FBI investigates potential associates of New Orleans attacker in US and abroad

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Officials say evidence supports theory suspect, 42, carried out deadly attack alone but reveal leads are being pursued

Federal authorities investigating the avowed Islamic State (IS) sympathizer who carried out the New Year’s Day Bourbon Street terror attack in New Orleans said they are still investigating his potential associates elsewhere in the US and abroad.

In a news briefing, officials from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) said they were pursuing leads in Houston, Atlanta and Tampa, Florida. They also revealed that Shamsud-Din Jabbar visited New Orleans twice in the months before the attack, and, on one of those trips, rode a bicycle up Bourbon Street wearing smart Meta glasses and also rode around the French Quarter neighborhood – ostensibly, officials said, to prepare for the attack that he carried out, killing 14 people and injuring dozens more.

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Expanded seven-day health hubs to help tackle NHS waiting times in England

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Proposals to be outlined by Keir Starmer will offer patients 500,000 more appointments a year, as health secretary says without reforms NHS could collapse ‘like Woolworths’

Patients in England will be offered 500,000 more appointments a year via seven-day health hubs under plans to tackle lengthy waiting times, as ministers warned the NHS could collapse like Woolworths without major reform.

Millions of people will be able to access checks, tests and scans closer to home as the health service expands the number of community diagnostic centres (CDCs) opening 12 hours a day, seven days a week.

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Austria Coalition Talks Collapse, Raising Prospects for Far-Right Freedom Party – The New York Times

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  1. Austria Coalition Talks Collapse, Raising Prospects for Far-Right Freedom Party  The New York Times
  2. Speculation grows that Austrian far right leader Herbert Kickl will be asked to form a government  The Associated Press
  3. The infighting propelling Austria’s far right to power  Financial Times
  4. Austrian Far-Right’s Kickl Has Foot in the Door to Lead Nation  Bloomberg
  5. Austria’s president to meet far-right leader amid coalition speculation  The Guardian
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Soccer-loving nun from Brazil is world’s oldest person at nearly 117 – CBS News

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  1. Soccer-loving nun from Brazil is world's oldest person at nearly 117  CBS News
  2. The world's oldest living person is now a football-loving nun from Brazil  Sky News
  3. World's oldest person identified as 117-year-old nun who loves soccer  Fox News
  4. Brazilian nun becomes world’s oldest person at 116  The Associated Press
  5. Nun becomes world's oldest person at 116  WKRC TV Cincinnati
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Mukesh Chandrakar: Body of missing Indian journalist found in septic tank – BBC.com

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  1. Mukesh Chandrakar: Body of missing Indian journalist found in septic tank  BBC.com
  2. Key Accused In Chhattisgarh Journalist's Murder Arrested In Hyderabad  NDTV
  3. Chhattisgarh journalist killed after report on corruption: All we know  Business Standard
  4. Indian journalist found dead in septic tank  DW (English)
  5. Mukesh Chandrakar messaged from Bastar: “Kuch hoga to nahin na?” Months later, he was gone  The Indian Express
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Hamas approves Israeli list of hostages for potential exchange: Reuters – CNN

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  1. Hamas approves Israeli list of hostages for potential exchange: Reuters  CNN
  2. Middle East updates: Israel unclear on 'status of hostages'  DW (English)
  3. Hamas says it’s ready to free 34 captives under ceasefire deal, reports say  Al Jazeera English
  4. Leaked list names 34 hostages to be freed in 1st stage of Gaza deal; Israel denies progress  The Times of Israel
  5. Israeli sources say Israel and Hamas are approaching partial hostage release deal  Haaretz
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Musk turns on UK’s Farage and says he should quit as Reform party leader – Reuters UK

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  1. Musk turns on UK's Farage and says he should quit as Reform party leader  Reuters UK
  2. Elon Musk calls for Nigel Farage to be replaced as Reform UK leader  BBC.com
  3. How Musk went from Reform’s $100m donor to calling for Farage’s head  The Telegraph
  4. In Reversal, Musk Trashes Farage, U.K.’s Anti-Immigrant Populist  The New York Times
  5. When egos collide: Trump could be next after angry Musk turns on Farage  The Independent
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Taiwan suspects China of latest attack on undersea cables – POLITICO Europe

