General news

• Questions dog Trump pick for Middle East adviser with inconsistent résumé

  12-12-2024 23:32 via theguardian.com
  
  The public profile of Massad Boulos, whose son married Tiffany Trump, doesn’t match his documented backgroundPresident-elect Donald Trump’s appointee to advise him on Middle East affairs, Massad Boulos, is reported to have significant discrepancies between his public profile and documented business background, casting doubt on the thoroughness of the former president’s vetting process.Corporate records reviewed by the New York Times reveal that Boulos, father-in-law to Tiffany
  
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• Your performance supplement may contain a side of the main ingredient in Viagra

  12-12-2024 23:26
  
  Supplements widely marketed to men for performance, energy and sex drive are testing positive for prescription drugs that could have dangerous side effects.
  
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• Bill Belichick has nothing left to prove. So why did he take a college coaching job?

  12-12-2024 23:02
  
  Newly hired University of North Carolina football coach Bill Belichick insisted Thursday he's sold on the college game and not looking for a steppingstone back to pro ball.
  
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• Republicans clash over 'SALT' deduction as they seek to extend Trump's tax law

  12-12-2024 22:30
  
  Some House Republicans are demanding an increase to SALT deduction in order to support an extension of President-elect Donald Trump's tax law next year.
  
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• Jake Sullivan says Netanyahu 'ready to do a deal' as Hamas said to concede to Israel cease-fire demands

  12-12-2024 21:38 via foxnews.com
  
  Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu is "ready to do a deal" to secure the release of hostages still held in Gaza, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Thursday. "I got the sense from the prime minister he is ready to do a deal," Sullivan told reporters during a Tel Aviv press conference, according to multiple reports. "The prime minister indicated he wants to get it done."Biden’s national security adviser, who met with the Israeli prime minister on Thursday
  
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• Biden's clemency list includes attorney charged with fraud and businesswoman tied to Medicare scheme

  12-12-2024 21:32
  
  The president commuted more than 1,500 sentences, setting a record for the most executed by a president in a single day.
  
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• White House downplays mystery drones as key lawmakers demand answers

  12-12-2024 20:52
  
  Lawmakers are demanding briefings about mysterious drone sightings in New Jersey, as the White House downplayed any potential threats to national security or the public.
  
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• Humans may not have survived without Neanderthals

  12-12-2024 20:14 via bbc.com
  
  A new DNA analysis has shown that the arrival of modern humans from Africa was far from smooth
  
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• Australia's Jewish community alarmed by rising antisemitism: 'Fear and anxiety'

  12-12-2024 20:08 via foxnews.com
  
  A devastating arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue is now being investigated as a possible terror attack, drawing worldwide attention to a stark increase in antisemitism in Australia.Masked vandals set the Adass Israel Synagogue aflame on Dec. 6, in one of several incidents that have left the Jewish community seeking support from government leaders.On Wednesday, Sky News Australia reported a car was destroyed after being set on fire in a Jewish community in Sydney. At least two, but possibly as
  
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• Nato must switch to a wartime mindset, warns secretary general

  12-12-2024 19:55 via bbc.com
  
  Mark Rutte urged members to "turbocharge" their defence spending to prevent future war with Russia.
  
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• Trudeau declares himself ‘proud feminist’ after lamenting Harris loss to Trump as setback for women

  12-12-2024 19:40 via foxnews.com
  
  Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday declared himself a "proud feminist" as he lamented Vice President Harris’ loss to President-elect Trump in the 2024 presidential election as just one recent example of a setback for women’s progress.Trudeau delivered remarks in Ottawa at a gala for Equal Voice, an organization that works to improve gender representation in Canada’s politics. "We were supposed to be on a steady, if difficult, march towards progress," Tr
  
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• King joins star Raye on Christmas visit to Battersea Power Station

  12-12-2024 19:36 via bbc.com
  
  King Charles appeared recharged and in a festive mood visiting a Christmas market at Battersea Power Station.
  
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• Middle East crisis: calls for justice as hundreds join funeral of Syrian activist who became symbol of regime brutality – as it happened

  12-12-2024 19:35 via theguardian.com
  
  This blog is now closed. You can read our full dispatch from the funeral here:‘We won’t stop until we find them all’: joy gives way to grief as Syria buries its deadThe head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the country has to live with the new “realities” of Syria after the toppling of Tehran-backed president Bashar al-Assad, state media reported on Thursday.Regarding Syria, Iran “was really trying day and night to help in whatever way it could; we ha
  
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• UK's last Trafalgar submarine makes final voyage

  12-12-2024 19:34 via bbc.com
  
  HMS Triumph travelled from Clyde naval base to Devonport, where it will soon retire from service after more than 20 years
  
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• Trump rings bell on record stock market - but will it last?

