post, heiress to the Post Cereal company, later General Foods. When she died in 1973, she bequeathed it to the National Park Service. Due to costs, they returned it to the Post Foundation, from which Trump acquired it.

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It is interesting that the Spanish term mar-a-lago indicates a bridge between the sea and a lake. As Ukrainian president Zelensky arrives there this weekend, just such a bridge may be an instructive symbol for the diplomatic and business sensibility necessary to end the Russian-Ukrainian war. Difficult as it may be, some kind of bridge will have to be built with Russia. Trump understands that because he understands the odds: Russia has too big a hand, and the upside to peace is too promising.

Mar-a-Lago has other instructive history. Marjorie Post was the wife and business partner to Edward Francis Hutton, of E.F. Hutton fame. Their marketing slogan as a successful Wall Street financial firm was when E.F. Hutton talks, people listen. When Post divorced in 1937, she married Washington lawyer Joseph E. Davies, who became the U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union. He later wrote a book about his experience called Mission to Moscow, later commissioned into a film at FDRs request, when Russia and the U.S. were allies.

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Ukrainian president Zelensky, and his supporters, might keep all this in mind as he meets with President Trump: Listen carefully to Trumps insights, his natural instincts for successful business, and follow his advice. It also comes within the rich diplomatic and business-deal history of Mar-a-Lago. This may be the surest path to end the war on constructive terms.

The E.F. Hutton saying also provides one other inspiration, from the Old Testament: The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.

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Image via Flickr, public domain.
Nick Shirley is an impressive young independent video journalist who at the age of about 27, is already pretty well known for his excellent coverage of Joe Biden's open borders, making a wonderful, watchable documentary of a day in the life of an illegal alien, housed in one of New York's hotels as well as other topics. He's a master of man-on-the-street interviews. I wrote about his earlier effort here.

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Now he's outdone himself, taking his cell phone and a man named David he's working with, to record and expose what he found to be massive Somali fraud in Minnesota. In one day -- yesterday -- he made this 42-minute video exposing Somali day care and elder care centers in Minnesota here:

 Here is the full 42 minutes of my crew and I exposing Minnesota fraud, this might be my most important work yet. We uncovered over $110,000,000 in ONE day. Like it and share it around like wildfire! Its time to hold these corrupt politicians and fraudsters accountable



We ALL pic.twitter.com/E3Penx2o7a  Nick shirley (@nickshirleyy) December 26, 2025

Shirley and his guide, "David," who has done hours of research, take to the streets of Minneapolis on Dec. 26 to ask Somali day care owners and later, home health care providers, how to enroll someone in their services. They show state data on how many children their daycares serve, as well as millions in federal money received, and find one empty establishment after another, some of them flamingly obvious as Potemkin operations, with misspelled names, people who say 'I don't know' to every question, owners unable to give basic information such as price for services, and hangers on filming them with their own cell phone cameras and calling the cops on them for 'harassment.' What would a reasonable observer think?

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The cops, of course, escorted the two investigative reporters from the premises, unconcerned about the obvious problems with the establishments -- health care providers without old people, daycare centers without little footprints of kids in the snow, utterly empty of occupants as seen through the glass on a weekday.

They also learned that the Somalis notified one another as if in a racket, and many slammed doors in their faces for asking basic questions.

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In the most comical moment, a white leftist karen in what looked like a keffiyeh appeared seemingly out of nowhere and started shouting behind them to the Somali "day care" owners not to open up, that Shirley and David were ICE agents. That suggests a lot of illegal aliens among those taking federal money in these federally funded 'businesses,' which didn't come up in the piece.

DataRepublican on X estimates, through data science, that there may be 50,000 fraudulent Somali business operations, taking billions from the state in exchange for no services:

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Going to take a few hours to finish the AI queries, but I project an estimated 50,000 National Provider Identifiers potentially associated with Somalians. That's a lot of health care.



That subset will then be targeted for deeper extraction to identify websites, dollars,  DataRepublican (small r) (@DataRepublican) December 27, 2025

Shirley and David calculated that they exposed about $110 million in likely fraud in their day's work, and took those results to the statehouse, where they were berated by another white karen Democrat in a puce jacket with a hall-monitor mien who was probably an elected official. She showed no concern whatsoever as to the merit of their claims -- of a state that may be paying Somalis for fraudulent services -- and apparently exposed in just a day's work.

The piece was released this morning and went mega-viral, obtaining at least 25 million views (Update: It's now 110 million views.) I know I enjoyed watching it, as it was honest-to-goodness man-on-the-street reporting that tells us a lot about how Somalis seem to have managed to take so much from the state yet wield so much political power, seemingly fueled by piratical fraud.

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This observation from a Tijuana resident adds considerable perspective as to why they thought they could get away with it:

Im from Mexican California (Baja). As a kid, I crossed into San Diego almost every weekend with my family. There was a clear stereotype about Mexican visitors to the U.S. not migrants, but people who crossed to shop and then returned to Mexico: once on the U.S. side, they, we, https://t.co/i3zuXJcDVn Advertisement December 27, 2025

He sums it up as Somalis having no respect and no fear of American institutions, only a will to steal.

And this detail sums up the media malfeasance that made this state of extended corruption possible in Minnesota. The press has been completely asleep, completely out of touch with how real journalism is done, as Nick Shirley has demonstrated:

Minnesotas largest paper just released its Year in Review.



Not a single mention of the fraud consuming our state. This is how the fraud was able to balloon into what it is today. pic.twitter.com/YW1VLsMQzZ  Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) December 27, 2025

That's what gave Shirley his opportunity to do journalism right under their noses. The press should be red-faced with shame for not spotting this story earlier, just by knocking on doors. It was a story that, for years, was all theirs except that they didn't want to report it. They blew it, and a young kid with a camera showed them how it's done.

Image: Screen shot from Nick Shirley's X video.
I believe that history proves that all Jews should be legally armed and defensively dangerous. As law-abiding citizens and moral human beings, we should always be able to exercise our God-given right to self-defense. Fortunately, it seems that, slowly but steadily, more and more American Jewsa demographic that was traditionally anti-gunare beginning to see things my way.

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Image created using AI.

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I grew up in a very anti-gun home, something that mostly came from my mother. My parents had experienced World War II and the Israeli War of Independence firsthand. My dad was a combatant in both wars, first in the RAF and then in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Dads lesson was that a good rifle will defend you, and he eventually bought an old British Lee-Enfield rifle...which Mom promptly made him get rid of.

Why did she do that? Different life lessons.

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My mother was a victim of World War II (she was interned in a Japanese concentration camp in Java) and an IDF cartographer in the Israeli War of Independence. Although she knew how to handle a rifle as part of her IDF basic training, she was never a combatant.

Maybe that was why Mom was one of those Jews who learned the wrong lesson about guns: Namely, that the problem is the gun, not the ideology that drives the person holding the gun (whether that ideology is basic criminality or race- or religion-driven hatred). Our familys Democrat politics reinforced this attitude.

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And goodness knows, we were not the only Jewish family to feel this way. Gun ownership data from 1972 to 2002 shows that Jews had an extremely low rate of gun ownership, with only 13% or so of Jewish households owning guns during that thirty-year period. In 2005, Jewish households were almost 75% less likely to have guns than non-Jewish households. Individual Jews werent much better, with only 10% of Jewish individuals owning guns, compared to 26% of non-Jews.

Traditionally, Jews have not only rejected guns for themselves, but they also havent wanted others to have guns. In a 2018 survey, 70% said it was more important to have gun control compared to 25% who valued supporting American gun rights. Incidentally, the percentage of pro-gun-control Jews in that poll aligned almost perfectly with Jewish allegiance to the Democrat party.

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However...

Beginning in 2018, some Jews began to figure out that, even in America, people want to kill them, an understanding triggered by murderous synagogue attacks in Pittsburgh (2018), Poway (2019), and, most recently, Colleyville (2025). They looked at the landscapegrowing numbers of radical Muslims, growing antisemitism on American campuses and in the heart of the Democrat party, and increasingly overt antisemitism from American blacks (long the most antisemitic group in America after Muslims)and realized that, as the NRA always said, when seconds count, the police are minutes away.

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However, even as late as 2022, before the events of October 7, 2023, in Israel, which triggered rabid, genocidal antisemitism on college campuses and in cities across America, most American Jews (along with the Democrat party) continued to press for ever more extreme gun control.

What finally seems to have changed that foolish dynamic is October 7 and the overt explosion of American antisemitism that followed. Finally, Jews are arming themselves, so much so that a Jewish gun club called Lox & Loaded (a very clever pun) is growing fast across America:

A Jewish American firearms club, founded in the wake of the October 7 massacre and the rise in antisemitism, is growing in popularity, with over 30 chapters across the United States. Its poised to go international. Created in Cleveland, Ohio, the Lox & Loaded gun club has more than 1,000 members and aspires to establish a chapter in every US state. A spokesperson said that the objective was reasonable, given the immense interest in the organization.

So far, Lox & Loaded hasnt made it to South Carolina, but I live in hope. I sincerely believe that a free people, to remain free, must see each individual bristle like a porcupine. Those cute little beasties leave others alone, but they make it clear that they will brook no attacks. (Same goes for skunks, another adorable animal you dont want to mess with.)

For more on Jews and guns, check out my review of Guns & Moses and, even better, check out the actual movie. And if youre Jewish and dont live in a leftist bastion like New York or San Francisco, where they make it almost impossible to exercise your right to bear arms, look into getting a gun and taking a gun safety class. (You should always do both if youve never handled a gun before.)
If Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey were a normal mayor, he'd be advising his citizens to cooperate with federal authorities who may be conducting legal immigration enforcement operations. It would be no different from a statement from him to citizens to follow federal authorities' directions in a snowstorm or a hurricane.

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But this is wokester Jacob Frey, who was last seen doing nothing when his city was set alight by George Floyd rioters.

This is him telling ICE agents, in imitation-Obama intonations, that they could get killed in his city if they dare do their jobs enforcing immigration law:

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Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey warns ICE agents could be killed if operations continue in the city.



He knows exactly what he is doing, his supporters are listening.

pic.twitter.com/SunADPf1it  Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) December 26, 2025

Transcript:

Frey: I am increasingly concerned because of the chaos that is being caused by these ICE agents that somebody is gonna get seriously injured or killed. Advertisement [Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz behind him bobs head up and down like a bobblehead.] Somebody is going to get seriously injured or killed. Advertisement And whether that is an ICE agent or a community member, we all know the tinderbox that could explode because of it. We all know that the federal government is looking for reasons to deploy more and more people to Minneapolis and to blue cities around the country. We all know that we cannot afford to lose a single Minneapolis resident because they [points] showed up and decided to protect their neighbors. Because they showed up and decided to express their constitutional right to free speech. Advertisement And so, that concern is deep. It is held by the way, not just by me, and our residents, and the people who are standing up behind me. The concern about gettin' somebody killed is also held by our police officers.

Where's his warning to interlopers who interfere with ICE operations, which is a federal crime?

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No, his warning is exclusively directed at ICE officers who are legally required to do their jobs and sweep out illegal aliens.

It's clearly a dog whistle to rioters -- perhaps Somalis, who are a violent bunch likely to be rounded up as illegals by ICE or perhaps antifa, likely to be rounded up for interfering with federal enforcement operations -- to attack ICE agents. Notice that his tears and flapdoodle about 'community members' getting killed does not extend to federal officers, who he said earlier also could get killed, yet are far more likely to get injured or killed by Frey's rioters than the other way around.

It's as if he's calling for another riot. And with his clearly directing the 'warning' at ICE, it's a very irresponsible statement at a minimum, suggesting that he has no idea how to keep his city thugs under control. Actually, they can be controlled, but with a statement like this, he's signalling that doesn't want them to be controlled. He wants them out there interfering with federal lawmen under the phony rubric of 'constitutionally guaranteed free speech' instead of staying out of the way, which they are legally required to do.

In the worst scenario, it's possible he's suggesting that his city's thugs go kill.

Federal authorities should look into this veiled threat against federal lawmen and come suited up with the maximum defensive firepower.

Frey should resign over his lawless implied call to injure and kill.

Image: Screen shot from X video.
40 million brace for snow, winds and rain from North Dakota to New England over coming days

A storm bearing down on the Great Lakes and New England is expected to bring rain, snow, and high winds over the next few days. As many as 40 million people are now under winter weather advisories ahead of the storms arrival.

A narrow band from Fargo, North Dakota south to approximately Mason City, Iowa is under a blizzard warning ahead of the storm. That includes parts of of both states as well as parts of Minnesota. Winds in the affected areas are forecast to reach 45 miles per hour and, paired with an expected 3 to 8 inches of snow, are expected to create whiteout conditions through the start of the week.

Michigan's upper peninsula is under a blizzard warning as well. There, snowfall is expected to be between 9 inches and 2 feet, and winds are expected to reach as high as 60 miles per hour, ABC News reports.

The National Weather Service has issued winter weather advisories for parts of the northeast, from the Scranton, Pennsylvania up through Burlington, Vermont and Portland, Maine. Freezing rain is expected in that area on Sunday and Monday.

Buffalo and Jamestown, New York, are also both under flood watches from Sunday afternoon until Monday afternoon.

A closed-for-the-season seafood restaurant at Pine Point in Scarborough, Maine. A winter storm bringing blizzard conditions, high winds, and ice accumulation began moving east across the midwest on Sunday morning, and will disrupt the Great Lakes and northeast until early Monday (Reuters)

Back in the Great Lakes region, both Cleveland and Detroit are bracing for high winds. Forecasters expect the cities will see gusts of up to 60 miles per hour on Sunday night through early Tuesday morning.

In the upper midwest, both Minneapolis and Green Bay are forecast to see between 5 to 9 inches of snow. A level 1 of 5 severe storm threat exists in a stretch from northern Indiana south into Missouri. That band includes Indianapolis, St Louis, Louisville, and Nashville. The affected region will be subject to high speed, damaging wind gusts, according to Fox Weather.

The storm began dropping snow on Sioux Falls and Fargo early on Sunday morning, and will continue to sweep east across the northern sections of the U.S. The midwest will begin to see storm conditions on Sunday afternoon, and the northeast will be affected shortly thereafter.

People play in the snow in Central Park in Manhattan, New York (REUTERS)

Army Black Knights fans throw snow after a touchdown during the second half of their win over the UConn Huskies in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts (Getty Images)

A man shovels snow in Brooklyn, New York City (Getty Images)

Road travelers in the affected regions should be wary. Parts of the I-95 corridor between Philadelphia and Boston may be made treacherous by freezing rain around 5 pm on Sunday night.

Forecasters believe that the storm system will clear by Monday night, though lake-effect snow is likely to follow in its wake for Great Lakes communities. That snow will likely continue into Tuesday and potentially Wednesday.

In northern New England, wintry precipitation may produce up to a quarter of an inch of ice in the area. While the interior northeast is expected to receive some lake-effect snow as well, forecasters believe snowfall in the region will be lighter.

The storm comes on the heels of another winter weather system that swept across the northeast earlier this week, dropping snow on New York and New Jersey and forcing thousands of flights to be either cancelled or delayed.
Affordale Fury rallied to great effect to land Grade One honours in the Savills Chase at Leopardstown.

All eyes were on dual Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs as he made his belated seasonal bow as the 6-5 favourite and it briefly looked as though he would enjoy a dream return in the extended three-mile contest.

Affordale Fury proved incredibly game for jockey Sam Ewing though, having been in the front rank throughout, he was briefly headed by Galopin Des Champs turning for home but kept finding more to edge back in front at the last.

He then had to fend off the late finish of 2024 Grand National winner I Am Maximus, who was two and a half lengths back in second, with Galopin Des Champs a further three-quarters of a length away in third.

The Noel Meade-trained Affordale Fury is now 10-1 from 50s with Paddy Power for the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March, with the handler enjoying his first top-level strike since Beacon Edge won the 2021 Drinmore Novice Chase.

Noel Meade with Affordale Fury (Brian Lawless/PA) (Brian Lawless)

Meade said: Its fabulous. Philip (Polly) has been very lucky with me with the couple of horses hes had. We havent too many but the couple of horses we have turned to gold.

When this fella was second in the (2023) Albert Bartlett as a novice hurdler, we were really looking forward to him as a chaser.

He won his novice chase and then things went wrong on us, and he missed the whole of the next season.

He was sort of left in no mans land. I was kind of saving him last season for the Irish National and he would have got into it. He obviously would have been hard enough to beat in it but things went wrong again.

Affordale Fury gives Sam Ewing another Grade One Christmas winner with Savills Chase glory  Galopin Des Champs a gallant third @LeopardstownRC pic.twitter.com/2vf0E3ur24  Racing TV (@RacingTV) December 28, 2025

Affordale Fury had three runs before his Savills Chase date, notably finishing second to Envoi Allen in Down Royals Champion Chase before winning a Thurles Listed contest last time out.

Meade added: They changed the rules when the new season came in and he had to have another run so I ran him in Gowran, over two and a half miles and he ran very well, probably too well as the handicapper put him up five.

We said wed head for the stars and we went to the north and he ran a very big race there. He didnt jump as well as I thought he might.

Then he went to Thurles, which he didnt really handle that well, but he won anyway.

Sam Ewing gives Affordale Fury a kiss (Brian Lawless/PA) (Brian Lawless)

Philip said to me before the race what do you think? and I said whatever happened today was him because he cannot be any better than he is.

He worked the other day and worked the sight out of your eyes, he was unbelievable. I said this horse is in some nick.

Then Donagh (Meyler, regular rider) got suspended and we had to go back to Sam, who is having a great meeting so its not going downhill getting Sam by any means.

Galopin Des Champs is now Corals 5-1 favourite for the Gold Cup ahead of last years victor Inothewayurthinkin, who was pushed out to 8-1 after coming home last of the nine finishers, beaten over 41 lengths by the winner.
People across Taiwan reported feeling shaking and tremors after a magnitude 6.6 earthquake hit the islands northeastern coast.

The earthquake started at around 11.05pm local time on Saturday about 32km from the coastal town of Yilan but was felt across the island.

While the US Geological Survey said the magnitude was 6.6, Taiwans Central Weather Administration said the earthquake stood at magnitude 7, making it the strongest the country had recorded since 1999.

Saturday's quake was strongly felt across Taiwan, but because it occurred at a considerable depth and its epicenter was offshore, it was relatively unlikely to cause serious damage," Chen Da-yi, a section chief at the the weather agencys Seismological Centre, said at a press conference.

Buildings in the capital Taipei shook as Taiwanese president William Lai Ching-te urged residents to be alert for possible aftershocks.

Taiwan lies near two tectonic plates and is accustomed to earthquakes (AFP via Getty)

One resident in Yilan county described how a building shook first vertically and then horizontally.

"It kept on shaking for a while. Then I ran out, but most people did not run out. I was scared," he said.

The epicentre was 70km deep, and there were no immediate reports of widespread damage or casualties.

Local news stations showed hanging TVs swaying inside an office building, and spilt cleaning products and broken bottles that had fallen off supermarket shelves.

More than 3,000 homes in Yilan briefly lost power, the Taiwan Power Company said, as Taipeis city government reported isolated cases of damage including gas and water leakage and minor damage to buildings.

An earthquake last year saw buildings collapse in Hualien City, eastern Taiwan (AP)

It designated the incident a category four earthquake, meaning minor damage was possible.

TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, said that a small number of its facilities in the Hsinchu science park, where it is headquartered, reached evacuation criteria due to the earthquake.

The weather administration warned people to stay alert for aftershocks of magnitude 5.5 and 6.0 in the coming day.

A number of high wave advisories were issued in the Japanese regions of Hokkaido, Tohoku, Hokuriku, and Okinawa, but no tsunami alerts or warnings were given.

Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is prone to earthquakes. An earthquake with a magnitude between 6.0 and 6.9 is described as strong.

More than 100 people were killed in an earthquake in southern Taiwan in 2016, while a 7.3-magnitude quake killed more than 2,000 people in 1999.
Angola and Namibia have agreed to enhance co-operation with the UK on deportations, following a November threat from Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to impose visa bans on countries failing to take back citizens.

In November, Ms Mahmood warned that visas could be halted for countries failing to co-operate on the removal of illegal migrants.

Namibia, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of Congo were initially identified as facing such restrictions, despite accounting for a tiny number of UK visas.

The Home Office had previously accused those nations of unacceptably poor and obstructive returns processes, frustrating efforts to remove thousands of illegal migrants and criminals by refusing paperwork and requiring individuals to sign their own documents, effectively blocking deportations.

Angola and Namibia have now agreed to new processes, the Home Office confirmed, which will enable the UK to return illegal migrants and foreign national offenders shortly.

The UK has revoked fast-track visa processing and halted preferential visa treatment for diplomats and VIPs from the DRC as a warning after it failed to make changes.

Home secretary Shabana Mahmood announced plans to overhaul the asylum system in November (PA Wire)

There has since been some engagement from the country but Ms Mahmood has again warned she is willing to take further action.

A government source said the home secretary "won't hesitate to go further and ban visas to other countries who refuse to take their citizens back".

Ms Mahmood said: "We expect countries to play by the rules. If one of their citizens has no right to be here, they must take them back.

"I thank Angola and Namibia and welcome their co-operation. Now is the time for the Democratic Republic of Congo to do the right thing. Take your citizens back or lose the privilege of entering our country.

"This is just the start of the measures I am taking to secure our border and ramp up the removal of those with no right to be here."

Foreign secretary Yvette Cooper has told British diplomats to take a more transactional approach to illegal migration (PA Wire)

Ms Mahmood unveiled sweeping reforms in November aimed at deterring migrants from seeking asylum in the UK and making it easier to remove people with no right to be in the country.

The three countries threatened with a visa ban are not among the most common nationalities of migrants to enter the UK legally or illegally.

They accounted for a tiny proportion of the more than 800,000 visas granted for employment, study, family or humanitarian reasons in the year to June - 299 to those from the Democratic Republic of Congo, 273 for nationals from Angola and 140 for those from Namibia.

And they made up only a handful of the illegal migrants recorded as having entered the UK through so-called "irregular" routes in that timeframe, with only 11 coming from the DRC, three from Angola and none from Namibia.

Foreign secretary Yvette Cooper has told British diplomats to take a more transactional approach to illegal migration as part of efforts to speed up returns.

She said: "I have instructed our diplomatic network around the world to make returns a top priority, and today's announcement shows that when countries work with us, we can achieve more rapid results.

"People who come to the UK illegally, overstay their visas, or commit crimes in our country should expect to be returned, and we will continue to demand the cooperation of their governments in that process."

Since Labour entered government in July 2024, nearly 50,000 people have been deported from the UK and more than 7,000 foreign national offenders have been returned.
Sen. Bernie Sanders cautioned against the rapid growth of AI, including the physical infrastructure to support it, in an interview Sunday where he warned that American workers could be left behind by big tech.

The two-time presidential contender voiced the growing concerns of many of his fellow progressives during an appearance on CNNs State of the Union.

With growing numbers of American companies embracing AI in everyday situations including interactions with customers as well as the surging popularity of AI chatbots, the Republican-held Congress spent key parts of 2025 debating a ban on regulation of artificial intelligence at the state level, effectively making themselves the only authority in the country with the power to impose restrictions on the technologys development or use.

President Donald Trump reignited his calls for that legislation to pass in the fall, though Congress has not yet acted.

On Sunday, Sanders warned that Republicans were guiding the U.S. into a dangerous future for American workers, who he said that AI stakeholders like Elon Musk and Bill Gates predict will lose their jobs on a massive scale as working becomes optional and heavily reliant on robots.

Sen. Bernie Sanders warned about the economic and social impacts of AI on Sunday's State of the Union (CNN - State of the Union)

This is the most consequential technology in the history of humanity... Theres not been one single word of serious discussion in Congress about that reality, said the Vermont senator.

Sanders added that while tech billionaires were pouring money into AI development, they were doing so with the aim of enriching and empowering themselves while ignoring the obvious economic shockwaves that would be caused by the widespread adoption of the technology.

Elon Musk. [Mark] Zuckerberg. [Jeff] Bezos. Peter Thiel... Do you think theyre staying up nights worrying about working people? Sanders said. What are they gonna do when people have no jobs?

If there are no jobs and people wont be needed for most things, how do people get an income to feed their families? asked Sanders, quoting Gates.

His remarks come on the heels of data backing up those predictions. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) study released this year theorized that more than 11 percent of jobs currently part of the U.S. labor market could be replaced or made obsolete with the adoption of AI, including many human resources and logistics positions in fields such as health care and finance.

Similarly, in the UK, the National Foundation for Educational Research wrote in a November report that as many as 3 million jobs could be at risk across the country within the next 10 years.

Donald Trump, seen here at a White House-sponsored AI event in 2025, has called for Congress to ban states from regulating Artificial Intelligence (Getty Images)

Progressives like Sanders have argued that states must be free to implement their own restrictions on AI, including on content. Numerous legal and political issues surround the technologys use and development, including the resource cost of AI datacenters that use sizable amounts of electricity and have been blamed by some for driving up energy costs in surrounding communities.

In Congress some of the hardest discussions about AI occurred in November when a House panel examined the effects of AI chatbots on Americans and in particular younger children and teens. No federal restrictions have been pursued to restrict the access of children to AI chatbots while critics of the technology seized on a study this year that indicated as many as one in eight American teens had reported turning to an AI chatbot for emotional support.

Young people now are spending an enormous amount of time with AI. There are kids who are now getting most of their emotional support from AI. If this trend continues, what does it mean over the years, when people are not getting their support, their interaction, from other human beings but [instead] from a machine? What does that mean to humanity? asked Sanders on Sunday.

The science-fiction fear of AI running the world is not quite so outrageous a concept, Sanders said.

Other progressives in Congress echoed Sanders fears, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez during that AI chatbot hearing in November.

"We're talking about a massive economic bubble," Ocasio-Cortez said in November. "Depending on the exposure of that bubble, we could see 2008-style threats to economic stability."

The president issued an executive order in mid-December calling on Congress once again to ban state AI regulation and vowing to check state laws that challenged his authority or AI development in any way.

My Administration must act with the Congress to ensure that there is a minimally burdensome national standard  not 50 discordant State ones. The resulting framework must forbid State laws that conflict [with White House policy], read Trumps order, which continued: That framework should also ensure that children are protected, censorship is prevented, copyrights are respected, and communities are safeguarded. A carefully crafted national framework can ensure that the United States wins the AI race, as we must.
Billie Lourd has shared a touching tribute to her mom Carrie Fisher on the ninth anniversary of her death.

The actor, 33, said in an Instagram post that she will never stop missing the Star Wars star, who died aged 60 in 2016.

Lourd, who shares two children with her husband Austen Rydell, reflected on spending time with her father, Bryan Lourd, and her three-year-old daughter, Jackson, while remembering her mother. She wrote that Jackson and Bryan have a special relationship, describing them as two old souls that have known each other forever.

Watching my dad with my kids is one of the greatest joys Ive ever known, Lourd wrote. Then I started thinking about how this joy wouldnt be possible without my mom. This joy only exists because she existed. So even though she is not physically part of this joy, she is part of the reason for it. Even though she is not alive she lives on through this joy.

Lourd went on to say her grief changes constantly, but that it felt bittersweet at that moment.

Billie Lourds mother, Carrie Fisher, died at age 60 in 2016 (Getty Images)

As my mom wisely said, Nothing is ever really over. Just over there, she wrote.

Fishers life isnt really over. Just over there  in my kids and in this joy Im able to experience because of her, Lourd added, calling her mother momby.

Thank you momby. I will never stop missing you, she wrote.

Her post included two pictures that Lourd said were taken in the same room 25 years apart: one of Lourd with her parents and another of Lourds children with Bryan.

Fisher, who played Princess Leia in the original Star Wars films and sequels, died December 27, 2016, four days after she went into cardiac arrest on a flight from London to Los Angeles. Her mother and Lourds grandmother, legendary actor Debbie Reynolds, died just one day later aged 84 from a stroke.

Lourd has been open about her grief and kept her mothers memory alive by honoring her with social media posts on Fishers birthdays and the anniversaries of her death.

On what would have been Fishers 69th birthday in October, Lourd wrote: Every time I meet someone older than her Im secretly jealous. Why couldnt she have lived as long as they have? Anyone out there who has lost a loved one too young can maybe relate? So I cant really call it a wholly happy birthday cause she isnt here to enjoy the happy.

She added: So I allowed myself to be mad for a moment but then realized I also do want her birthday to have some happy in it. Especially for my kids. She was a brilliant magical human and I want them to know that.
French actress Brigitte Bardot has been remembered as an angel for animals by the founder of animal rights organisation Peta following her death at the age of 91.

The film star and 1960s sex symbol earned worldwide fame as one of the most recognisable faces of post-war cinema but later withdrew from the showbusiness world to devote her life to causes such as animal rights.

French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to the star, known for her tousled blonde hair and bold eyeliner, and described her as a legend of the century.

Rest in peace, Brigitte Bardot  From rescuing pigeons in Saint-Tropez to cherishing her beloved dogs, Brigitte was an angel for animals. A longtime vegetarian and fierce advocate for all species, she sold her jewelry and personal possessions to start a sanctuary and defend pic.twitter.com/YwUS0or0BG  PETA (@peta) December 28, 2025

Known widely as BB because of her initials, pronounced bebe, the French word for baby, Bardot starred in dozens of movies, with Et Dieu Crea La Femme (And God Created Woman) often seen as the film that propelled her to international stardom.

Bardot was also known for her campaigning efforts and teamed up with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) to stand against Canadas annual seal slaughter as well as the sale of foie gras in department store Fortnum And Mason.

Ingrid Newkirk, president of Peta, said in a statement: From her rescued pigeons in Saint-Tropez to her beloved dogs, Peta will miss Brigitte, an angel for animals who went to bat and to court to protect them all.

A vegetarian for years, a strong voice for all species, she recounted in the chapter she dictated for my book, One Can Make A Difference, how she sold her jewellery and other possessions to start a sanctuary and defend animals.

She once said that only through protecting animals did she truly bloom  and we call on the public to honour her memory by doing something kind for animals today, so that the seeds she planted continue to flourish.

Ses films, sa voix, sa gloire eblouissante, ses initiales, ses chagrins, sa passion genereuse pour les animaux, son visage devenu Marianne, Brigitte Bardot incarnait une vie de liberte. Existence francaise, eclat universel. Elle nous touchait. Nous pleurons une legende du siecle.  Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) December 28, 2025

A statement on the Peta website read: Peta is grateful to Brigitte Bardot for speaking out so beautifully for animals, and we know that her foundation  and all of us who were inspired by her commitment  will continue to advocate for them with her heart and voice.

The Brigitte Bardot Foundation, which is dedicated to the protection of animals, said that she died at her home in southern France.

In a statement seen by the Press Association, the foundation said: The Brigitte Bardot Foundation announces with immense sadness the death of its founder and president, Madame Brigitte Bardot, a world-renowned actress and singer, who chose to abandon her prestigious career to dedicate her life and energy to the defence of animals and her foundation.

Brigitte Bardot arriving at the funeral of animal rights activist Jill Phipps (PA) (PA)

It added: The foundation will continue, now more than ever, to champion the work of Brigitte Bardot.

On X, Mr Macron wrote: Her films, her voice, her dazzling glory, her initials, her sorrows, her generous passion for animals, her face that became Marianne, Brigitte Bardot embodied a life of freedom.

Far-right French politician Marine Le Pen said in a social media post that Bardot was incredibly French: free, untamable, whole and added: She will be greatly missed by us.

Bardot was a supporter of Le Pen and had reportedly once referred to her as the Joan of Arc of the 21st century.

Wildlife presenter and animal expert Anneka Svenska also paid tribute and said animals were safer because she existed in a post to X on Sunday.

Princess Margaret talking in French with actress Brigitte Bardot (PA) (PA)

Elsewhere, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) said Bardot was known as a symbol of sexual liberation in film and added that the film star had received a nomination for Viva Maria in 1967.

Born in 1934, the star was an aspiring ballerina before reaching an international audience as an actress in the late 1950s.

Bardots spirited performances came at a time when Europe was emerging from the horrors of war and embracing a more liberated lifestyle.

Directed by her then-husband Roger Vadim, And God Created Woman  released in 1956  pushed the boundaries of sexual representation in film.

As an actress, one of her most notable collaborations was with an acclaimed figure of French New Wave cinema  French-Swiss filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard  who directed her in the films Contempt (1963) and Masculin Feminin (1966).

After she found success as a movie star she quit acting in the 1970s to devote her life to animal rights campaigning.

French actress Brigitte Bardot stepping from the airliner on her arrival at London Airport from Paris (PA) (PA)

In her later years she proved to be a controversial figure and was criticised for supporting the French far-right party National Front.

She was fined multiple times for inciting racial hatred and her son sued her for invasion of privacy and emotional damage, which also damaged her reputation.

In 2018 she made headlines again, saying actresses who made claims of sexual harassment in the #MeToo movement were hypocritical.

She told French magazine Paris Match: There are many actresses who flirt with producers in order to get a role. Then, in order to be talked about, they will say they have been harassed. In reality, rather than benefiting them, it harms them.

Bardot was married four times, first to director Vadim in 1952 and then to actor Jacques Charrier, with whom she shares a son, in 1959.

She later married the millionaire Gunter Sachs, in 1966, and her final marriage was to Bernard dOrmale, an adviser to Le Pen, who she had been married to since 1992.
The Coral Adventurer is currently under investigation following the death of an elderly passenger who was left behind on a remote island. (Bahnfrend/Wikimedia)

An Australian cruise ship has run aground with 120 passengers on board on its first trip since a passenger died after being left behind on a remote island.

The Coral Adventurer hit a reef off the coast of Papua New Guinea early on Saturday morning, according to reports.

The ships operator, Coral Expeditions, said no one was hurt in the incident.

Coral Adventurer had a grounding incident in coastal Papua New Guinea yesterday. All passengers and crew are safe, a spokesperson told The Guardian.

An initial inspection indicates no damage to the vessel. The incident has been reported to authorities and will undergo further official inspections to the hull and marine environment as a standard procedure.

Passengers on board are reportedly staying on Papua New Guinea while a team attempts to re-float the ship and inspect the hull.

The Coral Adventurer is currently under investigation following the death of an elderly passenger who was left behind on a remote island.

Eighty-year-old Suzanne Rees was hiking on Lizard Island with other passengers from the Coral Adventurer when she starting feeling unwell and became separated from the group (AP)

Suzanne Rees, 80, was hiking on Lizard Island with other passengers from the Coral Adventurer when she started feeling unwell and became separated from the group.

Believing she had made her way back to the ship alone, her fellow hikers returned to the vessel and it left the island without her.

The crew realised she was missing and returned to the island to look for her but a day later, on 25 October, Rees was found dead.

Australian authorities have launched an investigation into the womans death.

Under existing regulations by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), captains or masters of commercial passenger vessels are required to maintain systems ensuring every passenger is accounted for at any given time.

The womans daughter, Katherine Rees, said earlier that the family was shocked and saddened that the Coral Adventurer left Lizard Island after an organised excursion without my mum, Suzanne.

From the little we have been told, it seems that there was a failure of care and common sense, she told The Australian.

I hope that the coronial inquiry will find out what the company should have done that might have saved Mums life, the daughter said.

The CEO of Coral Expeditions, Mark Fifield, said that the company offered its full support to the Rees family and cancelled the remainder of the voyage.

The Independent has contacted Coral Expeditions for a comment.
Alaa Abd el-Fattah was given British citizenship despite his anti-white and anti-Semitic statements - Khaled Elfiqi/AP

For the first time, visa restrictions have been imposed by Britain on countries refusing to take back criminals and illegal migrants. Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, has deployed powers  introduced under the Conservatives in 2022 but not used until now  against the Democratic Republic of Congo. Its diplomats and ministers will no longer receive special treatment and its citizens will be barred from fast-track entry to the UK. The DRC accounts for a tiny number among the cohort of illegal arrivals, with just 134 people awaiting a decision.

Nonetheless, there will be a general welcome to this bipartisan approach since it purportedly demonstrates a determination to crack down on foreign nationals coming to our shores and abusing the countrys laws and hospitality. Two other African countries changed their position and agreed to accept deportees from Britain after being threatened with similar measures.

Against a background of tougher action, then, what are we to make of the effusive welcome given to Alaa Abd el-Fattah who was released from an Egyptian prison in September and has now arrived in Britain? His incarceration became something of a cause celebre in the world of human rights.

He was a key figure in the Egyptian uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak and has subsequently been jailed by the current regime. He was granted British citizenship through his London-born mother in 2021 and successive governments have lobbied Cairo for his release.

Sir Keir Starmer, a former human rights lawyer, said he had made securing his freedom a priority of his Government and expressed his delight that he was now in Britain. It has now emerged that Mr el-Fattah once labelled British people dogs and monkeys and called for Zionists to be killed, along with other incendiary and potentially racist comments

Suddenly, Downing Street is less enthusiastic about the new arrival, with sources claiming the Prime Minister was unaware of the abhorrent comments he made until recently. Really? These were hardly secret. Mr el-Fattah had been shortlisted for a human rights prize more than 10 years ago but the nomination was withdrawn because of apparent threats made to Jews on his social media platforms.

Since, by Sir Keirs own account, the Government made a priority of this case he must surely have been aware of all the details. The Foreign Office or MI6 would presumably have compiled a dossier about an individual the state was investing so much time and effort into getting released. Did he not read his briefs?

Arguably, from the moment he was granted British citizenship it was incumbent on the Government to seek his freedom if his conviction and imprisonment were deemed unsound. His London-born mother staged a high-profile hunger strike and won the support of celebrities like Dame Judi Dench and Olivia Colman.

There will be relatives of others also detained abroad, such as Lindsay and Craig Foreman, jailed in Iran for a year, wondering if as much effort is being expended on their behalf.

It also raises a question mark over why the last Conservative government granted him citizenship in the first place. Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, forcefully denounces the welcome given to Mr el-Fattah in The Telegraph. El Fattah should not have been a British citizen at all, he writes. It shames me that the last government agreed to grant him a passport, the logic of which is hard to comprehend.

Indeed it is; but the fact remains that he was given citizenship even though his anti-Western views were well known. It is now alleged that human rights laws made it impossible to reject an application for citizenship as his social media tweets could not be taken into consideration.

This is pure casuistry. The 1981 British Nationality Act is clear: the Home Secretary can deny citizenship to someone whose presence is not deemed conducive to the public good. He could appeal but hiding behind the ECHR is not a good look. Moreover, Mr el-Fattahs British citizenship can be taken away, as has happened with Shamima Begum, who was actually born in this country.

The incoherence and double standards on show are breathtaking. Is the Government seeking to protect the country from extremists or not? Ms Mahmouds announcement is intended to give the impression that it is, but the reality is something else entirely.
A sense of despondency has gripped the families of two British nationals who have, between them, spent more than a decade imprisoned without trial or conviction in some of Indias most crowded jails as their cases churn through the countrys notoriously slow legal system.

Jagtar Singh Johal and Christian Michel were not detained under similar circumstances, but their lawyers and families say their incarceration is long past any defensible legal justification, as they accuse the UK government of failing to bring the two men home despite strengthening diplomatic ties with India.

Michel is accused of acting as a middleman in a scandal-hit Indian helicopter deal with Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland, while Johal is accused of terror offences related to the movement for a separate Sikh state. Both deny any wrongdoing.

Michel has spent seven years incarcerated in the capital Delhis Tihar jail despite orders from the Supreme Court to grant him bail because he failed to meet the strict conditions determined for his release.

The 64-year-old businessman was extradited from Dubai to India in 2018 over allegations he acted as a middleman in a 2010 defence deal involving AgustaWestland. Investigators allege that Michel paid bribes to senior Indian government officials to secure a 455m chopper deal for Agusta in 2010. India ultimately cancelled the deal in 2014. Michel has denied the accusations.

On 4 December, we marked seven years since my father was illegally detained in the country, Michels son Alois tells The Independent.

My sister and I desperately want our father back, but we want our father back to be declared finally innocent, for him to be fully unconditionally released.

Jagtar Singh Johal at his wedding in India (PA)

Johal, known as Jaggi, has spent eight years behind bars after being seized by the police in Indias Punjab state in 2017 while on his honeymoon. The 38-year-old from Dumbarton near Glasgow was accused of involvement with the banned Sikh separatist outfit the Khalistani Liberation Force (KLF) and in the assassinations of religious and political figures. The Khalistan movement wants an independent Sikh state carved out of India.

Johals family says he was held at gunpoint, tortured in custody, and forced to sign a false confession relating to a series of murders tied to the KLF. The Indian government denies torture and insists due process is being followed in his case.

Like Michel, Johal has not been convicted of any crime. One of the nine cases against him collapsed in March, but the others remain stuck in slow-moving proceedings, his lawyer, Jaspal Singh Manjhpur, says.

He says the prosecution is presenting evidence at a lower court in the remaining cases, while Johals bail application is pending before the Supreme Court. The investigators know that he is going to be acquitted. Therefore, they are trying to prolong the pre-trial period, Mr Manjhpur says.

Johals imprisonment was recognised as arbitrary by a UN panel in 2022. His supporters say the charges against him are politically motivated because he raised concerns about how Indias Sikh community has been treated in blog posts.

Jagtar Singh Johal has been detained since 2017 (PA Media)

Experts say Indias legal system is slow and overburdened, which is why it has a law stipulating that a suspect must be released from prison on personal bond once they have served half of what would have been the maximum sentence if they were convicted. In Michels case it meant he should have been released in 2021.

Michels lawyers argue he should be freed unconditionally, but instead, the courts have granted him bail while investigators continue to probe his case. Yet he has no address in India, no family members in the country, and no one willing to act as a guarantor  factors that have rendered the bail order effectively meaningless.

At a hearing in April, Michel revealed to the court that the only person willing to vouch for him was Jo Johnson, former MP and brother to former prime minister Boris Johnson.

Christian Michel sitting with his crutches in Delhis Rouse Avenue court after making a submission regarding his safety (Namita Singh/ The Independent)

Further hearings in his case took place earlier this week, where a court in Delhi agreed that he is entitled to be released and he cannot be detained beyond the maximum sentence for the alleged offences for which he was extradited. Michel reached that landmark  exactly seven years in prison without conviction  on Sunday 21 December.

Yet he remains behind bars, because Indias Central Bureau of Investigation says it is still working on bringing another case to trial against him that would bring a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. He has yet to be charged in that case.

Johals brother, Gurpreet Singh Johal, has spent nearly a decade pressing ministers in London to intervene in his case. His meeting with new foreign secretary Yvette Cooper on 1 December left him dispirited.

Honestly, I dont know why I bothered taking the train down from Glasgow for this, he said in a statement. Ive now met six foreign secretaries and this is one of the most disappointing meetings yet  it felt like a significant step back.

The prime minister made a big deal of this meeting, so to show up and hear the same empty talk is devastating, he said.

A Foreign Office spokesperson told The Independent the UK government has consistently raised both Michel and Johals cases with the Indian government, while providing consular support to their families.

The UK government is committed to seeing Christian Michels case resolved as soon as possible, the spokesperson said.

Sir Keir Starmer last raised the cases during a bilateral meeting with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on 9 October, while the foreign secretary took it up with Indian external affairs minister S Jaishankar on 11 November on the sidelines of the G7 foreign ministers meeting in Canada.

Alois Christian Michel, 27, protests outside Downing Street over the detention of his father Christian Michel in India (Supplied)

But Michels children accuse the UK government of failing to take concrete action to secure his release.

The UK hasnt reacted to it for the past seven [years], says Alois. Maybe they raised it but it hasnt made any actual change. And in the meantime, it didnt prevent them from having trade agreements, even one of the largest, that took place between India and the UK back in July.

But nothing has really moved since. So it may seem a bit naive for me, but what we want to see is justice. And for the UK to request for India to proceed with justice, which they havent done yet at this point in time.

Alois said the way the UK government continues to push for closer ties with India while his father languishes in prison is a form of insult. Its disgraceful to just forget someone like this, he adds.

Scottish Labour parliamentarian Douglas McAllister says he urged the foreign secretary to abandon what he called the governments habit of simply raising [Johals] case.

Theres a window of opportunity between now and next month, and what I now want to see is a greater sense of urgency. That means immediate action from the foreign secretary to bring my constituent home to Dumbarton.

Charities working to secure Johals release have grown similarly despondent with both judicial and diplomatic processes.

Reprieve, the international human rights charity supporting the Johal family, says the case has reached breaking point.

It is very clear by now that unless the UK government takes stronger action, Jagtar will at best spend decades in prison, in a never-ending trial with no evidence, and at worst be sentenced to death and executed, Dan Dolan, its deputy chief executive, warns.

Failing to resolve this (Johal) case would project terrible weakness  signalling to allies and enemies alike that they can arbitrarily detain British citizens as a point of leverage, Mr Dolan warns.

Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya leaves a 2020 High Court hearing into his appeal against his extradition to India (AFP via Getty)

What Mr Dolan refers to as leverage is the idea that the two Britons may be caught in a wider struggle over alleged economic fugitives from India living in Britain, something a source close to Michel also raised concerns about.

The source says on the condition of anonymity that they fear Michel and Johal will not be released as long as India is still actively pursuing the extradition of several prominent businessmen accused of committing fraud in India before fleeing to the UK.

The Independent reached out to the Indian authorities for comment on this claim, but had not received a response at the time of publication.

Among Indias most wanted are the former airline tycoon Vijay Mallya and diamond merchant Nirav Modi  both accused of multi-billion-rupee bank frauds and both still contesting legal battles in Britain.

Indias finance ministry earlier in December told parliament that 15 individuals have been formally declared Fugitive Economic Offenders  a legal designation introduced in 2018 for those accused of large-scale financial frauds who flee the country. Nine of them are connected to major public-sector bank scams.

Mallya, the former owner of Kingfisher Airlines, is accused of defaulting on loans converted into non-performing assets by several Indian banks. The government says the total owed  including interest  stands at over 1bn.

Mallya disputes the figures and has accused the Indian government and banks of giving contradictory accounts. He has called for a retired judge to investigate what he termed a pathetic state of affairs vis-a-vis myself. He declined to be interviewed by The Independent for this story.

Diamond magnate Nirav Modi, on the other hand, is linked to the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud  one of the largest banking scandals in the country. He has been in custody in the UK since 2019 while fighting extradition, which the High Court ordered in 2022. He earlier defended himself and said his dealings with PNB were civil transactions blown out of proportion.

One of the issues holding up the extradition process is concern raised repeatedly by British courts over the sorry state of Indian prisons.

In November last year, the High Court in London upheld arms dealer Sanjay Bhandaris appeal, ruling he would face a real risk of extortion and possible actual violence if returned to Tihar jail. UK officials have since sought written guarantees that no prisoner would be mistreated. Authorities in Delhi say such assurances have now been provided. However, Delhis prison system  spanning 16 facilities  currently holds more than 19,000 inmates, nearly twice its sanctioned capacity.

In July, a four-member delegation from Britains Crown Prosecution Service visited Tihar jail to review the conditions, inspecting a high-security wing, meeting inmates and reviewing security arrangements across the complex. The Indian authorities assured the team that any extradited individual would be kept safe and that dedicated accommodation could be created for them if required.

Michel has repeatedly raised concerns about his own safety while held at Tihar. He told The Independent during a court appearance earlier this year that there had been two separate attempts on his life, claiming that a hired killer confessed to being paid to assassinate him. He also claimed that despite his appeals before the authorities, no meaningful investigation was launched.

An Indian protester touches a cutout of billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi during a demonstration in New Delhi in 2018 (AFP via Getty)

India has assured British authorities that should Nirav Modi be returned, he would be held in Mumbai citys Arthur Road Jail in Barrack No 12  considerably less crowded than Tihar. India has previously issued similar undertakings, including to Belgium in jeweller Mehul Choksis case. Yet its unclear if this would satisfy the UK courts  Mallyas barrister earlier told Westminster Magistrates Court that conditions in Barrack 12 were far from satisfactory.
My family has been left in limbo for 25 years. I need to know what happened to my daughter

Nearly three decades after Carmel Fenech disappeared, her family is still out looking for her. Her sister Mandy often sleeps in her car, parking outside the places Carmel used to visit before she vanished in 1998, unwilling to give up the search.

Carmel is one of five siblings in a close-knit family in Peckham, and her absence has never loosened its grip on them. Time has passed, lives have moved on, but the unanswered question of what happened to her remains as raw as ever.

Her mother, Deirdre Fenech, told The Independent: Even now, I'm still looking for a 16-year-old girl, not a 40-year-old woman.

That's my baby. That's my child that I carried with me for nine months She's been gone longer than I held her in my arms. I'm never going to give up looking for her.

The Independent has raised 165,000 to launch SafeCall, a free new service to help the 70,000 children reported missing each year to find support and safety no matter what, and continues to campaign for the cause. Ms Fenech knows how heartbreaking the pain is of having a child disappear.

Donate here or text SAFE to 70577 to give 10 to Missing People  enough for one child to get help.

Carmel is one of five siblings from a close family in Peckham (Deirdre Fenech)

When Carmel, like many 14-year-olds, began making new friends, going to parties and staying out late, her mother didnt think anything of it.

But what she didnt know was that Carmel had been introduced to crack cocaine. She didnt look like a drug addict and was never rude or moody. She always had a great personality, always good fun, her mother said.

It wasnt until Ms Fenech went to look for her at a friends house that she was told Carmel had fallen in with a bad crowd and had become addicted to drugs.

That hit me like a sledgehammer, Ms Fenech said.

Carmels disappearances became a routine part of their lives (Deirdre Fenech)

Carmel started going missing for days at a time, sleeping in derelict garages, strange houses or stairwells. Me and my son, we searched everywhere we kicked in crack house doors, we took on major drug dealers looking for her, she added.

It became a routine part of their lives. Her family would find her, or she would return home with a beaming smile before disappearing again just days later.

I was full of rage, not at her, at these people she was involved with. I used to drop my children off at school in the morning, go looking for her, then come back, take them home then my son and myself would be walking the streets at one, two, three, four, five o'clock in the morning, she explained.

Ms Fenech lost count of how many times she reported her missing.

Carmel was last seen at Camberwell Green Magistrates' Court in 1998 (Deirdre Fenech)

Although Carmel knew she could always go home, and her mother knew shed make her way back, she would still go out looking for her, just to make sure she was OK.

Hoping to pull her away from the people she was surrounded by, Ms Fenech moved the family to Crawley in West Sussex.

But even then, Carmel continued to leave, spending days at a time in London before going back home again.

On the day her daughter vanished completely, Ms Fenech was told Carmel was at Camberwell Green Magistrates' Court. A police officer spoke to Carmel on the stairs as she was leaving, but she told him to get lost.

It has been reported that Carmel was seen leaving the court with an unidentified man.

Chris Rambour, a detective inspector of the Surrey and Sussex major crime team, said: We particularly want to identify and speak to a man seen with Carmel on 21 May 1998. There is currently no description of him, but he clearly knew her.

Two weeks after Carmel left the court, her mother had received no call from her (Deirdre Fenech)

He said this information has been established since the case opened, but her mother said she disputes this and believes Carmel was alone.

Ms Fenech never expected this to be the last time Carmel was seen. She had a caravan holiday planned for their family, and intended to give her daughter a week before searching.

But by the time she got back, two weeks after Carmel had left court, Ms Fenech had received no call from her.

Ms Fenech added: That's when I just knew. Deep down into the pit of your stomach, you can feel something is so wrong.

Carmels family feel left in limbo after her disappearance (Deirdre Fenech)

She said she has felt let down by the police responsible for Carmels case and fears she will never know what happened to her daughter.

Ms Fenech has a feeling of limbo", afraid to move houses, in case Carmel comes home. Its a strange, horrible world we live in, just not knowing, she added.

Det Insp Rambour said: Our search for Carmel continues, and our thoughts have remained with her and her family throughout this investigation as we look to find the answers they deserve.

Carmel has not been forgotten, and we are appealing once again to the public for any information that could help us to locate her.

Paul Joseph, the head of helplines at Missing People, said: We continue to offer our full support to Deirdre Fenech, the mother of missing 16-year-old Carmel Fenech. Our thoughts remain firmly with Deirdre and her family during this incredibly difficult time, and we remain committed to standing alongside them for as long as they need us.

No family should have to face the pain of a missing loved one alone, and we will continue to do everything we can to support their search and their wellbeing.

Please donate now to The Independent and Missing Peoples SafeCall campaign, which has raised 165,000 to create a free, nationwide service helping vulnerable children find safety 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 www.missingpeople.org.uk/get-help
Liu De-wen carrying an urn in his backpack. I am bringing you back home to Fujian as you wished. Stay close. Photograph: Helen Davidson/The Guardian (Photograph: Helen Davidson/The Guardian)

In the leafy back blocks of a military cemetery in northern Taiwan, Liu De-wen strides through a room holding rows and rows of shelves. He stops and stoops to the lowest row, opening a small, ornate gold door. He pulls out an urn, bundles it into his lap, and hugs it.

Grandpa Lin, follow me closely, Liu says. I am bringing you back home to Fujian as you wished. Stay close.

Inside the jade green urn are the ashes of Lin Ru Min, a former soldier who was 103 when he died in Taiwan, far from his home village in Chinas Fujian province. Lin is among hundreds of people whose remains Liu, a 58-year-old Taiwanese man, has helped return to China over the past 23 years.

Lius work operates in a complicated space at the heart of modern Taiwans history, navigating the nuances of family grief and separation, the complicated ties between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, and the risks of it all being co-opted in Beijings demands for reunification.

At the end of Chinas civil war between the nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) and the Communists in the late 1940s, Lin was a young fisher with a wife and five children in coastal Fujian, when he was snatched by the defeated KMT troops as they fled defeat on the mainland, his nieces daughter, Chen Rong, says.

He was forced into conscription, and taken to Taiwan, not allowed to return home for almost half a century.

The KMT, led by Chiang Kai-shek, brought an estimated one to two million affiliated people  known as waishengren in Taiwan  when they fled, including soldiers, government workers, their families, and forced conscripts like Lin.

Tens of thousands were literally kidnapped to Taiwan this way, says Dominic Meng-Hsuan Yang, a historian of modern Taiwan, China, and civil war exiles, at the University of Missouri.

In some of these unlucky coastal communities which happened to sit on the paths of the Nationalist divisions in retreat, a large number of male populations were taken away.

Chiang planned to regroup and replenish in Taiwan, and then retake the mainland for the Republic of China. But the comeback never happened, and for almost 40 years he ruled Taiwan under a brutal martial law. Travel and other exchanges with what had become the Communist-ruled Peoples Republic of China (PRC) on the mainland were banned.

By the time the bans were lifted in the late 1980s, and after three decades of Maoism in the PRC, it was no longer realistic for most of the hundreds of thousands of remaining veterans to return, including Lin. Only about 2% ever did.

The homes that the old KMT soldiers left behind in the late 1940s changed dramatically during the three to four decades they were gone, says ProfJames Lin, an expert in Taiwans history and international studies at the University of Washington.

Most soldiers had already settled down in Taiwan with children and grandchildren, and despite their longing for their natal home in China, realistically their homes were already in Taiwan.

In hospital before he died, Lin told Chen that he still wanted his final resting place to be in Fujian. So Chen found Liu, an energetic but quietly spoken man from Kaohsiung, who spends his time helping families return the ashes of waishengren back to their ancestral homes.

Lius work started in his 30s, after he moved into a village which had been built for the KMT soldiers, and he later became the borough chief.

There were over 2,000 single veterans just in my community who had no wives or families here in Taiwan, Liu recalls.

They missed their parents deeply. Every Chinese new year, they would face the direction of their home town and sit there for two or three hours without moving, quietly missing home  they asked: borough chief, could you please take me home, help me fulfil my lifelong wish, so I can be filial to my parents and at least redeem myself in the afterlife?

Lius work has sent him across Taiwan, sometimes scouring through overgrown mountain regions to find long neglected graves. (Not everyone had relatives like Chen in Taiwan.)

Some were merchants or sailors who came to Taiwan for business or trade and never made it back, says Lin.

Regardless of whether they were soldiers or civilians, I help the families as long as I can find their relatives.

When he finds the right grave, he takes care of the paperwork, and then personally picks up the urn and carries it to China. Lius social media accounts show him carrying the urn, usually in a backpack worn on his front as a sign of respect.

Its not a commodity, it represents an elder with a soul and a life, he says. Other posts show the urn in its own seat in vehicles and its own twin bed in hotel rooms, while Liu speaks updates of their journey.

Liu does not charge people for the service, and frowns upon those who do. He says he does not receive any financial assistance from the Taiwanese or Chinese governments, but is coy about how it is funded. Taiwans veterans affairs council declined multiple requests to answer questions.

Lius work has been written about in Taiwanese outlets and extensively in Chinese state media, where he is praised as a ferryman of the souls.

Many in the broader public in the PRC sympathise with the old soldiers who were cut off from their home villages, says Prof Lin.

But the narrative also serves a propaganda purpose for Beijing, which often uses Lius work to emphasise the family ties between China and Taiwan as a way of promoting unification  a prospect that a large majority of people in Taiwan oppose.

More than 60% of people in Taiwan identify as solely Taiwanese but about one in three consider themselves to be also Chinese. Those who consider themselves Chinese, and support unification are usually found among older waishengren.

It theoretically benefits Beijing to highlight the close familial ties that link together society across Taiwan and China, reinforcing a political phrase coined by Beijing that both sides of the strait are part of a same family, says Prof Lin.

Many of these men, like the young fisher Lin, had little say in the politics and war that so irrevocably changed their lives. And Prof Lin says they felt that the deeply traumatic experience is often overlooked in modern Taiwan, because they are tied to what was at the time an authoritarian KMT state.

Liu says people in China and Taiwan are kin who share the same origins and the same heritage, but beyond that he just says he wants peace. He says he is not bothered about how his work is presented.

What I care deeply about is building this kind of bridge for veterans to go home.

After collecting Lins urn, Liu takes it outside and offers more blessings. He films a video for Lins family in Fujian, then wraps the urn in red and gold cloth and puts it inside a backpack, ready for the journey to Fujian.

Chen cries.

We are going home, she says. I am asking Mr Liu to bring you home. Please bless us with health and safety.

Additional reporting by Jason Tzu Kuan Lu
Once youve got over the novelty of the quietness and slower pace of life, we all reach that point where theres something pulling you back. Take a look back at our My London interviewees over the years for what it is they miss most when theyre away from London.

See also: 37 reasons to love London: From corner shop culture to Gen Z-friendly bumps of caviar

Helen Mirren: The architecture. It's only when you go away and live in another city that you appreciate how incredibly beautiful London is.

Emma Bunton: Driving in London. I like the independence of it. I miss just getting in a car and driving to Covent Garden or over the river to see a friend. Driving along the river at night is particularly special.

Joan Bakewell: The glamour. I do like London at twilight  seeing people all dressed up and heading for the wine bars.

I miss everything. Even when I'm sitting in a traffic jam, I don't mind because I find the city so inspiring.

Jo Wood

There are also certain conveniences you just wont find outside of London.

Mel C: The accessibility of things. Up North it's so much harder to find things like organic food and alternative therapists there.

Ronan Keating: The accessibility. Whatever you need, you can get.

Jo Brand: Theatre, cinema and 24-hour garages.

Actor Kelly Macdonald misses sleeping in her own bed (Dave Benett)

Tess Daly: I miss all its conveniences, like being able to get bread and milk at one in the morning.

Catherine Walker: Wherever you are in London, you can do so much in such a small area.

The feeling that everything is going on around you and that everything is possible; only New York comes close for the buzz.

Dom Jolly

For some its the food thats unmatched anywhere else in the world.

Amelia Warner: I think food is a crucial thing. There's no buying a greasy breakfast in LA - it's all organic juices.

Liberty Ross: A good cup of tea - you can't find one anywhere outside the UK.

Johnny Vegas: Proper fresh bagels.

The buzz. I love going to the country but I always look forward to coming back here. I miss the pavements.

Ainsley Harriott

Denise van Outen: I don't think you can beat London for the choice and standard of food, or its high street shops for fashion. There's also something quite moody and sexy about the city - perhaps it's the weather.

Ah yes, the weather. As the late Joan Rivers once told us: Am I the only one who thinks this is the best weather in the world for people's skin? Look at your women's skin.

Renee Zellweger on the red carpet with the London accessory of choice (Getty Images)

Liz Jagger: The weather! Even though sometimes it's crap, it can be great. I also miss the old buildings, my family, my friends and good hearty British food like they do at Ffiona's.

People trying to break into my car. It's reassuring to know I've got something, even if it is a 26-year-old Mercedes, that other people want

Jenny Eclair

But for many, the one thing they love most of all about London is the people.

Jake Chapman: They're so much more vibrant here than anywhere else in the whole world. I especially miss the refugees because their own countries are empty.

Mariah Carey: My close friends who live in London, my British fans who have always been very loyal to me and, of course, the English accent that I adore and can do a pretty good impression of, occasionally.

Lionel Richie: The people. I mean that sincerely. In the UK when people fall in love with you it's for the rest of your life. In America, you're only as good as your last gig. Also, the architecture - it's like nowhere else.

The rudeness, the moroseness and the belligerence

Matt Lucas

Julian Clary: Apathy. I like the apathy of London - people who can't quite be bothered with life. When you go somewhere else, like Brighton, they're always more jolly. Sooner or later, the apathy's what I miss.

Tilda Swinton: I miss my friends, but they often come to stay at our house, sometimes for weeks, which I love.

Jerry Hall: I have a lot of great friends here and I often go to people's homes for dinner parties. I miss doing that. I lived in New York and no one entertains at home there as they do here. I love the English bohemian eccentricity and the open-mindedness of Londoners.
The viol consort Phantasm were outstanding - Wigmore Hall

Phantasm, Wigmore Hall 

The English composer Orlando Gibbons, who died 400 years ago, is known for his great vocal music, both secular (The silver swan) and sacred (This is the record of John). But like other composers at this time, he wrote intricate, abstract Fantasias for ancient instruments called viols, and these were wonderfully brought to life in this concert just four days before the end of his anniversary year, by the six players of the outstanding viol consort Phantasm.

Viols are readily described as the ancestors of the violin, but each has six strings rather than four, they have frets on their fingerboard enabling precise tuning, and the treble instruments are held upright on the knees rather than placed under the chin. The similarities to the string quartet, which would later become one of the pillars of Western music-making, are striking; but here there were six instruments (two treble viols, two tenors, and two bass viols) which with their sonorous, reedy textures are ideal for the interwoven lines of the six-part viol Fantasias at which Gibbons excelled.

How little known is this music compared with the quartet masterpieces of Mozart and Beethoven! Yet as with great string quartets, it is extraordinarily expressive given that it is not setting texts: the fascination lies in the interplay of imitation between the six voices. Phantasms playing is a model of clarity and serene intensity, beautifully balanced between the six instruments, alternating fugal passages with moments when all come together in rhythmic unity. Occasionally, as in the opening of Fantasia No 1, the busy beginning sounded a little rushed, but that was to allow the later chromatic section to emerge powerfully without sounding too slow.

The falling fifths of the Fantasia No 6 were as eloquent as anything in Haydn; the scrunchy dissonances of the Fantasia No 3 as sensual as a Couperin motet. These fantasias are deeply serious, thoughtful pieces, and it is interesting to wonder how many of them would have been played together in the homes where they were first heard. Here they were occasionally leavened by other pieces, including a lively Consort Set by William Lawes, and Phantasm lightened the tone towards the end with Gibbonss setting for viols of the song Go from my window.

But on this occasion it was the wistful, regretful tone of the fantasias by Gibbonss long-lived contemporary Thomas Tomkins that seemed to catch the mood. Tomkins lived through the execution of Charles I, and a few days later penned A Sad Pavan for these Distracted Times for keyboard; no violence, no anger, but a topically tragic hope of survival shone through in these superb performances. NK

No further performances

Radiance and darkness were in constant battle during conductor James MacMillans concert at the Barbican - Mark Allan/Mark Allan

Christmas Oratorio, Barbican 

In a sea of easy-going, Christmas-themed classical concerts, this performance of James MacMillans Christmas Oratorio stood out as something deeply serious and passionately felt.

It told the story of Christs nativity in a highly original way which avoided the simple joy and sweet pictorialism of shepherds and wise men we hear in the well-known Christmas oratorios by Bach and others. Through the words of great 16th-century English Catholic poets, as well as Latin texts, the oratorio pondered the awe-inspiring mystery of God taking on the humble confines of a helpless baby. And it didnt shrink from the horrors of the Massacre of the Innocents either. Radiance and darkness were in constant battle, rendered with gripping vividness in this terrific performance, conducted by the composer himself.

At a time when many younger composers offer us limp dystopian fantasies or post-modern irony, this level of seriousness is refreshing in itself. And the sheer craftsmanship of the music is impressive: MacMillan summoned a sense of awe with a string shimmer; the brass injected a feeling of distant threat; and the BBC Symphony Chorus helped evoke the world of 16th-century church music  all three things were brilliantly vivid. There was also a complex backdrop of imagery about the silly tender babe from poems by John Donne and Robert Southwell, which were always perfectly audible (much of the credit for this was due to the two movingly eloquent soloists, soprano Rhian Lois and baritone Roderick Williams).

But  and its a big but  the sheer complexity of these different layers was often self-defeating. It often seemed as if MacMillan wasnt composing music so much as clunkily piling up musical symbols  tinkly radiance for the child over here, awesome brass chorales over there, a threatening drum-beat swelling somewhere at the back. The sheer variety of styles and influences often felt indigestible, with John Adams-ish minimalism rubbing shoulders with Janacek-like joy, Scottish folk-song and ancient church chant, with the occasional modernist shriek thrust in our faces like a placard.

Fortunately there were moments when MacMillan the gifted composer won out over MacMillan the Catholic propagandist. One was when Williams sang Donnes beautiful poem Annunciation, beginning Immensity cloistered in thy dear womb to chains of gently rising harmonies. For a moment the din calmed, and one felt the touch of a genuine mystery. IH

Broadcast on Radio 3 on Christmas Day at 8.05pm, and then available on BBC Sounds

Messiah, St Martin-in-the-Fields 

When the King attends your performance of the worlds best-loved oratorio, youd better make sure its something special. This one certainly hit the heights. The beautiful white-and-gold interior of St Martin-in-the-Fields dazzled the eye, and the Monteverdi Choir (which has the King as its patron) and English Baroque Orchestra made Messiahs musical and emotional shades shine out with amazing vividness  some might say too vivid. Comfort is the most important word in Handels piece, but this performance wasnt always comforting. It forced one to think and feel.

We heard a striking example of that at the very beginning. Conductor Christophe Rousset launched the overture with startling urgency, which made one feel some great tragedy was in the offing. Then came the wonderful turn to the major key, the tension melted, and tenor Andrew Staples uttered that familiar phrase Comfort Ye in the gentle tone one expected, but not merely gentle. Staples wanted us to understand that this miraculous birth was foretold by the prophets, an idea that might be hard for an irreligious modern audience to resonate with, but Staples made it seem true. Intelligence irradiated every phrase.

This attention to meaning is so important in a work that lacks an exciting story. Handel wants us to thrill to theological concepts like incarnation and salvation, and the performance certainly achieved that, partly by seizing on the rare moments of human drama.

Portuguese soprano Ana Vieira Leite found a rapturous quiet tone - Paul Marc Mitchell

Sarah Connolly made us feel the cruelty as well as the sorrow of He Was Despised and Rejected of Men, while Portuguese soprano Ana Vieira Leite found a rapturous quiet tone in I Know That My Redeemer Liveth  and later a bright ringing tone in Then Shall the Eyes of the Blind Be Opened. Bass William Thomas certainly produced a vast sepulchral sound in For Behold, Darkness Shall Cover the Earth, but in general seemed he emotionally inert compared to the other three.

The evenings real glory was in the orchestral playing (all praise to those splendid trumpeters) and the chorus, which was surpassingly vivid. Sometimes they made a jet-black sound, as in Since by man came death, sometimes they made a sound of delicious lightness, as in the Hallelujah chorus, which began surprisingly quietly before bursting out in joy.

If I dont give five stars, its because sometimes Rousset drove the music too hard in his eagerness to grasp its essence. But in many ways, the performance was revelatory. If you love the Messiah  and who doesnt?  dont miss the broadcast next Monday. IH

Listen to this concert on BBC Radio 3 on Dec 22 and for 30 days afterwards on BBC iPlayer

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Hall Birmingham 

Death, transcendence, God, the death of God, triumph, joy, doubt. Truly this concert from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra had it all. Oh and some delicious rococo melodies, like musical puff pastry. Gorgeous excess on every front is what you let yourself in for, if you risk an evening of Richard Strausss music. The programme showed different sides of the German composer made even more famous by Stanley Kubricks 2001: A Space Odyssey.

As a young man, Strauss was intoxicated by Wagners harmonies, the glories of the huge romantic orchestra and Nietzsches philosophy, and in the resulting 10-year delirium composed a clutch of vast orchestral tone-poems. The CBSO played two of them, with tremendous though not unspotted verve, and in between offered Strausss tender, nostalgic oboe concerto, composed more than 50 years later.

It was generally wonderful, though it has to be said things got off to a tepid start with Tod und Verklarung (Death and Transfiguration), Strausss portrayal of a dying man who looks back over his life-long struggles to attain some unreachable ideal. Those gently soughing chords at the beginning should have an edge of anxiety  the death-rattle not far off  but here they just seemed beautiful, and the CBSOs music director Kazuki Yamada seemed curiously unengaged.

The way Kazuki Yamada made Strausss beautiful depiction of transcendence emerge by degrees was spellbinding, says Ivan Hewett - Andrew Fox

However the unexpected thwack of the bass-drum that evoked the dying mans panic practically made my own heart stop, and the way Yamada paced the ensuing struggles and made Strausss beautiful depiction of transcendence emerge by degrees, like the sun penetrating through clouds, was spellbinding.

Also Sprach Zarathustra, based on Nietzsches poem of the prophet who proclaims the death of God and the arrival of the Ubermensch is on a different scale of complexity and length. The stupendous opening Sunrise, used in 2001: A Space Odyssey and satirised in Greta Gerwigs Barbie (2023), is relatively easy to bring off. Much harder are the later episodes like the fugue portraying the pedantry of science, which can sound frankly pedantic. But Yamada made this and everything else superbly vivid, especially the mysterious ending, which made uncertainty seem thrilling.

But so much sound and fury and striving for transcendence can become wearing, and it was a relief at the mid-point of the evening to have the light relief of Strausss oboe concerto. Jonathan Kelly, a principal oboist of the Berlin Philharmonic produced a sound of full-fat luxuriance, but the way he moulded Strausss elegant Mozartian melodies couldnt have been more light and airy. It was this musics unassuming tenderness which really touched the depths. IH

This concert is available on BBC iPlayer for 30 days

London Symphony Orchestra, Barbican 

Healing balm: Antonio Pappano conducts soprano Julia Sitkovetsky and the LSO - Mark Allan

When a concert contains some pieces full of noisy triumphalism and others that speak quietly of mysteries that lie beyond this world, which way round should you place them? Common sense suggests: end loud, so everyone goes home feeling roused. All credit, then, to Chief Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, Antonio Pappano, for placing Tchaikovskys Fourth Symphony first, so the subtle shades and visionary gleams of Vaughan Williamss Flos Campi and Dona Nobis Pacem could reverberate undisturbed in our minds. It was an original stroke that set the seal on a wonderful evening of music-making.

The beginning was far from subtle: those blaring fanfares of doom which launch Tchaikovskys Fourth last night seemed painfully loud and insistent. Perhaps it was the small confines of the Barbican Hall that made this opening seem even more brash and ear-shredding than usual, but it took all the artistry of Pappano and the LSO to mollify that first impression. Certain moments were especially eloquent, such as the mournful solo playing of bassoonist Rachel Gough in the first movement, and the poised phrasing of the slow movement melody by oboist Olivier Stankievich.

Virtuoso: French violist Antoine Tamestit - Mark Allan

Then came Vaughan Williamss Flos Campi (Flowers of the Field)  a wordless meditation for chorus and small orchestra on verses from the Song of Songs  which celebrates this earthly life and also yearns for something beyond it. The London Symphony Chorus, which was on tremendous form, caught that mingled sensuous and spiritual feeling exactly. Around the rhapsodic chanting was entwined the solo viola of French virtuoso Antoine Tamestit, sometimes in rapturous duet with LSO soloists (Stankievich again to the fore) sometimes in solo passages of impassioned but lofty intensity.

In the final piece, Vaughan Williamss great anti-war statement Dona Nobis Pacem (Give Us Peace), this quiet visionary feeling was sharpened by drum-beats and the threat of war. The chorus in Beat! Beat! Drums! had a savage edge, softened by the eloquent bass-baritone Ashley Riches in the Reconciliation movement. The constant refrain of Dona Nobis Pacem from Julia Sitkovetsky laid a healing balm over the distress of war, and brought the piece to a perfectly tender close.

Vaughan Williams may have been a staunch agnostic, but this performance was a reminder that he had intimations of the spiritual realm as profound as any overtly religious composer. IH

Soon available to watch on medici.tv and to listen to on BBC Radio 3 and iPlayer in the near future

Concerto Budapest Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Hall Birmingham 

Soloist Paul Lewis was magnificent in this programme by the Concerto Budapest Symphony Orchestra - Gabor Valuska

You could say the programme offered by this fine Hungarian symphony orchestra was hackneyed. Three warhorses galloped by in succession: Beethovens Third Piano Concerto and Fifth Symphony, and in between Liszts best-known symphonic poem Les Preludes. Only the mocking cheerfulness of the opening piece, Shostakovichs Ninth Symphony, struck an unusual note. But the gamble paid off. The Concerto Budapest SO played these well-known pieces as if their lives depended on it, and brought out such a wide range of colours that they seemed startlingly unfamiliar.

The orchestras conductor, Andras Keller, doesnt give a damn about framing a quirky programme. According to his programme note, he wants to explore the enormous struggles we might face in our path to attaining redemption or fulfilment. To do that he feels only lofty masterpieces will do.

Its a tonic simply to encounter that faith in the art form. Shostakovichs symphony, which premiered a few months after the end of the Second World War, can sound like a jolly romp calculated to annoy the Soviet cultural commissars. Here the perkiness had a bitter edge. One could see the skull beneath the grin in those heartless piccolo chirrupings.

The slow movement, by contrast, had a perfect aloof coolness, almost beyond human feeling. Kellers baton technique is certainly unorthodox, with a tremblingly expressive left hand that reminded me of the now vanished Russian conductor Valery Gergiev. But its certainly effective. The pacing of the final mad dash to the finish line was impeccable.

That was the best performance, but the other performances were not far behind them. In Beethovens Third Piano Concerto the soloist was Paul Lewis  absolutely the right pianist to bring out the stern, chiselled grandeur in the music, though he also found a huge and yet tender spaciousness in the slow movement, and a range of far-away colours for those moments in the finale that seem to lift us up to the stars.

In Liszts Les Preludes one became aware of other qualities of this orchestra. They found a new, subtly layered, Wagnerian sound, exactly right for the way the music seems to beckon at distant hazy horizons, which then come into triumphant focus. As for the finale, Beethovens Fifth, it had a thrilling urgency given extra bite by the orchestras fabulously pungent horn section. And lets not forget the huge, yearning tone of the principal bassoonist who received his own personal ovation at the end. IH
Italian police officers inspect the premises of a charitable association supporting Palestinian civilians in Milan on Dec 27 - Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP

Italian police have arrested nine people on suspicion of financing Hamas through aid charities.

Cash allegedly intended for the terror group was found among medical supplies destined for Gaza.

The detained individuals are accused of diverting around 7m (6.1m), raised over the last two years for ostensibly humanitarian purposes, to Hamas-linked entities, prosecutors said.

Police seized assets worth more than 8m, according to law enforcement.

Among those arrested was Mohammad Hannoun, the president of the Palestinian Association of Italy, who was recently photographed at a rally alongside Greta Thunberg.

According to reports in the Italian press, police recorded suspects discussing how to use aid shipments to smuggle cash to the Gaza Strip, access to which is controlled by Israel. They also allegedly plotted measures to avoid detection, such as destroying their computers.

Kalil Abu Delah, an alleged conspirator, is reported as saying: The path of dialogue is for traitors. Thank God that Hamas was born.

Mohammad Hannoun with Greta Thunberg at a pro-Palestine rally in Rome in November - Diego Nangano Cappello/Alamy

Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister, thanked the Italian authorities for a particularly complex and important operation, which had uncovered financing for Hamas through so-called charity organisations.

Gazas approximately two million civilians face a challenging humanitarian situation following two years of war, which has pulverised most buildings and infrastructure in the enclave.

However, Israel has long accused Hamas of exploiting the aid system to smuggle in cash and goods that can be intercepted and sold to boost the terror groups funds.

The Italian investigation began after suspicious financial transactions were flagged and expanded through co-operation with Dutch authorities and other EU countries, co-ordinated through the EU judicial agency Eurojust.

Police said they analysed a series of reports of suspicious financial transactions, including by some of the suspects, in the run-up to the October 7 massacre in 2023.

Footage released by the Italian authorities showed a police sniffer dog in what appeared to be an aid warehouse, focusing on a bag that turned out to contain several bundles of 50 notes.

Among the wiretaps conducted by the Genoa prosecutors office, reported in the Italian media, some of the suspects appeared to discuss making payments to Egyptian authorities in order to get their purported aid shipments into the Strip.

In addition, Mr Hannoun was reportedly recorded discussing evasion strategies. Im thinking of breaking the office PC... Ill buy a new one, Ill only install the basic file maker, no accounts or other data, he said.

With Hamas failing to hand over the remains of the final hostage, plus no plan to give up its weapons, no reconstruction efforts have yet been allowed in the so-called red zone part of the Strip, which is controlled by the terror group.

It means hundreds of thousands continue to live in tents throughout the winter, with the entry of temporary accommodation units blocked by Israel.

Police found cash, allegedly intended for Hamas, among medical supplies destined for Gaza - Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP

In what has become an embarrassment for the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahus office allowed large cash payments from Qatar to enter the Strip before Oct 7, which are now believed to have aided the groups preparations for the massacre.

Mr Netanyahu was flying to the US on Sunday before a meeting Donald Trump at the US presidents Mar-a-Lago resort, where the second phase of the peace plan was due to be discussed.

Matteo Piantedosi, the Italian interior minister, said Mr Hannoun was the most well-known of the arrested suspects. He thanked police for their work in a post on X, but also noted that the presumption of innocence... must always be recognised at this stage.

Mr Hannoun has previously described allegations that he was a financier of Hamas as a lie.
It has been a somewhat different Christmas for Daryl Jacob, who announced his retirement in a blaze of glory at Limerick a year ago.

A permanent fixture of the weighing room for over 20 years, victory on Impaire Et Passe in the Faugheen Novice Chase brought the curtain down on a career that was encapsulated by those great days aboard high-class grey Bristol De Mai and his Grand National hero Neptune Collonges.

However, the 42-year-old is embracing a new way of life, immersing himself into a new normal that has even allowed for extra trimmings on this years Christmas dinner.

Jacob said: This is the first Christmas I have had proper down time and not had to get into a bath or jump on the treadmill on Christmas Day in the evening times. It was a lot more relaxing and its crazy that this means its been a year since I retired.

I put my heart and soul into riding horses for 24 years and put an awful lot of pressure on myself to perform every day of the week.

Its a different kind of pressure now with my new roles, its a lot more relaxed and Im loving doing what Im doing.

Jacob has switched breeches and boots for a sharp suit and a microphone, but the same enthusiasm and desire that saw him make the most of his talent in the saddle now sees him fulfilling a long-held promise to his mentor Robert Alner to relish every new opportunity that has come his way.

Robert was my boss and my father figure ever since I came over to England and he was always on the phone for a chat, explained Jacob.

Before the boss passed away, he said to me to promise whenever I stopped riding, to enjoy the next chapter of my life, whatever it was, and thats what Im doing.

Riding racehorses was a brilliant chapter, but now Ive turned over the page and Im trying to write a new book and create a new story.

Ive been very busy over the past year doing various things and Im very grateful and quite surprised how many great opportunities have come my way

Its been great mixing in with the press guys, finding new friends and trying not to annoy too many people  I have absolutely loved it.

Alongside his TV work, Jacob remains a central figure within the Simon Munir and Isaac Souede team.

First rider duties may now have passed on to J J Slevin but the two-tone green silks are ingrained in Jacobs DNA, with his evolved role giving the racing itch just enough of a scratch to avoid any real pining for the great days of old.

This is my 12th year being involved with Simon and Isaac and their horses are like family to me, I know them all, said Jacob. I want to see them succeed, especially with J J now riding them as I get on great with him.

I can go represent them at the races, I can ride work on their horses and see how they are and its very busy still with Simon and Isaac, but its great as Im seeing a different side to it.

Its nice to ride work but then not have the pressure of going out there and performing and winning on those horses every day. Its fantastic to still be involved.

Jacobs road to retirement proved an agonising tale of injury heartbreak and a defiance of medical advice in search of one last celebratory moment in a decorated career.

I was on course for 1,000 winners and would have had Intense Raffles in the Irish National but broke my shoulder just after Cheltenham at Newbury, so had to come back as I wanted to get to 1,000, explained Jacob.

I reached the 1,000 around five weeks before Christmas and then the very next day broke my shoulder again quite badly.

I went to see the specialist and they said it would take three months to heal, but the last thing I said to the surgeon before they put me out was make sure this is bullet proof, I have to be back in five weeks.

I think the blood, sweat and tears I put into getting back in that five weeks after a major operation really took its toll on me, but I think the real turning point was when I rode a horse at Leopardstown and he struck into himself and I really didnt enjoy that.

That turning point was the fatal injury to Its For Me which occurred on December 27 and 24 hours later, having crossed the line first for one final time aboard Impaire Et Passe, Jacob knew the time had come to hang up his boots.

Its For Me had to be put to sleep and it was a horrible experience for me as I had been so close to these horses. I rode in three Grade Ones after that and didnt really enjoy it, said Jacob, who returned to Leopardstown for a final ride the following day.

I remember having a conversation with my dad at Leopardstown and saying if that horse wins tomorrow at Limerick, Ill see when I cross the line how Im feeling, but it might be time to call it a day.

I didnt speak to anyone else, didnt even speak to my wife. I went to bed and didnt really sleep at all, then I got up and went racing the next day. Impaire Et Passe won and the minute I crossed the line, I knew that was the time to call it a day.

I enjoyed that moment, it was brilliant as I knew the decision was made and I knew that was it. To bow out on a Grade One winner was something I always wanted to do and it was a perfect ending.
Jimmy Lai pictured in June 2020, six months after he was arrested and held in custody pending his trial - Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images

The daughter of Jimmy Lai, the Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigner and media tycoon, says he fears he will die a martyr in prison.

Mr Lai, a 78-year-old British citizen who has been held in custody since December 2020, faces life in prison after he was found guilty this month of national security offences.

In an interview released on Sunday, Claire Lai said her fathers health had deteriorated starkly since his arrest.

He has failing eyesight and failing hearing, he has fingernails that turn purplish-grey and sometimes fall off, he has teeth that are rotting, he has back and waist pains and some days its painful for him to stand, Ms Lai, one of only a few people to have seen Mr Lai in prison, told the BBC.

She added that his body was breaking down and that she feared he was going to be a martyr. He suffers from diabetes, heart issues and high blood pressure, and has lost 10kg in less than a year.

Claire Lai, one of only a few people allowed to visit Jimmy Lai during his time in prison, says the veteran campaigners body is breaking down - Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Despite widespread condemnation, Mr Lai has been held in solitary confinement for most of his imprisonment.

He was found guilty on Dec 15 of collusion, as well as conspiracy to print and distribute seditious publications, and will be sentenced at a later date.

His son, Sebastien Lai, warned earlier this year that his father, who denied all charges against him, would most likely die in jail if the British Government failed to secure his release.

His legal team has said that he has been refused independent medical intervention for diabetes and is only allowed to leave his cell for 50 minutes per day.

The Hong Kong authorities have denied that Mr Lai has been mistreated in custody, saying that he has been offered adequate and comprehensive medical care.

Mr Lai has become the most famous Chinese dissident since Liu Xiaobo, the Nobel peace laureate who died in 2017. His case has attracted global scrutiny, and both Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump have appealed for his release.

Having fled Mao-era China for Hong Kong as a 12-year-old stowaway, Mr Lai started out as a factory labourer before building a vast publishing empire in the former British colony, which reverted to Chinese rule in 1997.

Photographers surround a prison van carrying Jimmy Lai from court in Kowloon following his conviction on Dec 15 - Lam Yik/Reuters

He founded his most successful title, Apple Daily, in 1995, in an effort to maintain freedom of speech. The paper was pro-democratic and sharply critical of the Beijing authorities, and it quickly became one of the most influential newspapers in Hong Kong. Around the same time, in 1994, Mr Lai became a full British citizen.

In the decade leading up to mass anti-government protests in Hong Kong in 2019, Mr Lai emerged as one of the fiercest critics of the Chinese state and a leading figure of the pro-democracy movement.

He is the most prominent person charged under the national security law which China implemented in Hong Kong in 2020 and against which he had protested. Supporters queued outside the West Kowloon district court to attend his trial.

The national security law criminalises anything Beijing deems secessionist or subversive, and rights groups argue it has outlawed dissent and created a climate of fear in the territory.

Chinese authorities perceived Mr Lai as the mastermind of the protest movement, particularly because he met with Mike Pence, then the US vice-president, in 2019, leading to allegations from Beijing that he was colluding with Western powers.
Koktail Divin made it third time lucky over fences with victory in the Ballymaloe Relish Rising Stars Beginners Chase at Leopardstown.

Second behind subsequent dual Grade One winner Romeo Coolio on his first attempt, Henry de Bromheads charge was then beaten three lengths by Oscars Brother when upped to Grade Two level last time.

Back down in class here, the 11-4 chance made no mistake in the hands of Darragh OKeeffe, cantering home 21 lengths clear to put himself in the Cheltenham Festival picture later in the campaign.

De Bromhead said: He was really good and were delighted with that. He jumped brilliant, Darragh was brilliant on him and he picked up really well.

Hes had three runs so well see what want to do now. Obviously the lads would love to go to Cheltenham so Id imagine well go there, and then its a matter of whether wed have a run in between.

The Dublin Racing Festival is a big meeting as well so well see what everyone wants to do.

Lazare De Star (6-4 favourite) gave trainer Gordon Elliott a 12th victory in the last three days as he ran out a comfortable four-and-a-half-length winner of the Savills Maiden Hurdle under Jack Kennedy, with the pair later landing the Christmas Hurdle with Teahupoo.

Elliott said: I think hes smart enough. I like the way he quickened off the home turn and put it to sleep fairly quick.

Hes going to be a big three-mile chaser down the line. Youd love the way he hit the line.

Weve no plan made with him, well have a look and see.

Joseph OBrien sent out 25-1 chance Silver Duke to triumph in the colours of his sister Sarah in the Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle, giving Hugh Horgan a first National Hunt success in the process.

The winning handler said: Im delighted, hes been a progressive horse as hes gone up in trip. Hugh gave him a great ride, it was only his second ride over hurdles.

Im delighted for Sarah as well, its nice to have a winner.

He likes a bit of goodish ground. Hugh gave him a fantastic ride and produced him at the right time.

The Mercedes Benz South Dublin Handicap Hurdle went the way of 9-2 favourite The Nagger Reidy for trainer Stephen Carey and jockey Michael Kenneally, while 150,000 purchase Bentraghhill (2-1) landed the closing Forest Fest INH Flat Race in style for Willie Mullins and Jody Townend.

Mullins said: I was expecting that. I was amazed that Patrick (Mullins) didnt make it back up from Limerick to ride him here.

He had shown me plenty at home and I was very happy.

On what he did there he must (rank amongst his better horses). Hes a nice type, a big chasing type and Im very happy with him.

Hell stay in bumpers and go jumping next season.
A love of the ocean and a passion for surfing were the main motivators that led Kate Bennett-Brown, 31, to swap London for a new start in Portugal.

In August 2024, after two holidays in Ericeira, a coastal town 40 minutes northwest of Lisbon regarded as Portugals surfing capital, she resolved to make the move there.

I fell in love with the lifestyle and the local area. Everything revolves around the ocean and spending time outdoors, says Bennett-Brown. Its idyllic.

Dr Bennett-Brown is a member of the Royal College of Surgeons, the owner of a medical aesthetics business and an online personal trainer coach.

Kate has been surfing every day since her move (Handout)

Running her own business gave her a degree of freedom over where she chose to live, and it was her lawyer who suggested she considered Portugals D7 Visa.

This is one of the most popular of several visa options for British passport holders, particularly attractive to retirees and those not planning to work in Portugal.

What is the D7 visa?

The D7 allows non-EU nationals to stay for two years and is renewable for a further five years, after which holders are eligible to apply for Portuguese citizenship.

Applicants must have valid health insurance, a stable, passive income of at least 870 a month, and spend most of the year in Portugal. Application fees, initiated through the Portuguese UK consulate, are typically between 400 - 600.

The D7 Visa was such a good fit for my circumstances, says Bennett-Brown. The speed of the visa process was unexpected. I put in my application at the start of September 2024 and it was approved by the end of October.

Kate says a life focused on being outdoors is perfect for her (Handout)

Finding somewhere to live was also quick and easy. I put a post in a Facebook group asking about rental accommodation in Ericeira and within 24 hours had found the perfect property.

The small fishing village of Ericeira has a three mile coastline and includes the surfing hotspots of Ribeira dIlhas and Coxos.

In 2011 it became Europes first World Surfing Reserve, a category created by California-based Save The Waves Coalition to preserve wave breaks and their surrounding areas by recognising and protecting key environmental, cultural and economic attributes in coastal communities.

The 12 other venues include Malibu, Australias Gold Coast and, since 2023, North Devon.

I surf in the sea every day and run along the cliffs, says Bennett-Brown. Its a big lifestyle contrast to London.

When I do feel the need for some city time, having Lisbon so close by more than ticks that box and means I can travel back for work regularly as its an easy journey from Lisbon to London.

How to move to Portugal

Portugals visa options

Portugal has multiple residency visas and understanding the differences between them is a fundamental aspect of exploring a new life there.

Gathering expert advice on the options available is a must for anyone considering making the move, comments Christina Hippisley, General Manager of the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce in the UK, which organises the free-to-attend Moving to Portugal Shows across the UK.

We encourage anyone currently considering a move to Portugal, to consider not just the quality of life theyre seeking but the practical relocation, property, financial and legal aspects of moving.

Options for stays of over 90 days in every 180, along with the D7 include:

Digital Nomad Visa (D8): For remote workers and freelancers, a renewable visa allowing a 12 month stay for over 18 year olds who can prove a minimum monthly income of 3,480. Global Citizens Solutions puts the average time for approval at 60 days with an initial application fee of 93

D1 Visa allows you to work, live and study in Portugal if you have a confirmed job offer from a Portuguese company

D2 Visa is for entrepreneurs who want to start a new business in Portugal or take over an existing one.

Portugal offers a tantalising blend of great value and an enviable lifestyle, making it a perennially popular destination for British second home buyers and those seeking a permanent move to warmer climes, says Alda Filipe at developers Kronos Homes.

Were seeing significant demand from both types of buyers, with lifestyle considerations as well as financial factors driving many decisions.

Kronos Homes projects on the southern Algarve coast include villas at Salema Beach Village, 500 metres from the beach, priced from 340,000 for two bedrooms and closer to Faro airport in the fishing village of Carvoeiro, fully-furnished apartments and villas at five-star Monte Santo Resort. Three-bedroom villas here start from 560,000.

Salema Beach Village, just 500 metres from the sea (Kronos Homes)

Bennett-Brown advises anyone planning a Portuguese move to start by finding a bilingual lawyer, ideally one recommended by someone who has already used them, and if necessary, take them to the in-person AIMA (Agency for Integrations, Migration and Asylum) interview that is part of the visa process.

Learning to speak Portuguese, not the easiest European language to master for many, pays off handsomely.

Lots of people in Lisbon speak English but its not something to take for granted, particularly outside the city, she says.

Ive been having lessons since I moved here and people really welcome my attempts to speak Portuguese. Everyone is very encouraging.

Life on the Monte Santo Resort (Kronos Homes)

Portugals affordability, with a cost of living considerably lower than London, is a delight and the community is both welcoming and cosmopolitan she says.

There are people from all over Europe, from Brazil and worldwide. I feel like Ive got to know so many people already.

The culture of eating out plays a big part in that, as does much of the lifestyle which revolves around the beach and the ocean. Im delighted to have moved here.

The next free Moving to Portugal Show organised by the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce in the UK will take place in London on March 26 2026, portuguese-chamber.org.uk/moving-to-portugal/
Two-time Ryder Cup-winning captain Luke Donald has claimed he is in no rush to make a decision over whether to lead Team Europe in 2027, explaining that he already feels like hes proved enough.

Donald led Team Europe to a home win in Rome in 2023 before following that triumph with a dramatic victory in New York last summer, with Europes 15-13 win meaning they were the first away team to win a Ryder Cup since 2012, when Donald himself featured as a player.

And while there have already been plenty of calls for the former world number one to remain in the role ahead of the 2027 edition at Adare Manor in Ireland, he has so far refused to commit to anything concrete.

I talked to a few of the players and everyone Ive spoken to would like me to do it again. That means a lot, said the 48-year-old in an interview with The Times.

Donald has achieved wins in both Rome and New York as captain, while he was also on the winning side as a player four times (Getty Images)

Ive obviously thought about it, but I dont feel like Im in a big rush, he added, explaining that his wife Diane enjoyed the home one more too, and she loves Adare [Manor], she loves Ireland, so she would be all for it.

However, Donald also explained that he does have doubts, expressing that he wrestles with what the upside is.

I feel like Ive proved enough. It is a lot of work. My eldest daughter has two-and-a-half more years of school, so Id be away a little bit more than Id like before she goes to college.

Id like to understand if Im able to pick the best players [in reference to the eligibility of LIV players]. Do I push my luck? Im trying to enjoy this one.

Ill seriously think about it in the new year.

Team Europe stalwart Justin Rose is regarded as one of the other leading candidates for the captaincy in 2027, though the Englishman previously highlighted his desire to continue as a player in the tournament, adding that the captaincy is not in two years time, it starts in two months, or something and thats something I havent got my head around.

The 2027 Ryder Cup takes place at Irelands Adare Manor between 17 and 19 September, though captains preparations begin early next year, with the announcements expected in the early part of 2026.
Meghan and Harry lose 11th publicist in five years as communications chief steps down

Prince Harry and Meghan Markles chief communications officer has stepped down after less than a year in the job.

Meredith Maines, who started working for the Sussexes in March 2025, is believed to be the eleventh publicist in five years to exit the role after the couple stepped back from their roles as working royals and relocated to California in 2020.

A statement from Ms Maines read: After a year of inspiring work with Prince Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Archewell, I will be pursuing a new opportunity in 2026. I have the utmost gratitude and respect for the couple and the team, and the good they are doing in the world.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have also parted ways with Method Communications, a US-based PR firm, after they announced a partnership seven months ago with the organisation that brands itself as a company that challenges the status quo.

A spokesman for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said: Meredith Maines and Method Communications have concluded their work with Archewell. The Duke and Duchess are grateful for their contributions and wish them well.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry (Getty Images)

Harry and Meghan are reportedly not looking to hire a replacement for Ms Maines, as it is understood that the UK and Europe director of communications, Liam Maguire, will take the lead instead.

This departure comes on the heels of last weeks announcement that Meghan and Harrys Archewell Philanthropies, formerly known as the Archewell Foundation, would cut staff as it closes down.

A spokesperson told People: The move toward a fiscal sponsor operating model does mean that some staff redundancies are inevitable, particularly with junior admin roles.

We will not be discussing these personnel details further, other than to say that we are honored to have worked with incredibly talented and caring people who dedicate themselves to helping others.

Ms Maines was spotted in July speaking with senior aides working for the King outside a Mayfair private members club, as the Royal households appeared to take steps towards repairing their relationship.

A Stanford graduate with a background in venture capitalism, Ms Maines has previously worked for Hulu, GOOP and Google. It is unclear what she will do next.

Three communications officers stopped working for the Sussexes this summer, including Charlie Gipson and Kyle Boulia. Ashley Hanson, former global press secretary, stepped down a year ago to start her own consultancy firm after two years running the couples PR.
Alaa Abd El-Fattah and his mother pictured at his home in Cairo after his release from jail in September - CHP

It was 9.30pm on Christmas Day 2010, and Alaa Abd el-Fattah, a prolific Egyptian user of what was then known as Twitter, was hitting send on his latest social media missive.

Im far from British, began the post, in response to an online conversation about TV classics Dr Who and Monty Python.

At the time, the off the cuff remarks, part of a run of the mill exchange on the internet, would have drawn little attention. He was, after all, not British.

But those four words now ring louder amid a furore over the decision to grant Mr Fattah citizenship despite his tenuous links to the UK.

Also, since Sir Keir Starmer welcomed him to Britain the weekend, it has emerged that Mr Fattah posted abhorrent statements on his social media account, calling repeatedly for the killing of Zionists and describing British people as dogs and monkeys have since emerged.

The Prime Minister has said he was unaware of Mr Fattahs historical tweets when he welcomed him to Britain last week

The pro-democracy activist came to secure his passport in 2021. He was languishing in an Egyptian prison, having been jailed for five years by the countrys authoritarian government for spreading fake news.

His imprisonment sparked a concerted diplomatic campaign, backed by leading politicians on both sides of the divide, as well as a gaggle of celebrities, to get him freed.

At first, Mr Fattahs family were hopeful that the application of pressure from then Conservative ministers would be enough to secure his freedom.

When it became apparent that this would not be the case, they turned to British lawyers to help him secure citizenship and find some way out of this impossible ordeal in what ultimately became a get out of jail card.

Laila Soueif, Mr Fattahs mother, is a UK national because she was born in London while her mother was in the UK studying for a PhD.

Alaa Abd el-Fattahs mother protesting against his detention in London early this year - Isabel Infantes/Reuters

That meant the family was able to apply for her to transmit her citizenship to her son, even though he was living abroad, under a little-known immigration law.

The obscure route meant that Mr Fattah would not have to go through the usual vetting and good character tests faced by other migrants.

He avoided this test  under which critics claim he would have been considered an extremist not suitable to be given British citizenship  following a landmark case brought by a killer.

The case of David Fenton Bangs

David Fenton Bangs, born to a British mother and American father in the 1960s, was convicted of murder in 1993 and released in 2004. Bangs was subsequently convicted in 2013 of using threatening words, and was fined 150.

Under the British Nationality Act 1981, he was eligible for British citizenship through his mother. However, on the basis of his criminal record, the Home Office tried to deport him.

In retaliation, he launched a human rights claim based on Articles 14 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which amounted to discrimination against his right to a family life.

Bangs won his judicial review and, in 2019, the immigration law was amended so that migrants claiming citizenship through their mothers bloodline would not be subject to the good character test.

Less than two years later, Mr Fattah was one of the first beneficiaries of that decision.

Mr Fattah has dual Egyptian-British citizenship because his mother was born in the UK - CHP

But while the process allowed the law to come to his aid, quite why so many politicians leapt on the bandwagon with reckless abandon is more of a mystery.

It started with the Tories. Sir James Cleverly, who was the Middle East minister at the time, led the diplomatic efforts to pressure the Egyptians into his release.

Giles Dilnot, a former adviser to Sir James, has suggested that Mr Fattahs release had been made a priority by Boris Johnson, the then prime minister, as a negotiating ploy.

I suspect it was a mistaken tactic to give leverage in negotiations with the Egyptians (which as I have said) did not work, he tweeted this weekend.

Instead, he said the Egyptians viewed the granting of citizenship as a bureaucratic sleight of hand to embarrass them and refused to recognise it.

When the Tories were swept aside in last summers election, Labour took up the case with gusto, making it one of its diplomatic priorities.

Sir Keir raised the matter in a letter to Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the president of Egypt, sent on May 4 this year.

That followed an intervention by Jonathan Powell, the powerful national security adviser, who had raised the case with Egypts foreign minister a week earlier and on other occasions.

Jonathan Powell, the national security adviser, was one of the senior political figures to intervene in Mr Abd el-Fattahs case - Tayfun Salci

David Lammy, then the foreign secretary, had similarly brought up Mr Fattahs status when he spoke to his Egyptian counterpart in mid-April.

He told the Commons in June: This case has been a top priority every week that I have been in office. At every single level  Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, minister, national security adviser  we are engaged with the Egyptians.

Sir Keir and Mr Lammy both went on to raise the case again in talks with the Egyptians over the following months until Mr Fattah was given a presidential pardon and freed in late September.

But his release event only sparked a new campaign. The Egyptians still refused to recognise his British citizenship, meaning that they would not allow him to leave the country to fly to the UK.

Once again, Sir Keir intervened, pressing the Egyptian president to drop the travel ban during a call the pair held on Nov 18.

Yvette Cooper, the new Foreign Secretary, then followed up two days later with her own call to Cairo to hammer home the point.

Background checks neglected

Questions have now been raised over why both Labour and Tory politicians were willing to expend so much time and political energy on Mr Fattah, while having failed to do even the most basic checks about his background.

Tom Rutland, the Labour MP for East Worthing, posed the question on many peoples lips.

It is unclear to me why it has been a priority for successive governments to bring this guy over here, he wrote on social media. What kind of vetting is routinely done in these cases? His tweets are impressive in how they manage to be vile in such a variety of ways.

Social media posts allegedly written by Alaa Abd el-Fattah between 2010 and 2012 circulated online after his arrival in the UK

Some politicians who had previously backed calls for Mr Fattahs release pleaded ignorance, insisting they had been unaware of his views and now regretted lending their support.

They include Alicia Kearns, now a Tory frontbencher, who was one of more than 100 MPs to sign a 2023 letter calling for more government action on the case.

She said: Those of us who campaigned for Alaa Abd El-Fattahs protection and release as a British citizen plainly were not aware of his grotesque tweets, and at no point had anyone raised them with me until yesterday.

I trusted the process to give Alaa citizenship, and then supported the campaign for his release. I feel deeply let down, and frankly betrayed, having lent my support to his cause, which I now regret.

Jewish groups also expressed alarm that a cross-party campaign had sprung up in support of a man who, in one of his messages, said it was heroic to kill Zionists, including civilians.

The question will now only continue to intensify over a case which, critics have said, once again shows the warped priorities of the British state.
A woman has her finger inked after voting at a polling station during the first phase of Myanmar's general election in Yangon. Photograph: Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty Images (Photograph: Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty Images)

Polls have closed in conflict-racked Myanmar, ending the first phase of an election that has been widely condemned as a sham designed to legitimise the military juntas rule.

The military has touted the vote as a return to democracy almost five years after it seized power in a coup, ousting the countrys then de-facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, detaining her and sparking a spiralling civil war.

But analysts say most candidates are seen as military allies, and the UN has said the vote is being conducted in an environment of violence and repression, with one official describing it as a theatre of the absurd.

The election is being carried out in three stages, with the second and third phases scheduled for January. Large areas of the country are excluded from the voting because they are under the control of anti-junta groups or in the grip of fierce fighting.

The Union Solidarity and Development party (USDP), a military proxy, is fielding the largest number of candidates and expected to emerge as the largest bloc.

In locations where the election is taking place, campaigning has been muted  lacking the vibrant, packed rallies that marked past votes. The red flags and signs associated with Aung San Suu Kyi, still the countrys most popular politician, and her party, the National League for Democracy, have been absent. The 80-year-old has been detained since she was ousted, and her party has been banned.

Related: Not for the people: Myanmar junta prepares for elections designed to legitimise grip on power

The election has been condemned by western governments, but has support from China, which is the militarys most important ally. China, Russia, India and Vietnam have sent election observers, according to military-controlled media.

The military has rejected criticism of the election, saying it was being conducted with public support. The head of the junta told reporters on Sunday the vote was guaranteed to be a free and fair election.

Its organised by the military; we cant let our name be tarnished, said Min Aung Hlaing, who led the coup. People should vote, he added. If they dont vote, I will have to say they dont completely understand what democracy really is.

Turnout in Yangon appeared lower than in previous elections. At polling stations, most residents were reluctant to be interviewed, with some saying the election was too sensitive to be discussed publicly.

There was little choice on the ballot paper, said a 28-year-old man, who did not give his full name. We already know about the election, what will happen, he said of the vote before a relative urged him to stop speaking, warning him police were nearby.

Others only shrugged or smiled when asked how they felt about the vote. A 22-year-old, who also spoke anonymously, said young men were anxious about being conscripted into the military, and were anxious not to find themselves on the radar of the authorities during the election period.

He added: Living in Myanmar is a constant worry. Whether we vote or not, the worry is there. The worry is about business, personal lives, everything is very restricted, there is no freedom  There is problem in everything in daily life.

Preliminary results of the first phase of the election will be announced on Sunday, after polling booths closed at 4pm local time, Min Aung Hlaing told reporters.

In total, 57 parties are competing, though only six are doing so nationwide. On paper, voters see a long list of party logos; in reality, meaningful opposition has been banned, jailed, or forced underground, analysis by the Asian Network for Free Elections, an NGO, said of the vote.

Tens of thousands of people have been arrested in Myanmar for expressing political views since the coup, and in July the military introduced a new election protection law that prohibits disruption or criticism of the vote. People have been arrested for putting up anti-election stickers, or for sending private Facebook messages criticising the election. Those prosecuted under the law face a sentence of at least three years in prison, or even the death penalty.

In September, a man in Shan state was sentenced to seven years with hard labour under the law for criticising the election in a Facebook post.

Related: Myanmar is going to the polls. But its not the people who hold the power  its China

I fear the nation is falling deeper and deeper into darkness, said a resident in Yangon, who spoke anonymously before the election. She was not voting, and nor was her family, as they did not want to give the election credibility. Others may do so, she added, but only out of fear. Some people are so afraid that if they dont show up, the military will come to their homes and arrest them.

The UN human rights chief, Volker Turk, said the elections were clearly taking place in an environment of violence and repression.

The UN rights office said it had received reports from displaced people in several areas of the country, including Mandalay region, who had been warned they would be attacked or their homes seized if they did not return to vote.

The military has presented the vote as a return to normality, and on Saturday lifted a long-standing curfew in Yangon. However, intense conflict continues to rage across large areas of the country. In Sagaing region, air and artillery strikes by junta forces continued even as polling stations opened, while attacks were also carried by anti-junta groups, according to the independent outlet Myanmar Now.

Myanmar has been gripped by conflict since the coup, which abruptly ended the countrys 10-year democratic transition.



The coup initially prompted huge mass protests, which the military responded to with deadly force. In response, people took up arms and joined peoples defence forces to fight against the junta, at times in coordination with ethnic armed groups that have long fought for greater autonomy.

The conflict has plunged the country into economic turmoil, with half the population now living below the poverty line, and led to one of the worlds most dire and yet underfunded humanitarian crises, according to the UN.

Tom Andrews, the UN special rapporteur on human rights for Myanmar, described Sundays vote as a theatre of the absurd. He warned there was a risk it could further entrench the juntas rule, and represent a significant step backward for the people of Myanmar.

Campaigners have called on governments to reject the vote. Yadanar Maung, a Justice For Myanmar spokesperson, said the election was an attempt by the military to manufacture legitimacy while it slaughters civilians with total impunity.

The military has carried out relentless airstrikes as it attempts to regain ground lost to opposition groups since the coup, and has repeatedly been accused of indiscriminately attacking civilians. It has previously denied atrocities and has said any military operations are carried out against terrorists.

The second phase of the vote will take place on 11 January, with a final round on 25 January.
Cody Wayne Adams, 33, has been charged with first-degree manslaughter after he allegedly shot and killed an elderly woman a few blocks from his home (Stephens County Sheriff's Office)

What began as Christmas Day target practice in an Oklahoma neighborhood ended in tragedy when a stray bullet fatally struck an elderly woman as she sat on her front porch holding a baby.

Cody Wayne Adams, 33, has been charged with first-degree manslaughter after firing the fatal shot, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by ABC News.

The woman, whose identity was not disclosed, was sitting on the front porch with family members at a home on County Road 1800 on Thursday afternoon when she was shot from several blocks away, the Stephens County Sheriff's Office said in a press release.

According to the affidavit, the victim was seated on a love seat and holding a baby in her left arm when she was struck in her right upper arm. The bullet then entered her chest cavity.

Family members told the responding deputy that they had heard someone firing five to seven gunshots and that the victim had commented that someone got a new gun for Christmas and shortly afterward said ouch and collapsed, the affidavit stated.

Cody Wayne Adams, 33, has been charged with first-degree manslaughter after he allegedly shot and killed an elderly woman a few blocks from his home (Stephens County Sheriff's Office)

As investigators canvassed nearby properties north of the shooting, deputies found that all but one home had suitable shooting backstops or firing locations, according to the affidavit. The only exception was Adamss home.

Adams allegedly told deputies that he had been shooting a Glock 45 he recently bought for himself for Christmas, using a Red Bull can as a target in his backyard, according to the affidavit.

When a deputy told Adams he suspected the shooting may have caused the womans death, Adams became visibly upset and began to cry, the affidavit stated.

Adams made his first court appearance Friday. A judge set his bond at $100,000, according to online court records. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for February 26, 2026.
Glasner has previously highlighted the lack of depth in the Palace squad (Getty Images)

Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner highlighted a lack of finishing quality in his team as he underlined the need for Palace to make signings in the January window.

Glasner has previously bemoaned a lack of depth in his Eagles squad, and he once again underlined the issue after their 1-0 loss to Tottenham at Selhurst Park on Sunday.

It was another occasion in which the Palace attack failed to click, with Glasner alluding to his sides under-performance in expected goals so far this term. The Eagles have the biggest xG differential in the Premier League, having scored 8.4 goals fewer than their xG would suggest.

To be honest, if you watch our game today, it's pretty clear what we need," Glasner told the press after the match.

Then, it's the decision of Crystal Palace. If you're constantly underperforming in scoring goals, what we can do is encourage the players, support them, and be positive.

Palace once again struggled in attack as they fell to a 1-0 loss to Spurs (Getty Images)

I can't blame anybody for missing the chances, but we have to accept right now that we have a little bit of a lack of finishing quality in the team.

"It looks like we can't replace Ismaila Sarr, Daniel Munoz and Daichi Kamada, who are very often involved in our goals. But on the other side, we want to be back in the next week, so it's now to support all the players.

"I see the way we play, the structure, the chances we create. The patterns work. It's now really supporting the players to get this confidence back that they are able to score more goals.

"My feeling is the closer we come to the goal, the more nervous we get in decision-making.

Speaking on Sky Sports, former Palace boss Alan Pardew has echoed Glasners opinion and called on the board to back the Austrian, adding that he has done a tremendous job in the Palace hot seat.

He's suggesting, 'I want some more players'. His contract is out in the summer. He's probably more important than anything else, to keep him at the club. He's done such a tremendous job, said Pardew.

If I were the board, I'd be looking to feed him a player or two. I just think with the board they have there, American ownership, there is finance available.

Whether they can get the targets over the line is another matter - it's always difficult in January.

Palace currently sit in ninth in the Premier League table after 18 matches, with their next game a home fixture against Fulham on New Years Day.
The Brazilian sertao in the countrys north-east is known for its dry climate and harsh conditions but in recent years the rainy season has become even shorter, Photograph: Ian Cheibub/The Guardian (Photograph: Ian Cheibub/The Guardian)

Every Tuesday at dawn, Raildon Suplicio Maia goes to the market in Macurure, in Brazils Bahia state, to sell goats. He haggles with buyers to get a good price for the animals, which are reared in the open and roam freely.

Goats are the main  and sometimes only  source of income for the people of Macurure, a small town in the Brazilian sertao. This rural hinterland in the countrys north-east is known for its dry climate and harsh conditions.

But earning a living from goat rearing is becoming more difficult as the dry season extends and the native vegetation withers in the Caatinga, a shrubland and thorn forest biome that spans much of the sertao, leaving even these hardy animals starved for food.

It used to rain earlier, says Maia, 54, a short, wiry man with the weathered face of someone who has spent a life outdoors. Now, there are no cacti, theres no grass, theres not enough water. We have to spend what we earn from selling the animals on buying feed.

Raildon Suplicio Maia, a goat farmer from Macurure sells his animals at the market. Grazing has disappeared and he now spends any profit on feed

Macurure and four neighbouring municipalities in northern Bahia state are facing a disturbing new climate reality. In 2023, researchers found that a 5,700 sq km area in Brazils semi-arid north-east could be classified as an arid region  the first in the country  a change brought on by decreased rainfall and higher temperatures over a sustained period.

We never previously had an arid zone [in Brazil], says Ana Martins do Amaral Cunha, a researcher at the national centre for monitoring and warning on natural disasters (Cemaden), and one of the studys authors. Its an area in which the climate changed, from semi-arid to arid. That means it got hotter and drier, she says.

We know that the increase in temperatures is linked to climate change, to anthropogenic global warming, that is to say, the emission of greenhouse gases, she adds.

An aerial view of Raildon Suplicio Maias farm. He used to farm crops as well, but now, when you plant something, it dies, he says

Cunha and her colleagues analysed data on rainfall and evapotranspiration  the transfer of water from soil and plants to the atmosphere  over four overlapping 30-year periods, from 1960 to 2020. In the area newly classified as arid, average annual rainfall fell below 400mm during the period 1990 to 2020. Its a climate shift that has taken place over just one generation.

The arid climate could accelerate desertification, which already threatens about 13% of the Caatinga. If steps arent taken to prevent or reverse soil degradation, which stems primarily from human activity, the region could become an infertile desert.

***

In Macurure, residents are accustomed to punishing droughts and few are aware of their municipalitys new climate status. But they feel the shift in the unpredictable rainfall and in their lean goats, which struggle to find food in the parched landscape.

These changes should be on our radar. Its not just a problem in the north-east, it affects the whole country Ana Martins do Amaral Cunha, researcher

Everything has changed, says Maia, looking out at the naked shrubs that surround his home. A few steps from the house, a goat gets up on its hind legs to nibble at the scarce leaves.

The rainy season would normally run from years end to April. But by early September, it hadnt rained properly since January, when about a years worth of rain fell in the space of a month.

We used to grow corn, beans, potatoes, everything, Maia says. Now, when you plant something, it dies.

Macurure and the surrounding towns are among the poorest in Bahia. The decline of subsistence agriculture means the population must spend more on food and animal feed.

About 30 miles north, in the Curral da Pedra quilombo  a traditional afro-Brazilian community descended from people who escaped enslavement more than 200 years ago  Marisete dos Santos tells a similar story.

Venancio Lorenzo do Santo says if he stops breeding goats he will have to leave Macurure

There was so much watermelon. Watermelons the size of a little boy, she says, recalling the abundant crops tended to by her grandfather. The fruits she plants now are small and dry, and the beans she saves for the following planting season dont germinate.

Although the current situation is more extreme, water scarcity has always been a challenge in the sertao. People have long relied on engineered solutions to the problem, such as artesian wells and dams that divert streams into small reservoirs.

In Maria Alves dos Santoss neighbourhood, a cluster of government-built bungalows a bone-rattling 20-minute drive from the town centre, a white cistern stands outside each home. Water trucks operated by the army routinely pass by to fill the 16,000-litre cisterns, installed as part of a government policy launched in the early 2000s to provide water for human consumption.

Families have only recently been provided with a rainwater catchment system for livestock and irrigation. Deep trenches known as barreiro trincheira dot the surrounding shrubland. Holding up to 500,000 litres each, they are designed to prevent the rainwater they capture from evaporating in the heat.

Children from the Dos Santos family play around their barreira-trincheira, a trench that collects water for their family

Left, Maria Alves dos Santos and right, Marisete Dolores Graciliano dos Santos whose community has recently been provided with barreira-trincheira

Alves dos Santoss trench hit groundwater and already contains some precious inches of water, even though there has been no rain. She plans to use it for laundry, for her animals and, in the long run, to irrigate cash crops such as coriander and onions. Things are going to get better now that we have this water, says the 41-year-old, while her youngest son plays around the edge of the ditch.

***

Yet these solutions have their limitations, particularly under the new climate conditions. Water tanks such as that used by Alves dos Santos no longer outlast the lengthier, more punishing dry seasons.

The Caatinga is an extraordinary biome, but its small and attention reaches us more slowly Gustavo Vieira, Macurures municipal secretary for agriculture

You dont know any more how long the water will remain stored. The sources empty quicker, because its hotter, says Gustavo Vieira, who has served as Macurures municipal secretary for agriculture, environment and livestock for the past 12 years.

The town of just over 7,000 people, which lost 10% of its population between 2010 and 2022 as young people left in search of work, is a warning for the rest of Brazil as the climate grows hotter and drier in most of the country.

Brazils semi-arid region expanded by 75,000 sq km every decade between 1960 and 2020, the Cemaden study found, while two dry subhumid areas have appeared outside the north-east, in Rio de Janeiro state and the Pantanal wetlands.

These changes should also be on our radar. Its not just a problem in the north-east, its a problem that affects the whole country, says Cunha.

Once the climate has shifted, the change is irreversible, she says. Addressing this starts with climate mitigation measures. Efforts to prevent or reverse desertification are also necessary. The environment ministry, which commissioned the research, will present an updated national policy for fighting desertification in the coming months.

Related: Green desert: the farmers winning a battle with Brazils wood-pulp giant

Public policies are slow to reach places such as Macurure, says Vieira. There has always been a lot of concern with the Amazon, a biome that attracts attention from abroad. The Caatinga is an extraordinary biome, but its small and attention reaches us more slowly, he says.

People have gathered in Macurures town hall to discuss solutions to their predicament, as part of a government rural development initiative. Desalination devices are dismissed as too expensive and polluting. Most would like the water trucks to visit more frequently.

Vieira pins his hopes on the development of alternative sources of income and employment. But some industries, such as mining and renewable energy plants, he admits, would bring little benefit to the local communities. Others, such as ecotourism and carbon credits for preserving the Caatinga, seem distant possibilities.

And for most Macururenses, such as 53-year-old Venancio Lorenzo do Santo, life doesnt make sense without their goats, of which there are 30 for every human in the town. The day I stop breeding goats, I know Im going to have to leave, he says, as the sun sets on his herd gathered in their pen for the night.
One of the prisoners on hunger strike in support of Palestine Action has lost the ability to speak and another is unable to stand without passing out, campaigners have said as the protest entered its 56th day.

The eight activists initially went on hunger strike while awaiting trial for alleged break-ins or criminal damage, with four still maintaining their protest.

Heba Muraisi, who is being held in HMP New Hall in West Yorkshire, has said she feels weaker as each day passes in a statement released by the Prisoners for Palestine group. She also complained of bruising on her arm and a constant body ache.

'I can no longer lie on my side as it hurts my face, Ms Muraisi said, adding that she is losing the ability to form sentences, and struggling to maintain conversation.

Heba Muraisi, 31, in HMP New Hall, is continuing her hunger strike (Prisoners For Palestine)

Earlier this month two of the activists, Qesser Zuhrah and Amu Gib, paused their hunger strike at HMP Bronzefield in Surrey after 48 days due to deteriorating health. Both were admitted to hospital for treatment.

Those still refusing food are Teuta Hoxha, Ms Muraisi, Kamran Ahmed and Lewie Chiaramello, according to Prisoners for Palestine.

Four of the group, including Ms Muraisi, are accused of playing roles in the break-in at Israeli-linked defence technology company Elbit Systems UK on 19 November 2024. They will go on trial in May next year at the earliest.

The other four are accused of breaking into RAF Brize Norton in June, where it is alleged that they sprayed red paint into two RAF Voyager planes.

Ms Hoxha, 29, who is being held in HMP Peterborough, has said that she is no longer able to stand without blacking out and enduring dizzy spells with increasing levels of brain fog, Prisoners for Palestine said. She is virtually bedridden as a result of the strike, her second this year.

Allegations that Ms Zuhrah was refused an ambulance sparked a protest outside HMP Bronzefield earlier this month attended by Coventry South MP Zarah Sultana. The Ministry of Justice has denied claims of mistreatment.

Teuta Hoxha, 29, is being held on remand at HMP Peterborough (Prisoners for Palestine)

The remaining hunger strikers issued a new set of demands on Tuesday, including that Ms Muraisi be transferred back to HMP Bronzefield where she was first detained.

This came on top of a previous a series of demands which included an immediate bail and the ability to send and receive communications without restriction, surveillance, or interference from the prison administration.

A spokesperson for Prisoners for Palestine said: "Unlike the prison guards, who lock up the prisoners early to go home to their Christmas dinner, the hunger strikers don't get a Christmas break. Just like the Christians in Gaza, who continue to suffer in the freezing cold at the hands of the settler-colonial entity.

The hunger strikers say to us, don't forget the people of Palestine over Christmas, and continue to demand a meeting with the British government on their behalf."

Lawyers representing the strikers have said they are facing potential death. Last Monday, they initiated legal proceedings against the government, claiming they had abandoned their own prison safety policy framework. The strikers say they have sent multiple letters to justice secretary David Lammy without a response.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg being detained by City of London Police during a protest in support of the Palestine Action protesters on hunger strike in prison (Prisoners for Palestine/PA)

James Timpson, the minister of state for prisons, probation and reducing reoffending, said: We are very experienced at dealing with hunger strikes. Unfortunately, over the last five years we have averaged over 200 hunger strike incidents every year and the processes that we have are well-established and they work very well  with prisons working alongside our NHS partners every day, making sure our systems are robust and working  and they are.

I am very clear. I dont treat any prisoners differently to others. That is why we will not be meeting any prisoners or their representatives. We have a justice system that is based on the separation of powers, and the independent judiciary is the cornerstone of our system.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: Ministers do not intervene in individual cases. Where individuals are on remand, doing so would risk prejudicing ongoing legal proceedings and undermine the independence of the justice system.

Concerns about welfare and process can be raised through established legal and administrative channels, including prison governors and ultimately the Prison and Probation Ombudsman.

Healthcare decisions are taken independently by qualified NHS professionals, and appropriate care and oversight frameworks remain in place.

An HMP Bronzefield spokesperson said: We cannot provide information about specific individuals, however all prisoners are managed in line with policies and procedures governing the entire UK prison estate. This includes specialist multi-agency processes, led by the government, to assess individual risks and security status.
Donald Trump hailed crucial peace talks between the US and Ukraine as terrific, but acknowledged thorny issues remained before a deal could be achieved over the war with Russia.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky travelled to Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Sunday hoping to make progress on the proposed 20-point peace plan, with particular concerns over security and economic agreements.

The two leaders gave little away during a press conference following the discussions, but Mr Trump said he believed a lot of progress had been made.

European leaders, including UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, also had a one-hour call with the pair as part of the negotiations, which president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said was good, adding: Europe is ready to keep working with Ukraine and our US partners.

However, the US president's call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin shortly beforehand suggested obstacles to peace remain.

Volodymyr Zelensky said there had been great achievements during a press conference following the talks (Getty Images)

Mr Zelensky said great achievements had been made following the talks, including 100 per cent agreements on security guarantees between the US and Ukraine. He added security guarantees between the US, Europe, and Ukraine were almost agreed.

But Mr Trump described territorial issues, including contested regions such as Donbas and Zaporizhzhia, as thorny and yet to be agreed.

The Ukrainian leader shook hands with Mr Trump on the steps of the Florida residence shortly after 1pm local time [1900 GMT] as the US president told reporters: Well get it done, and added: "I do think we have the makings of a deal... We are in the final stages of talking.

Mr Trump said he would be speaking to Mr Putin following the meeting, as he described both Russia and Ukraine as willing countries.

A Downing Street spokesperson said Sir Keir emphasised the UKs commitment to working closely with partners to sustain momentum in the coming days during the call with other leaders.

Trump and Zelensky in Mar-a-Lago (AFP via Getty Images)

The Russian president may have been physically absent from the talks, but his influence was felt distinctly. Mr Trump said he had a very productive call with Mr Putin over the phone ahead of the crunch negotiations  conversations Moscow said took place at the US leaders request.

Later, Kremlin spokesperson Yury Ushakov said the pair had a broadly similar view that any temporary ceasefire would prolong the conflict, and urged Ukraine to make a decision over the Donbas region without delay.

Prior to the meeting, Mr Zelensky made it clear "territorial issues" would remain a key point as Moscow and Kyiv are still divided over the fate of the highly coveted Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.

Mr Zelensky said that while these have been some of the most active diplomatic days of the year, plenty would depend on the partners and whether or not they would put pressure on Moscow.

Trump was joined by advisers, including Pete Hegseth and Marco Rubio (AFP via Getty Images)

President Trump told Politico on Friday that Mr Zelensky doesnt have anything until I approve it, as he continues to regulate negotiations between the warring countries. He also said he expected to speak with Mr Putin as much as I want.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday that Moscow had been in contact with the US. "It was agreed upon to continue the dialogue," he said.

Ahead of the meeting, Russias foreign minister Sergei Lavrov warned that, as talks of security guarantees continue, any European troop contingents deployed to Ukraine would become legitimate targets for Russias armed forces.

In remarks published by Russias state news agency Tass, Mr Lavrov, without evidence, accused European politicians of being driven by ambitions in their relations with Kyiv and disregarding the people of Ukraine and their own nations.

Russias president applied pressure on Saturday with a timely barrage of almost 500 drones and 40 missiles on Kyiv, where two people died while dozens were admitted to hospital, including two children.

Kyiv experienced a large airstrike on Saturday, during which two people died (AP)

Ukraines capital faced large-scale power cuts that left citizens without heating during the sub-zero winter temperatures.

In a meeting with Canadian prime minister Mark Carney in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Saturday, Mr Zelensky said the key to peace is pressure on Russia and sufficient, strong support for Ukraine. To that end, Mr Carney announced more economic assistance from his government to help Ukraine rebuild.

Mr Carney denounced the "barbarism" of Russia's latest attacks on Kyiv and credited both Mr Zelensky and Mr Trump with creating the conditions for a "just and lasting peace" at a crucial moment.

Ukraine is willing to do whatever it takes to stop this war," Mr Zelensky posted on X on Saturday. "We need to be strong at the negotiating table."
A Russian submarine was deployed alongside a spy ship to map critical undersea infrastructure around Britain, it has emerged.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has declassified a photo of the incident, which saw a submarine shadowing the Yantar, officially described as a Russian research ship, as it reportedly surveyed the gas pipeline linking Britain and Ireland. It was not clear whether the escort was one of Russias own purpose-built sabotage submarines.

An anti-submarine Merlin Mk2 helicopter could be seen from the photo tracking the Yantar in the Irish Sea from November last year; a British submarine also emerged from the surface nearby.

It is believed to be one of several operations where Russian submarines have accompanied the Yantar into waters close to the British Isles, according to The Sunday Times.

First sea lord general Sir Gwyn Jenkins said earlier this month that there had been a 30 per cent increase in Russian incursion in our waters just over the last two years.

An anti-submarine Merlin Mk2 helicopter can be seen tracking the ship (MOD)

The activity is most visibly seen in the presence of spy ships like the Yantar operating near UK waters, he said, but warned: Its whats going on under the waves that most concerns me.

Just last week, Sir Gwyn warned that Russia was renewing its investment in its elite deep-sea submarine division, known as Gugi. The UK sanctioned the Russian military agency, which is leading the development of Russias underwater intelligence gathering operations, in June this year.

An MoD spokesperson said: As the defence secretary has said, our message to President Putin is clear: we see you, we know what you are doing, and we will not shy away from robust action to protect this country.

We are acutely aware of the threat posed by Russia, which includes attempts to map undersea cables, networks, and pipelines belonging to both the UK and our allies, and we are tackling these threats head on.

That is why the prime minister set out the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War, including a commitment to increase spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP from April 2027, and an ambition to spend 3 per cent of GDP in the next parliament, as economic and fiscal conditions allow.

In addition, we have introduced 900 new sanctions against individuals, entities and ships under the Russian regime, and accelerated the development and deployment of advanced anti-submarine technology.

The government believes its Atlantic Bastion programme, which is integrating autonomous vessels, AI-enabled sensors, warships, and aircraft to safeguard critical undersea infrastructure against evolving challenges, will help to secure the North Atlantic for the UK and Nato to counter the threat of Russias evolving submarine force.
The Royal Navy shadowing a Russian submarine during a three-day operation in the English Channel (PA Media)

Vladimir Putin's submarines have been caught secretly mapping Britain's critical undersea infrastructure in a brazen espionage operation that has sparked sabotage fears.

A Russian submarine was spotted accompanying Moscow's notorious spy ship as it surveyed a crucial gas pipeline linking Britain and Ireland last November, defence sources have revealed to the Sunday Times.

The discovery has triggered alarm bells across Whitehall amid growing concerns the Kremlin is plotting attacks on the cables and pipelines that keep Britain running.

Britain's Royal Navy scrambled one of its own hunter-killer submarines to shadow the Russian vessels during the tense standoff in the Irish Sea.

In a dramatic show of strength, the British sub surfaced right next to the spy ship and sent a blunt message: "Thank you for allowing us to monitor your every move for the last few days."

The newspaper obtained a newly declassified image showing the Navy submarine and an anti-submarine Merlin helicopter during the encounter.

Military insiders say this is just one of several secret missions where Russian submarines have sneaked into waters around the British Isles alongside the Yantara vessel Moscow claims is simply a "research ship".

Last week, the Royal Navy's top boss General Sir Gwyn Jenkins issued a stark warning that Russia is pouring money into its shadowy deep-sea submarine force, known as GUGI.

The elite unit gives Putin the power to launch "physical action" against Britain and its western allies, he said.

The Yantar set off from Russia's Kola peninsula last November and sailed past Norway before heading down the English Channel into the Irish Sea.

It briefly switched on its tracking beacon while hovering directly above an exposed section of the gas connector near the Isle of Man.

British warships and spy planes monitoring the Russian vessel were put on high alert, defence sources said.

Sailors were banned from using their mobile phones and told to communicate only through encrypted channels to stop the Russians listening in.

After the British submarine surfaced, specialist divers were sent down to inspect the pipeline and check no bombs or explosives had been planted.

Military chiefs fear Russia could attach explosive devices to underwater cables and pipelinesthen detonate them during a war.

Defence Secretary John Healey revealed the British submarine's role in tracking the spy ship back in January.

But the presence of a Russian submarine during the same operation has been kept under wraps until now.

Senior defence figures believe Putin is stepping up so-called grey-zone operations in British and Irish waters because he's being squeezed out of the Mediterranean and Baltic Sea.

Finland and Sweden joining NATO has particularly rattled Moscow, closing off the Baltic.

British military planners are also worried Russia is exploiting Ireland's neutrality to get closer to UK territory.

Ireland refuses to join NATO and spends less on defence than almost any other European nation.

Three top British officials independently told The Sunday Times that Ireland is seen as the "soft underbelly" vulnerable to Russian exploitation.

Naval patrols in the Irish Sea have shot up this year as Russia has been busy mapping every gas pipe, electricity cable and internet line criss-crossing the seabed.

While no cable has been damaged yet, intelligence reports suggest Russia has drawn up detailed sabotage plans targeting weak spots.

Spy agencies have even heard reports of fishermen in Wexford, southeast Ireland, being offered cash to drag metal-cutting gear across the ocean floor at specific locations.

Russia has shown intense interest in Britain's submarine fleet, which operates from Faslane near Glasgow.

The UK's submarine construction yards are in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, where BAE is building four new dreadnought submarines to carry Britain's nuclear weapons.

The same shipyard is also constructing 12 new SSN hunter-killer submarines as part of the Aukus defence pact with America and Australia.

European military officials reckon Russia isn't just mapping cables for potential sabotage.

The spy ships are also hoovering up communications from naval vessels and aircraft to figure out how NATO responds when provoked.

The Yantar's sophisticated eavesdropping equipment makes it almost impossible for the Navy to track without accidentally revealing its own secrets.

"We were aware of its planned arrival long before it entered our area of responsibility," a senior Irish military intelligence officer said.

"Once it crossed into Irish waters, however, we observed a change in crew behaviour and the mounting of weapons. The Irish navy and air corps maintained constant surveillance with our partners."

Though the Yantar can launch mini-submarines from a special hatch underneath the hullcalled a "moon pool"defence sources are confident it didn't deploy any while sitting above the pipeline.

But Irish authorities were later warned that sabotage of the gas connector during winter could trigger rolling blackouts and wreck the economy.

Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said there is "deep co-operation with EU member states and with the United Kingdom in respect of all of these issues".

"One has to be very vigilant and one has to strengthen resilience in respect of critical undersea infrastructure because our society and modern economy depend on that," he said.

Martin pointed to suspected Russian sabotage attacks on cables in the Baltic Sea and physical attacks in Poland and other EU countries.

"There is an increase in hybrid attacks of different types, some involving arson and others hiring low-level criminals to do damage. Europe is on increased alert and it's obviously related to the war," he said.

Russia is believed to have charted the exact routes and landing points of major transatlantic cables.

In one alarming incident, men trying to access a cable terminal through a manhole were later identified as Russian nationals.

Russian spies have also been spotted on Ireland's west coast, possibly picking up signals from submarines that surfaced offshore.

Russia's underwater operations are run by GUGI, its secretive deep-sea research unit, which Britain slapped with sanctions last June.

The directorate commands a fleet of around 50 specialist vessels designed for undersea warfare.

Aaron Amick, a retired US navy sonar expert, said Russia has built submarines of all sizes capable of cutting or tampering with seabed cables.

The Belgorod, one of the largest, can deploy a mini-submarine called Losharik that's specifically designed to work on the ocean floor.

Russia is also building even more advanced vessels, including the Sergei Bavilina next-generation craft that can dive to depths of 11,000 metres.

The Ministry of Defence said: "As the defence secretary has said, our message to President Putin is clear: we see you, we know what you are doing, and we will not shy away from robust action to protect this country. We are acutely aware of the threat posed by Russia, including attempts to map undersea cables, networks and pipelines belonging to the UK and our allies, and we are tackling these threats head on.

"That is why the prime minister has set out the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War, including a commitment to raise spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP from April 2027, with an ambition to reach 3 per cent in the next parliament, as economic and fiscal conditions allow."

Sir Keir Starmer's government has set up a special cross-government team to coordinate policy on protecting undersea cables following a damning report by the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy.

The new Undersea Infrastructure Security Oversight Board, run by the Cabinet Office, will set the strategic direction.

In response to the committee's report on subsea telecommunications cables, the government has agreed to update emergency plans to cover coordinated Russian attacks on Britain's transatlantic and European connections.

Ministers are also looking at buying a British repair ship that could fix damaged cables during a security crisis.

Matt Western, who chairs the committee, welcomed the moves but warned Britain might not be moving fast enough.

"The security situation with Russia could worsen faster than our ability to prepare industry and the military," he said. "Once-unthinkable events are becoming more likely. We must move quickly."
Three inmates hijacked Lyft and kidnapped driver for 10 hours after escaping Georgia jail, FBI says

Three inmates who escaped a Georgia jail allegedly hijacked a Lyft and kidnapped the female driver at knifepoint after putting a rope around her neck and threatening to kill her as they fled to Florida, court documents state.

Stevenson Charles, 24, Yusuf Minor, 31, and Naod Yohannes, 25, are back in custody this week after a terrifying 10-hour ordeal for the Lyft driver.

After escaping from Georgias DeKalb County Jail at some point December 22, the men were picked up by an unnamed man and taken to one of their girlfriends homes, according to police. There, a Lyft ride was arranged to whisk them away to Florida, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court.

The driver, who was not named in the complaint, later told investigators that it appeared that the car was ordered by a woman. Prosecutors said Minors girlfriend is the one who called the Lyft for the three male passengers.

During the car ride to Miami, the men bound the drivers hands, wrapped a rope around her neck and repeatedly threatened to kill her, according to the complaint.

Three inmates  Stevenson Charles, Yusuf Minor and Naod Yohannes  hijacked a Lyft and kidnapped a driver for 10 hours after escaping Georgia jail, according to the FBI (DeKalb County Sheriff's Office)

She was dragged into the backseat and warned not to struggle or they would rape and kill her, according to the FBI. The driver estimated she was held captive for up to 10 hours, the complaint states.

After trying to escape at one point, the driver endured increased threats of being shot, raped, and tortured, the FBI agent wrote in the complaint.

The men then allegedly used the drivers credit cards to rent a short-term rental property in Miramar, Florida, which is about 25 miles north of Miami.

At some point, Charles and Yohannes left the rental in the drivers stolen vehicle, while Minor stayed behind, according to the complaint.

The stolen vehicle was detected with the use of license plate readers, which led to the arrests of Charles and Yohannes, federal prosecutors said.

Minor was arrested a short time later at the rental, where authorities found the victim, according to the complaint. Its not clear if the victim sustained any serious injuries.

DeKalb County Sheriff Melody Maddox speaks to reporters after the three escaped inmates were captured in Florida (AP)

In an statement provided to NBC News, a Lyft spokesperson said the company was concerned by this incident and relieved that the driver is safe.

Our hearts are with the driver and we have reached out to offer support, the spokesperson said. Lyft is working closely with law enforcement to assist in any way we can as the investigation continues.

All three men are back in custody and now face additional kidnapping charges.

According to online inmate records, Minor and Yohannes were serving life sentences for murder at the time of the escape. Charles was being held on charges of murder and armed robbery.

DeKalb County Sheriff Melody Maddox told reporters that the men escaped from an Atlanta-area jail that is deteriorating right before our eyes. The inmates were able to compromise a part of the facility, which investigators and jail officials are now repairing.
The United States launched more than a dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles on Nigeria on Christmas Day after President Donald Trump accused the West African countrys government of failing to protect persecuted Christians.

U.S. military officials said the attack, which they said was coordinated with Nigerian authorities, targeted ISIS-linked groups that Trump has accused of targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries.

But the strikes follow the Trump administrations drastic reduction of the number of refugees admitted into the United States each year, while adding Nigeria to a growing list of countries where travel and immigration into the country has been severely restricted.

Over the last decade, Nigerians received an average of 128,000 immigrant and nonimmigrant visas on an annual basis, nearly all of which will now face severe restrictions, blocking most legal pathways into the country, according to an analysis from the American Immigration Council.

Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, has long been plagued by violence, and analysts and local officials have argued that Nigerians of many faiths  including Christians and Muslims  have suffered under the web of armed groups in conflicts that the Trump administration has now waded into.

The US military launched Christmas Day airstrikes in Nigeria after the Trump administration accused the government of failing to stop ISIS-linked groups from targeting Christians (AP)

The Trump administrations operation appears to follow a months-long narrative from Republican officials and Trump-aligned Christian evangelical groups that Christians are the targets. Last month, the president suggested the United States could enter the country guns-a-blazing, and he has since promised more attacks if the slaughter of Christians continues.

The Christmas strikes hit Sokoto State, a majority-Muslim area where recent violence is linked to a group called Lakurawa, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project. Some analysts have linked the group to the Islamic state while others have argued a connection to a rival al-Qaeda outfit Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin.

Trumps targeting of the area, coupled with the American narrative, is politically convenient, according to Mustapha Alhassan, a security analyst in Nigeria who spoke to The Washington Post.

Nigerians would welcome the help if it was hitting precise targets, he said. But that doesnt seem to be what is happening. All of this is to what end?

In October, Trump designated Nigeria a country of particular concern under the U.S. International Religious Freedom Act.

The largely symbolic label is given to countries that have engaged in severe violations of religious freedom and instructs nations to take targeted responses to violations of religious freedom.

Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said that the characterization of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality, nor does it take into consideration the consistent and sincere efforts of the government to safeguard freedom of religion and beliefs for all Nigerians.

The Trump administration has meanwhile severely restricted Nigerians from traveling into the US and cut off legal immigration pathways as it overhauls the nations refugee system (REUTERS)

At the same time, the Trump administration is limiting the number of refugees admitted into the United States each year  and handing most of those limited slots to white South Africans.

Refugee admissions will now explicitly prioritize Afrikaners for resettlement, and the ceiling for admissions has been radically reduced from 125,000 people to only 7,500 for the next year.

The move represents a stark break from a refugee policy informed by humanitarian needs, not ideology or identity, according to refugee resettlement groups.

The administrations latest expansion of the travel ban bars people from an additional seven countries from entering the United States on immigrant and non-immigrant visas, while Nigeria has been added to a list of countries banned from all immigrant visas and all tourist, student, and exchange visitor visas.

U.S. officials are using the language of security to justify blanket exclusions that punish entire populations, rather than utilizing individualized, evidence-based screening, Global Refuge president Krish OMara Vignarajah said earlier this month in response to the expanded travel ban.

Security is essential, but it demands precision, Vignarajah added. Blanket bans only serve to weaken our system by replacing careful vetting with collective punishment.
Donald Trump said he thinks he has the makings of a deal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine as he headed into talks in Florida with Volodymyr Zelensky.

I think both presidents want to make a deal, the US leader told reporters as he greeted the Ukrainian president outside his Mar-a-Lago resort.

He added: I do believe that we have the makings of a deal thats good for Ukraine, good for everybody.

He insisted Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who he spoke to earlier in the day, is very serious about peace, despite Moscow launching attacks on Kyiv ahead of the Florida meeting.

Mr Trump said he and Mr Zelensky also expect to speak with European leaders and that he will call Mr Putin back after the meetings.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has questioned whether Russia wants peace, after Kyiv faced a barrage of missiles on Saturday (PA) (PA Wire)

Mr Zelensky, who Mr Trump praised as very brave, said territorial concessions will be discussed in Florida. They have so far been a red line for his country.

He said 90% of the 20-point draft proposal is done after talks between his and Mr Trumps negotiators.

Mr Trump said the deal could bring great economic benefits for Ukraine and talks are in the final stages, but he does not have a deadline to conclude them.

There will be a strong security agreement, with European nations very much involved, he said, but whether to return frozen Russian assets or use them to support Ukraine has not been determined.

The Ukrainian president said he had spoken to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to prepare for the meeting.

Thank you, Keir, for the constant coordination! I started my morning in Florida today with a detailed phone call with UK Prime Minister @Keir_Starmer.



We discussed preparations for the meeting with President Trump, as well as all our contacts with European partners. I informed  Volodymyr Zelenskyy /   (@ZelenskyyUa) December 28, 2025

He thanked Sir Keir for the constant co-ordination after speaking to him in a detailed phone call ahead of the talks.

Sir Keir reaffirmed the UKs unwavering support for Ukraine in the call, while both welcomed ongoing diplomatic efforts and the US presidents continued engagement in securing peace, Downing Street said.

Mr Zelensky said in post on X: These are some of the most active diplomatic days of the year right now, and a lot can be decided before the New Year.

He had stopped in Canada to meet Prime Minister Mark Carney on his way to the US talks, and spoke with European allies on Saturday.

Mr Trump meanwhile said he had a good and very productive call with Mr Putin on Sunday morning.

It comes after Russia launched missile and drone attacks on Kyiv a day ahead of the talks, which Mr Zelensky said really shows that Putin doesnt want peace.

The talks in Florida are the latest stage in Mr Trumps year-long effort to secure a ceasefire in Ukraine, having previously said he would end the war on the first day of his term in office.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has again reaffirmed the UKs unwavering support for Ukraine (PA) (PA Wire)

Mr Zelensky has said the draft peace plan includes a US commitment to provide guarantees mirroring the Nato alliances Article 5, which means an attack on Ukraine would trigger a collective military response from the US and its allies.

But key details are still to be worked out, with territorial concessions the most sensitive of the issues the two leaders will discuss.

On Christmas Eve, Mr Zelensky said the US and Ukraine had reached a consensus on a number of critical issues, and indicated he was open to creating a demilitarised zone on his countrys eastern border with Russia.

But he has continued to resist Russian demands that Ukraine gives up two of its eastern regions, Luhansk and Donetsk.

Russia is also likely to object to a role for Nato forces in monitoring a ceasefire, which European leaders including Sir Keir and French President Emmanuel Macron have said must form part of any deal.

Other European demands include allowing Ukraine to maintain a peacetime military of 800,000 troops and to join the EU, while the US has reportedly offered unspecified security guarantees.
Donald Trump said security guarantees to end the war in Ukraine were 95 per cent done as he hosted Volodymyr Zelensky at Mar-a-Lago for peace talks.

Speaking at his Florida holiday home, Mr Trump said a deal to end the conflict was a lot closer after an afternoon of negotiations with the Ukrainian president and a call with Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader, on Sunday.

The US president suggested it could take a few weeks to get the deal over the line and that some thorny issues remain, likely referring to Ukrainian territorial concessions.

A trilateral meeting between the Ukraine president and Putin was likely, he added.

During a joint press conference with Mr Zelensky, Mr Trump told reporters: I think were doing very well. We could be very close. There are one or two very thorny issues, very tough issues, but I think were doing very well.

I really believe were probably ... closer than, by far, closer than ever before with both parties. In a few weeks, we will know one way or the other.

Donald Trump sits opposite Volodymyr Zelensky at Mar-a-Lago - Jim Watson/AFP via Getty

Mr Zelensky said on Monday that the US was offering Ukraine the security guarantees for a period of 15 years as part of the proposed peace plan, though he said he would prefer a 50-year commitment from the White House.

Addressing the extended commitment, Mr Trump said on Monday that he would think about it.

In their call, Putin and Mr Trump exchanged Christmas greetings and agreed that Ukraine needed to make a decision on the future of the eastern Donbas region to secure a deal without a temporary ceasefire, according to the Kremlin.

Afterwards, Mr Trump said he had spoken to a very interesting President Putin who was very serious about peace.

After welcoming Mr Zelensky on the steps of Mar-a-Lago, Mr Trump said there was no deadline for the proposed peace deal, which he said would be of great economic benefit for Ukraine.

He insisted that Russia would help reconstruct Ukraine, adding: Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed. This was a suggestion that Ukrainians would dispute strongly, and one which prompted raised eyebrows and a wry smile from Mr Zelensky.

The Ukrainian warned on Monday that Russias actions in Ukraine did not correspond to Putins peaceful rhetoric when speaking with Mr Trump.

Credit: WhiteHouse/Reuters

The in-person talks were intended to resolve key issues in a 20-point deal sketched out by Ukrainian and US officials, which the Ukrainian president has described as 90 per cent there.

The main sticking points remain territorial concessions, particularly the fate of the Donbas and the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europes largest.

Asked if there had been agreement on a free trade zone in Donbas, Mr Trump said it was still unresolved but ... getting a lot closer.

Supporters of Ukraine hold a rally in Palm Beach, Florida, ahead of Mr Trumps talks with Mr Zelensky - Jen Golbeck/AP

Mr Trump said Putin was eager to reopen the nuclear plant, which has been under Russian control since the war began.

President Putin is actually working with Ukraine on getting it open, he said.

Hes been very good in that sense. He wants to see that open.

Our attitude is very clear, Mr Zelensky said on territorial concessions. Thats why President Trump said this is a very tough question and, of course, we have with Russia different positions on it.

Mr Trump added that European leaders, whom he called after the hour-long meeting, had been supportive and very much involved in the peace process.

Mr Zelensky said Mr Trump had agreed to host European leaders again, possibly at the White House, sometime in January. The American said the meeting could be in Washington or someplace.

Emmanuel Macron, the French president, announced that Kyivs allies would meet in Paris next month to discuss security guarantees.

We will bring together the countries of the Coalition of the Willing in Paris in early January to finalise each ones concrete contributions, Mr Macron said on X, after speaking with Mr Zelensky and Mr Trump.

Sir Keir Starmer said he was eager to sustain momentum on Ukraine after speaking to Mr Trump.

A Downing Street spokesman said: The Prime Minister spoke with President Trump, President Zelensky and European leaders this evening.

Ukrainian drones struck Syzran, one of Russias largest oil refineries, on Saturday night

He continued: The discussion focused on ongoing efforts to secure a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, with leaders commending President Trump for the progress achieved so far.

They underlined the importance of robust security guarantees and reaffirmed the urgency of ending this barbaric war as soon as possible.

The Prime Minister emphasised the UKs commitment to working closely with partners to sustain momentum in the coming days  with President Trump highlighting his leadership in driving co-ordinated international support for Ukraine as talks continue.
Ahead of the Florida meeting, and amid pressure from the Trump administration for Ukraine to concede territory for peace, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) assessed that Russia is demanding such concessions because it does not have sufficient manpower or materiel to take the rest of the Donetsk region while continuing its war in other parts of Ukraine. The Kremlin is therefore making demands in negotiations that Ukraine cede the unoccupied parts of Donetsk oblast, the ISW assessed,  possibly to put Russia in a more advantageous position to re-invade in the future to pursue Putins longer-term strategic goal of controlling all of Ukraine.
A multi-team search operation to find the missing person was suspended last night (Newquay coastguard search and rescue team / Facebook)

Rescue teams are searching for a missing person who was last seen struggling in the water off a popular beach in Cornwall yesterday.

The huge multi-service operation was launched after the casualty was seen in the sea at Great Western beach in Newquay shortly after 5pm on Saturday, December 27.

An extensive search of the coastline was carried out by crews from Newquay Coastguard, Newquay RNLI Lifeboats, and HM Coastguard Padstow.

Meanwhile, a Newquay Coastguard rescue helicopter and Devon and Cornwall Police also contributed to the rescue efforts.

Newquay Coastguard Search and Rescue Team wrote online that the search at Great Western was eventually suspended pending further enquiries.

A spokesperson for the agency said: "This evening at 5.08pm Newquay Coastguard Rescue Team, Newquay RNLI Lifeboats, HM Coastguard Padstow, Newquay Coastguard Rescue Helicopter 924 and Devon & Cornwall Police were tasked to reports of a casualty in the water near Great Western.

"Once on scene all assets commenced a comprehensive search of the area."

The agency then received a report of a second casualty on Porth Island.

Part of the team went on to the second incident where they managed to rescue the person in danger, while the original search at Great Western continued.

The spokesman added: "At 7.15pm a second tasking came through requesting Newquay CRT and Newquay Lifeboats assist the Police with a casualty on Porth Island.

"Half of the team moved to the second incident with the remainder staying on scene at Great Western.

"All assets tasked to Porth were stood down once this incident was resolved. St Agnes Coastguard Search & Rescue Team were also tasked to assist with this incident.

The search at Great Western was eventually suspended pending further enquiries. If you see someone in difficulty along the coast, dial 999 and ask for the coastguard.
Virgil van Dijk has admitted Liverpool are conceding too many set-piece goals and said that the second phase is the killer for them.

Wolves defender Santiago Bueno scored following a corner in Liverpools 2-1 win at Anfield on Saturday, while the previous week, Tottenham Hotspurs Richarlison had struck after they failed to clear a corner.

The defending champions have let in 12 goals in the Premier League from dead-ball situations this season, the joint-most in the division and Van Dijk said the players have to make sure they get better.

There have been plenty of games when we have defended them very well, the Liverpool captain said. But the fact is, weve conceded too many set-piece goals. It's about repetition, training, analysing... it's something we have to improve. I'd say at least 75 per cent of the time or even more, it's not even about the first contact; it's the second phase that is the killer.

Each and every one of us has to take responsibility. Its always going to be on the players. We can speak about how we defend and how we attack, but at the end of the day, its about what the players put in.

It's not been good enough. We all realise that. We have spoken about that. We need to turn it around. Thats why we work on it almost every training session.

Van Dijk denied it is a mental problem for Liverpool, adding: I hope not. If thats in your head, then it's an issue. Personally, its not in my head.

Van Dijk praised Florian Wirtz after the 100m signing scored his first Liverpool goal in the win over Leeds, drawing particular attention to the Germans work ethic.

I was very happy for him, he said. I think he runs almost everywhere. At times on the left, at times in the middle.

Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk applauds their fans after victory over Wolves (Reuters)

Hes a very intelligent player who is so comfortable on the ball. He finds space between the lines and can be very important.

He wants to be important in terms of goals and assists. The work rate he puts in and the chances he creates is what I think is even more important.
Amid the forward momentum, it's telling that Trump touched the brakes.

"He doesn't have anything until I approve it," is how he trailed Volodymyr Zelenskyy's upcoming visit to Mar-a-Lago.

The Ukrainian leader has spoken of a peace plan that's "90% ready" but, as the guest markets its potential, the host isn't buying - yet, at least.

Any breakthrough breaks down on Russian refusal and Donald Trump needs no reminding - it's the evergreen reality that has undermined peace efforts and tested his diplomatic muscle with Moscow, often with unflattering results.

Zelenskyy and coalition allies have talked him back from the brink - a sell-out, as they saw it, when the US floated a 28-point plan that read like a Russian wish list.

The 20-point version crafted in Kyiv includes compromise and Zelenskyy talks of a "good conversation" with Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, in teeing up a tete-a-tete with the man himself.

 Listen to Sky News Daily on your podcast app 

So far, so promising - but relative silence from Moscow screams otherwise.

Russian officials have made some optimistic noises but they have been measured and minimal. Vladimir Putin has barely shifted from his original position on Ukraine and there's limited expectation that will change this weekend.

Why would it?

This is a Russian leader basking in the bonhomie of a president reshaping US relations to Moscow's advantage and he senses opportunity to pursue territorial ambitions. Antagonism between the US and European allies is but another benefit to Putin of things as they are.

Read more:

Peace talks: What are the main issues remaining?

In such circumstances, a framework proposal that locks down his ambition, long-term, won't necessarily land well in Moscow.

Is that why he played down the significance of the Zelenskyy plan?

Not for the first time, any Russian reluctance will be a test for Donald Trump - of strength, diplomacy, and of where his loyalties lie.
Royal Mail has started advertising for postpersons in a move that has been branded a nonsense distortion of language.

The postal service appears to have stopped using the term postman, with the job advert reading: We are reinventing Royal Mail for the future, and now is a perfect time to join us on that journey.

The term postman dates back to 1883, when only men delivered the mail. There were very few postwomen in Britain before the First World War.

Some roles available on Royal Mails website still advertise for applications for postman/woman roles. However, others are now headed postperson with driving.

For every person, from every walk of life, we deliver, one advert reads.

The National Careers Service website has also adopted the term postperson

Sir John Hayes, the chairman of the Common Sense group of Conservative MPs, described the switch to a gender-neutral term as preposterous, telling The Telegraph: This distortion of language  its either nonsense or its sinister.

Sometimes its because the people doing it dont know any better, or its a deliberate attempt to corrupt language, which has been the stuff of all kinds of horrors throughout history.

Lets assume that their intentions are harmless, Id want to know how much money they are spending on this. The Royal Mail need to focus more on doing their job and delivering our post, and stop this nonsense.

A Royal Mail spokesman said: Some of our local recruitment adverts have used the description postperson with driving when we have been seeking new recruits, although in most communications we use the term postie to describe the role of our colleagues who deliver letters and parcels across the nation.

Royal Mail said that in most communications we use the term postie to describe the role of our colleagues who deliver letters and parcels - Graeme Robertson/Getty Images

It comes after some supermarkets appear to have killed off gingerbread men, instead using the term gingerbread people.

Earlier this year, the Royal Yachting Association declared that the phrase man overboard was offensive, saying the emergency call should be replaced with person in the water.

The recommendation was one of several issued by the national governing body of sailing, in an effort to encourage language that honours and values women and non-binary people within the sport and recreational activity.

Earlier this year, Daniel Kretinsky, a Czech billionaire, completed a takeover of the Royal Mail.

Last month, the Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents more than 100,000 postal staff, wrote to MPs to blame late letter deliveries on chaos under the new ownership.

The union backlash is focused on reforms to the Royal Mails universal service obligation, which requires the company to deliver anywhere in the UK six days a week. The firm claims continuing to meet the obligation is financially unsustainable.
Sir Keir Starmer did not join a call with Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders, with Britain represented by the UKs national security adviser

Sir Keir Starmer was absent from a crucial meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders because of diary pressures, No 10 has said.

The Ukrainian president held a call with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and Poland on Saturday night ahead of his pivotal meeting with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday.

His summit with the US president is expected to be a seismic moment in the four-year conflict with Russia and will focus on how to bring the war to an end.

Volodymyr Zelensky, who will meet Donald Trump again on Sunday, wants a minimum 60-day ceasefire in order to hold a vote on a peace deal - Alex Wong

Britain was represented on the call by Jonathan Powell, the UKs national security adviser.

Downing Street said that Sir Keir had not been scheduled to take part in the meeting and stressed that Mr Powell regularly joins these calls to represent Britain.

No 10 added that other European national security advisers were also on the call.

Downing Street sources said Sir Keir speaks often with Mr Zelensky and other world leaders, but diary pressures prevented him from joining the meeting on Saturday.

They added that he spoke to the E3 leaders  France, Germany and Italy  on Friday and is involved in constant diplomacy when it comes to efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

En route to Florida, Mr Zelensky landed in Nova Scotia on Saturday night for a meeting with Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister, who confirmed a further aid package worth $2.5bn (1.85bn) for Ukraine.

After their meeting, they held a call with European leaders in which Mr Zelensky emphasised that strong positions are needed to force Vladimir Putin to stick to a peace deal.

Emmanuel Macron, the French president, Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister and Mark Rutte, the Nato secretary-general, all joined the call.

After the meeting, Mr Zelensky wrote on X: During our call, we discussed our current progress along the diplomatic track. We went over the most important priorities together.

Ukraine values all of the support. Tomorrow, after the meeting with President Trump, we will continue our discussion.

Strong positions are needed both at the front and in diplomacy to prevent Putin from manipulating and evading a real and just end to the war.

The world has sufficient strength to guarantee security and peace.
David Darke was punched outside The Crown in the Leicestershire village of Appleby Magna

A grandfather who died after being punched outside a village pub has been pictured.

David Darke was injured outside the Crown Inn in Appleby Magna, Leicestershire, on Dec 21. Police were called at around 9.45pm.

The 66-year-old suffered a head injury and was taken to Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham, where he died on Saturday.

A 36-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm is now being detained on suspicion of murder. He was charged on Monday.

Mr Darkes family said he had been a deeply loved father to three daughters and a proud grandfather to three boys.

In a statement, they said: Dave was a strong, active, intelligent and kind person who was a friend to all. He was a devoted family man with a deep passion for life, the outdoors, nature and walking. He will be sorely missed by all who knew and loved him.

David Darke was punched outside The Crown pub on Church Street in Appleby Magna - Google

A Leicestershire Police spokesman said investigations were under way, adding: We are continuing to appeal for anyone who can help but who has not yet spoken to police.

Det Insp Kevin Hames, from East Midlands special operations murder investigation team, said on Saturday: The initial investigation resulted in us identifying several witnesses and examining CCTV from the area.

Those inquiries will continue and the suspect will be re-interviewed by detectives.

It is an extremely difficult time for Mr Darkes family and specialist officers are supporting them.

We need to speak to as many people as possible who can help us piece together what happened that evening.
A man in his 30s was raped on Christmas Eve near an outdoor swimming pool in East Sussex.

Sussex Police has appealed for witnesses after the man, who has not been named, was subjected to the sexual assault in Lewes.

The force said the rape took place near Pells Pool, an open-air swimming pool on Brook Street, between 10pm on Dec 24 and 3am on Christmas Day.

Det Insp Gavin Patch asked members of the public to come forward to help detectives build a clearer picture of events.

He said: Following the launch of this investigation, we would like to reassure the public that a dedicated team continues to work diligently to explore all available lines of inquiry.

Sussex Police told the public to expect to see officers on Brook St, where the attack happened on Christmas Eve - Google

He added: As part of this work, police presence can be expected in the Pells Pool and Brook Street areas, as well as in other parts of Lewes, including around Eastgate Street and Lansdown Place.

Members of the public can also play a vital role in helping us build a clearer picture of events, whether they are local residents or were visiting the area.

Were you in Lewes on Christmas Eve night and did you see anything suspicious? Do you have any footage from the area, or any information that could assist? If you think you can help in any way, it is important that you contact police.
Chris Jackson/Getty Images Kate Middleton at a ceremonial welcome for The President and First Lady of Korea in 2023.

The Gist

Royal fashion rules are unofficial guidelines for how members of the British royal family should dress.

Most are unwritten and many have been broken over the years, although Kate Middleton tends to follow them.

These rules include wearing pantyhose, keeping nail polish neutral, and choosing hats over fascinators.

When youre a duchess, princess, or even the queen, your wardrobe is influenced by royal fashion rules.

Much has been made of the Windsor familys rumored dress codepantyhose and low hems are okay, for example, while bright nail polish and wedge heels are frowned uponas well as the rare moments when the code is seemingly violated. In truth, the royal fashion rules are closer to guidelines than strict laws. Most are unwritten, and plenty have been broken over the years by different figures.

Princess Diana might be known as a royal rebel in retrospect, but when it came to fashion, she found creative ways to stay within the lines. She "was an absolute expert in knowing what the code is [by 1987], Caterina Berni, senior interpretations manager of Historic Royal Palaces, told People in 2025.

Catherine, Princess of Wales, also tends to follow the unspoken rules of regal dressing, but even she will make an exception when the occasion calls for it. As society has evolved, so too have the standards of dress for royal and commoner alike. That doesnt mean youll spot Kate Middleton in a graphic T-shirt and ripped jeans anytime soon, but she might wear denim on a casual outing like walking the dogs.

Ahead, brush up on the supposed royal fashion rules Middleton and her peers have to followand the one she tends to disregard.



01 of 10

Wear hats at formal engagementsbut only until 6 p.m.

Yui Mok - WPA Pool/Getty Images Kate Middleton attends the Order of the Garter service at St George's Chapel in 2025.

Look at historical photos, and youll notice that hats were a bigger feature in everyday fashion than they are today. While its no longer general etiquette to wear a topper while out and about, the royal family have kept the tradition alive. There was a rule that stated ladies could wear hats from the morning at 6 am until 6 pm., former royal butler and etiquette expert Grant Harrold told Hello! In 2025. This time limit is set because at 6 p.m., royals would traditionally change into a tiara (if married) or lose their headwear completely.

Queen Elizabeth II was a known lover of hats, wearing them during the majority of her public appearances. In contrast, Middleton and Queen Camilla tend to reserve hats for special engagements. On general visits, they tend not to wear them, but on more official occasions, they will," Harrold added elsewhere in the Hello! interview.

02 of 10

Only wear a tiara if youre a married royal.

Chris Jackson/Getty Images The Royal Wedding of Prince William to Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011.

If a royal is single or engaged, you wont spot them in a glittering tiara at the next diplomatic reception. The bejeweled headpieces are only for married royals, signifying their marital status similar to how a wedding band would, per Vogue Australia. Thus, Meghan Markle and other royal brides have enjoyed their first tiara moments on the day of their I dos, regardless of the length of their engagement and what white-tie events theyve attended previously.

03 of 10

Keep hemlines and necklines modest.

Neil Mockford/GC Images Kate Middleton at the UK premiere of "A Street Cat Named Bob" in 2016.

Royal women are expected to keep skirt and dress hems close to the top of the knee, while necklines should avoid revealing cleavage. Its all about being modest, elegant and not risking a scandal or causing a media fuss, etiquette expert and former royal staffer Laura Windsor explained to Readers Digest in 2024.



This royal fashion rule is one that several figures have skirted. For example, Middleton has worn dresses with thigh-high slits on multiple occasions, including at a 2016 movie premiere. Markle similarly donned a Reformation dress with a high slit during a 2018 royal tour with Prince Harry, per People.

The same year, the Princess of Wales stepped out in a (re-worn) teal Jenny Packham gown with a V-neck and sheer lace back while attending the Tusk Conservation Awards with Prince Williampushing the envelope, although many royal watchers were quick to point out Elizabeths penchant for off-the-shoulder and strapless gowns in her youth.

04 of 10

Wear bright colors to stand out in a crowd.

Karwai Tang/WireImage Kate Middleton at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in July 2025.

Middleton often wears bright hues, following the example set by the late Queen Elizabeth. Its not an official fashion rule, per se, but a guideline many royals have since embraced. In her lifetime, the queen made a habit of wearing bright, bold ensembles so that fans who flocked to catch a glimpse of the monarch could more easily spot her in a crowd.

Her daughter-in-law Sophie, Countess of Wessex, explained in the documentary The Queen at 90 (per People), She needs to stand out for people to be able to say I saw the Queen. Dont forget that when she turns up somewhere, the crowds are two, three, four, 10, 15 deep, and someone wants to be able to say they saw a bit of the Queens hat as she went past.



Thats not to say Middleton never rocks a chic neutral or a muted hue. Her wardrobe is balanced between subtle and standout colors.

05 of 10

Black clothes are reserved for funeralsand always pack a black outfit when traveling.

Jordan Pettitt - Pool/Getty Images Prince William and Princess Kate at the Requiem Mass service for Katharine, Duchess of Kent in 2025.

Its one royal fashion rule Princess Diana loved to break, while Middleton prefers to follow it: black clothes are only for funerals, mourning periods, and somber engagements like Remembrance Day, per Readers Digest. To that end, when traveling, its important to pack a black suit or dress in the event of an unexpected loss.



Diana, of course, loved a black dressher famous revenge dress is the definitive LBD. She also wore the dark hue at a 1981 fundraising concert (which doubled as her and then-Prince Charless first public engagement), per People, reminding the world that rules are made to be broken.

Middleton has brought black outfits out on non-mourning occasions, albeit less frequently. In March 2025, she broke a non-royal fashion rule by pairing a black turtleneck with a navy blazer. The princess completed her look with black pants, boots, and leather gloves.

06 of 10

Stick to neutral or light-colored nail polish instead of bright colors.

Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images Kate Middleton wearing red nail polish on Easter Sunday 2023.

Queen Elizabeth loved Essies Ballet Slippers. Princess Diana was rarely seen without a French manicure during her royal tenure. Kate Middleton tends to go for light tones or skip nail polish altogetherwith a few notable exceptions. Although theres no official royal fashion rule barring colorful and glittery polish, Elizabeth once more set a trend by example due to her own preference for elegant, pale-pink nails.

As InStyle previously noted, the rest of the family still (mostly) follows the late monarchs lead. Exceptions include Middletons red nails at the familys 2023 Easter celebrations and Meghan Markles black nails at the 2018 British Fashion Awards. Middleton first defied this unofficial rule on a smaller scale back in 2017, rocking a bright red pedicure. Its a look shes repeated on various occasionsmaking this the one royal fashion rule she often disregards.

07 of 10

Wear pantyhose with dresses and skirts.

Anthony Devlin/PA Wire Queen Elizabeth II and Kate Middleton in March 2012.

Pantyhose used to be a style staple for women, but are now considered optional for the general public (as of approximately 1995, per The New York Times). For royals, however, the old standard of fashion reigns. Queen Elizabeth swore by nude-color nylons, never appearing without them in public. Her granddaughters-in-law, Middleton and Markle, followed suit for appearances with the Queen and at other formal events. Yet theyve both defied the rule, either ditching hose entirely or going for a darker color (the Princess of Wales is partial to black tights).

For Markle, the pantyhose tradition was inauthentic to her personal style. I had to wear nude pantyhose all the time, Markle recalled in an August 2025 conversation with Bloombergs Emily Chang. Lets be honestthat was not very myself. During her The Circuit segment, the Duchess of Sussex further explained, That felt a little bit inauthentic, but thats a silly example. But it is an example of when youre able to dress the way you want to dress, youre able to say the things that are true, and youre able to show up in a space really organically and authenticallythats being comfortable in your own skin.

08 of 10

Opt for hats over fascinatorseven at Ascot.

Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge is seen in the parade ring during Royal Ascot 2022.

According to a 2023 Vogue feature, a sign outside the Ascots Royal Enclosure explicitly forbid fascinatorsheadbands or headpieces featuring decorative embellishments like netting, bows, feathers, beads, and faux florals. A headpiece which has a solid base of four inches or more in diameter is acceptable as an alternative to a hat, the rules continued. Theoretically, fascinators arent posh enough; that hasnt stopped Princess Beatrice and her sister, Princess Eugenie, from blurring the line between hat and fascinator.

Hats used to be encouraged for every public outing (reflecting societal norms as much as royal ones), but contrast the late queens hat collection with Middletons, and its clear the toppers arent as prevalent among younger royals. Readers Digest suggests special events like weddings and the Royal Ascot call for them, while other occasions leave room for individual discretion. Middleton broke this unwritten rule in 2018, donning a fascinator in lieu of a hat at Princess Eugenies wedding (perhaps a nod to the brides predilection for them).

09 of 10

Keep your coat on while in public.

Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images Catherine, Princess of Wales attends the Christmas Morning Service on December 25, 2024.

Per Readers Digest, its royal protocol to keep ones coat on in public settings. Removing a layer of clothing in front of others is traditionally seen as unladylike, hence why Middleton is often seen in her coat throughout the course of an outing. If a change in the weather (or a chance to show off a stunning dress) demands the removal of her coat, shell usually wait until theres a private space to shed her outerwear.

10 of 10

No wedge heels.

John Stillwell/PA Kate Middleton wearing wedge heels in April 2011, alongside husband Prince William.

Various sources have reported on Queen Elizabeths supposed dislike for wedge heels, from Vanity Fair to Vogue Australia. Theres no official royal ban on them, however. Middleton ditched the style whenever appearing with the Queen, but shes worn wedges on several other occasions, including at the 2019 Back to Nature Festival and during a royal tour of Australian and New Zealand in 2015.

Read the original article on InStyle
An image collage containing 3 images, Image 1 shows Terry and Cheryle Loden, Image 2 shows Terry's pooch, Jesse, was also killed in the shooting at Simpson Park in Hall County, Georgia, Image 3 shows Todd Stalcup was received felony murder and other charges in connection to the shootings

A beloved Georgia grandfather and his family dog were both shot dead by a maniac in front of his wife while he was on the phone with his granddaughter during their weekly visit to the park.

Terry and Cheryle Loden were walking their dogs together at Simpson Park in Hall County, Georgia Sunday when Terrys pooch, Jesse, got in a fight with a strangers dog around 3:30 pm as he was talking to his granddaughter on his cell phone.

Terry, 70, began trying to pull his dog back away from the dog when the other man, identified by the Hall County

Terry Loden, left, was gunned down while walking his dog with his wife, Cheryle. ANF

He was on top of her pulling her off and about that time, the man just shot my dog, and Terry stood up and said, Man what are you doing? And he just shot him, Cheryle told Atlanta News First.

Cheryle called 911 and attempted to put pressure on Terrys wound. Her granddaughter heard the entire attack.

[Tery said] Hang on, baby. Jesse, dont mess with that dog, and she heard shots, the grieving wife said.

The two men hadnt even had a fight prior to the onslaught, and the entire event escalated rapidly, Cheryle told Atlanta News First.

When he fell, I just said, I gotta call 911. I gotta call 911. And [Stalcup] just said, Yeah, you do that, Cheryle said.

As Cheryle desperately sought to save her husbands life, he uttered his final words of love to her and told her he wouldnt make it.

He just looked up at me and said, I love you. He said, Im going. I said, No, youre not, she told Atlanta News First.

Todd Stalcup was received felony murder and other charges in connection to the shootings. ANF

Stalcup, 52, paced back and forth as the tragic scene unfolded, but then tried to make a break for it and drove off in his SUV.

Police arrested the alleged killer 15 minutes after the shooting while he was trying to flee the park, officials said.

He is charged with malice murder, felony murder, felony aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.

Terrys pooch, Jesse, was also killed in the shooting at Simpson Park in Hall County, Georgia. Facebook

Terry died in at Northeast Georgia Medical Center, police officials said. The Loden family said the killing was senseless and unprovoked in a statement to Atlanta News First.

Cheryle remembered her dear husband as an awesome person.

He was awesome. Hed give his last penny and do anything for anybody. He was an awesome person, Cheryle said.
Jerica Hamre/Facebook Jerica Hamre

NEED TO KNOW

A body found on a farm in rural Nebraska has been identified as missing mom Jerica Hamre

The woman's loved ones first reported her missing over 18 months ago

Hamre was a certified nursing assistant and mother to three daughters, according to her social media

Remains found on a rural farm in Nebraska have been identified as belonging to a missing mother of three, over 18 months since her loved ones last heard from her.

The body of Jerica Hamre was discovered on a farm in rural Furnas County on Wednesday, Dec. 17, Lincoln Police Department (LPD) announced in a news release and an accompanying press conference days later, on Monday, Dec. 22.

In the wake of months of unsuccessful search efforts for Hamre, who was 30 years old when she was reported missing by her parents, the woman's body was found by a man working in a field, police said.

The man called authorities on Dec. 17 to report that he discovered human remains in an old farm shed, LPD Capt. Ben Miller said in a press conference streamed by 10/11 News. Two days later, the remains were confirmed to be those of Hamre.

The discovery followed search efforts led by several different agencies and community groups, as well as Hamres loved ones, said Miller.

Jerica Hamre/Facebook Jerica Hamre

"The effort of searching over a thousand square miles of timber, lakes, rivers and farmland was daunting and never ended as the commitment to find her was unwavering, he said during the presser.

Hamres parents reported her missing in Lincoln on July 3, 2024. She was last heard from on June 25, 2024, according to police. (That was the same date the woman shared a final post on Facebook.)

Miller said Hamre's remains had been at the location where they were found "for a long period of time." Her cause of death is not yet clear, as police had not yet received final autopsy results as of Dec. 22.

Police are investigating Hamres death as a homicide, and a person of interest was in custody as of Dec. 22, police said.

They added that "there is no ongoing threat to the community" and the individual detained was already in custody on unrelated charges."

Miller also said investigators do not think the individual has any connection with the farmland on which the Nebraska moms remains were found.

Jerica Hamre/Facebook Jerica Hamre

The Lincoln Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLEs request for comment on Sunday, Dec. 28.

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.

Hamre was a certified nursing assistant and mom to three daughters, according to social media posts viewed by PEOPLE. Hamre's parents have been raising her daughters since her disappearance, according to CBS affiliate KOLN.

Its not the outcome any of us wanted  our hearts are broken for her family and loved ones, the LPD wrote while announcing that Hamre's body had been discovered. Our condolences go out to them as they learned this news just days before the holidays."

Read the original article on People
In 1958, an article in the LA Mirror asked: Should we ban Brigitte Bardot?

Every time I pick up a newspaper or go by a theatre marquee there she is, blasted all over the place with her stringy, unkempt hair, her plunging necklines, her bare feet, her vapid eyes and her half-opened mouth, complained columnist Dick Williams. Her casual attitude towards marriage is both shocking and immoral.

The pearl-clutching journalist wasnt alone in being outraged by Brigitte Bardot. The Parisian actor, model and animal rights activist, who has died at the age of 91, lived a life that was never far from scandal.

She became an international star with the release of 1956s And God Created Woman, in which she played a scantily clad teenage orphan with a free-spirited attitude to sex. The film made $4m in the United States, a record at the time for a foreign film. It was helped rather than hindered by the uproar over Bardots performance and appearance. The film was banned in several states, while a district attorney in Philadelphia declared it to be of a lascivious, sacrilegious, obscene, indecent, or immoral nature. No wonder audiences couldnt get enough.

The term sex kitten was originally a nickname for Brigitte Bardot, pictured here in 1960 (Hulton Archive/Getty)

The philosopher Simone de Beauvoir wrote an essay in 1959 titled The Lolita Syndrome about Bardots youthful appeal, observing that a saint would sell his soul to the devil merely to watch her dance. Bardots early film roles were credited with igniting the sexual revolution on both sides of the Atlantic, and the phrase sex kitten was coined specifically to describe her. She refused to work in Hollywood, turning down several sizeable financial offers, and quit acting entirely before she turned 40.

In recent years, she attracted a different sort of controversy, fined by the French government both for making hurtful remarks in her memoir about wanting to abort her son and for inciting racial hatred with comments about Islam and Reunion islanders. Since her retirement, she had dedicated her time to her own animal welfare charity, the Brigitte Bardot Foundation. I gave my youth and beauty to men, she once said. I am going to give my wisdom and experience to animals.

Bardot was born in Paris on 28 September 1934. She grew up in an upper-middle-class family and attended private school before enrolling in the Conservatoire de Paris in 1949 to study ballet. At the age of 15, she was photographed for the cover of Elle magazine, which brought her to the attention of filmmakers. She auditioned for a film by director Marc Allegret, and while she didnt get the part, she did fall in love with the screenwriter Roger Vadim. Her parents forbade the 16-year-old Bardot from marrying Vadim, who was 22, and she attempted suicide. The couple eventually married in 1952, after Bardot turned 18.

Bardot running barefoot on the sands at Cannes in 1956, the year of her breakout performance in And God Created Woman (George W Hales/Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty)

She had already made 15 films with varying degrees of success before Vadim cast her in his directorial debut, And God Created Woman. The film was a sensation, although it ended their marriage when Bardot had an affair with her co-star Jean-Louis Trintignant. Although Bardot and Vadim divorced, they continued to work together. By 1958, she was the highest-paid actress in France.

In 1959, Bardot married fellow actor Jacques Charrier, and they had a son, her only child, Nicolas-Jacques, early the following year. Bardot wrote in her 1996 memoir about her unhappiness at becoming pregnant, describing her unborn son as a cancerous tumour. She said she repeatedly punched herself in the stomach and asked a doctor for morphine, as abortion was illegal in France at the time. She told a press conference she would have preferred to give birth to a little dog. In 1997, she and her publisher were ordered to pay 28,000 in damages to Charrier and her son over the remarks.

Bardot is surely the only person ever to have been mentioned by name in songs by Bob Dylan, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Olivia Rodrigo and Chappell Roan (Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty)

Shortly after giving birth, Bardot starred in the courtroom drama La Verite (The Truth). It was one of the best-received films of her career, earning a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, but the production was troubled. She had an affair with one of her co-stars, Sami Frey, and attempted suicide again during her messy break-up with Charrier.

Arguably, Bardots finest screen performance came in Jean-Luc Godards 1963 drama Le Mepris (Contempt), playing the wife of a playwright as their marriage disintegrates and she begins an affair during the production of a film adaptation of Homers Odyssey.

That same year, Bardot released her debut album, Brigitte Bardot Sings, featuring covers of songs by various French musicians, including Serge Gainsbourg. The pair had first met in 1959, when Gainsbourg had a small role in her 1959 film Voulez-vous danser avec moi? (Come Dance With Me) but reunited in 1967 and became lovers. After a disappointing date, she challenged him to write for her as penance the most beautiful love song he could imagine. In response, that night he composed Bonnie and Clyde and Je taime... moi non plus for her.

They recorded both songs together, releasing the former on his 1968 album Initials B.B., but the latter proved problematic as it included the pair indulging in what the recording engineer described as heavy petting. At the time, Bardot was married to the millionaire Gunter Sachs, who furiously demanded that the song not be released. Gainsbourg acquiesced and re-recorded it with Jane Birkin, while the original Bardot version was eventually released years later.

