News Desk

Slovenia is voting on whether to legalise assisted dying for some terminally ill adults after other European countries have made the change.

The parliament of the small European Union nation passed a euthanasia bill in July, but a citizens initiative, led by right-wing politician Ales Primc, forced the referendum on Sunday.

The law will be rejected if at least 20 percent of participating voters oppose the bill. Slovenia has an electorate of 1.69 million people.

Supporters of the bill said it will alleviate unnecessary pain. Those against said society should care for the sick, not help them die.

Several European countries – including Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland – already allow terminally ill people to receive medical help to end their lives.

What are the Slovenes proposing?

Under the disputed law, which was set to take effect this year, lucid but terminally ill patients would have had the right to die if their suffering had become unbearable and all other treatment options had been exhausted.

The legislation is similar to the assisted dying bill passed by the United Kingdom Parliament in June. Britain’s bill allows assisted suicide for terminally ill adults with less than six months to live, the approvals of two doctors, judicial oversight and self-administration of the medication.

Slovenia’s law would require the approval of two doctors but also cooling-off periods and self-administration of the medication.

About 54 percent of citizens back the legalisation of assisted dying, almost 31 percent oppose it and 15 percent are undecided, according to a poll published this week by the Dnevnik daily based on 700 responses. In June 2024, 55 percent backed the law.

What are supporters saying?

Prime Minister Robert Golob urged citizens to back the law “so that each of us can decide for ourselves how and with what dignity we will end our lives”.

Marijan Janzekovic, an 86-year-old who lives in the town of Sveti Tomaz near the capital, Ljubljana, also supports the bill.

His wife, Alenka Curin-Janzekovic, was in pain from diabetes-related illnesses before she ended her life at a suicide clinic in Switzerland in 2023.

“She was in a wheelchair … and in pain so bad my heart hurt just by watching her,” he told the Reuters news agency.

What do opponents think?

The main political group opposing the law, called Voice for the Children and the Family, has accused the government of using the law to “poison” ill and elderly people.

Opponents said the law is inhumane and violates Slovenia’s Constitution, which declares human life inviolable.

Elsewhere, Slovenian Catholic Archbishop Stanislav Zore said the state should focus on palliative care instead.

“Let’s care for the sick and dying but not offer them suicide,” he said. The Catholic Church is opposed to euthanasia.

What other countries practise assisted dying?

Assisted dying is already permitted in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, several states in the United States, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Germany, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland.

In Australia, New Zealand, Canada and several US states, assisted dying laws are generally framed around medical aid. These jurisdictions typically require that patients be terminally ill, mentally competent and assessed by two independent doctors.

In many of these countries, the patient must self-administer lethal medication rather than have a doctor provide it directly. These regimes prioritise patient autonomy and strict procedural safeguards, such as waiting periods.

In the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain and Portugal, the approach to assisted dying is permissive. Active euthanasia or doctor-administered treatment is legal under defined conditions of unbearable suffering, even if the patient is not terminally ill.

In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, only assisted suicide is legally tolerated as opposed to active euthanasia. Switzerland is an outlier insofar as there is no dedicated regulatory regime for euthanasia, meaning nonresidents may access the service via organisations.

Which other countries are currently debating assisted dying laws?

In May, France’s National Assembly approved a “right-to-die” bill. The legislation would allow adults over 18 who are citizens or residents and suffer from incurable illnesses and “intolerable” physical or psychological suffering to request lethal medication.

Under the bill, a medical team must assess the patient’s condition before a mandatory reflection period before the prescription of a lethal substance. If the patient is physically unable to self-administer, a doctor or nurse may assist.

The proposal excludes people with severe psychiatric conditions or neurodegenerative disorders like advanced Alzheimer’s disease. The bill now has to go to the Senate and must return to the National Assembly for a second reading before it could become law.

Elsewhere, Britain’s lower house voted to legalise assisted dying in June. The House of Commons narrowly voted in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, marking a major step towards legalising assisted dying in England and Wales.

The bill would allow mentally competent adults with a prognosis of less than six months to live to request medical help to end their lives, subject to assessments by two doctors and a panel including a psychiatrist, a lawyer and a social worker.

The legislation is not yet law. It must still get through the House of Lords, where it will be further scrutinised and may be amended. If it does become law, the timeline for implementation may not be until 2029.

The Emmerdale star’s injury has had an impact on his farm which is the subject of an ITV reality series

Kelvin Fletcher has issued fans with a worrying health update in the latest instalment of his ITV reality series, Fletchers’ Family Farm.

In the episode aired today (November 23) the extent of the former Emmerdale star’s injuries sustained during a charity rugby match were laid bare.

The star had signed up to play alongside professional athletes Gareth Ellis, Mark Flanagan and Danny McGuire in aid of the David Lewis Centre, a charity supporting individuals with complex needs.

The soap star had initially been benched, but was later shown in the game being tackled. He admitted at the time: “I’m hoping, fingers crossed, I’ve not, but it feels like I’ve torn my bicep.”

READ MORE: Kelvin Fletcher’s fears over ‘pushing kids out of comfort zone’READ MORE: Kelvin Fletcher admits he’s ‘nervous’ as he makes emotional confession about kids

In the latest update given to viewers, he revealed a scan had now confirmed that he was indeed suffering from a torn bicep, rendering him unable to see through his commitments on the farm.

