Greece faces general strike as workers protest cost of living squeeze

Unions demand ‘dignified wages’ as unequal recovery from debt crisis has left many struggling with higher costs

A nationwide strike by public- and private-sector employees looks likely to paralyse Greece on Wednesday as the pro-business government of the prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, comes under increased pressure to deal with a worsening cost of living crisis.

Unions demanding “dignified wages” in the face of soaring consumer costs and widening wealth inequality vowed that the 24-hour strike would bring the country to a standstill, with protest rallies planned in cities countrywide.

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As Trump Returns to Power, World Leaders Seek Stability With China – The New York Times

  1. As Trump Returns to Power, World Leaders Seek Stability With China  The New York Times
  2. The gap between global threats and American power will grow in 2025  The Economist
  3. Donald Trump's Election Win Has World Leaders in a Spin  Newsweek
  4. How different a commander in chief will Trump be?  CNN
  5. How Countries and Companies Are Planning for Trump  Foreign Policy
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Lebanon’s Day After: Will the Country Survive the War With Israel? – Foreign Affairs Magazine

  1. Lebanon’s Day After: Will the Country Survive the War With Israel?  Foreign Affairs Magazine
  2. Hezbollah’s Rockets Remain a Threat Despite Israel’s Crushing Offensive  The New York Times
  3. How will Hezbollah factor into Lebanon’s future?  The Jerusalem Post
  4. How Israel and Lebanon can stop the slaughter Another ceasefire is bound to fail  UnHerd
  5. Are We on the Verge of Lebanon's Third Civil War?  Haaretz
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Health advocates in Africa worry Trump will reimpose abortion ‘gag rule’ governing US aid – The Associated Press

  1. Health advocates in Africa worry Trump will reimpose abortion ‘gag rule’ governing US aid  The Associated Press
  2. Trump’s first week in office may set tone on abortion policy  Roll Call
  3. Interview: Women’s Rights Under Trump  Human Rights Watch
  4. Presidency of Trump may significantly impact reproductive health in US: Report  India New England
  5. What will happen with abortion rights now in America?  The Economist
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Argentina’s Milei pivots to pragmatism in first talks with China’s Xi after shaking up the G20 – The Associated Press

  1. Argentina’s Milei pivots to pragmatism in first talks with China’s Xi after shaking up the G20  The Associated Press
  2. Milei’s Meeting With Xi Signals He’s Come Full Circle on China  Bloomberg
  3. From Tension to Understanding: Argentina-China Relations Under Milei  The Diplomat
  4. China's Xi meets Argentina's Milei for the first time in Rio  Reuters
  5. Xi says China ready to continue financial cooperation with Argentina  China Daily
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Delhi pollution: Living in Indian capital is like watching a dystopian film again and again – BBC.com

  1. Delhi pollution: Living in Indian capital is like watching a dystopian film again and again  BBC.com
  2. What is cloud seeding? All about artificial rain used when AQI is high  Hindustan Times
  3. Delhi Air Quality Alert: Delhi, India hazardous air quality  IQAir News
  4. Toxic smog persists over India's north, schools reopen in Pakistan  Reuters India
  5. Every Delhi-NCR family has one or more members with pollution-related health issues, claims survey  Hindustan Times
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Chinese vessel spotted where Baltic Sea cables were severed – Financial Times

  1. Chinese vessel spotted where Baltic Sea cables were severed  Financial Times
  2. Accident or sabotage? American and European officials disagree as key undersea cables are cut  CNN
  3. A Chinese ship was near both subsea internet cables that were mysteriously cut, report says  Business Insider
  4. Severing of Baltic Sea Cables Was ‘Sabotage,’ Germany Says  The New York Times
  5. US allies accuse Russia of 'escalating hybrid activities' against NATO, EU nations after data cables severed  Fox News
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Alcohol poisoning in Laos leaves 2 tourists hospitalized – The Associated Press

  1. Alcohol poisoning in Laos leaves 2 tourists hospitalized  The Associated Press
  2. Two teens fighting for their lives after drinking cocktails laced with methanol during Thailand vacation  New York Post
  3. Families at bedsides of Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones in Thailand after apparent Laos methanol poisoning  ABC News
  4. 'Every parent's nightmare': Families give updates on teens fighting for life in Thailand  9News
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Who is Mehmet Oz, Trump’s pick to lead Medicare and Medicaid?

Dr Oz, best known for his daytime talkshow, leaned heavily into Trumpism during his failed 2022 run for US Senate

Donald Trump has chosen Mehmet Oz, best known for starring in his eponymous daytime talkshow for more than a decade and leaning heavily into Trumpism during his failed 2022 run for a Pennsylvania Senate seat, to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The cardiothoracic surgeon, who faced immense backlash from the medical and scientific communities for pushing misinformation at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, will oversee the agency that operates on a $2.6tn annual budget and provides healthcare to more than 100 million people.