Bardot delivered her most acclaimed performance in Jean-Luc Godards Contempt (1963)

In 1973, Bardot reunited with her first husband Vadim to star in his film Don Juan ou Si Don Juan etait une femme (Don Juan, or If Don Juan Were a Woman) and gave her final screen performance in the comedy Lhistoire tres bonne et tres joyeuse de Colinot Trousse-Chemise (The Edifying and Joyous Story of Colinot). She subsequently announced her retirement from both film and music, aged 39, saying she wanted a way to get out elegantly.

She moved to Saint-Tropez, the glamorous Riviera town she had helped put on the map years earlier when it provided the setting for And God Created Woman. She lived there largely as a recluse, devoting herself to animal activism and establishing her own charity in 1986.

In 1992, she married her fourth and final husband, Bernard dOrmale, an adviser to the ultra-right-wing National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen. In her later years, she became prone to causing offence with her public remarks. In a 2004 book, she referred to gay people as fairground freaks, complained about the scandal of unemployment benefits, and claimed that France was being infiltrated by sheep-slaughtering Muslims.

Bardot with her fourth husband Bernard dOrmale at her foundation for animals in Saint Aubin, in 1997 (PA)

Between 1997 and 2008, she was hauled into court five times on charges of inciting racial hatred, and was fined 15,000 for saying: I am fed up with being under the thumb of this population [the Muslim community] which is destroying us, destroying our country and imposing its acts. In 2019, she was sued by officials from the French island of Reunion after writing in an open letter that its inhabitants were aboriginals who have kept the genes of savages.

She continued to be outspoken until her death. In one of her final interviews, conducted in May 2025 on French television, she disparaged the #MeToo movement, defended Gerard Depardieu against sexual assault allegations, and declared: Feminism isnt my thing. I like guys.

Bardot became an outspoken figure in her later years and was fined for inciting racial hatred (PA)

While some of Bardots views may have been retrograde, her progressive influence on style and culture remains undimmed. She is surely the only person ever to have been mentioned by name in songs by Bob Dylan, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Olivia Rodrigo and Chappell Roan. As a fashion icon, she is credited with popularising everything from striped shirts and gingham dresses to ballet flats and the bikini.

Even now, after her death, she will likely remain a muse and continue to inspire new art. As for her own creative career, she reflected in her 2025 interview that she had no regrets about retiring so young. I had nothing more to say, she explained. I am aware that not everyone liked it. In my life, I was often photographed and filmed. Now I love nature, peace. Many people were angry with me for that.
A person swipes a MetroCard in a New York City subway station on January 13, 2014. - Bilgin S. Sasmaz/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

For more than three decades, lifelong New Yorkers and tourists visiting the Big Apple have shared the experience of a MetroCard swipe gone wrong. Swiping the transit card too fast or too slow, with the stripe facing the wrong side, or having insufficient fare all led to the subsequent, seemingly judgmental thud of the turnstile slamming into you.

Its embarrassing. You feel like youre not an authentic New Yorker if youre not swiping your MetroCard the right way, said Mike Glenwick, 37, who has lived in the city most of his life and has been collecting limited-edition MetroCards since he was six.

Soon after the Metropolitan Transit Authority introduced MetroCards in 1994, the agency created advertisements teaching New Yorkers how to use the cards. - Courtesy New York Transit Museum

Now the days of swiping the blue and yellow plastic cards are numbered. Come January 1, the Metropolitan Transit Authority will no longer sell MetroCards, and riders will be required to use OMNY, a contactless fare payment system. (Existing MetroCards will continue to be accepted at terminals, though MTA said their final acceptance date will be announced at a later time.)

Bidding farewell to the card has been a journey for New Yorkers and the MTA alike.

From tokens to cards

New York City subways iconic tokens were the default form of fare payment before the MetroCard was introduced. When tokens were initially rolled out in 1953, they were about the size of a dime and most had a hollowed-out Y between an engraved N and C, spelling out NYC.

Though clunky to carry around, they were easy to use: all transit passengers had to do was drop the tokens into a turnstile or farebox. For the MTA, it overcame the issue of being able to increase fares without having to redesign fare collection systems to accept various kinds of coins.

But in 1983 Richard Ravitch, then the commissioner of the MTA, began to envision a different fare payment system. Instead, he floated a magnetic stripe card with a stored value.

Riders take advantage of MetroCard transfers as they enter subway system near Staten Island Ferry terminal at Whitehall Street on July 7, 1997. - Jon Naso/NY Daily News Archive/Getty Images

His argument was that New York is a very modern cosmopolitan city and there are other modern cosmopolitan cities that are using this as their fare payment system, said Jodi Shapiro, curator of the FAREwell MetroCard exhibit at the New York Transit Museum. But as his idea gained traction, it quickly became about more than just keeping up with other cities. At one point the MTA considered integrating MetroCards with pay phones so callers didnt have to use coins (that didnt end up happening, though).

The MTA initially thought the shift to MetroCards would spell the death knell for fare evasion since many riders were previously getting away with using various other kinds of coins and tokens, said Noah McClain, a sociology professor who has researched MetroCard technology and fare evasion trends. But that was hardly the case: Fare evasion certainly endured, albeit often in different forms.

A MetroCard vending machine stands at the 14th Street-Union Square subway station in New York, on March 26, 2015. - Craig Warga/Bloomberg/Getty Images

One famous one, swipers, as they came to be known, sold bent MetroCards that allowed riders to fraudulently bypass turnstiles. Separately, a group of hackers was able to successfully reverse engineer many parts of the MetroCard.

But riders saw benefits, too. One of the biggest selling points for the MetroCard was that users could purchase different, more flexible fares. That included discounts for seniors, disabled people and students, as well as cards that offered unlimited rides throughout the month.

Cards also came with a massive perk that tokens didnt: free transfers. One swipe of a MetroCard on a bus or subway meant riders didnt have to pay again if they transferred to another bus or subway train.

A collectors item

But just as New York subway tokens became icons of the city, so did the MetroCard. And that was by design.

MetroCards were made to be collected, Shapiro said. The year the MTA launched the MetroCard, 1994, was also when it released an inaugural limited edition card. Since then there have been around 400 commemorative MetroCards issued. Some of those have featured advertisements, a major source of revenue for the MTA, while others have commemorated historic events, such as Grand Centrals centennial anniversary and the first game between the Yankees and Mets in 1997, a tradition now known as the Subway Series.

The limited-edition David Bowie MetroCards were rolled out to celebrate the opening of a Bowie exhibit inside the Broadway-Lafayette subway station, a collaboration between Spotify and the Brooklyn Museum. - Eduardo MunozAlvarez/VIEWpress/Corbis/Getty Images

Another limited-edition MetroCard celebrated Notorious B.I.G.'s 50th Birthday.. - Lev Radin/Pacific Press/Shutterstock

Other notable cards include the Supreme-branded ones and the David Bowie ones aimed at marketing a museum exhibit timed to the release of cards. New Yorkers reported hours-long lines to purchase these at stations.

Glenwick has nearly 100 MetroCards in his collection, and his first featured members of the New York Rangers after the team won the Stanley Cup in 1994 for the first time in 54 years.

Mike Glenwick began collecting MetroCards when he was six, shortly after the transit cards came out in 1994. - Hazel Tang/CNN

An avid New York sports fan, many of the MetroCards in Glenwick's collection commemorate historic events, such as the first game played between the Yankees and Mets in 1997. - Hazel Tang/CNN

The idea to collect MetroCards immediately clicked for him: It was something that was accessible to collect. I didnt spend extra money because we used the MetroCards anyway, he said.

An art medium

Thomas McKean has lost track of how many MetroCards hes accumulated over the past 25 years. It all started on a subway ride where he forgot to bring a newspaper or a book, something hed typically do before the age of smartphones.

In their absence, to pass the time, he stared at his MetroCard, idly wondering how many words he could wring from its letters. When he got off the subway, he grabbed a fistful of MetroCards lying around on the ground of the station, and once he got home, he started making MetroCards with different words.

Parts of MetroCards used by New York City artist Thomas McKean to create sculptures and mosaics are seen in Manhattan, New York, on January 27, 2023. - Roselle Chen/Reuters

And then without even realizing it, I got hooked because I love the material and aesthetic, McKean told CNN. His designs were initially two-dimensional, using the front and back of MetroCards cut up and pieced together like a mosaic, but eventually he started experimenting with three-dimensional designs, too.

New York City artist Thomas McKean, who creates sculptures and mosaics with MetroCards, cuts a MetroCard on January 27, 2023. - Roselle Chen/Reuters

McKeans art has been featured at home goods store Fishs Eddy in Manhattan, as well as on the cover of a Time Out New York magazine. His art will also be featured at an upcoming exhibit at the Transit Museums Grand Central gallery. Over the years, hes taken on several commissions. To his surprise, many of those customers arent based in New York and yet they exhibit the same admiration for the MetroCard as lifelong New Yorkers.

McKean said he has several thousand untouched MetroCards left in his reserves in addition to all the scraps from prior projects. I never throw anything away until its just too small to use.

A tap-and-go future

The transit system going forward, OMNY, short for One Metro New York, replaces swipes with taps at turnstiles via smartphones or smartwatches with mobile wallets, credit cards or OMNY cards.

For now, riders can still use cash to purchase OMNY cards for $1 at vending machines at subways and at retailers across the city. But many feel as though its a matter of time before the MTA stops accepting cash, like many retailers have, which has essentially excluded people who are unbanked and lack a credit or debit card. (The MTA didnt respond to CNNs request for comment.)

Monitors for the new Metropolitan Transportation (MTA) contactless fare payment system, known as the One Metro New York (OMNY), are seen on turnstiles at a subway station in New York. - Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock

While theres no doubt the MetroCard will remain an iconic New York City symbol, tap-and-go fare payment has been a game changer for everyday riders and visitors, saving them the guessing game on what fare package is most cost efficient for their travels and making using NYCs transit system much easier, MTA chief customer officer Shanifah Rieara said in a statement in March, when the phaseout of the MetroCard was announced.

At the time, the MTA said the change will save the agency $20 million annually in costs related to MetroCard production and distribution; vending machine repairs; and cash collection and handling.

But for all the benefits that the MTA has advertised OMNY contains, including unlimited rides after your 12th of the week, Glenwick is not ready to make the transition.

I feel like part of my childhood is disappearing I dont want to let it go until I have to.

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Palestinians try to recover their tent after overnight rainfall flooded their beachside tent camp in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammad Jahjouh)

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP)  Winter rain lashed the Gaza Strip over the weekend, flooding camps with ankle-deep puddles as Palestinians displaced by two years of war attempted to stay dry in tents frayed by months of use.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled for an expected meeting on Monday with U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida about the second phase of the ceasefire. The first phase that took effect on Oct. 10 was meant to bring a surge in humanitarian aid for Gaza, including shelter.

Netanyahu made no public statement as he departed.

Nowhere to escape

In the southern city of Khan Younis, blankets were soaked and clay ovens meant for cooking were swamped. Children wearing flip-flops waded through puddles. Some people used shovels or tin cans to remove water from tents. Others clawed at the ground to pry collapsed shelters from the mud.

Puddles formed, and there was a bad smell, said Majdoleen Tarabein, displaced from Rafah in southern Gaza. The tent flew away. We dont know what to do or where to go.

She and family members tried to wring muddy blankets dry by hand.

When we woke up in the morning, we found that the water had entered the tent, said Eman Abu Riziq, also displaced in Khan Younis. These are the mattresses. They are all completely soaked.

She said her family is still reeling from her husbands death less than two weeks ago.

Where are the mediators? We dont want food. We dont want anything. We are exhausted. We just want mattresses and covers, said Fatima Abu Omar as she tried to prop up a collapsing shelter.

At least 12 people, including a 2-week-old infant, have died since Dec. 13 from hypothermia or weather-related collapses of war-damaged homes, according to Gazas Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-run government.

Emergency workers have warned people not to stay in damaged buildings, because they could collapse. But with much of the territory in rubble, there are few places to escape the rain. In July, the United Nations estimated that almost 80% of buildings in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged.

Since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began, 414 people have been killed and 1,142 wounded in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry. The overall Palestinian death toll from the war is at least 71,266. The ministry, which does not distinguish between militants and civilians in its count, is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by the international community.

The Israel-Hamas war began with the Hamas-led attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 that killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage,

Aid groups call for more help

Humanitarian deliveries into Gaza are falling far short of the amount called for under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire, according to aid organizations and an Associated Press analysis of the Israeli militarys figures.

The Israeli military body in charge of humanitarian aid said in the past week that 4,200 trucks with aid entered Gaza, plus eight garbage trucks to assist with sanitation, as well as tents and winter clothing. It refused to elaborate on the number of tents. Aid groups have said the need far outstrips the number that have entered.

Since the ceasefire began, around 72,000 tents and 403,000 tarps have entered, according to Shelter Cluster, an international coalition of aid providers led by the Norwegian Refugee Council.

People in Gaza are surviving in flimsy, waterlogged tents and among ruins," Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the top U.N. group overseeing aid in Gaza, wrote on social media. There is nothing inevitable about this. Aid supplies are not being allowed in at the scale required.

Ceasefire's next phase

Though the ceasefire agreement has mostly held, its progress has slowed.

Israel has said it refuses to move to the next phase while the remains of the final hostage are still in Gaza. Hamas has said the destruction in Gaza has hampered efforts to find remains.

Challenges in the next phase include the deployment of an international stabilization force, a technocratic governing body for Gaza, the disarmament of the Hamas militant group and further Israeli troop withdrawals from the territory.

Both Israel and Hamas have accused each other of truce violations.

___

Sally Abou AlJoud reported from Beirut. Melanie Lidman contributed to this report from Tel Aviv, Israel.

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A previous version of this story was corrected to say that the ceasefire came into effect on Oct. 10, not Oct. 11.

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Find more of APs Israel-Hamas coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
The United States-Mexico border is seen in Hereford, Ariz., March 16, 2024. Photo: Cameron Arcand / The Center Square

(The Center Square)  In President Donald Trumps first year in office, illegal border crossings in Arizona plummeted to record lows.

They represent roughly a 92% drop from illegal entries and a record number of gotaways reported in Arizona during the Biden administration.

Under the Trump administration, illegal entries in Arizona this year were 66% less than the total number of gotaways that Border Patrol agents reported in Arizona during the Biden years, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data and gotaway data exclusively obtained by The Center Square.

In fiscal 2025, 65,813 illegal border crossers were apprehended in Arizona, excluding gotaways, according to CBP data. The fiscal year goes from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.

By comparison, more than 775,000 illegal border crossers were reported in fiscal 2023, including nearly 577,000 reported by CBP and nearly 200,000 gotaways that Border Patrol agents reported and exclusively obtained by The Center Square at the time.

Fiscal 2025 apprehensions represent a fraction of those apprehended in previous years, including 564,215 in fiscal 2024, 576,901 in fiscal 2023 and 571,720 in fiscal 2022, according to CBP data.

These totals exclude gotaways, the official CBP term for those who illegally enter between ports of entry to evade capture, dont file immigration claims and dont return to Mexico. CBP doesnt publicly report this data. The Center Square obtained gotaway data from Border Patrol agents, reporting it each month. At least two million gotaways were reported during the Biden administration nationwide, The Center Square exclusively reported.

Many gotaways are known to have criminal records. Some are on the terrorist watchlist and many have previously been deported, law enforcement officers told The Center Square.

Arizona and Texas CBP sectors were among the hardest hit during the Biden administration, each reporting unprecedented numbers.

Arizonas 378 miles of shared border with Mexico are divided into two CBP sectors: Tucson and Yuma. Tucson Sectors 262-border miles extend from the Yuma County line to the Arizona-New Mexico state line. Yuma Sectors nearly 182,000 square miles of primarily desert terrain extends from Imperial Sand Dunes in California to the Yuma-Pima County line.

For the majority of 2022 and 2023, three of Yuma Sectors interior checkpoints were down, Deputy Chief Border Patrol Agent Dustin Caudle told Congress, expressing concerns about gotaways, The Center Square reported. The checkpoints are critical for interdicting gotaways but because agents were pulled from the field to process illegal border crossers into the U.S., the checkpoints were closed, leaving the border wide open and unmanned, he said.

In 2023, the Tucson Sector reported the third-highest number of illegal entries along the southwest border, behind the top two sectors of El Paso and Del Rio in Texas. Border Patrol agents apprehended 373,625 people and reported at least 185,866 gotaways  nearly half as many as who were apprehended, or 49%, The Center Square reported.

Tucson Sector Border Patrol Chief John Modlin testified before Congress that the majority of gotaways were single military age men working for transnational criminal human and drug smuggling organizations, The Center Square reported.

Modlin described the tactics they used to pull agents from patrolling the border and interdicting illegal crossers, called task saturation. It refers to when smuggling organizations split large groups of migrants into many smaller groups [and direct them] to illegally cross the border all at once at different locations, effectively saturating the area with migrants and exhausting our response capability. This overwhelms Border Patrol agents response, enabling illicit contraband and criminal gotaways to move through another area of the border without getting caught, he explained.

By 2024, the situation in the Tucson Sector reported more apprehensions than other southwest border sectors, The Center Square reported.

That changed this year after Trump implemented a series of border security policies that resulted in record low illegal crossings at the southwest border, The Center Square reported.

Under Trumps direction, Arizona Border Patrol agents are now in the field, assisted by the National Guard and Coast Guard members. Theyre no longer releasing illegal border crossers into the interior but processing them for expedited removal. The Department of Homeland Security is expanding smart wall construction and the Department of War is expanding border barrier infrastructure in Arizona. DOW, DHS, CBP and Border Patrol recruitment also reached record highs this year, including in Arizona, The Center Square reported.
iran

Irans president declared they were in a total war with the US, Israel and Europe, just as Tehran looks to rebuild its nuclear capabilities and strengthen ties with Hamas.

Masoud Pezeshkian made the bold statement in an interview published in state media Saturday, Barrons reported.

In my opinion, we are at total war with the United States, Israel and Europe. They want to bring our country to its knees, Pezeshkian said.

President Masoud Pezeshkian stated he considers Iran to be at war with Europe, Israel and the US. Getty Images

This war is worse than the one launched against us by Iraq. On closer inspection, it is far more complex and difficult, he said, in reference to the 1980-88 war with Irans western neighbor.

The claims come amid UN sanctions on Iran  orchestrated by France, Britain and Germany  due to the regimes continued pursuit of nuclear weapons.

It also follows the 12-Day War with Israel in June, when the Jewish state obliterated much of the Islamic Republics nuclear capabilities  with the assistance of devastating US airstrikes.

As tensions between the Middle Eastern rivals ramps up, a Tehran-backed candidate is also likely to win a major election to a leading role with Hamas.

Khalil al-Hayya, a Palestinian politician, is expected to beat out Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal in an election for head of the groups political bureau, which could be decided in the coming days, sources told Saudi Arabian outlet Asharq reported.

Hamas is set to elect a new leader who has close ties to Iran, according to reports. AFP via Getty Images

al-Hayya is considered to be close to Iran, according to those same sources who told the outlet he would have a clearly adversarial stance toward Israel  as a tenuous Gaza peace deal hangs in the balance.

The election is held among Hamas general Shura council, composed of 50 members. It was originally scheduled for earlier this year, but the terror group ruled out holding the vote until the war completely ends, sources told Asharq.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is planning to travel to Mar-a-Lago Monday where he is expected to pitch President Trump on a plan to launch new strikes against Tehran.

Israeli sources claim that the Islamic Republic is repairing its air defense systems and rebuilding its ballistic missile program, both of which were destroyed by airstrikes during the war, according to an NBC report.

White House aides suggested President Trump believes Israel is sabotaging the peace deal in Gaza, according to Axios. Ron Sachs/CNP / SplashNews.com

The Florida powwow also is believed to be crucial to the Gaza deal, with top White House aides believing Netanyahu is sabotaging the peace framework, Axios reported.

Its felt for some time like the Israelis have buyers remorse, an anonymous White House official told the outlet. Implementing the Gaza deal is hard enough, but the Israelis sometimes do things that make it even harder.

Netanyahu remains skeptical of the plan to demilitarize Gaza, anonymous Israeli officials told Axios.

The meeting with Netanyahu will be the fifth since the start of Trumps second term in the White House.
This is a locator map for Iran with its capital, Tehran. (AP Photo) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

TEHRAN, Iran (AP)  Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Saturday his country is in a full-scale war with the U.S., Israel and Europe ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu s meeting Monday with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Pezeshkian said in an interview published on the website of the countrys Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday that the war is worse than Iran's deadly war with Iraq in the 1980s.

We are in a full-scale war with the U.S., Israel and Europe; they dont want our country to remain stable, he said.

Pezeshkian said the West's war against Iran is more complicated and more difficult compared to the 1980-1988 war with Iraq that left more than 1 million casualties on both sides.

The remarks came two days before a planned meeting between Trump and Netanyahu during Netanyahu's visit to the U.S. Iran is expected to be a key topic in the talks.

Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran that came during a 12-day air war in June killed nearly 1,100 Iranians including senior military commanders and nuclear scientists. Retaliatory missile barrages by Iran killed 28 in Israel.
Irans president has claimed that his country is in an all-out war with the West, days before Donald Trump meets with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Masoud Pezeshkian said that the full-scale war with the US, Israel and Europe was worse than Irans war with Iraq in the 1980s, in which hundreds of thousands of people died.

We are in a full-scale war with the US, Israel and Europe; they do not want our country to stand on its feet, he said in the interview published on the website of the countrys supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Saturday.

Mr Pezeshkian said the Wests war against Iran is more complicated and more difficult compared to the 1980-88 war with Iraq that left more than 1 million casualties on both sides.

Pezeshkian spoke in an interview published on the Ayatollahs website (via Reuters)

In the war with Iraq, the situation was clear: they fired missiles, and I also knew where to hit, he explained. Here, they are besieging us from every aspect, they are putting us in difficulty and constraint, creating problems  in terms of livelihood, culturally, politically, and security-wise  while raising societys expectations.

On one side, they block our sales, our exchanges, our trade, and on the other side, expectations in society have risen! Consequently, we must all help with all our might to fix the country.

The remarks came just two days before a planned meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Netanyahu during the Israeli leaders visit to the US.

Iran is expected to be a key topic in the talks after Israel and the US came together during a 12-day air war in June, which killed nearly 1,100 Iranians, among them senior military commanders and nuclear scientists. Retaliatory missile barrages by Iran killed 28 in Israel.

Israeli air defence systems are activated to intercept Iranian missiles over Tel Aviv in June (AFP/Getty)

Mr Netanyahu is expected to brief Mr Trump on possible new Iran strikes during his visit, according to NBC, as Israel remains concerned that Iran is expanding production of its ballistic missile program.

On top of the Iranian presidents war declaration, the Ayatollah shared a statement for the 2025 annual meeting of the Union of Islamic Student Associations in Europe on his website, where he said that Iran had overcome a heavy assault by the US army.

He said: The heavy assault by the US army and its disgraceful extension in this region was overcome by the initiative, courage, and sacrifice of the young people of Islamic Iran.
People line up to vote at a polling station during the first phase of Myanmar's general election in Yangon on December 28, 2025. - Lilian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty Images

Voters queued at polling stations in Myanmar on Sunday to vote in a controversial election the military junta says will return democratic rule, nearly five years after it seized power from an elected government, unleashing a brutal civil war it has yet to win.

The countrys most popular politician Aung San Suu Kyi is languishing in prison and its most successful political party has been dissolved. The ballot is dominated by parties perceived to be close to the military and hundreds have been arrested under a new law criminalizing obstruction, disruption and criticism of the poll.

And there are whole swaths of the country where voting will not take place, as the junta continues to battle a patchwork of ethnic rebels and pro-democracy fighters in the hilly borderlands and arid central plains.

A year ago, those groups inflicted a series of defeats on the military  with many opponents briefly dreaming the generals might be toppled, ending their decades-long dominance of the countrys politics and economy.

But this year junta troops  reinforced by tens of thousands of men drafted under a new conscription law and backed by new Chinese weaponry  have clawed back territory.

That, analysts say, has provided an opening for the junta to hold the vote, with generals hoping a new parliament, in which a quarter of seats will be reserved for the military, will convince some in the international community to re-engage with Myanmar after years in a post-coup wilderness.

People vote in downtown Yangon during the first round of the general election in Yangon, Myanmar on December 28, 2025 - Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images

I was more excited to vote in the previous elections because we had the freedom to choose then, Su, an accountant CNN is identifying by her first name, said.

This time, even casting a protest vote has become impossible.

In previous elections, Su said, she could leave her ballot empty. But this time, she said, the electronic vote-counting machines were only accepting ballots marked with a vote for a party  all of which have been approved by the junta-stacked election commission.

The election for the military is first and foremost an opportunity to correct what it saw as an unacceptable result five years ago, when its opponent, the National League for Democracy, won a landslide second term, Richard Horsey, Myanmar adviser for International Crisis Group, told CNN.

What is really important is that countries dont give unwarranted backing or legitimacy to these elections, he added. They have to be seen for what they are, a cynical exercise to perpetuate military power.

In Myanmars commercial hub Yangon, national flags lined the main highway into town and electronic billboards broadcast state media coverage of the vote, set to be held in three stages into January, with the first day of voting on Sunday.

The juntas leadership has made clear which way it thinks citizens should vote.

Sen. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who led the 2021 coup, called on voters to select candidates who can cooperate sincerely with the Tatmadaw, state-run media reported, using the Burmese word for the military.

In an interview with the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar, the junta leader said those who chose not to vote do not fully understand the democratic system.

In some parties or in some areas, there may be little or no choice; in other areas, there may be many choices. Vote for the person you prefer  that is enough, he added.

A new democracy or a sham?

The atmosphere has been markedly more muted than previous elections in the last decade, during Myanmars experiment with a more open democracy. Absent from the billboards and the state media coverage is Suu Kyi, for decades the figurehead of Myanmars struggle for democracy.

Detained since the coup, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who turned 80 this year, is currently serving a 27-year jail sentence after being convicted in a junta court on a litany of charges that critics say were designed to remove her from politics.

The brand of non-violent resistance that once made Suu Kyis name has been all but forgotten since the coup as civil war rages.

Meanwhile, the military has been relentless in its attacks on opponents.

UN investigators and rights groups have gathered evidence of systemic human rights abuses by the military against both combatants and civilians since the coup.

Things are bad. Conditions have actually significantly worsened, Tom Andrews, UN special rapporteur on Myanmar, told CNN.

Humanitarian crisis in Myanmar has significantly deteriorated, he said, adding that the military junta has blocked access to aid with health facilities coming under attack.

The military has been documented going on bloody rampages, torching and bombing villages, massacring residents, jailing opponents and forcing young men and women to join the army.

Myanmars junta has repeatedly denied committing atrocities and says it is targeting terrorists.

Members of the ethnic minority armed group Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) during clashes with Myanmar's military in Kyaukme in Myanmar's northern Shan state, on July 3, 2024 - Stringer/AFP/Getty Images

Critics also question how fair an election can be when those who oppose the military face severe consequences.

You cannot have a free and fair election when you arrest, detain, torture and execute the political opposition, when it is illegal to criticize the military and criticize these elections, Andrews said, calling the polls nothing short of a fraud.

The junta argues the election objectives are a genuine, disciplined multiparty democratic system and the building of a union based on democracy and federalism.

And it has brushed off international criticism of the polls.

The election is being conducted for the people of Myanmar, not for the international community, junta spokesperson Zaw Min Tun said on December 14, Reuters reported.

Whether the international community is satisfied or not, is irrelevant.

The coup that sparked a civil war

The military seized power in February 2021, alleging massive fraud in elections won by Suu Kyis National League for Democracy (NLD). International observers at the time said the poll was largely free and fair.

A brutal crackdown on peaceful protests sent thousands of mostly young people into territory held by ethnic rebel groups in the jungles and hills of Myanmars borderlands.

There they formed Peoples Defense Forces dedicated to overthrowing the coup.

Supporters hold blue balloons as they attend an election campaign event by Thet Thet Khine, chairperson of the People's Pioneer Party (PPP), in Yangon on December 25, 2025. - Sai Aung Main/AFP/Getty Images

Armed with limited and at times homemade weaponry, they initially surprised their opponents with their effectiveness, dragging the military into a bloody stalemate.

Nearly five years of conflict have since ravaged Myanmar, wedged between China and India, decimating what was for a time one of the regions fastest-growing economies.

More than 3 million people have been forced to flee their homes, according to the UN. Tens of thousands of young men have fled abroad or to rebel-held areas to avoid conscription into the military.

Crime and vice have thrived in the chaos. Myanmar is now the worlds biggest producer of methamphetamine and illicit opium, according to the United Nations.

And, in territory controlled by the myriad armed groups, newer criminal enterprises have flourished: scam compounds, where thousands of trafficked workers defraud people worldwide out of billions.

A huge earthquake in March amplified the misery of many, causing widespread disruption and deepening an already grim aid crisis.

China and Russia backers

The United States and most Western countries have never recognized the junta as the legitimate government of Myanmar, and the election has been denounced by several governments in the region  including Japan and Malaysia.

Russia and China have long been two of Myanmars biggest backers and have both spoken favorably of the elections. Thailand and India have pushed for more engagement with Myanmars generals to end the crisis on their borders.

China has leveraged its economic might to pressure rebel groups that hold territory along its border, closing the land crossings through which trade and people flow.

Meanwhile Beijings envoys have brokered the return of territory captured by rebel groups to junta control, including the gemstone and ruby mining hub of Mogok.

Voting will be held in three phases, with the second on January 11 and the third on January 25. It is not clear when a result will be announced.

In the run-up to the vote, United Nations rights monitors said Myanmar had witnessed intensified violence, repression and intimidation with civilians being threatened by both the military authorities and armed groups opposing them.

There are no conditions for the exercise of the rights of freedom of expression, association or peaceful assembly that allow for the free and meaningful participation of the people, UN human rights chief Volker Turk said.

The composition of any new administration will be interesting for observers up to a point, independent Myanmar analyst David Mathieson told CNN. But the military is incapable of anything but cosmetic change that will not threaten their core interests of central control.

This election is different

Many Myanmar citizens say they see little point in voting.

Ko Win, who CNN is not identifying by his full name, said he had voted in the 2015 and 2020 elections, which the NLD won comfortably.

This election is different from the previous ones, but I dont want to say why, he told CNN after casting his vote in downtown Yangon. I hope this election will be a way out of this very difficult situation.

A man shows his ink-marked finger after voting at Kyauktada Township Polling Station No. 1, on the day of the general elections in Kyauktada, Myanmar on December 28, 2025. - Stringer/Reuters

Many other voters declined to speak to CNN, or voiced little hope.

As a civilian in the conflict area, I dont see a point in having this election, Maw, a 25-year-old teacher who asked not to use her full name, said from a displaced persons camp in Kayah state, one of the hotbeds of resistance to military rule.

This election will be unfair  ultimately a sham election.

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CAUCAGUA, Venezuela (AP)  Hundreds of people in northern Venezuela took to the streets for the annual Bandos and Parrandas of the Holy Innocents of Caucagua, a celebration rooted in Afro-descendant cacao-growing communities.

Marked on Dec. 28 alongside the Catholic Feast of the Holy Innocents, the festivity dates back more than 200 years, when enslaved people were given the day off and turned it into a moment of satire and resistance. Today, participants preserve that rebellious spirit by wearing costumes inspired by plantation owners and using humor, riddles and parody to poke fun at authority.

___

This gallery was curated by AP photo editors.

AP photography: https://apnews.com/photography

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apnews
In this photo released by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow, left, shakes hands with Wang Yi, Chinese Foreign Minister, in Yunnan Province, China, Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. (Thai MFA via AP)

BEIJING (AP)  Top diplomats from Thailand and Cambodia kicked off two days of talks in China on Sunday as Beijing seeks to strengthen its role in mediating the two countries border dispute, a day after they signed a new ceasefire.

The ceasefire agreement calls for a halt to weeks of fighting along their contested border that has killed more than 100 people and displaced over half a million in both countries.

Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow and Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn were set to meet in Chinas southwestern Yunnan province for talks mediated by their Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.

China has sought to position itself as a mediator in the crisis, along with the United States and Malaysia.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed to a July ceasefire, suggested Sunday that the fighting between Thailand and Cambodia will stop momentarily and boasted that the U.S. has become the REAL United Nations.

In a post on his social media site from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where hes been spending the winter holidays, Trump wrote that both sides will go back to living in PEACE and referenced his past comments about helping to broker a ceasefire that largely hasnt held.

I want to congratulate both great leaders on their brilliance in coming to this rapid and very fair conclusion. It was FAST & DECISIVE, as all of these situations should be! Trump wrote.

The talks in China aim to ensure a sustained ceasefire and promote lasting peace between the countries, according to a statement by Sihasaks office.

Wang was scheduled to join both bilateral meetings with each of the diplomats and a trilateral talk on Monday.

China has welcomed the ceasefire announcement, which freezes the front lines and allows for displaced civilians to return to their homes near the border.

China stands ready to continue to provide (the) platform and create conditions for Cambodia and Thailand to have fuller and more detailed communication, a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement read.

The ceasefire agreement comes with a 72-hour observation period, at the end of which Thailand agreed to repatriate 18 Cambodian soldiers it has held as prisoners since earlier fighting in July. Their release has been a major demand of the Cambodian side.

Prak Sokhonn, in a statement after his meeting with Wang, expressed deep appreciation for Chinas vital role in supporting the ceasefire.

China also announced 20 million yuan ($2.8 million) of emergency humanitarian aid for Cambodia to assist the displaced.

The first batch of Chinese aid, including food, tents and blankets, arrived in Cambodia on Sunday, Wang Wenbin, Chinese ambassador to Cambodia, wrote on Facebook.

Sihasak said Sunday he hoped the meetings would convey to China that it should both support a sustainable ceasefire and send a signal to Cambodia against reviving the conflict or attempting to create further ones.

Thailand does not see China merely as a mediator in our conflict with Cambodia but wants China to play a constructive role in ensuring a sustainable ceasefire by sending such signals to Cambodia as well, he said.

___

Associated Press writer Will Weissert in West Palm Beach, Florida, contributed to this report.
An Arizona Army National Guard soldier and a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent inspect a vehicle at the Dennis DeConcini Port of Entry in Nogales, Ariz., on April 29, 2025. Photo: Staff Sgt. Amber Peck / U.S. Army National Guard via DVIDS / Public Domain

(The Center Square)  The Trump administration this year began revamping immigration processes administered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), including what it says is the rooting out of waste, fraud and abuse in a range of programs and strengthening the citizenship process.

The goal is to restore integrity to the immigration system, ensuring only individuals who love America, align with our culture, and share our values, are welcomed into the country, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.

Enforcing immigration law

The administration reversed a Biden-era policy enabling USCIS officers to enforce immigration law. This includes identifying those in violation of federal laws and issuing Notices to Appear before a federal immigration judge. Since Jan. 20, USCIS has issued 196,600 NTAs, DHS says.

Also since Jan. 20, USCIS officers made more than 29,000 immigration fraud referrals nationwide to its Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate. The FDNSD investigated more than 19,300 of them, identifying fraud in 65% of the cases.

USCIS also launched targeted operations, including the largest enforcement operation in agency history in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region. Through Operation Twin Shield, USCIS uncovered what it says was blatant marriage fraud, visa overstays, people claiming to work in businesses that can't be found, forged documents, abuse of the H1B visa system, abuse of the F1 visas, and many other discrepancies. In more than 50% of the cases, investigators found non-compliance or public safety and national security concerns.

USCIS helped arrest more than 2,400 illegal foreign nationals and referred more than 14,400 to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement since President Donald Trump's first day in office. They were flagged for public safety, national security, and fraud concerns, including 182 aliens who were confirmed or suspected to be national security risks, DHS said.

Terminating parole, TPS and asylum

USCIS terminated the Biden administrations broad abuse of humanitarian parole authority, including ending nearly all parole programs identified as illegal by Congress when impeaching the former Secretary of Homeland Security, The Center Square exclusively reported. This included terminating a so-called family reunification program  Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan (CHNV)  and other country-specific programs.

The CHNV parole program ushered in more than three million people in three years deemed inadmissible under federal immigration law, The Center Square reported. They totaled more than the individual populations of 17 states.

That was in addition to another 2.5 million paroled through a similar program for citizens of Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, The Center Square reported. They totaled more than the individual populations of 15 states.

The Trump administration also ended Temporary Protected Status for citizens of Afghanistan, Burma, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, South Sudan, Syria and Venezuela. It issued notices for them to self-deport and warned that those who didnt would be apprehended and deported.

USCIS also terminated all asylum processing for all foreign nationals after an Afghan national released into the country by the Biden administration shot two National Guard soldiers, killing one, before Thanksgiving. It is also holding all immigration applications, including a full-scale reexamination of every Green Card holder, made by citizens from 19 high-risk countries, The Center Square reported.

Imcreased vetting, verification, worker permits, citizenship requirements

USCIS also changed processes to better identify waste, fraud and abuse in immigration and other federal programs this year.

USCIS issued new guidance closing loopholes and permanently barring those who make false claims on their citizenship application. It also issued a new directive prohibiting applicants from entry and/or receiving federal benefits whove been involved in anti-American or terrorist organizations  including those who support or promote antisemitic terrorism, antisemitic terrorist organizations, and antisemitic ideologies.

USCIS also issued a new 2025 Naturalization Civics Test, expanding the number of questions and increasing the passing score.

USCIS overhauled its Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database and began sharing information with states to verify citizenship information for benefits programs and voter registration. The previous administration didn't do so, prompting lawsuits by Texas and other states, The Center Square reported.

A new rule was proposed to amend the Public Charge rule to prohibit illegal foreign nationals from receiving federal benefits. Texas first sued over the policy in 2021 and Texas U.S. senators proposed a law to make federal benefit fraud a deportable offense.

USCIS halted automatic extensions of employment authorizations and reduced the maximum validity period for certain employment authorization documents from 5 years to 18 months to ensure more frequent vetting and screening of aliens.

USCIS is also working with ICE to uncover labor law violations. Recent cases in Nebraska and North Carolina involved American companies hiring illegal foreign nationals using fraudulent documentation, committing identity theft against Americans nationwide.
A trip to President Donald Trump's Florida resort by Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy failed to cement a peace plan for his war-torn nation as Trump said progress was made but "very thorny" question remain unresolved.

Trump and Zelenskyy said the vast majority of a peace deal had been finalized after a day of intense negotiations that included an extensive phone conversation between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

An agreement "is very close," Trump said, but he later acknowledged that negotiations had been difficult and might not produce results. "Its possible it doesnt happen," he added.

Trump and Zelenskyy work on Ukraine peace plan at Mar-a-Lago Staff and security agents wait for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's arrival to meet U.S. President Donald Trump at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla. on Dec. 28, 2025.

Among the toughest questions are territorial concessions, or as Trump described it, "the land." Ukrainian leaders have resisted ceding land to Russia, but Trump said their position could weaken.

"Some of that land may be up for grabs," Trump said. "But it may be taken over the next period of a number of months, and youre better off making a deal now."

Trump spoke with Putin before welcoming Zelenskyy at Mar-a-Lago

Zelenskyy emphasized areas of agreement between U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators in a 20-point peace plan that has emerged out of negotiations, reiterating his comments leading up to the meeting that they are aligned on 90% of the deal.

But he noted that the question of how to handle contested territory is a "very difficult question."

"We have to respect our law and our people," Zelenskyy said. "We respect the territory which we control."

One potential compromise on disputed areas, in the form of a demilitarized free trade zone, remains "unresolved," Trump said.

Though Trump and Zelenskyy projected optimism that a deal could be reached, it was not clear whether Putin would accept any peace plan that emerges. Putin said in a news conference Dec. 19 that Russia's terms for ending the war havent changed, and he did not show any signs of being willing to compromise.

Trump spoke with Putin before welcoming Zelenskyy to Mar-a-Lago, describing the call in a social media post as "very productive." The president said he planned to call Putin again after his talk with Zelenskyy.

See life in Ukraine after more than three years of war with Russia Windows have been broken in an apartment inside a residential building badly damaged during Russian missiles and drones strikes, on Nov. 25, 2025, in Kyiv, Ukraine. A Russian missile and drone strike hit Kyiv overnight, causing civilian casualties. According to Kyiv authorities, at least 6 people died and 13 others, including one child, have been injured. The attack also led to widespread power outages in several parts of the city due to emergency measures taken by Ukraine's national energy provider, Ukrenergo. Emergency services have rescued 18 people from the rubble. In the morning, another missile strike using Kinzhal and Iskander systems was reported.

Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said after the call between Trump and Putin that the two leaders do not support a push by Ukrainian and European officials for a temporary ceasefire ahead of a final deal. Trump earlier in the day brushed off a question about whether Russia's continued bombardment of Ukraine raised doubts about whether Putin is serious about peace.

"He's very serious," Trump said.

Trump is trying to cement an agreement to end nearly four years of fighting after Russia invaded Ukraine and kicked off the largest conflict in Europe since World War II. The 20-point peace plan negotiators are trying to finalize includes security guarantees to protect Ukraine from further attacks, allows the country to keep an 800,000-troop military, provides help for rebuilding the nation's economy, and crafts a plan for membership in the European Union.

Security guarantees are the most important aspect of the potential deal, Zelenskyy said in a Dec. 27 social media post. Asked about the provision the next day before negotiations began, Trump said that "nobody even knows what the security agreement is going to say."

"There will be a security agreement," he added. "A very strong agreement. The European nations are very much involved in that."

The 20-point proposal

Trump's latest meeting with Zelenskyy comes after a roller-coaster year of negotiations to end the war. The president came into office promising a swift end to the conflict, but a deal has proven elusive, and Trump has lashed out at both sides.

Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Zelenskyy in a televised meeting in February that ended with the Ukrainian leader booted from the White House. He returned in August for discussions that went smoothly. Their latest encounter at Mar-a-Lago was cordial, and Trump described Zelenskyy as "very brave."

Zelenskyy said the leaders discussed a follow-up meeting in January hosted by Trump that would include European officials.

Zelenskyys second trip to the White House came after Trump rolled out the red carpet for Putin Aug. 15 for a summit in Alaska. The Putin meeting didnt produce a breakthrough and alarmed European leaders, who then joined Zelenskyy at the White House.

Since then, Trump has applied more pressure on Russia with sanctions on the nations two largest oil companies.

The latest flurry of negotiations began last month. Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner met with Putin in Moscow Dec. 2 and had a phone call with Zelenskyy on Christmas Day.

The Trump administration crafted a 28-point peace plan for Ukraine that drew criticism as being heavily tilted toward Russias interests. Ukrainian officials worked with U.S. negotiators to revise the plan and unveiled a new 20-point proposal Dec. 24.

The question of territorial concessions continues to be a sticking point, though.

A key point of disagreement is eastern Ukraines Donbas region, where Russia has sought full control, including over lands still held by Kyiv. Ukrainian leaders want to halt the conflict at current battle lines, but Zelenskyy has expressed openness to a proposal to withdraw troops in the part of the Donetsk region that Kyiv controls and create a demilitarized, free economic zone.

Leaders in the region also have disagreed over the operation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which Russia controls. The United States proposed a joint operating agreement between Russia, Ukraine and the United States, but Ukraine and Russia each want to exclude the other. Trump said he has discussed the power plant with Putin.

Russian forces gained ground in Ukraine in 2025, steadily seizing territory. The day before Zelenskyy and Trump met, Russia unleashed a barrage of missiles and drones on Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine.

Contributing: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump and Zelenskyy say peace deal is close, but issues remain
U.S. President Donald Trump greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as he arrives for meetings at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., December 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

U.S. President Donald Trump greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as he arrives for meetings at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., December 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

By Andrea Shalal and Gram Slattery

PALM BEACH, Florida, Dec 28 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy were "getting a lot closer, maybe very close" to an agreement to end the war in Ukraine, while acknowledging that the fate of the Donbas region remains a key unresolved issue.

The two leaders spoke at a joint news conference after meeting at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Sunday afternoon. Both leaders reported progress on two of the most contentious issues in peace talks - security guarantees for Ukraine and the division of eastern Ukraines Donbas region that Russia has sought to capture.

Both Trump and Zelenskiy offered few details and did not provide a deadline for completing a peace deal, although Trump said it will be clear "in a few weeks" whether negotiations to end the war will succeed. He said a few "thorny issues" around territory must be resolved.

Zelenskiy said an agreement on security guarantees for Ukraine has been reached. Trump was slightly more cautious, saying that they were 95% of the way to such an agreement, and that he expected European countries to "take over a big part" of that effort with U.S. backing.

French President Emmanuel Macron, in an X post published after Trump met with Zelenskiy, said progress was made on security guarantees. Macron said countries in the so-called "Coalition of the Willing" would meet in Paris in early January to finalise their "concrete contributions."

Zelenskiy has said previously that he hopes to soften a U.S. proposal for Ukrainian forces to withdraw completely from Donbas, a Russian demand that would mean ceding some territory held by Ukrainian forces. While Moscow insists on getting all of Donbas, Kyiv wants the map frozen at current battle lines.

Both Trump and Zelenskiy said on Sunday the future of the Donbas had not been settled, though the U.S. president said discussions are "moving in the right direction." The United States, seeking a compromise, has proposed a free economic zone if Ukraine leaves the area, although it remains unclear how that zone would function in practical terms.

"It's unresolved, but it's getting a lot closer. That's a very tough issue," Trump said.

Nor did the leaders offer much insight into what agreements they had reached on providing security for Ukraine after the war ends, something Zelenskiy described Sunday as "the key milestone in achieving a lasting peace."

Russia has said any foreign troop deployment in Ukraine is unacceptable.

Zelenskiy said any peace agreement would have to be approved by Ukraine's parliament, or by a referendum. Trump said he would be willing to speak to parliament if that would secure the deal.

TRUMP AND PUTIN SPEAK BEFORE ZELENSKIY MEETING

Shortly before Zelenskiy and his delegation arrived at Trump's Florida residence, Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke in a call described as "productive" by the U.S. president and "friendly" by Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov.

Ushakov, in Moscow, said Putin told Trump a 60-day ceasefire proposed by the European Union and Ukraine would prolong the war. The Kremlin aide also said Ukraine needs to make a decision regarding the Donbas "without further delay."

Trump said he and Putin spoke for more than two hours. He said the Russian president pledged to help rebuild Ukraine, including by supplying cheap energy. "Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed," Trump said. "It sounds a little strange."

As Trump praised Putin, Zelenskiy tilted his head and smiled.

Trump said he would call Putin again following the meeting with Zelenskiy.

The Kremlin expressed support for Trump's negotiations.

"The whole world appreciates President Trump and his teams peace efforts," Kirill Dmitriev, Putin's special envoy, posted on X early on Monday after Trumps talks with Zelenskiy.

NUCLEAR PLANT DISCUSSED

U.S. negotiators have also proposed shared control over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Power line repairs have begun there after another local ceasefire brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the agency said on Sunday.

Negotiators, Trump said, have made progress on deciding the fate of the plant, which can "start up almost immediately." The U.S. president said "it's a big step" that Russia had not bombed the facility.

Russia controls all of Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, and since its invasion of Ukraine nearly four years ago has taken control of about 12% of its territory, including about 90% of the Donbas, 75% of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and slivers of the Kharkiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions, according to Russian estimates.

The day before Zelenskiy arrived in Florida to meet with Trump, Russian forces attacked Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine with hundreds of missiles and drones, knocking out power and heat in parts of the Ukrainian capital. Zelenskiy has described the weekend attacks as Russia's response to the U.S.-brokered peace efforts, but Trump on Sunday said he believes Putin and Zelenskiy are serious about peace.

After Saturday's air attacks, Putin said Moscow would continue waging its war if Kyiv did not seek a quick peace. Russia has steadily advanced on the battlefield in recent months, claiming control over several more settlements on Sunday.

European heads of state joined at least part of Sunday's meeting by phone. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on social media site X that "Europe is ready to keep working with Ukraine and our US partners," and added that having ironclad security guarantees will be of "paramount" importance.

A spokesman for U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said European leaders "underlined the importance of robust security guarantees and reaffirmed the urgency of ending this barbaric war as soon as possible.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal in Palm Beach, Florida and Gram Slattery in Washington; Additional reporting by Dan Peleschuk, Yuliia Dysa and Vladyslav Smilianets and Bogdan Kochubey in Kyiv, and Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Sergio Non, William Maclean, Rod Nickel and Diane Craft)
Abby Price

The American entrepreneurial spirit is in full swing in recent years, with applications to start new businesses rising 12.5% each year between 2020 and 2023.

In fact, TD Bank estimates that close 1.7 million new businesses may be formed over the next year. (1) Moreover, Americans are side hustling more than ever before as of 2024, with 36% of us spending our free time making extra cash. (2)

And your success story may be closer than you think.

For a full year, the embroidery machine that would change Abby Prices life sat untouched in the basement of her New York City shop. Price launched her company Abbode in 2019 as a graduate student, selling dried floral arrangements to local buyers on Facebook.

By early 2022, shed expanded into a storefront financed by $20,000 in savings and help from her parents. She was bringing in enough revenue to justify splurging on the $15,000 embroidery machine on a total whim, she told CNBC Make It. (3) But without the skills or space to run it, the machine sat gathering dust.

The turning point came in 2023, when the machine needed servicing. To make hauling it upstairs worthwhile, Price hosted a two-day pop-up offering free embroidery with every purchase. The first day generated five times the previous Saturdays sales.

Price and her business partner, COO Daniel Kwak, leaned in. Abbode shifted its entire model toward personalized embroidered products, both online and through in-store events. By 2024, the company had doubled its revenue to $1.59 million.

As of late 2025, Abbode projects $4 million in annual sales, with roughly a quarter coming from live events and brand collaborations with L.L. Bean, Charlotte Tilbury, and the Ritz-Carlton.

While Prices success may seem like good luck, it takes dedication, sweat and business sense to make it. So what lessons can budding entrepreneurs learn from her story? Read on for what you need to know before starting a business.

Must Read

The real price tag of starting a small business

Prices path mirrors the financial reality of many small business owners: a mix of personal savings, small loans, and calculated risks were in store before profits materialized.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), founders typically face a long list of startup expenses before earning a dollar: rent, equipment, inventory, utilities, insurance, website costs, payroll, and professional fees add up quickly. (4)

Bankrate reports that the average small business spends around $40,000 in its first year, though costs vary widely by industry, size, and location. Most founders use their own money, but about 77% of startups without employees rely on personal funds like savings, credit cards, or cash from friends and family. (5)

The type of business can also impact costs. Brick-and-mortar shops are the most expensive, as designing and outfitting a store averages around $147 per square foot, meaning a modest 500-square-foot space can top $73,000.

While online businesses can be started for a lot less, they still require web design, marketing, and inventory. Service businesses may begin with low upfront costs, but expenses rise if they add staff or office space.

Those numbers help explain why many founders hesitate to make the leap. The risks are real  and the costs can pile up fast. Thats why timing matters.

Read More: This $1B private real estate fund is now accessible to non-millionaires. Heres how you can get started with as little as $10

When to take the leap  and how to protect your finances

Before turning a side hustle into a full-time venture, the SBA recommends calculating your startup costs and estimating your break-even point. This includes gathering real-world numbers for rent, inventory, equipment, taxes, and salaries.

Talking to other owners, comparing vendors, and using tools like break-even calculators can help clarify what you need before launching.

If you're thinking about leaving a full-time job, financial planners often recommend meeting three benchmarks:

Consistent revenue: Your business should cover its own expenses and a meaningful portion of your personal budget for 612 months.

Emergency savings: Keep three to six months of living expenses separate from business funds.

A clear growth path: You should know exactly how extra time will translate into more revenue.

Protection matters, too. That includes choosing the right legal structure, opening a separate business bank account, getting appropriate insurance, and avoiding optional expenses until revenue stabilizes.

For example, Price didnt leap immediately. She tested her concept on Facebook, then in a temporary retail space, then with a two-day embroidery event. Only after demand proved itself did she invest in more machines, staff, and space.

Whether your dream involves embroidery, e-commerce, or something entirely different, the path is similar: start small, run the numbers, confirm demand  then scale intentionally. The leap of faith is easier when youve built the financial runway.

What To Read Next

Join 200,000+ readers and get Moneywises best stories and exclusive interviews first  clear insights curated and delivered weekly. Subscribe now.

Article sources

We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.

TD Bank (1); Bankrate (2); (5); CNBC (3); U.S. Small Busimess Administration (5).

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
Peter Thiel speaks at The Cambridge Union on May 8, 2024. (Nordin CaticGetty Images for The Cambridge Union)

Tech billionaires are making plans to bail on California ahead a possible ballot measure that would tax their assets to help pay for healthcare.

Sources told the New York Times that venture capitalist Peter Thiel has explored spending more time outside California and opening an office for his Los Angeles-based personal investment firm, Thiel Capital, in another state.

Meanwhile, Google cofounder Larry Page has discussed leaving the state by years end, sources told the Times, while three limited liability companies associated with him have filed documents to incorporate in Florida.

The Thiel Foundation and Google parent Alphabet didnt immediately respond to requests for comment. Representatives for Thiel and Page did not respond to the Times.

Tech investor Chamath Palihapitiya has warned on the risk of a wealth tax in California, saying it will eventually bankrupt the state.

The inevitable outcome will be an exodus of the states most talented entrepreneurs who can and will choose to build their companies in less regressive states, he posted on X on Monday. All that will be left behind is the middle class. The tax burden, then, will fall to the middle class because after the richest choose to leave, the middle class are both (a) the only ones left and (b) are the largest source of state income to extract taxes from.

On Friday, he posted in a reply to Sen. Ted Cruz, who urged him to move to Texas, that its under serious consideration.

Backers of the potential wealth tax must still gather enough signatures before it can qualify for the ballot in November 2026.

The proposal calls for California residents worth more than $1 billion to pay a one-time tax equivalent to 5% of their assets. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Page is worth $270 billion and Thiel is worth $27.2 billion.

The healthcare union pushing the measure, the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, estimated the wealth tax could raise $100 billion in revenue and offset federal cuts.

But California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who is also considered a top presidential hopeful, has come out against it.

Companies have already been leaving California for places with lower taxes and less red tape. Elon Musk moved Tesla and SpaceX to Texas.

And while leading AI companies are based in California, new data centers and AI infrastructure are being built outside the state, where land, water and electricity are more available.

New Yorkers aired similar worries about an exodus after democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani was elected the citys mayor last month. But so far, that has yet to materialized as luxury home sales in Manhattan surged in November.

Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, who represents part of Silicon Valley, said tax dollars helped build the AI industry and dismissed the idea that tech entrepreneurs wouldnt start companies in the state due to a 1% tax, adding that innovators are drawn to the areas talent.

We cannot have a nation with extreme concentration of wealth in a few places but where 70 percent of Americans believe the American dream is dead and healthcare, childcare, housing, education is unaffordable, he said on X. What will stifle American innovation, what will make us fall behind China, is if we see further political dysfunction and social unrest, if we fail to cultivate the talent in every American and in every city and town.

Still, he acknowledged lack of accountability and fraud concerns over state tax dollars, saying Sacramento needs anti-corruption measures.

Blake Scholl, founder and CEO Boom Supersonic, pointed to the billions spent by California for a high-speed rail project thats over-budget and behind schedule.

This is morally wrong and ends poorly for everyone, he said about the wealth tax in response to Khanna on X.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
With a simple ceremony held in Seoul Cathedral, the itinerary that saw the symbols entrusted to young people by John Paul II travel through Bangladesh, Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan, East Timor, Thailand, Indonesia and Australia during 2025 came to an end. Sixty young people formed a living rosary, praying for those who suffer from poverty, war, the climate crisis and for their peers who have forgotten the love of Christ.

Seoul (AsiaNews) - During its pilgrimage in Asia, this cross has given many people love and peace, consolation and hope, shining the true light. Now, through the pilgrimage to Seoul, we ask the Lord that the true light of Christ may spread widely in Seoul and throughout the world, so that the love, mercy and consolation of Christ may reach all humanity.

With these words - reported by the Korean Catholic Times - the organising committee of World Youth Day Seoul 2027 gave thanks for the arrival of the World Youth Day Cross and the Marian icon - gifted by St John Paul II to young people - at the Chapel of the Holy Family in Myeongdong Cathedral, on 20 December last. The celebration marked the beginning of the Korean stage of the World Youth Day symbols pilgrimage following their journey across Asia.

During the celebration, 60 participants formed a community rosary, becoming the beads of the rosary themselves, and offered this prayer in remembrance of their brothers and sisters who are suffering in various parts of the world for different reasons. The participants prayed for those who suffer from poverty, war, the climate crisis and ethnic conflicts, and for those who, immersed in the values of the world, have forgotten the love of Christ.

The auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Seoul, Monsignor Job Koo Yo-bi, who presided over the celebration, encouraged the young people by saying, I invite you to contemplate these symbols often and to prepare for World Youth Day in Seoul with the strength that comes from prayer.

There was also a moment of sharing by some Korean volunteers who accompanied the pilgrimage. Agnese, who participated in the stage in Indonesia, said: "From the Indonesian faithful, I learned that WYD is an event where people who live their faith in their daily lives recognise each other and connect with each other. I will pray that this encounter and communion will continue in Seoul in 2027.

Bellina, who was with the cross in Japan, said: In the Mass celebrated together, even with different languages and contexts, we all formed one community in the same faith. The path we walk will not always be easy, but I will cherish the love that God gives us and walk with joy."

The pilgrimage to the Asian Churches began in Bangladesh and continued through Japan, the Philippines, Taiwan, East Timor, Thailand and Indonesia, ending in Australia. To organise the pilgrimage, the Committee coordinated the countries visited and the calendar through the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC), also sending young Koreans to create a network with young Asians.

During the pilgrimage, local young people participated in processions carrying the cross and in moments of Eucharistic adoration, confessions, the Way of the Cross, Taize prayer and Eucharistic celebrations. The opening Mass of the Philippine Youth Meeting, organised in conjunction with the pilgrimage of the WYD symbols, was attended by 55,000 people. In Bangladesh, where Christianity is a minority religion, some 15,000 people took part in the pilgrimage, which took place in an atmosphere of great enthusiasm.

The pilgrimage of the WYD symbols in the Korean Church will begin in January 2026 in the Archdiocese of Seoul, pass through dioceses throughout the country, and conclude in May 2027 in the Diocese of Jeonju.

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28 December 2025 08:30 (UTC+04:00)

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The first half of 2025 has showcased a remarkable milestone in Azerbaijans economic development: Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country reached $405 million, a significant rise from $259 million in 2016. This increase reflects not only Azerbaijans growing appeal as a destination for global capital but also the strength of its economic policies and political stability, which continue to provide a secure environment for investors.

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28 December 2025 01:50 (UTC+04:00)

The Azerbaijan State Pantomime Theater staged a production of Romeo and Juliet, based on the motifs of William Shakespeares world-renowned classical drama.

Leyla Aliyeva, Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, head of the IDEA Public Union, and Alena Aliyeva attended the event.

Through symbolic stage solutions and plastic means of expression, the production portrayed the eternal struggle between Life and Death.

The 55-minute performance was brought to life through the creative vision of Jeyhun Dadashov, who was responsible for both the stage design and musical composition.

The production featured a talented cast, including Honored Artists Bahruz Ahmadli and Sabina Hajiyeva, alongside actors Elnur Ismayilov, Ali Alizada, Nurida Musabeyli, and others.

The performance serves as a testament to the Azerbaijan State Pantomime Theaters ongoing creative mission to rethink classical dramaturgy through a modern, plastic linguistic lens.
28 December 2025 17:37 (UTC+04:00)

Laman Ismayilova Read more

Benelux Azerbaijanis Congress (BAK) has organized a ceremony in Rotterdam, Netherlands, to present two books by its First Vice President, renowned public figure and writer Sima Jafarova, titled "Conversations with My Soul" and "What They Call Life", Azernews reports.

Representatives of the Azerbaijani community living in the Netherlands and Benelux countries, public and political activists, cultural figures, heads of diaspora organizations, as well as literature enthusiasts, attended the event.

BAK Chairman Elsevr Mmmdov opened the ceremony with a welcoming speech, highlighting Sima Jafarova's contributions to diaspora activities, promotion of national and spiritual values, and efforts to introduce Azerbaijani culture in Europe. It was emphasized that the author's work carries not only literary but also social and spiritual significance.

The book "Conversations with My Soul" reflects the author's inner world, human self-reflection, and a poetic-philosophical perspective on life, time, love, and spirituality. "What They Call Life" takes readers on a profound spiritual journey through reflections derived from lived experiences, memories, and human destinies. Guests speaking at the event shared their thoughts on the artistic language, sincerity, and spiritual messages conveyed by both books.

Sima Jafarova expressed her gratitude to BAK for organizing the event and to all the guests in attendance. She spoke about the process of writing the books, the feelings and thoughts that inspired them, and emphasized that these works aim to build a spiritual bridge with readers.

At the end of the event, Honored Artist Khayyam Mammadov and Ilham Babayev, residing in the Netherlands, performed national music on the kamancha.

Within the framework of the event, Mehmet Ali Topcu, a journalist for the Netherlands-based "Manset" newspaper, was awarded a certificate of appreciation by the Benelux Azerbaijanis Congress for his continuous support to the Azerbaijani diaspora, for highlighting diaspora activities through the media, and for promoting the truths about Azerbaijan.
28 December 2025 18:27 (UTC+04:00)

Laman Ismayilova Read more

The VI International Multigenre Festival named after Farid Kazakov has taken place in Istanbul, Turkiye, Azernews reports.

The festival events were organized on the stage of the Uskudar Municipality in Istanbul. The program featured participants from Turkiye and abroad, presenting various directions of choreography and performing arts.

Speaking about the festival, renowned Azerbaijani and Russian dancer Farid Kazakov, stated that holding a project of this scale in Istanbul for the second consecutive year requires great effort, but bringing creative people together and creating a vibrant cultural environment brings special joy.

"One of the main goals of the festival is to promote Azerbaijani art and culture. Within the program, together with my students from Turkiye, we presented Azerbaijani performances based on ballet fragments, as well as contemporary pieces," he noted.

The organizer expressed his gratitude to the Uskudar Municipality for their support and cooperation in holding the festival. He also highlighted the contributions of the European Cultural Association, where the project took place, as well as the festival's partners: Elita Gymnastics Sport Club and Kazakov International Academy.

"I am happy that through my work I can bring together children from Turkiye and other countries, unite the cultures of different nations, and, above all, promote Azerbaijani culture and art," the dancer said.

Farid Kazakov is a renowned Azerbaijani and Russian dancer, choreographer, ballet artist, and world dance champion, having won the title at the World Dance Olympiad.

He is a three-time Best Soloist of Russia, a recipient of the prestigious global award Most Fashionable Awards, and a finalist of the international talent show Central Asia's Got Talent. Kazakov is a two-time laureate of Azerbaijan's national awards and has earned the title of "Most Talented Dancer of Turkiye" as well as the "Turkiye Zirve Odulleri*" national award.

A highly esteemed educator, Farid Kazakov is a distinguished member of the European Cultural Association, serving as an Ambassador for both Azerbaijan and Turkiye.

He is a graduate of the Baku Choreography Academy and the Moscow State Institute of Culture.

Kazakov has been a multiple winner and Grand Prix holder of international, national, and republic-level competitions.

His contributions to the arts have earned him a place in the book " Zirvdki Azrbaycanllar", recognizing him as one of the outstanding representatives of Azerbaijani youth in the 21st century.

Throughout his career, Farid Kazakov has consistently showcased his artistic excellence while also fulfilling his role as a mentor, guiding and inspiring the next generation of dancers at his "Kazakov International Academy".
28 December 2025 20:10 (UTC+04:00)

Laman Ismayilova Read more

Azerbaijan Culture Minister Adil Karimli has visited historian-orientalist, director of the Azerbaijan National History Museum,Honored Scientist, and academician Naila Valikhanli, Azernews reports.

During the meeting at the museum, the minister congratulated Naila Valikhanli on her 85th birthday and extended his best wishes.

It was noted that the scholar has made significant contributions to the development of Azerbaijani science through her fundamental research.

She has also carried out noteworthy work in training highly qualified personnel in the field of history. Naila Valikhanli, who has led the Azerbaijan National History Museum for many years, has brought about a substantial transformation in the museums activities. The museums layout has been completely redesigned, and new exhibitions have been created.

Her services to the development of Azerbaijani science have always been highly appreciated by the state. She has been awarded the "Shohrat" and "Sharaf" Orders, the honorary title of "Honored Scientist," and other distinctions.

During the meeting, the academician was presented with the Honorary Diploma of the Azerbaijan Culture Ministry.

Naila Valikhanli expressed her gratitude to the Culture Ministry for the attention and recognition shown to her work.
28 December 2025 10:00 (UTC+04:00)

TURKPA delegation, headed by Secretary General Ambassador Ramil Hasan, has visited the Presidential Center of the Republic of Kazakhstan as part of their official trip to the country, Azernews reports.

While at the center, the TURKPA delegation explored its extensive museum, which showcases a diverse collection of exhibits. These displays highlight the history of Kazakhstan's statehood, spanning from ancient times through the Middle Ages, the Soviet era, and both the pre- and post-independence periods.

The museum also covers the role of the presidential institution and the nation's cultural and historical heritage.

Accompanying the Secretary General during the visit were Deputy Secretary General Talgat Aduov and Chief of Protocol Yadigar Mammadov.

The Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States (TURKPA) was founded through an agreement signed by the Heads of Parliaments of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkey on November 21, 2008, at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul.

The first Plenary Session of the Assembly was held on September 29, 2009, in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. During this session, the Rules of Procedure, the Regulations of the Secretariat, and the Baku Declaration were adopted.

It was also decided that the TURKPA Secretariat would be permanently based in Baku. The Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States upholds the principles of independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, inviolability of state borders, non-interference in domestic affairs, and equality. It is based on the idea of cooperation among its member states and with third parties, adhering to these core principles.

TURKPA plays a key role in strengthening ties among its member states across various fields by promoting parliamentary diplomacy. Its primary goals include enhancing the political, legal, and economic capacities of member states, fostering prosperity through the effective use of natural resources, and advancing social and cultural relations.
28 December 2025 18:00 (UTC+04:00)

In line with a presidential decree signed by President Ilham Aliyev on December 25, 2019, December 28 has been officially designated as Lawyer's Day, Azernews reports.

The occasion serves not only to recognize the dedication of legal professionals but also to highlight the vital role of the legal profession in strengthening the foundations of a rule-of-law state.

The Azerbaijan Bar Association is the unified body representing all lawyers in the country. It functions as an independent, non-governmental, and self-governing institution. While its initial framework was established in 1980 during the Soviet period, the association was fundamentally renewed after Azerbaijan regained independence. The founding congress held in Baku on November 34, 2004, led to the creation of a modern Bar Association, marking a significant milestone in the development of an independent legal profession.

The Azerbaijan Bar Association's primary objective is to safeguard individual rights and freedoms, provide citizens with competent and ethical legal assistance, and protect the reputation of the legal profession. These responsibilities are closely linked to the constitutional principles of justice, the rule of law, and the protection of human rights.

Comprehensive judicial reforms launched in 2018 brought a new phase of growth for the legal profession. A key presidential decree issued on February 22, 2018, defined the modernization of legal services and the formation of a strong and reputable bar as state priorities.

As part of these reforms, the material and technical capacity of the Bar Association has been enhanced, compensation for state-funded legal aid has been increased threefold, and access to legal services in the regions has expanded. Conditions have also been improved to encourage young lawyers to join the profession.

In recent years, the number of Bar Association members has grown steadily, while training programs and initiatives aimed at improving professional skills and ethical standards have been intensified. The association has also strengthened transparency, accountability, and cooperation with international partners.

The Azerbaijan Bar Association also actively contributes to public legal awareness, supports socially vulnerable groups, and implements free legal aid initiatives, reinforcing the social responsibility of the legal profession.

The development of a strong and independent bar remains essential to the effective functioning of the justice system, the protection of human rights, and the promotion of democratic governance.

The activities of the Azerbaijan Bar Association are regulated by the Law on Lawyers and Legal Practice and its Statute, ensuring a stable and transparent legal framework.
28 December 2025 09:30 (UTC+04:00)

The draft bill proposing the removal of restrictions on assistance to Azerbaijan has been published on the official website of the US Congress, Azernews reports.

The document highlights that Azerbaijan has been a consistent and reliable partner of the United States and its allies since gaining independence, providing vital cooperation during both wartime and peacetime. It also emphasizes Azerbaijans demonstrated commitment to promoting peace and stability in the South Caucasus.

According to the bill, Azerbaijan has reached a peace agreement recognizing the mutual borders and territorial integrity of both Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia.

The legislation calls for the repeal of Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, stipulating that the relevant provision be eliminated from the law.

The bill was submitted to Congress on December 9 by Republican Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna.
28 December 2025 15:33 (UTC+04:00)

The Azerbaijan Trade Unions Confederation (ATUC) has organized festive events and meetings for children across all cities and districts of the country, including the children of union members and martyrs, on the occasion of December 31  World Azerbaijanis Solidarity Day and the New Year, Azernews reports.

The events also covered the liberated territories of Karabakh and East Zangazur. Meetings held with the children of families who have returned to their native lands carried special symbolic significance, while celebrating the holidays on their ancestral soil gave the festivities a unique and heartfelt atmosphere.

During the holiday events held in the cities of Khankandi and Shusha, as well as in the districts of Jabrayil, Fuzuli, Aghdam, Aghdara, Kalbajar, Lachin, Khojaly, and Zangilan, representatives of Azerbaijan Trade Unions Confederation congratulated schoolchildren on the upcoming holidays and wished them success in their studies.

It was noted that the modern infrastructure and social conditions created by the state in the liberated territories provide broad opportunities for students to receive quality education and achieve comprehensive development in their native lands.

The events also highlighted the large-scale efforts carried out under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev to ensure high-quality education for today's children, who will become the patriotic, intellectually capable youth of the future. Attention was also drawn to the projects implemented by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation under the leadership of First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva.

It was emphasized that caring for children and organizing their leisure time in an engaging and memorable way is among the key priorities of trade unions, and that various social projects are implemented to this end.

During the festivities, students recited poems on patriotic themes, delivered performances in a festive spirit, and shared their joy of living on their native land.

Holiday celebrations were also held at schools attended by children with disabilities and those in need of special care.
28 December 2025 16:10 (UTC+04:00)

The Azerbaijan State Customs Committee has seized a large quantity of cigarettes (1.18 million units) that were illegally brought into the country, Azernews reports.

According to a report from the State Customs Committee provided to AZERTAC, the Committee's Operational-Investigation Department and the Baku Main Customs Department carried out operational-search measures in the Khirdalan city area of the Absheron district. As a result, they discovered 1 million 180 thousand pieces of "Platinium Seven" brand cigarettes, worth nearly 150,000 manats, which had been brought into the country without the required mandatory labeling for goods registered under Azerbaijan.

An investigation into the incident is underway, and further information will be shared with the public.
28 December 2025 09:00 (UTC+04:00)

The White House has officially confirmed that U.S. President Donald Trump will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Azernews reports, citing Interfax.

The meeting is scheduled for December 28 at 3:00 p.m. local time in Florida. Journalists are expected to be allowed to attend the event.

Earlier reports by Axios indicated that the leaders would meet at Trumps Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.The meeting comes amid ongoing international focus on Ukraines security and political stability. Over the past years, the U.S. has played a significant role in providing diplomatic and economic support to Ukraine.

High-level meetings such as this aim to strengthen bilateral relations, discuss regional security issues, and address ongoing cooperation in areas including defense, economic development, and democratic reforms.

This visit to Floridas Mar-a-Lago marks one of the key personal engagements between the two leaders, offering an opportunity for direct dialogue outside of multilateral forums and emphasizing the strategic importance of the U.S.-Ukraine partnership.
Newport Gets Rescue Copter Back After Lawsuit, Still Fighting ICE Facility

Published 12/28/25 at 12:55 a.m.

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Newport, Oregon)  The small, coastal Oregon town of Newport seems to have won at least part of its fight for a safer fishing industry, tourism industry and its resistance to a possible ICE detention center. (USCG file photo)

A federal judge last week ordered the Trump administration to keep a U.S. Coast Guard rescue helicopter stationed in Newport, after federal officials acknowledged diverting Oregon crews to the southern U.S. border as part of its immigration enforcement missions.

U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken issued a preliminary injunction directing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and the Coast Guard to maintain an MH-65E Dolphin helicopter in Newport. The ruling reinforces a temporary restraining order Aiken issued in November, after the aircraft was moved without notice to the Coast Guard base in North Bend on the south coast.

That move came mysteriously and without explanation in October, just weeks before the dangerous crabbing season was set to begin. The loss of a rescue helicopter in the area also would have left some visitors in greater danger as well, potentially affecting the tourism industry and areas as much as 100 miles to the north of town. Communities like Lincoln City or Pacific City could have seen response times rise to more than an hour if an emergency were to occur in the surf. USCG rescuers out of Astoria, North Bend, Depoe Bay and Newport get busy during the tourist season.

Federal officials have since agreed to return the helicopter to Newport Municipal Airport indefinitely, Oregons U.S. senators announced on Dec. 4. This eases weeks of concern in town as well as the surrounding coastal region.

The dispute escalated last month when the Newport nonprofit Fishermens Wives and Lincoln County filed suit against ICE and the Department of Homeland Security. Their complaint argued that relocating the helicopter violated a 2015 congressional mandate requiring advance notice of significant Coast Guard operational changes or closures.

Amid these anxieties, Newport began to get hit with other federal issues. Again without clear word from the government, the City of Newport received inquiries from various federal contractors that signaled the administration was looking at an ICE detention center at Newport's airport.

Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield later joined the case. Last week, attorneys from his office filed amended motions asking Judge Aiken to also block any effort to establish an immigration detention center at Newports airport.

The filing alleged that, Alongside their unlawful efforts to reassign the rescue helicopter, Defendants have been furtively working to transform the Newport Municipal Airport into an ICE detention facility, and accused federal agencies of acting behind closed doors, with no transparency or public process.

According to the state, the lack of information has forced officials to reconstruct federal plans through public reporting, contractor inquiries, and second-hand accounts from a Coast Guard witness. Fishermens Wives and Lincoln County are not involved in the new motion.

Since then, at least one contractor has pulled its interest in the area.

The City of Newport said Newport Fishermens Wives have a long history of fighting to keep a rescue helicopter on the central Oregon coast. The group first secured the aircraft in 1987 following a series of deadly maritime incidents, and again mobilized in 2014 when the Coast Guard attempted to close the Newport air facility. Their efforts reignited this year, just weeks before the start of the regions high-risk crabbing season.

The City of Newport stands firmly in support of the Newport Fishermens Wives in their lawsuit and motion for a temporary restraining order against the U.S. Coast Guard to secure the return of the rescue helicopter to Newport, Mayor Jan Kaplan said in a statement. As home to Oregons largest commercial fishing port and the fifth city in the nation to receive a Coast Guard City USA designation, the presence of the rescue helicopter in Newport has long been a critical component of public safety for our fishing community and tourists.

Kaplan and city officials also called the possibility of an ICE detention an issue of deep concern, frustration, and fear for the community.

With the chopper back, the town appears to have won that battle  with closure in the detention center matter possibly not far behind.

Some rescues deployed by Newport covered by Oregon Coast Beach Connection in the past:

Coast Guard Crews from Two States Rescue Disabled Vessel Off Oregon Coast

US Coast Guard Rescues Oregon Coast Whale Watch Vessel Disabled in Newport Waters

Hotels in Newport - Where to eat - Newport Maps and Virtual Tours



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N. Oregon Coast First Day Hikes Include Near Astoria, Pacific City, Waldport

Published 12/26/25 at 7:55 a.m.

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Pacific City, Oregon)  If you've got a hangover: this is a great way to burn it off. If you don't have on after New Years Eve's rabble-rousing, this is still an awesome way to see the coastline. (Photo: near Sitka Sedge / Oregon Coast Beach Connection)

The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) will offer free self-guided First Day Hikes at parks across the state on January 1, all part of the national New Years Day hiking initiative coordinated with Americas State Parks. Twenty-five Oregon State Parks are participating. While all are free, a day-use parking permit is required. Permits cost $10 for Oregon residents and $12 for non-residents, with annual passes also available. Visitors are encouraged to share photos using the hashtag #ORfirstdayhikes.

Several coastal parks on the northern half of Oregon are hosting special programs  and there's a dozen others around the state and plenty on the south coast (but that's a different article).

Others are here: First Day Hikes Take Place All Over Oregon and Coast to Start 2026 - A special tradition in Yachats, but also in Coos Bay, Bend, Portland, Astoria, Manzanita: everywhere

Far up the north coast, Fort Stevens State Park will hold a guided First Day Hike beginning at 10 a.m. at the Battery Russell parking lot. The one-mile route covers natural-surface and paved paths along a moderately steep hill. Rangers will discuss the history of Fort Stevens, Battery Russell and the 1942 Japanese submarine attack, with additional opportunities for birding and wildlife viewing. Leashed dogs are allowed, though strollers are not recommended. Participants are advised to dress in layers, bring rain gear, and carry water and snacks.

For accessibility questions or accommodation requests, visitors may contact Park Ranger Dane Osis at least three days before the event: 503-861-3170. Hotels in Astoria - Where to eat - Astoria Maps and Virtual Tours

Brian Booth State Park near Waldport will again host its free First Day Paddle, a two-hour guided kayak trip on Beaver Creek Marsh. The tour departs at 10 a.m. from the Beaver Creek boat launch on North Beaver Creek Road, just east of Highway 101. Registration is required. The paddle takes place on calm water with no tidal influence, though participants should be prepared for moderate physical exertion and two hours of paddling. Kayaks, paddles and flotation devices are provided, and personal equipment is not permitted.

The event is drug- and alcohol-free, and pets are not allowed. Single kayaks are open to participants 16 and older; tandem kayaks may be operated by adults with passengers age six and up. The program may be cancelled if winds exceed 20 mph, with decisions made 24 hours in advance. For accessibility questions or accommodations, visitors may contact Park Ranger Becca Givens at least three days before the event. Call 541-265-6949. Hotels in Waldport - Where to eat - Waldport, Seal Rock Maps and Virtual Tours

In the North Oregon Coast Range, L.L. Stub Stewart State Park will offer a guided New Years hike beginning at 9 a.m. at the Hilltop Day-use area picnic shelter. The three-mile round-trip route follows compacted dirt trails through forested terrain with moderate elevation gain. Some sections are narrow and not suitable for strollers or wheelchairs. Leashed dogs are welcome, though bicycles are not permitted on the hike. Participants should dress for winter weather, wear sturdy footwear with good traction, and bring water, snacks and cameras.

For more information call 503-324-0606.

Near Pacific City, Sitka Sedge State Natural Area will host a free guided First Day Hike at noon. Registration is required.

One of the state's newest state parks, it's a sprawling doozy. The 2.5-mile route begins at the trailhead parking area off Sandlake Road and includes birdwatching on the Sandlake Estuary, a walk through upland dune forest and a stretch of beach. Overflow parking will be available across the road if needed. The first half-mile of the trail is compacted gravel with a slight slope and is accessible for strollers and wheelchairs; beyond that point, the trail narrows and the surface softens. Leashed dogs are permitted. Visitors should dress in layers, bring rain gear, and carry water, snacks and binoculars or cameras for wildlife viewing.

For more information, call (503) 812-2403. Hotels in Pacific City - Where to eat - Pacific City Maps and Virtual Tours

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The Opposite of an Exploding Whale: Oregon Coast History of 'Zombie Whales'

Published 12/27/25 at 7:55 p.m.

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff





(Depoe Bay, Oregon)  You could almost call them zombie whales: whale carcasses that apparently move along the beach, rather mysteriously so for some. Photo above: a whale skull in winter of 2016 at Short Sand Beach. Courtesy Seaside Aquarium.

Really, it's just a matter of the surf picking them and shuffling the deceased cetacean north or south. But there's a kind of lore to the idea of zombie whales - a history here that gets rather amusing. And no, it has nothing to do with the famed exploding whale. There have been several of these over the last two decades that Oregon Coast Beach Connection has covered, but nothing quite like this one.

The tale of this undead tail surfaced a few years ago when the North Lincoln County History Center in Lincoln City stumbled upon an amusing old newspaper story about a decades-old stranding.

Back on December 1, 1952, a local paper published the headline: Twice Buried Whale Returns to Depoe Bay. This was nearly twenty years before the infamous Exploding Whale in Florence. Like today, the standard means of getting rid of a beached whale back in the '50s was to bury it. However, at this point in '52, they already done that far back in April of that year.

Adding to the charm of the article is its description of the 40-foot wanderer as excessively dead, likely written with the same tongue-in-cheek tone as the rest of the piece. The mass of blubber, as the reporter called it, washed ashore somewhere in the Depoe Bay area, though the exact spot wasnt named. Given Depoe Bays miles of rocky cliffs, it could have been Fogarty Creek to the north, Lincoln Beach, Whale Cove, or even Beverly Beach near Devils Punchbowl.



Whale bone re-emerges on north Oregon coast (Seaside Aquarium)

A whale disposal expert was summoned from Waldport and teamed up with the Oregon Highway Department to bury the carcass. But a month later, shifting sands exposed it again, sending the unfortunate creature drifting back into view and prompting a second burial.

The reporter noted a quote from the burying crew chief at the time: If this thing comes back once more well entomb it in cement.

A larger headline above the story read CEMENT JOB?. Only after you get a ways into that article does that make sense.

Then, in late November, as if straight out of a George Romero flick, high tides freed the whale yet again. This time, it announced its return with an especially potent aroma.

The whale again hit the beach. Residents didnt have to see it to believe it. Ocean-blown breezes whipped the smell to every part of the city.

Anyone who has ever been downwind of a dead whale knows the scent is unforgettable - pungent, overwhelming, and capable of ruining a restaurants dinner rush from blocks away.



Courtesy North Lincoln Historical Museum

Once more, the state highway department (the precursor to ODOT) was alerted. Whether they actually arrived is left unclear; the article ends on a cliffhanger.

Like a lost final reel of a campy coastal horror flick, the conclusion to this saga is missing. The story does note that while residents waited for state officials, they were still debating whether to encase the whale in cement.

The final line reads: Meanwhile, the odor lingers.

Also meanwhile: to this day we wonder. What became of this zombie whale? Was there ever a cement-encased tomb for this smelly cetacean?

Does a watery sarcophagus lie somewhere off Depoe Bay even now?

Among other similar incidents was up around Manzanita in September of 2016 where a 38-foot Humpback whale kept showing up

See the Imploding Whale story - from Florence as well.

The Warrenton / Astoria area had the first exploding whale back in the '30s. Warrenton Exploding Whale.

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A knife-wielding robber is wanted by police after he stole cash from two commercial premises in north Belfast.

Detectives at Musgrave Station are appealing for information and witnesses in relation to reports of two robberies which occurred earlier on Sunday 28 December.

Detective Sergeant Long said: Shortly before 11.25am, it was reported that a man armed with a knife entered commercial premises on the Westland Road and demanded money and cigarettes, before fleeing the scene with a quantity of cash.

The suspect was described as being aged around 40 years old, of stocky build, and wearing a navy coloured tracksuit.

Sometime later, at around 1.50pm, it was reported that a man, dressed in a grey / light blue tracksuit, entered commercial premises at Oldpark Road armed with a knife, and made off with a sum of cash.

Enquiries are ongoing, and detectives are investigating the possibility that the two reports may be linked.

We would appeal to anyone who might have any information which could assist us to get in touch via 101, and quote reference number 499 of 28/12/25.
A body has been recovered in the search for a man from Northern Ireland who has been missing for more than a month.

Andrew Robinson, aged in his 50s, was last seen at around 1.10am on Saturday, November 15, in the Portadown area.

His car was later discovered close to the River Bann, triggering an extensive multi-agency search operation.

Today, his wife Elizabeth Ruth Robinson posted a photo of Mr Robinson alongside heart emojis saying: My darling husband. We finally have you home.

Community Rescue Service (CRS), K9 Search & Rescue NI, Lough Neagh Rescue, Foyle Search & Rescue, East Coast Divers, Meath River Rescue and members of the public with sonar, including some from England, all played their part in extensive search efforts.

CRS said: Yet more sad news. Over the past six weeks CRS had been deployed on a daily basis to the Portadown area to an ongoing search alongside our NISAR colleagues from Lough Neagh Rescue.

Searches were also conducted by NISAR colleagues from the Police Service of Northern Ireland, Sky Watch NI, Search & Rescue Dog Association - SARDA Ireland North and Foyle Search and Rescue

Searches were also conducted by teams from outside NI, local river users and other members of the public.

We regret to inform you that earlier today a body believed to be that of the missing person, was located by a search team from RoI who travelled north to assist in the ongoing operation.

The management and volunteers of the Community Rescue Service extend our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of the deceased.

Community Rescue Service volunteers working on Christmas Day.

DUP MP for Upper Bann Carla Lockhart offered her condolences to the family.

She said: Truly devastating for the Robinson family at this Christmas time. My thoughts and prayers are very much with them.

They have lived for the last 42 days as a nightmare, and whilst there is a sense of relief they now know, the finality of all of this hits hard.

I have been liaising with both them and the police on an ongoing basis for the last month.

Their resilience throughout all of this has been amazing. At least now they can put Andrew to rest.

I want to thank all those who have helped in any way, especially all the search teams who were relentless in their search of Andrew. There were those who went over and above and the family know who they are loved.

To Ruth and the boys, and the whole family - you have been a credit to Andrew and never gave up hope. We will be remembering you in the days and weeks ahead.

Her party colleague Jonathan Buckley also shared the post from Mrs Robinson.

Andrew Robinson.

Plans set to be submitted to move 100m restoration of old Bank of Ireland building in Belfast forward

Its understood that formal identification of the body will take place.

On Christmas Eve K9 Search & Rescue said its volunteers were back in Portadown, continuing searches of the River Bann for Mr Robinson.

In the stillness of the morning, teams searched on, driven by the hope of bringing some form of answer to those waiting at home, it posted.

At a time meant for warmth and reassurance, his family and friends are enduring uncertainty no one should have to face. Our thoughts are firmly with them, today and always.

We remain committed to supporting the ongoing search efforts in any way we can.
The Israeli embassy on Shelbourne Road in Dublin prior to its closure (Cillian Sherlock/PA)

Irish officials were concerned that opening Israels embassy in Ireland would promote a backlash from Arab countries, according to government documents.

The Israeli embassy in Dublin announced last year that it would close, with the countrys foreign minister accusing Ireland of crossing every red line in its relations with Israel.

Documents made public as part of the annual release from the National Archives in Dublin show the preparations that took place before the embassy was opened in 1996.

The Israeli flag was removed from outside the building in December last year (Cillian Sherlock/PA)

Among the considerations were the possible impact on trade from Arab countries and the cost of security.

One 1990 memo states: Irish trade with Arab countries is at a ratio of approximately 10 to 1 in our favour and is mainly sourced from indigenous industry. It is 20 or more times greater than our trade with Israel and likely to remain so in present circumstances.

Meanwhile, officials also factored in the security implications of expenditure and garda resources as a major consideration in the Governments decision-making process.

It was calculated in 1992 that security for an Israeli embassy in Dublin could amount to 700,000 per year and would also result in an immediate demand that Arab states be allowed to open embassies in Dublin.

Similar concerns were raised around an unrealised proposal for the President of Ireland to undertake a State visit to Israel.

One Government file states: It might be argued that the chances of our incurring the Arab worlds displeasure by having a State Visit to Israel are slimmer than in the past but is it worth taking the risk?

A State Visit is usually seen as a mark of a high degree of friendship between two countries and it would not go unnoticed in the Arab world.

In 1993, Zvi Levy was told his work as Irelands honorary consul in Israel had been commendable and considerable.

However, after a Department of Foreign Affairs official was told Mr Levy had met with an Irish businessman in Gaza, he was reminded of the territorial limits of your jurisdiction.

The letter states: I understand that in the course of your recent discussions with officials in this Department you had mentioned that you were engaged in promoting Irish business interests in the Gaza Strip.

It adds: Your active involvement, particularly since the time of your appointment as Irelands Honorary Consul in Israel, is encouraging and promoting economic and trade links with Ireland has been commendable.

The department was concerned his activities in Gaza may give the impression he had an official role in the region.

The letter said: We are very conscious of the contribution you are making in that regard and are grateful for your considerable efforts. I am however obliged to draw your attention to the territorial limits of your jurisdiction as set out in your Letter of Commission.

Mr Levy was told: You will be aware that your area of activity is confined to the territory within Israels internationally recognised frontiers and accordingly does not extend to the territories occupied by Israel since 1967.

The letter added: On that basis, I would hope that any requests you receive for consular, commercial or other assistance that could involve you in the Gaza strip, or any other occupied territories, will be dealt with by directing the enquirer to the Embassy of Ireland in Cairo in the first instance.

 This article is based on documents in the file labelled 2025/124/345 at the National Archives of Ireland.
It was rather dubious whether an all-island court would lead to the conviction of more fugitives, according to Irelands attorney general in 1982.

Patrick Connolly SC, who would resign later that year after prolific murderer Malcolm McArthur was arrested in his apartment, made his assessment shortly after the new Irish government was formed.

The suggestion of a joint British-Irish court was discussed during the 1980s.

A meeting was held in April 1982, a month after Charles Haughey came to power for a second time and before his government collapsed in December of that year.

Charles Haughey with Margaret Thatcher in the early 1980s (PA)

Mr Haughey, Mr Connolly, the minister for foreign affairs Gerry Collins, minister for justice Sean Doherty, and senior civil servants at several departments met to discuss matters relating to Northern Ireland.

In a document labelled strictly confidential, released this year as part of the National Archives in Dublin, Mr Connolly told the new Irish government that he was against the suggestion of an all-island court.

Mr Connolly, who was thrown into the spotlight in August after Malcolm McArthur was arrested in his Dublin apartment, said he did not believe the court would lead to the conviction of more fugitives.

He recounted a meeting his predecessor had with the British attorney general about extradition, joint interrogation and an all-island court and then gave his view, according to the memo.

The attorney general was of the opinion that the proposal considered in this regard was a cumbersome arrangement, the merits of which in terms of securing more convictions of fugitive offenders were, in his view, rather dubious.

There were particular difficulties as regards the question of whether a right of appeal would lie.

In relation to joint interrogation, he said that gardai feared attacks would be mounted at Garda stations if RUC officers could be present and Mr Haughey said that extradition was an explosive issue.

In January of that year, before the general election was called, a meeting was held at Iveagh House attended by taoiseach Garret FitzGerald, the ministers for justice and foreign affairs, and then attorney general Peter Sutherland SC.

The note from that meeting stated that talks had begun between the British and Irish attorneys general and since then, there was pressure from the British side for us to advance our position on extradition and joint questioning.

It also noted that there was no prospect of the British agreeing to a joint court without movement on joint questioning or extradition.

Questions arose about such a courts jurisdiction and rules of procedure, the note stated.

There seemed to be agreement that the court could sit in the north and the south as necessary.

If a case were initiated in the north, the court would deal with it under UK law and procedures, even if it was necessary to sit in the south.

It was questioned as to whether such a formula could work in practice and further clarification of the position was felt to be necessary.

It also noted that while there was uniformity of legislation, rules of evidence differed which was relevant to admissions of guilt and could be an enormous obstacle.

It was agreed that the term all-island court was politically sensitive and that a more appropriate title might be joint court.

 This article is based on documents contained in the file labelled 2025/125/294 in the National Archives of Ireland.
A junior minister urged the Government not to be hiding from debate during the divisive 1995 divorce referendum campaign, which passed by the slimmest of margins.

Government files from 30 years ago made public by the National Archives of Ireland this weekend reveal details of government plans for the vote.

The November 1995 referendum passed by 50.28% to 49.72%, leading to amendment of the Constitution to allow for divorce under certain conditions.

A mother and her baby attend a rally in Dublin to lend their support for the Yes campaign (PA)

The contentious campaign was marked by slogans like hello divorce, goodbye daddy and give someone you know a second chance.

The high-profile nature of the vote  and ambiguity on the approach of Government  led Irelands ambassador to the Holy See seeking advice on how to approach the matter with the Vatican.

In a letter to the Department of Foreign Affairs secretary general almost two years before the referendum, ambassador Gearoid O Broin wrote: I note references in the press from time to time about a possible referendum on the question of divorce in Ireland next year.

As you can imagine, this is a matter in which the Holy See authorities can be expected to take a keen interest and I would expect them to take their line from that adopted by the Catholic hierarchy in Ireland.

There is a possibility the secretariat of state may raise the matter with me directly at some stage. In the event that they do, it occurs to me that it would be useful for me to have a background brief on the issues, Mr O Broin wrote.

In a follow-up letter in January 1994, from the departments secretary general Noel Dorr to his counterpart in the Department of Equality and Law, Bernard McDonagh, Mr Dorr said it would be desirable to give Mr O Broin some guidance.

You will be conscious, I am sure, of the potential political importance of the position which will be taken by the Roman Catholic hierarchy on the issue, and this will no doubt be influenced by  and will in turn influence  the views of the authorities in the Holy See.

One of the billboards urging people to oppose the divorce referendum (PA)

At first sight one might be inclined to respond that the question of holding a referendum to effect constitutional change on this issue is one which the government should regard as purely internal and domestic.

Nevertheless, it may be desirable at the right time, and without prejudice to positions of principle, to allow the ambassador to brief the secretariat of state in the Holy See on the governments proposals as this may, indirectly, help to facilitate the acceptance of these proposals by the electorate here.

In a separate file, Labour TD and minister of state at the Department of Equality and Law Reform Mervyn Taylor urged his Government colleagues to engage in open debate ahead of the vote.

He wrote to Jim Higgins, the chief whip of the rainbow coalition of Fine Gael, the Labour Party, and Democratic Left, opposing the proposal to take the divorce Bill to a limited committee instead of a more usual Dail debate.

He said: This Bill is exceptionally important and the government should not be seen to be hiding from debate on it.

Every member who so wishes should be entitled to contribute on committee stage, and while this would be possible in a special committee, it would be much more appropriate to have the debate in the full Dail.

The government should not leave itself open to the suggestion it was avoiding a full debate in Dail Eireann.

 This article is based on documents contained in the files labelled 2025/115/85, 2025/115/86, 2025/115/82, 2025/115/830, 2025/115/8 2025/1/1090, and 2025/115/83 in the National Archives of Ireland.
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky are set to meet in Florida on Sunday for face-to-face talks on ending the nearly four-year war between Russia and Ukraine.

Ukrainian president Mr Zelensky said security guarantees and territorial issues in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions would be among the topics of discussion.

Mr Zelensky stopped in Canada to meet prime minister Mark Carney on Saturday before heading to the US.

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He told reporters he would aim to ensure there were as few unresolved issues as possible in talks with his US counterpart Mr Trump, while respecting Ukraines red lines.

Mr Zelensky has said the draft peace plan includes a US commitment to provide guarantees mirroring the Nato alliances Article 5, which means an attack on Ukraine would trigger a collective military response from the US and its allies.

But key details are still to be worked out, with territorial concessions the most sensitive of the issues the two leaders will discuss.

A day ahead of the talks, Russia attacked Kyiv with missiles and drones, killing at least one person in an attack Mr Zelensky said really shows that (Russian president Vladimir) Putin doesnt want peace.

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The talks in Florida are the latest stage in Mr Trumps year-long effort to secure a ceasefire in Ukraine, having previously said he would end the war on the first day of his term in office.

On Christmas Eve, Mr Zelensky said the US and Ukraine had reached a consensus on a number of critical issues, and indicated he was open to creating a demilitarised zone on his countrys eastern border with Russia.

But he has continued to resist Russian demands that Ukraine give up two of its eastern regions, Luhansk and Donetsk.

Russia is also likely to object to a role for Nato forces in monitoring a ceasefire, which European leaders including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French president Emmanuel Macron have said must form part of any deal.

Mr Trump will host talks in Florida on Sunday (Suzanne Plunkett/PA)

Other European demands include allowing Ukraine to maintain a peacetime military of 800,000 troops and to join the EU, while the US has reportedly offered unspecified security guarantees.

Mr Zelensky has said a peace plan is about 90% ready and that he hopes to discuss an economic agreement and territorial issues with Mr Trump.

He said he hoped European leaders could also be involved in talks either on Sunday or at a future date.

Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said on Saturday he would speak with the leaders of Ukraine, Germany, France, the UK, Italy and the EU ahead on the chances for peace ahead of the Florida talks.

Sir Keir stressed his support for Ukraine in a call with French and German leaders on Friday.

A Downing Street spokesperson said the leaders reiterated their unshakeable commitment for a just and lasting peace for Ukraine and the importance that talks continue to progress towards this in the coming days.
Volodymyr Zelensky is in the US for talks with Donald Trump aimed at agreeing a plan to bring peace to Ukraine (Omar Havana/AP)

Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Florida for talks with Donald Trump on ending the nearly four-year war between Russia and Ukraine.

The Ukrainian president said he had spoken to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to prepare ahead of the talks, which are expected to focus on security guarantees and territorial issues in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Mr Zelensky has said the 20-point draft proposal negotiators have discussed is about 90% ready.

He thanked Sir Keir for the constant co-ordination after speaking to him in a detailed phone call ahead of the talks.

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Sir Keir reaffirmed the UKs unwavering support for Ukraine in the call, while both welcomed ongoing diplomatic efforts and the US presidents continued engagement in securing peace, Downing Street said.

Mr Zelensky said in post on X: These are some of the most active diplomatic days of the year right now, and a lot can be decided before the New Year.

He had stopped in Canada to meet Prime Minister Mark Carney on his way to the US talks, and spoke with European allies on Saturday.

Mr Trump meanwhile said he had a good and very productive call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday morning.

It comes after Russia launched missile and drone attacks on Kyiv a day ahead of the talks, which Mr Zelensky said really shows that Putin doesnt want peace.

The talks in Florida are the latest stage in Mr Trumps year-long effort to secure a ceasefire in Ukraine, having previously said he would end the war on the first day of his term in office.

Donald Trump is hosting talks in Florida on Sunday (Suzanne Plunkett/PA)

Mr Zelensky has said the draft peace plan includes a US commitment to provide guarantees mirroring the Nato alliances Article 5, which means an attack on Ukraine would trigger a collective military response from the US and its allies.

But key details are still to be worked out, with territorial concessions the most sensitive of the issues the two leaders will discuss.

On Christmas Eve, Mr Zelensky said the US and Ukraine had reached a consensus on a number of critical issues, and indicated he was open to creating a demilitarised zone on his countrys eastern border with Russia.

But he has continued to resist Russian demands that Ukraine gives up two of its eastern regions, Luhansk and Donetsk.

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Russia is also likely to object to a role for Nato forces in monitoring a ceasefire, which European leaders including Sir Keir and French President Emmanuel Macron have said must form part of any deal.

Other European demands include allowing Ukraine to maintain a peacetime military of 800,000 troops and to join the EU, while the US has reportedly offered unspecified security guarantees.

Mr Zelensky said he hoped European leaders could also be involved in talks either on Sunday or at a future date.
Voting is taking place in three phases, with Sundays first round being held in 102 of the countrys 330 townships (Aung Shine Oo/AP)

The initial phase of Myanmars first general election in five years has been held, under the supervision of its military government while a civil war rages throughout much of the country.

Final results will not be known until after two more rounds of voting are completed later in January. It is widely expected that Min Aung Hlaing, the general who has ruled the country with an iron hand since an army takeover in 2021, will then assume the presidency.

The military government has presented the vote as a return to electoral democracy, but its bid for legitimacy is marred by bans on formerly popular opposition parties and reports that soldiers have used threats to force voters to participate.

A voter casts a ballot at a polling station in Naypyitaw (Aung Shine Oo/AP)

While more than 4,800 candidates from 57 parties are competing for seats in national and regional legislatures, only six are competing nationwide with the possibility to gain political clout in parliament.

The well-organised and funded Union Solidarity and Development Party, with its support from the military, is by far the strongest contender.

Voting is taking place in three phases, with Sundays first round held in 102 of Myanmars 330 townships. The second phase will take place on January 11, and the third on January 25. Final results are expected to be announced by February.

Critics charge the election is designed to add a facade of legitimacy to military rule that began when the military removed the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. It blocked her National League for Democracy party from serving a second term despite winning a landslide victory in the 2020 election.

A man looks for his name on voter lists displayed outside a polling station (Thein Zaw/AP)

They argue the results will lack legitimacy due to the exclusion of major parties and limits on freedom of speech and an atmosphere of repression.

The expected victory of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party makes the nominal transition to civilian rule a chimera, opponents of military rule and independent analysts say.

An election organised by a junta that continues to bomb civilians, jail political leaders, and criminalise all forms of dissent is not an election  it is a theatre of the absurd performed at gunpoint, Tom Andrews, the UN-appointed human rights expert for Myanmar, posted on X.

But holding the election may provide an excuse for neighbours such as China, India and Thailand to continue their support, claiming the election promotes stability.

Western nations have maintained sanctions against Myanmars ruling generals due to their anti-democratic actions and the war against their opponents.

Voters run to cast their ballots at a polling station (Aung Shine Oo/AP)

According to a count carried out at one polling station in Yangon after the polls closed on Sunday, 524 of 1,431 registered voters  just under 37%  had cast their ballots.

Of those, 311 voted for the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party, suggesting opposition calls for a voter boycott may have been heeded.

Ms Suu Kyi, Myanmars 80-year-old former leader, and her party are not participating in the polls.

She is serving a 27-year prison term on charges widely viewed as spurious and politically motivated.

Her party, the National League for Democracy, was dissolved in 2023 after refusing to register under new military rules.

Other parties also refused to register or declined to run under conditions they deem unfair, and opposition groups have called for a voter boycott.

Military rule began in Myanmar when the military removed the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 (Peter Dejong/AP)

Amael Vier, an analyst for the Asian Network for Free Elections, noted a lack of genuine choice, pointing out 73% of voters in 2020 cast ballots for parties that no longer exist.

Mobilising opposition is difficult under the militarys repression.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, more than 22,000 people are currently detained for political offences, and more than 7,600 civilians have been killed by security forces since they seized power in 2021.

Armed resistance arose after the army used lethal force to crush non-violent protests against its 2021 takeover. The ensuing civil war has left more than 3.6 million people displaced, according to the UN.

A new Election Protection Law imposes harsh penalties and restrictions for virtually all public criticism of the polls.
Thai foreign minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow, pictured, and Cambodian foreign minister Prak Sokhonn were meeting on Sunday (Thai MFA via AP)

Top diplomats from Thailand and Cambodia kicked off two days of talks in China on Sunday as Beijing seeks to strengthen its role in mediating the two countries border dispute, a day after they signed a new ceasefire.

The ceasefire agreement signed on Saturday calls for a halt to weeks of fighting along their contested border that has killed more than 100 people and displaced more than half-a-million in both countries.

Thai foreign minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow and Cambodian foreign minister Prak Sokhonn were set to meet in Chinas south-western Yunnan province for talks mediated by their Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.

The talks aim to ensure a sustained ceasefire and promote lasting peace between the countries, according to a statement by Mr Sihasaks office.

Cambodias foreign minister Prak Sokhonn (Mandel Ngan/Pool Photo via AP)

Mr Wang was scheduled to join both bilateral meetings with each of the diplomats and a trilateral talk on Monday.

China has welcomed the ceasefire announcement, which freezes the front lines and allows for displaced civilians to return to their homes near the border.

China stands ready to continue to provide (the) platform and create conditions for Cambodia and Thailand to have fuller and more detailed communication, a Chinese foreign ministry statement read.

The ceasefire agreement comes with a 72-hour observation period, at the end of which Thailand agreed to repatriate 18 Cambodian soldiers it has held as prisoners since earlier fighting in July. Their release has been a major demand of the Cambodian side.

China has sought to position itself as a mediator in the crisis, along with the US and Malaysia.

A July ceasefire was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by pressure from US president Donald Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed.

Cambodian defence minister Tea Seiha, left, and Thai defence minister Nattaphon Narkphanit, right, shake hands during Saturdays meeting (AKP via AP)

Despite these deals, Thailand and Cambodia carried on a bitter propaganda war, and minor cross-border violence continued, erupting into heavy fighting in early December.

Mr Prak Sokhonn, in a statement after his meeting with Mr Wang, expressed deep appreciation for Chinas vital role in supporting the ceasefire.

China also announced 20 million yuan (2.1 million) of emergency humanitarian aid for Cambodia to assist the displaced.

The first batch of Chinese aid, including food, tents and blankets, arrived in Cambodia on Sunday, Wang Wenbin, Chinese ambassador to Cambodia, wrote on Facebook.

Mr Sihasak said on Sunday that he hoped the meetings would convey to China that it should both support a sustainable ceasefire and send a signal to Cambodia against reviving the conflict or attempting to create further ones.

Thailand does not see China merely as a mediator in our conflict with Cambodia but wants China to play a constructive role in ensuring a sustainable ceasefire by sending such signals to Cambodia as well, he said.
NORTH ADAMS  Cyris Sumner's absence was palpable for his family this holiday season.

Saturday marked five months since North Adams resident Cyris Sumner, 23, went missing in the city. His birthday is Monday.

"It really hurt that he wasn't here or we didn't hear from him," his grandmother Charlene Lawson said. "We are all so worried about him."

Sumner is a 2020 graduate of Hoosac Valley High School. He is described as 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighing about 140 pounds, with blue eyes and brown hair, and was last seen wearing a light green tank top and green shorts, according to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, or NamUs. Lawson said that Cyris is a "very sweet, kind man" and previously told News Channel 10 that he loves "anything to do with the ocean or animals."

Amanda Hoag, his cousin, told The Eagle that his family and police have no leads. She said that he has no history of substance use and that, in the months and weeks leading up to his disappearance, he distanced himself from friends and family. She believes he was experiencing a mental health crisis. He was last seen in North Adams on July 27 and had sold most of his belongings.

"The only thing that was there was a mattress," she said of Sumner's room. He lived with his brother Maverick Sumner, and his family still does not know what prompted Cyris to leave.

Archives Hoosac Valley Class of 2020

"We dont know his intentions," Hoag said.

After his last July sighting, Sumner traveled by bus to Albany, N.Y., and stayed there for a few days before heading to New York City by either bus or train, according to a bank statement the family found. By the time he reached New York City, however, he had $0 in his bank account, Lawson and Hoag told The Eagle. His wallet, Social Security card and debit cards were found on the corner of Canal and Center streets in New York City on Aug. 19 and turned into the city's Fifth Precinct, which then notified North Adams police.

Since then, there's been no trace of Cyris. In September, the family told News Channel 10 that there had been a few reported sightings of him, including one on the Mohawk Trail, but "nothing panned out," Hoag said.

"Its hard not to assume the worst at this point," she said. "The family has been very worried about him. Were at a loss."

His family and friends have been contributing to the search in their own ways. Hoag and another cousin, Zoe LaCasse, have been posting about him on social media, hoping he is found. His best friend, Logan Gould, and his father, Todd Gould, submitted his pictures to NamUs and traveled to New York City in August, where they walked 16 miles in the area where his wallet was found and put up missing posters. Members of Lawson's church prayed for his safe return, and his family has been in regular contact with New York City and North Adams police, hoping for updates.

But without any indication of where he is or why he left, Cyris disappearance continues to weigh heavily on those closest to him.

How does someone survive without money? Hoag said. "Its so surreal. How does one process that? Its kind of like. ... You just want to keep thinking the best. Nobody wants their minds to go to the worst place. ... You dont want to say 'What if theyre dead?' But your mind goes there."

She said her worry ebbs and flows from day to day, often reignited by new coverage of his disappearance.

Monday is Cyris' 24th birthday. Hoag wants him to know that he is loved and that his friends and family miss him.

"His family definitely cares about him," she said. "Without a doubt. Even family that hasn't been as close in recent years. Everybody cares.

"He was on my mind Christmas time. I'm sure they all had him on their minds, too."

Anyone with information about Cyris is asked to call Officer Lucas Shatford at the North Adams Police Department at 413-664-4944.
DALTON  When Wahconah Regional High School student Haze Brown was offered the opportunity to be on the Principal Search Committee, they took the chance, kickstarting a trend of stepping into the unknown.

Brown, who was part of the schools decision to hire new Principal Serena Shorter, has often found themself taking on leadership roles and impacting their school and local community.

Im a busy person, and its a nerve-wracking thing," said Brown, a senior. This is the legacy Im leaving for the school. [Youve] got to push forward. If one door closes, [youve] got to open the next one.

Over the last few years, Brown has challenged themself by joining committees and clubs, taking harder classes and taking on leadership roles. The hard work and determination earned them the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents Certificate of Academic Excellence.

Its really validating to see Ive put four years of hard work in and Im getting response and respect for that, Brown said.

Central Berkshire Regional School District Superintendent Michael Henault presented the award to Brown at the districts School Committee meeting on Dec. 11 at Wahconah. The annual award honors high school seniors across the commonwealth who have demonstrated distinguished academic performance and significant personal contributions to their school communities.

They have been a pillar of our academic community, but equally as important have used their voice, compassion and leadership to make Wahconah and our wider community a better place, Henault said.

During their time at Wahconah, Brown has been involved with the student council, student government and many committees. In November, Brown and other student council members collected nonperishable food items to support local families in need for Thanksgiving.

Shorter said that she supported the nomination of Brown, who has been an initiator of a lot of things. Shorter also highlighted Browns work with Changemakers for Good, formerly named No Place for Hate, and said that they have been a leader in that group.

The No Place for Hate initiative is aimed at fostering an inclusive and equitable environment in schools.

Brown has also been involved with the First Congregational Church in Hinsdale with their family, helping with dinners and has participated in other activities for their work in the National Honor Society.

They said that being a well-rounded person and an active individual in the community has been a priority. Life is certainly more than grades and more than just doing the academic things.

For the principal search, Brown said that they had seen the work that former Principal Aaron Robb did and how he knew every student by name and face. Brown said that they knew they could be an advocate for their fellow students and prioritized the community aspect of the job.

Brown said that they created an interview question centered around how the candidate would work with students and the community atmosphere they would create. They asked the question in every interview and said that it gave a good feel for each candidate as a person.

Being able to go back to [Henault] and all the amazing people on that committee and be vocal about my own opinions  and just make my view known was cool, Brown said.

At the recent School Committee meeting, Henault said Brown's voice was loud in a good way and that they were an advocate for inclusivity.

Over the last few years, Brown said they challenged themself by taking harder classes. Brown loves science and math and said that English has been a struggle, but in the last two years, they took AP English classes to push themself.

Its actually paid off tremendously for me, they said. I feel validated in my sense of writing, and I have seen the growth  Its taking that step into the unknown and going for the hard stuff.

Brown is currently applying to colleges, mostly in the Northeast, and is looking to study chemistry and do science research. When reflecting on the last four years, Brown said that they are most proud of their work with Changemakers for Good, where they presented to staff and students and engaged as a peer leader.

I think that has just prepared me for a lot of aspects in my life, they said. I know I can speak in front of crowds. I know I can teach my peers. Its just a great feeling to [know] Im making change here.
GREAT BARRINGTON  Earlier this year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested several people in town, causing fear and outrage as masked and armed federal agents gave little information to those recording and questioned the officers.

The manner of the arrests and use of town property by ICE are prompting the Select Board to revisit the 2017 Trust Policy with the social justice group Multicultural Bridge to clarify protocols for interactions with federal agents and the use of town resources.

Select Board member Ben Elliott witnessed the May 6 arrest of two men in an apartment building and recorded what he was seeing. He said he would like clearly written policies to determine what town resources are available to federal agents and whether the town can legally prevent federal officers from using municipal property for staging operations, citing the use of Olympian Meadows field for staging a different raid in town.

It still lingers with me and that incident and the incidents that followed, as many feelings and as many fears as it raised, it also raised questions about exactly what is our policy and how we engage, Elliott said.

The board voted to approve the review of the policy, with Garfield Reed voting as present, arguing he didn't see the need to do so.

The Trust Policy, a variation of a sanctuary town bylaw, bars the town from using resources to assist ICE without a warrant and aims to ensure residents are treated fairly.

Given the political climate, theres a need for a call for safety and trust building again, Gwendolyn VanSant, executive director of Multicultural Bridge, said.

Unlike a largely symbolic sanctuary designation, the policy sets specific limits on cooperation with federal immigration authorities and is designed to build trust with immigrant residents by allowing victims and witnesses to report crimes without fear.

Though spotlighted this year by federal immigration actions, it is meant to protect all vulnerable populations, and VanSant hopes an updated version could serve as a model for other towns in the county.

Im very excited to be intentionally looking at the Trust Policy in these political times and updating it in general, because we have work that we wanted to continue, but also its whats required right now because of the political climate, VanSant said.

The policy is not meant to obstruct ICE when pursuing individuals with criminal charges, but the agencys actions nationally and locally have left many feeling unsafe, VanSant said.

Were not trying to obstruct the law in any way, VanSant said. We also feel like theres a lot more safety at risk in the way that these things have gone down so far in our community.

VanSant said residents have raised concerns about transparency and whether those targeted have criminal records.

Many people feel like we are next? Where's the law and order? and who's protecting us? VanSant said.

Over the last few Select Board meetings, concerned citizens have spoken on behalf of Bridge to keep the conversation going and better inform the Select Board on the policy and what is being discussed during the Bridge meetings.

The idea is its safer for everybody if the local police are doing what theyre intended to do. They're not enforcing immigration policy, Erica Mielke said during a Nov. 17 Select Board meeting. Its about making it safer for everyone to feel that they can report being a witness to crimes. We hashed this all out in 2016 and at a town meeting in 2017.

VanSant said she would like to bring back a citizen police academy, where residents learn about police work, decision-making and available resources.

We always want people to develop mutual understanding and mutual respect, VanSant said. We can hold each other accountable. We dont have to agree, but I do think everybody needs to understand where each persons coming from and the Citizens Academy is really important to that.

She said the academy would be one of the first steps in updating the Trust Policy.

It's really an interesting course, and having an insight to what somebody else's job is, but especially one that can be under such scrutiny, it's important to be informed with what we're critiquing, what we're holding accountable and the baseline of real trust and relationships is the key, VanSant said.

There were always things Bridge wanted to return to the policy for, but recent actions by the federal government have made it so that time is now.

It's really important for people to understand that even people who are acting strange or sitting back or not engaging in programs, it's because of the fear of what feels unreasonable and unlawful and unsafe, not necessarily because there's some concern," VanSant said.

Bridge is a culturally specific public health organization concerned about rising fear among residents, VanSant said. Its also concerning that the fear is causing families to be less trusting of the resources they need to be healthy.

People that really don't even have any reason to feel scared, feel scared, VanSant said. People feel like 'they're coming after me next' or 'are they going to really take the time to understand who I am or what my situation is?' Theres just a lot of fear.

VanSant hopes that the conversation will remain ongoing and adjust as the community needs.

Were taking a long, intentional road and building trust and rebuilding trust and safety, mutual understanding, partnerships that are respected and listening to community voices, but in ways that we dont want to create more vulnerable members, VanSant said.
STOCKBRIDGE  Stockbridge residents can now get help with their rent or mortgage if they experience unforeseen financial hardship through a partnership between Construct and the town's Affordable Housing Trust.

The trust gave two awards of $25,000 to Construct  which offers affordable housing options and other supportive housing programs  for the housing assistance program. While Construct also runs rental assistance programs in Great Barrington, Lee and Lenox, this is the first time its partnering with a town for mortgage assistance.

Residents who are struggling to pay rent due to unforeseen life events are eligible to receive funds up to $1,000 through the program. Construct pitched the rental assistance program they had set up with the other towns, and one trust member asked if it was possible to do the program with mortgages, too. Construct then set it up.

Applicants can visit Construct's website or email Courtney Kimball, the program director for Construct, at ckimball@constructberkshire.org to apply.

To be eligible, applicants must have financial hardship preventing them from paying their rent or mortgage, be residents of Stockbridge, make less than 100 percent of the area median income ($83,700 for one person), currently reside in the housing unit they need help with, and not have reached the $1,000 yearly maximum, Kimball said.

Kimball said the organization is considering increasing the maximum assistance to match rising rental prices in the county.

The only difference between mortgage and rental assistance is where the check is sent, she said, as Construct directly sends the checks to the respective loan provider or landlord. Tenants who receive housing subsidies under the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program or Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program are not eligible.

"It's normally the people who, like, their rent went up, something unexpectedly came up and they just can't make rent that month," Kimball said.

"For folks like that  who have it all together, then something happens that's outside of their control  you want to make sure if it takes them a month or two to get back on their feet that they're able to without getting into a financial spiral," White said.

Kimball said Construct was looking to implement these programs for more towns, especially the mortgage assistance portion, as there is a lack of help for those payments. The Berkshire Community Action Council has the only other program in the county that provides monetary assistance on mortgages. However, their program is for people facing imminent utility shutoff, not general financial hardship.
A draft 20-point framework peace proposal is expected to be at the centre of talks between Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his US counterpart Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday.

Mr Zelenskiy has said the plan could become the basis of a future agreement to end the war with Russia.

After weeks of talks to modify an earlier 28-point draft seen as supporting many of Russia's main demands, Mr Zelenskiy said this week that most positions had been brought significantly closer.

Ukraine and the United States still had not reached consensus on two main points - control of territory and of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant - but Mr Zelenskiy has said he hopes to discuss both with Mr Trump.

Below are the points of the draft proposal as unveiled by Mr Zelenskiy and shared by his office this week.

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1. Ukraines sovereignty will be reaffirmed.

2. This point will envisage a full and unquestionable non-aggression agreement between Russia and Ukraine. It specifies that to sustain long-term peace, a monitoring mechanism will be established to oversee the line of contact through space-based unmanned monitoring, to ensure early notification of violations, and to resolve conflicts.

3. Ukraine will receive robust security guarantees.

4. Ukraine will maintain its armed forces at their present strength of 800,000 personnel. The earlier US draft had called for Ukraine to reduce the size of its forces.

5. The United States, Nato, and European countries will provide Ukraine with security guarantees that mirror Article 5, the mutual-defence clause of Nato's founding treaty.

6. Russia will formalise a policy of non-aggression towards Europe and Ukraine in all necessary laws and all required documents on ratification, including ratification by an overwhelming majority vote in the State Duma.

7. Ukraine will become an EU member at a specifically defined date. Ukraine will also receive short-term preferential access to the European market.

8. Ukraine will receive a strong global development package, which will be defined in a separate agreement on investment and future prosperity.

9. Several funds will be established to address economic recovery, the reconstruction of damaged areas and regions, and humanitarian issues. The objective will be to mobilise $800 billion to help Ukraine fully realise its potential.

10. Ukraine will accelerate the process of concluding a free-trade agreement with the United States. Mr Zelenskiy said the US position was that if Washington were to grant free trade access to Ukraine, it aimed to offer similar terms to Russia.

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11. Ukraine will confirm that it will remain a non-nuclear state, in accordance with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

12. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Mr Zelenskiy said no agreement had yet been reached with the United States on the issue of Europe's biggest nuclear power plant, which is located near the front line in territory now controlled by Russian forces. Mr Zelenskiy said the US proposal was for the plant to be operated jointly by Ukraine, the United States, and Russia, each holding equal stakes in a joint enterprise, with the Americans acting as the chief managers. Kyiv's proposal was for the plant to be operated by a 50-50 joint enterprise involving only the United States and Ukraine, with Ukraine receiving half of the energy produced and the United States independently allocating the other half.

13. Ukraine and Russia commit to implementing educational programmes in schools and across society that promote understanding and tolerance toward different cultures and eliminate racism and prejudice. Ukraine will implement European Union rules on religious tolerance and the protection of minority languages.

14. Territory: Mr Zelenskiy said that this was the most complex point, and as yet unresolved. Russia wants Ukraine to withdraw troops from territory Ukraine still controls in the eastern Donetsk region. Kyiv wants fighting to be halted at current battle lines. Washington has proposed demilitarised zones and a free economic zone in the part of the Donetsk region that Kyiv controls.

15. After reaching an agreement on future territorial arrangements, both Russia and Ukraine undertake not to alter these agreements by force.

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16. Russia will not obstruct Ukraine from using the Dnipro River and the Black Sea for commercial purposes. A separate maritime agreement and an access agreement will be concluded, covering freedom of navigation and transport. The Kinburn Spit, along the Dnipro's outlet to the sea, will be demilitarized.

17. A humanitarian committee will be established to resolve outstanding issues: a. All remaining prisoners of war will be exchanged on the principle of All for All. b. All civilian detainees and hostages will be returned, including children. c. Provisions will be made to address the suffering of victims from the conflict.

18. Ukraine must hold elections as soon as possible after the signing of the agreement.

19. This agreement will be legally binding. Its implementation will be monitored and guaranteed by a Peace Council, chaired by president Trump. Ukraine, Europe, Nato, Russia, and the United States will be part of this mechanism. Sanctions will apply in case of violations.

20. Once all parties agree to this agreement, a full ceasefire will take effect immediately.
Ireland will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from July 1st to December 31st, 2026.

So what does this mean?

What is the Presidency of the Council of the European Union?

The presidency of the Council of the European Union is responsible for the functioning of the Council of the European Union.

This is the co-legislator of the EU alongside the European Parliament. It rotates among EU member states every six months.

This means Ireland will play a key role in EU legislation across a variety of issues.

The Government launched public consultations in late 2025 to gather diverse perspectives from Irish society to inform the presidency's focus areas.

The consultation process concluded on December 12th.

Ireland will chair Council meetings that decide the direction of EU priorities and legislation.

Sustainability will be a key theme of Ireland's presidency and several high level meetings will occur, some potentially outside of Dublin.

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Has Ireland held the presidency before?

Ireland has held the presidency seven times previously, in 1975, 1979, 1984, 1990, 1996, 2004, and 2013.

Who attends Council meetings?

Meetings are attended by ministers from each EU member state, whose specific roles change depending on the topic (eg finance ministers for economic talks, environment ministers for climate).

EU Commissioners from member states also attend the meetings.

Irish ministers will chair the meetings for the duration of Ireland's presidency.

Security

Security will be a key issue during Ireland's presidency.

During Denmark's presidency drone activity forced airports to close and this could be a risk at Dublin Airport.

The issue was once again highlighted when drones, believed to be Russian, were spotted in the flight path of the plane carrying Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy during his recent visit to Ireland.

European Council president Antonio Costa susbequently made a visit where he said he had full confidence in Ireland to ensure the security of the State and the security of the European Council.

Questions still remain over the State's defence ability where Ireland could be a target of hybrid attacks, including cyberattacks or drone incursions.

In an interview with BreakingNews.ie, Fianna Fail MEP Barry Andrews said Ireland is "totally underprepared" for dealing with threats in our waters, but can avail of new support from the Connecting Europe Facility, an EU funding programme that is set to be increased from 6 billion to 30 billion.

Mr Andrews said this was an ideal time to focus on the defence of our waters, including the Connecting Europe Facility, as the next presidency of the EU will go to another coastal country, Cyprus.

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"The European Treaty is very specific; it says there should be special regard to island member states in terms of energy security because we're off the coast of the continent of Europe.

"That is something that's appreciated at EU level. So while I'm negotiating the Connecting Europe Facility and the sums involved, it is something that I will be bringing to the attention of my colleagues.

"We'll have support during the Cyprus presidency too, the next one, of course, another island nation, so also very cognisant of vulnerabilities in the eastern Mediterranean and the need for interconnectedness. So we'll have 12 months of island presidencies, it's a good time for the Connecting Europe facility to go through the Parliament."

What issues will be at the forefront of Ireland's presidency?

Housing issues, migration and climate action will be three big issues in the next six months.

Support for Ukraine will also be crucial with peace talks to end the war ongoing.

Accession to the EU is another area of interest, with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine currently waiting to join the bloc.

Active negotiations are going on for most of these countries, particularly Moldova, Ukraine, Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia. Turkey's talks are currently frozen.

How much will the presidency cost Ireland?

Minister of State for European affairs Thomas Byrne has said the costs will be "significant".

According to the Department of Public Expenditures report on the 2026 budget, 282 million has been put in place for the EU presidency.

The Office of Public Works (OPW) has also been allocated 11.7 million in capital expenditure for the EU presidency.

According to The Irish Times, An Garda Siochana has been allocated 125 million for security during the six-month term.
A woman has alleged that she was trafficked to Ireland for "politicians and notable men", according to a document in the latest release of the Epstein files.

The woman reported being a "victim of human trafficking involving Jeffrey Epstein".

The file was an internal FBI email released by the US Department of Justice in the latest tranche of documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein.

The woman alleged that she was raped by three men who were "part of an organization that would take photos of young girls". The woman claimed that her photo was used when she went to Ireland for "politicians and notable men".

The woman also said that she was "taken from Ireland" and brought to Jeffrey Epstein's island when she was 13 years old.

The file shows a redacted email, which states said that the woman called the FBI on October 22nd 2024. The email is from FBI official to a special agent on the same date, and sets out a summary of the phone call.

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The email has the subject line "Additional Potential Victim for Case NY-3027571". It says that the "human trafficking" began when she was five years old, when she was taken from the apartment she was living in and "cut in the throat".

The woman's name is redacted.

It says that she was raped in Paris by three men when she was 12 to 13 years old, before which she had been a virgin.

She later was taken Jeffrey Epstein's island from Ireland. When she was on the island, Prince Edward was allegedly there for Tony Hawk's wedding.

She alleges that "the only way to get off the island was to take naked photos or pose" and "that is why there are so many photos laying around the house".

World Full release of Epstein files may take few more weeks despite missed deadline Read more

The email also says that in one of the photos, she is the girl in the white tank top with a white purse, holding a water bottle.

The email ends with "[name redacted said that she has reported to multiple FBI offices before and they would get her information and 'kick' her out".

It also says that the woman is currently in Germany and seeking asylum.

It is unclear from the file whether the case is being actively investigated by US authorities, or if they have sought help from An Garda Siochana.
The HSE has been ordered to pay 13,000 in compensation to a foreign national who had a job offer withdrawn due to discriminatory requirements it set over driving qualifications.

The Workplace Relations Committee ruled that the HSE had discriminated against Lithuanian worker, Gediminas Gvazdauskas, on grounds of nationality in breach of the Employment Equality Act 1998.

Mr Gvazdauskas had a job offer withdrawn as a result of his inability to provide a statement from the National Driver Licence Service (NDLS) because he held a driving licence from Lithuania.

The WRC heard the impact of the discrimination was significant as the role was with a service with which he had a long-term working relationship and in which he had reasonably hoped to progress his career.

It awarded him the maximum sum of 13,000 allowed under the legislation.

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The WRC also ordered the HSE to initiate a review of its selection criteria in roles for drivers in the organisation.

It also directed the HSE to write to the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission within six months to outline the findings of that review and seek feedback on whether it was meeting its legal obligations.

The WRC heard Mr Gvazdauskas had worked as a site manager for an outsourced contract facilities company that operated in the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum for about 14 years.

Mr Gvazdauskas decided not to transfer to a new provider of the service when the hospital moved to Portrane in north Dublin and instead applied for a job as a porter/driver directly for the National Forensic Mental Health Service through an open competition.

He told the WRC that he was successful in the application, subject to providing a copy of both his driving licence and a copy of a drivers record from the National Driver Licence Service.

Mr Gvazdauskas said he could not provide a statement from the NDLS as he held a Lithuanian drivers licence.

He engaged with CPL, the company overseeing the recruitment process, which revoked his job offer after it was determined that he did not meet the requirements of the competition.

Although Mr Gvazdauskas submitted a complaint to the WRC about both CPL and the HSE, it was accepted by the HSE that they had set the criteria in the job application process, while CPLs role was limited to administering its recruitment campaign.

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Mr Gvazdauskas also had a letter from the Lithuanian licensing authorities which showed he had no offences.

The complainant said he was not alleging that the HSE set out to behave in a discriminatory fashion.

However, he said the requirements to provide a driver statement from the NDLS had the effect of discriminating against non-Irish nationals.

The HSE denied that it had discriminated against the complainant and stated Mr Gvazdauskas had been unable to fulfil a key requirement of the role for which he had applied.

It claimed the vacant role involved driving and the HSE needed to provide the documentation which was unrelated to race as any nationality can obtain an Irish driving licence once they are resident in the Republic.

The HSE said it had provided multiple extensions of deadlines to allow Mr Gvazdauskas to fulfil the requirement but he had not.

The WRC heard that the complainant had provided a letter from the Road Safety Authority which showed that three penalty points he had previously accumulated had expired at the time of the recruitment process when he was unable to obtain a statement from the NDLS.

He also obtained Garda vetting and vetting from police in Lithuania.

Mr Gvazdauskas said the NDLS had informed him that they could not issue a drivers statement as they held no records about his driving licence.

The WRC heard that the HSE told CPL that it understood that the complainant could only drive on an EU licence for a maximum of 12 months which was incorrect as the regulation only applies to non-EU and non-EEA motorists.

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WRC adjudication officer, David James Murphy, acknowledged there was a question as to whether Mr Gvazdauskas should ever have held a Lithuanian driving licence given he was a resident in Ireland when he obtained it.

However, Mr Murphy said the HSEs requirements that he had to obtain a NDLS drivers statement was separate to the requirement to have a driving licence.

He noted that the HSE did not make having an Irish driving licence a prerequisite for obtaining the role.

Mr Murphy said its apparent willingness to accept applicants who held a foreign driving licence meant they were indirectly restricted from obtaining the post.

He observed that Mr Gvazdauskas unchallenged evidence was that it was not possible for a person with a clean foreign licence to obtain a driver statement from the NDLS.

Mr Murphy said he was satisfied from the evidence that indirect discrimination had occurred albeit seemingly unintentionally.

The WRC adjudicator said it was reasonable to conclude that an Irish driver was far more likely to have an Irish drivers licence than someone with a different nationality.

He said the requirement to obtain a NDLS driver statement placed non-Irish nationals at a disadvantage in the recruitment process, while the HSE had not provided any justification for such a requirement.

Mr Murphy acknowledged that the HSE had a legitimate aim in trying to find out if job applicants had any endorsements or impediments placed on their driving licences.

However, he said it was not satisfied that the HSEs means of pursuing that aim was appropriate and necessary.
Irish officials believed the September 11th attacks would impact how US politicians viewed the Northern Ireland peace process, according to a newly released Government file.

One day after the terror attacks which killed more than 2,900 people and injured thousands more, a Government official put together a briefing document on its potential impacts on the peace process.

While noting it was very early days to assess the consequences on the foreign policy of the George W Bush administration, the official predicted that the US could not enter a prolonged period of introspection where matters of internal security and dealing with terrorism would dominate the agenda for a long time to come.

Former US president George Bush (Chris Radburn/PA)

Several US legislators had taken a keen interest and been involved in work towards the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, as well as subsequent efforts to maintain the peace deal.

The official predicted that the peace process would have to compete for space on the US foreign policy agenda, while noting that the war on terrorism may cause US legislators to take a more exacting approach with republicans in Northern Ireland due to the whiff of cordite.

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The Government official advised that this be considered in any plans for engagements in a review of the Good Friday Agreement, as well as the timing for any planned visits to Washington DC.

The briefing document, published as part of the annual release of Government documents from the National Archives of Ireland, notes former US president Mr Bushs comments that his government would make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbour them as a potential precursor of this zero-tolerance approach to terrorism which may now drive US foreign and defence policy.

The official said it was likely that US foreign policy would now be largely driven by the imperative of the war against international terrorism, and would see an environment where security-focused policy advice coming from the FBI, the US Department of Justice and the intelligence agencies would completely out-trump any more sophisticated or nuanced analysis of conflict resolution situations from the State Department or National Security Council.

It is likely, therefore, that defeating terrorism will become a central organising principle for US policy for some time to come.

In this regard, US policy makers may not be inclined to make fine distinctions between different varieties of terrorist organisation; between their various stages of transition from paramilitaries to politicians; or between the political and military wings of insurrectionary movements.

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The document states that while the perpetrators of the September 11th attacks were associated with the Middle East/Islamic elements, this will not insulate the republican movement from much more rigorous and critical scrutiny in an environment which increasingly lumps together, as the enemy, all shades of terrorism.

The document predicted republicans may experience a very chilly and more hostile environment in the US if it did not take quicker action on disarmament  which began shortly thereafter  and clarify its position on the Colombian guerilla group FARC.

It states: The republican movements attempts to prevent itself from being so branded will be seriously undermined by (a) its perceived failure to meet its commitments on illegal arms and (b) more especially, its recent associations with the FARC.

Former US president George W Bush with taoiseach Bertie Ahern (Maxwells/PA)

Since the beginning of the peace process, the Irish-American caucus in Congress has, with minor exceptions, been supportive of the republican movements progressive engagement with democratic politics, notwithstanding its militant past.

With both sides of Congress now apparently sharing the administrations view that the US is at war with terrorism, Irish-American Congressmen may now feel the need to adopt a more exacting approach in their dealings with the republican movement.

The whiff of cordite dimension (albeit at a respectable distance from its militant past) has contributed to the celebrity status of the Sinn Fein leadership in the US and to their appeal among Irish-America.

In the very different Attack on America environment which now pertains in the US, that same dimension may now become a drag on Sinn Feins respectability and access.

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On the same day, former taoiseach Bertie Ahern wrote to Mr Bush to express Irelands deep and heartfelt condolences to the American people.

I am deeply shocked and enormously saddened by the terrible and evil events that have occurred in the United States, he wrote.

I utterly condemn these horrendous and unprecedented attacks.

Ireland White House did not want photo of Clinton shaking Adams hand during 1995 visit Read more

It is difficult to come to terms with the scale of this dreadful outrage but our hearts go out to the American people as they try to come to grips with it.

The file also shows that Irish officials were monitoring comments by US figures in the weeks after the attacks, with former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer referring to the IRA while responding to a question on which organisations would be targeted in the war on terrorism  but later clarified the US would be limiting action to groups that threatened the US.

 This article is based on documents contained in the file labelled 2023/50/525 in the National Archives of Ireland.
A junior minister urged the Government not to be hiding from debate during the divisive 1995 divorce referendum campaign, which passed by the slimmest of margins.

Government files from 30 years ago made public by the National Archives of Ireland this weekend reveal details of government plans for the vote.

The November 1995 referendum passed by 50.28 per cent to 49.72 per cent, leading to amendment of the Constitution to allow for divorce under certain conditions.

A mother and her baby attend a rally in Dublin to lend their support for the Yes campaign (PA)

The contentious campaign was marked by slogans like hello divorce, goodbye daddy and give someone you know a second chance.

The high-profile nature of the vote  and ambiguity on the approach of Government  led Irelands ambassador to the Holy See seeking advice on how to approach the matter with the Vatican.

In a letter to the Department of Foreign Affairs secretary general almost two years before the referendum, ambassador Gearoid O Broin wrote: I note references in the press from time to time about a possible referendum on the question of divorce in Ireland next year.

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As you can imagine, this is a matter in which the Holy See authorities can be expected to take a keen interest and I would expect them to take their line from that adopted by the Catholic hierarchy in Ireland.

There is a possibility the secretariat of state may raise the matter with me directly at some stage. In the event that they do, it occurs to me that it would be useful for me to have a background brief on the issues, Mr O Broin wrote.

In a follow-up letter in January 1994, from the departments secretary general Noel Dorr to his counterpart in the Department of Equality and Law, Bernard McDonagh, Mr Dorr said it would be desirable to give Mr O Broin some guidance.

You will be conscious, I am sure, of the potential political importance of the position which will be taken by the Roman Catholic hierarchy on the issue, and this will no doubt be influenced by  and will in turn influence  the views of the authorities in the Holy See.

One of the billboards urging people to oppose the divorce referendum (PA)

At first sight one might be inclined to respond that the question of holding a referendum to effect constitutional change on this issue is one which the government should regard as purely internal and domestic.

Nevertheless, it may be desirable at the right time, and without prejudice to positions of principle, to allow the ambassador to brief the secretariat of state in the Holy See on the governments proposals as this may, indirectly, help to facilitate the acceptance of these proposals by the electorate here.

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In a separate file, Labour TD and minister of state at the Department of Equality and Law Reform Mervyn Taylor urged his Government colleagues to engage in open debate ahead of the vote.

He wrote to Jim Higgins, the chief whip of the rainbow coalition of Fine Gael, the Labour Party, and Democratic Left, opposing the proposal to take the divorce Bill to a limited committee instead of a more usual Dail debate.

He said: This Bill is exceptionally important and the government should not be seen to be hiding from debate on it.

Ireland Officials believed 9/11 would change how US politicians saw peace process Read more

Every member who so wishes should be entitled to contribute on committee stage, and while this would be possible in a special committee, it would be much more appropriate to have the debate in the full Dail.

The government should not leave itself open to the suggestion it was avoiding a full debate in Dail Eireann.

 This article is based on documents contained in the files labelled 2025/115/85, 2025/115/86, 2025/115/82, 2025/115/830, 2025/115/8 2025/1/1090, and 2025/115/83 in the National Archives of Ireland.
Two African countries have agreed to step up efforts to take back their citizens deported from the UK after the British home secretary threatened a visa ban.

Shabana Mahmood said last month she could stop issuing visas to foreign nationals from certain countries if those governments do not step up cooperation on the removal of illegal migrants from the UK.

Ms Mahmood identified Namibia, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo as the first to face a possible ban, though the three countries account for a tiny number of visas issued.

The UK Home Office said those countries had frustrated efforts to remove thousands of illegal migrants and criminals.

It said they had unacceptably poor and obstructive returns processes and accused the countries of refusing to process paperwork and requiring individuals to sign their own documents  effectively allowing them to block their own deportations.

Ms Mahmood wont hesitate to go further and ban visas to other countries who refuse to take their citizens back (PA)

Angola and Namibia have now agreed to new processes, under which the UK will be able to return illegal migrants and foreign national offenders in the coming months, the Home Office said.

The UK has revoked fast-track visa processing and halted preferential visa treatment for diplomats and VIPs from the DRC as a warning after it failed to make changes.

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There has since been some engagement from the country but Ms Mahmood has again warned she is willing to take further action.

A UK government source said the home secretary wont hesitate to go further and ban visas to other countries who refuse to take their citizens back.

Ms Mahmood said: We expect countries to play by the rules. If one of their citizens has no right to be here, they must take them back.

I thank Angola and Namibia and welcome their co-operation. Now is the time for the Democratic Republic of Congo to do the right thing. Take your citizens back or lose the privilege of entering our country.

This is just the start of the measures I am taking to secure our border and ramp up the removal of those with no right to be here.

We expect countries to play by the rules. If one of their citizens has no right to be here, they must take them back Shabana Mahmood, Home Secretary

Ms Mahmood unveiled sweeping reforms last month aimed at deterring migrants from seeking asylum in the UK and making it easier to remove people with no right to be in the country.

The three countries threatened with a visa ban are not among the most common nationalities of migrants to enter the UK legally or illegally.

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They accounted for a tiny proportion of the more than 800,000 visas granted for employment, study, family or humanitarian reasons in the year to June  299 to those from the Democratic Republic of Congo, 273 for nationals from Angola and 140 for those from Namibia.

And they made up only a handful of the illegal migrants recorded as having entered the UK through so-called irregular routes in that timeframe, with only 11 coming from the DRC, three from Angola and none from Namibia.

UK foreign secretary Yvette Cooper has told British diplomats to take a more transactional approach to illegal migration as part of efforts to speed up returns.

She said: I have instructed our diplomatic network around the world to make returns a top priority, and todays announcement shows that when countries work with us, we can achieve more rapid results.

People who come to the UK illegally, overstay their visas, or commit crimes in our country should expect to be returned, and we will continue to demand the cooperation of their governments in that process.

Since Labour entered government in July 2024, nearly 50,000 people have been deported from the UK and more than 7,000 foreign national offenders have been returned.
At least four people have been killed in clashes on Syrias coast between protesters from the Alawite religious minority and counter-demonstrators.

The violence came two days after a bombing at an Alawite mosque in the city of Homs killed eight people and wounded 18 others during prayers.

Thousands of protesters gathered in the coastal cities of Latakia and Tartous, and elsewhere, on Sunday.

Officials have said preliminary investigations indicate explosive devices were planted inside the mosque in Homs, but authorities have not publicly identified a suspect.



Protesters from the Alawite religious minority demonstrate in Latakia (Omar Albam/AP)

Funerals for the victims were held on Saturday.

A little-known group calling itself Saraya Ansar al-Sunna claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on its Telegram channel, in which it indicated the attack intended to target members of the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam whom hard-line Islamists consider to be apostates.

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Sundays demonstrations were called for by Ghazal Ghazal, an Alawite sheikh living outside of Syria who heads a group called the Supreme Alawite Islamic Council in Syria and the Diaspora.

An Associated Press photographer in Latakia saw pro-government counter-protesters throw rocks at the Alawite demonstrators, while a group of protesters beat a counter-demonstrator who crossed to their side.

Security forces tried to break up the two sides and fired into the air in an attempt to disperse them.



Syria has experienced several waves of sectarian clashes since the fall of former president Bashar Assad (Omar Albam/AP)

Syrias state-run television reported two members of the security forces were wounded in the area of Tartous after someone threw a hand grenade at a police station, and cars belonging to security forces were set on fire in Latakia.

Later, state-run news agency Sana reported a member of the security forces was killed by gunfire. Local media in Latakia reported seeing the bodies of four people killed in the clashes in hospitals.

Sana said 60 people were wounded by stabbings, blows from stones, and gunfire targeting both security personnel and civilians.

The country has experienced several waves of sectarian clashes since the fall of former president Bashar Assad in a lightning rebel offensive in December 2024 that brought to an end nearly 14 years of civil war.

Assad, an Alawite, fled the country to Russia.

In March, an ambush carried out Assad supporters against security forces triggered days of violence that left hundreds of people dead, most of them Alawites.



Protesters from the Alawite religious minority demonstrate in Latakia (Omar Albam/AP)

Since then, although the situation has calmed, Alawites have been targeted sporadically in sectarian attacks.

They have also complained of discrimination against them in public employment since Mr Assads fall and of young Alawite men detained without charges.

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During the rein of the Assad dynasty, Alawites were overrepresented in government jobs and in the army and security forces.

Government officials condemned Fridays attack and promised to hold perpetrators accountable, but have not yet announced any arrests.
The initial phase of Myanmars first general election in five years has been held, under the supervision of its military government while a civil war rages throughout much of the country.

Final results will not be known until after two more rounds of voting are completed later in January. It is widely expected that Min Aung Hlaing, the general who has ruled the country with an iron hand since an army takeover in 2021, will then assume the presidency.

The military government has presented the vote as a return to electoral democracy, but its bid for legitimacy is marred by bans on formerly popular opposition parties and reports that soldiers have used threats to force voters to participate.



A voter casts a ballot at a polling station in Naypyitaw (Aung Shine Oo/AP)

While more than 4,800 candidates from 57 parties are competing for seats in national and regional legislatures, only six are competing nationwide with the possibility to gain political clout in parliament.

The well-organised and funded Union Solidarity and Development Party, with its support from the military, is by far the strongest contender.

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Voting is taking place in three phases, with Sundays first round held in 102 of Myanmars 330 townships. The second phase will take place on January 11, and the third on January 25. Final results are expected to be announced by February.

Critics charge the election is designed to add a facade of legitimacy to military rule that began when the military removed the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. It blocked her National League for Democracy party from serving a second term despite winning a landslide victory in the 2020 election.



A man looks for his name on voter lists displayed outside a polling station (Thein Zaw/AP)

They argue the results will lack legitimacy due to the exclusion of major parties and limits on freedom of speech and an atmosphere of repression.

The expected victory of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party makes the nominal transition to civilian rule a chimera, opponents of military rule and independent analysts say.

An election organised by a junta that continues to bomb civilians, jail political leaders, and criminalise all forms of dissent is not an election  it is a theatre of the absurd performed at gunpoint, Tom Andrews, the UN-appointed human rights expert for Myanmar, posted on X.

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But holding the election may provide an excuse for neighbours such as China, India and Thailand to continue their support, claiming the election promotes stability.

Western nations have maintained sanctions against Myanmars ruling generals due to their anti-democratic actions and the war against their opponents.



Voters run to cast their ballots at a polling station (Aung Shine Oo/AP)

According to a count carried out at one polling station in Yangon after the polls closed on Sunday, 524 of 1,431 registered voters  just under 37%  had cast their ballots.

Of those, 311 voted for the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party, suggesting opposition calls for a voter boycott may have been heeded.

Ms Suu Kyi, Myanmars 80-year-old former leader, and her party are not participating in the polls.

She is serving a 27-year prison term on charges widely viewed as spurious and politically motivated.

Her party, the National League for Democracy, was dissolved in 2023 after refusing to register under new military rules.

Other parties also refused to register or declined to run under conditions they deem unfair, and opposition groups have called for a voter boycott.



Military rule began in Myanmar when the military removed the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 (Peter Dejong/AP)

Amael Vier, an analyst for the Asian Network for Free Elections, noted a lack of genuine choice, pointing out 73% of voters in 2020 cast ballots for parties that no longer exist.

Mobilising opposition is difficult under the militarys repression.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, more than 22,000 people are currently detained for political offences, and more than 7,600 civilians have been killed by security forces since they seized power in 2021.

Armed resistance arose after the army used lethal force to crush non-violent protests against its 2021 takeover. The ensuing civil war has left more than 3.6 million people displaced, according to the UN.

A new Election Protection Law imposes harsh penalties and restrictions for virtually all public criticism of the polls.
Winter rain lashed the Gaza Strip over the weekend, flooding camps with ankle-deep puddles as Palestinians displaced by two years of war attempted to stay dry in tents frayed by months of use.

In the southern city of Khan Younis, blankets were soaked and clay ovens meant for cooking were swamped. Children wearing flip-flops waded through puddles. Some people used shovels or tin cans to remove water from tents, while others clawed at the ground to pry collapsed shelters from the mud.

Puddles formed, and there was a bad smell, said Majdoleen Tarabein, displaced from Rafah in southern Gaza. The tent flew away. We dont know what to do or where to go.

She and family members tried to wring muddy blankets dry by hand.



Many Palestinians are spending winter in makeshift camps (Jehad Alshrafi/AP)

When we woke up in the morning, we found that the water had entered the tent, said Eman Abu Riziq, also displaced in Khan Younis. These are the mattresses. They are all completely soaked.

She said her family are still reeling from her husbands death less than two weeks ago.

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Where are the mediators? We dont want food. We dont want anything. We are exhausted. We just want mattresses and covers, said Fatima Abu Omar as she tried to prop up a collapsing shelter.

At least 12 people, including a two-week-old infant, have died since December 13 from hypothermia or weather-related collapses of war-damaged homes, according to Gazas Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-run government.

Emergency workers have warned people not to stay in damaged buildings because they could collapse. But with much of the territory in rubble, there are few places to escape the rain.

In July, the United Nations estimated almost 80% of buildings in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged.



Palestinian children carry sacks filled with firewood as they walk through a displacement camp in Gaza City (Jehad Alshrafi/AP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, has travelled for an expected meeting on Monday with US President Donald Trump in Florida about the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire.

The first phase that took effect on October 10 was meant to bring a surge in humanitarian aid for Gaza, including shelter.

Mr Netanyahu made no public statement as he departed on Sunday for the US.

Since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began, 414 people have been killed and 1,142 wounded in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry.

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The overall Palestinian death toll from the war is at least 71,266.

Humanitarian deliveries into Gaza are falling far short of the amount called for under the US-brokered ceasefire, according to aid organisations and an Associated Press analysis of the Israeli militarys figures.

The Israeli military body in charge of humanitarian aid said in the past week that 4,200 trucks with aid entered Gaza, plus eight rubbish trucks to assist with sanitation, as well as tents and winter clothing. It refused to elaborate on the number of tents. Aid groups have said the need far outstrips the number that have entered.

People in Gaza are surviving in flimsy, waterlogged tents and among ruins, Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the top UN group overseeing aid in Gaza, wrote on social media.

There is nothing inevitable about this. Aid supplies are not being allowed in at the scale required.
Top diplomats from Thailand and Cambodia kicked off two days of talks in China on Sunday as Beijing seeks to strengthen its role in mediating the two countries border dispute, a day after they signed a new ceasefire.

The ceasefire agreement signed on Saturday calls for a halt to weeks of fighting along their contested border that has killed more than 100 people and displaced more than half-a-million in both countries.

Thai foreign minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow and Cambodian foreign minister Prak Sokhonn were set to meet in Chinas south-western Yunnan province for talks mediated by their Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.

The talks aim to ensure a sustained ceasefire and promote lasting peace between the countries, according to a statement by Mr Sihasaks office.



Cambodias foreign minister Prak Sokhonn (Mandel Ngan/Pool Photo via AP)

Mr Wang was scheduled to join both bilateral meetings with each of the diplomats and a trilateral talk on Monday.

China has welcomed the ceasefire announcement, which freezes the front lines and allows for displaced civilians to return to their homes near the border.

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China stands ready to continue to provide (the) platform and create conditions for Cambodia and Thailand to have fuller and more detailed communication, a Chinese foreign ministry statement read.

The ceasefire agreement comes with a 72-hour observation period, at the end of which Thailand agreed to repatriate 18 Cambodian soldiers it has held as prisoners since earlier fighting in July. Their release has been a major demand of the Cambodian side.

China has sought to position itself as a mediator in the crisis, along with the US and Malaysia.

A July ceasefire was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by pressure from US president Donald Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed.



Cambodian defence minister Tea Seiha, left, and Thai defence minister Nattaphon Narkphanit, right, shake hands during Saturdays meeting (AKP via AP)

Despite these deals, Thailand and Cambodia carried on a bitter propaganda war, and minor cross-border violence continued, erupting into heavy fighting in early December.

Mr Prak Sokhonn, in a statement after his meeting with Mr Wang, expressed deep appreciation for Chinas vital role in supporting the ceasefire.

China also announced 20 million yuan (2.1 million) of emergency humanitarian aid for Cambodia to assist the displaced.

The first batch of Chinese aid, including food, tents and blankets, arrived in Cambodia on Sunday, Wang Wenbin, Chinese ambassador to Cambodia, wrote on Facebook.

Mr Sihasak said on Sunday that he hoped the meetings would convey to China that it should both support a sustainable ceasefire and send a signal to Cambodia against reviving the conflict or attempting to create further ones.

Thailand does not see China merely as a mediator in our conflict with Cambodia but wants China to play a constructive role in ensuring a sustainable ceasefire by sending such signals to Cambodia as well, he said.
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskiy are set to meet in Florida on Sunday for face-to-face talks on ending the nearly four-year war between Russia and Ukraine.

Ukrainian president Mr Zelenskiy said security guarantees and territorial issues in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions would be among the topics of discussion.

Mr Zelenskiy stopped in Canada to meet prime minister Mark Carney on Saturday before heading to the US.

He told reporters he would aim to ensure there were as few unresolved issues as possible in talks with his US counterpart Mr Trump, while respecting Ukraines red lines.

Mr Zelenskiy has said the draft peace plan includes a US commitment to provide guarantees mirroring the Nato alliances Article 5, which means an attack on Ukraine would trigger a collective military response from the US and its allies.

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But key details are still to be worked out, with territorial concessions the most sensitive of the issues the two leaders will discuss.

A day ahead of the talks, Russia attacked Kyiv with missiles and drones, killing at least one person in an attack Mr Zelensky said really shows that (Russian president Vladimir) Putin doesnt want peace.

Welcome back to Canada, @ZelenskyyUA.



Today in Halifax, we committed critical new support to help Ukraine end Russias war of aggression, and to recover and rebuild. When peace comes  and it will come  Canada will be there for the Ukrainian people. Slava Ukraini.  pic.twitter.com/UMrNZPVkcl  Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) December 27, 2025

The talks in Florida are the latest stage in Mr Trumps year-long effort to secure a ceasefire in Ukraine, having previously said he would end the war on the first day of his term in office.

On Christmas Eve, Mr Zelenskiy said the US and Ukraine had reached a consensus on a number of critical issues, and indicated he was open to creating a demilitarised zone on his countrys eastern border with Russia.

But he has continued to resist Russian demands that Ukraine give up two of its eastern regions, Luhansk and Donetsk.

Russia is also likely to object to a role for Nato forces in monitoring a ceasefire, which European leaders including UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and French president Emmanuel Macron have said must form part of any deal.

Mr Trump will host talks in Florida on Sunday (Suzanne Plunkett/PA)

Other European demands include allowing Ukraine to maintain a peacetime military of 800,000 troops and to join the EU, while the US has reportedly offered unspecified security guarantees.

Mr Zelenskiy has said a peace plan is about 90 per cent ready and that he hopes to discuss an economic agreement and territorial issues with Mr Trump.

He said he hoped European leaders could also be involved in talks either on Sunday or at a future date.

Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said on Saturday he would speak with the leaders of Ukraine, Germany, France, the UK, Italy and the EU ahead on the chances for peace ahead of the Florida talks.
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Eating outFood The best things we ate in Brisbane in 2025 From chicken shawarma in the far-flung suburbs to Patagonian toothfish and mud crab claypot in the heart of the CBD, here are the dishes were still thinking about. Matt Shea December 29, 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 A A A

In all my years as a food journalist, I dont think Ive ever eaten quite as well as I did in 2025. That might be because our reporting took us to a greater variety of eateries in far-flung corners of the city, whether it was charcoal chicken shops in Upper Mount Gravatt or shawarma spots in Underwood. Shane Delias Layla in West End. Courtesy of Delia Group So compiling a list of the best dishes of 2025 is almost impossible. Instead, think of this simply as a list of the dishes that still stick in my mind as we head into the new year. These arent my absolute favourite things to eat around town. Thats another story for another time. And theyre not all from new venues, either.

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Related Article Young-gun Snug chefs open fancy Coorparoo deli selling fancy sangers My only rule of thumb when selecting these dishes? I had to have tasted the dish for the first time this year. Queensland mud crab claypot at The Fifty Six I ate many things at The Fifty Six this year and all of them were excellent  chef Gerald Ong is the real deal when it comes to Cantonese food. Still, its something off his new(ish) menu that stuck with me: a Queensland mud crab claypot with vermicelli noodles and finished with chicken fat and aged Shaoxing. Mud crab claypot at The Fifty Six.

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Vermicelli cooked in the claypot has a long history in China. Perhaps the best-known version is served with prawns, the vermicelli slowly soaking up the richness of the stock and other ingredients. Ong, though, has given it an upgrade with a cloudy fish stock made with fish bones, ginger and spring onions  think of it like a fish version of a tonkotsu, he says  topping it with the rich sweetness of the mud crab and umami of the Shaoxing. The result is a dish as sophisticated as it is soul-warming. Habibi butter chicken at Layla Much was made of Laylas habibi butter chicken when the restaurant opened in late March. When I first tried it, it was a touch disappointing, but I suspect a line chef may have chucked the wrong herbs on top. Something wasnt right. Laylas habibi butter chicken with ras-el-hanout butter chicken gravy. Courtesy of Delia Group

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The second time, I got what everyone was raving about  tender chicken set in a rich, deeply flavoured sauce given a brilliant kick with ras-el-hanout. Its fabulous, clever cooking, and captures on a plate Laylas intent to illustrate the subcontinents long influence on Middle Eastern cuisine. Quail cotoletta at Summit Restaurant I have a thing for cotoletta, and the best I ate in 2025 was at the rebooted Summit Restaurant atop Mount Coot-tha. Coominya quail cotoletta with Jerusalem sage, buerre noisette, cress, radish and fennel shoots. Markus Ravik Made with quail, chef Kym Machin sourced larger birds from Coominya, deboned and crumbed them with sourdough, herbs and dried scamorza. On the plate, the dish was finished with almonds, radish, Jerusalem sage and beurre noisette. The crumb was pretty much perfect, with the texture of the dish rounded out by the almonds, a sprinkle of capers and the velvety burnt butter. Think of it as the ultimate comfort food.

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You mightve noticed, though, this is all written in the past tense, and thats because its not currently on Summits menu. Bummer. But the dish was and is a good indicator of the quality of the food generally at Summit, which, given the tourist-trap location, is much, much better than it perhaps needs to be. Chicken shawarma at Zooroona God, I love this place. After two different restaurateurs raved about the shawarma at Zooroona in a single week, I finally made the trip to Underwood. It didnt disappoint. Chicken shawarma at Zooroona. Markus Ravik Owner Mohamed Ghadban has hired Diab Kubahji in the kitchen. Half Syrian, half Lebanese, Kubahji had only just arrived in Australia as a refugee when he met Ghadban, but he has 20 years under his belt working as a shawarma chef.

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Kubahjis beef shawarma is good, but I think the chicken is even better. Tightly wrapped in house-made, lightly toasted saj with pickled cucumber and toum, it couldnt be simpler. Ghadban reckons the secret is the imported Lebanese lamb tail fat, which is placed atop Zooroonas vertical spit and drips down through the protein as it slowly cooks. It gives the chicken a savoury richness thats struck through by the pungent, zesty toum. Related Article This ugly-delicious Happy Boy classic is one of Brisbanes best dishes Better than anything I had in Sydney, one of those restaurant owners told me. I cant confirm that, but its the best Ive had in Brisbane. Charcoal chicken at Sizzling Birds

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When you think of charcoal chicken in Brisbane, its usually the shops dotted along Beaudesert Road in Acacia Ridge. But Sizzling Birds beats them all, I reckon. Sizzling Birds brilliant charcoal chicken. Markus Ravik Kesra Sefian uses a recipe mostly developed by his father, who owned takeaway shops in Sydney. Sefian is tight-lipped about the specifics, but he uses halal chicken from ABD Food Services that he seasons with Middle Eastern herbs, sea salt and plenty of fresh lemon. He then cooks the birds over mangrove charcoal that gives you this nice smoky flavour and burns perfectly. Chicken is enjoying a resurgence on Australian menus, but this is easily the best Ive eaten in 2025. Theres also a very good halal snack pack that comes topped with toum and sliced pickles bought off the shelf at Lebanese grocer Watany Manoushi just down the road. The beef brisket sandwich at Sarni

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This is as close to the ideal sandwich as Ive had in this town. Sarnis beef brisket sandwich. Markus Ravik First, theres the bread. Marty Coard, who co-owns Sarni on Racecourse Road with Noam Lissner, Hugo Hirst and Mat Drummond, describes it as not quite a sourdough, although it is fermented for 72 hours. Its pretty much the perfect sanger bread. Then theres the brisket, which is Angus beef brined for seven days, then smoked. The chunks of beef are luscious, with plenty of texture, but dont stray into being dry or stringy. The sauce is the stroke of genius. A Laotian-style jeow som chock-full of coriander and chilli, it gives the sandwich a fresh, herby note, and offsets the beef.

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Related Article Exclusive The light, bright and beautiful Cibaria is a restaurant fit for Noosa Theres some iceberg lettuce for texture and moisture, and a bone marrow beef fat mayo thats packed with umami. The final element is some fried shallots for a spike of flavour and extra crunch. The only catch? Sarnis menu is constantly changing, and this sanger with it, but its just about always for the better, as Coard and co continue to refine their processes and ingredients. In short, please eat at your earliest convenience. Patagonian toothfish at Opa Bar and Mezze

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Toothfish has become a popular addition to upmarket menus around town, but I havent seen it done quite as well as this. Patagonian toothfish at Opa Bar and Mezze. Filleted and cooked on the grill, the buttery, meaty fish is served atop a refined take on spanakorizo given a lovely zesty touch by the addition of a ladolemono sauce. Its a total winner, full of flavour and texture but never in danger of overwhelming its own protein (which can sometimes happen when chefs get carried away with toothfish). Restaurateur Michael Tassis venues are always consistent, but theyre at their best when leveraging his long history with the regions seafood suppliers, this dish being a prime example. Related Article One uppercut after another: Brisbane dining 2025 in review Related Article Brisbanes most exciting food and drink openings of 2025

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For subscribers Matt Shea is Food and Culture Editor at Brisbane Times. He is a former editor and editor-at-large at Broadsheet Brisbane, and has written for Escape, Qantas Magazine, the Guardian, Jetstar Magazine and SilverKris, among many others.
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From three-hatters Quay and Oncore by Clare Smyth to the Bentley teams Monopole and O Tama Careys Lankan Filling Station, these are the venues that recently served, or will soon serve, their final course.

With both Oncore by Clare Smyth and Quay announcing they will close in February next year, Sydney will lose two of the four three-hatted jewels in its crown. The degustation isnt dead, but crippling price hikes and changing tastes are conspiring to make Sydneys famed top-end dining pool a little shallower.

Contraction isnt confined to the three-hat category, with Sydney sadly losing a mighty band of quality restaurants in 2025; the French-leaning Monopole from the Bentley team, Chippendales adventurous Longshore and O Tama Careys Lankan Filling Station all serving their last meals this year.

Oncore at Barangaroo will close in February. Courtesy of Crown Sydney

Celebrity chef Luke Nguyen and sister Pauline Nguyens Red Lantern ended its impressive 23-year-run in November, the restaurants third partner, Mark Jensen, telling Good Food that lower diner numbers, relentless rain, the economy and Sydneysiders fascination with new restaurants were some of the reasons behind the decision not to renew the Darlinghurst stalwarts lease.

After an earlier exit at Tramsheds in Forest Lodge, China Diner closed its Bondi Beach branch, with co-owner Kingsley Smith explaining that the neighbouring gym has taken the Campbell Parade space, while the redevelopment of Manly Wharf was behind the August exit of Queen Chow Manly. Cheeseburger spring roll go-to, Potts Points Ms.Gs, joined the departures list on December 21 after a 15-year run.
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NationalScience Smartwatches track plenty of health data. How much of it is actually useful? Liam Mannix December 28, 2025  12:16pm 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 A A

Stefanos Sifandos has access to just about every recovery toy available. But before the chief wellness officer at P3 Recovery straps on his self-inflating compression trousers or ventures into the hyperbaric oxygen chamber, he needs to answer a central question: how is his recovery tracking? Naum Sekulovski inside a red light therapy bed at P3 Recovery Centre in Richmond. Justin McManus Exercise is the deliberate stressing of, to the point of minor damage, our bodies. Micro-tears open across our muscles. Inflammatory cascades begin. If done right, we wake the next day aching, as our bodies begin to adapt and grow stronger. But how do we know when adaptation has occurred, and when we are ready to go again? Sifandos turns to the metrics at his wrist, tracked by his smartwatch. Theyre great at showing trends  sleep duration, heart-rate variability, resting heart rate, he says. These three metrics, as well as sleep quality, he says, tend to be the most useful.

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Most modern smartwatches give you this data; some now combine various data points into sleep, recovery (Whoop) or readiness (Fitbit and Pixel) scores. But what is this data really telling us about our health? And how can we make the most of it? An Apple Inc. Watch Ultra 2 smartwatch on display at an Apple store. Bloomberg Heart rate, resting heart rate, and heart rate variability Our hearts sit roughly in the centre of our chest, beating about 100,000 times a day. Each beat pushes about 70 millilitres of blood, about a quarter of a baking cup. The average person has a heart rate around the high-70s.

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And dont try to compare your resting heart rate with your friends, Scott says. Were all getting older. Maintaining the same resting HR, rather than improving it, is still an improvement. If you put your finger to your pulse, it feels steady and rhythmic. But under close examination, the rhythm reveals minute variation  literally between every heartbeat. The Apple Watch emits a green light when measuring the wearer's heart rate. SMH / Supplied Why? Because of the way the heart is wired up. The heart beats in response to electrical signals from the nervous system. The two halves of our nervous system  the sympathetic and parasympathetic  are designed to be in constant tension with each other. The parasympathetic nervous system is our brake, always pulling us towards calmness and tugging our heart rate down (when the parasympathetic nerve is cut during a heart transplant, heart rhythm rapidly accelerates). The sympathetic nervous system is our accelerator, looking for stress, primed to trigger our fight or flight response.

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Related Article Cardiovascular health Why swapping your shower for a bath is good for your heart Theres always a tension between the two. If heart rate variability is high, thats a really robust nervous system, says Dr Kegan Moneghetti, head of cardiovascular clinical services at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute. Having a higher heart rate variability is good for the heart, and good for the body. Higher heart rate variability is a sign both sides of the nervous system are in robust health. As we become more stressed, our sympathetic nervous system grows more active, and our heart rate variability falls: researchers consistently see lower HRV in people who are sick. Its a sensitive metric, pushed up by exercise and down by alcohol, weight gain, or job stress. And it is an excellent measure of how well your body is adapting to training, says Professor Andrew McKune, senior adviser on recovery to the Australian Institute of Sport. Generally, the average weekend athlete will see their HRV increase after training, as their bodies adapt to stress. But if they approach exhaustion-levels of exercise, their HRV will fall, only rebounding after a big rest-break. For myself  as much as I can be a bit of a sceptic for these  it does seem to be a pretty good indicator of when Im going to get sick. I can see it trending down for three or four days, and Ill say uh oh to my wife, says David Scott.

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But he and other experts caution against reading too much into the exact HRV your smartwatch spits out. McKune typically spends a month monitoring an athletes HRV to work out the baseline. Your individual trend  up or down  is what matters. Its one component you might look at with interest. But we dont say your HRV is 20, you need to do this and this, says Moneghetti. Sekulovski in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber at P3 Recovery. Justin McManus Sleep, recovery, and readiness scores First-generation smartwatches merely tracked our health metrics. The modern versions try to turn these data points into scores: sleep scores, recovery scores, even readiness scores.

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Beyond that, is there an optimal amount of REM or deep sleep we should target? I hear it all the time: Im not getting enough REM, or enough slow-wave, says Lee. There is no great robust evidence that says increasing or decreasing certain stages is beneficial. Related Article Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos. Sleep Everything you need to know about getting a good nights sleep Even with those limitations in mind, Lee sees a role for smartwatch sleep scores, but suggests you focus on the trend, not on how you did in any individual night. Be fascinated by the data that comes back from the devices, he says. If there are problems, talk to a sleep doctor. Thats sleep. What about recovery? A small meta-analysis of seven studies on HRV, published in October, concluded heart rate variability did change meaningfully as people went through periods of stress and recovery. A 2023 meta-analysis of 17 studies found various recovery techniques  including massage, cold water immersion, stretching and massage  meaningfully increased HRV.

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But just because HRV is a useful metric, it does not mean recovery or readiness scores are. HRV is a component of these scores, but they are generally proprietary, and the companies do not share how they are calculated. We cant get into them to understand how they are developed, says David Scott. The reality is, theres not a lot of evidence behind them as to do they really predict if were prepared for peak performance. Which leads us to perhaps the most fascinating data-point in recovery: a systematic review by Deakin University researchers looking at what metric best captured how fatigued an athlete was and how well they were recovering. Sekulovski in a pair of compression pants at P3 Recovery Centre. Justin McManus The researchers looked at heart rate, blood markers, oxygen consumption, HRV and a bunch of other measures. But one surprise metric beat them all: how stressed or recovered the athletes felt. Your best indicator is how you are feeling physically and mentally, says Scott. Dont become too dependant or get lost in these metrics.

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Trends Stairway to hell: How the fitness tracker ruins my life Cherie Gilmour Freelance writer Recovery: what really matters The AISs McKune advocates thinking about your recovery strategies like a pyramid. At the bottom are the foundations that everyone needs to get right. Its not going to be anything special, says McKune. Make sure youre sleeping seven to nine hours a night. Refuel with carbohydrates and rebuild with protein. Replace lost fluids. As you go higher up towards the point, they become more specific to the preferences of the individual athletes, says McKune. The sort of stuff Stefanos Sifandos has at P3.

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Sifandos sees a role for sauna, red light therapy and hyperbaric oxygen  but ultimately agrees with McKune. The basics are key: sleep, hydration, light movement. Most people want the hacks, says Stefanos, but real recovery is unbelievably simple. 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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WorldNorth AmericaUS politics Opinion Trumps Golden Fleet battleship plan a disaster waiting to happen

Tom Sharpe December 28, 2025  12:37pm 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 A A

On December 22, at his Mar-a-Lago resort, US President Donald Trump unveiled plans for a new Trump-class battleship as the centrepiece of his Golden Fleet initiative. We now have renderings of the proposed USS Defiant  a 30,000 to 40,000-ton behemoth, possibly nuclear-propelled and armed with hypersonic missiles, railguns, lasers and nuclear-tipped cruise missiles. Trump declared these vessels would be the fastest, the biggest, and by far 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built. Starting with two ships, the goal is to have 20 to 25. Timelines for completion are not clear, but the first hulls in the mid-2030s is suggested. Based on the renderings and descriptions, this new proposal by US President Donald Trump resembles a large guided missile cruiser. AFP Reactions have been enthusiastic from the Presidents personal MAGA base, generally with some caveats. Others have shown bemusement, given the other more obvious priorities for the US Navy, and still others have ridiculed the plan. Trump talking about it in terms that an eight-year-old would find patronising and calling it after himself led many into the third camp. Im trying my best to remain in the middle group. Historically, the word battleship is derived from the line-of-battle ship, the ship of the line of the days of sail. These sailing ships, with two or three decks of cannon  HMS Victory, still preserved in commission at Portsmouth, is an example of the class  were deemed powerful enough to stand in the line of battle during a major fleet action. Smaller warships such as frigates (sometimes known as cruisers back then) could not stand in the line and were not battleships.

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Then came the days of steam, armour and gun turrets. The new battleships now carried heavy armour and came to devote most of their carrying capacity to the biggest guns possible  they were all big gun designs, the first being the British Dreadnought class of 1906. This same design philosophy lasted into World War II, with gun calibres escalating from 12-inch to 15- and 16-inch and finally to the enormous 18-inch weapons mounted in the Japanese super-battleships Yamato and Musashi. Not every detail of the Trump class is clear, but it seems the two main features of that last generation of battleships  armour and big conventional guns  will be lacking, which is reasonable enough as they arent much use in the modern world. Based on the renderings and descriptions, this new proposal actually resembles a large guided missile cruiser, probably closer to Russias Kirov class rather than an Iowa. The Iowa class (which Trump seems to have in mind) and the Kirov class are two of the best-looking warships ever built. You can see why a mash-up might appeal to someone striving for form over function. Its the function that is the problem. This mega-cruiser/battleship concept flies directly in the face of all that. Nearly all modern naval doctrine and thinking is heading in the direction of dispersal over concentration. Proliferating high-speed missiles, drones  above, on and under the water  alongside advanced sensors and communications all push us towards a dispersed, distributed force. This also increases redundancy and our ability to be in multiple places at once. Combine this with universal budget constraints, yard shortages for building large hulls and crewing leanness, and the direction of travel is obvious. This mega-cruiser/battleship concept flies directly in the face of all that.

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The other issue is fleet balance. For this, a navy needs a combination of high and low-end capabilities, both crewed and uncrewed. Its ironic that one of the first US strategists to openly discuss this hi-lo mix was Admiral Elmo Zumwalt whose name was given to a class of large, high-end destroyers which became so complex it had to be cancelled after just three were built. You have to be very optimistic not to see how the Trump class could go the same way. At the high end, the US Navy excels with its huge aircraft carriers and amphibious ships  although by hull numbers at least, the Chinese Navy is becoming a serious adversary. Then there are surface warships and attack submarines. Here, again, the US Navy is leagues ahead, although some of their destroyers, whilst still excellent, are ageing, and their ancient missile cruisers are on the way out. These old Ticonderoga-class cruisers are essentially larger destroyers with more Vertical Launch Systems (VLS) and a refined ability to direct area air defence. Destroyers and dispersed systems can handle these tasks, and for me, that would take priority over a new class of cruiser or battleship. A Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam sails in the South China Sea. US Navy/AP Below this, the US Navy starts to look thin. They dont have a frigate  a specialist anti-submarine warfare (ASW) ship  and the Russian, Chinese and rogue conventional and uncrewed threat demands this now more than ever. The US Navy does need a large number of lower-end cutter-type ships, but it also needs dedicated submarine hunters. This large and important gap in the US Navy remains. Navies and often external analysts tend to obsess over high-end roles, writing off anything that isnt peer-combat capable. But this ignores the fact that naval forces spend nearly all their time setting the conditions to avoid conflict. This is why mass and presence are so important. It has to be backed up by the high-end stuff if the deterrent effect is to be maximised, but its frustrating to see how many people write off things like the cutter plan as useless before seeing what it can do.

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Against all this, can a case for an American battleship/cruiser be made? Yes, it can. This ship represents ambition, presence, and symbolism  all good, positive things. At a more operational level, it would house a vast quantity of missile launch tubes and large radars optimised for hypersonic missile tracking. It would have lots of room for useful guns in calibres suited to anti-drone use  and maybe one day electrically powered railguns, if that technology ever matures. The US has given up trying to build railguns, but Japan is still working on them. If nuclear propulsion is chosen, the new battlewagon could have near-unlimited range and massive power generation. The power would not be for greater speed, but for data processing, electronic warfare, laser weapons and possibly railguns. New battleships could take on the fleet Command and Control function currently provided by the ageing Mount Whitney class. Related Article USA Piracy: US seizes oil tanker off Venezuela to enforce Trumps blockade However, I sincerely doubt that any new battleship could survive a hit from the champion ship killer, the heavyweight torpedo. After all, the old armoured battleships could be sunk by torpedoes. They could also be sunk by aircraft bombs, and there are plenty of anti-ship missiles out there that hit just as hard as bombs. So the Trump class ships would need layers of defence like those provided for aircraft carriers: and the outer layer is provided by the carriers fighter jets, which the battlewagon would not have. And while it is true that the proposed battleships would have useful things, it would usually make more sense to break them up across smaller, more numerous platforms. So that leaves us with presence and prestige as the only unique things the battleships would bring to the party.

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Then, estimates suggest these ships will cost $US9 billion per hull if made in numbers: $US14 billion for the first one. Thats the same as a Ford class supercarrier, even more if nuclear propulsion is chosen. Thats a lot of money in one hull when most of what you want it to do can be done better and more cheaply by something else. What price prestige? This before the matter of yard capacity to build it is discussed, which has even the most ardent optimists scratching their heads. Or pulling their hair out in frustration at what has become of US shipbuilding. Meanwhile, China, with impeccable and probably not coincidental timing, has just permitted the circulation of images of a container ship  Zhong Da 79  fitted with containerised VLS (around 60 missile tubes), radars and close-in weapons systems (CIWS  auto gun systems that can take out incoming missiles and drones). The Chinese have got the dispersal memo. The weight of fire, deception and sheer numbers this option could provide is deeply worrying. Their direction of travel is clear, albeit they are also continuing with high-end warship design and build at a high rate. As a concept, arming merchant vessels has been around for decades and has been trialled by both US and British navies. Until now, no one has taken it seriously. Related Article Analysis

US politics Whats in a name? Trumps vainglorious branding stunts point to underlying phobia The Chinese threat and the good health of the US Navy concerns us all. The mistakes of the Zumwalt, Littoral Combat Ship and Constellation classes made us all less safe, not just the US Navy. All three were actually needed to a greater or lesser degree. All three were botched in the delivery to the point of early cancellation, and billions were wasted. The trouble with the Trump ship is it feels like a fourth mistake waiting to happen. If their yards were churning out frigates and patrol vessels and had plans for the replacement destroyer, and the President wanted battleships as a status symbol on top of that, that would be fine. The problem is that this project is likely to divert money and yard capacity away from things that are needed more.

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Sipping deep from the Christmas cup of optimism, maybe this idea, and the presidential impetus behind it, will breathe new life into the US shipbuilding system, even if the golden mega-ship never materialises. I hope so, because that is everyones business. Tom Sharpe was a British Royal Navy officer for 27 years, commanding four warships. Telegraph, London Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on whats making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.
Cillian Sherlock, PA

Officials were concerned that opening Israels embassy in Ireland would promote a backlash from Arab countries, according to government documents.

The Israeli embassy in Dublin announced last year that it would close, with the countrys foreign minister accusing Ireland of crossing every red line in its relations with Israel.

Documents made public as part of the annual release from the National Archives in Dublin show the preparations that took place before the embassy was opened in 1996.

Among the considerations were the possible impact on trade from Arab countries and the cost of security.

One 1990 memo states: Irish trade with Arab countries is at a ratio of approximately 10 to 1 in our favour and is mainly sourced from indigenous industry. It is 20 or more times greater than our trade with Israel and likely to remain so in present circumstances.

Meanwhile, officials also factored in the security implications of expenditure and garda resources as a major consideration in the Governments decision-making process.

It was calculated in 1992 that security for an Israeli embassy in Dublin could amount to 802,000 (700,000) per year and would also result in an immediate demand that Arab states be allowed to open embassies in Dublin.

Similar concerns were raised around an unrealised proposal for the President of Ireland to undertake a State visit to Israel.

One Government file states: It might be argued that the chances of our incurring the Arab worlds displeasure by having a State Visit to Israel are slimmer than in the past but is it worth taking the risk?

A State Visit is usually seen as a mark of a high degree of friendship between two countries and it would not go unnoticed in the Arab world.

In 1993, Zvi Levy was told his work as Irelands honorary consul in Israel had been commendable and considerable.

However, after a Department of Foreign Affairs official was told Mr Levy had met with an Irish businessman in Gaza, he was reminded of the territorial limits of your jurisdiction.

The letter states: I understand that in the course of your recent discussions with officials in this Department you had mentioned that you were engaged in promoting Irish business interests in the Gaza Strip.

It adds: Your active involvement, particularly since the time of your appointment as Irelands Honorary Consul in Israel, is encouraging and promoting economic and trade links with Ireland has been commendable.

The department was concerned his activities in Gaza may give the impression he had an official role in the region.

The letter said: We are very conscious of the contribution you are making in that regard and are grateful for your considerable efforts. I am however obliged to draw your attention to the territorial limits of your jurisdiction as set out in your Letter of Commission.

Mr Levy was told: You will be aware that your area of activity is confined to the territory within Israels internationally recognised frontiers and accordingly does not extend to the territories occupied by Israel since 1967.

The letter added: On that basis, I would hope that any requests you receive for consular, commercial or other assistance that could involve you in the Gaza strip, or any other occupied territories, will be dealt with by directing the enquirer to the Embassy of Ireland in Cairo in the first instance.

 This article is based on documents in the file labelled 2025/124/345 at the National Archives of Ireland.
The Tacanooga Mexican restaurant at 207 Frazier Ave. in North Chattanooga has announced they are closing their doors.A post on the business' Facebook page on Friday said, "We want to thank all our customers for the last 12 years, but is time for us to close our business ... We (are) closing Taconooga effective December 26th."
The Camrys rapid rise as Toyotas best-selling hybrid caught a lot of people off guardespecially with the RAV4 being as popular as it is. Turns out, plenty of buyers still want a good old-fashioned sedan, even with no shortage of shiny SUVs on the lot.

A big part of the Camrys appeal is that it sticks to what Toyota does best: solid reliability and great fuel economy. Its roomy enough for family duty, cheap to run, and doesnt skimp on featuresespecially if you step up to the higher trims.

