World

The US Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that Texas can use a new electoral map that would add more Republicans to the House of Representatives. It allows next year's midterm elections to be held using the new districts, which were drawn to favor Republicans. Thursday's ruling temporarily pausesa previous judgement by a lower court that stuck down the redistricted electoral map on the grounds that it likely discriminated based on race. Texas made an emergency request to the Supreme Court for quick actions because the qualification process in the new districts was already underway, with primary elections scheduled for March. "The District Court improperly inserted itself into an active primary campaign, causing much confusion and upsetting the delicate federal-state balance in elections,"...

New Zealand police arrested a man suspected of stealing — and swallowing — a James Bond-inspired Faberge pendant worth some $19,000 (€16,300). After six days of supervising the the 32-year-old suspect's bowl movements, police said the limited-edition Faberge egg had been recovered late on Thursday. Police said the piece of jewelry came out of the thief's body naturally, without any medical intervention. They also provided a photo of the recovered pendant and the attached price tag, which stayed intact despite going through the thief's digestion system. Inspector Grace Anderson said police would continue monitoring the man. "Given this man is in Police custody, we have a duty of care to continue monitoring him given the circumstances of what has occurred," she said.The stolen Faberge e...

The United States military said it killed four men in a strike on a suspected drug-trafficking boat in international waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Thursday, part of a campaign that has killed at least 87 people. "Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was carrying illicit narcotics and transiting along a known narco-trafficking route in the eastern Pacific," the US Southern Command said in a statement. In a video posted by the US military, a small boat moving across the water is struck by a large explosion. The camera then zooms out to show the vessel engulfed in flames and smoke. The military said the strike was "at the direction of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth," using the new title for the defense secretary. Lawmakers briefed on September 2 strikes The latest strike occu...

While negotiations regarding the US' plan to end the war in Ukraine are underway, Russia has announced the capture of the cities of Pokrovsk and Vovchansk in the region of Donetsk. The Ukrainian government denies this and accuses Russia of propaganda. Who is in control of Pokrovsk? On December 1, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, citing a report by Russia's General Staff chief Valery Gerasimov to Russian President Vladimir Putin, declared that "Krasnoarmeysk," the old Soviet name of the city which is still used by Russia, had been captured. Ukraine renamed the "City of the Red Army" to Pokrovsk in 2016. But on December 2, the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said that it had not found evidence for the "complete Russian seizure of Pokrovsk." On the same day, a senior NATO off...

Key points San Francisco is suing companies including Kellogg, Nestle and Coca-Cola City claims companies caused public health crisis with ultraprocessed foods Trade group says there is no agreed-upon definition of ultraprocessed foods San Francisco is suing the makers of ultraprocessed foods, including Kraft Heinz, Coca-Cola, Nestle, Kellogg and Mondelez. "These companies created a public health crisis with the engineering and marketing of ultraprocessed foods," San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu said. "They took food and made it unrecognizable and harmful to the human body." What we know about San Francisco's lawsuit The lawsuit, lodged in San Francisco Superior Court on Tuesday, accuses 10 corporations of violating California laws on public nuisance and deceptive marketin...

On the first anniversary of South Korea's shock declaration of martial law, President Lee Jae Myung vowed to address the fallout from last year's failed insurrection and to ensure those responsible are held accountable. On December 3, 2024, former president Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law prompted massive protests and a showdown in parliament. "The recklessness of those who tried to destroy the constitutional order and even plan a war all for their personal ambition must be brought to justice," Lee said on Wednesday. Lee said in an address marking the anniversary that the bid had threatened to inflict "irreparable" damage on South Korea's democracy if not for public resistance. Rally to mark the anniversary of martial law declaration The president said he would propose desi...

The search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 will recommence at the end of December, Malaysia's transport ministry said on Wednesday, The Boeing 777 plane disappeared on March 8, 2014. It was carrying 239 passengers, mostly Chinese nationals, and crew when it vanished from air radar during a flight from Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The plane wreckage has never been found despite numerous search attempts, and its fate is one the world's biggest aviation mysteries. Ocean Infinity to search seabed The ministry said in a statement that it "wishes to update that the deep-sea search for missing wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 will be resuming on 30 December 2025." The ocean exploration and survey company Ocean Infinity will conduct the search operation...

Within the first week of the current United Nations (UN) campaign in Libya, "16 Days of Activism against Violence Against Women and Girls," the murders of three Libyan women have made headlines. Social media influencer Khansa Al-Mujahid was shot while driving her car near Tripoli. Gynaecologist Amani Hajja was killed by members of her family in the city of Misrata, and the body of a woman who was found in a basin southeast of Tripoli is yet to be identified. Al-Sediq al-Sour, attorney general in Libya's western political capital Tripoli has called for an urgent and transparent investigation into the crimes. However, Asma Khalifa, co-founder of the feminist, Libya-based think tank Tamazight Women's Movement, and research fellow at the German GIGA Institute of Middle East Studies, says sh...

Nigeria's defense minister Mohammed Badaru Abubakar has resigned, the presidency said on Monday, with immediate effect. Presidential spokesperson Mayo Onanuga said in a statement that Abubakar was quitting on health grounds. "His resignation comes amid President [Bola] Tinubu's declaration of a national security emergency, with plans to elaborate on its scope in due course," the spokesperson said. Nigeria's armed banditry is a security crisis Nigeria has long been plagued by mass kidnappings, but the past weeks have seen a surge in attacks and abductions by armed bandits. Most recently, gunmen attacked a church in Kogi state in central Nigeria, abducting the pastor along with nearly a dozen worshipers during a Sunday morning service. On Saturday, some 30 women, including a bride and ...