“I need to find a potential understudy,” he remarked on the programme as he weighed up whether he could still show his Lincoln Red cows at the Royal Cheshire Show.

Turning to wife Liz, he said: “My arm is killing me still. My arm’s really sore and I’m just thinking whether it’s best you taking them. You’ll be fine.” He added: “Let’s just see, but just on standby. How do you feel about that?”

Liz, clearly unimpressed replied: “Well not great, obviously,” as Kelvin reassured her that “despite the adversity, despite the hiccups we’re still going to go.”

Later in the episode, Liz revealed her anxiety about showing the cows, telling the cameras: “Where I thought I was just going to be having a lovely day at the Cheshire show with the kids, no pressure, no worries, I’m now told I’m going to have to step it up and potentially be the one that’s in the ring with the cow because of Kelvin’s injury.”

She continued: “I feel underprepared, more than last year. Even though he is a beautiful and calm temperament, it’s how does he respond to those other bulls. But we’re in it now, what can we do? We’re going.”

Not content with just a torn muscle, Kelvin was also seen suffering a paper cut as wife Liz joked he was a “delicate flower” before embracing him tightly.

Fletchers’ Family Farm airs on ITV1 every Sunday, with episodes available to stream via ITVX

Nov. 22 (UPI) — Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was detained early Saturday in Brasilia because of a possible “attempted escape” to an embassy days before he was to begin his 27-year prison sentence for leading a coup attempt.

Brazil’s Supreme Court issued a preventive arrest warrant that had been sought by police for Bolonaro, 70, who had been under house arrest with an ankle monitor since early August.

Bolsonaro, Brazil’s president from 2019 to 2022, is being held in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday, the BBC reported.

He is scheduled to begin serving his sentence as the court reviews his appeals.

There was the possibility of “relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to request asylum through a diplomatic representation,” the court said.

In August, police obtained a document during a raid that Bolsonaro had planned to seek asylum in Argentina last year. And days after the operation, he spent two nights at the Hungarian Embassy in Brazil in an apparent bid for asylum.

Bolsonaro’s lawyers planned to appeal the arrest, denying that Bolsonaro was attempting to flee.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who wrote the order, said “new facts” had come to light about the far-right former president.

His intention was “to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape” that would be “facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his son” outside his apartment complex.

The judge described it as a “high possibility of an attempted escape.”

The vigil planned for Saturday night was organized by his oldest son, Flavio, a senator.

“Are you going to fight for your country or just watch everything on your phone on your couch at home?” he asked his followers in a social media video.

The court also said it was informed that there was a violation of Bolsonaro’s electronic monitoring equipment early Saturday.

“The information confirms the convict’s intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet in order to ensure the success of his escape, facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration,” the court said.

Bolsonaro’s sentence was to begin next week after all appeals were exhausted.

“The fact is that the former president was arrested at his home, with an electronic ankle monitor and under police surveillance. Furthermore, Jair Bolsonaro’s health is delicate and his imprisonment may put his life at risk,” his lawyers said in a statement.

And they noted the protest is protected by law.

On Sept. 11, Bolsonaro was sentenced and convicted in a plot to remain in power after losing the 2022 election to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Four of five justices convicted him on all five counts.

Aside from the coup attempt, Bolsonaro was found guilty of taking part in an armed criminal organization, attempting to abolish Brazil’s democratic order by force, committing violent acts against state institutions and damaging protected public property after his supporters stormed government buildings on Jan. 8, 2023.

He is barred from running for public office until 2060, eight years after his sentence would end, when he would 105 years old.

On Friday, Bolsonaro’s lawyers asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest with electronic monitoring. He would be able to leave for medical treatment, including for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Earlier this month, high-ranking military officials and a federal police officer were sentenced to prison after the Supreme Court justices found them guilty of attempting a coup and plotting to kill Lula da Silva.

“The message to Brazil, and to the world, is that crime doesn’t pay,” Reimont Otoni, a Workers’ party congressman and backer of Otono.

Otoni noted Bolsonaro’s plot included a conspiracy to assassinate Lula.

Also, high court justices knew about plans to assassinate Lula’s vice presidential running mate, and to arrest and execute de Moraes.

The conspiracy failed to get the backing of the army and air force commanders, and Lula was sworn in on Jan. 1, 2023.

One week later, supporters stormed and vandalized government buildings in the capital, Brasilia.

Bonsonaro, who has been referred to as the “Trump of the tropics,” has contended it was a “witch hunt.” U.S. President Donald Trump also calls it a “witch hunt” and punished the nation for the “disgrace” of how Bolsonaro has been treated, as well as for an “unfair trade relationship.”

During a Test against South Africa, Smith admitted Australia’s “leadership group” devised a plan to tamper with the ball.

Former opener David Warner taught batter Cameron Bancroft how to use sandpaper to rough up the ball, and Bancroft was then caught doing so by TV cameras during play. Both men were also banned along with Smith.

Smith made his comeback after the ball-tampering episode in the 2019 Ashes Test at Edgbaston and has been booed repeatedly since.

England fans also base taunts on his tearful news conference in 2018.

“We did the wrong thing, accept it and move on,” Lehmann said.

“You try to move on the best you can. You get reminded every day and that is part and parcel.

“Steve Smith can hold his head high with how he handles everything.

“The Barmy Army should be better than that. Most of them are and are very supportive of what goes on in the game.”

HOLLY Hagan has revealed she is expecting her second baby just weeks after announcing her sister Darci Rose’s heartbreaking death.

