news wow

Hours after being freed from a Belarusian prison under a US deal, dissident Ales Bialiatski vowed to continue his fight for democracy from exile and told AFP his Nobel Peace Prize saved him from the worst treatment in prison. Imprisoned in 2021 and kept largely in isolation since 2023, Bialiatski also called on the EU to enter talks with the Minsk regime to free hundreds of other political prisoners. Bialiatski -- who spent decades documenting rights abuses in Belarus and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 while in custody — spoke to AFP in an exclusive interview on Sunday in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius following his transfer there after his release. A day earlier, the 63-year-old was woken up in prison at 4:00 am, with security services bandaging his eyes and driving him across the country to the Lithuanian border. He was one of more than 120 political prisoners freed under the deal. The Nobel prize — which he said he shares with the whole of Belarusian civil society —...

At least 10 people were killed and 20 others injured after a school bus carrying students plunged into an 80-metre-deep ravine in northern Colombia on Sunday. The bus was returning from a school trip on the Caribbean coast to Medellín when it veered off the road in a rural area near Segovia. Read More: 11 killed, dozen injured in shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach The victims were mainly students from Antioqueño High School, aged 16 to 18. Local hospitals were mobilized to treat the injured. The governor of Antioquia, Andrés Julián, described the incident as a tragic day for the region and confirmed that the cause of the accident is under investigation. Reports indicate around 40 passengers were on board. Media sources have cited at least 16 fatalities, though official numbers currently confirm over 10 dead. Authorities are probing what led the bus to leave the road. from Latest World News, International News | Breaking World News https://ift.tt/lSdMEpc via IFTTT

Two American troops and a civilian interpreter were killed in central Syria on Saturday after an alleged member of the Islamic State group opened fire on a joint US-Syrian patrol, officials said. US CENTCOM announced the deaths on X after Syria's state media earlier reported an attack in the city of Palmyra had wounded American and Syrian troops. "An ambush by a lone ISIS gunman" resulted in the three Americans' deaths as well as injuries to three additional troops, said CENTCOM, which oversees the US military in the Middle East. "The gunman was engaged and killed," it said. President Donald Trump said the United States would retaliate. "We will retaliate," Trump told reporters outside the White House, adding just afterwards on his Truth Social platform that Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa was "extremely angry and disturbed by this attack." Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the attack occurred as the soldiers "were conducting a k...

Two US Army soldiers and an American civilian interpreter were killed in an ambush by an Islamic State (ISIS) gunman in central Syria on Saturday, the Pentagon said, marking the first deadly attack on US forces since Syria’s political transition late last year. The attack took place in the ancient city of Palmyra, where US troops were supporting counterterrorism operations. Three other people were wounded, according to Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the assailant was later killed by partner forces. The savage who perpetrated this attack was killed by partner forces. Let it be known, if you target Americans — anywhere in the world — you will spend the rest of your brief, anxious life knowing the United States will hunt you, find you, and ruthlessly kill you. https://t.co/P7D9NrWpAL — Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) December 13, 2025 US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the casualties resulted from “an ambush by a lone ISIS gunman,” adding that ...

A US court sentenced cryptocurrency tycoon Do Kwon to 15 years in prison Thursday over fraud linked to his company's failure, which wiped out $40 billion of investors' money and shook global crypto markets. Kwon, who nurtured two digital currencies central to the bankruptcy, was sentenced at the New York court where he pleaded guilty in August after an international manhunt spanning Asia and Europe. He still faces fraud charges in his native South Korea. The 34-year-old's Terraform Labs created a cryptocurrency called TerraUSD that was marketed as a "stablecoin," a token that is pegged to stable assets such as the US dollar to prevent drastic fluctuations. Kwon successfully marketed them as the next big thing in crypto, attracting billions in investments and global hype. He was flooded with praise in South Korean media, which described him as a "genius" as thousands of private investors lined up to pour cash into his company. And in 2019, Kwon featured i...