As gas prices keep climbing, hybrids are having a moment, and Toyotas decades of experience are paying off. Making the Camry hybrid-only was a bold move, but judging by sales, its one thats clearly working.

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In order to give you the most up-to-date and accurate information possible, the data used to compile this article was sourced from Toyota and other authoritative sources, including CarEdge, Edmunds, the EPA, iSeeCars, J.D. Power, and TopSpeed.

The 2026 Toyota Camry nails reliability

Toyota

If youre shopping for a hybrid sedan and reliability is at the top of your list, the 2026 Camry is tough to beat. It earns that reputation thanks to consistently strong owner feedback and proven hardware that carries over from the previous generation.

The Camrys reliability streak isnt new, either. Even as SUVs dominate the market, it keeps showing why its still a smart, dependable choice for everyday driving.

Toyota

iSeeCars gives the Camry an impressive 8.6 out of 10 overall, with strong marks across the boardincluding an 8.0 for reliability, 9.0 for safety, and 8.8 for value retention. Its also expected to last about 13.1 years or 171,785 miles, with nearly a one-in-three chance of hitting 200,000 miles, while depreciation comes in well below average at 37.7 percent over five years.

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J.D. Power backs that up with an 82 out of 100 overall score for the 2026 Camry. Highlights include solid quality and reliability scores, excellent resale value, and above-average marks for the overall driving experience.

The true cost of owning a 2026 Toyota Camry

According to Edmunds True Cost to Own calculator, a new base 2025 Toyota Camry LE will set you back about $38,952 over five years. That total includes $10,795 in depreciation, not counting the $29,000 MSRP.

Insurance comes in around $7,631, maintenance at $3,213, and repairs are surprisingly low at just $773. Taxes and fees are also minimal, totaling roughly $3,627.

If you finance the Camry, add about $5,687 to your costs, and fuel will run around $7,226 based on average U.S. driving. All in, its a solid mix of affordability and reliability over the long haul.

Toyota

CarEdge estimates owning a Toyota Camry over five years will cost about $36,432. Depreciation takes the biggest bite at $14,274, followed by $10,060 for insurance, $4,530 for fuel, $6,056 for interest, and $1,512 for routine maintenance.

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Kelley Blue Book breaks down maintenance for the 2026 Camry at $4,437 over the same period. That covers the usual stuffoil changes, tire rotations, and filter swaps at the recommended intervals.

Fuel savings that really add up

Toyota

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EPA fuel estimates for the 2025 Toyota Camry line up closely with Edmunds numbers. The front-wheel-drive LE stands out as the most wallet-friendly, costing about $950 a year in fuel, while the all-wheel-drive XSE runs just a bit higher at $1,050 annually.

The LE delivers impressive efficiency, hitting 52/49/51 mpg city/highway/combined, with a 663-mile range from its 13-gallon tank. That works out to roughly $1.59 per 25 miles and could save you around $4,000 in fuel over five years.

The AWD XSE isnt far behind, posting 43/43/43 mpg and a 572-mile range. Its estimated to save about $3,250 over five years, costing $1.84 per 25 miles, with a full 13-gallon tank topping off at roughly $41pretty reasonable for a performance-oriented trim.

A well-equipped cabin no matter the trim

Toyota

The Camry lineup starts at $29,000 for the base LE front-wheel-drive model, making it one of the most affordable hybrids in its segment. A lower starting price is always a smart move, and Toyotas sales numbers show its paying off.

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At the top end, the XSE starts at $35,200, with all-wheel drive available across all trims for an extra $1,525. Prices dont include the $1,195 destination fee, and while a few optional extras exist, Toyota sticks to a clean five-trim strategy rather than overwhelming buyers with choices.

Toyota

The Toyota Camry has always been a solid value, perfect for families who want space and reliability without compromising on build quality. Even the lower trims in the new generation are better equipped than ever, offering more features than previous models.

That said, the 2026 Camry starts about $5,000 higher than the 2021 model, marking a noticeable price jump. Its not just Toyotarising production costs are pushing prices up across the auto industry.

As much as 232 horsepower under the hood

Toyota

The current Camry sticks with the tried-and-true naturally aspirated 2.5-liter four-cylinder Atkinson engine, delivering 184 horsepower and 163 lb-ft of torque on its own.

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The front-wheel-drive hybrid pairs this engine with two electric motors, generating a combined 134 horsepower and 153 lb-ft. Toyota doesnt publish a total torque figure but caps peak power at 225 horsepower.

Add the all-wheel-drive system, which tacks on a third electric motor at the rear producing 40 horsepower and 62 lb-ft, and the Camry hits a total of 232 horsepower.

2026 Toyota Camry specs

Toyota doesnt officially release performance specs, so exact numbers are hard to come by. That said, Edmunds reports the front-wheel-drive Camry hits 0 to 60 mph in about 7.8 secondsjust a touch quicker than its rivalswhile MotorTrend clocks the all-wheel-drive model at a brisk 6.8 seconds.
James Jim P. Brown, 83, of Ooltewah, Tennessee, passed away peacefully at his residence on Thursday, December 25, 2025.

Jim was the son of the late W. Paul Brown and Margaret Brown and was born in Murfreesboro, Tn. He was a graduate of the University of Chattanooga, where he majored in Geology. While attending college, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant through the ROTC program. Jim proudly served his country in the United States Army, including service in Vietnam and Thailand, and retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

An avid lover of the outdoors, Jim enjoyed hiking and camping throughout his life. He was deeply committed to volunteer service and gave generously of his time to many organizations, including ten years as a volunteer with the Jefferson County Park Open Space Program in Colorado, the Kiwanis Club in Colorado, the Denver Nature and Science Museum, and nine years with Meals on Wheels in Chattanooga.

Jim is survived by his loving wife, Natalie Brown, of Ooltewah; his son and daughter-in-law, Robert P. Brown (Bobbie Mann), of Rancho Cucamonga, Ca.; two brothers-in-law; two sisters-in-law; and several nieces and nephews.

A graveside service will be held at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 16, at Chattanooga National Cemetery. Military honors will be rendered at the cemetery.

A Celebration of Life service will be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, at Apison Methodist Church, with Pastor Sam Reese officiating.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Wild Animal Sanctuary at www.wildanimalsanctuary.org, the Wounded Warrior Project at https://support. woundedwarriorproject.org , or to the charity of ones choice.

Please share your thoughts and memories online at www. ChattanoogaValleyViewChapel. com .

Arrangements are entrusted to Chattanooga Funeral Home, Crematory & Florist, Valley View Chapel, 7414 Old Lee Highway, Chattanooga, Tn. 37421.
Home News Ghanas Komba people receive complete Bible that could help preserve language from extinction

Ghana's Komba people received their complete Bible after 16 years of dedicated translation work. Speaking during the launch event last month, the Rev. John Kwesi Addo Jr., general secretary of the Bible Society of Ghana (BSG), emphasized that this Bible will deepen faith while serving as a major repository to preserve the Komba language and culture from extinction.

"This was more than a dedication. It was a cultural event that united the entire community: Christians, Paramount Chiefs, elders and Muslims, all celebrating 16 years of tireless translation work," BSG noted in a statement.

BSG partnered with the Lutheran Bible Translators to deliver the Komba Bible in the hope that the Bible will shape lives, strengthen families, and combat moral decay.

The Komba people live in Ghana's northeast region. Unlike many neighboring groups with centralized chieftaincy structures, the Konkomba traditionally organized themselves without a central ruling authority. Social life centers around lineages, clans, village elders, and local religious and spiritual leaders.

Historically, their worldview embraced traditional spiritual beliefs: reverence for ancestral spirits, belief in natural spirits inhabiting rivers, trees, and land, plus rituals led by traditional healers or priests.

Many Konkomba have since adopted Christianity, while others follow Islam. Traditional beliefs and practices still influence some communities.

According to Lutheran Bible Translators, Baptist missionaries established the first congregation among the Komba in Namong during the 1950s. In the early 1980s, Lutheran missionaries Tim and Beth Heiney moved to Ghana to serve the Konkomba area.

In 1968, church authorities assigned Rev. Walter Demoss and his wife Helena to plant churches and train local leaders in Northern Ghana. Though called specifically to serve the Moba people, Demoss also mentored a young Komba man, Rev. Samuel Konlaan.

Rev. Konlaan later voiced concern that the only existing Bible translation remained difficult for his people to understand because of the many dialects within the Komba language.

After years of preparation, organizers fully launched the New Testament translation effort in 2005 and assembled the team to translate the New Testament. Members included Mr. Elijah Matibin, project coordinator with expertise in Scripture engagement and literacy; Mr. David Federwitz, literacy and Scripture engagement advisor; Rev. Samson Bilafanim, translator; Rev. Emmanuel Mananyina, translator; Mr. James Adongo Wajak, translator; Rev. Nathan Esala, linguist and translation advisor; and Dr. Fabian Dapila, translation consultant.

Lutheran Bible Translators reports that the community played a vital role in the translation, ensuring the work not only conveyed God's Word but addressed the community's needs.

"The translation team sends them a printed copy. In some translation projects, reviewers choose to meet in a group, but the Komba reviewers decided to make their suggestions independently," LBT explained.

On Nov. 1, 2014, the Komba community gathered for a joyful celebration when they finally received the New Testament. Rev. Mananyina expressed his delight: "Reading the Bible has become part of my people. They are reading it day in and day out, and they have taken it upon themselves to do so. They have learned to read, and now they can go out and preach because they can read the Bible, something they were unable to do in the past."

Soon after the dedication, work on the Old Testament translation began in 2015. Mr. Elijah Matibin took on leadership of the project as KOLIBITRAP Coordinator. Lutheran Bible Translators, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana, KOLIBITRAP, and the Bible Society of Ghana signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to launch the Old Testament translation effort.

During this period, the team also recorded the New Testament in audio form and integrated it with the text to create a smartphone app. One Way Africa has now produced the full Bible in audio format to enhance Bible engagement.

Earlier on Nov. 2, the Bible Society of Ghana launched the Dagaare Bible after 18 years of work. Today, many Dagaare people, located in North West Ghana, are Catholic or other Christian denominations, while a number also practice Islam.

"The vast grounds of St. Andrew's Cathedral overflowed with people from every corner of the Upper West Region: men, women and children, Reverend Ministers, and the Regional Minister, all eager to witness this historic moment," the society reported.

In a 2023 report, BSG revealed that lack of financial support hinders their work to translate the Bible into numerous languages. The organization estimates that translating a single verse costs $20, bringing the overall cost to complete one language to $622,040 (GH7.2 million) over 10 to 15 years.

This article was originally published at Christian Daily International
Home News Treated as a criminal: Grandmother criminally charged for inviting people to chat outside hospital

A 75-year-old woman has been criminally charged in Glasgow for standing near a hospital with a sign inviting people to chat. She is accused of violating Scotlands buffer zone law, which prohibits influencing behavior near abortion facilities.

Rose Docherty faces two charges under the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Scotland Act for displaying placards near Queen Elizabeth University Hospital between September 2024 and February 2025, The Sunday Times reports.

The charges relate to alleged attempts to influence individuals accessing, providing or facilitating abortion services within 200 meters of the facility.

Dochertys placard, which read, Coercion is a crime, here to talk, only if you want, has become the center of what may be the first prosecution under the law in Scotland. She did not enter a plea during her appearance at Glasgow Sheriff Court and was released on bail.

ADF International, a legal group supporting her, said previous bail conditions barring her from areas beyond the buffer zone were rolled back during the Dec. 19 hearing.

I should not be treated as a criminal for inviting people to chat with me  lending a listening ear," Docherty, who lives in Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire, said in a statement shared by ADF International.

I simply stood, in love and compassion, offering consensual conversation to anyone who wanted to engage. Nobody should be criminalized just for offering a chat."

The legislation, which took effect in 2024, criminalizes harassment or any form of influencing within 200 meters of abortion-providing facilities. The law, introduced by Scottish Parliament Member Gillian Mackay, passed with near-unanimous support in Holyrood, following complaints about intimidation outside clinics. It includes provisions allowing the law to apply to private property when used for protest.

Police had offered Docherty a formal warning after her February arrest, but she declined to accept it. Her refusal opened the way for prosecution. Her arrest followed a second incident in September, when she again held the sign near an abortion clinic, according to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association's Decision Magazine.

After her September arrest, Docherty was held in custody for several hours and was not provided a chair, despite informing authorities that she had undergone a double hip replacement.

The U.S. State Department issued a public statement to The Sunday Times following the arrest, calling it another egregious example of the tyrannical suppression of free speech happening across Europe. It added, The United States will always speak out against these violations of fundamental rights.

In a speech at the Munich Security Conference in February, U.S. Vice President JD Vance cited Scotlands buffer zone law as an example of threats to free expression in Europe.

Dochertys defense has insisted that her actions were peaceful and consensual.

It is not a crime to have a chat on the streets of Glasgow, said Lois McLatchie Miller, Scottish spokesperson for ADF International. This is not a case about harassment, intimidation or violent protest  this is simply a peaceful grandmother who held a sign offering to speak to anyone who would like to engage.

The buffer zone law allows for fines of up to 10,000, with no upper limit for more serious offenses. Though a provision in the legislation allows prosecution for visible prayer on private property if it appears to be part of a protest, lawmakers said that private prayer inside homes would not be criminalized unless intended as a public demonstration.

Mackay, who introduced the bill and now serves as co-leader of the Scottish Greens, previously claimed the law was designed to end the intimidation and harassment we have seen of people who are accessing healthcare.

The next hearing in Dochertys case is scheduled for Jan. 13, 2026.
Home News Over 330,000 people sign petition opposing Macron's '21st century mark' on Notre-Dame

Over 330,000 people have signed a petition opposing new stained-glass window designs for Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.

The historic cathedral was devastated by a fire in 2019, the cause of which remains undetermined, although the authorities have consistently ruled out claims that it was arson or a deliberate attack.

Following extensive reconstruction, Notre-Dame was reopened to the public in December 2024.

The cathedrals stained-glass windows, which date back to the 19th century and were the work of architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc, were undamaged in the fire.

Despite this, French President Emmanuel Macron made it a personal mission to replace the windows with designs depicting the events of Pentecost by Claire Tabouret. The Church authorities and the Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, are also supportive of the multimillion-euro project.

Tabourets work went on display at the Grand Palais and is due to be installed in the cathedral next year.

An online petition, launched by La Tribune de lArt, denounces the planned changes, saying, The president of the republic has decided on his own, without any regard for the heritage law or Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, to replace the stained glass windows.

The petition also asks, How can it be justified to restore stained glass windows that survived the disaster and then immediately remove them? ... Who gave the head of state a mandate to alter a cathedral that does not belong to him, but to everyone?

The petition has so far gathered over 330,900 signatures.

In response to the criticism, Tabouret told Radio France, I want to give the public the chance to form their own opinion, because when theres controversy, there are also a lot of rumors.

While Macron hasn't yet commented on the petition, his advocacy for a contemporary gesture and for making a 21st century mark on Notre-Dame in its restoration goes back a number of years, despite opposition from bodies like the National Heritage and Architecture Commission.

This article was originally published at Christian Today
Home Opinion Why you should set up your spiritual tripod

You probably realize that God wants all of His children to become spiritually mature. But just how exactly does that come about? Is it automatic? And if not, then what role do believers play in the process?

Obviously, obeying the Lord is a huge part of spiritual maturity. Jesus told His disciples, "If you love me, you will obey what I command" (John 14:15). The more we mature in our walk with Christ, the more we obey Him.

As an example of how disobedience prevents Christians from developing spiritual maturity, the Apostle Paul addressed those in Corinth who were "infants in Christ" as a result of their "jealousy and quarreling" (1 Cor. 3:1,3).

But what gives us the strength and motivation to obey the Lord and do God's will? Well first of all, we need to know that our sins are forgiven through faith in Christ's sacrificial death on the cross. If we are not firmly rooted in the Gospel, it is impossible to develop spiritual maturity.

Compare spiritual growth to a tripod. All three legs of the tripod are essential to becoming spiritually mature.

The first leg involves reading your Bible every day. Like manna which the Israelites ate daily for 40 years in the wilderness, God's Word feeds the souls of believers as we feast upon Scripture every day of our spiritual journey on Earth. Jesus quoted Deuteronomy: "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4).

Believers who go all day without reading their Bible feebly hobble around without one of the legs. Just think how ineffective a tripod becomes in that situation, and how weakened we become in our life of discipleship. As soon as we get back to reading the Bible daily, the missing leg is restored.

And the more you read your Bible, the hungrier your soul becomes for the Word of God. The Apostle Peter wrote, "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good" (1 Peter 2:2-3).

Healthy babies crave milk, and healthy Christians hunger for God's Word. Jeremiah wrote, "When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight" (Jeremiah 15:16).

The second leg of the tripod is prayer. Whenever a Christian goes all day without spending significant time in prayer, the second leg is suddenly missing. Spiritually mature believers pray all the time.

Paul exhorted believers: "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17). And Jesus encouraged persistent prayer when He said, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7).

Do you read your Bible and pray every day? Both legs of the tripod are necessary in order to walk in wisdom and become spiritually mature. If either one of them is missing for even a day, your soul will experience less spiritual power and far fewer holy desires.

The third leg of the tripod is the only one that stays in place for a week. This leg represents weekly worship with your church family. Scripture instructs God's people: "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching" (Hebrews 10:25).

When a believer skips congregational worship, the reverberations last all week long. There is less power for prayer, less hunger for God's Word, less protection against anxiety, and less spiritual enthusiasm. This weakened and vulnerable condition is the result of making other things a priority rather than gathering with God's people for the teaching of the Word, fellowship, the Lord's Supper and prayer. (see Acts 2:42)

You may wonder, "But what if I miss church due to illness, or because of my work or travel schedule?" Even in those instances you will notice a definite decline in spiritual power, but not nearly as much as if you simply choose to skip church. When the third leg is down for a week, the impact is real and the ripples spread wide.

If you have been living under the false impression that church attendance is about getting a check in the box, think again. It has nothing to do with checking boxes, and everything to do with honoring the Lord, encouraging others in your church family, and being renewed in your faith by the Holy Spirit.

Daily Bible reading and persistent prayer are essential to maintaining spiritual health and growth. And weekly worship with your church family is a critical component of discipleship. So, are you standing strong on all three legs?

Obeying the Lord increases your motivation to engage in these three holy habits. At the same time, these godly practices increase the power you receive to follow Christ and do God's will. In other words, holy habits become addictive in the Christian life.

If you are born again through faith in the Messiah, then set up your spiritual tripod today. That is, if your heart longs to become a spiritually mature follower of Christ.
WASHINGTON - When Republican mapmakers in Columbus redrew Ohios congressional districts this October, they did their best to make one of the nations most improbable Democrat-held districts even harder for its longtime officeholder to retain.

U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, the 79-year-old Toledo Democrat who has represented northwest Ohio for more than four decades, started the year in a district that Donald Trump carried by 6.5 points in 2024.

A map unanimously approved by Ohios bipartisan Redistricting Commission on Oct. 31 put her 9th congressional district into territory that backed Trump by 10.5 points - making it one of the most Republican-leaning seats held by any Democrat in the country.

The new map represents the latest GOP effort to oust Kaptur through redistricting. But even after GOP mapmakers forced her into a demographically Republican district following the 2020 Census, she won two successive elections in hostile terrain.

Through it all, shes remained focused on representing her district. She expressed frustration by what she sees as the frivolous nature of repeated redistricting efforts.

The people who drew the maps dont care about the people and the needs of the area, and are drawing the district for themselves, not for the people that live in the region, she said.

They think its a game. ... They just move lines, but they dont realize how long it takes to do something of merit in these places, she said. You dont learn a district in a year. It takes time for people to communicate with you and for you to get a clear sense of how to help.

Last year, Kaptur was one of just 13 Democratic Congress members in the nation who carried districts won by Trump.

We ran on our record of results for the region that I represent, Kaptur said.

Now, with a field of five Republicans already filing paperwork to challenge her in 2026 - including the Republican who came close to beating her in 2024, former state legislator Derek Merrin, the National Republican Congressional Committee has declared Kaptur one of the most vulnerable Democrats in America.

State Senate President Rob McColley, whose home county of Henry was added to the district in the new map, is also widely rumored to be eyeing the seat, though he has not formally announced.

Desperate and out of touch, Democrat Marcy Kaptur is clinging to a record of failure, said a statement from NRCC spokesman Zach Bannon. Ohioans are done with Kapturs radical circus, the empty rhetoric, and the self-serving politics. Come November, theyll make sure she is out of a job.

Kaptur, however, has heard it all before. And shes not backing down.

The longest-serving woman in Congress

When Kaptur was sworn into office in January 1983, there were roughly two dozen women in Congress. Return of the Jedi was the top-grossing film, Michael Jacksons Thriller dominated the airwaves, and Sally Ride had just become the first American woman in space.

On January 3, 2023, she made history by becoming the longest-serving woman ever in Congress, breaking a record previously held by former Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland. Kaptur comes from Toledos working class - her father was an independent produce trucker who became an auto worker for health insurance, and her mother worked at a Champion spark plug factory where she helped organize a union.

Over her 42 years in office, Kaptur has built a formidable record. She wrote the legislation that established the World War II Memorial on the National Mall and secured more than $1 billion to modernize the Soo Locks, a critical Great Lakes transportation hub. She helped pass $400 million for the Veterans Glass City Skyway Bridge over the Maumee River in Toledo and directed billions of dollars in American Rescue Plan funding to Ohio communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many of her proudest achievements, she notes, took more than a decade to accomplish - 17 years for the World War II Memorial, 16 years for the Veterans Glass City Skyway Bridge.

Anything of significance doesnt happen overnight, you have to dig in, said Kaptur. It is like doing a sculpture, not a quick watercolor.

She says her seniority on the House Appropriations Committee, where she serves as the ranking Democrat on the Energy and Water Development Subcommittee, gives her leverage to channel federal resources to Ohio. She co-chairs the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, the Congressional Poland Caucus, the House Great Lakes Task Force with South Russell GOP Rep. David Joyce, and serves on the House Auto Caucus and Steel Caucus.

Losing her seniority in Congress would matter to every county and community in Ohio, she argues.

If you look at the distribution of committee assignments in this Congress, there is no one that could replace my position on committees, she says.

Gerrymandering Ohio

Kapturs ability to survive everything Republicans have thrown at her over the years made her a top target in a national Republican campaign to hang onto the partys slim control over the U.S. House of Representatives by redrawing congressional districts all over the country.

President Donald Trump has pressured Republican-controlled states including Texas, Missouri and North Carolina to reconfigure their maps mid-decade, marking one of the largest coordinated redistricting attempts between censuses in modern American history. Democrats countered with their own push to redistrict states they control, like California, though they face structural disadvantages since Republican-controlled legislatures outnumber Democratic ones.

Ohio was already scheduled to redraw its congressional districts in 2024 because of the circumstances under which its previous map was passed. In addition to targeting Kapturs district, the newly adopted map makes the district represented by Cincinnati Democrat Greg Landsman significantly more Republican.

Ohios redistricting plan was the result of a last-minute deal between Republican and Democratic legislative leaders. Democrats agreed to the map to avoid an even worse scenario: Republicans threatened to pass a party-line map designed to help their party win 13 of Ohios 15 House seats, up from the current 10-5 split. Democrats had considered organizing a statewide referendum to block such a map but were concerned about collecting the nearly 250,000 signatures needed during a 90-day winter period.

A statement Kaptur posted on social media after the maps adoption said that gerrymandering diminishes our states stature even as population stagnates.

While Democrats on the Redistricting Commission proposed a fair map at the outset of this process, in one party rule Columbus, self-interested politicians cut side deals to pave their own future, her statement continued. Our democracy works best when voters choose their leaders, not when politicians choose their voters. Let the Columbus politicians make their self-serving maps and play musical chairs, I will fight on for the people and ask the voters for their support next year.

Republicans began targeting Kaptur in earnest after the 2020 census. In 2021, GOP lawmakers replaced the comfortably Democratic Lake Erie shoreline district shed held for a decade - which stretched from Toledo to Cleveland - with a new configuration that extended to Ohios western border and included conservative rural counties.

Despite the unfavorable map, Kaptur won 56.6% of the vote in 2022 against Trump-backed Republican J.R. Majewski, whose campaign collapsed after an Associated Press investigation revealed he had misrepresented his military service. In 2024, she won 48% of the vote against Merrin and a Libertarian candidate despite Trump winning the district.

The new district abandons areas closer to Toledo while expanding into strongly Republican sections of northwest Ohio. But it does include a significant area where voters also backed former President Barack Obama, suggesting there may be ancestral Democratic DNA that could help Kaptur, according to a review by Sabatos Crystal Ball, a nonpartisan political analysis site run by the University of Virginias Center for Politics.

Forecasters at Sabatos Crystal Ball moved their assessment of Kapturs race from Toss-up to Leans Republican following the redistricting. But the analysts noted that this is not a no-brainer Republican pickup - its still a battleground for 2026.

A corrupt state

Kaptur sees the redistricting as part of a broader pattern of corruption in Ohio politics, pointing to recent high-profile cases of state officials going to federal prison. She cited former Republican Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, who got a 20 year sentence for secretly receiving $60 million from Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp to fund his political operation, in exchange for passing legislation worth more than $1 billion for the company.

Ohio has become a corrupt state, she said. How many other state legislatures did the Speaker of the House go to federal prison? When I look at whats going down in our legislature, Im ashamed of my state. Ohioans better wake up.

She argues that the redistricting process shows no respect for the public or for the communities that are drawn into a district.

Despite the challenging map, Kaptur is moving forward with her reelection campaign, and she has a strategy: Focus relentlessly on what she has delivered for northwest Ohio.

Her pitch to voters in the new, more rural parts of her district centers on agricultural policy and economic development. She touts her legislation promoting ethanol and biodiesel production, which she says now represents half of farmers income in a region where agricultural exports to China have collapsed due to tariffs. Shes also highlighting her work safeguarding the Lima tank plant when the Army discussed phasing out Abrams tanks.

I know what Im going to find, Kaptur said of the newly added counties. I know Im going to find many, many public works that have been neglected. I know I will find an agricultural community that is experiencing increased insurance rates, health insurance rates and loss of sales in our major commodities.

Shes been holding town halls in the new parts of her district, including one in Ottawa, Ohio, in Putnam County, where 40 people turned out at 9 p.m. They were just so excited to have a member of Congress, she recalled.

Kaptur also emphasizes her work on infrastructure improvements throughout northwest Ohio. Every single federal highway I represent has been improved, she said, noting that these improvements have attracted new businesses like a paper products company in Defiance that will create 400 jobs - the largest economic development project in the history of Defiance.

Other achievements she cites include securing funding for Great Lakes cleanup initiatives, supporting the 180th Fighter Wing, helping save the Medical University of Toledo, and building the Great Lakes History Museum.

People know our work, she says as she rattles off the projects. I just have to remind them of it.

2026 challengers

As Kaptur prepares for what could be her toughest reelection fight yet, the Republican field is already forming and fundraising. Merrin has raised more than $406,000, while Air National Guard Lt. Col. Alea Nadeem has raised more than $322,000. Other GOP candidates include Ohio Rep. Josh Williams, who has raised more than $265,000, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Wayne Charles Kinsel, who has collected more than $90,000 and businessman Anthony Bruce Campbell, who hasnt reported any fundraising to the Federal Election Commission. Kaptur herself has raised more than $1.1 million.

We came closer than any candidate ever came to defeating Marcy Kaptur despite being outspent by millions and millions of dollars, Merrin told a Toledo television station when he announced hed seek a rematch. Less than 49% of the people said, ' We want Marcy Kaptur to continue beyond 40 years. "

The GOP hopefuls blame Kaptur for this falls government shutdown, say shes been in Washington too long, and argue that Republicans would better represent the region.

Ohio deserves a representative who puts our families first  not one who puts New York and California extremism first," said a statement from Nadeem.

The race is shaping up as a test of whether longtime service can overcome partisan geography in an era of intense polarization. Kapturs record of winning in Trump territory suggests its possible, but the new map pushes that theory to its limits.

Im extremely proud to be a representative from what I call the Great Lakes nation, Kaptur said. When I look at the progress that weve made in the restoration of the steel industry, the recovery of the automotive industry, when I look at the artistry with our museums, our orchestras, our boating community, the largest in the entire Great Lakes, the effort that our people put forward - Im very proud of the regions that Ive been privileged to represent. Weve done a lot with a lot of folks poised against us.

Whether that will be enough to overcome a Trump +10.5 district in 2026 remains an open question. But if history is any guide, it would be foolish to count Kaptur out.
Amazon's new MK30 Prime Air drone is displayed during Amazon's "Delivering the Future" event at the company's BFI1 Fulfillment Center, Robotics Research and Development Hub in Sumner, Washington on Oct. 18, 2023.

Amazon said on Sunday it has decided not to pursue plans to deliver goods by drone in Italy, saying that while it had made good progress with aerospace regulators, broader business regulatory issues did not support the project.

The Italian civil aviation ENAC called the decision unexpected, saying in a statement on Saturday the move was motivated by company policy, linked to "recent financial events involving the Group."

The company had announced in December 2024 the successful completion of initial tests of delivery drones in San Salvo, a town in the central Abruzzo region.

In a statement to Reuters on Sunday, Amazon said:

"Following a strategic review, we have decided to stop our commercial drone delivery plans in Italy".

"Despite positive engagement and progress with Italian aerospace regulators, the broader business regulatory framework in the country does not, at this time, support our longer-term objectives for this program," Amazon added.
Brigitte Bardot, the French 1960s sex symbol who became one of the greatest screen sirens of the 20th century and later a militant animal rights activist and far-right supporter, has died. She was 91.

Bardot died Sunday at her home in southern France, according to Bruno Jacquelin, of the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the protection of animals. Speaking to The Associated Press, he gave no cause of death, and said that no arrangements had been made for funeral or memorial services. She had been hospitalized last month.

Bardot became an international celebrity as a sexualized teen bride in the 1956 movie "And God Created Woman." Directed by then husband Roger Vadim, it triggered a scandal with scenes of the long-legged beauty dancing on tables naked.

At the height of a cinema career that spanned more than two dozen films and three marriages, Bardot came to symbolize a nation bursting out of bourgeois respectability. Her tousled, blond hair, voluptuous figure and pouty irreverence made her one of France's best-known stars, even as she struggled with depression.

Such was her widespread appeal that in 1969 her features were chosen to be the model for "Marianne," the national emblem of France and the official Gallic seal. Bardot's face appeared on statues, postage stamps and coins.

''We are mourning a legend,'' French President Emmanuel Macron said in an X post.

Bardot's second career as an animal rights activist was equally sensational. She traveled to the Arctic to blow the whistle on the slaughter of baby seals. She also condemned the use of animals in laboratory experiments, and she opposed Muslim slaughter rituals.

"Man is an insatiable predator," Bardot told The Associated Press on her 73rd birthday, in 2007. "I don't care about my past glory. That means nothing in the face of an animal that suffers, since it has no power, no words to defend itself."

Her activism earned her compatriots' respect and, in 1985, she was awarded the Legion of Honor, the nation's highest recognition.

Turn to the far right

Later, however, she fell from public grace as her animal protection diatribes took on a decidedly extremist tone. She frequently decried the influx of immigrants into France, especially Muslims.

She was convicted and fined five times in French courts of inciting racial hatred, in incidents inspired by her opposition to the Muslim practice of slaughtering sheep during annual religious holidays.

Bardot's 1992 marriage to fourth husband Bernard d'Ormale, a onetime adviser to far-right National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, contributed to her political shift. She described Le Pen, an outspoken nationalist with multiple racism convictions of his own, as a "lovely, intelligent man."

In 2012, she supported the presidential bid of Marine Le Pen, who now leads her father's renamed National Rally party. Le Pen paid homage Sunday to an "exceptional woman" who was "incredibly French."

In 2018, at the height of the #MeToo movement, Bardot said in an interview that most actors protesting sexual harassment in the film industry were "hypocritical," because many played "the teases" with producers to land parts.

She said she had never had been a victim of sexual harassment and found it "charming to be told that I was beautiful or that I had a nice little ass."

Privileged but 'difficult' upbringing

Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot was born Sept. 28, 1934, to a wealthy industrialist. A shy child, she studied classical ballet and was discovered by a family friend who put her on the cover of Elle magazine at age 14.

Bardot once described her childhood as "difficult" and said that her father was a strict disciplinarian who would sometimes punish her with a horse whip.

Vadim, a French movie produce who she married in 1952, saw her potential and wrote "And God Created Woman" to showcase her provocative sensuality, an explosive cocktail of childlike innocence and raw sexuality.
Bom Kim, founder and chief executive officer of Coupang, speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., on Tuesday, April 30, 2019.

Online retailer Coupang's founder Kim Bom apologized for the first time for a recent leak of customer data and pledged to unveil a compensation plan as soon as possible, in a statement posted on the South Korean company's website.

Coupang's U.S.-based chairman said in Korean that he "sincerely apologizes" for the data breach, which was first revealed in November, and also pledged investments and reforms to prevent data breaches.

Kim has faced intense criticism in South Korea for failing to attend parliamentary hearings held in Seoul earlier this month on one of the country's worst data breaches.

On Sunday, Rep. Choi Min-hee of the ruling Democratic Party posted on Facebook a photo of a document that Kim sent to the National Assembly saying he would again be unable to attend a hearing, scheduled for this week, citing other appointments.

"What in his schedule could be more important to him than this hacking incident?" Choi said. "Kim is insulting the public."

Kim said the company, in cooperation with the government, has restored all leaked personal information and confirmed that data from 3,000 of Coupang's 33 million customers had been saved by a suspect on his personal computer but was neither transferred nor sold to any third party.

Coupang will announce a compensation plan for South Korean customers as soon as possible, he said, without elaborating.

South Korean lawmakers are seeking to take legal action against the company's billionaire founder, arguing the New York-listed online retailer earns most of its revenue from sales in South Korea.

Kim said Coupang had worked closely with the South Korean government's investigation into the breach, while maintaining confidentiality.

The comment followed a complaint by the government that the firm unilaterally disclosed information that the suspect was a former employee.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shake hands during a press conference after their lunch meeting at Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort, in Palm Beach, Florida, on Dec. 28, 2025.

President Donald Trump on Sunday said that talks to end the Russia-Ukraine war had progressed after his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Florida, though Trump acknowledged that thorny issues over territory remain.

"I do think we're getting a lot closer, maybe very close," Trump told reporters after emerging from the talks.

In his remarks, Zelenskyy called the peace talks a "really great discussion" in which U.S.-Ukraine security guarantees were "100% agreed" upon, though Trump gave a slightly lower estimate when asked about that part of the proposal.

"We agree that security guarantees is a key milestone in achieving lasting peace," Zelenskyy said.

Further, the Ukrainian president said that Trump will host meetings next month with Ukrainian and European leaders to continue developing the peace plan.

When asked by a reporter what issues remain unresolved, Trump said it was about "the land."

"Some of that land has been taken," Trump said. "Some of that land is maybe up for grabs, but it may be taken over the next period of a number of months, and you are better off making a deal now."

Earlier Sunday in a Truth Social post, Trump said he had a "good and very productive telephone call" with Putin ahead of the Zelenskyy talks.

Trump told reporters on Sunday that he planned on calling Putin again after the conclusion of the meeting.

The high-stakes conversations at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort come at a key moment in efforts to end nearly four years of war initiated when Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022.

Zelenskyy, who arrived in Florida early Sunday, has said the two leaders plan to talk about economic and security agreements and the "territorial issues" that remain major sticking points between Russia and Ukraine.

While Zelenskyy told reporters this week that a 20-point peace proposal is roughly 90% ready, it's unclear if the outcome of the peace talks would be acceptable to Putin. Chief obstacles to an agreement with Russia include the Donbas areas most highly coveted by Putin, U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine, and the status of Europe's largest nuclear plant.

Moscow has reportedly made advances on the battlefield in recent months, claiming control over more regions of eastern Ukraine, and their officials have repeatedly insisted that Ukraine give up all of the Donbas, even parts that are still under Kyiv's control.

On Saturday, Russia hit Ukraine's capital and other parts of the country with hundreds of missiles and drones, knocking out power and heat in parts of the capital, according to Reuters. Zelenskyy called it Russia's response to the U.S.-brokered peace efforts.
The growing wealth and enhanced spending power of the over-50s is poised to accelerate a range of investment opportunities across multiple sectors in the U.K., according to investors.

Market pros say this age group  dubbed the "Grey Pound" or "Silver Spenders"  is gaining greater control over its assets. With greater wealth and more discretionary income, a larger chunk of this demographic is increasingly seen as the new "idle rich."

Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said that the over-50s were an increasingly influential demographic within the consumer space.

"Those still working might be well advanced in their career, paid off their mortgage, and have lots of disposable cash. They might have worked hard for decades and feel like they deserve to splash the cash," Coatsworth told CNBC.

"Those in retirement might be in the generation that received generous defined benefit pension schemes and collect a tidy sum to fund an extravagant lifestyle," he added.

Coatsworth said the group wants to protect as much of their wealth as they can from taxation, which means seeking advice on tax, investments, and general financial planning.
The exterior of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida. Joe Raedle | Getty Images

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday, hoping to forge a plan to end the war in Ukraine, but the American leader's call with Russian President Vladimir Putin shortly before the meeting suggests obstacles to peace remain. Zelenskyy has said he hopes to soften a U.S. proposal for Ukrainian forces to withdraw completely from the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, a Russian demand that would mean ceding some territory held by Ukrainian forces. Just before Zelenskyy and his delegation arrived at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, the U.S. and Russian presidents spoke in a call described as "productive" by Trump and "friendly" by Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov. Ushakov, in Moscow, said Putin told Trump a 60-day ceasefire proposed by the European Union and Ukraine would prolong the war. The Kremlin aide also said Ukraine needs to make a quick decision about land in the Donbas.

Meeting follows Russian attacks on Kyiv

Zelenskiy arrived at Mar-a-Lago early on Sunday afternoon, as Russian air raids pile pressure on Kyiv. Russia hit the capital and other parts of Ukraine with hundreds of missiles and drones on Saturday, knocking out power and heat in parts of Kyiv. Zelenskyy has described the weekend attacks as Russia's response to the U.S.-brokered peace efforts, but Trump on Sunday said he believes Putin and Zelenskyy are serious about peace. "I do think we have the makings of a deal," Trump said. "We have two willing countries. We are in the final stages of talking," Trump said. The U.S. president said he will call Putin again after meeting with Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy had previously told journalists he plans to discuss the fate of the contested Donbas region with Trump, as well as the future of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and other topics.

Russia claims more battlefield advances
Security agencies in Meghalaya on Sunday (December 28) dismissed claims by the Bangladesh Police that the killers of Inquilab Moncho leader Sharif Osman Hadi had entered the state.The claims are unfounded and misleading, BSF chief in Meghalaya, Inspector General OP Opadhyay said.A top Dhaka Metropolitan Police officer earlier in the day said that two primary suspects in the Hadi murder case have crossed into Meghalaya via the Haluaghat border with the help of local associates."There is no evidence to suggest that any individual crossed the international border from the Haluaghat sector into Meghalaya. The BSF has neither detected nor received any report of such an incident," Opadhyay told PTI.The claims being circulated are unfounded and misleading, he said.A senior Meghalaya police officer also said that there was "no input or intelligence to corroborate" the claim of the suspects' presence in the Garo Hills region.The officer said local police units had not detected any such movement and coordination with central agencies was ongoing.BSF officials said that the personnel deployed along the international border have been kept on a high state of alert at all times to avert any untoward incident, particularly in view of the unrest and volatile situation prevailing in the neighbouring country.The force reiterated that the international border in the sector was under constant surveillance and any attempt at illegal cross-border movement would be promptly detected and dealt with.Hadi, 32, was shot in the head on December 12 during an election campaign in Dhaka. He was airlifted to Singapore for advanced treatment but died of his injuries on December 18.Hadi, spokesperson of Inquilab Moncho, was a prominent youth leader during the July-August 2024 mass street protests that led to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government last year.He was also a parliamentary candidate for the upcoming February 12 elections.The Garo Hills region falls under Meghalaya's western sector, which shares an international border with Bangladesh and is guarded by the Border Security Force.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to meet US President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday, December 28, for crucial discussions aimed at shaping a possible path to end the war in Ukraine.The meeting comes against the backdrop of intensified Russian missile and drone attacks, including a large-scale strike on Kyiv and other regions that disrupted electricity and heating supplies.Zelenskyy described the attacks as Moscows response to ongoing US-led peace efforts, as per news agency Reuters.The Ukrainian leader arrived in Florida late on Saturday, December 27, with his delegation, a move confirmed by Ukraines Deputy Foreign Minister Serhiy Kyslytsya in a post on X (formerly Twitter). Good evening, Florida! Kyslytsya wrote, sharing an image of an aircraft bearing the US presidents surname.Zelenskyy plans to raise the future of the contested Donbas region, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and broader security issues during the meeting at Trumps Florida residence.While Kyiv and Washington are broadly aligned on many elements of a proposed peace framework, sharp differences remain over territorial questions.Zelenskyy told journalists that the draft 20-point peace plan is 90% finished, but the fate of eastern Ukraine remains unresolved, as per Reuters.Moscow has repeatedly demanded that Ukraine cede the entire Donbas, including areas still under Kyivs control, a position Ukrainian officials reject.Kyiv favours freezing the conflict along current front lines, while Russia insists on full control of Donbas, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, as well as Ukraine abandoning its NATO ambitions.As a compromise, the United States has floated the idea of a free economic zone if Ukraine withdraws, though details remain unclear, as per Reuters.Zelenskyy said he hoped to soften a US proposal requiring a complete Ukrainian withdrawal from Donbas, in an interview with Axios on Friday, December 26.Failing that, he said the plan should be put to a referendum, provided Russia agrees to a 60-day ceasefire to allow preparations. Axios cited US officials as viewing this openness as a major step forward, though recent polling suggests Ukrainian voters may reject the proposal.European leaders remain wary of the talks, fearing Ukraine could be sidelined and left financially dependent on Europe. The concerns are heightened by Russias continued territorial gains in 2025.European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reiterated on X that the goal remained a just and lasting peace that safeguards Ukraines sovereignty and security.On Saturday, December 27, Zelenskyy also met Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Carney said peace requires a willing Russia and described the overnight strikes as barbarism, pledging CAN $2.5 billion in additional aid.Zelenskyy is expected to brief European leaders again after his meeting with Trump.
Establishing a lasting peace in Ukraine requires "a willing Russia," Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Saturday (December 27), denouncing the "barbarism" of Moscow's latest bombardment of Kyiv as he met with Volodymyr Zelensky."We have the conditions... of a just and lasting peace, but that requires a willing Russia, and the barbarism that we saw overnight... shows just how important it is that we stand with Ukraine," Carney said as the Ukrainian leader stopped in Halifax, Nova Scotia, en route to meet US President Donald Trump in Florida.The Canadian leader announced CAN $2.5 billion (US $1.82 billion) in fresh economic assistance for Ukraine that he said would help unlock international financing "to begin this process of rebuilding" the country after almost four years of war since Russian forces invaded.Joined by Carney, Zelensky was to hold a video call with European leaders from Halifax, before continuing his journey to Florida for what he said he hoped would be "very constructive" talks with Trump on a new, 20-point plan to end the war.The Ukrainian leader said the 10-hour bombardment on Kyiv and surrounding regions overnight was "Russia's answer to our peace efforts."He added: "And this really showed that Putin doesn't want peace, and we want peace."Some 500 drones and 40 missiles pounded Kyiv and its surrounding region overnight, killing two, wounding dozens and cutting power and heating to hundreds of thousands amid freezing temperatures, Ukrainian authorities said.
Russia does not intend to attack anyone in Europe, but its response to any strike will be devastating, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday (December 28), noting the EUs war party has become a stumbling block in Ukraine peace efforts.Lavrovs warning came on a day Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to meet with US President Donald Trump at the latter's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.My message for European politicians who seem to have problems getting to grips with this fact is to repeat one more time that there is no need to be afraid of Russia attacking anyone, Lavrov said in an interview with state-run news agency TASS.However, should anyone consider attacking Russia, they would face a devastating blow, Lavrov added.As Zelenskyy is set to meet Trump with his peace plan backed by key European powers, who according to media reports, insist on deployment of European troops as part of security guarantees for Kyiv, Lavrov said they will be a legitimate target for Russia.Whether leaders like (EU chief) Ursula von der Leyen, (German Chancellor) Friedrich Merz, (UK prime minister) Keir Starmer and (French President) Emmanuel Macron and the like have reached a point of no return is hard to say.We do see that so far, the European war party has been investing its political capital in inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia, and is ready to go the whole nine yards, the Russian minister said.I would like to place a special emphasis on the fact that these actions on their behalf were totally illegitimate. After all, Russia has never taken the initiative to target its European neighbours with unfriendly actions, Lavrov stated.He said Russia appreciates efforts by President Trump and his team to achieve a peace settlement. Moscow is committed to continuing to work with the American negotiators to devise lasting agreements for addressing the conflicts root causes, he added.After Trump came to power, Europe and the European Union emerged as the main stumbling block to peace, he said. They are making no secret of the fact that they are getting ready to fight it out with Russia on the battlefield.In another report, TASS quoted Lavrov as saying that Moscow will fully back Beijing on Taiwan in the event of a flared up conflict as the West sees it as a tool of military-strategic deterrence against China.As for the possible escalation in the Taiwan Strait, the procedure for acting in such situations is set forth in the Treaty of Good-Neighbourliness and Friendly Cooperation with the Peoples Republic of China of July 16, 2001.One of the basic principles of that document is mutual support in defending national unity and territorial integrity, Lavrov pointed out.Taiwan is currently used as a tool of military-strategic deterrence against the PRC. This is also a matter of pursuing vested interests: some in the West are keen to profit from Taiwanese money and technologies, Lavrov underscored.
News / National

by Staff Reporter

GWANDA - Heavy rains that lashed Gwanda District before Christmas turned the Mtshabezi River Bridge into a dangerous crossing, forcing travellers to rely on local youths for help as the ageing structure once again failed to withstand flooding.The lowlying bridge, one of the town's main entry points, was submerged for more than 24 hours after water levels rose sharply, leaving motorists and pedestrians stranded on either side. As the water slowly receded, some travellers attempted to cross on foot, many visibly shaken by the strong current and slippery surface.Local youths stepped in to escort people across the waterlogged bridge, charging US$1 for light luggage and US$2 for heavier bags. For many travellers, the assistance was not only welcome but necessary.Ms Talent Sibanda, who was travelling to Bulawayo, said she paid US$2 to have her suitcase carried across."With the water still overflowing, the driver was not sure it was safe to cross. I was scared of being swept away, especially with my suitcase," she said. "A young man offered to help, and I wouldn't have managed on my own."Ms Nozipho Ndlovu said the current made the crossing intimidating."I was afraid to cross with my luggage. The assistance from the youths really helped," she said.Others received help for free. Mrs Samantha Khupe, who had no luggage but lacked the confidence to cross alone, said a young man simply escorted her without asking for payment.One of the youths, Mr Tapiwa Shumba, said their efforts were driven more by empathy than profit."Yes, we charged a small fee to some people, but it was never about making money. Some were travelling as far as Harare and were stuck," he said. "We helped elderly people and women without luggage for free because many were terrified of being swept away."The Mtshabezi Bridge, built in the 1980s, is a critical link between Gwanda town, surrounding rural communities, Maphisa and major mining operations such as Blanket Mine. But the narrow, lowlying structure has long struggled to cope with increased traffic brought by new settlements, business centres and mining activity.Locals have repeatedly called for the bridge to be upgraded, describing it as a "death trap". Several fatal accidents have been recorded over the years, with some vehicles swept away during flooding. The bridge can barely accommodate one vehicle at a time, often causing confusion over right of way and increasing the risk of collisions.With climateinduced heavy rains becoming more frequent, residents fear the bridge will continue to endanger lives unless urgent government intervention is prioritised. For now, community spirit - and the quick thinking of local youths - is filling the gap left by ageing infrastructure.
Opinion / Columnist

MLF has always maintained that partaking in Zimbabwe elections when we are Mthwakazi is the worst thing we can engage in as Mthwakazi. Before a single year has lapsed, he has shown the true Agenda the Zimbabweans are as far as Mthwakazi development is concerned. The mess he is displaying is part of the Grand plan where they want to destroy Bulawayo. We have learnt it that what Kambarami did was a directive from the Mnangagwa government so as to weaken the mayoral of Bulawayo and thus giving their Zesa board an added advantage to demolish the Bulawayo electricity power station.News reaching us also has it that the burning down of the major health facilities of IMpilo hospital (November 2018) and of St Luke's hospital were properly planned attacks on Mthwakazi. Realising that the direct killing of Mthwakazi people may land him in the Haque, the genocider (Mnangagwa) has perfected his plan and he intends to see millions of Mthwakazi people lying in mortuaries, with causes of deaths said to be natural and thus giving him a breather, yet his mission will be accomplished. More, such attacks on Mthwakazi facilities are still to be reported across Mthwakazi, according to our reliable source, inside Zanu. Remember Mnangagwa is a genius in destroying using fire as he in person, ran around Zimbabwe soon after independence buying all Mthwakazi history literature which he destroyed by fire. Months later, the fifth brigade, under his command, marched across Mthwakazi land destroying Mthwakazi livelihood with fire.The time has come to chase these Zimbabweans away before they cause the damage that may take us centuries to mend. In 1975, Samora Machel gave the Portuguese 24hrs to leave Mozambique. In reaction to that, the Portuguese poured cement and concrete in all machinery that the country used for production. It is 44years today after that fateful day and Mozambicans are still struggling to bring their economy back to life despite the wealth they possess. While we call upon all Mthwakazi people to unite and donate towards rebuilding St Luke's hospital, we also warn them to guard against the Shona destruction strategies that are meant to cripple Mthwakazi before they pack theirs and leave. They (Zimbabweans) have realised that there is no turning back, the Mthwakazi independence is getting closer each day, so they are out to destroy all that Mthwakazi identifies self with and all that keeps her alive.As MLF, we say, "do not wait for Jesus to come to do the right thing. We do not have to wait for anybody to correct this scourge that is bent on destroying us for good." Vuka uzilwele Mthwakazi. As for Kambarami, we know where he stays in Mahatshula.Vuka Mthwakazi Vuka!!!!
Matt Ridley was right about one thing.

In an essay for the Daily Mail recently, the science and environment commentator argued that terrifying people with tsunamis of eco-gloom, planetary disaster, and endless extinctions due to climate change, has been the environmental movement's greatest mistake.

The exhaustive 'Green Doom' narrative means that, as the decades have passed, fewer people are tuning in to what leading scientists, informed policy makers and business leaders agree on: that the risks associated with climate change are real. And they are accelerating.

On all other points, however, I profoundly disagree with Ridley's assessment of climate change risk and his seeming inability to recognise the enormous economic opportunities for Britain it brings.

According to the Met Office, 2025 is set to be the UK's hottest year since records began. It is the sixth new UK annual temperature record - following 2002, 2003, 2006, 2014 and 2022  this century.

Whether you are a climate change denier or a sceptic, something is clearly going on - and it presents us with a choice.

Let's move beyond the rabbit hole debates of more 'green' taxes, the obsession with near impossible to understand Net Zero issues or scarring the countryside with tens of thousands of acres of solar panels.

Instead, let's be crystal clear: pocketing all the real benefits from clean energy and building resilience to climate change presents the greatest investment opportunity in history. And the UK can lead a worldwide technological, entrepreneurial and financial revolution to tackle harmful global warming that will boost the economy.

Sir Keir Starmer speaking at the CoP30 summit in Belem Brazil

Paul Clements-Hunt is a former United Nations official who coined ESG and ran the organisation's biggest partnership with global finance

The alternative? We miss out on being a key nation building the global engine of 'clean capitalism' and green growth. I fear the Matt Ridleys of the world would prefer to see UK step away from the opportunity to become the feted architect and financier of the world's future sustainable economy.

Don't just take my word for it. How does Warren Buffet, dubbed the Sage of Omaha for his investing prowess and worth personally more than $150 billion, see it? He says that climate change is 'highly likely' to be a 'major problem for the planet'. His power company, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, one of the biggest clean energy owners in the USA, is a massive investor in wind, solar, geothermal and hydroelectric.

He and a growing band of investors understand that the relentless power of what I call 'Pro-nature' capitalism will deliver both outsize returns  and a planet with such abundant ecosystems to make even David Attenborough sing.

Globally, more than 5,500 investment institutions, managing U$ 121 trillion of funds, now back a 2006 United Nations responsible investment approach that my UN team conceived, developed and delivered. The aim of the Principles for Responsible Investment is to protect pensioners savings and boost their value with smart investments aligned with environmental, social and governance (ESG) realities.

Global investors are exploring new markets based on breathtaking technological breakthroughs. I believe the UK is ideally placed to drive these advances while taking pole position as a recipient of the financial benefits that will flow.

Climate investment hit U$ 1.9 trillion annually in 2023. To avoid the worst impacts of climate change the required investment estimates per year up to 2030 across sectors including clean energy, heavy industry, transport and real estate are as high as $11.7 trillion. That's the level of investment needed to meet the 2015 Paris CoP21 target to limit the global average temperature increase to 2C and to try and limit the increase to 1.5C.

Only private markets can supply this funding, and the UK must claim its share and engineer the way it plays into global green markets

And how? A great example stems from our proud maritime history which delivered a globe-spanning Empire and repelled invaders for close to 1000 years.

As a nation, we know the sea and its power. 'The UK has the maritime expertise, offshore engineering experience and supply chains to lead the world in harnessing wave energy,' according to Marine Energy Council Policy Director Richard Arnold.

'It is critical that the UK Government provides a clear route to market and supports the wave energy industry investing in coastal communities and beyond.'

The same applies to the cutting-edge British scientists, technologists, entrepreneurs, and bold financiers who make up the real UK Inc.

'There is so much raw potential in our country that can be realised if only we embrace aspiration and inventiveness,' Sir James Dyson wrote in The Times recently

Sir James Dyson knows that. 'There is so much raw potential in our country that can be realised if only we embrace aspiration and inventiveness,' he wrote in The Times recently.

Starmer & Co need to back UK Inc. to unleash its collective imagination and recapture the Victorian spirit that allowed this country to build the best infrastructure the world has ever seen.

Why is infrastructure so important to tackle climate change?

Cities occupy just 2-3% of the earth's land surface yet consume 78% of global energy and account for 60% of polluting gases. We have the capabilities, track record and experience to reimagine our cities, deliver cleaner industrial and transport energy, and engineer the infrastructure to withstand the impact of climate change.

We'll also create 400,000 good jobs in the UK.

President Trump may deride windmills and call climate change 'the greatest con job ever' but POTUS is wrong and the smart money in the USA knows it.

Red in tooth and claw hedge fund traders in the US are positioning to make their new climate fortunes. They smell opportunities building because of a largely unnoticed development, a decade in the making, at the recent UN climate summit, CoP30.

This gathering of the world's governments in the Brazilian Amazon was seen by many as a failure. Few world leaders turned up, no plan to reduce fossil fuel use was agreed, and a fire in the main venue brought an almost comedic air to affairs.

However, what CoP insiders call Article 6 moved forward and has lit the blue touch paper on a multi-trillion-dollar carbon and nature trading market.

Use the term 'Art 6' in any climate conversation and you're considered an insider.

Engineered in the years after the world's main climate change plan was agreed in Paris in December 2015, Art 6 is the recognition that only global private finance, capital markets, and business chutzpah can tackle climate change.

Essentially, Art 6 facilitates national governments, states and provinces, and business to tackle climate change together.

Potentially lucrative and innovative climate solutions are springing up worldwide.

Singapore sees the evolving global climate change-related markets as a huge opportunity for its dynamic investment, banking and insurance companies. It wants its financial sector to be the trading hub for these global carbon markets worth trillions of dollars. The City of London needs to up its game to compete with Singapore  and fast.

In Brazil, all 26 states and the Federal District of Brasilia are exploring how to turn protection of forests into tradable securities on international stock markets. Each state must create a legal reserve of 20% of natural vegetation (or restore it if cut down).

Meanwhile, the Bahamas is seeking to turn its massive underwater seagrass forests - representing 40% of the world's total - into the ultimate carbon absorbing bank while boosting national finances.

Whatever Mr Ridley says, there is no question that the UK is at the forefront of leading climate action. In November 2025, we delivered 66% of our electricity supply from zero carbon sources. A whopping 37% plus of our electricity came from wind energy. Of the 20 heavy-hitting global economies, the UK is the only one to come in the top ten nations for climate action  now number 6  and UK emissions are down to just 1% of the global total.

The UK, once the world's coal-driven giant which gave birth to the industrial revolution, is pioneering global warming action.

Those who bemoan the alleged failures of climate summits, such as CoP30, reveal their misunderstanding of history and the time needed for lasting results in a complex world.

After the horrors of World War II, it took nations 48 years to negotiate global free trade. The World Trade Organisation was created in 1995, saw a fivefold increase in trade to U$30.4 trillion by 2023 - and has delivered poverty-crushing advances.

With our efforts to fix the climate, we're just thirty years into answering a much more complicated question. How do nations, investors and entrepreneurs hardwire new systems covering economics, energy, industry, transport and infrastructure for a population tipping 10 billion by 2100?

The Earth's regenerative capacity will amaze us - but only if we make bold investment decisions in the industries of the future. And the UK can show the way.

Paul Clements-Hunt is the former United Nations official who ran the organisation's biggest partnership with global finance (2000-2012). He created the ESG concept.
The mother of one of my oldest friends, who was always there with a shoulder to cry on when life got tough in our 20s and 30s, had a favourite saying. 'Keep your lamps lit, girls,' she used to say cheerfully, as we sobbed into our Earl Grey after yet another romantic disappointment or setback.

I've summoned that spirit more than once over the years, and it's always served me well.

Put on a brave face, get out there  and try to radiate positivity, even if it's the last thing you feel like doing.

Watching the Royal Family do their traditional Christmas walkabout at Sandringham this year, I was reminded of that sound advice.

The Prince and Princess of Wales and their three frankly delightful children weren't just keeping their own lamps lit after a very difficult year, but acting as a veritable beacon of positivity for everyone in the Royal Family.

These Christmas Day walkabouts can be very awkward and rather performative, and in recent years have felt somewhat doomladen, especially as the older generation of royals has started to shuffle off this mortal coil.

But this year, as the Waleses met with wellwishers and a freshfaced new generation took their place in the limelight, the miasma of gloom that had lately settled around the Monarchy seemed to evaporate like dew in the morning sun.

The Wales children were adorable, graciously accepting gifts and patiently doling out hugs and handshakes in return, especially young Charlotte, who was pretty as a picture in her neat little pea coat, glossy hair, big bow, sensible brown tights and ballet flats.

The Prince and Princess of Wales and their three frankly delightful children were acting as a veritable beacon of positivity for everyone in the Royal Family, writes Sarah Vine

Princess Charlotte and Mia Tindall attending the Christmas morning service at Sandringham

Posing happily for selfies and chatting to fans, they radiated wholesomeness and functionality as a family.

Quite a contrast to the week before, when a picture had been released from the Jeffrey Epstein files of Bad Uncle Andrew lying across the laps of five unidentified young women in the saloon room at Sandringham, a wolfish grin on his face, Ghislaine Maxwell laughing behind him.

That, plus the fact that the poor King had to make the decision, difficult no matter how inevitable, to cut his brother out of the family completely, might have easily overshadowed proceedings.

But it didn't, not even for a second. In fact, if anything, the atmosphere was the exact opposite. Thanks to the presence of those three beautifully dressed, beautifully mannered young royals and their equally charming Tindall cousins, it felt full of joy and hope for the future, a fresh new beginning after years of darkness, rancour and sorrow.

Forget Prince Harry and his scoresettling; forget the Duchess of Sussex and her narcissistic selfpromotion; forget Andrew and his grubby friendship with one of the world's most prolific paedophiles.

Forget even the King's illness, and the Princess of Wales' own health woes. All of it seemed to pale into insignificance in the face of the next generation, so full of life and happiness.

For those of us who have, at times, worried that the Royal Family was rather struggling after the death of the late Queen, it felt like they were once again pulling together, the Queen confident in red, the King comfortable in his role as patriarch, Prince William growing in his role as heir but also, perhaps more importantly, as father.

Meanwhile the Princess of Wales, who has rarely brought anything but her Agame to proceedings, seemed even more on top of things. Those three children are a credit to them both  confident yet not arrogant, polite and respectful, full of character yet disciplined and well behaved.

Given who they are, they seem remarkably welladjusted and unspoilt, and appear to have a clear understanding of what is expected of them. It's not easy to teach children of that age to interact with members of the public in such a highpressure setting, and yet they carried it off with aplomb.

It's wonderful, too, to see their friendship with their cousins, Zara and Mike Tindall's two daughters, Mia and Lena, who are similar ages. These are important bonds to have because being a royal child is a unique, complex and occasionally trying experience, and it will no doubt help to be able to rely on each other.

Credit too to Mr and Mrs Middleton, who despite years in the limelight have never once stepped out of line (despite, on occasion, provocation), and who, it is said, have been invaluable in supporting their daughter and soninlaw with the children's upbringing.

The only dark cloud on the horizon for this sunny generation of young royals is the absence of their American cousins, Archie and Lilibet.

What a shame that the Sussexes can't seem to see past their own psychodramas sufficiently to put the past behind them and allow their two to join this happy band of young royals. How strange  some might say dysfunctional  to want to deny them that closeness.

Who knows, maybe next year. As the Prince and Princess of Wales are proving, it's never too late to break that generational curse.

Another one bites the dust: the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have parted company with their 11th publicist, Meredith Maines, who has stepped down after just a year inthe role.

At this rate, they could start their own gameshow: Traitors, USA.

PM's mixedup priorities

Keir Starmer has professed himself 'delighted' at news of the release of Alaa Abd ElFattah, a BritishEgyptian activist detained by the regime in Egypt for over a decade.

I wonder, is the Prime Minister aware of views expressed in the past by Mr ElFattah?

In 2011, for example, during the riots, he urged his followers on X to 'go burn the city or Downing Street or hunt police'.

Previously he had written that 'police are not human,' 'they don't have rights' and 'we should all just kill them'. His expressed views on 'Zionists' and Jews in general have been equally reprehensible, and he has professed himself 'proud to be racist against whites'.

Perhaps this is not the same Alaa Abd ElFattah which the Government has worked so tirelessly to repatriate, in which case I apologise unreservedly.

If not, I suggest that the Prime Minister reexamines his priorities.

North West, the daughter of Kim Kardashian and Kanye, shows off her diamond shark teeth

What kind of idiot buys their 12yearold a set of diamond studded 'shark teeth' grillz (the absurd yet menacing dental jewellery favoured by rappers)?

The same kind of idiot who buys each of their four children a Pomeranian puppy for Christmas. Is there no end to the dreadful Kim Kardashian's attentionseeking?

Bad enough that she involves her children in her toxic behaviour, now she's dragging animals into it, too.

Adam Peaty and Holly Ramsay leaving Bath Abbey after their wedding service yesterday

Congratulations to Holly and Adam Peaty, who tied the knot yesterday at Bath Abbey.

Just one question, though: why was the bride wrapped in what looked like a giant net curtain?
To her 800,000 subscribers, Machelle Hobson was the perfect mother to her brood of seven adopted children who starred in the light-hearted videos posted to the family's YouTube channelbut when the cameras stopped rolling, the beatings and torture began.

In March 2019, fans and followers of Fantastic Adventures were left shellshocked when Hobson, 48, of Maricopa, Arizona, was charged with 24 counts of child abuse, five counts of kidnapping and one count of aggravated assault.

The details were abhorrent: She had taken the children, who were aged between six and 15, out of school so they could create content for YouTube full-time, and was accused of dishing out brutal punishments should they fluff their lines or not perform to her liking.

At its peak, Fantastic Adventures, which had amassed over 350 million channel views when it was eventually deactivated, could have taken in roughly $2.5million (1.85million) in total ad revenue, according to some estimates, of which YouTube would have typically kept $1.125million (833k) with the rest going directly to Hobson.

The channel's clips featured the children appearing to have fun in a variety of different wholesome scenarios, from raiding a cookie jar to playing at being 'fruit ninjas'and while they looked united on screen, in reality, the children were not friends and were pitted against one another for safety and survival.

After being rescued by child services following a tip-off by one of Hobson's five biological children, the adopted youngsters' hellish existence became a source of public outrage.

To get them to comply with her filming demands and schedule, Hobson was accused of using pepper spray, lighters and a stun gun on their genitals, arms and other body parts, beating and starving them, and locking them in a closet for days without food, water or access to a bathroom.

She was also alleged to have thrashed them with wire clothes hangers and made them take ice baths, as well as withholding food and basic sanitation.

Machelle Hobson pictured with her daughter Jordyn and her siblings

Jordyn, now 29, has opened up about the abuse she and her siblings suffered at a young age at the hands of Machelle Hobson

Hobsondubbed the 'YouTube mom' in true crime circles and the mediapleaded not guilty to all of the charges.

She was in jail and waiting for a trial date when she died of natural causes in November 2019, escaping justice and denying her children, both adopted and biological, any sort of meaningful closure.

One of her biological children, Jordyn Downs, now aged 29, has spoken about her experiences living in the Arizona house of horrors, sharing what it was like to receive death threats from her own mother and how being locked up in an empty room for days on end without food, water or access to a toilet has affected her mental health.

She said: 'The abuse happened my whole life. We were all puppets long before YouTube was even a thought.

'Mom would tell us that nobody would believe the abuse we faced - we were told that constantly.

'We got locked in rooms and threatened to have our food taken away. She would even stand us in the corner of the room and balance books on our heads.'

Jordyn believes she and her siblings were failed by the Arizona Department of Children Safety

A leading child psychologist told the Daily Mail that the brutality and neglect that Jordyn and her siblings suffered will have a lasting impact on their lives, and that being locked in a room for extended periods of time is particularly damaging for a developing psyche.

Speaking about the difficulties neglected children go on to face, Angela Cook said: 'This emotional shock doesn't simply disappear after the door is opened- literally and figuratively - it gets enclosed in a child's nervous system.

'Locking a child in a room for long periods of time is not simply punishment, it's psychological injury.

'Children make sense of the world through connection, safety and predictable care giving.

'Isolation strips all three of these very important child development exercises away and replaces them with overwhelming fear, confusion and a profound sense of abandonment,' she explains.

'Research shows that maltreatment of this kind disrupts the stressresponse system which is still developing, it increases the risk of longterm anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress symptoms.

'Theres also the heightened risk of hyper-vigilance, emotional dysregulation, and difficulties forming trusting relationships later in life - as children internalise the belief that the world is not only unsafe, but their needs do not matter within it.

'That belief can stay with them into adulthood, shaping their selfesteem and worth, their trust in humanity, and their ability to regulate emotions.'

Ms Cook added that whilst in most cases, and with specialised care, positive intervention, and consistent safety, most children can heal from such incidents, we cannot shy away from naming these behaviours for what they really are.

She said: 'We must name this "locking away" for it is; aggravated child abuse with lifelong psychological consequences.'

Hobson died from a non-traumatic brain injury under the care of Scottsdale Hospital, Arizona, before she could be sentenced

Jordyn, pictured with her sister Megan who tipped off the police about their abusive mother

Tragically, there were several opportunities for Hobson's reign of abuse to come to an end before her eventual arrest. She was investigated by the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) on nine separate occasions, but no definitive evidence of abuse had been found.

Jordyn claims this is because her mother had been tipped off about the welfare checks and scared the children into silence.

She said: 'My mom worked for the state and somehow she always knew when an investigation was going to happen. She would sit us down and prepare us, and even threaten us.

'She wasn't just threatening to hurt us, she was threatening to kill us if we spoke a word wrong.

'I was forced to lie when child protective services came into the home.

'The authorities would ask us if our mum hurt us whilst she was in the room.

'A couple of minutes before she was threatening to kill us; no child is going to speak up against that.'

'She would put us against each other, and punish us for someone else's mistakes - she would make sure we hated each other.

'We were in survival mode.'

When Hobson wasn't abusing the children or taking advantage of their acting skills for financial gain, Jordyn claims that she was nowhere to be seen, and that from the age of nine until 16 she was expected to help care for her younger siblings, and any number of the 40 children her mother fostered between 2005 and 2019.

She said: 'We were stuck in that home to be abused for years. There are dozens of kids who were abused by mom for 18 years.'

Thankfully things changed in March 2019 after the police received word that one of the children had confided in an older sibling, Jordyn's sister Megan, that she was being abused by their mother.

Upon accessing the home, they reported that the children in Hobson's care were malnourished, with dark circles under their eyes, pale complexions and extreme thirst and hunger all pointing towards neglect.

When police raided the home, one hungry child was found to be fearful of eating a bag of crisps that police gave her because she did not want Hobson to smell them on her breath.

Jordyn also recalls being starved as a form of punishment and control.

She remembers being so hungry she tried to take more food than she was allowed, despite knowing there would be unimaginable consequences.

'The next thing I knew, my bed and my clothes were taken away from me,' she said.

'I was told the worst things a child could be told about their appearance. She was constantly talking about my weight and telling me I was too fat and shouldn't eat so much.'

Jordyn recalls being abused from a young age, being ridiculed by her mother for her weight

Jordyn pictured with her brother Ryan

According to the probable cause statement, one child told the police that her mother locked her in a closet for days without food and water, and forced her to wear a pull-up diaper, not allowing her to use the bathroom.

She added that Hobson would spray her and her siblings with pepper spray all over, including their genitalia, hit them and force them to take ice baths.

One of the boys said that his adoptive mother would pinch his genitalia so hard that she drew blood as a way of forcing him to take part in the videos.

Another child was reportedly 'visibly nervous and shaking, and it appeared she was too scared to answer any questions.' All seven children were removed from Hobson's care.

Her two biological sons, Ryan, 31, and Logan, 33, who also featured in the videos, were also arrested for failing to report their mother's behaviour to the police.

But before Hobson could be tried for the years of abuse she subjected innocent children to, for which she pleaded not guilty, she suffered a non-traumatic brain injury whilst she awaited trial in prison and died just six months later.

Jordyn and her siblings now need to live with the consequences of their evil mother's actions, and what she regards as a series of catastrophic safeguarding failures by the authorities.

She said: 'At a very young age, the Arizona Department of Children Safety failed us.

'There were almost a dozen investigations done on my mom's home for neglect, and nothing happened. Children lie, but it's the authorities' job to look for red flags.'

She added that she was angered by her mother's death, expressing that she felt her mother got off 'too easy' for the years of abuse she inflicted.

'I had spent my whole life trying to get justice for what she did to me. For her to be arrested and not even get a sentencing, I felt like death was too easy for her.

'We suffered for years, and she got eight months in jail and not even a full sentence - that is hard for me to accept.'

A spokesperson from the Arizona Department of Child Safety responded: 'We take great measures to ensure every child is placed in the safest environment possible.

'We thoroughly investigate every report of abuse or neglect we receive. Each investigation must determine whether there is sufficient evidence to support an allegation.

'If evidence shows a child is unsafe in their current home, we remove the child to a safe environment.

'Our staff works tirelessly to ensure every childs safety and well-being, yet we must acknowledge the difficult reality that those intent on harming children may occasionally slip through even the most thorough and strongest protections.

'We also want to emphasise that while a very small number of individuals with bad intentions may pass the licensing and court process, the vast majority of Arizona foster parents are compassionate, dedicated people, and we are grateful they open up their homes to Arizonas most vulnerable children.'
'Have you heard she's a yacht girl?'

For most of us, 'yachting' simply refers to cruising or racing on a yacht. But for those who rub shoulders with the super-rich, it has a different meaning entirely.

The premise is simple: influential billionaires living large on superyachts handpick gorgeous young women to join them on board for exclusive - and debauched - sex parties in exchange for cash, gifts and career opportunities.

'Yachting' has been talked about in Hollywood circles for decades - but the public didn't hear about it until about a decade ago when photos of models conspicuously gathered on yachts at the Cannes Film Festival raised eyebrows. Months later, many of them would go on to make it 'big' in Hollywood and fashion, seemingly overnight... but that's a story for another day.

The scandalous activities taking place at sea might be shocking to some, but this elite and extremely discreet form of sex work has been happening for decades among the mega-wealthy in Europe, the U.S. and, increasingly, Dubai - where prostitution is illegal but rampant.

The practice is not typically associated with the sparkling shores Down Under - but, as we can reveal, it is now taking place right under our noses on Sydney's iconic harbour.

Beautiful women from middle-class families, many of them aspiring influencers and models, are invited by extremely rich men to 'party' on their boats. Within hours, they wave goodbye to their boyfriends, their phones are locked away, and non-disclosure agreements are swiftly signed.

Speaking on the strict condition of anonymity, a real-life Sydney 'yacht girl' reveals to me how she got into the exclusive club, why she does it, and what really happens once anchors are down.

An anonymous 'yacht girl' has opened up about the debauched sex parties taking place on Sydney Harbour (stock image)

Ping!

'Hey! Come out on the boat tonight for dinner. It's going to be fun and frisky,' read the text from a fun-loving friend of a friend. The finishing touch of a devil-horns emoji was all I needed to say, 'Yes!'

Plus, I was already going out so I thought I may as well pop by.

I was dressed for the occasion too - my favourite little black dress and matching stilettos.

At first, I thought the last-minute invite was odd but I quickly brushed that aside.

Ping! I received a text from an acquaintance at 5pm as I was leaving the office on a random Tuesday

'I'll be there by 9pm.'

'No worries, we'll wait for you.'

If I had known what the night was going to entail, I certainly wouldn't have gone out wearing my 'grandma undies'...

You're probably wondering how I found myself in this position. After all, I'm not that kind of girl. Well, it's a funny story. My life is quite different compared to your standard full-time office worker.

I'm a very extroverted extrovert who thrives on social interaction and loves to meet new people - plus I'm good at it. I'm a hardcore socialite. I'm rarely at home and when I am, I'm thinking about my next adventure.

I can walk into a party knowing no one and be best friends with everyone by the end of the night with men lining up wanting my number. It's just a gift.

I feel like I know half of Sydney and have partied with some of the wealthiest people in the city. Ditto London and Dubai. I met this 'friend' of mine who texted me like I did most others - through a mutual connection on a night out.

Do I know her well? No. But when she messaged me about the yacht party, I was immediately in. I just knew it would be a good time and the men would be loaded.

It was the perfect timing, too. Earlier that day I had been crying in the work bathroom over a 30-something guy who didn't know what he wanted - like most of them.

I pulled myself together before clocking off at 5pm, which is when I received that glorious text...

This elite and extremely discreet form of sex work has been happening for decades among the mega-wealthy in Europe, the U.S. and, increasingly, Dubai (Pictured: Sydney Harbour)

AN INTIMATE EVENING ON THE HARBOUR

At 8:30pm, I caught an Uber to the secret location and a tender came to collect me from the shore at Double Bay. The yacht was anchored somewhere in the harbour.

As I arrived at 8.55pm I was handed a glass of champagne by a staff member and met the two other girls on board in the enormous dining room. The first person who greeted me was my mutual friend, who whispered sternly that no photos were to be taken that night - and especially not shared on social media.

It was the first indication that I might be in for more than a light soiree.

What is a 'yacht girl'? A 'yacht girl' is a term used in gossip and blind items to describe a woman - often a model, actress or influencer - who is rumoured to accompany wealthy men on luxury yachts for paid companionship. The relationships are typically transactional: she receives money, gifts or career opportunities in return for attending events, socialising or offering more intimate services. The term originated from celebrity yacht parties in destinations like Cannes or Ibiza, where models or aspiring stars would be seen mingling with wealthy, influential men. Some would later achieve prominence in the entertainment industry, leading to speculation their attendance at these secretive parties had opened doors for them professionally. Advertisement

My friend introduced me to three older men, all well past 50, whom we would be entertaining. All of us were either single or in open relationships. 'Phew,' I thought, 'I won't have to deal with any jealous girlfriends.'

By 9.15pm we were the best of friends. The champagne was flowing and music was pumping. I had been drinking at another event earlier in the evening so was feeling a serious buzz.

I hadn't been expecting a formal dinner - maybe a few drinks and some canapes - but when the table placements came out, I certainly wasn't complaining.

Before we sat down to eat, I knew this was no ordinary evening. I noticed the vibe in the room was unlike anything I've experienced on a yacht.

The flirtatious comments, the way the men touched your hand and looked at us with 'f*** me' eyes. It was clear what was going to happen. It was at that point I wished I'd worn my sexy lace underwear.

My mother would murder me if she found out I was doing this with, surrounded by men who were old enough to be my father.

Seated opposite me was the man who owned the yacht. Now, you might be picturing a tall, dark and handsome 'Christian Grey' type. He wasn't.

All three of them were about 55 with 'dad bods' and noticeably thinning hairlines.

But who was I to complain? They're mega-rich and I was living the dream without paying a cent.

'Are you having a fun night?' the host asked. Of course I was, I couldn't believe I had scored an invite, to be honest. I blushed. When I cracked a joke the whole table laughed at, I knew I was in with the group - they loved me!

He may not have been a silver fox like George Clooney, but the way he looked at me gave me butterflies. I'm naturally a flirt so I was hitting on everyone - including the other women.

Our anonymous 'yacht girl' reveals how she got into the very exclusive club (stock image)

THE NIGHT TAKES A TURN...

At 11pm we finished our dessert and the energy in the room intensified.

Everyone had been drinking for hours at this point and I knew we were going to get naked soon. Did I remember to shave my legs?

I had only met these people hours ago and I didn't know how this was going to go down or what was expected of me.

So I turned to the woman next to me and whispered: 'I'm excited but this is my first time doing this... I'm a bit scared.'

'Don't worry, I've got you,' she replied, grazing my thigh.

As our eyes met, my heart started pounding and I felt butterflies. Her gaze softened, I leaned in slightly and we started kissing.

Her lips were so soft; I slowly melted into my seat. Time stood still and briefly I forgot about the other guests at the table who were admiring our every move.

My hand touched her cheek and all I could think about was how amazing she smelt - like berries and vanilla.

She was a bit older than me, maybe 40. She was poised and graceful. Her luscious locks felt soft as I moved my hand up into her hair.

It wasn't long until the guests partnered up - some with two. I realised then we had an audience.

When it comes to sex, I don't really care about looks. Honestly. It's the attention I receive and energy I feel that's important to me. I've slept with a 60-year-old man before while in Europe and it was good.

As the night continued, we switched partners and I moved into the master bedroom with one of the men. Thirty minutes later I had sex with another. By the end of the night, I had slept with every single guest besides one.

At these parties, most of the men get involved, but not all. A few prefer to watch, and some even head outside to drink while the fun happens below deck.

During a break from the action, I went outside to keep one of the gentlemen company. I told him about my life and he told me about his.

The party wound down in the early hours. There was an option to stay onboard but I decided to take a tender back to shore because I had work at 9am.

I said my goodbyes - but I knew this wasn't going to be the last time.

When I woke up the next morning I had to pinch myself. Had it really happened? How was that not a dream?

Somehow I settled back into my daily corporate life. I no longer cared about that man whose indecision I had cried over in the work bathroom.

And then... a few weeks later I was invited back. Another party, the same yacht.

Before long our 'dinners' became regular occurrences. I would stay on the yacht until sunrise before taking a tender back in the early hours and yawning into work.

As I became a veteran of the yachting game, I increasingly noticed it was always the same men on board, but the women invited were usually different each time.

I suppose variety is the spice of life?

I would soon be introduced to other groups of billionaires. So far, I've enjoyed week-long hotel stays, been flown interstate for a beach holiday, and have been gifted thousands upon thousands of dollars in spending money.

BACK TO REALITY

Two years on, I've been to so many secret yacht parties that the thrill of it all has all but disappeared. It feels old. The novelty has worn off.

The sex is fun but the men - whose extreme wealth I used to be in thrall of - now seem less interesting to me. I've come to realise their conversation tends to be quite surface level. That's the thing about men with money: they keep their cards close to their chest and don't reveal too much about themselves. I guess they are that way to avoid being taken advantage of - but it can make for boring discussions.

I would love something real, a deep connection with someone. And as I enter my thirties, I confess I do feel a stronger urge to find 'Mr Right'.

A part of me would love to settle down, buy a house and have children, but that would mean forfeiting my lavish yacht life. As much as I'd like a family, I can't quite picture myself changing nappies or making dinner for my husband. It's not me.

I know what you're thinking - I should just marry a billionaire. Trust me, I'm not opposed to that. But I fear a relationship with a rich older man would be shallow and my self-worth might crumble, especially if he dumps me for a younger woman.

While I spend my weekends yachting, in my 'normal' life I am habitually drawn to low-value men with no financial goals who blow their pay every week.

Their lack of ambition makes it hard for a girl like me to stay loyal. In an ideal world, I'd be with a nice, ordinary guy but still party with rich men on yachts on the weekends. I know that's probably not realistic, but a woman can dream.

A guy I've been seeing recently made a good point: 'You live this amazing life and I could never offer you anything similar. Why would you want to be with me?'

I didn't quite know what to say, so I said nothing. Perhaps the truth would have been too confronting for him: I know I'm not going to be this young and hot forever, so I may as well sleep with as many rich men as possible while they still want me.
A New Years Eve party, any party, has a different feel to the ones in the lead-up to Christmas. In these post-Noel days, the dressing-up mood subtly shifts from festive and frivolous to sophisticated and elegant.

Minutes ago we were looking for some fizz and buzz, now we want an easy party look  the sort that will work for lots of occasions in the year to come and, most of all, one that avoids those end-of-the-year dressing-up cliches.

Its sad but true that party clothes at this time of year can, if you take the wrong turn, make you look instantly very middle-aged... and while thats exactly what we Fifty-Plusers are, we aim to look younger, and certainly not every inch our age.

So, here are eight tips for New Years Eve dressing  some things to avoid, some to adopt and some styling tips  which should shave off a decade... if the lightings good.

Sweaters over blouses

A three-quarter-sleeved soft sweater or top scores far more fashion points now than a pretty blouse. Besides that, a chiffon or satin blouse  with or without a necktie  can nudge you into Old Lady Ambassadress territory if youre not careful.

Inject some fun

Constellation gold-embroidered sweater from Chinti & Parker (now 97.50)

A very good way to inch a smartish outfit into something with party energy is by adding some sparkle. Not a lot, just enough to signal were in special territory. A foil shirt could be too much, sequins can be good (if worn below the waist and grounded with something plain on top) but some starry embellishment on a sweater strikes just the right note of champagne-sipping fun without looking OTT.

Chinti & Parker does a constellation gold-embroidered sweater that fits the bill (now 97.50, chintiandparker.com). It isnt cheap but is an instant party uplifter, with a midi skirt and boots or some high-waisted wide-leg trousers and a small heel.

... and a bit of glimmer

Instead of satin or silk, try fabric shot with metallic thread or a lurex and wool blend, then mix it up with simple pieces to look more modern. Mint Velvets sheeny crinkle midi skirt (99, mintvelvet.com) or Chinti & Parkers wool/lurex mix, pale gold midi skirt (now 60) have just the right amount of gloss.

The fashion-forward party colour is pale gold, but if you're determined to wear black, this Zara cream lace-trimmed skirt (65.99) is a good compromise

Dont wear all black

The fashion-forward, thus anti-ageing, party colour is pale gold  or try something trimmed with cream. If youre determined to wear black, Zaras cream lace-trimmed midi skirt (65.99, zara.com) would be a good compromise.

Uplifting earrings

H&M winged rhinestone earrings (9.99)

Its worth exercising caution with earrings  too bedazzling and you enter fancy dress territory (bad for Fifty Pluses), too standard issue and youre not maximising their uplifting potential.

Those trusty pearls on gold hoops that weve been wearing for a couple of years are still great for weekdays, but if you want to dial up the glamour, go for something more dramatic. Cos (cos.com) has some lovely pearl and gold variations  mismatched is the key to looking cool  and H&M has some good winged rhinestone earrings (9.99, 2.hm.com).

Go for faux fur, not sequins

This might seem like the opposite of an easy party solution but the point about a flick of faux fur is it does all the work and after that all you need is lipstick plus a pair of heels. Zara has a particularly glamorous marled faux fur scarf (now 25.19, zara.com) to wrap around the neck of pretty much anything. Feathers  Pradas current favourite trim  are harder to find but they work the same.

Ditch the court shoe

Marks & Spencers cross-strap burgundy slingbacks (now 30)

Try something with an ankle strap  like Zaras mock croc kitten heel slingback (49.99) or a block heel with a T-bar, which is back in a big way for spring. So get ahead with something such as Marks & Spencers cross-strap burgundy slingbacks (now 30, marksandspencer.com). Both have a roughly two-inch heel.

Go for bold jewellery

One piece is often enough to reboot a trouser suit. Arket has a good rhinestone waterfall brooch (now 14.50, arket.com) if you dont have something in the back of a drawer. If you wear a trouser suit, skip the blouse and wear it buttoned up with a lace-trimmed vest and either a brooch or Jigsaws simple gold cube chain necklace (75, jigsaw-online.com). Happy New Year!
As I look back on another Christmas, for me it has always been a time for reflection on what really matters. Now in my early 50s, married with children, it is family, and friendship: Love, essentially.

That is the reason why Its A Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol are the two most beloved festive films. They know what is important, and it was not the expense of the gifts placed under the tree. Its the quality of the love that had put them there.

The older I am, the more I think that love is the only thing that matters. But as I look with affection at all my Christmas cards on the mantelpiece there is a small cloud  an uncertainty, a grief, I suppose  on my horizon.

I have a happy marriage and I am very close to my family, especially my brother. But I have realised I am not good at female friendships. In fact, I have barely any female friends left.

In the past two years, I have dropped almost all of them. I suspect it has something to do with the menopause, which is a sort of hormonal equivalent of Christmas  a taking stock of what matters  and, famously, the menopause is when women start saying no to things that make them unhappy.

I have learnt to say no and so this year I faced Christmas with female acquaintances but no real female friends, or at least none of the intimate, gut-spilling Sex And The City kind, the sort that feel like love affairs. I wrote far fewer cards this Christmas, thats for sure.

The first to go was Alice. We met at university. She wasnt warm but she was very clever  at least she said she was, and I believed her. I was attracted to her courage  she could be very rude about other students and even teachers  and her air of Im the best person in this room.

Now in my 50s, of course I look back and think: Am I drawn to raving narcissists? But at the time I thought she was dazzling: The most interesting, the most witty. She didnt care what people thought of her, and I cared desperately what people thought of me.

I am not good at female friendships, writes Abigail Parker. In fact, I have barely any female friends left. In the past two years, I have dropped almost all of them

I realise now I am a chronic people pleaser, writes Abigail. But I have more power now. And I can honestly say I feel more peaceful than I ever have

Yet when I think about it, she was never kind. She was always there with a put-down (particularly about other peoples academic work, her speciality). But I was attracted to the sheer force of her and, as she got older, she seemed to mellow. Or I thought she did.

After university, we would sometimes go on holiday together. I was often single, and she always was. What man could live up to her impossible standards? (In retrospect, I think maybe she was very lonely.)

Her conversation was dazzling. But it was her way or the highway. If she wanted to go for an expensive dinner we did, even if I couldnt really afford it. If she wanted to go to an art gallery for four hours (an hour will do me) we did.

One day in Paris, she opened the curtains of the hotel at dawn and bright sunlight woke me instantly. It was an obviously selfish thing to do and even more so given the context. I had a young baby at the time  this was a girls weekend, but she wouldnt have called it that  and I needed the break.

But in retrospect, she didnt just ignore my need for sleep. To her, that need didnt really exist. Was I even real to her?

I would cope by sulking  I am afraid of confrontation and was afraid of her tongue  or not talking to her for a bit. She never noticed.

Things came to a head last year, just before Christmas. Because she has a high-paying job in sales and no children to spend it on, Alice likes to rent a big house for her birthday and invite lots of people she knows.

I used to think she did this because she was generous  she would never let us pay for our accommodation  but I now think she did it so she could simply boss us all around: Queen for a weekend.

The flashpoint was food which, in retrospect, is typical. Food is love, specifically a mothers love.

I had promised to cook dinner for all these strangers, but some of them said they were leaving early, and she asked me to cook lunch for them instead. I said I couldnt  a rare case of my standing up for myself around her  because I had a piece of work to do, and she knew that.

She sulked and so I gave in, saying I would get the work in late. I even made her breakfast to make up for initially saying I couldnt do what she wanted. I shopped and I cooked and I cleaned up while fretting about the work, and at some point I looked down at my hands  the hands of a woman in her 50s, not a bullied child  and thought: What the hell am I doing here? Arent I a bit old to be playing Cinderella?

I didnt say anything. I still feared her tongue. The next morning, I kissed her goodbye, and then blocked her on email and phone. I havent spoken to her since, and I feel only relief.

The next is Leanda. I met her through work. She was young and keen. She love-bombed me. She wasnt subtle. I want to be you! she would say. Youre so brilliant! Tell me your secrets.

I should have run a mile, but I was flattered by the attention. I learnt she had a very difficult relationship with her mother  Alice did too  and I think I became a substitute for her.

Leandas mother had a pattern  she would love-bomb her and then ignore Leanda for months  and, essentially, Leanda did the same to me.

One minute I was her best friend, the person she couldnt do without, the next she would ghost me for months. She would come to stay  her life was always falling apart; it was as if she couldnt bear to settle anywhere  and charm me. She had a gift for fun, while I am more uptight and conventional.

Join the debate What makes someone a truly toxic friend, and when is cutting them out the right thing to do?

Anne Baxter (left) and Bette Davis as Eve and Margo in the 1950 classic All About Eve, where a young woman insinuates herself into every aspect of a friend's life

She would light up my life, but then something would upset her: Usually a small word of criticism or asking her to do a small chore. (She was living with us for a while.) And then she would flee in the night like Mary Poppins, and I would miss her.

So, I would call her up and apologise and it would start again: She would behave like a teenager, telling me my clothes were unfashionable, or I was fat, and I would be the soothing older friend, trying to organise her life to make it less chaotic, while feeling very controlling.

It came to a head in the spring. I am married, but I learnt Leanda was sleeping with a man I had been very much in love with in my 20s. Theyd met at a dinner party Id hosted.

I dont think Id have minded had my relationship with this man been a fleeting thing, but I had really loved him and when he left me I was devastated.

This felt a bit too much like wanting to be me, and I thought of the classic Bette Davis film All About Eve, where a young woman  Eve  insinuates her way into every aspect of Margos life (Margo is played by Bette, and she is magnificent).

I realise now I simply became Leandas mother: She both loves and hates me and, though this hurts me, I cant really hold it against her. Everything we learn about friendship and parenting, we learn when we are young.

But I can protect myself from that feeling that I am hated. So, the next time she ghosted me  it was as regular as a clock by the end  I didnt cajole or soothe her back into the friendship. I ghosted her back.

I know ghosting is a bad way to end things. I wonder if it is particularly female. Women are brought up to be pleasing, and its very hard to speak your anger. I still miss her  but I also refuse to be a martyr.

The third friend was Petra: Like Alice, another dazzling intellectual, who spouted ideas and anecdotes and made me feel alive.

Petra is a political activist working for a charity: Over the years she has gone from mildly Left-wing to full Trans-Palestine-Extinction Rebellion nut.

Before Brexit we were vaguely aligned, though she was always selfish. (When we went to the seaside for the day with my young baby, she didnt even offer to watch the baby for five minutes so I could have a swim. She just gambolled in the waves laughing.) But since Brexit she has cleaved to the idea that everyone who votes Tory or Leave is irredeemably evil and not to be spoken to, while I think that a liberal society must have polite debate or it ceases to exist.

One morning last spring she sent me a text with a link about some Tory policy. Dont you think this is disgusting? The answer is  not really, and it is 9am. I sent a non-committal text back. It wasnt good enough. She started texting angrily.

Eventually I replied: I dont agree. More angry texts, and then she told me that only her parents made her feel this bad. Was this dialogue even with me or was it with her parents? Again? Then she said I am a bad mother, and she felt sorry for my children because I am their mother. I told her to leave me alone. (I thought: Get some therapy.) She wrote ever madder posts on X, then she came off the platform altogether, and I have no idea how she is now.

I now see this has been a pattern all my life.

There was Lauren, an alcoholic, who always asked me for help with her drinking, but seemed to hate me for it.

Or my flatmate Sarah who, when she got off with a boy we both liked, crowed at me: He wants me, not you, get over it.

When I remember them now, I think of a line by Martin Amis: Your friends are strangers and always were.

Now I look around and they are not just strangers but gone for ever. How do I feel with a cupboard empty of female friends?

In truth, happier. I am sorry for the way the friendships ended  the ghosting particularly doesnt sit well with me.

But if you are afraid to tell your friends they have hurt you, perhaps they arent the friends you need. They have my address. Why dont they write and say they are sorry? The answer is: Because they are narcissists, they arent sorry, and they dont know what they have done.

I realise now I am a chronic people pleaser  letting Alice and Petra bully me, and Leanda leave and come back and leave again  are lessons I learnt in childhood, the first from my mother, the second from my ever-absent father.

But I have more power now. And I can honestly say as I look forward to the New Year, I feel more peaceful than I ever have.

Thats a Christmas present I will cherish.

Abigail Parker is a pseudonym. All names and identifying details have been changed
The SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle to no-one) is the most popular car type in the UK.

A third of new cars entering the road in 2024 were 'Chelsea Tractors', snatching the mantle of most popular segment from superminis, which had topped sales charts for decades.

SUVs accounted for one in three registrations in 2024, up from just 12 per cent a decade earlier, according to Britain's auto trade body.

But how reliable is this very popular type of motor?

Leading consumer champion and car buying platform What Car? has asked owners how they got on with their SUV models in its annual Reliability Survey - where 30,000 car owners share their thoughts.

Here's the countdown of the 10 SUVs you can depend on - and three that suggest faults could occur and trigger breakdowns as well as high repair bills.

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MOST RELIABLE SUVS

10. Audi Q2 (2016-2026) - 98.5%

Most common faults: Engine 5%

Average repair cost: 0

Typical time off road: 50% less than a day, 25% one day to a week, 25% more than a week

Audi Q2: With a score of 98.5%, the Q2 is Audi's most affordable SUV and the brand's most reliable model

The Q2 is the affordable SUV model from Audi, starting at 30,590. But it won't be around much longer, with the German brand planning to cull it in 2026.

That's a real shame because the Q2 is the highest scoring models in the brand's line up when it comes to reliability, and scores much better than larger models.

Only 10 per cent of the Q2s What Car? were told about went wrong, and the only trouble area was the engine.

Audi paid for all repairs even though older examples are outside their three-year new car warranty.

The Q2 was only scored down because a quarter of cars with issues were in the garage for more than a week.

9. Hyundai Kona Hybrid (2019-present) - 98.7%

Most common faults: Bodywork 3%, non-engine electrics 4%

Average repair cost: 0

Typical time off road: 33% one day or less, 33% one day to a week, 33% more than a week

Specifically the Hybrid version of the current Hyundai Kona is listed among the most reliable SUVs with an impressive 98.7% score

The Kona Hybrid might not be the most expensive or premium SUV but it performs well for reliability consistently.

It placed third in the small SUV category in 2024 and has only dropped 0.3 per cent in the last year.

The Hybrid fault rate of eight per cent is lower than the petrol and electric versions, too, making it the most dependable option of all.

The bodywork and non-engine electrics were the only areas of concern for owners, and all defects were rectified by Hyundai at no charge.

A third of the faulty cars were put right in less than a day, while another third took less than a week.

8. Toyota RAV4 Hybrid (2019-2024) - 98.9%

Most common faults: 12-volt battery 4%, electric battery pack 1%

Average repair cost: 0

Typical time off road: 60% one day or less, 40% one day to a week

Toyota RAV4 Hybrid: 98.9% reliability and a fault rate of just 5% - but those that went wrong took a while to fix

Toyota's RAV4 hybrid has been discontinued as of the end of 2024, but used models are still very reliable.

The fault rate for hybrid models is just five per cent, which is lower than that for PHEVs (12 per cent), but cars that did go wrong were slower to fix with two in five spending up to a week in the workshop, according to owners reporting on the last 24 months of ownership.

All faults were fixed at no cost to owners under Toyota's long new car warranty.

7. Kia Niro PHEV (2022-present) - 99%

Most common faults: 2%, brakes 1%, non-engine electrics 1%

Average repair cost: 0

Typical time off road: 25% one day or less, 25% one day to a week, 25% more than a week

The Kia Niro PHEV is impressively reliable with with only 6% of owners having an issue with their car

The second generation Kia Niro PHEV sold from 2022 is a great practical, efficient, well price SUV.

It's also impressively reliable with with only six per cent of owners having an issue with their car. Contrastingly, 30 per cent of Niro Electric models had problems.

However, things were slow to put right when they did go wrong, with four out of five cars taking more than a week to fix. But Kia covered the cost of all remedial work.

6. Porsche Macan (2014-present) - 99.0%

Most common faults: gearbox 1%, non-engine electrics 1%

Average repair cost: 0

Typical time off road: 50% a day or less, 25% one day to a week, 25% more than a week

The Porsche Macan has a very strong reliability score of 99% and problems were quick to fix plus Porsche paid for all expenses

What Car? data covers the diesel and petrol Macans, and those up to five years old are proving very reliable.

Only five per cent of Macan owners reported any issues, and the Macan failings were restricted to the non-engine electrical systems and the gearbox.

Most problems were quick to rectify, too; half of the affected cars were fixed in a day or less, one quarter took up to a week to repair and the remaining 25 per cent took more than a week.

Porsche paid for all expenses, though.

How are the reliability scores calculated? What Car? received feedback from 29,967 owners about the vehicles they drive. Each motorist was asked about faults - if any - their cars had suffered in the previous 24 months. In instances where the owner said their car had suffered a problem, they were asked how much the fault had cost to repair and how long the motor was off the road being fixed. This data was then used to calculate a reliability rating. In total, reliability scores for 199 different models across 31 brands have been created. The ratings are only for cars up to five years old - those dating back to 2019. The feedback from drivers is also used to provide more detail to potential buyers about the most common faults and how much the repair bill for their car was over the two-year period.

5. Volkswagen T-Roc (2018-2025) - 99%

Most common faults: Bodywork 2%, gearbox/clutch 1%, non-engine electrics 1%, sat-nav/infotainment system 1%

Average repair cost: 0

Typical time off road: 33% a day or less, 67% one day to a week

The Volkswagen T-Roc only went wrong for 4% of owners surveyed by What Car?. And VW paid for all work

The T-Roc had been on sale since 2018 before being discontinued in recent weeks, so its 99 per cent reliability score is particularly impressive.

Many of the cars reported on to What Car? were four or five years old and outside their new car warranty period.

Four per cent of cars went wrong, with bodywork issues the most common.

Volkswagen paid for all work and a third of cars were sorted in a day or less. All affected cars could still be driven.

4. Toyota RAV4 PHEV (2019-present) - 99.2%

Most common faults: sat-nav/infotainment system 6%, 12-volt battery 3%

Average repair cost: 0

Typical time off road: 67% one day or less, 33% one day to a week

Faults were very minor and two-thirds of RAV4 PHEVs were put right in a day or less. Toyota covered the cost in all cases so no owners were out of pocket

The RAV4 PHEV has held its own in the reliability rankings for years.

Only the 12-volt battery and infotainment system were areas of worry for owners this year. Just 12 per cent reported reliability issues with their cars.

Faults were very minor and two-thirds of RAV4 PHEVs were put right in a day or less.

Toyota covered the cost in all cases so no owners were out of pocket.

3. Vauxhall Grandland (2024-present) - 99.6%

Most common faults: non-engine electrics 4%

Average repair cost: 0

Typical time off road: 100% one day or less

The latest and second generation of the Grandland has only experienced faults 4% of the time. And Vauxhall took care of all repairs

The second generation Grandland is outdoing its predecessor, with a minimal fault rate of just four percent. The first generation - 2018 to 2024 model - had a 19 per cent fault rate.

Unspecified non-engine electrical faults were the only issues reported by owners.

But still all cars were driveable and all problems dealt with in a day or less. Again, this is better than the old Grandland. Even better Vauxhall took care of all repair bills.

=1. Kia EV3 (2024-present) - 100%

Most common faults: None

Average repair cost: n/a

Typical time off road: n/a

Bulletproof: The Kia EV3 has had a clear health record for the year, with no faults reported by owners

There's nothing like owning a car that you can 100 per cent rely on - and that's just the case for EV3 owners.

The small electric SUV didn't suffer a single fault according to owners - the first Kia model to achieve a perfect score. That said, the model has only been on sale for 12 months, so owners are reporting on what is effectively a brand new motor.

That said, the affordable car outperformed much more expensive new models including the 75k BMW iX.

The EV3 also outscores its direct rival, the Hyundai Kona Electric, whose 24 per cent fault rate puts it in joint first place in this class. However, given they are mechanically similar, the Hyundai's performance might be a better representation of dependability owners can expect in the future.

=1. Hyundai Santa Fe (2018-2024) - 100%

Most common faults: none

Average repair cost: n/a

Typical time off road: n/a

The previous-generation Hyundai Santa Fe also has a complete record of clean health - particularly impressive for a seven-seater SUV that was on sale from 2018

Coming joint first is the Hyundai Santa Fe - the only other SUV model to achieve a glittering 100 per cent score.

And this is an even more impressive achievement, given owners were reporting on cars up to five years old. This is why we've positioned it ahead of the new Kia EV3 above.

The seven-seater stands out amongst its three-row rivals which have had poor reliability over the past year.

It's not the only Hyundai to achieve a 100 per cent either; the cheap i10 city car also got 100.

No owners had any issues or breakdowns in their cars in the previous 24 months, so none had to deal with unwanted repair bills.

An all-new Santa Fe is now on sale in the UK, and we think it's the best seven-seat option on the market currently.

LEAST RELIABLE SUVS

3. Kia Sportage (2016-2021) - 72.9%

Most common faults: Engine 21%, gearbox/clutch 21%, non-engine electrics 17%, brakes 13%

Average repair cost: 90% 0, 5% 101-200, 5% 1500 or more

Typical time off road: 18% a day or less, 50% more than a week

Best of a unreliable bunch: The Kia Sportage up until 2021 has a low reliability of 72.9%. 56% of their diesel Sportages went wrong, compared with only 20% of petrol models

The Kia Sportage is a big seller for the Korean brand, and the SUV is now on its fifth generation.

But it's the fourth generation that has sold well thanks to its good styling, practicality and affordability.

However it has proven to be not all that reliable for owners - if they bought the diesel version particularly.

These suffered a high proportion of engine faults and repairs were slow.

Diesel Sportage owners told What Car? that 56 per cent of their diesel Sportages went wrong, compared with only 20 per cent of petrol models. Half of faulty cars were in the garage for more than a week, and five per cent of bills exceeded 1500.

However 90 per cent of cars were fixed for free. And Kia has a seven-year warranty which may still cover many cars.

2. Volkswagen Tiguan (2024-present)- 64.2%

Most common faults: sat-nav/infotainment system 31%, brakes 19%, non-engine electrics 19%, bodywork 13%

Average repair cost: 0

Typical time off road: 28% less than a day, 41% more than a week

Four in five owners of the latest VW Tiguan - which only went on sale in 2024 - reported to What Car? that their SUV has issues, which is the highest fault rate of any car up to 5 years old

The latest generation of the Tiguan hasn't fared so well in the reliability records. And that's not a good look for VW, given the car only went on sale in 2024, so owners all have cars that were almost new when they provided feedback to What Car?.

It has the highest fault rate of any car in the latest reliability survey; four in five had some sort of problem.

Thirty-one per cent of issues were related to the infotainment system, and the braking system and non-engine electrics each accounted for another 19 per cent.

It took a while to fix the cars too: 41 per cent of problematic models were off the road for more than a week. Only 28 per cent were fixed the same day.

Volkswagen did cover the cost of all repair - as it should an almost new car.

1. Nissan Juke petrol (2019-present) - 55.2%

Most common faults: 12-volt battery 12%, engine 12%, fuel system 6%, non-engine electrics 6%, air-con 2%, bodywork 2%, brakes 2%, exhaust 2%, gearbox/clutch 2%

Average repair cost: 30% 0, 60% more than 1500

Typical time off road: 27% one day to a week, 64% more than a week

The Juke's reliability score, 55.2%, is the lowest all all cars in What Car's survey in any category

The Nissan Juke's fault count is long and distinguished, What Car's survey of owners found.

The engine and 12-volt battery were the biggest headaches, followed by fuel system and non-engine electrical glitches. But there is a catalogue of problems drivers said they experienced.

Slow repairs and some huge repair bills - 60 per cent of problematic Juke's ended up costing owners a whopping 1,500 - dragged the petrol Juke down to the bottom of the chart for SUVs.

Only 24 per cent of petrol Juke owners said their car had gone wrong, but 64 per cent of those said their cars were out of action for more than a week.

On top of this only 30 per cent of problems were fixed for free. Ouch.
Investment fund M&G Global Dividend was launched more than 17 years ago as a result of the enthusiasm for overseas income stocks shown by one of the company's rising investment managers, Stuart Rhodes.

Working at the time on M&G's US investment desk, 27-year-old Rhodes couldn't understand why dividend-friendly American companies were off the radar of most UK income investors.

For six months he argued for the launch of a global equity income fund, and in July 2008 got his way as he was asked to head up M&G Global Dividend.

Today, the fund  with Rhodes still in charge  has assets approaching 2.5billion and has built an enviable record.

Over the past ten years it has delivered a total return of 233 per cent. To put this into perspective, the average global equity income fund has registered an equivalent return of 153 per cent.

Yet it's the fund's income record which is more remarkable.

Since launch, it has increased its income payments to investors every year  and is on course to do so again when the final two quarterly payments for the current financial year (to the end of March) are paid.

Unlike stock market listed income investment trusts, funds such as M&G Global Dividend do not have the ability to smooth out income payments to investors by squirrelling away some of the incoming dividends in reserves to use at a later date.

Instead, they must hand over the income they receive from their investments in a prompt fashion.

This makes Rhodes' ability to keep growing the fund's income so impressive.

'It was touch and go in the financial year to the end of March 2021, when swathes of the global economy went into lockdown,' he says.

'But we managed to tickle up the dividend payment by 1 per cent.'

Since launch, annual income has risen from 3.56p a share to 10.64p in the year to March 30, 2025, with the average annual increase working out at 7 per cent. The fund's share price sits at 6.69.

Rhodes, now assisted by Kathryn Leonard and John Weavers, says the emphasis is on income growth, not on obtaining a high level of income (the fund's dividend yield is a modest 2.3 per cent).

The team will also not make investment decisions that compromise the fund's capital, which Rhodes describes as its 'engine'.

Some 240 companies occupy the universe from which suitable investments are selected.

Currently it has 41 holdings, including two of the Magnificent Seven  Microsoft, which has been in the portfolio from day one, and Meta, which was bought early last year. Both pay dividends.

For companies to make it into the fund, they must be paying shareholders a dividend. If they stop doing this, Rhodes will remove them at a time when it best suits the fund.

Although US stocks account for just over half of the fund's assets, there is a sprinkling of holdings from across the globe: the UK (Imperial Brands and fund management group Aberdeen Investments) through to Japan.

Indeed, Rhodes says Japanese companies have made great strides in recent years to become more shareholder friendly and pay them dividends.

'It's a standout country, from a dividend point of view,' he says.

Its only current Japanese holding is the pharmaceutical company Takeda.

Rhodes adds he has no intention of handing over the fund's reins. 'I don't want to get off the treadmill,' he says. 'I've got a unique opportunity to build something special.'

Annual fund charges total 1.06 per cent.
Air raid alerts are poor substitutes for alarm clocks, but in Ukraine they often perform the same function.

After being woken twice in one night by warnings of incoming Russian drones and quickly rushing to an improvised shelter in the basement of my hotel, I am bleary-eyed the next morning.

However, I discover that many locals consider my reaction a little over the top, with many worn down by a war that looks set to enter its fourth year.

'I barely listen to the air raid alert app on my phone any more,' says one resident of Horishni Plavni, halfway between Kyiv and the frontline.

The town is notable for being the site of the Poltava mine, a sprawling iron-ore pit owned by London-listed group Ferrexpo.

Poltava, which was started in 1960 under the Soviet government led by Nikita Khrushchev, is one of the largest open-pit mines in Europe.

Under fire: The Poltava mine visited by the Mail on Sunday

Every year it churns out millions of tons of iron ore pellets, small balls of concentrated metal used to make steel in blast and electric arc furnaces around the world. This is then used for car parts as well as in buildings.

But when we arrive at the pit on a chilly December morning, rather than being greeted by a cacophony of digging machines and enormous dump trucks hauling tons of ore, it is strangely quiet.

I am told production at the mine has been drastically scaled back because of the invasion, which has resulted in manpower, equipment and energy shortages.

Company staff say the only reason the mine is still operating is because it is considered vital to the Ukrainian war economy, and thus certain staff are spared military service  at least for now.

Despite this, the toll of the conflict has escaped no one here. More than 50 Ferrexpo staff have died fighting since 2022, while another 764 are currently serving in the Ukrainian armed forces, nearly 10 per cent of its workforce of 8,000, most of them men.

As in previous wars, women have picked up the slack at the mine. They represent nearly a third of employees at the end of last year compared to 29 per cent in 2021 before the war began.

The number of women in management has also risen from just over 20 per cent to 22.6 per cent last year and is predicted to have risen even further in 2025.

Alongside staffing shortages, the company's digging machines, many of which are automated or piloted by remote control, have been turned off because the GPS technology they use is being jammed as drones rely on the same tech to fly to their targets.

While the front line is more than 100 miles away, the threat posed by the war is always present.

Less than a week before my arrival in Horishni Plavni, the industrial city of Kremenchuk, just 10 miles away, was hit with a barrage of Russian missiles and drones targeting its power plants and energy infrastructure.

Taking a closer look: Calum Muirhead inspects the site's kilns in Ukraine

It followed a similar attack in early December that caused electricity, heating and water outages.

While the mine and Horishni Plavni are not often targeted directly, there is always a risk that drones and missiles that veer off course or break down will drop out of the sky.

Yuriy Khimich, one of Ferrexpo's directors who lives in the area, tells me that a key area of concern is the mine's storage of explosives, which are used to blast away rock to access iron ore.

He says: 'The storage has been targeted by drones twice, but both times it has been empty. We got lucky.'

Damage to the electricity grid also presents problems. During our visit, I'm told that parts of the mine and processing plant have been shut off due to a lack of power, hitting production.

The war is also holding up repairs of vehicles and vital mining equipment.

Before Russia's invasion in 2022, an engine for one of the firm's massive Caterpillar dump trucks could be replaced within seven days. It now takes up to 25.

A senior technician points to one of the trucks in the repair bay, saying it has been sitting there for 12 months awaiting spare parts.

As we make our way to the parts of the mine still in operation, we are greeted by several hulking examples of post-Soviet heavy industry.

Inside multi-storey warehouses, huge spinning magnets separate the iron from impurities contained in a slurry made from water and crushed rock.

'If you have a pacemaker, don't get too close,' warns one of the production bosses.

This purified iron is then rolled into pellets before being dried and hardened inside a gigantic rotating kiln that heats them to 1,300 degrees Celsius.

'Stay close,' my photographer Maksym tells me as we traverse the narrow walkway under the kiln.

'Sometimes red-hot pellets drop out and fall down the back of your jacket!' he says, smiling. I cannot tell if he is joking or not.

But while the mine continues to churn out its valuable pellets, it is no secret that the war has placed immense strain on the company's operations and finances.

Aside from the Poltava mine, Ferrexpo owns two other mines in Ukraine  Yeristovo and Belanovo  which are its newest projects, having been opened in 2011 and 2018 respectively.

In 2021, the year before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Ferrexpo produced 11million tons of pellets, raking in $2.5billion (1.9billion) in sales.

Last year, this had fallen to 6million tons while sales were at $933million, less than half their pre-war level, although this was a recovery from 2023 when the company made just $652million.

The war has also weighed heavily on Ferrexpo's share price, which is 70 per cent lower than it was just before Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine in February 2022.

'It's been extremely stressful and difficult. I have a very dedicated team who have helped alleviate the challenges. But I would not want to wish this on anyone,' Ferrexpo's current boss Lucio Genovese told The Mail on Sunday.

Some analysts say the company's share price has effectively become a proxy for predictions of when the war will end.

'Any sign of a return to anything akin to normality could be a boost for sentiment towards the shares,' said Russ Mould, investment director at stockbroker AJ Bell.

He added that while the company had proven 'very resilient' during the war, pressure would ratchet up as more local infrastructure is damaged and more staff are called up to fight.

'Mining stocks can be volatile at the best of times, given how demand is often linked to the vagaries of the global economic cycle, and pricing is often set by the producer with the lowest cost of incremental production,' he said.

'Ferrexpo comes with added, direct geopolitical challenges.'

Aside from suffering the effects of the Russian invasion on its operations, the company is fighting battles on the home front with the Ukrainian authorities.

In March, the government decided it would suspend refunds of VAT to the company's two main subsidiaries in Ukraine.

So far, the freeze has cost the firm $47million, according to an update in October, when it announced 20 per cent of its workforce had been placed on furlough or reduced hours to save on costs.

Ferrexpo has also found itself in the crossfire in a row between the Ukrainian government and its largest shareholder, billionaire Kostyantyn Zhevago, who controls 49.3 per cent of the business.

Ukraine's anti-corruption authorities have charged Zhevago, who was previously the group's chief executive, with embezzlement and bribery, allegations that he denies.

The authorities have tried to have the tycoon, who has been sanctioned in Ukraine, extradited from France. But in October a French court rejected the request citing the risk of an unfair trial.

And earlier this year, the Ukrainian government launched a bid to partially nationalise the Poltava mine by seizing Zhevago's stake in the company.

Genovese told The Mail on Sunday that the company has become a 'victim' in the legal battles between Zhevago and the Ukrainian government.

'All these litigations relate to Zhevago and his previous dealings with other businessesWe've asked the authorities many times for them to deal with Mr Zhevago on these matters and keep Ferrexpo away from these issues. But unfortunately we've been used as a tool to put him under pressure.'

He added that the firm supported efforts to root out corruption that has blighted Ukrainian politics and business dealings in the post-Soviet era.

'We try to run our business as best we can and stay out of troubleTo us it's always a good thing that corruption is exposed and dealt with in the proper way.'

His comments come after Volodymyr Zelensky's government was rocked in November when his top adviser Andriy Yermak, a key interlocutor with Ukraine's allies, resigned after his home was raided by anti-corruption authorities in a growing probe into graft in the energy sector.

His departure followed the sackings of energy minister Svitlana Grynchuk and justice minister Herman Halushchenko.

Several suspects have been detained or fled the country.

The mounting pressure on the company comes as it also tries to reintegrate a steady stream of employees who have returned from the front lines, many of them suffering from injuries and mental conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

Some 204 veterans have been discharged from service, but only half have since returned to work.

Some of the mine's managers tell me that while demobilised staff are guaranteed a job upon their return, some are kept away from ground operations as the noise of mining equipment and explosive blasts can cause distress.

We meet a group of these demobilised staff at a newly-constructed war museum in Horishni Plavni funded by company money.

One wall is covered with the faces of Ferrexpo staff and other townspeople who did not return from the front.

The firm has funded equipment such as first aid kits, body armour and supply backpacks for those serving, but due to the financial pressures after years of war this is becoming increasingly difficult.

Serhiy Valkoviy, a veteran who organises the group of demobilised employees, says the current pile of equipment the company can provide is now at 'a critically low level' but attempts would still be made to supply soldiers.

'We will try to the best of our ability,' he says.

Attempts to get veterans to open up about their experiences are also being promoted, although the process is slow and difficult, with many unwilling to speak.

It is at this point, shortly before power shortages force the museum to shut off its lights for another blackout, that the future of the mine and the people who live on its doorstep seemed inexorably intertwined by the chaos of a conflict that has rumbled on for nearly four years.

Valkoviy tells me that the company, like the people of Horishni Plavni, understands that the sacrifice of the servicemen is worth more than the cash needed to support them.

His voice wavers with emotion: 'It is because of them that we can continue to exist. They are our heroes.'
It's an unfortunate fact that recalls happen, and they're issued for many reasons. Sometimes a recall occurs from something as small as a wrong labeling or incorrect packaging; other times they happen on a much grander scale, such as the case with Costco Wholesale and a recall issued by Berner Foods Inc., one of its private label suppliers. The recall affected several cases of Kirkland Signature Cold Brew across the United States, with the beverages containing foreign material unsuitable for consumption. Unfortunately, Costco is no stranger to recalls, as it's faced several major ones in its history (and in fact, there was another major one that even happened within the same year as the cold brew).

On February 17, 2023, Berner Foods issued a major recall for Costco's Kirkland Signature Colombian Cold Brew. This stemmed from metal being found in the ready-made coffee, more specifically, a bolt, within products distributed between November 2022 and February 2023. Berner issued a statement to Costco members, urging them not to consume products containing a "best by date" range of October 19 to October 27, 2023, and return them to Costco for a full refund. The cold brew recall went on for weeks, with no injuries officially reported, but it did include 231,071 cases, or nearly 3 billion cans of the Kirkland Signature Cold Brew. Interestingly, Berner's member notice isn't listed on the recall archives page of Costco's site, even if no exact reason is provided.

Read more: 5 Ways To Tell If You're Eating Fake Scallops

Costco has experience in managing major recalls

As extensive as the 2023 Kirkland Signature Cold Brew was, it was one of many that hit the warehouse giant in 2023. The very next month following the cold brew recall, California Splendor Inc. and Scenic Fruit Co. recalled their frozen organic strawberries due to an outbreak of Hepatitis A. The March recalls identified Kirkland Signature Organic Strawberries that were distributed to Costco stores in Los Angeles, Hawaii, and San Diego among others. These were only out of an abundance of caution, with no illnesses reported; however, a similar haunting major recall for Costco occurred with another private label supplier, Townsend Farms, in 2013. That time around, Townsend Farms recalled its Organic Antioxidant Blend after several cases of Hepatitis A were linked to pomegranate seeds in the product.

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Certainly, no recall should be compared to another, and these have been closed and resolved. It's unclear whether Costco has continued partnerships with these suppliers, but members in the Costco Reddit threads maintained a sense of humor during the cold brew recall. One Redditor jokingly confirmed that they received the recall notice in their email and via a phone call mid-sip, but would finish their beverage and then return the unopened cans they bought. In another Reddit thread, a user playfully felt that people shouldn't complain about receiving free bolts and shavings with the coffee. As entertaining as these comments are, recalls can be very serious in nature and aren't a laughing matter. Thankfully, when it comes to Costco, members can rely on the big-box giant's excellent return policy.

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Read the original article on Chowhound.
Residents of a small Texas town say they are being plagued by the noise from a nearby crypto mining facility.

Locals in Granbury have likened the sound emanating from the data center to 'being on a runway with jets taking off 24/7' in a blistering lawsuit filed against owners MARA Holdings.

The complaint blames the 'constant' alleged racket for a host of ailments among the local population including headaches, vertigo and hearing loss.

'It is incredibly intrusive. It is incredibly annoying,' Rodrigo Cantu, the resident group's lawyer, told the Daily Mail.

'It's a type of noise that penetrates the walls, that can wake you up or can keep you from falling asleep.'

The data center houses between 60,000 to 80,000 computer rigs solely dedicated to Bitcoin mining, a complicated, time-consuming process that requires enormous amounts of electricity and expensive hardware.

Bitcoin is currently trading at around $88,000 and firms who can amass enough computing power unlock the chance to compete for the newly minted currency by validating transactions on the blockchain.

While MARA stands to make huge gains, Granbury locals claim they are losing sleep due to colossal noise generated by fans needed to cool the center's computer chips.

Pictured: An overhead view of the MARA Holdings' Bitcoin mining data center in Granbury, Texas

Daniel Lakey and his wife claim they have been dealing with the bitcoin mine's loud noise since 2022, when it was installed

Pictured: Air-cooled containers on the site that contain the computers that run day and night to earn Bitcoin rewards

The group of residents sued MARA last year in attempt to quiet down the data center, which has been operating since 2022.

'It can be heard during the day, when people are going about their business, but it can also be heard at nighttime, which is especially damaging because one has a reasonable expectation of peace and quiet at night,' Cantu said.

'There are people in the community who are saying that they feel like they don't hear as well anymore, or that it's contributing to other physiological effects, like headaches, like a sense of vertigo.'

Cheryl Shadden, who is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, has said the Bitcoin mine 'sounds like youre being on a runway with jets taking off 24/7, nonstop. You hear it in your home, it penetrates the walls, it shakes your windows.'

MARA argues that these claims are overblown and disproven by Hood County's own sound study that was prepared in November 2024.

Texas state law stipulates that noise levels above 85 decibels, equivalent to a running lawnmower at close range, is unreasonable. Consistent exposure to sounds above 85 decibels can lead to hearing loss.

The officials who conducted the sound study tested the noise levels at 38 different locations around MARA's Bitcoin mine and found that it ranged between 35 to 62 decibels, well below the legal limit.

MARA also says it has implemented sound mitigation strategies, including by replacing 67 percent of its fans with a quieter, liquid-based cooling system and by extending a 2,000-foot-long, 24-foot tall soundproof wall around the facility.

Join the debate Should companies making millions from crypto be allowed to disrupt entire communities with noise?

Pictured: The town square in Granbury, which is in Hood County. The county's sound study did not detect unacceptable levels of noise

Pictured: The level of noise measured at various sites throughout Granbury. This sound study was done by Hood County officials in November 2024

Some Granbury residents remain unsatisfied with these fixes and continue to claim that the Bitcoin mine is too loud.

Daniel Lakey, who lives about a half a mile away from the mine, started an ill-fated petition to create a new city called Mitchell Bend, named after a road in the neighborhood, in a bid to take back control.

If the city had been formally incorporated, its roughly 600 residents would have had the power to create a stricter noise ordinance to rein in MARA's operations.

However, the measure failed in November, with 62 percent of the 138 voters who cast ballots rejecting the idea, The Texas Tribune reported.

'It was very disappointing last night. We were hoping to have some tools to fight the noise a little,' Lakey, who is also a plaintiff on the lawsuit against MARA, told the outlet.

MARA celebrated the incorporation effort's failure in a statement to the Daily Mail.

'While a few residents recently sought to incorporate a new town to penalize law-abiding companies like MARA, were pleased the community rejected this at the ballot box, and we remain committed to being good neighbors and investing in the long-term strength of Granbury and Hood County,' the company said.

In an earnings call on November 4, MARA CEO Fred Thiel said the company installed its first 'AI inference racks' at the Granbury facility in the quarter ending in September 2025.

MARA CEO Fred Thiel revealed in an earnings call in November that MARA added 10 AI inference racks to the Granbury facility to help with its mining operations. MARA declined to answer further questions about the AI racks

Pictured: A crane installs more computers to mine bitcoin at the Granbury data center

According to a shareholder letter, just ten of these racks were added at the facility. They are cooled with high-speed fans, not with liquid-immersion cooling, which is much quieter.

Air cooling is louder, but given that only ten racks have been added so far in a facility that supports tens of thousands of computers, it's unlikely that the AI chips have meaningfully contributed to an uptick in noise over the last few months.

MARA declined to comment on the AI inference racks and would not say if it plans to expand them over the coming months and years.

The residents of Granbury who sued MARA are now trying to obtain more documents about the company's operations.

Cantu told the Daily Mail that MARA is stonewalling and has so far refused to produce any meaningful information.

'What we're wanting from MARA is information on its equipment and its operations, so that we can figure out what mitigation efforts they might be able to take. Ultimately, it's going to be about MARA deciding whether or not it's willing to bring down its noise levels,' he said.

'We filed a motion to compel documents in state court this summer, and that shows how they have not responded to our requests for information.'

MARA operates nine data centers across four states, including Texas, Nebraska, Ohio and North Dakota.

The facility it acquired in Hopedale, Ohio, last November has also been criticized for being too loud, though others who live nearby say they don't hear anything.
Among the many practices developed in the Cold War and brought together under the so-called Moscow Rules is to blend in and go with the flow as much as possible.

But scientists in spy agencies across the world seem to have taken that to heart over the years.

Though many have toyed with the idea of using animals in intelligence gathering, the first time they are believed to have been used was after German pharmacist Julius Neubronner developed the pigeon photograph method in 1907.

This involved strapping lightweight cameras with timers to homing pigeons, which were sent out to take photographs from the skies.

Battlefield tests of the technology during the First World War were promising, though it doesn't appear the idea took purchase during the Second World War.

But the idea of using creatures in espionage, coupled with major technological advancements made throughout the 20th century, sparked an animals arms race among spooks across the world.

To this day, they continue to compete to figure out how denizens of the animal kingdom can be used to gain an information edge over their opponents.

Putin's spy whale: How Beluga Hvaldimir appeared off Norwegian coast with straps to carry surveillance kit

The harness and camera mount sparked allegations that the beluga was 'a spy whale'. It has now been revealed the beluga was likely guarding something

Hvaldimir (pictured) was first seen in Norwegian waters in 2019

Hvaldimir was sadly found dead in August 2024

First appearing off the coast of Norway in 2019, local fishermen reported Hvaldmir the friendly whale was wearing a camera harness.

Fishermen found a drawing of a carved fish hook, as well as the words 'Equipment St. Petersburg' written in English.

This, coupled with the knowledge that Russia has a sea mammal espionage training programme, led many to believe that Hvaldimir, whose name is a portmanteau of 'hval', the Norwegian word for whale, and Vladimir, the first name of the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, was being used by Russian intelligence.

To top it off, after he was freed from his bonds, he apparently stuck around and seemed used to being near humans, an unusual trait for wild belugas that further suggested he had long been in contact with people.

Russia made attempts to distance itself from Hvaldimir, though it did not explicitly deny it was using him for intelligence gathering.

A Russian military spokesman, Colonel Viktor, reportedly said at the time: 'If we were using this animal for spying do you think we would attach a mobile phone number with the message 'please call this number''.

But investigations by local media revealed that the Russian naval base at Olenya Guba, just a couple hundred miles east of Hammerfest, had pens that could easily accommodate belugas and other marine mammals.

Hvaldimir was sadly found dead in August 2024. Though local activists initially claimed he had sustained multiple gunshot wounds, a necropsy found he had likely died from a bacterial infection.

Join the debate How do you feel about using animals as secret agents in wartime or intelligence operations?

US plan to turn millions of bats into bombs

Bat bombs were developed by the American military during the Second World War, and held in enclosures (pictured) across the US

The plan had the approval of then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the weapons were tested across the US, including at sites in New Mexico (pictured)

Dentist Lytle Adams had a very dim view of bats.

Describing them as 'the lowest form of animal life', the American dentist said of the winged mammal: 'Reasons for its creation have remained unexplained'.

But Adams eventually saw purpose in these creatures. Inspired by a trip to a national park in Mexico and enraged by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in December 1941, he used his connection to then-First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to pitch his crazy idea.

Despite his misgivings about bats, he knew they were remarkably strong, capable of carrying significant loads while flying.

He also knew they roosted before dawn. These characteristics, coupled with the knowledge that many of the buildings in Tokyo, Japan's capital city, were made from wood, led him to come up with the bat bomb.

Adams' theory was that bats released over Japanese cities during the night would naturally try and find eaves to roost on.

If these bats had tiny incendiary bombs strapped to them, they would essentially become living time bombs capable of burning down entire cities.

As far-fetched as the plan sounded, it had the approval of then-president Franklin D. Roosevelt, who told the head of the Office of Strategic Services: 'This man is not a nut. It sounds like a perfectly wild idea but is worth your time looking into'.

After acquiring 'a few million' Mexican free-tailed bats, a team of crack scientists set about figuring out how best to store, transport, and deploy the bats before detonating the explosives.

They cooled the animals in ice cube trays and glued small amounts of napalm to them before stuffing roughly 1,040 into sheet metal tubes.

The plan was that bomber planes would fly down to an altitude of just 4,000ft before deploying the bombs, whose sides would fall away and allow the bats to spread across cities.

Initial tests were positives. One scientist wrote following an experiment in Utah: 'A reasonable number of destructive fires can be started in spite of the extremely small size of the units.

'The main advantage of the units would seem to be their placement within the enemy structures without the knowledge of the householder or fire watchers, thus allowing the fire to establish itself before being discovered'.

But the bat bombs never got their day in the sun. Testing began too late in the Second World War, and would have taken too much time before they were ready to deploy.

On top of this, the American military was already focused on developing the nuclear bomb - which would end up devastating two Japanese cities in a way the bats could never hope to achieve.

Russian 'controllable spy pigeons fitted with brain implants and cameras'

The birds can be steered remotely in real time, with operators able to upload flight commands by stimulating targeted regions of the brain

Neiry insists that 'no training is required', declaring that any animal becomes 'remotely controllable after the operation'

Russia recently revealed it was pioneering remote controlled spy pigeons fitted with brain implants.

A state-linked Moscowneurotechnology firm boasts its operators can steer flocks of the flying pests across the sky at will.

Researchers have launched field tests of so-called 'bird-biodrones' known as PJN-1, ordinary pigeons surgically implanted with neural chips that allow technicians to direct their flight routes.

The birds can be steered remotely in real time, with operators able to upload flight commands by stimulating targeted regions of the brain.

The pigeon then 'believes it wants to fly' in the instructed direction, claim sources at Neiry, which has deep ties to the Kremlin's hi-tech innovation machine.

Surgery is carried out in which electrodes are inserted into the brain with millimetre precision.

The birds wear tiny solar-powered backpacks containing onboard electronics, GPS tracking, and the receiver that transmits signals into the neural implant.

Chillingly, Neiry insists that 'no training is required', declaring that any animal becomes 'remotely controllable after the operation' - with pigeons capable of covering 310 miles a day, or more than 1,850 miles in a week.

'Right now, the solution works on pigeons, but any bird can be used as the carrier,' said Alexander Panov, company founder.

'For transporting heavier payloads we plan to use ravens, for coastal monitoring  seagulls, and for large marine territories  albatrosses.'

How a taxi stopped a CIA plan to use cats to spy on Soviet embassies

The CIA's plan was to get vets to surgically implant microphones in a cat's ears, a small radio transmitter in its skull and push a thin wire through its fire (File image)

Launched in the 1960s by the CIA's Directorate of Science and Technology with the intention of releasing them near Kremlin and Soviet embassies, the project to stick microphones in cats to use them in espionage is perhaps one of the agency's more embarrassing failures.

The CIA's plan was to get vets to surgically implant microphones in a cat's ears, a small radio transmitter in its skull and push a thin wire through its fire.

In theory, this would allows the furry animals to become the ultimate infiltrators, recording top-secret conversations while sat in the laps of feline-loving diplomats.

The first mission for Operation Acoustic Kitty was to send a cat to eavesdrop on two men in a park outside the Soviet embassy in Washington DC.

But, as the legend goes, the feline James Bond was immediately killed by an oncoming car.

Further tests also failed. Combined with the problem of safely removing the equipment from the cat, as well as the extortionate price of the whole project, it was written off as a total failure in 1967.

CIA researchers claimed in a final memo that while they believed it was possible to train cats to move short distances, 'the environmental and security factors in using this technique in a real foreign situation force us to conclude that for our (intelligence) purposes, it would not be practical'.

The vultures suspected of espionage

In 2018, a Bulgarian vulture (pictured) that flew into Yemen was captured after officials believed it was being used to spy on the army

In 2016, a vulture (pictured) as detained in Lebanon on suspicion of spying for Israel

There have been multiple instances of security services detaining vultures on suspicion of espionage.

In 2018, a Bulgarian vulture that flew into Yemen was captured after officials believed it was being used to spy on the army.

It was found with a transmitter by locals in the Middle Eastern country. While the army said at the time they believed this was being used to communicate with its handlers, scientists said it was tagged as it was being studied.

It then took several months of negotiations between Bulgarian and Yemeni officials to mediate the release of the animal.

And in 2016, another vulture was detained in Lebanon on suspicion of spying for Israel.

The bird, which was a 6ft and 5in wingspan, flew over Lebanon's southern border from an Israeli game reserve.

Lebanese villagers became suspicious of it, as it had a tracking device on its tail.

Wildlife officials said at the time that the vulture hailed from Spain, and was set free in the Gamla Nature Reserve in the occupied Golan Heights.

The bird was released after a week after villagers realised it wasn't actually a spy.

Upon its release, officials found it was weak and was being treated for minor injuries.

Iranian intelligence agents capture over a dozen squirrels suspected of spying for the West

In 2007, Iranian intelligence operatives arrested a group of 14 squirrels, claiming they were Western spies

The cat-and-mouse game of international espionage requires spooks to think like their enemies, to predict how they may use advanced technology and come up with strategies to defeat them.

But these mind games can, in some instances, result in overzealous action against the wrong people or, in this case, squirrels.

In 2007, Iranian intelligence operatives arrested a group of 14 of the critters, claiming they were Western spies.

The state sponsored IRNA news agency said at the time: 'The squirrels were carrying spy gear of foreign agencies, and were stopped before they could act, thanks to the alertness of our intelligence services'.

Iranian police commander Esmaeil Ahmadi-Moqadam confirmed the report, saying that a number of squirrels had been caught bearing foreign spy gear within Iran's borders.

'I heard of this but I have no specific knowledge on the subject,' he said. He refused to give further details.

Just a year later, Iran's security forces apprehended a pair of pigeons they claimed were spies looking into the country's nuclear processing systems.

One was captured near a rosewater production plant in Kashan, which is only up the road from the Natanz uraniam enrichment facility.

Reports at the time claimed it has a 'wired rod' and 'invisible threads... fixed to its body'.

Another one had been detained earlier in the month. The fate of the two pigeons and 14 squirrels is not known.

China reveals miniature robots modelled after mosquitoes

The mosquito-sized nanorobots measure just 1.3cm in width

Perhaps the most successful example of animals being co-opted into the security services comes in the form of so-called listening bugs.

Technically, the Chinese-made drone isn't an animal. Rather, they're miniature robots designed to look and behave like flies.

The mosquito-sized nanorobots measure just 1.3cm in width and are made up of two tiny wings and three legs attached to a miniature body.

With such a small size, they are nearly undetectable to unsuspecting human beings.

Researchers at the National University of Defense Technology, China's top militar R&D academy, said in 2024: 'Miniature bionic robots like this one are especially suited to information reconnaissance and special missions on the battlefield'.

The technology is far from complete, with scientists still figuring out how to attach sensors, power storage and control circuits to them without overwhelming the small wings.

As a result, it's not clear exactly what capabilities the robotic flies have, nor is it known how long they can stay in air.

But the pace at which Chinese scientists are developing the technology is worrying, to say the least.
It's California's richest suburb boasting an average income of more than $367,000, spectacular Pacific views, and multi-million-dollar homes.

But the coastal city of Palos Verdes Estates in LA county, has a dark secret: a deadly clifftop trail that has claimed the lives of three people since August alone.

Seen in exclusive Daily Mail photos, at first glance the cliffs appear innocuous: lush and green and backdropped by swanky homes.

But look more closely and the 300ft sheer drop to the beach below becomes clear, along with crumbling bluffs and steep trails that switchback down the cliffside.

'We usually avoid that path  there's another one that we take that's further away,' Palos Verdes resident Sheryl Diamond, who was out for a stroll with her friend Paula Daniels, told the Daily Mail.

'It's much safer. Really wide and safe.'

Like many locals, Sheryl is all too aware of the perils the clifftop path that sits in the heart of Palos Verdes Estates poses.

But, she says, visitors often don't realize how dangerous it can be and says there needs to be better signage in order to prevent further deaths.

At first glance, the clifftop path at Palos Verdes Estates looks serene, boasting beautiful views, and surrounded by multimillion-dollar homes

But a closer - and rather dangerous - look reveals the cliff plunges 300 feet to the rocks below - and has become the site of a growing number of fatal accidents, the Daily Mail can reveal

A general view of a multi-million-dollar luxury beach house overlooking the coast in Palos Verdes Estates, Los Angeles County

'It would be good to have a sign there that said danger or something. Because otherwise, people just don't realize.'

Since August, three bodies have been discovered lying on the pebbly beach that runs along the bottom of the cliffs surrounding Bluff Cove.

All three prompted near identical callouts to the LA Fire Department  with firefighters asked each time to come to the 1400 block of Paseo del Mar.

Known for being 'one of the most prestigious streets in the Palos Verdes Estates' according to local realtors, the stunning strip of modern mansions sits directly across the road from the cliff path and boasts spectacular views over the Pacific Ocean.

Homes on the stretch go for millions of dollars with current listings including a $9.4 million Cape Cod style six-bedroom mansion and a smaller $7.5 million Spanish style ranch home that sits directly on the clifftop.

But the area has also become the site of regular calls to the LAFD due to the frequency of horror finds on the beach below  the most recent of which came on November 18.

On that occasion, a man's body was discovered with a forensic tent seen set up on the clifftop in photos taken at the time.

When the Daily Mail visited, the remains of a floral tribute could still be seen marking the spot, along with a small crucifix and an unopened notecard.

Daily Mail photos taken from the top of the cliff show the pebbled beach far below, where three bodies have been found since August

The most recent deadly incident took place on November 18,when a man's body was discovered on the beach

On August 30, police discovered the body of a man lying on the shoreline. Though he was not identified, the LA County medical examiner recorded a fatality at a cliff on the same day for a Donald Walker. In 2022, 25-year-old Jerardo Huitzil was killed after he and three friends fell from the cliff during an early morning hike

The body of a second man was discovered in the same spot on October 30 while the remains of a third man was recovered on August 30.

Neither were immediately identified, though the LA Times reported that the LA County medical examiner has a record of a death at a cliff on August 30 for a 47-year-old Donald Walker, 47.

According to the Palos Verdes Estates Police Department, none of the deaths are thought to be suspicious and the area is a noted suicide spot.

In June, three more bodies were found on the same stretch of shore, including the remains of a boater lost at sea, a homeless person and a fisherman caught in a storm.

Paula told the Daily Mail: 'I know someone from years ago whose son committed suicide.

'You get people jumping pretty often and there's been some who have driven their cars off the cliffs recently.'

Another notorious 2022 tragedy that saw four friends fall from the same cliff while out on an early morning hike.

Although three survived the 4.25am plunge, Jerardo Huitzil, 25, was killed.

That incident led to a warning from the LAFD who dubbed the spot 'extremely dangerous'.

Locals say there aren't enough visible warning signs alerting visitors to the danger. Pictured above is one sign warning of an 'unstable cliff' behind a small chain fence

A small floral tribute along with a crucifix and notecard was seen marking the spot where someone died

'It's extremely dangerous; there's no fencing in the area,' LA County Fire Captain Wade Kelsey said after Huitzil's death.

'There's sloping to where it just goes off to a sheer cliff, and the majority of the area here is very unstable, very dangerous if you get close to the edge of this cliff without any sort of protection.'

Locals say more needs to be done to get the message through  particularly for first time visitors and novice hikers.

'This is one of the most dangerous trails there is,' a local surfer told the Daily Mail. 'It's doable but you have to know where to put your feet.'

Another walker, who gave his name as Henry, added: 'I don't think a lot of people know how dangerous the cliffs are, especially if this is their first time.'

Asked if better signs are required, he added: 'It might be nice to do something about that, let people know how it can be.'
Water bills look set to rise further as the budget for the soon-to-be scrapped industry regulator has soared by nearly a third.

Ofwat's costs have jumped to 72 million up from 56.1 million in 2024-25, a 28 per cent increase, despite plans to abolish it.

The increase also means that Ofwat's budget has more than doubled since 202021, when it stood at 32.1 million.

The hike will anger households already bracing for bigger bills to rebuild crumbling infrastructure and clean up pollution in rivers, lakes and seas.

The Ofwat budget is ultimately paid for by households and so any increase in their budget will mean customers' bills going up accordingly.

Earlier this year, ministers said Ofwat would be abolished as part of an overhaul of the 'broken' regulatory system.

Then environment secretary Steve Reed said he would junk Ofwat after telling MPs that the water industry was 'failing'.

A new single regulator will replace several smaller bodies and will have a clear mandate to 'stand firmly on the side of customers, investors and the environment', he said.

Water bills to rise further as regulator costs soar to 72 million despite plans to abolish it

'Water companies have been allowed to profit at the expense of the British people when they should have been investing to fix our broken water pipes,' he told MPs.

'They got away with this because of a broken regulatory system that has failed customers and failed the environment.'

Despite this, families will be expected to pay for an increase of nearly a third in its budget during the transition to a new regulator.

A source close to the industry said: 'It's a mystery why Ofwat's budget has been doubled. I'm sure the price of removal men has gone up but this is a bit ridiculous.

'Ofwat should be hiring skips not bureaucrats.'

Earlier this year, the Daily Mail revealed that the regulator had expanded its headcount and was still advertising for new roles at the organisation.

These jobs include technical water roles, policy leads, economist positions and marketing roles as well as recruiting a management consultancy to help it set up the new regulator.

It was also recently reported that Ofwat had increased its internal bonus budget by 119per cent which was attributed to a 25per cent increase in staff headcount.

The proposals to overhaul the industry include abolishing Ofwat, which oversees how much water companies in England and Wales can charge for services and the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI), which ensures that public water supplies are safe.

It would also end the regulatory roles of the Environment Agency and Natural England, which monitor the sector's impact on nature, such as companies illegally dumping sewage into waterways.

An Ofwat spokesman said: 'The government has set out a new direction for the water sector with the formation of new water regulators, which_ _marks an opportunity to reset the sector so that it delivers better outcomes for customers and the environment.

'Until the new regulators for England and Wales are in place, we will keep working hard to drive water companies to improve performance and deliver maximum value for customers, communities, and the environment.'

Sources said that the transition to a new regulator would take two years and staff could not just 'down tools' during that time.
An AUKUS critic has shed light on the fundamental dangers of the military deal, including the threat of Australia being a nuclear target, as the security pact receives support from Donald Trump - and a rising number of Australians.

Earlier this month, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that AUKUS was going 'full steam ahead' after questions were raised when the Trump administration earlier announced it would review the deal.

The agreement, which would see Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines, is expected to cost the country up to $368billion over three decades.

Just a few weeks before Rubio's thumbs up, an Australia-wide survey of 2,045 people by the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) found support for the policy had increased.

The number of people who agreed that the trilateral deal with the US and UK could help keep Australia secure from a military threat from China surged compared to last year.

While 48 per cent agreed in 2024, that rose to 50 per cent in the 2025 survey. The poll also found that over two thirds (68 per cent) supported using AUKUS to deepen Australia's cooperation with the US and UK on advanced technologies.

This included hopes for technology in cyber, AI and quantum computing.

But AUKUS critic and adjunct professor at the Australia-China Relations Institute, Mark Beeson, has said there are some major issues with the deal which most Australians are missing.

The Trump administration said AUKUS will go 'full steam ahead' after a review earlier this year (Foreign Minister Penny Wong with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on December 8)

A major component of AUKUS will be a facility at the Australian Navy's HMAS Stirling base in Perth's south from 2027.

Up to 1,200 UK and US personnel, their families, and five nuclear-powered submarines will be stationed there.

'We will undoubtedly be a nuclear target,' Beeson said of the facility. 'I don't think many of the people living in Perth realise that, if they weren't a nuclear target before, they certainly will be when all these... submarines start arriving.

'This will be a sort of launch pad for whatever American strategic adventure they decide to take on next.'

The use of the area as base also raised another key issue for Professor Beeson: Australia's sovereignty.

'I think there are questions about the historical relationship we have with America,' he said, referencing the poll.

The survey revealed that a growing trend among Australians is that they want Canberra to make foreign policy decisions without the US and UK.

Among those surveyed, 77 per cent said Australia should make its China foreign policy decisions independently, even when they differ from US preferences.

There has been an increase in support among Australians for the AUKUS deal but Professor Mark Beeson has warned it will put a nuclear target on the country (a submarine at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia, where US and UK personnel are set to move in 2027)

'Australia would make absolutely no difference whatsoever to the outcome of any conflict or strategic stand-off between the United States and China - with or without four or five submarines,' he said.

'If the Chinese aren't deterred by America's overwhelming military power, they're not going to be deterred by anything we can do.

'We're just a convenient piece of real estate in the southern hemisphere that they can use as sort of launching pad for whatever they decide to do next.

'There are major implications for our independence and sovereignty.'

The reasoning for this, he said, is that by having the presence of American and British military on Australian soil, Canberra is no longer solely acting on behalf of Australians.

'It limits the options available to Australian policymakers to make independent decisions that are in the national interest,' he said.

'Rather (we follow) some supposed mutual interest of Australia, Britain and the US.'

Professor Beeson (pictured) has also warned that AUKUS threatens Australia's sovereignty

Professor Beeson highlighted that the poll displayed different views among Australians, with support for AUKUS but a desire for independence on policy.

'I wasn't surprised that there were a few contradictory sort of views amongst all that, because it is a complex set of issues,' he said.

'But some of it displays quite an encouraging degree of sophistication and not just wild panic about China, which is good.'

A final issue Professor Beeson raised was the capacity and timeline of the submarines promised to Australia.

'I would bet an awful lot of money that the AUKUS subs will be duds by the time they get here, if they ever do,' he said.

'They'll probably be redundant because there's been revolutions in drone technology which will be able to detect submarines more easily.

'It's just such a ludicrous long term investment of a lot of money we don't really have, and we could use on much better things.'
A war hero who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan is believed to have become the 29th member of his regiment to die by suicide, the Daily Mail can reveal.

Sergeant Andrew Borthwick, 41, who had served with the Rifles and later in the Ranger Regiment, was found dead at his home last month.

The former soldier, who was had three children, is one of at least 29 members of the Rifles Regiment who have taken their own lives since 2013, according to a veterans' group that collates suicide figures.

Many of those who died by suicide had fought in either Iraq or Afghanistan and were suffering from mental health conditions such as PTSD and depression.

Others developed substance abuse issues after serving in war zones where many of their friends were killed or wounded.

The dead soldiers and veterans are part of a group of at least 600 serving military personnel and veterans known to have died by suicide since 2017. The Rifles saw heavy fighting in both Iraq and Afghanistan and sustained more casualties than any other regiment.

A total of 66 soldiers were killed in both conflicts, and 344 were injured, according to official figures.

Sergeant Andrew Borthwick, 41, who had served with the Rifles Regiment, was found dead at his home last month

Captain Gary Case, who died from suicide in 2019

Amongst those who died is Captain Gary Case, who took his own life in 2019 just weeks after being awarded an MBE by the Queen for more than 28 years of service in the Army.

The reasons behind his death remain a mystery but former colleagues revealed that he was exposed to the horrors of the Bosnian War and narrowly escaped death during an attack in Iraq.

Sergeant Borthwick, from Reading, known as 'Borth' to his friends, escaped death in 2009 after being shot through the chest in a Taliban ambush in southern Afghanistan.

After being wounded, he took cover with the rest of his section, turned to his close friend and colleague Brett Campbell, and said 'man down'. When Brett asked who, Cpl Borthwick answered 'me'.

He underwent emergency surgery, which involved having part of his lung removed.

Cpl Borthwick refused the offer of a medical discharge with a war pension and worked to regain his fitness, returning to Afghanistan in 2013.

In 2020, he was part of a team from the Rifles Regiment that raised money for Combat Stress by box jumping the height of Mount Everest.

Details of the veteran's death were revealed by former colleagues on Facebook.

Rifles veteran Cpl Ricky Fergusson, who lost both legs and an eye in Afghanistan and was awarded the Military Cross, wrote: 'I'm sad and heartbroken to say that we lost another Rifleman, a soldier, and a good friend on Sunday, November 23rd, to suicide.

'He was a top bloke, funny, always laughing, and would always be there for his mates if needed.

'Unfortunately, for many reasons, some unknown, things got too much, and he wanted out. Please, when you are feeling lower than low, thinking that life is too much and you want out, then please pick up the phone.'

Many of those who died by suicide had fought in either Iraq or Afghanistan and were suffering from mental health conditions such as PTSD and depression

Brett Campbell, who was with Cpl Borthwick when he was shot in Afghanistan, added: 'The man survived what should have taken his life when we were ambushed in Sangin, Afghanistan.

'Even after taking a round through his lung, he carried on serving with the same grit and heart he always had.

'I will never forget the moment we took cover. Face to face, calm as ever, he said, 'man down.' I asked who, and he looked straight at me and said, 'it is me.' That will stay with me forever.

'Borth was given a second chance once, but life became too heavy in the end. I wish he had known how much he meant to the lads, the impact he had on all of us, not only in the platoon but in the regiment, and how much he is missed.'

Former Army Warrant Officer Jim Wilde campaigns for better mental health support for veterans and has been collating figures surrounding ex military-personnel suicides since 2017.

Wilde stated: 'There is clearly a problem with the number of suicides in the Rifles, as the figures clearly show.

'We have told the MoD and the government about this, but we have been ignored and in the meantime the death toll from suicide continues to mount.'

General Sir Patrick Sanders, 55, one of the most senior commanders in the Army and a former Rifles officer, revealed earlier in 2021 that he had contemplated suicide after a violent tour and urged soldiers and veterans to seek help.

He said: 'I found myself obsessing about experiences, dwelling on photographs, video clips, and letters, replaying in my mind what happened in a dark and obsessive way.

'These thoughts took me to a dark place. When I caught myself at two in the morning with a bottle of wine or whisky next to me, I realised that I needed help.'

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: 'Any death by suicide is a tragedy that is felt across our community, and we are determined to provide those experiencing mental health challenges with the support they need.

'This includes deploying expert mental health professionals to the front line and ensuring briefing on the support and treatment available is offered to every serviceman and woman both before and after deployment.

'We are also investing 25million each year into Op COURAGE, so veterans in England can continue to access specialist NHS mental health and wellbeing services, and 50million into the VALOUR programme to improve veterans' access to essential care.'
It's one of Britain's most famous coastlines - best known for featuring in the hit series Doc Martin - but locals living near Port Isaac say they are now desperately fighting to protect their unspoiled landscape from an enormous eco project.

Plans for an industrial seaweed farm the size of the London Olympic Park near Port Quin were almost waved through without objection.

However, when the application was discovered by chance, residents launched a series of campaigns.

Meanwhile, another scheme of a similar size further along the coast was already approved before most people realised anything was happening.

Many feared the offshore eco development would harm tourism and ruin holidays in a region that attracts 500,000 visitors per day during the peak summer months.

Luckily, in April residents - backed by celebrities including Doc Martin himself, Martin Clunes, and Walking Dead actor and surfer Andrew Lincoln - celebrated what they thought was victory when the application was refused outright by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO).

But their joy was short-lived as one of the applicants - Camel Fish Ltd - has now appealed claiming they weren't given a fair chance to make their case.

Local resident Barnaby Kay who has led the opposition campaign said: 'We are absolutely devastated that this process has now moved to appeal, despite our colossal efforts to prove that the seaweed farm proposal is unviable in Port Quin Bay.

The picturesque region heavily relies on tourism and attracts 500,000 visitors per day during the peak summer months

Port Isaac is one of Britain's most famous coastlines - best known for featuring in the hit series Doc Martin

Documents show MMO refused the application over concerns it might cause significant harm to the environment, the coastal landscape and local fishing activity

'We wholeheartedly support the development of the seaweed cultivation industry in the UK, but not this applicant, with this proposal, in this location.

'We will continue to fight against this, there is still huge public anger about the application.'

Documents show MMO refused the application over concerns it might cause significant harm to the environment, the coastal landscape and local fishing activity.

The report concludes: 'Based on the existing information the proposed activities currently represent unacceptable risk to existing users of the sea.'

A hearing on the appeal is set to take place in January and a Crowdfunder set up to pay for a barrister to represent residents has already raised more than 5,000.

Clunes - who filmed on the coast from 2004 to 2022 - previously hit out at the proposal, saying. 'It's a hideous plan, in a beautiful and special area.

'It was waved through without consultation or proper assessment of its environmental impact. It's nothing short of criminal.'

Another celebrity opponent is actor and surfer Andrew Lincoln, star of The Walking Dead and Love Actually.

Local resident Barnaby Kay (pictured) who has led the opposition campaign said he is 'devastated' about the process

'I'm amazed that an idea as dreadful as this has made [it] far enough to make any protest necessary,' he declared.

'It's disguised as some sort of environmental favour to the area and a source of local employment. I'm under no illusion.'

But the opposition runs far deeper, locals previously told the Daily Mail they fear they will be left counting the cost.

Mark Graham, who has run shop North Coast Wetsuits for 21 years, said the proposed farm has caused major worry for local businesses.

He said: 'It's obviously concerning for me on a personal level, I have lived near this stretch of coastline for a long time.

'Doc Martin brought a whole new generation of people to this bay but without the natural beauty, what are they coming for?

'I think some businesses will be worried about going under, things like accommodation rely on walkers and ramblers and if they don't come they can't survive.

'People come to visit this because of the natural beauty and the application would take away from that. 'Anybody who has a marine or tourism business is concerned because a lot of people come and stay here to see the beautiful bay. They don't want to see an industrial seaweed farm.'

Mark Graham, who has run North Coast Wetsuits for 21 years, said the proposed farm has caused major worry for local businesses

Avril Greenway, local resident and MD of the Cleaner Seas Project (pictured) believes that environmental concerns arising from the project would also have an impact on tourism

Avril Greenway, local resident and MD of the Cleaner Seas Project, argued that environmental concerns arising from the project would also have an impact on tourism.

Speaking after joint applicant Biome Algae chose to withdraw its application in March, she said: 'Everything is intrinsically linked to plastic pollution, hospitality in Cornwall is down to the seas and beaches being beautiful. That's why people come here.

'We all support seaweed farming done right but if there is any carbon sequestered it would be offset by the extra miles it takes to drive here.'

Mark Harrison, a retired finance consultant, who lives in nearby Lundy Bay said: 'This community is made up of a lot of different people from lifelong locals to people who've come on holiday to those who've retired here and this is the most unifying thing.

'It's difficult to find anybody who thinks it's a good thing for the area. 'I don't think Biome have listened to residents' concerns at all. I went to their presentation which was so poor - I don't think it mentioned Port Quin once, it was school stuff.

'It's clear from the documentation they haven't tried to address any of the issues.

'These people switched from doing it on the south coast to here.'

Andrew Lincoln, star of The Walking Dead and Love Actually, who surfs locally has also criticised the plan

In a previous joint statement, both Biome Algae and Camel Fish said: 'As responsible operators we have and will provide regulatory bodies with a range of reports that assess plans in relation to the environment'.

'Both Biome and Camel Fish's intentions are not to harm the marine environment. We will add positively to the local economy, provide career opportunities and support education.

'It has been demonstrated that sustainable seaweed farming helps restore our marine environments. The seaweed itself has great potential to address a number of pressing planetary issues.'

Camel Fish has been contacted for comment.
A Minnesota daycare with misspelled signs out the front and no children inside has reportedly received $4 million in taxpayer funds, prompting outrage among lawmakers who now want answers.

The allegations circulated on social media this week following a video posted to X by independent journalist Nick Shirley, which accused Minnesota authorities of allowing the 'largest fraud in US history' to go unchecked.

Gubernatorial candidate Lisa Demuth is among those leading calls for greater scrutiny and is running on a platform of exposing fraud in the Democrat led state.

She spoke out after Shirley visited the Quality Learning Center in Minneapolis and posted a video which reached over 65 million views in less than two days.

The business's name is misspelled as 'Quality Learing Center' in a sign above the front door, and according to the video, the parking lot is mostly empty. In the video, the lobby also appears to be dark.

'Fraud is easy to find  if youre willing to look for it,' Demuth said. 'Many of these seemingly vacant businesses have been cited by the Walz admin for licensing violations which should have made it easy to catch and stop millions from being stolen.'

'Four million dollars of hard-earned tax dollars going to an education center that can't even spell learning correctly. Care to explain this one, Tim Walz?' Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer, a Republican, wrote on X in response to the clip.

A supposedly empty Minnesota daycare has reportedly received $4 million in taxpayer funds, according to a video posted to X by independent journalist Nick Shirley that received over 65 million views in under two days

Governor Tim Walz has presided over a $1 billion fraud against Minnesota's social safety net by criminals who submitted false invoices to receive taxpayer dollars. The Quality Learning Center has not been accused of wrongdoing

 Here is the full 42 minutes of my crew and I exposing Minnesota fraud, this might be my most important work yet. We uncovered over $110,000,000 in ONE day. Like it and share it around like wildfire! Its time to hold these corrupt politicians and fraudsters accountable



We ALL pic.twitter.com/E3Penx2o7a  Nick shirley (@nickshirleyy) December 26, 2025

Congressman Mike Lawler, a Republican from New York, went further, stating that 'folks need to be arrested and prosecuted' and that 'the Governor of Minnesota needs to be held accountable'.

'Congress should hold a hearing immediately and start getting answers,' he added.

Elon Musk also waded into the controversy, saying that once more Americans find out about the alleged fraud, they 'will be horrified at what your tax money is doing'.

Vice President JD Vance addressed the apparent scandal in Minnesota, though didn't name the daycare center specifically.

'What's happening in Minnesota is a microcosm of the immigration fraud in our system. Politicians like it because they get power. Welfare cheats like it because they get rich. But it's a zero sum game, and they're stealing both money and political power from Minnesotans,' he wrote in a social media post on Saturday.

This comes after it was alleged that Minnesota's government was defrauded out of at least $1 billion in public funds for programs meant to feed children, assist the homeless and provide autism therapy. So-called providers submitted false invoices to be reimbursed for services that were never provided, according to federal prosecutors.

Federal prosecutors say of the 86 people that have been charged as part of these fraud schemes, and 59 have been convicted so far. Many of those accused of the fraud are based within the state's Somali community.

The alleged fraud sparked such scrutiny that, in early December, Dr. Mehmet Oz told Governor Tim Walz that he would withhold federal Medicaid funding from the state unless significant changes were made. Many of these programs are funded, in whole or in part, by Medicaid.

Oz serves as Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

The Quality Learning Center has not been officially accused of wrongdoing by authorities. Still, according to Shirley, a pro-Trump influencer, it has received up to $4 million in state and federal dollars.

In Shirley's clip, he was seen trying to speak with staff at the center. He was instead met with a screaming woman accusing him of being an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer.

'Don't open up! It's ICE!' the woman repeatedly shouted.

Shirley eventually got through to her and convinced her he wasn't ICE and that he was a YouTuber merely asking about potential fraud.

Another man with Shirley held up a paper that he said was evidence that the Quality Learning Center had received $1.9 million in taxpayer funds in fiscal year 2025, specifically through Minnesota's Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). He claimed that the daycare had received $4 million in total from this program.

Local news station KSTP reached a different conclusion after investigating the facility in January.

The station reported it received $7.8 million in federal dollars since 2019, though it isn't clear whether this figure includes funding from sources other than CCAP.

Join the debate How should taxpayers hold officials accountable when millions are lost to alleged fraud like this?

Congressman Tom Emmer, a Republican of Minnesota caught onto the news about the Quality Learning Center and urged Governor Walz to look into it

Pictured: Shirley gets into an argument with a woman outside the daycare center who believed for a while that he was a member of Immigration and Customs Enforcement

The claims prompted questions about where taxpayer money went, as the daycare center racked up 11 violations during a state inspection on June 23, 2025, according to government records.

These violations included failing to keep areas where children play from falling into disrepair, keeping items in cribs for infants, not following a doctor's instructions when giving children prescription medicine, and hiring an unqualified substitute caregiver.

Since May of 2022, there have been 121 violations at the daycare, records showed, including allegedly failing to request background checks for 14 employees.

The only punishment the daycare has faced in this three-year period is paying two separate $200 fines, according to state records.

Minnesota House Speaker Designate, Rep. Lisa Demuth, a Republican, told KSTP in earlier this year that this is an example of how 'oversight is incredibly lacking'.

'You have pages here that are publicly available, with repeated failure to keep hazardous items away from children,' Demuth said.

'Failure to maintain adequate staff-to-child ratios. Background checks. Failure to keep personnel files. These are repeated violations.'

If the Quality Learning Center is found to have benefited from CCAP funds, the scandal could broaden.

The allegations of fraud at the Quality Learning Center led to a growing number of Minnesota non-profits facing similar claims.

Gubernatorial candidate Lisa Demuth is among those demanding answers following Shirley's video

At the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, the organization claimed to serve tens of thousands of meals to low-income children during the pandemic.

But in a recent court filing, prosecutors allege most of those meals never existed, and instead, the taxpayer money went to luxury homes, cars, jewelry and real estate abroad. According to court documents, the nonprofit misappropriated $250 million.

One housing program in Minnesota ballooned from an expected $2.6 million to $104 million, mostly due to fake billing. Hundreds of providers were reimbursed for services that were never provided.

Another program that was supposed to provide therapy to autistic children did nothing of the sort, according to prosecutors.
Americans are starkly divided over continued US involvement in Russia-Ukraine negotiations ahead of President Donald Trump's high-stakes meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a new poll has found.

In an exclusive Daily Mail/J.L. Partners poll of 1,000 registered voters, 41 percent believe the US should remain involved in negotiations, while 39 percent say Washington should step back.

Another 20 percent said they were unsure, highlighting a clear lack of consensus among Americans as the war nears its fourth year.

The divide cuts across party lines, including among Republicans. Trump voters themselves were nearly evenly split, with 43 percent backing continued US involvement and 42 percent opposing it.

The polling was released as Zelensky confirmed he will meet Trump in Florida on Sunday as part of an intensified US-led diplomatic effort to end the conflict.

Zelensky said the talks will focus on security guarantees for Ukraine and a proposed 20-point peace framework, which he described as 'about 90 percent ready.'

An economic agreement is also expected to be discussed, though Zelensky cautioned it remains unclear whether anything will be finalized during the meeting.

Ukraine is also expected to raise territorial issues. Moscow has insisted Kyiv relinquish the remaining territory it holds in the eastern Donbas region, an ultimatum Ukraine has repeatedly rejected.

The new polling suggests Americans remain skeptical that the negotiations will result in lasting peace, and on whether Trump should continue driving talks to end the conflict.

The polling was released as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed he will meet former President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday, amid an intensified U.S.-led diplomatic push to end the conflict.

Americans are divided on whether the US should stay involved in RussiaUkraine negotiations, with sharp splits by age and party affiliation

In the exclusive poll, thirty-six percent of voters said it would be acceptable for Ukraine to give up territory currently occupied by Russia in exchange for binding security guarantees and neutrality. In comparison, 31 percent said such a deal would be unacceptable.

Support dropped sharply for broader concessions.

Just 26 percent said it would be acceptable for Ukraine to give up additional territory not currently under Russian control, while 41 percent said that outcome would be unacceptable.

Views were similarly divided on sanctions: 31 percent said lifting sanctions on Russia as part of a peace deal would be acceptable, compared with 33 percent who said it would be unacceptable, with the remainder undecided.

By contrast, Americans showed clearer support for continued US involvement in Israel-Palestine negotiations, with 45 percent backing ongoing engagement and 36 percent opposing it, underscoring how uniquely polarizing Ukraine remains among voters.

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

Since then, Moscow has seized most of the Luhansk region and about 70 percent of Donetsk, the two areas that make up the Donbas.

Voters broadly favor continued U.S. involvement in IsraelPalestine negotiations, with support strongest among older Americans and Democrats, according to polling

Polls show many Americans view potential RussiaUkraine negotiation outcomes as unacceptable- yet a large share say they are indifferent or unsure

Fighting continues along multiple fronts. Recent Russian aerial bomb and drone strikes killed civilians in cities including Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Mykolaiv.

Ukraine has increasingly targeted Russian energy infrastructure in response, including a strike this week on a major oil refinery in Russia's Rostov region using UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles.

The polling was conducted by J.L. Partners between December 20 and 21 among a nationally representative sample of registered voters. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
A San Francisco community that was plunged into a blackout over Christmas is facing a new problem as locals say generators brought in to restore power have brought a deafening noise to the area.

Over 130,000 residents in parts of the California city were without power over the week of Christmas, and despite Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) restoring power to most customers, some in the Richmond District were left to only use generators.

The generators have been running nonstop since December 22 as an alternative power source at PG&E's substation on 24th Avenue and Balboa Street, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The diesel-powered machines, which are in containers on truck trailers, have reached noise levels of 100 decibels, resident Vahid Sattary told KRON 4.

That level of noise is comparable to a jet taking off or jackhammers running, as Slattary complained that the noise has become 'so loud you cannot have a simple conversation.'

Mi Zhou, a local staying at a hotel provided by the utility company, said locals have been left in limbo as they wait for power to be restored, and said her family 'are more concerned about when this will end.'

Unfortunately for Zhou, PG&E officials have not specified how long the generators will run.

Diesel-powered generators have left locals in the Richmond District of San Francisco outraged, as the machines blare a constant, loud noise

A local reported the generators reach a peak noise level of 10 decibels, which is comparable to a jet taking off. The generators were brought to area after power outage left one-third of the city in the dark

'These units were put into service on Monday morning, and will be turned off as soon as repairs are complete,' said PG&E in a statement to the Chronicle.

Officials said the repairs were for another substation where a fire started, which contributed to the city-wide outage.

The temporary solution came shortly after a blackout on December 20 left a large swath of the north of the city in darkness for hours, until power was restored later that night to 95,000 customers.

Yet power has not yet returned for many in Richmond, and the power company said it is working on a plan to return to normal operations in 'the days ahead'.

The residents have attempted to reach out to PG&E for answers, but say they have received little to no response.

'We called the PG&E hotline to talk to several people. They took notes and said someone would contact us. No follow through,' said Sattary to KRON 4.

The massive outage knocked out power to 130,000 homes and businesses across San Francisco

The outage represented roughly one-third of the PG&E's customers in the city

'For five nights, we have not been able to sleep. I dont want to dilute, but PG&E has been unresponsive. They have not been good neighbors to us. I dont know what to do.'

In addition, outraged residents have taken their complaints to Richmond Supervisor Connie Chan.

Chan has called out the company for its 'completely unacceptable' handling of the outage and is demanding that they remain accountable, according to the Chronicle.

On December 22 PG&E announced Automatic Bill Credits for Customers who were affected by the power outage in a press release.

'The intent is to provide meaningful, timely relief without requiring customers to take additional steps. In response to the outage, PG&E is making these credits available to help offset the inconvenience and disruption caused by the event,' wrote PG&E.

'Residential customers will automatically receive a $200 bill credit, and business customers will receive an approximately $2,500 credit.'

The Daily Mail has reached out to Pacific Gas and Electric Company for comment.

The blackout that occurred just days before Christmas left at least one-third of the city in darkness.

Driverless Waymo cars caused a high traffic jam during the outage after vehicles appeared confused by the malfunctioning street lights

A Waymo, a driverless taxi, is seen stuck in the middle of a busy intersection as other vehicles stop behind it and drivers try to make sense of the chaos

During the blackout, the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management said on X there were 'significant transit disruptions' happening citywide and urged residents to avoid nonessential travel and treat down traffic signals as four-way stops.

The Mayor of San Francisco, Daniel Lurie, urged people to stay off the roads in a social media post.

'We are still not clear when power will be restored to over 130,000 customers,' Lurie wrote. 'So what I am going to ask all of you to do is, if you do not need to go out tonight, stay home, be safe.'

The blackout sparked traffic chaos after Waymo robotaxis became stranded in the streets.

Waymos, the futuristic driverless taxis that were welcomed to the city last year, stopped in the middle of the streets.

The cars appeared to be frazzled by traffic lights malfunctioning amid the blackout, so a lot of the vehicles came to a complete stop, leaving those driving other cars to be hit with mayhem.

San Francisco is about 381 miles away from Los Angeles.
Police have made an arrest after the deaths of a woman and man in a suspected stabbing at a home in Sydneys northwest.

Emergency services were called to an Illabo Street home in Quakers Hill just before 5am on Sunday after reports of a disturbance.

They arrived to find a man lying on the footpath, suffering from multiple stab wounds.

The body of a woman aged in her 30s was found inside the home.

She is yet to be formally identified.

The critically injured man aged in his 30s was treated at the scene before he was rushed to Liverpool Hospital, where he later died.

Detectives established a crime scene and cordoned off the street.

Forensic teams combed the home and quiet suburban street for evidence as police launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Emergency services were called to the Quakers Hill home early on Sunday morning

A woman was found dead inside a home as a man fights for life in hospital

A man, 47, attended Blacktown Police Station shortly after the incident, where he was arrested.

He is assisting detectives with their inquiries.

No charges have yet been laid.

Police have not disclosed the relationship between those involved.

Shocked neighbours were woken by a commotion outside at about 4.30am, followed by 'pure silence' until police arrived

'There was a couple of brief crashes  and then a lady screamed,' one man told the ABC.

'Just to know that it can happen anywhere  is awful.'

Strike Force Acoma has been set up to investigate the incident.

Police are expected to provide an update later on Sunday.

Anyone with information or relevant CCTV is urged to call Crime Stoppers.
She is the newest member of the Sussex Survivors Club, having become the 11th publicist in five years to leave Prince Harry and Meghan's employ.

Fevered speculation swirls over the circumstances of her departure, especially given claims the couple are notoriously difficult to work for.

Now, I can reveal the decision by PR chief Meredith Maines to step down from overseeing Archewell Philanthropies' communications has sparked a furious spin war.

For while some say she left under a dark cloud after the bungled handling of a celebrity birthday celebration, others claim she has gone out on a high, having achieved her goal of reuniting Harry with the King in September.

Early last month, rumours raged of an ugly rift between Meghan and 'momager' to the Kardashian clan Kris Jenner, 70, after Ms Jenner removed a photo of the Sussexes from her birthday Instagram post.

Journalists across the pond were immediately briefed by the Sussexes' team, and told that Meghan, 44, and Harry, 41, had signed a 'no photo' consent form ahead of attending the starstudded birthday bash.

Sources close to the Kardashian matriarch strongly denied there had been any forms and said that they had taken them down after a 'request'.

The Sussexes then denied that they had asked for the images to come down. Like many of these tense celeb briefing spats, the row appeared, at some point, to fizzle out, rendering the whole episode a bit of a storm in a teacup.

Not, however, for Ms Maines, sources claim. For, fuelling rumours that her departure from Archewell, previously known as the Archewell Foundation, was less than triumphant, The Mail on Sunday can reveal that although the news of her leaving was announced on Friday evening, she actually resigned in midNovember  just days after the Kris Jenner saga exploded.

The decision by PR chief Meredith Maines (pictured) to step down from overseeing Archewell Philanthropies' communications has sparked a furious spin war

Ms Maines was seen meeting the King's press secretary, Tobyn Andreae, in July, a move which is believed to have paved the way for Harry to briefly see his father

When this newspaper asked Ms Maines in late November if she had left the Sussexes she described it as a 'ridiculous' suggestion. Ridiculous indeed.

According to a source, her time in the role was seen as unsuccessful, whether because of her own decisions or how events unfolded. The source adds that if she has stepped down, it appears to be an effort to protect her image before matters deteriorated further, and the departure does not seem especially amicable.

Another source told me previously: 'When anything negative comes out, someone has to pay. It is a miserable and impossible job. Meghan will get disappointed by one thing and then ice someone out. She will never let you live it down or forget how you let her down and neither will Harry.'

She's the eleventh publicist to go since the couple relocated to the US five years ago. A further three employees at Archewell are losing their jobs in early 2026.

Commenting on Ms Maines' departure, a spokesman for the Sussexes said: 'Meredith Maines and Method Communications have concluded their work with Archewell. The Duke and Duchess are grateful for their contributions and wish them well.'

Hardly effusive. But for Ms Maines' supporters, her recusal from the Sussexes is a natural career move. With her departure planned for midJanuary, it will mark almost a year of working for the couple.

One source said: 'She really enjoyed her time there but at a certain point it is time to go... They begged her to stay to manage the transition of Archewell Foundation and other transitions. She stayed to do that.

'Meredith feels that she has done what she set out to do. She launched the show and the brand and the website. She also got Harry to meet with his father in September, which was a priority that they set out to achieve.'

Join the debate Why do you think so many top staff can't seem to work with Harry and Meghan for long?

Ms Maines is the 11th publicist in five years to leave Prince Harry and Meghan's (pictured) employ

Ms Maines was seen meeting the King's press secretary, Tobyn Andreae, in July, a move which is believed to have paved the way for Harry to briefly see his father.

Yet by October, sources were indicating that Ms Maines was enduring a 'difficult' time as Chief Communications Officer.

Meghan's surprise trip to Paris to attend a fashion show was derailed after she posted a video to Instagram which showed her being driven at night along the Seine  the route taken by Princess Diana the night she died.

'Word is that Meredith is a sitting duck, and is being iced out,' one source said after the event.

For Ms Maine, there are no hard feelings towards the Sussexes  at least publicly.

She said: 'After a year of inspiring work with Prince Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and Archewell, I will be pursuing a new opportunity in 2026. I have the utmost gratitude and respect for the couple and the team, and the good they are doing in the world.'
Iran's president says his country is in a 'full-scale war' with the US, Israel and Europe as the hostile nation looks to rebuild its nuclear capabilities.

President Masoud Pezeshkian issued the chilling proclamation in an interview with the state-controlled media on Saturday, saying that he believes Iran is already at war with the West.

'We are in a full-scale war with the US, Israel and Europe; they dont want our country to remain stable,' Pezeshkian said.

Pezeshkian referenced Iran's devastating war with Iraq from 1980 to 1988, in which upwards of a million people were killed, as he said conflict with the West could escalate even more dramatically.

'This war is worse than the one launched against us by Iraq. On closer inspection, it is far more complex and difficult,' he continued.

'During the war with Iraq, the situation was clear: they fired missiles, and we knew exactly where we were responding. But now, we are being surrounded from every angle.'

The remarks come as Trump is set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, where Iran is expected to be a key topic in the talks.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian declared 'total war' with the US, Israel and Europe as the hostile nation looks to rebuild its nuclear capabilities

Pezeshkian accused the West of trying to bring Iran 'to its knees' months after President Trump launched strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June, which military experts said significantly set back the nation's capabilities but did not entirely destroy its nuclear programs

The issue of Iran's continued efforts to possess nuclear weapons saw the nation hit with fresh sanctions from the UN in recent weeks.

The threat of Iran's nuclear ambitions saw Donald Trump launch historic strikes on Iranian facilities in June, which military experts said significantly set back the nation's capabilities but did not entirely destroy its nuclear programs.

Pezeshkian brushed off the impact of Trump's strikes in June in his latest remarks, and said Iran's military has rebuilt to a stronger position than it was in before the conflict.

'Our beloved military forces are doing their jobs with strength and now, in terms of equipment and manpower, despite all the problems we have, they are stronger than when they attacked,' he said.

'So if they want to attack, they will naturally face a more decisive response.'

Pezeshkian's hardline remarks come as the Iranian president has faced scrutiny in his nation in recent weeks for comments he made to university students.

When asked about Iran's struggling economy, Pezeshkian said that he was powerless to turn it around despite being president.

'If someone can do something, by all means go for it,' he said, according to the New York Times. 'I cant do anything; dont curse me.'

He reportedly added: 'Why should I solve (the economy)? You shouldnt think that the president can make miracles happen.'

Pezeshkian faced criticism for his comments to the university students, and in his state media interview on Saturday, he walked back that stance, saying that 'I have said many times that I cannot do it, but that we can.

'The countrys problems are not something I can solve alone but we will overcome these problems.'

Pezeshkian seen with Russian President Vladimir Putin in November

The Iranian president said the nation was in 'total war' with the US, Israel and Europe, saying Iran was 'surrounded from every angle'

It comes as Iran has also been dragged into Trump's posturing with Venezuela, as a 'shadow fleet' of Iranian-linked tanker ships operating in the Caribbean sparked alarm this month amid the US military action in the region.

Despite a long history of brazenly transporting sanctioned Iranian oil, the vessels have been seen sailing just miles from the American coastline as President Trump continues his unrelenting bombardment of alleged drug boats.

A bombshell report obtained exclusively by the Daily Mail exposed a deep, clandestine network of 20 illicit tankers currently lurking in Caribbean waters, serving as a lifeline for the regimes of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, Iran and Russia.

Some 11 ships have been directly linked to Iran's oil trade, including the 'Skipper' and 'Star Twinkle 6', alongside nine others tied to Russian and Venezuelan operations, according to United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), which has spent more than 12 years tracking these elusive vessels.

The stakes could not be higher. The Skipper's revenues reportedly fund terrorist activity by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah, prop up hostile regimes and provide cut-price oil to China.

Jemima Shelley, Senior Research Analyst at UANI, has warned that this reality could lure Trump into a dangerous provocation with Iran, pointing to the strong ideological alliance forged between Maduro and the Ayatollah.

'Iran is the largest state sponsor of terrorism and its illicit oil sales are the main source of funding for its global terrorist activities,' Shelley told the Daily Mail.

'The IRGCa designated foreign terrorist organizationis not only using this oil revenue to revamp its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program, but also to actively plot terror on US soil, including against senior members of the US administration,' she added.
READ MORE: Woman and man die in suspected stabbing in Quakers Hill

Second man was questioned by police

A prominent state MP who is one of South Australia's wealthiest men will spend a second night in custody after he was charged over the alleged assault of his wife of more than three decades.

Police were called to a Conmurra property on the state's Limestone Coast on Saturday morning following reports of a 'domestic assault'.

Independent MacKillop MP Nick McBride, 56, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, breach of bail, and breaching an intervention order over the alleged incident involving his wife Katherine.

He was refused bail and will appear in Mount Gambier Magistrates Court on Monday.

An 82-year-old man from Kingston South-East, understood to be McBride's father, was also interviewed by police and later reported for aggravated assault.

He will be summoned to appear in court at a later date.

A police spokesperson told Daily Mail that investigations into the alleged incident continue.

The charges come just 83 days before South Australians head to the polls on March 21, where McBride hopes to be re-elected for a third term.

Nick McBride (left) has been charged over the alleged assault of his wife Katherine (right)

The independent SA MP hopes to be re-elected for a third term in March

A prominent grazier, McBride was elected to state parliament in 2018.

His MacKillop electorate covers 34,138 km stretching south and west from the mouth of the Murray River to the Victorian border.

He easily retained his seat at the 2022 election with 62.3 per cent of the primary vote and 72.6 per cent on a two-party preferred basis.

However, McBride spectacularly quit the Liberals a year later, blaming 'dark forces' and 'divisive factionalism' within the party for his departure.

Now an independent, he still holds a largely Liberal stance on social issues.

McBride describes himself as a 'primary producer, long established business owner, Chairman and board member of numerous local not-for-profit organisations'.

'Nick prides himself on his approachability, and the open and honest relationships he has with local people of all ages,' his website reads.