Geordie Shore star Holly announced the teenager’s tragic passing last month.

Holly said Darci Rose passed away peacefully holding her hand surrounded by family.

She also revealed Darci was a beloved aunt to her young son Alpha-Jax, writing as she announced the news at the time: “She was the best aunty, Alpha-Jax adored her.

“She spent his whole birthday on the bouncy castle with AJ and Alba, and that’s a memory I’ll cherish forever.”

Holly, 33, has now told fans she will welcome another baby into the world next year.

The star also revealed in an emotional post on Instagram that she got to share her news with Darci before the 19-year-old’s sudden death.

Holly posted a video that included screenshots of a conversation they had over WhatsApp.

They were the siblings “last messages to each other” and Holly said: “I will cherish these forever.”

After learning she was to become an aunt again, Darci wrote to Holly: “I’m so happy for you, that made me want to cry.

“I did not expect that at all … you’re the best mummy to (AJ) already.

“They are both going to be so lucky. Love you.”

Holly also captured on camera the moment she saw her ‘positive’ pregnancy test for the first time.

And the prescious moments she told her husband, professional footballer Jacob Blyth, and her parents that she was expecting.

Holly wrote alongside the sweet video: “Our little rainbow amongst the storm. Baby Blyth no2 coming May 2026.”

Her Geordie Shore co-stars rushed to congratulate her as Sophie Kasaei said: “My darling girl ….

“Amongst the heartbreak you’ve been through this is your angel and the best gift you could have ever been given. Adore you and your family so much forever.”

And Nathan Henry penned: “This is just the most precious news.

“I’m so happy for both. And I’m so happy for you that Darci got to be apart of your new journey. Love you and congratulations.”

The Israeli military has attacked the southern suburbs of Beirut, striking, it says, a Hezbollah operative in Dahiyeh.

The attack on Sunday is the latest flagrant violation of the ceasefire Israel signed with Hezbollah one year ago to end hostilities that erupted into full-blown war.

Israel has been carrying out near-daily strikes on southern Lebanon and has also attacked the capital Beirut several times.

More to come…

When Mariam* first started thinking of deserting Boko Haram’s settlement at Sambisa Forest, where she had been living for a decade, she was not entirely sure that it was the best idea. She still believed in the cause, for starters. But there was the matter of her body starting to fail her. 

Her husband had just died of HIV/AIDS, and she had unfortunately contracted the disease from him before he passed. Although the doctor in the forest tried to provide her with medication, it was not consistent. In addition, she had kids she feared infecting. Then, she started to hear that access to antiretroviral drugs was free in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital in northeastern Nigeria. So, she began to tinker with the idea, for the first time, of leaving the group behind. 

The group was all she had known for the past decade. She had even been prepared, at some point, to give her life for the cause by volunteering for a suicide bombing. She had been approved for it and had begun to undergo training and preparations when she realised she was pregnant. Her husband, previously supportive of what they collectively thought of as her noble martyrdom, then decided she could not blow herself up while carrying their child. She was heavily disappointed. That’s how far she was willing to go for the Boko Haram cause.

And so to leave it all behind seemed impossible. 

She had joined when the group first declared war on the Nigerian state over a decade ago, leaving state-controlled territories for the Sambisa Forest. They sought to establish what they believed to be an Islamic state, declaring formal education, democracy, and elections forbidden. Their campaign has killed over 35,000 people violently, displaced over two million others, and caused over 25,000 others to go missing. Mariam had been attending their sermons right from the early, non-violent days. 

Eventually, after nearly a decade, she left with her children in 2017. Since coming back to Maiduguri, she has had uninterrupted access to free medications for her condition, reducing her viral load and making her no longer infectious. And so, even though she considered the economic prospects and living conditions in Maiduguri to be worse than in Sambisa, she stayed because she could remain alive.

She keeps the truth of her condition from her children and everyone she knows. 

Earlier this year, however, the United States President Donald Trump announced the suspension of USAID, which was primarily responsible for the accessibility of antiretroviral drugs for people like Mariam. Without the USAID subsidy, the drugs are estimated to be unaffordably expensive for low-income earners like Mariam.

Word started to go around that the availability of the drugs would falter. When Mariam ran out of her six-month stash of medications, she returned to the Borno State Specialist Hospital to get a refill, as she has done for years now. There, she met a surprise that scared her. 

“They only gave me one small can of pills, not the usual two. They seemed to have changed the ratio. They didn’t say why, only that they had changed the ratio. The bottle will only last me three months,” she recounted.

It worried her. When she got home from the hospital, she poured the pills into a thin white plastic bag and hid it, as usual. That way, it is inconspicuous, and anyone who knew the kind of bottles the drugs came in would not be able to recognise hers. This is so that she would avoid stigma.

“Nobody knows I have HIV to date. Even my children. And they are HIV-free. I had them tested at the hospital. Even the eldest among them doesn’t know.”

Around the same time, NGO-run health facilities were also starting to shut down in many rural communities in Borno. For example, in Konduga, a primary healthcare centre run by Family Health International (FHI360) was shut down. The facility had been receiving hundreds of patients daily until its abrupt suspension, leaving many in need and others unemployed. 

For Mariam, this has made her begin to consider going back to the terror group, especially after she lost everything during the tragic Maiduguri floods last year. She and her children barely escaped with their lives. The flood had swept through Maiduguri and neighbouring areas, affecting over one million people in total. Her daughter had initially been swept away until a neighbour dove into the waves and rescued her.

