Watch: How triple Israeli hostage release unfolded
Or Levy, Ohad Ben Ami and Eli Sharabi are returning home after being released in Gaza on Saturday.
China landslide: one dead, 28 missing in Sichuan – BBC.com
- China landslide: one dead, 28 missing in Sichuan BBC.com
- Landslide in southwest China prompts search for dozens; hundreds forced to evacuate CBS News
- 30 missing, homes buried in landslide in southwest China South China Morning Post
- China hunts for survivors following landslide in Sichuan province Al Jazeera English
- Thirty people missing after landslide in China buries 10 houses Sky News
Modi’s BJP romps to Delhi power after 27 years, in big blow to opposition
Narendra Modi’s BJP finally takes Delhi, India’s political heart, which until now has remained out of its reach.
Judge blocks Musk team access to Treasury Department records
Nineteen state attorneys general sued the Trump administration after the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) was given access.
Do Elon Musk and DOGE have power to close US government agencies?
Legal experts doubt that DOGE has power to cut spending already approved by Congress.
US courts halt DOGE access to Treasury records, USAID furlough
The judgements are the latest in the growing series blocking Trump and Musk's disruption of the government.
Thousands of Syrians in limbo as UK Home Office freezes asylum claims
Two months after the fall of Assad’s regime, Whitehall’s decision to pause asylum applications from Syrians has left more than 6,600 cases stuck on hold in the UK
More than 6,000 Syrians in Britain are stuck in limbo because of an ongoing freeze on their asylum claims, two months after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
The Home Office announced a “pause” on Syrian asylum seekers’ claims on 9 December, the day after rebels swept into Damascus, saying that it needed to “assess the current situation”.
Continue reading...Gaza ceasefire live: Netanyahu denounces ‘shocking’ images of freed hostages; Palestinian prisoners and detainees to be released
Palestinian prisoners and detainees will be freed later after Or Levy, Eli Sharabi and Ohad Ben Ami were handed to the Red Cross
A small crowd has gathered at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, which will only grow as the release of Ohad Ben Ami, Or Levy and Eli Sharabi draws closer, Israel’s Haaretz newspaper is reporting.
The people are holding signs with posters of the three hostages, and one is holding a homemade sign reading “I’m sorry that it took so long, welcome back”.
Continue reading...What does Elon Musk believe?
The man given free rein by Trump to crusade against the federal government supported Democrats until 2022. But some of Musk’s longstanding positions lead a straight line to his far-right sympathies
Elon Musk is not a people person, as millions around the world will be able to attest after the planet’s richest man cut off food supplies, healthcare and probably even life itself to some of the most vulnerable without so much as a fore- or afterthought.
Musk sees himself as a data man, wielding numbers like a machete to slash and burn his way through government waste and corruption as he leads the rightwing charge to capture the US state.
Continue reading...Indonesia begins talks with UK to repatriate rapist Reynhard Sinaga
Talks with UK government at early stage about returning Sinaga, found guilty in Manchester of assaulting 48 men
The UK has begun talks with Indonesia to repatriate a serial rapist convicted of assaulting scores of men.
Reynhard Sinaga, 41, was found guilty in Manchester in 2020 of assaulting 48 men, whom he drugged after taking them back to his apartment from bars and clubs in the city.
Continue reading...Baltic states begin historic switch away from Russian power grid
More than 30 years after leaving the Soviet Union, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania will join the EU's grid.
Baltic states begin historic switch away from Russian power grid
More than 30 years after leaving the Soviet Union, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania will join the EU's grid.
Baltic states begin historic switch away from Russian power grid – BBC.com
- Baltic states begin historic switch away from Russian power grid BBC.com
- Baltic states cut last Russian energy link Al Jazeera English
- Baltics brace to cut decades-old ties to Russian grid Reuters
- Baltic states leave Russian power grid in closer EU integration The Guardian
- Russia's Baltic neighbors are breaking away from its power grid — and they're braced for retaliation CNBC
Baltic states cut last Russian energy link
Ex-Soviet nations warn of sabotage and cyberattack threat as they cut power links with Moscow to hook up to EU network.
Church of England scandals stoke fears of mutiny as synod talks loom
Demoralised clergy speak of church in freefall and crisis of trust in run-up to governing body meeting
Mutiny may be in the air when the Church of England’s normally staid ruling body, the General Synod, meets for a five-day session next week.
The gathering of the 500-member church parliament follows a series of tumultuous events that have resulted in the unprecedented resignation of the archbishop of Canterbury, repeated calls for the archbishop of York to stand down, and the sudden departure of the bishop of Liverpool. Behind all are cases of abuse, alleged abuse and the church’s failure to deal with abuse.
Continue reading...Show strength and offer a win: experts’ tips for Starmer on dealing with Trump
Veterans of May and Johnson governments share lessons from their experiences with unpredictable US president
It was just a few mangled sentences spoken in the darkness on an airport tarmac. But Donald Trump’s comments this week – his most significant yet regarding the UK – were enough to give heart to people in Downing Street and the Foreign Office.
“UK is out of line. But I’m sure that one, I think that one, can be worked out,” Trump said to reporters travelling with him at the Joint Base Andrews air force facility in Maryland. “Prime Minister Starmer has been very nice. We’ve had a couple of meetings, we’ve had numerous phone calls, we’re getting along very well.”
Continue reading...Judge blocks Trump plan to put thousands of USAID staff on leave
A last-minute lawsuit means Trump's efforts to dismantle the overseas aid agency have been put on hold.
Baltics switch off Russian power grid – Voice of America
- Baltics switch off Russian power grid Voice of America
- Baltic states leave Russian power grid in closer EU integration The Guardian
- End of Russian 'blackmail' as three Baltic nations cut power links ABC News
- Baltics brace to cut decades-old ties to Russian grid Reuters
- Russia's Baltic neighbors are breaking away from its power grid — and they're braced for retaliation CNBC
The Maronite community sheltering Lebanon’s displaced in Cyprus
After Israel launched its full-scale offensive in Lebanon in September, many fled to the Mediterranean island.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events – day 1,080
Here are the key developments on the 1,080th day of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.