The McBride family is influential in both politics and agriculture.

Nick McBride and his wife Katherine were married for more than three decades

His great-grandfather, Sir Philip McBride, was a founding member of the Liberal Party and served as Defence Minister under then-Prime Minister Robert Menzies.

Their power also extends deep into farming, with the family controlling over 1.1million hectares of land across South Australia and Queensland, making them one of the nation's largest landholders.

McBride has been campaigning for re-election as an independent.

Daily Mail contacted McBride and his wife for comment.

The couple have been married for more than 30 years and have two children.

Ms McBride is a registered nurse who works in the not-for-profit aged care sector.

She previously attempted a stint in politics when she took on federal MP Tony Pasin for preselection in the safe Liberal seat of Barker in 2023 but lost out to the incumbent member.
A Georgia grandfather and his dog were fatally shot just days before Christmas by another pet owner as the victim's horrified wife watched on.

Terry Loden, 70, died while walking in a public park in Gainesville on Sunday afternoon, according to the Hall County Sheriff's Office.

The tragic sequence of events began when Loden's dog, Jesse, fought with another dog at Simpson Park, cops said.

Simpson Park is located on Lake Lanier. According to the park's website, dogs are allowed but need to be leashed. It's unclear whether either dog had a leash before violence broke out.

The situation drastically escalated when the second pet owner, Todd Alexander Stalcup, 52, allegedly pulled out a handgun and shot Loden's precious pet.

Stlacup then allegedly shot Loden on his right side as his wife, Cheryle, rushed to save him.

She told local news outlet, Atlanta News First, that her husband was on the phone with their granddaughter when he was shot.

Cheryle said her husband told their granddaughter to 'hang on,' and she overheard him instruct Jesse not to 'mess with that dog,' before shots rang out.

Terry Loden, 70, was shot and killed while walking his dog with his wife, Cheryle (pictured), on Sunday

Todd Alexander Stalcup, 52, was arrested and charged with the grandfather's murder after allegedly shooting Loden and his dog at the park

The altercation occurred in the afternoon at Simpson Park (pictued) in Gainesville, Georgia. Loden later died at a nearby hospital

'He was on top of her pulling her off and about that time, the man just shot my dog, and Terry stood up and said, "Man what are you doing?" And he just shot him,' Cheryle recalled.

'He just looked up at me and said, "I love you." He said, "Im going." I said, "No, youre not."'

Cheryle said she was calling 911 when her husband was shot, and Stalcup allegedly replied, 'Yeah, you do that.'

She alleged that Stalcup was pacing as her husband fought for his life, and then eventually drove off in his vehicle.

His wife put pressure on Loden's wound until the ambulance arrived but he later died at a local hospital.

Deputies apprehended Stalcup about 15 minutes after the altercation. He was charged with murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm used in a crime.

Stalcup is in custody at the Hall County jail and isn't eligible for bond, according to jail records.

Loden's family said his murder was 'senseless and unprovoked.' Cheryle said the two men weren't fighting before her husband was shot, and the tragedy unfurled quickly.

Cheryle told local news that she tried to save her husband after he and their dog were fatally shot

Cheryle said her husband was talking to their granddaughter on the phone when shots rang out. She described Loden as a selfless and awesome person

The grandfather's loved ones told Atlanta News First that they hope the culprit is punished to the 'fullest extent of the law.'

Family members described Loden as a selfless and awesome person. One of Loden's most recent posts on his Facebook account was a fundraiser for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

He asked his social media friends to donate to the nonprofit in his honor for his birthday.

Cheryle described her husband to local news, saying, 'Hed give his last penny and do anything for anybody.'
Caroline Ellison, the former girlfriend of crypto swindler Sam Bankman-Fried, is set to be released from prison just over a year into her sentence.

The 31-year-old was sentenced to two years in prison in September 2024 for wire fraud and money laundering, after admitting to helping Bankman-Fried's FTX platform steal billions from clients.

According to Federal Bureau of Prisons records seen by the Daily Mail, Ellison is now set to be released from custody on January 21, 2026, nine months before the end of her original sentence.

Ellison was CEO of Alameda Research, a trading company owned by Bankman-Fried's FTX, and she admitted that he illegally loaned Alameda billions of clients' money before the platform collapsed in November 2022.

She pleaded guilty to fraud charges soon after FTX collapsed and was initially sent to federal prison in Connecticut following her sentencing. After serving 11 months of her two-year sentence, she was transferred to community confinement in October 2025, as first reported by Business Insider.

Community confinement means Ellison is either under house arrest or is in a halfway house, and in January, she will be freed less than four years after she first pleaded guilty to a slew of charges related to the collapse of FTX.

In Bankman-Fried's 2023 trial, Ellison became the prosecution's star witness against her former on-and-off lover.

Ellison cooperated with prosecutors and offered key testimony that brought down Bankman-Fried, as she confessed to knowingly engaging in illegal business tactics with the disgraced FTX founder, including telling jurors that he gave Alameda 'unlimited' access to FTX client money.

Caroline Ellison, the former girlfriend of crypto swindler Sam Bankman-Fried, is set to be released from prison in January 2026, just over a year into her sentence for her role in the $8 billion FTX cryptocurrency fraud

Ellison was the former girlfriend of Sam Bankman-Fried, and sensationally turned on him and worked with prosecutors to bring him down at trial in 2023

Ellison's sentence of two years in federal prison surprised legal experts at the time in September 2024, as she was expected to be rewarded for her cooperation with the prosecution against Bankman-Fried.

Before her sentencing, the CEO of the FTX bankruptcy estate, John J Ray, told the judge that Ellison deserved to avoid prison time because she 'provided the Debtors with valuable assistance and cooperation, which resulted in the recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars in Debtor assets for the benefit of creditors.'

Earlier this month, after being placed on community confinement, Ellison also agreed to a 10-year ban on serving as an officer or director of cryptocurrency exchanges or public companies.

She was the star witness at Bankman-Fried's trial and her three days of testimony, which revealed how Alameda stole billions of dollars from FTX customers to finance risky trades and lavish spending, was 'crucial' in securing a conviction for the fraudster.

After pleading guilty to seven charges in late 2022, including wire fraud and money laundering, Ellison faced as much as 115 years in prison, but was expected only to receive supervised release.

Ellison surrendered to authorities in the chaotic aftermath of the FTX collapse, which followed the platform loaning billions in client cash to Alameda.

A court sketch depicts a moment during the Bankman-Fried trial when Ellison was overwhelmed by emotion on the stand

She was the former on-again, off-again girlfriend of Sam Bankman-Fried, who founded both FTX and Alameda Research

When FTX customers tried to withdraw their money, the company couldn't pay out and went bankrupt.

When she was sentenced, Ellison grew emotional in court, saying she was sorry for her part in the fraud and for not being 'brave' enough to stop it.

I participated in a criminal conspiracy that ultimately stole billions of dollars from people who entrusted their money with us, she said. Not a day goes by that I dont think about all of the people I hurt.

She cried and sniffled at times throughout her remarks.

The days of the trial when she was on the stand consistently drew the most attendees, as she recounted the salacious details of her toxic relationship with SBF and the shockingly brazen means through which the young crypto executives at FTX and Alameda, herself included, committed one of the largest financial hoodwinks in American history.

Ellison testified that Bankman-Fried 'directed me' to commit fraud. She said that Bankman-Fried told her to take $14 billion from the failed crypto exchange's customers to repay the eyewatering loans Alameda had racked up to fund its often disastrous trades.

She also said that Alameda took FTX deposits for 'whatever' it needed.

Ellison cooperated with prosecutors and offered key testimony that brought down Bankman-Fried, as she confessed that she knowingly engaged in illegal business tactics with the disgraced FTX founder

Bankman-Fried is pictured with Gisele Bundchen at a Crypto Bahamas conference

Part of what Ellison said Bankman-Fried instructed her to do was to draft seven different balance sheets to send to Genesis, one of Alameda's leading lenders, when it recalled its $500 million loan to Alameda in June 2022.

Many lenders were demanding their money back at this time because crypto markets were in the red.

Bankman-Fried denied telling her to do this, even though prosecutors showed he opened the Google document containing the seven balance sheets.

Ellison sent 'alternative seven' to Genesis and others. The document inflated Alameda's asset value and downplayed its liabilities by billions of dollars.

By this time, she and Bankman-Fried had broken up but they had dated from summer 2020 to summer 2021.

'I would say the whole time we were dating he was also my boss at work which created some awkward situations,' she said at trial, adding that 'I wanted more from our relationship and often felt he was distant or not paying attention to me.'

Ellison found herself intertwined with the bushy-haired crypto boss years before FTX's bankruptcy, once valued at $32 billion by venture capital firms.

At Bankman-Fried's trial, she said he directed her to tweet out a defense of the FTX and Alameda in the wake of insolvency rumors

Ellison, the daughter of two MIT professors, first met Bankman-Fried in the summer of 2015 while she was working at Jane Street Capital, a proprietary trading firm.

He was two years older than her and a full-fledged trader, while she had just taken an internship before her senior year at Stanford University.

In fall 2017, the two crossed paths again, meeting at a coffee shop in the San Francisco Bay Area to discuss what Bankman-Fried was working on: Alameda Research.

Ellison joined the company shortly after this in what she described as 'a blind leap into the unknown.'

With Ellison now facing freedom in January, Bankman-Fried has also been actively seeking clemency from President Trump, appealing for a pardon and claiming his prosecution was politically motivated because of the 'anti-crypto' Biden administration.
Road safety experts were calling for an inquiry on Saturday night as it was revealed motorists are three times more likely to die in hybrids than in petrol cars.

A total of 122 people died in hybrid car crashes last year, compared with 777 in accidents involving petrol cars, according to Department for Transport figures analysed by The Mail on Sunday.

But as hybrids are outnumbered by almost 20 to 1 on Britain's roads by petrol models, that means hybrids are three times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash.

Experts believe the higher death rates could be explained by hybrids' combination of petrol engines and batteries and electric motors, which can be harder to control and more prone to fires.

The RAC Foundation, a transport research organisation, called for a 'dedicated investigation branch' to look into the trend. 'It's high time we had a specialist resource to address road safety risk', director Steve Gooding said.

The cars' batteries may also be to blame. They can be damaged by the heat of the engine, which burns at extremely hot temperatures, making them more liable to set ablaze.

The high electric current running through the car also increases the risks for passengers involved in crashes. First responders need special training and equipment due to the different nature of hybrid fires, and the potential for toxic gas to be released.

Some experts blame the number of miles that hybrids can clock up, with many taxi drivers using them due to their fuel efficiency. But as they age, the risks posed by the cars grows as the batteries wear down and performance wanes.

Join the debate Should we rethink our push for hybrids if they're putting more lives at risk on the roads?

A total of 122 people died in hybrid car crashes last year, compared with 777 in accidents involving petrol cars, according to Department for Transport figures analysed by The Mail on Sunday (file photo)

Since hybrids are outnumbered by almost 20 to 1 on Britain's roads by petrol models, that means hybrids are three times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash (file photo)

The figures show that diesel cars are slightly safer, with electric vehicles (EVs) found to be safest  causing just 23 fatalities last year despite making up nearly 2million of the cars on British roads.

Nicholas Lyes, of road safety charity IAM RoadSmart, said: 'Plug-in hybrids are often heavier and more complex vehicles owing to the fact they run on both a traditional combustion engine and a battery.'

They have two power sources, two cooling systems and more complicated electronics and wiring. They can create 'complex fire scenarios' which are harder for firemen to put out.

Hybrids were found by a leading insurer of company cars, Tusker, to burst into flames at higher rates than others. Among their fleet of 30,000 cars, hybrid vehicles had an almost three times' higher risk with 3,475 fires per 100,000.

There are less than a million hybrid cars in the UK and their popularity has stagnated recently. Less than a third of voters back the proposed ban of new petrol and diesel cars as Britons' enthusiasm for Net Zero cools.

Industry figures have privately raised concerns that demand for EVs and hybrids is not strong enough for the target to be met. With Labour's ban due to take effect in five years' time, the new figures will be a worry for ministers as they grapple with a declining interest in hybrid vehicles.
With its endless murders, affairs and characters coming back from the dead, EastEnders is known for being a little far-fetched at times.

But in one instance, BBC bosses have been forced to concede that the show stretched the boundaries of reality too far.

The soap opera has filmed multiple scenes in a London Underground carriage this year. But with its sparkling interior, EastEnders fans complained that the new set was far too pristine to reflect the actual Tube.

You know its fictional when the tube train is this clean. No gum on the seat, graffiti, the lights work and the floor is clean, one viewer moaned earlier this year.

Another said: Cleanest tube carriage in all of London!

The Mail on Sunday can now reveal that the shows new boss Ben Wadey, who took over as executive producer in June, has listened to fans and ordered the crew to paint the carriage with three tags  a stylized signature of a graffiti artist.

An insider on the show  set in fictional Walford in the east end of the capital  said: Every time we used the new carriage set, viewers would write in saying they wished the Tube was that clean. It was honestly becoming a bit of a running joke with even the cast laughing about it.

'So Ben instructed staff to dirty the carriage to make it more realistic of what public transport is like in London.

The soap opera has filmed multiple scenes in a London Undergroundcarriage this year. But with its sparkling interior, EastEnders fans complained that the new set was far too pristine to reflect the actual Tube

However, the shows new boss Ben Wadey, who took over as executive producer in June, has listened to fans and ordered the crew to paint the carriage with three tags  a stylized signature of a graffiti artist

London Mayor Sadiq Khan on board the first Night Tube train on the Victoria line in August 2016 (left). A man sits in a Bakerloo Line carriage covered in graffiti on June 16, 2025 (right)

As Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan has also been chairman of Transport for London since 2016. It recently changed its policy so that London Underground carriages with interior graffiti are no longer being removed from service  despite a significant rise in vandalism.

Whereas trains used to be taken out of daily service to remove any graffiti, carriages are now only cleaned overnight when the Tube is not running.

Last week, TfL Commissioner Andy Lord said there has been quite a spike in tagging Tube carriages and it costs the body between 10million and 11million annually to clean them up.

Tory MP Dr Neil Hudson said conditions on the Tube were getting worse day by day and added: It feels like you are travelling in a scene from Batman in Gotham City.

Last year, the BBC sold the EastEnders set to insurance giant AXA in a bid to find 500million in annual savings and now rents back Albert Square on a long-term lease.

And EastEnders, which celebrated its 40th anniversary this year, was the eighth most-watched programme on Christmas Day with 2.85million viewers tuning in.

The BBC were contacted for comment.
The UK has imposed visa restrictions for people arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo after it failed to step up efforts to take back deported citizens.

The Home Office has revoked fast-track visa processing and halted preferential visa treatment for the country's diplomats and VIPs after it failed to agree new measures to make it easier to take back illegal migrants from UK.

Shabana Mahmood previously singled out the DRC, along with Namibia and Angola, for having 'unacceptably poor and obstructive returns processes' and warned of sanctions if they did not improve their processes.

The Home Office said the countries - which make up less than 0.1 per cent of the more than 800,000 visas granted this year to June - had frustrated efforts to remove thousands of illegal migrants and criminals.

It also accused them of refusing to process paperwork and requiring individuals to sign their own documents - effectively allowing them to block their own deportations.

Angola and Namibia have since agreed to new processes, under which the UK will be able to return illegal migrants and foreign national offenders in the coming months.

Meanwhile, Ms Mahmood warned while there had been some engagement from the DRC, she is willing to take further action if its continues to not co-operate.

A Government source said the Home Secretary 'won't hesitate to go further and ban visas to other countries who refuse to take their citizens back'.

Shabana Mahmood (pictured) has imposed visa restrictions for people arriving from the Democratic Republic of Congo

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Ms Mahmood said: 'We expect countries to play by the rules. If one of their citizens has no right to be here, they must take them back.

'I thank Angola and Namibia and welcome their co-operation. Now is the time for the Democratic Republic of Congo to do the right thing.

'Take your citizens back or lose the privilege of entering our country.

'This is just the start of the measures I am taking to secure our border and ramp up the removal of those with no right to be here.'

Ms Mahmood unveiled sweeping reforms last month aimed at deterring migrants from seeking asylum in the UK and making it easier to remove people with no right to be in the country.

The three countries threatened with a visa ban are not among the most common nationalities of migrants to enter the UK legally or illegally.

They accounted for a tiny proportion of the more than 800,000 visas granted for employment, study, family or humanitarian reasons in the year to June - 299 to those from the Democratic Republic of Congo, 273 for nationals from Angola and 140 for those from Namibia.

And they made up only a handful of the illegal migrants recorded as having entered the UK through so-called 'irregular' routes in that timeframe, with only 11 coming from the DRC, three from Angola and none from Namibia.

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Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has told British diplomats to take a more transactional approach to illegal migration as part of efforts to speed up returns.

She said: 'I have instructed our diplomatic network around the world to make returns a top priority, and today's announcement shows that when countries work with us, we can achieve more rapid results.

'People who come to the UK illegally, overstay their visas, or commit crimes in our country should expect to be returned, and we will continue to demand the cooperation of their governments in that process.'

Since Labour entered government in July 2024, nearly 50,000 people have been deported from the UK and more than 7,000 foreign national offenders have been returned.
Exams and essay writing should be ditched because they unfairly favour white students, according to a report from an elite university.

Birmingham University says the traditional methods of assessment are measures of smartness based on white privilege, adding that it is harder for students from ethnic minorities to do well.

The university  part of the prestigious Russell Group of universities  made the astonishing claim in a new paper about how to decolonise its business school.

It decreed business degrees must change their systems and structures to cut links with colonialism and its legacies.

And in a commentary released with the report, Prof Sally Everett, from another renowned university  Kings College London  waxed lyrical about the unearned advantages of being white and the privileges of whiteness and advocated decolonising assessment.

She claimed that traditional assessment methods perpetuate systemic inequalities and suggested low-stakes assessments such as writing reflective journals should replace them.

The report concluded that assessment practices, such as in-person, timed exams or graded essays, should go because they are potentially tools of exclusion.

It said these marginalise knowledge and devalue skills from non-Western traditions.

Join the debate How should universities fairly assess students from diverse backgrounds without lowering academic standards?

Birmingham University (pictured) says the traditional methods of assessment are measures of smartness based on white privilege, adding that it is harder for students from ethnic minorities to do well

It is all part of an equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) drive launched by the universitys business department in response to the Black Lives Matter protests.

But Chris McGovern, of the Campaign for Real Education, said he was saddened to see academic integrity being brought into disrepute in this way.

Traditional forms of written assessment discriminate on the basis of intelligence, not on the basis of race, he insisted.

Students from the global south are being patronised, infantilised and demeaned by treating them as intellectually inferior and incapable. We need a decolonisation of the woke, empire not a dismantling of the foundation stones of the Western world, he said.

The report, called Decolonising a business school in context: from theory to practice, is part of a three-year project.

Other activities have included taking business students to an art gallery to hear race theory interpretations of paintings and sculptures. The report noted: This work may be uncomfortable, but it is hopeful.

The action by Birmingham is part of a bigger push to get rid of exams across higher education because they are deemed to be biased against certain groups.

Universities are also under pressure to close the gap in the proportion of firsts and 2:1s given to white students compared with peers from ethnic minority backgrounds.

It is not clear how many academics have implemented the reports recommendations so far.

A University of Birmingham spokesman defended the project as a product of academically rigorous research and discussions with academics within and outside of Birmingham Business School.

This report from colleagues in the business school suggests a range of actions that may help students understand and explore those different perspectives.

Birmingham Business School is a global business school educating students who come from all over the world. Understanding the world from multiple perspectives is a critical skill that we teach our future business leaders.
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A transgender activist group is planning a series of attacks on senior politicians' offices, including the Prime Minister's, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Militant group Bash Back has said its sights are also set on Wes Streeting - just months after vandalising his constituency office.

The gender warriors said: 'If you think we're done, you've got another thing coming.

'MP or PM, you've seen us once, we'll see you again.'

The group's conspiracy was uncovered by this newspaper after it urged members to form 'cells' and plot criminal damage offences against high-profile targets.

A list of other potential marks include the Free Speech Union (FSU) and feminist organisation Sex Matters.

Last night, we notified the Metropolitan Police and the parliamentary security services of our findings.

FSU founder Lord Young commissioned an independent security briefing about the group, which is calling for 'total transgender liberation'.

A transgender activist group is planning a series of attacks on senior politicians' offices, including the Prime Minister's

Militant group Bash Back has said its sights are also set on Wes Streeting - just months after vandalising his constituency office

The report, obtained by The Mail on Sunday, suggests British intelligence is monitoring the trans activist cells.

In a pamphlet obtained by this newspaper, Bash Back claims to target 'organisations that promote transphobic rhetoric - from banning hormones and puberty blockers, to confining us to or defining us out of categories of woman and man, to promoting conversion therapy and facilitating hideous harassment campaigns'.

It says they 'should come to expect us', adding: 'All of our targets have blood on their hands. We refuse to let them wash it off in peace.'

Bash Back's first public attack was on Mr Streeting's Ilford North constituency office in July, when it painted 'child killer' and smashed windows months after puberty blockers were banned for children on the advice of medical experts and the Cass Review of gender identity services.

Since then, the group has formulated an action guide - seen by this newspaper - for sympathisers to carry out similar attacks.

The document details how to avoid police detection as they plot criminal damage and steal equipment while filming their actions.

A security briefing on the group - also seen by The Mail on Sunday - reveals it has gone to extensive lengths to hide its identity, including removing internal metadata from public documents and using ultra-secure email systems.

The security memo says: 'Given the first attack was on the office of a HM Gov minister, almost certainly the group responsible will be investigated by security services.'

Bash Back's first public attack was on Mr Streeting's Ilford North constituency office in July, when it painted 'child killer' and smashed windows

Join the debate How should society respond to activism that crosses the line into criminal acts?

Activists engaged in criminal activity could be among the near 3,000 profiles following Bash Back across social media platforms, the security document adds.

Maya Forstater, the chief executive of Sex Matters - also included in the list of offices that are potential targets - said: 'After years in which police forces rolled out the red carpet for trans lobby groups and harassed women's rights campaigners, it's no wonder that Bash Back seems to believe it can cause criminal damage with impunity.'

A government spokesman said: 'Threats, harassment, and vandalism are not only cowardly, they're criminal and we will pursue anyone who targets politicians and their staff in this way, with the full force of the law.

'The rhetoric from this group is dangerous and only seeks to distract from our work to improve the lives of trans people.'
It is the luxury London fashion house that designed some of the Princess of Wales and Duchess of Sussexs most famous dresses  as well as the gown worn by former Tory cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt to King Charless Coronation.

But glamorous label Safiyaa is facing allegations that fabric workers who made many of its stunning outfits are owed tens of thousands of pounds by a supplier that ran a factory in Turkey.

Fifty cutters and machinists are said to be owed up to three months unpaid wages and redundancy money, which was allegedly due after the studio in Istanbul where they worked suddenly closed in April.

The Mail on Sunday has been told that 14 staff are still owed between 2,600 and 9,000 each by the supplier, while others have received a fraction of the money due after a payment Safiyaa described as a good-faith gesture.

Last night furious former staff accused the company, which sells dresses for up to 5,000 each, of leaving them jobless and struggling to support their families.

Kadir Ates, 43, a supervisor who cut the fabric for Dame Pennys Coronation dress, told the MoS: We want to stand up for peoples rights and justice, and we want the Royal Family in the UK to know what has happened to us. Perhaps they can do something to help us.

We are going to be chasing this until the end. We just want what we deserve, and nothing more. We feel weve been abused.

Safiyaa said the Turkish factory was an independent third-party supplier and had sole responsibility for its workforce, including wage payments.

Safiyaa created the 1,295 scarlet dress worn by Meghan when she and Prince Harry attended a concert at the Royal Albert Hall in March 2020

Meanwhile, the Princess of Wales wore a purple dress by Safiyaa at Wimbledon last year.

Founded in 2011 by German-born Daniela Karnuts, the label also created the 1,295 scarlet dress worn by Meghan when she and Prince Harry attended a concert at the Royal Albert Hall in March 2020  one of their last Royal engagements before leaving the UK.

Meanwhile, the Princess of Wales wore a purple dress by the designer at Wimbledon last year.

Ms Karnuts, 42 who sells her dresses from a private showroom in Mayfair, initially had them all made in a second-floor workshop in a backstreet of Istanbul. Staff say she would visit the factory three or four times a year.

Mr Ates, who started cutting fabric for Safiyaa in 2017, said staff were once paid on time and earned relatively generous salaries of around 50,000 lira, or 880 a month.

But problems began in 2019 when the operation of the workshop was taken over by Atelier Nouveau Tekstil Ltd. Workers say the factory was managed by Jalil Teja, whom they alleged was the nephew of Ms Karnutss husband Akbar Shamji, a former bankrupt turned crypto investor.

Turkish company records seen by the MoS show that Mr Teja listed his address as a property in Mayfair, which is also linked to Ms Karnuts and Mr Shamji. Separate records reveal the firm was controlled by a former business associate of Mr Shamji, Claudio Ernesto Eusebio Alburquerque.

The money problems started after the nephew appeared. He lived in Germany, but would come to see the factory, Mr Ates added.

We were supposed to get paid on the 5th of the month, but sometimes we might only be paid 10,000 lira, then get another 10,000 lira a few days later.

Join the debate Do luxury fashion brands hold enough responsibility for how their overseas workers are treated and paid?

Former Tory cabinet minister, Penny Mordaunt arrives at Westminster Abbey for the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla wearing a Safiyaa gown

Holly Willoughby is a picture of elegant simplicity in a 1,250 pale blue one-shouldered column by Safiyaa.

Sometimes wages were two months late. They kept saying, Its going to come, dont worry. However, workers began to be made redundant and in April the factory closed.

Mr Ates said he was promised payment within two months of 456,000 lira (8,000), which included one and a half months unpaid salary, holiday and severance pay  but he received nothing.

He and other former staff messaged Ms Karnuts, urging her to pay. She allegedly replied to Mr Ates in June, saying: Things will be sorted.

Safiyaa confirmed that Ms Karnuts funded some discretionary payments to staff who were owed wages by Atelier Nouveau, but that this was an act of goodwill and not an admission of liability.

Safiyaa said Mr Teja provided consultancy services to Safiyaa but he was not an employee and the label never owned or operated Atelier Nouveau nor employed any of the workers. The decision to close the factory and make redundancies was taken by Atelier Nouveau, it added.

Mr Teja and Mr Eusebio Alburquerque could not be contacted for comment.
Sir Keir Starmer nominated a former adviser for a peerage despite knowing he had campaigned for a Labour councillor facing child sex abuse charges, it has been claimed.

Matthew Doyle, who served as the Prime Minister's spin chief until March, is set to take a seat in the House of Lords early next year.

When he left the role, Sir Keir paid tribute to Mr Doyle, 50, for having 'worked tirelessly by my side every day' since summer 2021.

However, it has now been alleged that No10 backed the former top aide for a peerage despite having investigated his previous support for paedophile Sean Morton.

The former councillor from Moray, northeast Scotland, was charged with possessing and distributing indecent images of children in December 2016.

He was suspended from the Labour party when he appeared in court - and was convicted of crimes including the possession of several pictures of naked girls as young as ten in December 2017.

Regardless of the accusations, Mr Doyle campaigned for Morton when he ran as an independent candidate in May 2017, The Sunday Times has reported.

It is alleged that the ex-aide, who also worked as a spokesman for Sir Tony Blair, knocked on doors wearing a T-shirt with the slogan 'Re-elect Sean Morton' on it.

Matthew Doyle (pictured) who served as the Prime Minister's spin chief until March is set to take a seat in the House of Lords early next year

Sean Morton (pictured) was charged with possessing and distributing indecent images of children in December 2016

According to the newspaper's report, Mr Doyle also accompanied Morton to the election count - where the councillor came fifth and lost his seat.

Then in August 2017, the pair posed for a photograph outside a cafe in Glasgow, with the image uploaded onto social media.

It is understood that Downing Street was aware of the connection between the two men and launched an internal investigation.

However, No10 reportedly concluded that the past acquaintance did not constitute a barrier to Mr Doyle obtaining a seat in the House of Lords.

No further details of the investigation have been disclosed.

A spokesperson for Downing Street said: 'Questions regarding Matthew Doyle's past acquaintance with Sean Morton were thoroughly investigated, including through several interviews with Matthew Doyle, prior to his appointment [to the Lords].'

Mr Doyle told the Sunday Times he 'regrets' supporting Morton and that he was 'maintaining his innocence [of the charges] at the time'.

He added: 'Sean Morton was someone I knew for a period through other shared acquaintances.

'I have not seen him for years.'

Prime Minister Keir Starmer (pictured) departs Downing Street for PMQs on December 17

When he left the role, Sir Keir paid tribute to Mr Doyle, 50, (pictured) for having 'worked tirelessly by my side every day' since summer 2021

The latest accusations are likely to put more political pressure on Sir Keir who earlier this year came under fire for refusing to order a national inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal before U-turning.

The Prime Minister told MPs when he was challenged on the subject that he would fight to defend victims of 'child abuse or child sexual exploitation, as I have been doing for the best part of 15 years'.

It is unclear exactly when Mr Doyle and Morton's association dates from.

In 2016, the pair travelled to the United States together to join Hillary Clinton's campaign for presidency.

The following year, Morton pleaded not guilty to possessing and distributing indecent photographs of children.

He initially claimed he did not know 'what this is all based on'.

In November 2017, Morton admitted having indecent images of children and extreme pornography.

He claimed the images were sent to him 'anonymously' and copied to his phone when he backed it up from his iTunes.

Morton was placed on the sex offender's register in February 2018 and was ordered to perform 140 hours of unpaid work but avoided a jail sentence.

Morton appears in court in 2018. He was placed on the sex offenders register and ordered to complete community service but was spared jail

Former aide Mr Doyle has throughout his career been heavily tied to the Blairite wing of the Labour party.

He quit his post as Sir Keir's spin chief in March, after just nine months in No10.

He is understood to have left immediately after feeling he had stabilised the Government's communications strategy after Labour's rocky first few months in office.

As reported by The Guardian, Mr Doyle said in an email to his team it was 'time to pass the baton on'.

He wrote: 'When I started working for Keir four years ago, not many people thought we could win a general election and certainly not in the emphatic way we did.

'That was down to the hard work and determination of so many people and of course Keir's leadership.

'I am incredibly proud of the part I have played in returning our party to government and the change we are already bringing to the country.'

Mr Doyle was the second senior staff member to leave No10 since Labour won power in July last year.

His departure followed the exit of Sue Gray as Sir Keir's chief of staff in October 2024, which came after regular reports of tensions with other No10 aides.

Sir Keir said at the time: 'Matthew brought his considerable experience to my team in summer 2021 and has worked tirelessly by my side every day since, playing a leading role in Labour's historic election win.

'On a personal level, it has been a real privilege to work with him. On behalf of the entire team, I wish him all the best in his next role.'

The Daily Mail has contacted the Labour Party and No10 for comment.
No story was too small - or too big - in 2025 to receive the inimitable tongue-in-cheek humour and signature wit of our beloved cartoonist, Mac.

From the drama of Sir Keir Starmer's controversial Chagos deal, to thousands of criminals being released early from jail, and Rachel Reeve's tax raid, there was plenty in the news headlines to spark his imagination.

Even David Beckham's knighthood got a look in, alongside the rise in the use of weight-loss jabs.

What an eventful year 2025 has been, with Mac capturing each and every headline-making moment. Now here's a look at six of his best cartoons...

FEBRUARY: 'I know! Lets give 18 billion to Mauritius'

MAY: 'Wonderful news sweetheart - you're being released early!'

JUNE: 'Very nice, David. But I suggest blue pinstripe and I expect the King will have his own sword'

AUGUST: 'Apparently half the UK is hooked on something called Mounjaro jabs'

AUGUST: 'Certainly, Sir. I'll tel the chef. That's 36 fish and chips, 23 hamburgers, no onions, 44 sausage and mash, 16...'
Airport security will soon be much smoother for millions of Aussie travellers and international visitors, with the arduous task of unpacking laptops, tablets, and toiletries at screening checkpoints set to end.

New technology being rolled out nationwide means passengers will soon move through the screening process far more quickly and with less hassle.

Major airports across Australia were given until this Wednesday (December 31) to install the cutting-edge Computed Tomography (CT) X-ray scanners.

The advanced machines generate high-resolution 3D images of carry-on luggage, enabling security officers to inspect contents thoroughly without forcing travellers to unpack and remove devices and liquids.

The result will be shorter queues, fewer delays, and a more seamless experience.

However, the Department of Home Affairs has warned travellers that in some instances, a secondary review may require items to be removed from bags before they are cleared.

Australia's busiest airport is at the forefront of the changes.

Eleven of its planned 15 new high-tech security lanes at the Sydney T1 International Terminal are already in use.

New technology at Aussie airports (pictured in Brisbane) means that laptops will no longer need to be taken out of carry-on luggage at screening checkpoints

December 31 was the deadline for the new scanners to be installed at airport security screening checkpoints (stock image)

When fully installed, the upgrades will increase screening capacity by nearly 30 per cent, reducing congestion for millions of domestic and international passengers.

The $200million Sydney T2 domestic redevelopment will add seven new screening lanes alongside self-service bag drops and ticketless check-ins, aiming to cut the entire kerb-to-gate process to just 15 minutes.

'The investments we are making in screening technology, terminal upgrades and digital services are improving the travel experience across all terminals,' Sydney Airport chief executive Scott Charlton said

Brisbane Airport opened its first five CT lanes in October and is in the final days of completing its rollout.

'The fact that passengers will be able to leave laptops and aerosols in their bags will make a real difference and remove one of the biggest frustrations for frequent travellers,' airport head of terminal operations Stacey Pollard, said.

Adelaide Airport has started its own $600 million expansion, introducing body scanners and new CT systems.

Melbourne Airport is installing CT and body scanners throughout all terminals, while Perth, Canberra, Hobart and the Gold Coast are also deep into their security upgrade programs.

The federal government has invested $2billion in upgrading security systems as part of a national strategy to boost aviation safety and align Australia with international best practice.

Join the debate How will these airport security changes affect your travel experience and sense of safety?

The days of removing electronic devices and liquids from luggage during the security screening process will end within days

The federal upgrade is designed to meet evolving security standards and future-proof terminals for an expected 72million passengers each year by 2045.

It comes after the NSW government recently launched a two-year trial of capped $60 taxi fares to and from Sydney Airport and the city as part of wider efforts to improve passenger flow.

With international visitor numbers climbing and new airlines such as Turkish Airlines, Etihad, and Virgin Australia-Qatar Airways joining Australia's skies, airports are racing to complete updating its systems in time for the new year.
A University has been told it risks being labelled idiotic for warning students that they may find Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night disturbing.

University of Liverpool cautions that the play - which features cross-dressing characters and has been enjoyed by audiences for more than four centuries - contains depictions of gender which are 'significantly different to views held today'.

But last night one of Britain's leading Shakespearean actresses, Dame Janet Suzman, 86, who played cross-dressing Viola in a 1974 production, said she could not understand the trigger warning.

'Good heavens! This play on gender among the main characters is so modern, it might have been written yesterday,' she said. 'The Elizabethans thought nothing of this, and enjoyed the untangling of the plot as play, which is what it is.'

Historian Jeremy Black, author of England In The Age Of Shakespeare, added: 'As the University of Liverpool so aptly but unintentionally notes, the views of some 'on equality, diversity and inclusivity' are unhelpful to an appreciation of national culture.

'Unfortunately, the 'some' include the English Literature department of that university.

'In practice, great works reveal universal truths through the generations, and most students are fully capable of understanding this and possibly think colleagues and teachers stuck in presentist fads idiotic.'

Felicity Kendal once played Viola in an acclaimed 1980 BBC TV production of the comedy, which opens with the line: 'If music be the food of love, play on.'

University of Liverpool cautions that the play - which features cross-dressing characters and has been enjoyed by audiences for more than four centuries - contains depictions of gender which are 'significantly different to views held today'

Felicity Kendal once played Viola in an acclaimed 1980 BBC TV production of the comedy, which opens with the line: 'If music be the food of love, play on.'

Twins Viola and Sebastian become separated in a shipwreck and are marooned on the Mediterranean island of Illyria. Convinced her brother is dead, Viola disguises herself as a male steward called Cesario to find work in the court of Duke Orsino, who she then falls in love with. But the Duke, who has no idea Cesario is really a woman, continues to woo a countess, Olivia, who has no interest in him.

Olivia instead falls for Cesario, and then mistakenly elopes with the near-identical Sebastian after he belatedly arrives at court.

The characters' true identities are revealed at the end of the play - believed to have been performed first for Queen Elizabeth I - and the Duke marries Viola and Olivia marries Sebastian.

The university's warning is to students in a workshop on gender and identity, which is designed to provide 'context' for the play.

The university said: 'Students need to understand the historical context of the texts. This workshop is an opportunity to explore attitudes to, and beliefs about, sex and gender in the late 16th and early 17th centuries - which are in many ways significantly different to views and beliefs held today.

'This is helpful context for understanding a wide range of literary texts from that time. The workshop note on content lets students know that different views on gender and sexual difference will be explored.'
An SAS veteran has warned the Government will be putting the country 'in peril' if it presses ahead with prosecutions of special forces soldiers for historic allegations.

Robert Craft, 68, served in the SAS for 14 years and was part of the renowned B Squadron, which was heavily involved in both covert and undercover intelligence during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

But, he said their numbers are now dwindling significantly as there is a lack of recruits from regular forces signing on and retention rates continue to drop.

Mr Craft fears the Government's new legacy legislation, which has opened up the possibility to be tried for past conflicts, is putting off recruits and could even put UK citizens at risk if the SAS struggles to put boots on the ground.

'At such a dangerous time as this, with so many war risks ongoing, the threat from Russia, pressure on the SAS could be putting the UK in peril,' the veteran told the Sunday Mirror.

The Conservatives' Legacy Act, which was introduced in 2023, had put a block on any inquests. But last year, the High Court and the Court of Appeal in Belfast found that the immunity clause was unlawful and incompatible with the ECHR.

In response, the Government introduced The Northern Ireland Troubles Bill, with the aim to create a new framework for addressing Troubles-related deaths.

And while it is supposed to provide protections for veterans, there are former SAS soldiers in their late 60's and 70's who are now facing investigations into operations during their time served.

SAS veteran Robert Craft, 68, (pictured) has warned the Government will be putting the country 'in peril' if it presses ahead with prosecutions of special forces soldiers for historic allegations

British Troops under fire during the Troubles in Northern Ireland in the 1980s. New legislation being introduced by the Government will aim to create a new framework for addressing Troubles-related deaths

Mr Craft told the Mirror: 'A number of my former colleagues, I know all of them, are facing investigation many years after they have left the Armed Forces, and are now in retirement.'

He said that one suffers from bad Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, while others have endured related mental health issues.

Mr Craft claims they are not being supported by the new Legacy legislation and 'decision makers don't understand the complexities' of the operations they have been on the front lines of.

'We are not against the government but there are gaps in the new legacy procedure where people can still be called to an inquiry and decision makers don't understand the complexities,' he added.

'Some of the recruitment issues the SAS suffers will have been influenced by all of this. And morale is currently down. It's mistrust of the government.

'When you treat the soldier and the terrorist as equals you don't strengthen the terrorist but you do disarm the soldier.'

Sir Keir Starmer has said he is 'absolutely confident' the new Bill will not lead to 'vexatious prosecutions' of former soldiers after lawyers for the SAS Association threatened the Government with legal action.

Sir Keir Starmer has said he is 'absolutely confident' the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill will not lead to 'vexatious prosecutions' of former soldiers

Sir Keir's administration aims to replace aspects of the Conservative government's Legacy Act, which shut down all UK police investigations into Troubles-related killings in May last year.

It also included a contentious conditional offer of immunity for the perpetrators of Troubles crimes in exchange for co-operation with a truth recovery body.

Labour's Bill was agreed as part of a framework with the Irish Government and will put in place a reformed Legacy Commission with enhanced powers.

But the SAS Regimental Association, which represents the SAS and its veterans, argued in a letter threatening legal action that it could lead to prosecutions for former soldiers.

The veterans said the Bill as it stands now contains barely any protections for them beyond those that already exist for criminal investigations and inquests.

They said the lack of safeguards could breach veterans' protections under Article 6 (right to a fair trial), and Article 8 (right to private and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Soldiers' trust in the legal system has further been eroded following cases such as Soldier F, a former paratrooper who was subjected to what was described as a 'show trial' in Belfast over events on Bloody Sunday in 1972.

After five weeks in the dock, Soldier F, who is in his 70s, was cleared of all charges.

Supporters of Soldier F leave Belfast Crown Court following the not-guilty verdict last month

Veterans who served in the British Army during the Northern Ireland troubles were seen at a protest in London over the repealing of the Legacy Act earlier this year

Sitting without a jury, the judge criticised evidence presented by the prosecution as not up to the required standard.

Soldier F had been accused of murdering two unarmed protesters and attempting to kill five others more than 50 years ago.

The Mail has also highlighted how as many as a hundred SAS veterans involved in operations during the Troubles face the agony of further inquests and possible criminal investigations, despite Labour's claims they will be 'protected'.

The Government has insisted there will be six protections for veterans, including anonymity at inquests and not traveling to Northern Ireland to attend hearings.

Labour further dressed up these so called protections as being 'specifically designed and put in place for veterans' when, actually, IRA gunmen could benefit from the same measures.

Veterans are also calling for legislation to disapply the European Convention on Human Rights and Britain's own Human Rights Act from troops' actions while on active service.

A Government spokesperson told The Sunday Mirror: 'This Government's commitment to our Operation Banner veterans is unshakeable. The previous Government's Legacy Act was ruled unlawful by the courts and delivered no real protections to veterans in legacy processes.

'The new NI Troubles Bill, and its associated elements, delivers six lawful and deliverable protections, designed in consultation with veterans so the legislation works for them.

'We are aware of the strength of feeling within the defence community on this topic. We have had constructive meetings with former senior officers, representatives of Regimental Associations, and the third sector to ensure their views and experiences are taken into consideration as this bill progresses through parliament. '
Churches across England and Wales will crumble into disrepair if Chancellor Rachel Reeves introduces a planned stealth tax on the historic buildings, campaigners have said.

Ms Reeves - who has already infuriated farmers, pub landlords and most of the business community with her policies - has now angered vicars by declaring that from April, churches will no longer be exempt from paying VAT on repairs.

When she became Chancellor in 2024, Ms Reeves reversed Tory policy which allowed churches to offset all VAT payable on repair bills by capping the allowance at 25,000 a year. Now she is removing the tax break in its entirety.

According to the National Churches Trust, which is leading the campaign to save the almost 1000 churches, chapels and cathedrals in England and Wales in urgent need of repairs, churches provided 55 billion worth of social benefit to the UK annually.

It says that the Treasurys own calculations say that for every 1 invested in churches, over 16 is returned to local communities.

Sir Philip Rutnam, Chair of the Trust said: These statistics should be an alarm bell for the Government  now is the moment to act to save these important buildings before they fall even more into disrepair.

'Once these buildings are gone, they are gone forever. There is no second chance to rescue them.

Meanwhile, the Prime Ministers local church has been quietly rescued with hundreds of thousands of pounds of public money. St Marys Somers Town, which is in Starmers constiuency, received 639,000 from the Government for its repairs.

The 500-year-old St Mary's church in Totnes, Devon, is one church which is facing slow decay and at risk of collapse

Ms Reeves - who has already infuriated farmers, pub landlords and most of the business community with her policies - has now angered vicars by declaring that from April, churches will no longer be exempt from paying VATon repairs. Pictured: St Illtud's Church, Llantwit Major

According to the National Churches Trust, which is leading the campaign to save the almost 1000 churches, chapels and cathedrals in England and Wales in urgent need of repairs, churches provided 55 billion worth of social benefit to the UK annually. Pictured: St Illtud's Church, Llantwit Major

Calling for him to reverse the church tax, Tory MP Saqib Bhatti said: The Christmas period is an important reminder of the role churches play in our communities.

'They are custodians of our heritage and are important places of sanctuary for people of all faiths and none.

Thats why Labours cut to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme is so damaging.

'I once more call on the Prime Minister to do the right thing and reverse this despicable church tax and restore the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme.

'We must save our churches.

The 500-year-old St Mary's church in Totnes, Devon, is one church which is facing slow decay and at risk of collapse. It has an ancient stained-glass window and 19th century organ.

Over decades, locals raised the 1.4 million required to pay for urgent repairs. But changes to the scheme made last year leave them with a 130,000 shortfall.

This was a big knock for us. The project has been over 15 years in the planning and has already been through major restructuring, explains Father Jim Barlow, Rector at St Marys.

Over decades, locals raised the 1.4 million required to pay for urgent repairs of the 500-year-old St Mary's church in Totnes, Devon

Given that we have already been supported by nearly all the major funders for church heritage projects, it has been a real struggle to find these extra funds.

' This is really disheartening for those who have worked so hard and for the local community.

One of the oldest churches in Wales, St Illtud in Glamorgan, is also in urgent need of repair. It dates back to 500AD, with bits of the current building hailing back to the 11th century.

However, water is now coming in through the roof and walls, creating significant damp issues and damaging the ancient structure and interior.

The church stands on the site of a Celtic monastery founded by St Illtud about 500 AD, the old-est centre of learning in Britain.

Buckets are having to be placed in the aisles to collect the wa-ter dripping in.

Its repairs will cost around 500,000, but the church may need to find an extra 100,000 with-out the governments scheme in place  leaving the church in limbo.

A DCMS spokesperson said: 'Listed places of worship serve as vital community hubs for faith communities whilst providing valuable services to the wider public.

'Many are buildings of exceptional architectural and historical significance that form an integral part of our national heritage.'
Considers bringing in the army to protect Jewish community

NSW Premier Chris Minns has announced sweeping new powers to shut down prayer halls accused of spreading hate, including cutting off water and electricity to sites found in breach of the law.

Speaking in Sydney on Sunday, Minns said the government would act swiftly against any venue hosting hate preachers or operating without council or state approval.

His hard-line position comes after the Al Madina Dawah Centre in Bankstown, which was shut down over its alleged link to the Bondi Beach massacre, revealed that it had 'paused' its operations temporarily.

Minns is also considering deploying army troops to protect Sydney's Jewish community in the aftermath of the December 14 terror attack that claimed 15 innocent lives.

'We're in discussions about it,' he confirmed, when asked about the possibility of calling in national armed forces to guard Jewish schools and synagogues.

'I'm not prepared to front-run it, because obviously that's a change for us, but I'm just flagging with everyone, I'm not going to rule anything out.'

He further emphasised, 'nothing's off the table' when it comes to restoring confidence and safeguarding the community.

'Anyone who is found to have preached hate or put hate in the hearts of anyone in our community should have their prayer halls shut down as soon as possible,' Minns added.

NSW Premier Chris Minns (pictured in Bondi on Sunday) has vowed to shut down any venue hosting hate preachers

The Premier will consider deploying army troops to protect the Jewish community in the wake of the Bondi Beach terrorist attack (pictured are riot police at Bondi)

Muslim cleric Wissam Haddad (pictured) previously gave an antisemitic sermon at the Al Madina prayer hall, which was shut down by the local council last week

Under Minns' plan, offending venues will face tougher penalties than token fines.

If needed, authorities will switch off utilities to 'easily and comprehensively' shut them down.

'We're going to make sure that if people are running a prayer hall in breach of conditions, they can be shut down easily and comprehensively, not just with a nominal fine from the local council, but with the switching off of utilities as soon as possible,' Minns said.

The crackdown follows revelations that the surviving alleged Bondi gunman Naveed Akram visited the Al Madina Dawah Centre before the Bondi Beach attack.

Canterbury-Bankstown Council last week issued a 'cease use' notice to shut down the centre, adding that the premises had never been approved for prayer services, only as a medical centre.

Despite this, management initially claimed the centre was not closing, arguing it met requirements for a community centre.

Al Madina said it would 'temporarily pause operations' while submitting a change-of-use application.

'We emphasise that the centre is not closing; this pause is purely to ensure full compliance with council requirements and to obtain the necessary approvals,' a statement to the Daily Telegraph read.

The Al Madina Dawah Centre in Bankstown (pictured) was shut down by council last week

Sydneysiders are slowly returning to Bondi's world famous beach in the wake of the December 14 terrorist attack

The centre also claimed it's now under new management and that prominent cleric Wissam Haddad is no longer involved.

However, the listed contact number matches Haddad's details, prompting questions over the change.

Haddad previously delivered antisemitic sermons at Al Madina.

'If all the Muslims in that region spat on Israel, the people of Israel would drown, the Jews would drown,' he once told followers.

Haddad has denied any involvement in the Bondi shooting but recently posted a photo on Instagram captioned: 'The Boogeyman, he's hiding right behind you.'

Minns slammed such rhetoric, calling Haddad a 'proven racist' and warned that zero tolerance will apply to racism and antisemitism, whether publicly or 'behind closed doors aimed at young minds.'

'There is no statute of limitations on this kind of racism,' Minns said.

'We will do everything we can to restore confidence and keep the public safe.'

New legislation with stronger penalties and enforcement is expected imminently.

Minns also supported federal moves against hate speech but insisted NSW would lead the effort in closing venues that foster division.

Minns (pictured) urged Sydneysiders to not let terrorists 'win', urging people to go out on NYE

Fifteen innocent lives were killed in the Bondi terrorist attack. Pictured are police at one of the funerals

With New Year's Eve celebrations approaching, Minns urged Sydneysiders to head out and celebrate the city's biggest night of the year.

'We can't let these people win,' he said.

'Show defiance by going out and spending time with family and friends over the New Year period.

'Don't let the weather or circumstances get in your way.'
The flu is surging across the United States during the busy holiday travel season, with New York among the hardest-hit states.

For the week ending December 20, New York had its highest number of flu infections ever recorded in a single week, 71,123, according to the New York State Department of Health.

'This is a rise of 38 percent over the previous week. There have been 189,312 positive flu cases reported in New York this season to date,' the state health department added.

As of December 13, New York  along with New Jersey, Louisiana, Colorado and Rhode Island  has reported 'very high' numbers of outpatient visits to medical providers complaining of flu-like symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Another 10 states have 'high' numbers of flu-related checkups this year. They include Massachusetts, Connecticut, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, New Mexico, Idaho and Michigan.

Cases are also elevated in Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, an unincorporated US territory.

The CDC has also concluded that infections are on the rise in 47 states, a prediction current as of December 16. The only state where cases are declining is Hawaii.

'Seasonal influenza activity continues to increase across the country. The timing of this increasing activity is similar to several past seasons,' the CDC said in a bulletin on December 19.

Flu infections are on the rise in 47 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The only state where infections are on the decline is Hawaii

Rising flu cases are coinciding with one of the busiest times to travel of the year

What could complicate things is that there is a new flu variant, subclade K, a variant of the influenza A(H3N2) virus.

This particular virus wreaked havoc on the populations of Japan, the UK and Canada.

Doctors and other health officials are worried that the current flu vaccine won't fully protect against the mutated virus. However, they're convinced that getting a vaccine will still provide you with more protection than not.

'So, whether we're simply seeing more cases because this clade K influenza virus is evading immunity, and therefore more people are susceptible to infection, or if it's really causing more severe disease on a case-by-case basis is still something that is not completely clear,' said Andrew Pekosz, who is the co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center of Excellence in influenza research and response.

'But what is clear is that cases are increasing, and we're seeing a lot of influenza. Cases are increasing across the country, and that's a trend that we're sure will continue into the new year,' Pekosz said.

Americans are also getting fewer flu shots than they did last year. More than 47.6 million vaccinations were administered at pharmacies and doctors' offices during the 2025/2026 season.

That is about three million fewer than last season's tally.

Jennifer Nuzzo, professor of epidemiology and director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University School of Public Health, said the government shutdown throughout October and into almost half of November led to a lack of data collection during that period.

Nuzzo's comments were made in a flu report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on December 19.

'Were potentially heading into a flu season that could be quite a doozy, and we know were starting it with fewer data and, more crucially, fewer vaccinations,' she said.

H3N2 has a series of symptoms to watch out for, including fever, cough, runny nose, and fatigue. Muscle aches and chills are also common side effects

The CDC has estimated that at least 4,600,000 illnesses, 49,000 hospitalizations, and 1,900 deaths from flu have occurred so far this season. So far, three children have died.

H3N2 has a series of symptoms to watch out for, including fever, cough, runny nose, and fatigue. Muscle aches and chills are also common side effects.

Leading medical organizations around the world say it isn't too late to get a flu shot, with everyone six months or older being eligible, save for anyone with allergic reactions to ingredients in the vaccine or previous negative reactions.

To prevent the spread of the flu, like most viruses, it's essential to wash your hands thoroughly (for at least 20 seconds) with soap and water.

It's also important to avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands. Health authorities have also advised people to stay home if they're sick and to avoid contact with others who are ill.

Finally, it's recommended to cover coughs and to disinfect frequently touched surfaces like counters and doorknobs.
A man has been charged with two counts of murder following an alleged double-stabbing on a suburban Sydney street.

Emergency responders were called to an Illabo Street home in Quakers Hill just before 5am on Sunday after reports of a disturbance.

They arrived to find a man in his 30s lying on the footpath, suffering from multiple stab wounds to his stomach and hands.

He was was rushed to Liverpool Hospital in a critical condition, where he died several hours later.

The body of Anaseini Waqavuki, 38, was found inside the kitchen of the home.

Police believe the victims were in a relationship, and that the suspect was a former partner of Ms Waqavuki.

'We believe the deceased male and female were in a relationship; however we're still working to determine the nature and duration of that relationship,' Riverstone Superintendent Jason Joyce told reporters.

'The male currently in custody was previously in a relationship with the female.'

The body Anaseini Waqavuki, 38, was found inside the home

A woman was found dead inside a Quakers Hill home on Sunday morning

A man found suffering from stab wounds outside the home later died in hospital

A strike force has been set up to investigate the couple's deaths. A man has been charged with two counts of murder

A 47-year-old man was arrested after he attended Blacktown Police Station at about 5.30am.

He was eventually charged on Sunday afternoon.

'At this stage, it appears to be a domestic violence incident; however it is still early in our inquiries,' Supt Joyce said.

'It's very sad, particularly at this time of year. My condolences go out to the families of the deceased.'

Police have seized a knife located at a service station in nearby Woodcroft, which they believe was used during the incident.

Crime scenes were established at the Quakers Hill home, the service station, and a Blacktown address linked to the man in custody.

Shocked neighbours were woken by a commotion outside at about 4.30am, followed by screams and then 'pure silence' until police arrived.

Police were called to Illabo Street, Quakers Hill early on Sunday following reports of a disturbance

Police believe the woman found dead inside the house may have previously been in a relationship with a man who remains in custody

'There was a couple of brief crashes  and then a lady screamed,' Arafel Kane told the ABC.

'Just to know that it can happen anywhere  is awful.'

Strike Force Acoma has been set up to investigate the incident.

Anyone with information or relevant CCTV is urged to call Crime Stoppers.
Incredible video footage captured the moment a police officer rescued a missing six-year-old boy from a freezing pond and reunited him with his father in a heartwarming scene.

The boy, identified only as 'Coco,' was rescued by deputies in Florida on Christmas night after his panicked parents reported him missing.

The Volusia Sheriff's Office shared footage of the gripping search for Coco, who has autism and is nonverbal.

He was initially located by Air One, a helicopter used by authorities for aerial searches, which spotted the child standing in freezing waist-deep water.

The pilot of the helicopter could be heard on the footage urging officers to race to save the boy from the ice-cold water, telling them over the radio: 'Just head straight North, you'll run right into him.'

Officers scoured the terrain to locate the missing child, and found him shivering in the pond.

'Don't yell - I think that makes him nervous,' one officer was heard saying as he calmly approached the confused child.

'If somebody hasn't called rescue - we're going to need them. This water's really cold, and he's shaking,' the officer added.

Incredible video footage captured the moment a police officer rescued a missing boy from a freezing pond and reunited him with his father in an emotional scene

Officers rescued a six-year-old boy named Coco from a freezing pond on Christmas night and safely returned him to his emotional father

Coco's father tearfully ran to his son when he saw that officers had rescued the little boy. Coco is nonverbal and has autism

The cop could be seen in the footage calmly introducing himself to Coco, scooping him up, and telling the little boy that they were going to get him a blanket.

The boy was then reunited with his father in emotional scenes, and the pair ran to each other in tears and embraced.

The sheriff's department said that Coco is known to be attracted to water and started taking swimming lessons after he was involved in a similar incident in August 2024.

Video footage from that previous rescue captured the moments when officers first spotted Coco in a pond.

They were seen running through the water before Deputy Wes Borough rescued Coco and carried him to safety.

'To have him hold on to me tightly like that - it felt like it was my own kid holding on to me,' Borough said at the time.

The Volusia Sheriff's Department said they spoke to Coco's family about improving precautionary measures and encouraged the child to wear an AngelSense tracker.

The tracker is designed for those with autism, special needs, or dementia. Caregivers can see their location in the app at all times.

The sheriff's department said that Coco is known to be attracted to water and started taking swimming lessons in August 2024

A similar incident happened in August 2024, when Coco went missing and was rescued from a pond by sheriff's deputies

Deputy Wes Borough rescued Coco from the water in 2024. He said that when Coco held onto him, it felt like his own child

The video of Coco's rescue has gone viral on social media, with many praising the first responders for saving the child.

'I cried watching this. For the child and the father. I could not imagine what this life is like. However my mother in law lived with us with dementia. We were lucky she didnt wander off but some do. Thank you Volusia County Sheriffs. You are true heroes,' one comment read.

'So happy he was found, that is so scary to worry about that. Thankfully neither time did he run into any dangerous critters. The family did receive a Christmas blessing,' another wrote.

'Thank you for a second happy ending in this childs story. My autistic son always loves being in the water too. It made for some scary times when he was younger. So glad hes safe,' wrote a third.
READ MORE: Unpopular Aussie airport rule to end within days

Flood warnings in place across NT and Queensland

Rainfall of over 200mm recorded in three hours

Flood warnings have been issued for the Northern Territory as rising waters threaten to isolate communities and strand unwary travellers.

Sandbagging stations are open, and far north residents are bracing for a drenching, with a slow-moving monsoon expected to bring up to 700mm of rain.

The large trough extends from the Top End and across into Queensland. It is likely to bring increasing widespread rain and thunderstorms as it intensifies.

The heaviest falls will be concentrated in Queensland's Gulf Country, affecting Mount Isa and Julia Creek, the Bureau of Meteorology said on Sunday.

Residents along Queensland's tropical coast from Cairns to north of Townsville are also on alert. The Bureau has issued flood watch warnings for the Barkly and Carpentaria Catchments, North-Western Queensland and North Tropical Coast.

'For this stretch of the coast, peak six hourly rainfall totals will build from Sunday night into Monday, and could reach between 120 to 200 millimetres,' forecaster Jonathan How said.

'Thunderstorms could deliver even higher rainfall totals, and we expect heavy rain to continue through Monday and possibly beyond.'

The bureau said heavy rain and flooding would pose a risk to property and life, bringing road closures and community isolation for outback and more remote communities.

Northern Queensland is on flood alert as heavy rainfalls are forecast across the region

Some communities are at risk of being cut off as flooding breaks out across the region

Authorities warn that Mount Isa, Cloncurry, Burketown and Normanton are at particularly serious risk of flooding.

These areas could see 100mm to 200mm of rain, with isolated peaks hitting 250mm in the next day.

Rainfall totals will climb as the weather system moves across the state, with up to 700mm falling in isolated areas, Mr How said.

Sandbagging stations have opened in the Mt Isa and Hinchinbrook areas, with locals urged to take added precautions.

Popular tourist destination Hinchinbrook remains in the firing line, and Mayor Ramon Jayo said the worst was expected from Monday.

'Despite the extensive rain experienced ... river levels remain below minor at the present time and modelling suggests that the most likely scenario is that some will remain about such level into Monday morning at this stage,' Mr Jayo said on social media.

'However, it is critical to understand that this circumstance may change rapidly dependent upon where the convergence settles and (what) rainfall is experienced and this situation will be monitored closely.'

Residents in low-lying areas have been urged to protect their property from floodwaters

The heaviest falls will be concentrated near Mount Isa and Julia Creek according the Bureau

Falls of over 200mm were recorded in just three hours to midday on Sunday morning

Residents in low-lying areas have been urged to protect their property if drainage systems struggle to clear water in torrential downpours.

Downpours have already drenched parts of the state.

In just three hours to midday Sunday, Lower Walker Creek copped 50mm, Broadwater soaked up 47mm, and Glenore Weir was hit with 42mm.

Wills Development Road recorded 40mm, while Cartridge Creek and Neumeyer Valley Station saw 34mm and 30mm respectively.

Earlier, the rain was even heavier. Gairloch, north of Ingham, was smashed with 200mm, while Cardwell Gap, just south of Tully, recorded a staggering 217mm. Ingham itself has been drenched with 185mm since Saturday morning.

Further inland, Paradise Lagoon near Mount Isa was hammered with 174mm, and more than 120mm fell across Walkers Bend, FlindersCloncurry Junction, Wondoola, Lower Walker Creek, Allingham Forrest Drive, Wallaman, Poverty Hill, Halifax and Nash's Crossing.
READ MORE: Four things you MUST do before you divorce your partner

A man grabbed his ex-wife as she read his emails

An assault case between an estranged husband and wife has redefined 'property' under Australian law to include emails and text messages.

District Court judge Garry Neilson ruled to overturn a Sydney man's assault charge last week after he grabbed his wife's arm to stop her reading his emails to their children.

The ex-husband, given the pseudonym Mr Xerri, told the court he had moved back into the family home amid an ongoing bitter child custody battle.

He took to wearing a body camera around the home In order to protect himself from false allegations, the court heard.

That camera captured the moment he grabbed his wife's arm to try and recover his iPad, the Sunday Telegraph reported.

The woman had been reading Mr Xerri's emails - including dating app notifications from Bumble, vasectomy inquiries and ads for luxury holidays - to their children at the dining room table, which fuelled the man's fear his children would think less of him.

Mr Xerri tried to take the iPad from his wife and grabbed her arm when she pulled back and brushed his hand away.

He was then charged and convicted of common assault by the Local Court.

A man was convicted of common assault after grabbing his wife's arm to stop her reading his emails to their children

The man's emails included dating app notifications from Bumble, vasectomy inquiries and ads for luxury holidays

Under NSW law, assault is defensible if a person was using physical force to protect their property.

Judge Neilson set a new precedent for Australia by accepting the emails were, in fact, Mr Xerri's property.

'The answer must be yes: they were sent to him by the relevant sender, not to the (wife). In short, the complainant was interfering with the appellant's property, with his emails,' the judge told the court.

Local Court Magistrate Julie Zaki had earlier rejected Mr Xerri's defence as there was no precedent defining emails as property.

The matter had been further complicated by the fact that the iPad was owned by Mr Xerri's daughter, rather than him.

However, the husband's solicitor, Benjamin Goh, argued that defining emails and texts as property would bring the law 'into line with modern day technology'.

'Emails and text messages are now a pervasive part of people's lives, often containing very personal and private information,' Mr Goh said.

'This case is now a precedent on how the legal system defines property in the modern age.

'Someone rifling through your emails and text messages is no different to someone going through your actual physical mailbox.'

The court heard Mr Xerri and his ex-wife were married for 20 years before separating.

He initially moved out of the family home but returned while trying to get 'fifty-fifty custody' of their children.

When describing the iPad incident, Mr Xerri said: 'When she started reading the emails  I was feeling embarrassed and intimidated  I didn't want to let her know that, because I was scared that she was going to take it further and I was hoping she was going to stop.

'Then when she started mentioning about Luxury Escapes and vasectomies I started to realise it wasn't just Bumble emails that she had there,' Mr Xerri said in evidence.

'I started to wonder what the kids were thinking, like,  would (they) think bad of me if they were hearing these things, so I walked around the table, I went to take it [the device] from her and she resisted,' he said.

'I then put my hand on her arm and took the (device) off her.'
A massive gas pipeline burst in the California valley on Saturday evening, forcing residents to stay in place and shutting down a major highway during the busy holiday travel weekend.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department first received reports of the leak on Old Ridge Route in Castaic just after 4:20pm PST and issued a shelter-in-place order affecting around 14,000 residents.

Video footage of the gas leak showed a billowing smoke cloud and what appeared to be land movement caused by the burst.

The rupture raised fears that a landslide or storm-related soil issue caused the gas leak. However, LA Fire officials later said they believe the rupture occurred due to extreme pressure on the pipe, and are still investigating the cause.

LAFD Captain Brian Knight told local ABC affiliate, KABC, that authorities had ruled out a landslide and any rumbling locals felt was due to the pressure from the leak.

'We are closely monitoring a gas leak which occurred in Castaic, Los Angeles County. Some Angelenos may smell the odor of natural gas in the air,' Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced.

'LAFD and L.A. County report that this is not harmful and poses no immediate danger to City residents.'

Bass added that LAFD Hazardous Materials personnel were monitoring air quality in the impacted areas.

Residents in the California valley were forced to shelter in place on Saturday evening after a gas pipeline ruptured

Residents reported a rotten egg smell and were concerned a landslide had caused the leak

The California Highway Patrol closed all lanes of a major highway for several hours as authorities worked to contain the leak

The rotten-egg smell was even reported miles away from the leak. Authorities said it was normal for gas odors to travel depending on weather conditions, and said it may linger in the area for some time before dissipating.

Just after 5pm PST, the California Highway Patrol closed all lanes of a major highway, diverting traffic and leaving some at a standstill for hours.

The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Office advised residents to stay inside, close all doors, windows, and vents, and shut off HVAC systems.

Governor Gavin Newsom's office wrote on social media that he had been briefed on the pipeline rupture.

The governor's Office of Emergency Services warned residents of Castaic to listen to local authorities as the situation was 'very dynamic.'

The freeway stayed closed for hours as SoCalGas crews worked to isolate the damaged section of the pipeline and stop the leak.

The sheriff's office announced at 9:15pm PST that the cause of the break had not yet been determined, but there was no risk to the public.

The shelter-in-place order was lifted at 9:45pm PST for all areas. The California Highway Patrol reopened nearby freeways around 9pm PST.

Even though the gas leak didn't pose a danger to the public, it was a major inconvenience for those traveling on a busy holiday weekend.

Residents were told to stay inside, close all doors, windows, and vents, and shut off HVAC systems amid the leak

Some travelers were forced to wait for hours for CHP to reopen the highways

Authorities stressed that there wasn't a danger to the public and reopened the highway around 9pm PST

The Los Angeles Times reported that travelers were forced to use water bottles and cups to relieve themselves while they waited for the alert to lift.

Other residents were left waiting in fear for answers, with some telling the local Los Angeles outlet KTLA that their houses shook from the rupture.

Nick Steese, a resident of the California valley, told local news outlet The Signal that his eyes burned from the gas.

'We were holding our breath to keep from smelling it,' he added.
Nearly 100 children have been rescued from harm in the Philippines following a lengthy international sting operation aimed at catching child predators.

The Australian Federal Police released concerning figures regarding the investigations conducted throughout 2025, which included multiple arrests made in Australia linked to child abuse rings in the Philippines.

The AFP on Sunday night said through cooperation with foreign authorities a total of 92 children were rescued from sex abuse in the Philippines and 18 alleged facilitators were arrested. Of those children rescued, Australian authorities were directly involved in the removal of 40 children from harmful situations and had charged 13 Australians.

Australia was one of three nations involved in the crackdown on child exploitation in the Philippines, alongside the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

Investigators said one of the reasons Australians are major offenders in these types of syndicates in the Philippines is because of the similar time zone and that direct flights are available from most Australian capital cities.

Other contributing factors include the presence of a large English-speaking population in the Philippines and the strength of the Australian dollar compared to the local economy.

AFP Detective Sergeant Leesa Alexander, based at the AFP's outpost in Manila, warned offenders that police would continue to catch and dismantle their networks.

'It is horrific how many Australian criminals are helping to drive this vile demand in the Philippines for offenders to abuse innocent children,' Det Sgt Alexander said.

A total of 92 children have been rescued from child abuse networks in the Philippines in 2025, leading to the arrests of 13 Australians

Australia is one of three countries that works closely with Filipino authorities to prevent and stop child abuse

'The AFP and international partners are committed to targeting these crimes, protecting children and putting offenders before court.

'Child abuse is abhorrent and can leave victims with a lifelong burden.'

In one disturbing case earlier this month, 11 children were removed from three alleged abuse facilitators in the Philippines.

A Wangaratta man, 43, was allegedly found to be in possession of child abuse material by officers upon his arrival at Melbourne Airport in September.

The Victorian Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team executed a search warrant at a Wangaratta home on October 1 and seized electronic devices and printed images allegedly of children being abused.

Forensic examination of the electronic devices allegedly found online chats with people in the Philippines facilitating the broadcasting of abuse and alleged payment transfers.

The Australian was charged with one count of using a carriage service to possess child abuse material, and one count of using a carriage service to solicit child abuse material.

Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 15 years behind bars.

Australian Federal Police directly helped in the rescue of 40 Filipino children

Australian authorities warned they would continue to crack down on child sex abuse, no matter where it occurred

AFP Commander Human Exploitation, Helen Schneider, added law enforcement would not slow its effort to stop the exploitation of children.

'We will continue our fight to keep children safe from those who try to exploit or abuse them,' Commander Schneider said.

'Every action online is traceable, and offenders who think they can outsmart law enforcement online should think again.

'We will continue to identify those exploiting children for their disgusting gratification.

'AFP investigators and the Philippine National Police have a strong partnership that is crucial to targeting offenders and putting them before the courts.

'Let me be clear  just because the offending may not happen in Australia, we will still find you.'

Philippine National Police Chief of the Women and Children's Protection Centre, Brigadier General Sheila Portento, urged everyone to be aware of the signs of child abuse.

'We need communities to be involved in reporting cases and let us do our part to address the abuse so somebody will be held accountable for their actions,' Brigadier General Portento said.

'The partnership between PNP and AFP is crucial to removing children from harm.

'We will put offenders and facilitators before court, regardless of the country they are in.'
A United Nations official has suggested Britain's 40,000 small boat arrivals are nothing.

Filippo Grandi, the outgoing head of the UN refugee agency who is leaving his post at the end of December, said the UK's 41,000 arrivals this year represented a small number compared to what other countries faced.

During an interview with Australian actress Cate Blanchett on BBC's Radio 4, he added that Britain should be able to accommodate for this number of refugees each year.

He said the figures for this years small boat arrivals were the equivalent of the 'daily arrivals' of asylum seekers in countries such as Chad.

However, Mr Grandi, 68, did admit the asylum systems in the West needed 'to be organised much better', including deporting those who do not qualify.

He said: 'When this doesn't happen, people say there's no leadership in this chaos, it's dangerous, let's listen to those who say, "Push back, build walls, don't rescue people at sea".'

The UN official added that British and other Western politicians need to make a greater effort to 'support' their own populations to improve attitudes towards migrants.

He believes failure to do so was where 'the propaganda that people come to steal jobs and threaten values and undermine security' came from.

Filippo Grandi (pictured), the outgoing head of the UN refugee agency who is leaving his post at the end of December, said the UK's 41,000 arrivals this year represented a small number compared to what other countries faced

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Mr Grandi also told Ms Blanchett that the right to seek asylum is 'under threat around the world' and criticised Western governments for cutting funding for his agency.

The Italian diplomat, who was elected as the UNHCR high commissioner for refugees in 2016, also blamed past Conservative governments for fuelling public hostility around migration by creating a sense of 'chaos' around the topic.

He said: 'There is nothing that creates a hostile environment as [much as] a badly organised welcome, and unfortunately we've seen that.

'In the UK, the small boats and the challenges of dealing with these people and some of the choices that were made - and that the Government is trying to correct - have conveyed the wrong impression that this brings chaos.'

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood recently revealed plans to overhaul the immigration system, including making refugee status temporary.

One of the changes will see an end to guaranteed financial support for refugees, meaning those who have assets may have to fund their own housing.

Ms Mahmood also announced that the Government will create new 'safe and legal routes' for genuine asylum seekers to come to the UK.

It comes as further doubt was cast on Labour's promise to 'smash the people smuggling gangs' as the number of small boat arrivals surpassed 41,000 this year.

The latest Home Office figures showed some 803 people made the dangerous journey across the English Channel in 13 dinghies from northern France, starting overnight on Friday and into Saturday.

The total number of Channel crossings for 2025 now stands at 41,455 people. The annual record stands at 45,755, recorded at the end of 2022.

Crossings on December 20 alone reached 1,075 - the highest number reached in one day since October 8 - with images showing a Border Force vessel brining people thought to be migrants into Dover after an incident in the Channel.

A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to the Border Force compound in Dover, Kent, from a RNLI Lifeboat on Saturday, December 20, 2025

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It also appeared to be a record number of crossings for a day in December in seven years, when compared with data stretching back to 2018.

It is not, however, the largest total across the month of December compared with previous years.

This followed a busy night, in which a large number of boats were witnessed leaving the shores of France.

Last week, a video emerged of French police throwing tear gas at migrants as they tried to launch a small boat in the town of Grand-Fort-Philippe, near Calais.

December is traditionally one of the quietest months for Channel crossings, with a combination of low temperatures, poor visibility, less daylight and stormy weather making the journey particularly difficult.

The most arrivals recorded in the month of December is 3,254, in 2024. Some 2,163 people have arrived across the month so far this year.

Fisherman Matthew Coker said earlier this month it was 'farcical' to claim Labour was getting on top of the problem. The lull in crossings in November, he said, was simply due to a prolonged period of strong winds and waves in the Channel this month.

'I've only had three [fishing] trips in the last 28 days  and they were quite rough,' he said.

'There has been no weather at all where a migrant boat would have managed to cross in the last 28 days. When the weather has allowed, there's been massive numbers [of migrants crossing].

'It's just as well we didn't have a fine end of the year, like we did last year, otherwise they would have been in real trouble with their numbers.'

The Government, meanwhile, continues efforts to grasp the so-called 'upstream' causes of the migration crisis, including through work with neighbouring countries.

Just this week, Germany passed a new law which could see people smugglers face up to 10 years in prison for trying to bring migrants to the UK.

The law change, which will come into force before the end of the year, aims to give more powers to law enforcement and prosecutors, and boost information sharing between the UK and Germany.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: 'This major change in German law is the result of our close partnership working to tackle illegal migration and organised immigration crime.

'We will continue to ramp up our international co-operation to strengthen our own border security.'

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French police clashed with migrants on Saturday morning as they attempted to launch a dinghy in the small town of Grand-Fort-Philippe

France has meanwhile recently indicated it plans to halt small boats at sea before they pick people up heading for the UK.

A Home Office spokesman said: 'The number of small boat crossings are shameful and the British people deserve better.

'This Government is taking action. We have removed almost 50,000 people who were here illegally, and our historic deal with the French means those who arrive on small boats are now being sent back.

'The Home Secretary has announced the most sweeping reforms to tackle illegal migration in decades, removing the incentives that bring illegal migrants to the UK and scaling up the return of those with no right to be here.'
A respected surgeon has been told to prove he saved a woman's life or pay a 50 parking fine.

Dr Nick Lagattolla was returning to his car after visiting a bank in Dorchester, Dorset, when he spotted a woman having a cardiac arrest in the street on September 15.

He brought the collapsed causality into the bank, where he gave her treatment for three hours which 'essentially saved her life'.

But while he treating the woman, his car had been slapped with a 50 parking fine, with the council saying it needs evidence of the good deed before cancelling the fee.

The Winterbourne Hospital consultant, with 40 years of experience, has accused the local authority of showing a 'lack of goodwill' towards him.

Describing the situation as 'aggravating', he explained that he received an email when he arrived home telling him his 'ticket was invalid' and that he would have to pay a 25, which will rise to 50.

'I thought, okay, I'll just tell them the story and it will be okay, so I emailed and got in touch with them and they basically responded saying that "we don't believe you",' he said.

'I always buy a ticket and frankly it's annoying and aggravating that I'm still being charged, despite helping a woman after suffering a cardiac event.

Dr Nick Lagattolla (Pictured) has been told to prove he saved a woman's life or pay a 50 parking fine.

Trinity Street, where Dr Lagattolia car was parked as he treated a woman who was having a cardiac arrest

'The fact that it's come at this time of year is pretty unseasonal from Dorset Council and delayed considering it took place months ago, I thought they dropped the matter after explaining it to them.

'It strikes me that the council are being inconsiderate and inappropriate and it feels like there is no good will from them, given these rather unique circumstances.'

Dorset Council stated it was 'standard process' to request proof from an individual to ensure 'fairness, transparency and compliance'.

A spokesperson for Dorset Council said: 'In line with our standard process, we've requested documentary proof directly from the individual.

'We always include details on how to make payment, and we require supporting evidence for all appeals because this is a legal process.

'Clear documentation is essential to ensure fairness, transparency, and compliance.'
The family of a former Labor strategist, who helped guide his party to a landslide election win, is rallying around him as he fights for his life following an alleged assault.

Tim Picton was found unconscious outside a licensed premises in Perth about 5.30am on Saturday after Western Australian police received reports of a disturbance.

His family is by his side as he remains in Royal Perth Hospital in a critical condition with serious injuries following the incident.

The 36-year-old fell after being assaulted, striking his head on the pavement, police alleged, adding several bystanders rushed to his aid.

'This incident is a stark reminder that split second acts of violence can have devastating, life-changing consequences,' WA Police Assistant Commissioner Martin Haime told reporters on Sunday.

'The community is absolutely tired of seeing this level of violence.'

Mr Martin said police were only 'a matter of metres away' and arrested a 20-year-old man from Lesmurdie.

He has been charged with one count of grievous bodily harm and appeared before Perth Magistrates Court on Sunday.

Labor figure Tim Picton was found unresponsive on the ground near a Perth pub early Saturday morning

He is being treated in Royal Perth Hospital

Mr Picton's family thanked medical staff and police for their professionalism and support, as well as his friends and colleagues for their compassion during the 'incredibly difficult time'.

'As a family, we are focused entirely on being with him and supporting one another,' the family said in a statement.

'Tim is a much loved father, husband, brother and son, as well as a friend to so many across Australia.'

WA Premier Roger Cook issued a statement on Sunday.

'Carly and my thoughts are with former Labor State Secretary and our mate Tim Picton, who is in a serious condition in hospital,' he said. 'The whole Labor team are thinking of him and his family during this difficult time.'

The former political strategist played an instrumental role in guiding WA Labor to their landslide 2021 election victory, in which the opposition Liberal party was left with just two seats.

He is also the brother of South Australian Health Minister Chris Picton.

Mr Picton directed the 2021 state election campaign for WA Labor and the 2022 federal election campaign for WA Labor

Western Australia Premier Roger Cook and South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said their thoughts were with Mr Picton and his family.

'The whole Labor team are thinking of him and his family during this difficult time,' Mr Cook wrote on social media platform X.

'It's hard to know, at these early stages, exactly what's happened to Mr Picton's brother, but he is unwell and in a serious condition,' Mr Malinauskas said.

'My thoughts are with Mr Picton and Chris, and his beautiful family.'

Tim Picton worked as an advisor for Senator Don Farrell in the Gillard government, then in the office of former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews before directing WA Labor's 2021 campaign.

He has since taken up a role as strategy director for mining company Mineral Resources.
Victoria Beckham took on a 'secret' role at her friend Holly Ramsay's wedding to Adam Peaty this weekend - which could see sales of her already popular fashion brand soar.

After a family feud filled year of her own, Victoria managed to turn one of the most drama soaked celebrity weddings into a catwalk for her label.

The Beckham and Ramsay families have been close friends for years - a bond that saw the WAG turned fashion designer, 51, dress most of Holly's bridal party for her wedding to the Olympian swimmer at Bath Abbey on Saturday.

Bridesmaids Megan and Tilly Ramsay, 27 and 24, and Bethany Peaty all wore the same elegant red satin midi dress from Victoria Beckham's line which retail for 790.

Mother of the bride Tana, 51, also stunned in a forest green gown by her fashion mogul friend, with the same dress in different colours available on her website for 990.

Victoria dressed her own daughter Harper, 14, in a sleek 1,190 black satin dress which she paired with a black fur jacket and some sparkling heels.

Of course, she also took the opportunity to showcase her label on herself, wafting in to the venue in a 1,290 cut-out dark teal dress paired with her staple sunglasses.

However, it is not yet known whether or not Holly's lace wedding gown - and the floor-length ivory cape she partially hid it under - were designed by Victoria.

Victoria and David Beckham arrive in Bath ahead of the star-studded wedding on Saturday

However, it is not yet known whether or not Holly's lace wedding gown - and the floor-length ivory cape she partially hid it under - were designed by Victoria

Staff help iron out the bride's dress before she makes her way to the ceremony to wed Olympian, Adam Peaty, on Saturday

The blushing bride, 25, only allowed glimpses of her dress to peak through the wintery cape as she swept into Bath Abbey.

She and her groom, 30, beamed as they made their grand exit from the historic 7th-century building following their ceremony today.

They smiled as they made their way through an adoring crowd, keen to catch the loved-up couple, before they headed to the opulent Georgian manor, Kin House.

Meanwhile, Holly's proud celebrity chef father, Gordon Ramsay, 59, was seen thanking members of the star-studded guest list, including the Beckhams, as they left the service.

But the run-up to the wedding has been anything but plain sailing, sparking a toxic family row that captured the nation and left Peaty's family disinvited to the celebrations.

Whilst Adam's sister Bethany was present at the ceremony, the rest of his family members were not and fuelled further speculation of a rift by flying a Union Jack flag upside down while hundreds of miles away.

Sitting at home more than 130 miles from the ceremony in Staffordshire, Adam's broken-hearted mother Caroline was said to be 'beside herself' with grief at missing what should have been one of the happiest days of her life.

Speaking from the council house where Adam grew up, the 59-year-old told The Mail on Sunday: 'I'm not going to be hurt like this again'.

Join the debate Would YOU wear a 790 bridesmaid dress to a friend's wedding?

Bridesmaids Megan and Tilly Ramsay, 27 and 24, and Bethany Peaty all wore the same elegant red satin midi dress from Victoria Beckham's line which retail for 790

Mother of the bride Tana, 51, also stunned in a forest green gown by her fashion mogul friend, with the same dress in different colours available on her website for 990

Victoria dressed her own daughter Harper, 14, in a sleek 1,190 black satin dress which she paired with a black fur jacket and some sparkling heels

She had told Friday's Daily Mail that she felt as if Holly and Adam 'have cut my heart out'.

This newspaper can also reveal that, moments before he walked into the abbey clutching the hand of his five-year-old son George, Adam Peaty was sent a devastating text message by his aunt Louise, who was also not invited to the wedding.

In it, she wrote: 'I hope you never suffer the depth of pain you have put your mother through and despite it all she loves you still. Shame on you both. Shame.

'Remember on this, your happiest day, and on each anniversary of your happiest day, that you hurt your mum so deeply her soul screams.'

The roots of this terrible family conflict go back to September 2024, when Adam and Holly snubbed wider members of the Peaty family by not inviting them to their engagement party.

Caroline, who spent years ferrying her son to early-morning training sessions, was also not invited to Holly's glamorous hen do at Soho Farmhouse in the Cotswolds last month, even though the bride's mother, Tana Ramsay, and friends including Victoria Beckham, were at the extravagant bash.

Despite everything Caroline sent a card and gift to her newlywed son for his 31st birthday today.

Meanwhile, Adam's 73-year-old great-aunt Janet, who was also left out of yesterday's wedding, told The Mail on Sunday: 'I just feel so sorry for Caroline.

Victoria stunned in a dark blue floor-length dress from her own line as she arrived to the wedding on Saturday morning

Bath Abbey on December 27 - the historic venue where the couple wed

The Beckham men (Pictured: David and Romeo) all cut a dapper figure sporting smart black suits topped off with bow ties and lengthy coats in grey and various shades of brown

Adam Peaty's sister Bethany (pictured in front) making her way through the hordes of onlookers

(Pictured left to right) Megan Ramsay, Tilly Ramsay and Bethany Peaty arrive for the wedding of Adam Peaty and Holly Ramsay

'I can't believe he's done this to his mother who's done so much for him from an early age. To be treated like this is not kind.'

Despite being shunned, devastated Caroline had threatened to turn up at the wedding anyway - and, if barred from entering the abbey, stand outside and watch from the street.

She said yesterday that she changed her mind after her husband Mark convinced her it would be 'too upsetting' to go along.

Had she defied her son's ban, she would have found herself face-to-face with five security guards, placed in front of the abbey's ancient and elaborately carved wooden doors, which were framed by decorative columns of white roses and hydrangeas.

The Ramsay family splashed out thousands on the venue, where weddings normally cost around 2,500, block-booking it for the day to ensure the service took place in absolute secrecy.

Having found fame and fortune for his foul-mouthed antics in the kitchen, Gordon Ramsay was on his best behaviour as he helped his daughter from a black Rolls-Royce which drew up outside the Gothic abbey at about 12.30pm.

He was seen whispering in her ear before kissing her cheek while an attendant straightened her crumpled outfit.

Buffeted by an icy wind, the pair were mobbed by well-wishers shouting 'Merry Christmas' as they passed.

Waiting inside for a first glimpse of the bride was a celebrity-studded congregation, including Sir David and Victoria Beckham, who are no strangers to family feuds themselves.

Their sons Romeo and Cruz and daughter Harper, who are close friends of the Ramsays, were also there - but not estranged son Brooklyn.
I have a friend whos always at least twenty minutes late to everything. And you cant do that thing where you tell her a fake-early time, because somehow she senses it and still shows up twenty minutes late.

I have another friend who made me feel like I wasnt much of a priority in his life, especially after I left the United States to become a digital nomad.

And my friend Laura, who died last month? I wrote about her here, and everything I said was true. But theres more to the story.

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I said before that Laura was fiercely non-judgmental, which is a wonderful quality in both a person and a friend. But it also led her to sometimes befriend people that I didnt particularly care for.

Often, they were wounded-bird types, and sometimes they were just odd ducks. And they found well-needed support in my friend Laura.

But they also sometimes disappointed her when they ended up being unreliable  flaky, it seemed to me.

People are complicated.

Im lucky to have a strong circle of friends: an inner circle of about eight  one less now that Laura is gone  and another fifteen or so with whom Im almost always in close contact.

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But when I run down the list of all these folks, I realize that all but about three have some quality that I have at least occasionally found frustrating.

(And if youre one of those friends reading this article, congratulations! Youre obviously one of the three completely non-frustrating ones!)

People are complicated, and relationships are messy.

Then again, the reason these people are my friends is that any fleeting frustration Ive felt is nothing compared to all the joy theyve added to my life.

The woman whos always late? She eventually showed up one time when I really needed someone  the only person who did.

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And the guy who made me feel like I wasnt a priority? We talked it through, and he acknowledged I had a point and made a real effort to change. At the same time, he made me realize that I had some unrealistic expectations about him dropping everything on the weeks that I breezed into town, gracing him with my presence.

As for Laura, well, as we got older, our lives went in different directions  in part, because of those friends of hers. But we never lost the connection we had, and now, two months after her death, I wonder when the day will come when Im not overcome with sadness.

People are complicated, and relationships are messy, but the pros of all my good friends still massively outweigh their cons.

Of course, Ive also met plenty of people whose cons did outweigh their pros.

There was the passive-aggressive wife of one friend who always used guilt to try to get her way. She sometimes complained she didnt have many friends, and I always wondered if she had any idea why no one wanted to be around her.

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Then there was the annoying ex-husband of another friend  a braying jackass who wouldnt ever shut up with his never-ending opinions, each one more idiotic than the last.

Incidentally, Im fully aware my impressions here are entirely subjective. And I am certain that theres someone somewhere who thinks of me as the braying jackass with the idiotic opinions.

More relevantly, I am sure I sometimes frustrate my friends too.

So whats the point of my publicly trashing them like this?

America is currently in the grips of a fairly shocking friendship crisis. In the last thirty years, Americans average number of close friends has been cut in half  to about three, but a rapidly rising number of people have no close friends. And the amount of time people spend with friends has fallen in half too.

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Its even worse for men than it is for women, and its worst of all for teens.

There is no upside to this. The result is an epidemic of loneliness and anxiety, shortening lifespans, and a rapidly imploding civic life.

If anyone still needs proof that online friends arent the same as real ones, this is it.

And if America proves to be the bellwether that its been for other social trends, this dire state of affairs is, no doubt, already spreading to the rest of the world.

The reasons for the Friendship Apocalypse are complicated. If youre a liberal, you might say its economic forces: how the high cost of living forces people to work longer hours, and also that the tech companies have embarked on a deliberate strategy to addict people to their media devices to fatten their own bottom lines.

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If youre a conservative, you could pin the blame on cultural factors: the rise of self-centered ideologies like therapy culture, which tells people that the most important thing is their own immediate comfort and satisfaction  and also good, old-fashioned laziness.

Personally, I blame all of the above  but I also think its all connected: therapy culture is a consequence of social media, for example, and everything is the direct result of out-of-control consumerism.

But I also think theres a serious misunderstanding of what friendships and relationships are.

Movies, books, and TV do a good job of showing the extremes in people  fast friends who can somehow afford ridiculously spacious apartments in New York, or the anti-hero meth dealer who selfishly destroys his entire family.

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In love stories, its almost always about external obstacles keeping the lovers apart. Its almost never the story of two generally decent people sometimes butting heads but still trying to work out how to live together.

Two projects that I think portray the complexity of friendship well: the movie Stand by Me and, yes, the TV show Sex and the City. (Columbia Pictures/HBO)

The reality is that, well, people are complicated, and relationships are messy. When it comes to human interaction, occasional conflict and frustration are the norm.

And thats a good thing.

I spent most of my twenties living with groups of friends  always including Laura. Money was tight, and we sometimes got in each others faces.

But I ended up having the absolute time of my life.

In my forties, Michael and I moved into a house with some other friends for a year, and we had a few conflicts to work through then too.

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But once again, I had the time of my life.

And in my fifties, as a nomad, I discovered something called co-living  living for months at a time in complexes designed for long-term travelers. The whole point was lots of human interaction.

You already know what Im going to say, but Ill say it anyway: there were frustrations, but once again, I had the time of my life.

Spending time in close contact with other people has always made my life richer and more interesting.

As for the frustrations, I think they made me a better person  more open-minded and understanding, and also more resilient.

I take some credit for making friends a priority in my life, but I think I was mostly just lucky to grow up in a time when it was much easier to make and keep friends  and to come from a family that valued friendships.

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I know Im pissing in the wind here, as usual, and I also know that if I say, People who dont make friendships a high priority in their lives are making a huge mistake! Ill sound really old.

But, well, people who dont make friendships a high priority in their lives are making a huge mistake.
FBI agents have lifted the lid on alleged diva-like behavior by Director Kash Patel as they accused him of using the agency as a personal branding platform.

Current and former agents told Axios that this included instructing staff to alert him to 'noteworthy arrests' so he could appear for media coverage.

The security chief also demanded agents to keep interactions with him on such occasions to a minimum and insisted on wearing an FBI windbreaker instead of a suit, the outlet reports.

'You're the director of the FBI. Wear a f***ing suit,' one recently retired agent fumed to Axios.

Patel rose to the FBI's top job by vowing to dismantle entrenched Washington bureaucracy but has come under scrutiny for bungling responses to several security incidents.

Concerns about his leadership were recently detailed in a leaked dossier written by current and former agents and first obtained by the New York Post, which outlined what they called repeated management failures.

Among the incidents cited was Patel's alleged meltdown following Charlie Kirk's killing in Utah.

His staffers also complained to Axios about his social media etiquette after the assassination, citing a post where he hinted at an arrest in the probe before a suspect was actually in custody.

Kash Patel with his girlfriend, country music star Alexis Wilkins. Former and current agents working with the FBI boss have lifted the lid on his allegedly high maintenance behavior

FBI Director Kash Patel has been accused by current and former agents of demanding 'screen time' at major arrests

The dossier also echoed agents comments to Axios about Patel's sartorial demands.

It claimed Patel flew to Provo the day after the shooting, refusing to leave his private jet until given a size-medium FBI raid jacket.

When he complained it lacked enough sleeve patches, SWAT members reportedly stripped patches from their own uniforms and delivered them to the airport.

'Patel apparently did not have his own FBI raid jacket with him and refused to step from the plane without wearing one,' the report stated.

During an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, Patel rejected the account, calling it '100 percent false,' and said he was 'honored' to wear the jacket when it was offered and did so with 'pride'.

The complaints come amid scrutiny of Patel's lifestyle, including private jet use, luxury cars, and frequent high-profile trips with his musician girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins.

Former FBI executive Christopher O'Leary told MSNBC that Patel exploited his title for self-promotion, earning the nickname 'Make-a-Wish director'.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Patel for comment.

The move comes as Patel faces mounting scrutiny over his leadership style and spending decisions.

President Donald Trump stands with FBI director Kash Patel as he participates in a Diwali celebration in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in Washington D.C.

Last week, MSNOW reported that Patel ordered four luxury armored BMWs to replace the Chevrolet Suburbans traditionally used by the bureau.

A person close to Patel, who spoke anonymously to MSNOW to share details, said the government would have paid about $480,000 for a new armored suburban, which was more than twice the cost of the BMW.

He also faced backlash for using FBI aircraft for personal travel. When pressed about the used he replied, 'I'm entitled to a personal life.'

Patel drew further criticism for after he featured on a podcast with his girlfriend which was released as the manhunt for the Brown University shooter entered its fourth day.

The FBI director came under fire after he announced prematurely that his agents had helped apprehend a suspect in the shooting that left two dead and nine injured at the Ivy League school in Providence, Rhode Island.

At the same time, a teaser clip from conservative podcaster Katie Miller, wife of Trump adviser Stephen Miller, asking Patel and his girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins, about their romance went viral.

A representative for Miller's podcast told the Daily Mail that the interview was filmed before the mass shooting.
Donald Trump revealed had a 'very productive' phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin just moments before he is due to meet with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky.

Zelensky arrived in Florida on Sunday morning to discuss a 20-point plan with Trump which could end almost four years of war between Russia and Ukraine.

The US President will host his Ukrainian counterpart at Mar-a-Lago at 1pm EST, when they will discuss a new revision of the much-anticipated plan, the White House said.

It includes security guarantees to protect Ukraine from future invasions by Moscow - primarily through Ukrainian membership in the EU, and maintaining a peacetime army of 800,000 troops funded by Western allies.

Zelensky said the most difficult points to reconcile will be the fate of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, and who will take control of a Russian-occupied nuclear power plant.

Writing on Truth Social an hour before he is due to speak with Zelensky, Trump said: 'I just had a good and very productive telephone call with President Putin of Russia prior to my meeting.'

He did not elaborate on the phone call which may come as a surprise to many given that Putin has shown little interest in negotiating a peace deal, despite Zelensky saying Ukraine is 'willing to do whatever it takes to stop this war'.

It comes just a day after Russia launched a barrage of missiles on Kyiv, killing at least one person and injuring 20 more, per the mayor of the Ukrainian capital.

Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky are poised to discuss three key issues as they discuss a peace agreement which could end almost four years of war

Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown little interest in negotiating a peace deal, while Zelensky has said Ukraine is 'willing to do whatever it takes to stop this war' in the post above

Writing on X on Saturday ahead of the summit, Zelensky said: 'For us, priority number one  or the only priority  is ending the war. For us, the priority is peace.

'We need to be strong at the negotiating table. To be strong, we need the support of the world: Europe and the United States.'

It also comes as top diplomats in Thailand and Cambodia have reached a ceasefire agreement amid their border dispute, ending weeks of fighting which has killed more than 100 people.

'I am pleased to announce that the breakout fighting between Thailand and Cambodia will stop momentarily, and they will go back to living in PEACE, as per our recently agreed to original Treaty,' Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump said the US was 'proud to help' with negotiating the ceasefire, claiming that the US had done more to bring an end to the conflict than the United Nations, which he also blasted for being 'of very little assistance' in Ukraine.

Zelensky said his country needs more air defenses, weaponry and money.

'If the whole world  Europe and America  is on our side, together we will stop Putin,' he wrote.

Zelensky added that he started the day with a 'detailed phone call' with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, where they discussed 'preparations for the meeting with President Trump' and 'consequences of Russian strikes'.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called Europe 'the main obstacle to peace' while praising Trump's efforts to secure peace.

'After the change of administration in the US, Europe and the European Union have become the main obstacle to peace,' Lavrov said in an interview with the Russian newswire Tass published on Sunday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown little interest in negotiating a peace deal, while Zelensky has said Ukraine is 'willing to do whatever it takes to stop this war'

Trump told Politico he thought their Palm Beach meeting would go well, but he added that 'Zelensky doesn't have anything until I approve it'.

'We'll see what he's got,' the US president said in the comment published Friday.

The engagement will be the sixth meeting between Trump and Zelensky this year, with their relations improving since the fiery Oval Office feud on February 28.

The first meeting degenerated into a heated argument, with Trump and Vice President JD Vance accusing Zelensky of failing to show gratitude for US support.

Earlier in December, the US President's oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., also told reporters that his father may walk away from supporting Ukraine if Kyiv refuses to engage with Moscow at the negotiating table.

Last month, Trump expressed a desire to end the war in order to engage in business deals with Putin, hoping to bring billions of dollars from the Russian economy into the US.

A report in The Wall Street Journal details how Trump's team - including his son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff - have been negotiating with Russia on how to 'bring their $2 trillion economy in from the cold'.

Witkoff reportedly hosted Kirill Dmitriev - Putin's 'handpicked' negotiator - and Kushner at a waterfront Miami Beach estate to draw up a plan to end the war, while also ensuring American businesses beat their European counterparts to making money once the conflict ended.

Dmitriev is said to have pushed for the $300 billion of Russian central bank assets frozen in Europe to be used for joint US-Russian investment projects, and a 'US-led reconstruction' of Ukraine.

In a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Saturday, Zelensky said the key to peace is 'pressure on Russia and sufficient, strong support for Ukraine'.

To that end, Carney announced $2.5 billion Canadian (US$1.8 billion) more in economic assistance from his government to help Ukraine rebuild.

Denouncing the 'barbarism' of Russia's latest attacks on Kyiv, Carney credited both Zelensky and Trump with creating the conditions for a 'just and lasting peace' at a crucial moment.

Trump and Zelensky sitting down face-to-face also underscored the apparent progress made by Trump's top negotiators in recent weeks as the sides traded draft peace plans and continued to shape a proposal to end the fighting.

Zelensky told reporters Friday that the 20-point draft proposal negotiators have discussed is 'about 90 percent ready'  echoing a figure, and the optimism, that US officials conveyed when Trump's chief negotiators met with Zelensky in Berlin earlier this month.
More than 40 million Americans have been placed under an alert ahead of a huge winter storm which is set to barrel across the country and dump up to two feet of snow in some parts.

Treacherous conditions are forecast through Monday, with meteorologists warning of the potential of a 'bomb cyclone' as a cold arctic front clashes with warmer air.

Blizzard warnings are in effect from North Dakota down to southern Minnesota and Iowa, with three to eight inches of snow and gusts up to 45mph expected.

'We are anticipating some pretty big snows over the next 24 hours, especially across east central Minnesota to northern Wisconsin to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan,' NWS Lead Forecaster Bob Oravec told NPR on Sunday.

The conditions are likely to create a whiteout and near-zero visibility in the affected areas sparking fears of further travel chaos.

Travel disruptions are expected to continue into tomorrow at least as the new storm front makes its way east.

As of early Sunday afternoon, there were 268 delays and 66 cancellations in and out of Minneapolis St Paul International Airport, where an airport weather warning was put into effect.

At Detroit Metro Airport, there have been fewer cancellations and delays, at 25 and 150 respectively, but those numbers are likely to increase by Sunday night as the storm makes it to the city.

A winter storm set to blow through the Midwest to the Northeast has put more than 40 million people on alert and is expected to drop up to two feet of snow in some areas

The conditions are likely to create a whiteout and near-zero visibility in the affected areas through Monday morning

Much of the Northeast is still feeling the impact of a winter storm that hit just after Christmas and blanketed parts of New England with almost a foot of snow.

Forecasters warned that a 'bomb cyclone' could develop as the residual cold front slams into warmer air. The phenomenon, also known as bombogenesis, is caused when an area of low pressure emerges quickly, bringing harsh weather.

Winter Weather Advisories for freezing rain are in effect from Scranton, Pennsylvania, as far north as Burlington, Vermont, and as far east as Portland, Maine.

Up to 1.5 inches of rainfall is expected in western New York in Buffalo and Jamestown, where a flood watch has been issued.

It comes after much of the western part of the country remained on high alert for more floods and landslides following historic rainfall across California.

Snowfall in Fargo, North Dakota, already began early on Sunday.

Heavy snow was forecast to hit Minneapolis by noon and is expected to make it to eastern Wisconsin by the afternoon, at which point heavy rain is also expected in Detroit and southern Michigan.

Low visibility in Minneapolis and nearby parts of I-45 and I-90 are expected by early Sunday evening.

Heavy rain and gusty winds are also expected to reach Buffalo, New York, by the evening.

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The incoming winter storm comes just days after another one battered the Northeast and caused major travel disruptions during one of the busiest travel weekends of the year

Snowy and windy conditions in Michigan are forecast to remain until about 7am Monday, after which warmer air moving across the Northeast is expected to turn the snowfall to rain.

Higher elevation areas of New England, as well as most of Maine, are set to be hit hardest by snowfall in the Northeast.

The worst of the storm should clear up by Monday night, but lake-effect snow is expected across the Eastern Great Lakes and the interior Northeast through Tuesday and possibly into Wednesday.

The incoming winter storm comes just days after another storm swept through the Northeast, dumping snow from north-central New Jersey through New York City and into southern Connecticut.

New York City received four inches of snow, about half of what was predicted. Other parts of the state received six to 10 inches of snow.

According to flight-tracking service FlightAware, at least 1,500 flights in New York City were cancelled on Friday, and an additional 9,000 domestic US flights were cancelled or delayed on Saturday, with many in the New York area.

At least 1,500 flights in New York City were cancelled on Friday, and an additional 9,000 domestic US flights were cancelled or delayed on Saturday. Pictured: Departures from New York's LaGuardia airport on December 26

Disruptions are set to continue through Monday as the new stormfront makes its way east. Delays and cancellations are already taking place in Minneapolis (stock image)

The storm prompted Acting New Jersey Governor Tahesha Way to declare a state emergency across the state.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency for more than half of the state.

The flight cancellations caused significant disruption during one of the busiest travel weekends of the year.
Incoming NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani has sparked fury after appointing a woman with no firefighting experience as the new head of the FDNY.

Lillian Bonsignore will take the reins as the new Commissioner from January 1 to become the first openly gay fire chief and only the second woman in the agency's history.

She is the highest-ranking uniformed woman in the FDNY and has more than 30 years experience working for the department.

Most recently, Bonsignore served as chief of EMS Operations from 2019 through 2020.

She is considered a respected leader within FDNY EMS, with a similar personality to New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who is staying on in the Mamdani administration, according to ABC 7.

However her lack of experience as a firefighter has led to major criticism from MAGA supporters, including Elon Musk.

'People will die because of this. Proven experience matters when lives are at stake,' the Tesla owner raged on his social media platform, X.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz also poked fun at the appointment, writing: 'A great idea! Unless there's a fire...'

Incoming NYC Mayor Zohran got into a dispute on X with conservatives who mocked his choice of Lillian Bonsignore for New York's new fire chief despite her lack of firefighting experience

Bonsignore is still is the highest-ranking uniformed woman in the FDNY and has more than 30 years experience working for the department

Mamdani admitted Bonsignore has no direct firefighting experience but praised her as a 'trailblazer for the LGBTQ community' who will serve as 'the FDNY's first openly gay commissioner'.

He hit back at the critics, writing: 'Experience does matter, which is why I appointed the person who spent more than 30 years at EMS. You know, the workforce that addresses at least 70% of all calls coming into FDNY?'

Bonsignore's colleague, NYC Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Ischol, also leapt to her defense, condemning those who criticized her as 'reprehensible'.

'I have worked directly with Chief Lillian Bonsignore and find the lies being told about her experience to be reprehensible, as they sow mistrust in someone New Yorkers need to feel comfortable with,' Ischol wrote on X.

'Chief Bonsignore is one of the most competent, experienced, and respected city leaders.

'She steps into this role with 31 years of experience and the respect of her department, including the rank and file. Id follow her anywhere.

'Im looking forward to working with her again and will sleep better knowing shes at the helm of NYCs bravest, FDNY.'

The Daily Mail has contacted Mamdani and Bonsignore for comment.

But Elon Musk warned that 'people will die' as a result of the appointment

Texas Senator Ted Cruz also waded into the controversy to slam the decision

Bonsignore began her career working as an EMT, before becoming lieutenant, captain and deputy chief.

She was part of the response to the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center and has used her position to advocate for increased pay for EMS workers.

She served as the FDNY Chief of EMS Operations from 2019-2022 during the COVID pandemic.

'She was the highest-ranking Officer in the EMS command, the highest-ranking uniformed female in FDNY and the first female to achieve a 4-star rank in the history of FDNY,' her profile on Responder Resilience states.

Latterly she has held a role as a senior advisor for Cambridge Consulting Group.

Despite her resume, many online commenters agreed with Musk and Cruz's concerns.

'Thats like having a lifeguard who cant swim,' one person wrote on X.

'This is ridiculous. You can not command a fire department if you never did the job. Their union should grieve this. The public will support them,' another added.

'The appointment of Lillian Bonsignore as Fire Commissioner of the Fire Department of the City of New York is not just baffling. It is infuriating. And most importantly, it is life-threateningly DANGEROUS,' a third agreed.
The family of a hotel worker who died after being attacked outside a village pub have paid tribute to the 'devoted' father and grandfather.

David Darke, 66, known to his family and friends as Dave, suffered head injuries and died in hospital on Saturday, six days after he was punched outside the The Crown Public House in Appleby Magna, Leicestershire.

A man aged 36 who was initially arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm was later re-arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in police custody.

In a statement released on Sunday, Mr Darke's family said he was 'a deeply loved father to three daughters and a proud grandfather to three boys'.

They said: 'He was a much-loved brother and a dear friend. Dave will live on forever in our hearts, minds and souls.

'He was a strong, active, intelligent and kind person who was a friend to all.

'He was a devoted family man with a deep passion for life, the outdoors, nature and walking.

'His life was tragically cut short and he's now reunited with his loving, caring parents.

'He will be sorely missed by all who knew and loved him.'

David Darke, 66, died in hospital on Saturday six days after he was punched

Mr Darke was punched outside The Crown Inn in Appleby Magna, Leicestershire on December 21, which is less than half a mile from his home in the village

A neighbour, who did not want to be named, said Mr Darke worked at a local hotel and was a 'very nice man'.

He lived alone in a smart bungalow in the picturesque village on the edge of the National Forest.

The neighbour said: 'It's so very sad. He was a very nice man. Everyone is very shocked.'

Sheila Carlberg wrote on Facebook: 'I worked with Dave at 3M, he was a nice friendly man who chatted to us at breaktime.

'How he got into this bother is beyond me as he was quiet and gentle. So sorry.'

Julie Davis added: 'This is so sad. I met him a few months ago and was a lovely guy.

'He was telling me about his daughters and his van he bought to go off anywhere and walk for miles and miles.'

Emergency services were first called to Church Street in Appleby Magna, just before 9.45pm on Sunday, December 21.

Mr Darke died at the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham on Saturday.

Leicestershire police said an investigation into Mr Darke's death  led by the East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU)  was continuing.

Officers appealed for anyone who can help but who has not yet spoken to police to come forward.

People living in the village expressed their sadness.

A man aged 36 was arrested on suspicion of murder after David Darke died in hospital

Mr Darke, 66, was described by his family as a devoted father and grandfather

Chris Adams, 71, who lives next door to the pub was at home when on the evening of the attack.

He told LeicestershireLive: 'We didn't hear or see anything at the time. We've just heard the news and it's very sad.

'We've been here for 24 years and it's very unusual for anything like this to happen.

'We were shocked because it's such a quiet village and such a lovely pub.

'The landlady at The Crown does a tremendous job. The pub is at the centre of the community and we've never known of any trouble there.'

Millie Newall, 21, who lives a few doors down from The Crown, said: 'My dad was out walking the dog when it happened and he was the one who called the ambulance.

'It's quite scary. But things like this do happen. It's a quiet village and it's strange for something like this to happen here.'

Paul and Julie Sambrook have lived in the village for five years. Mr Sambrook said: 'It's totally out of the blue.

'You never feel any atmosphere at all in either of the pubs in the village. It's a friendly, cordial drinking establishment.'

Mrs Sambrook added: 'It's quite a shock. It's totally out of character for this village. We've never come across anything like this before.'
A British law student sentenced to 25 years in a 'hellhole' Dubai prison over an alleged 'single line of cocaine' was freed in time for Christmas.

Mia O'Brien, 24, was arrested in the Middle Eastern city in October 2024 after 50g of the intoxicant was reportedly found in a flat stormed by police during a party.

She was convicted of drug supply and possession charges on July 25 this year following a one-day trial held in Arabic.

Ms O'Brien pleaded not guilty to the offences but was handed a lengthy term at Al-Awir Central Prison as well as a fine of around 100k.

Her mother, Danielle McKenna, has now shared the news of Ms O'Brien's release - who made it home in time for Christmas in Huyton, Merseyside.

It followed a period of campaigning from her family and pressure group Detained in Dubai previously said Ms O'Brien's appeal against the conviction was close.

Ms McKenna has since uploaded a video montage of her daughter to Facebook in the early hours of December 25, boasting of how she had made it home in time for the big day.

Entitled 'She's Home', Ms Mckenna said in the clip: 'Home where she belongs. It's like a Christmas miracle, best Christmas ever.'

Mia O'Brien (pictured), 24, was arrested in the Middle Eastern city in October 2024 after 50g of the intoxicant was reportedly found in a flat stormed by police during a party

Danielle McKenna has since uploaded a video montage of her daughter to Facebook in the early hours of December 25, boasting of how she had made it home in time for the big day

Mia O'Brien, pictured, a British law student jailed for 25 years in a 'hellhole' Dubai prison over cocaine charges after a trial held in Arabic, has been freed

It follows the delighted mother revealing earlier this month that her daughter's release was imminent.

At the time, Ms McKenna had said on Facebook: 'Thank you so much everyone, am still in shock, am buzzing, can't wait to give her the tightest cuddle ever.

'She's coming home, she's coming home, my baby is coming home.'

Friends congratulated Ms McKenna on the news with one saying: 'What an Xmas present - your daughter coming home.'

Another posted: 'So glad she's coming home. Absolute travesty that poor lassie has had to go through.'

The mother did not say how Ms O'Brien's release had been secured but she has been assisted by the Foreign Office and campaign group Detained in Dubai had revealed in September that her appeal against the conviction was looming.

A cellmate - a mother and fellow Briton - previously said that Ms O'Brien had apparently told her she had only used 'one line of cocaine'.

She was convicted of drug supply and possession charges on July 25 this year following a one-day trial held in Arabic

Ms O'Brien was arrested with her friend and friend's boyfriend

Ms O'Brien was arrested with her female friend and her pal's boyfriend.

Her friend tested negative for cocaine and was released without charge, while the other two both tested positive.

Ms O'Brien was detained in the 'hellhole' Al-Awir Central Prison, dubbed Dubai's Alcatraz, reportedly sharing a filthy cell with six women and sleeping on a mattress on the floor.

It is unclear what has happened to her friend's boyfriend.

Ms McKenna appealed for financial support via Facebook and GiveSendGo after GoFundMe removed her page, launched in September, for breaching its 'community guidelines'.

She also reported receiving lots of abuse online about her daughter's situation after launching the appeal.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: 'We are supporting the family of a British woman detained in the UAE and are in contact with the local authorities.'

Radha Stirling, founder of campaign group Detained in Dubai, confirmed in a press release in September that the law student was appealing the conviction.

She was detained in the 'hellhole' Al-Awir Central Prison, dubbed Dubai's Alcatraz, reportedly sharing a filthy cell with six women and sleeping on a mattress on the floor

She said: 'Mia O'Brien is preparing to appeal her 25-year sentence in Dubai after being convicted of drug possession in a one day trial held entirely in Arabic.

'Despite pleading not guilty, Mia was found guilty in proceedings her family and legal advisers have condemned as deeply unfair.

'Dubai police have a history of rushing to secure convictions without the rigorous evidentiary standards we expect in the UK.

'We've seen fabricated confessions, reliance on circumstantial evidence, and a disregard for due process. I would urge the public to withhold judgement.

'Mia's case could be the latest in a long line of miscarriages of justice.

'Mia has pleaded not guilty from the start, but the system has already failed her. Unless this appeal is taken seriously, she risks losing decades of her life.'
Two pensioners in their 80s have perished in a house fire in Ireland's County Sligo.

Emergency services were called to the property in the seaside village of Easkey at around 11am today.

The two men, who have not been identified, were sadly pronounced dead at the scene.

No other deaths or injuries were reported by emergency services.

Gardai told the Daily Mail that investigations are ongoing, adding that the scene is 'currently preserved for technical examination'.

A spokesperson said: 'Post-mortem examinations will take place in due course, the outcome of which will determine the course of the investigation'.

Earlier this month, a four-year-old boy and a 60-year-old woman who were killed in a house fire in Ireland were pictured for the first time.

Little Tadhg Farrell and Mary Holt died after a 'callous and murderous' blaze engulfed their family home in County Offaly, Ireland.

Emergency services were called to the property in the seaside village of Easkey at around 11am today (File image of Easkey)

A murder investigation has now been launched by the Gardai as it's thought the fire was started deliberately.

Emergency services rushed to the house on Castleview Park in Edenderry at around 7.45pm on December 6.

Another woman in her 50s escaped the fire and is being treated in hospital for serious injuries.

The following day, the Gardai said they had commenced a murder investigation during a press conference at Edenderry Garda Station.

Supt Liam Geraghty described the fire as 'a reckless, callous and murderous attack on a family home'.

He said they believe that the house was attacked by a person or persons unknown at this time and that the fire was deliberately started.

Irish Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan strongly condemned what he described as a 'deliberate callous attack' on the house.
Two things can be true at the same time.

First, Alaa Abd El-Fattah should have received a free and fair trial in Egypt. The long years of detention, the suffering of his family, and the lack of due process are not things any democracy should be comfortable with. There ends my sympathy.

There is a second truth. The comments he made on social media about violence against Jews, white people and the police, amongst others, are disgusting and abhorrent.

They were also anti-British, which begs the question how officials rubber-stamped this application without escalating to then Home Secretary.

The Home Secretary should now look at all possible options, including whether his citizenship can be revoked and he can be removed from Britain.

British citizenship is more than a passport. It means subscribing to our values. Our country is our home not a hotel. But lets ask ourselves how this mad situation occurred.

Celebrities campaigned for his release as Western politicians, various media outlets, and human rights organisations helped sanitise El-Fattahs story. I was only aware of his case in passing when discussed in parliament and on the news.

El-Fattah was always presented as a symbol of democratic resistance. Its now clear from the comments which emerged that many who were supporting him had brushed aside his own published political views, including explicit endorsements of violence.

Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah spent years in and out of prison thanks to his pro-democracy activism

Al-Fattah, pictured with mother Laila (left) and sister Sanaa (right), was released in September but has only just returned to the UK

Sir Keir Starmer initially expressed his 'delight' at El-Fattah's return - but now says he was unaware of 'abhorrent' posts' made by the activist. In one, he said: 'I consider killing any colonialists and especially Zionists heroic, we need to kill more of them'

Those views were not obscure in those circles. They were serious enough to cost him a major European human rights award years ago.

It is one thing to work for someones release from prison if theyve been treated unfairly as previous governments did. It is quite another to elevate them, publicly and uncritically, into a moral hero.

The British government did not just work quietly for his release, it rushed to celebrate it: our Prime Minister expressed delight.

This rush to moral posturing has consequences. Firstly, it risks validating the narrative of Western unseriousness. Middle Eastern authorities have repeatedly expressed concerns about the kid gloves with which the West treats extremists who are not allowed to operate within their borders.

There is a deeper problem here which I have spoken and written about frequently.

Too many people now enter Parliament to act as activists and campaigners, not as legislators. This is not about doing the work of a Foreign Secretary on consular cases, or about campaigning for real human rights victims like Jimmy Lai, it is about those who prioritise virtue-signalling over due-diligence.

Those who push colleagues to act quickly, publicly, and emotionally, without doing the hard work of scrutiny that governing actually requires. It is why we have Prime Minister and Home Secretary who signed letters to stop the deportation of foreign rapists and murderers.

That culture in our parliament has consequences. Yes, it is mostly on the left, but lets be honest, all parties indulge in this nonsense, including on occasion the Conservatives. I recall senior figures in Reform UK, including David Jones, at the time a Tory MP, leading the charge for El-Fattahs release in Parliament.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was another of the senior politicians to celebrate El-Fattah's release and return to the UK

The PM (pictured) has rowed back from his earlier comments in which he sparked backlash for saying he was 'delighted' by Alaa Abd El-Fattah's return to the country.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch (pictured) is calling for Alaa Abd El-Fattah's citizenship to be revoked and the activist to be deported on the back of his historic social media comments, which also included a post reading: 'There was no genocide against Jews by the Nazis  after all, many Jews are left'

It is inconceivable that no one saw Alaa Abd El-Fattahs published statements over the years. Ten years ago, some people may have dismissed comments advocating the killing of Jews as offensive but unserious, or merely loose talk. After 7 October 2023, that excuse no longer exists. We now live in a very different world.

Since October 7, we have seen a sharp rise in the intimidation and terrorising of Jewish communities. We have seen antisemitic rhetoric translate into real-world harm with violence and murder in Manchester, in Bondi Beach, and elsewhere. In that context, calls for violence against Jews cannot be brushed aside.

I do not want people who hate Britain coming to our country. And where such views are part of an individuals public record, they must be considered when decisions are taken about citizenship. We have been too complacent for too long.

Another serious problem is that there will be junior officials and decision-makers within parts of the Civil Service who hold these views, or see nothing wrong with them. Some will have absorbed an activist mindset that treats antisemitism as contextual, or worse, morally right. That is unacceptable. This ideology must be rooted out of our institutions.

This case also illustrates a broader Conservative point. When the state tries to do too many things, especially in complex areas like foreign affairs, it often fails to do the most important things well.

We do not currently have a system that consistently applies the level of due diligence that todays security environment demands because we are spending a lot of time getting involved in things we have no capacity for.

Conservatives under my leadership will do things differently. I have already changed our policy, making it tougher to get British citizenship, but more must be done. Citizenship decisions must be grounded in rigorous assessment, not box-ticking.

They must take account of social media activity, public statements, and patterns of belief. And they must be guided by a clear test of whether granting citizenship is conducive to the public good.

That is the lesson of this case. And it is one we intend to act on.
Five children are among the nine who tragically died following a knife rampage in the South American city of Paramaribo on Sunday.

The man appeared to be suffering from mental health issues, and four of his own children were among the fatalities in the attack, which took place in and around his home in the capital of Suriname, according to local media reports.

The suspect had an argument with his wife over the phone before stabbing one of the victims, his 11-year-old daughter, 44 times in the kitchen of their home, local media reported.

'A man killed four adults and five children with a sharp object at a residence in Hadji Iding Soemitaweg,' the local police said in a statement.

'A sixth child and an adult were seriously injured and were transported' to the hospital, according to the statement.

Officers who arrived on the scene had to open fire on the suspect, as 'he attacked police with a sharp object,' the statement said.

The man sustained a gunshot wound to the leg and is hospitalised under police supervision, police said without identifying him.

'Further details regarding the true circumstances of this tragic attack will follow,' the statement concluded.

Five children are among the nine who tragically died following a knife rampage in the South American city of Paramaribo on Sunday (File image of Paramaribo)

According to the local press, which visited the scene of the attack and spoke to the man's neighbours in Hadji Iding Soemitaweg, a neighbourhood in the Commewijne district, the suspect had mental health issues.

Suriname's President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons issued a statement in response to the killings on her Facebook page.

'At a time when family and friends should stand together and support one another, we are faced with the harsh reality that there is another side to the world,' she wrote.

'A father who takes the lives of his own children and, in the process, kills his neighbours as well. I wish all those in mourning much strength, courage, and comfort in this unimaginably difficult time.'
An urgent hunt has been launched for a 10-year-old boy who disappeared near the London Eye.

Haan was last seen this afternoon wearing a brown jumper, blue jeans and blue and green trainers.

Lambeth Police have issued a public appeal after the child vanished near the London Dungeon on Southbank.

A spokesman said: 'Can you help us find 10-year-old Haan?

'Please call 999 if seen quoting CAD3555/28Dec.'

Police added the last sighting of Haan, who lives in Harrow, was said to be at around 2pm.
Between mobile phones and smartwatches, there's increasingly less reason for children to have to learn how to tell time by reading a clock in the modern era. And so it shouldn't be so surprising that due to this reality, many kids simply never developed this skill.

This unexpected reality came to light following New York City instating a cellphone ban in schools statewide, and soon teachers discovered their students were constantly asking what time it was!

The constant refrain is Miss, what time is it? said Madi Mornhinweg, a high school English teacher, told Gothamist. Its a source of frustration because everyone wants to know how many minutes are left in class...It finally got to the point where I started saying, Wheres the big hand and wheres the little hand?'

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With so many other ways of telling time, it's not surprising that kids are never learning to tell time the old-fashioned way, or if they did learn, simply forgot the skill based on never having to use it.

They just forgot that skill because they never used it, because they always pulled out their phone, a student who attends Midwood High School in the Brooklyn area of New York City, told Gothamist.

But according to an active teacher-centric Reddit thread, this reality extends far beyond the New York cellphone ban boomerang effect, many students are simply not familiar with analog clocks because they haven't needed to be. But teachers caution there's a lot of reason, even in a digital world, to maintain this skill. "If you know how to read an analog clock you will have a significantly easier time learning geometry, mathematics, and most science. Sure you don't technically need the skill and you can learn it later but that can be said about most skills taught in school so why not teach that as well?" sagely pointed out a comment on the thread.

At NYCPS (New York City Public Schools), we recognize how essential it is for our students to tell the time on both analog and digital clocks, Department of Education spokesperson Isla Gething told Gothamist. "As our young people are growing up in an increasingly digital world, no traditional time-reading skills should be left behind.
Donald Trump has celebrated the success of his highly anticipated peace talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, revealing they are 'very close' to striking an agreement on all but 'one or two thorny issues.'

The President had earlier welcomed Zelensky to his Mar-a-Lago estate with open arms when he arrived in Florida on Sunday to discuss a 20-point plan with Trump which could end almost four years of war between Russia and Ukraine.

The duo admitted afterwards that they couldn't find middle ground on some of the most difficult issues, including future ownership of the Donbas region, Ukrainian territory which it has been fighting to protect throughout the war.

'This is very difficult question,' Zelensky said when asked about Donbas.

'You know our position, so it's I mean this, we have to respect our law and our people. We respect the territory which we control. And of course, the our attitude is very clear.'

Trump countered that 'some of that land has been taken' and 'may be up for grabs, but it may be taken over the next period of the number of months.

'They have been very brave. They fought very hard and continue to fight very hard and do tremendous damage, but Russia would like to see it end, and Ukraine would like to see it end,' he said.

'We could be very close. There are one or two very thorny issues, very tough issues, but I think we're doing very well. We've made a lot of progress today, but really we've made it over the last month. This is not a one day process deal, this very complicated stuff.'

Donald Trump has greeted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the entrance to his Mar-a-Lago estate ahead of a highly-anticipated meeting between the two

Trump was asked about what the timeline for the end of the war could look like, but noted there are still several hurdles on the road to peace.

'In a few weeks, we will know one way or the other,' he said. 'We could have something where one item that you're not thinking about is a big item and breaks it up.'

He admitted 'it has been a very difficult negotiation, very detailed.'

But he offered a grim dose of reality for the future if the deal falls through, warning: 'They keep fighting and they keep dying.'

Trump had initially hoped when returning to the White House in January that ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict would be a straightforward and quick win for his administration, and has expressed frustration with both Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin at various stages throughout the negotiations.

America's 20-point plan includes security guarantees to protect Ukraine from future invasions by Moscow - primarily through Ukrainian membership in the EU, and maintaining a peacetime army of 800,000 troops funded by Western allies.

However, Trump snapped at a reporter who asked about the security guarantees moments before he went into the meeting with Zelensky.

'What a stupid question,' he fumed. 'Nobody even knows what the security agreement is going to state. There will be a security agreement. It will be a strong agreement. The European nations are very much involved.'

Join the debate Would giving up territory for peace set a dangerous precedent?

Zelensky arrived in Palm Beach, Florida on Sunday morning to discuss a 20-point plan with Trump which could end almost four years of war between Russia and Ukraine

It comes just a day after Russia launched a barrage of missiles on Kyiv, killing at least one person and injuring 20 more, per the mayor of the Ukrainian capital. (Pictured: A private residential building in the Darnytskyi district after a Russian drone strike on Saturday)

Writing on Truth Social ahead of the brief press conference, Trump said he also had a 'very good and very productive telephone call with President Putin of Russia', and at Mar-a-Lago, he said he was in 'the final stages of talking' with each president.

'We're in final stages of talking... It will either end, or it's going to go on for a long time and millions of additional people are going to be killed. Nobody wants that,' he said.

Trump added that he believes Putin is ready for a ceasefire. 'There are too many people dying, and I think both presidents want to make a deal,' he said.

'I do believe that we have the makings of a deal that is fit for Ukraine, fit for everybody,' Trump continued. 'There is nothing more important. I've settled eight wars, and this is the most difficult one.'

But at his press conference alongside Zelensky, Trump refused to go into any further detail about his discussions with Putin.

'We weren't talking about the weather, we weren't talking about what a beautiful day it is in Palm Beach, Florida,' Trump said.

'Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed. It sounds a little strange but President Putin was very generous in his feeling toward Ukraine succeeding, including supplying energy, electricity and other things at very low prices.'

Zelensky had earlier acknowledged the most difficult points to reconcile will be the fate of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, and who will take control of a Russian-occupied nuclear power plant.

It comes just a day after Russia launched a barrage of missiles on Kyiv, killing at least one person and injuring 20 more, per the mayor of the Ukrainian capital.

Writing on X on Saturday ahead of the summit, Zelensky said: 'For us, priority number one  or the only priority  is ending the war. For us, the priority is peace.

'We need to be strong at the negotiating table. To be strong, we need the support of the world: Europe and the United States.'

Zelensky said his country needs more air defenses, weaponry and money.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown little interest in negotiating a peace deal, while Zelensky has said Ukraine is 'willing to do whatever it takes to stop this war'

'If the whole world  Europe and America  is on our side, together we will stop Putin,' he wrote.

Zelensky added that he started the day with a 'detailed phone call' with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, where they discussed 'preparations for the meeting with President Trump' and 'consequences of Russian strikes'.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called Europe 'the main obstacle to peace' while praising Trump's efforts to secure peace.

'After the change of administration in the US, Europe and the European Union have become the main obstacle to peace,' Lavrov said in an interview with the Russian newswire Tass published on Sunday.

Trump told Politico he thought their Palm Beach meeting would go well, but he added that 'Zelensky doesn't have anything until I approve it.'

'We'll see what he's got,' the US president said in the comment published Friday.

The engagement was the sixth meeting between Trump and Zelensky this year, with their relations improving since the fiery Oval Office feud on February 28.

The first meeting degenerated into a heated argument, with Trump and Vice President JD Vance accusing Zelensky of failing to show gratitude for US support.

Earlier in December, the US President's oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., also told reporters that his father may walk away from supporting Ukraine if Kyiv refuses to engage with Moscow at the negotiating table.

Last month, Trump expressed a desire to end the war in order to engage in business deals with Putin, hoping to bring billions of dollars from the Russian economy into the US.

A report in The Wall Street Journal details how Trump's team - including his son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff - have been negotiating with Russia on how to 'bring their $2trillion economy in from the cold'.

Witkoff reportedly hosted Kirill Dmitriev - Putin's 'handpicked' negotiator - and Kushner at a waterfront Miami Beach estate to draw up a plan to end the war, while also ensuring American businesses beat their European counterparts to making money once the conflict ended.

Dmitriev is said to have pushed for the $300billion of Russian central bank assets frozen in Europe to be used for joint US-Russian investment projects, and a 'US-led reconstruction' of Ukraine.

In a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Saturday, Zelensky said the key to peace is 'pressure on Russia and sufficient, strong support for Ukraine'.

To that end, Carney announced $2.5billion Canadian (US$1.8billion) more in economic assistance from his government to help Ukraine rebuild.

Denouncing the 'barbarism' of Russia's latest attacks on Kyiv, Carney credited both Zelensky and Trump with creating the conditions for a 'just and lasting peace' at a crucial moment.

Trump and Zelensky sitting down face-to-face underscored the apparent progress made by Trump's top negotiators in recent weeks as the sides traded draft peace plans and continued to shape a proposal to end the fighting.

Zelensky told reporters Friday that the 20-point draft proposal negotiators have discussed is 'about 90 per cent ready'  echoing a figure, and the optimism, that US officials conveyed when Trump's chief negotiators met with Zelensky in Berlin earlier this month.
John Swinney has been accused of being desperate to cling onto power after saying he expects to stand for two more terms as SNP leader.

In a newspaper interview the 61-year-old First Minister claimed he wants to be a long-term political leader.

He confirmed his intention to serve a full term as First Minister if re-elected in the upcoming Holyrood elections and also that he expects to be standing again in 2031.

But opponents said voters can force out Mr Swinney and his SNP government in May to move on from the partys independence obsession.

Mr Swinney revealed his ambitions as Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar yesterday predicted a toxic campaign next year which will see his family endure personal pain due to racism.

When Mr Swinney stood to become leader following Humza Yousafs resignation in 2024, he insisted he would not be a caretaker First Minister and would lead his party beyond the 2026 Holyrood elections with the intention of serving a full term to 2031.

Now, in an interview with the Herald on Sunday, he has set his sights on an even longer stint in Bute House.

He said: Well, obviously Id go through the whole term. And my aspiration is to be a long-term political leader, so I would expect to be standing in 2031 as well.

First Minister John Swinney has been accused of being desperate to cling onto power

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has said he and his family will face a traumatic ordeal during the Holyrood election campaign

Conservative MSP Douglas Lumsden said: John Swinney is desperate to cling onto power so he can achieve his lifelong dream of breaking up the United Kingdom.

Thats why we have to boot this rotten SNP government out at next Mays election so we can move on from their independence obsession and focus on the real issues  the NHS, schools and the economy.

Meanwhile, the man Scottish Labour hope will replace the SNP leader in Bute House in May has claimed that he and his family will face a traumatic ordeal during the election campaign.

Mr Sarwar said he is acutely aware of how toxic the debate could become, having faced abuse and threats to his family as a youngster during his fathers political career.

Mohammad Sarwar, 75, was the first Muslim elected in the UK when he won his Glasgow Govan seat in 1997.

His 42-year-old son said: My loyalty to my country is going to be questioned, my identity is going to be questioned, my belonging and commitment to Scotland is going to be questioned.

There are going to be politicians who want to claim Im not for Scotland, or that somehow Im not as Scottish as they are, or that someone who looks like me, comes from my background, cant surely lead his own country, Scotland  Im under no illusion thats going to happen.

Thats going to cause personal pain and trauma, Im big enough and ugly enough to be able to deal with it.

I have no doubt that will impact on my family, my kids in particular, and just like my parents had to create an alternative normal for me when I was growing up, sadly, Im having to do that with my own kids as well.
Grieving families who lost loved ones in the Bondi Beach terrorist attack have penned an open letter to Anthony Albanese, demanding a royal commission.

The Prime Minister has so far rejected mounting calls to launch a national inquiry into the December 14 attack, where Sajid and Naveed Akram allegedly opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration, claiming 15 innocent lives.

The loved ones of 11 victims have joined forces to write a blistering open letter to Albanese, blaming his government for the escalating threat of anti-Semitism in Australia.

They include the families of the youngest and oldest victims - 10-year-old Matilda and Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman, 87.

The relatives of hero couple Sofia and Boris Gurman, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, Reuven Morrison, Edith Brutman, Tibor Weitzen, Yaakov Levitan, Tania Tretiak, and Boris Tetleroyd also signed the letter.

'You owe us answers. You owe us accountability. And you owe Australians the truth,' it read.

'We demand answers and solutions. We need to know why clear warning signs were ignored, how anti-Semitic hatred and Islamic extremism were allowed to grow dangerously unchecked and what changes must be made to protect all Australians going forward.'

The families argued that Jewish Australians now live in fear in the wake of the terrorist attack.

The families of the youngest and oldest victims - 10-year-old Matilda (left) and Holocaust survivor Alex Kleytman, 87, (right), are among those who have joined forces to write to Anthony Albanese

Sofia and Boris Gurman (pictured) were also killed when they tried to disarm one of the alleged gunmen

'Our children feel unsafe at school and university. Our homes, workplaces, sporting fields, and public spaces no longer feel secure. It is an intolerable situation that no Australian should have to endure,' the letter reads.

'The rise of anti-Semitism in Australia goes far beyond one state jurisdiction. It is a national crisis that demands a powerful national response.

'The dangerous rise of anti-Semitism and radicalism in Australia is not going away.

'This threat is real and it is escalating.'

Mr Morrison's daughter Sheina Gutnick told Sunrise on Monday it was important for the families to band together and speak up.

'My father was murdered, leaving behind his wife, daughter and grandchildren. Matilda was murdered. Eli Schlanger was murdered leaving behind five children, including a six-week-old baby,' she said.

'So many families ripped apart with grandparents, parents, children just taken from their families.

'This is something that impacts all of us here in Australia.'

Reuven Morrison's daughter Sheina Gutnick said it was important for the victims' families to band together and write to Albanese calling for a royal commission

Grieving families have banded together demanding Anthony Albanese to urgently establish a royal commission, including the loved ones of Tania Tretiak

Edith Brutman

'We know that this is something that didn't happen on its own.

'It didn't happen in a vacuum. This is something that has been growing and festering here in Australia for two and half years.'

Ms Gutnick acknowledged that a royal commission would take time.

'As long as it takes,' she said.

'It's something that absolutely must be done.

'We need answers.

'We need to understand how this occurred and we need to ensure that this cannot happen again. Lives are lost and we need to ensure that no more will be.'

Despite growing calls from prominent Australians, and even from within his own party, Albanese has so far refused to establish a royal commission.

Pressure is mounting on Anthony Albanese to establish a royal commission

'I just note that there was no royal commission called by the Howard government after Port Arthur,' he told reporters last week.

'There was no royal commission called by the Abbott government after the Lindt siege.

'We provided, on both those occasions as the opposition  support for national unity at that time.'

NSW Premier Chris Minns also backed a federal royal commission and will set up a state-based inquiry.

Former Australian Police Chief Mick Keelty is the latest to call for a royal commission, arguing that 'anything less risks telling Australians that some truths are too difficult to face'.

'Bondi will not simply raise questions of intelligence failures, administrative arrangements, or resources. Deeper questions must be asked, in public, of officials and their political masters,' he wrote in The Australian.

'We need to know whether part of the problem is a failure of understanding or, worse, deliberate decisions to ignore uncomfortable truths.'
The inventor of the arrow on a car's dashboard which indicates which side of the vehicle the fuel filler is located on has died at the age of 80.

James Moylan came up with the inventive solution in the late 1980s and has made life easier for millions of drivers ever since.

Moylan died on December 11 at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. The exact circumstances of his death were not made public.

According to Moylan's obituary he, 'would have said his greatest career accomplishment was the friendships he built with many colleagues along the way,' rather than the little arrow he came up with.

'Dad always chuckled about all the attention the arrow received in later years,' his son, Andrew Moylan, said in an interview with Automotive News.

It is hard to imagine a world without the eponymous Moylan arrow, yet prior to 1989, drivers had to memorize or guess the location of the gas caps in their cars.

Moylan came up with his simple but revolutionary idea on a rainy April day in 1986. He had taken a Ford employee fleet car to drive to a meeting, and when he stopped for gas, he parked with the wrong side of the car facing the pump.

He only realized his mistake after leaving the car and getting soaked, which led him to think of an indicator that would have prevented him from making the mistake in the first place.

James Moylan, inventor of the little arrow on a car's dashboard that shows which side of the vehicle the fuel filler is on, died at the age of 80 earlier this month

It is hard to imagine a world without the Moylan arrow, yet prior to 1989, drivers had to memorize or guess the location of the fuel fillers in their cars

As a Ford employee, he was in a position to recommend the feature to his superiors, so he drafted a 'product convenience suggestion' proposal the same day.

Moylan included a sketch of what the indicator could look like, drawing an open fuel door rather than an arrow and sent it to his boss.

In the proposal, he wrote: 'Even if all Ford product lines eventually locate on the same side, for the minor investment involved on the company's part, I think it would be a worthwhile convenience not only for two car families, but also pool car users and especially car rental customers.'

Seven months later, Moylan received a response from then-Director of Interior Design, R F Zokas, that said an arrow would be added to the dashboards of the company's 1989 model year cars that were being developed.

As promised, the 1989 Ford Escort and Mercury Tracer featured the fuel filler indicator. The Ford Thunderbird and Mercury Cougar closely followed.

The arrow was a hit, and over the next few decades it would become a fixture of nearly every car that has come off production lines across companies and countries around the world.

Moylan was born in Detroit on December 19, 1944, as the youngest of six children. He was hired by Ford as a draftsman in body engineering in March 1968.

He was laid off in the 70s but was soon rehired to work in plastics engineering, which was a growing sector in the automotive industry at the time.

Moylan submitted a proposal for a fuel filler indicator to his superiors at Ford in 1986, and in 1989, the arrow appeared for the first time in that year's Ford Escort model (pictured)

The arrow was also introduced in the 1989 Mercury Tracer model (pictured)

Over the next few decades, the Moylan arrow became a fixture of nearly every car that has come off production lines across companies and countries around the world

After submitting his idea for the arrow, Moylan was stationed in Japan in the late 80s when Ford was partnered with Mazda.

The inventor later went to night school at the University of Detroit Mercy in order to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in plastics manufacturing, which he received in 1999.

Moylan retired in July 2003 after a more than 30-year career at Ford. He is survived by his wife, Kathleen Moylan, and his children, Andrew Moylan, Elizabeth Wilson and Kara Moylan.

Although it took about a decade for the Moylan arrow to become ubiquitous, it is now an expected and beloved feature in cars of all kinds, from gas guzzlers to electric vehicles.

Hybrid cars that have a charging port and fuel filler on either side have indicators for each one.

Electric vehicles that have separate ports for slow and fast charging also indicate the location of each.
Nine people have been arrested in Italy after charities were accused of raising millions for Hamas.

Prosecutors said the group has been held on suspicion of financing the terror group through charities based in their country, in an operation coordinated by anti-mafia and anti-terrorism units.

The suspects are accused of 'belonging to and having financed' Hamas.

Those arrested allegedly diverted to Hamas-linked entities around 7 million euros (6.1 million) raised over the last two years for ostensibly humanitarian purposes, prosecutors said. Police seized assets worth more than 8 million euros.

One of the people arrested was named by Italy's interior minister Matteo Piantedosi as Mohammad Hannoun, the president of the Palestinian Association in Italy.

He was photographed with Greta Thunberg at a pro-Palestine rally in Rome in November, though it is important to note the Swedish activist has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

In another statement, police said officers had seized 1.08 million euros in cash found in the offices of a pro-Palestinian charity and in suspects' homes, as well as material supportive of Hamas, Israel's foe in the two-year Gaza war.

The Italian investigation began after suspicious financial transactions were flagged through cooperation with Dutch authorities and other EU countries, coordinated through the EU judicial agency Eurojust.

Mohammad Hannoun, the president of the Palestinian Association in Italy, (pictured, right) was photographed with Greta Thunberg (pictured, left) at a pro-Palestine rally in Rome in November

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni thanked the authorities for 'a particularly complex and important operation' uncovering financing for Hamas through 'so-called charity organisations.'

Israeli intelligence and anti-terrorism agencies contributed, providing 'information and evidence to Italian law enforcement authorities through established and agreed channels,' the Israeli defence ministry said on Sunday.

Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel would pursue every terrorist and anyone supporting them, even abroad, and those who thought they could fund terrorism and stay hidden were mistaken.

Meloni's right-wing government is one of Israel's strongest allies in Europe. Its support for Israel in its war with Hamas has triggered large and repeated street protests in Italy.

Italian pro-Palestinian activists protested against the arrests in a march on Saturday in Milan and denounced the police action as part of a campaign of 'repression and criminalisation'.

The Young Palestinians of Italy and the Arab-Palestinian Democratic Union said Palestinians, like all peoples seeking self-determination, had a legitimate right to resist and the labelling of such resistance as 'terrorism' was unjust.

Israel's assault on Gaza has killed more than 71,000 people, according to the enclave's health ministry. It was triggered by a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies.
Towards the end of the late Queen Elizabeth II's reign, she faced an unprecedented challenge: how best to manage Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's desire to 'step back' from senior royal duties.

And while as a grandmother, Her Majesty 'undoubtedly loved Harry, now 41, and the fun-loving side to his character', her views as a monarch were of a much harsher tone.

'She saw him as a maverick who had let her down,' royal author Robert Jobson claimed.

Writing in his book Catherine: The Biography, Mr Jobson added that the Queen had told those close to her that Harry's notorious royal exit was a 'missed opportunity'.

'She knew that he and Meghan had much to offer, but the idea of the couple earning millions by cashing in on their royal titles and status was abhorrent to her,' he added.

According to the royal author, the Queen was abundantly clear in her views towards her grandson's exit: 'You were either working for the Firm fully, or not. There was no halfway house'.

When the Sussexes announced their plans to leave their senior royal duties in early 2020 and carve out a life in North America, the Queen did not 'object' to their decision.

However, she allegedly remained 'adamant' that the royal couple 'must be stripped of their patronages and banned from using their HRH titles personally and commercially'.

While Her Majesty (left) 'undoubtedly loved' Harry (right), her views as a monarch were of a much harsher tone. 'She saw him as a maverick who had let her down,' royal author Robert Jobson claimed

Just one month after they publicly announced their plans to 'step back' from senior royal duties, the duke and duchess, were told that they must drop their 'Sussex Royal' label and 're-brand'.

It came following a notorious meeting hosted at Sandringham House on January 13 - with the late Queen gathering her son and then-heir Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry at the Norfolk estate to discuss the looming dilemma of Megxit.

Dubbed the 'Sandringham Summit' by the media, the meeting was said to have lasted 90 minutes, with much of its detail remaining shrouded in secrecy.

Ultimately, despite the Queen's soft spot for Harry and initially positive views of Meghan, the final call on how best to tackle the family crisis fell on her shoulders.

In a statement issued shortly after the summit, Her Majesty's sadness at the decision was made abundantly clear.

'Although we would have preferred them to remain full-time working members of the Royal Family, we respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family.'

Richard Kay wrote at the time of the announcement: 'Not since 1997 in the aftermath of the death of Diana has the Queen issued such a personal bulletin.'

Meanwhile, a statement by Buckingham Palace added: 'The Sussexes will not use their HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the Royal Family.'

Join the debate How should families handle members who walk away from deep-rooted responsibilities and traditions?

When Harry and Meghan made the decision to 'step back' from their royal duties in early 2020, the Queen believed 'you were either working for the Firm fully, or not,' wrote Mr Jobson. 'There was no halfway house'

The Queen (pictured with Harry and Meghan in 2018) allegedly remained 'adamant' that the Sussexes 'must be stripped of their patronages and banned from using their HRH titles personally and commercially'

Harry lost his military appointments and role as Commonwealth youth ambassador, while the pair also volunteered to forgo all access to the Sovereign Grant and public cash.

The 2.4million of tax-payer funds used to renovate the couple's Windsor home, Frogmore Cottage, would also be repaid by the Sussexes.

Desperate to ensure an outcome that protected a Royal Family in crisis, the Queen was uncompromising in her stance that neither Harry nor Meghan could be 'half-in, half-out' working royals.

According to royal author Tom Bower, the Sussexes' initial plan to 'carve out a progressive role' within the institution despite relocating to the US, was seen by many as 'an insult' to the Queen.

The Queen was, Mr Bower claimed, rather 'uncompromising' and the Prince was soon given a clear ultimatum: 'half-in, half-out was not possible.'

Harry was told, in no uncertain terms, that should the Sussexes leave the Firm, their financial support would be reduced, their honorary titles removed, and royal duties 'sharply reduced'.

It appeared to be the most sensible outcome to a rather heartbreaking ordeal. For the sake of the future safeguarding of the monarchy, Her Majesty was determined there would be no ambiguity over Harry and Meghan's roles.

But while Harry was said to have 'expected some kickback' from the Royal Family, he was allegedly 'surprised at how unforgiving they were', according to Mr Jobson.

On March 9, 2020, Harry and Meghan attended their final royal duty (pictured) before they relocated to North America. When the Sussexes arrived they soon 'discovered they had been removed from the line-up without consultation'

'Close sources said Harry was shocked and hurt. Yes, it was his decision to go, but it now felt like he was banished.

'He could not believe the entire Royal Family almost in unison turned their backs on him,' wrote Mr Jobson.

Reflecting on the notorious Sandringham Summit in Harry and Meghan's 2022 Netflix docuseries, Harry alleged that William had left him 'terrified' during the summit after he 'screamed and shouted' at him.

The duke also accused his father, Charles, of telling untruths to his face - while the Queen quietly sat there and 'took it all in'.

During the explosive series, Meghan also spoke about her particular outrage that she was not able to attend the summit as she was still in Canada with then-baby Archie.

She said: 'Imagine a conversation, a roundtable discussion about the future of your life.

'When the stakes are this high. And you as the mom and the wife and the target, in many regards, aren't invited to have a seat at the table.'

Harry added: 'It was clear to me that they planned out so that you weren't in the room.'

For the sake of the future safeguarding of the Monarchy, Her Majesty was determined there would be no ambiguity over Harry and Meghan's roles. The Prince was allegedly 'surprised at how unforgiving' the Royal Family were

In the final few years of her life, Her Majesty was said to have been left devastated at Harry and Meghan's bitter estrangement from the Royal Family

On March 9, 2020, Harry and Meghan attended the UK Commonwealth Service at London's Westminster Abbey - their final royal duty before they permanently exited the royal fold.

But when the Sussexes arrived they soon 'discovered they had been removed from the line-up without consultation'.

Instead, only Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, Duchess Camilla, Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge were set to take part - a snub which was printed in the Order of Service for all 2,000 members of the congregation to see.

In the final few years of her life, Her Majesty's personal love for her grandson never wavered as she was said to have been left particularly devastated at Harry and Meghan's bitter estrangement from the Royal Family.

Indicative of her heartbreak at the entire ordeal, Lady Elizabeth Anson  Queen Elizabeth's cousin and close friend - reportedly told royal biographer Katie Nicholl: 'I don't think the Queen ever truly understood Harry's decision to leave.

'Turning one's back on duty is completely alien to the Queen and she has been left very hurt by it all.'
Meghan Markle's close friendship with Canadian socialite Jessica Mulroney was glossy, strategic, socially useful - and potentially led her to Prince Harry.

Their tumultuous relationship significance comes back into focus today as Jessica and her ex-husband, Ben Mulroney mark the 18th anniversary of their engagement.

The couple went on to become Toronto's hottest couple, a media-savvy duo whose polished lifestyle provided Meghan with a front row seat to power, branding, and elite social access at a crucial moment in her ascent.

Meghan met Jessica, now 45, in 2011 in Toronto and quickly recognised her as both a tastemaker and a model for how to turn visibility into influence.

Jessica was described as a 'buzzed-up Toronto tastemaker' by royal author Tina Brown in her book Palace Papers, and being the wife of Ben, son of the late Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, her surname alone carried enormous cultural weight in Canada.

Ben was already a known TV and radio host in Canada, and together the couple embodied a slick, aspirational brand of modern success.

Their engagement, announced in December 2008, kick-started a relationship that became a permanent fixture of Toronto society pages and glossy magazine spreads.

Toronto Life magazine ran a puff piece on them called 'The Brandtastic Life of Ben and Jessica', a title that neatly captured how thoroughly they had monetised their personal lives.

Jessica and Ben's engagement, announced in December 2008, kick-started a relationship that became a permanent fixture of Toronto society pages and glossy magazine spreads

Meghan, who had always been attentive to image and opportunity, watched the monetising of Jessica and Ben Mulroney's marriage closely

Jessica, a fashion stylist and marketer, had turned everyday moments into promotional opportunities, from her wedding and parenting to fitness routines and travel.

Her three-day nuptials became a national talking point, her children featured in brand partnerships, and even her gym sessions doubled as sponsored content.

Everything in Jessica's world, Palace Papers notes, was carefully labelled, tagged and shared.

Meghan, who had always been attentive to image and opportunity, watched closely.

Physically, the two women could have passed for sisters, with similar colouring, long hair and an almost identical aesthetic.

On social media, they projected intimacy and ease, posting gushing tributes and endless images of shared trips, matching ripped jeans and carefully curated outings.

According to Ms Brown, Meghan had a long-established habit of flattering fashionable and influential women while absorbing their networks.

There was Misha Nonoo, the British-Bahraini fashion designer with international connections, Serena Williams entered Meghan's orbit after a 2010 Super Bowl party, followed later by actress Priyanka Chopra, whom she befriended at a 2016 Elle dinner.

Jessica, a fashion stylist and marketer, had turned everyday moments into promotional opportunities, from her wedding and parenting to fitness routines and travel

Physically, the two women could have passed for sisters, with similar colouring, long hair and an almost identical aesthetic

Soon enough came Oprah Winfrey, described in Palace Papers as Meghan's 'ultimate ace-in-the-hole'.

At the same time, childhood friends such as Ninaki Priddy quietly fell away, as did her first husband Trevor Engelson.

Jessica stood out because her success was not just personal but structural. She had married into political and media power, and that alliance amplified her commercial reach.

It 'could not have escaped' Meghan, the book suggests, that a crucial factor in Jessica's leverage was her famous, well-connected husband.

Jessica offered a working blueprint for how marriage, branding and proximity to power could combine.

But while Jessica provided the Toronto playbook, another figure helped unlock a far larger world.

That was Markus Anderson, the Canadian-born global membership director of Soho House.

With his encyclopaedic address book and instinct for social chemistry, Markus became Meghan's constant companion and guide.

It was Markus who helped Meghan infiltrate London's high society which is thought to be how Meghan ended up meeting Prince Harry

Jessica Mulroney attended Meghan Markle's highly criticised baby shower in New York in 2019

As Meghan's plus-one, he functioned like a walking dating and networking app, steering her into rooms she could not have accessed alone.

Without Markus's Soho House connections, Ms Brown argues, it is unlikely Meghan would have penetrated London's elite circles.

Soho House became her 'glide path' into a newly mobile global set defined by branding, influence and image.

Its members were brand consultants, marketing gurus, creative directors and tech evangelists rather than titled aristocrats.

A group of elite members were 'curated', rather than invited, by boards into the exclusive social circle.

For several years, usually with Markus in tow, its outposts dictated the direction of Meghan's travel and social life.

The club's aesthetic and ambition mirrored her own.

It was Markus who helped Meghan infiltrate London's high society which is thought to be how Meghan ended up meeting Prince Harry.

By the time Meghan started dating Harry, the Mulroneys were firmly embedded in her inner circle.

Ben and Jessica attended the royal wedding in 2018, with their sons Brian and John serving as page boys and daughter Ivy as one of Meghan's flower girls

Jessica became embroiled in a public dispute with Toronto influencer Sasha Exeter (pictured) over accusations of bullying during the Black Lives Matter movement

Ben and Jessica attended the royal wedding in 2018, with their sons Brian and John serving as page boys and daughter Ivy as one of Meghan's flower girls.

Jessica was also among the select guests at Meghan's lavish New York baby shower.

Yet the friendship did not survive the next chapter.

In 2020, Jessica became embroiled in a public dispute with Toronto influencer Sasha Exeter over accusations of bullying during the Black Lives Matter movement.

Sasha posted a video to Instagram asking fellow influencer to use their platform to support the Black Lives Matter movement. Even though JM was not named, she took Sasha's message personally and went on an online tirade against Sasha.

Jessica did apologise but then was reported to have threatened legal action, which worsened the backlash.

The apology was made in an Instagram comment. One line of that apology read: 'As I told you privately, I have lived a very public and personal experience with my closest friend where race was front and centre. It was deeply educational. I learned a lot from that.'

After implicating Meghan in her drama, the pair were no longer seen together, and they gradually disappeared from each other's social media.

As it stands today, they have not been publicly linked for years and earlier this year, Jessica and Ben announced their split.

Meghan, meanwhile, completed a far more dramatic ascent.

Jessica Mulroney was a stepping stone and a launchpad and Ms Brown presents the friendship not as coincidence but as part of a broader, deliberate strategy.
Proving beyond any doubt that she is her mothers mini-me, there was a full-circle moment this Christmas as Princess Charlotte stepped out at Sandringham.

The young royal was wearing a beautifully tailored Catherine Walker coat, complete with a velvet collar and cuffs and neat contrasting buttons.

It was a look that immediately stirred memories, not just for its timeless elegance but for the striking way it echoed one of the most important moments in her mothers life.

The striking silhouette was unmistakable.

From the perfectly cut coat to the dark brown tights and polished Tory Burch shoes, Charlottes ensemble mirrored the outfit Kate wore at her very first royal engagement all those years ago.

Back then, Kates coat was by Katherine Hooker, while Charlottes was designed by Catherine Walker, one of her mothers most trusted designers.

Yet despite the different labels, the hallmarks were identical, understated sophistication, impeccable tailoring and a quiet confidence that spoke volumes without shouting for attention.

Kates own introduction to royal life took place on a blustery February day in 2014 in a small coastal village in North Wales.

Princess Charlottes ensemble mirrored the outfit Kate wore at her very first royal engagement all those years ago when she stepped out in the Katherine Hooker coat

When arriving for the carol service, Charlotte dressed in a navy dress with white collar which was a mirror of the Alessandra Rich dress her mother wore a few months before

It was a moment heavy with expectation, following years in which she had carefully stepped back while navigating life as Prince Williams girlfriend.

When she finally emerged in an official capacity, her poise was instantly apparent.

The coat, the calm smile, the effortless way she carried herself, it set the tone for the Princess of Wales she would later become.

Now, as Charlotte begins to make her own carefully measured steps within royal life, she appears to be channeling that same energy, guided gently and thoughtfully by her mother.

At just ten years old, Charlotte already carries herself with a grace that feels far beyond her years, and nowhere is that more evident than in her clothing.

On Christmas Day, Charlottes outfit looked as though it had been lifted straight from the stylebook of a young Kate Middleton.

There was nothing flashy or forced about it. Instead, it was classic, appropriate and perfectly pitched, reinforcing the sense that Charlotte is being allowed to grow into her role naturally, with her mother as both guide and example.

Another milestone moment came just a day earlier, when Kates Together at Christmas carol service was aired to the nation, and an unexpected poignant musical interlude came from the royals.

Seated side-by-side at a Steinway piano, the mother-daughter duo performed a tender four-hand arrangement of Silent Night, offering a rare, intimate glimpse into their close bond.

Dressed for the occasion, the Princess of Wales wore a festive midnight blue velvet dress, and naturally Princess Charlotte wore a coordinating outfit.

The navy-blue La Coqueta sweater with a scalloped collar worn with a Boden plaid skirt and a sparkling gold ribbon in her hair.

Princess Charlotte wore a coordinating outfit with her mother which consisted of a navy-blue La Coqueta sweater with a scalloped collar and a Boden plaid skirt

Charlotte appears to be absorbing her mothers example through everyday moments. The result is a young princess who already understands the quiet strength of understatement

Their matching looks were as harmonious as their piano playing.

This is not the only time that Charlotte has looked like her mothers mini-me recently. When arriving for the carol service, Charlotte dressed in a navy dress with white collar which was a mirror of the Alessandra Rich dress her mother wore a few months before.

Another striking similarity was her hairstyle, with Charlotte recreating one of Kates famous looks.

Her hair was swept off her face into a half-up look with the ends styled in loose waves, clipped back with a large velvet bow adding a touch of festive magic. It was an exact copy of Kate's hairstyle when she attended a concert to mark the 80th Anniversary of VE Day.

What makes these moments so compelling is not just how alike mother and daughter look, but how naturally it all seems to unfold.

Charlotte is not being dressed up or pushed forward prematurely. Instead, she appears to be absorbing her mothers example through everyday moments. The result is a young princess who already understands the quiet strength of understatement.

Kate herself has long been praised for striking the perfect balance between tradition and modernity, and it seems she is instilling those same values in her daughter. Charlottes clothes nod to royal heritage while remaining practical.

In Charlotte, we see not only the future but a reflection of the past. Coming full circle, she is stepping forward with the same quiet assurance that once defined her mothers earliest moments on the royal stage.
King Charles was greeted by well wishers while attending Sunday Church service in Sandringham today.

The monarch, 77, dressed in all brown, smiled as he firmly shook hands with chaplain Rev. Paul Williams ahead of the service at St Mary Magdalene Church this morning.

Both Prince Edward, 61, and Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, 60 followed shortly behind as they grinned at the crowd waiting for their arrival.

Meanwhile, Princess Anne, 75, and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence made their way to the place of prayer as members of the public took photographs.

The Princess Royal's eldest son was also in attendance, joined by his fiancee Harriet Sperling, as well as, David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon and his daughter Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones.

It comes as the King's brother Andrew was spotted driving his Range Rover alone near Windsor Castle yesterday as he spent his Christmas away from the family.

The disgraced former duke has continued to be shunned by the firm amid controversy over his close friendship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

And as the royals continued with their festive traditions and events, including being at Sandringham on Christmas, Andrew made no appearance.

King Charles leads the way as royals attend for the Sunday Church service in Sandringham today

Pictured left to right: Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, King Charles, prince Edward and Rev. Paul Williams

His Majesty, 77, wore wore a long tweed brown coat coupled with black trousers as he waved to the adoring public

But his daughters, Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice were in attendance at the church earlier this week in remarkable show of solidarity to the family.

Eugenie, 35, was all smiles as she followed King Charles and Queen Camilla, 78, into the church on December 25.

Beatrice, 37, was accompanied by her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi as His Majesty appeared to send the message that they are not 'guilty by association'.

Eugenie was accompanied by her husband Jack Brooksbank, Princess Anne, and Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence.

The appearance of Eugenie and Beatrice came after they were both absent from Kate's carol concert at Westminster Abbey on December 5.

Royal sources claimed at the time that the sisters were touched by an invite that was extended to them, but were both unable to join because of previous commitments.

The Duchess of Edinburgh, 60, stands next to the monarch this morning ahead of the church service at St Mary Magdalene Church

Prince Edward, 61, smiles at members of the public taking snaps of the royal brood as they head to the church

The Duke of Edinburgh wears a muted brown coat paired with grey trousers at Sandringham today

Duchess Sophie cuts a chic figure this morning wearing a cream coat and brown boats in the chilly winter weather

Princess Anne and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence attend the Sunday morning church service

The Mail on Sunday previously revealed the two sisters faced a 'tug-of-love' dilemma after being invited by the King to spend Christmas at his private Norfolk estate.

Sources said the Princesses were struggling as they felt equally loyal to the King and to the institution as well as their parents.

Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson have been exiled from the royal brood amid the scandal surrounding their friendship with convicted sex offender Epstein.

Earlier this month, a trove of 300,000 documents relating to the US government revealing the sickening scenes at Epstein's properties.

Among the files was a bombshell photograph of Prince Andrew, in a black suit and bow tie, lying across five women, smiling with his face near the bare legs of one.

The snap was taken in one of the Royal Family's most treasured rooms at the Sandringham Estate where the likes of the King, William and Kate will often watch TV, play games or enjoy afternoon tea there over Christmas.

The monarch waves to the crowds at Sandringham, Norfolk this morning

The Princess Royal follows her brother wearing an all brown ensemble

David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon ( Pictured right) and his daughter Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones attend the Sunday church service

Princess Anne's eldest child, Peter Phillips and his fiancee Harriet Sperling (Pictured left) were also in attendance

In the snap, Epstein's grinning pimp Ghislaine Maxwell stands behind Andrew, alongside another unidentified woman who has had a black box put over her face by the US Department of Justice.

Despite there being no context to the picture, it raised fresh questions over what the disgraced royal knew about Epstein and the billionaire paedophile's sex-trafficking girlfriend as he brought them into the Royal Family's inner sanctum.

Andrew has always denied any wrongdoing.
The six-mile security perimeter around Forest Lodge, the new home of the Prince of Wales and his family, has not been imposed on a whim.

As reported by the Mail on Sunday yesterday, the exclusion zone of at least 150 acres is a result of serious concerns for the safety of William, Kate and their children. It has been established under Section 128 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005.

Any suggestion that the familys need for privacy played a significant part in the decision is, in my view, so wide of the mark as to be laughable. Its understandable that ramblers, dog walkers and some neighbours are peeved that the land in Windsor Great Park that was previously open to all is now fenced off. But their right to roam is not more important than the Royal Familys need for protection from terrorists and others intent on doing them harm.

This is a question of priorities. And the safety of the heir to the throne is the highest priority imaginable.

When I took over as head of Scotland Yards Royal Protection Command in 1994, I established a policy which seemed to me to be plain common sense: royals in the direct line of succession were potentially at the highest risk and therefore needed guarding most closely.

Not only is William next in line to the throne but his three children are his immediate heirs. The whole country has a duty to keep them safe, and inevitably that sometimes means sacrifices and inconvenience  such as the loss of dog-walking privileges.

Forest Lodge in Windsor Great Park, the new home of the Prince of Wales and his family

The Prince and Princess of Wales with Charlotte, George and Louis at a carol service at Westminster Abbey earlier this month

Good security is like an onion. It consists of many layers, built up around the core. By establishing an exclusion zone around Williams family home, police hope to maximise the time available for reaction to any potential threat.

More distance means more time. And time is a life-saver.

We dont know what security measures are in place within Forest Lodge, but Id be staggered if they do not include rooms designed to withstand assault from outside. Such safe rooms are useful only if the protection squad has sufficient time to get everybody inside.

Royal risk assessments are constantly updated. One current factor might be Williams recent appointment as patron of the Special Air Service Regimental Association. The SAS is detested by many Northern Irish republicans, and IRA splinter groups are regarded as an ongoing security threat to anyone linked to special forces.

Additional fencing was erected at Cranborne Gate in Windsor Great Park ahead of the Waleses moving into Forest Lodge, to help provide an exclusion zone of at least 150 acres

Former head of Royal Protection Command Dai Davies

This danger has been exacerbated by the Labour governments failure to protect SAS veterans from being hounded through the courts by republicans nursing grievances that date back 50 years to the Troubles.

The Royal Family has always been a target for dissidents and enemy activists. Forest Lodge was built in the 1770s during the reign of George III, who survived nine known attempts on his life, for instance from French and American dissidents intent on overthrowing the British crown.

But today the royals faces credible threats from more sides than at any time in history. Hostile governments and criminal organisations all over the world might be plotting to cause harm  and it is impossible to know how many operatives they have in the UK.

Britains borders are now so porous that police now have no idea who is here, among the hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants. That is not a political point: its a matter of basic security.

Allied soldiers have recently been fighting in Afghanistan, in Iraq, in Syria and in Africa  and now migrants claiming asylum from all those places and many more are here in uncounted numbers. Its the ultimate security nightmare for police protecting highly vulnerable figures.

The terrorist threat is constant and getting worse. Anyone who looks at the security cordon in Windsor Great Park and thinks this is an issue about public rights of way simply has no understanding of the world today.

Former Chief Superintendent Dai Davies is an ex-head of Royal Protection Command
Okay, so I have to talk about this. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt just shared that she and her husband, 60-year-old Nicholas Riccio, are expecting their second child, a baby girl due in May 2026. At just 28 years old, Leavitt is set to make history as the first pregnant White House press secretary to continue serving in the role while expecting.

She posted the news on Instagram, calling it the greatest Christmas gift we could ever ask for and saying her heart is overflowing with gratitude to God for the blessing of motherhood. How cute is that? Leavitt and Riccio are already parents to their son, Nicholas Robert Niko, born in July 2024. I cant even imagine how excited he must be to become a big brother!

Balancing motherhood and the spotlight

You guys, Im obsessed with how Leavitt is handling this. Shes the youngest press secretary ever under a U.S. president and already a frequent, visible voice for the administration. Now shes also expecting while running the press briefing room  talk about juggling career and family at the highest level.

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Her marriage has also been a hot topic. Leavitt met Riccio in 2022 during her congressional campaign in New Hampshire, and despite a 32-year age gap, they tied the knot in January 2025, just before President Trumps second inauguration. Riccio is a real estate developer and a solid supporter of his wifes career. Shes openly credited him with being a grounding presence as she navigates one of the most intense jobs in politics.

She also gave a shoutout to President Trump and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles in her post, calling the White House a pro-family environment  and honestly, I love that. Its refreshing to see a space where women in politics can feel supported.

Karoline Leavitt attends a festive Halloween celebration with her family, including her son dressed in a pumpkin costume, at the White House. (karolineleavitt/Instagram)

Why this resonates with all of us

Heres the thing  Karolines story hits on so many levels. Shes young, ambitious, and commanding a role that most people can barely imagine. Then theres the personal side: her loving husband, the age gap, the growing family, and now this historic pregnancy. Its the perfect mix of professional triumph and relatable human experience.

For me personally, this story is a reminder that women can break barriers while embracing motherhood. Its inspiring, heartwarming, and yes, a little glamorous  I mean, shes doing all this in the West Wing, people! And if her Instagram glow is any indication, shes loving every minute of it.

Looking ahead

Baby girl is expected in May 2026, press briefings are continuing, and history is being made. Karoline Leavitt is redefining what it means to balance career, family, and public life, and Im here for every update.

This isnt just news  its a moment. I cant wait to see her style, the motherhood glow, and all the White House magic thats about to unfold.
A crumbling mansion dating back to the Gilded Age has undergone a huge transformation after being saved from demolition.

The Thomas Howe Mansion in Nahan, near Boston, Massachusetts, was once a glamorous four-story estate.

Built in 1880, the home named for a wealthy merchant stood for centuries as a cherished cornerstone of the community.

However, it was left to deteriorate for years, and in 2022 it was placed under the control of the Department of Housing and Urban Development - leaving it facing an uncertain future.

Realtor Ricky Beliveau swooped in and bought the once-ritzy estate for $1.1million. He then set about renovating the property.

The 10,820-square-foot, eight-bedroom mansion was revitalized and is now valued at $5.5 million.

The Thomas Howe Mansion in Massachusetts, it was saved and renovated into a beautiful estate

The stunning living room filled with cream and brown colored couches, and accented with white potted plants

The inside of the home seen after the renovations, showing a bathroom with white marble floors, an above ground tub, glass shower, and a beautiful circular window with a view

Beliveau learned about the property after being notified by some of his social media followers who told him: 'Hey, Ricky, you should check this out.'

'It needs you.'

Beliveau told the Daily Mail he initially had no interest in the project, but photos of the estate ignited a realization that the home was something special.

He was able to tour and found the bones of the home were still there.

'I mean, when you walk up to the property, it's just it's a jaw-dropping experience, this 11,000 square foot mansion sitting up on top of this hill overlooking the ocean from every angle, it's just something that would never be built today,' he said.

He added that the estate still had some of the moldings, the mantles, but a lot of it had been rotten away or had fallen into disrepair.

Join the debate What do you think historic mansions should become: luxury homes, community spaces, or something else?

The mansion dated back to 1880, and is pictured before it received its much-needed repairs

The home was left in a state of disrepair before the renovations (pictured) and it faced being left to rot before it was given a facelift

Before the home was renovated, it was filled with dated decor and rotting fixtures

However, it gave him and his team enough to understand its potential. He purchased it directly from the government before it even went to auction.

'We wanted to do a true historical renovation using the original moldings and crown work and recreating all of those historic details by having them milled and rebuilt.'

'But at the same time, we wanted to bring the house up to todays living standards and give it a nautical, modern feel for the kind of buyer we expect now.

'I got a sense pretty early on of what we would be able to do with it.'

Beliveau faced numerous renovation challenges, specifically restoring the intricate staircase that starts on the first floor and leads all the way to the fourth.

The original stairs had complicated woodwork and detailing but had been damaged, broken, or cut out over the years.

Home theater in the iconic estate, painted a dark gray, almost black color, with gray movie theater style chairs

A children's playroom with a gorgeous view of the water, with perfect additions like comfy chairs and a stuffed animal giraffe

The master bedroom with a king-sized tan bed, a neutral painting hanging above, accented with dark chairs and a bedside table

The grand kitchen following the themes of neutrals and brown, with potted plants adding a spot of color

Gorgeous grandiose bathroom, with marble floors an walls, and a spa- like seat with towels set on it

Beliveau decided the steps were something he had to keep: 'We had to remove some pieces that were still in good shape and then ship those out to be made so that we could refabricate the the staircase.'

Another irreplaceable feature was the double height library in the tower of the mansion. Despite its retched state, his team revived it.

Not only were the stairs and reading room one of a kind, but the estate itself was as well, given its long history and lasting impact on the community.

Outside aerial view of the Gilded Age mansion in Massachussets, right on the crisp blue water

Another relaxing beautiful living space adjacent to the kids playroom, with three wide windows that look out to the water

A wooden dark colored office, with a desk and accents of tan chairs and white potted plants

This mansion has been revitalized, with unique designs and color choices like the green walls with shelves

Entrance to the eight bedroom, six and half bathroom home that is worth $5.5 million, with dark brown wooden doors and a classy chandelier

'More than 450 letters were sent to the town of Nahant from residents who wanted the home saved and preserved.

'So when we bought it, I think the first fear people had, based on what our core business usually does, was wondering if this would become a large scale multifamily project.'

'Once we got to know everyone, my immediate position was no, this is going to stay a single family home for the future and for the next generation. From that point on, it could not have been a better relationship with everyone in town.'

Beliveau added that when he saw the property, the idea of tearing it down never crossed his mind.
Looking to sell your home in 2026?

Thankfully, real estate brokers have shared a slew of secret tactics that will help you make that sale - and some of them are quite surprising.

Jonathan Bigelman with ONE Sothebys International Realty in Miami and Nancy Batchelor, Founder of The Batchelor Team at Compass in Miami, spoke exclusively with the Daily Mail about how you can elevate your listing to set it apart from all the others.

They also highlighted what's most important to focus on during your house showings.

According to Zillow, buying a new home in January can be one of the best times of the year to do so, because you can often score a better price.

In an analysis of listing and sales data for homes sold in 2024, the outlet found that 35 percent of buyers paid 'above list price' in May and June, while only 24 percent of buyers in January paid more than what the sellers were asking for.

Zillow advised that buying early in the year can also allow you a discount from original listing prices.

As the New Year approaches, Batchelor and Bigelman have shared some surefire ways that can help you attract buyers and sell your home.

Nancy Batchelor, Founder of The Batchelor Team at Compass in Miami, shared a slew of secret tips that will help you sell your home in the New Year (stock image)

Offer a renovation credit for an older home

According to Batchelor, one of the ways to attract buyers to an older home is to offer what she calls a 'renovation credit.'

'Buyers want turnkey homes, but not every seller has the energy or time to take on a renovation,' Batchelor explained exclusively to the Daily Mail.

'A tactic to offset costs upfront for the seller to make design changes is a renovation credit for older homes that need a little TLC,' she explained.

'Instead of guessing what repairs a buyer will ask for later, you can present a polished, upfront credit so they feel empowered to customize the home their way, and keep the momentum of the sale.'

And for a home that may need a complete renovation, Batchelor suggested giving buyers a credit for a design consultant.

Don't underestimate the power of a good scent

According to Batchelor, making sure that your home smells good while showing it to potential buyers can really make a difference.

'A curated scent, something subtle, not overwhelming, can make a home feel more elevated and memorable,' she said (stock image)

Batchelor recommended that sellers invest in warm scent that will fill the home.

'People buy with their senses first, their logic second,' she explained.

'A curated scent, something subtle, not overwhelming, can make a home feel more elevated and memorable.

'Brands like Aroma360 add a hospitality-level touch that help differentiate a listing, so people feel like theyre walking into a five-star hotel.'

According to US News and World Reports, some of the best scents to try are citrus, vanilla, cinnamon or pine.

Try to add in a surprise perk to the house

Providing an unexpected perk or surprise to buyers can do a lot of good, according to Batchelor - especially in the luxury market, as she explained that 'experience is everything.'

'We are seeing sellers include perks that create an emotional pull [like] a year of membership at a private beach club,' Batchelor suggested (stock image)

'We are seeing sellers include perks that create an emotional pull - a year of membership at a private beach club if the property doesnt have beach access, or membership to a hotel with an incredible pool if the property doesn't have a pool, or if the pool is under renovation,' Batchelor divulged to the Daily Mail.

'Some others we have successfully used are a slip for the buyers boat, artwork or even a collectible car,' she shared.

'Its not about the object itself, its about giving buyers a lifestyle they can step into on day one. If its something over the top, it is also a great marketing tool.'

She also recommended bundling certain things into the price of the house, like prepaid landscaping.

'Dont underestimate the value of convenience. Bundling things like moving-day cleaning services, pool maintenance credits, or prepaid landscaping,' the founder spilled.

'Its not glamorous, but removing friction for buyers helps a property stand out.'

Make sure to eliminate noise from everyday appliances

When showing your house, Bigelman said it's important to make sure that you eliminate everyday household noises so they don't interrupt your tours.

When showing your house, Jonathan Bigelman with ONE Sothebys International Realty said it's important to make sure that you eliminate everyday household noises (stock image)

He explained that silence can take a home from 'nice' to luxurious.

'A quiet home subconsciously signals quality and solid construction,' Bigelman told the Daily Mail.

'Sellers should eliminate rattling vents, humming appliances, ticking fans, doors creaking, and hide visible utility items like trash bins, cords, and cleaning supplies.

'I also recommend turning off AC fans prior to scheduled showings. Silence is golden! Visual calm can make a home feel newer, more refined, and more luxurious.'

Keep one bedroom empty or with little to no furniture

Bigelman also suggested that you keep a bedroom completely empty, or leave one room with very little furniture in it when giving tours to prospective buyers.

Doing so can help others envision themselves in your space.

'Leaving one secondary bedroom intentionally undefined allows buyers to project their own lifestyle and allows their imagination to run wild while viewing the property,' Bigelman explained.

'For example, one buyer sees a nursery while another sees an office or gym,' he said.

'When a prospective buyer mentally customizes the space, emotional attachment and perceived flexibility increases.'
I'm hardly a fussy eater. But I struggle to think of a flight where I've found the in-air dining options totally unacceptable.

In fact, I would go as far as to say I rather enjoy eating on a plane.

Of course, if you're flying Business or, I dare to dream, First Class, no doubt the dining experience is more elevated than that of the economy longhaul jaunts.

But regardless, I'm usually more than happy - even excited - to peel back that silver foil and dig into my tray of reheated pasta, bread roll, cube of cheese and fruit salad.

Obviously, no one wants to be eating slop over the course of a nine-hour journey. But I think airplane food has a reputation worse than it deserves.

Surely it's a little unreasonable to expect a gourmet experience while hurtling through the air at 30,000ft?

You've got to consider the journey the food makes to get to us passengers, for one.

Even if you're sitting upfront, all in-flight food is prepared en masse in a catering facility before it's repacked, blast-chilled, refrigerated and reheated on board - and every step has an impact on the flavour.

Plane food certainly divides many passengers - with many criticising the options served at 30,000ft

Once the food has made its way to you, the conditions for consumption are hardly favourable either.

On a quest to understand why the quality of airline food is so 'poor', an Oxford professor showed that the sensitivity of our tastebuds decreases by 30 per cent when we're in the air, due to the drop in humidity, air pressure and, surprisingly, the noise of being on a plane.

There are environmental factors to consider, too, such as the lack of social engagement while dining and using disposable cutlery.

So when Qatar Airways announced a 'gastronomic collaboration' with French celebrity chef Yannick Alleno, proud custodian of 17 Michelin stars, I couldn't help but think: what's the point?

Admittedly, you can read the rave reviews on frequent flyer forum FlyerTalk, praising both the food and the quality of the service.

And maybe I, too, would be wooed by a herb-crusted lamb rack, followed by Pandan crepes with coconut cream.

But in almost every instance, any culinary praise is immediately undercut by a qualification.

'This black cod might be one of the best things I've ever eaten in the air,' says one. Another declares the caviar 'the best plane food I've ever had'.

For others, being served meals while travelling through the air is a highly positive experience

So even if you've had your meal carefully curated by a Michelin-starred chef, and are eating one of the world's most expensive foodstuffs, it can never really be experienced as anything more than simply just that: 'plane food'.

I think that's fair enough. After all, isn't plane food part of the fun of travelling long-haul?

For me, there's something almost ritualistic about tucking into tepid chicken, or slightly oily noodles, while drinking wine from a plastic cup.

In fact, you might even see the in-flight culinary purgatory as a great warm-up act for (hopefully) all of the great food that is to come when your destination is eventually reached.
Holly Ramsay swept into her wedding in Bath Abbey yesterday on the arm of her celebrity chef father, but keeping her lace gown concealed beneath a billowing hooded ivory cloak.

If Gordon Ramsay's daughter appeared nervous as she made her way through a chaotic crowd of onlookers before she headed down the aisle to exchange vows with Olympic swimmer Adam Peaty, she had good reason.

For behind the couple's lavish nuptials lay an ugly family drama which resulted in the groom's mother  and nearly every member of his family  excluded from the dazzling ceremony amid claims of snobbery and classism.

Sitting at home more than 130 miles away in Staffordshire, Adam's brokenhearted mother Caroline was said to be 'beside herself' with grief at missing what should have been one of the happiest days of her life.

Speaking from the council house where Adam grew up, the 59yearold told The Mail on Sunday: 'I'm not going to be hurt like this again'.

She had told yesterday's Daily Mail that she felt as if Holly and Adam 'have cut my heart out'.

This newspaper can also reveal that, moments after he married Holly, Adam Peaty was sent a devastating text message by his aunt Louise, who was also not invited to the wedding.

In it, she wrote: 'I hope you never suffer the depth of pain you have put your mother through and despite it all she loves you still. Shame on you both. Shame.

'Remember on this, your happiest day, and on each anniversary of your happiest day, that you hurt your mum so deeply her soul screams.'