“It was a young man who came to help. I was at the verge of diving into the water myself when he came and said not to worry, that he would get her back, and he did. We could not salvage anything else from the flood. We were displaced to the Bakassi IDP camp.” 

When Mariam ran out of the three-month stash and went back to the hospital for a refill, she was only handed a one-month stash this time. The two times she has gone back for more refills after she had exhausted each, she only received one month’s stash, further scaring her.

Though she is no longer as committed to the Boko Haram ideology as she used to be, the realisation that she and her children’s lives are not safe has made her seriously reconsider the prospect of returning

A medical doctor working in Borno State, who pleaded anonymity, confirmed that the drugs had become difficult to access after the USAID suspension. “Patients who showed up at the hospitals were being told that the drugs were not available,” the doctor told HumAngle. “But if you knew your way around and gave some pharmacists some money, they would then give you the drugs, but keep in mind that the drugs are meant to be free. The situation has mildly improved.”

The availability of healthcare among terror groups is traceable to many sources. They are notorious for abducting healthcare workers and forcing them to work for them. But they also took medical training very seriously during the early days when the group first started to tactically come together over a decade ago, according to a former member of the group. 

Now, as many people are coming back to state-controlled territories, the rewards for recidivism have reportedly become higher, as the groups struggle to maintain their followers. Mariam hears these whispers from many of her associates.

“In addition to the drugs they were giving me in Sambisa, they would also give me a litre of honey and some black seed,” she said, adding that the honey and black seed were to help build her immune system.

In northwestern Nigeria, children who escaped or were rescued from terror groups have reported similar experiences. Some boys told HumAngle in an investigation that they joined the groups for things like food and healthcare. They said these were some of the incentives that made staying easy, and why they were not so keen on returning to state-controlled territories.

“I collected the last batch exactly a week ago today,” Mariam said of her access to the drugs. “The flow has never stopped. They always give me on schedule; it is just that I now only get one-month refills.” 

“The life over there is way better,” she said of Sambisa. “If I were there, I would have received a lot of support, especially with my husband dead. Here, who will help me? Everyone is focused on themselves. There is peace of mind there.”

When asked how there could be peace of mind there, with the threat of military bombardment ever present, she said the military would not harm women and children, and so she still would have been safe. “They will only ‘rescue’ us and bring us back to Borno… Even recently, I said to myself that life over there would be better for me. There were so many things weighing down on me at that time. It was even before the flood.”

On whether her children’s lives would be better in Maiduguri, she said it would only be so if her children had access to formal education here, which they don’t. Now, they spend all their time either at home with her or roaming the streets.

When we first spoke in June 2023, she had told me that her children were opposed to the Nigerian army and would throw rocks at them on the road, chanting war songs. When I asked her if things had improved now, she said yes.

“They don’t do that anymore,” she laughed. “They have forgotten. They don’t even want to hear anything related to Boko Haram anymore.”

If she could make an appeal for help to the government, it would be for three things. “Healthcare, school for my children, and a means of livelihood.”

This work was produced as a result of a grant provided by the Wits Centre for Journalism’s African Investigative Journalism Conference.

*Mariam is a pseudonym used to protect her anonymity. 

Back in 2024, Universal conjured a pink and green tornado that swept pop culture.

From themed drinks at Starbucks and dolls of Elphaba and Glinda, to joint appearances by stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande at the Olympics and throughout a heavily-publicized press tour, “Wicked” was everywhere.

As the conclusion of the two-part film franchise heads to theaters at the end of the week, the marketing for “Wicked: For Good” has accelerated.

There are still themed Legos, but now also Gain laundry scent boosters, Swiffers and Pottery Barn bedding. There was a “Wicked” night on rival network ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” and a “Wicked: One Wonderful Night” musical event broadcast on NBC.

The complete takeover of culture was all part of Universal’s plan to build one of its biggest and most important franchises, which has already brought in nearly $759 million in worldwide box office revenue for the first film, not to mention the haul from merchandise sales, theme park tie-ins and other categories.

Beyond the immediate revenue, “Wicked” also gives Universal a rare, female-focused franchise, an underserved audience, particularly as so many recent films have been geared toward men.

The success of the Broadway play, which has run for more than two decades, gave Universal the confidence in its potential for the big screen, said David O’Connor, president of franchise management and brand strategy at Universal Pictures. He’s also been a fan of the stage production almost from the beginning — he watched a table reading on the Universal lot, saw the musical additions to the script and finally, its run in San Francisco.

“For us, you had this potential to really take the fanship and really make ‘Wicked’ into a cultural imperative,” he said in a call from New York ahead of the film’s premiere. “When you think about the characters, the two leads, the themes of friendship, identity and empowerment, and how that resonates universally, and then, of course, the fantastical worlds of Oz and Shiz and Munchkinland, it just seemed like such a great opportunity for us.”

“Wicked” has proved to be a key boost to Universal’s lineup of blockbuster franchises.

Though the studio boasts series like “Jurassic Park,” “Despicable Me” and “Fast & Furious,” it has lacked the deep roster of intellectual property that rivals like Walt Disney Co. and Warner Bros. have, said Brandon Katz, director of insights and content strategy at data firm Greenlight Analytics.

The series “has really emerged as a much-needed, fresh tentpole for Universal,” he said. “There’s such a waterfall of value that this two-part franchise creates that Universal will be banking out on this for years to come.”