In a major push to tackle nationwide healthcare shortages, Canada has rolled out a fast-track immigration pathway that will grant eligible foreign doctors a work permit in as little as 14 days, according to UAE's Gulf News. The measure, announced by Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab and Parliamentary Secretary to the Health Minister Maggie Chi, aims to draw more international medical professionals into the country’s strained healthcare system. Under the new policy, physicians who secure a provincial or territorial nomination along with a job offer will qualify for the accelerated processing. The streamlined permit will allow them to begin — or continue — working while their permanent residence applications are reviewed. The federal government has also set aside 5,000 additional permanent residency slots for licensed doctors, supplementing existing allocations under the Provincial Nominee Program. Officials say the move is designed to retain “practice-ready” physicians already ...

Time magazine named the "Architects of AI" as its Person of the Year on Thursday, highlighting the US tech titans whose work on cutting-edge artificial intelligence is transforming humanity. Nvidia's Jensen Huang, OpenAI's Sam Altman and xAI's Elon Musk are among the innovators who have "grabbed the wheel of history, developing technology and making decisions that are reshaping the information landscape, the climate, and our livelihoods," Time wrote. One of two covers of the magazine is a homage to the famous 1932 photograph of ironworkers casually eating lunch on a steel beam above New York City. In the Time illustration, sitting astride the city are Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, AMD chief Lisa Su, Musk, Huang, Altman as well as Google's AI boss Demis Hassabis, Anthropic's Dario Amodei and Stanford professor Fei-Fei Li. "Racing both beside and against each other, they placed multibillion-dollar bets on one of the biggest physical infrastructu...

An oil tanker seized by American forces off the Venezuelan coast will be brought to a port in the United States, the White House said Thursday, as fears mount of open conflict between the two countries. Washington took control of the tanker in a dramatic raid that saw US forces rope down from a helicopter onto the vessel in an operation that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said was aimed at leftist Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro's "regime." President Donald Trump's administration has been piling pressure on Venezuela for months with a major naval build-up in the region that has been accompanied by strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats that have killed close to 90 people. Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Thursday expressed support during a phone call with his ally Maduro, but with Moscow's forces tied down in a grinding war in Ukraine, its capacity to provide aid is limited. from Latest World News, International News | Breaking World News https://if...

Three would-be migrants died Thursday and several others had to be rescued, along with a suspected trafficker, after a boat capsized on a river on the Croatia-Bosnia border, police said. Police received a report in the early hours that a boat had capsized on the Sava river near Slavonski Brod and several people were in the water, a police statement said. Emergency services were immediately sent and "pulled 13 foreign nationals from the cold river one of whom showed no signs of life", it added. All the rescued people suffering from hypothermia were taken to hospital in Slavonski Brod, some 190 kilometres (118 miles) east of Zagreb. But two of them died at the hospital's emergency department, police said. A Bosnian national suspected of trafficking was also being treated in hospital and was under police supervision. While the nationality of the migrants was not revealed, the state-run HRT television reported they included seven women. Croatia is a major transit country for ...

Venezuela's opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on Wednesday urged her compatriots to fight for freedom against "state terrorism", as she said she was coming out of hiding to travel to Norway after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in her absence. Machado, who won the Nobel for challenging President Nicolas Maduro's grip on power, has not been seen in public for months after threats to her life. Her daughter accepted the prize on her behalf in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, and delivered her blistering acceptance speech, slamming the country's leader for crimes against the Venezuelan people. "What we Venezuelans can offer the world is the lesson forged through this long and difficult journey: that to have democracy, we must be willing to fight for freedom," said Ana Corina Sosa Machado. In a call with the chair of the Nobel Committee, Jorgen Watne Frydnes, published just before the ceremony, Machado said she was "very sad and very sorry" tha...

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates on Wednesday in another divided vote, but signaled it will likely pause further reductions in borrowing costs as the US central bank looks for clearer signals about the direction of the job market and inflation that "remains somewhat elevated." New projections issued after the Fed's two-day meeting showed the median policymaker sees just one quarter-percentage-point cut in 2026, the same outlook as in September, with inflation expected to slow to around 2.4% by the end of next year even as economic growth accelerates to an above-trend 2.3% and the unemployment rate remains at a moderate 4.4%. "In considering the extent and timing of additional adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate, the Committee will carefully assess incoming data," the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee said in language that in the past has been used to signal a pause in policy actions - an outlook at odds with market expectati...

