Sunday, November 30, 2025

BIG Wrap

Rubio hints at more U.S. strikes against drug smugglers

(Al Jazeera Media Network) United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that military attacks on alleged drug traffickers will “happen again”, brushing aside concerns over the legality of such attacks and the sovereignty of Latin American nations. Speaking during a news conference in Mexico City on Wednesday, Rubio pledged continued security co-ordination with countries such as Mexico, but suggested the US would not hesitate to take extreme measures on its own. His remarks, in part,...

Putin says Russia will achieve all aims militarily if Ukraine does not agree to deal

(BBC News) President Vladimir Putin has said Russia is willing to fight to achieve all its objectives if Ukraine does not agree to a deal. He made the remarks in China after attending a huge military parade seen as a challenge to Donald Trump and the US-dominated world order. The US president has tried to persuade Putin to end the war, but the Russian leader, while praising Trump's "sincere desire", has so far not done so. Visiting...

Russia’s Putin hails ‘unprecedented’ ties with China at talks in Beijing

(BBC News) Russian leader Vladimir Putin said his ties with Chinese President Xi Jinping are at an "unprecedented level" as the two met in Beijing on the eve of a massive military parade. Putin described Xi as a dear friend; Chinese state media said relations were exemplary. Russia is to increase supplies of gas to China, while Beijing will offer visa-free travel to Russians during a year-long trial. Xi is also preparing to welcome North Korea's...

Trump defends U-turn on Chinese student visas after MAGA backlash

(BBC News) US President Donald Trump has defended his decision to issue 600,000 Chinese student visas, despite a backlash from some supporters. He told the Daily Caller on Sunday that it would be "insulting" to ban them, and said his move would benefit smaller universities. The president is reversing the hard line his administration has taken on this for months, as trade talks with China continue. Some of his allies in the MAGA (Make America Great Again)...

At least 800 people killed as earthquake hits eastern Afghanistan

(Al Jazeera Media Network) One of Afghanistan’s worst earthquakes has killed more than 800 people and injured at least 2,800, authorities say as they warn that the death toll could rise. Helicopters ferried the wounded to hospital on Monday in the eastern provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar as officials combed the rubble for survivors after a magnitude 6 tremor hit just before midnight on Sunday. At least 812 people have died, government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said at...

Arrest after fatal shooting of Ukrainian politician Andriy Parubiy

(BBC News) A suspect in the fatal shooting of prominent Ukrainian politician Andriy Parubiy has been arrested, the country's president Volodymyr Zelensky has said. The 54-year-old parliamentarian was killed by an attacker posing as a courier in the western city of Lviv on Saturday, sparking a manhunt. Ukraine's interior minister Igor Klymenko said in a statement issued in the early hours of Monday morning that the suspect had been detained in the western Khmelnytskyi region. Klymenko said...

Indonesian president says lawmakers’ perks to be cut after deadly protests

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto says political parties have agreed to revoke a number of perks and privileges for parliamentarians in a major concession to people taking part in antigovernment protests that have killed at least five people. Protests over what the demonstrators have criticised as excessive pay and housing allowances for parliamentarians started on Monday and expanded into riots on Thursday after one person, a motorcycle rideshare driver, was killed in...

Yemen’s Houthis confirm Israeli strike killed group’s prime minister

(Al Jazeera Media Network) Yemen’s Houthis have confirmed that an Israeli air strike earlier this week killed the prime minister of the group’s government in the capital, Sanaa. Ahmed al-Rahawi was killed in a Thursday strike in Sanaa along with a number of ministers, the Houthis said in a statement on Saturday. Al-Rahawi, who served as prime minister in areas of the divided country that the group controls, was targeted along with other members of the Houthi-led government...

Prominent Ukrainian politician shot dead in Lviv

(BBC News) The former speaker of the Ukrainian parliament Andriy Parubiy has been shot dead in the western city of Lviv, officials have said. Unverified footage, purportedly of the shooting, appears to show a gunman dressed as a courier approaching Parubiy on the street and holding up a weapon as he walks behind him, before fleeing. A huge manhunt is now under way for the suspect. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described Saturday's attack as a "terrible...

Zelensky rejects proposals for buffer zone

(BBC News) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected proposals for a buffer zone between Ukrainian and Russian forces as part of a peace deal, arguing it does not reflect the realities of modern warfare. "Only those who do not understand the technological state of today's war propose a buffer zone," he told reporters on Friday. His comments followed a report suggesting European leaders were considering a 40-km buffer zone as part of either a ceasefire or...