  12-12-2024 19:17 via bbc.com
  
  The US president-elect comes into office with a strong economy, but investors hope for more and current highs may be difficult to sustain.
  
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• Ontario leader threatens to halt energy exports to US if Trump imposes tariffs

  12-12-2024 19:03 via theguardian.com
  
  Premier of Canada’s most populous province says ‘we need to be ready to fight’ back against possible 25% tariffs on goodsThe leader of Canada’s most populous province says he’s prepared to halt energy exports to the United States, warning that other premiers “need to be ready to fight” as threats escalate ahead of possible American tariffs.The Ontario premier, Doug Ford, says he’s weighing options to fight back against a 25% levy on all Canadian go
  
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• Comic Duncan Norvelle, famed for 'chase me' catchphrase, dies

  12-12-2024 19:02 via bbc.com
  
  A familiar face on 80s TV, he was on shows such as Surprise Surprise, Wogan and the Keith Harris Show.
  
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• Stokes admits putting 'too much emphasis' on Ashes

  12-12-2024 19:00 via bbc.com
  
  England captain Ben Stokes admits he put "too much emphasis" on next year's Ashes in Australia and will now be "toning down expectations".
  
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• Europe's economy falters as Trump presidency looms

  12-12-2024 18:57 via bbc.com
  
  The European economy is going to have a tough few years, if new forecasts are correct.
  
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• Indian teen becomes youngest world chess champion

  12-12-2024 18:43 via bbc.com
  
  Gukesh Dommaraju defeated defending chess champion Ding Liren of China in a nail-biter final game.
  
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• Penny Lancaster says Gregg Wallace intimidated and distressed people on set

  12-12-2024 18:42 via bbc.com
  
  Lancaster also says she "didn't realise" her husband Sir Rod Stewart had posted online about Wallace.
  
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• Dinosaur skeletons fetch £12.4m at auction

  12-12-2024 18:30 via bbc.com
  
  The skeletons - two Allosaurus and one Stegosaurus - date back approximately 150 million years.
  
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• 2.6 million Stanley mugs recalled after dozens of burn injuries from faulty lids

  12-12-2024 18:25
  
  Stanley issued a recall on 2.6 million of its popular steel cups, citing concerns about loose tops that have led to dozens of burn injuries, officials said Thursday.
  
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• Baroness faces suspension over offensive racial remark

  12-12-2024 18:22 via bbc.com
  
  Baroness Meyer called a fellow peer of Indian origin "Lord Poppadom," an investigation finds.
  
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• Syria's liberated political prisons reveal grim reality of Bashar Assad's regime of torture

  12-12-2024 18:02 via foxnews.com
  
  Former Syrian President Bashar Assad's brutal regime of imprisonment and torture is on full display this week as victorious rebels dig through the dictator's now-liberated political prisons.Syrian rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani vowed to dissolve the Assad regime's remnant security forces as well as close prisons that had been used to house political dissidents.Thousands of Syrians stormed Assad's various prison facilities across the country as his regime fell in hopes of releasing their inc
  
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• Body found in search for rugby star missing in flood

  12-12-2024 17:37 via bbc.com
  
  Police believe Tom Voyce tried to cross a flooded ford and his car was pulled along by the current.
  
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• Body found in search for former England rugby player Voyce

  12-12-2024 17:37 via bbc.com
  
  Police believe Tom Voyce tried to cross a flooded ford and his car was pulled along by the current.
  
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• Jeremy Bowen: Assad's palace, once a symbol of power, now an empty shell

  12-12-2024 17:25 via bbc.com
  
  The BBC's international editor returns to Bashar al-Assad's presidential palace, where he interviewed him in 2015.
  
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• Starmer defends sandwiches as Badenoch says they are 'not real food'

  12-12-2024 17:24 via bbc.com
  
  The Conservative leader says sandwiches are "not real food" while the PM says they are a British institution.
  
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• Shopkeeper tracks down mum who stole Jellycat toys to sell on Vinted

  12-12-2024 17:16 via bbc.com
  
  Retailers estimate three in five shoplifted items end up being sold online.
  
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• Where does the government want 1.5 million new homes?

  12-12-2024 16:44 via bbc.com
  
  The government wants 370,000 new homes built in England each year to tackle a housing shortage.
  
