Russia Reportedly Recruiting Fighters From Yemen Through Huthi Intermediaries
Flying taxi maker Lillium lays off 1,000 workers and ceases operations
Pope Francis kicks off a yearlong Jubilee that will test his stamina and Rome's patience VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has opened the great Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica. The ceremony kicks off the 2025 Holy Year. It's a celebration of the Catholic Church that is expected to draw some 32 million pilgrims to Rome. And it will test the pope’s stamina and the ability of the Eternal City to welcome them. This begins the Christmas Eve Mass. The ceremony inaugurates the once-every-25-year tradition of a Jubilee. Francis has dedicated the 2025 Jubilee to the theme of hope. Bethlehem marks a second subdued Christmas Eve during the war in Gaza BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Bethlehem is marking another somber Christmas Eve under the shadow of war in Gaza. Manger Square lacked its usual festive lights and crowds of tourists on Tuesday. Instead, the area outside the Nativity Church was quiet. The church was built atop the spot where Jesus is believed to have been born. The war, the violence in the occupied West Bank it has spurred and the lack of festivities has deeply hurt Bethlehem's economy. The town relies heavily on Christmas tourism. The economy in the West Bank was already reeling because of restrictions placed on laborers preventing them from entering Israel during the war. Heavy travel day starts with brief grounding of all American Airlines flights WASHINGTON (AP) — American Airlines briefly grounded flights nationwide due to a technical problem just as the Christmas travel season kicked into overdrive and winter weather threatened more potential problems for those planning to fly or drive. Government regulators cleared American flights to get airborne Tuesday about one hour after the Federal Aviation Administration ordered a national ground stop, which prevented planes from taking off. American said in an email that the problem was caused by an issue with a vendor technology that maintains its flight operating system. Aviation analytics company Cirium said flights were delayed across American’s major hubs, with only 37% leaving on time. Nineteen flights were cancelled. Middle East latest: Israel expels patients from a hospital in Gaza TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The Palestinian Health Ministry says Israeli soldiers raided a hospital in isolated northern Gaza after forcing all the patients and most of the doctors to leave. The Israeli military confirmed its troops had entered the Indonesian Hospital in the town of Jabaliya on Tuesday, as part of an operation searching for Hamas fighters. Winter is hitting the Gaza Strip and many of the nearly 2 million Palestinians displaced by the devastating 15-month war are struggling to protect themselves from the wind, cold and rain. In the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian city of Bethlehem was marking a somber Christmas Eve under the shadow of war in Gaza, with most festivities cancelled and crowds of tourists absent. Caitlin Clark honored as AP Female Athlete of the Year following her impact on women's sports Caitlin Clark has been named the AP Female Athlete of the Year after raising the profile of women’s basketball to unprecedented levels in both college and the WNBA. She led Iowa to the national championship game, was the top pick in the WNBA draft and captured rookie of the year honors in the league. Fans packed sold-out arenas and millions of television viewers followed her journey on and off the court. Clark's exploits also put other women's sports leagues in the spotlight. A group of 74 sports journalists from AP and its members voted on the award. Other athletes who received votes included Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles and boxer Imane Khelif. Clark’s only the fourth women’s basketball player to win the award since it was first given in 1931. Major storm pounds California's central coast, blamed for man's death and partially collapsing pier SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — A major storm has pounded California’s central coast bringing flooding and high surf that was blamed for fatally trapping a man beneath debris on a beach and later partially collapsing a pier, tossing three people into the Pacific Ocean. The storm was expected to bring hurricane-force winds and waves up to 60 feet Monday as it gained strength from California to the Pacific Northwest. Some California cities have ordered beachfront homes and hotels to evacuate early Monday afternoon. Forecasters have warned that storm swells would continue to increase throughout the day. Medellin Cartel victims demand truth and justice as cartel boss Fabio Ochoa walks free in Colombia BOGOTÁ, Colombia (AP) — The return of the notorious drug trafficker Fabio Ochoa to Colombia, following his deportation from the United States, has reopened old wounds among the victims of the Medellin cartel, with some expressing their dismay at the decision of Colombian authorities to let the former mafia boss walk free.Some of the cartel victims said on Tuesday that they are hoping the former drug lord will at least cooperate with ongoing efforts by human rights groups to investigate one of the most violent periods of Colombia’s history, and demanded that Colombian prosecutors also take Ochoa in for questioning. Man arraigned on murder charges in NYC subway death fanned flames with a shirt, prosecutors say NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors say a man accused of burning a woman to death inside a New York City subway train used a shirt to fan the flames, causing her to become engulfed. The suspect, identified by police as Sebastian Zapeta, was arraigned in Brooklyn criminal court on Tuesday. He faces murder charges that could put him in prison for life. Federal immigration officials say 33-year-old Zapeta is a Guatemalan citizen who entered the U.S. illegally after being deported in 2018. The apparently random attack occurred Sunday morning on a stationary F train at the Coney Island station in Brooklyn. Amsterdam court sentences 5 men over violence linked to Ajax-Maccabi soccer game THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — An Amsterdam District Court has issued sentences of up to six months in jail against 5 men who were involved in violent disorder after a soccer match between the Dutch club Ajax and Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv in November. The riots caused an international outcry and accusations of deliberate anti-Semitic attacks. The violence following a UEFA Europa League match left 5 people in hospital. More than 60 suspects were detained. The court on Tuesday sentenced one man to 6 months in prison, another to 2 1/2 months, two to 1 month and one to 100 hours of community service.