The two films were shot back-to-back, with a combined production budget of $300 million, reportedly split evenly between the two.

So far, interest for the second film is high — as of Thursday, “Wicked: For Good” was the highest ticket pre-seller of the year, according to Fandango. It is also the highest PG-rated ticket pre-seller ever on the Fandango platform, passing 2017’s live-action “Beauty and the Beast,” 2019’s animated hit “Frozen 2” and the first “Wicked.”

The film is tracking to haul in $150 million to $160 million in its opening weekend, according to estimates from industry analysts.

And the film’s appeal to women is crucial, particularly in a year when there were few films geared toward female viewers. Despite the persistent debates about the dearth of female-focused films, there have been few big, recent hits, other than 2023’s “Barbie” and last year’s “Wicked.”

“Every three or four years, female audiences are rediscovered with some hit,” said Alisa Perren, professor in the department of radio-television-film at the University of Texas at Austin’s college of communication. “It’s kind of striking how little mainstream female [films] have been released.”

To court all audiences, including those who were familiar with the play as well as those new to the story, Universal leaned into its so-called Symphony program to leverage all arms of the company to promote a film.

The program has been used previously for films like “Despicable Me” and has become a critical part of the marketing campaign, O’Connor said.

One new strategy the company used for supporting this franchise was building a “Wicked” fair, which was held on set in 2023 in London and allowed more than 200 partners to get a feel for the story, see the filmmakers and actors and meet heads of departments, like costumes and props. The studio has done set visits in the past, but nothing like this.

That open house was pivotal in driving partnership agreements and started to fuel the franchise’s success, O’Connor said. One of those was Lego, which signed on with “Wicked” after the fair and has been a partner on both films with product lines and an episode of “Lego Masters.”

Because not all geographic markets had the same built-in awareness of the Broadway play, getting corporate brands on-board was key to increasing knowledge of “Wicked” around the globe, he said.

Though “Wicked: For Good” marks the conclusion to the two-film series, O’Connor was coy about what’s next for the franchise.

“Our focus remains on building experiences that will deepen that connection to ‘Wicked,’” he said. “And all I can say is, we are very committed to ‘Wicked,’ but it’s probably too early to share much more than that.”

Nov. 22 (UPI) — President Donald Trump said he is “immediately” ending deportation protections for more than 400 Somali immigrants living in Minnesota.

Trumo made the announcement on Truth Social on Friday night.

The East African nation has had protection since 1991, and it was renewed on Sept. 18, 2024, through March 17, 2026, when Joe Biden was president.

“I am, as President of the United States, hereby terminating, effective immediately, the Temporary Protected Status (TPS Program) for Somalis in Minnesota,” he wrote. “Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great State, and BILLIONS of Dollars are missing. Send them back to where they came from. It’s OVER!”

He did not offer evidence related to the allegations of terrorist gangs in the state.

In addition, he blamed Democratic Gov. Walz of overseeing a state that had become a “hub of fraudulent money laundering activity” — also without proof.

“It’s not surprising that the President has chosen to broadly target an entire community. This is what he does to change the subject,” Walz, who was Kamala Harris‘ vice presidential candidate in the 2024 election against Trump, said less than two hours later in a post on X.

TPS was created in 1979 to allow migrants who escaped “civil unrest, violence or natural disasters” from being deported from the United Stats.

Somalia, which for decades has experienced civil war and instability, is among 17 migrants’ countries with protection. Somalia’s population is 20 million.

There are 705 Somali immigrants approved for the status as of March 31 with 430 in Minnesota, according to a Congressional Research Service report.

The Cedar-Riverside neighborhood east of downtown Minneapolis is nicknamed “Little Mogadishu” because of its large Somali population.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Democrat representing Minneapolis and born in Somalia, blasted the decision.

“Good luck celebrating a policy change that really doesn’t have much impact on the Somalis you love to hate. We are here to stay,” Omar wrote on X, noting that most Somalian immigrants are U.S. citizens.

Trump in the past has been at odds with Omar.

“I look at somebody that comes from Somalia, where they don’t have anything – they don’t have police, they don’t have military, they don’t have anything,” Trump said in a Nov. 11 interview with Laura Ingraham on Fox News. “All they have is crime — and she comes in and tells us how to run our country.”

Since 1979, more than 26,000 Somali refugees moved to Minnesota, according to the state Department of Health.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, a Democrat, said his office is “monitoring the situation and exploring all of our options.

“Somali folks came to Minnesota fleeing conflict, instability and famine, and they have become an integral part of our state, our culture and our community,” Ellison wrote on Facebook. “Donald Trump cannot terminate TPS for just one state or on a bigoted whim.”

“I am confident that Minnesotans know better than to fall for Donald Trump’s scare tactics and scapegoating,” he added.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey also spoke out with a Facebook post that he is “standing with our Somali community today. Minneapolis has your back — always.”

Republican House Speaker Lisa Demuthg, who is running for governor against Walz, applauded the decision.

“The unfortunate reality is that far too many individuals who were welcomed into this country have abused the trust and support that was extended to them, and Minnesota taxpayers have suffered billions of dollars in consequences as a result,” Demuth said in a statement to the Minnesota Star Tribune.

Minnesota Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer adding a post posted on X that “accountability is coming.”

