New Brunswick premier calls on Canadian government to investigate mysterious brain illness

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Previous provincial government said most patients were misdiagnosed and instead had dementia or cancer

The newly elected premier of New Brunswick has called on Canada’s federal government to aid in a “full, open scientific investigation” into the mysterious brain illness that has plagued the province for years, in a move that those suffering from the condition hope could finally bring answers.

“We need to conduct a thorough investigation into what is making people sick,” the premier, Susan Holt, told the National Post.

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US warships pull back from Yemeni waters after ‘shocking’ Ansarallah attacks – The Cradle

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  1. US warships pull back from Yemeni waters after 'shocking' Ansarallah attacks  The Cradle
  2. Exclusive: Houthi arsenal shocks the Pentagon's top weapons buyer  Axios
  3. 2 Navy Destroyers Attacked by Barrage of Houthi Drones, Missiles Off Yemen Coast  Military.com
  4. Houthis Attack Two U.S. Destroyers Leaving the Red Sea, Pentagon Says  USNI News
  5. Houthis launch missile, drone attacks on US warships off Yemen’s coast  Al Jazeera English
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Can Biden and Xi emergency-proof US-China relations? – POLITICO

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  1. Can Biden and Xi emergency-proof US-China relations?  POLITICO
  2. Biden set to meet with world leaders who have already moved on to Trump  CNN
  3. Trump’s stance on China looms over Biden’s meeting with Xi  Yahoo! Voices
  4. Biden’s Swan Song: A Diplomatic Trip Overshadowed by Trump’s Victory  The New York Times
  5. Biden arrives in Peru for international summit and meeting with Xi as world leaders brace for Trump  The Associated Press
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Court Hears New York Times Case Against European Commission Over Vaccine Deal – The New York Times

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  1. Court Hears New York Times Case Against European Commission Over Vaccine Deal  The New York Times
  2. Von der Leyen’s Commission dodges public responsibility over Pfizergate texts  POLITICO Europe
  3. EU judges grill Ursula von der Leyen’s lawyers over missing text messages  Financial Times
  4. Commission admits von der Leyen’s texted with Pfizer chief – but claims messages weren't important  FTM.eu
  5. Pfizergate Commission transparency battle kicks off in European Court  Euronews
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Beijing is already preparing to retaliate in a second Trump era – The Washington Post

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  1. Beijing is already preparing to retaliate in a second Trump era  The Washington Post
  2. China to Retaliate If Trump Boosts Tariff, Says Ex-PBOC Official  Bloomberg
  3. Donald Trump’s Trade War Would Upend the Global Economy  Barron's
  4. Experts say Trump's threatened China tariffs could actually help Beijing weather an economic storm  CBS News
  5. Opinion | Donald Trump Changed the Game With China. Now He Could Win It.  The New York Times
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Māori lawmakers in New Zealand interrupt vote on controversial bill with Haka – ABC News

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  1. Māori lawmakers in New Zealand interrupt vote on controversial bill with Haka  ABC News
  2. Video: New Zealand MPs disrupt parliament with haka  CNN
  3. New Zealand Parliament Suspended as Maori Lawmakers Perform Haka to Protest Bill  The New York Times
  4. Maori protesters march on New Zealand capital over contentious bill  NBC News
  5. New Zealanders are marching, performing haka to protest divisive bill  The Washington Post
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Pelicot trial: young vineyard worker proposed drugging and raping his own mother

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Video showed Charly A, one of 51 men accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot, discussing plan with Dominique Pelicot

A young vineyard worker accused of raping Gisèle Pelicot on six occasions over four years when she had been drugged by her husband also proposed drugging and raping his own mother, a court has heard.

Charly A, 30, is one of 51 men on trial over the rape of Gisèle Pelicot, whose then husband, Dominique Pelicot, crushed sleeping tablets and anti-anxiety medication into her food and invited dozens of men to rape her while she was unconscious over a nine-year period from 2011 to 2020 in the village of Mazan in Provence. Dominique Pelicot has admitted the charges, telling the court: “I am a rapist.”