United Arab Emirates has imposed up to 5 million dirham fine for flouting UAE residency rules, including sheltering and employment of infiltrators, Gulf News reported. Federal Law No 29 of 2021 on the Entry and Residence of Foreigners imposes strict penalties for the crime, setting fines starting from Dh100,000 and reaching up to Dh5 million in cases involving multiple offenders or organised networks, in addition to a minimum imprisonment term of two months. Legal liability extends to anyone who provides an infiltrator with any form of support—whether accommodation, work, or assistance that enables them to remain in the country unlawfully—underscoring the UAE’s firm stance against this violation. Using a visa for purposes other than those intended—such as working while holding a visit or tourist visa—is considered a serious violation that disrupts public order and exposes the offender to legal accountability. The law imposes a minimum fine of Dh10,000 for such violations, with imprison...

Australia banned under-16s from social media in a world-first crackdown, declaring it was time to "take back control" from formidable tech giants. A raft of popular apps and websites -- Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and X among them -- face US$33 million fines if they fail to purge Australia-based users younger than 16. Australia becomes one of the first nations to push back so forcefully against tech companies with immense political power, in a move other countries are looking at closely. "Enough is enough," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said. "It is one of the biggest social and cultural changes that our nation has faced." "We will take back control." The government says unprecedented measures are needed to protect children from "predatory algorithms" filling phone screens with bullying, sex and violence. The laws came into effect after midnight local time across Australia. Hundreds of thousands of adolescents woke up to find themsel...

Global technology giant Microsoft announced on Tuesday plans to invest $17.5 billion to help build India's artificial intelligence infrastructure, with CEO Satya Nadella calling it "our largest investment ever in Asia". Several global corporations have announced large investments this year in the South Asian nation, which is projected to have more than 900 million internet users by year's end. "To support the country's ambitions, Microsoft is committing US$17.5B (billion) — our largest investment ever in Asia — to help build the infrastructure, skills, and sovereign capabilities needed for India's AI first future," Nadella said in a post on X. Nadella made the announcement on social media after he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, thanking the leader for "an inspiring conversation on India's AI opportunity". In a statement, Microsoft said the investment would be spread over four years. "Together, Microsoft and India ar...

Saudi Arabia and Qatar on Monday signed a deal to construct a high-speed rail connecting the Gulf kingdoms' capitals, marking the latest sign of improved ties between the two countries that were once deeply at odds. According to a statement in the official Saudi press, the "high-speed electric passenger railway" would connect Riyadh and Doha. The Saudi cities of Al-Hofuf and Dammam are also expected to be on the network. The train would reach speeds exceeding 300 kilometres per hour (186 mph) and the trip would take roughly two hours between the two capitals. A direct flight between the cities clocks in at around 90 minutes. The project, set to be completed in six years, expects to serve 10 million passengers per year, the statement said. The agreement was signed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani during the latter's visit to Riyadh. The deal is just the latest in a series of moves marking the dramatic improv...

Sri Lankan authorities issued fresh landslide warnings on Sunday with rains lashing areas already devastated by a powerful cyclone, as the death toll rose to 627. A chain of tropical storms and monsoon rains has battered Southeast and South Asia, setting off landslides, flooding vast tracts and cutting off communities from Sumatra island's rainforests to the highland plantations of Sri Lanka. At least 1,826 people have been killed in the natural disasters rolling across Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam over the past two weeks. Indonesia's president on Sunday vowed to step up aid, with demonstrators rallying after the country's death toll surpassed 900. More than two million people in Sri Lanka — nearly 10 percent of the population — have been affected by last week's floods and landslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah, the worst on the island this century. The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said monsoon storms were adding more rain and making hillside...

In a region grappling with conflicts from Afghanistan to Gaza, Qatar on Sunday pushed for inclusive political engagement, even with non-state actors, as the only realistic path to lasting stability. Speaking at the 23rd edition of the Doha Forum, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said that durable peace requires direct communication with all parties involved in a conflict, including armed groups often shunned by Western capitals. In a session moderated by US journalist Tucker Carlson, Sheikh Mohammed said regional crises, whether in Afghanistan, Palestine, or beyond, cannot be resolved by excluding key actors on the ground. “You cannot resolve or reach a solution if you have no one speaking to non-state actors,” he said. Read: Australia imposes sanctions, travel bans on Afghan Taliban officials It is noteworthy that Qatar is one of the mediators trying to seek a rapprochement between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban regime. He...