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• Canada’s rate of medically assisted deaths rises to record high

  12-12-2024 16:43 via theguardian.com
  
  Roughly 96% of deaths by euthanasia in 2023 were for those with a terminal condition, as growth in overall cases slowsA growing share of deaths in Canada are from euthanasia, but the vast majority are for terminal illnesses, according to new government figures.More than 15,000 people received medical assistance in dying in Canada in 2023, the highest figure on record. But federal statistics show the growth in cases has slowed significantly, with assisted death making up 4.7% of deaths, compared
  
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• Brazilian president to leave intensive care after unplanned brain surgery

  12-12-2024 16:43 via theguardian.com
  
  Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva underwent followup operation to reduce risk of bleeding and recovery is on trackBrazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is expected to leave intensive care on Friday after doctors successfully carried out a follow-up operation to reduce the risk of bleeding following his unplanned brain surgery earlier this week.The president’s personal doctor, the cardiologist Dr Roberto Kalil Filho, said that Lula was “awake and talking” af
  
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• NATO chief urges members to 'turbocharge' defense production as he paints picture of a world bound for war

  12-12-2024 16:30 via foxnews.com
  
  NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte painted a grim picture of the world and called on Europe and Canada to ramp up their defense spending Thursday.Rutte made the comments during an address to member countries at a Carnegie Europe conference in Brussels. He issued stark warnings about Russia's alleged ambitions beyond Ukraine as well as China's own growing aggression."I'll be honest, the security situation does not look good," Rutte began, calling it the worst in his lifetime. "From Brussels, it ta
  
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• US group looks for kidnapped Americans in Syria after fall of Assad regime: won't 'leave a stone unturned'

  12-12-2024 16:03 via foxnews.com
  
  A U.S. nonprofit headquartered in Washington, D.C., is on the ground in Syria looking for kidnapped Americans in the aftermath of the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.Mouaz Moustafa, the executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF), told Fox News Digital in an interview from Damascus that he and six members of his team arrived in the capital Wednesday to look for Americans kidnapped or held captive by the ousted Assad regime, most notably, American freelance journalist Aust
  
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• Trump reportedly promises January 6 pardons ‘in the first hour’ of his presidency or sooner – US politics live

  12-12-2024 15:46 via theguardian.com
  
  President-elect says in Time ‘person of the year’ interview that he plans to pardon most of the Capitol rioters; Biden says more pardons to come after mass clemencyTime magazine names Donald Trump ‘Person of the Year’ for second timeDonald Trump kicked off his day with a trip to New York City, where he rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange to celebrate being named Time’s “person of the year”.Once he is inaugurated on 20 January, one of Don
  
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• Middle East crisis live: American freed in Syria after seven months in detention; Iran warns it must live with ‘new realities’

  12-12-2024 15:43 via theguardian.com
  American man named as Travis Timmerman; Iran grapples with removal of long-term ally AssadThe head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the country has to live with the new “realities” of Syria after the toppling of Tehran-backed president Bashar al-Assad, state media reported on Thursday.Regarding Syria, Iran “was really trying day and night to help in whatever way it could; we have to live with the realities of Syria; we look at them and act based on them,” Hossein
  
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• Housing plans not war on rural England, says minister

  12-12-2024 15:42 via bbc.com
  
  Matthew Pennycook says development will be focused on areas where housing is least affordable.
  
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• American who was detained by Assad regime while on Christian pilgrimage freed

  12-12-2024 15:04 via foxnews.com
  
  An American freed in Syria on Thursday said he was on a Christian pilgrimage when he crossed into the country on foot seven months ago and was detained by the Bashar al-Assad regime.Travis Timmerman was first seen in video that emerged online Thursday after rebels seized the capital Damascus and overthrew Assad over the weekend.In the video, a bearded Timmerman was lying on a mattress under a blanket in what appeared to be a private house. A group of men in the video said he was being treat
  
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• Former F1 team boss Jordan reveals cancer diagnosis

  12-12-2024 15:02 via bbc.com
  
  Eddie Jordan reveals he has been diagnosed with a "quite aggressive" form of cancer.
  