Emmers post linked to a report from right-wing Breitbart about a letter he wrote to Daniel Rosen, U.S. attorney for the District of Minnesota, urging him to “open an investigation into reports that Minnesota taxpayer dollars are ending up in the hands of the al-Shabab terrorist network in Somalia.”

The move was criticized by Jaylani Hussein, president of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

“This is not just a bureaucratic change; it is a political attack on the Somali and Muslim community driven by Islamophobic and hateful rhetoric,” Hussein told CBS News. “We strongly urge President Trump to reverse this misguided decision.”

He added that the protection provided “a legal lifeline for families who have built their lives here for decades.”

Trump has also ended TPS protections for Afghan, Venezuelan, Syrian and South Sudanese nationals. Those actions from each have been challenged in courts.

Russian officials claim that a prototype of the Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate fighter could be in flight testing by early next year. Development of the single-engine aircraft, which first broke cover four years ago, is otherwise said to be ongoing with a heavy emphasis on potential export sales. There also continues to at least be plans, which currently look to be aspirational, for further variations on the design, including an uncrewed derivative.

Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) officially unveiled a Su-75, also known as the Light Tactical Aircraft (LTA), or LTS in Russian, at the 2021 Dubai Airshow. A full-scale mockup of the jet was shown at that event. Later that year, UAC said that work on an actual flying prototype was underway.

We’re “still working on development of this aircraft,” Sergey Chemezov, head of Russia’s state-run defense conglomerate Rostec, told TWZ and other outlets at this year’s Dubai Airshow on Tuesday, according to a translator. “We need some time to get the real prototype for the test flights.”

“Basically, we are almost at the stage of the testing flights, and in the near future, we will be launching it into production,” Chemezov added, again per the translator.

“I think this is the beginning of 2026,” Sergey Bogdan, Sukhoi’s chief test pilot, also said about the expected timeframe for the start of Su-75 flight testing in a separate interview with Russia’s state-run Channel One television station on Tuesday. “The aircraft is already on the shop floor, it is already being finalized, and there are already certain time plans. Therefore, with God’s help, it should take place soon enough.”

Specifications for the Su-75 that UAC has provided at this year’s Dubai Airshow say the design, at least in its present form, has a maximum takeoff weight of some 57,320 pounds (26,000 kilograms). The jet is said to be able to carry up to 16,314 pounds (7,400 kilograms) worth of air-to-air and/or air-to-ground munitions on an array of underwing hardpoints, as well as one inside three internal bays. UAC has stated the aircraft’s top speed to be between Mach 1.8 and Mach 2 with an engine in the 32,000 to 36,000-pound-thrust-class (14,500 to 16,500 kilogram-force). Size-wise, the design, as it was shown in 2021, is approximately 57 feet long and has a wingspan of 39 feet.

As TWZ has noted in the past, despite its LTA moniker, the Su-75 is really more of a middle-weight design. As a comparison, Lockheed Martin’s single-engine F-35A is 51 feet long and has a wingspan of 35 feet, and has a stated maximum takeoff weight in the “70,000 pound class.” As another reference point, Russia’s twin-engine Su-57 Felon, a heavyweight fighter design, measures 66 feet in length with a 46-foot wingspan, and has a stated maximum takeoff weight of 74,957 pounds.

Based on models and renderings that UAC has shown, the Su-75’s design has evolved since 2021. This includes the enlargement of the rear edges of both wings, with flaperons that now stretch all the way down both sides of the tail, and the extension of the wing roots at the nose end of the jet. The shaping of the wing tips, as well as parts of the nose and tail ends of the jet, has also changed. The cockpit canopy now has sawtooth edges at the front and back, as well.

There have also been changes observed to what is easily one of the Su-75’s most striking visual features, its highly angular air intake that wraps around the underside of the nose section. The mock-up that was unveiled in 2021 had a divider in the middle of the intake, which has since disappeared in renders and models of the design. The underside of the intake has also gotten flatter. It still has a diverterless supersonic inlet (DSI) style of design, the benefits of which you can read about in more detail here. Lockheed pioneered DSI technology in the 1990s, with this becoming a key aspect of the F-35’s design. It has now appeared in various forms on a number of other crewed and uncrewed aircraft, especially ones developed in China.

Overall, like the Su-57, the Su-75’s design does look to have some low-observable characteristics, but appears to be mostly focused on reducing the radar signature from the frontal hemisphere, rather than any kind of all-aspect stealth. UAC claims that Checkmate will be effective in areas “protected by air defense systems” and “in a complex jamming environment” thanks to its sensor suite, including an active electronically scanned array radar and an infrared search and track (IRST) system, and other features.

As noted, since the Su-75 was first unveiled, UAC has talked about plans for an entire family of designs based on the single-seat LTA configuration. Models of a two-seat crewed version, as well as the aforementioned uncrewed derivative, have been shown over the years.

Evidence is growing that Russia’s Su-75 Checkmate may appear not only as a single-seater, but also an unmanned wingman and a two-seat version — the latter eyed by Middle Eastern buyers. Commercial models with “Iran” and “UAE” markings hint at export plans. https://t.co/YFNxsirvHL pic.twitter.com/nZgDwlzHpr

— Mohammad Hassan Sangtarash (@MHSangtarash) November 15, 2025

There is notably a more refined model of the uncrewed Checkmate design on display at this year’s Dubai Airshow. It shows an overall configuration in line with the revisions to the single-seat design.