A United Nations Security Council delegation on Saturday urged all parties to uphold a year-old ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, expressing support for a state weapons monopoly at the end of a Lebanon visit. A November 2024 ceasefire was supposed to end more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah militants, but Israel has kept up strikes on Lebanon. Israel has mainly said it is targeting the Iran-backed group, and has maintained troops in five south Lebanon areas it deems strategic. "We came to Beirut at a pivotal time for the implementation of... the cessation of hostilities agreement of November of last year," Slovenian UN ambassador Samuel Zbogar, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the UN body, told reporters. "All parties must uphold the November 2024 cessation of hostilities agreement, and we recognise progress achieved by Lebanon this year," he said. "We reaffirm the council's support for Lebanon's territorial i...

The German government will comply with a constitutional court ruling demanding an immediate decision in the visa process for an Afghan former judge and his family living in Pakistan, said an interior ministry spokesperson on Friday. "We understand that the federal constitutional court has ruled that decisions on these individuals' visa applications must be made soon," said the spokesperson. As soon as the ministry has received the ruling, "we will take the necessary steps," she added. Roughly 2,000 Afghans approved for relocation to Germany under a programme for people at risk under Taliban rule or who had worked with German forces have been stranded in Pakistan for months after Berlin froze the scheme, set up by the previous government, to curb migration. from Latest World News, International News | Breaking World News https://ift.tt/1Z43Tbm via IFTTT

US President Donald Trump was awarded the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize on Friday for what federation President Gianni Infantino said were his “extraordinary” contributions to global harmony. Infantino lauded Trump for “what you have obtained in your way. But you obtained it in an incredible way,” saying the new award was meant to honor an “individual who exemplifies an unwavering commitment to advancing peace and unity throughout the world through their notable leadership and action.” “FIFA, the Federation International de Football Association, awards the 2025 FIFA Peace Prize, football unites the world, to Donald J. Trump, President of the United States of America, in recognition of his exceptional and extraordinary actions to promote peace and unity around the world,” Infantino said during FIFA’s World Cup draw in Washington. The ceremony marks the first time the federation has bestowed the honor on an individual. It comes as Trump continues to push for the Nobel Committee to award him...

Bangladesh's critically ill former prime minister Khaleda Zia, a key figure in elections slated for next year, is to be flown by air ambulance to Britain, her doctor said Thursday. Zia, 80, is in intensive care in the capital Dhaka, after she was admitted to hospital last month with symptoms of a lung infection. Despite years of ill health and imprisonment, Zia vowed in November to campaign in elections set for February 2026 -- the first vote since a mass uprising toppled her arch-rival Sheikh Hasina last year. Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party is widely seen as a frontrunner. "If everything goes well, we will take Khaleda Zia to London by Qatar's Royal Air Ambulance," her personal doctor AZM Zahid Hossain told reporters. No exact time was given for the flight, but a helicopter drill took place near the hospital with medics suggesting it could happen within hours. The flight was agreed by a medical board of doctors from Bangladesh, as well as from Britain, China ...

Thousands in Bangladesh flocked to hear the plans of the students who toppled long-time leader Sheikh Hasina when they launched a new political party this year, but now it finds itself struggling to translate street power into votes. Fighting to deliver on its promise to free the nation from decades of nepotism and two-party dominance, the student-led National Citizen Party (NCP) faces entrenched rivals with deep networks and resources as polls approach in February. "Our organisation is weak because we haven't had enough time to build it," said its chief Nahid Islam, prominent in last year's deadly anti-government protests who served briefly in the caretaker administration under Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. "We are aware of this, but we are still taking on the challenge," added the 27-year-old, speaking from the party office in a high-rise in Dhaka, where one wall was covered in graffiti depicting crowds in revolt. Polls show party pushed to third place Op...

