China’s giant sinkholes are a tourist hit – but ancient forests inside are at risk
These caves were unexplored for thousands of years, protected by swirling mists and terrifying tales.
Trump’s picks of loyalists for financial posts ensures his economic agenda is unimpeded
Howard Lutnick and Scott Bessent, commerce and Treasury nominees respectively, are sure to ignore economist’s warnings and follow Trump’s lead
Certain events happen during every presidential campaign. The parties crown their candidates. The candidates debate on live TV, with millions watching. Tens of millions heads to the polls. And at some point in this process, Jamie Dimon will be tipped as the next Treasury secretary.
Sure enough, the veteran boss of JPMorgan Chase – Wall Street’s de facto ambassador to the world – was, indeed, linked with the role this time around as the Kamala Harris and Donald Trump campaigns mulled their options in the final stretch of the 2024 presidential election.
Continue reading...Trump picks hedge-fund investor Scott Bessent for treasury secretary
Job is one of most powerful in Washington with huge influence over US economy and financial markets
Donald Trump nominated Scott Bessent, a longtime hedge-fund investor who taught at Yale University for several years, to be his treasury secretary, a statement from Trump confirmed on Friday. The job is one of the most powerful in Washington, with huge influence over America’s gigantic economy and financial markets.
The move to select Bessent is the latest as the president-elect starts to pull together the administration for his second term in the White House. The process so far has been marked largely by a focus more on personal and political loyalty to Trump than expertise and experience.
Continue reading...Trump selects key Project 2025 figure Russ Vought to head budget office
Vought, who led Office of Management and Budget during Trump’s first term, deeply involved in rightwing manifesto
Donald Trump has chosen Russ Vought, a key architect of Project 2025, the controversial conservative plan to overhaul the government, to be director of the US Office of Management and Budget, a powerful agency that helps decide the president’s policy priorities and how to pay for them.
Vought, who was OMB chief during Trump’s first term, would play a major role in setting budget priorities and implementing Trump’s campaign promise to roll back government regulations.
A week of massive changes in Ukraine war – and why they all matter
Russia made its loudest threat yet of nuclear war, as Western powers bolstered Ukraine's arsenal.
Atmospheric river dumps snow and record rain on California
The weather event has multiplied damages from the 'bomb cyclone' seen in the US north-west earlier this week.
Live briefing: Israeli strikes kill at least a dozen health workers in Lebanon – The Washington Post
- Live briefing: Israeli strikes kill at least a dozen health workers in Lebanon The Washington Post
- Israel kills Hezbollah leader who planned elaborate attack on U.S. soldiers in Iraq NBC News
- Israel Strikes Across Lebanon After Ordering Evacuations of Southern Towns The New York Times
- Aiming to enable return of displaced Israelis, IDF pushes deeper into south Lebanon The Times of Israel
- Israel pounds southern Lebanon and Beirut outskirts, killing five medics Reuters
Lava, letters and a loch: Photos of the week
A selection of news photographs from around the world.
Free shots and beer buckets in party town at centre of suspected methanol deaths
Six foreign tourists have died after drinking contaminated alcohol in a remote Laos party town.
Iran Declares It Is Doing More Nuclear Enrichment After I.A.E.A. Rebuke – The New York Times
- Iran Declares It Is Doing More Nuclear Enrichment After I.A.E.A. Rebuke The New York Times
- Iran says it is activating new centrifuges after being condemned by UN nuclear watchdog CNN
- Israeli strike in east Lebanon kills hospital chief and six colleagues, health ministry says FRANCE 24 English
- Iran to "substantially increase" uranium enrichment capacity over IAEA rebuke led by U.S. and allies CBS News
- UN nuclear agency’s board condemns Iran for the 2nd time this year for failing to fully cooperate The Associated Press
Terms of Proposed Lebanon Cease-Fire Begin to Take Shape, Officials Say – The New York Times
- Terms of Proposed Lebanon Cease-Fire Begin to Take Shape, Officials Say The New York Times
- Israel said demanding to keep France out of Lebanon deal over perceived hostility The Times of Israel
- Israeli officials demand the right to strike Hezbollah under any cease-fire deal for Lebanon The Associated Press
- US envoy to meet Netanyahu in push for cease-fire with Hezbollah VOA Asia
- Even if Israel and Lebanon Sign a Deal Soon, Many Loose Ends Will Remain Haaretz
What to Know About the Methanol Poisonings in Laos – The New York Times
- What to Know About the Methanol Poisonings in Laos The New York Times
- 6 Tourists, Including 1 American, Now Reported Dead from Suspected Methanol Poisoning in Laos PEOPLE
- Free shots and beer buckets in party town at centre of suspected methanol deaths Yahoo! Voices
- What is methanol and how does it affect the body? BBC.com
- Alcohol poisoning in Laos leaves 2 tourists hospitalized The Associated Press
BBC visits mpox clinic as WHO says DR Congo cases ‘plateauing’
Lwiro hospital was overrun when the BBC visited two months ago, now nurses say infections are easing.
Woman wins civil rape case against Conor McGregor
A jury found that the Irish mixed martial arts fighter assaulted Nikita Hand in a Dublin hotel in 2018.
Nicaragua: Ortega and wife to assume absolute power after changes approved
Loyalist lawmakers give green light to constitutional amendment as authoritarian president, 79, tightens grip
Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega and his wife are set to assume absolute power after loyalist lawmakers approved a constitutional amendment elevating her to the position of “co-president” and boosting the pair’s joint control over the state.
Under sanctions for human rights abuses, Ortega himself had proposed the change, which also increases the president’s control over the media and extends the presidential term from five to six years.
Continue reading...More than 100 suspected gang members have been killed as vigilantism grows in Haiti – Miami Herald
- More than 100 suspected gang members have been killed as vigilantism grows in Haiti Miami Herald
- Boys forced into gangs, girls face sexual abuse as Haiti violence robs childhoods PBS NewsHour
- Haiti’s children ‘dragged into hell’ as gang violence rages Al Jazeera English
- Haiti: ‘It’s Not Back to Where We Started — It’s Worse’ The New York Times
- As violent gangs extend control in Haiti, UN commits to staying the course UN News
4,000-year-old canals used for fishing by Maya predecessors discovered in Belize
New research revealed canals used for about 1,000 years to channel and catch freshwater fish on the Yucatán peninsula
Long before the ancient Maya built temples, their predecessors were already altering the landscape of Central America’s Yucatán peninsula.
Using drones and Google Earth imagery, archaeologists have discovered a 4,000-year-old network of earthen canals in what’s now Belize. The findings were published on Friday in the journal Science Advances.
Continue reading...No 10 indicates Netanyahu faces arrest if he enters UK
Downing Street refuses to comment on the case but says the government will fulfil its "legal obligations".
Gatwick Airport south terminal evacuated over security concerns
Gatwick Airport’s south terminal was evacuated after a suspicious item was found in a piece of luggage.
What do the ICC arrest warrants mean for Israel and its allies?
Fury in US and Israel. EU says it will uphold ICC's request.