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• Turbine bat deaths could fall without loss of power if wind speed triggers were raised, Victorian research finds

  12-12-2024 15:00 via theguardian.com
  Changing state guidelines to lift wind speed turbines start spinning won’t notably affect energy generated, government consultants sayGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastVictoria will consider changing windfarm guidelines after government research found lifting the wind speed at which turbines start spinning could significantly reduce bat deaths without notably affecting the energy generated.Ecologist Emma Bennett has estimated between 25,000 and 50,000 bats die annu
  
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• European Central Bank cuts rates for fourth time this year

  12-12-2024 15:00 via theguardian.com
  ECB lowers borrowing cost as inflation falls and economy remains weakThe European Central Bank cut interest rates for the fourth time this year and kept the door open to further easing in 2025 as growth takes a hit from political instability at home and the risk of a fresh trade war with the US.The ECB has been easing policy rapidly this year as inflation worries have largely evaporated and the debate has shifted to whether it is cutting rates fast enough to support a stagnant economy that is fa
  
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• Cabinet Office to axe 400 jobs in drive for ‘smaller, clearer structure’

  12-12-2024 14:50 via theguardian.com
  
  Staff told 400 civil servant roles will go in voluntary exit scheme, with Whitehall braced for further cutsThe Cabinet Office is to cut 400 jobs as it moves to a “smaller, clearer structure”, it has been announced.On Wednesday, it emerged that ministers were expected to shrink the size of the civil service as part of an efficiency drive, with more than 10,000 roles set to go. Continue reading...
  
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• Barrister cleared of misconduct after criticising 'boys' club' attitude in legal profession

  12-12-2024 14:44 via theguardian.com
  
  Dr Charlotte Proudman had faced disciplinary tribunal over Twitter thread criticising a ruling in a case she worked onA barrister has attacked misogyny in the legal profession after a misconduct case brought against her for calling out a “boys’ club” attitude was thrown out.Dr Charlotte Proudman, who specialises in family law and is also a women’s rights campaigner, had faced a Bar Standards Board (BSB) disciplinary tribunal over a Twitter thread criticising a ruling in a
  
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• Mysterious New Jersey drones appear to avoid detection by traditional methods

  12-12-2024 14:31 via theguardian.com
  
  State lawmaker briefed by homeland security officials says devices appear not to be being flown by hobbyistsThe large mysterious drones reported flying over parts of New Jersey in recent weeks appear to avoid detection by traditional methods such as helicopter and radio, according to a state lawmaker briefed on Wednesday by the Department of Homeland Security.In a post on the social media platform X, the assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia described the drones as up to 6ft in diameter and sometimes trav
  
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• American found in Damascus appears to have been released from Syrian prison

  12-12-2024 14:20 via theguardian.com
  Travis Pete Timmerman, from Missouri, says he was imprisoned for seven months after travelling to Syria on a pilgrimageAn American citizen found in the suburbs of Damascus on Thursday says he was detained after crossing into the country by foot on a Christian pilgrimage seven months ago.The man in question was identified later as Travis Pete Timmerman, aged 29, from Missouri, last seen in the Hungarian capital, Budapest, in late May.
  He appears to be among the thousands of people released from S
  
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• Where next for Iran now that its 'Axis of Resistance' is shattered

  12-12-2024 14:17 via bbc.com
  
  The toppling of Bashar al-Assad has major consequences for Iran
  
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• Sara Sharif’s father given custody despite years of reported abuse of mother and siblings

  12-12-2024 14:17 via theguardian.com
  
  Trial of Urfan Sharif revealed children’s services, Surrey police and primary school were aware of concerns about the family for 16 yearsThe father of Sara Sharif was awarded custody of the schoolgirl despite being accused of abusing her siblings and mother for years, it has emerged.
  The trial of Urfan Sharif, 43, revealed how Surrey county council children’s services, Surrey police and Sara’s primary school were aware of concerns about the family for 16 years.During the period
  
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• Hong Kong judge convicts former pro-democracy lawmaker and six others over 2019 riots

  12-12-2024 14:13 via theguardian.com
  
  Landmark ruling could shape historical narrative of key event in anti-government protestsA Hong Kong judge has convicted seven people, including a pro-democracy former lawmaker, of rioting during mob violence at a subway station at the height of the city’s anti-government protests in July 2019.
  Prosecutors accused the former legislator Lam Cheuk-ting and six other defendants of provoking members of a group of about 100 men armed with wooden poles and metal rods who attacked protesters and
  
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• Time magazine names Donald Trump ‘Person of the Year’ for second time

  12-12-2024 14:09 via theguardian.com
  
  Every president since Franklin D Roosevelt – but Gerald Ford – has won title at least once, making it a rite of passageDonald Trump has once again become Time magazine’s coveted “Person of the Year”, securing the annual recognition for a second time in less than a decade.The publication’s naming of the world’s most consequential figure of 2024 was dramatized by Trump ringing the New York Stock Exchange’s opening bell on Thursday morning. Continue r
  
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