- Putin’s response to Ukraine ceasefire not good enough, UK PM says, as Kyiv allies seek to pressure Russia CNN
- Ukraine war latest: Starmer says military planning for future Ukraine peace deal moving to 'operational phase' BBC.com
- Starmer challenges Putin to prove he is serious about peace by signing up to Ukraine ceasefire The Associated Press
- UK Urges Economic Pressure on Russia If Putin Balks at Truce Bloomberg
- Russia-Ukraine updates: ‘Coalition of the willing’ vows Ukraine protection Al Jazeera English
US-South Africa relationship “damaged” over Israel’s war
Analyst Sandile Swana says the US-South Africa dispute stems from South Africa's backing of the ICJ case against Israel.
Trump administration mulling new travel restrictions on citizens from dozens of countries
New memo lists 41 countries – including Afghanistan, Cuba and Syria – that could face new restrictions, evoking first-term Muslim ban
The Trump administration is considering issuing travel restrictions for the citizens of dozens of countries as part of a new ban, according to sources familiar with the matter and an internal memo seen by Reuters.
The memo lists a total of 41 countries divided into three separate groups. The first group of 10 countries, which includes Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Cuba and North Korea, among others, would be set for a full visa suspension.
Continue reading...Tens of thousands join antigovernment protest in Serbia’s capital, Belgrade
Protests began after 15 people killed in November's Novi Sad railway station roof collapse.
Zelenskiy Says Russia Planning ‘Encirclement’ in Border Region – Bloomberg
- Zelenskiy Says Russia Planning ‘Encirclement’ in Border Region Bloomberg
- Russian forces closing in on Ukrainian troops in Kursk, official says NBC News
- Putin calls on Ukrainian troops in Kursk to surrender, as Zelensky asks US to put pressure on Russia CNN
- Did Putin’s fatigues signal Russia’s resistance to a ceasefire in Ukraine? Al Jazeera English
- Zelensky Accuses Russia of Trying to Trap Ukraine’s Forces Amid Cease-Fire Talks The New York Times
Labour-run Enfield council left 100 families homeless after they refused to relocate
London council’s policy of offering people homes far from the area led to England’s highest number of refusals
A Labour-run London council left more than 100 families homeless without support last year after they refused to be relocated outside the borough, the Observer can reveal.
Freedom of information data from about 80% of English councils shows that they ended their legal duties to 615 households who refused offers of housing outside the local authority area in 2024 – but this national total is heavily skewed.
Continue reading...Gaza’s silent epidemic
Gaza has the highest number of child amputees per capita and has been rendered incapable of taking care of them.
US official heading Ukraine peace plan has history of empathizing with Russia
Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy, has written op-eds and reports questioning Ukraine’s role in negotiations
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A retired US general charged with helping sell the Trump administration’s Ukraine peace plan wrote a string of op-eds and reports for a rightwing thinktank in which he repeatedly questioned whether Ukraine had a legitimate part to play in peace negotiations.
Keith Kellogg also blamed the war on the machinations of a US “military-industrial complex” and “[Joe] Biden’s national security incompetence” rather than Russia’s 2022 invasion, which has been condemned across the globe and resulted in a war that has cost hundreds of thousands of lives.
Continue reading...The Pakistan insurgency behind a train hijacking and hostage crisis – Financial Times
- The Pakistan insurgency behind a train hijacking and hostage crisis Financial Times
- Pakistan's army accuses India of sponsoring terror after 26 hostages were killed in a train attack The Associated Press
- Pakistan accuses India of sponsoring militant terror group after train hijacking The Guardian
- 'Look inwards instead of shifting blame': MEA rejects Pakistan’s claim of India's role in train hijacking The Times of India
- Pakistan links train hijacking to ‘Afghan handlers’ and Indian mastermind Al Jazeera English
Rival rallies erupt in South Korea before ruling on president’s impeachment
Pro and anti-President Yoon Suk-yeol protests have gathered across South Korea's capital ahead of a court ruling.
Acute child malnutrition in northern Gaza doubles in one month, UNICEF says
UNICEF warns malnutrition crisis worsens across Gaza, with dramatic rises in affected children under two and under five.
‘Do you have communist links?’ US sends 36 questions to UN aid groups
UN groups fear the move is a sign the US is planning to abandon humanitarian work.
American influencer apologizes for snatching Australian baby wombat following outrage – 9News.com KUSA
Why are Caribbean leaders fighting Trump to keep Cuban doctors?
Cuban medical missions provide crucial support to several Caribbean healthcare systems, especially in times of crisis.
Russian ship captain charged with manslaughter appears at Hull court
Filipino national killed during collision between Vladimir Motin’s vessel and a US oil tanker in the North Sea
The captain of the Russian container ship that crashed into a US oil tanker in the North Sea, killing a crew member, has appeared in court.
Vladimir Motin of Primorsky, St Petersburg, in Russia was charged with gross negligence manslaughter over the collision earlier this week.
Continue reading...‘Spreadsheets of empire’: red tape goes back 4,000 years, say scientists after Iraq finds
Ancient Mesopotamian stone tablets show extraordinary detail and reach of government in cradle of world civilisations
The red tape of government bureaucracy spans more than 4,000 years, according to new finds from the cradle of the world’s civilisations, Mesopotamia.
Hundreds of administrative tablets – the earliest physical evidence of the first empire in recorded history – have been discovered by archaeologists from the British Museum and Iraq. These texts detail the minutiae of government and reveal a complex bureaucracy – the red tape of an ancient civilisation.
Continue reading...South Africa committed to US ties after ‘regrettable’ expulsion of envoy
US State Secretary Marco Rubio has accused South Africa's ambassador of hating the US and President Trump.
North Sea collision ship captain appears in court – BBC.com
- North Sea collision ship captain appears in court BBC.com
- Russian captain involved in US tanker crash appears in UK court Reuters.com
- Eye Opener: 1 arrested after cargo ship rammed CBS News
- Jet fuel has spilled into the North Sea. Hear why it could be an environmental disaster CNN International
- A Tanker Collision Threatens One of the UK’s Most Important Coastlines WIRED
Musk says first mission to Mars will launch next year
The billionaire says an unmanned mission by his SpaceX "Starship" vehicle will be followed by human landings as early as 2029.
British Council accused of forcing gig economy teachers into ‘feeding frenzy’ for work
With regular teaching hours unavailable, agency tutors must compete for lessons
The British Council has been accused of exploiting hundreds of agency teachers on zero-hour contracts forced to compete for lessons in a “feeding frenzy” every week.
An open letter from teaching staff reveals the prestigious government-funded public body does not offer regular hours to tutors on its popular English Online platform, which provides lessons to more than 45,000 students worldwide.
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