Holly Ramsay and groom Adam Peaty were declared man and wife at a ceremony in Bath Abbey

Adam Peaty's mother Caroline (picture), who spent years ferrying her son to earlymorning training sessions, was not invited to the couple's wedding - or to Holly's glamorous hen do at Soho Farmhouse in the Cotswolds last month

The roots of this terrible family conflict go back to September 2024, when Adam and Holly snubbed wider members of the Peaty family by not inviting them to their engagement party.

Caroline, who spent years ferrying her son to earlymorning training sessions, was also not invited to Holly's glamorous hen do at Soho Farmhouse in the Cotswolds last month, even though the bride's mother, Tana Ramsay, and friends including Victoria Beckham, were at the extravagant bash.

Despite everything Caroline sent a card and gift to her newlywed son for his 31st birthday today.

Meanwhile, Adam's 73yearold greataunt Janet, who was also left out of yesterday's wedding, told The Mail on Sunday: 'I just feel so sorry for Caroline.

'I can't believe he's done this to his mother who's done so much for him from an early age. To be treated like this is not kind.'

Despite being shunned, devastated Caroline had threatened to turn up at the wedding anyway  and, if barred from entering the abbey, stand outside and watch from the street.

She said yesterday that she changed her mind after her husband Mark convinced her it would be 'too upsetting' to go along.

Had she defied her son's ban, she would have found herself facetoface with five security guards, placed in front of the abbey's ancient and elaborately carved wooden doors, which were framed by decorative columns of white roses and hydrangeas.

Join the debate Should family feuds ever justify excluding close relatives from life-changing events like weddings?

Holly Ramsay swept into her wedding in Bath Abbey on the arm of her celebrity chef father Gordon

Holly kept her lace gown concealed beneath a billowing hooded ivory cloak

The happy couple were mobbed by wellwishers shouting 'Merry Christmas' as they passed

In what was seen by some as a display of defiance against her family, Bethany linked arms with Holly's eldest sister as they entered the abbey carrying white arum lilies

The Ramsay family splashed out thousands on the venue, where weddings normally cost around 2,500, blockbooking it for the day to ensure the service took place in absolute secrecy.

Having found fame and fortune for his foulmouthed antics in the kitchen, Gordon Ramsay was on his best behaviour as he helped his 25yearold daughter from a black RollsRoyce which drew up outside the Gothic abbey at about 12.30pm.

He was seen whispering in her ear before kissing her cheek while an attendant straightened her crumpled outfit.

Buffeted by an icy wind, the pair were mobbed by wellwishers shouting 'Merry Christmas' as they passed.

Waiting inside for a first glimpse of the bride was a celebritystudded congregation, including Sir David and Victoria Beckham, who are no strangers to family feuds themselves.

Their sons Romeo and Cruz and daughter Harper, who are close friends of the Ramsays, were also there  but not estranged son Brooklyn.

Marcus Wareing from Masterchef: The Professionals and his wife Jane were also there.

The ensuing ceremony, one guest later told The Mail on Sunday, was 'beautiful and very emotional'.

David and Victoria arrive for Holly Ramsay and Adam Peaty's wedding. Victoria wore one of her own frocks, a stylish 1,290 teal number

The dark green silk dress worn by the bride's mother, 51yearold Tana, was also from Lady Beckham's label

Chef and TV presenter Marcus Wareing departs after attending the wedding of the couple

Sara Davies was also amongst the guest list at the wedding in the centre of Bath

The newlyweds left church at around 1.30pm to a joyful peal from the abbey bells and were driven away to their reception at Kin House, a Georgian manor house 17 miles away, near Chippenham

Like Adam, who is a devout Christian, Holly was determined that they would exchange vows in a religious service. Peaty's son George, from a previous relationship, was said to have played a pivotal role in the ceremony.

The three bridesmaids were Holly's older sister Megan, 27, younger sister Tilly, 24, and Adam's sister Bethany  the only member of his family to be invited to the event, as well as to the hen party.

Other relatives said Bethany had been included as one of the bride's attendants because she 'fits in' with the Ramsays' glamorous world.

In what was seen by some as a display of defiance against her family, Bethany linked arms with Holly's eldest sister as they entered the abbey carrying white arum lilies.

The bridesmaids wore red flowing dresses designed by Victoria Beckham. The former Spice Girl also wore one of her own frocks, a 1,290 teal number, and the dark green silk dress worn by the bride's mother, 51yearold Tana,was also from Lady Beckham's label. Peaty, meanwhile, slicked back his hair and wore the same dinner suit as his new fatherinlaw.

There was no word, however, on the designer behind Holly's romantic floralpatterned lace dress which was kept under wraps until the influencer was inside the abbey, away from prying cameras.

Other than the glaring absence of Peaty's family, the bride and groom were declared man and wife without any drama. The newlyweds left church at around 1.30pm to a joyful peal from the abbey bells and were driven away to their reception at Kin House, a Georgian manor house 17 miles away, near Chippenham.

There, guests were served a wedding banquet which featured prawn cocktail, beef Wellington and panroasted halibut followed by a tarte tatin. A tradition wedding cake was served at 8pm.

A source said: 'Holly and Adam have been meticulous in their planning and it's come together perfectly. They couldn't wait to share everything with their guests.'

While the ceremony and reception were conducted in the utmost secrecy, it's likely they will feature in an upcoming Netflix documentary series about life in the Ramsay family.

Its airing  expected early next year  may well be the first proper glimpse Caroline Peaty will get of her own son's wedding.

For the time being, mother and son remain tragically at loggerheads, unable to mend their differences and patch up their formerly close relationship. This is one story in search of a happy ending.

Additional reporting: Dolly Busby
He's rather shy when it comes to public displays of affection.

But Leonardo DiCaprio showed off his softer side during a spot of shopping with girlfriend Victoria Ceretti in Los Angeles on Friday.

In a rare moment of public intimacy, the Titanic star, 51, shared a sweet kiss with his girlfriend, 27, as they shopped at A.P.C store in trendy Melrose Place.

Ceretti looked as giddy as ever, grinning happily as they enjoyed a tender romantic moment amidst the hustle and bustle of the store.

The loving displays continued over lunch at Architecture Cafe, where Ceretti clung to her beau as they chatted with a pal.

Arms wrapped around DiCaprio, Ceretti nuzzled her face towards her handsome partner as he fiddled with something at their table.

Leonardo DiCaprio exchanged a rare public kiss with girlfriend Vittoria Ceretti during a spot of shopping in Los Angeles on Friday

The tender moment drew a smile from Ceretti

DiCaprio also flashed a rare public smile as he seemingly let out a laugh

Her hand remained on DiCaprio's shoulder as they enjoyed what looked to be a brief quiet moment.

Ceretti also flashed a megawatt smile as he seemingly laughed at something their pal had said - and one which also garnered a smile out of Ceretti.

While the star typically tries to avoid drawing attention while out and about, this time DiCaprio even ditched the face mask he typically wears when venturing out in public.

He braved the rain in a padded Columbia jacket, baggy jeans, and chunky trainers, whereas Ceretti - a model - displayed her fashion sense in a chic black coat and dainty Chanel purse.

DiCaprio and Ceretti have been dating since 2023.

Over the course of their time together, Ceretti has been seen on occasion with a ring on her wedding finger, but sources have insisted she and the actor are not engaged.

In March, the model admitted she found it 'extremely annoying' to be reduced to just 'Leonardo DiCaprio's girlfriend.'

Speaking to Vogue France, she sidestepped using DiCaprio's name, instead referring to him simply as a 'very, very famous movie star' while referencing his role in Titanic, which she branded 'iconic'.

The couple were in a romantic mood while shopping at A.P.C Store

The loving display continued over lunch, where Vittoria clung to her boyfriend

Ceretti was in a touchy-feely mood, draping a tender hand upon DiCaprio's shoulder

However, Ceretti kept her distance from public labels and shared that the pair's bond is strong enough to dodge any jealousy.

She said: 'It's something you learn. If what you're experiencing is real, if you know you love each other, then there's no reason to be alarmed. Because love protects and gives confidence.'

DiCaprio has a reputation for dating much younger women, resulting in a fan theory that he has an 'under 25 rule' for his girlfriends.

But the actor has debunked that idea in his latest romance.

Ceretti leaned towards her partner during their chat

She wrapped her arms around The Beach star as he fiddled with something at their table

The model was clearly feeling close to her partner

'Vittoria's quite different to the other girls he's been with,' a source told The Sun in October.

'She was harder to impress, she's very Italian and has high expectations.'

It was added: 'Immediately she struck up a strong bond with his mother, plus she is very in demand  she's the one with the full diary and jet-set life, not just following him around.'

Ceretti is said to have a close bond with the actor's octogenarian mom, Irmelin Indenbirken.

Her hand remained on DiCaprio's shoulder

The Italian model looked incredibly chic for their rainy day

The couple were spotted shopping in the trendy Melrose Place shopping area of Los Angeles

Ceretti styled her look with a dainty Chanel purse that sat by her side

The actor gazed sweetly towards his girlfriend

The ordinarily private star went unmasked for the occasion as well

The model was previously married to the Italian DJ Matteo Milleri, 37, who is part of the Berlin-based duo Tale of Us, from 2020 until 2023.

DiCaprio previously dated Camila Morrone for five years.

They got together sometime in 2017, following his breakup with model Nina Agdal, though representatives for both initially denied that they were a pair.

But by summer 2022 they called it quits, shortly before Morrone's 25th birthday in June.

The Hollywood star had also been linked to Gigi Hadid after they fueled romance speculation in September 2022.

He has also been linked to Gisele Bundchen, Bar Refaeli, Toni Garrn, Nina Agdal and Blake Lively.
He has been the face of coffee brand Nespresso for two decades, perking up his bank balance by a reported 30million.

Now George Clooney, 64, is set to be crowned the King of Endorsements, as The Mail on Sunday can reveal he has signed yet another lucrative deal, this time with USbased food delivery service Grubhub.

The heartthrob actor has been spotted filming an advert for the company in North Mymms Park, an Elizabethan mansion and estate near Hatfield, Hertfordshire, in recent weeks.

Clooney has a Thameside home with lawyer wife Amal in Sonning, Berkshire.

He reveals his comedic gifts in the ads for Nespresso, part of Nestle Group, once dressing in full armour to be a medieval knight who somehow travels to New York in his quest for the perfect cup of coffee.

He has also been an ambassador for luxury watchmaker Omega since 2007, reportedly ticking up 2.2million for himself every year.

George Clooney, 64, is set to be crowned the King of Endorsements, as The Mail on Sunday can reveal he has signed yet another lucrative deal, this time with USbased food delivery service Grubhub

He reveals his comedic gifts in the ads for Nespresso, part of Nestle Group

He has also been an ambassador for luxury watchmaker Omega since 2007, reportedly ticking up 2.2million for himself every year

A 2010 campaign for Fiat cars has earned Clooney up to 1million and he has worked with the Italian vermouth brand Martini & Rossi.

Other work has been for DNB Bank, Omaze, Warburtons, MercedesBenz and Toyota.

The Gravity and Ocean's Eleven star, who has eightyearold twins Ella and Alexander with Amal, 47, is estimated to be worth 500million after his TV roles and brand partnerships are combined.

But his wealth may yet pale in comparison to actor Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, who boasts a whopping 14 endorsement deals.
Tiffany Haddish stopped the laughs and turned on the lights at her comedy show after recognizing a social worker who 'saved her life.'

The stand-up comedian and actress, known for films like Girls Trip and The Secret Life Of Pets 2, uploaded a clip to her Instagram on December 23 of the moment she heard a woman in the crowd call out to her, asking if she remembered her.

'I don't know if you remember, my name is Coleta Lewis?' yelled out Haddish's former social worker.

Shocked, the 46-year-old repeated her name and went closer to the edge of the stage.

In tears, Haddish said, 'Turn the lights on,' as the edited clip shows the two embracing each other in a tight hug under a spotlight.

'You saved my life. I'm where I'm at right now because of you,' she said.

The LA native said Lewis encouraged her and was among the first to believe in her comedy career.

She thanked her and said, 'I love you,' as the crowd erupted in applause.

Tiffany Haddish uploaded a clip of herself stopping a comedy show after she recognized a woman who 'saved her life'

Coleta Lewis, Haddish's former social worker, called out during her performance, asking if she remembered her

Haddish said Lewis gave her 'two choices' for the summer after she was getting in trouble at school: The Laugh Factory comedy camp or psychiatric therapy.

After she began to win at drama festivals, she asked Lewis which option 'had drugs,' and who told her, 'If you're going to do drugs, you're going to therapy.'

'That changed my whole life,' said the comedian.

Still astonished at the sight of Lewis, she apologized to the rest of the audience, calling the performance 'one of those weird reunion shows.'

Haddish said if it weren't for Lewis, she would 'probably have had like six baby daddies and s***.'

The comedian revealed in the comments on her post that she was considering quitting stand-up comedy and needed a sign from God to keep going.

'I remember being on stage, saying to myself, 'This is the end of stand-up, and this is just how I want to finish.' Then out of nowhere God sends the 1st person outside of my family that actually believed in me,' she wrote.

The two embraced each other as Haddish was in tears, she also asked for the lights to be turned on

The comedian has spoken publicly about her hardships while growing up in the past

She thanked Lewis again for saving her life and placing her in the comedy camp, which she called her forever home.

'In that moment again God showed me that he is real and hears my prayers. He inspired her to drive from Georgia to Alabama, just to tell me she is proud of me,' added Haddish.

'Coleta, I am forever grateful God made you, and you never gave up on me. Thank you.'

Haddish is very open about her struggles as a child, growing up in the foster care system, which she and her siblings were placed in around the time she was 13, after her mom suffered from a brain injury after a car accident.

From that experience, she's an advocate for foster youth and reform in that space.
Married At First Sight groom Tony Mojanovski has raised eyebrows after stepping out on Sydney Harbour with a much younger woman after his disastrous on-screen relationship with Morena Farina.

The 53-year-old council worker was spotted arriving at King Street Wharf on Sunday for the Aperol Afloat party, making his way onto Seadeck alongside micro influencer Courtney Ferguson, 23.

Tony cut a relaxed figure in a crisp white quarter-zip jumper layered over a mint green T-shirt, paired with black shorts and white sneakers.

He appeared in high spirits as he strode along the timber boardwalk, flashing a broad grin and lifting his arms in the air as curious onlookers turned their heads.

Meanwhile, Courtney ensured all eyes were on her as she rocked her best angles in a body-hugging chocolate brown mini dress featuring a sheer corset-style bodice and a shimmering textured skirt.

She accessorised with slim black sunglasses, a gold chain shoulder bag and strappy black heels, while her hair was slicked back into a neat bun.

MAFS groom Tony Mojanovski has raised eyebrows after stepping out on Sydney Harbour with a much younger woman after his disastrous on-screen relationship with Morena Farina

The council worker was spotted arriving at King Street Wharf on Sunday for the Aperol Afloat party, making his way onto Seadeck alongside micro influencer Courtney Ferguson

Her bronzed makeup and glossy lips added to the polished look as she clutched her phone and walked confidently beside Tony.

Once on board, the pair were seen dancing under the white canopy, blending into the buzzing afternoon crowd.

In one moment, Tony threw his arms wide while grinning broadly, as Courtney stood close behind him, striking a playful pout and raising her arm to the beat.

They later joined fellow Married At First Sight groom Ryan Donnelly on the dance floor, laughing and soaking up the sun as Aperol Spritzes flowed freely.

Despite previously dating younger women, Tony previously told Daily Mail that he's looking for something deeper.

'I'm getting older now. I'm no wall painting anymore,' he said.

'At my age, you've got to start looking at somebody for more than just looks.'

The eyebrow-raising appearance comes after Tony's turbulent marriage to Morena Farina unravelled on national television, with the pair repeatedly clashing and ultimately failing to find common ground during the experiment.

Once on board, the pair were seen dancing under the white canopy, blending into the buzzing afternoon crowd

They later joined fellow Married At First Sight groom Ryan Donnelly on the dance floor, laughing and soaking up the sun as Aperol Spritzes flowed freely

Fans will remember his bitter bride was determined not to let Tony have the final say on their tumultuous relationship.

'Did you really think I wasn't gonna come?' she asked as she strode into the room during their final episode.

'Did you really think I was gonna give him the last word?'

Morena had been determined not to return to the show after the dinner party and Tony's shock revelation that he wanted to father children at age 53.

She even told producers she would ring police if they did not let her return home.

'They were holding me against my will. I told them, "I'm going to call the police - give me my phone",' Morena told Daily Mail Australia.

'They put their hands up and acted innocent, saying, "No, we haven't touched you".'

Morena eventually spoke to executives of the production company and was convinced to make a final appearance.

It comes after Tony's wife Morena Farina (right) made a dramatic exit from MAFS during a commitment ceremony

'I had the big boss on the phone for a long time,' she revealed.

'They told me, "Are you really going to let Tony get away with everything he's done to you? You know he's married. He wanted his wife to come into the experiment.

"He thinks you're too old, calls you a sl**, even headlocks you".'

Morena eventually agreed to attend one final Commitment Ceremonybut with conditions.

'I told them, "I'm not speaking to the experts. They've never had my back. I just need to confront Tony",' she explained.

'They said, "Done. You can make a grand entry when Tony is on the couch and rip into him".'

The episode saw Morena storm onto the set while Tony was on the couch, delivering a brutal take down of her on-screen husband before immediately storming out and not waiting for other couples' turns on the couch.

During the confrontation, Morena exposed multiple secrets about Tony's behaviour in the experiment, including his alleged desire to bring his estranged wife onto the show.

'He suddenly changed his story and said it wasn't about my age - it was because he wanted a baby,' Morena said.

'I grabbed his hand and told him, "Tony, if you wanted a baby, I would have let you go. I would never stop you".'

She added that some cast members, including Tony, were given preferential treatment, with her husband being allowed to return home to Wollongong every weekend.
Married At First Sight alum Jessika Power has revealed her brother Rhyce is 'lucky to be alive' after a frightening health scare that landed him in hospital just days before Christmas.

Taking to Instagram, the reality TV star shared a series of confronting images showing the heavily tattooed influencer lying in a hospital bed hooked up to heart monitors and medical equipment.

Rhyce, who rose to fame as the 'hot brother' during Jessika's controversial 2019 season of MAFS, appeared exhausted as he reclined beneath hospital sheets, clutching his phone while wired to a blood pressure cuff and ECG pads attached across his chest and torso.

In the chilling photo, the OnlyFans creator stared blankly at his screen while machines beeped beside him, painting a sobering picture of the scare that unfolded behind the scenes.

Jessika captioned the post with an emotional message to her followers, writing that her brother was 'lucky to be alive' as she urged fans to keep him in their thoughts.

Rhyce later took to his own page to explain what had happened, sharing graphic images of his injuries and revealing he had suffered a broken scapula following the accident.

Married At First Sight alum Jessika Power has revealed her brother Rhyce is 'lucky to be alive' after a frightening health scare that landed him in hospital just days before Christmas

Taking to Instagram, the reality TV star shared a series of confronting images showing the heavily tattooed influencer lying in a hospital bed hooked up to heart monitors and medical equipment

One photo showed him stretched out on a hospital bed with his tattooed legs on display, a fresh wound visible on his lower leg, while another update captured him walking with his right leg strapped into a bulky black medical brace.

In the final image, Rhyce was pictured in black slide sandals and shorts, his injured leg fully immobilised as he declared, 'Let's get surgery,' signalling that further treatment lies ahead.

The shock incident comes after Rhyce made headlines following a fiery social media rant about Mexico, branding it the 'worst country' he had ever visited after claiming he was 'searched and harassed' by border officers.

The tattooed reality star, who was travelling with his longtime fiancee Taylor Peters, unleashed a furious tirade about the country's food, people and airport security.

'Out of 400 plus people getting on board. Well what do you know I get searched and harassed. F**k you, Mexico,' he wrote at the time.

'Worst country I've been to. Place was scum. The food was dog sh*t.

'The people were worse. Hands down the worst I've ever come across in the 32 countries,' he continued.

Rhyce and Taylor had previously relocated to Bali before announcing plans to move to Mexico.

However, his explosive posts suggested their future plans were under review.

Rhyce first rose to fame as Jessika Power's muscular and tattoo-covered brother during her scandal-filled stint on Married At First Sight in 2019.

He later parlayed his notoriety into an OnlyFans career.

He reportedly earned up to $15,000 per month selling explicit content to subscribers around the world.
Animal influencer Mike Holston was rushed to the emergency room after getting injured during a terrifying skydiving accident.

The media personality, who is also known as 'The Real Tarzann,' jumped to his Instagram page on Saturday to give the update to his followers and admitted he is 'in some pretty good pain.'

Holston shared an image as he rested on a gurney and sent a thumbs up towards the camera.

'Yesterday I had a Skydiving accident I'll probably be out for a few weeks!' he wrote in the caption.

'Will make a full update video on what went wrong in my bio ! I'm pretty banged up at the moment in some pretty good pain but just happy to be alive.'

Holston, who currently boasts 16.5 million Instagram followers, added, 'I know a lot of yall want to see me down but don't count on it too long enjoy while you can!'

Animal influencer Mike Holston was rushed to the emergency room after getting injured during a terrifying skydiving accident

The media personality - who is also known as 'The Real Tarzann' - jumped to his Instagram page on Saturday to give the update to his followers and admitted he is 'in some pretty good pain'

'Yesterday I had a Skydiving accident I'll probably be out for a few weeks!' he wrote in the caption

He also took to his Instagram stories to give additional updates in a series of short clips.

The media influencer had been taken to a small room after arriving to the hospital to receive treatment for his injuries.

Holston was filmed through a window as he laid in bed with a neck brace while his leg was also wrapped up.

In a second reel, he was asked where his pain level was and he positively expressed, 'Gettin' there. Getting better.'

He added, 'I was f***ed up for like three hours. I couldn't even breathe. My chest was killing me.'

Holston also addressed his fans in another slide and said, 'What's up family? Thank God all is well. They didn't get me off this Earth today, but love you all, happy holidays.

'Nothing to worry about,' he further assured. 'Just another rough day in the office. I love you all. And hopefully we will see you all soon.'

The media personality will often post to his followers to share his encounters with wildlife on social media.

Holston - who currently boasts 16.5 million Instagram followers - added, 'I know a lot of yall want to see me down but don't count on it too long enjoy while you can!'

The media influencer had been taken to a small room after arriving to the hospital to receive treatment for his injuries

Holston was filmed through a window as he laid in a bed with a neck brace while his leg was also wrapped up

Holston is also active on his YouTube channel where he often uploads videos to 1.3 million followers.

The influencer previously opened up about his perseverance and the importance of not giving up during an appearance on The School Of Greatness podcast with Lewis Howes.

'Go ahead again. Keep going down until you win. That's the way of life. That's what people need to understand. You don't lose!'

He added, 'And when people lose and they say, "Okay, I lost [and] I'm done" then you create a cycle of yourself just quitting.

'But when you finally figure out why you want to win... you can apply that in your spiritual life, your mental life, your financial life, [and in] your relationship - everything just straight winning.'

Back in September of this year, Holston garnered backlash over his encounter with a crocodile during a trip to Australia.

He shared clips to social media at the time - and in one, he jumped out of a boat and chased a freshwater crocodile through ankle-deep water before diving on it. In another he wrestled a young saltwater crocodile on a river bank.

One of the animals managed to bite Holston during the struggle, with the adventurer admitting the reptile 'got a good piece of my arm' as blood gushed from a wound on his elbow.

The media personality will often post to his followers to share his encounters with wildlife on social media

Both crocodiles were later released. The videos were tagged as being filmed at Lockhart River on the Cape York Peninsula.

Wildlife officers and animal welfare groups say Holston's stunts not only risked his own life but also endangered the crocodiles, breaching strict rules about disturbing protected species.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) lambasted Holston, saying his behavior was 'incredibly cruel' and 'unfathomably stupid.'

The NGO also called for him to be 'deported and banned from entering Australia again.'

The fallout has led to growing pressure on Australian immigration authorities to review his visa status.

Calls for Holston's deportation were echoed by other animal rights groups and activists, including Bob Irwin, the father of the late 'Crocodile Hunter' Steve Irwin.

The stunt has sparked outrage from wildlife advocates and prompted an official investigation by Queensland authorities.

The influencer previously opened up about his perseverance and the importance of not giving up during an appearance on The School Of Greatness podcast with Lewis Howes

Back in September of this year, Holston garnered backlash over his encounter with a crocodile during a trip to Australia

Cairns-based animal welfare group Community Representation of Crocodiles (CROC) condemned the video, calling the behaviour both harmful and illegal.

Under Queensland law, interfering with crocodiles is a serious offence. Deliberately feeding, disturbing, or handling crocodiles without authorization can result in fines of up to $26,615.

Australians were outraged by the influencer's behaviour, with many claiming he needed to leave the crocodile alone.

A spokesperson for the Department of Environment had also confirmed to the Courier Mail that an investigation into the incident was underway.
Amy Poehler is looking back on the time she got into a verbal spat with a man on a plane.

Ana Gasteyer, 58, was a guest on the latest episode of 54-year-old Poehler's Good Hang podcast, and recalled the incident.

'I remember being on a plane with you. You got into a fight with a guy,' she said.

Referencing her now-23-year-old daughter, she continued, 'Baby Frances was on the plane with us. The guy got mad that you were swearing in front of the baby.'

Poehler  who was just called out by James Cameron  elaborated, 'It's a long story, but what happened was a guy  a first-class guy, which we were in first class too  was like, "Excuse me, I'm trying to... You're being too loud in first class." My Boston came out, let's just say that.'

Gasteyer described the confrontation as 'the best thing I've ever seen.'

Amy Poehler is looking back on the time she got into a verbal spat with a man on a plane

Ana Gasteyer, 58, was a guest on the latest episode of 54-year-old Poehler's Good Hang podcast, and recalled the incident

Poehler and Gasteyer worked alongside each other on the 2004 comedy Mean Girls, which was written by Tina Fey.

The movie was filmed less than a year after Gasteyer gave birth to her daughter.

In the iconic movie, Gasteyer portrayed Cady's (Lindsay Lohan) mother, while the Saturday Night Live alum starred as Regina's (Rachel McAdams) mom.

Elsewhere in the podcast chat, Gasteyer said she still remembers when Fey was in the stage of writing the feature film.

'I remember hanging out with you in that hotel one night and having drinks. I have a memory of [Tina] sitting at the table and saying, "I think I'm going to try to option this book. It's incredible,"' she reflected.

The Good Hang Instagram account teased the actress' appearance on the show earlier this week.

'Come hang with @amypoehler and special guest @anagasteyer tomorrow!' read a caption accompanying a selfie of the two stars.

Another teaser included the caption: 'Bring out the carols because it's our Christmas episode with @anagasteyer!'

'It's a long story, but what happened was a guy - a first-class guy, which we were in first class too - was like, "Excuse me, I'm trying to [rest]. You're being too loud." My Boston came out, let's just say that,' the comedian said

Poehler pictured in Los Angeles in June

The latest podcast episode comes after Avatar director Cameron slammed Poehler in a new interview with The New York Times.

He expressed his displeasure with a joke the blonde entertainer made over ten years ago at the 2013 Golden Globes.

At the time, she'd used his short-lived marriage with Kathryn Bigelow as a punchline.

Cameron had been nominated for his political thriller Zero Dark Thirty, which included depictions of torture.

During the show's opening monologue, Poehler quipped: 'When it comes to torture, I trust the lady who spent three years married to James Cameron.'

Recalling the moment, Cameron said: 'Amy Poehler's remark was an ignorant dig, at an event which is supposed to be a celebration of cinema and filmmakers, not a roast.'
Kim Kardashian shared a rare portrait with all four of her children for memorable Christmas snaps - but there was no sign of her ex-husband Kanye West.

The 45-year-old TV personality, who recently struggled to wrangle her kids together for holiday photos, jumped to Instagram on Saturday to unveil the sweet images that were taken before attending the family's annual Christmas Eve bash.

The SKIMS founder shares North, 12, Saint, 10, Chicago, seven, and Psalm, six, with West.

Kardashian glammed up in a vintage Mugler ensemble for the evening while joined by her children as they posed in front of trees flocked with snow inside her $60 million Hidden Hills mansion.

In one slide, the reality star draped her arm over her eldest son's shoulders as he humorously sent an unamused expression towards the camera.

Her other three children held cheerful smiles while flashing peace signs with their hands.

Kim Kardashian, 45, shared a rare portrait with all four of her children for memorable Christmas snaps - but there was no sign of her ex-husband Kanye West

The TV personality jumped to her main Instagram page on Saturday to unveil the sweet images before attending the family's annual Christmas Eve bash

But in a few other pictures, Saint was seen grinning while spending time with his siblings and famous mom during the festive season.

Kardashian's four children also followed a monochromatic color scheme for the night by donning all-black outfits.

North jumped out of one snap, and the media personality took more with her three youngest kids.

The SKIMS founder had a bit of fun with Chicago and Psalm as they made lighthearted poses to the camera in other images.

And during the annual Christmas Eve party - which was seemingly held at Kendall Jenner's house - Kardashian enjoyed a sweet moment with Saint as they fell into an embrace.

The pair stood in front of a tree decked out with warm lights as well as colorful ornaments.

Kardashian also offered a glimpse into the family's smaller gathering this year - and took a picture with her mother Kris Jenner as well as Santa.

The momager was dressed for the occasion wearing a black tulle skirt as well as a black velvet jacket.

Kardashian glammed up in a vintage Mugler ensemble for the evening while joined by her children as they posed in front of trees flocked with snow inside her $60 million Hidden Hills mansion

But in a few other pictures, Saint was seen grinning while spending time with his siblings and famous mom during the festive season

Kardashian's four children also followed a monochromatic color scheme for the night by donning all-black outfits

The star also took an adorable image with her daughter Chicago and son Psalm near her massive Christmas tree decor

And during the annual Christmas Eve party - which was seemingly held at Kendall Jenner's house - Kardashian enjoyed a sweet moment with Saint as they fell into an embrace

Kardashian also offered a glimpse into the family's smaller gathering this year - and took a picture with her mother Kris Jenner as well as Santa

At one point, the star also crossed paths with other guests and family members - such as her niece Dream.

Kardashian's holiday look consisted of a long fitted skirt that clung to her figure and had a train that fell down behind her.

She also opted for a matching, strapless corset top - with both pieces containing sparkling black fabric on the neckline and skirt hem.

The TV personality accessorized the eye-catching ensemble with dangly diamond earrings and shimmering bracelets from Lorraine Schwartz.

Kardashian simply penned in the caption of her latest Instagram carousel: 'CHRISTMAS 2025.'

It comes shortly after she admitted that she previously struggled to wrangle in her children for holiday photos.

The All's Fair actress had uploaded a separate post as she joined her kids for snaps outside.

But her son Saint looked less then thrilled - while her youngest son Psalm kept making funny faces towards the camera. Chicago, however, flashed a smile while standing next to her mother.

Join the debate Do YOU think Kim was sending a message by sharing the photo without Kanye?

At one point, the star also crossed paths with other guests and family members - such as her niece Dream

Kardashian's holiday look consisted of a long fitted skirt that clung to her figure and had a train that fell down behind her

It comes shortly after she admitted that she previously struggled to wrangle in her children for holiday photos

Another humorous snap was taken as her two youngest kids stood in front of her by a Christmas tree.

But Kardashian could be seen reaching both of her arms out towards North and Saint as they ran out of frame.

'I really tried,' she explained the caption.

When it comes to her recent holiday pictures, the star's ex-husband was nowhere to be seen.

However, it was revealed that North spent time with the rapper's wife Bianca Censori amid the festive season - with the preteen sharing a cozy Christmas moment with her stepmom.

North - who recently made her Instagram debut last week - reposted a screenshot to her Instagram stories on Friday which was originally shared by rapper Babyxsosa.

In the snap, the preteen could be seen sitting closely next to Censori as they held a conversation with the music artist via FaceTime.

Babyxsosa - whose real name is Jasia Makayla Abrams - added both a Christmas tree and money with wings emoji over the screenshot.

But Kardashian could be seen reaching both of her arms out towards North and Saint as they ran out of frame. 'I really tried,' she explained the caption

However, it was revealed that North spent time with the rapper's wife Bianca Censori amid the festive season - with the preteen sharing a cozy Christmas moment with her stepmom

While it is not known when exactly when the video call took place, it appears to have occurred around the holiday due to the emoji.

Censori has spent time with North as well as her siblings since tying the knot with her father Kanye West in 2022.

Kardashian's four children also received special presents on Christmas Day: puppies - which she shared on social media.

She gave her kids four Pomeranian puppies and shared a clip to her Instagram stories as the adorable pups played inside their crates, although the gift was slammed by some social media users on Reddit.
Sam Burgess and his wife Lucy looked every inch the happy family as they soaked up the Australian sunshine during a relaxed beach outing in Sydney on Sunday.

The former NRL hardman, 37, appeared completely at ease as he enjoyed a low-key coastal stroll with Lucy and their young children.

Sam was every inch the doting father as he cradled the couple's three-month-old son Mack close to his chest while standing at the water's edge, carefully shielding the newborn from the gentle waves.

Nearby, Lucy, 33, cut a stylish figure as she kept a watchful eye on their daughter Robbie, two, while the toddler played along the shoreline.

The British WAG proudly showcased her incredible post-baby body just months after giving birth, wearing a white sports-bra style top paired with matching lace-trimmed shorts that highlighted her toned figure.

Lucy accessorised the chic beach look with oversized sunglasses and a gold necklace, while her blonde hair flowed loosely around her shoulders.

Sam Burgess and his wife Lucy looked every inch the happy family as they soaked up the Australian sunshine during a relaxed beach outing in Sydney on Sunday

The former NRL hardman, 37, appeared completely at ease as he enjoyed a low-key coastal stroll with Lucy and their young children

Sam was every inch the doting father as he cradled the couples three-month-old son Mack close to his chest while standing at the water's edge, carefully shielding the newborn from the gentle waves

Nearby, Lucy, 33, cut a stylish figure as she kept a watchful eye on their daughter Robbie, two, while the toddler played along the shoreline

The British WAG proudly showcased her incredible post-baby body just months after giving birth, wearing a white sports-bra style top paired with matching shorts that highlighted her toned figure

Lucy accessorised the chic beach look with oversized sunglasses and a gold necklace, while her blonde hair flowed loosely around her shoulders

Meanwhile, Sam flaunted his famously muscular physique by going shirtless in a pair of grey boardshorts as he strolled along the beach, looking relaxed and content in dad mode.

The couple appeared hands-on and happy as they juggled parenting duties, chatting and laughing while embracing the laid-back Aussie beach lifestyle.

At one point, the loved-up pair packed on the PDA, sharing a kiss on the sand before walking hand in hand along the sidewalk, with Sam proudly wheeling baby Mack in a pram.

Later in the day, Sam slipped on a navy T-shirt and aviator sunglasses as he headed down the boardwalk alongside Lucy, rounding out what appeared to be a perfect family day in the sun.

Lucy looked fit, healthy and glowing throughout the outing, confidently flaunting her post-baby figure and proving she has bounced back with ease after welcoming her second child.

The beach appearance comes just weeks after Lucy stunned fans by unveiling her post-baby body on social media only one month after giving birth.

The Leeds hairdresser shared a jaw-dropping mirror selfie to Instagram, showing off her trim pins in eye-catching hot pants paired with a white blouse.

Lucy and Sam welcomed baby Mack in October, announcing the arrival with a heartfelt reel of family photos.

Join the debate Do YOU think celebrities bounce back faster after having a baby?

Meanwhile, Sam flaunted his famously muscular physique by going shirtless in a pair of grey boardshorts as he walked along the beach, looking relaxed and content in dad mode

The couple appeared hands-on and happy as they juggled parenting duties, chatting and laughing while embracing the laid-back Aussie beach lifestyle

At one point, the loved-up pair packed on the PDA, sharing a kiss on the sand before walking hand in hand along the sidewalk, with Sam proudly wheeling baby Mack in the pram

Later in the day, Sam slipped on a navy T-shirt and aviator sunglasses as he strolled down the boardwalk alongside Lucy, rounding out what appeared to be a perfect family day in the sun

Lucy looked fit, healthy and glowing throughout the outing, confidently flaunting her post-baby figure and proving she has bounced back with ease after welcoming her second child

The beach appearance comes just weeks after Lucy stunned fans by unveiling her post-baby body on social media only one month after giving birth

The proud parents were all smiles as they cuddled on the couch with daughter Robbie and their newborn son.

Earlier this month, Lucy unveiled her incredible post-baby body, just one month after welcoming her second child with her footy star husband Sam.

The NRL WAG shared a jaw-dropping photo to social media, which captured her showing off her trim pins in eye-catching hot pants.

Lucy and Sam welcomed their second child, a baby boy, in October and announced the news on social media.

Lucy shared one of said photos to her Instagram, writing in the caption: 'How did I get so lucky? My family.'

Lucy and Sam welcomed baby Mack in October, announcing the arrival with a heartfelt Instagram reel of family photos

The proud parents were all smiles as they cuddled on the couch with daughter Robbie and their newborn son, who they named Mack Burgess

The pair announced in April they were expecting their second child as they enjoyed a lavish babymoon together

The pair announced in April that they were expecting their second child while enjoying a lavish babymoon in Capri, Italy.

The pair already share a daughter, Robbie, who they welcomed in September 2023.

Sam married Lucy in a lavish Italian wedding after two years of dating.

The former rugby league player proposed to Lucy in June 2023, just nine months after they went public with their relationship.
Gwyneth Paltrow was joined by daughter Apple Martin in a new social media video shared on Saturday.

The 53-year-old Oscar-winning actress  who just revealed why she turned down a particular sex scene  matched with her mini-me, 21, in silky navy pajamas.

For her part, Paltrow wore a button-up, long-sleeved top and matching pants while her daughter opted for loose-fitting shorts and an oversize top.

Their coordinating sleepwear was accented with white trim.

In the brief clip, which was soundtracked by Neil Diamond's song Cherry Cherry, the Goop founder showed her 9.2 million followers how to use their holiday leftovers to make a breakfast dish.

'Leftover stuffing waffles with sauteed onions, rainbow chard, and fried eggs. #boyfriendbreakfast,' she captioned the post.

Gwyneth Paltrow was joined by daughter Apple Martin in a new social media video shared on Saturday

Paltrow shares her lookalike daughter, as well as 19-year-old son Moses, with ex-husband Chris Martin, 48.

Earlier this year Apple refuted claims that she benefits from her parents' fame and accomplishments.

Following the release of a fashion campaign with Self Portrait, she insisted her parents have taught her the value of having a strong work ethic.

She told The Daily Telegraph in October, 'I know this is not a normal way to grow up by any means.

'But my parents did a really good job of instilling in me that I shouldn't be entitled to anything. I have to work.'

Asked how she stays grounded, the young adult answered: 'Hanging out with my friends and trying to have a normal college experience makes me feel more normal.

'That's how I like to unwind. We'll sit down and do little guitar playing sessions. One person will play and the others will sing. I also love watching reality TV with my friends.

'There was one day we spent five hours on the couch and just watched old episodes of America's Next Top Model.'

Paltrow, 53, shares Apple, 21, with ex-husband Chris Martin

Paltrow wore a button-up, long-sleeved top and matching pants while her daughter opted for loose-fitting shorts and an oversize top

'Leftover stuffing waffles with sauteed onions, rainbow chard, and fried eggs. #boyfriendbreakfast,' she captioned the post

Paltrow is also mom to 19-year-old son Moses Martin; (L-R) Apple, Paltrow and Moses seen on December 16

The model is studying at Vanderbilt University and told Interview magazine earlier this year that she is 'a law, history and society major.'

However, she is dabbling in acting, telling the outlet, 'I'm in the lovely Vanderbilt Original Cast, the esteemed cabaret theater group.

'This semester's show is a musical parody of Love Island called Love on an Island. It's so fun. The songs are phenomenal.'

She said in the April interview, 'I have a very low voice so whenever we're doing harmonies, it'll be like, "Alright, it's the boys and Apple."

'I'm singing my absolute favorite song this semester, which I'm so excited about. I'm definitely not the best in the org, but I love it.'
Bristol Palin revealed that she has reunited with her son Tripp following his move to Alaska to live with his dad.

The 35-year-old TV personality - who recently shared an update on her facial paralysis battle - jumped to her Instagram stories on Saturday to celebrate her eldest child's 17th birthday.

Along with throwback photos of the teen over the years, she also uploaded a short clip to show that Tripp seemingly traveled down to Texas to ring in the milestone with his mother.

He held a smile on his face before blowing out candles that were placed on cupcakes topped with sugary frosting.

In text added over the reel, Palin typed out, 'happiest 17th birthday to my @tripp.easton!!!'

The public speaker shares her son with ex Levi Johnston - whom she previously had an on-and-off engagement to until their final split in 2010.

Bristol Palin, 35, revealed that she has reunited with her son Tripp following his move to Alaska to live with his dad

The TV personality jumped to her Instagram stories on Saturday to celebrate her eldest child's 17th birthday

Palin is also mother to daughters Sailor, 10, and Atlee, eight, whom she welcomed with ex-husband Dakota Meyer.

The special reunion comes a little over one year since she announced that Tripp had made the decision to move to Alaska to reside with his father and finish out his high school years there as well.

'This has been the hardest 'first day of school' yet with one of the biggest pieces of my heart missing,' she penned on Instagram in August 2024.

She then added that her son - who was 15 at the time - made the choice 'to finish out high school in Alaska to be closer to his dad and our entire family.'

The mom-of-three admitted that it was difficult 'to come to grips with his decision' but voiced her support for the teen.

'He's almost 16 years old and that relationship with his dad is a lot more important than my own selfish desires of having him with his mama forever!'

She added, 'I can't talk about it yet without crying, but selfishly praying for a quick year and easy transition for us all.'

That same month, Palin offered insight into the way Tripp told her that he was moving to Alaska.

'He just texted me and was like, "Hey Mom, I'm not coming back." At first I'm like, "I'm coming up to Alaska. We're not doing this." I was so mad, so mad,' she said on the Sex, Lies, And Spray Tans podcast with Cheryl Burke.

Join the debate Should teens decide where to live or should parents have the final say in family arrangements?

In text added over the reel, Palin typed out, 'happiest 17th birthday to my @tripp.easton!!!'

The public speaker shares her son (seen in a throwback photo) with ex Levi Johnston - whom she previously had an on-and-off engagement to until their final split in 2010

The special reunion comes a little over one year since she announced that Tripp had made the decision to move to Alaska to reside with his father and finish out his high school years there as well

The star emotionally expressed how 'gut wrenching' it was to her as she opened up about the close bond she has with her son.

'It's been just Tripp and I, and then I had my girls, but it's always been Tripp and I. It's changed the dynamic of so much.'

Palin had been 18-years-old when she welcomed Tripp to the world.

Her pregnancy had been publicly announced at the 2008 Republican National Convention when her mother Sarah Palin was running as vice presidential nominee.

After her separation from Johnston, the pair entered a lengthy custody battle - which came to an end in 2016 with the pair gaining joint custody of Tripp.

The daughter of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin later tied the knot with Dakota Meyer in 2016, but their divorce was finalized two years later.

Back in July of this year, Palin also revealed whether her son has plans to attend college after his high school graduation.

During an Instagram Q+A session at the time, a follower questioned whether the teen is interested in going to university to which she wrote in response, 'I'd never push college.'

'He just texted me and was like, "Hey Mom, I'm not coming back." At first I'm like, "I'm coming up to Alaska. We're not doing this." I was so mad, so mad,' she said on the Sex, Lies, And Spray Tans podcast with Cheryl Burke

The star emotionally expressed how 'gut wrenching' it was to her as she opened up about the close bond she has with her son; mother and son seen in an undated throwback photo

Last month in November, Palin spent the Thanksgiving holiday with her two daughters - where she also gave an update on her facial paralysis

She continued, 'He wants to work  he already works actually. He'll go into a trade and will have his hand in some sort of real estate/development I'm sure!'

Last month in November, Palin spent the Thanksgiving holiday with her two daughters - where she also gave an update on her facial paralysis.

The star first opened up about her battle earlier this year in January after being diagnosed with a form of Bell's palsy.

In a video uploaded to her Instagram stories, both she and her daughter Sailor could be seen showing off their outfits for the holiday.

'Black skinnies, black long sleeve, same denim shirt I wear all the time, vintage Louis Vuitton,' the former Dancing With The Stars competitor said.

The mom-of-three then added, 'And still a crooked face.'

Eight months after opening up about her condition, Palin shared a positive update in August by revealing that her face is 'slowly getting better.'
Adam Peaty's Strictly Come Dancing co-star Dan Walker has shared the first glimpse inside the Olympian's 'unforgettable' wedding to Holly Ramsay.

Olympic swimmer Adam tied the knot with Gordon Ramsay's daughter Holly, who stunned in a lace gown, on Saturday at Bath Abbey.

Now TV presenter Dan, 48, who competed on Strictly with Adam in 2021, has taken to Instagram to share a photo of the couple's order of service and gushed over the 'wonderful' day.

Dan, who attended the ceremony with his wife Sarah, wrote: 'We had a lovely time celebrating with @adam_peaty & @hollyramsayy yesterday.

'Great wedding, top people, wonderful service, unforgettable reception, brilliant speeches and we got to sing some bangers in the church too'.

As well as showing off the illustrated cover of the order of service, Dan included a picture from inside, showing the words to the hymn Be Thou My Vision, which also soundtracked his Instagram post.

Adam Peaty's Strictly Come Dancing co-star Dan Walker has shared the first glimpse inside the Olympian's 'unforgettable' wedding to Holly Ramsay

Olympic swimmer Adam tied the knot with Gordon Ramsay's daughter Holly, who stunned in a lace gown on Saturday at Bath Abbey

Meanwhile Adam's Strictly co-star Sara Davies shared a series of selfies from the 'special day' and said the reception meal was 'hands down the best wedding food Ive ever had'.

She wrote: 'Yesterday I had the privilege of being at this amazing mans wedding - and it also gave me a moment to reflect on how lucky Ive been to have him in my life over the past four years.

'From the first day we met on Strictly, weve been firm friends, and it was a real honour to sit in Bath Abbey and watch him get emotional as the love of his life walked down the aisle.

'It was such a special day. Simon and I had the best time, the service was beautiful - and Im sure youll not be surprised to hear me say, it was hands down the best wedding food Ive ever had.

'Wishing my wonderful friend and his gorgeous bride a lifetime of happiness together.'

On Sunday, Cruz Beckham also shared a selfie with brother Romeo during the bash.

Holly Ramsay swept into her wedding in Bath Abbey on the arm of her celebrity chef father, but kept her lace gown concealed beneath a billowing hooded ivory cloak.

If the influencer appeared nervous as she made her way through a chaotic crowd of onlookers before she headed down the aisle to exchange vows with Adam, she had good reason.

Now TV presenter Dan, 48, who competed in Strictly with Adam in 2021, has taken to Instagram to share a photo of the couple's order of service

He wrote: 'We had a lovely time celebrating with @adam_peaty & @hollyramsayy yesterday. Great wedding, top people, wonderful service, unforgettable reception'

Dan attended the ceremony with his wife Sarah

`For behind the couple's lavish nuptials lay an ugly family drama which resulted in the groom's mother  and nearly every member of his family  excluded from the dazzling ceremony amid claims of snobbery and classism.

Sitting at home more than 130 miles away in Staffordshire, Adam's brokenhearted mother Caroline was said to be 'beside herself' with grief at missing what should have been one of the happiest days of her life.

Speaking from the council house where Adam grew up, the 59yearold told The Mail on Sunday: 'I'm not going to be hurt like this again'.

She had told Daily Mail that she felt as if Holly and Adam 'have cut my heart out'.

This newspaper can also reveal that, moments before he walked into the abbey clutching the hand of his fiveyearold son George, Adam Peaty was sent a devastating text message by his aunt Louise, who was also not invited to the wedding.

In it, she wrote: 'I hope you never suffer the depth of pain you have put your mother through and despite it all she loves you still. Shame on you both. Shame.

'Remember on this, your happiest day, and on each anniversary of your happiest day, that you hurt your mum so deeply her soul screams.'

The roots of this terrible family conflict go back to September 2024, when Adam and Holly snubbed wider members of the Peaty family by not inviting them to their engagement party.

Meanwhile Adam's Strictly co-star Sara Davies shared a series of selfies from the 'special day' and said the reception meal was 'hands down the best wedding food Ive ever had'

She wrote: 'Yesterday I had the privilege of being at this amazing mans wedding and it gave me a moment to reflect on how lucky Ive been to have him in my life over the past four years'

'It was a real honour to sit in Bath Abbey and watch him get emotional as the love of his life walked down the aisle. It was such a special day', she said

Sara beamed with pal Dan inside Bath Abbey

On Sunday, Cruz Beckham also shared a selfie with brother Romeo during the bash

Sara stunned in a black and blue patterned gown which she cinched in at the waist with a belt

Sara and Adam met on the 2021 series of Strictly Come Dancing

Caroline, who spent years ferrying her son to earlymorning training sessions, was also not invited to Holly's glamorous hen do at Soho Farmhouse in the Cotswolds last month, even though the bride's mother, Tana Ramsay, and friends including Victoria Beckham, were at the extravagant bash.

Despite everything Caroline sent a card and gift to her newlywed son for his 31st birthday today.

Meanwhile, Adam's 73yearold greataunt Janet, who was also left out of yesterday's wedding, told The Mail on Sunday: 'I just feel so sorry for Caroline.

'I can't believe he's done this to his mother who's done so much for him from an early age. To be treated like this is not kind.'

Despite being shunned, devastated Caroline had threatened to turn up at the wedding anyway  and, if barred from entering the abbey, stand outside and watch from the street.

She said yesterday that she changed her mind after her husband Mark convinced her it would be 'too upsetting' to go along.

Had she defied her son's ban, she would have found herself facetoface with five security guards, placed in front of the abbey's ancient and elaborately carved wooden doors, which were framed by decorative columns of white roses and hydrangeas.

The Ramsay family splashed out thousands on the venue, where weddings normally cost around 2,500, blockbooking it for the day to ensure the service took place in absolute secrecy.

Having found fame and fortune for his foulmouthed antics in the kitchen, Gordon Ramsay was on his best behaviour as he helped his 25yearold daughter from a black RollsRoyce which drew up outside the Gothic abbey at about 12.30pm.

He was seen whispering in her ear before kissing her cheek while an attendant straightened her crumpled outfit.

Buffeted by an icy wind, the pair were mobbed by wellwishers shouting 'Merry Christmas' as they passed.

Waiting inside for a first glimpse of the bride was a celebritystudded congregation, including Sir David and Victoria Beckham, who are no strangers to family feuds themselves.

Adam's mother Caroline (pictured), who spent years ferrying her son to earlymorning training sessions, was not invited to the couple's wedding - or to Holly's glamorous hen do last month

Their sons Romeo and Cruz and daughter Harper, who are close friends of the Ramsays, were also there  but not estranged son Brooklyn.

Marcus Wareing from Masterchef: The Professionals and his wife Jane were also there.

The ensuing ceremony, one guest later told The Mail on Sunday, was 'beautiful and very emotional'.

Like Adam, who is a devout Christian, Holly was determined that they would exchange vows in a religious service. Peaty's son George, from a previous relationship, was said to have played a pivotal role in the ceremony.

The three bridesmaids were Holly's older sister Megan, 27, younger sister Tilly, 24, and Adam's sister Bethany  the only member of his family to be invited to the event, as well as to the hen party.

Other relatives said Bethany had been included as one of the bride's attendants because she 'fits in' with the Ramsays' glamorous world.

In what was seen by some as a display of defiance against her family, Bethany linked arms with Holly's eldest sister as they entered the abbey carrying white arum lilies.

The bridesmaids wore red flowing dresses designed by Victoria Beckham. The former Spice Girl also wore one of her own frocks, a 1,290 teal number, and the dark green silk dress worn by the bride's mother, 51yearold Tana, was also from Lady Beckham's label. Peaty, meanwhile, slicked back his hair and wore the same dinner suit as his new fatherinlaw.

There was no word, however, on the designer behind Holly's romantic floralpatterned lace dress which was kept under wraps until the influencer was inside the abbey, away from prying cameras.

Other than the glaring absence of Peaty's family, the bride and groom were declared man and wife without any drama. The newlyweds left church at around 1.30pm to a joyful peal from the abbey bells and were driven away to their reception at Kin House, a Georgian manor house 17 miles away, near Chippenham.

There, guests were served a wedding banquet which featured prawn cocktail, beef Wellington and panroasted halibut followed by a tarte tatin. A traditional wedding cake was served at 8pm.

A source said: 'Holly and Adam have been meticulous in their planning and it's come together perfectly. They couldn't wait to share everything with their guests.'

While the ceremony and reception were conducted in the utmost secrecy, it's likely they will feature in an upcoming Netflix documentary series about life in the Ramsay family.

Its airing  expected early next year  may well be the first proper glimpse Caroline Peaty will get of her own son's wedding.

For the time being, mother and son remain tragically at loggerheads, unable to mend their differences and patch up their formerly close relationship. This is one story in search of a happy ending.
James Packer has shared how he feels 'lucky' to lead the life he has.

The billionaire businessman told Rampart News in a recent interview that he is receiving professional care for his mental health issues.

'I haven't had a drink for two years. I'm working with a good psychologist and a good psychiatrist,' the 58-year-old said, while explaining he is in a 'good place'.

Packer also revealed that he is still close to his ex-wives, Erica Packer and Jodhi Meares, and leans on them for support.

'I think I'm one of the luckiest people in the world. I've got three amazing kids. I've got two amazing ex-wives,' he continued.

'You know, Erica is my best friend. She's a fantastic mum. And I've got three teenage kids now, 17, 15 and 13. They live in London. I'm so proud of all three of them.

James Packer (pictured) has shared how he feels 'lucky' to lead the life he has. The billionaire businessman told Rampart News in a recent interview that he is receiving professional care for his mental health issues

'I think I'm a very lucky person.'

Erica, who is the ex-wife of billionaire James Packer, currently resides in London after relocating with her three children to be near her sister.

The model co-parents children Indigo, Jackson and Emmanuelle with ex-husband James.

Erica married former husband James in 2007 and they later split in 2013, but are on good terms as they co-parent their three children.

She reportedly received a $100 million divorce payment, and purchased a family home in Los Angeles shortly after the break-up.

Erica split from celebrity chef Shannon Bennett after 18 months together in June, following a long-distance romance.

Between them, the lovebirds share nine children, with Shannon sharing Phoenix, Hendrix, Xascha, Xanthe, Xahlia and Margaux with ex-partner Madeleine West.

Meanwhile, fashion designer Jodhi famously married Packer in 1999 before splitting from him in 2002.

Packer also revealed that he is still close to his ex-wives, Erica Packer and Jodhi Meares, and leans on them for support. Pictured with Erica in 2012

Jodhi Meares (right) famously married James Packer in 1999 before splitting from him in 2002

The wide-ranging interview also touched on Packer's battle with substance abuse, revealing he has been sober for two years.

He spoke about a 2016 incident when outgoing Seven West Media chairman Kerry Stokes found him in Aspen in a 'very bad way'.

Stokes temporarily took control of Consolidated Press Holdings to prevent a financial collapse and stopped Packer's wedding to US pop star Mariah Carey.

'I was under a lot of pressure in business, so I had a lot of debt, I had a lot of obligations, I was under a lot of pressure, and I was drinking way too much,' Packer recalled.

'I was in a bad place.'
Nadia Sawalha has announced the death of her best friend Hannah Gardner aged 39 as she paid tribute to her following a cancer diagnosis.

Hannah had stage four incurable breast cancer, which spread to her liver and Nadia had previously spoken about her friend's situation on ITV's Loose Women.

Nadia posted a picture of Hannah wearing a sparkly dress sitting on a swing, alongside the caption: 'Rest in peace now darling'.

The TV personality also shared a heartfelt message to Hannah in the caption of the post, describing her own emotions as 'shocked and distraught'.

She wrote: 'Our beautiful Hannah... Although we knew it was coming we are all so deeply shocked and distraught. No need to be brave anymore darling you can now rest in peace, and all the love you created.

'You were and will forever be deeply loved... To all the staff at The Princess Alice Hospice in Esher, the kindness and care you showed not only to Hannah, but also to her friends and family was extraordinary. Thank you. #fabfourfoever.'

Nadia Sawalha has announced the death of her best friend Hannah Gardner as she paid tribute to her following a cancer diagnosis

Hannah had stage four incurable breast cancer, which spread to her liver and Nadia had previously spoken about her friend's situation on ITV's Loose Women

The TV personality also shared a heartfelt message to Hannah in the caption of the post, describing her own emotions as 'shocked and distraught'

Nadia received support in the comments section, including from her husband Mark Adderley, who wrote: 'Just so so heartbreaking - a beautiful woman - a beautiful friend - a beautiful mother - just can't believe it'.

Others wrote: 'Beautiful Han. She loved you all so much Nadia. What a woman. She will be so missed'; 'So so sorry to hear this news'; 'So sorry for your loss.. it's too sad but so glad she's not in pain. Love and hugs'.

In March 2024, Nadia broke down in tears as she told the Daily Mail about her 'powerhouse' pal Hannah after also speaking about her on Loose Women.

Nadia and her friend Hannah were left 'reeling' after learning a pioneering cancer drug was blocked for use in England.

Nadia condemned the decision by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence who said that the cost the NHS was being asked to pay for trastuzumab deruxtecan - known as Enhertu  was 'too high'.

The TV personality revealed at the time that Enhertu had the potential of giving her close friend, who had a young daughter, another six months of life.

In an exclusive interview, Nadia told us: 'We've got this young woman, with a young autistic child, with secondary breast cancer in her liver, in her lung, and she's also supposed to be basically begging for this drug. And it just seems brutal.

Nadia received support in the comments section, including from her husband Mark Adderley, who wrote: 'Just so so heartbreaking - a beautiful woman - a beautiful friend - a beautiful mother - just can't believe it'

Nadia previously broke down in tears as she told MailOnline about her 'powerhouse' pal Hannah- who had stage four incurable breast cancer, which spread to her liver

Nadia and Hannah (pictured) were left 'reeling' after learning a pioneering cancer drug was blocked for use in England

Nadia gushed: 'She's a powerhouse and I do worry about that because she needs to also be looking after herself, but we've got her, you know, me and our group of friends are very engaged and there for in every way.

'We're a group of friends, we all met on a trek raising money for breast cancer, about seven years ago, there's four of us, we call ourselves the Fab Four and we say we're holding you...'

Fighting back tears, Nadia continued: 'She's the youngest one in the group and she was diagnosed 11 years ago and she's been on such a wheel, she's been told that she's had cancer four times and she never falters.

'I've seen her be given so much bad news just in the the years that I've known her and she breaks for like a minute. It's really strange to watch and it might sound like a weird thing but it's always a privilege to watch, she's so focused and I love watching her with the oncologists who are just all fantastic and the way that she advocates and talks about the drug.'

Hannah, a former clinical trial manager, issued a devastating health update at the time, explaining that the tumours in her liver were growing.

She was given her primary breast cancer diagnosis in 2013 after discovering a lump in her left breast, and after undergoing treatment, the disease returned twice, in 2017 and again in 2020.

In June 2022, Hannah received the heartbreaking news that she had stage four incurable breast cancer, which then spread to her liver.

The TV personality revealed that Enhertu had the potential of giving her close friend Hannah, who has a three-year-old daughter, another six months of life

In an exclusive interview, Nadia told MailOnline: 'She's a powerhouse and I do worry about that because she needs to also be looking after herself, but we've got her, you know, me and our group of friends are very engaged and there for in every way.'

Holding back tears, Nadia continued: 'She's the youngest one in the group and she was diagnosed 11 years ago and she's been on such a wheel, she's been told that she's had cancer four times and she never falters.' (Nadia and Hannah on Loose Women)

Hannah explained on Instagram last year: 'I've been hit with probably the worst news I've had yet. Progression. All tumours in my liver are growing. There are now four big ones with lots of little spots popping up. I'm scared, I can't lie.'

Hannah waited months to learn whether she would be eligible for groundbreaking new treatment Enhertu, and said she was 'crushed' to learn it had been blocked by the NHS.

Enhertu is the first licensed targeted treatment for patients with HER2-low breast cancer, that cannot be removed surgically or has spread to other parts of the body, also known as metastatic breast cancer.

Chemotherapy is usually offered as a treatment, but if the targeted therapy had been made available, around 1,000 patients a year would have been eligible.

Trials of the drug found it boosted the time the cancer was held at bay from seven months to over two years  results that were called 'mind-blowing' by experts.

Hannah joined Nadia on Loose Women lin Spring 2024 to discuss their battle for the NHS to approve the drug.

She told the panel: ' I don't know how long I've got, some statistics two to four years, some say three to five, I am 3 years in and it's scary.

'It's not a fairy tale, it only ends one way. All we can have is extra time and this drug would have given me that, more time with my daughter.'

'Six months might not sound like a long time, but it is in the world of secondary breast cancer.'
Love Island All Stars couple Grace Jackson and Luca Bish have sparked marriage rumours as they shared a sweet Christmas post on Instagram on Sunday.

The loved-up couple spent their first festive period together after meeting on the hit ITV2 dating series in January.

Grace and Luca cosied up in matching white outfits as they posed by their Christmas tree before enjoying a winter walk together.

However, in the carousel of photos a picture of a padlock with 'Luca and Grace Paris January 2026' engraved on it caught the eye of fans.

This picture had many fans wondering what was happening in Paris, with some speculating that it signals a proposal while others urged Luca to 'put a ring' on Grace's finger.

'Paris 2026 [several ring emojis]', wrote one.

Another added: 'Merry 1st Christmas together Luca & Grace, .. hmm whats happening in Paris in Jan? teasing us'.

Love Island All Stars couple Grace Jackson and Luca Bish have sparked marriage rumours as they shared a sweet Christmas post on Instagram on Sunday

In the carousel of photos a picture of a padlock with 'Luca and Grace Paris January 2026' engraved on it caught the eye of fans

It comes after Grace's boyfriend Luca was slammed by fans for his over-the-top method of asking her to be his girlfriend, which bore a striking similarity to the way he asked his ex-girlfriend Gemma Owen to be 'official'.

The Love Island stars found love on the latest series of All Stars earlier this year and came runners-up to winner Gabby Allen and Casey O'Gorman.

As Luca took things to the next level with the blonde bombshell, eagle-eyed fans spotted several similarities between his latest OTT gesture to the one he did for ex Gemma after meeting on the ITV2 show the first time around.

Luca and Grace enjoyed a lavish getaway to Abu Dhabi, and during the trip, he hired someone to set up a stunning, floral beach private dinner, which looked nearly identical to the red roses date he prepared for Gemma.

The arrangement featured a pathway of roses on the beach and a neon sign at the end of the walkway with the question: 'Will you be my gf?'

Luca also arranged a romantic candlelight dinner for his new girlfriend overlooking the ocean as the sun set.

During their first stints on Love Island, Luca coupled up with Gemma and made her his girlfriend shortly after leaving the villa.

However, the couple called it quits shortly after.

This picture had many fans wondering what was happening in Paris, with some speculating that it signals a proposal while others urged Luca to 'put a ring' on Grace's finger

The loved-up couple spent their first festive period together after meeting on the hit ITV2 dating series in January

Grace and Luca enjoyed a winter walk together over the Christmas period

Grace was seen in satin pyjamas with her hair in rollers as she relaxed at home

The stunner sat in front of a large firplace opening her Christmas presents

While Grace coupled up with her ex Joey Essex during the show in 2024, but ultimately left the villa with Rueben Collins.

The pair split after the show, citing their long distance relationship as the reason for their split.

Earlier this year, Grace revealed the secrets behind getting runway ready after making her debut at Miami Swim Week 2025.

The blonde bombshell oozed confidence while walking the runway at 1111 Lincoln Road with a whole host of other models, including Iskra Lawrence.

Grace showed off her toned physique in a skimpy pink and orange bikini, and sported a flawless makeup look.

Prior to the big day, Grace visited Dr Rosh Ravindran's clinic at The Colony, Winslow for a HydraFacial, leaving her with a glowing complexion for the runway.

A HydraFacial is a medical-grade skin treatment that uses patented technology to cleanse, extract, and hydrate the skin.

Cosmetic doctor Rosh has previously injected Grace with lip filler and botox before entering the Love Island villa.

Dr Rosh, who has treated multiple celebrities and is considered the worlds number one aesthetics doctor, shared exactly what Grace requested to have tweaked before she went into the villa.
Adam Peaty and Holly Ramsay's fairytale wedding was reportedly overshadowed by strict security with burly bodyguards and sniffer dogs.

The Olympic swimmer, 31, tied the knot with influencer Holly, 25, at Bath Abbey on Saturday with a reception following at the swanky Kin House - amid a bitter fallout with his family which saw his mother uninvited from proceedings.

Guests, which included the likes of David and Victoria Beckham, were all required to wear mandatory wrist bands for security reasons.

One attendee told The Sun: 'It was a lovely day, but with the wristband it felt more like a hospital appointment'.

Meanwhile crowds of onlookers gathered around the Abbey to try and catch a glimpse of the bride, in what was described by one onlooker as 'chaotic' scenes.

Security formed a protective ring around the bride and her famous family as they struggled through the confined passageway besides historic the venue.

Adam Peaty and Holly Ramsay's fairytale wedding was reportedly overshadowed by strict security with burly bodyguards and sniffer dogs on Saturday

Guests, which included the likes of David and Victoria Beckham, were all required to wear mandatory wrist bands for security reasons (Security pictured at Wedding reception)

One attendee said: 'It was a lovely day, but with the wristband it felt more like a hospital appointment (Holly pictured with dad Gordon)

A source told HELLO!: '[The Ramsay's] cars started circling the church, then they left via the back door. It was pretty chaotic and all the roads were blocked.'

Daily Mail have contacted Holly and Adam's representatives for comment.

Following the ceremony the wedding party headed to the reception at the nearby Georgian Manor Kin House.

The swanky venue boasts 12 bedrooms complete with pricey Verden products in their en-suites, a private yoga studio and swimming pool.

The lavish facilities can host up to 200 guests, with an art deco bar, stage and menus offering canapes and cocktails.

Adam and Holly's guests had the option of partying all night long with the venue's website stating that their bar is open until the 'early hours'.

The Olympian cried when the 'love of his life' walked down the aisle at their wedding ceremony, his close friend and showbiz pal Sara Davies has revealed.

The Dragon's Den star, 41, was among the celebrity attendees after forming a friendship with Adam when they both appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2021.

Security formed a protective ring around the bride and her famous family as they struggled through the confined passageway besides historic the venue.

The Olympic swimmer, 31, tied the knot with influencer Holly, 25, at Bath Abbey amid a bitter fallout with his family which saw his mother uninvited from proceedings

A source said: '[The Ramsay's] cars started circling the church, then they left via the back door. It was pretty chaotic and all the roads were blocked'

Following the ceremony the wedding party headed to the reception at the nearby Georgian Manor Kin House

While Sara is yet to share any snaps from with the couple on their wedding day, she did post a sweet message to Adam on Instagram on Sunday and shared pictures of the pair.

She sweetly said: 'Yesterday I had the privilege of being at this amazing man's wedding - and it also gave me a moment to reflect on how lucky I've been to have him in my life over the past four years.

'From the first day we met on Strictly, we've been firm friends, and it was a real honour to sit in Bath Abbey and watch him get emotional as the love of his life walked down the aisle.

'It was such a special day. Simon and I had the best time, the service was beautiful - and I'm sure you'll not be surprised to hear me say, it was hands down the best wedding food I've ever had.

'Wishing my wonderful friend and his gorgeous bride a lifetime of happiness together.'

She shared a series of snaps of them together over the years as well as behind-the-scenes at Strictly.

Sara also posted some pictures of the ceremony in the Abbey to her Story as she reunited with other Strictly pal Dan Walker.

Adam cried when the 'love of his life' walked down the aisle at their wedding, his close friend Sara Davies has revealed

Dragon's Den star Sara, 41, was among the celebrity attendees after forming a friendship with Adam when they both appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2021

While Sara is yet to share any snaps from with the couple on their wedding day, she did share a sweet message to Adam on Instagram on Sunday and shared pictures of the pair

She was joined by her husband Simon and wore a pretty blue and black flower patterned dress.

On Sunday morning Dan shared the first glimpse inside the Olympian's 'unforgettable' wedding to Holly.

TV presenter Dan, 48, who also competed on Strictly with Adam in 2021, took to Instagram to share a photo of the couple's order of service and gushed over the 'wonderful' day.

Dan, who attended the ceremony with his wife Sarah, wrote: 'We had a lovely time celebrating with @adam_peaty & @hollyramsayy yesterday.

'Great wedding, top people, wonderful service, unforgettable reception, brilliant speeches and we got to sing some bangers in the church too'.

As well as showing off the illustrated cover of the order of service, Dan included a picture from inside, showing the words to the hymn Be Thou My Vision, which also soundtracked his Instagram post.

On Sunday, Cruz Beckham also shared a selfie with brother Romeo during the bash.

Holly swept into her wedding in Bath Abbey on the arm of her celebrity chef father, but kept her lace gown concealed beneath a billowing hooded ivory cloak.

If the influencer appeared nervous as she made her way through a chaotic crowd of onlookers before she headed down the aisle to exchange vows with Adam, she had good reason.

For behind the couple's lavish nuptials lay an ugly family drama which resulted in the groom's mother  and nearly every member of his family  excluded from the dazzling ceremony amid claims of snobbery and classism.

Adam's mother Caroline (pictured), who spent years ferrying her son to earlymorning training sessions, was not invited to the couple's wedding - or to Holly's glamorous hen do last month

Sitting at home more than 130 miles away in Staffordshire, Adam's brokenhearted mother Caroline was said to be 'beside herself' with grief at missing what should have been one of the happiest days of her life.

Speaking from the council house where Adam grew up, the 59yearold told The Mail on Sunday: 'I'm not going to be hurt like this again'.

She had told Daily Mail that she felt as if Holly and Adam 'have cut my heart out'.

This newspaper can also reveal that, moments before he walked into the abbey clutching the hand of his fiveyearold son George, Adam Peaty was sent a devastating text message by his aunt Louise, who was also not invited to the wedding.

In it, she wrote: 'I hope you never suffer the depth of pain you have put your mother through and despite it all she loves you still. Shame on you both. Shame.

'Remember on this, your happiest day, and on each anniversary of your happiest day, that you hurt your mum so deeply her soul screams.'

The roots of this terrible family conflict go back to September 2024, when Adam and Holly snubbed wider members of the Peaty family by not inviting them to their engagement party.

Caroline, who spent years ferrying her son to earlymorning training sessions, was also not invited to Holly's glamorous hen do at Soho Farmhouse in the Cotswolds last month, even though the bride's mother, Tana Ramsay, and friends including Victoria Beckham, were at the extravagant bash.
Despite its potent technology sector, the country is being surpassed by China and the United States in the development of physical artificial intelligence

The ability of U.S. and Chinese companies to integrate sensors, unify standards, and share data is driving their progress in physical artificial intelligence, an area in which Japans structural weaknesses threaten to provoke what its own government calls a digital defeat. Manufacturing robots that co-exist in everyday spaces with human beings is an attractive solution for a country that has been mired for decades in a growing demographic crisis and restrictive immigration policies.

Japan also has a special predisposition towards living with devices. Its popular culture abounds with characters like Doraemon the cosmic cat, a robot from the future who does everything possible to help its owner in the anime series that bears its name. In 1999, Sony launched the Aibo dog, the longest-running robot pet on the market, which is still sold today in different versions. In 2000, car manufacturer Honda was one of the first to build an autonomous walking humanoid who went by the name of Asimo.

The country is one of the world leaders in the manufacturing of industrial robots, and up until 2023, it represented 38% of global production of these machines, according to the International Federation of Robotics. In 2024, there were 435,299 industrial robots operating in Japanese factories producing electrical equipment, automobiles, and metal products. Known for their smooth, safe, and exact movements, Japanese industrial robots use high-precision speed reducers and high-performance servomotors that control their axes.

In theory, physical AI is the perfect way for Japanese industrial robotics to take the big leap from structured, predictable environments to real life. But training autonomous systems to act in a wide variety of situations implies a series of challenges in coordination and funding, in addition to cultural and regulatory barriers. The Japanese government itself recognizes that one of the primary obstacles to the implementation of physical AI in Japan is the countrys corporate culture, which is oriented towards data protection.

A recent Digital Economy Report from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) points to Japanese companies structural reluctance to share data. The study says the country needs to resolve issues related to standardization, governance, operability, and corporate practices in order to generate the large volumes of real-world data that physical AI requires. It points out that many Japanese manufacturers lack modernized and digitized workflows, which blocks the collection and standardization of data necessary for physical AI.

Lack of competitiveness

The METI report explains that this lack of competitiveness is reflected in the fact that Japan pays more for digital services from abroad than it earns. It stresses that this hidden digital deficit could reach nearly $300 billion by 2035 if the current trend of losing ground to the United States in software and platforms is not reversed.

The report warns of an imminent digital defeat and calls on companies, investors, and policymakers to share a common diagnosis and act together to solve it. Firstlight Capital, an investment firm that promotes the creation of companies addressing Japans population decline, echoes the METI study in a statement on its website that calls on Japan to learn from past defeats.

In the case of physical AI, it warns that a similar pattern could be repeating: Japan invents the underlying technology and, instead of transforming its advantage into global products, cedes its hegemony. In the future, states Firstlight, Japan may see robots caring for its elderly using local technology, but with imported software, explaining that U.S. and Chinese companies have an advantage in the development and application of physical AI thanks to private and state-owned ecosystems that facilitate the generation, standardization and large-scale circulation of data.

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He's the most outspoken mechanic on YouTube  and that didn't change in an interview with the Daily Mail.

Scotty Kilmer, 72, has been fixing cars for 50 years. His grease-stained experience and candid rants have grown his YouTube channel (@scottykilmer) to more than 6.5 million followers, with viewers seeking his no-nonsense repair advice.

And now, he's raising even more eyebrows.

Kilmer is warning drivers to steer clear of some of America's favorite big vehicles  calling some of them 'cr*p' for putting small engines in trucks that demand more grunt.

He also thinks some of the most powerful executives are 'idiots' for ongoing parts issues.

Here are the vehicles he thinks all new vehicle buyers should avoid:

Toyota's big trucks

'The new Toyotas are cr*p,' Kilmer said.

Scotty Kilmer, the outspoken mechanic with 50-years worth of car-fixing experience, spoke to Daily Mail about which cars he would avoid at all costs

For years, the Japanese auto giant has built its brand image as America's most reliable car company.

But Kilmer said its lineup of big trucks and SUVs  like the Tundra, Sequoia, 4Runner, and Land Cruiser  are now too large for their underpowered motors.

The vehicles used to be equipped with giant V8s that Kilmer praised for their longevity. Now, they're propelled by twin-turbo V6s.

Toyota made the move to get the cars in line with its goal to reduce fuel emissions in its fleet, but the V6 engines have been recalled several times because of engine debris in the motors.

Kilmer alleges the move to smaller engines cuts against the brand's historic focus on reliability. He also says he's seen cheaper parts enter Toyota's supply chain since the onset of Covid-19.

'They were admitting they were no longer rejecting as many parts,' he claimed. 'They were using sub-standard components building their cars.

'Now they have cars where the plastic mirrors melt, paint peels off, and engines are blowing up.'

Still, Kilmer says many other cars in Toyota's lineup remain top of the line for vehicle longevity.

He praised Toyota's smaller hybrids  namely the Camry, RAV4, Prius, and Corolla  for their durability.

Kilmer said the Tundra, once one of the most reliable pickups in the US market, has quickly lost its reputation for reliability

Kilmer said Toyota's move to swap out gas-guzzling V-8 engines for smaller V-6 engines has put too much strain on the cars

'Toyota really makes the best hybrid, they're still pretty indestructible,' he said. 'They're still making a lot of good stuff. But they also made decisions just to save money.'

Toyota didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on Kilmer's claims.

American-made Fords

Last year, America's best-selling vehicle was the Ford F-Series pickup truck, with over 730,000 units sold.

It's also one of the top 50 most American-made vehicles at US dealerships. Ford has consistently claimed that 80 percent of its vehicles are assembled in the United States.

But Kilmer says Ford's US manufacturing is part of its problem. He even took a shot at the company's top boss, Jim Farley.

'Farley, that idiot that runs Ford, he says: "they told me people don't want to work for us because they can make more money working at a Walmart," Kilmer said, claiming employees are making $17 an hour in the factories.

'Does he think they will do a good job? Of course not! Go to a Walmart and see the idiots that work there. You think they'll work in a factory and do a good job? Of course not.'

The mechanic pointed out that Ford is this year's most-recalled auto manufacturer in the US by a long shot, with the company reporting a bevy of parts issues.

Kilmer called Ford's top boss an 'idiot' and said the company's US employees are underpaid

The mechanic said customers should avoid today's new pickup truck market

At writing, the company has issued 145 recalls with the NHTSA, the record for any automaker in a year. Chrysler is the second-most recalled brand with just 51 safety postings.

Ford has said that the company is issuing more recalls in an 'abundance of caution.' The company declined to comment on Kilmer's analysis.

A new truck... no matter the maker

Kilmer said he wouldn't recommend a single new pickup currently on the US market.

Just like Toyota, he says other automakers have prioritized fuel efficiency at the expense of reliability.

He argues that today's trucks are plagued with recalls and parts problems caused by supply chain disruptions, staffing changes at US plants, and poor management decisions.

Instead, he recommends drivers who need a bed on the back of their new set of wheels head to the pre-owned lot.

'I'd say get a good used truck, don't even buy a new one,' he said.

For pre-owned vehicles, he suggests Toyota Tundras with a model year older than 2024, Toyota Tacomas built before 2023, Nissan Fronteirs made in 2023, and the now-defunct Nissan Titan.

'A Nissan pickup truck isn't bad because its going to cost less than half of the Toyota,' he advised.

After 50 years under the hood, Kilmer says today's trucks just aren't built to last  and no brand is safe from his wrath.
It was once the place to go for shopaholics in Pennsylvania's biggest Democratic city but now a popular mall is on its last legs and up for sale.

Following years of decline, the Franklin Mall in North East Philadelphia has been listed by real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL).

The 1,604,934sq ft shopping center was originally built in 1989 for $300 million in the shape of a lightning bolt to honor the city's hero, Benjamin Franklin.

The sale comes as retailers like Macy's have fled the city. The retail giant left its iconic location at the Wanamaker building next to City Hall in March.

Formerly known as the Franklin Mills and Philadelphia Mills, it was once teeming with life in the 1990s, welcoming roughly 20 million shoppers a year, but today that number has dropped to an abysmal 5.6 million, according to JLL.

While the rise of online shopping has been shutting down malls across the US, Jerry Roller, founder of the design firm JKRP, told the Daily Mail that is not the only reason for this location's failure.

'Once it stopped being a discount mall, it was never really a viable mall. Malls havent done well in general, especially third-tier malls,' said Roller.

'They dont have the tenants, they dont have the traffic, and this was a particularly inexpensively built mall.'

The Franklin Mall which was formerly known as the Franklin Mills and Philadelphia Mills, has been put up for sale after years of decline

A picture of the mall while its open shows almost all stores closed and no signs of life

The mall is currently at 68 percent occupancy and has lost major tenants, including the AMC movie theater and the clothing store Forever 21.

The property was appraised at $201 million in 2012, but was valued at only $76 million last year.

JLL described the mall in its listing as an exceptionally located, single-level super-regional shopping center, but the asking price was not listed.

Not included in the sale are the separate Walmart and Sam's Club.

'Its a cheap (looking) building. Theres nothing particularly attractive about it. The site itself is well located at a major highway intersection,' said Roller.

Roller explained the difference between successful malls and failing ones: 'Big malls do well, like King of Prussia or Mall of America.

'Small malls struggle. They struggle for tenants, theyre expensive to maintain, and they dont attract shoppers.

'Large regional malls have a wide range of tenants at all price points. Thats the attraction. Small malls have limited tenant variety, arent exciting shopping experiences, and thats why theyre generally not doing well.'

Join the debate What do you think should be done with failed malls like thisredevelop, revive, or just demolish?

Another spot in the 1,604,934sq ft mall shows even more businesses closed

A retail store with all its lights shinning while behind a metal gate as no workers or customers appear to be seen

He continued to highlight that regional malls like the King of Prussia have variety and accessibility.

'Could you build another regional mall? Probably not. Retailers dont want to maintain multiple locations like that,' said Roller.

'There are only a handful of true regional malls, like Tysons Corner or the Mall of America. Those attract a wide range of retailers. Small malls like Franklin Mall dont have depth.'

He added: 'They have the same stores as other small malls, which isnt exciting. Online shopping has cut into much of what people used to go to malls for.'

The King of Prussia Mall is the largest in the region at 2.9 million sq ft and is only 32 miles away from the Franklin Mall.

JLL suggested in the listing that the property's location and highway access make it a strong candidate for redevelopment into a modern industrial facility.

This was echoed by Roller, who mentioned that it could be used for residential buildings.

However current zoning restrictions would not allow a residential project, as it is classified as a CA-2 zone, which allows for wholesale, distribution, and storage uses.

A photo of customers lined up in a toy store in the mall back in 2005, two years before the mall was acquired by Simon Property Group

However, Roller believes 'you could get it zoned for almost anything if you have a solid plan.'

He noted that the vast amount of land and the property's location could make it desirable to buyers. The mall is about 15 miles away from Center City, Philadelphia.

'You could put any number of uses on a large vacant commercial property,' said Roller. 'It could be partially residential, partially industrial, maybe even small local retail as a shopping center. But the existing buildings arent conducive to anything.

'Realistically, I think it will be demolished. Thats my guess.

'I havent looked at it for clients, so I cant say for sure, but I would guess its more valuable as vacant land than with the buildings.'

While shopping malls have declined, the architect noted a practice of 'demalling' that has worked in the past.

The process is taking a smaller mall in a good location and turning it into a shopping center.

'The remodel is successful because, traditionally, you drive up, go into the store, and retailers are comfortable with that. They have visibility, and that seems to work.

'When you take it into a mall where you dont have direct access, and you have to go into the mall to go shopping, people are less likely to do it, and consequently, tenants are less likely to rent.'

In 2007, the mall was placed under the management of Simon Property Group after its original developer, Mills Corp, was acquired by the company. The property was taken over by debt holders in 2024. It was last renovated in 2016.
BlackRock World ex U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF (NYSEARCA:LCTD  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 578 shares, a growth of 176.6% from the November 30th total of 209 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 6,612 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.1 days. Based on an average daily volume of 6,612 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.1 days. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BlackRock World ex U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in BlackRock World ex U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF in the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of BlackRock World ex U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF in the 2nd quarter worth $75,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BlackRock World ex U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF during the 2nd quarter valued at $76,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of BlackRock World ex U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF during the 3rd quarter worth $105,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in BlackRock World ex U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF by 56.1% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 3,330 shares of the companys stock worth $169,000 after acquiring an additional 1,197 shares in the last quarter.

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BlackRock World ex U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of LCTD stock traded up $0.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $55.07. 10,082 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,189. The firms 50-day moving average is $54.12 and its 200 day moving average is $52.59. The company has a market capitalization of $256.08 million, a P/E ratio of 17.23 and a beta of 0.82. BlackRock World ex U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF has a 1 year low of $41.26 and a 1 year high of $55.36.

BlackRock World ex U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF Company Profile

The BlackRock World ex U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF (LCTD) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI World ex USA index. The fund is an actively managed fund that targets companies in developed markets outside of the US that are considered to be equipped for a low-carbon economy transition. LCTD was launched on Apr 6, 2021 and is managed by BlackRock.

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Douglas Elliman (NYSE:DOUG  Get Free Report) and Kennedy-Wilson (NYSE:KW  Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability and risk.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Douglas Elliman and Kennedy-Wilsons gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

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Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Douglas Elliman $995.63 million 0.21 -$76.32 million ($0.70) -3.39 Kennedy-Wilson $531.40 million 2.53 -$33.00 million ($0.26) -37.44

Analyst Recommendations

Kennedy-Wilson has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Douglas Elliman. Kennedy-Wilson is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Douglas Elliman, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Douglas Elliman and Kennedy-Wilson, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Douglas Elliman 1 0 0 0 1.00 Kennedy-Wilson 2 1 0 0 1.33

Kennedy-Wilson has a consensus price target of $10.00, suggesting a potential upside of 2.72%. Given Kennedy-Wilsons stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Kennedy-Wilson is more favorable than Douglas Elliman.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

59.6% of Douglas Elliman shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.7% of Kennedy-Wilson shares are held by institutional investors. 6.8% of Douglas Elliman shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 20.3% of Kennedy-Wilson shares are held by company 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.

Risk & Volatility

Douglas Elliman has a beta of 1.75, suggesting that its stock price is 75% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kennedy-Wilson has a beta of 1.04, suggesting that its stock price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Douglas Elliman and Kennedy-Wilsons net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Douglas Elliman -5.76% -3.19% -0.93% Kennedy-Wilson 1.59% 19.00% 2.22%

Summary

Kennedy-Wilson beats Douglas Elliman on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Douglas Elliman

(Get Free Report)

Douglas Elliman Inc. owns Douglas Elliman Realty, LLC, operating as a residential brokerage company in the United States with operations in New York, Florida, California, Texas, Colorado, Nevada, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. In addition, Douglas Elliman sources, uses and invests in early-stage, disruptive property technology (PropTech) solutions and companies and provides other real estate services, including development marketing, property management and settlement and escrow services in select markets.

About Kennedy-Wilson

(Get Free Report)

Kennedy-Wilson Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a real estate investment company. The company owns, operates, and invests in real estate both on its own and through its investment management platform. It focuses on multifamily and office properties located in the Western United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Italy, and Japan. The company had ownership interests in multifamily units, office space, retail and industrial space, and a hotel. It is involved in the development, redevelopment, and entitlement of real estate properties. Kennedy-Wilson Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California.

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Great Wall Motor Company Limited (OTCMKTS:GWLLY  Get Free Report) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 73 shares, a drop of 66.7% from the November 30th total of 219 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 920 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.1 days. Based on an average daily volume of 920 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.1 days.

Great Wall Motor Stock Performance

Shares of GWLLY remained flat at $18.56 during mid-day trading on Friday. 84 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,928. Great Wall Motor has a twelve month low of $13.87 and a twelve month high of $26.12. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.48.

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About Great Wall Motor

(Get Free Report)

Great Wall Motor Co, Ltd. is a Chinese automotive manufacturer headquartered in Baoding, Hebei Province. Founded in 1984, the company has evolved from a regional vehicle assembler into one of Chinas largest producers of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and pickup trucks. Over the decades, Great Wall Motor has invested in research and development to broaden its product portfolio and enhance its manufacturing capabilities.

The companys principal business activities include the design, development and production of passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles and new energy vehicles.

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Hartford Total Return Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:HTRB  Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 27,073 shares, a growth of 99.0% from the November 30th total of 13,603 shares. Currently, 0.0% of the companys shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 152,440 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.2 days. Based on an average daily volume of 152,440 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.2 days. Currently, 0.0% of the companys shares are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Hartford Total Return Bond ETF

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hartford Total Return Bond ETF during the 3rd quarter valued at $88,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hartford Total Return Bond ETF in the second quarter worth $121,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Hartford Total Return Bond ETF in the second quarter valued at $141,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hartford Total Return Bond ETF during the third quarter valued at about $222,000. Finally, Flow Traders U.S. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hartford Total Return Bond ETF by 29.6% during the third quarter. Flow Traders U.S. LLC now owns 8,058 shares of the companys stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 1,841 shares during the period.

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Hartford Total Return Bond ETF Trading Up 0.1%

NYSEARCA HTRB traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $34.46. 62,543 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 223,904. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.16. Hartford Total Return Bond ETF has a 1-year low of $32.88 and a 1-year high of $34.82.

About Hartford Total Return Bond ETF

The Hartford Total Return Bond ETF (HTRB) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the Bloomberg Global Aggregate Bond index. The fund is an actively managed fund that invests in a wide array of global fixed income instruments considered attractive from a total-return perspective, with current income as a secondary goal. HTRB was launched on Sep 27, 2017 and is managed by Hartford.

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Hennes & Mauritz AB (OTCMKTS:HNNMY  Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 25,260 shares, a drop of 72.6% from the November 30th total of 92,295 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 149,694 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.2 days. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 0.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 149,694 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HNNMY. Citigroup upgraded shares of Hennes & Mauritz from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a hold rating on shares of Hennes & Mauritz in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Oddo Bhf raised shares of Hennes & Mauritz to a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold.

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Read Our Latest Analysis on HNNMY

Hennes & Mauritz Price Performance

Shares of Hennes & Mauritz stock traded down $0.00 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $3.98. The companys stock had a trading volume of 61,691 shares, compared to its average volume of 59,816. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $3.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $28.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.39 and a beta of 1.20. Hennes & Mauritz has a one year low of $2.37 and a one year high of $4.17.

Hennes & Mauritz (OTCMKTS:HNNMY  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.01. Hennes & Mauritz had a return on equity of 26.34% and a net margin of 4.80%.The company had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.77 billion. On average, analysts predict that Hennes & Mauritz will post 0.15 EPS for the current year.

About Hennes & Mauritz

(Get Free Report)

Hennes & Mauritz AB, commonly known as H&M, is a Swedish multinational fashion retailer that designs, sources and sells ready-to-wear clothing, accessories and home textiles. The company traces its roots to 1947, when Erling Persson opened a womens clothing store called Hennes (hers) in Vasteras, Sweden; the business expanded into menswear after the acquisition of a Stockholm-based retailer, Mauritz Widforss, in the late 1960s, which led to the Hennes & Mauritz name. Today the company is headquartered in Stockholm and operates a global retail business built around multiple branded concepts.

H&Ms core activities include product design, sourcing and retailing of fashion for women, men, teenagers and children, as well as home goods under its H&M Home line.

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Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund (NYSE:JQC  Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 263,763 shares, an increase of 105.5% from the November 30th total of 128,341 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 813,879 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.3 days. Based on an average daily volume of 813,879 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.3 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund in the first quarter worth $1,769,000. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund in the first quarter valued at $43,000. Oak Hill Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Oak Hill Advisors LP now owns 6,650,252 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $35,778,000 after acquiring an additional 3,325,126 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund during the 1st quarter worth about $2,175,000. Finally, Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new position in Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,493,000.

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Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund Stock Performance

Shares of Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund stock traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $5.06. The companys stock had a trading volume of 785,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 874,292. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $5.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.28. Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund has a one year low of $4.60 and a one year high of $5.82.

Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund Dividend Announcement

About Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.054 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.8%.

(Get Free Report)

Nuveen Credit Strategies Income Fund (NYSE: JQC) is a closed-end, diversified management investment company that seeks to provide current income while preserving capital. The fund pursues its objective by investing primarily in a broad range of credit instruments, including corporate debt obligations, bank loans, mortgage-related and asset-backed securities, and credit-linked notes. Through active portfolio management, JQC aims to capture income opportunities across different sectors and credit quality tiers.

JQCs portfolio construction emphasizes flexibility, enabling the fund to shift allocations among investment-grade and below-investment-grade credit depending on market conditions.

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Senator David McCormick (R-Pennsylvania) recently bought shares of Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (NYSEARCA:BITB). In a filing disclosed on December 26th, the Senator disclosed that they had bought between $50,001 and $100,000 in Bitwise Bitcoin ETF stock on November 28th.

Senator David McCormick also recently made the following trade(s):

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Purchased $50,001  $100,000 in shares of Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (NYSEARCA:BITB) on 11/26/2025.

Purchased $15,001  $50,000 in shares of Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (NYSEARCA:BITB) on 11/25/2025.

Purchased $50,001  $100,000 in shares of Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (NYSEARCA:BITB) on 11/24/2025.

Bitwise Bitcoin ETF Stock Performance

Bitwise Bitcoin ETF stock opened at $47.54 on Friday. Bitwise Bitcoin ETF has a 12 month low of $41.17 and a 12 month high of $68.74. The stocks 50-day moving average is $52.15 and its 200-day moving average is $58.38.

Institutional Trading of Bitwise Bitcoin ETF

About Senator McCormick

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Crown Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Bitwise Bitcoin ETF during the second quarter worth about $214,000. Cora Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Bitwise Bitcoin ETF in the 2nd quarter valued at about $220,000. Advisory Resource Group bought a new position in shares of Bitwise Bitcoin ETF during the 2nd quarter valued at about $206,000. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bitwise Bitcoin ETF in the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,853,000. Finally, Pasadena Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bitwise Bitcoin ETF by 17.1% in the 2nd quarter. Pasadena Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,705 shares of the companys stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 1,125 shares in the last quarter.

David McCormick (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania. He assumed office on January 3, 2025. His current term ends on January 3, 2031.

McCormick (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. Senate to represent Pennsylvania. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

David McCormick was born in Washington, Pennsylvania, and lives in Pennsylvania. He served in the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division as a paratrooper, during which time he was deployed to the Middle East during the First Gulf War and reached the rank of Captain. McCormick received his bachelors degree in mechanical engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point and his Ph.D. in international affairs from Princeton University. His professional experience includes working as the CEO of a tech startup and of Bridgewater Associates, an investment management firm, and under secretary in both the Department of Commerce and the Department of the Treasury.

Bitwise Bitcoin ETF Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

The Bitwise Bitcoin ETF Trust (BITB) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in long btc, short usd currency. The fund is a passively managed fund that seeks to track the price performance of spot Bitcoin (BTC). It will hold Bitcoin directly, secured through a multi-layer cold storage wallet. BITB was launched on Jan 10, 2024 and is issued by Bitwise.

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Shinhan Financial Group Co Ltd (NYSE:SHG  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 249,837 shares, an increase of 109.4% from the November 30th total of 119,313 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 169,458 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 169,458 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Shinhan Financial Group Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE SHG traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $53.97. 127,201 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 158,673. The businesss 50 day moving average is $53.31 and its 200-day moving average is $50.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Shinhan Financial Group has a 12-month low of $28.76 and a 12-month high of $56.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.01.

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Shinhan Financial Group (NYSE:SHG  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 14th. The bank reported $2.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.08. Shinhan Financial Group had a net margin of 22.38% and a return on equity of 12.45%. The company had revenue of $2.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.79 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Shinhan Financial Group will post 5.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SHG. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Shinhan Financial Group from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a buy (b) rating on shares of Shinhan Financial Group in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Shinhan Financial Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Shinhan Financial Group currently has an average rating of Hold.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Shinhan Financial Group

Institutional Trading of Shinhan Financial Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Investment Research Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Shinhan Financial Group in the 3rd quarter worth $757,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Shinhan Financial Group during the third quarter worth about $359,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Shinhan Financial Group by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 14,229 shares of the banks stock worth $717,000 after purchasing an additional 2,123 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Shinhan Financial Group by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,338 shares of the banks stock worth $420,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. Finally, Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Shinhan Financial Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,961,000. 7.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Shinhan Financial Group

(Get Free Report)

Shinhan Financial Group is a South Koreabased financial holding company headquartered in Seoul. Established in 2001 as a banking and financial services group, it brings together a range of financial subsidiaries operating under the Shinhan brand, including commercial banking, card services, life insurance, securities and asset management businesses. The group serves both retail and corporate clients and is one of the leading diversified financial institutions in Korea.

The companys principal activities span retail and corporate banking, credit card issuance and payment services, life insurance and related protection products, brokerage and investment banking, and asset and wealth management.

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In the province of Pinar del Rio, relatives of patients who are dependent on life support machines report that they cannot return home, because power cuts could endanger their loved ones

No one could imagine that Jeisel Hernandez would die in the night, at the age of five, far from home.

Just before dawn on December 10, theres a terrifying noise: a chorus of stunned voices reverberates around the progressive care unit of the Pepe Portilla Pediatric Hospital, in the province of Pinar del Rio. In one of the rooms, Yarisleidy Ramos and Alianys Labrador  the mothers of two girls admitted to the ward  wake up startled. Something is wrong. They go outside and find Yanelis Hernandez, her soul seemingly about to break in two. Jeisel, her son, had fallen asleep the night before. But now, when she went to his bed to check on him, the boy did not respond.

Yanelis will gather her things, dismantle the small camp  where she lived for more than a month  and go home the home she left with Jeisel, because of the lack of electricity. She will return there now, shrouded in a much deeper darkness.

In October, the blackouts in their neighborhood of Los Palacios were like those across almost all of Cuba: a black blanket that cast a shadow over the lives of the residents. This impacted Jeisels quality of life. As a patient with type 1 spinal muscular atrophy  also known as Werdnig-Hoffmann disease  he desperately needed electricity to live. The inverter and batteries had begun to fail. The boys body was turning red from the heat; his food was spoiling because the fridge wasnt working. His mother was finding it difficult to use the suction device to remove his saliva. And Jeisels ventilator couldnt possibly be without power. So, on October 25, Hernandez packed a bag and left her house for the hospital, the place she never wanted to be.

It was no secret to Hernandez that Jeisels life could be short. Thats why she wanted to ensure that he could stay at home, with his older brother and grandmother. A week before the boy died, his mother recounted how difficult it was not only to have her son bedridden all the time, but also to see him suffer through the daily power outages. Waiting for a solar panel kit that never arrived, they had to move indefinitely to the hospital, which was an electrified fortress in the middle of the dark nights of Pinar del Rio.

In a country where almost everything is scarce, this mother never asked for luxuries. She pleaded with the authorities to provide her with an electric generator, so that her son wouldnt have to be confined to a hospital room, far away from the rest of the family, living with the constant reminder that he was condemned to his illness.

Alianys Labrador and Yarisleidy Ramos Rivera, in Pinar del Rio. Marcel Villa

Death came before the government could respond and before a generator or solar panel could appear. I know how much that mother longed to be home with her son; they always denied her the opportunity, says Yarisleidy, 38, the mother of Valentina Ramos, who is also in the progressive care ward. When I see these things happen, it makes me so angry, because its not easy to deny these children the chance to be home for as long as God decides.

Can you imagine what will happen to my daughter? she laments. Will I ever be able to take her home?

Today, there are people in Cuba who dont ask for electricity to watch television, to plug in an iron to get their childrens uniforms ready, or even to cook. For some, its a matter of life or death: in a country thats collapsing, there are those who need electricity just to survive.

For a child on a ventilator, electricity is vital, because without power, the machine malfunctions, a nurse from the progressive care ward of the Pediatric Hospital  who asked to remain anonymous  tells El PAIS. Thats not something we can provide. Its difficult for a mother to live here for years; [the space doesnt have] the comfort of home. And they have to leave their other children and their families behind.

A country in darkness

The mothers interviewed for this report have experienced four deaths throughout their time inside the hospital. Each time a patient dies, the progressive care ward becomes a silent, much sadder place. Those who remain ask themselves the same question: how long will they be there, trapped, watching life pass by through the clouded windowpane?

Inside the hospital, the ward  like the rest of the country  is overwhelmed by the arbovirus that has Cuba on edge. Theres not enough medication, making it difficult to treat so many patients. According to the nurse interviewed by El PAIS, even though the medical staff tries to provide all necessary care, theres a shortage of suction catheters, cannulas, gastrostomy buttons and wound care supplies. In the hallways and waiting rooms, stretchers have been set up for children arriving with various ailments, while doctors rush back and forth trying to calm the desperate parents. Some patients leave early, some remain hospitalized, and some live in the hospital.

Outside the facility, Pinar del Rio  the capital of the province  is an extension of almost all of Cuba. People walk about listlessly. Motorcycles and tanker trunks drive over the potholed roads. The odd canteen offers Neapolitan pizzas for 200 Cuban pesos ($0.45), while long lines form in front of the ATMs. Clients hope to withdraw a few bills. In the city, people complain about the unstable electrical supply  it can be turned on at 3:00 p.m. and then cut off an hour later  and they cook with firewood in the street. Neighbors fan themselves to ward off mosquitoes, the heat, the tedium and the helplessness that the blackouts bring.

Pepe Portilla Pediatric Hospital, in Pinar del Rio (Cuba), on December 12. marcel villa

2025 has been a year of chronic blackouts: Cubans have had to cope with daily power cuts lasting more than 20 hours at a time. The situation has led them to take to the streets in protest on several occasions. Some of the reasons for the scarcity include the ongoing collapse of the National Energy System (SEN) due to a lack of maintenance, limited resources for infrastructure investment, as well as a shortage of foreign currency to import fuel. All of this occurs within the context of a country whose economy is completely depressed.

Furthermore, it has come to light that the government in Havana is allegedly selling off most of the fuel shipped in from Venezuela, the country that provides 70% of the islands crude oil supply. According to documents obtained by The New York Times, an oil tanker named Skipper  seized by the United States off the Venezuelan coast  was carrying nearly two million barrels of crude, of which some 50,000 were destined for the island. The remainder, however, would have been sold by the Cuban authorities to China.

Since the massive blackout that left the entire island without power for several days in 2024, Cuba has never managed to completely light itself up again. By mid-December of 2025, the generation deficit was nearly 2,000 MW, in a country with a demand of 2,350 MW. In statements made to El PAIS, Cuban researcher Jorge Pinon  an energy expert  asserts that there will be no change in the Cuban electricity sector until the government changes its economic model, decentralizes the economy and allows for open investment.

Life in the ward

In a 16-by-10-foot room at the Pepe Portilla Pediatric Hospital, Ramos and Labrador live with their two daughters. The space is furnished with the bare essentials: a rice cooker, some dishes, clothes and a few toys. While the girls lie in two beds, the mothers spend the night rocking in two armchairs. Theyve been doing this for a very long time.

Valentina  Ramoss one-year-and-nine-month-old daughter  has never lived anywhere but the Pediatric Hospital. After a chronic health issue at birth, she had to undergo a tracheotomy and gastrostomy. She doesnt yet have a confirmed diagnosis, but its suspected that she has some type of muscular atrophy.

Her grandfather has only been able to see her once. And her father  who observes her through a glass partition  barely knows her. In El Yayal  the tobacco-growing region where the family lives and where the electricity is cut off every four hours  her mother worked as a laborer, sorting tobacco leaves. But she had to leave her job.

I wasnt earning much, but it was enough to live a balanced life, she sighs. Since being confined to the hospital with her daughter, Ramos receives 2,400 Cuban pesos from the government each month for her role as a caregiver. She tells EL PAIS that this amount isnt even enough to purchase a large pack of disposable diapers.

Last November, Yeilin  Labradors daughter  arrived in the same room where Valentina lives, just a month after turning one. She had been diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy type 1, a condition thats painful and devastating. After respiratory arrest, which led doctors to perform a tracheotomy and a gastrostomy, a mechanical ventilator took over her lung function. In the neighborhood Los Palacios, where theyve always lived, the 27-year-old mother had to leave Valentinas twin brother in the care of his grandparents.

Baysel Acosta, father of Milena Acosta Sanchez, at Pepe Portilla Hospital. marcel villa

Every so often, the mothers glance at each other in the room. The setting is a far cry from the life they once had. They have nothing left to talk about or to share: the only thing that disrupts their routines is some mishap with the girls. But if all goes well, their daily lives are usually the same.

The mothers get up at around 6:00 a.m. to feed the little ones and get them ready. At 8:00 a.m., the doctors arrive to examine the toddlers, or the physical therapist leads them in their exercises. Then, they bathe them. At midday, its time for lunch, which is very well prepared for the little ones, but terrible for the mothers. In the afternoon, the girls can watch cartoons and listen to childrens music. They have dinner at night and go to bed. Its a repetition of a routine that could be much more bearable if they had electricity in their homes.

Were still waiting for the solar panel, Ramos sighs, exhausted. The government is turning a blind eye to the situation. This mother has also requested housing from the authorities, so that she can leave the remote location where she lives and move to a place where she can quickly reach a doctor in case of an emergency. But the government claims it doesnt have the resources to help me, she explains. This indifference hurts me; they dont value the lives of our children.

Ramos cant go home right now: shes scared that a power outage will prevent her daughter from breathing, or that a room without air-conditioning will further harm her health. The lack of electricity means that even blending the food that Valentina needs is impossible. My daughters illness, being separated from my loved ones, not being able to return home, everything Ive had to endure here is very hard, says the mother.

While she acknowledges that the care at the hospital has been good and that the doctors and nurses have done their best, she emphasizes that the situation  which has taken a toll on everyone  is desperate. We have to see our family members through a glass partition, she laments. I just want to be home with my daughter and enjoy her away from the hospital, for as long as God decides.

Waiting to go home

Sometimes, he has to mash the food, because theres no electricity to power the blender. To keep the yogurt fresh, he puts it in buckets of cold water. Preparing her food is a struggle, says Baysel Acosta Moreno, age 40. Hes the father of six-year-old Milena Acosta Sanchez. Its very difficult for anyone to have a child in these conditions and for everything to depend on electricity.

Moreno has often had to suction out his daughters phlegm by himself. Because of the lack of electricity, Ive had to help her, he describes. The girl suffers from Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, a neurological disorder that causes epilepsy and other severe health problems.

Father and daughter are currently in the Pediatric Hospital in Pinar del Rio. But, for a long time, they lived in the admissions ward of the municipality of Guane, for the same reason: they dont have a generator at home. In the rural area where they live, there are power outages of up to 30 hours at a time. Weve been requesting a generator for two years and nothing, the father shrugs. [Weve] been through some very difficult times. Shes had seizures in the middle of the night and I havent had any way to turn on the lights or call an ambulance.

In the province, there are more than 100 households that have children who are living with chronic illnesses. And while government media recently announced that the Tabacuba company has distributed solar panel systems to about 20 of the households, several families who are in contact with this newspaper confirmed that they havent received any.

The answer [from the authorities] is that theres no equipment available right now. But has anyone considered what our lives are like, or the lives of these children? So many sleepless nights! How much deprivation! Were waiting to be able to go home together again. Being here [in the hospital] exposes our children to all sorts of illnesses.

The other parents also share this fear: that not being able to go home might become a permanent situation. Our children are at greater risk of contracting a virus or a hospital-acquired bacteria, says Labrador, Yeilins mother. The government and the [Communist Party] always tell me the same thing: that theres no generator, that I have to wait. This [causes me to have] a mix of feelings: pain, sadness, anger and rage.

Translated by Avik Jain Chatlani.

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Elisa Oyj (OTCMKTS:ELMUY  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 462 shares, a decline of 72.3% from the November 30th total of 1,665 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,585 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.2 days. Based on an average daily volume of 2,585 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.2 days.

Elisa Oyj Price Performance

Shares of Elisa Oyj stock traded up $0.81 on Friday, hitting $24.12. The stock had a trading volume of 178 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,889. Elisa Oyj has a twelve month low of $21.13 and a twelve month high of $30.00. The businesss 50 day moving average is $23.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.01.

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About Elisa Oyj

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Elisa Oyj is a Finland-based telecommunications and digital services company headquartered in Espoo. As one of the leading service providers in the Nordic region, Elisa offers a broad range of connectivity solutions, combining mobile and fixed-line communications with high-speed broadband networks. The company serves both consumer and business segments, focusing on reliable, secure and user-friendly services.

At its core, Elisa delivers mobile voice and data services, fixed broadband and IPTV, along with managed ICT solutions.

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Invesco ESG S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (NYSEARCA:RSPE  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 5,072 shares, a decline of 74.9% from the November 30th total of 20,241 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,025 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.0 days. Currently, 0.5% of the companys stock are sold short. Currently, 0.5% of the companys stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 5,025 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.0 days.

Institutional Trading of Invesco ESG S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RSPE. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Invesco ESG S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $497,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Invesco ESG S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF by 84.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 29,463 shares of the companys stock valued at $851,000 after purchasing an additional 13,466 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Invesco ESG S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF during the 2nd quarter worth $220,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Invesco ESG S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF during the third quarter worth $222,000. Finally, Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Invesco ESG S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF by 24.8% during the second quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,184 shares of the companys stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 2,225 shares in the last quarter.

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Invesco ESG S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF Price Performance

RSPE stock remained flat at $30.14 during mid-day trading on Friday. The companys stock had a trading volume of 2,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,130. The company has a market cap of $30.14 million, a P/E ratio of 19.91 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a fifty day moving average of $29.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.53. Invesco ESG S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF has a 52 week low of $22.59 and a 52 week high of $30.18.

Invesco ESG S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF Company Profile

The Invesco ESG S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSPE) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in large cap equity. The fund tracks an equal-weighted index of S&P 500 companies that exhibit environmental, social, and governance (ESG) characteristics. RSPE was launched on Nov 17, 2021 and is managed by Invesco.

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iShares Core U.S. REIT ETF (NYSEARCA:USRT  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,265,406 shares, a growth of 160.0% from the November 30th total of 486,606 shares. Currently, 2.3% of the companys stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 465,563 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 465,563 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days. Currently, 2.3% of the companys stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of iShares Core U.S. REIT ETF by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,748,498 shares of the companys stock worth $102,672,000 after acquiring an additional 145,652 shares during the period. Glenmede Investment Management LP lifted its position in shares of iShares Core U.S. REIT ETF by 4.8% in the third quarter. Glenmede Investment Management LP now owns 1,673,789 shares of the companys stock valued at $98,285,000 after acquiring an additional 76,496 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co of Tennessee boosted its position in iShares Core U.S. REIT ETF by 8.8% during the third quarter. Trust Co of Tennessee now owns 1,084,369 shares of the companys stock worth $63,675,000 after acquiring an additional 87,436 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of iShares Core U.S. REIT ETF by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 870,659 shares of the companys stock valued at $51,125,000 after acquiring an additional 31,328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of iShares Core U.S. REIT ETF by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Heritage Financial Services LLC now owns 778,350 shares of the companys stock worth $45,705,000 after buying an additional 39,470 shares during the period.

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iShares Core U.S. REIT ETF Stock Up 0.0%

USRT traded up $0.01 on Friday, reaching $57.18. The company had a trading volume of 381,129 shares, compared to its average volume of 298,348. iShares Core U.S. REIT ETF has a 1 year low of $48.47 and a 1 year high of $60.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 35.32 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $57.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.60.

About iShares Core U.S. REIT ETF

The iShares Core U.S. REIT ETF (USRT) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the FTSE Nareit \u002F Equity REITs  INV index, a market-cap-weighted index of US-listed REITs USRT was launched on May 1, 2007 and is managed by BlackRock.

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KGHM Polska Miedz S.A. (OTCMKTS:KGHPF  Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 63,782 shares, an increase of 164.6% from the November 30th total of 24,105 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 131 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 486.9 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 131 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 486.9 days.

KGHM Polska Miedz Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of KGHM Polska Miedz stock traded up $0.89 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $78.89. 620 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 680. KGHM Polska Miedz has a 52 week low of $29.97 and a 52 week high of $78.93. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $58.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.72.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Morgan Stanley reiterated an overweight rating on shares of KGHM Polska Miedz in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Buy.

KGHM Polska Miedz Company Profile

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KGHM Polska Miedz (OTCMKTS: KGHPF) is a leading Polish mining and metallurgical company specializing in the extraction and processing of copper and precious metals. Headquartered in Lubin, Poland, the company operates an integrated business model that spans exploration, mining, smelting and refining. KGHM is known for producing copper cathodes, wire rod and a range of semifinished copper products, along with significant volumes of silver, gold and other byproducts such as molybdenum and nickel.

The companys core operations are anchored in the LegnicaGogow Copper Belt in southwestern Poland, where it runs several underground and open-pit mines.

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Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of TC Energy (NYSE:TRP  Free Report) (TSE:TRP) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays restated an overweight rating on shares of TC Energy in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a buy (b-) rating on shares of TC Energy in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on TC Energy from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Cibc World Mkts lowered TC Energy from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised TC Energy from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $84.00.

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TC Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:TRP opened at $55.83 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $58.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.06 and a beta of 0.70. TC Energy has a 1 year low of $43.51 and a 1 year high of $56.08. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $53.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

TC Energy (NYSE:TRP  Get Free Report) (TSE:TRP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts consensus estimates of $0.56. TC Energy had a net margin of 23.86% and a return on equity of 10.61%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.63 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that TC Energy will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TC Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This is an increase from TC Energys previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. TC Energys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 106.47%.

Institutional Trading of TC Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of TC Energy by 2.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,821,474 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $2,545,777,000 after purchasing an additional 914,168 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in TC Energy by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 41,977,582 shares of the pipeline companys stock valued at $2,282,469,000 after buying an additional 1,041,864 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in TC Energy by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 20,986,748 shares of the pipeline companys stock valued at $1,025,220,000 after buying an additional 1,178,190 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in TC Energy by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 19,624,247 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $1,067,246,000 after acquiring an additional 550,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in TC Energy by 2,565.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 16,306,187 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $769,815,000 after purchasing an additional 15,694,336 shares in the last quarter. 83.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About TC Energy

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TC Energy (NYSE: TRP) is a North American energy infrastructure company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. Formerly known as TransCanada, the company rebranded as TC Energy to reflect its broad presence across Canada, the United States and Mexico. TC Energy develops, owns and operates a diversified portfolio of energy infrastructure assets that play a central role in the transportation and delivery of energy across the continent.

The companys principal businesses include longdistance natural gas transmission, liquids (crude oil) pipelines, natural gas storage and power generation.

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Wells Fargo Advantage Funds  Allspring Income Opportunities Fund (NYSEAMERICAN:EAD  Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 123,845 shares, a growth of 86.8% from the November 30th total of 66,304 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 189,699 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.7 days. Based on an average daily volume of 189,699 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.7 days.

Wells Fargo Advantage Funds  Allspring Income Opportunities Fund Trading Up 0.3%

NYSEAMERICAN:EAD traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $6.81. 144,949 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 172,293. Wells Fargo Advantage Funds  Allspring Income Opportunities Fund has a 1 year low of $5.89 and a 1 year high of $7.18. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $6.96.

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Wells Fargo Advantage Funds  Allspring Income Opportunities Fund Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be issued a $0.0535 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 12th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

About Wells Fargo Advantage Funds  Allspring Income Opportunities Fund

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new position in Wells Fargo Advantage Funds  Allspring Income Opportunities Fund during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo Advantage Funds  Allspring Income Opportunities Fund by 16.3% in the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 65,316 shares of the closed-end funds stock valued at $461,000 after buying an additional 9,155 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Wells Fargo Advantage Funds  Allspring Income Opportunities Fund by 6.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 951,416 shares of the closed-end funds stock worth $6,669,000 after acquiring an additional 54,052 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Wells Fargo Advantage Funds  Allspring Income Opportunities Fund by 2.6% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 369,211 shares of the closed-end funds stock worth $2,588,000 after acquiring an additional 9,416 shares during the period. Finally, Adapt Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Wells Fargo Advantage Funds  Allspring Income Opportunities Fund in the third quarter worth $759,000.

(Get Free Report)

The Wells Fargo Advantage Funds  Allspring Income Opportunities Fund (NYSE American: EAD) is a diversified, closed-end management investment company that seeks current income by investing primarily in a broad array of income-producing debt instruments. Originally launched as part of the Wells Fargo Advantage Funds family, the fund is now managed by Allspring Global Investments. It trades on the NYSE American exchange under the ticker symbol EAD and aims to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns through a disciplined fixed-income strategy.

The funds investment portfolio typically includes corporate bonds spanning investment-grade and high-yield issues, U.S.

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WisdomTree Japan SmallCap Dividend Fund (NYSEARCA:DFJ  Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 100,705 shares, an increase of 105.0% from the November 30th total of 49,117 shares. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 11,596 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.7 days. Based on an average daily volume of 11,596 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.7 days. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

WisdomTree Japan SmallCap Dividend Fund Price Performance

Shares of NYSEARCA:DFJ traded down $1.43 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $96.12. The company had a trading volume of 35,188 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,605. WisdomTree Japan SmallCap Dividend Fund has a twelve month low of $70.04 and a twelve month high of $97.94. The stock has a market cap of $322.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 0.42. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $94.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.60.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DFJ. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WisdomTree Japan SmallCap Dividend Fund by 120.6% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 278 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in WisdomTree Japan SmallCap Dividend Fund in the third quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in WisdomTree Japan SmallCap Dividend Fund by 20.2% during the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,861 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. 3EDGE Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of WisdomTree Japan SmallCap Dividend Fund during the third quarter worth $431,000. Finally, Maridea Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of WisdomTree Japan SmallCap Dividend Fund during the third quarter worth $538,000.

WisdomTree Japan SmallCap Dividend Fund Company Profile

WisdomTree Japan SmallCap Dividend Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results that closely correspond to the price and yield performance of the WisdomTree Japan SmallCap Dividend Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of dividend paying small-capitalization companies in Japan. After the 300 largest companies have been removed from the WisdomTree Japan Dividend Index, the remaining companies are chosen for inclusion in the Index. Companies are weighted in the Index based on annual cash dividends paid.

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Biotricity (OTCMKTS:BTCY  Get Free Report) and Zepp Health (NYSE:ZEPP  Get Free Report) are both small-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

3.9% of Biotricity shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.6% of Zepp Health shares are held by institutional investors. 10.1% of Biotricity shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 36.0% of Zepp Health shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

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Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Biotricity and Zepp Health, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Biotricity 0 0 0 0 0.00 Zepp Health 1 0 1 0 2.00

Earnings & Valuation

Zepp Health has a consensus price target of $64.37, suggesting a potential upside of 127.56%. Given Zepp Healths stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Zepp Health is more favorable than Biotricity.

This table compares Biotricity and Zepp Healths top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Biotricity $13.79 million 0.56 -$8.42 million ($0.17) -1.62 Zepp Health $182.60 million 2.25 -$75.73 million ($4.11) -6.88

Biotricity has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Zepp Health. Zepp Health is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Biotricity, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Biotricity has a beta of 1.33, suggesting that its stock price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Zepp Health has a beta of 1.41, suggesting that its stock price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Biotricity and Zepp Healths net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Biotricity -30.02% N/A -75.50% Zepp Health -28.28% -21.45% -9.20%

Summary

Zepp Health beats Biotricity on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Biotricity

(Get Free Report)

Biotricity, Inc., a medical technology company, provides biometric data monitoring solutions in the United States. The company focuses on delivery of remote monitoring solutions to medical, healthcare, and consumer markets, including diagnostic and post-diagnostic solutions for lifestyle and chronic illnesses. It offers Bioflux mobile cardiac telemetry solution, an integrated ECG device; and ECG analysis software that analyzes and synthesizes patient ECG monitoring data, as well as software components. The company is based in Redwood City, California.

About Zepp Health

(Get Free Report)

Zepp Health Corporation operates as a smart wearable and health technology company worldwide. The company operates in two segments: Self-Branded Products and Others, and Xiaomi Wearable Products. It empowers users to live lives by optimizing health, fitness, and wellness journeys through its consumer brands, Amazfit, Zepp Clarity, and Zepp Aura. The company through its proprietary Zepp Digital Management Platform, which includes the Zepp OS, AI chips, biometric sensors, and data algorithms, delivers cloud-based 24/7 actionable insights and guidance to help users attain wellness goals. The company offers smart bands, watches, modules, and scales; and associated accessories, smart hearable products, sportswear, home fitness equipment, home appliances, and smart watch accessories. It also provides charts and graphs to display analysis of the activity and biometric data collected from users through its Zepp Life and Zepp mobile apps. It offers its products under the Amazfit and Zepp brand names in approximately 90 countries. The company was formerly known as Huami Corporation and changed its name to Zepp Health Corporation in February 2021. Zepp Health Corporation was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Hefei, the People's Republic of China.

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Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO  Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Zacks Research upgraded ZTO Express (Cayman) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a hold (c) rating on shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $22.36.

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Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on ZTO Express (Cayman)

ZTO Express (Cayman) Stock Performance

ZTO stock opened at $21.25 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $20.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a PEG ratio of 4.24 and a beta of -0.20. ZTO Express has a one year low of $16.34 and a one year high of $22.01.

ZTO Express (Cayman) (NYSE:ZTO  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The transportation company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($2.08). ZTO Express (Cayman) had a net margin of 18.61% and a return on equity of 14.33%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.90 EPS. Research analysts forecast that ZTO Express will post 1.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ZTO Express (Cayman)

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 61.4% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,021 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 769 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in ZTO Express (Cayman) in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 42.2% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,341 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 156.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of ZTO Express (Cayman) by 986.2% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,856 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 3,501 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 41.65% of the companys stock.

ZTO Express (Cayman) Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc is one of Chinas leading express delivery companies, specializing in both domestic and cross-border parcel logistics. The company operates a technology-enabled network that connects shippers, independent pickup and delivery stations, regional sorting hubs and end customers. ZTOs service portfolio includes standard express, heavy-weight parcel delivery, time-definite shipments and e-commerce logistics solutions tailored for online retailers and marketplaces.

Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Shanghai, ZTO has grown rapidly by leveraging a franchise-style operating model that engages a broad network of independent contractors.

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Rede Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE:CNI  Free Report) (TSE:CNR) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 5,117 shares of the transportation companys stock, valued at approximately $483,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Canadian National Railway by 124.0% during the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 271 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in Canadian National Railway during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Curio Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Canadian National Railway by 31,600.0% during the second quarter. Curio Wealth LLC now owns 317 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in Canadian National Railway during the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Canadian National Railway by 30.8% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 603 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.74% of the companys stock.

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Canadian National Railway Price Performance

Shares of CNI stock opened at $98.59 on Friday. Canadian National Railway Company has a 52 week low of $90.74 and a 52 week high of $108.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.67 billion, a PE ratio of 18.71, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.60. The stocks fifty day moving average is $96.07 and its 200-day moving average is $97.00.

Canadian National Railway Increases Dividend

Canadian National Railway ( NYSE:CNI Get Free Report ) (TSE:CNR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The transportation company reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.05. Canadian National Railway had a net margin of 26.86% and a return on equity of 21.50%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.72 EPS. The firms quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Canadian National Railway Company will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 9th will be given a dividend of $0.8875 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 9th. This is a positive change from Canadian National Railways previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $3.55 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Canadian National Railways dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on CNI. Zacks Research upgraded Canadian National Railway from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Canadian National Railway from $148.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Canadian National Railway from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Saturday, October 18th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Canadian National Railway from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Canadian National Railway from $117.00 to $110.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $117.36.

Read Our Latest Analysis on CNI

About Canadian National Railway

(Free Report)

Canadian National Railway Company (NYSE: CNI) is a Class I freight railway that operates an integrated rail network across Canada and the United States. Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, CN provides long-haul freight transportation and related logistics services that connect major ports, industrial centers and inland markets throughout North America. Its transcontinental system enables cross-border movement of goods and supports supply chains that span coast-to-coast in Canada and into the central and eastern United States.

CNs core business is the railborne transportation of a broad mix of commodities, including intermodal container traffic, forest and paper products, grain and other agricultural products, metallurgical and industrial products, petroleum and chemical products, coal and automotive shipments.

Further Reading

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Owning land in Scotland is a funny thing. A status symbol, it denotes power and implies economic dominance, but behind its exclusive privilege lies one of the most disparate ownership models in the Western world. The concentration of land in the hands of a small group of owners is an anomaly in the United Kingdom, and generates a profoundly unequal structure that causes tension and can lead to abuse of power. The Scottish system of land registration is the oldest in the world, and a recent attempt to modernize it, with an integral registry meant to be completed in 2024, has been abandoned on the premise that the plan lacked viability.

Despite successive reforms promoted by the Scottish government  the most recent was approved this month  half of private land in Scotland belongs to just 420 property owners. Perhaps most concerning is that trends over time, which once pointed towards less concentration of land ownership, has reversed course in the last two decades, leading to the accumulation of property in fewer hands, according to the project Who Owns Scotland, which is run by analyst and writer Andy Wightman, who has dedicated the last 20 years to investigating the phenomenon. His platform is updated every year, and currently covers more than 76% of Scottish rural areas.

Scotlands current situation originated  as it did throughout Europe  in the feudal pyramid. British territorial imbalance, the centralization of power in the countrys southern region, and Scotlands lack of autonomy until 1999, when the Scotland Act gave the territory its own executive branch and parliament, were also crucial components that set the stage for the contemporary situation.

But the persistence of its model lies in the historic singularity of the United Kingdom. Land reform tends to take place after colonization, revolution or a large-scale political event. In Europe, it began after the French Revolution, but the United Kingdom, and by extension Scotland, wasnt part of that European project, because it didnt have a revolution, or any big changes. The land continued to belong to the men who ran Parliament and it is always unlikely that such owners will reform the system. We never had the reforms that were undertaken in other European countries, says Wightman in a conversation with EL PAIS.

He explains Scotlands current situation by speaking of its integration into the United Kingdom in 1707, and its uneven territorial development. Scotland was relatively poor at the time, and when the Industrial Revolution began, industrialization and colonialism generated a huge surplus of capital, but predominately in England. Vast additional funds were allocated to leisure, which led to significant fortunes being spent on buying large tracts of land in Scotland for activities like hunting.

Another important factor were the so-called clearances, forced displacement of the populace, especially in the highlands in the northeastern part of the territory, through which large landowners evicted tenants, a process that freed up a vast expanse of land that would become part of the so-called leisure economy.

In the model that has emerged today, the traditionally dominant aristocracy has been replaced by a new demographic. Around half of the landowners come from the wealth typical of the last 150 years, from new industries to colonization, and 4% are foreigners, like the emir of Dubai, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who owns some 63,000 acres. The largest private owner of land in Scotland is the Danish textile magnate Anders Holch Povlsen.

Debate has prompted successive interventions by the Scottish National Party-led government, which believes that profits and opportunities from land should be distributed more widely and fairly. The most recent intervention was approved in early November, with the so-called Land Reform Act, which aims to regulate the thorny issue of land use, as well as the terms of purchase and sale.

Among the proposals is the responsibility of large landowners to inform the community about what is happening with the land, to facilitate acquisition by community groups when land comes up for sale, and to deal with the agricultural and environmental use of the land.

The problem, according to critics, is the complexity of the law, and that it doesnt go far enough. Even Parliaments Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee, despite recommending its approval, considered the regulation too big and too complicated. Wightman predicts very little effect, if any.

It introduces highly complex bureaucratic processes to give communities slightly improved purchasing rights, but not many people live in or around these large land extensions, which are often concentrated in mountainous regions, so its hard for them to benefit. As land reform, its not great.

After the approval of the law, Sofie Kirk Kristiansen, the Lego heir, bought a piece of land for $33.5 million but, according to Wightman, the market value of the property was $9.5 million, which in his opinion is proof that the law isnt making a difference. There are billionaires acquiring land in small towns, which puts them in direct conflict with communities. But this law doesnt deal with that, because the land in question doesnt cover many acres and the legislation focuses instead on large properties, he explains.

Change, he continues, must be structural and reformulate the system from its roots. To reform land, its important to be clear on what the goals are. Its not enough to say that the model is unjust or unequal, or that some people have too much land, or that theyre too rich. Those are legitimate observations, but its important to be clear on what you want to do, he says. He believes that democratizing how one owns and uses the land is not coherent with the fact that so few people possess so much land.

The primary changes to date have taken place through so-called reforms, assisted by the market, that have been promoted as attempts to redistribute land when it is put up for sale. The property owner wants to sell and as long as theyre being compensated, they have no problem with it, says Wightman, who nonetheless points out that every year, a minuscule percentage of land goes on the market, which challenges the idea that it will be able to substantially change the model, especially if the land is very expensive. If that is going to be the only process, change is going to come very, very slowly, he warns.

Scotland is the example: The land is already very concentrated, but the owner is going for even more, reversing historic trends, says Wightman. Explanation for this can be found in the large forces of a very liberal market, that allows as much purchasing as is desired, with no questions asked. The analyst also offers a double solution: adopt the same laws of inheritance found throughout a large part of Europe  which are limited to the right of children to inherit  and revise tax codes. Large tracts of land should pay more taxes. Faced with an annual tax burden in line with the market value of the land, people would think twice about accumulating large tracts, he says, which would help shift the priority to the economic use of land, rather than holding it as a speculative asset that will generate profit if sold.

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Pacer Advisors Inc. cut its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Free Report) by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 143,188 shares of the healthcare product makers stock after selling 10,297 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $19,179,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ABT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Abbott Laboratories by 1.8% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 172,800,851 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $23,502,644,000 after acquiring an additional 2,977,715 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 78,354,270 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $10,656,964,000 after purchasing an additional 689,517 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 38,293,067 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $5,184,589,000 after purchasing an additional 1,390,554 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,026,180,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,177,029 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $1,792,209,000 after buying an additional 68,613 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the companys stock.

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Abbott Laboratories Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Abbott Laboratories stock opened at $124.74 on Friday. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $110.86 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The company has a market cap of $216.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $126.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $129.94.

Abbott Laboratories Increases Dividend

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 for the quarter, meeting analysts consensus estimates of $1.30. The company had revenue of $11.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.40 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 31.88%.The firms quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.120-5.180 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. This is an increase from Abbott Laboratoriess previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 15th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Abbott Laboratoriess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on ABT. Daiwa Capital Markets upped their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $134.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $144.00 to $142.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $147.00.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Abbott Laboratories

About Abbott Laboratories

(Free Report)

Abbott Laboratories is a global healthcare company headquartered in Abbott Park, Illinois, that develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of medical products and services. Founded in 1888, Abbott operates through multiple business areas that focus on diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and established pharmaceuticals. The company supplies hospitals, clinics, laboratories, retailers and direct-to-consumer channels with products intended to diagnose, treat and manage a wide range of health conditions.

In diagnostics, Abbott provides laboratory and point-of-care testing platforms and assays used to detect infectious diseases, chronic conditions and biomarkers; its Alinity family of instruments and rapid-test solutions are examples of this capability.

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Sapient Capital LLC increased its position in Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE:AEM  Free Report) (TSE:AEM) by 96.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,823 shares of the mining companys stock after buying an additional 4,819 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLCs holdings in Agnico Eagle Mines were worth $1,638,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEM. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Agnico Eagle Mines in the 2nd quarter worth about $938,644,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Agnico Eagle Mines by 38.8% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,296,796 shares of the mining companys stock worth $987,398,000 after purchasing an additional 2,319,131 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its position in Agnico Eagle Mines by 48.3% during the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 4,528,022 shares of the mining companys stock worth $538,506,000 after purchasing an additional 1,474,385 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Agnico Eagle Mines by 53.1% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,164,046 shares of the mining companys stock valued at $495,230,000 after buying an additional 1,444,746 shares during the period. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in Agnico Eagle Mines during the second quarter valued at approximately $134,059,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.34% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AEM. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of Agnico Eagle Mines from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an outperform rating on shares of Agnico Eagle Mines in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. UBS Group increased their price target on Agnico Eagle Mines from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $189.00 price objective on Agnico Eagle Mines in a research note on Sunday, December 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Agnico Eagle Mines from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $201.60.

Agnico Eagle Mines Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of AEM opened at $183.32 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $91.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.64. Agnico Eagle Mines Limited has a one year low of $76.91 and a one year high of $187.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $167.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $149.36.

Agnico Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM  Get Free Report) (TSE:AEM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The mining company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. Agnico Eagle Mines had a return on equity of 15.64% and a net margin of 32.62%.During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Agnico Eagle Mines Limited will post 4.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agnico Eagle Mines Profile

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Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE: AEM) is a Canadian-based senior gold producer headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The company is principally engaged in the exploration, development, production and reclamation of gold-bearing properties. Agnico Eagle pursues both greenfield and brownfield exploration to expand its resource base and operates a portfolio of producing mines and development projects to generate long-life gold production.

Its core business activities span the full mining lifecycle: grassroots and advanced-stage exploration, prefeasibility and feasibility studies, mine construction, underground and open-pit mining, ore processing and metal recovery, and post-mining reclamation and closure.

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American Shared Hospital Services (NYSEAMERICAN:AMS  Get Free Report) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,720 shares, a decline of 39.4% from the November 30th total of 6,135 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the companys shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 10,522 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.4 days. Based on an average trading volume of 10,522 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.4 days. Approximately 0.1% of the companys shares are sold short.

American Shared Hospital Services Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSEAMERICAN:AMS traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $2.14. The stock had a trading volume of 18,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,761. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.37. American Shared Hospital Services has a twelve month low of $2.01 and a twelve month high of $3.39. The firm has a market cap of $14.00 million, a PE ratio of -6.29 and a beta of 0.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

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American Shared Hospital Services Company Profile

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American Shared Hospital Services operates as a specialized healthcare services company focused on delivering diagnostic imaging solutions to community and rural hospitals across the United States. Through strategic joint ventures and management agreements, the company collaborates with hospital partners to develop and operate outpatient imaging centers that provide advanced modalities while sharing the capital and operating costs. By partnering directly with hospitals, American Shared Hospital Services enables facility owners to offer in-house diagnostic capabilities without the burden of full operational oversight and significant equipment investment.

The companys service portfolio encompasses a wide range of imaging technologies, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT), mammography, ultrasound, bone densitometry (DEXA) and nuclear medicine.

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Shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF  Get Free Report) have received an average rating of Hold from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $180.7273.

Several analysts have issued reports on RJF shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a hold (c+) rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley reissued a positive rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Raymond James Financial from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Raymond James Financial from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group set a $176.00 price objective on shares of Raymond James Financial and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th.

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Raymond James Financial Price Performance

NYSE RJF opened at $165.38 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Raymond James Financial has a 1 year low of $117.57 and a 1 year high of $177.66. The company has a market cap of $32.53 billion, a PE ratio of 16.07, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.99. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $160.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $162.23.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.64 billion. Raymond James Financial had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 18.19%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Raymond James Financial will post 11.17 EPS for the current year.

Raymond James Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is an increase from Raymond James Financials previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Raymond James Financials dividend payout ratio is presently 20.99%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Paul C. Reilly sold 130,687 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.15, for a total transaction of $21,321,584.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 260,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,508,079.90. This trade represents a 33.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the companys stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Raymond James Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RJF. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 128.4% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,038 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,394,000 after purchasing an additional 5,643 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Raymond James Financial by 99.0% in the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,891 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in Raymond James Financial by 187.8% during the first quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 211,724 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $29,411,000 after buying an additional 138,154 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new position in Raymond James Financial during the first quarter valued at about $208,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Raymond James Financial by 17.1% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 578,705 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $80,388,000 after buying an additional 84,582 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.83% of the companys stock.

About Raymond James Financial

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Raymond James Financial is a diversified financial services firm headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida. Founded in 1962, the company provides a range of services to individual investors, businesses and institutions through a combination of wealth management, capital markets, investment banking, asset management, banking and trust services. Its business model centers on a network of financial advisors and broker-dealer operations that deliver personalized financial planning, investment advisory services and brokerage solutions.

The firms core offerings include private client wealth management delivered by independent and employee advisors, equity and fixed-income research, institutional sales and trading, and investment banking services such as mergers and acquisitions advisory and capital raising.

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BlackRock MuniYield Pennsylvania Quality Fund (NYSE:MPA  Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 24,397 shares, an increase of 124.9% from the November 30th total of 10,850 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 46,190 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.5 days. Currently, 0.2% of the companys stock are sold short. Currently, 0.2% of the companys stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 46,190 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.5 days.

BlackRock MuniYield Pennsylvania Quality Fund Trading Down 0.3%

MPA traded down $0.03 on Friday, reaching $11.05. The companys stock had a trading volume of 60,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 43,200. BlackRock MuniYield Pennsylvania Quality Fund has a 1 year low of $10.26 and a 1 year high of $12.08. The businesss 50 day moving average is $11.29 and its 200 day moving average is $11.06.

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BlackRock MuniYield Pennsylvania Quality Fund Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 22nd will be paid a $0.0477 dividend. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 22nd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

About BlackRock MuniYield Pennsylvania Quality Fund

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of BlackRock MuniYield Pennsylvania Quality Fund in the 1st quarter valued at about $117,000. Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in BlackRock MuniYield Pennsylvania Quality Fund by 13.8% in the second quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 17,959 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $194,000 after buying an additional 2,178 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in BlackRock MuniYield Pennsylvania Quality Fund by 5.6% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 18,957 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $205,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Breakwater Capital Group bought a new position in BlackRock MuniYield Pennsylvania Quality Fund during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $224,000. Finally, Ethos Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of BlackRock MuniYield Pennsylvania Quality Fund in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $271,000. 24.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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BlackRock MuniYield Pennsylvania Quality Fund (NYSE: MPA) is a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company whose primary objective is to provide shareholders with current income exempt from regular U.S. federal and Pennsylvania personal income taxes, and to a lesser extent, capital appreciation. The fund pursues its objective by investing in municipal securities that are issued by or for the benefit of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and its political subdivisions.

In managing its portfolio, the fund typically allocates at least 80% of its assets to investment-grade municipal bonds issued within Pennsylvania.

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Shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas Corp (NYSE:MGY  Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of Hold from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $26.50.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MGY. KeyCorp set a $29.00 price target on shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Magnolia Oil & Gas from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Mizuho set a $29.00 target price on Magnolia Oil & Gas in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a hold (c) rating on shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas in a report on Wednesday, October 8th.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Magnolia Oil & Gas

Magnolia Oil & Gas Stock Performance

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MGY. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Magnolia Oil & Gas by 12.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 11,861,231 shares of the companys stock valued at $266,641,000 after buying an additional 1,358,878 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Magnolia Oil & Gas by 4.7% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,369,713 shares of the companys stock worth $152,051,000 after purchasing an additional 283,444 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas by 2.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,225,168 shares of the companys stock valued at $124,725,000 after purchasing an additional 113,458 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,531,855 shares of the companys stock worth $101,895,000 after purchasing an additional 238,356 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Magnolia Oil & Gas by 55.7% in the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 4,478,361 shares of the companys stock valued at $106,898,000 after buying an additional 1,601,809 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.73% of the companys stock.

Shares of MGY stock opened at $21.71 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.13, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $22.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.35. Magnolia Oil & Gas has a 12 month low of $19.09 and a 12 month high of $26.84.

Magnolia Oil & Gas (NYSE:MGY  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts consensus estimates of $0.41. Magnolia Oil & Gas had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 18.10%. The business had revenue of $324.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $322.52 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. The firms quarterly revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Magnolia Oil & Gas will post 2.1 EPS for the current year.

Magnolia Oil & Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. Magnolia Oil & Gass dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.52%.

Magnolia Oil & Gas Company Profile

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Magnolia Oil & Gas Corp (NYSE: MGY) is an independent exploration and production company focused on the acquisition, development and optimization of onshore oil and gas assets in South Texas. Headquartered in Houston, the company concentrates its efforts on the Eagle Ford Shale, where it holds significant working interests in key producing counties.

The companys core operations center on horizontal drilling and multi-stage completions designed to extract light crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs).

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Canadian Utilities Limited (OTCMKTS:CDUAF  Get Free Report) passed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $29.67 and traded as high as $30.89. Canadian Utilities shares last traded at $30.89, with a volume of 307 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on CDUAF. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a sector perform rating on shares of Canadian Utilities in a research report on Monday, November 10th. National Bankshares reaffirmed a sector perform rating on shares of Canadian Utilities in a research report on Monday, November 10th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a market perform rating on shares of Canadian Utilities in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, CIBC restated a neutral rating on shares of Canadian Utilities in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold.

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Canadian Utilities Trading Down 0.0%

About Canadian Utilities

The companys 50 day moving average is $29.67 and its 200-day moving average is $28.42.

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Canadian Utilities Limited is a diversified energy infrastructure and utilities company based in Calgary, Alberta. Established in 1912, it is part of the ATCO Group and provides essential services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. The companys operations span across regulated and non-regulated businesses, with a focus on reliable energy delivery and infrastructure development.

In its utilities segment, Canadian Utilities owns and operates electricity transmission and distribution networks under the ATCO Electric brand, as well as natural gas distribution systems through ATCO Gas.

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Cembra Money Bank AG (OTCMKTS:CMBNF  Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 9,664 shares, a decrease of 38.2% from the November 30th total of 15,643 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 0 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently  days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 0 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently  days.

Cembra Money Bank Stock Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS:CMBNF opened at C$91.31 on Friday. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is C$91.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$91.31. Cembra Money Bank has a 1-year low of C$91.31 and a 1-year high of C$91.31.

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Cembra Money Bank Company Profile

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Cembra Money Bank AG is a Swiss consumer finance provider headquartered in Zurich, offering a range of credit and savings solutions to private individuals and small to medium-sized enterprises. The companys core business activities include the origination and servicing of personal loans, leasing products, credit cards and savings deposits. Through its subsidiaries and digital platforms, Cembra delivers financing options for new and used vehicles as well as unsecured personal lines of credit, complemented by a suite of savings accounts designed to attract retail deposits.

The institution traces its roots to the consumer finance arm of Swiss Life, which was acquired by GE Capital in the early 2000s and subsequently rebranded.

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Cib Marine Bancshares, Inc. (OTCMKTS:CIBH  Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 144 shares, a decrease of 41.0% from the November 30th total of 244 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,293 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.1 days. Approximately 0.0% of the companys shares are short sold. Approximately 0.0% of the companys shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,293 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.1 days.

Cib Marine Bancshares Stock Performance

CIBH stock opened at $37.50 on Friday. Cib Marine Bancshares has a one year low of $25.60 and a one year high of $37.83. The firm has a market cap of $52.13 million, a PE ratio of 19.74 and a beta of 0.23. The firms 50 day moving average price is $36.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.46.

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Cib Marine Bancshares (OTCMKTS:CIBH  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 10th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $7.49 million during the quarter.

Cib Marine Bancshares Company Profile

CIB Marine Bancshares is a bank holding company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, CIBM Bank, the company offers a full suite of financial services designed to meet the needs of both individual and business clients. Its banking platform focuses on providing personalized commercial lending, real estate financing and treasury management solutions to small- and middle-market companies, as well as retail deposit and payment services for consumers.

In its commercial banking division, CIBM Bank specializes in corporate lending, commercial real estate mortgages and lines of credit tailored to growing businesses.

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Voya Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Cushman & Wakefield PLC (NYSE:CWK  Free Report) by 18.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 181,375 shares of the companys stock after selling 40,742 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLCs holdings in Cushman & Wakefield were worth $2,887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Cushman & Wakefield during the 1st quarter worth $102,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cushman & Wakefield by 75.1% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 689,164 shares of the companys stock valued at $7,629,000 after acquiring an additional 295,615 shares in the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cushman & Wakefield during the second quarter valued at about $873,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB purchased a new stake in shares of Cushman & Wakefield during the second quarter worth about $208,000. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Cushman & Wakefield in the second quarter worth about $308,000. 95.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Cushman & Wakefield Stock Performance

Shares of CWK opened at $16.56 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a PE ratio of 17.24 and a beta of 1.46. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $15.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Cushman & Wakefield PLC has a 12-month low of $7.64 and a 12-month high of $17.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Cushman & Wakefield ( NYSE:CWK Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.01. Cushman & Wakefield had a net margin of 2.23% and a return on equity of 14.69%. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.23 earnings per share. The firms revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Cushman & Wakefield has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.180-1.230 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Cushman & Wakefield PLC will post 1.2 EPS for the current year.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CWK shares. Citizens Jmp raised their price objective on Cushman & Wakefield from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a market outperform rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Citigroup upgraded Cushman & Wakefield from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $18.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Cushman & Wakefield from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Saturday, December 13th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Cushman & Wakefield from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, JMP Securities set a $19.00 target price on shares of Cushman & Wakefield in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Cushman & Wakefield has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $17.44.

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Cushman & Wakefield Company Profile

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Cushman & Wakefield is a leading global commercial real estate services firm headquartered in Chicago. The company provides a wide range of services to occupiers and investors, specializing in transaction management, property management, facilities management and project management. Its clientele spans corporate occupiers, landlords, investors and government entities seeking solutions to optimize their real estate portfolios and operations.

The firms core offerings include leasing advisory for office, industrial, retail and multifamily properties, as well as capital markets advice on acquisitions, dispositions and debt and equity placements.

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The far-right leader is the first president in a democratic era to have supported the military regime. Although he avoided speaking about pardoning human rights abusers in 2025, he visited them in prison in 2017

Jose Antonio Kasts resounding victory in the December 14 election has dealt a heavy blow to the generation that suffered under Augusto Pinochets dictatorship (1973-1990). Kast is the second right-wing president of Chile since the return of democracy in 1990. However, unlike Sebastian Pinera (2010-2014, 2018-2022), who is from the traditional right and opposed Pinochet, Kast is the first to have publicly supported the military regime. He voted in favor of the generals continuation in the 1988 referendum, and in 2017 visited former agents imprisoned for human rights violations, saying at the time that beyond the convictions, both military and civilians deserve justice. Today, in many cases, vengeance prevails over justice.

Kast will assume office at La Moneda Palace on March 11, 2026, replacing Gabriel Boric as president. He won with 58% of the vote against the candidate of the left-wing governing coalition, the communist Jeannette Jara. Kast had run for president three times, but in this campaign  in contrast to the previous ones  he avoided speaking about the dictatorship. When asked in a debate before the runoff election whether he would pardon human rights violators, including Miguel Krassnoff, in exchange for information on the disappeared, he dodged the question. He noted that a law on humanitarian grounds is pending in Congress. I dont believe in what could be called delacion compensada [providing information about others to receive legal leniency or compensation], I believe in justice, and justice also means treating people who are terminally ill and unconscious with respect. Because you can imprison a body, but not a conscience, he said.

In another debate, in the final stretch of the campaign, he said: There are situations regarding human rights where there are people who were conscripted soldiers at the time of the institutional breakdown in Chile; who were taking notes at the police station entrance. [...] They did nothing more than that and received a five or 10-year sentence. I think thats something that should be reviewed.

The possibility of pardons is what worries Corina Maureira, who felt sad, anguished, and with a heavy heart after Kasts victory. Her father, Sergio Maureira, and her four brothers Sergio, Jose Manuel, Segundo Armando, and Rodolfo  were killed along with 10 other farm workers in 1973. Their bodies were discovered in 1978 at the Lonquen kiln, a mine 23 miles from Santiago: it was the first discovery of disappeared detainees in Chile, at a time when the dictatorship denied it was responsible for human rights violations.

Corina Maureira with a framed photograph of her four brothers and her father, victims of forced disappearance during the dictatorship, in Isla de Maipo, on December 19. Cristian Soto Quiroz

Corina was 20 years old when she saw Carabineros officers take her relatives into custody in October 1973, a month after the coup detat. Her mother was left in charge of eight other children, the youngest just 12 years old.

Its a pain we carry every day, deeply buried in our souls. Talking about them makes us feel that they are alive, she tells EL PAIS. For me, its very important to keep their memory alive, because if we dont, theyll be gone. And thats what scares me about the newly elected president: my fear is that there will be pardons, that there wont be any support for maintaining the memorials, and that the search for the disappeared will be abandoned, because we havent just fought for our own loved ones, but for thousands.

Thats why she says its important to continue with the Search Plan that Boric launched in 2023.

A sense of helplessness

Journalist and former diplomat Odette Magnet recounts how much she suffered on election night: Anguish and sadness overwhelmed me, and I cried for a long, deep while. After learning the election results, she says it was impossible not to think of her sister, Chilean sociologist Maria Cecilia Magnet, who was kidnapped in Buenos Aires on July 16, 1976, along with her husband, Argentine doctor Guillermo Tamburini. Both are victims of Operation Condor  the coordinated effort between the Southern Cones military dictatorships to eliminate leftists and subversives  and remain missing.

That day I imagined something very bleak, that all the struggle we had waged for so many others, and all the pain, had been in vain, and that is very hard to accept. I felt a sense of helplessness, of being abandoned. I know thats not true, because many felt the same way, and we supported and comforted each other. But at that moment I felt very alone, she says.

Odette Magnet, at her home in Santiago, Chile, on December 19. SOFIA YANJARI

Magnet explains that this feeling stems from Kasts silence. He hasnt offered a single word of encouragement or support, nor has he defended human rights, or our struggle for the disappeared in Chile and Latin America.

The issue of human rights continues to make Chilean society uncomfortable, and the right wing in particular, not just Kast, continues Magner, who in 2024 published the book of 11 short stories, Fracturados. And you feel like youre speaking alone. He has constantly avoided the topic and makes no commitment to what happened, which was very serious. He is the heir of the dictatorship, and in a way, he is Pinochets son.

I am very pessimistic about the progress we can make in the government, she adds. It seems that this is as far as we can go. Our search has always been very solitary, and in general there is a feeling of little solidarity.

A failure of collective memory

Estela Ortiz is the daughter of Fernando Ortiz, who was forcibly disappeared. The case still awaits the extradition of former National Intelligence Directorate (DINA) agent Adriana Rivas from Australia. She is also the widow of Jose Manuel Parada, who was head of the analysis department at the Vicaria de la Solidaridad, a landmark organization that advised and assisted families of dictatorship victims. Parada, the publicist Santiago Nattino, and the professor Manuel Guerrero were kidnapped on March 28, 1985, and found beheaded five days later.

For Ortiz, Kasts election evokes feelings of anger and pain. Its a complex issue. While its a triumph for democracy, its a failure of the peoples collective memory because of what he represents and because he defends Pinochet [...] I also ask: have we done so badly? How have we, as people who love democracy, failed to ensure that the memory of something that must never happen again is shared by the majority of the country? Human rights arent against the right wing; theyre for everyone.

Estela Ortiz in Santiago, Chile, on September 12, 2025. FERNANDA REQUENA (Fernanda Requena)

Luis Emilio Recabarren agrees: I understand that the people made their choice, but it reflects a lack of memory, a collective amnesia, he says over the phone from Sweden, where he lives with his family. He received the election results with a mix of disappointment and pain.

Luis Emilio was just over two years old when his family was disappeared. In April 1976, agents of the dictatorship arrested his mother, Nalvia Mena, who was three and a half months pregnant; his father, Luis Emilio Recabarren Gonzalez; and his uncle, Manuel Recabarren. When his grandfather, Manuel Recabarren, went out to look for them, he was never seen again.

After that, Luis Emilio was raised by his grandmothers, Ana Gonzalez, one of the founders of the Association of Relatives of the Detained and Disappeared (AFDD), and Ernestina Alvarado, both of whom searched for their missing family members until their deaths in 2018 and 2020, respectively. In 2024, on his 50th birthday, Recabarren published the book The Day My Parents Disappeared.

Today, he argues: Although people suffer from a lack of memory, it is time to unite more around human values so as not to fall into polarization. That is what I feel most strongly now.

Luis Emilio Recabarren, in an undated photograph. CORTESIA

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World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL  Free Report) by 150.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,305 shares of the technology companys stock after purchasing an additional 6,192 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors holdings in Dell Technologies were worth $1,461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Dell Technologies during the second quarter worth $528,279,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Dell Technologies by 628.5% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,374,078 shares of the technology companys stock worth $168,462,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185,454 shares in the last quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Dell Technologies by 41.4% in the 1st quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 3,177,809 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $289,657,000 after purchasing an additional 931,032 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Dell Technologies by 37.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,203,732 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $392,802,000 after purchasing an additional 867,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Dell Technologies by 15.0% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,904,843 shares of the technology companys stock worth $725,586,000 after purchasing an additional 771,966 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.37% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DELL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citic Securities upped their price objective on shares of Dell Technologies from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Evercore ISI set a $180.00 price target on Dell Technologies and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Dell Technologies from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Dell Technologies from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a buy rating on shares of Dell Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $162.84.

Dell Technologies Trading Up 0.7%

DELL stock opened at $129.22 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $85.64 billion, a PE ratio of 17.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $138.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $133.51. Dell Technologies Inc. has a 12-month low of $66.25 and a 12-month high of $168.08.

Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 25th. The technology company reported $2.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.12. Dell Technologies had a negative return on equity of 234.84% and a net margin of 5.01%.The company had revenue of $27.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.15 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Dell Technologies has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.920-9.920 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.500-3.500 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Dell Technologies Inc. will post 6.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dell Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 20th. Dell Technologiess payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Egon Durban sold 71,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.12, for a total value of $9,806,520.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,172,428 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $161,935,755.36. This trade represents a 5.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Lake Group L.L.C. Silver sold 6,617 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.63, for a total transaction of $1,003,335.71. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,287,379 shares of company stock valued at $345,319,592. 42.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Dell Technologies

(Free Report)

Dell Technologies Inc is a multinational technology company that designs, manufactures and sells a broad range of information technology products, solutions and services. Its offerings span client computing devices (consumer and commercial laptops and desktops), enterprise infrastructure (servers, storage systems and networking equipment), software and cloud infrastructure, and a variety of professional services such as IT consulting, deployment, managed services and financing solutions. The company serves organizations of all sizes as well as individual consumers, with products and services aimed at enabling digital transformation and modern IT environments.

Founded by Michael Dell in 1984, the company grew from a direct-to-consumer PC business into a diversified IT provider through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions.

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Farmers and Merchants Bancshares, Inc. (OTCMKTS:FMFG  Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 66 shares, a growth of 61.0% from the November 30th total of 41 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 282 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.2 days. Based on an average daily volume of 282 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.2 days.

Farmers and Merchants Bancshares Trading Up 0.1%

FMFG traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $17.02. The company had a trading volume of 200 shares, compared to its average volume of 684. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $16.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.55. Farmers and Merchants Bancshares has a 52 week low of $14.76 and a 52 week high of $19.00.

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Farmers and Merchants Bancshares Company Profile

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Farmers and Merchants Bancshares is the bank holding company for Farmers and Merchants Bank, a community-focused institution based in Lyons, Kansas. Through its banking subsidiary, the company provides a full range of deposit and lending products designed to meet the needs of individuals, families and small businesses. Core offerings include checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit and consumer loan products such as auto and home mortgages.

In addition to traditional banking services, Farmers and Merchants Bancshares offers commercial and agricultural lending to support local enterprises and farming operations throughout its service area.

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Stonebridge Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN:IDR  Free Report) by 73.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,740 shares of the companys stock after selling 18,345 shares during the period. Stonebridge Wealth Management LLCs holdings in Idaho Strategic Resources were worth $228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its position in Idaho Strategic Resources by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 47,223 shares of the companys stock valued at $618,000 after buying an additional 608 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its holdings in Idaho Strategic Resources by 21.7% in the second quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 14,000 shares of the companys stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Idaho Strategic Resources by 42.8% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 8,604 shares of the companys stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 2,579 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its stake in Idaho Strategic Resources by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 47,455 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,604,000 after purchasing an additional 2,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey purchased a new stake in Idaho Strategic Resources during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.70% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Roth Capital reiterated a buy rating on shares of Idaho Strategic Resources in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus price target of $17.50.

Insider Transactions at Idaho Strategic Resources

In related news, Director Richard Scott Beaven sold 2,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.64, for a total transaction of $69,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,183 shares of the companys stock, valued at $387,379.12. This represents a 15.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John Swallow sold 30,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.44, for a total value of $1,303,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 665,778 shares of the companys stock, valued at $28,921,396.32. This trade represents a 4.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 8.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Idaho Strategic Resources Stock Performance

Shares of IDR stock opened at $45.32 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $706.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.74 and a beta of 0.98. Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. has a one year low of $9.67 and a one year high of $54.70. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $37.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 8.34 and a current ratio of 8.55.

Idaho Strategic Resources (NYSEAMERICAN:IDR  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.01. Idaho Strategic Resources had a return on equity of 18.60% and a net margin of 27.82%.The company had revenue of $11.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.40 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Idaho Strategic Resources

(Free Report)

Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc, a resource-based company, engages in exploring for, developing, and extracting gold, silver, and base metal mineral resources in the Greater Coeur d'Alene Mining District of North Idaho. Its portfolio of mineral properties includes the Golden Chest Mine, a producing gold mine located in the Murray Gold Belt (MGB) of North Idaho; approximately 1,500 acres of patented mineral property and approximately 5,000 acres of nearby and adjacent un-patented mineral property located within the MGB; rare earth element projects located in the Idaho REE-Th Belt near Salmon, Idaho; and early-stage exploration properties in Central Idaho.

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Iluka Resources Limited (OTCMKTS:ILKAY  Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 664 shares, an increase of 137.1% from the November 30th total of 280 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,052 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.2 days. Based on an average daily volume of 3,052 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.2 days.

Iluka Resources Stock Performance

ILKAY traded up $0.15 during trading on Friday, reaching $19.34. The company had a trading volume of 2,629 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,212. Iluka Resources has a 12 month low of $9.08 and a 12 month high of $35.77. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $21.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.51.

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About Iluka Resources

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Iluka Resources is a leading global mineral sands company with operations spanning Australia, Sierra Leone and the United States. The company specializes in the exploration, mining and processing of zircon and titanium dioxide feedstocks, including ilmenite, rutile and synthetic rutile. Ilukas products serve a broad range of end markets, notably ceramics, refractory, pigment and chemical applications, as well as emerging technology sectors requiring specialty minerals.

Headquartered in Perth, Western Australia, Iluka Resources operates a vertically integrated business model encompassing mine development, mineral separation and marketing to industrial customers worldwide.

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Paradiem LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE  Free Report) by 14.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 164,804 shares of the utilities providers stock after acquiring an additional 21,367 shares during the quarter. NextEra Energy accounts for about 2.9% of Paradiem LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Paradiem LLCs holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $12,441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in NextEra Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,375,545,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.7% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 212,877,021 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $14,777,923,000 after buying an additional 5,554,603 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 1,765.3% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,968,305 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $299,567,000 after buying an additional 3,755,563 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 27.8% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 12,200,990 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $878,447,000 after buying an additional 2,657,438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in NextEra Energy by 18.7% in the second quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 10,796,329 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $749,481,000 after acquiring an additional 1,701,648 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.72% of the companys stock.

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NextEra Energy Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NextEra Energy stock opened at $80.48 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.63, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.74. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $61.72 and a twelve month high of $87.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $82.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.30.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

NextEra Energy ( NYSE:NEE Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.09. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.42% and a net margin of 24.72%.The firm had revenue of $7.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. The firms revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st were issued a $0.5665 dividend. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 21st. NextEra Energys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 11,336 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $906,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 167,481 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $13,398,480. The trade was a 6.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Armando Pimentel, Jr. sold 145,140 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.91, for a total value of $12,178,697.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 162,693 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $13,651,569.63. This represents a 47.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.20% of the companys stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NEE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued an outperform rating and set a $89.00 price objective (down from $90.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. HSBC lifted their price target on NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Monday, November 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Barclays set a $88.00 target price on NextEra Energy and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on NextEra Energy from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given 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 price target of $91.56.

Read Our Latest Report on NEE

About NextEra Energy

(Free Report)

NextEra Energy, Inc (NYSE: NEE), headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida, is a leading clean energy company with both regulated utility operations and competitive renewable generation businesses. The companys principal operating subsidiaries include Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), a regulated electric utility serving customers in Florida, and NextEra Energy Resources, which develops, constructs, owns and operates a large portfolio of wind, solar and energy storage projects. Together these businesses provide electricity supply, transmission and distribution services as well as utility-scale renewable generation and related services.

NextEras activities cover the full lifecycle of power assets, from project development and construction to operation, maintenance and asset optimization.

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Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC  Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of Moderate Buy from the twenty-one research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $651.1765.

NOC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman to $770.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $650.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a buy (b) rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Thursday, December 11th. They issued a buy rating and a $654.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Northrop Grumman from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, September 5th.

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View Our Latest Report on NOC

Insider Activity

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

In other news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 97 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $564.08, for a total transaction of $54,715.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,281 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,414,826.48. This trade represents a 2.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link . Insiders own 0.23% of the companys stock.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Soundwatch Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at about $6,457,274,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at about $491,985,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 98.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 899,114 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $460,355,000 after buying an additional 446,940 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,933,061 shares of the aerospace companys stock worth $1,466,472,000 after buying an additional 308,680 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth approximately $137,280,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $577.11 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $82.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76, a PEG ratio of 4.97 and a beta of 0.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Northrop Grumman has a twelve month low of $426.24 and a twelve month high of $640.90. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $571.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $565.74.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $6.43 by $1.24. The firm had revenue of $10.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.49% and a net margin of 9.82%.The businesss revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.00 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.650-26.050 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Northrop Grummans payout ratio is presently 33.24%.

About Northrop Grumman

(Get Free Report)

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is a leading U.S.-based aerospace and defense company that designs, builds and sustains advanced systems, products and technologies for government and commercial customers. Formed through the combination of Northrop and Grumman businesses in the 1990s, the companys portfolio spans manned and unmanned aircraft, space systems, missile defense, radar and sensor systems, and integrated command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) solutions.

The companys work includes airframe and platform manufacturing, space hardware and satellite systems, advanced mission systems and cybersecurity services, as well as logistics, sustainment and modernization programs.

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Pacer Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers Limited (NYSE:SIG  Free Report) by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 225,688 shares of the companys stock after selling 70,954 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.s holdings in Signet Jewelers were worth $21,648,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SIG. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Signet Jewelers in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Signet Jewelers by 171.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 678 shares of the companys stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the period. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Signet Jewelers in the 2nd quarter valued at about $69,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Signet Jewelers in the 1st quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Signet Jewelers by 205.9% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,505 shares of the companys stock valued at $120,000 after acquiring an additional 1,013 shares during the period.

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Signet Jewelers Price Performance

Signet Jewelers stock opened at $85.04 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a PE ratio of 25.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.12. The stocks fifty day moving average price is $94.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.51. Signet Jewelers Limited has a one year low of $45.55 and a one year high of $110.20.

Signet Jewelers Dividend Announcement

Signet Jewelers ( NYSE:SIG Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 2nd. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.47. Signet Jewelers had a return on equity of 24.44% and a net margin of 2.13%.The firm had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. The companys revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Signet Jewelers has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.430-9.59 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Signet Jewelers Limited will post 8.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 23rd. Signet Jewelerss dividend payout ratio is presently 38.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SIG shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Signet Jewelers from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Saturday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Signet Jewelers from $130.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Signet Jewelers from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Signet Jewelers from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a market perform rating and issued a $96.00 target price (up previously from $92.00) on shares of Signet Jewelers in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $109.67.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Signet Jewelers

About Signet Jewelers

(Free Report)

Signet Jewelers Ltd is the worlds largest retailer of diamond jewelry, operating a diversified network of retail stores across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Its portfolio includes well-established banners such as Kay Jewelers, Zales, Jared The Galleria of Jewelry, H.Samuel, Ernest Jones, Peoples and Piercing Pagoda, offering customers a range of shopping environments from suburban malls to high-street locations.

The companys product assortment encompasses engagement rings, wedding bands, fine fashion jewelry and timepieces, complemented by services including jewelry cleaning, repairs, appraisals and extended care plans.

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Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in Parker-Hannifin Corporation (NYSE:PH  Free Report) by 12,890.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,598 shares of the industrial products companys stock after acquiring an additional 2,578 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc.s holdings in Parker-Hannifin were worth $1,969,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Parker-Hannifin by 20.1% in the second quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,610 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $2,521,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in Parker-Hannifin by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 12,386 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $7,529,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new stake in Parker-Hannifin during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $733,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Parker-Hannifin by 20.9% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,194 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $1,334,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Parker-Hannifin by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,125,240 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $7,770,646,000 after acquiring an additional 101,476 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.44% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a buy (b) rating on shares of Parker-Hannifin in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup increased their price target on Parker-Hannifin from $960.00 to $1,006.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Parker-Hannifin from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Parker-Hannifin from $930.00 to $960.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Parker-Hannifin from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $911.65.

Insider Activity at Parker-Hannifin

In other Parker-Hannifin news, COO Andrew D. Ross sold 2,488 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.81, for a total transaction of $2,226,287.28. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 13,120 shares of the companys stock, valued at $11,739,907.20. This trade represents a 15.94% 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, VP Berend Bracht sold 3,507 shares of Parker-Hannifin stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $864.58, for a total transaction of $3,032,082.06. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 2,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,230,616.40. This trade represents a 57.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,432 shares of company stock valued at $6,484,116. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Parker-Hannifin Trading Up 0.1%

PH stock opened at $888.69 on Friday. Parker-Hannifin Corporation has a 52-week low of $488.45 and a 52-week high of $908.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $112.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.66, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.25. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $836.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $766.07.

Parker-Hannifin (NYSE:PH  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $7.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.62 by $0.60. The firm had revenue of $5.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.94 billion. Parker-Hannifin had a return on equity of 27.23% and a net margin of 18.17%.Parker-Hannifins revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.20 EPS. Parker-Hannifin has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.600-30.400 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 29.600-30.400 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Parker-Hannifin Corporation will post 26.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Parker-Hannifin Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th were given a dividend of $1.80 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $7.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Parker-Hannifins dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.65%.

Parker-Hannifin Profile

(Free Report)

Parker-Hannifin Corporation (NYSE: PH) is a global manufacturer and provider of motion and control technologies and systems. The company designs, manufactures and services a broad range of engineered components and systems used to control the movement and flow of liquids, gases and hydraulic power. Its product portfolio is applied across demanding environments and includes solutions for industrial manufacturing, aerospace, mobile equipment and other engineered applications.

Parker-Hannifins product and service offerings span hydraulic and pneumatic components, fittings and fluid connectors, valves, pumps and motors, electromechanical actuators and motion-control systems, filtration and separation products, and seals and sealing systems.

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Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in McDonalds Corporation (NYSE:MCD  Free Report) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,949 shares of the fast-food giants stock after buying an additional 2,692 shares during the quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLCs holdings in McDonalds were worth $18,218,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. lifted its stake in McDonalds by 142.9% during the second quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 85 shares of the fast-food giants stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonalds during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonalds during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonalds during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Finally, GFG Capital LLC acquired a new stake in McDonalds in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the companys stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonalds news, CFO Ian Frederick Borden sold 17,134 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $5,311,540.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 26,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,169,430. The trade was a 39.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 3,195 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.82, for a total value of $977,094.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 6,088 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,861,832.16. The trade was a 34.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 42,516 shares of company stock valued at $13,036,090 over the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonalds Price Performance

NYSE:MCD opened at $310.61 on Friday. McDonalds Corporation has a one year low of $276.53 and a one year high of $326.32. The company has a market cap of $221.20 billion, a PE ratio of 26.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.52. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $308.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $304.09.

McDonalds (NYSE:MCD  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.33 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.10 billion. McDonalds had a net margin of 32.04% and a negative return on equity of 280.89%. The companys revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that McDonalds Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonalds Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were given a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from McDonaldss previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. McDonaldss dividend payout ratio is 63.48%.

Key Stores Impacting McDonalds

Here are the key news stories impacting McDonalds this week:

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of McDonalds from $362.00 to $358.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of McDonalds from $295.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of McDonalds from $340.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of McDonalds in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of McDonalds from $322.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonalds currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $324.57.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on McDonalds

McDonalds Company Profile

(Free Report)

McDonalds Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is a global quick-service restaurant company best known for its hamburgers, French fries and breakfast offerings. The company develops, operates and franchises a system of restaurants that sell a range of food and beverage items, including signature products such as the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets, McCafe coffee beverages and a variety of salads, desserts and seasonal menu items. McDonalds serves customers through company-operated restaurants and franchised locations, and it supports sales via dine-in, drive-thru, digital ordering platforms and third-party delivery partnerships.

Founded in 1940 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald as a single San Bernardino, California restaurant, the business was transformed into a franchising model after Ray Kroc joined in the mid-1950s and led the brands national and international expansion.

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Perigon Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (NYSEARCA:RSP  Free Report) by 16.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,607 shares of the companys stock after selling 11,671 shares during the quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLCs holdings in Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF were worth $11,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada purchased a new stake in Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new position in Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Howe & Rusling Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF by 190.8% during the first quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 189 shares of the companys stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 61.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF Trading Up 0.0%

NYSEARCA RSP opened at $193.84 on Friday. Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF has a twelve month low of $150.35 and a twelve month high of $195.46. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $189.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $187.13. The company has a market capitalization of $74.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.10 and a beta of 0.99.

Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF Company Profile

Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF, formerly Rydex S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF, seeks to replicate as closely as possible, the daily performance of the S&P 500 Equal Weight Index (the Index). The Index is a capitalization-weighted index covering 500 industrial, utility, transportation and financial companies of the United States markets (mostly NYSE Euronext issues). The Index utilizes quarterly rebalancing to maintain its equal-weight stance. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least 90% of its net assets, plus any borrowing for investment purposes, in the equity securities (and derivatives thereof) included in the Index.

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The UN special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories has become a leading voice in her country, but she is on a US blacklist as if she were a terrorist and can only use cash

The life of Italian legal scholar Francesca Albanese, who has been the U.N. special rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories since 2022, began to change this summer on the day she presented her report From the Economy of Occupation to the Economy of Genocide, in which she accused major corporations of being complicit in Israels offensive in Gaza.

She had already received threats after her March report, Anatomy of a Genocide, but this time it was different. Six days later, on July 9, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the sanctions imposed in February on judges and prosecutors of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for issuing arrest warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, would also be applied to her. The accusation against Albanese was precisely that she had cooperated with the ICC and posed a threat to the global economy.

Albanese, 48, was already known as one of the clearest and most forceful voices denouncing human rights violations in Gaza, but she was not widely known among the general public in Italy. From that moment on, coinciding with the launch of the Global Sumud humanitarian flotilla  which received broad support in the country  she began to gain widespread popularity. She appeared daily on television and at public events, but at the same time her private life became unbearable.

Her visa was revoked, and she is barred from entering the United States  for example, she cannot go to the U.N. to present one of her two annual reports; the other is delivered in Geneva. Above all, all her assets were frozen, including her bank account and her apartment in the United States, even though she now lives in Tunisia.

In addition, she was placed on a blacklist that effectively cuts her off from the entire international banking system, as if she were a terrorist or a drug trafficker. Penalties were also established for any U.S. citizen who engages in financial or in-kind transactions with her  including, for example, her husband, who works at the World Bank, and her daughter. In theory, they cant even invite me for a coffee, because they could be fined up to $1 billion or face up to 20 years in prison, she explained in September before the Italian Chamber of Deputies, a point she has repeated in interviews.

EL PAIS contacted Albanese to ask about her day-to-day life, but after months of intense media exposure, she replied that she needed to take a pause to breathe and spend time with her family. When she spoke in the Italian Chamber of Deputies, it was at an event organized by the opposition to urge the Italian government and the EU to intervene on her behalf, but so far no one has taken action. The government of far-right leader Giorgia Meloni  the European leader closest to Donald Trump  is not particularly sympathetic to her cause.

Albanese has become a leading figure on the left, though an increasingly uncomfortable one, because she calls for drastic measures against Israel. Her constant public appearances have taken a toll. She has had missteps and made controversial statements  some of which she later apologized for  drawing criticism from across the political spectrum. For example, last month, after pro-Palestinian protesters stormed the newsroom of the daily La Stampa, she condemned the action but added that it should serve as a warning to journalists about how they do their work. She has also clashed with Senator-for-life Liliana Segre, 95, a Holocaust survivor and a towering figure in Italy, after Segre criticized the use of the term genocide to describe the situation in Gaza.

Setting aside these missteps, the fact is that for Italys right wing, she has become a symbol to be taken down. She has been the target of personal attacks by Meloni, and last week the education minister, Giuseppe Valditara, sent inspection teams to four schools where Albanese had given talks, to check whether she attempted to indoctrinate students.

Nobody feels safe

But that is now the least of her problems. The U.S. sanctions have had sweeping consequences for Albanese. She has to live solely with cash: she cannot receive transfers or donations, collect her salary, or even buy a plane ticket online. The ice around me has broken, she explained. In the United States I used to collaborate with universities, professors, NGOs but now no one dares to have any relationship with me. Not because they dont support me, but because at this moment the U.S. administration poses such a threat to everyone that no one feels safe.

She cannot open a bank account anywhere in the world or have a credit card, because she has been placed on the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list of the U.S. Treasury Department, which targets money laundering and terrorism. That department prohibits any financial institution from having someone on the list as a client. Any bank that does so cannot operate in dollars, faces multimillion-dollar fines, and is cut off from international payment systems.

She called us to see if it would be possible to open an account with us, but we looked at the law and we couldnt do it  we would be risking our ability to operate, said Nazzareno Gabrielli, CEO of Banca Etica, an institution dedicated to supporting charitable and social causes. It saddens us deeply, because this is the result of a completely arbitrary sanction from one state that affects other countries, he told EL PAIS. Banca Etica, Amnesty International, and other organizations have written to the Italian government asking it to intervene.

In sanctioning Albanese, the United States is violating U.N. rules that guarantee the immunity of the organizations officials. But disregarding White House regulations is no joke, as several European banks know. According to the Italian press, in 2019 the Italian bank Unicredit agreed to pay $1.3 billion to the U.S. Treasury Department for conducting transactions with countries under embargo.

The truth is that the European Union would have every right to refuse the enforcement of another countrys law on its territory. Domenico Gallo, former magistrate of the Italian Supreme Court, explained that in response to the problems posed by White House sanctions on countries such as Cuba, Libya, or Iran, the EU had already approved in 1996 the so-called blocking regulation, which addresses the extraterritorial effects of third-country measures. It was last updated in 2008.

The EU can order member states to disobey U.S. sanctions. When the sanctions against the ICC were announced, Ursula von der Leyen, Kaja Kallas, and Antonio Costa criticized them... but only in words; they havent reacted since. Its an international scandal, said Gallo. In his view, these measures have no legal basis; they simply distort the original purpose of the regulations to target foreign citizens for political persecution.

The decision by the White House has also been deemed illegal by 79 of the 125 countries that signed the Rome Statute, which established the ICC. Within the EU, three did not take a stand: Italy, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. Gallo also cited a legal precedent: in 2002, a person whose assets were frozen by the U.S. challenged the situation before the European Court of Justice (ECJ). This is the famous Kadi case, named after Saudi citizen Yassin Abdullah Kadi, for whom a 2013 European ruling sided with him. The judges found that his right to due process and defense had been violated, since these measures were applied without prior trial. In other words, Francesca Albanese and the other individuals sanctioned by the U.S. could turn to European courts if the EU continues to do nothing.

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PineStone Asset Management Inc. cut its position in Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. (NYSE:MTD  Free Report) by 3.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 323,570 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock after selling 10,779 shares during the period. Mettler-Toledo International makes up 2.5% of PineStone Asset Management Inc.s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. PineStone Asset Management Inc.s holdings in Mettler-Toledo International were worth $397,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 7.2% in the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 374 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $459,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Mettler-Toledo International by 11.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 966 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $1,186,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 13.6% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,452 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $3,010,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Mettler-Toledo International by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 2,302 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock valued at $2,826,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Albert D Mason Inc. raised its holdings in Mettler-Toledo International by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 1,244 shares of the medical instruments suppliers stock worth $1,527,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.07% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,400.00 to $1,450.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Mettler-Toledo International from $1,275.00 to $1,400.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c+) rating on shares of Mettler-Toledo International in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Mettler-Toledo International from $1,200.00 to $1,285.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Mettler-Toledo International from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $1,600.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mettler-Toledo International currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $1,441.67.

Mettler-Toledo International Stock Performance

MTD opened at $1,420.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.02 billion, a PE ratio of 35.42, a P/E/G ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 1.40. Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. has a one year low of $946.69 and a one year high of $1,525.17. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $1,420.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,309.30.

Mettler-Toledo International (NYSE:MTD  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $11.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $10.62 by $0.53. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $997.36 million. Mettler-Toledo International had a negative return on equity of 426.96% and a net margin of 21.20%.The companys revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $10.21 earnings per share. Mettler-Toledo International has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 12.680-12.880 EPS and its FY 2025 guidance at 42.050-42.250 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mettler-Toledo International, Inc. will post 42.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Patrick Kaltenbach sold 2,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,462.50, for a total transaction of $2,925,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,670 shares in the company, valued at $5,367,375. This trade represents a 35.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider La Guerroniere Marc De sold 6,055 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,488.18, for a total value of $9,010,929.90. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $278,289.66. The trade was a 97.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 19,565 shares of company stock valued at $28,683,737 over the last quarter. 1.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Mettler-Toledo International Company Profile

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Mettler-Toledo International Inc is a global manufacturer and distributor of precision instruments and services for laboratory, industrial and food retail applications. The companys product portfolio includes laboratory balances and analytical instruments, industrial weighing systems, process analytics and sensors, metal detection and x-ray inspection equipment, checkweighers, and a range of automated inspection and data-management solutions. Mettler-Toledo also provides software, calibration and lifecycle services intended to support compliance, quality control and operational efficiency across customer facilities.

The company serves a broad set of end markets including pharmaceutical and biotech laboratories, chemical and food processors, logistics and manufacturing operations, and retail environments where accurate weighing and inspection are critical.

Further Reading

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Rainbow Rare Earths Limited (OTCMKTS:RBWRF  Get Free Report) shares dropped 2% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $0.2102 and last traded at $0.2301. Approximately 4,100 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 43,096 shares. The stock had previously closed at $0.2348.

Rainbow Rare Earths Trading Down 2.0%

The stocks 50-day moving average price is $0.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $0.22.

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About Rainbow Rare Earths

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Rainbow Rare Earths (OTCMKTS:RBWRF) is a mineral exploration and development company focused on rare earth element deposits in East Africa. Headquartered in London, the company is engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development and mining of rare earth projects that serve global technology and manufacturing markets. By targeting light and heavy rare earth elementscritical inputs in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and other high-growth sectorsRainbow aims to become a stable, long-term supplier of strategically important minerals.

The companys flagship asset is the Gakara Rare Earth Project in southwestern Burundi, which hosts one of the worlds highest-grade rare earth deposits.

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ShaMaran Petroleum Corp. (OTCMKTS:SHASF  Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 112,246 shares, a drop of 50.0% from the November 30th total of 224,403 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,121,282 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.1 days. Based on an average daily volume of 1,121,282 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.1 days.

ShaMaran Petroleum Stock Performance

OTCMKTS SHASF traded up C$0.01 on Friday, reaching C$0.18. The companys stock had a trading volume of 1,100,263 shares, compared to its average volume of 145,491. The business has a 50-day moving average price of C$0.18 and a 200 day moving average price of C$0.17. ShaMaran Petroleum has a 52 week low of C$0.07 and a 52 week high of C$0.21.

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ShaMaran Petroleum Company Profile

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ShaMaran Petroleum is a Canadabased upstream oil and gas company that focuses on the exploration, development and production of crude oil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The companys principal asset is a 27.6% working interest in the Atrush block, located near the Turkish border, where it partners with international firms and the Kurdistan Regional Government to develop and operate the Atrush oil field. Production began in late 2017, and crude is exported via pipeline to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan.

Since its incorporation in 2007, ShaMaran has concentrated on building its position in under-explored hydrocarbon provinces.

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Carlsberg AS (OTCMKTS:CABGY  Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 12,192 shares, a drop of 39.4% from the November 30th total of 20,123 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the companys stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 87,602 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.1 days. Based on an average trading volume of 87,602 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.1 days. Approximately 0.0% of the companys stock are short sold.

Carlsberg AS Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of CABGY stock opened at $25.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Carlsberg AS has a 1-year low of $18.21 and a 1-year high of $30.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $24.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.38.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, UBS Group upgraded Carlsberg AS from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.

