Which countries owe the IMF the most money in 2025?
From Argentina to Egypt, at least 86 countries collectively owe the International Monetary Fund more than $162bn.
Brain surgeon accused of letting 12-year-old daughter drill man’s skull in horrifying trial – thetab.com
- Brain surgeon accused of letting 12-year-old daughter drill man’s skull in horrifying trial thetab.com
- Brain Surgeon Accused of Letting Her 12-Year-Old Daughter Drill into Patient's Skull During Emergency Surgery People.com
- Brain surgeon arrested for allowing 12-year-old daughter to drill hole in patient’s skull Hindustan Times
- Child drilled open head? - Doctor: “You don’t know what you’ve done to us!” Kronen Zeitung
- Neurosurgeon in Austria on trial: allowed her daughter to drill a patient's skull 112.ua
How Trump got his Nobel Peace Prize after all
The Nobel given to Venezuela’s Maria Corina Machado was really a prize for Donald Trump.
MPs to hold inquiry into collapsed China spy case after No 10 publishes key evidence
Labour MP and chair of security committee Matt Western says there are ‘a lot of questions still to be asked’
MPs will hold an inquiry into the collapse of a trial of two men accused of spying for China, after No 10 published key evidence in an attempt to draw a line under the row.
Matt Western, a Labour MP and chair of the joint committee on the national security strategy (JCNSS), told the House of Commons there are “a lot of questions yet to be asked” and announced a formal inquiry.
Continue reading...Joint committee on national security strategy to hold inquiry into collapse of China spy trial, MPs told – UK politics live
Chairs of home affairs, foreign affairs and justice committees to be among those involved in inquiry
Ward says that “no minister or special adviser played any role in the provision of evidence” under this government. He says he cannot say if that was the case under the last government.
There is a lot of jeering at this. The Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, reprimands Tom Tugendhat for his interruption.
Continue reading...Trump approves CIA operations in Venezuela: What we know, and what’s next
Trump confirmed he has green-lit CIA covert operations in Venezuela, and that ground attacks might be next.
First Thing: JD Vance brushes off racist texts in Republican group chat as ‘what kids do’
Vice-president downplays messages such as ‘I love Hitler’ in chat by 24- to 35-year-olds as ‘stupid jokes’. Plus, Virginia Giuffre on her abuse at the hands of Epstein and Maxwell
Good morning.
JD Vance sought to downplay the revelation that leaders of a group called the Young Republicans exchanged hundreds of racist, sexist text messages – including one in which rape was called “epic”, and another in which someone wrote “I love Hitler” – as youthful indiscretions.
How old are the people who exchanged the messages? Mother Jones reports that public records indicate that eight of the 11 Republican operatives who took part in the offensive chat appear to range in age from 24 to 35.
What has the US said about the return of the dead hostages? Though well short of the 28 dead hostages expected by Israel, senior US advisers later said they believed Hamas was committed to finding and returning the others.
Continue reading...A former security guard at the US Embassy in Norway is convicted of spying for Russia and Iran – AP News
- A former security guard at the US Embassy in Norway is convicted of spying for Russia and Iran AP News
- Former security guard at US Embassy overseas is convicted of spying for Russia and Iran Fox News
- Victoria's Secret Model's Husband Reveals She Walked Show on Broken Foot The Daily Beast
- Norway sentences US embassy guard who spied for Iran and Russia to protest Gaza war The Times of Israel
- Ex-US embassy guard in Norway convicted of spying for Russia, Iran Euractiv
75% of Americans report soaring prices as Trump claims inflation ‘over’
Exclusive poll: Inflation remains a concern despite president’s pledge to reduce prices on ‘day one’
Nine months after Donald Trump took office, promising to reduce prices on “day one”, a clear majority of Americans say their monthly costs have risen by between $100 and $749, according to an exclusive new poll conducted for the Guardian.
The president has continued to insist that there is “virtually no inflation”. “Prices are ‘WAY DOWN’ in the USA,” Trump wrote on social media in late August.
Continue reading...UK ministers met fossil fuel lobbyists 500 times in first year of power, analysis shows
Lobbyists attended 48% more meetings than Tories, as Labour accused of giving them ‘backstage pass’
Government ministers met representatives from the fossil fuel industry more than 500 times during their first year in power – equivalent to twice every working day, according to new research.
The analysis found that fossil fuel lobbyists were present at 48% more ministerial meetings during Labour’s first year in power than under the Conservatives in 2023.
Ministers at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) met fossil fuel lobbyists 274 times, with industry figures present at almost a quarter of meetings.
Ed Miliband, the secretary for energy and climate change, met fossil fuel lobbyists 250 times – with a third of all his meetings attended by industry figures.