The shooting of National Guard members in Washington, DC, over which an Afghan immigrant has been charged, has nothing to do with Afghanistan's people or its government, Afghan Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said on Wednesday. Muttaqi's comments are the first on the incident by the Afghan Taliban government, and come a week after events in Washington when suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal is accused of opening fire on guard members, killing one and critically wounding another. On Tuesday, Lakanwal was charged with murder and other offences as he made his first court appearance, appearing remotely from a hospital bed. "This incident has nothing to do with the honourable people of Afghanistan or with the Afghan government," Muttaqi said. "This is an individual criminal act, and the person who committed it was trained by the Americans themselves." US officials have said Lakanwal was part of a CIA-backed unit in Afghanistan. He entered the US in 2021 thro...

A politician called Adolf Hitler has been re-elected in Namibia for the fifth time in a row - and is finally changing his name, Independent reported. The 59-year-old member of the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) has represented Ompundja in the Oshana region since 2004, and was victorious in his local elections once more on Wednesday. A respected anti-apartheid campaigner, he has found himself having to explain his name for years and has stressed he has no link to the Nazi leader. Shortly before the 2025 election, he told the paper that he wants to be referred to as 'Adolf Uunona' in the future, concerned that being referred to as Adolf Hitler was creating an image problem, despite having comfortably won previous elections. "My name is not Adolf Hitler," he told The Namibian. from Latest World News, International News | Breaking World News https://ift.tt/0X41spo via IFTTT

The UAE’s 54th Eid Al Etihad celebration unfolded as a sweeping visual narrative on Tuesday, transforming the newly opened Zayed National Museum into a stage where history, art and national identity came together in an immersive performance. The ceremony — attended by President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and other rulers, ministers and dignitaries — presented the nation’s story through three guiding voices: the land, the people and the radio. A voice from the land “Can you hear his voice?” the narration asked, as the sound of footsteps on sand blended with the hum of an engine. Archival footage towering above the audience showed the UAE’s Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, driving through the desert in the 1968 documentary Farewell Arabia. The digitally enhanced film revealed the precise vehicle: a 1966 Formal Black Chrysler Newport. A rare matching car, located in California, was restore...

India’s aviation regulator has taken several Air India employees off duty after it emerged that a 164-seat Airbus A320 operated eight commercial flights in November despite carrying an expired airworthiness certificate, according to Gulf News. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has grounded the aircraft, launched an investigation and directed the airline to undertake an internal review of its compliance procedures. The lapse concerns the Airworthiness Review Certificate (ARC), an annual mandate that validates an aircraft’s Certificate of Airworthiness. The ARC is issued only after a thorough review of maintenance records, physical inspection and confirmation that all safety standards are being met. Air India’s Continuing Airworthiness Management Organisation normally issues these certificates. However, after Vistara’s merger into Air India in 2024, the DGCA decided it would directly issue the first post-merger ARC for all 70 Vistara aircraft. According to the regulator, 6...

Pope Leo urged leaders from Lebanon's many diverse religious sects on Monday to unite to heal the country after years of conflict, political paralysis and economic crisis that have prompted waves of migration abroad. Leo, the first US pope, met members of Christian, Sunni and Shia, and Druze communities, and called on them to show that people of different traditions "can live together and build a country united by respect and dialogue". The pope, who is on what he has described as a mission of peace, has urged Lebanon's leaders to persevere with peace efforts in the aftermath of last year's devastating war between Israel and Hezbollah, and continued Israeli strikes. Lebanese authorities have proclaimed Monday and Tuesday official holidays. Reuters from Latest World News, International News | Breaking World News https://ift.tt/0WOTzfI via IFTTT

The toll in deadly flooding and landslides across parts of Asia climbed past 1,100 on Monday as hardest-hit Sri Lanka and Indonesia deployed military personnel to help survivors. Separate weather systems brought torrential, extended rainfall to the entire island of Sri Lanka and large parts of Indonesia's Sumatra, southern Thailand and northern Malaysia last week. Much of the region is currently in its monsoon season but climate change is producing more extreme rain events and turbocharging storms. The World Health Organization said it was deploying rapid response teams and critical supplies to the region. The UN agency's chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva that it was "another reminder of how climate change is driving more frequent and more extreme weather events, with disastrous effects". The relentless rains left residents clinging to rooftops awaiting rescue by boat or helicopter, and cut entire villages off from assistance. Arriving in North...