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Fears grow that Milei will withdraw Argentina from Paris climate accord

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Far-right president may announce country’s departure from agreement after meeting Donald Trump

There is growing concern that Argentina’s far-right president, Javier Milei, is set to announce his country’s departure from the Paris climate accord.

Earlier this week, negotiators from Milei’s government were ordered to leave the Cop29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, after just three days. Now, the Guardian understands that Milei is considering announcing a formal withdrawal from the agreement, and that a decision could be made after a formal meeting with Donald Trump.

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Trump skips FBI background checks for controversial cabinet picks – report

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Bypassing the standard procedure comes as president-elect’s choices of RFK Jr and Matt Gaetz send shockwaves

Donald Trump’s transition team has bypassed standard background checks by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on some of his controversial cabinet nominees, it has been reported, minimising the chances of them being rejected for Senate confirmation based on any past transgressions or conflicts of interest.

Such background checks – a longstanding tradition for incoming presidential nominations dating back decades to the early cold war – have instead been outsourced to private investigators.

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Middle East crisis: Hamas ‘ready’ for Gaza ceasefire, says senior official – as it happened

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Senior official Bassem Naim says militant group ‘ready for ceasefire’ and urges Donald Trump to ‘pressure’ 'Israel to ‘end the aggression’

Wafa, the Palestinian news agency, is reporting that two Palestinian people were killed in an Israeli artillery attack in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza. Three other Palestinians were killed in a separate Israeli airstrike near the general security junction in western Gaza City, according to Wafa. A renewed Israeli assault was launched on the northern part of the Gaza Strip last month, with the Israeli military claiming it was to stop Hamas fighters regrouping there. The blockage of aid and food deliveries and the targeting of civilian infrastructure, however, have led to accusations that Israel is committing the war crime of seeking to forcibly displace the remaining population. The entirety of northern Gaza has been under Israeli evacuation orders but it is unclear how many people remain.

We have some comments coming through from Ali Larijani, the senior advisor to Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei. He has been speaking with Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri and Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, in Beiurt.

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Trump names Karoline Leavitt as White House press secretary – live

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Leavitt was Trump campaign’s national press secretary and assistant press secretary in first administration. This blog is now closed.

Republicans are set to take control of the Senate next year, where one of their first jobs will be to confirm Donald Trump’s nominees for cabinet posts. Should they object to the president-elect’s picks, he has threatened to make use of recess appointments, an archaic tactic that would allow him to circumvent the chamber and its objectors. Here’s more on how that would work, from the Guardian’s Joan E Greve:

Several Republican senators expressed shock on Wednesday when Donald Trump announced he would nominate Matt Gaetz, the hard-right congressman known for instigating fights with members of his own party, as attorney general.

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Donald Trump taps his criminal defense lawyers for top DoJ roles

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Administration picks Todd Blanche and Emil Bove defended president-elect in New York hush-money case

Donald Trump has tapped three of his personal criminal defense lawyers for top roles at the Department of Justice, underscoring how the president-elect is shaping the nation’s top law enforcement agency to serve his interests.

Trump announced on Thursday he was nominating Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, to be the US deputy attorney general and the principal associate deputy attorney general respectively. Bove will serve as the acting deputy attorney general while Blanche is awaiting confirmation to the second-highest role in the justice department.

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Reeves tells City regulator to encourage more risk-taking in financial sector

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New remit given to FCA by chancellor raises fears of a weakening of rules meant to avert another financial crisis

The financial regulator has been ordered to encourage more risk-taking across the City, raising concerns that the Labour government is in danger of watering down rules meant to avoid another financial crisis.

In an official “remit” letter addressed to Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) boss, Nikhil Rathi, the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said regulations meant to protect consumers should not stand in the way of “sensible risk-taking” by investors and the wider financial sector, which includes banks, asset managers and insurers.

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