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The current week brought a new wave of challenges stemming from both international and domestic political conflicts. The Russia-Ukraine conflict intensified after U.S. Democrats approved the use of American arms against Russian territory, potentially in response to Moscow's decision to deploy North Korean soldiers to the Ukrainian frontlines. This move appears to be a last-ditch effort ahead of the planned White House transition in January 2025. The heightened geopolitical tensions, compounded by nuclear threats from President Putin, triggered instability in global markets, including India’s, which was already underperforming. However, the markets regained stability as the situation de-escalated, with no further escalation of the conflict. The domestic political landscape also faced turmoil during the Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly elections. Historically, state election volatility has had little impact on the medium to long-term trends of the Indian stock market. However, this time, the intensifying rivalry between the BJP and Congress brought the Adani bribery case to the forefront, reported by the U.S. Department of Justice. This added to the market's woes as there was some sign of slowdown in FII selling, which surged again this week. Along with the Adani group, stocks of financials & industrial sectors were also affected. The market showed resilience by the end of the week, signalling that domestic political turmoil is unlikely to have a significant long-term impact on the Indian stock market. However, high exposure of foreign investors in the Adani Group and exposure of PSU financials and banks on the project will have to bear the brunt, before judicial & project feasibility clarity emerge. The legal case in the U.S. is expected to restrict the Adani Group’s access to international funding , evidenced by Adani Green ’s cancellation of a $600 million bond issuance—the second such withdrawal in the last two years. Mockery the strength of the trial depends on the bribery taken in the BJP opposition states. Domestic politics dogfight will be held on the international judiciary. Adani Group was able to recover most of the lost ground done by the Hindenburg report in Jan 2023. However, this time it will be a challenge, as the DoJ has accused after an investigation of 2yrs. The consolidation continued in the market during the week due to weak Q2 results, FII selling, news of reduction in the probability of a FED rate cut in December, and a weak rupee. However, a strong bounce happened by the end of the week due to bottom fishing by domestic investing, including retail. The domestic market was on a sell-off mode in the last 2months, taking it to the oversold territory. The correction in valuation suggests a potential pause in further price erosion, as trading at a 5yr average. However, the pace of recovery will depend on a pick-up in earnings, which is expected to improve due to an anticipated rise in central and state government spending in H2, fuelled by the festival and marriage seasons. Indications are that economic data is likely to improve on a MoM and QoQ basis. Monthly data due to be released by the mid-December could offer fresh insights into the economic outlook. Initial analysis suggests that corporate growth in H2 will be 10 to 12% compared to 6% in H1FY25. Whether it is good enough and to sustain the trend and valuation will depend on that narrative on FY26 earnings outlook.McDonald's Spends $100 Million After E. Coli Outbreak As 'Trust And Love' Must Be Rebuilt, Says Chief Impact OfficerMembership of UK’s anti-immigration Reform party overtakes Conservatives British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks during a Conservative general election campaign event, in London, Britain. —Reuters/File LONDON: Membership of Britain ́s upstart anti-immigration Reform UK party has overtaken that of the centre right Conservative Party for the first time, the party said on Thursday. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1700472799616-0'); }); Party leader and Brexit figurehead Nigel Farage hailed the figure an “historic moment”. Immigration was a major issue at the ballot box at the UK ́s July general election which saw the Conservatives ousted after 14 years in power. The digital counter on the Reform website showed a membership tally ticking past the 131,680 figure declared by the main opposition Conservatives during its leadership election earlier this year. “The youngest political party in British politics has just overtaken the oldest political party in the world,” wrote Farage on X. “Reform UK are now the real opposition.” Party chairman Zia Yusuf said the milestone showed the long “stranglehold on the centre-right of British politics by the Tories has finally been broken”. The last declared Conservative Party tally was the lowest on record and a drop on 2022 when there were around 172,000 members. Reform won five seats in the 650-seat UK parliament in July, although it received roughly 14 percent of total votes cast. Reform maximised the damage to the Conservatives by splitting the right-wing vote and picking up former Tory supporters in key constituencies.
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London-listed Savannah Resources will accelerate its lithium mine project in northern Portugal to ensure first commercial output in 2027, it said on Thursday, despite uncertainties about price and demand it said were temporary. Some mines around the globe that produce lithium, used in electric vehicle batteries, have curtailed operations or delayed expansions. Prices have dropped by nearly 90% over the last two years as supplies have increased and demand has fallen short of expectations. However, Savannah chairperson Rick Anton said in a statement he looked forward to 2025 "with great confidence", and the company had "all the key elements in place to significantly advance the project". Savannah, which wants to build four open pit mines in the northern Barroso region to extract enough lithium each year for about half a million batteries for EVs, hopes to start production in 2027. Anton said that, despite the "short-term uncertainty" surrounding lithium prices and the energy transition, Savannah, as a pre-production company, "is largely insulated from these issues and can focus firmly on the tasks it has to execute". "The first of these (tasks) is to progress our project as quickly as we can towards production," he said, adding he hoped "to take advantage of the more favourable conditions and higher prices, which will return to the market in the future". He said the recovery should be sustained by the carbon emissions reduction legislation in all major global markets and the status of lithium-ion batteries as the preferred technology for multiple applications. The company has said Barroso's deposit of spodumene is the biggest in Europe and has estimated reserves of 28 million metric tons of high-grade lithium. But the project has put the European Union's ambition to reduce dependence on countries such as China for strategic raw materials to the test as it faces opposition from local residents and environmentalists.Stock market today: Wall Street ends little changed after giving up a big morning gain