The Checkmate drone model also notably features what looks to be an electro-optical targeting system (EOTS) underneath its fuselage that sits inside a windowed enclosure broadly akin to the ones seen on the U.S. F-35 and Chinese J-20, as well as other designs globally. There is what appears to be another electro-optical and/or infrared sensor system with a more fixed forward field of view on the underside of the fuselage, as well. A sensor aperture is also present on top of the nose. These latter two systems look to be part of a distributed aperture system (DAS) type arrangement that could also have a more capable IRST capability. Advanced combat drones have a particular need for an array of sensors around the aircraft to provide general situational awareness, especially if they are designed for more independent autonomous operations, as well as to help spot and track targets in the air and down below.

All of this being said, much about the Checkmate effort, especially plans for follow-on variations, crewed and uncrewed, currently look to be highly aspirational.

“Generally, it takes about 10 to 15 years to create the proper aircraft,” Rostec’s Chemezov said in Dubai on Tuesday about ongoing work on the Su-75, according to the translator. “You can have a baby born in nine months, but the aircraft will take a little longer than that.”

Chemezov’s remarks here are, broadly speaking, true. As a point of comparison, the first flight of a pre-production Su-57 prototype occurred in 2010 and it took another decade or so for serial production of that design to officially kick off. At the same time, this then points to UAC reaching a high level of maturity with the baseline Su-75 design, let alone putting it into large-scale production, sometime well into the next decade, at the earliest.

When it comes to the prospective first flight of the Su-75, it should be noted that, to date, there has been no imagery or other hard evidence of a real prototype under construction or any initial testing. This is in marked contrast to how images and other details highlighting progress on other advanced Russian aircraft developments, like the S-70 Okhotnik-B uncrewed combat air vehicle (UCAV), have emerged in the past.

The pressures of the ongoing war in Ukraine make it impossible not to question whether Russia is really willing to dedicate the resources necessary for a new fighter project. Though Rostec’s Chemezov was quick to downplay any concerns in Dubai earlier this week, there are also real questions about Russia’s current ability to produce combat aircraft, crewed or uncrewed, in general, after years of Western sanctions. The Russian defense industry chief also acknowledged the additional demands that conflict has placed on Russia’s defense industry to meet the immediate needs of the country’s armed forces. Deliveries of production Su-57s to the Russian Air Force have been notably sluggish, with the Russian Air Force having received around 18 of the jets between 2022 and 2024. The service has a standing order for 76 of those aircraft, and it is unclear when it might be fulfilled in full.

Earlier this year, authorities in Belarus, a very close Russian ally, announced that they were exploring a joint partnership on the continued development of the Su-75. This could help at least defray the costs of the Checkmate program.

Since 2021, UAC has also been very heavily pitching the Su-75 as a more advanced, but also lower-cost fighter option, especially for smaller air arms in the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and Africa. In the ensuing years, there have been reports of interest from a host of countries, including India, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iran, Algeria, and Vietnam. To date, however, there have been no confirmed orders.

It is worth noting here that reports earlier said Algeria had become the first export customer for the larger Su-57. UAC also said just this week that it had delivered the first two export Su-57s to an unnamed foreign customer. No visual evidence of Su-57s entering service outside Russia on any level has yet to emerge.

Competition, in general, in the international fighter market only looks set to grow, as well. China has been making particularly pronounced inroads in this space globally, and export variants or derivatives of its J-35 stealth fighter could be on the horizon. The Su-75, which again has yet to even fly, faces additional challenges posed by the fact that any nation that buys Russian weapon systems runs real risks of triggering secondary sanctions, especially from the United States.

Altogether, it very much remains to be seen when a prototype Su-75 might take to the skies for the first time, as well as when, or if, any of the broader ambitions for the Checkmate program, including the drone derivative, become a reality.

Jamie Hunter contributed to this story.

Special thanks to Michael Jerdev, who you can follow on X under the handle @MuxelAero, for sharing additional imagery from the 2025 Dubai Airshow.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

Legendary actress Nina Wadia, who is best known as Zainab Masood in hit soap EastEnders, could be going up north for a new role

Albert Square legend Nina Wadia is setting her sights on bagging herself a new job on Coronation Street having played Zainab Masood on EastEnders for six years before leaving the soap in 2013.

Nina told The Daily Star: “I’d love to tread the cobbles. That would be a lot of fun. When you’re on a soap, you get the chance to develop your character during a workshop at the start. Then because you’re living the character, you find out more about them.

“I haven’t been offered any soap roles lately, but who knows what will happen? I know a couple of the Corrie cast but I wouldn’t put them under pressure to help me get a role!”

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Nina joined EastEnders in 2007 and her acting credits include Goodness Gracious Me, The Vicar of Dibley and Holby City. She has secured even more impressive acting roles in recent years on shows including The Sandman, The Outlaws and Midsomer Murders and there are more are set to be released.

Her most recent acting credit came in 2023, when she starred as Binta Prabhu in former BBC screen staple Doctors before it was eventually cancelled.

Outside of her TV work, she has also turned to radio and theatre work, making her first panto appearance in 2023 playing Fairy Sugarsnap in Jack and the Beanstalk in York.

During her stint in panto, she shocked audiences as she was able to help her niece get engaged during the course of one of her shows. Reflecting on the experience, she told the BBC: “I felt so privileged to be a part of my niece’s love story.”

Nina added she is used to working long hours as an actress and thanks to her six years playing feisty Zainab Masood on EastEnders.