Carlsberg AS Company Profile

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Carlsberg A/S is a Danish multinational brewer founded in 1847 and headquartered in Copenhagen. The company is primarily engaged in the brewing, marketing and distribution of beer, cider and related beverages. Its portfolio comprises global and regional beer brands, led by the Carlsberg and Tuborg names, alongside a range of local brands tailored to specific markets. Carlsberg also operates maltings and brewing facilities and provides packaging and logistics services that support its beverage operations.

Carlsberg sells products across Europe and Asia and maintains a presence in numerous other markets through wholly owned subsidiaries, joint ventures and export arrangements.

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Hong Kong & China Gas Co. (OTCMKTS:HOKCY  Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,498 shares, a growth of 130.7% from the November 30th total of 1,516 shares. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 12,404 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.3 days. Based on an average daily volume of 12,404 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.3 days. Approximately 0.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Hong Kong & China Gas Stock Performance

HOKCY traded down $0.00 during trading on Friday, reaching $0.87. 441 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,585. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $0.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $0.86. Hong Kong & China Gas has a fifty-two week low of $0.68 and a fifty-two week high of $1.00.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Hong Kong & China Gas stock. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Hong Kong & China Gas Co. (OTCMKTS:HOKCY  Free Report) by 26.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 131,441 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 27,860 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers holdings in Hong Kong & China Gas were worth $107,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Hong Kong & China Gas Company Profile

The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited, commonly known as Towngas, is a long-established utility and energy services company founded in 1862. It is principally engaged in the production, distribution and sale of town gas and related energy products, serving residential, commercial and industrial customers. Towngas operates through an integrated model that covers gas production facilities, transmission and distribution networks, customer metering and billing, and after-sales services.

Core products and services include piped town gas for household and commercial use, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) distribution, gas appliances and fittings, and engineering, installation and maintenance services.

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Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc (NYSE:SMFG  Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,055,252 shares, a drop of 38.0% from the November 30th total of 3,314,539 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,181,438 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days. Currently, 0.0% of the companys shares are sold short. Currently, 0.0% of the companys shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,181,438 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 163.2% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,979 shares of the banks stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 204.7% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the banks stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group by 225.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,919 shares of the banks stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,329 shares in the last quarter. 3.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SMFG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c) rating on shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Zacks Research cut shares of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE SMFG traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $19.53. 994,726 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,944,305. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group has a 52-week low of $11.83 and a 52-week high of $19.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.48. The firm has a market cap of $125.18 billion, a PE ratio of 16.55, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.37.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (NYSE:SMFG  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 14th. The bank reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $8.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $7.41 billion. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group had a net margin of 13.80% and a return on equity of 9.14%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group will post 0.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group

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Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc (SMFG) is a Tokyo-based financial holding company that provides a broad range of banking and financial services through a network of domestic and international subsidiaries. Established in 2002 as a holding company for the Sumitomo Mitsui banking operations, SMFGs core banking business is conducted primarily through its main operating bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), alongside other affiliates covering trust banking, securities, leasing and consumer finance.

The groups product and service mix spans corporate and commercial banking, retail deposit and loan services, trade and project finance, cash management, syndicated lending, foreign exchange and treasury services, and capital markets and investment banking activities through its securities arm.

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Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSE:SLF  Get Free Report) (NYSE:SLF) has received an average recommendation of Hold from the eleven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$91.44.

A number of brokerages recently commented on SLF. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Sun Life Financial from a moderate buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. National Bankshares decreased their price target on Sun Life Financial from C$94.00 to C$93.00 in a report on Thursday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$99.00 to C$95.00 in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on Sun Life Financial from C$82.00 to C$84.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Cibc Captl Mkts cut Sun Life Financial from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th.

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Sun Life Financial Stock Down 0.3%

SLF stock opened at C$85.41 on Tuesday. The companys 50 day moving average price is C$83.78 and its 200 day moving average price is C$83.99. The firm has a market capitalization of C$47.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.18, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.74. Sun Life Financial has a fifty-two week low of C$74.56 and a fifty-two week high of C$91.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 26.00, a quick ratio of 84,866.00 and a current ratio of 92.19.

Sun Life Financial (TSE:SLF  Get Free Report) (NYSE:SLF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The financial services provider reported C$1.86 EPS for the quarter. Sun Life Financial had a net margin of 7.58% and a return on equity of 15.69%. The company had revenue of C$9.07 billion during the quarter. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sun Life Financial will post 6.9230769 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sun Life Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 26th. This is an increase from Sun Life Financials previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. Sun Life Financials dividend payout ratio is 65.15%.

About Sun Life Financial

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Sun Life Financial is one of Canadas Big Three life insurance companies along with Great-West Lifeco and Manulife. Sun Life provides insurance, retirement, and wealth-management services to individual and corporate customers in Canada, the United States, and Asia. It also owns MFS Investment Management, a Boston-based asset-management firm. Sun Life generates about a third of its profit from asset-management operations.

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TB Alternative Assets Ltd. lowered its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS  Free Report) by 77.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 447 shares of the investment management companys stock after selling 1,553 shares during the period. TB Alternative Assets Ltd.s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $356,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GS. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. First PREMIER Bank bought a new position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1,800.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 38 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in The Goldman Sachs Group by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 40 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. 71.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Key Headlines Impacting The Goldman Sachs Group

Here are the key news stories impacting The Goldman Sachs Group this week:

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Down 0.3%

GS stock opened at $907.94 on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $439.38 and a 52 week high of $919.10. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $823.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $764.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53. The company has a market cap of $272.32 billion, a PE ratio of 18.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.36.

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 the consensus estimate of $10.27 by $1.98. The firm had revenue of $15.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.68 billion. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 15.29%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Groups payout ratio is currently 32.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GS has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They set a market perform rating and a $785.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $870.00 to $971.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $854.00 to $828.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Daiwa Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $756.00 to $810.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $752.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $792.67.

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The Goldman Sachs Group Company Profile

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The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc is a global investment banking and financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1869 as a commercial paper business, the company has grown into a diversified financial institution that provides a broad range of services to corporations, financial institutions, governments and individuals. The firm is led by Chief Executive Officer David M. Solomon and operates across major financial centers worldwide.

Goldman Sachs core businesses include investment banking, global markets, asset and wealth management, and consumer banking.

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Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of Rollins, Inc. (NYSE:ROL  Free Report) by 175,715.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,163 shares of the business services providers stock after buying an additional 35,143 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc.s holdings in Rollins were worth $2,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Rollins by 11.7% in the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,335 shares of the business services providers stock worth $1,099,000 after acquiring an additional 2,126 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Rollins by 22.4% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 720,619 shares of the business services providers stock worth $38,935,000 after purchasing an additional 131,724 shares during the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its position in shares of Rollins by 245.0% in the 1st quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 42,714 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $2,308,000 after purchasing an additional 30,332 shares in the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. raised its position in shares of Rollins by 107.4% in the 1st quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 14,697 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $794,000 after purchasing an additional 7,610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Rollins during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $90,000. 51.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Rollins Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE ROL opened at $60.61 on Friday. Rollins, Inc. has a one year low of $45.34 and a one year high of $61.84. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.37 billion, a PE ratio of 56.64 and a beta of 0.79.

Rollins Increases Dividend

Rollins ( NYSE:ROL Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.03. Rollins had a net margin of 14.02% and a return on equity of 37.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.29 earnings per share. Rollinss quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Rollins, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were given a dividend of $0.1825 per share. This is a boost from Rollinss previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. This represents a $0.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Rollinss payout ratio is currently 68.22%.

Insider Activity at Rollins

In other news, insider Thomas D. Tesh sold 2,396 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.73, for a total transaction of $143,113.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 31,627 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,889,080.71. This trade represents a 7.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 4.47% of the companys stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ROL. Weiss Ratings restated a buy (b) rating on shares of Rollins in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Rollins in a research report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $55.00 target price on shares of Rollins and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Rollins in a research note on Friday, September 26th. They issued an overweight rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an outperform rating on shares of Rollins in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Rollins has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $66.92.

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Rollins Profile

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Rollins, Inc (NYSE: ROL) is a provider of pest and termite control services operating through a network of subsidiaries and franchises. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the company offers a broad range of pest management solutions for both residential and commercial customers, positioning itself as a specialist in protecting property and public health from pests and vectors.

Its service offerings include general pest control, termite inspection and treatment, bed bug remediation, mosquito and vector control, wildlife exclusion, and related specialty services.

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Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE:WY  Get Free Report) has received an average rating of Moderate Buy from the twelve analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $27.8750.

WY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $26.00 price target (down previously from $29.00) on shares of Weyerhaeuser in a report on Monday, November 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a sell (d+) rating on shares of Weyerhaeuser in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Weyerhaeuser from $35.00 to $31.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Weyerhaeuser from $31.00 to $30.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, CIBC restated an outperform rating on shares of Weyerhaeuser in a research note on Friday, December 12th.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Weyerhaeuser

In other news, Director Sara Grootwassink Lewis bought 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $23.61 per share, with a total value of $106,245.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 25,978 shares in the company, valued at approximately $613,340.58. This trade represents a 20.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink . Also, CEO Devin W. Stockfish sold 90,162 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.33, for a total value of $2,103,479.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,024,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,910,007.13. This trade represents a 8.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing . Insiders own 0.27% of the companys stock.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WY. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Weyerhaeuser by 64.2% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 127,327 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $3,156,000 after buying an additional 49,787 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Weyerhaeuser by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 13,306,064 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $341,833,000 after acquiring an additional 1,374,109 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Weyerhaeuser in the 2nd quarter worth $1,370,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Weyerhaeuser in the second quarter valued at about $600,502,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Weyerhaeuser by 7.4% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 423,889 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $10,890,000 after purchasing an additional 29,098 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.99% of the companys stock.

Weyerhaeuser Price Performance

Weyerhaeuser stock opened at $23.74 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $17.11 billion, a PE ratio of 52.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 124.32 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stocks fifty day moving average price is $22.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.57. Weyerhaeuser has a one year low of $21.16 and a one year high of $31.66.

Weyerhaeuser (NYSE:WY  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Weyerhaeuser had a return on equity of 3.04% and a net margin of 4.68%.Weyerhaeusers quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.05 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Weyerhaeuser will post 0.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Weyerhaeuser Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Weyerhaeusers dividend payout ratio is 186.67%.

About Weyerhaeuser

(Get Free Report)

Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE: WY) is a leading integrated forest products company whose core businesses are timberland ownership and forest products manufacturing. The company owns and manages large tracts of timberland and harvests, processes and sells wood and wood-derived products used primarily in residential and industrial construction. Its manufacturing operations produce a range of building materials, including lumber, engineered wood products and wood panels, alongside fiber-based products that serve multiple commercial applications.

Founded in 1900 by Frederick Weyerhaeuser and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the company has a long history in the North American forest products industry.

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Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:LQD  Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 39,001 shares of the exchange traded funds stock, valued at approximately $4,347,000. iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF comprises approximately 2.0% of Worth Asset Management LLCs portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LQD. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new position in shares of iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its holdings in iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF by 255.7% during the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 313 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF during the second quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH raised its stake in iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF by 18.4% in the second quarter. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH now owns 1,143 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.30% of the companys stock.

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iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF Stock Down 0.0%

LQD opened at $110.64 on Friday. iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF has a 12-month low of $103.45 and a 12-month high of $112.93. The business has a 50 day moving average of $111.10 and a 200-day moving average of $110.34. The stock has a market cap of $31.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.25 and a beta of 0.46.

iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF Company Profile

iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the Markit iBoxx USD Liquid Investment Grade Index (the Index), which is a rules-based index consisting of liquid, the United States dollar-denominated, investment-grade corporate bonds for sale in the United States. The Index may include large-, mid- or small-capitalization companies, and components primarily include consumer services, financial, and oil and gas companies.

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Worth Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA  Free Report) by 68.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,015 shares of the aircraft producers stock after selling 4,353 shares during the period. Worth Asset Management LLCs holdings in Boeing were worth $435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BA. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Boeing by 43.3% in the second quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 3,598 shares of the aircraft producers stock valued at $754,000 after buying an additional 1,088 shares during the last quarter. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Boeing during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $62,859,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Boeing by 1.7% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,773,360 shares of the aircraft producers stock worth $13,991,022,000 after buying an additional 1,118,316 shares in the last quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. grew its holdings in Boeing by 734.4% in the 3rd quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. now owns 10,322 shares of the aircraft producers stock valued at $2,228,000 after buying an additional 9,085 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vestor Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Boeing by 8,287.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 246,086 shares of the aircraft producers stock worth $51,562,000 after acquiring an additional 243,152 shares during the last quarter. 64.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BA. Jefferies Financial Group set a $255.00 price target on shares of Boeing in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Loop Capital set a $223.00 target price on shares of Boeing in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. UBS Group reissued a buy rating on shares of Boeing in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Boeing from $270.00 to $255.00 and set a positive rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Boeing in a report on Monday, September 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $233.17.

Boeing Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE BA opened at $216.34 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.44 billion, a PE ratio of -15.81 and a beta of 1.18. The Boeing Company has a twelve month low of $128.88 and a twelve month high of $242.69. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $202.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $214.26.

Boeing (NYSE:BA  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The aircraft producer reported ($7.47) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of ($0.51) by ($6.96). The company had revenue of $23.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.61 billion. Boeings revenue for the quarter was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned ($10.44) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Boeing Company will post -2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Uma M. Amuluru sold 1,366 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.66, for a total transaction of $270,003.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,656 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,896,904.96. This represents a 8.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Dana S. Deasy purchased 554 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $178.88 per share, with a total value of $99,099.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 28,442 shares in the company, valued at $5,087,704.96. This trade represents a 1.99% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Boeing Profile

(Free Report)

Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures and services commercial airplanes, defense systems, and space and security technologies. Founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, the company today operates as an integrated aerospace and defense contractor with a global customer base. Boeing relocated its corporate headquarters to Arlington, Virginia in 2022 and maintains extensive engineering, manufacturing and service operations across the United States and around the world.

Boeings principal lines of business include Commercial Airplanes, which produces and supports a range of jetliners used by airlines globally; Defense, Space & Security, which develops military aircraft, rotorcraft, surveillance and reconnaissance systems, satellites, and launch and missile systems; and Boeing Global Services, which provides aftermarket maintenance, training, spare parts, digital analytics and logistics support.

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It was rather dubious whether an all-island court would lead to the conviction of more fugitives, according to Irelands attorney general in 1982.

Patrick Connolly SC, who would resign later that year after prolific murderer Malcolm McArthur was arrested in his apartment, made his assessment shortly after the new Irish government was formed.

The suggestion of a joint British-Irish court was discussed during the 1980s.

A meeting was held in April 1982, a month after Charles Haughey came to power for a second time and before his government collapsed in December of that year.

Mr Haughey, Mr Connolly, the minister for foreign affairs Gerry Collins, minister for justice Sean Doherty, and senior civil servants at several departments met to discuss matters relating to Northern Ireland.

In a document labelled strictly confidential, released this year as part of the National Archives in Dublin, Mr Connolly told the new Irish government that he was against the suggestion of an all-island court.

Mr Connolly, who was thrown into the spotlight in August after Malcolm McArthur was arrested in his Dublin apartment, said he did not believe the court would lead to the conviction of more fugitives.

He recounted a meeting his predecessor had with the British attorney general about extradition, joint interrogation and an all-island court and then gave his view, according to the memo.

The attorney general was of the opinion that the proposal considered in this regard was a cumbersome arrangement, the merits of which in terms of securing more convictions of fugitive offenders were, in his view, rather dubious.

There were particular difficulties as regards the question of whether a right of appeal would lie.

In relation to joint interrogation, he said that gardai feared attacks would be mounted at Garda stations if RUC officers could be present and Mr Haughey said that extradition was an explosive issue.

In January of that year, before the general election was called, a meeting was held at Iveagh House attended by taoiseach Garret FitzGerald, the ministers for justice and foreign affairs, and then attorney general Peter Sutherland SC.

The note from that meeting stated that talks had begun between the British and Irish attorneys general and since then, there was pressure from the British side for us to advance our position on extradition and joint questioning.

It also noted that there was no prospect of the British agreeing to a joint court without movement on joint questioning or extradition.

Questions arose about such a courts jurisdiction and rules of procedure, the note stated.

There seemed to be agreement that the court could sit in the north and the south as necessary.

If a case were initiated in the north, the court would deal with it under UK law and procedures, even if it was necessary to sit in the south.

It was questioned as to whether such a formula could work in practice and further clarification of the position was felt to be necessary.

It also noted that while there was uniformity of legislation, rules of evidence differed which was relevant to admissions of guilt and could be an enormous obstacle.

It was agreed that the term all-island court was politically sensitive and that a more appropriate title might be joint court.

 This article is based on documents contained in the file labelled 2025/125/294 in the National Archives of Ireland.
Irish officials believed the September 11 attacks would impact how US politicians viewed the Northern Ireland peace process, according to a newly released Government file.

One day after the terror attacks which killed more than 2,900 people and injured thousands more, a Government official put together a briefing document on its potential impacts on the peace process.

While noting it was very early days to assess the consequences on the foreign policy of the George W Bush administration, the official predicted that the US could not enter a prolonged period of introspection where matters of internal security and dealing with terrorism would dominate the agenda for a long time to come.

Several US legislators had taken a keen interest and been involved in work towards the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, as well as subsequent efforts to maintain the peace deal.

The official predicted that the peace process would have to compete for space on the US foreign policy agenda, while noting that the war on terrorism may cause US legislators to take a more exacting approach with republicans in Northern Ireland due to the whiff of cordite.

The Government official advised that this be considered in any plans for engagements in a review of the Good Friday Agreement, as well as the timing for any planned visits to Washington DC.

The briefing document, published as part of the annual release of Government documents from the National Archives of Ireland, notes former US president Mr Bushs comments that his government would make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbour them as a potential precursor of this zero-tolerance approach to terrorism which may now drive US foreign and defence policy.

The official said it was likely that US foreign policy would now be largely driven by the imperative of the war against international terrorism, and would see an environment where security-focused policy advice coming from the FBI, the US Department of Justice and the intelligence agencies would completely out-trump any more sophisticated or nuanced analysis of conflict resolution situations from the State Department or National Security Council.

It is likely, therefore, that defeating terrorism will become a central organising principle for US policy for some time to come.

In this regard, US policy makers may not be inclined to make fine distinctions between different varieties of terrorist organisation; between their various stages of transition from paramilitaries to politicians; or between the political and military wings of insurrectionary movements.

The document states that while the perpetrators of the September 11 attacks were associated with the Middle East/Islamic elements, this will not insulate the republican movement from much more rigorous and critical scrutiny in an environment which increasingly lumps together, as the enemy, all shades of terrorism.

The document predicted republicans may experience a very chilly and more hostile environment in the US if it did not take quicker action on disarmament  which began shortly thereafter  and clarify its position on the Colombian guerilla group FARC.

It states: The republican movements attempts to prevent itself from being so branded will be seriously undermined by (a) its perceived failure to meet its commitments on illegal arms and (b) more especially, its recent associations with the FARC.

Since the beginning of the peace process, the Irish-American caucus in Congress has, with minor exceptions, been supportive of the republican movements progressive engagement with democratic politics, notwithstanding its militant past.

With both sides of Congress now apparently sharing the administrations view that the US is at war with terrorism, Irish-American Congressmen may now feel the need to adopt a more exacting approach in their dealings with the republican movement.

The whiff of cordite dimension (albeit at a respectable distance from its militant past) has contributed to the celebrity status of the Sinn Fein leadership in the US and to their appeal among Irish-America.

In the very different Attack on America environment which now pertains in the US, that same dimension may now become a drag on Sinn Feins respectability and access.

On the same day, former taoiseach Bertie Ahern wrote to Mr Bush to express Irelands deep and heartfelt condolences to the American people.

I am deeply shocked and enormously saddened by the terrible and evil events that have occurred in the United States, he wrote.

I utterly condemn these horrendous and unprecedented attacks.

It is difficult to come to terms with the scale of this dreadful outrage but our hearts go out to the American people as they try to come to grips with it.

The file also shows that Irish officials were monitoring comments by US figures in the weeks after the attacks, with former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer referring to the IRA while responding to a question on which organisations would be targeted in the war on terrorism  but later clarified the US would be limiting action to groups that threatened the US.

 This article is based on documents contained in the file labelled 2023/50/525 in the National Archives of Ireland.
Scientists in Ireland have discovered improvements in growing mini brains in laboratories, which could benefit studies into strokes, Alzheimers and Parkinsons.

The research examined the potential development of blood vessels in small clumps of brain cells  referred to as cerebral organoids or mini brains.

One of the problems with these structures, which are barely visible to the naked eye at just a few millimetres wide, is that cells towards the middle tend to die due to a lack of oxygen.

Lead researcher, Dr Mihai Lomora, acknowledged that that the work might sound like science fiction but said the reality is not so far fetched and scientists all around the world are working on such organoids.

His team at CURAM  the Research Ireland Centre for Medical Devices based at University of Galway  grew mini brains in a soft, biologically compatible material called a hydrogel and introduced cells that can form blood vessels.

The result was that organoids grew bigger and had fewer cells dying in the middle.

They also observed behaviour similar to the protective blood-brain barrier which could mean the research is relevant for study on diseases that involve the brain.

Dr Lomora said: When we started the project, we could see in the scientific literature that cerebral organoids growing in the lab tended to have a vasculature or blood vessels that were superficial only.

That meant that the blood vessels didnt penetrate in to reach the deeper cells in the organoid, then these cells became starved of oxygen and nutrients over time and they died off.

Dr Lomora, who is biomaterial chemistry lecturer and lead of the CerebroMachines Lab at University of Galway, explained that the clump of cells is not the same as growing a brain in the lab  but it can act as a mini-model for how one functions.

We want it to be as physiologically relevant as possible. We believe that by increasing the vasculature we have taken steps to making the organoids more physiologically relevant.

In an effort to increase oxygen and nutrient supply to deeper cells, the researchers adapted an existing technique for growing the mini brains by experimenting with different environments and timings for the blood vessels.

The improved approach resulted in three times less cell death in the organoids.

Dr Lomora added: We were fascinated to see that the vasculature really was able to protrude towards the interior of the organoids, which actually was quite a big advancement.

And we also saw that cells involved in forming some of those blood vessels came from the organoid itself. Its at the edge of the state of the art for now.

The research, led by CURAM, has been published in the Advanced Science journal and also involved a multi-disciplinary team based in RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Trinity College Dublin and the University of Edinburgh.
Back in April we spoke to Dundalk stylist and influencer Caroline McElroy for Louth Life magazine.

For nearly two decades, Caroline McElroy has been a force in the world of personal styling, helping women rediscover their confidence through fashion. With an impressive career spanning television, radio, and corporate styling, Caroline has built her reputation as a champion of everyday women who want to look and feel their best. From her early days as a nurse to becoming a recognised stylist and presenter, her journey has been anything but conventional.

Now, in a time when self-care is at the forefront of the fashion conversation, Caroline has become a huge advocate of the power of personal style. In her interview, she shares her path to becoming a stylist, her approach to working with clients, and how her career has evolved in the age of social media.

Growing up in Dundalk, Carolines first career path was far removed from fashion. After attending St. Barts in London to study nursing, she spent six years in the UK before returning home. Even then, fashion had been an underlying passion. I was doing a bit of modelling here and there, she recalls. I always had that interest, but nothing too serious.

There was no social media, there was no online, there was nothing like that. It was admiration, you know? And there are various different admirations. I suppose my admiration was really looking at the old movie stars. I think that real glamour kind of catches your eye. Its really beautiful. Its really aesthetically gorgeous, although hard to achieve.

It wasnt until after having her two children that Caroline found herself drawn back to style. Friends began seeking her advice on shopping and wardrobe choices. A chance conversation with Jean McArdle from Sheba, a well-known Dundalk boutique, led her to consider styling as a career. She said to me, You should be doing this.

Determined to refine her skills, she retrained and focused on the feel-good aspect of fashion rather than high fashion. For me, it was always about helping women feel good about themselves, not high fashion, she explains.

When styling, she starts by understanding her clients lifestyles, budgets, and personal needs. A lot of women have wardrobes full of clothes but nothing to wear, she says. A big starting point when women, or men approach me, is looking at what they have. Wardrobe decluttering [is important] and really paring down whats there already and then building up on the gaps that are left.

For Caroline, this means taking into account factors like body shape, colouring, and comfort, while also ensuring affordability.

It is all about the feel-good factor, about making women feel good about themselves, feel good about their bodies, no matter what shape or size they are, and to dress around that, to give them that extra bit of confidence, she says.

The conversation around self-care has evolved significantly since she started. When I began, no one really talked about self-care in the way they do now, she notes. But to me, dressing well was always a form of self-care.

Something else important in her work is mindful shopping. What happens with some people when they shop is that they impulse buy, they buy what they see online, on television that may be what attracts them, but it might not suit them, and they might have a lot of clothes that are repeat buys, and clothes that dont fit them and what they need to do is to focus on what their life is like, and how we fit around that.

As Carolines reputation grew, so did opportunities. She became a familiar face on Irish television, particularly with TV3, where she presented fashion segments on their weekend shows. She also took on radio work and began hosting fashion shows. It all happened quite naturally, she says. I wasnt particularly shy about talking about something I was passionate about.

Working on live television was a learning experience. Its a completely different animal when its live television. So there was no room for error, really. But thered be preparation beforehand. You would come up [with some ideas]. You would run it by the producer and see, were they happy with it?

The rise of social media has transformed the industry, she admits. While Caroline has built a substantial online following, she acknowledges that it hasnt always been easy. Organic growth is hard, and you have to be so consistent with it.

After taking some time away she has firmly reentered the social media sphere and has expanded her content to include skincare, beauty, and everyday life alongside fashion. I think that people really want to see that [everyday life]. They dont want to see perfection. They want to see peoples real lives. So that has worked quite well, but again, that has morphed and grown through the years as well. So theres a little bit of everything in the social media.

In addition to her styling work, Caroline has another role as a flight attendant with Aer Lingus. Its a career move that made sense for her. The work I was doing for fashion was freelance, so I needed to have a regular income. Lily and Ruby were getting older [and it was] time for me to do a little bit more full time with that. I did work for Virgin Atlantic, years and years ago, before I had the girls and that was something that I loved.

She found the transition back to cabin crew a natural one. Once aviation is in your blood, it never leaves you and the job also provides her with an opportunity to observe global fashion trends firsthand.

Read Next: Taoiseach presses Lebanon on justice for Dundalk soldier Sean Rooney

My favourites are the transatlantic, and I love New York. Its one of my favourites and I like LA for the sunshine, and Chicago is wonderful as well.

Despite the demanding schedule, she finds a way to juggle both careers. Im now juggling the fashion as well, but Ive been with Aer Lingus seven years now and absolutely love it. With that job, it is very irregular hours. So you could be going to New York, have your two to three days of work and then off for three days afterwards. So thats how you can manage the two together. So actually it works really well.

For those looking to break into the fashion industry, Caroline offers candid advice acknowledging that there are many different paths within the industry, from design to editorial to personal styling.

There are so many different areas in the fashion world some people like to do design. Some people go in and are completely creative, and its so interesting and wonderful. But, you know, the personal styling is a different animal as well.

Some people can just have an absolute flair for it and are amazing. Then youve chatterboxes like myself. Who can talk about it, but also talk to people who are in, you know, maybe in a difficult place and need that little lift.

Her biggest piece of wisdom? We all know its cliched, but you hardly work a day when you love what youre doing.
Back in March we talked to Dundalk comedian Shinanne Higgins about her 7 Deadly Sins for Louth Life magazine.

Local comedian Shinanne Higgins, has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and has run the very successful Louth Laughs standup night in Dundalk. This August shes taking two shows to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Her solo show "10 Things They Hate About Me" is returning to Fringe this year after a full sold out run last year.

LUST: Who or what do you find yourself lusting after today and why?

Keep your Gucci handbag... I want adventure! I am a travel addict, so I will lust after your holiday snaps on Insta. Im just back from Tromso in northern Norway where I was husky sledding, snowshoeing and chasing the Northern Lights.

GREED: What should you be cutting down on (non-food or drink) and why?

If there was a gold medal for doing anything apart from what Im supposed to be doing, Id probably put off collecting it from the medal shop. My favourite way to procrastinate at the moment is playing Quordle, thats Wordle for people with ADHD.

GLUTTONY: What one thing could you happily eat or drink until you burst, and why?

Im going to be the most Irish person ever and say...SPUDS! We know the real reasons for the famine, but even if it was true that we only grew spuds, whod blame us? Spuds were invented by the gods of deliciousness and delivered to the Irish people by our national saint, Sir Walter Raleigh.

SLOTH: What should you be putting your back into now and why?

This August Im bringing two shows to Edinburgh Fringe Festival and co-running two others. I have a new show called 3 Bad Sisters, with two other fantastic Irish female comedians; Aideen McQueen and Louise OToole.

WRATH: Who or what makes you angry and why?

I have all the patience in the world for people...but if you want to see the vein pop on my forehead or hear words usually used only by the surliest of sailors, just give me a deadline and a printer that doesnt work.

Read Next: Dublin to Drogheda line part of 670 million DART+ order set to launch in 2027

ENVY: Who are you jealous of and why?

Im not a jealous person. I do sometimes look at other women and wish I was skinnier... but then I remember that I could be skinny if I wanted. However, every day I CHOOSE buttery spuds and having naps over going to the gym. Turns out, I dont care enough about being skinny to get up at 6am to exercise!

PRIDE: Whats your proudest achievement and why?

I was a shy child. I hated speaking in class. I wouldnt even ask to go to the toilet at school. My childhood self would not believe that I have become a person that has travelled and worked around the world or stands on a stage telling jokes.
KUNMING, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- China is willing to provide humanitarian supplies to Cambodia for the settlement of displaced people in border areas, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Yuxi City, southwest China's Yunnan Province on Sunday.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks when meeting with Prak Sokhonn, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

Following the signing of a joint statement agreeing to a ceasefire, Cambodian and Thai foreign ministers are leading delegations to meet in Yunnan from Dec. 28 to 29 at the invitation of Wang.

China has been closely following the tense situation on the Cambodia-Thailand border and remained committed to facilitating peace through talks, Wang said, adding that China congratulates both sides on the ceasefire agreement.

The ceasefire marks the beginning of peacebuilding, Wang said, calling on the two sides to proceed in a phased and measured approach to promote a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire, restore normal interactions, rebuild mutual trust, achieve turnaround in bilateral relations, and uphold peace and stability in the region.

He said that both countries can make good use of this face-to-face opportunity for diplomatic and military representatives to engage in dialogue and communication in a flexible manner, enhance understanding, and establish mutual trust.

China supports ASEAN in playing its due role and stands ready to provide assistance to the ASEAN observation mission in monitoring the ceasefire, Wang said.

China also hopes Cambodia will continue to enhance protection of Chinese citizens and projects in the country, he added. 
1 July

15 year old Kofi Jackson Owusu, who tragically drowned while swimming with friends in Laytown, Co Meath, was remembered as a great young man who brought joy and smiles to everyone as he was laid to rest last Friday.

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Officials from Louth County Council met with elected members of Dundalk Municipal District to discuss recent environmental concerns raised about Blackrock Beach.

The meeting addressed several key issues, including the build-up of seaweed, the designation of bathing areas and water quality.



8 July

A total of 1,142,988.63 in representational payments and expenses was paid to Louth councillors in 2024, an increase of over 43,000 on the amounts paid in 2023, according to figures recently released by Louth County Council.

The highest amount was paid to Cllr Sean Kelly, who received 52,365.25 in total, and the lowest amount paid to a councillor who served as councillor for a full year in 2024, was to Cllr Kevin Meenan, who received 32,063.30.

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Louth County Council surpassed its social housing delivery target for 20222024, completing 1,030 new homes, which was 6% above the assigned target of 976 units.

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The Louth Garda Division saw a significant increase in the number of burglary offences recorded in the county in the 12 month period to March 2025, compared to the previous 12 months, according to the latest figures released by the CSO.

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Dundalk Chamber of Commerce announced the appointment of John McGahon as its new CEO.

15 July

Figures released by the HSE through request by the Freedom of Information Act 2014 show that over 7,975,216 was spent by Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and Louth County Hospital on the services of recruitment firms and agency staff last year, not including the month of December.

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An Bord Pleanala has upheld the decision by Louth County Council to refuse planning permission for a development of 37 new homes in Haggardstown.

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Dundalk Institute of Technology said it was delighted to welcome its new Students Union (SU) Team for the academic year 2025-2026.

Gerry OBrien steps into the role of SU President, Tobi Bewaji, took the role of Vice President for Student Engagement; and Rosheen Hornby joined the team as the new Vice President for Welfare and Equality

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Louth County Council has been asked to carry out a road safety audit at a junction near Faughart National School, and carry out appropriate traffic calming measures and renewed line markings.

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Ardee representative, Cllr Dolores Minogue, has hit out what she described as a lack of clear and timely communication from Uisce Eireann (formerly Irish Water), in relation to a water outage in the Ardee area over the past number of days.

22 July

More than 2,700 sixth class pupils in Louth have been left waiting over six months for routine dental checks while nearly 100 children with the most severe orthodontic needs are stuck in limbo for up to two years, according to HSE figures.

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New plans are underway for a mixed-use development in Ardee, that if given the go ahead would see the development of a new hotel, apartments and retail units in the mid-Louth town.

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There were just three homes available to rent in Dundalk, within either the standard or the discretionary rate of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) Scheme, over the three dates surveyed in June for the latest Simon Communities of Irelands quarterly Locked Out of the Market report.

29 July

An Bord Pleanala upheld the decision by Louth County Council to refuse planning permission for a new Large-scale Residential Development (LRD) in Dundalk, that had it been given the go ahead, would have seen the construction of 194 apartments on a site at Hill Street.

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Dundalk-Carlingford local representative, Cllr Fiona Mhic Conchoille, has welcomed the support received for a motion she brought before Louth County Council at its July meeting, calling on the Central Bank of Ireland to immediately stop the regulation of the Israeli Bond Issuance Programme.
Children living in a poverty-stricken area of East Africa will be able to undergo life-changing surgery in 2026 thanks to a number of fundraising events in Carrigaline this year.

Cheques totalling 16,555 will be going to the Shirati Hospital in Tanzania, with funds raised through the 30th annual Walk For Life last June.

The event, which saw participants walk from Carrigaline to Rabbit Island and back, was preceded by a collection at Barry Collins SuperValu Shopping Centre in Carrigaline  organised by John Wade from Grange, Douglas, and fellow committee members Angela Wade, Fred Cowhig, Joe Valentine, Ger Marshall, Ian Keating, Norman Carroll, and others.

Funds were also raised through the Dave Philpott memorial quiz at Collins Barracks, Cork, supported by the Prison Officers Association.

SHIRATI HOSPITAL

Walk for Life has enabled life-changing reconstructive surgery and leg treatments at the Shirati Hospital, plus follow-up physiotherapy and care for dozens of children who have leg and/or foot deformities.

Full correction can be achieved within six months of a surgical procedure.

The cheque sent out to Friends of Shirati will enable further surgeries in 2026 at the orthopaedic department run by Ibrahim J Mazara, BSc in prosthetics and orthotics.

Over the past six years, The Walk of Life and associated events have also provided funds for club-foot procedures, and a solar pump for irrigation to produce food crops, some of which feed patients and staff, and rewiring.

Funds raised through this years drive will also go towards the renovation of accommodation and the purchase of new beds at the Elderly Leprosy Unit in Shirati.

Glen Brubaker and Dale Ressler, on behalf of the hospital and Friends of Shirati, extended sincere thanks to walkers from Carrigaline and beyond and other supporters who helped raise money for the life changing surgeries. John Wade also thanked all who have generously supported the Walk For Life initiative over the past three decades.
Ballyphehane GAA has asked all those with a penchant for dancing to save the date for a Dinner Dance on Saturday, January 31 from 6pm until late.

The event will be held at Rochestown Park Hotel and promises to be a night of fantastic food, music, and celebration with live music from J90, followed by a DJ.

Tickets are 60 per person.

To purchase tickets, please contact Hayley on 085 134 7327 or Lisa on 087 317 2232.
Mahons Nagle Community College has announced that Scott Clinton has been selected as the overall winner of the Rotary Youth Leadership Competition.

The fifth year student, who will be one of 24 students nationwide to go on a five-day trip to the European Parliament in Strasbourg in February, was announced as the winner at a recent awards ceremony.

As part of the trip, students will debate, amend, vote, and adopt European issues in the EU Parliament.

The Rotary Ireland Youth Leadership Development Competition, in conjunction with Euroscola, is one of the longest running youth projects in Ireland that rewards young people who have shown leadership potential.
Progress has been made on a long-awaited primary care centre for Mayfield and Ballyvolane, with Cork City Council granting planning permission to the HSE for the facility.

The HSE have said the Mayfield and Glanmire Primary Care Centres (PCCs) are being delivered via the operational lease model.

The current status of the Glanmire PCC facility is that construction works have started on site, the HSE said in a statement.

Work started in October of this year, and is expected to take two years to complete.

In the case of the Mayfield/Ballyvolane PCC, the HSE said the the developer had notified the HSE that Cork City Council has issued a decision to grant planning permission for the facility.

The project will now advance through the final statutory phases, including the formal grant of permission, detailed design finalisation, and legal documentation.

Planning documents say that permission has been granted for a the construction of a four-storey primary care centre on Ballyhooly Road.

The development will be accessed via a new vehicular/pedestrian access off Ballyhooly Road and provides for internal roads and footpaths and future pedestrian connection to the north. The proposed development also includes the provision of one retail unit and two GP Practices at ground floor level, as well as solar panels, bike and car parking.

I am glad that the Primary Care Centre for Mayfield is finally going to construction, Cork North Central TD Thomas Gould, who was given the information, said.

This has dragged on for far too long  it was talked about when I was first elected in 2020. I truly believe that if it wasnt for pressure from elected representatives and the public, these primary care centres would drop off the agenda altogether.

I hope that construction happens quickly and we see care in the heart of Mayfield sooner rather than later.

The Sinn Fein TD added: I am calling for a full review of these projects. The government claim that privately leasing these centres speeds up delivery  it is clear from Mayfields case that this didnt happen.

The Echo previously revealed that the HSE is paying more than 3m a year to private companies for eight existing primary care centre buildings in Cork, which they have a 25-year lease on under the same model being used to develop to Mayfield/Ballyvolane centre.
There will be no extension of the special pay scheme for healthcare workers suffering from long covid, the health minister has said.

Two Cork nurses have told The Echo that they will struggle to pay their mortgages if the scheme is stopped as planned.

The healthcare workers, who contracted covid while working during the pandemic recently told The Echo they were hoping for a Christmas miracle.

Ireland and Greece are the only two EU countries who do not recognise long covid contracted during work as an occupational injury, and instead staff have been on a special pay scheme which has been extended several times. However, it is due to end on December 31 this year.

The Oireachtas Health Committee wrote to the minister for health to ask her to extend the long covid scheme for healthcare workers for six months while the issue of occupational injury was examined.

Chair of the committee and Cork Social Democrats TD Padraig Rice said:

Last week, the Taoiseach said a resolution had to be found. Instead, all these workers have gotten is a cold-hearted response from the Government on Christmas week.

Minister for health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, said in her response: The scheme has already been extended several times. The Labour Court recommended a final extension in June 2025, which means the scheme will now run until December 31, 2025.

The Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation have been clear that there will be no further extension to the scheme.

She said that staff who remain unfit to return to work will move seamlessly into the Public Service Sick Leave Scheme, under which they will receive full pay for three months, followed by half-pay for three months.

She added that they also have the option to apply for Temporary Rehabilitative Remuneration for up to 547 days, and that there will be reasonable accommodations to assist staff returning to work, including modified duties or adjusted work patterns while rehabilitating.

Mr Rices party colleague in East Cork, Liam Quaide, described the response as callous and emotionally detached.

He said it was: A disgraceful and miserly abdication of responsibility for these workers, many of whom were like cannon fodder in the terrible aftermath of the Meaningful Christmas that Fianna Fail and Fine Gael instigated in 2020/2021 after ignoring NPHET advice on the need to maintain restrictions of movement.
Ryanair chief executive Michael OLeary has labelled Taoiseach Micheal Martin useless, adding that he does not believe Mr Martin will still be in his role by July.

Along with Mr OLeary expressing frustration with the Government, he also criticised Mr Martin specifically over issues with Irelands roads, healthcare and housing.

However, the Dublin Airport passenger cap was a big issue for Mr OLeary.

The Government will work with stakeholders to achieve our objective of scrapping the f**king cap at Dublin Airport, he told a Sunday newspaper. Twelve months later, nothing. Meanwhile, your man is wandering around. Thats him [Mr Martin] opening up the baggage hall in Kerry Airport.

He also questioned the Taoiseachs recent trip to Lebanon. We have a minister of defence! Whats the Taoiseach doing in Lebanon?

Mr OLeary also said he does not believe Mr Martin will be Taoiseach when Ireland begins its EU Council presidency in July, adding: Were going to go after Micheal Martin because hes useless.
The Cork city and county garda divisions saw a loss of 20 members within the first 10 months of 2025, with complaints from female members within the force rising by more than 22% on a national scale when compared to last year.

Figures provided to The Echo by way of a Freedom of Information (FOI) request show that across Cork city, there was a total loss of 14 members between Anglesea St, Ballincollig, Blackrock, Blarney, Bridewell, Douglas, Gurranabraher, Mayfield and Togher.

The station which saw the largest decrease in members between January and October was the Cork city garda divisional headquarters on Anglesea St, which lost four members, followed by Ballincollig and Togher, which both lost two members each, and Blackrock, Blarney, Bridewell, Douglas, Gurranabraher, and Mayfield, which all lost one member each.

While the divisional headquarters saw the largest shift, the command and control centre at Anglesea St saw an increase of five members, bringing the total net loss in the city to nine members.

The figures further showed that across Cork county, there was a total loss of six members between Bandon, Cobh, Fermoy, Kanturk and Millstreet, with Cobh seeing the largest loss at two members, and a loss of one member each across Bandon, Fermoy, Kanturk and Millstreet.

There was also an increase of one member seen at the Midleton station, bringing the total net loss within the county to five members.

NATIONAL

On a national scale, there were 22 complaints made within the force by female members this year, across the three categories of bullying, harassment and sexual harassment, with five complaints made by male members.

This represents an increase of 22.2% on the number of complaints made by female members within the force at the end of 2024, when the figure stood at 18.

Meanwhile, the number of complaints made by male members in 2025 decreased by 44.4% when compared to complaints made in 2024, when the figure stood at nine.

Looking at the gap between complaints made by male and female members across 2024 and 2025, there were nine more complaints made by women last year, and 17 more made by women this year.

This represents an 89% increase on the gender gap in relation to complaints made by garda members within a one-year period.

This year, there were 18 complaints made by female members under the category of bullying, one complaint made under the category of harassment and three complaints made under the category of sexual harassment.

BULLYING

There were additionally five complaints made by male members under the category of bullying, and no complaints made my male members under the categories of harassment or sexual harassment.

Under the bullying category, all five complaints made my male members were forwarded to an investigation, of which all are currently ongoing.

Of the 18 bullying complaints made by female members, 14 were forwarded to an investigation, of which seven are currently ongoing.

Two of the complaints made by women under the bullying category were upheld after the conclusion of an investigation, five were not upheld after the conclusion of an investigation, two required mediation in lieu of an investigation and two were withdrawn.

Under the harassment category, the one complaint made by a female member was forwarded to an investigation, which concluded with the complaint being upheld.

Under the sexual harassment category, the three complaints made by female members were forwarded to an investigation, of which two are currently ongoing.

The one remaining complaint under the sexual harassment category was upheld on conclusion of an investigation.
Sean McCarthaigh

The High Court has ruled that the Irish Aviation Authority had powers to ground an aircraft and suspend the licence of a pilot associated with a parachuting club based in Kilkenny during safety inspections three years ago.

Mr Justice Anthony Barr dismissed a legal action taken by the Irish Skydiving Club and its director, Eoin Nevin, which challenged the legality of two inspections carried out by IAA officials on an airfield in Hoddensrath, Co Kilkenny on August 26th, 2022 and September 16th, 2022.

The plaintiffs sought orders from the High Court setting aside the IAAs findings and imposing corrective actions on the aviation regulatory body.

They claimed the IAA carried out the inspections without legal authority and that the IAAs inspectors lacked competency and acted unlawfully and in breach of fair procedures.

All claims were denied by the IAA.

The High Court heard that the IAA had been in contact with the Irish Skydiving Club since July 2021 to arrange an inspection of the clubs operations.

Mr Justice Barr noted that an IAA official has received a somewhat frosty response from Mr Nevin who complained that the club had not had any contact from the regulatory body in the previous six years.

In an affidavit, one of the IAA inspectors said a checklist for parachuting operations presented to him by Mr Nevin during an inspection on August 26th, 2022 was entirely unsatisfactory.

The pilot was instructed that he could not fly the aircraft for parachuting operations until a suitable checklist had been formulated and presented to the IAA for review.

The High Court heard Mr Nevin declined the offer by IAA inspectors of a number of template documents to assist with compiling the required checklist.

The IAA inspectors were also concerned that flight charts on board the aircraft were not up to date and that markings on the plane were missing or unreadable.

However, Mr Nevin refused to sign a copy of an inspection form which outlined a number of findings of non-compliance with regulations.

A letter from the plaintiffs solicitors subsequently accused the IAA of abusing its statutory powers and asked it to refrain from any further visits to the airfield without express notice from them.

However, the High Court heard that IAA inspectors returned to the airfield on September 16th, 2022 when they observed Mr Nevin landing a plane.

The pilot declined to comply with a request to produce his licence and aircraft documents until his legal representative arrived before walking away from the IAAs inspectors.

They subsequently decided to ground the aircraft because it had not been shown that it was being flown with adequate checklists.

The IAA inspectors also called in gardai because they feared Mr Nevin and others might react badly to the grounding of the aircraft.

Mr Nevin was also subsequently grounded for failing to produce his licence and refusing to cooperate with the IAA inspection.

The grounding order on the aircraft was lifted in March 2024 after an inspection by IAA officials deemed it airworthy for normal operations.

In his ruling, Mr Justice Barr said he was satisfied that the IAA had the power to carry out unannounced ramp inspections of aircraft when it felt appropriate to do so.

The judge said it was difficult to envisage any impediment to the IAA carrying out such inspections given the often fatal consequences of a departure from the highest standards of safety in aviation operations.

Mr Justice Barr ruled that the interactions between an IAA inspector and Mr Nevin and his colleague, David Byrne,s in the period before any inspection at the airfield did not limit or prevent the regulatory body from carrying out ramp inspections.

He claimed there was no legal impediment to the IAA to carry out the two inspections in 2022.

The judge observed that the plaintiffs had a mistaken belief that they could dictate when and how they should be regulated.

He also ruled that the IAA inspectors had carried out the ramp inspections lawfully and appropriately which he observed was corroborated by a recording Mr Nevin had made on his mobile phone without the consent of the IAA officials.

Mr Justice Barr said the main inspector had carried out his duties in a calm and polite manner despite persistent interruptions down the phone by Mr Byrnes.

In relation to the second inspection, he ruled that the IAA inspectors were not obliged to wait for the arrival of Mr Byrnes before carrying out their inspection.

He remarked that Mr Nevins belief that he had the right to consult his lawyer because he felt under arrest was irrational while it had been reasonable and prudent for the IAA inspectors to have gardai on standby.

Given Mr Nevins blanket refusal to engage with them before his lawyer arrived, Mr Justice Barr said they had little option but to proceed in the way that they did.

He also ruled that there was nothing improper in the IAA informing the UKs Civil Aviation Authority that Mr Nevin had been provisionally suspended and involved in legal proceedings with the Irish regulatory body after he had applied for a pilots licence in the UK.

Mr Justice Barr said it was truly shocking that Mr Nevin as a pilot in command of an aircraft had refused representatives of the IAA access to his plan when they were carrying out a safety inspection.

He said it demonstrated a serious lack of understanding by Mr Nevin on the nature and purpose of safety inspections.

The judge listed January 28th, 2026 for making final orders and a ruling on costs
Mourners gather outside the Imam Ali bin Abi Talib Mosque during a funeral procession for victims of a blast in Homs, central Syria, Dec. 27, 2025. An explosion struck the Imam Ali bin Abi Talib Mosque in the Wadi al-Dhahab neighborhood on Friday, killing eight people and leaving several others wounded. (Str/Xinhua)

Mourners gather outside the Imam Ali bin Abi Talib Mosque during a funeral procession for victims of a blast in Homs, central Syria, Dec. 27, 2025. An explosion struck the Imam Ali bin Abi Talib Mosque in the Wadi al-Dhahab neighborhood on Friday, killing eight people and leaving several others wounded. (Str/Xinhua)

Mourners gather outside the Imam Ali bin Abi Talib Mosque during a funeral procession for victims of a blast in Homs, central Syria, Dec. 27, 2025. An explosion struck the Imam Ali bin Abi Talib Mosque in the Wadi al-Dhahab neighborhood on Friday, killing eight people and leaving several others wounded. (Str/Xinhua)

Mourners gather outside the Imam Ali bin Abi Talib Mosque during a funeral procession for victims of a blast in Homs, central Syria, Dec. 27, 2025.An explosion struck the Imam Ali bin Abi Talib Mosque in the Wadi al-Dhahab neighborhood on Friday, killing eight people and leaving several others wounded. (Str/Xinhua)

Mourners gather outside the Imam Ali bin Abi Talib Mosque during a funeral procession for victims of a blast in Homs, central Syria, Dec. 27, 2025.An explosion struck the Imam Ali bin Abi Talib Mosque in the Wadi al-Dhahab neighborhood on Friday, killing eight people and leaving several others wounded. (Str/Xinhua)
Apple isn't ready to pay a several billion-dollar fine to UK App Store users and is filing an appeal over a major antitrust lawsuit. As first reported by The Guardian, Apple has requested to appeal to the UK's Court of Appeal, which would escalate the case beyond the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT).

The latest appeal attempt follows an October decision from the CAT, where the court found that Apple engaged in anticompetitive practices by exploiting its dominant market position with the App Store to charge higher fees. The CAT's ruling established a 1.5 billion, or roughly $2 billion, fine, but Apple said it planned to appeal and that the court "takes a flawed view of the thriving and competitive app economy." The CAT didn't grant Apple the appeal, leading the iPhone maker to seek a higher court to overturn the ruling.

Apple hasn't made any official statements about its latest appeal application, but it's likely that it will argue against the CAT's proposed App Store developer fee rate of between 15 and 20 percent, which it reached through "informed guesswork," instead of the existing 30 percent. If the fine does ultimately stick, the $2 billion fine would be split amongst any App Store user in the UK who made purchases between 2015 and 2024, according to The Guardian.
Brigitte Bardot has died at 91, but some of the images now flooding social media were not taken in Paris, Saint-Tropez, or Hollywood. They were taken in Mexico.

In 1965, at the peak of her fame and years before she would walk away from acting for good, Bardot traveled to Mexico to film Viva Maria!, directed by Louis Malle and co-starring Jeanne Moreau. What came out of that shoot was not just a movie, but a series of photographs that would become some of the most recognizable images of her entire life.

Read more: The Cure Guitarist Perry Bamonte Dies at 65 Over Christmas Break Following Short Illness

Shot largely outdoors under harsh conditions, the Mexico set stripped away the studio control that had defined Bardot's sex-symbol image. Off camera, photographers captured her barefoot, relaxed, playing guitar, laughing between takes, and famously stopping production to rescue and care for a duck she found on set. The images, many taken by Douglas Kirkland, showed a version of Bardot the public rarely saw. Unstyled. Unbothered. Human.

Years later, Bardot herself acknowledged how different that moment felt. In her memoir Initiales B.B., she wrote, "The filming of Viva Maria! was exhausting, chaotic, and very far from the comfort of European studios." Then came the line that now reads like a quiet confession: "During Viva Maria!, I felt less like a prisoner of my image."

For fans and tabloids alike, those words explain why the Mexico photos endure. They don't feel posed. They feel lived in.

Bardot was born in Paris in 1934 and became an international sensation in 1956 with And God Created Woman, a role that turned her into the defining sex symbol of her era. Fame followed fast and relentlessly. By her own account, it also became unbearable. She struggled with depression, attempted suicide multiple times, and grew increasingly hostile toward the media attention surrounding her private life.

Viva Maria! came near the end of her peak years. In 1973, at just 39, Bardot retired from acting entirely. She later devoted her life to animal rights activism and lived largely in seclusion in Saint-Tropez.

Now, following her death, the images from Mexico are being reshared not just as vintage glamour, but as proof of something Bardot rarely admitted publicly. That for a brief moment, far from studios and spotlights, she felt free.

And the camera caught it.
Nicolas-Jacques Charrier is the only child of Brigitte Bardot, and for decades he lived almost entirely outside the orbit of her fame. His name resurfaced following Bardot's death at 91, as questions emerged about her estate and her long-standing decision to prioritize animal welfare over a traditional family inheritance.

Charrier was born on Jan. 11, 1960, in Paris, during Bardot's marriage to French actor Jacques Charrier. At the time, Bardot was at the height of her global fame, widely regarded as the most photographed woman in the world. The pregnancy and birth unfolded under intense media scrutiny, something Bardot later described as deeply distressing rather than joyful.

From early on, Bardot was unusually candid about her discomfort with motherhood. In interviews and in her memoir Initiales B.B., she acknowledged that she never wanted to be a mother and felt emotionally unprepared for the role. She described pregnancy and early motherhood as experiences that intensified her sense of confinement, particularly at a moment when fame already felt overwhelming and invasive.

When the book was published in 1997, Charrier and Nicolas sued Bardot for an invasion of privacy. In the book, the French actress claimed her ex-husband was abusive and likened her pregnancy with Nicolas to having "a tumor growing inside of me."

A Paris court later ordered Bardot to pay around $40,000 in fines.

After Bardot and Jacques Charrier divorced in 1962, custody of Nicolas-Jacques was awarded to his father. Bardot largely withdrew from her son's upbringing, a decision she later addressed openly and without romanticization. She acknowledged that she was absent and that the distance between them became permanent. Unlike many celebrities who later attempt public reconciliation narratives, Bardot did not.

As he grew up, Nicolas-Jacques Charrier remained largely shielded from the public eye. As an adult, he chose a private life far removed from celebrity culture, eventually moving to Norway, where he married and started his own family. He avoided interviews, public appearances, and media attention related to his mother, maintaining a low profile throughout his life.

Bardot confirmed in multiple interviews that she and her son had little to no relationship as adults. She framed the estrangement not as a scandal but as a reality she accepted. In her writings, she suggested that her emotional limitations and rejection of conventional domestic life made traditional motherhood impossible for her.

That estrangement played a direct role in Bardot's estate planning.

Beginning in the 1980s, Bardot made it clear that her legacy would not be structured around family inheritance. In 1986, she founded the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, dedicating herself almost entirely to animal rights activism. She repeatedly stated that animals, not people, were the focus of her remaining life and resources.

Over the years, Bardot sold personal assets, including jewelry and memorabilia, to support the foundation while she was alive. She also said publicly that her estate would primarily benefit animal protection causes. While full probate details have not yet been released, Bardot had long indicated that her son would not be a principal beneficiary of her fortune.

Importantly, Bardot did not frame this decision as punitive. She presented it as consistent with how she lived and what she valued. In her view, animals were her responsibility in a way she felt unable to fulfill as a mother decades earlier.

As of now, Nicolas-Jacques Charrier has not issued a public statement about his mother's death or her estate. Given his lifelong preference for privacy, it is unclear whether he will do so.

In the end, Nicolas-Jacques Charrier's story is less about exclusion than distance. He was the son of one of the world's most famous women, but he lived largely outside her world. Bardot's decision to center her legacy on animal welfare rather than family inheritance reflects a life defined by refusal, withdrawal, and uncompromising honesty about her limits.
SYDNEY, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Police in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) arrested a 47-year-old man on Sunday after a woman was found dead and another man was stabbed in Sydney's northwest.

NSW police said in a statement that emergency services were called to a home just before 5:00 a.m. local time in Quakers Hill, a suburb about 40 km northwest of the Sydney central business district, after reports of a disturbance.

Upon arrival, officers found a man on the footpath, suffering stab wounds, and a woman deceased inside the home. The woman was yet to be formally identified.

The injured man was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics at the scene, and then taken to a hospital in a critical condition.

At around 5:30 a.m., the 47-year-old man was arrested after attending a police station. 
Dairy farmers are facing acute financial pressure as milk prices fall below the cost of production within weeks, pushing many businesses to the brink and prompting unions to demand urgent action from the supply chain.

Most producers are now being paid less for their milk than it costs to produce, a position that has deteriorated rapidly following a surge in milk output in the UK and overseas.

Prices have fallen sharply at the same time as feed, energy and labour costs remain historically high, leaving farms with little scope to absorb further losses.

NFU Scotland vice-president Robert Neill said the speed of the downturn has intensified pressure across the sector. Weve seen highs and lows before, but the speed of this price drop is unprecedented, he said. Farmers are under real pressure, and the supply chain must act responsibly.

The crisis has come at a particularly damaging moment for the sector. Many dairy farms invested heavily over the past two years in buildings, equipment and efficiency improvements, encouraged by stronger markets and policy signals.

That spending supported processors, contractors and rural jobs, but falling incomes now threaten farmers ability to service debt, maintain production and remain viable.

While some producers supplying supermarkets or operating under organic contracts have limited protection, many conventional dairy farmers are fully exposed to volatile market movements. NFU Scotland has warned that some are already considering reducing cow numbers or exiting milk production altogether.

In response, the four UK farming unions have written jointly to milk processors in a rare show of unity, urging fairness, transparency and responsible behaviour as prices continue to fall.

The letter highlights buyers obligations under new Fair Dealing regulations, which were introduced to rebalance power within the dairy supply chain and give farmers greater clarity over how prices are set.

NFU Scotland milk committee chair Bruce Mackie said clear communication was essential if confidence was to be maintained. Prices are falling fast while costs remain high, he said. Processors must communicate clearly and fairly with suppliers. Farmers deserve transparency and trust during such a critical time.

The union says the current downturn will be one of the first major tests of the new contract regulation adjudicator, with farmers entitled to request clear explanations of pricing structures and changes. NFU Scotland is also engaging directly with banks and retailers, calling for flexibility and support while prices remain depressed.

Neill warned that the consequences of widespread farm failure would extend far beyond individual businesses. This is about more than milk, he said. Its about rural jobs, local food security, and the future of our communities. The supply chain must share the risk, not just the reward.

Despite the immediate challenges, the sectors long-term potential remains strong. Major investments such as Arlas 144 million upgrade at Lockerbie and growing export opportunities demonstrate confidence in dairys future.

However, without swift and coordinated action, unions warn that many farms may not survive the current downturn long enough to benefit from that future growth, risking lasting damage to milk supply, rural economies and food security.
BTS' Indian ARMYs are on cloud nine, after V a.k.a Taehyung hinted at a concert in India with his new social media post. During his latest Weverse live interaction, V responded to a fan. He greeted the person with the message, "Namaste, Indian ARMYs. See you next year." This has sent shockwaves around social media, as Indian ARMYs now speculate a possible concert in the country. One fan tweeted, "Omgg. Did we hear right ?? #V said "Indian ARMY see you next year .. My desi ARMYs.. How are we doing ??" Another fan wrote, "This is the best Christmas gift ever! I can't believe BTS will come to India next year." One fan said, "It is the best!!! I hope they perform their new songs! Cannot wait for the concert."

Omgg. Did we hear right ??#V said "Indian ARMY see you next year ..







My desi ARMYs.. How are we doing ?? pic.twitter.com/rESUcQ0VMj  Team INDIA  (Indian BTS ARMY) (@teamindiaforbts) December 27, 2025

While ARMYs are celebrating on social media, BTS' agency hasn't responded to the speculations yet. But interestingly, HYBE has opened their new branch in India, which makes the concert more of a certainty next year. Hybe India looks forward to bridging the gap between the Indian market and the global music and content ecosystem. They said in a statement, "With nearly 185 million users, Indias music streaming market is the second largest in the world, making it an ideal market for our growth strategy. The rapid rise of K-pop in India highlights the countrys potential, and we are excited to deepen our presence here."



This move is part of HYBEs long-term strategy to expand the reach of K-pop worldwide. Under the leadership of Bang Si Hyuk, the company is applying its Multi-home, Multi-genre strategy to major global music markets. The plan is to mix K-pops business model with local cultures and music preferences.





As for BTS, the members are currently preparing for their post-military comeback. As per latest updates, the album work is in its final stages. The members are working on their performances now.
Prabhas is called, Darling for a reason! The pre-release event of his upcoming film, The Raja Saab, yet again showcased why he is called so. Those who watched his speech say that it was filled with humility, admiration and honesty.



The usually reclusive Prabhas took some time to warm up to the task and get going! Not the one who gets excited and carried away seeing huge crowds, Prabhas was refined and settled. In his speech, while thanking his The Raja Saab co-stars and technicians, the superstar expressed gratitude to his fans for their constant love and appreciation. Acknowledging that his speeches are boring, the strapping actor promised fans that he shall soon enthuse them with a vibrant speech











Prabhas refers to Chiranjeevi?



For Sankranti 2026, as many as five Telugu films are hitting the screens including The Raja Saab. When Prabhas said that he wanted all the five films to be blockbusters, the crowd erupted at the event. Interestingly, Prabhas said, Seniors are always seniors; we learnt from them, we follow and are only after them. Many interpret that Prabhas referred to Megastar Chiranjeevis film, Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu, which is also in the festive race. Fans of both the actors are hailing Prabhas for his gesture and admiration. At a time when fan wars are on the rise, fans state that Prabhass gesture couldnt have come at a better time.









This is the reason why you are the biggest super star in India today, wrote one fan. This is what defines #Prabhas His character Even after becoming Indias biggest superstar, The way he's respecting seniors in his industry only a king can do this, posted another fan. The reason why #Prabhas Is the most loved person in industry. Despite his own movie releasing during Sankranti, he prioritized a senior hero films, wrote a netizen.





Also Read: Video: Did Prabhas Call Chiranjeevi a Senior? His Gesture Wins Hearts
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania--(Newsfile Corp. - December 30, 2025) - Grabar Law Office is investigating claims on behalf of shareholders of Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. (NASDAQ: LFCR) The investigation concerns whether certain officers and directors breached the fiduciary duties they owed to the company.

Current Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. (NASDAQ: LFCR) who have held shares since before October 7, 2020 can seek corporate reforms, the return of funds back to the company, and a court approved incentive award at no cost to them whatsoever. You are encouraged to visit https://grabarlaw.com/the-latest/lifecore-shareholder-investigation/, contact Joshua Grabar at jgrabar@grabarlaw.com, or call 267-507-6085.

WHY? A recently filed federal securities class action against Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. (NASDAQ: LFCR) and certain of its officers has reached a settlement . The underlying class action Complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, the Complaint alleges Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Lifecore maintained deficient internal controls over financial reporting; (ii) as a result, the Company issued several financial statements that were inaccurate and would need to be restated; (iii) Lifecore's purported remediation efforts with respect to the foregoing deficiencies were ineffective; (iv) all of the foregoing impaired Lifecore's ability to timely file periodic reports with the SEC in compliance with NASDAQ listing requirements; (v) accordingly, the Company's financial position and/or prospects were materially overstated; and (vi) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.



In November 2025, the Company and individual defendants entered into an agreement in principle with the plaintiffs to settle the class action.

WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW: If you purchased Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. (NASDAQ: LFCR) shares prior to October 7, 2020, and still hold shares today, you are encouraged to visit https://grabarlaw.com/the-latest/lifecore-shareholder-investigation/, contact Joshua Grabar at jgrabar@grabarlaw.com, or call 267-507-6085. You can seek corporate reforms, the return of funds back to the company, and a court approved incentive award at no cost to you whatsoever.

LFCR $LFCR Lifecore

Attorney Advertising Disclaimer

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/279243

Source: Grabar Law Office
Don't let the January 15th deadline stress you out! File Form 990 series, including amendments, and meet IRS requirements with Tax1099.

FAYETTEVILLE, AR, AND DALLAS, TX / ACCESS Newswire / January 14, 2026 / With the January 15, 2026 deadline approaching, Tax1099 is reminding tax-exempt organizations of the requirement to file Form 990 series returns on time to remain compliant with IRS regulations.

Submitting Form 990 on time helps organizations avoid losing their tax-exempt status. An organization can also get penalized if the form is not completed on time.

Form 990 Deadline: Which Nonprofits Must File by January 15, 2026?

Fiscal-Year Filers (Organizations with a September-August Fiscal Year)

Tax-exempt organizations operating on a fiscal year that starts on September 1, 2024, and ends on August 31, 2025, must file their Form 990 by January 15, 2026.

Extended Filers (Organizations Filing Under an Extension)

Organizations that have requested an extension using Form 8868 on July 15, 2025, also need to submit their completed Form 990 by January 15, 2026.

To support nonprofit organizations during this filing period, Tax1099 has expanded its IRS-authorized eFile platform to include Form 990 series filings, allowing nonprofits to securely prepare, validate, and submit required returns, including amended filings, through a streamlined digital process.

What's At Stake?

Timely, accurate Form 990 filings reinforce nonprofit credibility and transparency by showing the IRS how funds are used and whether they support the organization's mission. As a public document, Form 990 also gives donors, grant makers, and other stakeholders clear insight into an organization's financial health, leadership, and programs.

Failing to file Form 990 by the required deadline exposes nonprofits to avoidable compliance risks and IRS penalties, and missing filings for three consecutive years can trigger automatic revocation of tax-exempt status. Consistently filing on time also signals strong financial stewardship and organizational accountability.

Tips for a Smooth 990 Filing Process

In order to avoid any last-minute filing stress and reduce their risk of errors, tax-exempt organizations are encouraged to plan ahead and use an IRS-authorized e-filing platform like Tax1099.

"Filing delays usually happen because organizations underestimate the time and coordination involved," said Ed Pratt, COO & co-founder of Tax1099. "Tax1099 helps nonprofits stay ahead of deadlines with tools like automated deadline alerts, error checks before submission, secure document storage, and confirmation that filings have been accepted by the IRS."

Tax1099 offers an IRS-authorized e-filing platform for the full Form 990 series, including Forms 990, 990-EZ, 990-N, 990-PF, and Form 990-T . The platform provides step-by-step, guided filing to help organizations complete required sections and select the correct form based on their filing requirements.

Built-in data validation, including TIN checks and error checks, helps identify missing or incorrect information before submission. The platform also offers real-time updates on filing status and corrections. If a return is rejected, corrections can be made and retransmitted without additional filing fees.

Additional features such as secure document storage, automated deadline reminders, and multi-user access help organizations stay organized and prepared. Together, these features help tax-exempt organizations file with confidence and maintain compliance while meeting deadlines with less effort.

About Zenwork Tax1099

Tax1099, an IRS-authorized e-filing service, simplifies tax compliance for over 750,000 businesses and 70,000 CPA firms nationwide. Supporting 40+ federal and state-compliant forms, including Form 941 , Tax1099 offers robust features like bulk filing, TIN matching, API integration, and 24/7 support. Backed by over 10 years of experience in tax processing and customer service, the platform offers a suite of capabilities to suit diverse needs. Learn more at www.tax1099.com

About Zenwork Inc.

Zenwork Inc., the parent company of Tax1099, is a leader in digital tax compliance and regulatory reporting. The company leverages automation to revolutionize business tax compliance, providing a modern SaaS and API platform that adapts to evolving regulatory reporting requirements, risk mitigation, and compliance needs.

Learn more about Zenwork and its products at www.zenwork.com , www.tax1099.com, and www.compliancely.com

Contact: Ed Pratt

Zenwork Inc.

ed@zenwork.com

SOURCE: ZENWORK INC

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/business-and-professional-services/form-990-reminder-for-tax-exempt-organizations-as-the-upcoming-j-1126987
Pullback-Setup am 9er-EMA!

Anhaltende ESG-Probleme bei Freeport-McMoran (FCX)! Die Saisonalitat spricht fur steigende Rohstoffpreise!

Freeport-McMoran (FCX) - ISIN US35671D8570

Ruckblick: Gegensatzliche Entwicklungen erkennen wir im Chartbild der Freeport-McMoran-Aktie: Einerseits gibt es eine enge Orietierung an den rot gekennzeichneten 9er-EMA und ein 6-Monatsplus von fast 20 Prozent, das getrieben ist durch steigende Preise bei wichtigen Rohstoffen wie Kupfer und Gold, andererseits ist die Kursentwicklung deutlich schwacher als bei anderen Wertpapieren des Sektors, womoglich bedingt durch das Minenungluck am Grasberg in Indonesien.

Freeport-McMoran-Aktie: Chart vom 08.01.2026, Kurzel: FCX Kurs: 25.70 USD, Tageschart Quelle: TWS

Mogliches bullisches Szenario

Risikofreudige Anleger konnten zum Schluss kommen, dass negative Nachrichten schon eingepreist sind und jetzt ein guter Zeitpunkt zum Einsteig sein konnte. Die Saisonalitat spricht fur weiter steigende Kurse bei Kupfer und Gold im ersten Quartal. Die vorborslichen Notierungen deuten daraufhin, dass es ein Kaufsignal bei der Freeport-McMoran-Aktie geben konnte. Das Kursziel lage nach Measured Move bei 59.60 USD.

Mogliches barisches Szenario

Anleger sollten die Risiken bei Freeport-McMoran kennen und entsprechend vorsichtig agieren. Mit etwas Abstand unter der letzten Tageskerze konnte man die Absicherung in den Trade einbauen.

Meinung

Freeport-McMoRan liefert operativ ordentlich ab, wird aber von juristischem Ballast ausgebremst. Nach einem todlichen Murenabgang in der Grasberg-Mine (der Name ist ein Relikt der niederlandischen Kolonialzeit) in Indonesien laufen mehrere Sammelklagen, weil Anleger sich unzureichend uber Risiken informiert fuhlen. Schon zuvor ist der Rohstoffkonzern in Sachen Ethics, Social & Governance in der Kritik gestanden, weshalb magebliche institutionelle Anleger nicht in die Aktie investieren. Entscheidend wird im aktuellen Fall die Frist Mitte Januar 2026, wenn klar wird, wie gro und gefahrlich dieser Rechtskomplex tatsachlich wird. Operativ sieht es gemischt aus: Gewinne und Umsatz lagen zuletzt uber den Erwartungen, allerdings steigen die Kosten und die Grasberg-Mine wird erst ab 2028 wieder vollstandig auf Normalniveau produzieren. Eine Dividende ist zwar angekundigt, aber das allein begeistert niemanden. Analysten sind entsprechend gespalten. Somit halten wir kurzfristige Long Trades fur denkbar, mochten langerfristige Investments aber meiden.



Quellennachweise, Mogliche Interessenskonflikte, Meinung und sonstige Daten

Marktkapitalisierung: 77.86 Milliarden USD

Durchschnittsvolumen der letzten 20 Tage: 892.73 Millionen USD

Meine Freeport-McMoran ist neutral.

Quellennachweis: https://www.sharedeals.de/ouster-aktie-nach-der-ki-revolution-kommt-die-physische-intelligenz/

Veroffentlichungsdatum: 09.01.2026

Autor: Thomas Canali

Hinweis auf mogliche Interessenkonflikte

Personen, die Anlageempfehlungen erstellen und weitergeben, sind nach der Verordnung (EU) 596/2014 des Europaischen Parlaments und des Rates vom 16. April 2014 uber Marktmissbrauch (Marktmissbrauchsverordnung) verpflichtet, alle Beziehungen und Umstande offenzulegen, bei denen damit gerechnet werden kann, dass sie die Objektivitat der Empfehlung beeintrachtigen. Dies umfasst insbesondere Interessen oder Interessenkonflikte aller Personen, die die Information erstellt haben bzw. an der Erstellung beteiligt waren.

Der Finanzinformationsdienst ist verpflichtet, Interessenskonflikte bei der Erstellung oder Weitergabe von Anlageempfehlungen oder Anlagestrategieempfehlungen in geeigneter Weise offenzulegen.

In diesem Zusammenhang weisen wir auf folgendes hin:

Es liegt kein Interessenskonflikt vor.

Bitte nehmen Sie den Disclaimer und die Risikohinweise zur Kenntnis, die Sie unter https://ratgebergeld.at/disclaimer/ abrufen konnen.
New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - December 28, 2025) - PerfectlyHost, a leading provider of reliable hosting and digital infrastructure services, is taking a bold step forward by offering an all-in-one platform to help small businesses grow, secure, and manage their online presence. The new platform combines essential digital services, web hosting, website creation tools, security, business email, and social media management, into one cohesive ecosystem, designed to simplify online operations and reduce complexity for small business owners.

PerfectlyHost Announces New Comprehensive Digital Services Platform to Simplify Online Operations for Small Businesses

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8814/279036_0adf6169143aeb2c_002full.jpg

Transforming the Digital Landscape for Small Businesses

With the launch of this integrated platform, PerfectlyHost aims to address a major pain point for small businesses: the complexity and high costs associated with using multiple vendors and managing different tools for online operations. Previously, business owners had to juggle several isolated services, often facing compatibility issues and hidden fees. PerfectlyHost's solution brings everything under one roof, allowing users to focus on growth, not technical distractions.

"We recognized that small businesses struggle with fragmented solutions that don't work well together," said Max Miller, Head of Marketing at PerfectlyHost. "Our platform was designed to eliminate these barriers, providing a streamlined, affordable, and user-friendly digital infrastructure that empowers businesses to succeed online."

Key Features of the New PerfectlyHost Platform

Web Hosting: Fast, secure, and reliable hosting for websites, email, and online businesses.

Fast, secure, and reliable hosting for websites, email, and online businesses. Weebly Website Builder: A drag-and-drop tool for creating professional websites without technical skills.

A drag-and-drop tool for creating professional websites without technical skills. CodeGuard Security: Automated website backups and malware protection to prevent data loss and ensure website uptime.

Automated website backups and malware protection to prevent data loss and ensure website uptime. OX App Suite: Professional email and productivity tools that enable business teams to communicate effectively.

Professional email and productivity tools that enable business teams to communicate effectively. NordVPN Integration: Secure, encrypted internet access that enhances privacy and protects online activities.

Secure, encrypted internet access that enhances privacy and protects online activities. SocialBee for Marketing: A comprehensive tool for managing social media campaigns, including content scheduling, publishing, and analytics.

A Focus on Long-Term Success and Ethical Growth

Unlike many tech companies that prioritize rapid expansion, PerfectlyHost's strategy is rooted in delivering long-term value. The company has carefully selected partnerships with trusted tools like Weebly, CodeGuard, OX App Suite, SocialBee, and NordVPN to provide a cohesive suite of solutions that help businesses grow steadily without overcomplicating their operations.

PerfectlyHost Announces New Comprehensive Digital Services Platform to Simplify Online Operations for Small Businesses

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8814/279036_0adf6169143aeb2c_003full.jpg

Expanding Access to Small Businesses Everywhere

With this new product ecosystem, PerfectlyHost is committed to offering scalable, affordable solutions designed to meet the specific needs of small business owners. By integrating all the necessary tools into one platform, PerfectlyHost is enabling entrepreneurs to manage their online presence with ease, no matter their level of technical expertise.

About PerfectlyHost

PerfectlyHost is a modern digital services platform focused on simplifying how individuals, creators, and small businesses build, secure, and grow their online presence. The company provides reliable web hosting, website creation tools, security, and productivity solutions that work together seamlessly to help small businesses thrive online.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/279036

Source: Plentisoft
The first batch of emergency humanitarian aid supplies provided by the Chinese government to Cambodia arrives at the Techo International Airport in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Dec. 28, 2025. The first batch of emergency humanitarian aid supplies provided by the Chinese government to Cambodia arrived at the Techo International Airport in Phnom Penh on Sunday. The relief items included tents, blankets, and food, among others. Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wenbin and Cambodian Foreign Ministry Secretary of State Ung Rachana attended the handover ceremony. (Chinese Embassy in Cambodia/Handout via Xinhua)

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- The first batch of emergency humanitarian aid supplies provided by the Chinese government to Cambodia arrived at the Techo International Airport in Phnom Penh on Sunday.

The relief items included tents, blankets, and food, among others.

Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wenbin and Cambodian Foreign Ministry Secretary of State Ung Rachana attended the handover ceremony.

Wang said that China's emergency humanitarian material assistance to Cambodia will play a role in helping the Cambodian people affected by the border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand get out of the current predicament.

China welcomes the ceasefire announced by Cambodia and Thailand and will continue to play a positive and constructive role in consolidating the ceasefire situation for both parties, he added.

On behalf of the Cambodian government and people, Rachana sincerely thanked China for providing assistance, saying that the Cambodian government attaches great importance to the iron-clad friendship between Cambodia and China, and highly appreciates China's active and constructive role in the ceasefire and cessation of the armed conflict. 

The first batch of emergency humanitarian aid supplies provided by the Chinese government to Cambodia arrives at the Techo International Airport in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Dec. 28, 2025. The first batch of emergency humanitarian aid supplies provided by the Chinese government to Cambodia arrived at the Techo International Airport in Phnom Penh on Sunday.

The relief items included tents, blankets, and food, among others.

Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wenbin and Cambodian Foreign Ministry Secretary of State Ung Rachana attended the handover ceremony. (Chinese Embassy in Cambodia/Handout via Xinhua)

The first batch of emergency humanitarian aid supplies provided by the Chinese government to Cambodia arrives at the Techo International Airport in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Dec. 28, 2025. The first batch of emergency humanitarian aid supplies provided by the Chinese government to Cambodia arrived at the Techo International Airport in Phnom Penh on Sunday.

The relief items included tents, blankets, and food, among others.

Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wenbin and Cambodian Foreign Ministry Secretary of State Ung Rachana attended the handover ceremony. (Chinese Embassy in Cambodia/Handout via Xinhua)

The first batch of emergency humanitarian aid supplies provided by the Chinese government to Cambodia arrives at the Techo International Airport in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Dec. 28, 2025. The first batch of emergency humanitarian aid supplies provided by the Chinese government to Cambodia arrived at the Techo International Airport in Phnom Penh on Sunday.

The relief items included tents, blankets, and food, among others.

Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wenbin and Cambodian Foreign Ministry Secretary of State Ung Rachana attended the handover ceremony. (Chinese Embassy in Cambodia/Handout via Xinhua)
Vikram Bhatt and Shwetambari Bhatt were denied bail again by a Mumbai court in a Rs. 30 crore fraud case linked to a film project, as the investigation and evidence collection continue.

Filmmaker Vikram Bhatt and his wife Shwetambari Bhatt were denied bail for the second time by a Mumbai court in connection with a Rs. 30 crore fraud case, extending their legal troubles as the investigation continues to unfold.

Vikram Bhatt, known for films such as _Raaz_, _1920,_ and _Aetbaar_, and his wife were arrested earlier this month after a complaint was filed alleging financial irregularities and fraudulent diversion of funds related to a film project. Their bail application was rejected once again during the hearing, with the court citing prima facie evidence and material that warranted further custodial interrogation and investigation.

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According to prosecution submissions, the case involves accusations that investors and partners were misled regarding the financing and returns of a high-budget film, resulting in alleged losses of around Rs. 30 crore. The court observed that the investigation is still at a crucial stage, and custody of the accused is necessary to prevent tampering with evidence and ensure a thorough inquiry.

While the defence argued that the Bhatt couple poses no flight risk and are willing to cooperate with the probe, the judge said the severity of the allegations and the complexity of the financial transactions meant that custodial interrogation was still required. The couples legal team is expected to move to a higher court for relief in the coming days.

This marks the second time the couples bail plea has been dismissed, following a similar ruling earlier this month. On December 16, their first bail plea requesting temporary relief for medical treatment was rejected.

Games View All

Advocate Manzoor Hussain told ANI, The lawyer for the accused presented an application for interim bail, requesting that it be granted on medical grounds. If interim bail is granted before the court session ends, both individuals could be released for a short period to receive medical treatment. Everything depends on the courts order.

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The next hearing is likely to take place in the sessions court later this week, where the defence will again press for their release. In the meantime, the investigation continues and authorities have seized certain financial documents as part of the evidence collection process.
On December 28, 1885, the Indian National Congress (INC) was founded in then British India. Also, in 1065, the original Westminster Abbey was consecrated by King Edward I. The first commercial movie screening took place in Paris on this day in 1895 at the Grand Cafe

On December 28, 1885, the Indian National Congress (INC) was founded in then British India. The party would play a massive role in Indias independence movement and in the decades after the country won its freedom from the British.

On this day in 1065, the original Westminster Abbey, located in London, was opened by Edward the Confessor. The church, which was dedicated to St Peter, has been the site of British coronations since 1066, with King Charles becoming the 40th monarch crowned at the site in 2023.

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Also, the first commercial movie screening took place in Paris on this day in 1895. Two brothers, Louis and Auguste Lumiere, held the momentous event at the Grand Cafe.

If you are a history geek who loves to learn about important events from the past, Firstpost Explainers ongoing series, History Today will be your one-stop destination to explore key events.

INC is founded

The Indian National Congress, a party that has been inseparable from the history of India, was founded in Bombay by Allan Octavian Hume, a retired English civil servant.

Its first session was held in Bombay from December 28 to December 31, 1885, under the stewardship of WC Bonnerjee. The party originally offered a platform to the urban and educated Indian elite to express their points of view.

Though it was originally set to be held in Pune, it was shifted to Bombay after a cholera outbreak. Its original objectives were to promote friendship, eradicate prejudices, consolidate the sentiment of national unity, and find out what the educated thought about the problems of the day and how to solve them.

The outfit, which is one of Indias oldest political parties, would play a vital role in the independence movement, with leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose, and Lala Lajpat Rai coming to the fore.

The party held the reins of power in India for decades after Independence. It was not until 1977 that India got its first non-Congress Prime Minister in Morarji Desai. Though the party has been out of power at the Centre since 2014, many continue to hope for a revival.

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Westminster Abbey is consecrated

The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster was consecrated on this day in 1065. Its patron, King Edward I, popularly known as Edward the Confessor, had established his royal palace on the banks of the River Thames in the 1040s.

The spot has been host to a church since the eighth century after a group of monks established a monastery there. However, around 1040, Edward decided to build a church to honour St Peter. The church became known as the west minster to separate it from Saint Pauls Cathedral, which was known as the east minster.

King Charles was coronated at Westminster Abbey in 2023.

Unfortunately, Edward would die soon after the consecration of the church. Much of the original structure was also lost when King Henry III decided to redo it in the Gothic style in the 13th century.

As mentioned before, a succession of monarchs have been crowned at Westminster Abbey, beginning with William the Conqueror on December 25, 1066. Interestingly, the building hasnt been an abbey or a cathedral since 1560. Rather, Elizabeth I gave it the status of Royal Peculiar  directly under the command of the sovereign. The iconic structure has borne witness to all but two coronations and well over a dozen royal weddings.

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First commercial movie screening in France

Where else but Paris could the first commercial movie screening have taken place?

Louis and Auguste Lumiere, two French brothers and inventors who developed a camera-projector called the Cinematographe, were at the centre of it all.

Louis and Auguste Lumiere, two French brothers and inventors, held the worlds first commercial movie screening.

The Lumiere brothers had unveiled their wondrous invention to the public earlier that year with their first film, La Sortie des usines Lumiere a Lyon (Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory). Then, in December 1895, the Frenchmen created history by showcasing their original 46-second work as well as nine other short films depicting scenes from everyday life.

A year later, the brothers would open their own movie theatres, known as cinemas, where they would show off their own work as well as screen pictures taken by their cameramen all over the world. Today, cinemas remain one of the last remaining communal experiences.

This Day, That Year

1832: John C Calhoun is the first US vice president to resign.

1612: Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei observes Neptune for the first time.

1923: Gustave Eiffel, the famed designer of the Eiffel Tower, passes away.

1982: Elizabeth Jordan Carr, the worlds first IVF baby, is born.
After 17 years of self-exile, former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zias son, Tarique Rahman, returned to Dhaka ahead of the February elections. Is this good news for India? We discuss this and more in our weekly roundup of the news from around the globe

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) acting chairman Tarique Rahman waves towards his supporters after his return from London, in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Reuters

Sigh Its the last week of the year and 2025 has been a rollercoaster ride.

The final week of 2025 has seen further violence unfold in Bangladesh  another Hindu has been lynched, days after Dipu Chandra Das was beaten to death. Also Indias neighbouring nation saw the return of Tarique Rehman, the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, after 17 years of self-exile.

Away from the turmoil in Bangladesh, the Epstein files continue to garner headlines. A second batch of documents were released this week. Nearly 30,000 more pages of documents related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including many that reference President Donald Trump, were released, causing quite a stir in the US.

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And on the topic of Donald Trump, the US president also announced a new class of naval ships this week, named after himself. These new vessels, Trump said, would be the best in the world. Theyll be the fastest, the biggest, and by far 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built.

This week also saw the Trump administration announcing the revamp of the H-1B visa lottery system. The US government said that starting February 27, 2026, the longstanding H-1B work visa lottery system would be replaced with a new weighted approach that prioritises skilled, higher-paid foreign workers.

Also, in the week gone by, India announced the conclusion of talks on yet another Free Trade Agreement  this time with New Zealand. The new FTA between India and New Zealand is likely to come into force in 2026. However, not everyone is on board for this deal.

We discuss all of this and more in our weekly wrap of the news from around the world.

1) The country of Bangladesh is embroiled in turmoil. Since the death of student leader Sharif Osman Hadi after he was shot on December 12, the country has been witnessing violence and protests.

Amid the protests, a Hindu man, identified as Dipu Chandra Das, was lynched after he was accused of making blasphemous remarks. And now this week, another Hindu man  Amrit Mondal alias Samrat  was thrashed to death.

What led to the second lynching in Bangladesh? Was it a communally motivated crime? Our explainer provides the answers.

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2) The week gone by also saw the return of Bangladeshs dark prince Tarique Rahman, the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, after 17 years. On Christmas, the 60-year-old got down at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, alongside his wife Zubaida and daughter Zaima, and beloved pet, Jebu the cat, and stood barefoot on Bangladeshi soil amid heavy security.

He later addressed thousands of supporters, saying: I have a plan for the people of my country and for my country, referencing Martin Luther Kings famous speech. He added, This plan is for the interest of the people, for the development of the country, for changing the lot of the country. To implement the plan, I need the support of all the people of the country. If you stand beside us, god willing, we will be able to implement my plan.

He also said he wanted to make a safe Bangladesh where people irrespective of castes, creeds and faiths can live in a peaceful environment.

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But what does his return to Bangladesh politics mean for India? Read the full report here.

Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein are seen in this image released by the Department of Justice as part of a new trove of documents from its investigations into the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. US Justice Department/Reuters

3) The saga of the Epstein files continue. This week, the US Department of Justice released a new batch of records related to Jeffrey Epstein, a wide array of documents that shed light on alleged co-conspirators and the late sex offenders ties to the former Prince Andrew as well as US President Donald Trump.

Among the released documents was one notable email from a federal prosecutor about Trumps flights with the convicted financier. Trump flew on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epsteins private jet many more times than previously has been reported, read an email from a New York prosecutor.

Here are the other notable takeaways from the latest batch of Epstein files.

US President Donald Trump attends a press conference, as he makes an announcement about the Navys Golden Fleet at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. File image/Reuters

4) Donald Trump loves himself. And this was clearly on display when the US president announced that the country would commission a new series of heavily armed navy battleships named after himself, as part of a revamped Golden Fleet.

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Trumps eponymous battleships, with the first being named USS Defiant, will be armed with guns and missiles, as well as hypersonic weapons, electronic rail guns and high-powered -lasers, he announced from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

Will these ships transform the US navy? Heres more on the Trump class of ships.

5) US President Donald Trump continues to revamp the immigration policies of America. And the latest change in this effort is scrapping the decades-long lottery system, replacing it with a wage-weighted model that fundamentally changes who gets a shot.

From 2026, H-1B visas will no longer be handed out purely by chance. Instead, applications offering higher wages will get better odds of selection. Speaking on the change, US Citizenship and Immigration Services Spokesperson Matthew Tragesser said that the lottery system had been exploited and abused by US employers who were primarily seeking to import foreign workers at lower wages than they would pay American workers.

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This could be particularly impact Indians who travel abroad to live out their American Dream. Our report explains how.

6) This week also saw the conclusion of talks between India and New Zealand with both sides announcing that they reached a free trade agreement that is expected to boost trade between the two countries by hundreds of millions of dollars.

New Delhi and Wellington said the deal is expected to be formally signed in the first quarter of next year. This is the seventh FTA negotiated by the Modi government and the third major trade pact concluded in 2025.

The India-New Zealand FTA is a win-win for both nations, as it will create greater opportunities for small businesses, students, women, farmers, and youth across India.

However, not everyone is happy with the deal. New Zealands Foreign Minister Winston Peters has slammed the agreement, calling it neither free nor fair. In a statement, Peters said his party, New Zealand First, was regrettably opposed to the agreement, arguing that it gives away too much  particularly on immigration  while failing to secure adequate gains for Wellington, especially in the critical dairy sector.

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Read more here.

7) Pakistan is cash-strapped with its citizens struggling to pay for fuel and food. So, how does Islamabad stay afloat? By begging for funds from countries and international agencies. Data shows that Pakistan received foreign assistance of over $3 billion (Rs 2.69 lakh crore) in the first few months of this financial year. This is a 14 per cent hike from the same period in the previous financial year, when foreign assistance stood at around $2.66 billion (Rs 2.39 lakh crore).

Such is the countrys condition that Pakistani economists have warned the government against debt sustainability risks. But who is Islamabads biggest helping hand?

And thats it from us for this week. We wish our dear readers a very happy new year. If you want to read such explainers in the coming year, heres the page to visit.
With the New Year around the corner, here are some offbeat heritage options that offer not just a low AQI, but also peace and solace

Its that time of the year again when conversations about AQI are top of everyones list, especially if they happen to be residents of Indias national capital. It is also the time for people to share videos of nightmarish traffic jams in Himalayan hill towns, triggered not by mountain avalanches but an avalanche of vehicles seeking to escape from Delhi. With the New Year around the corner, we present a set of offbeat heritage options which offer not just a low AQI, but peace as well.

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Morena, Madhya Pradesh (316 km south of Delhi): Once the hub of dacoits, Morena districts countryside now offers a unique perspective on temple development in north-central India. Atop a hill in Mitaoli village is a 10th11th century CE Chaunsath Yogini Temple built in a circular design which may have served as the prototype for Indias old Parliament building. Close by is Padhawali, home to an equally ancient shrine which has spectacular sculpted iconography on its inner walls and ceiling. Behind a hill lies the vast site of Bateshwar, where excavations have unearthed over a hundred shrines. Nearby villages, such as Bhensora and Ardoni, contain small but elaborately carved shrines of their own, making this less-visited region a heritage jewel box.

The Chaunsath Yogini Temple at Mitaoli in Morena district

Closer to Gwalior and hidden away in low hills and vegetation is the temple complex of Naresar, home to numerous shrines that are nearly a thousand years old. Closer to Morena town lies the lofty Kakanmath Temple, over 150 feet in height. And once you have had your fill of heritage shrines, take a river safari on the Chambal to glimpse crocodiles lazing in the sun. And round it off with a flavour of local cuisine while relaxing at a rural homestay.

The lofty Kakanmath Shiva Temple in rural Morena

Bundi, Rajasthan (477 km south of Delhi): Tucked away in a land of elaborate forts and stunning palaces lies tiny Bundi. The majestic Taragarh is more fort-palace than mere fortress, and it spreads out over the hills here, almost as if it had grown organically. Begun at the fag end of the 13th century and added to over the next two hundred years, it is the repository of some of Indias finest traditional wall paintings. While inside the Bada Mahal and Chitrashala, dont forget to look up, as even the ceilings are painted.

The vast Taragarh Fort-Palace complex

A painting within the Chitrashala of Bundis Taragarh Fort

Bundis other significant feature comprises a wealth of structures dedicated to water conservation  stepwells and stepped tanks. While the Raniji ki Baoli is striking in its embellishment, the Nagar-Sagar pair of stepwells, the Nawal Sagar and Phool Sagar lakes, the Dabhai Kund and others make it a special place for conservationists. Bundis best-kept secret, however, lies outside the town. This comes in the form of painted rock shelters dating back to a prehistoric era. Ask your hotel to organise a tour of the sites to appreciate mans early creativity.

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Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh (467 km south of Delhi): Base yourself at the lakeside Tourist Village here to explore the region at ease. The forests around merge into the balmy Madhav National Park, home to leopards, wolves, and several varieties of deer. Watch out for migratory birds along the Sakhya Sagar Lake. On a hill within the park is the George Castle, built in 1911 for a British royal who eventually did not turn up.

George Castle inside Shivpuris Madhav National Park

To see an older fortification and one with greater historic significance, drive out to explore Narwar Fort, a vast bastion that was built up from the 10th century onwards and remained a key fortress to control the region till the early 19th century. To the east is Surwaya, home to brilliantly sculpted 10th-century temples and a monastery. Several centuries later, a local ruler built a protective fort around the shrines, adding his own layer to the places history. Closer to Shivpuri town are the Scindia Cenotaphs, set in a tranquil spot. And if you get truly adventurous, drive out to the Kuno National Park, where cheetahs have been introduced from Namibia and are thriving. You might just get lucky and spot one of them!

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Bikaner, Rajasthan (461 km west of Delhi): Stay in a palace-turned-hotel in charming Bikaner, which has all the magic of a desert town without the noise of Jodhpur or the crowds that throng Jaisalmer. Kick off your exploration at Junagarh, an unusual fort-palace that has none of the traditional defences that characterise most of Rajasthans bastions. It is not on a hilltop, nor does it have a forest around it. Walk through the 16th-century fort to take in the details of its many palaces, such as the Anup Mahal, Ganga Mahal, Phool Mahal and others. The Chandra Mahal is especially luxurious with elaborate mirror work and paintings.

Inside a palace of Bikaners Junagarh Fort

Within the city, enjoy the paintings and designs of the Bhanda Shah Jain Temple and the citys historic merchant mansions, such as the Rampuria Havelis. More murals can be seen on the cenotaphs of Bikaners rulers, at Devikund Sagar, at the edge of the city. Get a glimpse of how the royals lived at the hunting lodge-turned-heritage hotel at Gajner, located in a wildlife sanctuary. Pray at the revered Karni Mata Temple. Drive over to nearby Nagaur to see the vast Ahhichatragarh Fort, which has won awards for restoration. And before you leave Bikaner, make sure you sample its speciality dishes, such as Gatte-ki-sabzi and Papad-ki-sabzi topped off with sharbat and kesar kulfi.

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(The author is a heritage explorer with a penchant for seeking obscure sites. A brand consultant by profession, he tweets @HiddenHeritage. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.)
The old mechanisms to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons are too antiquated and have lost their meaning with the coming of artificial intelligence into the nuclear arms race

AI will not by itself cause a nuclear arms race, but in an era of eroding guardrails and active arsenal growth, it is the accelerant that can turn parallel modernisation into a rapid, destabilising competition across commissioning, deployment, and launch cycles. Representational image

In Mahabharata, Krishna, who mythologically wielded the Sudarshana Chakra, was cosmically unconstrained within mythic space and time, which, after hitting its intended target, could come back to him and adorn his index finger. Similarly, Russias development of the Burevestnik missile system, being marketed as having an unlimited range within 15,000 km and a 15-hour flight which can traverse the globe, and its likely convergence with artificial intelligence systems pose a real threat to humankind.

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The recent fraying of nuclear tempers between the US and Russia has reignited the dangers of the possibility of a nuclear arms race in the world, with US President Donald Trump ordering the restart of nuclear tests, an act which has been restrained by the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) since 1992.

The old mechanisms to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons are too antiquated and have lost their meaning with the coming of artificial intelligence (AI) into the nuclear arms race. AI integration across the commissioning, deployment, and launch phases of nuclear forces is set to compress decision timelines, amplify sensing and targeting, and reshape command-and-control.

These shifts make a three-way arms race among the United States, Russia, and China faster, more opaque, and more escalation-prone. Combined with ongoing arsenal growth and novel Russian systems like Burevestnik and Poseidon, AI adoption risks turning modernisation into an actionreaction cycle that undermines human judgement and the fragile norms that have restrained nuclear dangers since the Cold War.

Krishna, an Avatara of Vishnu, did not use it to threaten humankind but used it to block the sun and used it as his Maya to kill Jayadratha and keep Arjunas vow to kill Jayadratha before the sunset. This time around the nuclear command and control structure with its merger with AI is going to play like Shivas Tandav, with the potential to destroy the world. Strategic analysts warn the world is entering a new era as nuclear powers build up and diversify arsenals, creating a permissive backdrop for rapid AI adoption into sensing, planning, logistics, and command networks.

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Sipris 2025 assessments underscore rising nuclear risks as constraints fade, making any destabilising technologyespecially AIa pivotal variable in future crisis dynamics. Simultaneously, Russias publicisation of Burevestnik and Poseidon advertises bypass routes around missile defences, magnifying incentives for adversaries to field AI-enabled counter-detection, tracking, and interception tools.

Commissioning Nuclear Weapons With AI

In the commissioning phasespanning R&D, materials, and systems integrationAI improves modelling, discovery, and optimisation across vast parameter spaces, accelerating iteration on warheads, delivery systems, etc. US stockpile stewardship already relies on advanced simulation and subcritical experiments, and AI-enabled methods are increasingly woven into this science-based certification ecosystem. As tools scale, states can shorten design cycles and reduce uncertainty without explosive testing, lowering the political and technical barriers to fielding novel capabilities at pace.

AI-enabled verification and validation can cut both ways by catching defects earlier and enabling predictive maintenance across nuclear platforms, but they can also breed false confidence if models are trained on sparse or biased data. Arms-control experts warn that overreliance on algorithmic outputs in safety and surety contexts risks systematic errors that propagate across an enterprise accustomed to model-driven certification.

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The net effect is a faster commissioning pipeline where advantages are contingent on data quality and model governance rather than raw engineering aloneinviting secrecy and hedging that may spur adversaries to match the pace.

Furthermore, the adoption of AI capabilities by one nuclear power could incentivise destabilising responses from others, including arms races, modernisation of arsenals, renouncing no first use policies, or increasing alert statuses. However, the integration of AI into nuclear operations introduces significant risks. AI-driven decision-support systems and autonomous weapons could exacerbate crisis stability by increasing the likelihood of miscalculation during high-alert scenarios, potentially leading to accidental or inadvertent escalation.

Historical incidents like the 1983 Stanislav Petrov event, where a false alarm nearly triggered a nuclear response, highlight the dangers of automated systems. Experts and policymakers agree that without robust governance, agile policies, and international norms, the AI-nuclear nexus could lead to catastrophic outcomes, including a nuclear conflict.

AI Disruption

Alongside detection comes AI-accelerated targetingprioritising aimpoints, recommending strike packages, and modelling adversary movementswhich can shorten the kill chain and push commanders toward speed over deliberation. The same techniques applied to active defences and countermeasures drive actionreaction dynamics, with each side seeking dominance in findfixfinish loops that AI compresses to machine time, not human time. Perception alone can destabilise: if leaders suspect an opponent can use AI to negate survivability, they may disperse forces, alter alert postures, or pre-delegate authorities, all of which reduce crisis stability.

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There is no public evidence that any nuclear state has embedded AI directly into formal launch authorisation today, but indirect integration across adjacent systems is expanding and can cascade into nuclear decisions. Analysts highlight the risk of autonomous or semi-autonomous AI agents that learn and act across networks, including the potential for emergent behaviours and unexpected interactions under stress, especially in cyber-contested environments. In the absence of transparency and technical guardrails, the perception that one side is edging toward automation of nuclear decision loops can be as destabilising as the actual adoption.

Sipris 2025 dataRussia at roughly 5,459 warheads, the US at 5,177, and China around 600anchors a strategic triangle where qualitative modernisation increasingly matters as much as raw numbers. Chinas rapid expansion from a historically minimal deterrent creates pressure to field modern command, control and delivery models where AI-enabled data fusion is attractive for scale and speed.

Russias Burevestnik and Poseidon emphasise penetrative second-strike and coastal devastation narratives, inviting AI-intensive US and Chinese investments in maritime security, anomaly detection, and autonomous undersea systems to preserve or restore survivability.

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As each side leans on AI to hedge against the others putative breakthroughs, the cycle feeds on itself: better search creates better concealment, which then demands better search, all under compressing timelines and opaque model performance. The absence of a successor to New Start and the suspension of its transparency mechanisms exacerbate this opacity, leaving AI-enabled inferences to fill gaps once handled by inspections and data exchanges. In such conditions, worst-case planning thrives, and AI becomes both the instrument and the accelerant of insecurity spirals.

US discussion about resuming explosive nuclear testing intersects with AI in two ways: first, testing would validate designs beyond the reach of simulation; second, the existence of powerful simulation and stewardship tools argues against the need to test. The United States has maintained its arsenal through a science-based Stockpile Stewardship Program relying on non-explosive experiments and advanced computing, increasingly supplemented by AI for data-rich modelling and diagnostics. Many experts therefore contend there is no practical justification for explosive testing, warning that a detonation would spur reciprocal tests by Russia and China and destroy the non-testing norm.

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If testing resumes, AI will likely accelerate test analysis cycles and post-shot interpretations, tightening feedback loops in ways that could speed warhead modernisation across competitors. Conversely, restraint paired with AI-enhanced stewardship can sustain confidence intervals without crossing the explosive threshold, preserving a critical stabiliser in the global regime. The policy choice thus hinges on whether AI is used to justify breaking norms or to reinforce them through better non-explosive assurance.

How AI Disrupts Each Phase

Deployment: AI-enabled analytics challenge the survivability assumptions underpinning deterrence by making once-elusive assets more visible, at least intermittently. This can incentivise hair-trigger postures and preemption in crises as each side fears losing forces on the ground, at sea, or in the air. Integration into defences and countermeasures adds a rapid actionreaction layer that accelerates the arms race beyond human processing speeds.

Commissioning: AI accelerates discovery, optimisation, and certification, compressing time-to-field for new systems and software across the enterprise. Where data are high quality and governance strong, safety and surety can improve; where they are not, failure modes can become systemic and harder to detect. The resulting speed advantage pressures adversaries to keep up, increasing parallel efforts and secrecy that undermine mutual predictability.

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Launch cycles: Decision support systems risk automation bias under time pressure, while autonomous agents introduce emergent behaviours and cyber pathways. Even if AI never pushes the button, its invisible influence on perception, timing, and confidence can tip leaders toward escalation or misinterpretation. Managing perception becomes as vital as managing technology because suspicion of AI-driven shortcuts can destabilise deterrence even absent direct integration.

Analysts propose bounding AIs nuclear role through strict human-in-the-loop requirements, red-teaming for adversarial manipulation, and robust validation and verification of models used anywhere. Internationally, dialogues that treat the AInuclear nexus explicitlythrough transparency measures, testing of incident hotlines for AI-generated warnings, and shared taxonomies of unsafe use casescan reduce misperception. Track 2 and 1.5 exchanges, paired with national policies that prohibit AI from authorising or executing nuclear launches, can create reinforcing norms even in the absence of formal treaties.

States should prioritise resilience to AI-enabled ISR by investing in decoys, mobility, deception, and hardened communications, alongside carefully designed thresholds to prevent inadvertent escalatory signalling. Within enterprises, governance must include dataset provenance tracking, interpretability thresholds for any system influencing nuclear decisions, and independent oversight to audit performance and drift. Without these steps, AI adoption risks becoming a race to the bottom on speed and opacity rather than a controlled enhancement of safety and stability.

The Russia, China and US outlook

Russias unveiling of Burevestnik and Poseidon, framed as second-strike assurance systems, invites adversaries to counter with AI-enabled sensing, targeting, and defence concepts, intensifying competitive dynamics around survivability. Chinas accelerated buildup from a small base drives investments in command, control, delivery and decision support to manage scaling forces under compressed timelines. US institutions are already integrating AI into the broader nuclear enterprise for security, authentication, and decision assistance, raising the urgency to define boundaries that preserve human judgement.

If the US resumes explosive testing, Russia has stated it would act accordingly, and China has warned against breaking the moratorium, creating a permissive context for AI-enhanced test-driven modernisation across all three states. If testing restraint holds, AIs disruptive potential remains high but can be channelled into stewardship, verification, and crisis communications tools that strengthen stability rather than degrade it. Which path prevails will depend less on raw capability and more on governance choices made in the next few years as New Starts expiration looms and transparency mechanisms atrophy.

Conclusion

AI will not by itself cause a nuclear arms race, but in an era of eroding guardrails and active arsenal growth, it is the accelerant that can turn parallel modernisation into a rapid, destabilising competition across commissioning, deployment, and launch cycles. Without firm human-in-the-loop commitments, transparent guardrails and renewed channels for data exchange and incident management, the United States, Russia, and China are likely to race toward speed and opacity rather than safety and stability. The strategic choice now is whether to harness AI to strengthen stewardship, verification, and communicationor to let it compress timelines, erode survivability, and make miscalculation more likely in the most dangerous domain of statecraft.

(Amitabh Singh teaches at the School of International Studies, JNU, New Delhi. Views expressed are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.)
Indias role becomes increasingly important as the United States retrenches for economic and ideological reasons, while Chinas assertiveness intensifies in the region

To protect its economy, India must be the major military power in the Indian Ocean Basin, if not beyond. Representational image: X/@indiannavy

MUSCAT, OMANOmanis were happy with Prime Minister Narendra Modis recent visit to their country. Oman is peaceful and prides itself on both its moderation and its prioritisation of diplomacy above all else. Radicalism is rare. In a region blighted by war and instability, Oman relishes its neutrality. Still, Modis visit to Sultan Haitham affirmed a relationship between the two countries and added depth to a relationship which Omanis see best fits their moderate worldview.

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Tying Oman to India makes sense. While rhetorical promises accompany all visits, the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement was a real achievement; Oman is now one of the few countries to enjoy free trade agreements with both India and the United States. The agreement is symbiotic. Oman has resources, space, and industrial and technological know-how; India has both plus human capital. As free trade zones at Salalah and Sohar and the Special Economic Zone at Duqm grow, the space is ripe for Indian investment and manpower.

Omans traditional moderation is also a net positive. Too often, labour camps in Qatar and Saudi Arabia become engines for radicalisation; Omans moderation and prioritisation of a more educated labour force lessen the ultimate security risk posed by the return of radicalised workers upon the expiration of their contracts. Simply put, Modis meeting with Sultan Haitham already pays dividends.

Still, India could do more. It is easy to sign memorandums of understanding; it is harder to infuse them with substance. Trade requires security, and while India and Oman can flourish together, they both face common threats.

To protect its economy, India must be the major military power in the Indian Ocean Basin, if not beyond. China already contests Indias role, but Chinas danger goes far beyond both India and the traditional military. Every Indian Ocean littoral state faces a threat from the Chinese fishing fleet. While, in theory, Chinese fishermen remain outside Omans territorial waters and exclusive economic zone, in reality, they often violate Omani waters at night. Whereas Oman prioritises sustainable fishing, Chinese boats destroy the marine ecosystem of the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea. Chinese fishing is round the clock. Fishing boats remain permanently on station, transferring their industrial-scale catch to motherships to freeze and transport.

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Nor is Oman the only country that suffers from Chinese rapaciousness: Somaliland, Yemen, Kenya, and Mozambique all complain about Chinese actions. So too do the Indian Ocean island nations. China operates best in the shadows; if the Indian Navy shadowed the Chinese fishing fleet, monitoring its catch and preventing its incursions into Omans territorial waters, China would be hard-pressed to steal. Filming overfishing with drones or video cameras would undermine Chinese influence without a shot being fired; China likes to promise and promote itself, but when the populations of Indian Ocean basin countries see the reality of Chinese behaviour, the Indian model will gain traction.

India might further augment its influence by extending coast guard partnerships to Oman and Yemen. Both countries have huge coastlines and lack the capacity to fully patrol them. Weapons smugglers take advantage of gaps; this in turn threatens freedom of navigation as Houthis use their weaponry to target shipping. Indias assertiveness is even more important as the United States retrenches due to both economic and ideological reasons.

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Centuries of shared legacy and cultural exchange prime the Oman-India relationship to be a bedrock for 21st-century security. But free trade depends not only on treaties and agreements. While India embraces a world order based on the rule of law, such order depends on friendly militaries asserting power to prevent vacuums revisionist states like China can fill. There are no shortcuts.

(Michael Rubin is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and director of policy analysis at the Middle East Forum. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.)
The collaboration with Somaliland will allow Israel to have a military base at the strategically important ports of Berbera and Bosaso, opposite Yemen, as well as in the Horn of Africa, ceding Tel Aviv a unique strategic advantage

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not miss any strategic opportunity, be it domestically or internationally. His recognition of breakaway Somaliland is one such declaration. An agreement was signed between Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and the President of Somaliland, making Israel the first country to recognise the independence of Somaliland, which broke away from Somalia in the 1990s.

Bibi, while congratulating Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdilahi for his commitment to peace, security and stability extended an invite for him to visit Israel. Both sides reiterated their commitment to work together. Prime Minister Netanyahu claimed that the declaration was in keeping with the spirit of the Abraham Accords. President Abdillahi expressed his desire to join them, with Somaliland expected to become the sixth country after the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, Morocco and Kazakhstan to join the accords. This step is in concert with US President Donald Trumps approach.

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Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 and has pushed for international recognition for decades, with President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi making it a top priority since taking office last year.

As expected, there was furor in Africa and the Arab world. The African Union, Djibouti, Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia condemned the move of Israel to recognise the Northwest region of Somalia as an independent nation, underscoring that the sovereignty of Somalia must be respected.

Somalia called the decision a deliberate attack on its sovereignty that would undermine regional peace. The African Union (AU) rejected the move and warned that it risked setting a dangerous precedent with far-reaching implications for peace and stability across the continent and that Somaliland remains an integral part of Somalia.

Turkey and Israel have been at loggerheads in Syria, Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, West Asia in general and elsewhere, including Africa. No wonder the Turkish Foreign Ministry decried the move as expansionist. This initiative by Israel, which aligns with its expansionist policy constitutes overt interference in Somalias domestic affairs. Turkey and Somalia have a strategic partnership, especially in the hydrocarbons sector. Turkeys Africa Opening Strategy identifies Somalia as a priority country due to its strategic maritime location and untapped energy resources.

Somali territory is estimated to contain 6 billion cubic metres of proven natural gas reserves and as much as 30 billion barrels of offshore hydrocarbon potential. Turkey also has its largest military base in Somalia in Africa since 2017. Hence, these developments usher in a new area of contestation between the two rivals.

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But Somaliland and Israel have been working on it for a long time, and more so since the onset of the Israel-Gaza war that brought in all the proxies of Iran into play against Israel. Houthis in Yemen, to a great extent, have been able to cause disruptions at will and have even directly attacked the Israeli airports and other logistics while making the Israeli Red Sea port of Eilat nearly bankrupt due to their missile reach. Hence, the collaboration with Somaliland will allow a military base on the strategically important ports of Berbera and Bosaso, opposite Yemen, as well as in the Horn of Africa, ceding Tel Aviv a unique strategic advantage.

Through the war with Gaza and to expel the Gazans, Israeli leadership has toyed with the idea of finding alternate locations to transfer them. Somaliland has been one of them. However, the Somalis had predicated this arrangement on the condition of the country being recognised as independent and sovereign. One should not be surprised if the US becomes the next one to recognise Somaliland, even though President Trump responded in the negative in response to a media query.

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In any case, the Abraham Accords and their expansion remain Trumps pet project, and any addition to them would please him beyond words. As such, strategic ports in the Indian Ocean, even if those of Israel will in reality be the US for the outreach. This arrangement will ipso facto change the maritime regional dynamic.

Besides, Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi may also find closer alignment in the Horn of Africa, especially as both are allegedly working closely at the Socotra port in Yemen. The US, in any case, has a robust military base and presence in Djibouti. The UAE had agreed to set up a military base in Somaliland in 2017 itself at Berbera. Reports indicate that the facility has since been completed with advanced infrastructure, including a modern military port, a deep-water dock and an airstrip with hangars and support facilities. In June, Abu Dhabi finalised an agreement to build a railway line linking the Somaliland port to Ethiopia. Hence, Israel may be able to harness the support and cooperation of its Abraham Accords partners.

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For both Israel and Somaliland, it is a diplomatic breakthrough and indeed an achievement, even though it will be some time before any other country follows suit. Bibi rightly claimed to his Somalilandian counterpart, Our friendship is seminal and historic. So, Im very, very happy, and Im very proud of this day. How quickly and effectively the bilateral collaboration moves into the real strategic orbit will define the level of acceptance or pushback from the regional actors.

(The author is the former Indian Ambassador to Jordan, Libya and Malta and is currently a Distinguished Fellow with Vivekananda International Foundation. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.)
Bangladeshs newly formed National Citizen Party (NCP), which emerged from last years student-led agitation, has announced an electoral alliance with Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami ahead of the countrys general election in February 2026, a move that has triggered sharp internal divisions and political backlash.

The National Citizen Party (NCP), a political outfit formed by leaders of the July student agitation, has entered into an electoral alliance with Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami ahead of Bangladeshs general election scheduled for February 2026. The announcement was made on Sunday by Jamaat Ameer Shafiqur Rahman, according to Bangladeshi media reports.

Rahman said the NCP and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) had joined Jamaats existing eight-party bloc, expanding it into a 10-party alliance. He added that he had spoken to NCP Convener Nahid Islam shortly before the announcement and that the students party was expected to make a formal statement by Sunday night, the Dhaka Tribune reported.

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Resignations expose deep rift within NCP

The alliance has triggered sharp divisions within the NCP, leading to a wave of resignations. Several leaders, including senior figures, have stepped down in protest against the tie-up with Jamaat.

On Sunday afternoon, NCP Joint Convener Tajnuva Jabeen resigned, citing deep frustration over the partys policy-making process and its ongoing move to forge an alliance with Jamaat-e-Islami, The Daily Star reported.

Earlier, on December 25, Mir Arshadul Haque, a key leader of the anti-Jamaat faction within the NCP, also resigned. Haque had been serving as joint member secretary of the party and chief coordinator of its Chattogram city unit. The party has seen a flurry of resignations over the past week.

Conflicting claims on internal support

Reports on internal backing for the alliance remain contradictory. While the Dhaka Tribune reported that 30 NCP central committee members wrote to Nahid Islam opposing any electoral pact with Jamaat, The Daily Star said more than 170 central committee leaders supported the alliance.

Seat-sharing negotiations

According to Prothom Alo, the NCP initially demanded 50 seats in the 350-member Jatiyo Sangsad, a figure Jamaat-e-Islami reportedly considered unrealistic. Media reports suggest the party later scaled down its demand to 30 seats.

Abdul Kader, a prominent face of the anti-Hasina protests and a former coordinator of the NCPs predecessor, the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, said negotiations had narrowed, with the NCP settling for 30 seats.

At the same time, some NCP leaders were exploring the possibility of reviving talks with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), particularly after the return of its Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman to Bangladesh after 17 years. They believed his return could galvanise support for the BNP.

Political backlash and warnings

The NCP was formed by student leaders who had proposed Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus as head of Bangladeshs interim administration following Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas exit on August 5, 2024. The party is widely seen as enjoying tacit backing from Yunus.

Reacting sharply to the alliance, Abdul Kader wrote on Facebook: If everything goes according to plan, the announcement of this alliance may come tomorrow. Through this, the NCP will, in effect, be absorbed into the womb of Jamaat. He warned that the move amounted to digging the grave of youth politics in Bangladesh.

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Earlier on Sunday, NCP Senior Joint Convener Samantha Sharmin cautioned that Jamaat-e-Islami would not be a dependable political ally and warned that the seat-sharing deal could make the NCP pay a heavy price.

Any cooperation or compromise with them, including alignment with their ideology, will come at a steep cost for the NCP, Sharmin was quoted as saying by The Daily Star, adding that the partys core principles fundamentally differed from Jamaats.

Shift from NCPs earlier position

After its formation, the Yunus-favoured NCP had announced it would contest all 300 constituencies independently. It later launched the Democratic Reform Alliance with the Amar Bangladesh Party and the Bangladesh State Reform Movement, explicitly pledging to remain independent of both the BNP and Jamaat.

As the election drew closer, however, the NCP  which has reportedly gained far more traction online than on the ground  sought alignment with a larger political force. This churn effectively split the party into two factions: one pushing for an alliance with Jamaat and the other negotiating with the BNP.

Explaining the decision to partner with Jamaat, NCP Member Secretary Akhtar Hossain said the tie-up was driven by agreement on reforms. In considering any electoral alliance or understanding, my foremost priority is the question of reform, the politics of rebuilding the country, and the commitment to establishing a new state structure for Bangladesh, he told the Dhaka Tribune.

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Jamaats history and ideological concerns

Jamaat-e-Islami opposed Bangladeshs independence from Pakistan in 1971, and several of its leaders were accused of assisting the Pakistani army in atrocities, particularly against Hindus. Many Jamaat leaders were later convicted, and some executed, for war crimes.

Earlier this month, NCP leader Hasnat Abdullah sparked controversy after threatening to isolate Indias Seven Sisters and offer refuge to separatists if Bangladesh was destabilised.

If Bangladesh is destabilised, the fire of resistance will spread beyond borders. Since you are housing those who destabilise us, we will give refuge to the separatists of the Seven Sisters too, Abdullah said at an election rally.

The student-led agitation that forced Sheikh Hasinas exit was widely seen as having been infiltrated by Islamist elements, with attacks on minorities reported in its aftermath. Critics argue that the NCPs alliance with Jamaat  despite earlier assurances to the contrary  suggests the party may have harboured Islamist influence from the outset, what Abdul Kader described as being absorbed into the womb of Jamaat.
Amid persecution of Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh, a new party has taken birth in the country to represent the neglected group. Heres all you need to know about BMJP

A man holds a placard during a protest alleging that Bangladeshi groups are wrongly targeting Hindus in Bangladesh in Jammu, India. AP

As Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh continue to face persecution at the hands of radical actors operating in the country, a party representing the section was formed ahead of the polls in February. The Bangladesh Minority Janta Party (BMJP) registered itself for the polls in April this year.

According to The Times of India, the party is preparing to contest in 91 of 300 seats of the Jatiya Parishad (national parliament) and hopes to win 40 to 45 seats. While speaking to TOI on the phone, the party President, Sukriti Kumar Mandal, said that his party is focusing on constituencies where there is a significant Hindu vote-bank.

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We have zeroed in on constituencies where the minority, especially the Hindu vote-bank, ranges from 20 per cent to 60 per cent, he told the Indian news outlet. As he scrambled to file a nomination before the Monday deadline, Mandal emphasised that Hindus in Bangladesh need to feel safe so that they can come out and vote.

He also made it clear that his party would be open to having an alliance with any mainstream party, be it Tarique Rahman's BNP or even Jamaat-e-Islami. With an alliance with these parties, minorities can come out of their houses without fearing retaliation. Awami League is off the radar, and BMJP is the only voice of persecuted Hindus, Mandal told TOI.

How the party looks at India

Mandal said that the party candidates would be finalised in a day or two. By Saturday, all nominations would be filed, he said. He also maintained that India should change its stance on Dhaka and support only the Hindu cause, rather than backing the Awami League, led by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

If India shifts from its pro-Awami League stand, mainstream Bangladesh parties will sit up and take note. India must know that BMJP is the sole voice of minorities, Mandal told TOI. He also noted that a change in stance could lead to a change in Bangladeshs mindset about New Delhi.

He went on to claim that the Awami League only used India to gain power. TOI also obtained the five-point agenda from the party, which includes:

1 Working towards a secular Bangladesh

2 Establishing a federal system by carving out five provinces

3 Establishing fundamental and constitutional rights of each state

4. BMJP also proposed changes in textbooks with a secular and scientific approach

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5. Ensuring fair rights for minorities

Mandal told TOI that the party will focus on building a social system free of discrimination. The Enemy Property Act, created during Pakistan rule, is now being used to target Hindus. Lakhs of acres of Hindu land have been lost, and countless families have been ruined after property grabbing, personal vendetta, forced conversion and arson at places of worship, which are daily incidents, he said.

He also mentioned that 2.5 crore Hindus in Bangladesh are there to stay in the country, emphasising that remaining in the mainstream can be the solution. There is a sizable Hindu population in a cross-section of constituencies. Earlier, they were supporters of the Awami League. To come out and vote for us, either of the mainstream parties must declare a tie-up, he said.
Crew of a micro-short drama shoot at Hengdian World Studio in Dongyang, east China's Zhejiang Province, Dec. 25, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Ziyi)

HANGZHOU, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- What is a filmmaker to do when they need to film epic battles for a budget micro-short drama, but they have few actors and even less time? This is a worry of the past, with artificial intelligence (AI) now capable of summoning entire armies of digital performers.

This was a recent experience for post-production technician Zhang Shiyu. "Especially with the leap in AI large language models this year, the process has become smoother, more precise and strikingly efficient. What used to take me long days to create, AI can deliver in mere minutes with even greater continuity and realism," said Zhang, who works for Dongyang Gewuzhizhi Culture Media.

AI-generated high-quality visuals are seamlessly integrated into the editing pipeline. Through techniques like precise texture mapping, AI-enabled visual effects blend virtual elements with live-action footage, delivering realistic and visually striking results.

Zhang is not the only one at the company using AI to streamline micro-short drama production. "AI plays a crucial role in every step of post-production," said its chairman, Lu Caijian.

Hengdian World Studios -- often referred to as "China's Hollywood" -- is where the company is located, and it now has a solid industrial chain. "This year, we have prioritized integrating technology with film and television, powering the industry's growth," said Lu Pingping, deputy director of the Hengdian Film and Television Cultural Industry Development Service Center.

Lu noted that in one example, tech services firm Dongyang Yuanying Technology Co. established operations in Hengdian in October and has since participated in the production of over 20 short dramas.

Lin Ju, Yuanying's operations manager, noted that AI is currently being used to create grand scenes, science fiction and fantasy genres, and to add special effects to footage that has already been shot.

For companies like Yuanying, which is in the process of developing an original series, the next challenge is finding and shaping winning stories. This is where the role of AI is expanding upstream into scriptwriting and project evaluation.

According to a report from the China Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, AI is reshaping the industry's workflow everywhere from scriptwriting to marketing. Its influence transcends the role of a mere tool, actively redefining creative practices, industry structures and cultural values.

"AI significantly enhances production efficiency. But more importantly, AI is expanding the boundaries of visual expression. It is likely to give rise to entirely new cinematic styles and narrative methods that are unimaginable today," said Li Zhenlin, dean of the College of Film at the Shanghai Theatre Academy.

Some companies have even developed their own large language models to increase proficiency. Hangzhou-based Chinese media company Huace Group, for example, has developed an in-house AI model for script summarization, evaluation and creation.

Huace's resources -- which include 50,000 hours of film, television copyright assets, and data accumulated over 30 years, such as scripts, evaluation reports and industry data -- are the core training data for the model.

It can produce rapid preliminary evaluations of novels of up to 1.2 million words. Tasks that previously took a human team 10 to 14 days can be completed by AI in just one or two hours. Combining AI screening and manual assessment, overall efficiency has increased by over 50 percent.

"The model helps efficiently identify suitable projects during the initial stages, and inspires creators by optimizing scripts," said Fu Binxing, president of Huace Group, noting that the company is refining the model's accuracy, which has reached about 90 percent, and enhancing the tool by following industry trends and expanding genre coverage.

"AI is not meant to replace humans. It has altered certain production processes, but in the short term, the core of creation is still people," Lin said. "What matters is the ability to harness AI. Screenwriters still need to control the visual language and final presentation of each shot."

"For new directors, AI lowers the barriers to entry into the industry. They can use AI tools to translate their creative vision into visual presentations for investors and potential collaborators. Innovation is at the heart of filmmaking. By delegating routine assistant-like tasks to AI, people can be free to focus on true innovation," Fu said.

As AI dramatically increases the accessibility of creation and accelerates content output, protecting intellectual property with AI has become a parallel frontier. In response, the industry is deploying AI as a guardian.

This year, Hengdian launched an AI-powered monitoring system that automates the entire process of identifying and collecting evidence of copyright infringement online, effectively addressing the long-standing challenges of low efficiency and limited coverage in manual monitoring.

East China's Jiangxi Province has established its first agency to protect the copyright of micro-short dramas by using AI to safeguard creation and distribution. From its establishment in 2024 to May this year, the agency had resolved eight infringement cases, recovering tens of millions of yuan in losses. 

Post-production technician Zhang Shiyu works at Dongyang Gewuzhizhi Culture Media in Dongyang, east China's Zhejiang Province, Dec. 24, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Ziyi)
Bulgaria is about to take a big step by adopting the euro on January 1, a move leaders say could strengthen the economy and tie the country closer to Europe. But on the ground, the mood is mixed. Many Bulgarians worry about rising prices, losing a sense of national identity and the political forces shaping the debate, as disinformation and sharp divisions cloud what should be a milestone moment

Protesters wave Bulgarian and EU flags during an anti-government demonstration in Sofia on December 10, 2025.(AFP)

Bulgaria is just days away from a big shift in its economic story. It is trading its long-standing national currency, the lev, for the euro on January 1, 2026, which will make it the 21st member of the eurozone.

Policymakers in Sofia and Brussels are presenting the switch as a chance to boost the economy of the EUs poorest state and further anchor it within Europes political and financial heart.

Yet despite official optimism, the mood on the streets, in town squares and in parliament is far from united. The move has exposed deep divisions among Bulgarians about what joining the euro really means for their wallets, identity and future, as reported by the Guardian.

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What leaders are saying

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has championed the decision, arguing that thanks to the euro, Bulgaria will have more trade, more investment and more quality jobs and real incomes.

Valdis Dombrovskis, the EUs economy commissioner, has echoed the same sentiment, noting that the decision comes at a time of geopolitical tension that underlines the importance of European unity.

Supporters argue that joining the eurozone will strengthen Bulgarias economic standing, increase foreign investment and offer more predictable business conditions, and long-term gains that could help lift living standards for many citizens.

Fears over identity and cost

But not everyone is convinced. A recent survey by the ministry of finance found Bulgarians sharply split, roughly half support adopting the euro while nearly as many are opposed.

At the human level, the concerns are tangible. Pensioner Maya Neshev, who spoke to the Guardian, said: The uncertainty is evident and I have concerns because I am retired Does it make sense? How will it happen in January?

For many Bulgarians, the lev isnt just moneyits part of our identity, said 26-year-old engineer Elena Vasileva, as quoted by the Guardian. Its like losing your identity. Its a pity, she added.

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Politics and disinformation

The debate has been fiercely contested in parliament, where far-right, pro-Russian lawmakers have tried to block the transition, seeing the euro as a symbol of Western influence.

Investigations have also unearthed networks of Russian-linked social media campaigns spreading disinformation aimed at undermining support for the euro.

Asked about this alleged influence, Dombrovskis said it was no secret Russia was conducting provocation, acts of sabotage and spreading disinformation.

Despite fears and division, many Bulgarians still see the euro as a positive step for the countrys future.
Canada announced $2.5 billion in economic assistance for Ukraine as Prime Minister Mark Carney met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy amid renewed Russian attacks and ahead of Kyivs talks with the United States.

Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Canada on Saturday for talks ahead of a planned meeting with US President Donald Trump. (AFP)

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Saturday announced an additional $2.5 billion in economic assistance for Ukraine, positioning the move as part of wider international efforts to support the war-torn country. Speaking alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Carney said the funding would help unlock further international financing at a critical moment in the conflict.

According to a news release from the Prime Ministers Office, around $1.6 billion of the assistance will be delivered as loan guarantees to the World Banks International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The remaining funds will support International Monetary Fund lending to Ukraine, while Canada will also participate in an extended and expanded debt service suspension for Kyiv.

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Zelenskyys visit to Canada followed a phone call with Carney on Friday, with the Prime Ministers Office confirming that the two leaders met at around 1 pm AT on Saturday. In a statement, Zelenskyy said he briefed Carney on Ukraines diplomatic engagement with the United States aimed at ending the war that began with Russias invasion in February 2022.

Ukrainian President to visit US

The Ukrainian President is scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump on Sunday, likely at Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where he plans to present a 20-point peace proposal. Zelenskyy said the discussions would centre on security guarantees for Ukraine and a possible economic agreement, while noting that it remained unclear whether any deal would be finalised.

The visit came hours after Russia launched drones and missiles at Kyiv in its latest attack on the capital. Later on Saturday, Moscow also claimed fresh gains on the battlefield, saying its forces had captured two towns at separate locations along the frontlines. Zelenskyy said the renewed assault demonstrated that Moscow had no intention of ending the war, accusing the Kremlin of pressing ahead with its invasion despite Kyivs efforts to pursue peace.
American influencer and Maga supporter Andrew Branca has triggered widespread outrage after mocking the death of Prashant Sreekumar, an Indian-origin man who died in Canada after being left unattended at a hospital. Brancas remarks, which included calling Sreekumar an Indian invader of Canada, have drawn sharp condemnation on social media.

Maga supporter and American influencer Andrew Branca has sparked outrage after mocking the death of Prashant Sreekumar, an Indian-origin man who died in Canada after being left unattended at a hospital for over eight hours. Branca referred to Sreekumar as another Indian invader of Canada.

Sreekumar had been admitted to Grey Nuns Community Hospital in Edmonton on December 22 after experiencing severe chest pain at work. According to his family, hospital staff told them his ECG results showed no major problem and asked them to wait. He was given Tylenol, but his blood pressure continued to rise. Despite attempts by nurses to revive him, he later died.

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Responding to the news, Branca wrote on X, I note that she and her husband could have easily avoided the shitty Canadian healthcare by staying in Mumbai and enjoying the shitty Indian healthcare, sharing a graph on net immigration to Canada from 1952 to 2025 without citing a source.

History of anti-India posts

Branca, whose X profile describes him as an attorney providing pro-America, pro-Constitution, pro-Western civilisation political and legal analysis, has repeatedly posted anti-India content. He has referred to Indians as retards and third-world, described Indian food as disgusting, and stated, America is for Americans.

In other posts, he wrote, You, an Indian national, fled the shit hole of third-world India to live in first-world Canada. Any culture that drives tens of millions of its nationals from its third-world borders to first-world nations has little to brag about. He also described Indian migration as a societal herpes of filth and trash and human faeces they wish to bring to America.

Social media backlash

Brancas remarks have drawn widespread condemnation online. One X user commented, A man died and all you can think of is hate and dancing on his grave. Youre a despicable, disgusting excuse of a man.

Another wrote, Shame on you for mocking dead people Karma will make you pay.

A third user added, Building a following on hate? You seem too old for such desperate tactics. If this is just a money grab, dont bother. Youll run out of time before you ever see the payoff.

Im not Indian, but thats such a low blow. You ought to do some self-reflecting, another user wrote.
Elon Musk has sparked a worldwide debate over Canadas healthcare after reacting to the death of an Indian-origin man who waited hours for emergency care. Calling government-run healthcare about as good as the DMV, Musks comments have shone a spotlight on long ER waits, accountability issues, and the challenges facing public hospitals

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has harshly criticised Canadas healthcare system after the death of a 44-year-old Indian-origin man who reportedly died waiting for medical care in an Edmonton hospital. Musks remarks, shared on X (formerly Twitter), triggered fresh debate over government-run medical systems and emergency-care wait times.

The Indian-origin man, Prashant Sreekumar, died on December 22 at Grey Nuns Community Hospital in Edmonton after waiting more than eight hours in the emergency room despite complaining of severe chest pain, according to reports.

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His wife captured parts of the ordeal in a video that later went viral online.

Watch the viral video here:

The video contains disturbing visuals. Viewer discretion is advised.

Heartbreaking video revealing the reality of Canadas emergency healthcare response. Indian-origin man Prashant Sreekumar dies after being made to wait 8 hours in an Edmonton hospital waiting room while lying on the floor pleading with chest pain. pic.twitter.com/IGIcDzgIWB  Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) December 26, 2025

Musks viral critique

Reacting to a social media post about the incident, Musk wrote on X: When the government does medical care, it is about as good as the DMV.

The comment compared government-run healthcare to the Department of Motor Vehicles in the United States, which many people jokingly criticise for being slow and inefficient.

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Musks post drew attention from users worldwide and added a high-profile voice to wider criticism of public health systems.

What happened at the hospital

According to family accounts and media reports, Sreekumar was taken to the hospital after experiencing sharp chest pain at work. He was checked in and asked to sit in the triage area, where he waited for more than eight hours while repeatedly expressing how intense the pain was. During that time, nurses periodically monitored his condition but did not provide urgent treatment.

#Canada | When the hospital asked him to rate the pain out of 10, he said it is a 15: The deceased Canada man, Prashant Sreekumar's close acquaintance Varinder Bhullar reveals to CNN-News18's @AmanKayamHai_ in an #Exclusive interview#Healthcare #CanadaIndian #Tragic | pic.twitter.com/wdKSYtoRnK  News18 (@CNNnews18) December 28, 2025

His wife alleged in a video that hospital staff gave him only Tylenol and a basic heart test, then instructed him to continue waiting. When he was finally called inside, he collapsed shortly afterward and could not be revived.

Speaking about her husbands suffering, his father recalled hearing him say: Papa, I cannot bear the pain.

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Canada should take responsibility for the incident, noting that while Sreekumar was a Canadian national, he was of Indian origin and the Canadian government should address the familys concerns.
A UK employment tribunal has awarded nearly 67,000 in compensation to an Indian man after ruling that he faced racial discrimination and wrongful dismissal while working at a KFC outlet in London.

An Indian man has been awarded nearly 67,000 in compensation after a UK employment tribunal ruled that he was racially discriminated against and wrongfully dismissed while working at a KFC outlet in London.

The man, identified as Madhesh Ravichandran from Tamil Nadu, began working at a KFC branch in West Wickham in January 2023. During the hearing, he alleged that his manager subjected him to racial abuse, including calling him a slave, and forced him to work extra hours, the BBC reported.

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Ravichandran told the tribunal that about two months into his job, he was denied annual leave. He also said he overheard his manager, Kajan Theiventhiram, telling another staff member that he would prioritise employees who were Sri Lankan Tamil and referring to Ravichandran as this slave.

He later resigned, claiming that despite raising concerns about the remarks and treatment, no proper investigation was carried out by the management.

According to a PTI report, employment judge Paul Abbott found that the refusal of Ravichandrans leave request was significantly influenced by his race and that the treatment left him upset and humiliated. The tribunal ruled that he had been subjected to racial discrimination and harassment and that his dismissal was wrongful.

The judge accepted Ravichandrans account that he was made to work extra hours due to his managers racially prejudiced attitude and awarded him 66,800 in compensation.

The tribunal also recommended that all employees of Nexus Foods Limited, which operates the KFC outlet, undergo workplace discrimination training.
Amid the brewing tensions in West Asia, Irans President Masoud Pezeshkian said that the country is in a full-fledged war with America, Israel, and Europe

(File) Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian holds up a book as he addresses the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the U.N. headquarters in New York, U on, September 24, 2025. Reuters

Amid the brewing tensions in West Asia, Irans President Masoud Pezeshkian said that the country is in a full-fledged war with America, Israel, and Europe." In an interview published on the Iranian supreme leaders official website on Saturday, Pezeshkian said that the West does not want the Islamic Republic to stand on its feet.

They do not want our country to stand on its feet. This war is worse than Iraqs war against us, he continued, referencing the eight-year conflict that spanned the 1980s. If one understands it well, this war is far more complex and difficult than that war. In the war with Iraq, the situation was clear; they fired missiles, and we knew where to hit. Here, they are besieging us from every aspect; they are creating problems for us in terms of livelihood, culturally, politically, and security-wise.

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In the same interview, Iranian officials mentioned further potential conflicts with the US and Israel that despite all the problems we face, we are now, in terms of both equipment and personnel, far stronger than we were during their previous attacks." Therefore, if they choose to strike, they will then naturally face a more decisive response, the officials averred.

The timing of it all

It is pertinent to note that the interview with Pezeshkian comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet with US President Donald Trump on Monday in Florida.

They will discuss the future steps and phases, and the International Stabilisation Force of the ceasefire plan, Israeli Prime Ministers Office spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian had said earlier this month.

It is also important to note that days before Pezeshkians interview, a US State Department official told Walla that Irans conduct in West Asia and around the world continues to be viewed by Washington as a destabilising factor.

However, the American official maintained that the Trump administration has been seeking to tighten the noose around Iran through sanctions, international isolation, and diplomatic pressure, rather than a new military front similar to the war in June.
Italian authorities have arrested nine individuals suspected of financing Hamas through charities, seizing over 8 million in assets.

Italian prosecutors announced on Saturday the arrest of nine people suspected of channelling funds to Hamas via charities operating in Italy. The operation was led jointly by anti-mafia and anti-terrorism units in the northern city of Genoa.

According to prosecutors, the suspects are accused of belonging to and having financed the Palestinian organisation, which the European Union classifies as a terrorist group. Around 7 million ($8.24 million) raised over the past two years for purported humanitarian purposes was allegedly diverted to Hamas-linked entities. Authorities also seized assets worth more than 8 million.

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The probe began following the detection of suspicious financial transactions and expanded with cooperation from Dutch authorities and other EU countries, coordinated through the EU judicial agency Eurojust.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni praised the authorities for conducting a particularly complex and important operation, which revealed Hamas financing through so-called charity organisations".

Israels Prime Ministers office did not immediately comment on the arrests. Melonis support for Israel during its conflict with Hamas in Gaza has sparked repeated protests across Italy. The ongoing conflict has killed over 71,000 people in Gaza, according to its health ministry, following a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in around 1,200 deaths, according to Israeli sources.
Voting ended Saturday in Ivory Coasts parliamentary elections, a vote marked by poor turn-out following a boycott call by opposition parties.

Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara walks to the voting booth to cast his ballot at a polling station at the Lycee Saint-Marie in Cocody, the residential district of Abidjan on December 27, 2025 during Ivory Coast's legislative elections. AFP

Voting ended Saturday in Ivory Coasts parliamentary elections, a vote marked by poor turn-out following a boycott call by opposition parties.

The election comes two months after 83-year-old Alassane Ouattara won a presidential ballot that extended his 14-year rule.

In the Yopougon and Plateau districts of Abidjan, fewer than 100 people voted out of the 400 listed on the electoral roll, AFP journalists noted.

The Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) said early on Sunday the provisional participation rate was 32.35 percent, lower than the previous legislative elections in 2021 when turnout was 37.88 percent.

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More than eight million people are registered to vote for members of the national assembly, where lawmakers from the ruling party currently hold a majority.

Elections in Ivory Coast are often marred by political tensions or violence, and more than 40,000 security force personnel deployed for the presidential election in late October had been maintained for Saturdays polls.

There have been scuffles, but they were indeed brought under control by our law enforcement officers, Ibrahime Kuibiert Coulibaly, the head of the independent electoral commission, told reporters.

These incidents are so minor that they do not affect the proper conduct of the process, he added, without giving details.

Low turnout

Ouattara, who won a fourth term in the presidential election, cast his own ballot earlier in Saturdays legislative race.

Polling stations in the main city, Abidjan, opened an hour late in torrential rain.

Im here to elect my candidate so he can advance projects that support students entry into the workforce, history student Assi Gilles Darus Aka, 21, told AFP.

He had come to vote at Notre Dame college in the Plateau district, where voters queued in a hall below a huge portrait of Felix Houphouet-Boigny, the west African nations founding president.

At around midday, turnout at several voting stations in the Abidjan districts of Cocody and Yopougon was low.

At one Yopougon polling booth, only around 20 people had voted out of around 400 registered at that station.

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Sometimes you dont see the elected officials, but I give them my trust because its my civic duty, Dominique Tanou Benie, a 76-year-old retired IT specialist, said, casting a ballot at a school in Yopougon.

Boycott

Ouattaras RHDP party has a majority in the 255-seat national assembly, which is voted in every five years.

Its candidates in the new poll include Prime Minister Robert Beugre Mambe and Tene Birahima Ouattara, a brother of the president and defence minister.

In October, Ouattara won with nearly 90 percent of votes cast in an election in which most opposition figures were excluded.

Eleven people died in violence around the presidential election and dozens of opposition supporters were detained, including one deputy.

The PPA-CI party of former president Laurent Gbagbo, who was banned from the presidential vote because of a criminal conviction, boycotted the legislative election.

About 20 members of his party are standing, however, as independent candidates.

The PDCI of Tidjane Thiam, another presidential candidate excluded from the October vote, put up candidates for Saturdays election.

One of them, party spokesman Soumaila Bredoumy, was detained in November accused of terrorism and plotting against state authority.

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Voting began Sunday in Myanmars heavily restricted polls, with the ruling junta touting the exercise as a return to democracy five years after it ousted the last elected government, triggering civil war.

Supporters of Myanmar's military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) dance in the capital Naypyitaw on Oct. 28., the first day of campaigning for the upcoming general election (AP)

Voting began Sunday in Myanmars heavily restricted polls, with the ruling junta touting the exercise as a return to democracy five years after it ousted the last elected government, triggering civil war.

Former civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi remains jailed and her hugely popular party dissolved after soldiers ended a decade-long democratic experiment in February 2021.

Campaigners, Western diplomats and the UNs rights chief have all condemned the phased month-long vote, citing a ballot stacked with military allies and a stark crackdown on dissent.

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The pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party is widely expected to emerge as the largest one, in what critics say would be a rebranding of martial rule.

The Southeast Asian nation of around 50 million is riven by civil war and there will be no voting in rebel-held areas.

In junta-controlled territory, the first of three rounds started at 6:00 am (2330 GMT Saturday), including in constituencies in the cities of Yangon, Mandalay and the capital Naypyidaw.

An AFP journalist saw a polling station open around dawn in Yangons Kamayut Township, near Suu Kyis vacant home.

In downtown Yangon, stations were cordoned off overnight with security staff posted outside, while armed officers guarded traffic intersections.

The run-up has seen none of the feverish public rallies that Suu Kyi once commanded, and the junta has waged a withering pre-vote offensive to claw back territory.

It is impossible for this election to be free and fair, said Moe Moe Myint, who has spent the past two months on the run from junta air strikes.

How can we support a junta-run election when this military has destroyed our lives? she told AFP from a village in the central Mandalay region.

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We are homeless, hiding in jungles, and living between life and death, said the 40-year-old.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing has not responded to AFP requests for interview, but has consistently framed the polls as a path to reconciliation.

Electronic voting

In the northern city of Myitkyina, a 33-year-old man requesting anonymity for security reasons told AFP that the military are just trying to legalise the power they took by force, pledging to boycott the poll.

The military ruled Myanmar for most of its post-independence history before a 10-year interlude saw a civilian government take the reins in a burst of optimism and reform.

But after Suu Kyis National League for Democracy party trounced pro-military opponents in 2020 elections, Min Aung Hlaing snatched power in a coup, alleging widespread voter fraud.

Suu Kyi is serving a 27-year sentence for offences ranging from corruption to breaching Covid-19 restrictions, charges rights groups dismiss as politically motivated.

I dont think she would consider these elections to be meaningful in any way, her son Kim Aris said from his home in Britain.

Most parties from the 2020 vote, including Suu Kyis, have since been dissolved.

The Asian Network for Free Elections says 90 percent of the seats in the last elections went to organisations that will not appear on Sundays ballots.

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New electronic voting machines will not allow write-in candidates or spoiled ballots.

Repression

The junta is pursuing prosecutions against more than 200 people for violating draconian legislation forbidding disruption of the poll, including protest or criticism.

These elections are clearly taking place in an environment of violence and repression, UN rights chief Volker Turk said earlier this week.

The second round of polling will take place in two weeks time before the third and final round on January 25, but the junta has conceded elections cannot happen in almost one in five lower house constituencies.

When the military seized power it put down pro-democracy protests, and many activists quit the cities to fight as guerrillas alongside ethnic minority armies that have long held sway in Myanmars fringes.

There are many ways to make peace in the country, but they havent chosen those  theyve chosen to have an election instead, said Zaw Tun, an officer in the pro-democracy Peoples Defence Force in the northern region of Sagaing.
Myanmar has begun its first general election since the military seized power in 2021, with voting taking place in phases amid ongoing civil war and doubts over the process. The polls have drawn criticism from the UN and rights groups, who say the vote is not free or fair, while early signs point to low voter turnout across several cities.

(File) A Myanmar military soldier hoists a national flag during a ceremony to mark the 69th anniversary of Independence Day in Yangon, Myanmar on Jan. 4, 2017. AP

Myanmars first general election since the 2021 military coup concluded its initial phase on Sunday amid ongoing civil war, widespread scepticism over its credibility, and signs of low voter turnout.

The military junta, which seized power four years ago after overthrowing the elected government, has claimed the phased polls would restore political stability to the conflict-hit Southeast Asian nation. However, the exercise has drawn strong criticism from the United Nations, Western governments and human rights groups, who say the vote is neither free nor fair. Opposition parties are largely barred, criticism of the election is illegal, and key political leaders remain detained.

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Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory in the 2020 elections, continues to be held in custody, while her party has been dissolved. In contrast, the military-aligned Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), led by retired generals and fielding around one-fifth of all candidates, is widely expected to dominate the polls.

The juntas election is designed to prolong military control over the people, said Lalita Hanwong, a Myanmar expert at Thailands Kasetsart University. She added that the USDP and other pro-military parties were likely to form the next government.

Campaigning ahead of the polls was subdued, with the USDP emerging as the most visible party. Founded in 2010, the party governed with military backing until 2015, when it was decisively defeated by the NLD.

Voter turnout appeared significantly lower than in previous elections, residents in several cities told Reuters. Further rounds of voting are scheduled for January 11 and January 25, covering 265 of Myanmars 330 townships, though the junta does not fully control all these areas.

Myanmar remains engulfed in conflict, with armed resistance groups and long-standing ethnic militias fighting the military across large parts of the country. The violence has displaced around 3.6 million people and triggered one of Asias worst humanitarian crises. No date has yet been announced for the final election results.

Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing voted in the heavily guarded capital Naypyitaw, state media showed, but declined to comment on presidential ambitions, saying the post would be decided through parliamentary procedures.

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The UNs special envoy for human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, rejected the election outright, saying it offered no solution to the countrys crisis. While junta officials acknowledged international criticism, they insisted the polls would lead to stability and a better future.

Despite the absence of reports of forced voting, residents in major cities such as Yangon and Mandalay said turnout was far below the levels seen in the 2015 and 2020 elections, when participation stood at around 70 percent. In conflict-hit regions, some communities openly boycotted the vote, with residents saying they had little faith in the process.
MOSCOW, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Taiwan is an integral part of China, and Russia opposes Taiwan's independence in any form, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday.

In an interview with TASS, Lavrov said that Russia's principled position on the Taiwan question is well known and unchanged. "Russia recognizes Taiwan as an integral part of China and stands against the island's independence in any form."

As the top Russian diplomat noted, Russia consistently regards the Taiwan question as an internal affair of China and recognizes China's legitimate basis for safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Lavrov also said in the interview that Japan's course toward militarization could negatively affect stability in the region.

"Recently, the Japanese leadership has been seeking to accelerate the country's militarization. The detrimental influence of such an approach on the regional stability is obvious," he said. 
False and unverified reports in sections of the Bangladeshi media have triggered confusion and security concerns in Meghalaya, with Indian authorities firmly rejecting claims that murder suspects from Bangladesh are hiding in the border state. Meghalaya Police and the BSF say there is no evidence of any illegal border crossing or presence of the accused in India, calling the reports misleading and baseless.

An activist holds a poster of Sharif Osman Hadi, senior leader of the student protest group Inqilab Mancha who was killed. AFP

Meghalaya Police and the BSF have rejected false and fabricated reports circulating in parts of the Bangladeshi media, which claimed that two prime suspects in the murder of Bangladeshi political activist Osman Hadi had fled to India through the Meghalaya border.

Hindustan Times reported on Sunday, citing senior security officials, that such reports are creating confusion and could disturb peace in the sensitive border state.

The reports said the Bangladesh government is in touch with Indian authorities seeking the suspects arrest and extradition. However, Indian officials stressed that while cooperation with Dhaka Police continues, there is no evidence at present that the suspects are in Meghalayas custody.

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Meghalaya Police reject Bangladeshi claims

Senior officials at Meghalaya Police headquarters dismissed claims that the two accused  Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Sheikh  crossed into India via the Haluaghat border in Bangladeshs Mymensingh district and were hiding in Meghalaya.

The claims, published by a prominent Bangladeshi daily quoting Dhaka Metropolitan Police officials, were described by Indian authorities as untruthful and completely false.

No confirmation of suspects in India

CNN-News18 reported citing top Indian intelligence officials that there is no official confirmation that the two prime suspects in the killing of Inqilab Moncho leader and Dhaka-8 aspirant Sharif Osman Hadi are in Indian custody or have been identified on Indian soil. They said the information shared with Dhaka so far is based on border-movement indicators and intercepted facilitator inputs, not on any physical apprehension of the suspects.

No formal or informal communication has been received from Bangladesh police. None of the accused named in the report have been traced in the Garo Hills region, and no arrests have been made, a senior Meghalaya Police official told Hindustan Times.

Bangladeshi police says suspects fled to India

Earlier, Dhaka Metropolitan Police told The Daily Star that the two suspects fled to India after the killing. At a press briefing at the DMP Media Centre, Additional Commissioner SN Nazrul Islam claimed the suspects crossed via the Haluaghat border with the help of local associates.

Based on our information, the suspects entered India through the Haluaghat border. After crossing, they were initially received by an individual named Purti and later transported to Tura city in Meghalaya by a taxi driver named Sami, Nazrul Islam was quoted as saying.

He further claimed that police had received informal information suggesting that the two individuals who allegedly assisted the suspects had been detained by Indian authorities.

Meghalaya Police dismissed these claims, saying no intelligence input, ground verification, or operational evidence exists to support the alleged border crossing or involvement of the named individuals.

Neither Purti nor Sami has been identified, traced, or arrested anywhere in Meghalaya. The narrative appears to have been constructed without verification or coordination with Indian authorities, a police headquarters official said.

BSF rejects border crossing claims

Supporting the police position, Border Security Force (Meghalaya Frontier) Inspector General OP Upadhayay also rejected the claims.

There is no evidence whatsoever of these individuals crossing the international border from the Haluaghat sector into Meghalaya. No such incident has been detected or reported by the BSF. These claims are baseless and misleading, he told Hindustan Times.

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Pattern of misinformation flagged

Officials said this is not an isolated instance of misinformation, pointing to a recent Bangladeshi media report that falsely claimed the BSF had shot dead two Bangladeshi infiltrators  an allegation later denied by Indian authorities after verification.

Despite rejecting the current claims, Meghalaya Police said border vigilance has been increased as a precautionary measure. Intelligence inputs have been activated and coordination with the BSF strengthened to prevent misuse of border routes by criminal elements.

Enhanced security is a standard preventive step and should not be misconstrued as confirmation of false claims, an official said.

Both Meghalaya Police and the BSF reiterated their willingness to cooperate with Bangladeshi authorities, stressing that any action will be taken only on verified information shared through formal channels, underlining that narratives cannot replace facts.
Pakistan has admitted that Indias strikes during Operation Sindoor in May caused damage to key military installations, marking a rare public acknowledgement by Islamabad. The admission came after Pakistans FM Dar confirmed that Indian drones hit the Nur Khan Air Base in Rawalpindi, injuring personnel and damaging the facility.

Pakistan has publicly acknowledged that Indias strategic and precision strikes during Operation Sindoor in May caused significant damage to the country. The admission comes months after India launched the operation in response to the 22 April terror attack in Pahalgam, in which 26 civilians were killed by Pakistan-backed terrorists.

Pakistans Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed that Indian drones struck the Nur Khan Air Base in Rawalpindis Chaklala area. Speaking at a year-end press briefing, Dar said the attack damaged the military installation and injured personnel stationed at the base.

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Dar said India deployed a large number of drones into Pakistani territory over a short period, claiming that at least 80 drones crossed the border within 36 hours. He added that Pakistani forces intercepted 79 of them, but one drone managed to strike a military site, resulting in injuries.

High-level meeting after strikes

Dar further said that Pakistans civil and military leadership, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, held a meeting on the night of May 9 to review the situation and approve certain decisions. He also stated that India made the mistake" of attacking the Nur Khan Air Base in the early hours of May 10, again acknowledging the strike.

Key air bases hit during Operation Sindoor

Nur Khan Air Base is a major Pakistan Air Force facility located in Rawalpindi. It was among 11 air bases targeted by Indian strikes during Operation Sindoor. Other locations hit included air bases in Sargodha, Rafiqui, Jacobabad and Muridke.

Background of Operation Sindoor

Operation Sindoor was launched by the Indian Armed Forces in the early hours of May 7. It was a retaliatory action following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. Indian strikes initially targeted nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, followed by attacks on key military installations.

Indian Army veteran rejects Pakistans version

Reacting to Dars remarks, Indian Army veteran Lt Gen (Retd) KJS Dhillon dismissed Pakistans claim of minor damage" and minor injuries". He accused Dar of lying and said the extent of destruction was far greater.

Pakistan media reports cited

Dhillon cited reports from Pakistans own media, saying that a list published by Samaa TV on Pakistans Independence Day named 138 people who were awarded gallantry honours posthumously for Operation Sindoor. According to him, this suggested much higher casualties than officially acknowledged by Pakistan.

He also referred to videos released by Pakistani civilians showing the Nur Khan base engulfed in flames and claimed that all 11 targeted air bases suffered heavy damage.

Indias strike on the Nur Khan Air Base had earlier been confirmed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Days after the operation, Sharif said Army chief General Asim Munir personally informed him of the attack during the night of May 9 and 10.

In July, Sharifs adviser Rana Sanaullah also admitted that Pakistan had only 30 to 45 seconds to determine whether a missile fired by India towards Nur Khan carried a nuclear warhead.

Satellite images show extensive damage

Satellite images taken in May reportedly showed extensive damage to several Pakistani air bases, including Nur Khan, Mushaf in Sargodha, Bholari and Shahbaz in Jacobabad. Pakistan had also admitted on May 10 that Indian missiles and drones targeted three of its air bases, including Nur Khan, Muridke and Rafiqui.
Pakistan President Zardari has revealed that he was advised to take shelter in a bunker during Indias Operation Sindoor, highlighting the impact of the four-day strikes on Pakistani military installations.

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has revealed that he was advised to take shelter in a bunker during Indias Operation Sindoor, highlighting the precision and impact of the four-day strikes targeting key Pakistani military infrastructure.

Zardari made the admission while speaking at an event on the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on Saturday. He said his Military Secretary warned him that war had begun as Indian forces launched Operation Sindoor in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 26 civilians.

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My Military Secretary came to me and said, Sir, the war has started. Lets go to the bunkers, Zardari said. He added that he declined the advice, stating, If martyrdom is to come, it will come here. Leaders dont die in bunkers. They die on the battlefield.

Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7, involved strategic precision strikes on Pakistani military installations and terror camps, continuing until a ceasefire on May 10. During the operation, India reportedly hit terror infrastructure in Pakistan and PoJK while also neutralising Pakistani aggression by targeting airbases.

Pakistans Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar also acknowledged the impact of Indias strikes, confirming that the Nur Khan Air Base in Rawalpindis Chakala was damaged and personnel were injured. Dar added that at least 80 drones were sent towards Pakistan in 36 hours, of which 79 were intercepted, with only one causing damage.

Earlier, the Indian Air Force has stated that six Pakistani aircraft, including five fighter jets and one large aircraft, were downed during the operation. Air Chief Marshal AP Singh confirmed that an AEW&C (airborne early warning and control system) aircraft and six fighter jets were shot down during the strikes.
Poland is set to build a roughly $2.2 billion multi-layered anti-drone fortification along its eastern border amid rising Russian military pressure, deploying jammers, missiles and cannons, with first capabilities expected within six months and full completion in two years

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk leading an emergency meeting in Warsaw in September after Russian drones violated Polish airspace. (AFP)

Poland is moving ahead with a major defence project, announcing plans to construct a $2.2 billion antidrone fortification system along its eastern border in response to growing security concerns tied to Russias military actions.

The announcement comes after several incursions by suspected Russian drones into Polish airspace.

Deputy Defence Minister Cezary Tomczyk told The Guardian that the new system will be rolled out in phases, with the first capabilities expected in about six months and full completion targeted within 24 months.

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We expect to have the first capabilities of the system in roughly six months, perhaps even sooner. And the full system will take 24 months to complete, Tomczyk said.

What the fortification will look like

Rather than a single wall, the fortification will be a multilayered defence system.

It will integrate modern technology, such as dronejamming systems, alongside more traditional weaponry like machine guns, cannons and missiles. Officials say this layered approach is needed to counter the evolving threat from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and ensure better control of Polish airspace.

Tomczyk added that some of this is for use only in extreme or war conditions.

Thats a nod to how certain components, especially more aggressive weapons, could be activated only if tensions escalate into open conflict.

Why Poland is acting now

The recent push to fortify the eastern border followed a spate of suspected Russian drone flights over Polish territory.

In one incident in September, more than a dozen drones were detected entering Polish airspace, forcing Nato jets to scramble and resulting in debris damage to infrastructure on the ground.

Tomczyk was clear about Polands strategic thinking: The truth is that as long as Ukraine is defending itself and fighting Russia, Europe is not at risk of war in the conventional, strict sense of the word, he said. But, he added, Europe should prepare for provocations and acts of sabotage that could come in other forms.

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Most of the cost will be covered by European funds under the SAFE defence loan programme, with additional contributions from Polands own defence budget. The project also ties into broader efforts like the longterm Eastern Shield initiative, aimed at strengthening Polands readiness amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and rising hybrid threats across the region.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned of using military action if the Russia-Ukraine war does not resolve peacefully through diplomatic efforts.

As Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy heads to Florida for a meeting with his American counterpart Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a stern warning in the war that is inching closer to four years. Putin on Saturday accused Ukraine of showing little urgency in ending the conflict through peaceful means.

He went on to warn that Moscow would pursue objectives by military force if the diplomatic efforts failed to yield any constructive results. If the Kyiv authorities do not want to resolve the matter peacefully, we will accomplish all the tasks before us in the course of the special military operation by military means," Putin was quoted as saying by the TASS News Agency.

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The Russian leader added that the Kyiv regime remained reluctant to seek a peaceful settlement in the conflict. We see that even today, unfortunately, the leaders of the Kyiv regime are in no hurry to resolve this conflict peacefully. I spoke about this a year ago in a speech at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," he said.

Putins remarks came right after Russia unleashed a massive drone attack on Ukraines capital, Kyiv, while Zelenskyy was travelling to Florida ahead of his Sunday meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. While Putin is accusing Zelenskyy of prolonging the war, the Ukrainian leader maintained that the latest attack on Kyiv demonstrates Moscows lack of intent to end the invasion it launched in February 2022.

Zelenskyy slams Putin

Before heading to the United States, Zelenskyy said that Russia had used nearly 500 drones and 40 missiles, including ballistic missiles, in the overnight attack on the Ukrainian capital.

The primary target is Kyiv  energy facilities and civilian infrastructure, he said in a post on X. The Ukrainian authorities noted that the intense overnight strikes lasted for 10 hours and killed one person, injuring two dozen others. On Sunday, Zelenskyy is scheduled to hold a face-to-face meeting with Donald Trump, who has a plan to end nearly four years of fighting that has killed tens of thousands.

Ahead of his visit, the Ukrainian leader stopped in Canada, where he met the countrys Prime Minister Mark Carney, who announced an additional $2.5bn (1.85bn) of economic aid for Ukraine. While speaking to reporters, Carney condemned the barbaric overnight attack on Kyiv.

We have the conditions, the possibility, for the just and lasting peace, he said, adding this requires a willing Russia. Meanwhile, Zelenskyy also held a video call with his European allies before meeting Trump, as the continent will be watching closely the meeting that is expected to take place at the US Presidents Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defence Ministry said that it had downed 111 Ukrainian drones, in what appeared to be a retaliatory attack. On Saturday, Moscow claimed to have captured two more towns in eastern Ukraine, Myrmorod and Guliaipole.

Zelenskyy said that his meeting with Trump in Florida is specifically intended to refine things as much as we possibly can." Speaking on Friday, he added that a proposed 20-point peace plan was 90% ready. Our goal is to bring everything to 100 per cent, Zelenskyy said. As of today, our teams  the Ukrainian and American negotiating teams  have made significant progress.

Following the Saturday strikes, Ukraines Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Russias only response to peace efforts was brutal attacks using hundreds of drones and missiles against Kyiv and other cities and regions. The minister said that a third of the capital was without heating. The temperature in Kyiv was about 0 C (32F).
At least nine people, including five children, were killed in a stabbing incident overnight in Surinames capital, Paramaribo. Police said the suspect was wounded during the incident and has been taken into custody.

At least nine people, including five children, were stabbed to death overnight in Surinames capital, Paramaribo, police said on Sunday.

The suspect, who appeared to struggle with mental health issues, was injured during the arrest and is now hospitalised under police supervision.

According to local reports, the mans own children were among the victims. The incident reportedly began after a heated argument with his wife over the phone, which preceded a brutal attack on his 11-year-old daughter. A man killed four adults and five children with a sharp object at a residence in Hadji Iding Soemitaweg, the police said in a statement.

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The violence did not end there. Police said a sixth child and an adult were seriously injured and rushed to the hospital. Officers arriving at the scene had to open fire after the suspect attacked them with a sharp object. He sustained a gunshot wound to the leg during the confrontation.

Local media visiting the area described the suspect as having a history of mental health challenges. Neighbours in the Hadji Iding Soemitaweg neighbourhood of the Commewijne district expressed shock at the tragedy.

Surinames President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons addressed the horrifying incident on her Facebook page, reflecting on the profound impact of the killings. At a time when family and friends should stand together and support one another, we are faced with the harsh reality that there is another side to the world, she wrote. A father who takes the lives of his own children and, in the process, kills his neighbors as well. I wish all those in mourning much strength, courage, and comfort in this unimaginably difficult time.

Police said further details about the attack are expected as investigations continue.
US President Donald Trump praised Thailand and Cambodia for reaching a ceasefire after weeks of deadly border clashes. The truce aims to halt fighting, allow civilians to return home, and rebuild trust

From left to right: Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, US President Donald Trump and Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow

US President Donald Trump on Sunday applauded the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia for agreeing to a ceasefire, following weeks of deadly border clashes that left dozens dead and displaced over a million people.

I want to congratulate both great leaders on their brilliance in coming to this rapid and very fair conclusion, Trump said, highlighting what he described as a quick resolution to the conflict.

On his Truth Social platform, he called the outcome FAST & DECISIVE, as all of these situations should be!

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How did US help in mediation?

Trump took pride in Washingtons role in helping mediate the talks, alongside China and Malaysia, adding, perhaps the United States has become the REAL United Nations. The United Nations must start getting active and involved in WORLD PEACE!

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also welcomed the ceasefire, urging both nations to immediately honour this commitment.

The human price of conflict

The border clashes, which reignited earlier this month after a previous truce collapsed, claimed at least 47 lives and displaced over one million people across nearly every border province on both sides, according to official tallies.

As part of the ceasefire, Thailand and Cambodia pledged to stop fighting, freeze troop movements, and allow civilians in border areas to return home safely.

Also read | Hurts sentiments: India expresses concern over demolition of Hindu deity statue amid Thai-Cambodia border clashes

China steps in

Following the truce, Chinas top diplomat Wang Yi began hosting the Cambodian and Thai foreign ministers for a two-day series of talks starting Sunday. Wang told Cambodian counterpart Prak Sokhonn that the ceasefire has opened the process of rebuilding peace.

He added, Both sides should proceed step by step to promote a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire and rebuild mutual trust.

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The ceasefire is being viewed as a critical step toward stabilising the border region and preventing further humanitarian crises.
Trump said he held a good and very productive phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Miami. The talks at Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort are expected to focus on a potential peace deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

US President Donald Trump said he held what he described as a good and very productive telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of his scheduled talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the call took place before the 1 pm (local time) meeting and confirmed that discussions with Zelenskyy would be held in the main dining room at his Mar-a-Lago resort, with the press invited.

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I just had a good and very productive telephone call with President Putin of Russia prior to my meeting, at 1:00 pm today, with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. The meeting will take place in the main dining room of Mar-a-Lago. Press is invited. Thank you for your attention to this matter, he wrote.

The diplomatic engagement comes amid one of the heaviest waves of Russian attacks in recent weeks. Ukrainian officials said three guided aerial bombs hit residential buildings in the eastern city of Sloviansk overnight, killing one man and injuring three others. This followed a large-scale attack on Kyiv on Saturday involving ballistic missiles and drones, which left at least one person dead and 27 injured as explosions echoed across the capital for hours.

Zelenskyy arrived in Miami on Sunday ahead of his meeting with Trump, where the two leaders are expected to discuss a possible peace deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war. According to a CNN report, the talks are scheduled to take place later in the day at Trumps Mar-a-Lago resort, as the US steps up efforts to broker an end to the conflict, now Europes deadliest war since World War II.

Ahead of the meeting, Zelenskyy said he would present a new 20-point peace plan. The proposal includes the idea of a demilitarised zone and is also expected to address future US security guarantees for Ukraine.

Trump has indicated he is not rushing to endorse the proposal. He doesnt have anything until I approve it. So well see what hes got, he told Politico, signalling a cautious approach to the talks.

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The remarks underline how heavily Ukraines future depends on persuading Trump, who has at times appeared willing to tilt towards Russia in pursuit of ending the war. While Moscow has shown little movement from its position, the US has pushed Kyiv to step back from some of its earlier demands.
A UN expert has criticised the detention conditions of Bushra Bibi, wife of former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan, citing unclean drinking water, frequent power cuts and prolonged isolation in jail. The criticism has added to growing international concern about her health and Pakistans treatment of political detainees

Imran Khan (R) along with his wife Bushra Bibi (L) looks on as he signs surety bonds for bail in various cases, at a registrar office in the High court, in Lahore on July 17, 2023. File Photo/AFP

A United Nations (UN) expert has raised serious concerns about the detention conditions of Bushra Bibi, the wife of former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan, saying they could pose a serious risk to her physical and mental well-being.

The criticism came in a statement from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and reflects growing international scrutiny of Pakistans treatment of political detainees.

Bushra Bibi is currently held at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where, according to the UN press release, she has been detained in what are described as extremely substandard conditions. Bibi is reportedly confined to a small, airless cell that is described as filthy, overheated and infested with insects and rodents.

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The prison food and water have also been criticised; detainees are said to be given unclean drinking water and meals spoiled by excessive chilli powder that some find inedible.

Health risks and isolation

These harsh conditions have allegedly taken a toll on Bushra Bibis health. The UN expert noted she has suffered significant weight loss, recurrent infections, fainting spells, and untreated medical issues including a tooth abscess and stomach ulcer.

The expert also raised alarms about her frequent near-total isolation, saying she is often confined for more than 22 hours a dayand in some cases for over ten days at a stretch without access to exercise, reading material, legal counsel, family visits, or her personal physician.

The State has an obligation to protect Mrs Khans health and ensure conditions of detention compatible with human dignity, said Alice Jill Edwards, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, as reported by ANI.

No detainee should be exposed to extreme heat, contaminated food or water, or conditions that aggravate existing medical conditions, she added.

Edwards urged Pakistani authorities to allow Bushra Bibi meaningful contact with her lawyers, family members and doctors. She warned that prolonged isolation could heighten psychological distress and impede access to essential safeguards normally granted to detainees.

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Why is Bushra Bibi in jail?

Bushra Bibis detention is tied to multiple convictions, including a high-profile corruption case alongside Imran Khan. In a separate ruling, the pair were recently sentenced to lengthy prison terms in the Toshakhana-II case.

Pakistan has faced mounting pressure from political leaders and rights groups at home and abroad to improve detention conditions and uphold international human rights standards.
The UN Security Council will convene an emergency session following Israels recognition of Somaliland, a move condemned by Somalia, regional powers, and international organisations as a threat to regional stability.

The UN Security Council will meet in an emergency session on Monday following Israels decision to recognise Somaliland, a move that has drawn sharp criticism from several countries and international organisations. The discussion comes days before Somalia is due to assume the presidency of the Council, heightening diplomatic tensions around the issue.

Israel announced the recognition on Friday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the decision was made in the spirit of the Abraham Accords and stated that Israel and Somaliland would cooperate in economic fields, on agriculture, [and] in the fields of social development. Israel has become the only UN member state to formally recognise Somalilands independence, which was unilaterally declared in 1991 after breaking away from Somalia.

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International response and regional backlash

The move prompted anger from regional powers, who accused Israel of undermining Somalias sovereignty and territorial integrity. Mogadishu described the decision as a deliberate attack on its sovereignty, while Egypt, Turkey, the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, and the Saudi-based Organisation of Islamic Cooperation also condemned the recognition.

In a statement, Israels Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, said on Saturday that Israel will act responsibly and we will continue to cooperate with partners who contribute to regional stability.

The European Union reaffirmed its position in a statement, saying, The European Union reaffirms the importance of respecting the unity, the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Somalia pursuant of its constitution, the Charters of the African Union and the United Nations. The statement added, This is key for the peace and stability of the entire Horn of Africa region, and said the EU encouraged dialogue between Somaliland and Somalias federal government to resolve long-standing differences.

Broader diplomatic implications

A joint statement issued on Saturday by 21 mostly West Asian or African countries, along with the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, rejected Israels decision given the serious repercussions of such an unprecedented measure on peace and security in the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea and its serious effects on international peace and security as a whole. The countries, including Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran, also noted the full rejection of any potential link between such measure and any attempts to forcibly expel the Palestinian people out of their land.

Somaliland, which occupies a strategic position on the Gulf of Aden across from Yemen and next to Djibouti, has its own currency, passports and armed forces but has remained diplomatically isolated since declaring independence. It has previously been mentioned as a possible destination for Gazans leaving the war-torn Strip.

The joint statement further argued that the recognition of parts of states constitutes a serious precedent and threatens international peace and security and violates the cardinal principles of international law and the United Nations Charter. Syria issued a separate statement rejecting Israels move, while the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco  which normalised ties with Israel in 2020  did not sign the joint declaration.

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The US State Department said on Saturday that it continued to recognise the territorial integrity of Somalia, which includes the territory of Somaliland.
KABUL, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Police have arrested two individuals suspected of involvement in arms trafficking in northern Afghanistan's Baghlan province and recovered arms and ammunition from them, said a statement from the provincial police office on Sunday.

According to the statement, the alleged arms smugglers were attempting to smuggle the weaponry by motorbike from Burka district to an unknown location, but were arrested on Saturday. Police seized a pistol along with bullets and projectiles in their possession.

After preliminary investigation, the suspects will be handed over to relevant authorities for further legal proceedings, the statement added.

The Afghan government, which has banned unauthorized possession and carrying of weapons, has vowed to collect arms and ammunition from all individuals outside state security organs in the post-war nation. 
A traffic collision in Slidell led to the arrest of a Honduran woman after she struck an Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicle during a wider enforcement drive, with authorities confirming she was an undocumented migrant taken into custody.

A Honduran woman is accused of running a red light in Slidell, Louisiana, and crashing into an ICE vehicle that was operating in the area as part of the agencys Operation Catahoula Crunch. (FB)

A traffic incident in Louisiana unexpectedly brought an undocumented migrant into the custody of federal authorities after a collision involving an Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicle operating in the area. The crash occurred in Slidell during a wider enforcement drive, with officials later confirming that the woman involved was an illegal immigrant.

According to ICE, the female Honduran national allegedly ran a red light and struck an agency vehicle that was in the area as part of Operation Catahoula Crunch. The Department of Homeland Security said ICE agents had been deployed to New Orleans under the operation to round up criminal illegal aliens.

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This blooper is one for the books! US Border Patrol official Gregory K. Bovino said in a post.

No injuries were reported from the crash, Bovino said, and the woman was taken into custody.

Unlucky for her. Lucky for us, Bovino said.

Apparently, she never learned the lesson that red means stop, not accelerate and collide with a government vehicle actively enforcing federal law, Bovino posted.

Wider immigration crackdown

The DHS claims that theyve arrested as many as 370 people as part of the operation, according to local outlet WVUE. ICE officials did not respond to The New York Posts request for information regarding the Honduran nationals identity or where she was being held.

The Trump administration has deployed ICE to cities across the country as part of its crackdown on illegal immigration. The agency is expected to deport at least 600,000 illegal immigrants by the end of 2025 and more than 2 million illegals have left the country since Trump took office in January, according to data released in October. Trump has made closing the nations southern border a priority in his second term, and border encounters are down 37% from the Biden administration, according to the DHS.
The US has strongly criticised recent communal violence in Bangladesh, calling it horrific and condemning the mob killing of a Hindu garment worker, Dipu Chandra Das. Washington urged a clear and firm stand against religious hatred amid rising concerns over the safety of minority communities in the country.

A mourner holds Bangladesh's national flag during the funeral of student leader Sharif Osman Hadi in Dhaka on December 20, after two days of violent protests over his killing. Huge crowds accompanied the funeral procession of Hadi, a key figure in last year's pro-democracy uprising who died in a hospital in Singapore on December 18 after being shot by masked gunmen while leaving a Dhaka mosque. (AFP)

The US State Department on Sunday denounced the recent communal violence in Bangladesh as horrific, condemning the mob killing of Dipu Chandra Das, a Hindu garment worker, and urging an unequivocal stand against religious hatred.

Responding to IANS, a State Department spokesperson said, The United States supports religious freedom and freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and association. The spokesperson added, The United States unequivocally condemns religious violence in all its forms, and we welcome measures the Bangladeshi interim government is taking to ensure the safety and security for all communities in Bangladesh.

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The statement comes amid growing concern in Washington and among advocacy groups over the killing of Das and what they describe as a broader pattern of attacks on minority communities in Bangladesh.

US lawmakers have also spoken out on the issue. Congressman Ro Khanna described the killing as horrific and called for clear condemnation of religious hatred. The killing of Dipu Chandra Das, a 27-year-old Hindu garment worker in Bangladesh, is horrific, and my thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family, Khanna wrote on X. We must unequivocally condemn and speak out against these vile acts of hatred and bigotry, he added.

Dipu Chandra Das, a garment worker from Bhaluka, was killed on December 18 after a mob accused him of blasphemy. He was beaten to death and his body was set on fire.

The incident has intensified scrutiny of the situation faced by religious minorities in Bangladesh, particularly Hindus, amid political upheaval in the country. Advocacy groups have reported a rise in attacks, citing incidents of mob violence, vandalism and intimidation across several regions.

While the State Department did not disclose details of any diplomatic engagement with Dhaka, its response underlined Washingtons condemnation of religious violence and welcomed steps taken by Bangladeshs interim authorities to strengthen security for all communities.

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Bangladesh has strongly responded to recent remarks by Indias Ministry of External Affairs regarding the treatment of minority communities in the country. Dhaka says the comments do not reflect the facts and rejects exaggerated narratives that misrepresent Bangladeshs long-standing tradition of communal harmony

Members stage a protest against the alleged killing of a Hindu youth in Bangladesh, in Kolkata. PTI

Bangladesh has strongly rejected recent remarks by Indias Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on the treatment of minority communities in the country, calling the comments inaccurate, exaggerated and damaging to bilateral trust.

In a press statement issued on Sunday, Bangladeshs Ministry of Foreign Affairs SM Mahbubul Alam said it had taken note of comments made by the MEA spokesperson regarding the situation of minorities, particularly Hindus, in Bangladesh, and said the claims did not reflect the ground reality.

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The government said it categorically rejects any inaccurate, exaggerated, or motivated narratives that misrepresent Bangladeshs long-standing tradition of communal harmony. It added that such portrayals overlook the countrys history of coexistence among communities.

The statement expressed concern over what it described as systematic attempts to frame isolated criminal incidents as evidence of widespread or systemic persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh. According to the ministry, such incidents are being maliciously used to propagate anti-Bangladesh sentiments in parts of India.

Dhaka also flagged what it called a selective and unfair bias in certain quarters, alleging that isolated events were being amplified, distorted and circulated to incite hostility against Bangladesh, including against its diplomatic missions and establishments in India.

Addressing a specific case cited by the Indian MEA spokesperson, the ministry said the individual referred to was a listed criminal who died while committing an act of extortion. The statement added that the individual had a Muslim accomplice, who was later arrested. Presenting the incident as an example of minority persecution, the ministry said, was not factual but misleading.

Bangladesh stressed that criminal acts should not be viewed through a communal lens and warned against narratives that blur the distinction between law-and-order cases and minority rights.

The foreign ministry concluded by urging different quarters in India to refrain from spreading misleading narratives, saying such actions undermine the spirit of good-neighbourly relations and mutual trust between the two countries.

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Thousands of Alawites took to the streets after a mosque bombing in Homs killed eight. Carrying banners and photos of community leader Ghazal Ghazal, protesters called for federalism, regional autonomy, and an end to sectarian violence, showing their fears and frustration under Syrias new Islamist authorities

A man holds an imaginary depiction of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad who is revered by Syrias Alawite community, during the funeral of victims of an attack a day earlier at the Imam Ali bin Abi Talib Mosque in the predominantly Alawite Wadi al-Dhahab neighbourhood of Homs, Syria, on Saturday, 27th December, 2025. (AP)

Thousands of Alawites took to the streets in Syrias coastal and central regions on Sunday, protesting a deadly mosque bombing that killed eight people in Homs on Friday.

The attack targeted an Alawite area and is part of a worrying pattern of violence against the minority since the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

Security forces moved in to break up clashes between demonstrators and supporters of Syrias new Islamist authorities, according to AFP. Other confrontations erupted in the town of Jableh, while reports from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed injuries in Homs itself.

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Voices from the streets

Why the killing? Why the assassination? Why the kidnapping? Why these random actions without any deterrent, accountability or oversight? demanded Numeir Ramadan, a 48-year-old trader protesting in Latakia, who spoke to AFP.

The protests followed calls from Ghazal Ghazal, head of the Islamic Alawite Council in Syria and Abroad, who urged the community to show the world that the Alawite community cannot be humiliated or marginalised.

We do not want a civil war, we want political federalism. We do not want your terrorism. We want to determine our own destiny, he said in a video message on Facebook.

Watch the protest video here:

 BREAKING: Alawites Take to the Streets in Syria



Despite ongoing attacks by jihadist forces loyal to Ahmed al-Sharaa (al-Jawlani), Alawite protesters are openly demanding federalism and autonomy in Syrias coastal region.