“I am honored to be nominated by [Donald Trump] to lead CMS,” Oz posted on X on Tuesday. “I look forward to serving my country to Make America Healthy Again under the leadership of HHS Secretary [Robert F Kennedy Jr].”

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‘Bomb cyclone’ brings high winds and soaking rain to north-west US

Strongest atmospheric river seen by California, Washington and Oregon this season knocks out power and downs trees

What was expected to be one of the strongest storms in the north-west US in decades arrived on Tuesday evening, knocking out power and downing trees across the region.

The Weather Prediction Center issued excessive rainfall risks beginning on Tuesday and lasting through Friday as the strongest atmospheric river – a large plume of moisture – that California and the Pacific north-west has seen this season bears down on the region. The storm system is considered a “ bomb cyclone”, which occurs when a cyclone intensifies rapidly.

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Pacific island governor backs $800m US military upgrade amid China threat

Northern Mariana Islands governor says ‘the world is changing in the Indo-Pacific’ as work continues in the US territory on defense development

The governor of the Northern Mariana Islands says an $800m US military upgrade plan which includes a new airfield in the Pacific territory “has to happen” amid concern over China’s recent missile tests in the region.

Tinian, home to about 3,500 people, is one of the three main islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated US territory. During the second world war, the US launched a nuclear bomb against Japan from Tinian, and now a major rehabilitation of a deserted airfield and other military upgrades are under way on the island.

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The makings of a grand Trump deal in the Middle East – POLITICO Europe

  1. The makings of a grand Trump deal in the Middle East  POLITICO Europe
  2. Opinion | How Trump Can Earn a Place in History That He Did Not Expect  The New York Times
  3. On genocide, Trump will be no different from Biden  Al Jazeera English
  4. How Trump can continue to realign the Middle East in his second term  The Hill
  5. President-elect Donald Trump is poised to pick up where he left off  The Jerusalem Post
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‘Will give $5m for every hostage, choice is yours’: Netanyahu makes rare visit to Gaza – The Times of India

  1. 'Will give $5m for every hostage, choice is yours': Netanyahu makes rare visit to Gaza  The Times of India
  2. Netanyahu offers $5 million and safe passage out of Gaza to anyone returning a hostage  CNN
  3. Israel is offering $5M and safe passage out of Gaza to anyone who turns over its hostages  Yahoo! Voices
  4. Touring Gaza, PM vows Hamas won’t return to power, offers $5 million for hostages  The Times of Israel
  5. Netanyahu Offers $5 Million for Each Hostage Freed in Gaza  The New York Times
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Ipswich man arrested over 1967 murder of Louisa Dunne in Bristol – BBC.com

  1. Ipswich man arrested over 1967 murder of Louisa Dunne in Bristol  BBC.com
  2. In 1967, Louisa Dunne was found murdered in her U.K. home by a neighbor. A suspect has just been arrested.  CBS News
  3. Man, 92, appears in court for alleged 1967 rape and murder of Bristol woman  The Guardian
  4. Man, 92, arrested over murder and rape of woman in Bristol in 1967  Sky News
  5. Man, 92, charged with 1967 murder and rape of pensioner  The Telegraph
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Haiti: Doctors Without Borders halts work in Port-au-Prince – DW (English)

  1. Haiti: Doctors Without Borders halts work in Port-au-Prince  DW (English)
  2. Doctors Without Borders halts operations in Haiti’s capital, citing police threats  CNN
  3. Haiti: MSF charity halts work in Port-au-Prince over attacks  BBC.com
  4. Charity workers pulled out of Haiti’s capital after police threaten to rape and kill them  The Telegraph
  5. Haiti: Violence and threats by police force MSF to suspend activities in Port-au-Prince area  Doctors Without Borders (MSF-USA)
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Trump picks former WWE executive Linda McMahon for education secretary

Billionaire and former Senate candidate served in president-elect’s cabinet in first administration

Linda McMahon, co-chair of Donald Trump’s transition team, has been named as the president-elect’s pick for education secretary in his upcoming administration.

In a statement, Trump extolled the “incredible” job McMahon, the billionaire co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), has been doing as transition team co-chair and said: “As Secretary of Education, Linda will fight tirelessly to expand ‘Choice’ to every State in America, and empower parents to make the best Education decisions for their families. … We will send Education BACK TO THE STATES, and Linda will spearhead that effort.”

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More than two dozen killed after attempted attack on Haiti suburb – Reuters.com

  1. More than two dozen killed after attempted attack on Haiti suburb  Reuters.com
  2. At least 150 people killed over past week in Haiti’s Port-au-Prince: UN  Al Jazeera English
  3. An inside look at how gang warfare in Haiti has devastated daily life  PBS NewsHour
  4. Masses of residents flee homes in Haiti’s capital as gangs ratchet up violence  The Associated Press
  5. Residents in Haiti's capital stand with police in a battle to repel gang attack  NPR
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