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  1. Taiwan suspects China of latest attack on undersea cables  POLITICO Europe
  2. Taiwan asks South Korea for help over Chinese ship after subsea cable damaged  Financial Times
  3. Chinese ship cuts cable near Keelung Harbor  台北時報
  4. Foreign freighter being investigated for suspected damaging of undersea cable  Focus Taiwan
  5. Taiwan intercepts ship with Chinese name suspected to have damaged underwater cable  Taiwan News
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Fact check: JD Vance is wrong about AfD, Nazis – DW (English)

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  1. Fact check: JD Vance is wrong about AfD, Nazis  DW (English)
  2. ‘Don’t feed the troll’: German chancellor responds to Elon Musk comments  The Guardian
  3. Scholz condemns Musk's support for far-right AfD  Euronews
  4. Elon Musk’s praise for the far right infuriates most of Germany  The Economist
  5. In Jab at Musk, Scholz Condemns Foreign Interference in German Election  The New York Times
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Republicans try to exploit New Orleans attack to push through Trump agenda

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Trump loyalists make baseless link between attack and US border and say cabinet nominees must be urgently ratified

Republicans in the US Senate are attempting to exploit the New Year’s Day attack that killed 14 victims in New Orleans, injuring dozens more, to push through Donald Trump’s most controversial cabinet nominations and rocket-charge the incoming president’s anti-immigration agenda – despite the fact that the attacker was a US citizen born and raised in east Texas.

Several Senate Republicans appeared on Sunday’s political shows to call for an urgent approval of the most contentious of Trump’s cabinet selections, who are facing a tough confirmation process. They include Kash Patel, chosen by Trump for FBI director; Pete Hegseth for defense secretary; and Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence.

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Ukraine Attacks Kursk Region of Russia Anew – The New York Times

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  1. Ukraine Attacks Kursk Region of Russia Anew  The New York Times
  2. Ukraine launches surprise operation in Russia’s Kursk region  The Guardian
  3. Ukraine launches new attack in Kursk region of western Russia  Reuters
  4. Ukraine doubles down on Kursk with new offensive into Russia  POLITICO Europe
  5. As Russian Troops Head For Kursk, Ukraine’s HIMARS Rockets Meet Them Halfway  Forbes
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Tributes paid after former Greek PM Costas Simitis dies aged 88

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Four days of mourning declared for death of Pasok party co-founder, the architect of country’s entry into euro

Tributes have been paid to the former socialist prime minister Costas Simitis, who with dogged determination guided Greece into the eurozone and took the vital steps to ensure it was ready to host the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

News of Simitis’s death at the age of 88 was met on Sunday with outpourings from across the political spectrum, with friends and foes alike voicing admiration for a man credited with overseeing some of the country’s most momentous changes.

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Austria’s president to meet far-right leader amid coalition speculation

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‘New path’ to power may be opening for FPÖ after collapse of talks between country’s centrist parties

Austria’s president has said he will meet the leader of the country’s far-right Freedom party (FPÖ), amid speculation that the pro-Kremlin, anti-Islam party will be tasked with trying to form a government after centrist parties failed to find agreement.

The Alpine country of 9 million has been plunged into political crisis after the collapse of coalition talks aimed at keeping the far right out of government. On Sunday it appeared the FPÖ – narrowly the most voted-for party in September’s parliamentary elections – would be most likely to benefit from the turmoil.

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New Orleans Saints and NFL donate $1m to victims of terror attack

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Team and the NFL will donate to victims of attack on New Year’s Day that left 14 people dead and 35 others injured

The New Orleans Saints and the National Football League in which they compete have pledged to donate $1m to the victims of the Bourbon Street terror attack on New Year’s Day that left 14 people dead and 35 others injured.

In a press release issued on Saturday, the Saints and their owner, Gayle Benson, who pledged $500,000, said: “Our community has experienced an unimaginable tragedy and our collective hearts are broken as we mourn for the victims and survivors of the New Year’s Day terror attack in New Orleans.

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Elon Musk turns on Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, calls for his replacement – Business Insider

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  1. Elon Musk turns on Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, calls for his replacement  Business Insider
  2. Elon Musk turns on Nigel Farage and calls for new leader of Reform  The Guardian
  3. Elon Musk and the red lines of rightwing politics  Financial Times
  4. In Reversal, Musk Trashes Farage, U.K.’s Anti-Immigrant Populist  The New York Times
  5. When egos collide: Trump could be next after angry Musk turns on Farage  The Independent
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