Images emerging from Tartus show civilians risking pic.twitter.com/1WtGNOSM2u  Mossad Commentary (@MOSSADil) December 28, 2025

Protesters carried pictures of Ghazal and banners demanding decentralised governance and regional autonomy, while placards called for an end to sectarian speech.

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A minority under threat

The Alawite faith, a branch of Shiite Islam, is concentrated in Syrias coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus, with smaller communities in Homs. Since Assads fall, reports indicate kidnappings and killings targeting Alawites, amid rising sectarian tensions.

Earlier this year, Syrias coastal areas witnessed massacres of Alawite civilians. Authorities accused armed Assad supporters of triggering violence, with death toll estimates ranging from 1,426 to over 1,700 according to monitors.

Protesters on Sunday also demanded the release of detainees. Syrian state television reported that 70 people were freed in Latakia after it was proven that they were not involved in war crimes, with more releases promised.

Despite official assurances that all communities will be protected, Syrias minorities remain wary of their future under the new Islamist authorities, who have so far rejected demands for federalism.
Trump said that talks with Zelenskyy in Florida are centred on achieving a lasting peace, rather than rushing a timeline, and stressed that both leaders are committed to finding a deal that can bring stability to the region

US President Donald Trump greets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his Mar-a-Lago club on December 28, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida. (AFP)

US President Donald Trump hosted Ukraines Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his Florida estate on Sunday for crucial discussions aimed at ending the war with Russia.

The leaders spoke briefly to reporters outside the Mar-a-Lago estate before sitting down to talk over a new plan to resolve the conflict.

 President Zelensky of Ukraine has arrived at Mar-a-Lago for the meeting with President Trump pic.twitter.com/vXhuMmknSn  Vitamvivere (@Vitamvivere) December 28, 2025

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When asked whether he believes Putin is serious about peace this time, Trump said, I do, I do. I think he is, I think they both are. He added, Weve got to make a deal, got to get it done  I think both presidents want to make a deal.

Trumps renewed optimism comes even as many in Europe remain skeptical of Putins intentions, particularly after Russia launched another major attack on Kyiv just as Zelenskyy was heading to Florida. I can say that I believe Ukraine has made some very strong attacks also, and I dont say that negatively. I think you probably have to, Trump noted. He also told Zelenskyy that he would brief him on his recent call with Putin.

After Putin-Trump talk, Russia presses Ukraine on Donbas

Following the call, Russia urged Ukraine to withdraw its troops from the eastern Donbas region, calling it a brave decision necessary to end the conflict. Ukraine should now take the brave decision to pull out of the Donbas without delay, Kremlin diplomatic advisor Yuri Ushakov told reporters.

The demand focuses on Ukraine leaving the fifth of Donetsk still under its control, a key point for Moscow.

Ushakov said that both Putin and Trump agreed any temporary ceasefire would only prolong the conflict.

Russia and the United States share the same position, which is that the Ukrainian and European proposal for a temporary ceasefire () would only prolong the conflict and lead to a resumption of hostilities, he explained. Rejecting a pause, Russia argues it would allow Ukraine to rearm, insisting instead on a final settlement addressing the root causes of the conflict.

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Ukraine signals willingness

Meanwhile, a revised peace plan, shaped by weeks of intense US-Ukraine negotiations, proposes freezing the war roughly along current front lines. Under the plan, Ukraine could pull back some troops in the east, opening the door to demilitarised buffer zones. The proposal marks Kyivs clearest indication yet that it may consider limited territorial concessions.

That said, it stops short of meeting Moscows core demand: the plan does not call for Ukraine to withdraw from roughly 20 percent of the eastern Donetsk region still under Kyivs control.

Zelenskyy struck a cautiously upbeat tone during his meeting with Trump, stressing the importance of coordination. Its very important to our teams talk about strategy, he said.

After brief remarks, the two leaders moved into the presidents dining room with senior aides, while Trump asked reporters to leave so they could continue discussions over lunch.

Meanwhile, Russia has accused Ukraine and its European allies of trying to torpedo an earlier US-brokered effort to halt the fighting. Moscows position has been strengthened by recent battlefield gains, with Russia announcing on Saturday that it had captured two additional towns in eastern Ukraine.

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Zelenskyy has arrived in the US for talks with US President Donald Trump, as Washington steps up efforts to explore a possible peace deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Miami on Sunday ahead of a meeting with US President Donald Trump, where the two leaders are expected to discuss a possible peace deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

According to a CNN report, Zelenskyy is scheduled to meet Trump later on Sunday at his Mar-a-Lago resort. The talks come amid renewed US efforts to broker an end to the conflict, now Europes deadliest war since World War II.

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Zelenskyys 20-point peace plan

Ahead of the meeting, Zelenskyy told reporters that he would present a new 20-point peace plan. The proposal includes the idea of a demilitarised zone and is also expected to address US security guarantees for Ukraines future.

Trump has indicated that he is not rushing to endorse Zelenskyys proposal. He doesnt have anything until I approve it. So well see what hes got, Trump told Politico, underlining his cautious approach to the talks.

Pressure on Kyiv

The remarks highlight how much Ukraines future hinges on persuading Trump, who has at times appeared willing to tilt towards Russia in pursuit of ending the war. While Moscow has shown little movement from its position, the US has pushed Kyiv to step back from some of its earlier demands.

Focus on ending the war

Zelenskyy said he could not confirm whether Sundays meeting would lead to a final agreement, but stressed that both sides would aim to finalise as much as we can. The war, which began in February 2022, has killed tens of thousands of people.

Prospects of wider talks

Trump said he expected a productive meeting with Zelenskyy and expressed hope of speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin soon. I think its going to go good with him. I think its going to go good with [Vladimir] Putin, he said.

The comments followed Zelenskyys earlier discussions with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trumps son-in-law, which the Ukrainian President described as a good conversation.

Territorial concessions and next steps

The new peace plan, shaped with Ukrainian input, marks Kyivs clearest indication yet of possible territorial concessions. It differs sharply from an earlier 28-point US proposal put forward last month that aligned with several of Russias core demands.

Zelenskyy said the 20-point plan prepared by Ukrainian and US officials is 90 percent ready and that he plans to discuss with Trump how Ukraines allies could guarantee the countrys security going forward, CNN reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is heading to Florida for the peace talks with his American counterpart, Donald Trump, as Russia unleashes a massive drone attack on Ukraines capital Kyiv, killing one and injuring dozens.

As Russia continues to attack Kyiv, Ukraines capital, the war-torn countrys President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is heading to Florida to hold talks about a peace plan with his American counterpart, Donald Trump. Before heading to the United States, Zelenskyy said that Russia had used nearly 500 drones and 40 missiles, including ballistic missiles, in the overnight attack on the Ukrainian capital.

The primary target is Kyiv  energy facilities and civilian infrastructure, he said in a post on X. The Ukrainian authorities noted that the intense overnight strikes lasted for 10 hours and killed one person, injuring two dozen others. On Sunday, Zelenskyy is scheduled to hold a face-to-face meeting with Donald Trump, who has a plan to end nearly four years of fighting that has killed tens of thousands.

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Ahead of his visit, the Ukrainian leader stopped in Canada, where he met the countrys Prime Minister Mark Carney, who announced an additional $2.5bn (1.85bn) of economic aid for Ukraine. While speaking to reporters, Carney condemned the barbaric overnight attack on Kyiv.

We have the conditions, the possibility, for the just and lasting peace, he said, adding this requires a willing Russia. Meanwhile, Zelenskyy also held a video call with his European allies before meeting Trump, as the continent will be watching closely the meeting that is expected to take place at the US Presidents Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago.

EU stands with Zelenskyy

In the video conference, French President Emmanuel Macron highlighted what he called the contrast between the willingness of Ukraine to build a lasting peace and Russias determination to prolong the war that it started, Elysee officials said. Meanwhile, EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa said the European Unions support for Ukraine would not falter.

In 2026, the EU Commission will continue to keep up the pressure on the Kremlin, sustain our support to Ukraine, and work intensely to accompany Ukraine on its path toward EU membership, von der Leyen said on Saturday. Zelenskyy maintained that he would hold talks with the European leaders again after meeting with Trump on Sunday.

He told reporters that the overnight bombing in Kyiv showed that international pressure on Russia is insufficient. If Russia turns even the Christmas and New Year period into a time of destroyed homes and burnt apartments, of ruined power plants, then this sick activity can only be responded to with truly strong steps, he said. The United States has this capability. Europe has this capability. Many of our partners have this capability. The key is to use it," the Ukrainian leader furthered.

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What is Russias stance on the matter?

Meanwhile, the Russian Defence Ministry said that it had downed 111 Ukrainian drones, in what appeared to be a retaliatory attack. On Saturday, Moscow claimed to have captured two more towns in eastern Ukraine, Myrmorod and Guliaipole.

Zelenskyy said that his meeting with Trump in Florida is specifically intended to refine things as much as we possibly can." Speaking on Friday, he added that a proposed 20-point peace plan was 90% ready. Our goal is to bring everything to 100%, Zelenskyy said. As of today, our teams  the Ukrainian and American negotiating teams  have made significant progress.

Following the Saturday strikes, Ukraines Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Russias only response to peace efforts was brutal attacks using hundreds of drones and missiles against Kyiv and other cities and regions. The minister said that a third of the capital was without heating. The temperature in Kyiv was about 0 C (32F).

It is pertinent to note that the latest peace efforts would follow a burst of diplomatic activity last weekend in Miami, where Trumps envoy Steve Witkoff, as well as Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner, separately met Russian and Ukrainian representatives to discuss an agreeable peace deal. It will be interesting to see how the Florida meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy would pan out.

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SYDNEY, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- The health authority in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) issued an urgent health alert after legionnaires' disease was detected in the Sydney central business district (CBD), News Corp Australia newspapers reported on Sunday.

The report said that three people, who are not known to each other, were admitted to hospital with the infection after spending time near Clarence Street in the Sydney CBD between Dec. 9 and 18.

NSW Health urged anyone who visited the area to be vigilant and monitor for symptoms of the potentially deadly disease. 
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.
WELLINGTON, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand will step up fishery officer patrols over summer to curb illegal gathering and illicit trade of paua, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones said Sunday.

While paua stocks remain healthy overall, poaching is becoming a growing problem, with some of the poaching and black-market trade often linked to organized crime and posing a significant threat, Jones said in a statement.

"Summer is always the worst time of year for it," he said, noting recent declines in compliance, particularly in the capital Wellington and adjacent Wairarapa regions, where around one in five inspections revealed some illegal activity.

Fishery officers will increase patrols, including in more remote areas, to detect and deter offenders, Jones said, urging the public to report those who break the rules through Fisheries New Zealand's hotline.

Legally harvested paua sells for about 100 NZ dollars (58.47 U.S. dollars) per kilogram, but authorities warn that cheap offers, often circulated on social media during December and January, may involve illicit catch, the minister said. 
UN peacekeeper injured in gunfire near 'Blue Line' in south Lebanon

26 December 2025 - One United Nations peacekeeper was injured on Friday after heavy machine gunfire from Israel Defense Forces (IDF) positions south of the Blue Line, following a nearby grenade explosion, impacted close to a UN patrol in southern Lebanon.

According to a note to correspondents issued by UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, the incident occurred as a patrol of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was inspecting a roadblock in the village of Bastarra in southern Lebanon.

The Blue Line, set by the United Nations, stretches for approximately 120 kilometres along Lebanon's southern frontier and serves as a "line of withdrawal" to confirm Israel's withdrawal from the south of Lebanon.

In a separate incident on the same day, another UNIFIL patrol reported machine gunfire from south of the Blue Line in immediate proximity to its position near the village of Kfar Shouba.

"UNIFIL had informed the Israel Defense Forces about the activities in those areas in advance, following usual practice for patrols in sensitive areas near the Blue Line," Mr. Dujarric said.

He noted that in recent days, incidents restricting UNIFIL's movement by local individuals also took place in the Mission's area of operations.

"Any act that may jeopardize the safety and security of United Nations peacekeepers is completely unacceptable," Mr. Dujarric said.

"We reiterate our call to all actors to cease activities that risk the wellbeing of peacekeepers and interfere with their mandated activities in support of the implementation of Security Council resolution 1701," he added.

The UN spokesperson further reminded the parties of their responsibility to ensure the safety and security of peacekeepers.

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Chinese foreign minister to meet with Cambodian, Thai counterparts in Yunnan following ceasefire agreement

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Dec 27, 2025 09:00 PM

After a ceasefire agreement was reached by Cambodia and Thailand on Saturday, it was announced by a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson that at the invitation of Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia Prak Sokhonn and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand Sihasak Phuangketkeow will lead delegations to meet in Yunnan from Sunday to Monday.

According to a separate Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson's remarks released on Saturday evening, representatives of the militaries of the three countries will also take part in the talks.

Earlier on the same day, Thailand and Cambodia agreed to a ceasefire that took effect from 12:00 noon (local time), according to a joint statement released after the third Special Cambodia-Thailand General Border Committee meeting.

Both sides agreed to maintain current troop deployments without further movement, and that no troop movements or patrols would be conducted toward the other side's positions, read the statement issued by Cambodia and Thailand.

China welcomes such a decision, according to a foreign ministry spokesperson's statement released on Saturday.

"This proves that dialogue and consultation is a viable and effective way to resolve complex disputes. China stands ready to continue to provide platform and create conditions for Cambodia and Thailand to have fuller and more detailed communication," it commented.

"China will play a constructive role in its own way for Cambodia and Thailand to consolidate the ceasefire, resume exchanges, rebuild political trust, achieve turnaround in bilateral relations and uphold regional peace, it said.

According to Reuters, the ceasefire was holding about two hours after it went into effect at noon, and "so far there's been no report of gunfire," citing a Thai Defense Ministry spokesperson. The Cambodian side also did not report any clashes, the media outlet reported.

Following the ceasefire, several global stakeholders have welcomed the decision and expressed hope for the two sides in conflict to carry on with the de-escalation efforts. The United Nations human rights office wrote on X on Saturday that its chief, Volker Turk, hopes this will "pave the way for confidence building and peace." Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim also posted on Facebook that this "reflects a shared recognition that restraint is required, above all in the interest of civilians." "These provide a basis for stability, and I am hopeful that both sides will carry them out faithfully," said the Malaysian leader, under whose mediation an agreement on the ceasefire was reached between Thailand and Cambodia in July.

Since this round of tensions between Thailand and Cambodia broke out on December 7, China has been following the border conflict and working actively to de-escalate the situation. On December 18, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi had separate phone calls with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn and Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow, both of whom highly appreciated China's objective and just position in mediating and promoting peace talks.

Meanwhile, a special envoy from China visited Cambodia and Thailand for shuttle diplomacy from December 18 to 23. The two Southeast Asian countries expressed gratitude to China for its continued efforts to encourage peace talks in a manner acceptable to all parties. They also expressed their willingness to maintain close communication with China, work together to de-escalate tensions, and restore peace and stability in the Cambodia-Thailand border area at an early date.

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Norway increases support for fight against hunger in South Sudan

Government of Norway

Press release | Date: 27/12/2025

Norway is increasing support to the World Food Programme (WFP) in South Sudan. An additional USD Nok 128.6 million (approx. USD 12.7 million) will go towards the WFP's emergency assistance and efforts that strengthen community resilience.

'The situation in South Sudan is dramatic. Six million people do not have enough to eat. Norway is therefore strengthening its support for WFP's life-saving work,' says Minister of International Development Asmund Aukrust.

The humanitarian crisis in South Sudan is severe and worsened by escalating violence, extensive flood damage following a heavy rainy season, and large refugee flows from the war in Sudan. The UN estimates that the number of people facing hunger could exceed half of the population within the next six months.

'Norway will continue to contribute to stabilising the situation, by providing emergency assistance and supporting longer-term efforts to make the population less vulnerable to hunger in the future,' says Minister of International Development Asmund Aukrust.

Conflict, climate change, and economic collapse are problems that reinforce each other in South Sudan. This has created an increasingly challenging situation for ordinary South Sudanese people.

Norway has for many years been one of WFP's key partners in South Sudan. The new agreement ensures that emergency aid reaches the most vulnerable, while also supporting long-term measures to build resilience in local communities.

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Smith Questions Trump Administration's Strikes in Nigeria

House Armed Services Committee - Democrats

December 27, 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Representative Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, released the following statement in response to the Trump Administration's recent strikes against the Islamic State in Nigeria.

"Extremist groups in West Africa unquestionably pose serious threats, from transnational terrorism to arms, human, and drug trafficking. They are clearly a problem for regional stability. The question we are faced with is how President Trump ordering Thursday's strikes in Nigeria will address that problem.

"It is not clear from these actions that the administration is executing any sort of strategic plan for addressing these threats, nor is there an explanation of how these strikes fit into and advance such a plan. Also, how is the administration working with the Nigerians and other regional partners?

"Further, Trump's claims that the group struck Thursday are targeting mostly Christians is factually wrong and potentially dangerous. Far more Muslims are being killed by ISIS in the region. Trump's rhetoric runs the risk of pushing us down the road towards a global religious war. It is unnecessarily escalatory and, if it leads to a broader conflict, it clearly places more Americans everywhere at greater risk.

"Rather than embarking on another military campaign in a manner that seems to reflect launching the United States into a global holy war, it would be more prudent and effective for us to partner with countries in the region to build their capacity to take on these threats.

"I urge my colleagues in the majority to join in the efforts to get answers about the administration's aims and help encourage them to correct course to work toward effectively building regional stability and preventing the spread of violent extremists before we find ourselves in another forever war."

###

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Iran condemns Israeli violation of Somalia's sovereignty and territorial integrity

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Dec 27, 2025

Tehran, IRNA -- Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei has reaffirmed support for Somalia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, condemning an Israeli plot to break the East African nation by officially recognizing its self-declared region of Somaliland.

In a statement, Baqaei said the Israeli regime is attempting to advance a conspiracy to dismember a Muslim country in a clear violation of the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter and international law.

Emphasizing the principled position of Iran on the necessity of preserving the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Somalia, he said "Israel's evil move" was in line with the regime's policy of destabilizing regional countries and intensifying insecurity in the Red Sea and Horn of Africa regions.

Baqaei also hailed the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the African Union for condemning the Israeli lot, urging the international community to take firm action to neutralize the expansionist policy of the occupying regime.

Israel's recognition of the Somaliland region as an independent and sovereign state has sparked widespread condemnations from countries and organizations, with Somalia's government calling the move an "attack" on its sovereignty and an "unlawful action", and describing Somaliland as an "inseparable" part of the country.

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Pakistan Rejects Attempts to Undermine Somalia's Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity

Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Pakistan strongly condemns any attempts to undermine the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of Somalia, and rejects, in this regard, the announcement made by Israel recognising the independence of the so-called Somaliland region of the Federal Republic of Somalia.

Such illegal and provocative actions constitute a flagrant violation of international law and not only threaten the peace and stability of the brotherly country of Somalia, but also that of the entire region. The international community must step in to reject any such actions, and prevent and deter Israel from undermining the ongoing efforts for peace and stability in the broader region.

Pakistan reiterates its complete support for the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Somalia, as well as for all efforts aimed at achieving lasting peace and stability in the country.

Pakistan also reiterates its unequivocal rejection of any steps aimed at the forced displacement of Palestinians from their land under any circumstances, and reaffirms its unwavering support for the Palestinian people in their just struggle for self-determination and for a sovereign, independent Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

Islamabad

December 27,2025

384/2025

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Somalia officially demands Israel reverse recognition of Somaliland

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 27 December 2025 11:41 PM

Somalia has formally demanded that the Israeli regime rescind its recognition of Somaliland, with Mogadishu describing the move as an unlawful violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In comments to Qatar's Al Jazeera television network on Saturday, Somalia's Foreign Minister Ali Omar condemned the regime's decision as an act of "aggression that will never be tolerated" and "illegal interference" in Somalia's internal affairs.

He said Somalia would pursue diplomatic avenues to challenge the recognition.

Tel Aviv announced on Friday that it had formally recognized Somaliland in a move lacking all international precedence.

Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991, but the decision has not been recognized by any United Nations member state.

Omar denounced the regime for seeking recognition in part to advance plans related to, what he called, forcible displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, a concern that has also been raised by the Palestinian Authority.

His remarks followed months of reporting that the regime and the United States had quietly engaged Somaliland as a potential destination for Palestinians displaced from Gaza, alongside Morocco, and Puntland, a state that considers itself to be part of Somalia, despite not accepting the legitimacy of the African country's current governing administration.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has tried to frame the move as an expansion of the Abraham Accords, US-mediated deals that has witnessed normalization of relations between the regime and some regional states since 2020.

He has said he would champion Somaliland's case during an upcoming meeting with US President Donald Trump.

The Israeli decision to recognize Somaliland has drawn widespread regional and international rejection.

Iran, African regional bodies, Arab states, and Turkey have collectively opposed the recognition, warning that it violates the international law and undermines Somalia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The African Union has stated that Somaliland remained an integral part of Somalia and cautioned that unilateral recognition risked peace and stability across the continent.

Similar concerns were voiced by the East African regional bloc IGAD, which said the move contravened the UN Charter and African Union frameworks.

Palestine, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, and Qatar have also issued coordinated statements, rejecting the move as a separatist measure that threatened regional stability and set a dangerous precedent.

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Saudi-backed coalition vows to counter UAE allies' military actions in Yemen

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 27 December 2025 7:07 PM

The Saudi-led military coalition says it would respond directly to any military activities by the UAE-allied Southern Transitional Council (STC) that disrupt ongoing de-escalation efforts in southern Yemen.

Colonel Turki al-Maliki, the spokesman for the alliance, said that the warning was issued following a request from Rashad al-Alimi, Chairman of the Saudi-backed fugitive government, to urgently implement measures allegedly aimed at safeguarding civilians in Hadramout.

Maliki said the request followed "serious and shocking humanitarian violations against civilians by armed elements affiliated with the Southern Transitional Council."

The Saudi-led coalition's military spokesman noted that any military movements by STC that contravene de-escalation efforts will be dealt with directly and immediately.

He asserted that the objective is to safeguard civilian lives and support the success of initiatives to reduce tensions.

The coalition reaffirmed its "firm and continued" support for Yemen's fugitive government, calling on all parties to uphold their national responsibilities, practice restraint, and engage with peaceful initiatives aimed at maintaining security and stability.

Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman Al Saud on Saturday warned the STC to withdraw from military camps in two Yemeni governorates and hand them over to local authorities.

At this critical juncture, the STC needed to prioritize rationality, wisdom, the greater public good, and unity by cooperating with Saudi-Emirati mediation efforts. This involved de-escalating tensions, vacating military camps in the governorates of Hadramout and al-Mahrah, and peacefully transferring control to the National Shield Forces and local authorities, the Saudi minister wrote on the social media platform X.

Tensions in Yemen intensified on December 3 as STC forces seized control of Hadramout after clashes with Saudi-backed militants. The STC subsequently extended its reach into the eastern governorate of al-Mahrah without encountering any reported resistance and has been recruiting local forces in both regions.

After the recent military expansion of the STC, Saudi Arabia carried out airstrikes on Friday, targeting STC positions. These included several sites used by the Hadrami Elite Forces in the Ghayl bin Yamin area near key oil fields. Reports indicate no casualties or damage to military equipment as a result of the strikes.

The STC announced on Friday that it is open to collaboration or agreements aimed at protecting what it referred to as mutual interests with Saudi Arabia, while addressing the aspirations of the southern Yemeni population.

The UAE has been a pivotal partner in the US-supported, Saudi-led war against Yemen and the Ansarallah-led government in Sana'a, which began in 2015. At the same time, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have been engaged in a rivalry for control over Yemen's resources and critical ports.

Critics argue that both countries are collaborating to divide Yemen in ways that align with their own agendas. They suggest that the push for local autonomy is merely a facade, concealing a deeper quest for influence, with Hadramout becoming a focal point of this competitive power struggle.

Yemen has experienced external interference for decades. Ansarullah wields significant authority in the northwestern territory, including the capital city of Sana'a.

The resistance movement has garnered global attention due to its actions aimed at Israel and its maritime operations in the Red Sea, especially in light of Israel's genocidal campaign in Gaza.

The United States and Israel have conducted deadly attacks in Sana'a, resulting in civilian casualties.

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Iran says Israel's recognition of Somaliland aims to destabilize Red Sea, Horn of Africa

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 27 December 2025 2:39 PM

Iran has strongly condemned the Israeli regime's blatant violation of Somalia's territorial integrity and national sovereignty by recognizing the self-declared Republic of Somaliland as a sovereign state.

The office of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that Tel Aviv formally recognized Somaliland as an "independent and sovereign state" and signed an agreement on building ties between the two entities.

In a statement on Saturday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Israel grossly violated Somalia's territory and integrity through efforts to advance the plot to disintegrate the Muslim country.

He added that the Israeli move is a clear violation of the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter and international law.

The Iranian spokesperson stated that Israel's "malicious" act is part of its broader policy of destabilizing regional states and intensifying insecurity in both the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa.

Baghaei reiterated Iran's principled stance on the necessity of respecting Somalia's national sovereignty, coherence, and territorial integrity.

He said Iran supports the firm stance of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the African Union in condemnation of Israel's recognition.

The OIC General Secretariat on Friday expressed its strong condemnation and categorical rejection of Israel's move, considering it a violation of the sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Somalia, its national unity, and its territorial integrity.

The African Union also said on Friday it "firmly rejects" Israel's move, warning, "Any attempt to undermine the unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Somalia...risks setting a dangerous precedent with far-reaching implications for peace and stability across the continent."

Baghaei urged the international community to take decisive action to counter the "expansionist and threatening" action of the occupying Israeli regime.

Somaliland, which is a breakaway from Somalia, has been a target considered for the forced relocation of Palestinians by the Zionist regime. It has maintained self-rule since the 1991 civil war, but has yet to win international recognition.

Somaliland is located along the Gulf of Aden and is home to the deep-water strategic port of Berbera.

The Israeli regime reportedly plans to build a military base in Somaliland, which would enable it to gain control over the Gulf of Aden, where it can launch attacks on the Ansarullah-led government in Yemen.

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BEIJING, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- China's finance ministry has pledged to expand fiscal expenditure in 2026 to ensure a solid start to the country's 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).

China will implement a more proactive fiscal policy next year, Finance Minister Lan Fo'an said at the national fiscal work conference held from Saturday to Sunday. This stance aligns with the announcements made at the recent tone-setting Central Economic Work Conference.

The meeting called for stronger measures in 2026 to leverage the role of government bonds better and improve the efficiency of transfer payments.

Expenditure structures will be continuously refined, and greater synergy between fiscal and financial policies will be created, according to the meeting.

The ministry will continue to provide fiscal support for trade-in programs for consumer goods to boost consumption. It will also expand effective investment, increasing funding for key areas such as new quality productive forces and talent development.

Lan underscored that fiscal measures will support job creation and income growth, ensure high-quality education, enhance medical and health services, and improve the social security system.

He also called for accelerating efforts to resolve risks stemming from existing hidden debts and for strictly curbing new increases. 
UN renews ceasefire call as over 200 civilians killed in RSF ethnic attacks in Sudan's Darfur

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 27 December 2025 1:58 PM

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an immediate ceasefire in Sudan following reports of ethnically motivated mass killings by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Darfur.

Guterres made the appeal on Friday, warning that civilians are facing "immense, unimaginable suffering" as the conflict escalates in the war-torn Darfur and Kordofan regions.

The plea came days after Sudan's Prime Minister Kamil Idris presented a peace plan to the UN Security Council, advocating for the disarmament of the RSF and a ceasefire monitored by the UN.

However, the RSF rejected the proposal as "wishful thinking."

Meanwhile, the Sudan Doctors Network reported that over 200 people, including women and children, were killed in RSF attacks on the towns of Ambro, Abu Qamra, and Sirba in Darfur.

Citing testimonies from survivors who sought refuge in displacement camps near the Sudan-Chad border, the group said civilians were "deliberately" targeted and killed on an ethnic basis, describing the assaults as a serious violation of international humanitarian and human rights law.

The RSF has not yet responded to these allegations.

The latest violence comes as the RSF pushes to seize control of North Darfur, posing a threat to the last escape route for civilians fleeing to Chad.

Since the conflict erupted in April 2023 amid a power struggle between the army and the RSF, it has resulted in the displacement of over 14 million people, leading to a severe humanitarian crisis and contributing to the spread of disease and famine in parts of Sudan.

Sudanese authorities have repeatedly said the RSF receives unwavering support from the UAE. Khartoum has filed a case against the UAE at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over "complicity in genocide" through military, financial, and political backing for the RSF.

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Hezbollah rejects internal discord, will not fight Lebanese army, says top official

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 27 December 2025 9:40 AM

Head of the Executive Council of Hezbollah, Sheikh Ali Damoush, says the resistance movement will not be drawn into confrontation with the Lebanese Army and will not allow internal discord, emphasizing that any attempts to provoke division in the country are doomed to fail.

Speaking during Friday prayers at the Sayyeda Zainab Mosque in Beirut's southern suburbs of Dahiyeh, Sheikh Damoush repudiated earlier assertions associating the Lebanese Army's actions south of the Litani River with the cessation of Israeli aggression and retreat from occupied positions.

The senior Hezbollah official noted that the army has advanced in its operations and is approaching the conclusion of what is referred to as the "first phase," while Israeli attacks persist and no withdrawal has occurred.

He added that the Israeli military has intensified its acts of aggression, displaying a complete disregard for the measures of the Lebanese army.

Sheikh Damoush also took a swipe at what he termed a serious mistake by the Lebanese authorities in separating their commitments under the ceasefire agreement from those expected of Israel.

He argued that such an approach has created an impression of Lebanon unilaterally adhering to the deal.

The high-ranking Hezbollah official emphasized that the measures outlined for the area south of the Litani are mutual, stressing that if Lebanon has honored its obligations, Israel must also comply.

Sheikh Damoush emphasized that the first phase cannot be deemed complete until Israel withdraws from occupied Lebanese territories, ceases its attacks, permits residents to return, and facilitates reconstruction efforts.

He stated that sovereignty cannot be attained solely through military deployment as long as Israel continues its occupation, acts of aggression, and violations of Lebanon's land, sea, and airspace.

Sheikh Damoush underlined that a recurring pattern of concessions continues, even in the face of ongoing aggression and the blatant disregard shown by both Israeli and American sides toward the measures undertaken by Lebanese officials.

He argued that those pushing for a transition to a so-called second phase should focus on urging Israel to fulfill its commitments and on compelling the United States to end its aggression, rather than yielding to American demands and giving unwarranted concessions.

The ongoing escalation, which includes strikes, assassinations, political pressure, economic and financial strangulations, as well as internal provocations, is designed to push Lebanon and its army toward internal conflict and a confrontation with the Resistance, Sheikh Damoush said.

He noted that the ultimate goal is to compel Hezbollah to either withdraw or capitulate.

These objectives, he stated, are being pursued by Americans, Israelis, and their proxies in Lebanon through all available means.

Sheikh Damoush underscored that they must understand Hezbollah will neither confront the army, incite internal strife, nor yield or back down.

He stressed that reliance on efforts to pressure the Lebanese government, military, or society into confronting Hezbollah is a desperate gamble, demonstrating its failure day after day.

On December 18, representatives from France, Saudi Arabia, and the United States met in Paris with the head of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) to deliberate and agree on a roadmap designed to create a framework for disarming Hezbollah.

The resistance group maintains it will not lay down its arms as long as Israel continues to occupy southern Lebanon and launches attacks in the area.

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US cannot turn Venezuela into a colony and steal its natural resources, Maduro warns

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 27 December 2025 7:55 AM

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has warned that the United States cannot turn the sovereign Latin American country into a colony and steal its natural resources.

Speaking on the television channel Venezolana de Television on Friday, Maduro called on American politicians gathered in Washington, DC, to abandon the failed projects that the White House has been trying to implement in his country for the past 25 years.

Maduro said if US politicians are ready to engage in dialogue on a respectful basis, "we will always find here a president who represents his people, to reach out, to seek paths to peace, cooperation and prosperity."

In the meantime, he said, the nation will never believe the lies the US is fabricating.

"It is impossible for the US government to fabricate such a virtual reality," Maduro repeated in English, emphasizing that the Venezuelan people have demonstrated the ability "to lead the country on the right path."

The US military has deployed a large number of warships and soldiers in the Caribbean Sea, unprecedented in decades.

Also, it has destroyed at least 28 "drug boats" in international waters since September, killing more than 100 people.

Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump announced the seizure of a sanctioned oil tanker carrying Venezuelan oil.

Also, the Panamanian-flagged tanker Centuries and the supertanker Bella 1, which was traveling to Venezuela under the Panamanian flag, have been seized.

Venezuela has categorically denounced the United States' "theft and hijacking" of its oil.

Caracas has vowed to pursue legal avenues against Washington, including filing a complaint with the United Nations.

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Israeli forces kill Palestinian man in Gaza; settler violence, abductions intensify in West Bank

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 27 December 2025 7:42 AM

Israeli forces have fatally shot a Palestinian man in Gaza amid ongoing ceasefire violations, as violence and abductions escalate across the occupied West Bank.

According to WAFA, the official Palestinian news agency, Israeli forces fired on Uday al-Maqadma while the man was sitting near the entrance of Hafsa School, east of Gaza.

He sustained a gunshot wound to the head and was reported to be in critical condition. He was taken to the hospital, where doctors later confirmed his death.

Since the Gaza ceasefire agreement went into effect on October 10, Israel has carried out lethal attacks and imposed tight restrictions on aid in Gaza, resulting in at least 411 Palestinian deaths and 1,112 injuries.

Earlier this week, two Palestinians were also shot dead by Israeli soldiers in the Shujayea neighborhood, east of Gaza City.

Violence by Israeli settlers and military raids has also increased across the occupied West Bank.

According to reports, a Palestinian municipal employee was injured on Friday after being assaulted by a group of settlers near Nablus.

The Israeli forces also abducted Palestinian farmers working their land east of Tubas.

The head of the Yarza village council said that Israeli troops have been holding the farmers for hours after they attempted to cultivate their land in the village.

He added that settlers assaulted the farmers and prevented them from accessing their farmlands.

Additional abductions were reported during Israeli raids in the Yatta area and in Beit Ummar near al-Khalil.

Those abducted included a woman, four children, and an elderly man, whom Palestinian activists say was abducted after settlers damaged the fence surrounding his home.

Israeli authorities are rarely reported to hold settlers responsible for violence against Palestinian communities.

Footage circulated by Palestinian media outlets on Thursday showed an Israeli settler ramming an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) into a Palestinian man, while he was kneeling in prayer on the side of a road in the occupied West Bank.

The settler, carrying a rifle, drove directly into the praying man near the village of Deir Jarir, north of the city of Ramallah.

The Palestinian man was knocked to the ground and left lying injured as the settler dismounted, shouted at him, and ordered him to leave the area before driving away.

In the last two years, since the start of the Israeli genocide in Gaza in October 2023, nearly 1,102 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank, and some 11,000 others have been injured in attacks by the Israeli military and settlers.

Around 21,000 people have also been abducted by the occupying regime's forces.

Despite the ceasefire, Israeli forces have continued to carry out deadly attacks across Gaza, killing hundreds of Palestinians over the past few weeks.

Since October 2023, Israeli forces have killed about 71,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in the blockaded Palestinian territory.

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Israeli strike injures UN peacekeeper in southern Lebanon

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 27 December 2025 7:37 AM

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) says an Israeli strike in the southern part of the country injured a peacekeeper, reasserting renewed calls for the Tel Aviv regime to "halt aggressive actions" in the region.

The multinational peacekeeping mission said in a statement on Friday that heavy machine-gun fire from Israeli military positions, located south of the demarcation line separating the Israeli-occupied territories and Lebanon, landed near a patrol investigating a roadblock in the village of Bastarra.

The statement added that the gunfire came after a grenade explosion occurred in the vicinity.

Although the incident did not result in damage to UN equipment, one peacekeeper suffered a minor ear concussion, UNIFIL noted.

A separate incident took place the same day in Kfarchouba, where another patrol on routine operations came under "close-range" machine-gun fire from the Israeli side.

UNIFIL emphasized that the Israeli army had been notified of both patrols' movements in advance, in accordance with established coordination procedures.

"Attacks on or near peacekeepers are serious violations of Security Council Resolution 1701," the mission said, urging Israeli troops to cease "aggressive behavior" against personnel.

The resolution, which brokered a ceasefire in the 33-day-long war Israel launched against Lebanon in 2006, calls on the occupying Tel Aviv regime to respect Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Earlier this month, UNIFIL reported that Israeli forces had opened fire on its peacekeepers stationed in southern Lebanon.

Last month, it said Israeli soldiers had fired at its troops in the south. The Israeli military, however, stated that it had mistaken the blue helmets for "suspects" and had only fired warning shots.

In October, UNIFIL stated that one of its members had been injured by an Israeli grenade dropped near a United Nations position in the southern part of the country. This marked the third such incident within a little over a month.

"Attacks on or near peacekeepers are serious violations of Security Council resolution 1701," the peacekeeping force added, referring to the 2006 resolution that formed the basis of the November 2024 truce.

UNIFIL reiterated its call to the Israeli army to "cease aggressive behavior and attacks on or near peacekeepers working for peace and stability along the Blue Line."

Tensions have been escalating in southern Lebanon for weeks as Israel carries out near-daily airstrikes inside the Lebanese territory, alleging that its attacks target Hezbollah members and infrastructure.

Since the ceasefire took effect last year, Israeli attacks have killed more than 340 Lebanese citizens.

Between October 2023 and November 2024, Israeli strikes killed more than 3,961 people in Lebanon, including 736 women, 222 health and rescue workers, and 248 children, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.

Under the truce agreement, Israeli forces were expected to withdraw from southern Lebanon by January. However, the withdrawal has been only partial, with a continued military presence at five border outposts.

On December 18, French, Saudi Arabian, and American representatives convened in Paris with the leader of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) to discuss and finalize a roadmap aimed at establishing a mechanism for disarming Hezbollah.

The meeting came as part of continued pressure aimed at forcing Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah.

The resistance group maintains it will not disarm while Israel occupies southern Lebanon and carries out attacks in the region.

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Costs Mount As Afghanistan-Pakistan Trade War Strands Thousands Of Trucks

By Abubakar Siddique, Farhad Shinwari and Norias Nori December 27, 2025

Summary

Clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan have sparked a trade war that has closed the border and jammed key trade routes for two months.

The closure has caused major losses for farmers, traders, and workers on both sides of the border, with markets in cities like Peshawar falling silent.

Afghanistan's Taliban-led government is seeking new trade partners in Iran, Central Asia, and India, but experts say major projects still depend on cooperation with Pakistan.

For nearly two months, Sayed Wali, a young Afghan truck driver, has watched the sun rise, and the sun set in the fabled Khyber Pass, which connects western Pakistan to eastern Afghanistan. But he's not here for the view. He's stuck.

Wali can't even leave his 10-wheel truck and its cargo unattended for fear it could be robbed or ransacked.

He was taking a shipment of Afghan imports from Pakistan's southern seaport city of Karachi through some 1,800 kilometers of roads that wind from the Arabian Sea up through to the treacherous Khyber mountains and onward to Afghanistan's capital, Kabul.

Then politics got in the way.

Simmering tensions between the Taliban-led Afghan government and Islamabad boiled over into fierce border clashes in early October after Pakistan carried out air strikes inside Afghanistan.

Islamabad accused Kabul of sheltering the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) rebel group, whose attacks killed scores of Pakistani troops in September.

In a repeat of its key lever to pressure landlocked Kabul, Islamabad sealed half a dozen major and minor border crossings with Afghanistan on October 12. But instead of negotiating for reopening the vital trade routes, the Taliban retaliated by shutting the border with Pakistan in early October.

Wali is not alone; some 8,000 truckers are stuck at the two major border crossings along the 2,640 kilometers of the Durand Line, which separates the two countries.

"We are miserable. The cold is now unbearable and we've been stranded here for two months away from our families," Wali recently told RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal.

"We are sick of this misery," he said. "The two should resolve this problem once and for all."

In the weeks that followed the diplomatic dispute, Kabul struck new deals to increase trade and open new routes with Iran, Central Asia, and India. The Taliban government called on Afghan traders and investors to seek new partners, suppliers and manufacturers away from Pakistan.

"This has been one of the most debilitating and tragic closures," said Imtiaz Gul, executive director of the Center for Research and Security Studies, a think tank in Islamabad.

"This has badly impacted tens of thousands of people from both sides -- farmers, daily wage workers, traders and truckers," he said.

Irreparable Losses

Nearly five decades of war and political turmoil have entangled the two countries in a complex web of population movements, trade, transport and mostly free movement across their porous border.

Before the border closure, bilateral trade between Islamabad and Kabul was between $2 billion and $3 billion annually, according to the Pak-Afghan Joint Chambers of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI).

Islamabad was the dominant partner. Its exporters accounted for most of the trade and included industrial goods, pharmaceuticals, cement, and food. Kabul, on the other hand, sent its fresh and dry fruits to Pakistan. The country served as a major transit route for Afghan imports, generating considerable revenue.

Now Islamabad's predicament is visible. Every winter, it sold more than $50 million worth of citrus fruits to Afghanistan and, via its routes, to its western Central Asian neighbors. But this year's crops are being sold cheaply domestically.

Shahid Hussain, the senior vice president of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industries in the northwestern city of Peshawar, says the trade war has already caused irreparable losses to traders and investors in both countries.

"There is no way traders can recover from these losses," he told RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal. "Everything they had built over the past few decades has been ruined."

In Peshawar, the fallout from the continued border closure is everywhere.

The city's once-bustling gemstone market is silent. Most of its shops and offices are closed, as no raw stones used in ornaments and jewelry have crossed into Pakistan from Afghanistan.

Most of the minerals processed and refined in this market are mined in various parts of the Hindu Kush mountains, which shape and dominate the Afghan landscape.

"If the border continues to be closed, it will affect thousands of workers and associated businessmen," said Abdul Jalil, the president of the Peshawar Gemstone Association.

'Traders Cannot Absorb More Losses'

In Kabul, Younas Mohmand, a business leader, says insulating trade from the troubled bilateral relations between the two neighbors might provide a good beginning toward restoring ties.

"Business ties should resume in return for future guarantees from Pakistan," he told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi repeating the Taliban's key demand from Islamabad. "Our traders cannot absorb more losses."

Graeme Smith, a bestselling author and regional analyst, says Kabul will need Islamabad for major projects aimed at transforming it into a trade, transport and energy hub between Central Asia and South Asia.

"Like it or not, most of the big economic opportunities will require doing business with Pakistan," he said.

First conceived nearly three decades ago, the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project remains a pipe dream.

Similarly, sending Central Asia's abundant hydropower to Pakistan and linking the region to Islamabad via a railway line would require stability within Central Asia and stable relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-pakistan-border- closure-truckers-trade-crisis/33630059.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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Serbia's Prized Chinese Tire Factory Faces US Blockade Amid Forced Labor Concerns

By Sonja Gocanin and Mirjana Jevtovic December 27, 2025

The United States has banned imports of car tires from the Chinese-owned Linglong factory in northern Serbia following years of allegations that workers there were subjected to forced labor and abusive conditions.

For Rafik Buks, an Indian construction worker who helped build the plant in Zrenjanin in 2024, the move comes as no surprise.

"What we experienced in Serbia was forced labor," he says. "We were controlled, exploited, and treated without dignity."

Buks recalls being promised legal work, decent pay, and humane accommodation before leaving India. "None of it was true," he says.

US customs officials announced on December 18 that they were blocking imports from the Zrenjanin facility, citing evidence that workers' passports had been confiscated, wages withheld, and staff exposed to abusive living and working conditions.

Washington's decision follows years of warnings from local and international NGOs about the treatment of Linglong's largely Asian workforce and raises uncomfortable questions for Serbia's government, which has courted Chinese investment and hailed the $940 million project as one of "national importance."

Serbian authorities, however, have remained conspicuously silent. Neither Linglong nor any Serbian institution has publicly addressed the US allegations.

That contrast alarms Mirjana Mitic of Astra, a Serbian anti-trafficking NGO.

"What is most worrying is the gap between the reaction of international institutions and that of institutions in Serbia," she says.

While foreign governments and rights groups have responded forcefully, complaints filed at home have languished without resolution.

Concerns about forced labor at Linglong first surfaced several years ago when the facility was being built, and NGOs and media reported on the plight of hundreds of Vietnamese workers housed in squalid barracks near the construction site.

In 2021 and 2022, RFE/RL's Balkan Service documented overcrowded dormitories, food served on the floor, and claims that wages were months in arrears and passports had been seized. Linglong denied responsibility, insisting that the workers were employed by subcontractors, and Serbian authorities effectively shut reporters out of the camp.

The case was later verbally declared closed by the government's anti-trafficking center, which said it had been unable to communicate with the workers before they left the country.

This pattern repeated itself with a subsequent complaint on behalf of Buks and 10 other Indian men, alleging human trafficking and labor exploitation.

The men said their passports had been taken and their pay withheld. They also said that they were not only sent to the tire plant construction site but also to other building projects around Serbia, even as Linglong claimed they had never worked for the company.

Prosecutors in Zrenjanin said they had asked police to gather information; the Serbian Interior Ministry has yet to say what, if anything, that investigation found.

Linglong again rejected the accusations, asserting that the Indians had not worked on its factory. According to Mitic, the men eventually received back pay and compensation, plus travel tickets home, but no official findings have ever been published.

'I Will Not Chase Away Investors'

European institutions have also raised the alarm.

In 2021 the European Parliament passed a resolution urging Serbia to investigate allegations that roughly 400 Vietnamese workers at Linglong had been subjected to forced labor. Belgrade has never provided a public answer.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has repeatedly defended the project, dismissing criticism as a "media-political campaign" against a prized Chinese investor. "We will try to help the Vietnamese workers, but I will not chase away investors," he said at the time.

The factory itself finally began production in September 2024, five years after building started.

It sits on 100 hectares of state land granted free of charge and has received at least $89 million in direct subsidies.

An account in the company's financial report related to "capital subsidies and other state allocations for the construction and acquisition of fixed assets and intangible assets," shows that from 2020 to 2024, Linglong was awarded just over $247 million.

What is clear is that the plant is overwhelmingly export-oriented.

In 2024, Linglong shipped tires worth $209 million abroad, while sales on the domestic Serbian market totaled $11.2 million. The firm does not disclose where its exports go, and it has not said how much was destined for the US market now closed off by Washington's ban. Company filings show its workforce grew by 48 percent last year to almost 1,750 employees.

Local activists say the factory continues to rely heavily on foreign labor hired through a web of subcontractors.

"From the very beginning, during construction and now in production, Chinese workers have been employed in worse conditions than Serbian workers," says Tara Rukeci of the Zrenjanin Social Forum, a local NGO which has supported migrant staff.

She says large agencies such as China Energy initially brought in hundreds of people, but that the field has since fragmented into many smaller intermediaries, making oversight even harder.

A Broader Pattern

The Linglong controversy is also part of a broader pattern.

Chinese investors have become central to Serbia's infrastructure and industrial strategy under the Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing's flagship plan to link Asia and Europe.

Alongside new roads, bridges, and factories, rights groups and EU officials have catalogued a trail of environmental damage, opaque contracts and reports of labor exploitation.

In 2021, RFE/RL reported that Chinese workers at a copper mine camp near Bor in eastern Serbia lived in poor conditions and were barred from leaving the site or interacting with locals.

Those concerns have repeatedly featured in European Commission reports on Serbia's progress toward EU membership, which warn that Chinese-backed projects often bypass European standards on transparency, environmental protection and social rights.

For workers like Buks, the consequences are painfully personal. "What happened in Serbia changed me forever," he says. "Now I check every foreign job offer very carefully."

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/linglong-serbia-us-import- ban-forced-labor/33633477.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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Russo-Ukraine War - 27 December 2025 - Day 1403

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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 117 combat clashes.

Russian Zagarbniki made two rocket and nine aviation strikes, using 41 rockets and dropping 22 controlled air bombs. In addition, the Russians engaged 3188 kamikaze drones and carried out 2466 shelling of the positions of Ukrainian troops and settlements.

In the North Slobozhansky and Kursky directions, Ukrainian soldiers repelled one Russian assault action since the beginning of the day. Also the enemy made one air strike, applied three controlled air bombs, carried out 117 shells.

In the South Slobozhansky direction, the Russian enemy attacked the positions of Ukrainian defenders seven times near the settlements of Staritsa, Vovchansk, Prylipka and towards Lyman and Grigorivka. One battle is still going on.

In the Kupyansky direction, Russian units carried out three assault actions, trying to break through the position of Ukrainian defenders towards Petropavlivka and Pishany.

In the Lyman direction since the beginning of the day, Russian invaders attacked the positions of Ukrainians 14 times near the settlements of Serednoe, Novoselivka and towards the settlements of Druzhelyubivka, Oleksandrivka, Lyman, Stavki and Drobisheve. At the moment, Ukrainian defenders repel one Russian attack.

In the Slovak direction, the Russian enemy tried to break through the area of Serebryanka five times.

In the Kramators komu direction, Ukrainian soldiers repelled three attacks in the areas of Vasyukivka, Prtechynogo and in the direction of Bondarny.

In the direction of Konstantinivsk, Russians 18 times attacked the positions of Defense Forces. The efforts of the attack were concentrated in the areas of the settlements of Konstantinivka, Oleksandro-Shultyne, Pleschievka and towards Sofiyivka and Stepanivka.

Since the beginning of the day in the Pokrovsky direction, Russian units have tried 31 times to break through Ukrainian defense in the areas of settlements Chervony Lyman, Mirnograd, Pokrovsk, Kotline, Udaachne, Molodetske, Dachne, Filia and towards settlements Nove Shahove, Dorozhne, Rodinske, Grishine. The two clashes are still ongoing.

Defense forces deter enemy attacks, the Russian enemy suffers significant losses - today 106 Russian invaders have been defecated in this direction, 77 of which are irrevocable. Ukrainian defenders have destroyed one jet fire system, two vehicles units, one self-propelled artillery rig, 21 unmanned aircraft, control point, also hit an artillery system, two units of vehicles, one special equipment unit and ten Russian personnel shelters.

In the Oleksandrivsky direction, Ukrainian units stopped 15 Russian attacks on the positions of Ukrainian troops near the settlements of Yalta, Vyshneve, Oleksandrograd, Verbove, Privilne, Rybne and towards the settlement of Andriyivka-Klevtsove.

In the Gulyaipil direction, Ukrainian defenders stopped 12 Russian attempts to advance in the areas of Gulyaipol, Bilogir and towards Dobropil. Three more clashes are underway. Under the airstrike of the Russian enemy was Zaliznycne.

In the Orihiv direction Ukrainian units stopped one Russian attack in the area of Sherbakiv.

In the Pridniprovsky direction, the Defense Forces repelled three Russian attacks in the area of the Antonivsky Bridge.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that the previous night, in response to terrorist attacks launched by the Kiev regime against civilian facilities on the territory of Russia, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation delivered a massive strike by long-range ground-, air-, and sea-based precision weapons including Kinzhal hypersonic air-launched ballistic missiles as well as attack unmanned aerial vehicles at power infrastructure facilities that supported the Armed Forces of Ukraine and enterprises of the Ukrainian defence industry.

The goal of the strike was achieved. All the assigned targets were engaged.

The Sever Group of Forces improved the tactical situation. Russian troops hit formations of one territorial defence brigade and one border security detachment of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine near Pisarevka and Gavrilovo (Sumy region).

In Kharkov direction, Russian troops hit units of two motorised infantry brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and one National Guard brigade near Prilipka, Staritsa, and Vilcha (Kharkov region).

The AFU losses were up to 180 troops, 14 motor vehicles, and three electronic warfare stations. Two materiel depot were destroyed.

Units of the Zapad Group of Forces inflicted fire damage on manpower and hardware of two mechanised brigades, one air assault brigade, one assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and one National Guard brigades close to Podoly, Kupyansk-Uzlovoy, Boldyrevka (Kharkov region), and Yarovaya (Donetsk People's Republic).

In Kupyansk direction, during the day, servicemen of the 6th Army repelled three attacks launched by units of the AFU 92nd Assault Brigade and the 15th National Guard Brigade near Blagodatovka, Palamarevka, and Osinovo. Ukrainian soldiers tried to break into Kupyansk (Kharkov region).

The enemy lost up to 60 troops. Two foreign-made armoured vehicles and two pickup trucks were neutralised.

In total, in the area of responsibility of the Zapad Group of Forces, the enemy losses were up to 200 troops, four armoured fighting vehicles, and 11 motor vehicles. Four ammunition depots were destroyed.

The Yug Group of Forces took more advantageous lines and positions. Russian troops launched attacks on formations of three mechanised brigades, one motorised infantry brigade, one airmobile brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the Azov Special Operations Brigade close to Nikiforovka, Donetskoye, Reznikovka, Slavyansk, Krivaya Luka, Rai-Aleksandrovka, and Stepanovka (Donetsk People's Republic).

The enemy losses were up to 115 troops, four armoured fighting vehicles, nine motor vehicles, two artillery guns, and one electronic warfare station. Two ammunition and one material depots were neutralised.

The Tsentr Group of Forces' units inflicted fire damage on manpower and hardware of one mechanised brigade, one infantry brigade, two air assault brigades, one airmobile brigade, three assault regiments of the AFU, one marine brigade, and the Azov Special Operations Brigade near Artemovka, Toretskoye, Dimitrov, Grishino, Belitskoye, Rodinskoye, Novy Donbass (Donetsk People's Republic), Novopavlovka, and Ivanovka (Dnepropetrovsk region).

The enemy losses were more than 440 troops, one armoured fighting vehicle, two motor vehicles, and two foreign-made field artillery guns.

The Vostok Group's units continued to advance to the depths of enemy defences. Russian troops delivered strikes at manpower and hardware of three mechanised brigades, two assault brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, one marine brigade, and one territorial defence brigade close to Dobropasovo, Gavrilovka (Dnepropetrovsk region), Priluki, Vozdvizhenka, Kosovtsevo, and Ternovatoye (Zaporozhye region).

The AFU losses were more than 220 troops, one tank, nine armoured fighting vehicles, five motor vehicles, and four field artillery guns including two Western-made ones. Three ammunition depots and two materiel depots were neutralised.

Units of the Dnepr Group of Forces inflicted fire damage on formations of one mechanised brigade, one coastal defence brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and one territorial defence brigade near Orekhov, Novoandreyevka (Zaporozhye region), and Otradokamenka (Kherson region).

The enemy losses were up to 55 Ukrainian troops, three motor vehicles, two artillery guns, two electronic warfare stations, and one ammunition depot.

Operational-Tactical Aviation, attack unmanned aerial vehicles, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces hit attack UAV production points as well as temporary deployment areas of the AFU and foreign mercenaries in 154 areas.

Air defence systems shot down 78 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles.

In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, the enemy has lost 669 aircraft, 283 helicopters, 105,295 unmanned aerial vehicles, 640 anti-aircraft missile systems, 26,747 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,634 MLRS combat vehicles, 32,205 field artillery guns and mortars, and 50,143 special military vehicles.

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North Korea, Russia bound in 'blood of war': Kim tells Putin in New Year note

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 27 December 2025 7:18 AM

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said that ties between Pyongyang and Moscow have been sealed through "shared blood" shed during the Ukraine conflict, in a New Year message to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In a message published on Saturday by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim described 2025 as a "really meaningful year" for relations between the two countries, pointing to closer cooperation and what he portrayed as a deep bond formed under wartime conditions.

"My dear comrade! On behalf of the government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Korean people, I extend the warmest and sincerest greeting of best wishes to you and, through you, to the government of the Russian Federation and the fraternal Russian people on the occasion of the New Year 2026," the letter read.

Kim said Russia-DPRK ties had grown stronger over the past year, developing, in his words, "into the sincerest alliance of sharing blood, life and death in the same trench, and their absolute solidity and mightiness have been more vividly etched in the pages of the times and history."

He added that the unity between the two nations was unbreakable, saying that justice, truth, victory and glory would always stand with Russia and its leader.

Kim also wished Putin "good health and greater success in your responsible work for defending the dignity and interests of Russia on the occasion of the hopeful New Year 2026," adding, "I sincerely hope that only happiness and prosperity will be in store for the Russian people."

Putin, in a separate New Year message to Kim that was also published by KCNA on December 18, praised North Korea's contribution to operations in Russia's western Kursk region.

He referred to "the heroic entry of soldiers of the Korean People's Army into the battles for liberating the Kursk region from occupiers and the subsequent activities of Korean engineers in the land of Russia," highlighting the strength of the growing partnership.

He said the two countries would continue to deepen their alliance and expand constructive cooperation on regional and international issues.

Earlier this month, Kim confirmed that North Korean engineering units were deployed to the Kursk region in August 2025 to assist with mine-clearing operations following a Ukrainian incursion.

He said at least nine soldiers were killed during the 120-day mission, describing their service as part of the broader cooperation between the two allies.

Alongside personnel deployments, Pyongyang has supplied Moscow with artillery shells, missiles, and long-range rocket systems, while Russia has provided North Korea with financial support, military technology, and energy assistance, reflecting the expanding scope of their partnership.

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Commander: Defending homeland is common duty of all Iranians

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Dec 27, 2025

Tehran, IRNA -- The Commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army Air Force Brigadier General Bahman Behmard says defending the homeland, family, and standing against enemy threats is a common duty for all Iranians, regardless of religion and denomination.

Speaking in a meeting with Ara Shaverdian, the Representative of Armenians of Tehran and northern Iran in the Parliament, Behmard emphasized the national unity and solidarity of the divine religions in Iran.

He urged all Muslims and Christians living in Iran to stand against enemy threats and aggression and not allow foreigners to violate the sanctity of Iran and the Iranian nation.

Meanwhile, Shavardian congratulated the birth of Jesus Christ (PBUH) and the New Year, saying, "On behalf of the Armenians of Iran, I declare that we have always been supporters of the Iranian nation and lovers of Iran."

Among religious minorities, Armenian Christians presented the highest number of martyrs during the Iran-Iraq war, indicating the depth of the bond of the Armenian community with Iran.

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ISLAMABAD, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani security forces killed four terrorists in an intelligence-based operation in the Kalat district of the country's southwestern Balochistan province, the military said on Sunday.

The operation was conducted on Saturday, following reports about the presence of militants affiliated with the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army, the Inter-Services Public Relations, the media wing of the Pakistani army, said in a statement.

During the operation, security forces effectively engaged the militants' hideout, leading to an intense exchange of fire in which the four terrorists were killed, the statement said.

Weapons, ammunition and explosives were recovered from the militants, who were allegedly involved in multiple terrorist activities in the area, it added.

The military said sanitization operations are underway to eliminate any remaining militants in the vicinity. 
Iran's economy must not wait for sanctions relief: FM Araghchi

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Dec 27, 2025

Tehran, IRNA -- Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Iran must continue its path of production, trade, and development without tying its future to the lifting of sanctions, stressing that diplomacy must pursue both sanctions relief and sanctions neutralization simultaneously.

Speaking at the end of a short visit to Isfahan on Friday, Araghchi said the Foreign Ministry has never neglected its core mission of seeking to lift sanctions, even during the most complex and tense periods.

However, he underlined that termination of sanctions is only achievable through real, fair, and dignified negotiations based on mutual respect rather than pressure or threats.

Araghchi also said that by emphasizing the need to learn to live with sanctions, he was not advocating their acceptance, but rather stressing that the country's production, trade, and development should not be put on hold while passively waiting for sanctions to be lifted.

According to the minister, the Foreign Ministry has defined two parallel missions: first, working to remove unjust US and Western sanctions that have inflicted significant costs on Iran's economy; and second, reducing their impact by actively supporting economic cooperation, particularly with regional partners and neighboring countries.

Araghchi noted that economic diplomacy has entered an operational phase, focusing on resolving banking, transportation, and legal obstacles and facilitating foreign partnerships.

He added that provincial diplomacy aims to directly link local economic capacities with Iran's foreign economic policy.

The foreign minister also emphasized that neutralizing sanctions is impossible without addressing internal obstacles, including complex regulations that undermine entrepreneurs' motivation.

He said sanctions had forced Iran to diversify its economy, reduce dependence on oil, expand non-oil exports, and explore new trade routes.

Araghchi stated that persistent efforts to lift sanctions should go hand in hand with building a resilient economy that does not depend on a single source, route, or external decision.

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Iran facing 'all-out war', stronger than before June war: President

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 27 December 2025 5:46 PM

President Masoud Pezeshkian says the United States, Israel, and Europe are waging an "all-out war" against Iran, adding that the country is now stronger, in both military capability and manpower, than it was before the June military aggression.

Pezeshkian made the remarks in an interview with the website of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, which was published on Saturday.

He warned Israel and the US against any fresh military attack, saying, "If they choose to confront us, they will naturally face a more decisive response."

The United States joined the Israeli regime in its military aggression against the Islamic Republic in June and bombed three nuclear sites in violation of international law, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and the UN Charter.

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, forcing a ceasefire on the aggressors.

After the war, Britain, France, and Germany moved to invoke a snapback mechanism embedded in the now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal to restore United Nations sanctions against Iran.

Pezeshkian said that Iran is currently in a state of "all-out war" with the US, Israel, and Europe, as they do not want the country to stand on its feet.

This war is "worse, much more complex and difficult" than the Iraqi-imposed war in the 1980s, the president noted.

Pezeshkian emphasized that the US and Israel are exerting pressure on Iran and creating economic, cultural, political, and security problems for the country.

He cautioned that the enemies themselves have openly declared their intention to exploit potential domestic developments in Iran.

The president pointed out that the aggressors had believed that a military assault would lead to the collapse of the Islamic establishment. "Their entire calculation was that if they launched an attack, people would pour into the streets, problems would arise, and the livelihood of the people would be disrupted."

Pezeshkian stressed the importance of reinforcing national unity so that the enemies will completely lose hope of ever wanting to attack Iran and interfere in its internal affairs.

Iran improves all-out ties with neighbors, Persian Gulf states

Pezeshkian said Iran has greatly improved its relations with neighboring countries and the Persian Gulf littoral states in several areas, including cultural, scientific, and economic fields.

He also praised enhanced ties with China, Russia, and the Caspian Sea states and said, "Despite all problems, the path of our international relations is developing."

The Iranian president further said that corridors are now a priority for his administration.

"We have allocated the necessary resources for the North-South and East-West routes, and next year we will move forward at a much faster pace  both in terms of building roads, trains, and railways, and in terms of wagons, diesel engines, and the equipment that must be available," Pezeshkian explained.

He emphasized that his administration is taking all those measures to resolve the country's problems.

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Widespread condemnations pour in after deadly Shia mosque attack in Syria

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Dec 27, 2025

Tehran, IRNA -- Condemnations have poured in following a terrorist attack on a Shia mosque in the western Syrian city of Homs that killed at least eight people and wounded 18 others.

Explosives detonated inside the Ali Bin Abi Talib Mosque as worshipers were performing Friday prayers. A militant group calling itself Saraya Ansar al-Sunna claimed responsibility for the attack.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "unequivocally" condemned the bombing, according to a statement issued by his spokesperson.

"The secretary general reiterates that attacks against civilians and places of worship are unacceptable. He stresses that those responsible must be identified and brought to justice," the statement said.

France also condemned the "abhorrent terrorist act," calling it a deliberate attempt to destabilize Syria and undermine its transitional authorities.

Countries and regional organizations across West Asia denounced the Homs attack as well.

Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Foreign Ministry affirmed the kingdom's "categorical rejection of terrorism, extremism, targeting of mosques and places of worship, and terrorizing innocent people," while expressing solidarity with Syria in the face of the "great tragedy."

United Arab Emirates

The UAE Foreign Ministry issued a statement reaffirming its "strong condemnation of these terrorist acts and its permanent rejection of all forms of violence and terrorism aimed at undermining security and stability."

Lebanon

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun deplored the attack, reiterating his country's support for Syria in combating terrorism and in its efforts to build a state based on freedom and democracy.

Jordan

Jordan's Foreign Ministry condemned the attack and expressed solidarity with the Syrian people and authorities, stressing its rejection of all forms of violence and terrorism.

Turkey

The Turkish Foreign Ministry described the mosque bombing as a blatant crime and strongly condemned the attack.

The foreign ministries of Qatar and Iraq, as well as the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council, also issued statements condemning the terrorist attack.

Saraya Ansar al-Sunna has threatened further attacks in Syria. The group emerged after the ouster of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad a year ago and has also claimed responsibility for an attack on a church in Damascus in June.

The Foreign Ministry of the transitional Syrian government called the Homs attack a cowardly act and a blatant assault on human and moral values, reflecting the desperate attempts to destabilize Syria and undermine the resilience of the Syrian people.

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Hezbollah condemns deadly terror attack on worshippers in Syria's Homs

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 27 December 2025 8:50 PM

Hezbollah has strongly condemned a terrorist attack that targeted worshippers at a mosque in the western Syrian city of Homs during Friday prayers, leaving dozens of people killed and wounded.

In a statement issued following the bombing, the Lebanese resistance movement denounced the "heinous" crime, saying the attack demonstrated the nature of those responsible.

It condemned the perpetrators for having no regard for religious sanctities or intellectual and religious diversity, and of relying on hate-driven rhetoric of exclusion and rejection of others.

The movement called for the perpetrators, who hailed from "deviant groups," to be exposed, brought to justice, and subjected to the severest punishments.

It also extended condolences to the families of the victims, prayed for mercy for those killed and a swift recovery for the wounded, and expressed hope for stability, progress, and prosperity for the Syrian people.

The condemnation followed a bombing that struck the Imam Ali Mosque in the Wadi al-Dhahab neighborhood of Homs.

Syria's official news agency SANA said initial reports had shown that at least five people were killed and 21 injured, later updating the toll to eight fatalities and 18 wounded.

Citing a security source, the agency reported that preliminary investigations had indicated that the explosion was caused by devices planted inside the mosque, after earlier reports suggested a suicide bombing.

The so-called Saraya Ansar al-Sunna group claimed responsibility for the atrocity in a statement on Telegram, saying its members had detonated several explosive devices inside the mosque. The group had previously claimed responsibility for a church bombing in Damascus in June.

Residents and monitoring groups have reported an increase in kidnappings and killings in Homs since the fall of Syria's former democratically-elected government of President Bashar al-Assad that took place during intense Israeli-backed assaults by the so-called Hayat al-Tahrir al-Sham Takfiri terrorist group last year.

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Israeli forces invade Syrian village amid continued aggression

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 28 December 2025 6:49 AM

Israeli occupation forces have invaded the Syrian village of Taranga, advancing toward the outskirts of Jabatha al-Khashab in the northern countryside of Quneitra, Syrian state media reported.

According to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), a unit consisting of six Israeli military vehicles entered the area from the direction of Tulul al-Humr on Saturday.

The convoy reportedly passed through the zone between Beit Jann and Hadar before reaching Taranga and continuing toward Jubata al-Khashab.

The vehicles were observed on the southern edge of Jubatha al-Khashab and on elevated terrain overlooking the town.

The incursion coincided with the presence of an unmanned aerial vehicle flying over the area. The force later moved toward the village of Ufania in the northern countryside of the province, the agency added.

The development followed a separate incident a day earlier, when Israeli occupation forces shelled the eastern Tel al-Ahmar area in southern Quneitra. According to local media, three rounds were fired, accompanied by machine-gun and medium-weapons fire.

On Wednesday, Israeli minister of military affairs, Israel Katz, pledged to continue military assaults across the region.

Israel "will continue its operations in Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip and Yemen," Hebrew-language daily newspaper Maariv quoted Katz as saying during a training course for Israeli Air Force pilots.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir were also in attendance.

"In Lebanon, we will continue to apply maximum force against Hezbollah; in Syria, Israel will not withdraw from Mount Hermon (Jabal al-Sheikh) and the [so-called] security zone; and in the Gaza Strip, Israel remains committed to dismantling Hamas and disarming the territory," he added.

Israel has repeatedly conducted acts of aggression across Syrian territory since the collapse of former President Bashar al-Assad's government late last year.

Netanyahu has instructed his forces to advance further into Syrian territory to capture multiple critical strategic positions in the area.

Israel has extended its occupation in Syria by taking over the buffer zone that divides the occupied Golan Heights from the rest of the country, effectively violating the 1974 disengagement agreement.

Analysts warn that the inaction of Syria's ruling Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), coupled with its moves toward normalizing ties with Tel Aviv, has emboldened Israel to expand its territorial presence in Syria and escalate airstrikes in the region.

Despite HTS's pledges of cooperation with Tel Aviv, Israel has remained unwilling to withdraw from Syria.

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Trump-backed push brings Jolani regime, Israel closer to deal: Israeli media

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 28 December 2025 3:24 AM

The Israeli regime and Syria's self-appointed new officials have made "significant progress" towards a so-called "security agreement" that could be signed in the near term, Israeli media report.

A source close to Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, head of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)-led regime in the Arab country, told the Israeli regime's i24 News on Thursday that the agreement would include a diplomatic annex and credited US President Donald Trump with facilitating progress toward the deal.

According to the report, the agreement is expected to be signed at a summit to be held in an undisclosed European country.

The source did not rule out the possibility that Jolani could sign the agreement directly with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The regime led by Jolani, who previously led Daesh and al-Qaeda Takfiri terrorists in Syria, overthrew the country's democratically-elected government of President Bashar al-Assad last year, amid intense Israeli strikes targeting the nation's civilian and defensive infrastructures.

Following the government's ouster, Netanyahu publicly took credit for developments in Syria. Israeli forces soon moved to occupy additional Syrian territory, including the strategic Mount Hermon, and carried out hundreds of additional airstrikes across the country, continuing to target military bases and advanced weapons. Israeli troops have also conducted repeated incursions into the southern Syrian regions of Quneitra and Dara'a.

Syria's new forces have not confronted Israeli troops occupying Syrian territory. Instead, they have focused their operations inside the country, including actions against minority religious and ethnic communities.

In March, Jolani's forces carried out massacres of Alawite civilians, followed by attacks on Druze civilians in July. In recent days, Syrian forces have also conducted attacks in the Kurdish-majority neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah in Aleppo.

The Israeli regime occupied the Syrian Golan Heights during a Western-backed war against regional territories in 1967. A 1974 armistice agreement established a demilitarized zone along the frontline.

Syria's new foreign minister Asaad al-Shaibani has said the new officials were expected to sign a "security agreement" with Tel Aviv by the end of the year "based on that armistice."

The regime, however, has refused to fully withdraw from territory it occupied following Assad's fall.

Israeli sources told i24 that Tel Aviv would withdraw from some of the nine positions it currently holds inside Syria only in exchange for a full "peace agreement," not merely a "security arrangement." Such an agreement would require Syria to formally relinquish its claim to the occupied Golan Heights.

The reported progress towards a deal came amid extremely limited domestic support in Syria for normalization with the regime.

A nationwide poll published earlier this month found that only 14 percent of Syrians supported full normalization, while just four percent view the regime favorably. The survey, conducted through in-person interviews with 1,229 adults, showed strong opposition among Alawite, Druze, and Christian minorities, who reported fear and insecurity under the new regime in Syria.

The poll also found that 92 percent of respondents viewed Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and Tel Aviv's military aggression in the region as major security threats.

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Xi meeting would hinge on 1992 Consensus, anti-independence: KMT chair

ROC Central News Agency

12/27/2025 09:09 PM

Taipei, Dec. 27 (CNA) Opposition Kuomintang (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wen () said Saturday that any meeting she might have with Chinese President Xi Jinping () will come with no preconditions beyond adherence to the "1992 Consensus" and opposition to Taiwan independence.

Cheng made the remarks in response to comments by President Lai Ching-te () in a pre-recorded interview aired by Sanlih E-Television, in which Lai questioned how the public could believe a potential "Cheng-Xi meeting" would be unconditional when opposition parties have blocked defense budgets and national security bills "with no reason."

Speaking to reporters ahead of a KMT event, Cheng said cross-strait dialogue has a clear and long-established political basis in the 1992 Consensus, adding that this is neither secret nor difficult to understand and was demonstrated during former president Ma Ying-jeou's () eight years in office from 2008-2016.

The "1992 consensus" refers to a tacit understanding reached in 1992 between the then KMT government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the Chinese government. It has been consistently interpreted by the KMT as an acknowledgment by both sides that there is only "one China," with each side free to interpret what "China" means.

The independence-leaning ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has never acknowledged the "1992 consensus," arguing that Beijing allows no room for the interpretation of "China" as the Republic of China, and that acceptance of the consensus implies agreement with China's claim over Taiwan.

Cheng said on Friday that she hopes to visit China in the first half of next year and meet Xi. If such a meeting is not possible, she said, the trip will not go ahead.

Earlier this month, the Liberty Times, a Chinese-language newspaper, reported that Beijing laid out "three tickets" for the meeting: blocking the budget for arms purchases; obstructing bills aimed at limiting cross-strait investment and people-to-people exchanges, as well as ending discrimination against Chinese spouses; and having the KMT reaffirm a political path toward unification, while proposing systematic reforms, and taking actions to advance that goal.

Cheng dismissed the report as fabricated, saying she has never accepted any such conditions. "There are no preconditions or side deals," she said, again citing only the 1992 Consensus and opposition to Taiwan independence.

She added that if President Lai truly believes there is no need to declare independence, then acknowledging the 1992 Consensus and abandoning the pro-independence DPP platform could also make a Lai-Xi meeting possible.

On cross-strait engagement, Cheng said recent visits by senior KMT figures to China were intended to build goodwill, reduce tensions and restore confidence in peace.

She also said that with major local elections scheduled for late next year, the party hopes to complete key overseas visits, including to Beijing and Washington, in the first half of the year due to its limited resources.

(By Wang Cheng-chung and Lee Hsin-Yin)

Enditem/AW

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Russian FM reiterates opposition to 'Taiwan independence' in any form; warns Japan to 'weigh up' possible consequences before taking any hasty decisions: report

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Dec 28, 2025 02:18 PM

Russia opposes "Taiwan independence" in any form, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with TASS on Sunday. He also noted that Japan has assumed an accelerated course toward militarization and Moscow advises Tokyo to "weigh up" possible consequences before resorting to any sudden decisions.

Russia's principled position on the Taiwan question is well known, consistent, and has been repeatedly reaffirmed at the highest level. The Russian side recognizes Taiwan as an inalienable part of China and opposes any form of the island's independence, Lavrov said in the interview.

The Taiwan question is China's internal affair, said the minister, noting that China has full legitimate grounds for safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In the interview, Lavrov also noted that Japan has assumed an accelerated course toward militarization and Moscow advises Tokyo to "weigh up" possible consequences before resorting to any sudden decisions.

"Recently the Japanese leadership has been seeking to accelerate the country's militarization," Lavrov stated. "The detrimental influence of such an approach on the regional stability is obvious."

"Our Japanese neighbors should have weighted everything properly before taking any hasty decisions," he added, according to TASS.

TASS wrote that Lavrov stressed that Russia is concerned about Japan's remilitarization, a trend that could lead to the dismantling of the current global security architecture.

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Prime Minister Carney speaks with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Prime Minister of Canada - Mark Carney

December 26, 2025

Ottawa, Ontario

Today, the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, spoke with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The Prime Minister and the President discussed the latest developments in ongoing peace talks. Prime Minister Carney commended President Zelenskyy for his continued efforts to secure a just and lasting peace for the people of Ukraine, and the courage of the Ukrainian people as they face another winter of Russian aggression.

The Prime Minister affirmed Canada's commitment to Ukraine throughout these negotiations and emphasised the need to maintain pressure on Russia to negotiate. Canada remains engaged through the Coalition of the Willing to advance joint efforts for Ukraine's security and recovery.

The Prime Minister and the President agreed to remain in close and regular contact.

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Defense manufacturers to access leasing at 5% annually as the state introduces a preferential support mechanism

Ministry of Defence of Ukraine

26 December, 2025, 10:20 AM EET

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted a resolution drafted by the Ministry of Defence establishing state financial support for defense industry enterprises through financial leasing agreements.

The program provides for a reduction in the lessor's remuneration. This enables defense industry enterprises classified as critical to economic functioning during the special period to gain access to vehicles and equipment at reduced rates. This will substantially ease the financial burden on businesses that support the military.

"We are creating a mechanism that reduces financial leasing costs for defense manufacturers to just 5% per year under financial leasing agreements, with the state covering the remainder. This will allow companies to invest in scaling up production, upgrading equipment, and responding more quickly to the military's needs. The initiative will complement the affordable lending program for defense manufacturers launched last November," said Anna Gvozdiar, Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine.

The reduction of leasing payments under the state support mechanism will be delivered via authorized lessors (banks and leasing companies) that meet the criteria set out in the resolution, once they have implemented the required internal products. The Ministry of Defence will separately announce the specific institutions that will provide defense manufacturers with leasing services on preferential terms in accordance with the approved resolution.

The support will be extended to finance activities associated with the development, manufacture, repair, modernization, and disposal of weapons, military and special equipment, and ammunition, for the following purposes:

acquisition and modernization of fixed assets of enterprises, including equipment, dual-use equipment, and technological facilities;

acquisition of vehicles for manufacturing and commercial purposes;

acquisition of non-residential real estate for the conduct of business activities by enterprises.

Financial leasing agreements eligible for state support must meet the following conditions:

the maximum financing amount per agreement shall not exceed UAH 500 million (or the equivalent in foreign currency);

the maximum term of the agreement shall not exceed five years;

the maximum rate of the lessor's base remuneration shall not exceed 23% per annum;

the one-time fee for the provision of leasing services shall not exceed 0.75% of the financing amount.

The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine will continue its efforts to introduce and expand financial instruments to strengthen the defense industry's capabilities and bolster national defense capacity.

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YANGON, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Before dawn broke over downtown Yangon on Sunday, election officials were already preparing inside a polling station near City Hall. Myanmar kicked off its first phase of the national multi-party general election on the day, marking the country's first-ever use of an electronic voting system.

At 6 a.m., voting officially began. Voters entered the polling stations, where they proceeded through security checks, identity verification and signing procedures before casting their ballots for the Pyithu Hluttaw (Lower House), Amyotha Hluttaw (Upper House) and State and Region Hluttaws (State and Region Parliaments).

Some voters remarked that the process of voting using electronic devices was simpler than they had expected.

Swe Maw, a 45-year-old tea shop owner, described the election as a moment he had long awaited.

"I am very happy to cast votes for the people who will shape the future of the country," he said.

He added that the electronic voting system made the process straightforward and expressed confidence in the outcome. "For the future of Myanmar, I have hope and no worry. I believe the people we elect will do their best for the country."

Unlike previous elections, Myanmar has introduced the Mixed-Member Proportional system, which combines First-Past-the-Post and Proportional Representation.

For many citizens, the election carried deep personal meaning. Than Tun Oo, a 59-year-old station master with Myanma Railways from Yangon's Botahtaung township, said he voted to fulfill his duty as a citizen. "The election is important because the new government will be formed with the wishes of the majority of the people."

Having voted in every election since 1990, he described his neighborhood as safe and expressed cautious hope for the future. "People here have experienced both good and bad times," he said. "For the future, I just hope it will be good."

In the capital Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar's Acting President Min Aung Hlaing also cast his vote.

At 4 p.m., an election official at a polling station in Yangon's Kyauktada township announced the closure of the polling station.

The general election is being held in three phases. The second phase is scheduled for Jan. 11, 2026, followed by the third phase on Jan. 25.

According to the Union Election Commission, 21,517 polling stations have been set up across the country, covering 692 constituencies nationwide. About 5,000 candidates from 57 political parties are competing for seats in the Union Parliament (Pyithu Hluttaw and Amyotha Hluttaw) and state and region parliaments. The newly formed Union Parliament will then elect a president, who will go on to form a new Union government. 
Denys Shmyhal: banking sector unites to provide 21.5 billion in financing for the defense industry

Ministry of Defence of Ukraine

26 December, 2025, 6:21 PM EET

On 26 December, six Ukrainian banks entered into a consortium loan agreementthe largest in Ukraine's financial market historyamounting to 21.5 billion, with a three-year term under state guarantees.

Banks from both the public and private sectors united to finance one of Ukraine's defense industry enterprises. A state-owned bank acted as the lead arranger of the consortium loan.

The implementation of the agreement opens new opportunities to scale up and modernize production within the defense industry.

"Financing the defense industry is one of the key pillars of state resilience during wartime. The Ministry of Defence spent more than four months working with the National Bank of Ukraine, the Ministry of Finance, and the banking sector to create the conditions needed to implement this consortium. The scale of the consortium demonstrates banks' readiness to support the defense industry and strengthen the country's defense capability. This means more Ukrainian-made weapons for our defenders. We continue to consistently implement initiatives to equip the Ukrainian military with modern weaponry. We count on continued support from the banking sector," the Minister of Defence said.

He noted that the state already supports Ukrainian manufacturers through soft loan programs. In 2025, private enterprises in Ukraine's defense industry attracted nearly 5 billion in financing. The Ministry of Defence has also allowed drone and electronic warfare (EW) manufacturers to include loan interest in their production costs.

The Minister of Defence thanked the consortium participants for supporting Ukrainian defense manufacturers.

"Ukrainian banks have already demonstrated a strong capacity to cooperate in support of critical sectors of the economy. In particular, the banking sector previously consolidated to finance and provide credit support to Ukraine's energy sector, helping restore it after large-scale attacks by russia and ensure stable operations under wartime conditions. The new consortium initiative in the defense industry builds logically on this experience, illustrating how former competitors can unite to strengthen the country and how the financial system can swiftly adapt to the state's strategic requirements," said Andriy Pyshnyy, Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine.

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Government introduces long-term contracts for production under the 'Weapons of Victory' program

Ministry of Defence of Ukraine

26 December, 2025, 7:55 PM EET

Pursuant to a directive from the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and a submission by the Ministry of Defence, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine introduced long-term contracts for production under the 'Weapons of Victory' program.

According to Minister of Defence Denys Shmyhal, the state is making the defense procurement system stable, predictable, and convenient for Ukrainian defense manufacturers.

"Contracts for military equipment included in the 'Weapons of Victory' list will now cover the entire production cycle, including development, production, and repair. In addition, we are establishing medium-term procurement volumes and linking advance payment terms to stages of work to ensure predictable financing," he said.

Denys Shmyhal noted that the Cabinet of Ministers launched the 'Weapons of Victory' program at the end of 2024. Clear eligibility criteria were established at that time for manufacturers to receive state-guaranteed long-term contracts with durations of three, five, or ten years.

These requirements include:

a localization rate of over 50% based on the aggregate cost of all components;

codification of weaponry models;

a long-term operational requirement for this weaponry by the military;

serial production of this weaponry by Ukrainian defense industry enterprises.

"The implementation of long-term contracts will accelerate and scale up production, ensure uninterrupted deliveries of weapons and equipment to military units, and open up long-term development prospects for Ukraine's defense industry for decades to come," the Minister of Defence concluded.

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Trump says Zelensky doesn't have anything 'until I approve it'

Iran Press TV

Saturday, 27 December 2025 10:32 AM

US President Donald Trump has said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "doesn't have anything until I approve it."

Zelensky claimed he has prepared a new 20-point peace plan for the Ukraine war that he is expected to pitch to Trump during a meeting in Florida on Sunday.

"He doesn't have anything until I approve it," Trump told Politico in an interview on Friday.

"So we'll see what he's got," he said.

"I think it's going to go good with him. I think it's going to go good with [Vladimir] Putin," he added.

Trump said he expected to speak with the Russian leader "soon, as much as I want."

The framework of Zelensky's new peace plan includes a proposed demilitarized zone while his meeting with Trump is expected to focus on US security guarantees.

Zelensky's plan, which Ukrainian officials have described as an attempt to show flexibility without conceding territory, has received little public reaction from Washington.

His proposed demilitarized zone includes a key condition: Russia would have to withdraw its forces from a corresponding stretch of land in Donetsk.

Zelensky has already spoken with special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law. He described the talks as a "good conversation."

Moscow has given no indication that it is willing to accept any of Zelensky's new proposals after holding revision talks.

The so-called Ukraine peace effort initiated by Trump in the framework of a 28-point plan to end the nearly four-year-old war was later boiled down to a 20-point plan.

Trump's 20-point plan rests on the premise that the Russian-speaking Donbas territory in eastern Ukraine will join Russia. He has been pressing Zelensky to accept his plan to end war.

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Thousands Freezing As Russian Barrage Pummels Kyiv Ahead of Zelenskyy-Trump Peace Talks

By RFE/RL December 27, 2025

Ukrainian utility workers raced to restore heat and power to large parts of Kyiv, after Russian drones and missiles knocked out municipal heating plants. At least one person was killed, and more than two dozen wounded in the overnight barrage.

With temperatures hovering around freezing, officials ordered emergency power cuts for parts of the Ukrainian capital, as a result of the December 27 attacks, which included more than 500 drones and missiles.

"This is the first time that so many drones have hit the city center," Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko told reporters.

Hours later, Ukraine appeared to launch its own aerial assault on Russian targets, with more than 110 drones fired at seven regions, including Moscow. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed all were shot down in the unusual daytime barrage.

The hours-long Russian assault targeting residential homes and civilian infrastructure in Kyiv and elsewhere came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy prepared for critical talks with US President Donald Trump on a Washington-backed peace plan.

The White House, which made no formal announcement about the meeting, released a schedule showing Zelenskyy and Trump meeting in Florida on the afternoon on December 28.

"I think they want to do it now, and I think that Russia wants to do it. But every time one wants to do it, the other doesn't," Trump was quoted as telling the New York Post on December 26.

En route to Washington, Zelenskyy stopped in Halifax, Canada, to meet with Prime Minister Mark Carney, who labeled Russia's recent military strikes as "barbarism" and announced an additional $2.8 billion in economic aid to Ukraine.

Following a conference call between Zelenskyy and European leaders, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen called for "a just and lasting peace that preserves Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

In comments to reporters traveling with him to the United States, Zelenskyy again signaled that there was room for compromise.

One of the critical issues now at the heart of the negotiations that accelerated last month with the release of a plan seen as heavily favorable to Moscow is the fate of the eastern Donbas region.

Most of that territory is under Russian control, and Moscow has demanded that Kyiv turn over that parts Russia does not hold. That includes two major cities -- Kramatorsk and Slovyansk -- which are linchpins for Ukrainian defenses in the area.

Zelenskyy has proposed a compromise that calls for establishing a demilitarized zone in which both Ukraine and Russia would withdraw their forces. Foreign forces would then monitor the demilitarized buffer area.

The Ukrainian leader has floated the idea of holding a referendum on the plan, though he also cautioned that a 60-day cease-fire would be necessary to ensure people could vote safely.

In comments to reporters, Zelenskyy pushed back on an idea proposed by Moscow that Ukrainian citizens living in Russia be allowed to vote in any such referendum. Ukrainian officials say that would open the door to fraud.

The other critical issue is the fate of Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant. The Zaporizhzhya region facility, which was Ukraine's largest single source of electricity, has been under Russian control since shortly after the start of the all-out invasion in February 2022.

Zelenskyy has proposed putting the plant under joint control between Ukraine and the United States, with Washington netting profits from the sale of the plant's electricity -- including potentially to Moscow.

The Kremlin, which believes it has the upper hand both on the battlefield and in the peace negotiations, has showed little willingness to compromise on its hard-line demands -- most of which predate the invasion.

The overnight attack on Kyiv, which included hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles, killed one person and wounded at least 28 people, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said; large swaths of city districts on the eastern banks of the Dnieper River were without power and water, he said in a post to Telegram.

Ukraine's largest private power company said nearly a third of Kyiv had been left without electricity, later adding that 500,000 families were impacted following the Russian attack.

"Today, Russia demonstrated its reaction to peace negotiations.... They launched a massive attack on Ukraine," Zelenskyy said. "It's the very same Russia demonstrating this while [we're] on the way to peace negotiations."

A day earlier, Russia launched heavy glide bombs at Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, killing at least two people and wounded several others.

Ukraine's largest port city, Odesa, has been battered for several days in a row.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-kyiv-russia-drone- assault-power-heat/33634104.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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Ukrainian Anti-Corruption Investigators Say They're Probing Vote-Buying Scheme By Lawmakers

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service December 27, 2025

Ukraine's leading anti-corruption agencies said they were investigating alleged vote-buying by members of parliament, and that security services were hindering efforts to conduct searches.

The probe, announced December 27, was the latest in a series of investigations by the two agencies -- the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine -- that have roiled politics inside Ukraine.

The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office -- known as SAPO -- said that its investigators had allegedly identified "an organized criminal group" that included current lawmakers in the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament.

The group members, SAPO said, received illegal benefits in exchange for their votes in parliament.

No further details were released.

Relatedly, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, known as NABU, said its investigators were being blocked from accessing administrative buildings used by members of parliament.

The agency charged with providing security for lawmakers, the State Protection Agency, denied the accusations, telling RFE/RL that guards were merely verifying the identities of the investigators.

"The fact is that NABU employees are trying to bring unfamiliar or incomprehensible people into the territory of the regime, into the territory of the government entity,"service spokesman Oleksiy Morozov said.

The investigators were later allowed into the heavily guarded compound, the security agency said in a post to Facebook.

Established in 2015 as part of sweeping reforms aimed at uprooting entrenched corruption, the two agencies have built a reputation for conducting politically charged investigations -- as well as fighting to preserve their independence from other law enforcement entities.

An investigation into energy sector kickbacks -- including financing air-defense systems for electricity grid infrastructure -- burst into public view last month when anti-corruption officers raided offices in Kyiv.

That probe, which is still ongoing, ultimately led to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy firing Andriy Yermak, his longtime chief of staff and a key go-between in peace negotiations with the United States.

Yermak's dismissal came at a difficult time for Zelenskyy. The allegations have tarnished his reputation at home, and added to pressure to hold new elections, something the Ukrainian president has resisted due to martial law and Russia's all-out war on Ukraine.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-corruption- lawmakers-investigations-vote-buying-/33634233.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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Putin Reviews Russian Army's Progress: Major Gains Across Key Fronts

Sputnik News

20251227

During a meeting at a command post of the Joint Forces Group, President Vladimir Putin received reports from military commanders, including General Staff Chief Valery Gerasimov.

The following updates were provided:

Russian Armed Forces are advancing on all fronts, while Ukrainian forces continue unsuccessful attempts to halt the progress

Elite units of the Ukrainian military are suffering heavy losses

In Zaporozhye region, the towns of Dimitrov, Gulyaipole, and Stepnogorsk have been liberated

"Gulyaipole is the second-largest city in the Zaporozhye region. Its liberation opens up great prospects for advancing in the area," Putin noted.

Gulyaipole was liberated by Friday evening. The Vostok Battlegroup is conducting searches and eliminating individual enemy fighters. Meanwhile, the Tsentr Battlegroup, after finishing off Ukrainian units in Dimitrov, continue to crush the enemy in their area of responsibility, with mopping-up operations in the city districts underway.

"Thank you, guys, for this combat, highly effective work and for the result," said Putin.

In Kharkov region, the Russian forces have taken control of the towns of Vysokoye, Vilcha, and Prilivka

More than half of the urban area of Konstantinovka is now under Russian control

The Ukrainian grouping to the east of Kupyansk is being eliminated

The Yug Battlegroup is advancing rapidly towards Slavyansk.

The tasks of liberating the Donbass, Zaporozhye, and Kherson regions will continue

The Sever Battlegroup is continuing its mission to establish a buffer zone

Military personnel congratulated Putin on the upcoming New Year, emphasizing, "Victory will be ours."

Putin, in turn, noted that the Russian Armed Forces are accomplishing all assigned tasks and maintaining strong offensive momentum.

"Good progress is indeed being made in creating a buffer in the border regions: in Sumy, Kharkov, and Dnepropetrovsk regions," Putin said.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told media on Friday that negotiators "truly came close to a solution" on Ukraine peace talks on Christmas Day, and that "whether we can make the final push and reach an agreement depends on our work and the political will of the other side - especially at a time when Kiev and its sponsors, particularly in the EU...have doubled their efforts to derail it."

Putin: Ukraine Avoiding Peaceful Resolution, Russia Will Pursue Military Solutions

The leaders of the Kiev regime are in no hurry to resolve the conflict through peaceful means, said Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We see that even today, unfortunately, the leaders of the Kiev regime are not eager to resolve this conflict through peaceful means," Putin said during his visit to the command posts of the Joint Military Group.

Intelligent people in the West are offering Kiev honorable terms for ending the conflict, ensuring future security, and restoring relations with Russia, but the leaders of the Kiev regime are not in a hurry to accept these offers, Putin added.

"Now we see that some wise people in the West are advising the Kiev authorities to accept reasonable terms for ending the conflict. They are offering good foundational conditions for ensuring Ukraine's security over the long term, conditions for restoring relations with the Russian Federation, and rebuilding Ukraine's economy," Putin said.

The leaders of the Kiev regime are not in a rush to resolve the conflict peacefully, the president emphasized.

"If the Kiev authorities do not wish to end the matter peacefully, we will accomplish all the tasks before us through military means in the course of the special military operation," Putin said.

President Putin reminded that military actions were launched after the 2014 coup in Ukraine.

"There would have been no military actions if we had been listened to back then," Putin said.

 Sputnik

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Ukraine's NABU, SAPO Agencies Uncover Criminal Group Involving Lawmakers

Sputnik News

20251227

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) said on Saturday they had uncovered a group of Verkhovna Rada lawmakers who took bribes in exchange for parliamentary votes.

"As a result of an undercover operation, NABU and SAPO exposed an organized criminal group, which included current national lawmakers of Ukraine," NABU said on Telegram.

The names and number of lawmakers were not disclosed. According to the investigation, the members of the group systematically extracted "unlawful benefits" for voting in the Verkhovna Rada.

On Saturday, NABU officers were seen in Kiev's government quarter, which houses parliament, the Cabinet of Ministers, and the presidential office, lawmakers said.

A high-profile corruption scandal unfolded in Ukraine in November when NABU targeted a corruption scheme in Ukraine's energy sector involving one of Volodymyr Zelenskyy's closest associates, Timur Mindich. On November 11, NABU pressed charges against seven members of an alleged criminal ring behind the energy-related corruption scheme, including Mindich. On November 13, Zelenskyy imposed sanctions on Mindich and his chief financier, high-profile businessman Oleksandr Tsukerman. Former Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov was arrested, and Energy Minister Svitlana Grynchuk and Justice Minister German Galushchenko were dismissed due to their involvement in the corruption scandal, described as the largest in Ukraine's history.

 Sputnik

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Russia Strikes Ukrainian Military-Linked Energy Facilities - MoD

Sputnik News

20251227

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian armed forces, in response to Kiev's terrorist attacks on Russian civilian targets, carried out a massive retaliatory strike, including with hypersonic Kinzhal missiles, targeting Ukraine's military-linked energy facilities, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday.

"Last night, in response to terrorist attacks launched by the Kiev regime against civilian facilities on the territory of Russia, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation delivered a massive strike by long-range ground-, air-, and sea-based precision weapons including Kinzhal hypersonic air-launched ballistic missiles as well as attack unmanned aerial vehicles at power infrastructure facilities that supported the Armed Forces of Ukraine and enterprises of the Ukrainian defense industry," the statement read.

The objectives of the strike were achieved, with all designated targets hit, the ministry added.

Russia's Battlegroup Tsentr has eliminated more than 440 Ukrainian soldiers, an armored combat vehicle, two cars and two foreign-made field artillery guns in a day, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday.

"Enemy losses amounted to more than 440 military personnel, an armored combat vehicle, two cars and two foreign-made field artillery guns," the ministry said in a statement.

Russia's Vostok (East) group has eliminated over 220 Ukrainian soldiers, while Battlegroup Zapad has eliminated up to 200 Ukrainian servicepeople during the same period, the ministry added.

Russia's Battlegroup Sever has eliminated up to 180 Ukrainian servicepeople, Russia's Battlegroup Yug group has eliminated up to 115 Ukrainian soldiers, while the Dnepr group of forces has eliminated up to 55 Ukrainian military personnel, the ministry said.

 Sputnik

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Russian Forces Repel 3 Ukrainian Attacks Aiming to Break Through to Kupyansk - MoD

Sputnik News

20251227

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia's Battlergroup Zapad repelled three attacks by the Ukrainian armed forces made in an attempt to break through to Kupyansk, and Ukraine lost up to 60 soldiers in the battle, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday.

"In the Kupyansk direction, during the day, units of the 6th army repelled three attacks by formations of the 92nd Assault Brigade of the armed forces of Ukraine and the 15th brigade of the National Guard in the areas of the settlements of Blagodatovka [also known as Blahodativka], Palamarevka and Osinovo. Ukrainian soldiers tried to break into Kupyansk, Kharkov region. The enemy lost up to 60 troops," the Russian ministry said in a statement.

The city of Kupyansk in the Kharkov Region is under the control of the units from the 6th army of Russia's Battlegroup Zapad, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

"The city of Kupyansk is under the control of units of the 6th army of Battlegroup Zapad," the statement said.

The group's spokesman Ivan Bigma said the group repelled five counterattacks near Kupyansk over two days.

"All counterattacks were repelled, and no territorial losses were allowed," Bigma said.

During these counterattacks, the group destroyed five pieces of military equipment, including two US-made M113 armored personnel carriers, a Pantera armored vehicle, and more than 20 Ukrainian servicepeople, he said, adding that the Russian forces continue to destroy enemy assault groups, as well as sabotage and reconnaissance groups in the area.

Earlier, Leonid Sharov, the head of the press center of Battlegroup Zapad said that all districts of the city of Kupyansk were under the control of the Russian Armed Forces.

 Sputnik

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Andrii Sybiha condemned Russia's attack on peaceful cities and critical infrastructure of Ukraine

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine

27 December 2025 10:58

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha: "Putin deliberately ordered a massive bombing of residential areas and critical infrastructure of Kyiv just as leaders of Ukraine and the US are preparing to meet and advance peace.

Dozens of victims, power outages, and a third of the Ukrainian capital without heating amid winter.

Russia's only response to peace efforts is brutal attacks using hundreds of drones and missiles against Kyiv and other cities and regions.

Putin must realize that further rejection of peace will come at a very heavy price for him and his regime.

The United States, Europe, and other partners have the necessary leverage to increase that cost  both for Russia's economy and its losses on the battlefield. Russia must face a sharp increase in both.

At the time when Ukraine continues working very constructively and actively together with the United States and other partners to seek doable solutions to end the war, pressure on Moscow needs to be increased already now.

There can be no pauses in pressure on Russia, assistance to strengthen Ukraine's air defense, and support for our energy resilience."

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LISBON, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- Portugal has administered more than 32 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since launching its first vaccination campaign five years ago, according to data released Saturday by the Directorate-General for Health (DGS).

According to the Lusa News Agency, Portuguese Public Health Society President and former Director-General of Health Francisco George described the figure as "extremely positive," stressing that it is "fundamental to continue vaccinating."

George said vaccination prevented around 12,000 deaths in its first two years, citing data presented in September 2023 by Infarmed, the Portuguese National Authority of Medicines and Health Products.

He added that the continued use of the vaccines was unsurprising, noting that they have been adapted to changes in circulating virus variants.

Meanwhile, Portugal this week launched its influenza and COVID-19 vaccination campaign, aiming to immunize 2.5 million people against influenza and 1.5 million against COVID-19, the DGS announced. 
On His Way to the United States, the President Held a Meeting with the Prime Minister of Canada

President of Ukraine

27 December 2025 - 21:36

On his way to Florida, where on December 28, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump, the Head of State met in Halifax with the Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney.

The President expressed his gratitude to the Prime Minister and to all of Canada for their support of Ukraine throughout these years of war.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that last night Russia carried out another strike against Ukraine, launching nearly 500 drones and dozens of missiles.

"This attack is another response from Russia to our peace efforts. It once again shows that Putin does not want peace. And we want peace. He is a man of war, but he is afraid to speak about it publicly," the Head of State emphasized.

Mark Carney stated that there is currently the possibility of achieving a just and lasting peace, but that requires a willingness from Russia.

"The barbarism that we saw overnight, the attack on Kyiv, shows just how important it is that we stand with Ukraine during this difficult time," the Prime Minister said.

Mark Carney highlighted that Canada supports Ukraine militarily and announced the allocation of 2.5 billion Canadian dollars in economic assistance.

"Moscow has turned down even the proposals for a Christmas ceasefire and is intensifying the brutality of its missile and drone strikes. This is a clear signal of how they truly regard diplomacy there. So far, not seriously enough. Therefore, a sufficient level of support for Ukraine is needed. And a sufficient level of pressure on Russia is needed as well," Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated.

During the meeting, the leaders discussed the importance of strengthening Ukraine's air defense and the existing diplomatic opportunities. The President and the Prime Minister share common positions on many key issues.

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Ukraine Synchronized Sanctions with the United Kingdom and Imposed Restrictions in Accordance with UN Security Council Resolutions

President of Ukraine

27 December 2025 - 14:10

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed two decrees enacting decisions of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.

The first decision concerns the synchronization of sanctions with the United Kingdom. The restrictions have been imposed on eight individuals and 40 legal entities. These include, in particular, citizens of Russia, Azerbaijan, Singapore, and New Zealand who are linked to the forced deportation and "re-education" of Ukrainian children, as well as to the supply to the Russian Federation of electronics and dual-use components used in the production of missiles and drones with which Russia strikes Ukrainian cities and communities.

Among the sanctioned legal entities are companies from Russia, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Turkiye, India, and Singapore, which, among other activities, assist the Russian Federation in circumventing international sanctions and supply industrial machine tools, aviation equipment, components for "shahed" drones, computer chips, and other microelectronics for Russia's military-industrial complex. Some of these companies are also involved in the Russian energy sector, the import of Russian oil, and the operation of the shadow fleet.

Overall, this year, Ukraine has synchronized 14 sanctions packages adopted by its partners, including two packages each from the United States and the United Kingdom, eight from the European Union, and one each from Canada and Japan.

The second decision concerns support for proposals submitted by the Cabinet of Ministers and the introduction of sanctions in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolutions, as well as decisions and regulations of the Council of the European Union regarding the situation in South Sudan.

The sanctions target eight individuals belonging to the military leadership of South Sudan. They are implicated not only in the continuation of hostilities and obstruction of peace negotiations, but also in acts of violence, including against women and children - killings, torture, rape, abductions, and attacks on hospitals, schools, and churches. Those listed include the Chief of the Defense Forces, the Commander of the Presidential Guard, and the Chief of the General Staff.

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Zelenskyy To Meet Trump In High-Stakes Peace Talks As Russia Ramps Up Attacks

By RFE/RL December 28, 2025

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is to hold talks with US President Donald Trump in what could be the most consequential meeting in the country's recent history, while Russia continued its deadly air assaults against Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities and towns.

The White House has not commented directly on the December 28 talks, but in its daily schedule, it listed a meeting between the two leaders for the afternoon in Palm Beach, Florida, as the sides look to hammer out a peace deal to end Russia's war on Ukraine.

Zelenskyy arrives in the United States after visiting Halifax, Canada, where he met with Prime Minister Mark Carney, who offered support for Ukraine ahead of the crucial US talks, saying that Russia's "barbarism...shows just how important it is that we stand with Ukraine."

Zelenskyy also held a conference call with European leaders. After the session, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen called for "a just and lasting peace that preserves Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

The Ukrainian leader said he will again hold talks with European leaders after he meets with Trump as he urged the West to take a strong stand to prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin "from manipulating and evading a real and just end to the war."

Ukraine's 20-Point Peace Plan

Zelenskyy -- with Europe's backing -- has proposed a 20-point plan to end Russia's war on his country, after earlier scrambling to counter a 28-point plan put forward by Trump in November that critics said was heavily skewed in Russia's favor.

One of the critical issues at the heart of current negotiations is the fate of the eastern Donbas region.

Most of that territory is under Russian control, and Moscow has demanded that Kyiv turn over that parts Russia does not hold. That includes two major cities -- Kramatorsk and Slovyansk -- which are linchpins for Ukrainian defenses in the area.

The other critical issue is the fate of Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant. The Zaporizhzhya region facility, which was Ukraine's largest single source of electricity, has been under Russian control since shortly after the start of the all-out invasion in February 2022.

Zelenskyy has proposed putting the plant under joint control between Ukraine and the United States, with Washington netting profits from the sale of the plant's electricity -- including potentially to Moscow.

"Ukraine did not start this war. Russia started it. Ukraine supported President Trump's proposal for a cease-fire. Ukraine has agreed to many different compromises, and this is documented in our draft agreements, in our 20-point plan," Zelenskyy wrote on social media.

The Kremlin, which believes it has the upper hand both on the battlefield and in the peace negotiations, has showed little willingness to compromise on its hard-line demands -- most of which predate the invasion.

Russia Claims Towns Taken

Ahead of the Zelenskyy-Trump meeting, Russia on December 27 claimed it had captured two additional towns in eastern Ukraine -- Myrnohrad and

.

Myrnohrad, in Ukraine's Donetsk, is close to Pokrovsk, an important logistical hub that Moscow has prioritized for nearly a year and claimed to have captured earlier this month. Hulyaypole is a frontline town in the Zaporizhzhya region.

"If the authorities in Kyiv don't want to settle this business peacefully, we'll resolve all the problems before us by military means," Putin said.

Russian claims could not immediately be verified. The Ukrainian military said it had beaten back Russian attacks on Myrnohrad and Hulyaipole.

Overnight on December 26-27, a Russian drone and missile strike on Kyiv killed two people and wounded at least 28 others, Ukrainian officials said.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko saidlarge swaths of city districts on the eastern banks of the Dnieper River were without power and water.

Ukraine's largest private power company said nearly a third of Kyiv had been left without electricity, later adding that 500,000 families were impacted following the Russian attack.

"Today, Russia demonstrated its reaction to peace negotiations.... They launched a massive attack on Ukraine," Zelenskyy said. "It's the very same Russia demonstrating this while [we're] on the way to peace negotiations."

"They do not want to end the war and seek to use every opportunity to cause Ukraine even greater suffering," he added.

French President Emmanuel Macron  one of Kyiv's key backers, along with the leaders of Britain and Germany  on December 27 reacted to the latest Russia's strikes on the Ukrainian capital, calling them proof that Russia wants to "prolong the war."

Russia denies targeting civilian sites despite widespread evidence of such attacks.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/zelenskyy-trump-peace-talks- ukraine-russia-carney/33634297.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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Next article: Latvia responds to Ghanas request over death of Ghanaian student

Featured

Canadian woman, Ghanaian boyfriend arrested for allegedly burning down Oyarifa apartment

GraphicOnline Dec - 28 - 2025 , 12:14 2 minutes read

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service has announced the arrest of two individuals, including a Canadian national, for allegedly causing extensive unlawful damage at a residence in Oyarifa.

In a press release dated December 27, 2025, the Service stated that "the Greater Accra Regional Police Command has arrested two suspects in connection with a case of causing unlawful damage at Oyarifa Anointed Down in the Greater Accra Region."

The suspects were identified as Jennifer Mae Tomlinson, a Canadian, and her Ghanaian boyfriend, Mohammed Issah. They were arrested on December 23, 2025 and December 25, 2025, respectively.

According to the police, the arrests followed "investigations into an arson incident at the apartment."

Preliminary police findings point to a deliberate act. "Preliminary investigations suggest that the suspects, who were tenants occupying the apartment, deliberately set the property ablaze on 23rd December 2025, completely destroying it without any apparent provocation," the release detailed.

The sequence of arrests saw Mohammed Issah apprehended first. "Suspect Mohammed Issah was arrested by the Ayimensah Abokobi Police on the same day the incident occurred," the statement explained.

His alleged accomplice, Jennifer Mae Tomlinson, initially evaded capture. She "went into hiding and was later arrested from her hideout on 25 December 2025."

Both individuals are now in custody as inquiries continue. The CID confirmed that "both suspects are currently in police custody assisting investigations, and they will be put before the court to face charges in accordance with the law."

The press release was signed by Chief Inspector Brigitte Babanawo, the Public Relations Officer for the Criminal Investigation Department.
Featured

Latvia responds to Ghanas request over death of Ghanaian student

Jemima Okang Addae Dec - 28 - 2025 , 11:47 2 minutes read

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has disclosed that the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has formally responded to Ghanas request for information regarding investigations into the tragic death of a Ghanaian student, Nana Agyei, in Latvia.

The development follows reports, including a widely circulated video, alleging the killing of a Ghanaian student identified as Nana Adjei in Latvia.

Upon receiving the information, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately initiated investigations through the appropriate diplomatic channels.

Mr Ablakwa has since met with the family of the late Nana Agyei Ahyia, assuring them of the governments commitment to uncovering the facts surrounding the incident. He further informed the family that a fact-finding mission would be dispatched from Ghanas Embassy in Germany, which holds concurrent accreditation to Latvia, to support the investigations.

According to the Minister, Latvian authorities have indicated their readiness to receive the Ghanaian delegation in Riga on January 20, 2026, to facilitate direct engagement and cooperation.

I promised regular updates in the interest of transparency, accountability and justice, and I shall continue to do just that, Mr Ablakwa stated. As I have reiterated, the Mahama administration values every Ghanaian life, whether at home or abroad, and we are prepared to do whatever it takes to safeguard the dignity of all Ghanaians.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has assured the public that it will continue to work closely with Latvian authorities and keep the family and the nation informed as investigations progress.
Dr. Nam T. Vo, PharmD, has been named Guam Pharmacist of the Year by the Guam Pharmacists Association, recognizing his exceptional leadership, dedication to patient safety, and outstanding contributions to the islands healthcare community, the Guam Memorial Hospital Authority said in a release.

Dr. Vo is a shining example of the clinical excellence and compassionate leadership that strengthen GMHA, said GMHA interim CEO and administrator Dr. Joleen M. Aguon in a statement. His dedication to patient safety and his unwavering service to our community reflect the very best of our hospital. We are incredibly proud of him and celebrate this well-earned recognition.

Dr. Vo, who has served GMHA since early 2016, has spent nearly a decade advancing pharmacy practice within the hospital and across Guam. His work spans medication safety, interdisciplinary collaboration, critical care support, pharmacy education, and workflow innovation. Colleagues describe him as a humble, steady, and transformative clinician whose influence has elevated the standard of care throughout GMHA.

Kwonil Jung, acting chief clinical pharmacist and Dr. Vos supervisor, praised the honor.

Nams recognition as Pharmacist of the Year reflects the kind of pharmacist he is every day  friendly, dependable, and committed to doing what is right for patients. He leads by example through his work ethic, attitude, and willingness to step in when others need support. His impact is felt not only in patient care, but across the pharmacy team, and this recognition is truly well deserved," Jung said.

The Guam Pharmacist of the Year Award honors individuals who demonstrate exceptional professional achievement, innovation in pharmacy practice, commitment to medication safety, and service to the community.

In accepting the award, Dr. Vo shared, I am deeply honored to be named Guams Pharmacist of the Year. This recognition reflects the work we do together for our community. To my colleagues at GMHA, thank you for your teamwork, support, and the compassion you show our patients every day. I am grateful to my mom for her love and sacrifices, and I thank God for guiding my steps and giving me strength. My hope is that this award inspires future pharmacists to lead with integrity, serve with heart, and continue uplifting the health of our island. Si Yuos Maase.

Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero praised Dr. Vos achievement.

Dr. Vo represents the best of Guams healthcare workforce. His commitment to patient safety, his leadership in pharmacy practice, and his service to our community are truly exemplary. This award reflects not only his expertise, but the heart he brings to caring for our people," she said.

Lt. Gov. Josh Tenorio added, Dr. Vos work makes a real difference in the lives of patients and in the strength of our hospital system. His professionalism and compassion reflect the high standard of care our community deserves. We congratulate him and thank him for his continued dedication to our island.
A worker works on the production line of Giiker in Shunde, Foshan City, south China's Guangdong Province, Oct. 29, 2025. As traditional toys are stuck in price and homogenization competition, a batch of smart educational toys is quietly opening up new markets at home and abroad.

In this emerging market segment, Giiker from Shunde of Foshan City, stands out. Founded in 2018, Giiker started with a Rubik's Cube product and has reached an annual gross merchandise volume of over 500 million yuan (about 71.36 million U.S. dollars) in just six years.

Founder Su Ziming said that unlike the traditional toy industry's strategy of pursuing rapid launch and extensive distribution of new products, Giiker prefers to spend one to two years refining a product, emphasizing a long-term life cycle and high quality.

Another outstanding company in this market segment is GANCUBE, a technology company also based in south China's Guangdong Province. It entered the market in 2014, and has now developed into a smart competitive platform covering smart hardware, AI algorithms, and IoT ecosystem. In the global smart competitive toy segment, GANCUBE holds approximately 20 percent of the market share.

Behind the rapid development lies its continuous R&D and manufacturing investment. GANCUBE has multiple production bases, including a digital factory of over 15,000 square meters. The team has a high proportion of R&D personnel, and it has even independently developed an automated cube production line that is rare in the industry. Its products are sold through platforms like Amazon and Tmall to over 100 countries and regions.

The rise of smart educational toys reflects not only the upgrade of China's toy industry but also the evolution of educational concepts and consumption trends. As "learning through play" becomes a consensus, this market segment is attracting more and more innovators. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian)

This photo taken in January 2024 shows a staff member (R) introducing a toy produced by Giiker to a client at an international toy fair in Nuremberg, Germany. As traditional toys are stuck in price and homogenization competition, a batch of smart educational toys is quietly opening up new markets at home and abroad. (Xinhua)

A R&D staff member tests an intelligent blocks toy at the headquarters of Giiker in Shunde, Foshan City, south China's Guangdong Province, Oct. 29, 2025. As traditional toys are stuck in price and homogenization competition, a batch of smart educational toys is quietly opening up new markets at home and abroad. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian)

This photo shows Rubik's Cube components at an intelligent manufacturing base of the technology company GANCUBE in Shunde, Foshan City, south China's Guangdong Province, Oct. 29, 2025. As traditional toys are stuck in price and homogenization competition, a batch of smart educational toys is quietly opening up new markets at home and abroad. (Xinhua/Huo Siying)

A customer shows a Super Blocks toy produced by Giiker at a supermarket in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Nov. 28, 2025. As traditional toys are stuck in price and homogenization competition, a batch of smart educational toys is quietly opening up new markets at home and abroad. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian)

Jiang Ganyuan, founder of the technology company GANCUBE, demonstrates the online gameplay of the smart Rubik's Cube in Shunde, Foshan City, south China's Guangdong Province, Oct. 29, 2025. As traditional toys are stuck in price and homogenization competition, a batch of smart educational toys is quietly opening up new markets at home and abroad. (Xinhua/Huo Siying)

This photo shows the automated production line of Rubik's Cube at an intelligent manufacturing base of the technology company GANCUBE in Shunde, Foshan City, south China's Guangdong Province, Oct. 29, 2025. As traditional toys are stuck in price and homogenization competition, a batch of smart educational toys is quietly opening up new markets at home and abroad. (Xinhua/Huo Siying)

Su Ziming (C), founder of Giiker, discusses the company's smart educational toy products with employees in Shunde, Foshan City, south China's Guangdong Province, Oct. 29, 2025. As traditional toys are stuck in price and homogenization competition, a batch of smart educational toys is quietly opening up new markets at home and abroad. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian)

Workers work on the production line of Giiker in Shunde, Foshan City, south China's Guangdong Province, Oct. 29, 2025. As traditional toys are stuck in price and homogenization competition, a batch of smart educational toys is quietly opening up new markets at home and abroad. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian)

An employee of the technology company GANCUBE participates in a Rubik's Cube competition held within the company in Shunde, Foshan City, south China's Guangdong Province, Oct. 29, 2025. As traditional toys are stuck in price and homogenization competition, a batch of smart educational toys is quietly opening up new markets at home and abroad. (Xinhua/Huo Siying)

A staff member of Giiker introduces an intelligent blocks toy via livestreaming in Shunde, Foshan City, south China's Guangdong Province, Oct. 29, 2025. As traditional toys are stuck in price and homogenization competition, a batch of smart educational toys is quietly opening up new markets at home and abroad. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian)

Staff members of Giiker discuss the packaging of products in Shunde, Foshan City, south China's Guangdong Province, Oct. 29, 2025. As traditional toys are stuck in price and homogenization competition, a batch of smart educational toys is quietly opening up new markets at home and abroad. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian)

Employees of the technology company GANCUBE participate in a Rubik's Cube competition held within the company in Shunde, Foshan City, south China's Guangdong Province, Oct. 29, 2025. As traditional toys are stuck in price and homogenization competition, a batch of smart educational toys is quietly opening up new markets at home and abroad. (Xinhua/Huo Siying)

Jiang Ganyuan, founder of the technology company GANCUBE, shows the built-in sensor and bluetooth chip inside a smart Rubik's Cube in Shunde, Foshan City, south China's Guangdong Province, Oct. 29, 2025. As traditional toys are stuck in price and homogenization competition, a batch of smart educational toys is quietly opening up new markets at home and abroad. (Xinhua/Huo Siying)

Children play an intelligent military chess produced by Giiker outside a stadium in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, Dec. 27, 2025. As traditional toys are stuck in price and homogenization competition, a batch of smart educational toys is quietly opening up new markets at home and abroad. (Xinhua/Huo Siying)
Reverent. Powerful. Prayerful. Needed.

The spiritual & cultural presence spurred throughout the Misan Gayu/ Simbang Gabi/ Rooster Mass is immense. Faith, hope, love transcends pew to pew. St. Anthony St. Victor Church welcomed us to start the day with the roosters as we prepared for the birth of Jesus.

A Filipino tradition started over 50 years ago, Misan Gayu celebrates light shining through darkness as people go to church guided by the parol  stars of different lights, sizes, shapes.

Linda T. Angeles, St. Anthony St. Victor Church office manager, has provided steady leadership for this event for 36 years. Like an ever-ready battery, Linda connects with individuals to make sure the offerings are in order, the altar servers are in position, the procession is in order, the choir is set, the tables are set, the lights are just right. She smiles, listens, nods. Her joy is contagious as she & her team get the work done.

The church was filled with chairs in the wings. Each morning, an estimated 500 people found a parking spot. Like all of Guam, parking is challenging  but even more so in the dark at 4 in the morning. Family asked I skip this year. But I went. Ryans concern was appreciated when I said Ill park across the street  this was after the most tragic death of cyclist John Haas along the same roadway. Eventually, I discovered where to park safely. It all worked out.

I have a superb Guardian Angel. And, truthfully, the Blessed Virgin Mary holds my hand all the time.

Father Carl started the 9 days with the message that God is worth the sacrifice. Indeed. Being with church buddies grounds me. I dont know everyones name, but I know their eyes. And their smiles. And their nods. As God watches from the cross, the connectivity spurs a hopeful day.

Pale Mike told us God is with us. Even when it doesnt seem like it. Having faith particularly when the visible seems to outweigh the invisible, God is with us. This anchors me, always.

Archbishop Ryan celebrated a Mass. Clearly, his familiarity is appreciated. He had the congregation chuckling as he spoke in Filipino. Last year, about 80% of the Mass and music was in Filipino. My takeaway was God reminding me what it is like to feel alienated  even when unintentional.

This year, the priests balanced delivery in CHamoru, English, and Filipino. The incredible choir did, too. My takeaway was God reminding me what it is like to feel included  and the work to accomplish inclusion.

When the songs were in Filipino, the congregations voices transcended powerfully into the heavens. Each time, my tears spilled. The profound strength of their faith, hope, and love is palpable.

This year, a cadre of Archdiocesan deacon candidates assisted the priests. There were about 20 altar servers. There were lay ministers who organized, read, and greeted. It was good to see Msgr. Bibi, Pale Ron, Father Joel, Father Gerry, Father Will, Father Junee.

The Philippine Consulate General, Rambies Restaurant, Alliance of the Holy Family International, Legion of Mary  Tamuning, Divine Mercy Choir were generous sponsors and partners.

I always had to head home before Mass ended to Eric but if you check out St. Anthonys Facebook page, you can see the love and laughter as pictures were taken, food enjoyed, hugs and smiles shared. God celebrates!

Such a great way to end a year and welcome 2026! Imagine that. Heres praying that 2026 is filled with light and love through goodness by you and others. God is with us.




Haiti - Mexico : Launch of the Makaya - Cuitlahuac University Chair





As part of an Academic Collaboration Agreement, the University of Haiti (UEH) and the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) signed an agreement earlier this month establishing the "Makaya-Cuitlahuac" Haiti-Mexico Chair (named after two heroes of the Haitian and Aztec resistance).



The "Makaya-Cuitlahuac" Chair offers UEH and UNAM the opportunity to undertake studies and research on major issues facing contemporary societies. This will provide an opportunity to organize conferences, seminars, research stays, and to implement joint projects in priority areas such as : art and bio-resilience, the fight against hunger and poverty, development alternatives, cultural heritage conservation, human rights, natural and social disasters, discrimination, exclusion and racism, human mobility and forced displacement, participation in international and regional organizations, victims of political regimes and historical memory, gender and violence perpetrated by armed groups, etc...



This five-year renewable agreement marks an important step in building an integrated and collaborative Latin American and Caribbean academic space. The Chair will be hosted alternately by the State University of Haiti (UEH) and the National Autonomous University of Madagascar (UNAM), beginning with UNAM.



During the signing ceremony of the Convention, Rector Predelus expressed his gratitude to the Ambassador of Mexico to Haiti, Jose de Jesus Cisneros Chavez, the Ambassador of Haiti to Mexico, Hubert Labbe, the Director of the Center for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean at UNAM, Dr. Gerardo Torres Salcido, and the Director for the Caribbean at the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jose Luis Hernandez Estrada, for their efforts in implementing this project, which is of great importance to both countries.



Recognizing the historic significance of this agreement for both institutions, Predelus stated that this UEHUNAM cooperation extends beyond a purely administrative framework. It enshrines the commitment of both parties to build together a more promising academic future for their students, faculty, and respective communities. This chair promotes a strategy aimed at building balanced partnerships and finding solutions adapted to the realities of Haiti and Mexico.



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - News : Zapping...





National Road #1 Blocked by the Population

Since December 25, several barricades erected by protesters have blocked traffic on National Route #1 between Saint-Marc and L'Estere. They accuse the government of exploiting insecurity for political and economic gain. The KILBA, KORESA, and KONBA, supported by local associations such as SPVDA, Pont-Sonde firstly and the Pont-Sonde Resistance, have decided to paralyze the department until order and peace are restored. Hundreds of motorists are stranded by the barricades and can no longer reach their destinations via this strategic road.



A Suspect Arrested in the Murder of "Mambo Witch"

Following the lynching in Beaumont on Saturday, December 20, 2025, of Bernadette Pretile, alias "Mambo Witch" accused of being a werewolf, and two of her relatives (Cecilia Andre and Manio Auguste) https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-46484-haiti-news-zapping.html, a first suspect, Belfort Savien (29 years old), suspected of having participated in the triple murder, was arrested on the night of Friday, December 27, 2025, by agents of the Grand'Anse Departmental Judicial Police Service.



Jacmel : Numerous Roadworks Projects

As part of the Road Maintenance Fund (FER), several roadworks projects are currently underway in the city of Jacmel to facilitate the mobility of residents in their daily activities, while also improving the city's image and attractiveness. Among the areas affected by the work are : Lavoute, Orangers, Road of Cap Rouge, Street Massillon Coicou (leading to the cemetery), Avenue Baranquilla (extension), Siloe, and Street Alcius Charmant.



Delmas : Mobile Clinic

On Friday, December 26, 2025, at the Delmas City Hall, to temporarily alleviate overcrowding at the University Hospital, the Family Health Directorate of the Ministry of Public Health organized a mobile clinic offering various services, including dental care, pediatric and obstetric consultations, and care related to communicable diseases.



Saint-Pierre de Corail Hospital : Surgeries Resume

Activities have resumed at the Saint-Pierre de Corail Community Referral Hospital. The hospital's surgical department has been restarted under the direction of Dr. Boutroce Gally Pierre, Departmental Director of Health for Grande Anse, with the support of the Minister of Public Health, Bertrand Sinal. As part of this recovery effort, 22 patients underwent surgery, including 14 hernia repairs, 7 hydrocele repairs, and one partial hysterectomy. This initiative is coordinated by Dr. Josephine Chery, the hospital director, who is receiving technical support from the Cuban brigade.



Doctors Without Borders Report

Between January and November 2025, Doctors Without Borders conducted more than 107,000 medical consultations in Haiti and treated nearly 20,000 patients in the emergency room.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















BEIJING, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Despite the winter chill, a flea market in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality is heating up as a favorite destination for young treasure hunters attracted by a sea of vintage jewelry and nostalgic trinkets.

"The number of young consumers is increasing every year, and lately, we've seen many more foreign visitors," said Zhang Qiuling, a shop owner running a second-hand jewelry shop in the market.

Zhang's business is part of a broader trend that has transformed the traditional market into a "social media-famous" destination, with daily foot traffic peaking at over 20,000 people.

Once associated with "thriftiness," second-hand shopping in China has undergone a massive makeover, evolving into a trendy, eco-friendly lifestyle choice for the younger generation.

FROM "BARGAIN" TO "CHIC"

In downtown Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, a three-story circular store operated by Xianyu, China's leading second-hand trading platform, has become a weekend staple for locals.

For a Nanjing resident surnamed Wang, the store is a "second classroom" for her eight-year-old daughter. "It's a great place to cultivate concepts of green consumption and financial management in children," she said. Since its opening earlier this year, the store has averaged 5,000 items consigned per month, with 70 percent sold within the same month.

The appeal lies in a unique blend of cost-effectiveness and the thrill of the "hidden find." In central China's Wuhan, a refurbished sweeping robot was snapped up for 599 yuan (about 85.1 U.S. dollars) in a livestream, less than 20 percent of its original price.

For Liu, an aspiring entrepreneur in Chongqing, the flea market provided a lifeline. By purchasing high-quality used kitchen equipment, he slashed his startup costs for a new barbecue restaurant by over 50 percent compared to buying new.

"The joy is in the rarity," said Zhang Junyi, a "Gen Z" blogger who travels across the country to visit second-hand markets. His home is decorated with his "trophies," vintage sculptures and old wooden chairs that tell a story.

A TRILLION-YUAN INDUSTRY

The surge in individual interest is mirrored by staggering industrial growth. In 2024, the transaction value of China's second-hand goods reached 1.69 trillion yuan, up 28 percent year on year. Over the past six years, the sector has maintained a compound annual growth rate of 12 percent.

Wuhan, a national pilot city for second-hand goods circulation, exemplifies the scale. The city's Jinkai second-hand market recorded over 130,000 orders in the first ten months, while a specialized market for used kitchenware is expected to see annual sales exceed 100 million yuan.

While the industry's rapid expansion has also brought challenges, local governments are actively steering it toward a more standardized, "experience-driven" future.

"The transformation of the second-hand market is obvious, with many physical markets gaining a new lease on life," said He Yadong, an official with the Ministry of Commerce. He noted that the next step for national pilots is to focus on new formats, such as immersive offline experience stores.

Chang Dalei, executive vice president of the China Resale Goods Trading Association, believed the integration of digital technology and the deepening of green consumption habits would be pushed to a new level.

For the young shoppers in Chongqing and Nanjing, the "circular economy" is no longer just a policy term; it's the excitement of finding a vintage 1994 watch that matches their birth year, or the satisfaction of giving an old icebox a "second life. 
The storm swept across the country on Saturday, bringing violent wind gusts, heavy snowfall and freezing rain. At its peak, electricity supply was cut to more than 180,000 households in over 200 municipalities, according to data from the Energy Industry outage map.

More than 100,000 households across Finland remained without electricity on Sunday after storm Hannes caused widespread damage to power networks, transport infrastructure and buildings. Energy companies warned that full restoration would extend well into next week.

By Sunday morning, conditions had eased, but damage on the ground slowed repair work.

Hannes placed heavy strain on emergency services. Rescue departments across western and central Finland responded to thousands of call-outs related to fallen trees, damaged roofs and blocked roads. In Pirkanmaa alone, emergency crews handled almost 600 storm-related tasks overnight. Across Satakunta, Central Finland, Ostrobothnia and coastal regions, the total number of missions exceeded 1,500.

In several cases, trees fell onto houses, though authorities confirmed that no serious injuries were reported. In Helsinki, fire crews dealt with around ten incidents, mainly involving fallen trees.

The storm also disrupted rail traffic. Fintraffics rail traffic control centre reported extensive damage between Kokkola and Ylivieska, leading to delays and cancellations that affected Sunday morning services. Train traffic between Jamsa and Pieksamaki was suspended due to storm damage at Saakoski and Lievestuore, with buses replacing trains. Several long-distance night trains from Helsinki to Rovaniemi were delayed by around three hours.

Air travel in Lapland was hit hard on Saturday as strong crosswinds forced the suspension of operations at Kittila, Ivalo and Rovaniemi airports. Two aircraft slid into snowbanks at Kittila Airport due to wind during taxiing. No injuries were reported. Flight operations gradually resumed later in the evening, but delays continued into Sunday.

Passengers faced chaotic conditions at northern airports. In Rovaniemi, cancelled and delayed flights left large numbers of travellers stranded. Hotels in the city reported that phones rang continuously as tourists searched for accommodation in a region already close to full capacity during the winter season.

The storm caused its most severe impact on electricity distribution networks. Power grid operator Elenia described the situation as its worst major disruption in a decade.

Repair work was limited overnight due to safety concerns, as fallen trees and unstable structures made forest work hazardous. Crews focused on isolating fault areas and restoring electricity to unaffected sections of the grid. This approach restored power to about 30,000 customers during the night and early morning.

The Finnish Meteorological Institute said storm conditions would fully subside by mid-morning on Sunday.

HT
Investigators entered the Verkhovna Rada offices in Kyiv on 27 December following attempts by security forces to block their access. The operation targeted the offices of the Parliamentary Transport and Infrastructure Committee, located in the government quarter.

Ukraines anti-corruption agencies have launched a large-scale investigation into members of parliament allegedly receiving bribes in exchange for their votes. The raids, conducted by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutors Office (SAPO), focused on lawmakers from Volodymyr Zelensky s ruling Servant of the People party.

State security guards initially refused entry to the anti-corruption teams. NABU later stated that the guards had resisted efforts to carry out the investigation, while the State Security Department claimed it had been verifying the identities of NABUs civilian witnesses.

The Kyiv offices of the ruling party, housed in the Parkovyi Exhibition Centre, were also searched.

Ukrainian media outlet Zn.ua reported that Yuriy Kisel, head of the parliamentary Transport Committee and an MP from Zelenskys party, was the central figure in the investigation. According to the report, NABU had placed covert listening devices in Kisels office over a prolonged period.

NABU has not officially confirmed any of the names under investigation. Still, reports from Ukrainska Pravda and Zn.ua claimed that, alongside Kisel, MPs Yevhen Pyvovarov, Ihor Nehulevskyi, and Olga Savchenko had been named as suspects in the case. None of the three has issued a public statement or responded to media enquiries.

Ukrainska Pravda added that the lawmakers were allegedly given envelopes of cash inside the parliamentary building as part of a coordinated bribery operation aimed at influencing legislative votes.

The scandal comes only weeks after a separate corruption investigation involving Energoatom, the state nuclear company, implicated another of Zelenskys long-time associates, Timur Mindich. Authorities have accused Mindich of operating a $100 million embezzlement scheme. Following searches at his residence and office, Andriy Yermak, the presidents chief of staff, resigned. The Justice and Energy Ministers also stepped down.

Mindich fled to Israel shortly before the charges were made public.

HT
This photo shows a street during a power outage in Kiev, capital of Ukraine, Dec. 27, 2025.

At least two persons were killed and 46 others were injured in Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital and its outskirts in the early hours of Saturday, local authorities said. (Xinhua/Li Dongxu)

This photo shows a street during a power outage in Kiev, capital of Ukraine, Dec. 27, 2025.

At least two persons were killed and 46 others were injured in Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital and its outskirts in the early hours of Saturday, local authorities said. (Xinhua/Li Dongxu)

Rescuers work at a damaged building in Kiev, capital of Ukraine, Dec. 27, 2025.

At least two persons were killed and 46 others were injured in Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital and its outskirts in the early hours of Saturday, local authorities said. (Xinhua/Li Dongxu)

People wait in line to buy food at a supermarket in Kiev, capital of Ukraine, Dec. 27, 2025.

At least two persons were killed and 46 others were injured in Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital and its outskirts in the early hours of Saturday, local authorities said. (Xinhua/Li Dongxu)

Rescuers work at a damaged building in Kiev, capital of Ukraine, Dec. 27, 2025.

At least two persons were killed and 46 others were injured in Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital and its outskirts in the early hours of Saturday, local authorities said. (Xinhua/Li Dongxu)

People check damaged houses in Kiev region, Ukraine, Dec. 27, 2025.

At least two persons were killed and 46 others were injured in Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital and its outskirts in the early hours of Saturday, local authorities said. (Photo by Peter Druk/Xinhua)

This photo taken on Dec. 27, 2025 shows a damaged building in Kiev region, Ukraine.

At least two persons were killed and 46 others were injured in Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital and its outskirts in the early hours of Saturday, local authorities said. (Photo by Peter Druk/Xinhua)

Rescuers work at a damaged building in Kiev, capital of Ukraine, Dec. 27, 2025.

At least two persons were killed and 46 others were injured in Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital and its outskirts in the early hours of Saturday, local authorities said. (Xinhua/Li Dongxu)

This photo shows a building during a power outage in Kiev, capital of Ukraine, Dec. 27, 2025.

At least two persons were killed and 46 others were injured in Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital and its outskirts in the early hours of Saturday, local authorities said. (Xinhua/Li Dongxu)

This photo shows buildings during a power outage in Kiev, capital of Ukraine, Dec. 27, 2025.

At least two persons were killed and 46 others were injured in Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital and its outskirts in the early hours of Saturday, local authorities said. (Xinhua/Li Dongxu)

People walk past a coffee shop powered by an emergency generator in Kiev, capital of Ukraine, Dec. 27, 2025.

At least two persons were killed and 46 others were injured in Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital and its outskirts in the early hours of Saturday, local authorities said. (Xinhua/Li Dongxu)
KABUL, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Afghan police have arrested eight individuals on charges of production and smuggling of narcotics in northern Afghanistan's Jawzjan province, local media outlet Tolo news reported on Sunday.

According to the report, provincial police conducted targeted operations that led to the arrest of the suspects and the seizure of a significant quantity of illicit drugs, including hashish and heroin. The drugs were reportedly discovered at locations linked to the detained individuals.

The arrests are part of ongoing efforts by Afghan authorities to combat illegal production, trafficking, and distribution of narcotics across the country. 
Ashley Park declares crocheting as her personal Roman Empire.

Emily in Paris star Ashley Park

The star of Netflix's Emily in Paris - of which season five was shot in the Italian capital - adores her "nerdy" hobby so much, she has already begun her little gifts for the cast.

Ashley - who plays titular Emily Cooper's (Lily Collins') best friend Mindy Chen - told People: "I just finished an emotional-support succulent for Lily [Collins] that I was going to give to her at the beginning of press.

"And I just, I'm already thinking about, I've already started mini projects for everybody. So currently, it's that. It's a little nerdy, but that is so cute."

In an appearance on Good Morning America on December 8, Ashley, 34, revealed she had been crocheting for Lily's 10-month-old daughter, Tove, whom Lily has with her 42-year-old husband, director Charlie McDowell.

Ashley joked that her hobby could lead her to start a business on the e-commerce website Etsy - where people sell unique items they have made.

The star also gifted 50-year-old actress Drew Barrymore a "beautiful" crochet coaster, which featured daisies, during a recent appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show.

Season five of Emily in Paris sees Emily move to Rome to open an outpost for the marketing agency Agence Grateau and to spend more time with her Italian boyfriend, the owner of luxury cashmere brand Umberto Muratori, Marcello (Eugenio Franceschini).

However, Emily does return to the French capital later in the series.

And before it dropped on Netflix on December 18, Ashley and Lily opened up about their off-screen friendship.

Ashley told People: "My favourite thing is this adult relationship or friendship ... we came into each other's lives where neither of us needed anything from each other.

"And we still don't. We could go weeks or minutes without talking. But I know that if I ever really need somebody or something - and even if I don't even know how to ask for it - she's always there to offer. And vice versa."

Lily added: "Ashley is the only person I know that when she feels something, I feel it, and that can be excitement and happiness, and that can be anger, that can be sorrow.

"And I can even get it from a text message, or her songs or anything. I've just never had that. There's this empathy between the two of us that from day one was so connective."
BAGHDAD, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi experts have said that China's development philosophy, characterized by high-quality growth and a people-centered approach, provides a blueprint for modernization, offering a clear path for Iraq to address economic challenges and achieve development.

"China has managed to develop its economy both quantitatively and qualitatively, which greatly impresses the world," Hussein Miqdad, professor of economics at Al-Iraqia University, said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

China's success largely stems from its adherence to scientific principles, along with its focus on innovation and high-quality development, Miqdad added.

"We see modern and environmental-friendly Chinese cars and high-quality products exporting to more and more countries, including Iraq," the professor noted, stressing that the Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by China in 2013, enables participating countries to benefit directly from China's development expertise.

Over the years, Chinese enterprises have been deeply involved in the development of various sectors in Iraq, including energy, power, transportation, and other infrastructure.

What also inspires Miqdad is the people-centered approach. In his view, this approach is most vividly reflected in China's historic victory in eradicating absolute poverty.

For Iraqi political researcher Nadhum Ali Abdullah, China presents a new modernization model focused on partnership and mutually beneficial cooperation, which is totally different from the exploitative approach of "the Western powers."

China is a "trusted partner" for developing nations that seek political stability and independence and a stabilizing force in the Middle East, Abdullah said.

According to the researcher, China collaborates with regional countries to promote political and economic stability, contributes to reconstruction in ways that serve shared objectives, and is committed to building partnerships that enhance international security and peace.

China has proven the viability of its development philosophy, and its success offers Iraq a valuable reference for building a strong and sustainable economy, said Yasir Mutlag al-Jiboury, head of Iraq's Fawasil Foundation for Research and Studies. 
A screen shot taken from a video released by the White House shows U.S. President Donald Trump meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, the United States, Dec. 28, 2025. The two leaders met in Florida on Sunday on the latest draft of a peace plan aimed at ending the Ukraine crisis. (Xinhua)

WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday refused to say whether he expects a peace deal over the Ukraine crisis to be reached by the end of 2025.

"I don't have deadlines. You know what my deadline is? Getting the war ended," Trump told reporters at the start of his meeting with visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

Asked whether their Sunday talks will lead to a peace deal, Trump said: "It depends -- I do believe we have the makings of a deal," noting that the Ukraine crisis has proved difficult to solve.

Zelensky said his talks with Trump will focus on the latest draft of a 20-point peace plan and the sequencing of a settlement.

"It's very important our teams talk about strategy -- how to make step-by-step, and to bring peace closer," Zelensky said.

Ahead of the meeting with Zelensky, Trump said on Truth Social that he "had a good and very productive telephone call" with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

During the phone call, Trump and Putin agreed that a temporary ceasefire would only prolong the Ukraine crisis, Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov said.

The two presidents "hold broadly similar views that the temporary ceasefire proposed by the Ukrainians and Europeans, under the pretext of preparing for a referendum or other pretexts, will only prolong the conflict and risk a resumption of hostilities," Ushakov said.

During the Florida talks, Trump and Zelensky are expected to discuss possible ceasefire arrangements, a proposed demilitarized zone, the management of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, territorial control of the Donbas region, and security guarantees following the end of the crisis. 

This file photo shows a view of the Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met in Florida on Sunday on the latest draft of a peace plan aimed at ending the Ukraine crisis. (Xinhua)
TEHRAN, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Sunday successfully launched three domestically produced satellites into space for agriculture and environmental research from a Russian launch site, marking the seventh time the country has used Russian rockets for satellite deployment, the official news agency IRNA reported.

The remote sensing satellites -- Zafar-2, Paya and Kowsar-1.5 -- were launched into a low-Earth orbit 500 km above the Earth by a Soyuz-2.1b rocket from the Vostochny Cosmodrome in eastern Russia, according to IRNA. The Russian rocket, lifting off at 16:48 Tehran time (1318 GMT), also carried 49 other satellites, including a pair of Aist-2T, Russian optical Earth observation satellites.

Iran's Space Agency chief Hassan Salarieh said the launch "reflects the expanding scope of Iran's space program and the rapid growth of new players in this field."

Made by Iran Electronics Industries, Paya is considered one of Iran's most advanced domestically built imaging satellite to date and the country's heaviest homegrown satellite, IRNA said. Weighing about 150 kg, it uses artificial intelligence to enhance image resolution and is expected to support water resource management, environmental monitoring, and geographic mapping.

Zafar-2 satellite, designed and built at Iran University of Science and Technology, is made of aluminum, weighing between 100 and 135 kg, the report added, noting it aims to transmit high-resolution images for monitoring natural resources and environment, agriculture and crisis management.

Kowsar-1.5, produced by Iran's Space Omid company, is capable of capturing images with a resolution of about 4 meters, enabling space imaging and collection of data from Earth sensors simultaneously, IRNA said, adding it can be used for precision agriculture as well as water resources, environment and territorial monitoring.

Speaking at a ceremony in the Iranian capital Tehran to celebrate the launch, Iran's Minister of Information and Communications Technology Seyed Sattar Hashemi said developing space industry was a "strategic necessity" for the country.

In an address to reporters on Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi stressed Iran's satellite program was strictly civilian for scientific and peaceful use, and like other countries, Tehran had a legitimate right to pursue satellite programs for non-military purposes, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported. 
RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Five people, including two minors, were killed and nine others injured in a head-on car collision on Sunday in Brazil's southeastern state of Minas Gerais, said local authorities.

The crash occurred early Sunday morning on the BR-040 federal highway near the municipality of Paracatu in northwestern Minas Gerais.

According to the federal highway police, a car traveling toward the capital, Brasilia, crossed into the opposite lane and collided head-on with another vehicle.

Those injured were transported to nearby hospitals for treatment.

The BR-040 is one of Brazil's main federal highways linking the central and southeastern regions and sees heavy traffic, especially during holidays. 
MEXICO CITY, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- A man fatally stabbed nine people, including children, in a town near Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname, local media reported Sunday.

The attack began since Saturday evening in the town of Meerzorg, where the man stabbed his family members and neighbors, killing at least nine people, including his four children, according to media reports.

The man has been arrested by police, while his motive remains unknown.

Surinamese President Jennifer Simons expressed shock over the stabbing attack in a post on social media.

"At a time when family and friends should be holding on to and supporting each other, we are confronted with the harsh reality that there is another side to the world," she said on Facebook. "I wish all the bereaved much strength, courage, and comfort during this unimaginably difficult time." 
TOKYO, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese government has recently approved a draft budget for fiscal 2026, with defense spending set at about 9.04 trillion yen (about 58 billion U.S. dollars), marking a new record high and sparking public concern.

An editorial published on Saturday by Japan's Shimbun Akahata noted that the country's defense budget stood at 5.4 trillion yen in fiscal 2022 and has surged by 3.6 trillion yen in just four years. The newspaper said the latest figure is comparable to the 3.5 trillion yen allocated for measures to address the declining birthrate and the 3.8 trillion yen earmarked for nursing care payments in the budget proposal, warning that rising military spending will inevitably squeeze livelihood-related expenditures, which makes it a budget of "military prosperity at the expense of people's livelihoods."

The Ryukyu Shimpo said in an editorial on Saturday that the armament plans reflected in the new fiscal year's defense budget seriously deviate from Japan's "exclusively defense-oriented" policy and will aggravate military tensions.

Atsushi Koketsu, professor emeritus at Yamaguchi University, told Xinhua that the budget proposal is deeply disappointing, as it fails to give sufficient consideration to people's livelihood and stability while significantly increasing defense spending.

For decades, Japan capped its annual defense budget at around 1 percent of GDP, roughly 5 trillion yen, reflecting its postwar pacifist stance under the war-renouncing Constitution. But the government, despite widespread opposition, set a goal in 2022 of raising total defense outlays to about 43 trillion yen from fiscal 2023 through 2027 and hiking defense-related spending to 2 percent of GDP by fiscal 2027.

Since fiscal 2023, Japan's annual defense budget has successively exceeded 6 trillion yen, 7 trillion yen, 8 trillion yen, and 9 trillion yen. (1 Japanese yen equals about 0.006 USD) 
* Territorial disputes and diplomatic missteps cast a shadow over regional harmony in 2025. Longstanding border tensions between nations erupted into multiple military flare-ups across the Asia-Pacific.

* Despite occasional tensions in the region, solidarity remains the prevailing focus: Asia-Pacific countries stood side by side, tackling pressing challenges such as natural disasters and climate upheavals, while embracing promising new opportunities.

* Looking ahead, while geopolitical uncertainties persist, the region is widely expected to remain a cornerstone of global stability and economic growth in 2026.

HONG KONG, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- In 2025, the Asia-Pacific region stood at a crossroads of contradiction: border skirmishes and diplomatic rifts tested its stability, yet multilateral cooperation and economic integration forged a pathway to resilience.

As military clashes flared in pockets of the region, geopolitical missteps fueled unease, and natural disasters unleashed chaos and casualties, enhanced regional frameworks such as APEC and ASEAN, alongside strengthened bilateral partnerships, emerged as vital counterweights, fostering innovation, collective action and deeper trade ties.

UNDERLYING TENSIONS

Territorial disputes and diplomatic missteps cast a shadow over regional harmony in 2025. Longstanding border tensions between nations erupted into multiple military flare-ups across the Asia-Pacific.

In May, India launched airstrikes on Pakistani targets in retaliation for an April attack that claimed 26 lives at a popular tourist site in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The two countries exchanged military strikes before agreeing to a ceasefire.

Also in May, clashes broke out in a disputed border area between Thailand and Cambodia. Fresh armed conflicts reignited in the region in late July. Though the two sides signed a joint peace declaration in October, hostilities resumed less than two months later, with both parties accusing each other of initiating the attacks. On Saturday, the two sides signed a joint statement agreeing to a ceasefire at the Special General Border Committee meeting.

Thai Defense Minister Natthapon Nakpanich (R) holds ceasefire talks with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Tea Seiha at a border checkpoint in Chanthaburi Province, Thailand, Dec. 27, 2025. Xinhua/Sun Weitong)

Provocative diplomatic and military postures further stoked regional anxiety.

Shortly after taking office in October, Japan's new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made erroneous and dangerous remarks on Taiwan, drawing sharp rebukes both at home and abroad, most notably from China and other regional partners.

"China's stance is very clear: We urge the Japanese side to reflect on and correct its wrongdoing, and retract Prime Minister Takaichi's erroneous remarks. This is an issue of principle," a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman has said.

She also pushed for discussions on revising Japan's three non-nuclear principles, further heightening security concerns among neighboring countries.

Lee Chang-ho, chairman of the Korea-China Exchange Promotion Committee, condemned Takaichi's comments as irresponsible, as they "fundamentally undermined Northeast Asia's security."

The Taiwan question must be handled on the basis of the one-China principle, which has long been acknowledged by the international community, including Japan, Lee said. "Remarks from a leader that disregard this principle are detrimental not only to Japan but also to the trust and stability of the entire Asia region."

GREATER INTEGRATION

Despite occasional tensions in the region, solidarity remains the prevailing focus: Asia-Pacific countries stood side by side, tackling pressing challenges such as natural disasters and climate upheavals, while embracing promising new opportunities.

A devastating 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar on March 28, inflicting heavy casualties and widespread property damage across Myanmar and neighboring Thailand. The disaster triggered an immediate, coordinated regional response, with China taking the lead in providing humanitarian aid and rescue support.

Climate-related disasters further underscored the need for cross-border cooperation. Catastrophic floods brought on by typhoons swept through several Southeast and South Asian nations, killing over 1,000 people and displacing millions. Regional relief efforts were swiftly mobilized, with emergency supplies, technical teams and financial assistance delivered to the affected areas.

Houses are damaged in Ninh Binh Province, Vietnam, Sept. 29, 2025. (VNA via Xinhua)

Beyond collective disaster relief, the region rallied to push the boundaries of cooperation into new fields.

APEC, an anchor of regional economic cooperation, integrated artificial intelligence (AI) and demographic change into the core agenda of its 2025 Economic Leaders' Meeting. The meeting adopted an AI initiative aimed at helping the region unlock AI's potential as a catalyst for economic growth while addressing challenges in the rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Economic integration reached new heights with the conclusion of negotiations on the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) 3.0 Upgrade Protocol. This landmark agreement is set to deepen economic ties between the world's second-largest economy and the ASEAN bloc, injecting fresh growth momentum into the Asia-Pacific amid rising protectionism from some Western countries.

The CAFTA 3.0 will not only be an important engine driving the region toward more inclusive and resilient growth, but also play a key role in strengthening regional economic resilience and withstanding external shocks, according to Phan Cao Nhat Anh, deputy head of South Asia, West Asia and Africa Research Institute at the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences.

BUCKING UNCERTAINTY

Looking ahead, while geopolitical uncertainties persist, the region is widely expected to remain a cornerstone of global stability and economic growth in 2026.

In its 2026 annual economic outlook, the Mastercard Economics Institute (MEI) said, "Asia Pacific's growth remains broadly stable even as the global economy adapts to rapid tariff changes, accelerating AI investment, and evolving consumer trends."

People visit the 2025 Global Artificial Intelligence Machines and Electronics Expo (AIE) in Macao, south China, Dec. 4, 2025. (Xinhua)

Despite global headwinds, MEI expects GDP growth across Asia Pacific to hold steady in 2026. "Given its centrality to global trade, Asia Pacific has shown remarkable resilience at a time when tariff uncertainty and shifting supply chains have threatened to upend international commerce," said David Mann, chief economist for Asia Pacific at Mastercard.

"Asia and the Pacific's solid economic fundamentals are underpinning robust export performance and steady growth, despite a global trade environment clouded by historic levels of uncertainty over the past year," said Albert Park, chief economist at Asian Development Bank.

"Trade agreements have partly eased that uncertainty, but external and other challenges could still weigh on the outlook. Governments in the region should continue to foster open trade and investment to sustain resilience and growth," Park added.

China's push for greater openness and global collaboration was prominently showcased at this year's APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting.

With its steadfast commitment to high-level opening up and strong innovative capabilities, the world's second-largest economy is well-positioned to drive a prosperous future for the Asia-Pacific region and sustain its role as a hub of global economic growth.

Furthermore, China's upcoming APEC presidency is expected to further reinforce regional resilience. With openness, innovation and cooperation as the three priorities for the APEC "China Year," and "Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together" as its theme, China is set to make greater contributions to forging a more interconnected, prosperous and resilient Asia-Pacific.

"We live in very uncertain times," said Eduardo Pedrosa, executive director of the APEC Secretariat. "But the uncertainty can be addressed through dialogue and increasing understanding." Enditem

(Video reporters: Li Yuhui, Xu Langxuan, Zhang Zhongkai, Gao Yang, Tang Peipei, Wu Xia, Shu Chang; video editors: Hong liang, Zheng Qingbin, Zhang Mocheng)
COLOMBO, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan Police are investigating a hoax security alert involving a passenger aircraft that arrived at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) on Sunday morning, police said.

The alert was triggered by an email sent to the airport's official address claiming that four individuals on board a flight from Doha, Qatar, were preparing to carry out an explosion. The aircraft landed at BIA at 8:27 a.m. with 245 passengers.

Airport authorities contacted the pilot after receiving the message, who replied that no security threat was identified on board. Despite this, officials followed standard safety protocols and directed the aircraft to a secure isolation area after landing, where passengers and crew were disembarked, police said.

A comprehensive inspection of the aircraft was carried out with the assistance of the bomb disposal unit and other security agencies, police said. No suspicious items were found during the search.

Following the clearance, the aircraft was returned to normal operations at the airport and later departed for Doha at 1:07 p.m., police added.

Police said the incident was a hoax, similar to a false bomb threat reported on Dec. 26 at the Kandy District Secretariat. Preliminary investigations indicate that both electronic messages originated from outside Sri Lanka.

The Criminal Investigation Department and intelligence agencies have launched a special investigation to identify those responsible for sending the false alerts, police said. 
KABUL, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation has signed two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with leading domestic aid agencies to provide assistance to returnees and internally displaced families, the ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

The agreements, valued at 515,700 U.S. dollars in total, are expected to benefit over 868,000 returnee and displaced individuals, according to the statement.

The aid agencies will deliver essential services to returnees at a temporary camp near the Torkham border crossing in eastern Nangarhar province and create employment opportunities in Nangarhar as well as the western provinces of Herat, Farah, and Badghis.

On Thursday, the ministry said that 27,867 Afghan families, or a total of 241,780 people, had returned to the country from Iran, Pakistan, and Turkiye over the past month.

The Afghan government has urged refugees abroad to return home, while calling on local and international organizations to invest in the country and create jobs. 
ISTANBUL, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Turkish authorities on Sunday seized narcotics with a street value of 1.026 billion Turkish liras (24 million U.S. dollars) during intensified anti-drug operations at the country's borders and entry points, the Ministry of Trade said.

In a statement posted on the social platform X, the ministry said the operations were conducted at the Hamzabeyli and Kapikule border gates with Bulgaria in the northwestern province of Edirne, as well as at Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen International Airport on the Asian side of the city.

According to the statement, anti-smuggling and intelligence units confiscated about 2.5 million ecstasy pills and 170,500 captagon tablets, along with quantities of cannabis and synthetic drugs. The seized narcotics were subsequently destroyed.

Judicial investigations have been launched into the incidents by the chief public prosecutors' offices in Edirne and Istanbul's Anatolian side, the ministry said.

The ministry added that the stepped-up operations are part of Turkiye's broader efforts to combat cross-border drug trafficking. 
Billionaire Elon Musk has slammed incoming New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's appointment to be the new fire department chief. Commenting on Mamdani's new appointee for the position, Musk claimed that this move would endanger the lives of New Yorkers.

Musk took to his platform X to comment on Mamdani's appointment of Lillian Bonsignore as the new chief of the New York Fire Department. The SpaceX CEO quote-tweeted user The Chief Nerd's clip of Mamdani's announcement and said that the appointment of Bonsignore was going to put lives at risk, in reference to her lack of direct experience as a firefighter. 'People will die because of this. Proven experience matters when lives are at stake,' said Musk on Friday.

People will die because of this. Proven experience matters when lives are at stake. https://t.co/HV4kodU2aI  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 26, 2025

A Veteran EMS Chief Takes the Helm

Bonsignore is a former emergency medical services chief for New York and a longtime EMT since 1991. She led the EMS bureau in 2019, during the early onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her appointment by Mamdani not only makes her the second woman to lead the city's fire department, but she will also be the city's first openly gay commissioner.

'Bonsignore's calm, decisive leadership during the COVID-19 pandemicwhen EMS professionals were more vital than everis exactly the kind of leadership our city needs in moments of uncertainty,' said Mamdani in a statement to City & State.

Welcome to A New Era, Lillian Bonsignore!



Chief Bonsignore is a 31-year FDNY veteran who led EMS Operations during the COVID pandemic, overseeing more than 4,300 EMS providers responding to 1.5 million calls per year. The first woman to achieve a 4-star rank in FDNY history, pic.twitter.com/RSgA50E1Iw  Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) December 24, 2025

Bonsignore's appointment is also seen as a commitment to raising the wages of EMTs, who have long lobbied for pay increases to match those of the other first responders. Bonsignore's EMT experience includes being among the responders to 9/11 in 2001. By 2002, she climbed up the ranks to become a lieutenant in the division, captain by 2005, and deputy chief by 2009.

Laura Kavanaugh, the former fire commissioner appointed by outgoing mayor Eric Adams but who resigned in 2024, also praised the appointment of Bonsignore. Kavanaugh said Bonsignore is a great pick. 'One of the strongest leaders I have ever worked alongside,' said Kavanaugh in comments to City & State.

A History of Political Attacks

Prior to Musk's criticism of Mamdani's appointment of Bonsignore, the SpaceX CEO had a history of opposing the incoming mayor. In November, prior to the mayoral election, Musk urged his followers to vote for Mamdani's fellow Democrat, Andrew Cuomo, over the Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, arguing a vote for Sliwa would help Mamdani win.

'Remember to vote tomorrow in New York!' Musk tweeted at the time. 'Bear in mind that a vote for Curtis is really a vote for Mumdani or whatever his name is. Vote Cuomo!'

The endorsement drew controversy, especially as one response to the post pointed out that this is the third candidate whom Musk backed who allegedly has a history of sexual assault. However, Musk responded to the commenter, asking if they had any other option.

President Donald Trump has also repeatedly mocked Mamdani during his candidacy and even after winning the election. Trump, whom Musk is an ally of, has called Mamdani a 'communist mayor' and even suggested that he might not be a legal citizen of the US.

Originally published on IBTimes UK
Rep Ilhan Omar's husband has quietly scrubbed the names of high-profile former Obama administration officials from his venture capital firm's website, as mounting questions swirl around the couple's explosive wealth surge amid a massive welfare fraud scandal in Minnesota.

Tim Mynett's Rose Lake Capital removed details of nine officers and advisersincluding former Obama ambassadors and Democratic Party finance chiefsbetween September and October, per The New York Post. The timing coincided with federal prosecutors announcing charges against eight more individuals, including six of Somali descent, in connection with what authorities describe as the largest pandemic fraud scheme in US history, potentially reaching $9 billion.

From Broke to a Staggering $30 Million Net Worth

The Minnesota representative's financial trajectory has raised eyebrows across Washington. When Omar first took office in 2019, the Squad member declared a net worth between negative $25,000 and negative $65,000, owning no assets and carrying only student and car debt. By 2024, her latest financial disclosure showed assets between $6 million and $30 milliona staggering increase that came just months after she dismissed claims of being a millionaire as 'ridiculous' and 'categorically false'.

At the centre of the wealth explosion sits Mynett's Rose Lake Capital, launched in 2022. The venture capital management firm went from holding less than $1,000 in assets in 2023 to between $5 million and $25 million in just one year, according to Omar's financial disclosures. The company claims to have already amassed $60 billion in assets under managementa figure that would rival established Wall Street firms. Yet its only listed address is a WeWork office in Washington DC.

'There's a lot of strange things going on,' Paul Kamenar, counsel to the National Legal and Policy Center, told The Post. 'She was basically broke when she came into office and now she's worth perhaps up to $30 million...she needs to come clean on these assets.'

High-Profile Names Vanish

The scrubbed names from Rose Lake Capital's website include lobbyist and former Obama Ambassador to Bahrain Adam Ereli, former Senator and Obama Ambassador to China Max Baucus, DNC Finance Chair associate Alex Hoffman, former DNC treasurer William Derrough, and former CEO of Amalgamated Bank Keith Mestrich, who once described his institution as 'the institutional bank of the Democratic Party'. None of these individuals has been charged with any wrongdoing in the fraud case.

Meanwhile, Mynett's other business venture has also seen a mysterious windfall. His California winery, eStCru, was declared a failed venture in 2023 and valued at between $15,000 and $50,000 in Omar's financial disclosure that year. By 2024, it was suddenly worth between $1 million and $5 milliona 9,900% increase. The business now appears defunct, with a broken website, disconnected phone number, and no social media activity since 2023.

Omar's Links to Minnesota Fraud Scandal

The wealth questions emerge as Omar faces mounting scrutiny over her connections to the Minnesota welfare fraud scheme. Close to 90 people have been charged so far, including at least three with direct ties to the congresswoman, though she has not been charged with any crime. Her campaign received donations from at least three now-convicted fraudsters, which she has stated were returned.

The Somalia-born representative introduced the MEALS Act in Congress in 2020, which relaxed oversight of government-sponsored children's meals programmes during the pandemic. Critics argue the legislation paved the way for fraudsters to claim they served millions of meals without verification, whilst pocketing millions in government subsidies. Omar defended the legislation last week on Capitol Hill, telling reporters: 'Absolutely not, it did help feed kids.'

One of the convicted individuals, Salim Ahmed Said, co-owned Safari Restaurant where Omar held her 2018 congressional victory party. Said was found guilty in August of stealing more than $12 million for serving 3.9 million 'phantom' meals during the COVID-19 pandemic, prosecutors said. A resurfaced 2020 video shows Omar at the same restaurant promoting the meals programme, saying in Somali: 'Every day Safari provides 2,300 meals to children and their families.'

Another individual, Guhaad Hashi Said, worked on Omar's 2018 and 2020 campaigns and pleaded guilty in August to running a fake food site where he falsely claimed to serve 5,000 meals a day, pocketing $3.2 million from the programme.

Ilhan Omars hubbys $30M firm quietly scrubs names from website  as Squad member faces mounting questions on sudden wealth amid Minnesota welfare fraud https://t.co/0FTJ1733Lw pic.twitter.com/DhkfeaSev5  New York Post (@nypost) December 27, 2025

Calls for Accountability

The Treasury Department launched an investigation in early December into allegations that tax dollars may have been diverted to the al-Shabaab militant group in Somalia, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, whilst House Republicans opened their own investigation into the fraud schemes. However, no charges have been filed against Omar or her husband in connection with the fraud case.

The case highlights broader concerns about congressional oversight and financial transparency requirements for elected officials. Federal lawmakers are required to file annual financial disclosures, but the forms allow for broad ranges rather than specific amounts, making it difficult for the public to assess exact wealth levels. Ultimately, the controversy underscores the urgent need for stronger disclosure standards and enforcement mechanisms to ensure that public officials remain accountable.

Originally published on IBTimes UK
Tyler Perry's lawyer has branded a new allegation of sexual misconduct a "failed money grab".

Tyler Perry has been accused of sexual misconduct

The actor-and-filmmaker is the subject of a $77 million lawsuit from Mario Rodriguez, who appeared in his 2016 film Boo! A Madea Halloween and alleged the director made repeated unwanted sexual advances toward him between 2016 and 2019.

The lawsuit claimed Mario resisted Tyler's advances and decided to take legal action after the 56-year-old filmmaker was sued by The Oval actor Derek Dixon for sexual harassment in June, but the Vice star's lawyer has blasted the lawsuit.

Lawyer Alex Spiro said in a statement: Having recently failed in another matter against Mr. Perry, the very same lawyer has now made yet another demand from more than a decade ago which will also be a failed money grab."

Jonathan Delshad, who represents both plaintiffs, has stressed that while Derek's lawsuit has moved from Los Angeles Superior Court to federal court in Georgia, where Tyler's studio is located, the claims "are alive and well, and none of them have failed."

According to People magazine, Mario's lawsuit told how he was approached by a trainer at the gym in 2014 about getting in touch with the Madea star, who encouraged him to audition for the Halloween movie.

Once he was cast, Tyler invited Mario to his home and allegedly touched him inappropriately while they watched a movie.

The man has accused the Alex Cross star of a number of unwanted sexual advances and even alleged he was given $5,000 after two alleged incidents before Tyler apologised and "sent him away".

Following a final encounter in April 2019, the suit stated: "It was clear that Mr. Perry would do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, to whomever he wanted no matter how many times he was rejected."

Meanwhile, back in June, The Oval actor Derek alleged the writer-and-director had quizzed him inappropriately about his sexuality, groped him on several occasions and offered him acting jobs to keep him quiet.

His lawsuit - for which he is seeking $260 million in punitive damages - alleged: Dixon kept informing Perry that he was not into sex in order to keep Perry at bay, while at the same time not insulting the person who was dangling his career in front of him."

Tyler's lawyer insisted at the time Derek had tried to get close to the star for what now appears to be nothing more than setting up a scam."

He added: "But Tyler will not be shaken down and we are confident these fabricated claims of harassment will fail.
VIENNA, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Crucial power line repairs have begun near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) following a local ceasefire brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the IAEA said on social media platform X on Sunday.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi expressed gratitude to both Russia and Ukraine for agreeing to the temporary truce, describing it as a "window of silence" that would allow the restoration of power transmission between the switchyards of the ZNPP and the Zaporizhzhia Thermal Power Plant. He said the work would help strengthen nuclear safety at the site.

The IAEA said its team is monitoring the repair work as part of ongoing efforts to prevent a nuclear accident amid the military conflict. According to the agency, the repairs are expected to take several days.

On Dec. 15, power transmission between the ZNPP switchyard and the Zaporizhzhia Thermal Power Plant switchyard through the autotransformer became unavailable, significantly reducing the flexibility and resilience of the site's electrical configuration. An investigation conducted by the ZNPP identified damage to the transmission line between the autotransformer and the thermal power plant switchyard, reportedly caused by military activity. 
A powerful 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck off the northeastern coast of Taiwan late on Saturday night, jolting residents from their sleep and sending shockwaves that were felt across the island.

The tremor, which hit at 11:05 pm local time (15:05 GMT), momentarily shattered the calm of the post-Christmas weekend, yet initial reports from the Central Weather Administration suggest the island may have escaped the worst of the potential devastation.

Occurring at a depth of 73 kilometres (45 miles) beneath the seabed off Yilan County, the quake's intermediate depth appears to have played a crucial role in dampening the destructive force at the surface.

While the magnitude was significant enough to trigger automatic warning systems and shake high-rise buildings in the capital, Taipei, emergency services have so far reported no immediate casualties or major structural collapses.

Deep Focus of Taiwan Earthquake May Have Limited Destruction

Geologists and seismic experts have quickly pointed to the earthquake's depth as a saving grace. Unlike shallow tremorssuch as the devastating events that have scarred Taiwan's historya quake originating at a depth of 73 kilometres dissipates much of its violent energy before it reaches the surface.

This geological buffer often results in a widespread swaying motion rather than the violent, shattering jolts associated with shallower faults.

Nevertheless, the sheer power of a 7.0-magnitude event cannot be understated. Residents in Yilan County, the region closest to the epicentre, reported forceful shaking that lasted for several terrifying seconds. 'It felt like the whole house was on a boat in a storm,' one local resident shared on social media shortly after the event.

Despite the intensity, the absence of immediate disaster reports stands as a testament to both the quake's depth and the island's rigorous engineering standards. Taiwan, which sits precariously on the Pacific 'Ring of Fire', has spent decades refining its building codes to withstand exactly this kind of seismic assault.

Emergency Response to Taiwan Earthquake Remains on High Alert

In the immediate aftermath, Taiwan's National Fire Agency and local authorities mobilised rapidly to assess critical infrastructure. High-speed rail services and the metro systems in major cities were temporarily suspended as a precautionary measure to inspect tracks and power lines for misalignment or damage.

While no catastrophic failures have been found, officials remain cautious, warning the public to stay vigilant for potential aftershocks that often follow a seismic event of this scale.

The tremor is a stark reminder of the tectonic volatility that defines the region. Taiwan exists at the complex junction of the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian Plate. In the northeast, near Yilan, the Philippine Sea Plate subducts beneath the Eurasian Plate, creating a zone of intense geological pressure that frequently releases energy in the form of earthquakes.

While this latest 7.0-magnitude Taiwan earthquake has mercifully spared the island from tragedy so far, it serves as a sobering prompt for preparedness in a nation that has learned to live with the constant threat of the ground moving beneath its feet.

As the island heads into the early hours of Sunday, the focus remains on detailed inspections of bridges, dams, and older buildings that may be vulnerable to hidden structural stress. For now, however, Taiwan breathes a collective sigh of relief.

THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY. STAY TUNED FOR UPDATES.

Originally published on IBTimes UK
The holiday season has taken a sharp, icy turn across America's northeast. As families settle back into routine following Christmas celebrations, a powerful winter storm is bearing down on the region with remarkable force, transforming what should have been an ordinary weekend into a day of genuine hardship for millions of travellers.

The scope of the disruption is staggering: by Friday night, over 60 million Americans found themselves under winter weather alerts, whilst thousands of flights ground to a halt and power cables snapped under the weight of accumulated ice.

This is not merely inconvenient weather. This is the kind of storm that reshapes weekend plans, empties airport terminals, and forces governors to declare states of emergency.

The numbers tell a stark story. As of Friday evening, 1,600 flights across the United States had been cancelled outright, with a further 7,400 delayed by the system's advance.

The most severely affected airportsJohn F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty, and LaGuardiawhich together serve the sprawling New York metropolitan area, have become scenes of frustrated travellers checking and rechecking flight statuses on increasingly unreliable airport wifi. Boston, Chicago, and Toronto have similarly experienced cascading cancellations.

The major carriers have borne the brunt of the operational chaos: JetBlue Airways cancelled 229 flights, whilst Delta Air Lines scrapped 241. Republic Airways and Southwest Airlines cancelled 180 and 151 flights respectively, with American Airlines and United Airlines each cancelling approximately 100 scheduled services.

The storm's timing compounds the misery. This disruption arrives during one of the busiest travel weekends of the year, when post-Christmas journeys and New Year preparations converge with peak holiday season movement.

Families who successfully navigated Christmas travel now face the prospect of cancelled reunions and postponed celebrations. Business travellers attempting to return to work find themselves stranded. The human cost extends far beyond airline statistics.

Winter Storm Warning: Record Snowfall and Dangerous Conditions Expected Across the Northeast

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning from 16:00 local time (21:00 GMT) on Friday until 13:00 on Saturday, with snow forecasts that underscore the severity of what approaches. New York City alone faces the prospect of up to 9 inches (23 centimetres) of snow, with the heaviest precipitation anticipated between 18:00 local time (23:00 GMT) and midnight.

A narrow zone stretching from Long Island through Connecticut and into upstate New York has been forecast to receive between 8 and 12 inches of snow. More broadly across the tri-state area, between 5 and 9 inches is expected. At peak intensity, snowfall rates could reach an inch or more per houra relentless, blinding deluge that renders road travel hazardous and air operations virtually impossible.

The last time New York City experienced a winter snowstorm of comparable significance was January 7, 2022a gap of over 1,400 days. For winter weather enthusiasts, this represents a snow-starved streak that may finally end.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for New York City itself, a designation not seen for nearly four years, underscoring the exceptional nature of this system.

Beyond snow lies a secondary threat that complicates matters further. As early Saturday morning approaches, warm air moving north from the Atlantic will collide with cold Canadian air filtering southward, creating a transition zone between Philadelphia and New York City where snow will mix with, and potentially convert entirely to, sleet and freezing rain. This ice accumulation poses distinct hazards.

Michigan has already begun experiencing the effects, with more than 30,000 homes and businesses losing power as ice weighs down trees and power lines.

A tenth to a quarter inch of ice accretion is expected across central Michigan and Pennsylvania, with isolated amounts exceeding a quarter inch possible in areas from State College, Pennsylvania through Frederick, Maryland. Such accumulation may trigger scattered power outages across the affected region.

Preparing for the Winter Storm: Government Response and Public Safety Measures

Governors across the affected region have responded with appropriate urgency. New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency on Friday afternoon, whilst New Jersey's acting Governor Tahesha Way instituted similar measures at 1 p.m. Friday, implementing travel restrictions for commercial vehicles such as semitrailers on interstate highways.

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont advised motorists bluntly: 'If you need to travel, we strongly recommend leaving early and getting to where you need to be before sunset tonight.'

New York City Mayor Eric Adams urged residents to plan carefully. 'As New Yorkers continue to celebrate the holidays and prepare to celebrate the new year, they should also prepare for hazardous travel conditions Friday into Saturday,' he stated. 'New York City agencies have been coordinating and are prepared for the winter weather system, and we continue to monitor conditions closely.'

Municipal governments have mobilised resources. Snow ploughs stand ready to begin clearing streets once two inches of accumulation register. Additional staff have been placed on standby. Salting operations are in full swing.

Ferries have been scheduled for early closure ahead of heavy snowfall. These preparations, though largely invisible to casual observers, represent the infrastructure of modern cities attempting to manage nature's occasional tantrums.

The storm will pass quicklysuch systems, for all their disruption, typically move through in hours rather than days. By Saturday morning, most affected areas should begin drying out.

Yet for those caught within its path, the winter storm of 2627 December 2025 will remain a reminder of how swiftly weather can reshape plans, disrupt routines, and demonstrate the precarious nature of modern travel networks when nature asserts itself with force.

Originally published on IBTimes UK
LISBON, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa signed on Sunday legislation creating High-Performance Centers in Obstetrics and Gynecology (CED-ObGin), within the scope of the National Health Service (SNS).

According to a statement published on the official Presidency website, these high-technology centers will function as "autonomous management structures based on an innovative model, aimed at strengthening professional attractiveness and retention."

The government announced the centers will begin operating experimentally in 2026 to guarantee "highly differentiated services, training, research" in the SNS.

The declared objective is twofold: enhancing highly differentiated care offerings and critically stopping Portugal's "brain drain," attracting the most qualified professionals, and making them "want to remain" in public service.

The idea is to create environments that retain newly trained specialists and perhaps serve as an attraction for those who already left, with "some possibly interested in returning," Portuguese Health Minister Ana Paula Martins said.

The presidential statement gives a green light to the experimental regime proposal, with the expectation that the solution now found "can be more than a short-term resource and open systematic and lasting perspectives."

Portugal faces challenges in retaining medical specialists, who often seek better compensation and working conditions abroad, particularly in other European Union countries. The high-performance centers represent an attempt to address healthcare workforce shortages affecting obstetrics and gynecology services across the country's public health system. 
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- A major freeway in Southern California was shut down for several hours Saturday, and a shelter-in-place order was issued for thousands of nearby residents after a natural gas pipeline ruptured.

The rupture, first reported around 4:20 p.m. local time (0020 GMT Sunday) in the community of Castaic in northwestern Los Angeles County, prompted the closure of Interstate 5 for nearly four hours. The freeway is a major north-south route of the U.S. Interstate Highway System, running largely parallel to the Pacific Coast.

California's Governor's Office of Emergency Services said in a post on social media platform X that it was working closely with local and state partners to ensure public safety for communities near the rupture, noting that "this situation is very dynamic."

Los Angeles County Fire Department officials said firefighters and utility crews remained on the scene following the rupture of a 34-inch (around 86-centimeter) natural gas transmission line. A shelter-in-place order was temporarily issued for six zones in the area.

Fire officials noted that some residents might smell natural gas in the air, but emphasized that "this is not harmful and poses no immediate danger to residents." Hazardous materials specialists from the department will continue monitoring air quality.

The Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) said in a news release that it was notified of a potential pipeline break near Interstate 5 and Lake Hughes Road in Castaic on Saturday.

"SoCalGas crews have safely isolated the damaged section of pipeline, stopping the leak," the company said. "There are no indications at this time of an ignition or explosion."

The company added that the cause of the rupture has not yet been determined, but noted that "significant land movement has been observed near the break." 
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People across Taiwan reported feeling shaking and tremors after a magnitude 6.6 earthquake hit the islands northeastern coast.

The earthquake started at around 11.05pm local time on Saturday about 32km from the coastal town of Yilan but was felt across the island.

While the US Geological Survey said the magnitude was 6.6, Taiwans Central Weather Administration said the earthquake stood at magnitude 7, making it the strongest the country had recorded since 1999.

Saturday's quake was strongly felt across Taiwan, but because it occurred at a considerable depth and its epicenter was offshore, it was relatively unlikely to cause serious damage," Chen Da-yi, a section chief at the the weather agencys Seismological Centre, said at a press conference.

Buildings in the capital Taipei shook as Taiwanese president William Lai Ching-te urged residents to be alert for possible aftershocks.

open image in gallery Taiwan lies near two tectonic plates and is accustomed to earthquakes ( AFP via Getty )

One resident in Yilan county described how a building shook first vertically and then horizontally.

"It kept on shaking for a while. Then I ran out, but most people did not run out. I was scared," he said.

The epicentre was 70km deep, and there were no immediate reports of widespread damage or casualties.

Local news stations showed hanging TVs swaying inside an office building, and spilt cleaning products and broken bottles that had fallen off supermarket shelves.

More than 3,000 homes in Yilan briefly lost power, the Taiwan Power Company said, as Taipeis city government reported isolated cases of damage including gas and water leakage and minor damage to buildings.

open image in gallery An earthquake last year saw buildings collapse in Hualien City, eastern Taiwan ( AP )

It designated the incident a category four earthquake, meaning minor damage was possible.

TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, said that a small number of its facilities in the Hsinchu science park, where it is headquartered, reached evacuation criteria due to the earthquake.

The weather administration warned people to stay alert for aftershocks of magnitude 5.5 and 6.0 in the coming day.

A number of high wave advisories were issued in the Japanese regions of Hokkaido, Tohoku, Hokuriku, and Okinawa, but no tsunami alerts or warnings were given.

Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is prone to earthquakes. An earthquake with a magnitude between 6.0 and 6.9 is described as strong.

More than 100 people were killed in an earthquake in southern Taiwan in 2016, while a 7.3-magnitude quake killed more than 2,000 people in 1999.
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People deemed cool boast six surprisingly similar personality traits across cultures, according to a new study that hints at the role played by broadcast media in standardising the meaning of the term.

While their cultures vary greatly, the definition of a cool person in Eastern and Western social circles seems to be identical, according to the study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology.

The study is based on psychology experiments conducted from 2018 to 2022 with about 6,000 adult participants from the US, Australia, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Germany, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Spain, South Africa, South Korea, and Turkey.

Each participant was asked to think of someone they thought was cool, not cool, good, or not good, and then rate that persons personality and values.

Using this data, researchers assessed how cool people differed from uncool and good people. Everyone wants to be cool, or at least avoid the stigma of being uncool, and society needs cool people because they challenge norms, inspire change, and advance culture, study co-lead researcher Todd Pezzuti explained. The concept of coolness started in small, rebellious subcultures, including Black jazz musicians in the 1940s and the beatniks in the 1950s. As society moves faster and puts more value on creativity and change, cool people are more essential than ever.

open image in gallery Pedro Pascal attends the premier of From The World Of John Wick: Ballerina ( Jeff Spicer via Getty )

In spite of cultural variations, cool people were universally perceived as being more extroverted, hedonistic, powerful, adventurous, open, and autonomous, researchers from the American Psychological Association found.

In comparison, good people were perceived as more conforming, traditional, secure, warm, agreeable, universalistic, conscientious, and calm.

While there are some overlapping traits, researchers point out that being cool isnt necessarily considered good in a moral sense.

open image in gallery Prince performs onstage during 2013 Billboard Music Awards ( Getty )

The growth of fashion, music and film industries globally has seen the meaning of cool crystallise on a similar set of values and traits around the globe, becoming more commercially friendly, the study noted.

Coolness has definitely evolved over time but I dont think it has lost its edge. Its just become more functional, Dr Pezzuti said.

Researchers said their findings could help better understand the role played by coolness in establishing social hierarchies and changing social and cultural practices and norms. The fact that cool people are seen as having a similar attribute profile around the world and that these attributes are distinctly cool rather than good in general makes a strong case that coolness is a meaningful construct that can help explain how people understand, order, and structure their social world, they wrote.