During the same period DESNZ ministers met trade union representatives 61 times
Three fossil fuel companies: BP, Shell and Equinor , met ministers 100 times between them.
Fossil fuel lobbyists attended almost every government meeting about the energy profits levy, a temporary windfall tax on the “extraordinary profits” of North Sea oil and gas companies.
Continue reading...Russia bombards Ukraine’s gas sites as Zelenskyy flies to US for Trump meeting – The Guardian
- Russia bombards Ukraine’s gas sites as Zelenskyy flies to US for Trump meeting The Guardian
- Russian barrage causes blackouts in Ukraine as Zelenskyy seeks Trump's help NBC News
- As Russia pounds Ukraine's power supply, one nursery battles to provide food and warmth Reuters
- Ukraine imposes blackouts in most regions after Russian power grid attacks BBC
- Russia batters Ukraine’s energy grid with drone and missile strikes, officials say Euronews.com
Ships accused of stealing Ukrainian grain linked to Assad regime front – The Kyiv Independent
- Ships accused of stealing Ukrainian grain linked to Assad regime front The Kyiv Independent
- A secret fleet of ‘ghost ships’ moving Russia’s oil could soon enter Trump’s crosshairs Fox Business
- How a shadow fleet of oil tankers aids Russia in the war with Ukraine NPR
- Espionage, sabotage and ghost tanks in the Baltic Sea Le Monde.fr
- Grain Looting and Sanctioned Oil Trade: Ukraine Exposes Russia-Linked Illegal Maritime Network UNITED24 Media
Japan’s Takaichi woos right-leaning party to secure premiership – Reuters
- Japan's Takaichi woos right-leaning party to secure premiership Reuters
- Takaichi Sanae’s path to power in Japan grows more complex The Economist
- Japan Opposition Leaders to Discuss Uniting Behind Tamaki for PM Bloomberg.com
- LDP, Japan Innovation discuss decentralization, social security reform Nikkei Asia
- Japan’s aspiring leader drums to relieve stress. She has many reasons to reach for her sticks CNN
Oscar Wilde’s library card reissued 130 years after being revoked over gay conviction
The celebrated Irish writer had his pass revoked in 1895 after being imprisoned for a gay relationship.
How do Pakistan and Taliban Afghan militaries stack up as clashes escalate? – Reuters
- How do Pakistan and Taliban Afghan militaries stack up as clashes escalate? Reuters
- Pakistan says it's ready for talks with Afghanistan, Kabul residents recall airstrike shock Reuters
- The Man Behind Pakistan's Deadly New Enemy, Afghanistan NDTV
- Border clashes erupt between Pakistan and Afghanistan—again The Economist
- Afghanistan’s Taliban government blames Pakistan for twin drone strikes on Kabul AP News
The megadonor hypocrisy
We compare and contrast Trump’s 2015 attack on Marco Rubio over donor ties with his own close ties to the same family.
Thousands protest in Tunisia over pollution from phosphate plant
Thousands in southern Tunisia rally to shut a state phosphate plant blamed for cancer, illness, and mass poisoning.
Inside Ukraine’s drone campaign to blitz Russia’s energy industry – Reuters
- Inside Ukraine's drone campaign to blitz Russia’s energy industry Reuters
- Ukraine Claims Russia Refinery Strike as Pressure on Putin Grows Bloomberg.com
- BBC Verify Live: Assessing Russian fuel shortages, and video shows Gaza executions BBC
- To Inflict Pain on Russians, Ukraine’s Drones Zero In on Oil Refineries The New York Times
- How successful is Ukraine’s ‘gas war’ against Russia? Al Jazeera
Ex-Catholic priest exploited family deaths to abuse disabled boy, police allege
Mark Ford, extradited from Indiana to New Orleans jail, faces life in prison if convicted of sexual abuse charges
A man working as a Roman Catholic priest in New Orleans positioned himself as a mentor to a young disabled boy grieving two family deaths – and then exploited the proximity to abuse him for years, police allege.
Those details are contained in criminal court records generated by the arrest of Mark Francis Ford in Indiana in September as well as his subsequent transfer to New Orleans’s jail, a process which was completed late on Tuesday.
Continue reading...‘Inherently cruel’: Canadian parents say citizenship bill erodes rights of children adopted abroad
Rule would require adopted children born abroad to prove ‘substantial connection’ to Canada to pass on citizenship
Canadian parents of children adopted abroad say a proposed citizenship bill represents a “shocking and unconscionable” erosion of their children’s rights by the governing Liberals.
The federal government is in the midst of overhauling the Citizenship Act so Canadians born abroad can pass citizenship to further generations born abroad. The bill would also restore or grant citizenship descendants who were excluded under older citizenship laws.
Continue reading...