If coolness emerged as a status granted to those who inspire and facilitate cultural change, then perhaps we shouldnt be surprised that cool people, from San Francisco and Santiago to Sydney and Seoul, show traits that would make them more likely to question convention, innovate, and persuade others to change.
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The Treasury is set to insure the historic Bayeux Tapestry for an estimated 800m when it arrives on loan at the British Museum next year.

The government-backed cover will protect the 70-metre artefact, which depicts the 1066 Norman invasion and the Battle of Hastings, against damage or loss during its transfer from France and throughout its exhibition in the UK.

The insurance will operate under the Government Indemnity Scheme, a vital alternative to commercial insurance that allows major art and cultural objects to be displayed across the UK.

The Financial Times reported that the Treasury had provisionally approved the estimated valuation for the more than 900-year-old tapestry, with the final figure expected to be around 800m.

The Government Indemnity Scheme is a long-standing scheme that allows museums and galleries to borrow high-value works for major exhibitions, increasing visitor numbers and providing public benefits, An HM Treasury spokesperson said.

Without this cover, public museums and galleries would face a substantial commercial insurance premium, which would be significantly less cost-effective.

The Bayeux Tapestry is due to go on display at the British Museum in 2026 ( PA Media )

The scheme is estimated to have saved UK museums and galleries 81m compared to commercial insurance.

The Bayeux Tapestry depicts the 1066 battle that saw William the Conqueror take the English throne from Harold Godwinson and become the first Norman king of England.

It will be on loan while the Bayeux Tapestry Museum in Normandy closes for renovation, with its reopening scheduled for October 2027.

It is part of a cultural exchange that will see the British Museum loan the Sutton Hoo collection, the Lewis Chessmen and other items to France in return for the tapestry.

In France, voices from the art and conservation fields have called on president Emmanuel Macron to abandon the project over concerns that transportation would cause irreparable damage to the tapestry.
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Newly declassified documents have revealed the White Houses concern over a potential photograph of Bill Clinton shaking Gerry Adams hand during his landmark 1995 visit to Belfast.

The papers, released annually by the National Archives in Dublin, detail extensive diplomatic efforts between Irish and US officials to meticulously plan the Clintons trip to the island of Ireland.

Among the discussions were considerations regarding whether the presidential couple should stay overnight in Northern Ireland. Furthermore, a genealogy experts research, commissioned as part of the preparations, dismissed suggestions of Mr Clintons Co Fermanagh ancestry as "fantasy," though acknowledging possible roots elsewhere in Ulster.

The Clintons itinerary saw them visit Northern Ireland before travelling to Dublin, with a reception scheduled for November 30 at Whitla Hall, Queen's University in Belfast.

open image in gallery Bill Clinton shook hands with the public on the Shankhill Road during his 1995 visit (Adam Butler/PA)

A letter from the Irish joint secretary of the Anglo-Irish Secretariat, David Donoghue, sent to Sean O hUiginn at the Anglo-Irish Division, said that the Americans originally wanted to hold the reception and confine it to 120 people.

He said the British side insisted that the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Patrick Mayhew, should host it, which was agreed, and the guest list was expanded to 300 people.

The ostensible intention is to enable the president to meet a wider range of people in Northern Ireland he wrote on November 28 1995.

The real purpose, of course, is to de-emphasise the political nature of the occasion and to create a broader community event which, the British calculate, will make it easier for unionists to attend alongside Sinn Fein.

Mr Donoghue said that the representatives would form pods at the reception  a UUP pod, an Alliance pod etc  determined on a pro rata basis in light of respective electoral strengths.

In other words, each will form a distinct cluster of people to whom the president will be introduced in turn (on the lines of Buckingham Palace receptions).

He also said that Peter Bell, from the Northern Ireland Office, had indicated the Americans would prefer to avoid a handshake photograph between the president and Adams.

open image in gallery Bill Clinton made a speech in Dublin during the trip (John Giles/PA)

He also said that while one-on-one meetings had been planned with John Hume in Derry and David Trimble in a car journey after the reception at Queens, there was a general US reluctance to meet one-on-one with Adams, Ian Paisley, or John Alderdice.

The general assumption, however, is that the president will take relevant individuals aside for separate private conversations on the margins of the reception.

The two men shook hands for the first time in March of that year at the White House, as part of events held to mark St Patricks Day  but after photographers had left the room.

Mr Clinton was reportedly put under pressure at the time from then British prime minister John Major not to give Mr Adams a warm embrace at the luncheon, according to the New York Times.

On the morning of November 30, before the reception in Belfast that evening, Mr Clinton met Mr Adams on the Falls Road in Belfast.

As he left his car he paused to shake Mr Adamss hand  a moment captured by an official White House photographer.

Mr Clinton would later say of the handshake that it was a big deal and it felt at the time as though the pavement was about to crack open.

Plans for the Clintons visit to Dublin, from December 1-2 1995, show that a US embassy official estimated that there was a 50/50 chance the visit would go ahead.

An Irish genealogy expert also said claims that Clinton had Cassidy ancestors, who were from Co Fermanagh, were based largely on fantasy  but the White House still wanted Cassidy aspects added to the visit.

It had been claimed that Mr Clinton had Irish ancestry through his mother, Virginia Cassidy.

Genealogist Sean Murphy, from Bray, Co Wicklow, undertook the task of tracing Bill Clintons Irish ancestry after media dissemination of claims concerning the presidents Irish ancestry which proved to be baseless, yet were left un-contradicted by any authoritative source.

He told the taoiseachs office that the earliest trace of the presidents maternal ancestors of this line is probably Zachariah Cassidy, born in about 1750-60 in South Carolina, and his son Levi.

The Cassidy clan claim that the earliest ancestor was a Luke or Lucas Cassidy of Roslea, Co Fermanagh, appears to be based largely on fantasy, he wrote on October 16.

The biblical forenames Zachariah and Levi suggest a Protestant, and probably Presbyterian or Dissenter, as opposed to Catholic origin, and it is reasonable to speculate that the Cassidys would have been most likely to have emigrated to America from an Ulster county.

In notes of a meeting with the US embassy held three days later, Irish officials said that a planned stop off in Lismore, Co Fermanagh, was being dropped, but the White House was still interested in using the Cassidy connection in a low-key way.

They said this could mean casually passing a Cassidy premises.

Mr Clinton would go on to visit Cassidys Bar in Dublin for an hour during the 1995 trip.

This article is based on documents contained in the file labelled 2025/115/827 in the National Archives of Ireland.
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One of the prisoners on hunger strike in support of Palestine Action has lost the ability to speak and another is unable to stand without passing out, campaigners have said as the protest entered its 56th day.

The eight activists initially went on hunger strike while awaiting trial for alleged break-ins or criminal damage, with four still maintaining their protest.

Heba Muraisi, who is being held in HMP New Hall in West Yorkshire, has said she feels weaker as each day passes in a statement released by the Prisoners for Palestine group. She also complained of bruising on her arm and a constant body ache.

'I can no longer lie on my side as it hurts my face, Ms Muraisi said, adding that she is losing the ability to form sentences, and struggling to maintain conversation.

open image in gallery Heba Muraisi, 31, in HMP New Hall, is continuing her hunger strike ( Prisoners For Palestine )

Earlier this month two of the activists, Qesser Zuhrah and Amu Gib, paused their hunger strike at HMP Bronzefield in Surrey after 48 days due to deteriorating health. Both were admitted to hospital for treatment.

Those still refusing food are Teuta Hoxha, Ms Muraisi, Kamran Ahmed and Lewie Chiaramello, according to Prisoners for Palestine.

Four of the group, including Ms Muraisi, are accused of playing roles in the break-in at Israeli-linked defence technology company Elbit Systems UK on 19 November 2024. They will go on trial in May next year at the earliest.

The other four are accused of breaking into RAF Brize Norton in June, where it is alleged that they sprayed red paint into two RAF Voyager planes.

Ms Hoxha, 29, who is being held in HMP Peterborough, has said that she is no longer able to stand without blacking out and enduring dizzy spells with increasing levels of brain fog, Prisoners for Palestine said. She is virtually bedridden as a result of the strike, her second this year.

Allegations that Ms Zuhrah was refused an ambulance sparked a protest outside HMP Bronzefield earlier this month attended by Coventry South MP Zarah Sultana. The Ministry of Justice has denied claims of mistreatment.

open image in gallery Teuta Hoxha, 29, is being held on remand at HMP Peterborough ( Prisoners for Palestine )

The remaining hunger strikers issued a new set of demands on Tuesday, including that Ms Muraisi be transferred back to HMP Bronzefield where she was first detained.

This came on top of a previous a series of demands which included an immediate bail and the ability to send and receive communications without restriction, surveillance, or interference from the prison administration.

A spokesperson for Prisoners for Palestine said: "Unlike the prison guards, who lock up the prisoners early to go home to their Christmas dinner, the hunger strikers don't get a Christmas break. Just like the Christians in Gaza, who continue to suffer in the freezing cold at the hands of the settler-colonial entity.

The hunger strikers say to us, don't forget the people of Palestine over Christmas, and continue to demand a meeting with the British government on their behalf."

Lawyers representing the strikers have said they are facing potential death. Last Monday, they initiated legal proceedings against the government, claiming they had abandoned their own prison safety policy framework. The strikers say they have sent multiple letters to justice secretary David Lammy without a response.

open image in gallery Climate activist Greta Thunberg being detained by City of London Police during a protest in support of the Palestine Action protesters on hunger strike in prison ( Prisoners for Palestine/PA )

James Timpson, the minister of state for prisons, probation and reducing reoffending, said: We are very experienced at dealing with hunger strikes. Unfortunately, over the last five years we have averaged over 200 hunger strike incidents every year and the processes that we have are well-established and they work very well  with prisons working alongside our NHS partners every day, making sure our systems are robust and working  and they are.

I am very clear. I dont treat any prisoners differently to others. That is why we will not be meeting any prisoners or their representatives. We have a justice system that is based on the separation of powers, and the independent judiciary is the cornerstone of our system.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: Ministers do not intervene in individual cases. Where individuals are on remand, doing so would risk prejudicing ongoing legal proceedings and undermine the independence of the justice system.

Concerns about welfare and process can be raised through established legal and administrative channels, including prison governors and ultimately the Prison and Probation Ombudsman.

Healthcare decisions are taken independently by qualified NHS professionals, and appropriate care and oversight frameworks remain in place.

An HMP Bronzefield spokesperson said: We cannot provide information about specific individuals, however all prisoners are managed in line with policies and procedures governing the entire UK prison estate. This includes specialist multi-agency processes, led by the government, to assess individual risks and security status.
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A KFC franchisee has been hit with a fine of nearly 70,000 after a manager called an Indian employee a slave and racially abused him, an employment tribunal has found.

Boss Kajan Theiventhiram made Madhesh Ravichandran work extra hours and called him a fraud during his time at the West Wickham branch of the fried chicken chain in south east London, it heard.

Mr Ravichandran was hired by Mr Theiventhiram in January 2023, according to evidence given to the tribunal.

The pair both spoke Tamil, but Mr Ravichandran was from the Tamil Nadu state in India, whereas Mr Theiventhiram was from Sri Lanka, it heard.

open image in gallery Mr Ravichandran often worked in excess of 60 hours per week, the tribunal heard (Stock picture) ( Getty Images )

It heard Mr Theiventhiram handed Mr Ravichandran a contract described as a shambles, with no opportunity to review his contracted 45 hours per week.

Mr Ravichandran was then frequently scheduled to work in excess of his hours, including nearly 60 hours per week during the majority of March 2023, according to records seen by the tribunal.

He then alleged that when he tried to take holiday, he overheard his boss saying he would prioritise the leave request of Sri Lankan Tamils over his, and that though this sh** needs holiday, he would not give leave to this slave.

Mr Ravichandran was upset and humiliated at being referred to in these terms by his manager, the tribunal found, adding that the refusal of his leave request was significantly influenced by his race.

It heard Mr Ravichandran continued to work well in excess of 50 hours per week, taking on an average of 75 hours per week in July 2023 against his will, and that Mr Theiventhiram reacted angrily and with threats to any attempt made to limit his working hours.

The conflict between the two came to a head when Mr Ravichandran handed in his resignation in July 2023 after he was scheduled to work more than 89 hours in one week.

Judge Abbott accepted Mr Ravichandrans evidence that he was subject to acts of harassment related to race carried out by his boss.

We also accept that Kajan did this with the purpose of violating the claimants dignity  he was essentially treating the claimant as a slave because of his racial prejudice against Indian Tamils, he wrote.

The tribunal awarded Mr Ravichandran nearly 70,000 in compensation and recommended Nexus Foods Limited, which operates the branch, implement a training programme for all employees concerning discrimination in the workplace.
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Nearly three decades after Carmel Fenech disappeared, her family is still out looking for her. Her sister Mandy often sleeps in her car, parking outside the places Carmel used to visit before she vanished in 1998, unwilling to give up the search.

Carmel is one of five siblings in a close-knit family in Peckham, and her absence has never loosened its grip on them. Time has passed, lives have moved on, but the unanswered question of what happened to her remains as raw as ever.

Her mother, Deirdre Fenech, told The Independent: Even now, I'm still looking for a 16-year-old girl, not a 40-year-old woman.

That's my baby. That's my child that I carried with me for nine months She's been gone longer than I held her in my arms. I'm never going to give up looking for her.

The Independent has raised 165,000 to launch SafeCall, a free new service to help the 70,000 children reported missing each year to find support and safety no matter what, and continues to campaign for the cause. Ms Fenech knows how heartbreaking the pain is of having a child disappear.

Donate here or text SAFE to 70577 to give 10 to Missing People  enough for one child to get help.

open image in gallery Carmel is one of five siblings from a close family in Peckham ( Deirdre Fenech )

When Carmel, like many 14-year-olds, began making new friends, going to parties and staying out late, her mother didnt think anything of it.

But what she didnt know was that Carmel had been introduced to crack cocaine. She didnt look like a drug addict and was never rude or moody. She always had a great personality, always good fun, her mother said.

It wasnt until Ms Fenech went to look for her at a friends house that she was told Carmel had fallen in with a bad crowd and had become addicted to drugs.

That hit me like a sledgehammer, Ms Fenech said.

open image in gallery Carmels disappearances became a routine part of their lives ( Deirdre Fenech )

Carmel started going missing for days at a time, sleeping in derelict garages, strange houses or stairwells. Me and my son, we searched everywhere we kicked in crack house doors, we took on major drug dealers looking for her, she added.

It became a routine part of their lives. Her family would find her, or she would return home with a beaming smile before disappearing again just days later.

I was full of rage, not at her, at these people she was involved with. I used to drop my children off at school in the morning, go looking for her, then come back, take them home then my son and myself would be walking the streets at one, two, three, four, five o'clock in the morning, she explained.

Ms Fenech lost count of how many times she reported her missing.

open image in gallery Carmel was last seen at Camberwell Green Magistrates' Court in 1998 ( Deirdre Fenech )

Although Carmel knew she could always go home, and her mother knew shed make her way back, she would still go out looking for her, just to make sure she was OK.

Hoping to pull her away from the people she was surrounded by, Ms Fenech moved the family to Crawley in West Sussex.

But even then, Carmel continued to leave, spending days at a time in London before going back home again.

On the day her daughter vanished completely, Ms Fenech was told Carmel was at Camberwell Green Magistrates' Court. A police officer spoke to Carmel on the stairs as she was leaving, but she told him to get lost.

It has been reported that Carmel was seen leaving the court with an unidentified man.

Chris Rambour, a detective inspector of the Surrey and Sussex major crime team, said: We particularly want to identify and speak to a man seen with Carmel on 21 May 1998. There is currently no description of him, but he clearly knew her.

open image in gallery Two weeks after Carmel left the court, her mother had received no call from her ( Deirdre Fenech )

He said this information has been established since the case opened, but her mother said she disputes this and believes Carmel was alone.

Ms Fenech never expected this to be the last time Carmel was seen. She had a caravan holiday planned for their family, and intended to give her daughter a week before searching.

But by the time she got back, two weeks after Carmel had left court, Ms Fenech had received no call from her.

Ms Fenech added: That's when I just knew. Deep down into the pit of your stomach, you can feel something is so wrong.

open image in gallery Carmels family feel left in limbo after her disappearance ( Deirdre Fenech )

She said she has felt let down by the police responsible for Carmels case and fears she will never know what happened to her daughter.

Ms Fenech has a feeling of limbo", afraid to move houses, in case Carmel comes home. Its a strange, horrible world we live in, just not knowing, she added.

Det Insp Rambour said: Our search for Carmel continues, and our thoughts have remained with her and her family throughout this investigation as we look to find the answers they deserve.

Carmel has not been forgotten, and we are appealing once again to the public for any information that could help us to locate her.

Paul Joseph, the head of helplines at Missing People, said: We continue to offer our full support to Deirdre Fenech, the mother of missing 16-year-old Carmel Fenech. Our thoughts remain firmly with Deirdre and her family during this incredibly difficult time, and we remain committed to standing alongside them for as long as they need us.

No family should have to face the pain of a missing loved one alone, and we will continue to do everything we can to support their search and their wellbeing.

Please donate now to The Independent and Missing Peoples SafeCall campaign, which has raised 165,000 to create a free, nationwide service helping vulnerable children find safety 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 www.missingpeople.org.uk/get-help
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A paramedic has been struck off after a professional tribunal found she fabricated a family illness to secure a day off, with her deception exposed by her sister's social media posts.

Natalie Twomey emailed her London Ambulance Service (LAS) bosses claiming that her sisters health had deteriorated again and she needed to drive to Norfolk.

However, LAS staff discovered photos on her sisters Facebook account of her house decorated for Christmas, posted that same day.

A panel deemed this inconsistent with the sister being so ill that Ms Twomey needed to visit her.

The Health and Care Professions Tribunals written judgment stated Ms Twomey told a "lie" to "mislead" her employer, calling it "deceit" for "personal gain."

The panel was told that Ms Twomey sent an email to her bosses on 28 November 2022 saying: Ive had to phone in sick, my sister has deteriorated again and had to drive back to Norfolk to be with her.

open image in gallery Ms Twomeys sister posted photos of her house, decorated for Christmas, on her Facebook page ( PA Archive )

The panel heard that the LAS discovered a post on Ms Twomeys sisters Facebook account, which contained pictures of a house decorated for Christmas on 28 November.

When the paramedic was asked about the posts during a capability meeting in April 2023, she said that her sister was in an ITU (intensive therapy unit) and that her sisters husband was responsible for posts made on his wifes Facebook account.

The panel found that Ms Twomey knew her sister was not sick on 28 November, and said she had deliberately provided misleading information to her employer to excuse her absence from work.

The message conveyed by the photographs of Christmas decorations was inconsistent with the registrants sister being sick to the extent that the registrant had to drive to Norfolk to be with her, rather than attend to her responsibilities at work, they found.

The paramedic was removed from front-line duties in June 2023 after she attended work while smelling of alcohol.

But it was heard that while renewing her registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) regulator, she did not inform them that restrictions had been placed upon her practice.

Ms Twomey also sent an email to the LASs recruitment department to discuss a secondment and claimed that the reason she was on non-patient-facing duties was due to a back and knee injury.

The paramedic also provided false information relating to her working hours in 2023.

Ms Twomey was dismissed from the LAS at the end of 2023 due to her capability and failure to attend work regularly.

The panel heard that during a job interview afterwards, she claimed she had never been subject to any disciplinary hearings and had never been dismissed.

She also said that there were no outstanding investigations against her despite being aware that there was an ongoing HCPC investigation into her fitness to practise.

While undertaking duties as a paramedic at a police investigation centre in April 2024, a police officer smelt alcohol on her breath and she was required to provide a breath test.

The paramedic had arrived at the site by car and she was arrested and cautioned.

Ms Twomey was convicted of a driving offence at Ipswich Magistrates Court in April 2024 after pleading guilty to driving a motor vehicle over the prescribed limit.

The panel found that Ms Twomeys conduct was sufficiently serious to amount to misconduct, and removed her name from the register.

The panel concluded that the appropriate and proportionate sanction in this case was a Striking Off Order, they said.
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A Russian submarine was deployed alongside a spy ship to map critical undersea infrastructure around Britain, it has emerged.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has declassified a photo of the incident, which saw a submarine shadowing the Yantar, officially described as a Russian research ship, as it reportedly surveyed the gas pipeline linking Britain and Ireland. It was not clear whether the escort was one of Russias own purpose-built sabotage submarines.

An anti-submarine Merlin Mk2 helicopter could be seen from the photo tracking the Yantar in the Irish Sea from November last year; a British submarine also emerged from the surface nearby.

It is believed to be one of several operations where Russian submarines have accompanied the Yantar into waters close to the British Isles, according to The Sunday Times.

First sea lord general Sir Gwyn Jenkins said earlier this month that there had been a 30 per cent increase in Russian incursion in our waters just over the last two years.

An anti-submarine Merlin Mk2 helicopter can be seen tracking the ship ( MOD )

The activity is most visibly seen in the presence of spy ships like the Yantar operating near UK waters, he said, but warned: Its whats going on under the waves that most concerns me.

Just last week, Sir Gwyn warned that Russia was renewing its investment in its elite deep-sea submarine division, known as Gugi. The UK sanctioned the Russian military agency, which is leading the development of Russias underwater intelligence gathering operations, in June this year.

An MoD spokesperson said: As the defence secretary has said, our message to President Putin is clear: we see you, we know what you are doing, and we will not shy away from robust action to protect this country.

We are acutely aware of the threat posed by Russia, which includes attempts to map undersea cables, networks, and pipelines belonging to both the UK and our allies, and we are tackling these threats head on.

That is why the prime minister set out the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War, including a commitment to increase spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP from April 2027, and an ambition to spend 3 per cent of GDP in the next parliament, as economic and fiscal conditions allow.

In addition, we have introduced 900 new sanctions against individuals, entities and ships under the Russian regime, and accelerated the development and deployment of advanced anti-submarine technology.

The government believes its Atlantic Bastion programme, which is integrating autonomous vessels, AI-enabled sensors, warships, and aircraft to safeguard critical undersea infrastructure against evolving challenges, will help to secure the North Atlantic for the UK and Nato to counter the threat of Russias evolving submarine force.
This photo taken with a mobile phone on Dec. 28, 2025 shows the site of a train derailment accident in Municipality of Asuncion Ixtaltepec, State of Oaxaca, Mexico. A passenger train carrying 241 passengers and nine crew members derailed on a bridge near Nizanda in southern Mexico on Sunday, leaving at least 13 people dead and 98 others injured, the Secretariat of the Navy said on social media. The train plunged into a ravine while en route to the municipality of Matias Romero, according to Oaxaca Governor Salomon Jara. Authorities have launched a rescue operation using ropes and specialized equipment to evacuate those trapped inside a train car. (Str/Xinhua)

MEXICO CITY, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- A passenger train carrying 241 passengers and nine crew members derailed on a bridge near Nizanda in southeastern Mexico on Sunday, leaving several people trapped and injured, the Secretariat of the Navy said on social media.

The train plunged into a ravine while en route to the municipality of Matias Romero, according to Oaxaca Governor Salomon Jara.

Authorities have launched a rescue operation using ropes and specialized equipment to evacuate those trapped inside a train car.

"Personnel from the state coordination of civil protection and risk management, state traffic police, and ambulances are already providing support, in coordination with the Secretariat of the Navy. We will continue to provide updates," said the governor. 

This photo taken with a mobile phone on Dec. 28, 2025 shows the site of a train derailment accident in Municipality of Asuncion Ixtaltepec, State of Oaxaca, Mexico. A passenger train carrying 241 passengers and nine crew members derailed on a bridge near Nizanda in southern Mexico on Sunday, leaving at least 13 people dead and 98 others injured, the Secretariat of the Navy said on social media.

The train plunged into a ravine while en route to the municipality of Matias Romero, according to Oaxaca Governor Salomon Jara.

Authorities have launched a rescue operation using ropes and specialized equipment to evacuate those trapped inside a train car. (Str/Xinhua)

This photo taken with a mobile phone on Dec. 28, 2025 shows the site of a train derailment accident in Municipality of Asuncion Ixtaltepec, State of Oaxaca, Mexico. A passenger train carrying 241 passengers and nine crew members derailed on a bridge near Nizanda in southern Mexico on Sunday, leaving at least 13 people dead and 98 others injured, the Secretariat of the Navy said on social media.

The train plunged into a ravine while en route to the municipality of Matias Romero, according to Oaxaca Governor Salomon Jara.

Authorities have launched a rescue operation using ropes and specialized equipment to evacuate those trapped inside a train car. (Str/Xinhua)
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Angola and Namibia have agreed to enhance co-operation with the UK on deportations, following a November threat from Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to impose visa bans on countries failing to take back citizens.

In November, Ms Mahmood warned that visas could be halted for countries failing to co-operate on the removal of illegal migrants.

Namibia, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of Congo were initially identified as facing such restrictions, despite accounting for a tiny number of UK visas.

The Home Office had previously accused those nations of unacceptably poor and obstructive returns processes, frustrating efforts to remove thousands of illegal migrants and criminals by refusing paperwork and requiring individuals to sign their own documents, effectively blocking deportations.

Angola and Namibia have now agreed to new processes, the Home Office confirmed, which will enable the UK to return illegal migrants and foreign national offenders shortly.

The UK has revoked fast-track visa processing and halted preferential visa treatment for diplomats and VIPs from the DRC as a warning after it failed to make changes.

open image in gallery Home secretary Shabana Mahmood announced plans to overhaul the asylum system in November ( PA Wire )

There has since been some engagement from the country but Ms Mahmood has again warned she is willing to take further action.

A government source said the home secretary "won't hesitate to go further and ban visas to other countries who refuse to take their citizens back".

Ms Mahmood said: "We expect countries to play by the rules. If one of their citizens has no right to be here, they must take them back.

"I thank Angola and Namibia and welcome their co-operation. Now is the time for the Democratic Republic of Congo to do the right thing. Take your citizens back or lose the privilege of entering our country.

"This is just the start of the measures I am taking to secure our border and ramp up the removal of those with no right to be here."

open image in gallery Foreign secretary Yvette Cooper has told British diplomats to take a more transactional approach to illegal migration ( PA Wire )

Ms Mahmood unveiled sweeping reforms in November aimed at deterring migrants from seeking asylum in the UK and making it easier to remove people with no right to be in the country.

The three countries threatened with a visa ban are not among the most common nationalities of migrants to enter the UK legally or illegally.

They accounted for a tiny proportion of the more than 800,000 visas granted for employment, study, family or humanitarian reasons in the year to June - 299 to those from the Democratic Republic of Congo, 273 for nationals from Angola and 140 for those from Namibia.

And they made up only a handful of the illegal migrants recorded as having entered the UK through so-called "irregular" routes in that timeframe, with only 11 coming from the DRC, three from Angola and none from Namibia.

Foreign secretary Yvette Cooper has told British diplomats to take a more transactional approach to illegal migration as part of efforts to speed up returns.

She said: "I have instructed our diplomatic network around the world to make returns a top priority, and today's announcement shows that when countries work with us, we can achieve more rapid results.

"People who come to the UK illegally, overstay their visas, or commit crimes in our country should expect to be returned, and we will continue to demand the cooperation of their governments in that process."

Since Labour entered government in July 2024, nearly 50,000 people have been deported from the UK and more than 7,000 foreign national offenders have been returned.
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Sir Keir Starmer nominated a former adviser for a peerage despite him having previously campaigned for a councillor charged with child sex offences.

Earlier this month, Downing Street announced that Matthew Doyle, who served as No 10 director of communications before stepping down in March, had been nominated for a peerage by the prime minister.

Downing Street has now admitted that Mr Doyles links with Sean Morton were thoroughly investigated before he was nominated for a peerage, with several interviews taking place with Mr Doyle himself.

It is understood that No 10 was satisfied that a past acquaintance did not represent a bar to Mr Doyle's appointment to the Lords.

Morton, who was the Scottish Labour councillor for Fochabers and Lhanbryde, was charged with possessing and distributing indecent images of children in December 2016 and was later convicted in February 2018 of crimes including possession of several pictures of naked girls as young as 10.

open image in gallery Matthew Doyle has been nominated for a peerage ( The Labour Party )

Morton was suspended by Labour after appearing in court, but Mr Doyle is reported to have campaigned for him when he sought re-election as an independent councillor in May 2017.

Pictures seen by The Sunday Times show Mr Doyle wearing a T-shirt reading Re-elect Sean Morton. The newspaper also reported that he accompanied Morton to the election count.

In a statement to the newspaper, Mr Doyle said: Sean Morton was maintaining his innocence at this time. I regret supporting him.

Sean Morton was someone I knew for a period through other shared acquaintances. I have not seen him for years.

Morton was given a community payback order, which included 140 hours of unpaid work within nine months. He also received a three-year supervision order and was placed on the sex offenders register.

It comes just weeks after Scottish Labour MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy announced she would not seek re-election to Holyrood over links to Morton.

Mr Duncan-Glancy stood down as the partys education spokesperson after admitting she made a serious error of judgement over her links to the sex offender.

She said: While this has obviously been a very difficult decision  and it is the greatest honour of my life to represent Glasgow  I do not wish for a personal friendship to become a distraction.

I am grateful to have had the opportunity to serve, and I remain committed to returning a Scottish Labour government next year.

A Downing Street spokesperson said: Questions regarding Matthew Doyles past acquaintance with Sean Morton were thoroughly investigated, including through several interviews with Matthew Doyle, prior to his appointment.

Mr Doyle and Morton have been contacted for comment.
Online, Alyssa Bolanos is a magnet for outrage.

Will be hilarious when you move back, someone commented on the video she posted a month after arriving in Uruguay with her husband and two kids. No way Id raise my kids under that, another replied to a video she posted of shopping malls in the South American country.

Bolanos didnt mince her words in response: Too bad for your kids. Have fun with them getting shot at school in the U.S.

Bolanos was supposed to be proof of the American Dream. A native New Yorker from a Cuban-American background, her family came over to the U.S. with dreams of making a better life for themselves. Some of her cousins are Marielitos, part of the mass exodus of Cubans who arrived in Florida on small boats from the island nation in 1980.

Unlike other refugees, Cubans were given a special wet foot, dry foot status, meaning that they were allowed to stay in the country and to apply for a green card legally, once they made it to U.S. soil. Until Barack Obama ended the policy in 2017, that meant that there was effectively no way to illegally enter the US if you were Cuban  and that you were almost guaranteed a green card and eventual naturalization once you arrived.

We Cubans had a very privileged immigration journey to the United States, she says. You know, wet foot, dry foot, you've got here  boom, you got asylum, you got a path to citizenship. And Cubans forget that. When her family members see videos of ICE agents aggressively detaining other Latinos now, they just think that they are so far removed because oh, well, we're not like them. We're citizens. We came here legally. And I think legal is arbitrary in that sense. You got lucky!

Like most Cuban Americans, Bolanos relatives are mostly Republicans. Most of them voted for Donald Trump and continue to support him.

My grandmother would call me a communist, she says, with a laugh. Im like: Im not a communist, Abuela, Im a social democrat.

During the Obama administration and the first four years under Trump, Bolanos worked in immigration. Again, this is not unusual for somebody from her background: Latinos make up more than 50% of Border Patrol agents in the United States, as well as almost a quarter of ICE agents. The reasons for this seem to be because the job is highly paid and stable. Immigration officers are also needed in the states where Latinos are most likely to live, near the southern border in states like New Mexico, California and Texas. And in a country where most immigrants and refugees come from Spanish-speaking countries, being able to speak the language is a distinct advantage.

Bolanos was comfortable in her immigration job for years. She felt that she was mainly helping out families who were trying to improve their lives and navigate a difficult system. But then, during the first Trump administration, things started to change.

I left the field because of the policies he was putting in place, she says. How she saw those policies playing out on the ground began to affect both her mental and physical health. My whole familys immigrants, she adds. So I really went into it wanting to help people like our family. In the end, she walked away feeling defeated and just broken down. She still offers her services freelance to families who need it, but she knew by the end of the first four years of Trump that she never wanted to work in an official capacity for the United States again.

Things quietened down a little when Biden was president. But then came 2024, and a second Trump term.

This January came around and very quickly things got even worse than the first time, she says, and that was kind of our sign of: OK, no, we can't do this again. We can't live in this country. And we left.

open image in gallery Previous to their decision to leave in the summer, Alyssa and her husband owned a business together. Before that, Alyssa worked in immigration. She now gives immigration advice over Zoom while the family travels, and her sons are involved in a 'world schooling' program instead of attending US schools ( Alyssa Bolanos )

Within weeks of Trump winning the election, Bolanos and her husband made a very rushed plan to leave by the end of summer. They enrolled their two children  boys aged four and six  in a world schooling curriculum with a program called Boundless Life, which provides co-working hubs and educational centers specifically tailored to travelling expat families (their hubs include Tuscany, a small town in Portugal, the Greek island of Syros, and the current location of the Bolanos family: the upscale seaside town of La Barra in Uruguay.) They sold their possessions and said goodbye to their families. They now plan to spend a couple of years travelling the world, before settling permanently in the place they feel is best for their family. They do not intend to return.

We were very scared to raise our children in a place where their parents could be detained just because we spoke Spanish, despite being citizens, she says. That was a really big fear of ours. As time has gone on since they made their decision, shes only felt more and more that it was the right one. Her kids dont do active shooter drills. Her neighbors dont watch breathless, divisive, fear-mongering news programs that make them look at each other with suspicion. Healthcare is easily accessed and affordable. The pace of life is slower, more manageable, and more child-friendly.

Bolanos gets a lot of criticism online, as well as a lot of support. She often gets angry DMs from Americans who want to either let her know that shell come crawling back eventually or that theyre glad liberals like her are leaving. But just as often, she hears from people who are also planning to move their families out of the United States. Were out as of Jan 2nd and cannot wait to exit this hellscape, wrote one commenter when Bolanos announced their plans at the beginning of the year.

There are foreigners, too, who follow Bolanos online and want to let her know that they once thought theyd move to the US and have now decided against it. Growing up, the dream as a foreigner was to live in America, one wrote, a few weeks ago. Maturing is being glad you didnt grow up in America.

The reactions are mixed, in other words, but theres one reaction  one particular phrase  thats surprisingly common. Again and again, this phrase is repeated by various commenters on videos shes posted throughout the year, and its a phrase that resonates with her deeply: The new American Dream is leaving America.

The countries making a play for American expats

One of the reasons Alyssa Bolanos can make a living out of documenting her familys experience expatriating from the United States on social media is because there is now a huge amount of interest in doing so. In May, the UKs Home Office announced that it was dealing with a record number of Americans seeking British residency, with 2,000 applications having been submitted in the first six months of 2025 alone. The amount of Americans moving abroad in the first quarter of 2025 was more than double the amount who did the same in 2024. And a recent survey done by Harris Poll found that four in 10 Americans say they are interested in moving abroad for a better life; most alarmingly, that rises to more than half of all millennials and more than six in 10 members of Gen Z.

But its not just the people who are currently planning to leave who should be of concern to the US: its the people who will never arrive. College enrollment has been down across the country for a number of years, partly due to a demographic shift caused by people having fewer children. It nosedived recently after the Trump administrations change to student visas kept out the international students who would usually make up for the falling numbers of Americans. This sudden drop  a decline of 30-40 percent in new students from abroad, and 15 percent in international student enrollment in this academic year  could end up costing the US economy $7 billion.

Already sensing a brain drain after Trumps attacks on elite universities, other countries have sought to take advantage. Frances new Lafayette Scholarship, launched in September, will sponsor 30 exceptional Masters-level American students in any area of study  from science and engineering to humanities and the arts  to move to one of Frances top 15 institutions for a year, clearly intending to tempt Americas finest to consider positions outside their homeland for their academic careers. Aix-Marseille University went even further, launching a Safe Place for Science program that promised to sponsor American scientists whose work was threatened by the Trump administration. The first scientific refugees under this program  a group of eight Americans working in areas as diverse as climate change research and biological anthropology  arrived in France in July.

Elsewhere, the Free University of Brussels announced in March that it was actively seeking to help excellent researchers currently working in the US which see their line of research threatened to relocate. Three decorated Yale University professors  all of them experts in either fascism or historical authoritarian regimes  recently moved to Toronto University in Canada. And Chinese institutions have been actively reaching out to American researchers about Trumps anti-science revolution, to much fanfare from the Chinese media.

A poll conducted earlier in the year found that three-quarters of research scientists at American universities are actively considering leaving the country. Another survey, conducted among postdoctoral researchers working at colleges across the country, found that more than half of all postdocs had been directly impacted by the Trump administrations decision to cut funding to universities within just six weeks of the decision being announced. Many were turning up to their jobs every day and sitting at their desks or outside labs, unable to continue with their research because federal funds had been suddenly stopped. In a country where almost 90 percent of research is dependent on federal funds, thats a serious problem  for the country as a whole, but also for academics careers.

open image in gallery Alyssa Bolanos says that people are much friendlier in Uruguay, and there's a much more easygoing atmosphere because people aren't regularly watching divisive news programs that turn neighbors against one another ( Alyssa Bolanos )

On social media, content about leaving the US has exploded. Since 2021, content produced by influencers who have left America and are now seeking to make money remotely by documenting their everyday lives on Tiktok and Instagram has become increasingly popular. Even on Reddit, where usernames are anonymous and content is image-free, the community of people expressing an interest in leaving America has grown exponentially in the past four years. The subreddit r/AmerExit  a place specifically for Americans to share tips about the logistics of moving abroad  has 171,000 weekly visitors and over 1,000 posts per week.

I moved from Tucson to Copenhagen a month ago! Love my hometown, but god damn public transit and access to affordable healthcare is so nice, writes one recent contributor. I love love love not owning a car, and not feeling deprived because I don't, writes another, who says he moved to Scotland.

A quick scroll through the posts shows that almost everyone in the planning stages of leaving the US is a graduate or a skilled worker in roles that remain in demand inside the country: an architect looking to move to the Netherlands, a commercial truck driver heading to Canada, an IT consultant hoping to move to Denmark, a software engineer and speech-language pathologist hoping to move their young family to France, Netherlands, Germany, Australia, or Japan.

Uruguay  the current location of Alyssa Bolanos family  is a popular choice. One poster, who describes himself as a cybersecurity expert, echoes the reasons given by most others for their departure plans: I am a father of 3 and me [and] my wife are considering moving abroad given the current climate in the US. We no longer feel safe - daily school shootings, daily kidnappings by federal agencies, etc. In just two, matter-of-fact sentences, its a damning indictment of the America Trump promised to make great again.

The very rich are looking for a Plan B

For Mohamed Bennis, the jump in American expatriation is simply good business. An associate vice president at Arton Capital, a company that empowers high net worth individuals and families to become global citizens by investing in a second residence or citizenship, he says hes experienced a large increase in interest from Americans over the past year.

The nationality of people that made the most requests to our company in the last 12 months have been US, says Bennis. Those include tech people who can be more mobile, who are on the verge of selling companies or the end cycle of running a company. So its not 30-year-olds who are calling us. Theyre in their 40s all the way up to their 60s, pre-retirement. These people have a business strategy or a liquidity event on the horizon: in other words, theyre about to come into a large sum of cash. And they want to spend that cash on making sure they can leave America in the next few years.

Bennis specializes in golden visas, i.e. visas that can be bought for large sums of cash by very wealthy people, circumventing the usual immigration requirements, such as the Citizenship by Investment path in Malta, which grants citizenship to the country after 12 months of residency for 750,000 euros ($871,000) plus a 700,000 euro ($813,000) property investment and 10,000 euro ($12,000) charitable donation. That means hes in a good position to predict a brain drain, because his clients come to him years in advance of planning to move. A golden visa takes a long time to arrange and requires months of logistics; pursuing it is costly, time-consuming, and only for people who are sure they need an insurance policy against being stuck in America long-term. In other words, golden visa applicants are either mid-career or imminently planning a retirement where they plan to spend huge amounts of money. And theyre betting against the US being a good place to live in the future.

Theyre looking at relocating in the next three to five years, and they want to make sure they have access when that happens, says Bennis. ...You dont do it when youre ready to move, with the golden visa  you do it that little bit ahead of time, so youve grandfathered your place in. It sounds a little like Elon Musks view of Earth when he talks about space travel: a great place to live for now, but one where you almost certainly need a solid exit plan.

Interest in golden visas has been exponential, Bennis adds, partly because of how the political winds have changed. People who once assumed they could easily expatriate are now seeing anti-immigrant sentiment explode across the globe. And recent protests against wealthy expats driving up living costs in lower-income countries have made the rich fearful that they might not have the freedom they once did to go wherever they pleased. As Bennis puts it, We took for granted our mobility, and now we see that its not going to be the same  theres no more status quo in mobility.

Bennis works with a lot of very rich people, but hes also started to see middle class Americans expressing an interest in expatriating in the same way. Its not unheard of to invest 250,000 euros [$290,000] to get a property in Greece and get residency there, he says. I mean, thats still manageable for someone who has a decent job and a few assets in the United States  were not talking about millions. Its still a product that can be really accessible for middle class, upper middle class, and of course high net worth individuals to have a Plan B in a residency elsewhere.

open image in gallery Alyssa Bolanos says that she believes travel makes people more compassionate and open-minded, and that it's important for her that her sons learn those traits ( Alyssa Bolanos )

Retirees are surprisingly important to the American economy: the National Institute on Retirement Security recently found that their spending alone fuels $1.5 trillion in economic output across the US per year, as well as 7.1 million jobs and over $224 million in tax revenue. If US workers choose to spend their pension income elsewhere, that giant-sized economic footprint that benefits virtually every community across the country  as it was described by NIRSs executive director Dan Doonan when he co-published the report  will be lost, to huge effect.

A different kind of future

Alyssa Bolanos and her family are settling into Uruguay: the people are kind and the air is clean, and her kids look forward to school every morning. But there are challenges, too. For one thing, Uruguay is not a very diverse country, which is reflected in its culinary offerings: I cant find Cuban coffee  or if I have a craving and I want Mexican food, its not happening.

Her eldest son especially misses family and his home comforts.

My oldest is like, Why can't we go back to Florida? she says. And I have to try to navigate in a nice way. How do I explain that Florida's not safe because they don't like people that speak Spanish like us? It's hard. And I think really the only way I combat that is by traveling with them and showing them that there are so many good places in the world.

For Alyssa, America has always been about its immigrants: the opportunity to sample different foods, to get to know people from across the world, and to widen ones perspective. She thinks fondly on her upbringing in New York, and it especially saddens her that the city might change and become less diverse as a result of Trumps policies.

New York was this huge global melting pot, and I grew up with so many different cultures around me that even when I traveled for the first time out of the country, I already felt like I'd been other places, she says, because you go uptown and you go to the Heights for Dominican food or where I was raised in Corona, Queens was half-Italian, half-Mexican, and Jackson Heights had Colombian food. So it does sadden me that the rest of the country can't understand how beautiful it is to have that blending of culture and how that makes the US so special.

What does an America that rejects this blend of communities look like? The data offers an unsettling preview. And though its all being done in the name of economic growth, the numbers also show that its the economy itself that stands to lose the most.
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Family members have confirmed that the body recovered on the north side of Monterey Bay, California, is that of a 55-year-old triathlete, Erica Fox.

Foxs body was pulled from the ocean just south of Davenport Beach around 2 pm on Saturday, according to KRON.

Her father also confirmed that it was her body in an interview with NBC San Francisco.

In a report, The San Jose Mercury News confirmed that Fox was the victim of a shark attack.

On Sunday, Fox was reported missing. She was last seen at Lovers Point in Pacific Grove near the bay's south side. There are approximately 30 miles between Lovers Point and Davenport, where the body was recovered on Saturday.

Authorities in Santa Cruz found a body in the water near Monterey Bay a week after a swimmer went missing in a suspected shark attack off a nearby beach ( Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. )

Due to the close proximity to the recent shark attack victim in Monterey County, our agency is working closely with the Monterey County Sheriffs Office and the Pacific Grove Police Department regarding the recovery, the sheriff's office said. The investigation remains ongoing.

Fox, in a 2022 interview with The Independent said she felt comfortable in the water, but also understood its dangers.

Fox said at the time that shark encounters reported in Pacific Grove hadnt stopped her or her fellow swimmers from spending time in the water. She said shed never encountered a shark herself, but understood and respected that the ocean was foreign territory for humans.

As soon as you dive in the water, youre immediately in a foreign land. We are the ocean ecologys humbled guests, she told The Independent.

She added that she felt more vulnerable riding my bike than being in the water.

Two Monterey beaches were closed on Sunday "as a precautionary measure due to unconfirmed shark incident at Lovers Point in Pacific Grove," according to a City of Monterey social media post.

A pair of witnesses reportedly told authorities that they believe that Fox may have encountered a shark on the day she disappeared, according to the San Luis Obispo Tribune.

It has not been confirmed that Fox was involved in a shark attack, nor has it been confirmed that the body found in the water is connected to a shark attack.

Chris Lowe, the director of the Shark Lab at California State University, Long Beach, told the Santa Cruz Sentinel that the coastline near Lovers Point attracts sea lions and seals, which are primary prey animals for white sharks.

Sharks migrate from the more bottomless ocean to the coast in October to feed and typically remain in the area until January.

They will hunt and they will patrol off these areas where these animals congregate, Lowe told the outlet.

Despite their presence, shark bites remain extremely rare.

Since 1950, there have been 16 people killed by sharks in California, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. All cases were confirmed as white sharks, except for one incident in which the species was not confirmed.

In the Monterey area, there have been 13 shark bite incidents since 1950. Most of the victims were divers or surfers. Only two swimmers have been attacked by sharks since 1950.

Rescue workers launched an 84-square-nautical-mile search of the area where Fox disappeared. Still, that search was suspended after 15 hours, according to a joint statement from the Monterey Fire Department, Pacific Grove Police Department, Monterey County Sheriff's Office, and the U.S. Coast Guard.
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Two pilots involved in a mid-air helicopter collision in New Jersey have died, authorities said.

Police in Hammonton, about 35 miles southeast of Philadelphia, responded to a report of an aviation crash around 11:25 a.m. Sunday, and police and fire crews extinguished flames that engulfed one of the helicopters.

Authorities identified the pilots as Kenneth Kirsch, 65, and Michael Greenberg, 71. The two were friends who both lived in New Jersey and would often have breakfast together at a cafe not far from the site of the crash, KVUE reported.

Kirsch was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital after the crash, while Greenberg died at the crash site.

Statements from witnesses had the two helicopters flying close together just before the crash, Hammonton Police Chief Kevin Friel said. The crash site was approximately a mile and half from the airport in a farm field.

open image in gallery Two helicopters crashed mid-air in New Jersey Sunday afternoon, killing both pilots involved ( WPVI-TV/6ABC )

open image in gallery The FAA and NTSB are investigating ( WPVI-TV/6ABC )

The Federal Aviation Administration described the crash as a mid-air collision between an Enstrom F-28A helicopter, flown by Kirsch, and an Enstrom 280C helicopter, flown by Greenberg, over Hammonton Municipal Airport.

Only the pilots were on board each aircraft, officials said.

Videos circulating on social media showed thick gray smoke billowing out from the area of the crash. Other footage reportedly showing the crash showed a helicopter spinning out of control as it fell toward the ground.

Sal Silipino, the owner of the nearby cafe frequented by the pilots, said the two would often have breakfasts together. He said he and other customers saw the helicopters spinning out of control before falling to the ground.

It was shocking, he told KVUE. Im still shaking after that happened.

Hammonton resident Dan Dameshek told NBC10 that he was leaving the gym when he saw the two helicopters spiraling out of control.

Immediately, the first helicopter went from right side up to upside down and started rapidly spinning, falling out of the air, Dameshek said. And then it looked like the second helicopter was OK for a second, and then it sounded like another snap or something ... and then that helicopter started rapidly spinning out of the air.

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board were at the crash site Monday, authorities said.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board have been notified are will be investigating the crash, police said.

With reporting by the Associated Press.
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A new state law will require all public libraries in Illinois to stock medications that can reverse opioid overdoses after at least one library in the state reported multiple overdoses each year.

The new law, which goes into effect January 1, will require all public libraries in the state to stock opioid overdose reversal drugs and allow trained staff to administer them in the event of a suspected overdose, the Illinois Department of Public Health said earlier this month.

Many libraries across the state have already stocked overdose reversal medications like naloxone or nalmefene to help patrons who have potentially overdosed.

Opioid abuse among library patrons is a real challenge and an unfortunate reality, Rob Simmons, the director of social services and public safety at the Oak Park Public Library, told the Chicago Tribune.

Simmons estimated that about two or three people overdose at the library each year, often in the bathrooms.

open image in gallery All public libraries in Illinois will soon be required to stock medications that can reverse opioid overdoses under a law that goes into effect January 1 ( AFP via Getty Images )

I think to have an intervention available on-site that can save lives is crucial, Simmons said.

As of April, there were roughly 76,500 overdose deaths nationwide reported over the previous 12 months  their lowest level since March 2020, according to the latest available data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most overdose deaths in the United States are caused by fentanyl, a synthetic opioid.

Naloxone, the generic name for Narcan, rapidly reverses the effects of an opioid overdose by blocking the drugs impact on the nervous system. Millions of doses have been administered by frontline health workers, but the nasal spray can be administered without medical training.

Staff at the Oak Park Public Library in a suburb west of Chicago have helped save the lives of about 20 people who overdosed on opioids, according to Simmons.

The Oak Park Public Library has kept naloxone supplies on hand, and supplies are replenished several times a week.

We know opioid antagonists like Narcan, if administered when someone is having an overdose, can be very effective in preventing someone from dying from an overdose, said Democratic state Rep. Anna Moeller, who sponsored the bill.

Libraries are public places, she said. You have a lot of people who are there. It could be a place where somebody might be having an emergency like that.

open image in gallery Naloxone, the generic name Narcan, is a nasal spray that can be administered without medical training to reverse the effects of an overdose ( AP )

The new law isnt expected to cost the libraries anything, according to Moeller, who said libraries can receive free opioid antagonists and training through the state.

Similar to the library in Oak Park, the public library in Evanston, a city north of Chicago, has also kept naloxone sprays stocked for community members to take when needed.

Ahead of the law going into place, the Evanston Public Library also acquired a stash of supplies to be used specifically by staff in emergencies.

Two-thirds of the Evanston Public Librarys staff have already been trained on how and when to use opioid antagonists, Ellen Riggsbee, the marketing and communications manager for the library, told the Tribune.

We know this is just a realistic part of a librarys work, Riggsbee said. Its a public library and we have to ensure the safety of everybody who comes in.
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Sen. Bernie Sanders cautioned against the rapid growth of AI, including the physical infrastructure to support it, in an interview Sunday where he warned that American workers could be left behind by big tech.

The two-time presidential contender voiced the growing concerns of many of his fellow progressives during an appearance on CNNs State of the Union.

With growing numbers of American companies embracing AI in everyday situations including interactions with customers as well as the surging popularity of AI chatbots, the Republican-held Congress spent key parts of 2025 debating a ban on regulation of artificial intelligence at the state level, effectively making themselves the only authority in the country with the power to impose restrictions on the technologys development or use.

President Donald Trump reignited his calls for that legislation to pass in the fall, though Congress has not yet acted.

On Sunday, Sanders warned that Republicans were guiding the U.S. into a dangerous future for American workers, who he said that AI stakeholders like Elon Musk and Bill Gates predict will lose their jobs on a massive scale as working becomes optional and heavily reliant on robots.

open image in gallery Sen. Bernie Sanders warned about the economic and social impacts of AI on Sunday's State of the Union ( CNN - State of the Union )

This is the most consequential technology in the history of humanity... Theres not been one single word of serious discussion in Congress about that reality, said the Vermont senator.

Sanders added that while tech billionaires were pouring money into AI development, they were doing so with the aim of enriching and empowering themselves while ignoring the obvious economic shockwaves that would be caused by the widespread adoption of the technology.

Elon Musk. [Mark] Zuckerberg. [Jeff] Bezos. Peter Thiel... Do you think theyre staying up nights worrying about working people? Sanders said. What are they gonna do when people have no jobs?

If there are no jobs and people wont be needed for most things, how do people get an income to feed their families? asked Sanders, quoting Gates.

His remarks come on the heels of data backing up those predictions. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) study released this year theorized that more than 11 percent of jobs currently part of the U.S. labor market could be replaced or made obsolete with the adoption of AI, including many human resources and logistics positions in fields such as health care and finance.

Similarly, in the UK, the National Foundation for Educational Research wrote in a November report that as many as 3 million jobs could be at risk across the country within the next 10 years.

open image in gallery Donald Trump, seen here at a White House-sponsored AI event in 2025, has called for Congress to ban states from regulating Artificial Intelligence ( Getty Images )

Progressives like Sanders have argued that states must be free to implement their own restrictions on AI, including on content. Numerous legal and political issues surround the technologys use and development, including the resource cost of AI datacenters that use sizable amounts of electricity and have been blamed by some for driving up energy costs in surrounding communities.

In Congress some of the hardest discussions about AI occurred in November when a House panel examined the effects of AI chatbots on Americans and in particular younger children and teens. No federal restrictions have been pursued to restrict the access of children to AI chatbots while critics of the technology seized on a study this year that indicated as many as one in eight American teens had reported turning to an AI chatbot for emotional support.

Young people now are spending an enormous amount of time with AI. There are kids who are now getting most of their emotional support from AI. If this trend continues, what does it mean over the years, when people are not getting their support, their interaction, from other human beings but [instead] from a machine? What does that mean to humanity? asked Sanders on Sunday.

The science-fiction fear of AI running the world is not quite so outrageous a concept, Sanders said.

Other progressives in Congress echoed Sanders fears, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez during that AI chatbot hearing in November.

"We're talking about a massive economic bubble," Ocasio-Cortez said in November. "Depending on the exposure of that bubble, we could see 2008-style threats to economic stability."

The president issued an executive order in mid-December calling on Congress once again to ban state AI regulation and vowing to check state laws that challenged his authority or AI development in any way.

My Administration must act with the Congress to ensure that there is a minimally burdensome national standard  not 50 discordant State ones. The resulting framework must forbid State laws that conflict [with White House policy], read Trumps order, which continued: That framework should also ensure that children are protected, censorship is prevented, copyrights are respected, and communities are safeguarded. A carefully crafted national framework can ensure that the United States wins the AI race, as we must.
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Approximately half of the recommendations in Project 2025 have become official policies, presidential directives or overall goals of the Trump administration in the first 12 months of President Donald Trumps second term.

The nearly 1,000-page ultra-conservative policy blueprint emerged from the Heritage Foundation think tank in 2023 and was widely seen as a possible manifesto for a second Trump turn despite denials by the candidate himself and many of those around him.

Filling the federal workforce with political appointees, phasing out the Department of Education, rolling back major Biden administration-era policies on climate change, axing diversity polices and offices, as well as ramping up immigration deportations, were some of the major policy changes that aligned with the conservative mandate.

Its an unsurprising finding, given that major Trump administration officials are authors or contributors to Project 2025, including Office of Management and Budget director Russell Vought, border czar Tom Homan, FCC chairman Brendan Carr, CIA director John Ratcliffe, trade adviser Peter Navarro, SEC chairman Paul Atkins and many more.

Yet, the president appeared to downplay his understanding of it in June 2024 when he declared, I know nothing about Project 2025 and I have no idea who is behind it.

open image in gallery Many of Trumps executive orders appear to align closely with Project 2025s recommendations ( Getty Images )

Here are the areas where The Independent found Trump administration polices that reflected ideas set out in the 887 pages of Project 2025.

The federal workforce

Project 2025s recommendations regarding the restructuring of the executive office and federal workforce have some of the most significant overlap with the Trump administrations agenda.

The overall goal for the federal workforce, specifically within the executive branch, was to remove career civil servants and ensure that most employees are aligned with the presidents agenda while also reducing the size of the workforce by making cuts to grants and funding.

Project 2025 called for reinstating Trumps first-term executive order, making 50,000 employees easier to dismiss by classifying them under Schedule F, designating them as at-will roles which made it easier to fire them. Trump did that on day one. Also successfully implemented was Project 2025s call for the Office of Personnel Management to take more control over the federal workforce hiring process.

open image in gallery Thousands of federal employees have been forcibly removed from their positions through reductions-in-force at the hands of the Trump administration  though Project 2025 does encourage the president to be wary of such ( AFP via Getty Images )

While the Department of Government Efficiency was not part of Project 2025, its swift efforts to make sweeping cuts have helped cut down the workforce. Approximately 317,000 employees have left government jobs.

In addition, Project 2025 calls for the president to exert more authority over the executive branch by pushing for the Supreme Court to overturn a precedent that prohibits the president from firing individuals. The high court is currently considering this case.

Cuts to grants and funding

Project 2025 recommends that nearly every government department and agency conduct thorough reviews of grants and contracts to ensure no money is being allocated to projects that do not align with the presidents agenda.

Trump has fulfilled that goal, first by attempting to freeze all grants and then by taking a steadier approach to cutting back funding for polices or projects he does not agree with. Much of that impacted the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Throughout the year, the administration has cut funding to nonprofits or organizations embarking on green energy projects, as well as scrapping research projects aimed at renewable energy.

Project 2025 explicitly asks the administration to cut funding to public media such as NPR, PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting  all of which the president has done.

open image in gallery Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon have vowed to shut down the Department of Education and move its functions to separate departments  a suggestion from Project 2025 ( REUTERS )

Education

Trump and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon have made it clear they intend to phase out the Department of Education  a suggestion Project 2025 clearly recommends.

While completely shutting down the department requires an act of Congress, Project 2025 lists ways the administration can reduce the departments powers. The Trump administration has turned many of those suggestions into policy.

That includes getting rid of Bidens student loan forgiveness policy, removing protections for transgender or nonbinary students, scrapping diversity initiatives, and promoting parents choice.

Trump also implemented Project 2025s call for the administration to withhold or review accreditation for colleges and universities that adopt DEI policies or are not deemed to be doing enough to protect religious freedom.

Immigration

Project 2025s policies on harsher immigration policies are synonymous with the Trump administration and, if anything, the president has taken further steps to crack down on legal and nonlegal immigration than the mandate suggests.

open image in gallery Cracking down on immigration has been a staple policy of the administration  both a promise from Trumps campaign and a suggestion from Project 2025 ( Getty Images )

The president has tightened restrictions on foreign-born worker visas, penalized sanctuary cities, directed harsher penalties against undocumented immigrants with criminal records, expanded countries with travel bans and sought to redefine birthright citizenship (though Project 2025 does not call for that.)

Project 2025 asks the president to consider utilizing the National Guard or other military personnel to assist in immigration operations along the border and to consider increasing federal law enforcement presence in sanctuary cities.

Trump has taken up both suggestions and also combined them to deploy the National Guard in cities conducting immigration operations.

DEI and protections for LGBTQ+

The Trump administration quickly fulfilled Project 2025s goal of removing all mentions of diversity, equity and inclusion in department policies, but it has also taken up suggestions to punish those who participated in promoting DEI.

Trump also removed protections for transgender individuals by redefining sex and gender to no longer include nonbinary or trans people, which Project 2025 calls for.

The administration also restored a former Trump administration policy that prohibits transgender individuals from serving in the military and eliminated a Biden-era policy to protect transgender student-athletes.

open image in gallery Democrats including Colorado governor Jared Polis used warnings about Project 2025 to try to sway voters away from Trump  however, the president distanced himself from the Heritage Foundations mandate ( AFP/Getty )

The administration has taken up other specific suggestions in Project 2025, such as eliminating Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood, modernizing nuclear facilities, and removing environmental protections to increase oil and gas drilling.

Going into 2026, the administration is likely to take up other suggestions in Project 2025 that it wasnt able to implement swiftly  namely, implementing policies and goals that combat China.
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Top officials and federal agencies in Donald Trumps administration used their official government social media accounts to share explicitly religious messages and declare Jesus the nations savior during the week of Christmas, drawing warnings from First Amendment advocates fearing a critical breach of the church-and-state firewall.

The Department of Homeland Security shared two videos on X with the caption Christ is Born!

Another post from the agency included the caption we are blessed to share a nation and a Savior with an 85-second video with rapidly cut-together American Christmas imagery with a cassette-like filter.

Both messages were shared by the White House.

Merry Christmas to all. Today we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote that the joyous message of Christmas is the hope of Eternal Life through Christ.

open image in gallery Posts shared by Trump administration officials and government agencies used explicitly religious messaging on Christmas ( Department of Homeland Security )

In a video posted to X, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins claimed that the very best of the American spirit  flows from the very first Christmas, when God gave us the greatest gift possible: the gift of his son and our savior, Jesus Christ.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon wished you and your family a day filled with lasting memories as we celebrate the birth of our Savior.

Let Earth Receive Her King, the official account for the Department of Labor wrote.

Their messages and other posts across government accounts  sharply diverting from generalized greetings for religious holidays  swiftly drew criticism from First Amendment and religious freedom advocates who warned that the Trump administration is once again appearing to favor a religious state.

The First Amendments establishment clause prohibits the government from establishing a religion or favoring one over another, while the free exercise clause ensures the freedom to express ones faith. Thomas Jefferson had stressed the importance of a wall of separation between the church and state to prevent religious dominance in governance.

Justice Department civil rights division chief Harmeet Dhillon said the agency relies on the principles of the First Amendment and religious freedom protections on a daily basis to protect Christians, pointing to legal actions defending conservative Christians and anti-abortion activists.

open image in gallery Christmas messages from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other Trump administration officials drew warnings from First Amendment and religious freedom advocates who feared a breach of the firewall between church and state ( Secretary of State )

The Trump administrations social media posts are one more example of the Christian Nationalist rhetoric the Trump administration has disseminated since Day One in office, according to Rachel Laser, president of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Our Constitutions promise of church-state separation has allowed religious diversity  including different denominations of Christianity  to flourish in America, she said in a statement.

Former Homeland Security spokesperson Alex Howard called the messages an inappropriate use of official government channels.

Americans dont share a religion, added Alex Nowrasteh, senior vice president for policy at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think-tank. Our state is secular.

Administration officials responded to criticism and requests for comment with Merry Christmas.

open image in gallery The Trump administration has seen an expansion of evangelical Christian influence across government while the Justice Department is tasked with rooting out perceived anti-Christian bias ( Getty Images )

Nearly two-thirds of Americans identify as Christian, according to the Pew Research Centers most recent Religious Landscape Study. That reflects a roughly 16-point decline from 20 years ago, while the largest share of Americans who dont identify themselves with any religion climbed up by more than 13 points to 29 percent this year.

Nearly one in four Americans identify as evangelical Christians, but they played a crucial role in Trumps presidential elections, including roughly 80 percent of white evangelical voters in 2024.

In February, the president directed a task force at the Department of Justice to fully prosecute anti-Christian violence and vandalism in our society and move heaven and earth to defend the rights of Christians and religious believers nationwide.

He also established the Religious Liberty Commission in the Justice Department and appointed televangelist pastor Paula White-Cain as a senior adviser to the White House Faith Office.

The Trump administrations alignment with an evangelical base also is parallel to a growing effort among religious right-wing special interest groups to move public funds into religious groups and education.

The president has also long promised his evangelical base that his administration would work to repeal tax code that prohibits tax-exempt charitable organizations from endorsing or opposing political candidates, which would upend decades of federal law intended to prevent campaigns from using churches as political tools.

Earlier this year, the IRS indicated that it would allow churches and houses of worship to endorse political candidates from the pulpit without losing their tax-exempt status.

Amid several cases at the Supreme Court backed by Trump-aligned groups, liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned in 2022 that the conservative-majority court continues to dismantle the wall of separation between church and state that the Framers fought to build.

She has warned that the court is treating the separation of church and state as a constitutional slogan, not a constitutional commitment.
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Donald Trump hailed crucial peace talks between the US and Ukraine as terrific, but acknowledged thorny issues remained before a deal could be achieved over the war with Russia.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky travelled to Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Sunday hoping to make progress on the proposed 20-point peace plan, with particular concerns over security and economic agreements.

The two leaders gave little away during a press conference following the discussions, but Mr Trump said he believed a lot of progress had been made.

European leaders, including UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, also had a one-hour call with the pair as part of the negotiations, which president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said was good, adding: Europe is ready to keep working with Ukraine and our US partners.

However, the US president's call with Russian leader Vladimir Putin shortly beforehand suggested obstacles to peace remain.

open image in gallery Volodymyr Zelensky said there had been great achievements during a press conference following the talks ( Getty Images )

Mr Zelensky said great achievements had been made following the talks, including 100 per cent agreements on security guarantees between the US and Ukraine. He added security guarantees between the US, Europe, and Ukraine were almost agreed.

But Mr Trump described territorial issues, including contested regions such as Donbas and Zaporizhzhia, as thorny and yet to be agreed.

The Ukrainian leader shook hands with Mr Trump on the steps of the Florida residence shortly after 1pm local time [1900 GMT] as the US president told reporters: Well get it done, and added: "I do think we have the makings of a deal... We are in the final stages of talking.

Mr Trump said he would be speaking to Mr Putin following the meeting, as he described both Russia and Ukraine as willing countries.

A Downing Street spokesperson said Sir Keir emphasised the UKs commitment to working closely with partners to sustain momentum in the coming days during the call with other leaders.

open image in gallery Trump and Zelensky in Mar-a-Lago ( AFP via Getty Images )

The Russian president may have been physically absent from the talks, but his influence was felt distinctly. Mr Trump said he had a very productive call with Mr Putin over the phone ahead of the crunch negotiations  conversations Moscow said took place at the US leaders request.

Later, Kremlin spokesperson Yury Ushakov said the pair had a broadly similar view that any temporary ceasefire would prolong the conflict, and urged Ukraine to make a decision over the Donbas region without delay.

Prior to the meeting, Mr Zelensky made it clear "territorial issues" would remain a key point as Moscow and Kyiv are still divided over the fate of the highly coveted Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.

Mr Zelensky said that while these have been some of the most active diplomatic days of the year, plenty would depend on the partners and whether or not they would put pressure on Moscow.

open image in gallery Trump was joined by advisers, including Pete Hegseth and Marco Rubio ( AFP via Getty Images )

President Trump told Politico on Friday that Mr Zelensky doesnt have anything until I approve it, as he continues to regulate negotiations between the warring countries. He also said he expected to speak with Mr Putin as much as I want.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday that Moscow had been in contact with the US. "It was agreed upon to continue the dialogue," he said.

Ahead of the meeting, Russias foreign minister Sergei Lavrov warned that, as talks of security guarantees continue, any European troop contingents deployed to Ukraine would become legitimate targets for Russias armed forces.

In remarks published by Russias state news agency Tass, Mr Lavrov, without evidence, accused European politicians of being driven by ambitions in their relations with Kyiv and disregarding the people of Ukraine and their own nations.

Russias president applied pressure on Saturday with a timely barrage of almost 500 drones and 40 missiles on Kyiv, where two people died while dozens were admitted to hospital, including two children.

open image in gallery Kyiv experienced a large airstrike on Saturday, during which two people died ( AP )

Ukraines capital faced large-scale power cuts that left citizens without heating during the sub-zero winter temperatures.

In a meeting with Canadian prime minister Mark Carney in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Saturday, Mr Zelensky said the key to peace is pressure on Russia and sufficient, strong support for Ukraine. To that end, Mr Carney announced more economic assistance from his government to help Ukraine rebuild.

Mr Carney denounced the "barbarism" of Russia's latest attacks on Kyiv and credited both Mr Zelensky and Mr Trump with creating the conditions for a "just and lasting peace" at a crucial moment.

Ukraine is willing to do whatever it takes to stop this war," Mr Zelensky posted on X on Saturday. "We need to be strong at the negotiating table."
Potential uses range from drug discovery and medicine to materials science. Google Quantum AI is pursuing a six-milestone roadmap to build a large error-corrected quantum computer with a goal of 1 million qubits. The division regularly collaborates with universities and national labs to provide access to their processors via the Google Cloud platform.

The algorithm also achieved verifiable quantum advantage, which means it is repeatable and can be checked by other quantum systems. The work on the Quantum Echoes algorithm is a major step toward practical applications.

The Willow chip, unveiled in late 2024, has achieved two major milestones. First, it can significantly reduce error rates as more qubits (quantum bits, the basic units of quantum information) are added, which is a crucial step for building a scalable and reliable quantum computer. In October 2025, Google Quantum AI announced a breakthrough algorithm called Quantum Echoes run on the Willow hardware that generated a calculation demonstrably faster (13,000x) than any classical supercomputer.

Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG), through its Google Quantum AI division, is a leader in developing quantum computing technology focused on creating a large-scale, error-corrected quantum computer for solving problems currently impossible for classical supercomputers. Its recent work has led to significant breakthroughs, including the Willow quantum chip.

On today's list, I've included one quantum computing stock from each bucket for long-term investors to consider. Let's dive right in.

On the other hand, pure-play quantum computing stocks can be highly speculative, early-stage companies whose stock prices are often volatile and tied to technological breakthroughs and future potential rather than current profits, but which could deliver higher returns if successful.

Investors can approach this sector in two primary ways: through established tech giants or pure-play start-ups. The former offer a more stable entry point, as quantum computing is only a small part of their diversified operations. This approach can limit the impact of quantum-specific volatility on your overall investment.

Quantum computing is a promising field with massive long-term potential, but it is still in its early commercialization phase. This can make investing in quantum computing businesses a high-risk, high-reward proposition suitable for only a small portion of a diversified portfolio.

IonQ is a pure-play quantum stock that could prove compelling for some long-term investors.

Even as it pushes ahead in AI, Alphabet is making notable headway in quantum computing.

Investors who want to capitalize on the future of quantum computing have a few options.

Story Continues

Unlike smaller pure-play quantum computing companies that require constant fundraising, Alphabet can leverage immense profits from its core advertising and Google Cloud businesses to fund decades of research without pressure for immediate commercial viability. A key challenge in quantum computing is error correction. The Willow chip was designed to exponentially reduce errors as qubits are added, which is a major technical advance over competitors.

The company's vision includes integrating future quantum computing capabilities into its existing AI ecosystem and Google Cloud platforms. In the third quarter, Alphabet's revenue grew 16% year over year to $102.3 billion, and net income climbed 33% to about $35 billion. The company is also a leader in artificial intelligence (AI), which is driving real business results and driving heavy investment in data centers and custom chips.

Alphabet maintains a virtually unassailable financial position, with a strong balance sheet including $98.5 billion in cash and marketable securities, and low debt too. Long-term investors who want to add wealth-building stocks to their portfolio should certainly consider taking a position in this business.

2. IonQ

IonQ (NYSE: IONQ) IonQ is a leading pure-play quantum computing company that utilizes trapped-ion technology to build high-performance quantum systems. Unlike competitors like Alphabet and International Business Machines that primarily use superconducting qubits, IonQ's approach leverages naturally occurring, identical trapped ions as qubits.

By using naturally stable atoms that are isolated in a vacuum, IonQ's qubits are less susceptible to environmental noise and decoherence. In short, this can lead to fewer errors and more reliable results.

In October 2025, IonQ achieved 99.99% two-qubit gate fidelity, a critical industry benchmark that essentially means its quantum computers can perform complex operations with extremely high accuracy. Every qubit in an IonQ system can directly interact with any other qubit. This slashes the computational overhead and errors required to move data between qubits.

IonQ is actively collaborating with partners to solve complex problems in several sectors. The company is working on accelerated drug development workflows with companies like AstraZeneca and Nvidia, it's partnered with Hyundai to use quantum AI for image recognition in self-driving cars, and even collaborated with Airbus to optimize high-complexity cargo loading problems.

IonQ operates with an evolving business model that's designed to monetize its proprietary trapped ion technology through three primary avenues. One is through QCaaS, or Quantum Computing as a Service, a cloud-based model that lets major cloud providers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google access quantum hardware, software, and tools remotely, much like traditional cloud services.

Another revenue source involves partnering with government agencies and enterprises for specialized quantum applications. IonQ is also expanding into quantum networking, sensing, and security after strategic 2025 acquisitions like Oxford Ionics and Vector Atomic.

In Q3, IonQ's revenue surged 222% year over year to $39.9 million. The company reported a substantial GAAP net loss of $1.1 billion, largely due to non-cash charges related to warrant liabilities and acquisition costs. Following a $2 billion equity offering in October, IonQ holds a pro forma cash balance of $3.5 billion and carries zero long-term debt.

IonQ could enrich long-term investors if it successfully transitions from a high-growth speculative play to a dominant utility in the quantum era. It is currently the only pure-play public quantum company with triple-digit annual revenue growth and widespread cloud integration.

Should you invest $1,000 in Alphabet right now?

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Rachel Warren has positions in Alphabet and Amazon. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, AstraZeneca Plc, International Business Machines, IonQ, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Are These 2 Quantum Computing Stocks the Key to Decades of Wealth? was originally published by The Motley Fool
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Irans president has claimed that his country is in an all-out war with the West, days before Donald Trump meets with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Masoud Pezeshkian said that the full-scale war with the US, Israel and Europe was worse than Irans war with Iraq in the 1980s, in which hundreds of thousands of people died.

We are in a full-scale war with the US, Israel and Europe; they do not want our country to stand on its feet, he said in the interview published on the website of the countrys supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Saturday.

Mr Pezeshkian said the Wests war against Iran is more complicated and more difficult compared to the 1980-88 war with Iraq that left more than 1 million casualties on both sides.

open image in gallery Pezeshkian spoke in an interview published on the Ayatollahs website ( via Reuters )

In the war with Iraq, the situation was clear: they fired missiles, and I also knew where to hit, he explained. Here, they are besieging us from every aspect, they are putting us in difficulty and constraint, creating problems  in terms of livelihood, culturally, politically, and security-wise  while raising societys expectations.

On one side, they block our sales, our exchanges, our trade, and on the other side, expectations in society have risen! Consequently, we must all help with all our might to fix the country.

The remarks came just two days before a planned meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Netanyahu during the Israeli leaders visit to the US.

Iran is expected to be a key topic in the talks after Israel and the US came together during a 12-day air war in June, which killed nearly 1,100 Iranians, among them senior military commanders and nuclear scientists. Retaliatory missile barrages by Iran killed 28 in Israel.

open image in gallery Israeli air defence systems are activated to intercept Iranian missiles over Tel Aviv in June ( AFP/Getty )

Mr Netanyahu is expected to brief Mr Trump on possible new Iran strikes during his visit, according to NBC, as Israel remains concerned that Iran is expanding production of its ballistic missile program.

On top of the Iranian presidents war declaration, the Ayatollah shared a statement for the 2025 annual meeting of the Union of Islamic Student Associations in Europe on his website, where he said that Iran had overcome a heavy assault by the US army.

He said: The heavy assault by the US army and its disgraceful extension in this region was overcome by the initiative, courage, and sacrifice of the young people of Islamic Iran.
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A man has been sentenced to 20 months in jail for stealing a fellow passengers luggage on a Singapore Airlines flight.

Liu Ming, 26, boarded the Dubai to Singapore flight on 7 August and attempted to steal items from the bag of an Azerbaijani man and his wife in the business class cabin.

Liu, a Chinese national, pleaded guilty to one charge of theft.

The court was told that Liu boarded the flight specifically with the aim of stealing high-value items from fellow business class passengers.

The victims bag contained items with a value exceeding S$100,000  57,625 ( Getty/iStock )

Liu was seated five rows in front of an Azerbaijani business class passenger, 52, and one row in front of his victims wife.

In the early hours of 8 August, Liu tried to act after the dinner service had finished and the cabin lights had been dimmed.

The victim was asleep, but his wife woke up from a short nap to see Liu walking to her husbands seat and taking the victims luggage from the overhead compartment, carrying it back to his seat.

The victims wife confronted the man and alerted the cabin crew after she did not understand his response. After realising he was in trouble, Liu returned to the victims seat and replaced the luggage in the compartment from where he had taken it.

Liu told the cabin crew that he had taken the luggage by mistake after confusing it with his own bag. The cabin crew informed group staff at Changi Airport, and Liu was arrested upon arrival at the airport.

The victims bag contained items with a value exceeding S$100,000 (57,625). The items included cash and a Huawei laptop worth about S$2,100, 56 cigars worth more than S$5,400, a Chopard watch worth more than S$35,000, and an Audemars Piguet watch worth more than S$51,000.

No items were found missing, the court heard, because the victims wife confronted Liu soon after he took the luggage from the compartment.

Police said Liu was uncooperative during investigations and continued to deny the theft and maintain that it was a mistake.

However, Lius bag was entirely different from the victims bag, differing in both appearance and material.

Deputy public prosecutor Cheah Wenjie sought up to 20 months in jail.

The proliferation of theft offences on board Singapores national carrier would tarnish its reputation, and that of Singapores tourist industry, he said.

The sentence comes after another Chinese man, Zhang Kun, was jailed for 10 months in May for stealing from a fellow passenger on a Scoot flight.

He was arrested on a Kuala Lumpur to Singapore flight on 16 March for stealing a backpack from a victim from the overhead compartment.
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At their now infamous meeting in the Oval Office in February, US president Donald Trump told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky what he considered to be an important home truth: Youre not in a very good position. You dont have the cards right now. With us, you start having cards.

As the pair prepare for their next meeting at his home in Florida, it seems that Mr Trump hasnt changed his mind. Contemplating the completion of a possible peace deal brokered by his own personal envoys and the Ukrainians, the US president still sounded sceptical: He doesnt have anything until I approve it. So well see what hes got. I think its going to go good with him. I think its going to go good with Putin.

President Trump may be right about Ukraines present predicament, which is in large part due to the withdrawal of much of Americas previously strong support. But he is wrong to think that President Zelensky is a hopeless supplicant with no advantages of his own. Mr Zelensky cant win the war  but neither is defeat  the erasure of Ukraine  inevitable.

Quite apart from the demonstrable bravery and resilience of the Ukrainian people, and the still widespread international support for their cause, Mr Zelensky also has a remarkable gift for ingenuity in negotiation.

As things stand, he has been markedly more amenable to talks with Mr Trumps personal representatives, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, than has Vladimir Putin. In recent weeks, he has taken seriously Mr Trumps idea for a demilitarised economic free zone across the disputed and partially occupied eastern provinces of Ukraine, the Donbas. Kyiv has also, reportedly, been open to dropping its application to join Nato  a key Russian demand  in return for the kind of proper Nato-style security guarantees that America has so far been reluctant to provide.

Before that, he signed the minerals deal with the Americans and has indicated a willingness to concede some control over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant (apparently destined to power cryptocurrency mining).

All of this diplomatic manoeuvring has taken place against the backdrop of renewed Russian missile and drone strikes on Kyiv, a reminder that while talks inch forward, Ukraines civilians continue to pay the price of delay.

Now, Mr Zelensky has skilfully played another card  a referendum in Ukraine on any future territorial settlement. It is, of course, a gamble. A peace agreement that Mr Zelensky finds acceptable could nonetheless be rejected by the Ukrainian people. A narrow defeat for what would be Mr Zelenskys plan would be an especially difficult and divisive outcome for his country and its future war effort.

Such a result would be interpreted, correctly, as a repudiation of his leadership, and would surely prompt his resignation. The Russians would seize upon it as a pretext to escalate their campaign of terror against the Ukrainian people, while whatever vestigial sympathy for Ukraine still lingers in Washington would promptly evaporate. Even Ukraines most powerful European allies would despair. Organising such a vote would also be extraordinarily difficult in active war zones and across the Ukrainian diaspora. Mr Zelensky says a 60-day truce would be needed  a pause that would also suit him on the battlefield.

Yet the chances of success for this referendum ploy are strong enough to justify Mr Zelensky putting it to Mr Trump. Any change to Ukraines borders can only be legal under the constitution if it is confirmed in a national referendum. Any end to the war that leads to a lasting peace, with minimal dissent, would have to command a democratic mandate in Ukraine.

Ukraine stands little chance of regaining all the ground lost since President Putins special military operation was launched in February 2022, let alone Crimea, lost in 2014. If a new border were drawn along the current front line, that might be judged the best that could realistically be hoped for  devastating as it would be for the Ukrainians thus abandoned to Russian hegemony. But, by the same token, Mr Zelensky can argue that neither he nor his people, in a free referendum vote, could accept Russias demand that they withdraw from areas in Donetsk and Luhansk that Russian forces have been unable to seize militarily.

Forging this link between democratic legitimacy and territory is a smart move by Mr Zelensky, as is his now customary air of abject obeisance in the presence of an increasingly imperial Mr Trump. Their meeting in Washington in October went off far better than anyone involved had any right to expect (helped by the absence of the rebarbative JD Vance), and it is at least possible that Mr Zelensky will receive a fair hearing from Mr Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

Where Mr Zelensky has been the epitome of sweet reasonableness, engaging seriously with American proposals, the Russians have been obdurate, making themselves look like the brutally stubborn irredentists they surely are. In the past, Mr Trump has said he is becoming weary of Putin, and suspects he may be playing him along. Reality about Russian insincerity may yet fully dawn on Mr Trump in the coming days.

Mr Zelensky never held all the cards. But he does have a hand he can play  and a deal that can be won. This poker game is far from over.
Diana, Prince Harry, Prince William and then prince Charles at William's first day at Eton in 1995. Photo: Tom Wargacki

An adviser to then prince Charles joked with Irish officials in 1995 that his ex-wife, Princess Diana, may want to plan a high-profile trip to Ireland just to upstage her former husband.
Taoiseach invited loyalist leaders to Dublin in 2003 for face-to-face talks

Then-taoiseach Bertie Ahern was warned that republicans were attempting an ethnic cleansing policy in Northern Ireland.

Confidential government files reveal Mr Ahern was told by members of the Loyalist Commission during a Dublin briefing that republicans were trying to create no-go areas for Protestants in parts of the six counties.
State Papers reveal discussion about potential appearance of animals on RTEs Late Late Show in 1986

Irish officials were distressed at the suggestion a hugely successful visit to Dublin Zoo by two Chinese giant pandas may in any way have contributed to the subsequent death of one of the pandas.
The government refused to pay the full claim by Lord Longford and Viscount de Vesci for bomb damage caused to properties they owned in Dun Laoghaire during World War II.

Confidential files released as part of the State Papers reveal the government was determined to reduce as much as possible the cost of compensating property owners, business operators, householders and ordinary working people for such damage.
Just because you did it before and didnt die, doesn't mean you won't next time  frontline doctor's chroming warning as hospitalisations rise
Diplomat putting the focus on shared security issues

The new British ambassador to Ireland has said maritime and cyber security are among the major issues both countries must tackle together.

Kara Owen, who took up the role in September, told the Sunday Independent: Im sort of really struck when I think back to the 1990s when I started as a diplomat, it feels very, very different to that world.
In the space of just two years, Pierce has had a brain haemorrhage and breast cancer

Declan Pierce was sitting on a plastic lilo, soaking up the sun on the first day of his holiday in Spain when his phone rang. He was keeping a watchful eye on his eight-year-old daughter playing by the pool when his doctor called  to tell him he had cancer.
Nora Carol Photography/Getty Images

Business Insider has spoken to dozens of financially independent investors.

As we head into 2026, BI rounded up their top wealth-building advice.

Tips include tracking net worth, house hacking, and leveraging income streams.

As economic uncertainty and market volatility reshaped Americans' views on money in 2025, one goal remained constant for many: achieving financial independence.

Business Insider has spoken with dozens of investors who've built wealth in very different ways, from disciplined index investing to real estate and entrepreneurship.

As we head into 2026, five financially independent investors shared the wealth-building strategies that worked for them  and the advice that could make all the difference for you in 2026.

Crunch your numbers

Dexter Zhuang is the founder of Money Abroad. Courtesy of Dexter Zhuang

It's hard to improve or measure improvement without knowing where you're starting from. If you want to build more wealth in 2026, take a look at your finances  how much you have in debt, in savings, and invested  and set a specific goal around net worth, income, or retirement.

When Dexter Zhuang set out to achieve Coast FIRE  an offshoot of the financial independence, retire early (FIRE) movement  he began by determining his "number." Hitting Coast FIRE means you don't have to continue contributing to your retirement accounts; the current amount will grow and compound enough over time to support your retirement goals, allowing you to "coast" into your golden years.

He used an online calculator from WalletBurst that takes into account your current age, retirement age, annual spending in retirement, and other factors. Once he had his number, he could work backward to figure out what it would take to hit that goal, whether that meant saving more, earning more, or a combination of both.

Ask '$30,000 questions,' not '$3 questions'

'I Will Teach You To Be Rich' author Ramit Sethi. Courtesy of Ramit Sethi

If you want to build lasting wealth, forget about the small stuff.

"Target is not your problem. Coffee is not the problem," said Ramit Sethi, personal finance author and the host of Netflix's "How to Get Rich." "Those are minor financial purchases. They're what I call $3 questions."

Sethi, who has spoken to hundreds of couples and individuals about their personal finances, says that most people are overly concerned with minor, day-to-day purchases: "Did I spend too much on dessert? Did I buy too many toys?"

The wealthy, on the other hand, focus on what he calls "the $30,000 questions."

These are questions such as:
The Indo Daily: Melania: The Movie  We saw it, so you dont have to...
Jon Kennys diagnosis forced him off the merry-go-round to spend time with his kids, wife reveals in new documentary

A new documentary on RTE looks at the life of the late comedian

Jon Kenny in rehearsal for his role of Bull McCabe in John B Keane's play 'The Field' in 2012

Lynne Kelleher Sun 28 Dec 2025 at 06:30

The wife of the late entertainer Jon Kenny has said he looked at the bigger picture when he became ill and saw it as a gift of time with his children.
Albert Reynolds was urged to increase the amounts paid out

Then-taoiseach Albert Reynolds was urged to increase the compensation awards to men suspected of involvement in the 1976 Sallins train robbery.

Four members of the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) were arrested on suspicion of being involved in a train robbery when the Cork-Dublin mail train was held up near Sallins, Co Kildare, on March 31, 1976. Around IR200,000 was stolen.
Recent High Court case over Trinity College Dublin students described as a warning to Government

The polite handwritten note the squatters dropped through a neighbours letterbox suggested they believed they were doing the community a favour.

Hiya, nice to meet you! We just moved in next door thinking this was an abandoned property. We have been clearing up the place and gathering everything belonging to the Gunning family, it read.
Telecoms firms resisted government plan for mobile phone black outs to prevent bomb detonations

State Papers reveal fears devices could be detonated in Northern Ireland from calls or texts sent from the Republic

Michael McDowell was justice minister at the time. Photo: Collins

Ralph Riegel Sun 28 Dec 2025 at 06:30

Several mobile phone firms opposed a government plan to allow targeted black-outs for handset coverage amid fears bombs could be detonated in Northern Ireland by calls or texts sent from the Republic.
Uisce Eireann reported more than 1,200 pollution incidents last year, but only seven were prosecuted

Cork was the worst hit county, accounting for over 12pc of incidents

Ringaskiddy, Co Cork, where chemical exceedances and multiple discharge failures were reported. Photo: Getty

Ken Foxe Sun 28 Dec 2025 at 06:30

Uisce Eireann reported more than 1,200 pollution incidents last year at its water and wastewater facilities, but just seven of them resulted in prosecutions.
The competition for power is on. With artificial intelligence ramping up and the big data centers that support them coming online, the competition for power is driving up energy bills for industry and consumers, according to The Daily Upside.

The situation is leading some experts and homeowners to ask the question: Will AI price people out of their homes?

Housing and financial experts told GOBankingRates the answer is probably not simple.

A Significant Demand

AI data centers place a significant demand on the power grid, which will drive up the price of electricity, and the average American is likely to experience the most disruption from the higher prices, said Melanie Musson, a finance expert with Quote.com. The data centers will pay whatever it takes for electricity. It wont make a difference. However, the homeowner who has double the cost of electricity may struggle to maintain their lifestyle.

Read More: I Asked ChatGPT How the Average Person Can Make $100K From Home: Heres What It Said

Find Out: 9 Low-Effort Ways To Make Passive Income (You Can Start This Week)

Long-Term Affordability

Ive begun to consider energy expenses in the same manner that consumers consider commute times or school districts, said Taylor Szostak, realtor and founder of San Diego Military Real Estate. Although they dont often make headlines, they have a significant impact on long-term affordability.

Im already witnessing people attempting to make plans start talking about utility expenses as data centres draw more power from the grid. Increased monthly costs may affect a buyers eligibility, particularly for VA borrowers who require precise, predictable spending.

Increased Energy Costs

AI is changing a lot more than people realize, said Taylor Kovar, certified financial planner and CEO of 11 Financial. Those huge data centers that run AI systems use an incredible amount of power, which drives up demand on the grid. As energy costs rise, it filters down into everything  homebuilding, utilities and even property values in some areas.

If energy becomes more expensive or harder to access, Kovar noted, new developments could slow and existing homes could become pricier to maintain. He said its something worth watching, especially if youre looking to buy or build. Keep an eye on local energy projects and utility rates, because those small changes now could play a big role in housing costs down the road.

Need for Knowledge

AI is undermining the housing market in new and troubling ways that most of us dont even realize, said Gagan Saini, a real estate expert at JIT Home Buyers. Institutional investors now use AI to analyze and buy homes in seconds, frequently before a regular buyer has even had a chance to see them. Whats more, dynamic pricing algorithms could drive up home prices based on real-time demand, much like airlines price tickets.
Woman in Jeffrey Epstein files told FBI she was trafficked into Ireland for politicians and notable men

It is not clear whether US authorities have sought assistance from gardai

Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein

Maeve Sheehan Sun 28 Dec 2025 at 06:30

A woman alleged that she was trafficked to Ireland for politicians and notable men, according to an internal FBI email released with the latest tranche of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Actor Anna Healy on her unconventional marriage: The last six weeks, Ive probably seen him four days. Hes coming tonight and Im looking forward to seeing him. Its really nice and spicy

The actor on how moving away from the family home strengthened her marriage

Actor Anna Healy pictured for People and Culture. Photo: Gerry Mooney

Liadan Hynes Sun 28 Dec 2025 at 06:30

I feel we live so long now that the challenge is to reinvent ourselves all the time, and to keep going back in to see if were still alive, or if were just pacing out the hours and the minutes?
Peter Vandermeersch: As the media grapples with AI, lawsuits and increasing distrust, we must commit to more  and better  journalism

Tech giants extract its value, language models replicate its surface, political actors brand it an enemy  yet journalism remains a powerful source of truth

US president Donald Trump. Photo: Reuters

Peter Vandermeersch Sun 28 Dec 2025 at 06:30

Journalism did not suddenly reinvent itself in 2025. But it was the year in which long-looming forces made themselves impossible to ignore.
MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, including the dead Terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues.

This was Donald Trumps warning to Islamic State after the US attacked what it said were IS bases in Nigeria. It was arguably the most stark seasonal message ever delivered by a US president. How it may serve his ambition to receive a Nobel Peace Prize is not clear.

The Vatican does not believe that the conflict in Nigeria is being carried out on religious lines. Nigerias foreign minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar told the BBC it was a joint operation and had nothing to do with a particular religion.

The nation is a multi-ethnic country split between the mostly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south. Its population of almost 240 million is Africas largest.

Analysts say while violence has sometimes targeted Christians, it has also deeply affected Muslims.

Trumps aim of ending the carnage may be laudable. Yet previous American interventions under the guise of its war on terror mired the US in interminable overseas conflicts, which Trump promised to avoid. This weekend, Trump is expected to meet with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in Florida. At the top of Kyivs agenda will be security guarantees for Ukraine in the event of further aggression by Vladimir Putin, post agreement.

How the war-ravaged country is to be rebuilt is also likely to be pivotal, along with extracting reparations from Russia. It is understood, according to Ukraine, that the negotiations are 90pc there. But the remaining 10pc could yet be problematic.

In a conflict, one party can always claim victory, but building peace must involve everybody

Europes coalition of the willing is paying close attention, recognising that at some point it, too, is going to need to have dialogue with Moscow. But the Ukrainian leader has summed it all up succinctly. The answer is simple: if Ukraine demonstrates its position, it is constructive. If Russia does not agree, it means the pressure is insufficient, he said.

This is surely where Washington can play a pivotal role. The world was appalled earlier this year at the treatment of Mr Zelensky in the Oval Office, where he was egregiously accused of starting the war, although his country was invaded. Meanwhile, Putin has enjoyed the most cordial relations with the Trump administration.

Now, he too must be compelled to engage realistically. It is hoped a deal can be reached, although Russia will remain a threat regardless. Small wonder Europe and Nato are restructuring their security accordingly.

In his Christmas address, Pope Leo XIV urged people to pray for the leaders of Ukraine and Russia to find the courage to engage in direct talks to end the war.

If Trump is to seriously entertain Nobel ambitions, he might heed the words of the late Martti Ahtisaari, former UN special envoy for Kosovo, who said: In a conflict, one party can always claim victory, but building peace must involve everybody.

Getting Moscow on the same page as Ukraine would be a win for all.
Emer OHanlon: I gave up the Pill and rediscovered my feelings  and Im not the only one

In an age where everything turns political, it feels difficult to talk about the contraceptives facts

Emer O'Hanlon says the mood appears to be souring around the contraceptive pill. Photo: Frank McGrath

Emer O'Hanlon Sun 28 Dec 2025 at 06:30

Im 31 and the memory of growing up in an Ireland where unplanned pregnancy had earth-shattering consequences is strong. I always equated maturity and freedom with access to the contraceptive pill.
The HSE will hold a free walk-in clinic offering the childrens nasal flu vaccine (LAIV) in Galway over the Christmas break.

HSE West and North West explained the popup clinic is designed to make vaccination more accessible for families during the busy festive period.

The walk-in free of charge vaccine clinic for children aged 2 to 17 years is taking place on Monday December 29, from 10am to 1pm, at Galway East Primary Care Centre, H91 FCV9.

The LAIV (Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine) nasal spray is a quick, painless spray administered into each nostril, offering children aged 217 years effective protection against winter flu, the HSE explained.

All clinics are subject to vaccine supply availability and people are advised to check the HSE website for the latest clinic updates in advance of attending.

Dr Aine McNamara, Regional Director, Public Health West North West, said: Flu can be serious for children and those around them. We are encouraging as many parents as possible to bring their children to these free walk-in clinics. Vaccinating your child will protect them against what can be a nasty illness in children. It will also help protect more vulnerable family members such as grandparents and small babies.

HSE West and North West is urging all eligible people to get vaccinated as the country is battling the flu surge.

Eligible people can get their flu vaccines at participating GP clinics and pharmacies in Galway and protect themselves, their families and patients to whom healthcare workers provide care to.

The flu vaccine is strongly recommended and free for: everyone aged 60 years and older; people with underlying medical conditions; healthcare workers (including students in healthcare and social care); all children aged 2-17 years; pregnant women (at any stage of pregnancy); carers and household contacts of people at higher risk; residents of nursing homes and other long-stay facilities; people with regular close contact with poultry, waterfowl or pigs.

For more information about the flu vaccine, including where to get it, visit www.hse.ie/flu.
Scenes from small-town courthouses give a slice of rural Kerry life

Protests at storm-battered islands, chainsaw-defying farmers and, perhaps, the ultimate crime: alleged turf vandalism. Court in Kerry is like nowhere else. Who, after all, could forget the court story of Dingles whistling donkey of 2011?

There was no shortage of sombre and sobering cases in 2025. But often, the small stories tell us the most about our patch of home. At court, we see people at their worst and, sometimes, their best. Over the course of the year, we have brought you hundreds of stories from Kerrys six courthouses, from a thronged sitting on the Iveragh Peninsula to court overlooking the cow-dotted fields surrounding Listowel.

Here are nine of the Kingdoms most unusual courtroom dramas from 2025:

A chainsaw-defying farmer

The 32km south Kerry greenway follows the old Great Southern and Western Rail line over hill, bog and farmland. The first three kilometres opened this month, 11 years after its announcement and a substantial share of objections that ranged farmers objections to calls for the preservation of a rare Kerry slug and the Saint Patricks cabbage. One south Kerry farmer made headlines this year for persistently obstructing works. The court heard that James Clifford of Killurley, Cahersiveen stood before a track machine and before a worker wielding a chainsaw in September. Mr Clifford was ordered to stay away from the greenway.

Eagle-eyed garda

Crime isnt easy in a small town. In January, Listowel District Court heard the story of an off-duty garda who spotted a man he knew driving a Honda Civic while disqualified. The court was told the garda was on his way to work when he saw the man in clear view. John Healy of 11 Glenach, Sandhill Road, Ballybunion was one year into a six-year driving ban and charged with driving without a licence and for driving without insurance. He pleaded guilty. His solicitor, Padraig OConnell noted the evidence by an eagle-eyed, off-duty garda.

Protest with the puffins

Protestors took the open seas after a High Court challenge over landing rights stopped boat trips to Skellig Michael, a popular Unesco heritage site and one of Kerrys most important tourist destinations. The beehive-shaped huts on the dramatic monastic island served as the setting for a remote Jedi sanctuary in two Star Wars movies and summer tours to the island provide an economic buoy for local tourism. A challenge to the allocation process by unsuccessful bidders triggered an automatic suspension of landing rights for all operators. In early June, Justice Garrett Simons granted an application by the Office of Public Works to lift the suspension, allowing boat landings to begin for the summer season.

Noddys car

In April, a man received a two-year driving ban for offences including driving a defective car which was described as being in such a bad condition that it could hardly even be called a car. "It was like Noddys car, said his solicitor, Mr OConnell referring to the yellow car of the cartoon character that was in perpetual need of repairs. Charges against Michal Siwiec of Cahernane Meadows, Killarney also included drug driving, driving without insurance and driving without a licence. The car was seized and inspected. Gardai found serious defects in the vehicle.

Puck Fair

A longstanding tradition of the Puck Fair was upheld in July, when Judge Terence OSullivan, at the Killarney Circuit Court, ruled taps could flow until 3am during the festival. It overturned a July ruling at the Killorglin District Court, where Judge David Waters had refused an exemption in place since the 1970s. Prior to that, the pubs stayed open without restrictions. The festival, which dates to at least 1613, is famed for a wild goat that is crowned and raised above the towns revellers. In the appeal to Killarney Circuit Court, Barrister Katie OConnell said Puck is bigger than Christmas, that changing opening hours would erode the status of the festival and later openings allowed crowds to disperse in an orderly fashion.

A knife for cutting bread

In October, a lawyer told the court his client had carried a knife for cutting bread and an improvised blade to clean coins. Kristian Pablaks, then 32 and of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to possession of knives and a pointed blade. Solicitor Pat Mann told the court, He was just using it, for example, for cutting bread and so on. Mr Mann described the improvised blade as a six-inch nail.

The judge noted it was referred to as a shank.

He was using it for peeling coins, said the solicitor, who further noted his client was most affable.

An alleged bog vandal

In November, a Glanageenty man charged with damaging approximately 2,000 newly cut turf in 2023 told a small-town court he would rather go to jail than avail of bail. James Brian OConnor of Glanageenty, Ballymacelligott, was the first case of the day at the November sitting of the one-room Cahersiveen courthouse. And so, Mr OConnor (62) had time to reconsider. The court that Mr OConnor believed the bog was his own and did not, in fact, belong to Margaret Carmody. Mr OConnor sat on the hard bench that serves as the Cahersiveen dock for nearly two hours, alongside gardai, as the days cases were heard. The courtroom began to empty. Mr OConnor changed his mind and signed the bond. His case was adjourned.

Reports of a death

Drowning in Ventry Bay? Dead at a Dingle pub? Twice in one day? Reports of a gardas death were greatly exaggerated. A man appeared at Tralee District Court in late November for false reports to emergency services claiming Garda John Clancy, of the Dingle gardai, was in mortal peril. Michael Boyle (45), with an address listed as Mount Eagle Lodge, Cloghane, Ventry was charged over making three 999 calls on August 12 reporting Gda Clancy was dead or dying in various locations, the court heard. It is alleged he first reported that the garda lay dead after a disagreement with him at Paul Geaney's Pub in Dingle. Later that day, he allegedly phoned to say Gda Clancy was dead at Paddy Bawn Brosnans Pub in Dingle. An alleged third call claimed the garda was drowning in Ventry Bay. Mr Boyle was also charged for harassing the garda from August 12 to October 15. The case was adjourned.

Unpaid TV licences

Sheep farmers, a Ukrainian grandmother, gentlemen in their best tweed jackets and young mothers in leisurewear thronged the one-room Cahersiveen courthouse in September as a sizeable portion of the small south Kerry town was summoned to explain a lack of TV licences.

So cramped was the rural courthouse that the crowd spilled onto the street as defendants squeezed onto courtroom benches and stood shoulder-to-shoulder down the aisles. Once it became apparent most were present for unlicensed TV sets, the mood settled from anxiety to camaraderie.

The TV licence inspector remained in the witness box while the judge heard 37 cases. Based on the national average of 2.5 people per household, this would represent about seven per cent of the towns population. The state collected more than 4,500 in fines for unpaid fees.

Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme
The roll out of a text messaging alert system to report anti-social behaviour on rail services serving Kerry has taken a step closer to being approved after it was passed at the December meeting of Kerry County Council (KCC).

Fianna Fail Councillor Mikey Sheehy is calling on Iarnrod Eireann to examine the introduction of the system as a way of alleviating crime and anti-social behaviour after a rise in reported incidents on trains.

Cllr Sheehy asked KCC to formally write to Irish Rail asking them to assess the feasibility of a See It, Say Something style scheme that would allow passengers to confidentially report anti-social behaviour via text message without feeling threatened or intimidated.

He said he has personally witnessed incidents of anti-social behaviour on public transport and believes a discreet reporting system would make a real difference for passengers.

I have seen anti-social behaviour, first-hand, and I know how uncomfortable it can make people feel, particularly those travelling alone, he said.

Many passengers simply dont want to draw attention to themselves by reporting an issue. A text-based alert system gives people a safe, discreet way to speak up, he added.

Cllr Sheehy noted that Irish Rail already operates a similar system on parts of the Dublin rail network, but that its availability on regional and intercity routes  including those serving Kerry  remains unclear.

If this approach works well elsewhere, there is no reason it shouldnt be explored for services right across the country. I firmly believe this system would work and would significantly improve the sense of safety for rail users in Kerry, he said.

Cllr Sheehy insists the motion highlights the potential benefits of such a scheme for passengers and rail staff alike, allowing issues to be flagged early and dealt with appropriately, while also acting as a deterrent to anti-social behaviour.

This is a practical and sensible measure. Its about giving people confidence to use public transport and ensuring that rail travel is safe, welcoming and accessible for everyone, Cllr Sheehy concluded.
Gorey Community School Junior Cycle Distinction Awards Ceremony. Pictured is Roisin Healy receiving the Mark Berney trophy presented by Donnchadh O Morain from Gorey Specialist Orthodontics. PHOTO: Sabrina Ffrench

Gorey Community School Junior Cycle Distinction Awards Ceremony. Pictured is Roisin Healy receiving the Mark Berney trophy with her family, Sabrina, Aisling and Ronan Healy. PHOTO: Sabrina Ffrench

The achievements of Gorey Community Schools Junior Certificate class of 2025 were acknowledged at an award ceremony to celebrate receiving a top grade in the exams.

On Wednesday, December 17 over 400 parents, students and staff attended the event in at Gorey Community School to celebrate the wonderful achievements of the students.

A total of 87 students were presented medals from school principal Michael Finn for earning the highest grade, a distinction in their Junior Cycle exams.

With students receiving more than one result in the top grade, the school recorded a total of 179 Distinctions across a wide range of subjects.

Gorey Community School Junior Cycle Distinction Awards Ceremony. Pictured is Roisin Healy receiving the Mark Berney trophy with her family, Sabrina, Aisling and Ronan Healy. PHOTO: Sabrina Ffrench

A special congratulations was given to Roisin Healy, who was presented with the perpetual Mark Berney trophy to recognise her remarkable achievement of receiving nine Distinctions in her Junior Cycle exams.

She also received a special award by the schools sponsor Donnchadh O' Morain of Gorey Specialist Orthodontics.

Principal Michael Finn praised the students for their dedication and hard work which led to the amazing result. Congratulations to our outstanding Junior Cycle 2025 students who were honoured at a special awards ceremony to celebrate their exceptional academic achievement, he said.
President Donald Trump said on Sunday he was hopeful talks to resolve the war in Ukraine were closer after a lengthy meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Florida.

Trump and Zelensky indicated at a joint press conference that there was near agreement on a U.S.-Ukraine security agreement, but Trump said a few "thorny issues" around territory must be resolved. Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier in the day.
Key Points

Nvidia has climbed 40% so far this year, but this other AI player has advanced 65%.

This companys stock has picked up momentum in recent months.

10 stocks we like better than Alphabet 

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) is the artificial intelligence (AI) stock everyone has been watching over the past few years. The company has established itself as the leading AI chip designer and launched an entire ecosystem of products that make it the one to turn to for anything AI. All of this has resulted in revenue exploding higher -- and the stock price has followed. Nvidia shares have soared a mind-blowing 1,300% over the past five years.

The tech giant has continued with this momentum in 2025, reporting record levels of revenue and high demand for its products. The stock also has climbed, advancing in the double digits -- but it's far from being this year's biggest stock market winner. In fact, the following unassuming AI stock is quietly outperforming Nvidia in 2025. Let's find out more.

Image source: Getty Images.

Earnings strength over time

Nvidia is on track for a 40% increase this year, but fellow tech player Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) is heading for a gain of more than 65%. Alphabet picked up significant momentum in recent months, buoyed by its overall earnings strength, its position in AI, and the outcome of an antitrust suit.

We'll start out by talking about Alphabet in general. You may know this company very well, as it's the owner of something most of us use pretty regularly: Google Search. The world's No. 1 search engine, with more than 90% market share, has been Alphabet's ticket to billion-dollar revenue and steady growth year after year. This is as advertisers rush to the Google platform to catch us where they know they can find us -- and these ads generate the lion's share of Alphabet's revenue.

But Alphabet also has another significant, and growing, revenue source, and that's Google Cloud. This business sells a variety of cloud services to customers -- and here's where AI comes in. Google Cloud offers AI tools and platforms to those aiming to develop and use AI, and this has supercharged revenue in recent quarters. In the most recent period, for example, Google Cloud's revenue advanced 34% amid demand for AI infrastructure and generative AI services. Alphabet also has built its own large language model, Gemini, which it offers to customers -- and the company uses Gemini to improve its own business, for instance, making the advertising experience better and more productive for advertisers.
Zelensky flies into US for talks with Trump as Putin pounds Kyiv with drones and missiles

Free economic zone has been proposed for border areas

Civilian apartment buildings in Kyiv were blitzed by Russian drones and missiles yesterday

Max Hunder Sun 28 Dec 2025 at 06:30

Russia yesterday attacked Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine with hundreds of missiles and drones, ahead of what Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said would be a crucial meeting with the US president to work out a plan to end nearly four years of war.
Brigitte Bardot dies at 91; cause of death not disclosed

Associated Press

Image credit : X | @photo_histoire | Late Actress Bardot Dies at 91

A look at the 5 most controversial things Brigitte Bardot said

Dismissal of the #MeToo movement: Back in 2018, in an interview, Brigitte Bardot sparked backlash for her outspoken criticism of the #MeToo movement. She dismissed actresses who came forward with allegations of sexual harassment, labelling their claims as exaggerated and insincere. She also argued that some women used such accusations after flirtation to advance their careers.

Back in 2018, in an interview, Brigitte Bardot sparked backlash for her outspoken criticism of the #MeToo movement. She dismissed actresses who came forward with allegations of sexual harassment, labelling their claims as exaggerated and insincere. She also argued that some women used such accusations after flirtation to advance their careers. Derogatory comments about gay men: According to a BBC report, Bardot faced a major backlash for making disparaging comments about certain gay men, contrasting them unfavourably with her close friends and describing their behaviour in a demeaning and mocking manner.

According to a BBC report, Bardot faced a major backlash for making disparaging comments about certain gay men, contrasting them unfavourably with her close friends and describing their behaviour in a demeaning and mocking manner. Referring to her pregnancy as a "tumour": Next was, in her 1996 autobiography Initiales B.B., Brigitte Bardot controversially likened her pregnancy with her son Nicolas to a "tumour growing inside me," revealing her deep distress, reluctance to become a mother, and wish for an abortion, which was illegal in France at the time.

Image credit : X | @NiohBerg | French Icon Bardot Dies at 91, Rekindling Debate

Derogatory remarks about Reunion Island residents: Brigitte Bardot sparked outrage in 2019 with an open letter containing derogatory remarks about the people of Reunion Island. She referred to them as "natives [who] have kept their savage genes" and a "degenerate population still soaked in barbarous ancestral traditions."

Brigitte Bardot sparked outrage in 2019 with an open letter containing derogatory remarks about the people of Reunion Island. She referred to them as "natives [who] have kept their savage genes" and a "degenerate population still soaked in barbarous ancestral traditions." Brigitte Bardot sparks controversy with remarks on Muslims in France: Bardot frequently voiced criticism of Frances Muslim population and the practice of ritual slaughter. She raised alarms about what she called the 'Islamisation of France', claiming the country was being 'invaded once again by an overpopulation of foreigners, particularly Muslims."

Netizens react to the Bardot's controversial comments

Image credit : Reddit | @movies | Brigitte Bardot, 91, Passes Away Amid Controversy

About Brigitte Bardot's estranged son, Nicolas-Jacques Charrier

People

Brigitte Bardot, the French actress and one of the most iconic cultural figures and a defining symbol of 1960s cinema, has died at the age of 91. Celebrated for her groundbreaking film career and later known for her outspoken commitment to animal rights activism. Amid the tragic news, her death has also reignited conversations around several controversial statements she made over the years that often placed her at the center of public debate. Let's find out five controversial things Brigitte Bardot said and about her estranged son Nicolas-Jacques Charrier.According to, Bruno Jacquelin of the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the Protection of Animals, confirmed that Bardot passed away at her residence in southern France.He declined to disclose the cause of death and said that funeral or memorial plans have not even yet been announced. She had been hospitalised just last month.Brigitte Bardot's later years as an animal rights activist were overshadowed by repeated controversies tied to her outspoken views on immigration, race, religion, and social issues. As per reports, her comments led to six convictions in French courts, where she was fined multiple times for inciting racial hatred.These remarks later prompted a lawsuit from her ex-husband and son.The controversial statements of Brigitte Bardot have now sparked a fresh debate on social media after her death. One user on Reddit wrote, "She was also a horrible mother to her son. may she fade into obscurity. she does not deserve to be remembered."Another said, "I love her commitment to animals, and hope her foundation wont stop helping them. That seems to be the only good thing about her, but at least she had one.""It's a complex legacy. Bardot transitioned from a global cinema icon to a figure frequently at odds with the law for her outspoken views. Her history of legal fines for her statements is a major part of her public record."One added, "Some of us are old enough to remember those fines (they didn't happen all that long ago)."According to, Brigitte Bardot's only child, Nicolas-Jacques Charrier, was born on January 11, 1960, from her marriage to actor Roger Vadim. Bardot's complicated feelings about motherhood and the intense media scrutiny during her pregnancy led her to give birth at home.Following her divorce, Vadim was granted full custody of Nicolas, and Bardot largely stayed out of the public eye regarding her son's upbringing.
Helicopter collision near Hammonton airport prompts ongoing rescue efforts

BREAKING: Two helicopters have crashed at the same location in Hammonton, New Jersey.









 One helicopter is fully engulfed in flames







 A second helicopter is down in a wooded area nearby







 At least 2 trauma codes confirmed







 Crews are actively extricating at least one patient pic.twitter.com/ev76BrBFwM







 Steven Latham (@wienerdogwifi) December 28, 2025

Image credit : X | @InfoR00M | Helicopter Collision in New Jersey Leaves Victims Airlifted for Care

New video shows an aircraft spinning out of control; netizens react to the viral videos

Image credit : X | @MoonCallXBT | Witnesses Capture Helicopters Spinning Out of Control

What caused the Hammonton helicopter crash ?

HT

In a shocking incident, two helicopters collided near Hammonton Municipal Airport in Atlantic County, New Jersey, on Sunday, sending a thick smoke billowing into the sky. Emergency responders rushed to the scene as dramatic videos of the crash spread across social media, leaving the onlookers and authorities scrambling to determine what the incident was. Not only this, but one of the latest videos shows the aircraft spinning out of control after the mid-air collision. Let's find out what happened.The emergency alerts indicate that the collision occurred near 100 Basin Road, with one helicopter reportedly plummeting into a wooded area. At least one individual has been rescued, and search-and-rescue teams are still combing the site for others.Meanwhile, several videos from the scene show rising smoke, including footage that seems to capture one helicopter losing control before crashing.As soon as the tragic incident took place, social media got flooded with shocking videos. Multiple videos from the scene have emerged, with many showing smoke billowing from the crash site. One recently released clip seems to capture a helicopter spinning uncontrollably before it crashes.Reacting to the video, an X (formerly called Twitter) user wrote, "What caused the Hammonton crash today?""That's scary. Hope everyone is safe. Any updates?" While another said, "In searching hard for the updates. Will report soon.""Woahh this is so crazy, how could this have happened?! Only 20 minutes from me too.. praying everyone is okay"One added, "Im searching hard for updates! But yes fingers crossed"According to, early reports from the Hammonton helicopter crash indicate that the first responders were able to rescue at least one person from the wreckage, while search teams continued combing the surrounding area for additional passengers.Scanner communications later suggested that two victims were found, one reportedly deceased and another in cardiac arrest, both airlifted for emergency care. Authorities have not yet officially confirmed these details, and more information is expected as the investigation unfolds.While the Hammonton Fire Department took to their Facebook and wrote, "The Hammonton Fire Department, along with assisting agencies, is currently responding to an aviation-related incident in the area of Basin Road and WHP. Please avoid the area to allow emergency personnel to operate safely."
Allegations of widespread CCAP abuse

 Here is the full 42 minutes of my crew and I exposing Minnesota fraud, this might be my most important work yet. We uncovered over $110,000,000 in ONE day. Like it and share it around like wildfire! Its time to hold these corrupt politicians and fraudsters accountable







We ALL pic.twitter.com/E3Penx2o7a





 Nick shirley (@nickshirleyy) December 26, 2025





Who is Nick Shirley?

Image credit : X | @MarioNawfal | Minnesota Daycare Fraud Allegations Go Viral

Claims of oversight failure and potential historic fraud

Image credit : X | @libsoftiktok | Nick Shirleys Viral Investigation Reveals Empty Daycare Centers

Tom Emmer raises alarm over alleged misuse of funds.

KOMO

New York Times.

Image credit : X | @elonmusk| Viral Investigation Reveals Empty Daycare Centers and Sparks Political and Federal Responses

The Donald Trump administration suspends Minnesota funding

Bloomberg

A viral investigation by social media influencer Nick Shirley has ignited a nationwide debate over Minnesotas Child Care Assistance Program, raising serious questions about oversight and accountability in publicly funded childcare. The 42-minute video that is widely shared on X (formerly called Twitter) alleges that millions of taxpayer dollars are being funnelled to childcare centres that appear to be inactive or largely empty, prompting renewed scrutiny of how state assistance funds are monitored and distributed. The viral clip has now sparked Minnesota fraud scrutiny. Let's find out what exactly happened.In the video released on X, Nick Shirley claims that his team uncovered over $110 million in suspicious childcare assistance payments in a single day. This raised alarms about the potential abuse of Minnesotas Child Care Assistance Program.Following this, an investigation was launched that highlighted the licensed facilities, such as Minneapoliss Quality Learning Center, that reportedly received $1.9 million in CCAP funds in 2025 despite appearing inactive during daytime visits.In the viral video shared on X, Nick said, Here is the full 42 minutes of my crew and I exposing Minnesota fraud; this might be my most important work yet. We uncovered over $110,000,000 in ONE day. Like it and share it around like wildfire! It's time to hold these corrupt politicians and fraudsters accountable. We ALL work way too hard and pay too much in taxes for this to be happening; the fraud must be stopped.YouTuber Nick Shirley has stirred national debate with a viral investigation claiming that up to $8 billion in taxpayer dollars may have been lost to widespread welfare fraud in Minnesota.According to Shirley, state agencies overlooked clear warning signs while massive funds were allegedly funnelled into childcare transportation and healthcare programmes. According to Mint, Shirley claims that some of these centres were receiving hundreds of thousands, and in certain cases even millions, of dollars annually, despite little to no indication that they were actually functioning.In a the viral video, Nick can been seen accompanied by a local investigator known as 'David,' who said he has observed some of these sites sitting empty for years.While Shirley suggests the findings point to a massive breakdown in oversight, describing the situation as possibly one of the largest fraud scandals in the history of the US.According to, the allegations have prompted reactions from the federal authorities and political leaders. GOP Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who represents Minnesota, publicly questioned Gov. Tam Walz after the independent journalist Nick Shirley shared a 42-minute video showing his attempts to confront daycare staff over suspected irregularities.Well, at the same time, the federal prosecutors have indicated that 59 people have already been convicted in related schemes, with over $1 billion in taxpayer money allegedly stolen across three separate plots under investigation, an amount that reportedly surpasses Minnesotas annual spending on its Department of Corrections, reported theOn the other hand, the US Department of Labour reacted to the claims and said, we got bigger fish to fry. Not only that, but Tesla CEO Elon Musk also reacted to this and said, prosecute Governor Tim Walz.Following this reaction, Musk said, "The radical left has been using fraudulent government programmes for a long time to import and retain vast numbers of illegal (and legal, in some cases) immigrants to win elections and turn America into a single-party state, destroying any real democracy. The more you look at it, the more you will be horrified at what your tax money is doing and the fact that, if this is not reversed, your vote will mean nothing."The administration of President Donald Trump has announced a halt of $5.5 million in annual funding to Minnesota after allegations that individual and businesses in the state misused government loan programs.According to, the US Small Business Administration shared the decision on social media, highlighting the concerns about oversight and accountability.
The Copenhagen Test

Image credit : Peacock | Simu Liu and Melissa Barrera's still

What is The Copenhagen Test about?

The Copenhagen Test

Image credit : Peacock | The Copenhagen Test poster

What viewers are saying about The Copenhagen Test

The Copenhagen Test

Image credit : Melissa Barrera/ IG | Melissa Barrera's BTS from The Copenhagen Test

spending my day off watching The Copenhagen Test for the   of the show





Melissa Barrera is soooooo pic.twitter.com/F2LMLhwpyZ



 Isaiah (@isaiahsofyne) December 27, 2025

has quickly caught viewers attention on Peacock, earning rave reviews for its tense storytelling and slick execution. Starring Simu Liu and Melissa Barrera, the thriller has sparked widespread praise on social media, with fans applauding both performances and the films gripping atmosphere. As word of mouth continues to grow, the film is shaping up to be one of Peacocks most talked-about recent releases.is a gripping scifi spy thriller that centers on Alexander Hale, an intelligence analyst whose brain is mysteriously hacked, giving an unknown adversary access to everything he sees and hears. As he works within a secret agency, Alexander must navigate a perilous world of deception, surveillance, and shifting loyalties while trying to uncover the identity of the hacker.Reviews forhave been generally positive, though some critics note minor flaws. The series has been praised for its twisty, thought-provoking premise that keeps viewers engaged, while the performances of Simu Liu and Melissa Barrera have been widely acclaimed. Reviewers have highlighted their strong on-screen chemistry and their skill in conveying tension, fear, and determination throughout the high-stakes narrative.One wrote, Finished the Copenhagen Test. A true spy thriller with many twist and turns!! Simu Liu is perfect leading man with a TALENTED cast of actors alongside him. Another added, Just watched the pilot for #TheCopenhagenTest, did not think I would love the minimal amount of action in it, but it rules. "
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has described himself as the most abused politician in Nigeria after President Bola Tinubu, while announcing that political activities in Rivers State will officially kick off in January 2026.

Wike made the remarks on Saturday during a thanksgiving service organized by former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chibudom Nwuche, in Ochiba community, Ahoada East Local Government Area.

The former Rivers State governor reaffirmed his steadfast loyalty to President Tinubu, emphasizing that he honours agreements and remains committed to political decisions made in good faith. He also expressed gratitude to residents of Ahoada East and Ahoada West for their continued support over the years.

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Reflecting on the 2023 general elections, Wike praised the people for their unwavering support for Tinubu at a time when many politicians were indecisive, noting that their commitment helped strengthen the Presidents mandate in Rivers State. He subtly criticised politicians who recently aligned with the All Progressives Congress (APC), suggesting that their backing came too late to be meaningful.

Wike further stressed the need to respect political agreements, warning that his camp would not be taken for granted in the upcoming political cycle. He claimed that frequent attacks against him result from his insistence on accountability, alleging that some politicians exploit him for personal gain.

Earlier in the event, Chibudom Nwuche lauded Wike for his developmental efforts in the Ekpeye Kingdom, particularly the elevation of several traditional stools during his tenure as governor. Nwuche said Wikes leadership left a lasting positive impact, earning him enduring loyalty from the local population.
Thugs claiming to be acting on behalf of the Benin Traditional Council have seized, stripped, and assaulted a Nigerian actor, Dr Don Pedro Obaseki, accusing him of being an Oghionoba, a term translated as an enemy of the Oba of Benin, Ewuare II.

Pedro Obaseki was dragged to the Benin Kingdom Palace by a group of Benin youths over claims of recent activities and remarks they described as disrespectful to the Oba.

Sources said the incident followed Pedro Obasekis recent attendance at a meet-and-greet event in London organised in honour of his cousin, former Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki, who they also labelled Oghionoba.

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In a viral video seen by SaharaReporters, the actor was stripped to his boxers, forced to kneel, and made to walk on his knees within the palace premises.

He was subsequently taken before individuals dressed in white attire and adorned with beads, believed to be palace chiefs or officials, who escorted him into the palace while the mob remained outside.
The Taraba State Police Command has arrested a serving Inspector of Police and his girlfriend following the disappearance of an assault rifle along the WukariJootar Federal Highway.

The incident was disclosed on Saturday by security analyst Zagazola Makama in a post on X. According to the report, the missing firearm belongs to Inspector Joshua Charles, who is attached to the Safer Highway Patrol team operating in the area.

Makama stated that the officer allegedly left his duty post on December 25 and went into Wukari town, leaving three other officers on duty at the checkpoint. Later that day, his girlfriend, identified as Ruth Alphancis, reportedly returned to their residence and claimed she noticed signs that the room had been broken into.

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On his return, Inspector Charles was said to have discovered that his service rifle, reportedly loaded with ammunition, was missing. Sources cited by Makama alleged that the officer was intoxicated at the time the loss was discovered, adding that complete identification details of the firearm were not immediately available.

Following the report, police operatives were deployed to the area and an investigation was launched. Both the inspector and his girlfriend were subsequently taken into custody to assist with ongoing inquiries.

Meanwhile, security agencies have intensified efforts to recover the missing weapon, with police working alongside local residents and hunters in the surrounding communities to trace the rifle.

Investigations into the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the firearm are ongoing.
In the heart of Algeria's Sahara Desert, Chinese state-owned giant China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) has completed laying track on the PK330 Bridge, a final and critical link in a new railway designed to unlock the nation's mineral wealth.

The 6km (3.7-mile) bridge is part of the 950km railway linking the Gara Djebilet iron ore deposit in southwestern Tindouf province to the industrial hub of Bechar in the northeast.

It was the "most technically demanding railway engineering feat ever undertaken in North Africa", CRCC said on December 10.

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The ore will be processed at newly established industrial complexes in the region and taken to Mediterranean ports. The bridge, which is part of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative, was built in hostile conditions where temperatures as high as 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) and shifting sand dunes required engineers to pour concrete at night to ensure structural integrity.

With the final 60km of track laid, the entire route is expected to be fully operational by January, according to Algerian officials. It will finally bring the Gara Djebilet mine into production, decades after its initial discovery in the 1950s. The mine aims to produce between 2 million and 4 million tonnes of iron ore, eventually scaling up to 50 million tonnes per year by 2040.

Last month, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune ordered the railway link - which will ease exports from the deposit - into "immediate service" and inauguration in January. The first rail shipments are expected to reach the Tosyali steel complex, 40km east of the city of Oran, in the first quarter of next year.

The Algerian iron ore will come online within weeks of the start in early December of shipments to China from Guinea's mega Simandou project. Beijing is expected to also ramp up sourcing from across Africa, particularly from Sierra Leone, Cameroon and the Republic of the Congo.

Experts said China's accelerated push to develop Africa's vast iron ore deposits marked a strategic bid to diversify its supply chains and leverage against the pricing power of traditional giants, such as Australia and Brazil, to secure its strategic position in the global commodities market.

For example, the Mbalam-Nabeba project, a cross-border "Simandou-level" deposit, is advancing after years of delays following the revocation of permits held by Australian firm Sundance Resources. The rights are now managed by the Chinese-backed Cameroon Mining Corporation (CMC) and Sangha Mining Development, with support from Bestway Finance, an investment vehicle based in Hong Kong.
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, has acknowledged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a key influence on his political development while receiving a traditional title in Plateau State.

Yilwatda was conferred with the title Kaeh-rit, meaning the good seed of Ampang East, at a ceremony held on Saturday in Kanke Local Government Area (LGA) of the state. Speaking after the event, he described Tinubu as one of the best politicians you can learn from.

Im learning from the best leader, Asiwaju Tinubu. Mr President is one of the best politicians you can learn from, and since adopting me as his son, Ive learned so much from him, Yilwatda said.

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He is teaching me, and so Im learning. If you see me succeeding, its because Im learning from the very best politician ever produced in Nigeria. So why not? I will work towards achieving what he has done, also, being one of the best politicians in Nigeria.

At the ceremony, Yilwatda also donated 10 million, seedlings and other farm inputs to farmers in the local government area to support food security, citing alignment with President Tinubus efforts to boost food production and reduce poverty.

He commented on the recent defection of Governor Caleb Mutfwang to the APC, stating that the move would allow the state to benefit from unified government and party structures.

The person that comes into the APC today has equal rights with someone who has been there for a thousand years, because we do not differentiate among our members, Yilwatda said.

As a government steps in with its supporters, we will have one single family that will work together for the benefit of Plateau.

The essence of this is that the national budget and local government structures will align so that all our systems, from the national level down to the grassroots, are structured for the benefit of the people of Plateau.

This marks the second traditional title Yilwatda has received in less than two weeks, following a recent recognition by the Tiv Nation in Benue State for his humanitarian contributions.
American ISR aircraft has returned to Nigerias North-east to monitor ISWAP activity following recent airstrikes.

The United States has resumed intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations over Nigerias north-east region, targeting militants in the Sambisa forest, following Thursday nights air strikes on ISIS fighters in Sokoto State.

Brant Philip, a Sahel-focused terrorism tracker, disclosed the development on Saturday, sharing flight-tracking data showing a US aircraft flying over Borno State.

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According to the data, the aircraft involved was a Gulfstream V, a long-range business jet often modified for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions.

The United States resumed ISR operations today on ISWAP in the Sambisa forest, Borno State in northeast Nigeria, after a pause of one day following the strikes in Sokoto State, Philip wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Philip explained that on Saturday operation focused on the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), the ISIS affiliate operating mainly in Nigerias north-east and the Lake Chad basin.

Flight-tracking information reviewed by multiple open-source analysts indicated that the US began its ongoing ISR missions in Nigeria on November 24, taking off from Ghana, which serves as a logistics hub for the American military network in West Africa.

The same aircraft, linked to Tenax Aerospace, a US special mission aircraft provider known to work closely with the American military, has reportedly flown over Nigeria almost daily since the start of the mission.

Sources familiar with the operation said the surveillance flights serve multiple purposes, including tracking an American pilot kidnapped in neighbouring Niger Republic, and gathering intelligence on militant groups in Nigeria.

The renewed US engagement came just weeks after National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, met with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in Washington amid growing tension over President Donald Trumps threats of military intervention in Nigeria.

After that meeting, Hegseth said the US Department of Defence would work aggressively with Nigeria to end what he described as the persecution of Christians by jihadist terrorists.

Thursday nights air strikes in North-West Nigeria, reportedly targeting ISIS-linked militants, marked what Trump earlier referred to as the first fulfillment of that promise.

More strikes would follow, the US President warned in his message on Thursday night.
KABUL, Afghanistan  For 10 hours a day, Rahimullah sells socks from his cart in eastern Kabul, earning about $4.5 to $6 per day. Its a pittance, but its all he has to feed his family of five.

Rahimullah, who like many Afghans goes by only one name, is one of millions of Afghans who rely on humanitarian aid, both from the Afghan authorities and from international charity organizations, for survival. An estimated 22.9 million people  nearly half the population  required aid in 2025, the International Committee for the Red Cross said in an article on its website Monday.

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But severe cuts in international aid  including the halting of U.S. aid to programs such as food distribution run by the United Nations World Food Program  have severed this lifeline.

More than 17 million people in Afghanistan now face crisis levels of hunger in the winter, the World Food Program warned last week, 3 million more than were at risk more than a year ago.

The slashing in aid has come as Afghanistan is battered by a struggling economy, recurrent droughts, two deadly earthquakes, and the mass influx of Afghan refugees expelled from countries such as Iran and Pakistan. The resulting multiple shocks have severely pressured resources, including of housing and food.

U.N. appeals for help

Tom Fletcher, the U.N. humanitarian chief, told the Security Council in mid-December that the situation was compounded by overlapping shocks, including the recent earthquakes and increasing restrictions on humanitarian aid access and staff.

While Fletcher said nearly 22 million Afghans will need U.N. assistance in 2026, his organization will focus on 3.9 million facing the most urgent need of lifesaving help due to reduced donor contributions.

Fletcher said this winter was the first in years with almost no international food distribution.

As a result, only about 1 million of the most vulnerable people have received food assistance during the lean season in 2025, compared to 5.6 million last year, he said.

The year has been devastating for U.N. humanitarian organizations, which have had to cut thousands of jobs and spending in the wake of aid cuts.

We are grateful to all of you who have continued to support Afghanistan. But as we look towards 2026, we risk a further contraction of life-saving help  at a time when food insecurity, health needs, strain on basic services, and protection risks are all rising, Fletcher said.

Returning refugees

The return of millions of refugees has added pressure on an already teetering system. Minister of Refugees and Repatriation Affairs Abdul Kabir said Sunday that 7.1 million Afghan refugees had returned to the country over the last four years, according to a statement on the ministry website.

Rahimullah, 29, was one of them. The former Afghan Army soldier fled to neighboring Pakistan after the Taliban seized power in 2021. He was deported back to Afghanistan two years later, and initially received aid in the form of cash as well as food.

The assistance was helping me a lot, he said. But without it, now I dont have enough money to live on. God forbid, if I were to face a serious illness or any other problem, it would be very difficult for me to handle because I dont have any extra money for expenses.

The massive influx of former refugees has also sent rents skyrocketing. Rahimullahs landlord has nearly doubled the rent of his tiny two-room home, with walls made half of concrete and half of mud and a homemade mud stove for cooking. Instead of 4,500 afghanis (about $67), he now wants 8,000 afghanis (about $120)  a sum Rahimullah cannot afford. So he, his wife, daughter, and two young sons will have to move next month. They dont know where to.

Before the Taliban takeover, Rahimullah had a decent salary and his wife worked as a teacher. But the new governments draconian restrictions on women and girls mean women are barred from nearly all jobs, and his wife is unemployed.

Now the situation is such that even if we find money for flour, we dont have it for oil, and even if we find it for oil, we cant pay the rent. And then there is the extra electricity bill, Rahimullah said.

Harsh winters compound misery

In Afghanistans northern province of Badakhshan, Sherin Gul is desperate. In 2023, her family of 12 got supplies of flour, oil, rice, beans, pulses, salt, and biscuits. It was a lifesaver.

But it only lasted six months. Now, there is nothing. Her husband is old and weak and cannot work, she said. With 10 children, seven girls and three boys between the ages of 7 and 27, the burden of providing for the family has fallen on her 23-year-old son  the only one old enough to work. But even he only finds occasional jobs.

There are 12 of us  and one person working cannot cover the expenses, she said. We are in great trouble.

Sometimes neighbors take pity on them and give them food. Often, they all go hungry.

There have been times when we have nothing to eat at night, and my little children have fallen asleep without food, Gul said. I have only given them green tea and they have fallen asleep crying.

Before the Taliban takeover, Gul worked as a cleaner, earning just about enough to feed her family. But the ban on women working has left her unemployed, and she said she developed a nervous disorder and is often sick.

Compounding their misery is the harsh cold of the northern Afghan winter, when snow halts construction work where her son can sometimes find jobs. And there is the added expense of firewood and charcoal.

If this situation continues like this, we may face severe hunger, Gul said. And then it will be very difficult for us to survive in this cold weather.
BEIJING  Top diplomats from Thailand and Cambodia kicked off two days of talks in China on Sunday as Beijing seeks to strengthen its role in mediating the two countries border dispute, a day after they signed a new ceasefire.

The ceasefire agreement calls for a halt to weeks of fighting along their contested border that has killed more than 100 people and displaced over half a million in both countries.

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Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow and Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn were set to meet in Chinas southwestern Yunnan province for talks mediated by their Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.

China has sought to position itself as a mediator in the crisis, along with the United States and Malaysia.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed to a July ceasefire, suggested Sunday that the fighting between Thailand and Cambodia will stop momentarily and boasted that the U.S. has become the REAL United Nations.

In a post on his social media site from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where hes been spending the winter holidays, Trump wrote that both sides will go back to living in PEACE and referenced his past comments about helping to broker a ceasefire that largely hasnt held.

I want to congratulate both great leaders on their brilliance in coming to this rapid and very fair conclusion. It was FAST & DECISIVE, as all of these situations should be! Trump wrote.

The talks in China aim to ensure a sustained ceasefire and promote lasting peace between the countries, according to a statement by Sihasaks office.

Wang was scheduled to join both bilateral meetings with each of the diplomats and a trilateral talk on Monday.

China has welcomed the ceasefire announcement, which freezes the front lines and allows for displaced civilians to return to their homes near the border.

China stands ready to continue to provide (the) platform and create conditions for Cambodia and Thailand to have fuller and more detailed communication, a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement read.

The ceasefire agreement comes with a 72-hour observation period, at the end of which Thailand agreed to repatriate 18 Cambodian soldiers it has held as prisoners since earlier fighting in July. Their release has been a major demand of the Cambodian side.

Prak Sokhonn, in a statement after his meeting with Wang, expressed deep appreciation for Chinas vital role in supporting the ceasefire.

China also announced 20 million yuan ($2.8 million) of emergency humanitarian aid for Cambodia to assist the displaced.

The first batch of Chinese aid, including food, tents, and blankets, arrived in Cambodia on Sunday, Wang Wenbin, Chinese ambassador to Cambodia, wrote on Facebook.

Sihasak said Sunday he hoped the meetings would convey to China that it should both support a sustainable ceasefire and send a signal to Cambodia against reviving the conflict or attempting to create further ones.

Thailand does not see China merely as a mediator in our conflict with Cambodia but wants China to play a constructive role in ensuring a sustainable ceasefire by sending such signals to Cambodia as well, he said.
The kinara is lit during the candle lighting ceremony at Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025, in Philadelphia. The kinara is a seven-branched candleholder that symbolizes the seven principles of Kwanzaa. Read more

In the roughly 20 years that Pamela PJ Johnson-Thomas and her husband, Weller Thomas, have celebrated Kwanzaa, they have usually marked the holiday at their home or the homes of friends.

This year, they wanted to expand their celebration. So they gathered about two dozen people at the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. House in Germantown on Saturday, the second night of Kwanzaa.

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This holiday focuses on culture, and cultures under attack, Johnson-Thomas said. For example, this year, the Trump administration has targeted programs focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion; aimed to sanitize the history of American slavery; and disparaged Black immigrants and their home countries.

Its up to us, Johnson-Thomas said, to continue cultural traditions.

Children and adults dressed in fine clothes with African prints lined up in the fraternity houses meeting hall to light the seven candles of the kinara and talk about the seven principles of Kwanzaa: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith. Traditionally, families light one additional candle each night of the seven-day holiday.

Since Friday, families across the Philadelphia region and the world have been celebrating the annual African American and Pan-African holiday created in 1966 with the goal of uplifting people of African descent. The nonreligious holiday honors culture, community, and family.

On the south side of City Hall, the candles of a Kwanzaa kinara are lit each day of the holiday, which ends on Jan. 1. Each year since 2017, Boathouse Row has been lit in Kwanzaa colors  red, green, and dark purple, which represents black  to celebrate.

State Sen. Sharif Street, who is running to represent Philadelphia in Congress, told the people gathered in Germantown that community is built from culture.

This year I think weve seen more robust Kwanzaa programs than in any year in recent history, Street said. The purpose of Kwanzaa was to have a cultural celebration that united our people across religious, regional boundaries.  Its great that we continue to have spaces and places where people can celebrate it.

Attendees of the celebration talked, laughed, danced, sang, ate, and played games together. They honored ancestors by calling out the names of family members and Black activists and cultural icons who have died.

Vincenteen Paige, a friend of the hosts, usually has yearly Kwanzaa gatherings at her house but was happy to join the broader celebration.

With all the things that are going on in politics and all the things that are being changed, you need something to hold. What did we have? What has meaning? I think people are looking for that, she said.

Thomas told the crowd that Kwanzaa is about unity. Its about bringing us all together and pulling together, he said.

He and Johnson-Thomas own a travel company called Pathfinders Tours & Travel, which formed out of the publication they ran for 25 years called Pathfinders Travel Magazine for People of Color. They regularly travel with groups to places inside and outside the United States.

On a future trip, they want to return to Egypt with some young people, Johnson-Thomas said, because I think they need to see their greatness.

Everything we do, she said, we want to highlight the culture as it relates to African American people.
The loan of two giant pandas to Dublin Zoo almost 40 years ago was hailed as a great success until one of the pandas died some time after returning home to China.

There were elements of panda-monium back among staff in Dublin Zoo after a report that suggested the death of the male panda two years later was a consequence of his visit to Ireland.

Confidential files released by the National Archives contain a telex between the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Irish embassy in Beijing in August 1988, which showed officials had been contacted about the issue by Dublin Zoo.

A civil servant noted that staff at the zoo were somewhat distressed at the implication that the animals death was being linked to his stay in Ireland and had asked if the Irish embassy could obtain a copy of the postmortem report on the panda.

Other files show the Chinese authorities expressed considerable reluctance about a proposal to have the two pandas make a guest appearance on the Late Late Show on RTE during their visit to Ireland.

They reveal there was correspondence between Dublin Zoo and the Department of Foreign Affairs about the possibility of extending the insurance for the trip to cover the proposed visit to the RTE studios in Montrose.

However, Chinese officials noted that brightly lit and hot television studios are not the most favourable panda environment. They also questioned why a videotape recorded at the zoo could not be shown on RTE instead.

Ultimately, the idea to have the pandas appear with Late Late Show host Gay Byrne was dropped after the director of Dublin Zoo, Peter Wilson, said he understood the concerns expressed by the Chinese authorities.

Ming Ming and Ping Ping, who spent 100 days in the Zoological Gardens between June and September 1986, were hailed as the single largest attraction in the 156-year history of Dublin Zoo at the time.

It was estimated that over 450,000 visitors had attended the zoo during the visit of the pandas which meant 1986 was set to break the previous record of 600,000 annual visitors.

A condition of the visit was that Dublin Zoo would make a significant contribution to the Chinese Wildlife Preservation Fund estimated at $75,000 with the money subsequently being funded by sponsor, West Coast Cooler.

The visit of the pandas was also hailed by Dublin Zoo management for creating greater public awareness of the need for conservation and protection of wildlife and particularly endangered species.

At a closing ceremony to mark the departure of the pandas, the Minister for Tourism, Liam Kavanagh, observed that the two animals had settled in well and appear to be in good shape for their return journey. Irish officials were also asked by the China Wildlife Conservation Association to inform the director of Dublin Zoo that the pandas had arrived safely to Chengdu on September 22, 1986.

Following the visit, the Department of Foreign Affairs informed the Irish ambassador to China in October 1986 that Dublin Zoo was anxious that further loans would be arranged to build on the goodwill fostered by arranging the visit of the pandas.

The visit followed months of planning between Irish and Chinese officials, although correspondence showed there was confusion about the total costs involved and what the Irish side had agreed to pay.

Tanaiste Dick Spring launched the visit at an official ceremony on June 16, 1986 with media reports noting that the apes in Dublin Zoo started to shout as the Labour Party leader spoke, prompting him to observe that they were probably Fianna Fail supporters.
Emergency service crews are working to restore water supply to homes and businesses in Cork City this Sunday evening following a major burst to a water main.

Uisce Eireann has dispatched expert service crews to fix the outage currently impacting homes in Mayfield, Corrib Lawn, Ballinderry park, Shannon Lawn, Lagan Grove, Liffey Park, Glencree Crescent, Gweedore Avenue, Boyne Crescent, and surrounding areas.

Uisce Eireann expects repair works to be completed by 1pm on Monday.

In the meantime, alternative water supplies will become available by 7pm this evening in the form of bulk tankers.

These can be accessed at at the Dunnes Stores car park in Ballyvolane.

Those affected have been asked by Uisce Eireann to use use their own containers when taking water from tankers and to boil water before consumption as a precautionary measure.

We understand the inconvenience of this outage and we would like to assure customers that we are doing everything we can to restore the water supply as quickly as possible, James Goulding, operations manager for Uisce Eireann in Cork City said.

Crews have been mobilised, and repair works are expected to complete tomorrow afternoon.

Updates are available on water.ie

As water returns tomorrow, customers may experience some short-term discolouration.

In this event, running the cold kitchen tap for several minutes will usually restore the water to a clear colour.

For more information, click here.
A civil servant warned that some media commentators were ready to exploit the slightest weakness of state visits by then president Mary Robinson, after criticism of her visit to South America in 1995, but was hopeful that RTE could be kept on side.

State papers, released under the 30-year rule by the National Archives, reveal concerns within the Department of Foreign Affairs that Irish media was becoming increasingly critical of Mrs Robinson's overseas trips, based on coverage of her visits to Chile, Argentina, and Brazil in March 1995.

Mrs Robinson was criticised for shaking hands with former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet during her trip to Chile, as well as for her overall itinerary and its cost.

Pinochet, who died in 2006, led a military junta that seized power, with the support of the US government, in 1973 from the democratically elected president, Salvador Allende.

During Pinochets time as president and military ruler of Chile, up to 1990, several thousand opponents of his regime were tortured and killed.

Mrs Robinson later complained in an interview on RTE in April 1995 that she had no expectation that she was going to meet Pinochet, and it was with great dismay that she became aware he was attending a dinner in her honour.

I did not show any pleasure in meeting him, she said.

In a briefing note dated April 4, 1995, an official in the Department of Foreign Affairs, Joe Hayes, said media coverage of Mrs Robinsons visit to South America suggests that the Irish media are no longer content with bland, uncritical coverage of the ceremonial of state visits abroad.

Mr Hayes continued: The several lengthy (and occasionally hostile) conversations which I had with journalists over the duration of the South American visit persuade me that, when it comes to the President and her visits abroad, there are now some singularly ill-disposed media commentators, who are ready to exploit the slightest weakness.

He advised that officials needed to be prepared for critical media focus on the cost of such state visits, their purpose, and itineraries.

At the same time, he observed that both Aras an Uachtarain and the Department of Foreign Affairs were fortunate that Mrs Robinsons trip to South America had not generated ever-more extensive and negative coverage.

Mr Hayes noted that phone-in programmes on RTE, including The Gay Byrne Show, The Pat Kenny Show, and Liveline had all received a significant number of calls criticising the visits and their planning.

The calls were also being mirrored on local radio stations, Mr Hayes said.

Despite the considerable significance of The Irish Times as the paper of record, it is RTEs coverage which will ultimately determine popular perceptions of an event like a State visit, Mr Hayes remarked.

He added: If RTE can be kept on side, whatever may be written in The Irish Times can be heavily counterbalanced by the packages on the main evening RTE news bulletins and the reports on Morning Ireland.

Mr Hayes claimed it was reports by RTE journalist Eileen Whelan, particularly her damaging Morning Ireland interview from Sao Paulo, which ultimately turned the tide of opinion very decisively.

He continued: Up until then, it was possible to respond to the negative publicity from Argentina and Chile. The Morning Ireland interview, however, prompted the attentions of The Pat Kenny Show and from there on we were, to put it mildly, attempting to bolt the doors on a decidedly vacant stable.

This article is based on documents contained in the files labelled 2025/123/50 in the National Archives of Ireland.
ROME, Dec 28 (Reuters) - Amazon (AMZN) said on Sunday it has decided not to pursue plans to deliver goods by drone in Italy, saying that while it had made good progress with aerospace regulators, broader business regulatory issues did not support the project.

The Italian civil aviation ENAC called the decision unexpected, saying in a statement on Saturday the move was motivated by company policy, linked to "recent financial events involving the Group".

More from Yahoo Scout How did Italian aviation authorities respond to Amazon's withdrawal? What was the status of Amazon's Italian drone testing program? What role did regulatory issues play in Amazon's decision? Why did Amazon abandon drone delivery plans in Italy?

The company had announced in December 2024 the successful completion of initial tests of delivery drones in San Salvo, a town in the central Abruzzo region.

In a statement to Reuters on Sunday, Amazon said:

"Following a strategic review, we have decided to stop our commercial drone delivery plans in Italy".

"Despite positive engagement and progress with Italian aerospace regulators, the broader business regulatory framework in the country does not, at this time, support our longer-term objectives for this program," Amazon added.

(Reporting by Alvise ArmelliniEditing by Frances Kerry)
Top diplomats from Thailand and Cambodia kicked off two days of talks in China on Sunday as Beijing seeks to strengthen its role in mediating the two countries border dispute, a day after they signed a new ceasefire.

The ceasefire agreement signed on Saturday calls for a halt to weeks of fighting along their contested border that has killed more than 100 people and displaced more than half-a-million in both countries.

Thai foreign minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow and Cambodian foreign minister Prak Sokhonn were set to meet in Chinas south-western Yunnan province for talks mediated by their Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.

The talks aim to ensure a sustained ceasefire and promote lasting peace between the countries, according to a statement by Mr Sihasaks office.

Cambodias foreign minister Prak Sokhonn (Mandel Ngan/Pool Photo via AP)

Mr Wang was scheduled to join both bilateral meetings with each of the diplomats and a trilateral talk on Monday.

China has welcomed the ceasefire announcement, which freezes the front lines and allows for displaced civilians to return to their homes near the border.

China stands ready to continue to provide (the) platform and create conditions for Cambodia and Thailand to have fuller and more detailed communication, a Chinese foreign ministry statement read.

The ceasefire agreement comes with a 72-hour observation period, at the end of which Thailand agreed to repatriate 18 Cambodian soldiers it has held as prisoners since earlier fighting in July. Their release has been a major demand of the Cambodian side.

China has sought to position itself as a mediator in the crisis, along with the US and Malaysia.

A July ceasefire was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by pressure from US president Donald Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed.

Cambodian defence minister Tea Seiha, left, and Thai defence minister Nattaphon Narkphanit, right, shake hands during Saturdays meeting (AKP via AP)

Despite these deals, Thailand and Cambodia carried on a bitter propaganda war, and minor cross-border violence continued, erupting into heavy fighting in early December.

Mr Prak Sokhonn, in a statement after his meeting with Mr Wang, expressed deep appreciation for Chinas vital role in supporting the ceasefire.

China also announced 20 million yuan (2.1 million) of emergency humanitarian aid for Cambodia to assist the displaced.

The first batch of Chinese aid, including food, tents and blankets, arrived in Cambodia on Sunday, Wang Wenbin, Chinese ambassador to Cambodia, wrote on Facebook.

Mr Sihasak said on Sunday that he hoped the meetings would convey to China that it should both support a sustainable ceasefire and send a signal to Cambodia against reviving the conflict or attempting to create further ones.

Thailand does not see China merely as a mediator in our conflict with Cambodia but wants China to play a constructive role in ensuring a sustainable ceasefire by sending such signals to Cambodia as well, he said.
Today

Partly cloudy this morning, then becoming cloudy during the afternoon. High 44F. Winds light and variable.

Tonight

Cloudy. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 33F. Winds light and variable.

Tomorrow

Rain showers in the morning mixing with and changing to steady snow in the afternoon. High 39F. Winds light and variable. Chance of precip 70%.
by Dr Fahil Abdulbasit Abdulkareem

For the first time, several well-known armed groups in Iraq have released statements supporting the idea of the states monopoly on the use of force, This idea calls for these groups to turn over their weapons to the government, dissolve their groups or merge with the military and security forces, and engage in political involvement. These statements were made in response to the election results, which showed that members of armed groups had won around 100 seats. At the same time, the United States was putting further pressure on Iraq to create a government that would not include militias, to increase economic sanctions to encompass official Iraqi institutions, and to initiate military strikes against militia groups. It also happened at a time when Irans clout to influence Iraqs internal politics was waning.

The purpose of this analysis is to examine the reasons behind the militias action, its potential for actual implementation on the ground, and how it relates to the nature of the upcoming Iraqi government, whose job it will be to either put these statements into practice or deal with the possibility of direct confrontations with the militants.

Political shift: Iraqi militias support states control of force

In recent days, the leaders of five significant armed groups claimed that they had adopted the idea of the states monopoly on the use of force, Among these leaders were Qais al-Khazali, who led Asaib Ahl al-Haq; Shibl al-Zaidi, who led Kataib al-Imam Ali; Ahmed al-Asadi, who led Kataib Jund al-Imam; Abu Ala al-Walai, who led Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada; and Haider al-Gharawi, who led Ansar Allah al-Awfiya. The majority of leaders in the dominant Coordination Framework on the political scene made similar sentiments, albeit in different ways, emphasising the need to assist the state in the upcoming period. Judge Faiq Zaidan, the head of the Supreme Judicial Council, expressed gratitude to the groups for responding to his advice regarding the necessity of joint cooperation to enforce the rule of law, monopolise weapons in the hands of the state, and transition to political action now that the national need for military action has passed, Several political forces also made similar declarations of support for these groups.

In contrast to the conventional rhetoric of earlier years that sought to sanctify the militias armament, the armed factions endorsement of the states right to a monopoly on weapons is, in theory, a significant shift. This acknowledgment may also be seen as a subtle departure from the Iranian axis, which promotes the creation of armed organisations outside of regional state frameworks. As a result, proposals for the surrender of weapons were flatly rejected by other armed groups, including the two most dangerous and heavily equipped, Kataib Hezbollah, commanded by Ahmed Mohsen Faraj al-Hamidawi, and Harakat al-Nujaba, led by Akram al-Kaabi. However, the media and political organisations associated with these two groups focused on disparaging other groups, using the US presence in Iraq as a justification for their ongoing actions. It further stated that any discussion of a disarmament accord with the government can only occur following the full evacuation of Turkish and NATO occupation forces from Iraqi territory.

A potential split or superficial division

Two different hypotheses are raised by this obvious difference in the armed factions positions: the first is that it is a true and fundamental split, raising the possibility that it will turn into a direct conflict between factions backed by the state and the United States and other factions backed by Iran. According to the second hypothesis, it is a planned and superficial division intended to distribute duties and buy time until the 2026 midterm elections and the 2028 presidential election cause changes in the American political scene.

Both of the above changes are supported by the current political landscape. On the one hand, constitutional and electoral law provisions that forbid the political wings of armed militias from participating in elections have led to legal and public opposition to the acquisition of numerous parliamentary seats by political forces representing armed factions. However, communications from the United States to the Iraqi government and the forces under the Coordination Framework have emphasised Washingtons urgency in finding a solution to the militia challenge through a variety of channels, even going so far as to threaten to permit Israel to do so militarily.

The militias objective for complete integration into the state and the surrender of their weapons in order to maintain their gains is supported by their electoral triumph, which came after the construction of extensive economic infrastructure, as well as their concerns about a possible US-Israeli threat. These same factors, however, also force them to move at this point, particularly since they are fully aware of how crucial their weapons are to securing their political and economic gains and that giving them up would expose them to legal prosecution, economic penalties, and a reduction in the popular base that allowed them to win parliamentary seats.

US military presence in Iraq: The path to withdrawal and disarmament

The armed groups who just declared their intention to turn in their weapons had started negotiations with the US months ago through middlemen, according to leaks from knowledgeable Iraqi political sources. Guarantees pertaining to the political transition were the main topic of these discussions. These discussions eventually represent ongoing communication between the two parties in a variety of forms, levels, and tactics over the previous few years, even though the extent, scope, and results are unknown.

The focus of American pressure has shifted as a result of the regional shifts that followed the Israeli wars in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran, as well as the recent events in Syria and their effects on the Middle Easts geopolitical balance. Rather than being restricted to militias endangering American personnel or interests in Iraq, this threat now encompasses the Iraqi government and the political parties involved, as they are occasionally perceived as allies or even complicit in defending those groups. The recent extension of economic sanctions to official state banking and oil entities has been justified by this turn of events.

However, based only on the previously listed elements, it is challenging to explain the American strategic setting in the Middle East, of which Iraq is a crucial axis, requiring a return to an earlier background. Tensions between US forces and Iranian-backed Iraqi militias increased during US President Donald Trumps first term (20172020). This culminated in Washingtons assassination of Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces deputy commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in the known airport operation on 3 January 2020. Iran then launched a missile attack on the US Ain al-Asad airbase in western Iraq on 8 January. While President Trump claimed at the time that he had received a call from Iran asking for his consent before to the strikea claim that Iran disputed through an advisor to the Supreme LeaderWashington simply announced the attack without taking any further action.

Iran and the United States both faced the possibility of escalation at that crucial point, and they investigated the unspoken mechanisms for field understandings that had been frequently used during the twelve-day conflict (1324 June 2025) between Iran and Israel and the United States. This was well illustrated by the Iranian bombardment of the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, where they also found ways to manage the threat posed by Iraqi militias, whether they were under Iranian or American control.

The United States started bringing up the necessity to control its military presence in Iraq after Iran bombed Ain al-Asad Air Base in 2020. This change might have been brought about by a suggestion made by French President Emmanuel Macron while he was in Iraq in September of that year. In order to ensure Iraqi sovereignty, the idea suggested setting deadlines for both the disarmament of militias and the US withdrawal from the country. At the time, Macron stressed that the greatest challenge facing Iraq is foreign interference, and Iraqi officials must build their countrys sovereignty.

The United States accelerated its commitment to start rounds of strategic dialogue with the new Iraqi government led by Mustafa al-Kadhimi due to American concerns about the situation in Iraq and possibly worries about growing French influence there. In order to assess Iraqs security requirements and establish a withdrawal schedule, these rounds sought to establish technical military committees. Iraqs training and capacity-building requirements were estimated by a joint high-level technical committee of the US Department of Defense (the Pentagon) and the Iraqi army to take five years, to be implemented in stages, until 2026. According to a number of sources, the US brought up the topic of the future of militias in Iraq during these dialogue rounds, which took place on a regular basis and coincided with the withdrawal of combat troops, connecting the successful execution of the withdrawal plan to the elimination of the role of Iraqi armed factions and the consolidation of weapons under state control.

In September 2024, Washington and Baghdad announced an agreement for a two-phase US withdrawal, reaffirming the previously agreed-upon timeframe. The US and Iraqi parties continued to communicate throughout 2021 and 2022. The withdrawals from Ain al-Asad Air Base in Anbar province in November 2025 and Harir Air Base in Erbil province in November 2026 included the first and second phases, respectively. The US still has a minor combat force at Ain al-Asad even though it has removed most of its troops and training operations. However, it appears that a departure from Harir Air Base is unlikely to happen before the deadline.

Backtracking on the implementation of the aforementioned agreement without an official and fully stated Iraqi appeal would be an embarrassment to US policy generally and would put pressure on the status of US forces inside Iraq, even though recent events in the Middle East and their security implications may have forced adjustments to the US priorities regarding withdrawal.

Understanding the historical background is crucial to placing the current US pressure in its appropriate context. This pressure is a reaction to the initial understandings surrounding the US withdrawal, which have always been connected, if subtly and indirectly, to the need to dissolve militias and resolve their status in order to allow Iraq to ensure its sovereignty and total control over weapons outside of the state. Recalling the terms of the 2008 Strategic Framework Agreement, which continues to be the only legal framework controlling the two parties interaction, is crucial in this context. This agreement addresses the US obligation to protect Iraqs security and territorial integrity as well as to uphold democratic institutions, both of which are obviously irreconcilable with the state apparatuss ongoing use of armed militias.

Two different hypotheses on the US withdrawal from Iraq

Two hypotheses can be put up in this regard: First, that there is a sincere desire on the part of the United States to withdraw from Iraq in accordance with the timeframes that have been set, and that the increased pressure on the government, political forces, and armed groups is intended to create an atmosphere in Iraq that is conducive to withdrawal. The second hypothesis is predicated on the fact that the overall American withdrawal strategy has been altered, as well as the belief that no official Iraqi party can fully satisfy the demands for the disbandment of the militias and the resolution of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) at stake. As a result, a revised withdrawal schedule that is directly connected to the progress of militia disbandment is required.

There seem to be logical reasons in favor of both hypotheses. The second hypothesis appears to have widespread support, as evidenced by the fact that half of the armed factions agreed to the disarmament demands while the other half rejected them. This suggests a mutual acceptance of reviving earlier agreements and creating guidelines connecting the new timetables to the mechanisms for dismantling the militias that the expected Iraqi government will offer in the upcoming months. In this regard, on Wednesday, 24 December 2025, Hadi al-Amiri, the leader of the Badr Organisation, reaffirmed that the choice to disarm must be made entirely by Iraqis, refusing any outside intervention. He underlined that before the international coalition can restrict weaponry to the state, its role in Iraq must be terminated.

Iranian influence in Iraq Post-Twelve-Day War

Iranian influence decreased as a result of the Twelve-Day War on a number of fronts, chief among them being Iraq, where Iranian political influence in the establishment of the new government was less than in the past. However, considering the organisational, ideological, and economic connections that solidify the Iranian presence at the core of the numerous armed factions, it appears implausible to assume that Irans influence over the militias themselves has diminished.

From the standpoint of Iranian interests, the current split between the factions over the monopoly of armaments seems to be related to two contexts: According to the first, Irans control over its affiliated militias is already eroding, enabling some of them to rebel and make their own decisions. However, this perspective is not supported by recent developments, including as Irans encouragement of militias to take part in elections and the rhetorical alignment of faction leaders with Iranian rhetoric both during and after the war. The second context, Asaib Ahl al-Haq with 27 seats, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada with 12 seats, Kataib al-Imam Ali with 12 seats, Ansar Allah al-Awfiya with 5 seats, and the Badr Organization with 21 seats are just a few examples of the armed factions that Iran has accepted reorganising their roles within the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). While the strongest groups (such Kataib Hezbollah and Harakat al-Nujaba) continue to function as a military arm for potential future manoeuvering with the Americans, this acceptance means incorporating these factions into political life as an alternative to the current Shiite government.

The second scenario posits a strategic Iranian change in controlling the instruments of influence in Iraq and the region, with the various factions keeping their current status and modifying their military roles, whereas the first scenario implies an eventual confrontation between the factions.

Iraqs path to government formation: A complex political landscape

The primary movement is toward the formation of a government with certain characteristics, notwithstanding the obvious disparities in the stances of the Coordination Framework forces regarding the procedures and standards for establishing the new government and its intended objectives. In order to enable a safe transition for the armed factions, this government intends to reach a settlement regarding the status and future of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), establish timelines and procedures for their gradual disarmament, and start a conversation about these factions future with the American side.

It is unlikely that the factions will uphold their disarmament pledges and encourage communication with Washington through a government headed by a political party that can subsequently take advantage of the weapons control agreements and the concessions required to achieve them for partisan, political, or private gain. It seems improbable that any individual with substantial party or legislative power, including all former prime ministers, will be able to create the new government based on this essential requirement. Rather, the odds are in favor of individuals who are not affiliated with any party or parliamentary and who have no plans to gain such power in the future.

There is a belief that ongoing tensions with Washington and the extension of US sanctions on civilian and governmental institutions will not only make it impossible for Iraq to deal with the current economic challenges, but will also put the entire political system in jeopardy due to the anticipated escalation of popular unrest. This is especially true given the states incapacity to meet its financial obligations, particularly securing the salaries of employees and retirees, which make up the majority of the annual budget.



Photo of Karbala Iraq by  on Unsplash

Conclusions

A number of Iraqi armed factions have recently made statements that are more serious than a simple political ploy to guarantee their involvement in the government or to prevent attacks by the United States and Israel. These statements promise to adhere to the standard of restricting weapons to the state and the conditions for turning over their various weapons to official authorities. All of these variables depend on a number of factors, including the type of weapons to be delivered (all types or just heavy and medium weapons), the timing of the delivery (immediate or scheduled), the recipient entity (the army and police or the Popular Mobilization Forces), the presence of these factions within the state (are they part of the government and the political establishment or are they restricted to the Popular Mobilization Forces), and the future of the Popular Mobilization Forces themselves (will they be dissolved and abolished, integrated into the army, or restructured? After discussions with the factions, Washington, and Tehran, as well as internal political discussions, the incoming Iraqi government will be responsible for addressing these criteria and turning them into operational mechanisms.

Given the serious difficulties Iraq faces, certain factions recognition of the state notion is a step in a positive direction, albeit a small one and possibly reversible. These difficulties include the militias refusal to disarm and the degree to which the newly elected government will be able to either confront or incorporate them into planned agreements. Irans stance also affects the situation; it may opt to escalate and further destabilize Iraq, or it may choose de-escalation to maintain the current peace with Washington and Israel. This also covers the strategic stance of the United States with regard to following the announced withdrawal schedule or possibly renegotiating it.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor or Informed Comment.
Ann Arbor (Informed Comment)  Back in 2004, in an interview with one of our foremost journalists of the Middle East, Robin Wright, Jordans King Abdullah II complained as a Sunni Muslim monarch that he now saw a Shiite Crescent in the Middle East. The Bush administrations overthrow of the Baath government of Saddam Hussein, which was secular but dominated by Sunni Arabs, was allowing the Iraqi Shiite majority to mobilize. King Abdullah also coded the secular Baath nationalist government of Syria under Bashar al-Assad as Shiite because the Alawite Shiite denomination dominated its upper reaches, though many Sunni Syrians also supported it, in Damascus and Aleppo. And Lebanon was then polarized between the Shiite Hezbollah and its Christian allies and the Sunni-led March 14 coalition, which was supported by most Christians and by the Druze community. The Iraqi Shiites, the Baath government of Syria, and Hezbollah all had Shiite Iranian backing. So King Abdullah was actually worried about the spread into the Arab world of the influence of the Islamic Republic of Iran; both elements, the Shiism and the republic, were scary to a Sunni monarch.

The Syrian elite was not actually Shiite in a religious sense, being devoted to secular nationalism, though it did ally with Iran for geopolitical reasons. And Lebanon has all along been multicultural. So it wasnt much of a crescent and did not threaten Jordan in any obvious way. In fact, it was the hard-line Muslim fundamentalist movements that grew up among Sunni Iraqis, such as al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia and then the Islamic State of Iraq, that tried to blow up things in Jordan.

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Then in 2014-2015 the Zaydi Shiite Houthi movement took over North Yemen and attracted some Iranian support, though it was very much a North Yemeni local movement.

Not only to Jordan but also to the Sunni Arab Gulf monarchies, it looked as though they were losing the Middle East. The Saudis in particular were furious with George W. Bush for having, in their view, given Iraq away to Iran, and expressed puzzlement, confusion and outrage as to why he would have done such a thing. Looking out from Riyadh, you now had Iran-aligned Hezbollah in Lebanon, an Iran-friendly government in Iraq, an Iran ally in Syria, and a Hezbollah-dominated Lebanon.

From 2015 the new Saudi King, Salman, and his son Mohammed Bin Salman, took a new hard-line against Iran and its regional allies, launching a war on the Houthis in Yemen and trying to use their influence to diminish Hezbollah influence in Lebanon in favor of the Sunnis (who did not want this outside interference). The Saudis under King Salman also helped blow things up in Syria and backed the fundamentalist Army of Islam in the outskirts of Damascus in hopes of overthrowing the government of Bashar al-Assad.

None of these Saudi initiatives had much success in the succeeding 7 years, though they were for the most part backed by the other Sunni Gulf monarchies in the Gulf Cooperation Council (Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain). After Iran or one of its allies bombed the major Saudi oil refinery at Abqaiq in 2019, the Saudis began realizing their vulnerability if they continued an aggressive policy toward Iran, and they began being more conciliatory. By 2022, the Saudis made a truce with the Houthis in Yemen. Russian and Iranian backing had appeared to shore up the Bashar al-Assad government in Syria. And Hezbollah was still a major player in Lebanon.

It looked as though Iran had won.

Then in 2024-2025 it all came unstuck.

In September 2024 Israeli intelligence carried out a pager attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon, killing many top commanders and throwing the organization into disarray. On September 27, 2024, the Israelis bombed the underground bunker of Hassan Nasrullah, the organizations general-secretary, killing him. Israeli intelligence had clearly been able to recruit top Hezbollah officials, otherwise they would not have been able to place exploding pagers in the hands of the cadres, and would not have known where Nasrullah was in real time.

On 9 January, 2025, the Lebanese parliament broke a two-year deadlock and elected the Maronite Christian General Joseph Aoun as president. Aoun agreed with Washington to make an effort to disarm Hezbollah. Anti-Hezbollah Sunni Nawaf Salam became the prime minister, with Shiite power much reduced. By custom, the president is always Christian and the prime minister is always Sunni in Lebanon. But in 2016-2022 the president was Michel Aoun (no relation to Joseph), a political ally of Hezbollah. While Prime Minister Saad Hariri had been complaisant toward Hezbollah in the teens, current Prime Minister Salam has a fraught relationship with the organization, which he wants to see disarmed. Lebanons many sectarian militias of the 1970s and 1980s Civil War had disarmed in the 1990s after the Taif Accords of 1989, which brought peace back to the country. But Hezbollah was allowed to retain its arms to fight the Israeli occupation of south Lebanon. Since then Lebanese politics has been unbalanced, since only the Shiites have an armed militia and the other groups  Sunnis, Christians and Druze  went back to recognizing the national army as having a monopoly on force.

In December 2024 the al-Assad government abruptly collapsed, since the Russian Federation had put its resources into its Ukraine War instead. Sunni fundamentalists, some of them former al-Qaeda, swept into Damascus with CIA and Turkish backing.

Iran itself was bombed by Israel and the United States in the June 13-24 12-Day War, in which Tehrans civilian nuclear enrichment program was set back, and many high military commanders were killed. Israeli sources boasted that they could have killed the clerical Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and President Massoud Pezeshkian, if they had liked. Israeli intelligence had succeeded in penetrating Iran as thoroughly as it had Hezbollah, likely in coordination with an Iranian fifth column that infiltrated high offices. Or maybe some ayatollahs and Revolutionary Guards Corps commanders were bribed or blackmailed.

Shiite-dominated Iraq and the Houthis in Yemen, both geopolitically weak, are all that is left of Irans old Alliance of Resistance, the so-called Shiite Crescent. Iran itself has been taken down a peg and looms less large in regional geopolitical calculations.

The big victors in the rise of a Lebanon-Syria-Jordan Sunni Crescent are Turkiye and the Sunni Arab Gulf monarchies, who are now the power centers in the region other than Israel. Unlike Israel, which has power but not regional authority, Turkiyes Erdogan and some of the Gulf monarchs are widely popular and can exercise soft power.

Turkiye and the GCC have enlisted the Trump administration in the effort to rebuild Syria. Trump brought Ahmad al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda commander once imprisoned by the US army in Iraq, to the White House, and removed US sanctions on Syria.



Photo of Sultanahmet, Istanbul, Turkiye by Fatih Yurur on Unsplash

Of course, the Sunni Crescent as a concept is as rickety as the Shiite crescent had been. Lebanon is still multicultural and not dominated by Sunnis, though they have power. Many mainstream Sunnis are nervous about the hard-right Salafis who have taken Damascus. And even though Turkiye under Erdogan gives rhetorical support to groups such as Hamas and the Syrian Liberation Council that took Damascus, Turkiye has a secular constitution. The Saudis, being Wahhabi-ruled, are not accepted as Sunnis by some in the region. Turkiye has newly warm relations with Iran, as does Qatar. Geopolitics follows interests not culture; but culture can be part of interests.

Afraid of the new bloc, as well, Israels government has swung into action, attempting to keep the new Syria weak by bombing its weapons depots and military bases, and invading to occupy further territory. The Sunni crescent is in some ways more dangerous politically to Tel Aviv than the Shiite crescent had been, since it has more legitimacy in the West. President Trump even made Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologize from the White House to Qatar for bombing it on September 9. Israel, aware of Trumps good relations with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, has aimed a barrage of negative propaganda at him, accusing him of aspiring to revive the Ottoman Empire, which ruled much of the Middle East before WW I.

That is the big story of 2025  the military victory of Israel over Iran and its alliance of resistance, and the emergence of a new Sunni bloc centered on Turkiye, Syria and Qatar.
Syrian Alawites took to the streets on Sunday in the coastal city of Latakia to protest after a mosque bombing that killed eight people in Homs two days before.

The attack, which took place in an Alawite area of Homs city, was the latest against the religious minority, which has been the target of several episodes of violence since the December 2024 fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, himself an Alawite.

Security forces were deployed in the area, and intervened to break up clashes between demonstrators and counter-protesters, an AFP correspondent witnessed.

"Why the killing? Why the assassination? Why the kidnapping? Why these random actions without any deterrent, accountability or oversight?" said protester Numeir Ramadan, a 48-year-old trader.

"Assad is gone, and we do not support Assad... Why this killing?"

Sunday's demonstration came after calls from prominent spiritual leader Ghazal Ghazal, head of the Islamic Alawite Council in Syria and Abroad, who on Saturday urged people to "show the world that the Alawite community cannot be humiliated or marginalised".

"We do not want a civil war, we want political federalism. We do not want your terrorism. We want to determine our own destiny," he said in a video message on Facebook.

Protesters carried pictures of Ghazal along with banners expressing support for him, while chanting calls for decentralised government authority and a degree of regional autonomy.

"Our first demand is federalism to stop the bloodshed, because Alawite blood is not cheap, and Syrian blood in general is not cheap. We are being killed because we are Alawites," Hadil Salha, a 40-year-old housewife said.

Most Syrians are Sunni Muslim, and the city of Homs -- where Friday's bombing took place -- is home to a Sunni majority but also has several areas that are predominantly Alawite, a community whose faith stems from Shiite Islam.

The community is otherwise mostly present across their coastal heartland in Latakia and Tartus provinces.

Since Assad's fall, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor and Homs province residents have reported kidnappings and killings targeting members of the minority community.

- Alawite massacres -

The country has also seen several bloody flare-ups of sectarian violence.

Syria's coastal areas saw the massacre of Alawite civilians in March, with authorities accusing armed Assad supporters of sparking the violence by attacking security forces.

A national commission of inquiry said at least 1,426 members of the minority were killed, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor put the toll at more than 1,700.

Late last month, thousands of people demonstrated on the coast to protest fresh attacks targeting Alawites in Homs and other regions.

Before and after the March bloodshed, authorities carried out a massive arrest campaign in predominantly Alawite areas, which are also former Assad strongholds.

Protesters on Sunday also demanded the release of detainees.

On Friday, Syrian state television reported the release of 70 detainees in Latakia "after it was proven that they were not involved in war crimes", saying more releases would follow.

Despite assurances from Damascus that all Syria's communities will be protected, the country's minorities remain wary of their future under the new Islamist authorities, who have so far rejected calls for federalism.
Syrian security forces killed two people while dispersing an Alawite protest in Latakia on Sunday, a war monitor said, as thousands took to the streets across the religious minority's heartland following a deadly mosque bombing.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the two deaths in the coastal city, and a medical source told AFP two bodies had been taken to a local hospital.

Syrian authorities did not confirm opening fire, but said they had "contained the situation" and accused "remnants" of former ruler Bashar al-Assad's government of attacking security forces.

Thousands of Syrian Alawites gathered in coastal and central parts of the country on Sunday to protest after Friday's bombing at a mosque in an Alawite area of Homs city that killed eight people.

AFP correspondents in Latakia and the town of Jableh saw security forces intervene to break up clashes between demonstrators and supporters of Syria's new Islamist authorities, firing gunshots in the air.

The Observatory also reported violence in the city of Homs itself, with several injured.

AFP's correspondent in Latakia said that Syrian forces were later deployed to disperse government supporters.

The attack, which was claimed by a Sunni extremist group known as Saraya Ansar al-Sunna, was only the latest against the religious minority, which has been the target of several episodes of violence since the December 2024 fall of Assad, himself an Alawite.

"Why the killing? Why the assassination? Why the kidnapping? Why these random actions without any deterrent, accountability or oversight?" said Numeir Ramadan, a 48-year-old trader protesting in Latakia prior to the clashes.

"Assad is gone, and we do not support Assad... Why this killing?"

- 'Determine our destiny' -

Sunday's demonstrations came after calls from prominent spiritual leader Ghazal Ghazal, head of the Islamic Alawite Council in Syria and Abroad, who on Saturday had urged people to "show the world that the Alawite community cannot be humiliated or marginalised".

"We do not want a civil war, we want political federalism. We do not want your terrorism. We want to determine our own destiny," he said, in a video message on Facebook.

Later on Sunday, the council shared a statement on Facebook accusing authorities of attacking "unarmed civilians" demanding their "legitimate rights", while telling supporters to return home.

Protesters carried pictures of Ghazal along with banners expressing support for him, while chanting calls for the new authorities to allow for decentralised government authority and a degree of regional autonomy.

Placards also called for an end to "sectarian speech".

"Our first demand is federalism to stop the bloodshed, because Alawite blood is not cheap, and Syrian blood in general is not cheap. We are being killed because we are Alawites," Hadil Salha, a 40-year-old housewife said.

Most Syrians are Sunni Muslim, and the city of Homs -- where Friday's bombing took place -- is home to a Sunni majority but also has several areas that are predominantly Alawite, a community whose faith stems from Shiite Islam.

The community is otherwise mostly present across their coastal heartland in Latakia and Tartus provinces.

Since Assad's fall, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor and Homs province residents have reported kidnappings and killings targeting members of the minority community.

- Alawite massacres -

The country has seen several bloody flare-ups of sectarian violence.

In March, Syria's coastal areas saw massacres of Alawite civilians, with authorities accusing armed Assad supporters of sparking the violence by attacking security forces.

A national commission of inquiry said at least 1,426 members of the minority were killed, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor put the toll at more than 1,700.

Late last month, thousands of people demonstrated on the coast to protest fresh attacks targeting Alawites in Homs and other regions.

Before and after the March bloodshed, authorities carried out a massive arrest campaign in predominantly Alawite areas, which are also former Assad strongholds.

On Sunday, protesters also demanded the release of detainees.

On Friday, Syrian state television reported the release of 70 detainees in Latakia "after it was proven that they were not involved in war crimes", saying more releases would follow.

Despite assurances from Damascus that all Syria's communities will be protected, the country's minorities remain wary of their future under the new Islamist authorities, who have so far rejected calls for federalism.
At least three people were killed on Sunday during Alawite protests in western Syria, health authorities said, as thousands took to the streets across the religious minority's heartland following a deadly mosque bombing.

Thousands in coastal provinces and central Syria participated in demonstrations called by a religious authority to protest the mosque attack in Homs on Friday that killed eight people and reignited minorities' fears under the new Islamist authorities.

War monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Syrian security forces shot and killed two people in the predominantly Alawite province of Latakia while dispersing a protest by members of the minority.

Syria's official SANA news agency later quoted the Latakia health directorate reporting "three deaths and 60 injuries" in "attacks by remnants of the former regime on security forces and civilians during protests in the city".

A medical source told AFP at least two bodies were taken to a local hospital in Latakia.

AFP correspondents in Latakia and the coastal city of Jableh saw security forces intervene to break up clashes between demonstrators and supporters of Syria's new Islamist authorities, firing gunshots in the air.

Latakia's head of internal security Brigadier General Abdul Aziz al-Ahmad said "our security forces and protesters were subjected to direct fire from an unknown source", resulting in civilian and security personnel injuries, the interior ministry reported.

Syrian forces were later deployed to also disperse government supporters, according to an AFP correspondent.

The Observatory also reported violence in the city of Homs itself, with several injured.

- 'Determine our destiny' -

Sunday's demonstrations came after calls from Alawite spiritual leader Ghazal Ghazal, who on Saturday urged people to "show the world that the Alawite community cannot be humiliated or marginalised" after the Homs bombing.

The Friday bombing, claimed by a Sunni extremist group known as Saraya Ansar al-Sunna, was the latest against the religious minority, which has been the target of violence since the December 2024 fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, himself an Alawite.

"We do not want a civil war, we want political federalism. We do not want your terrorism. We want to determine our own destiny," Ghazal, head of the Islamic Alawite Council in Syria and Abroad, said in a video message on Facebook.

In Latakia protesters carried pictures of Ghazal along with banners expressing support for him, while chanting calls for the new authorities to allow for decentralised government authority and a degree of regional autonomy.

Placards also called for an end to "sectarian speech", and demanded that the salaries of civilians and former soldiers be paid.

"Why the killing? Why the assassination? Why the kidnapping?" asked Numeir Ramadan, a 48-year-old trader protesting in Latakia before the clashes.

"Assad is gone, and we do not support Assad... Why this killing?"

The council in a statement on Sunday accused authorities of attacking "unarmed civilians" demanding their "legitimate rights" and told supporters to return home.

Most Syrians are Sunni Muslim and the city of Homs -- where the bombing took place -- is home to a Sunni majority but also has several areas that are predominantly Alawite, a community whose faith stems from Shiite Islam.

Since Assad's fall, the Observatory and Homs residents have reported kidnappings and killings targeting members of the minority community.

- Alawite massacres -

The country has seen several bloody flare-ups of sectarian violence.

In March, Syria's coastal areas saw massacres of Alawite civilians, with authorities accusing armed Assad supporters of sparking the violence by attacking security forces.

In July, sectarian clashes in Druze-majority Sweida killed over 2,000 people, the Observatory said.

A national commission of inquiry on the March violence said at least 1,426 members of the minority were killed, while the Observatory put the toll at more than 1,700.

Late last month, thousands of people demonstrated on the coast to protest fresh attacks targeting Alawites in Homs and other regions.

Before and after the March bloodshed, authorities carried out a massive arrest campaign in predominantly Alawite areas, which are also former Assad strongholds.

On Sunday, protesters also demanded the release of detainees.

On Friday, Syrian state television reported the release of 70 detainees in Latakia "after it was proven that they were not involved in war crimes", saying more releases would follow.

Despite assurances from Damascus that all Syria's communities will be protected, the country's minorities remain wary of their future under the new Islamist authorities, who have so far rejected calls for federalism.