But despite not actively looking to join a different soap, she has said she is prepared to push herself if they right role comes up for her.

Speaking about how passionate she feels about her work, Nina admitted that working on a soap is “very busy” but she “loves” hard work and that is what she thrives on.

Away from acting, Nina has tried her hand at reality TV too, she entered the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom in 2021 but was unfortunately the first to be voted out.

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Nov. 22 (UPI) — Initial reports undercounted the number of students and staff kidnapped by Nigerian gunmen from the St. Mary’s School in Papiri, Niger State, Nigeria.

The Christian Association of Nigeria’s revised number is now is 303 students and 12 staff members, for a total of 315 kidnapped on Friday.

The revised number was obtained after local officials conducted a census count to determine who was missing, Most. Rev. Bulus DauwaYohanna, CAN’s Niger State chapter chairman, announced.

The students taken were male and female and between ages 10 and 18.

School officials initially reported 215 students and staff had been taken, but 88 more were taken while trying to escape, Yohanna’s spokesman, Danial Atori, told CNN on Saturday.

Intelligence reports warned of a potential attack and, although local authorities said school officials were ordered to close all boarding facilities at the school, the order was ignored, the BBC reported.

Several state- and federally run schools in northern Nigeria closed after learning of Friday’s attack to prevent further abductions.

Local police said security agencies are “combing the forests with a view to rescue the abducted students,” the BBC reported.

The families of those abducted can only wait and hope.

“I just want them to come home,” the aunt of two kidnapped girls, ages 6 and 13, told the BBC.

The father of daughters who attend the school but were not among those taken said the attack has affected everyone.

“Everybody is weak,” Dominic Adamu said. “It took everybody by surprise.”

The number abducted surpasses the 276 who were abducted from Chibok in 2014, and the new number represents about half the students who attended the Catholic school in Papiri.

Papiri, a community in the Nigerian city of Lagos, said the revised number of students kidnapped makes the attack one of the worst in country’s history.

The attack was the third this week in Nigeria in which people were abducted.

Gunmen also attacked a government-run boarding school in Kebbi State and kidnapped 25 female students on Monday.

Gunmen also attacked a church in Kwara State, killed two people and abducted 38 others.

In November 2025 a public disagreement between Beijing and Tokyo over Taiwan exposed how the island’s fate now reaches far beyond Taipei, shaping trade, military planning and regional alliances across East Asia and further beyond.

The Taiwan question has recently re-emerged as a tension point between China and Japan. This raises broader questions about East Asian security. Beijing affirms its “One China policy”, treating Taiwan as a breakaway province to be “reunified” by force if necessary and reacts sharply to any foreign involvement. Avoiding rhetoric that might provoke its eastern neighbor until now, the consensus in Tokyo is shifting as many senior Japanese officials say a Chinese assault on Taiwan that threatens Japan’s survival could justify a military response. None of this is new, but the tone is.

China’s Firm Position on Taipei

Beijing’s stance remains absolute: it is Chinese territory, and any formal push or support from foreign actors for its independence is intolerable. Officials frame reunification as inevitable and non-negotiable, part of what state discourse calls the “national rejuvenation” of China. In recent months this posture has been accompanied by more visible coercion: maritime patrols in the South China Sea, large-scale exercises around the island and targeted economic measures against partners perceived to have crossed this line.

Any country that appears to undercut China’s claim through military cooperation with Taipei, public statements of support, or strengthened security ties risks a Chinese response. From Beijing’s point of view, fully controlling the region would extend China’s reach beyond its coast by securing sea lanes and projection space for the People’s Liberation Army. Politically, it would close a chapter Beijing sees as a Cold War remnant after a century of perceived humiliation.

Japan’s Stakes in Taiwan

Tokyo’s formal policy remains rooted in the One China framework as it does not recognise Taiwan as a sovereign state and officially supports a peaceful cross-Strait resolution. Security considerations and proximity to Taiwan have forced Japanese leaders into increasing their attention to the island in recent years. Hard-line conservative Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s public remarks this month, that a Chinese assault on Taiwan which threatens Japanese survival could trigger a full military response, marked a break with decades of deliberate ambiguity.

It is likely that pending targets have been moved forward and planning for collective self-defence has become more explicit, while defence cooperation with partners particularly the United States under U.S. President Donald Trump has grown more visible. Taipei sits near Japan’s western islands; Yonaguni, the closest island of the Okinawa prefecture is roughly 100 km from Taiwan’s eastern coast and the sea lanes that run here carry a large share of Japan’s energy imports. The presence of substantial U.S. forces in Japan ties Tokyo’s security to Washington’s responses, making it politically and militarily difficult for Tokyo to ignore developments in the Strait.

Reactions, Responses and Confrontation

Responding with strong diplomatic protests and a suite of retaliatory measures to Prime Minister Takaichi’s parliamentary remarks on November 7, Chinese commerce authorities re-imposed bans on Japanese seafood and warned consumers against Japanese products urging its citizens to avoid travel to Japan. Diplomatically, China demanded a retraction and summoned Japan’s ambassador in Beijing to issue a formal protest. This was widely seen as an unusually public move given the recent history of cautious diplomacy in the area.

Japan has issued strong protests over the consul’s remarks and dispatched a senior envoy to Beijing to calm the situation but the talks produced little immediate de-escalation. Japanese fighters were set on high alert after a surveillance drone was detected between Taiwan and Yonaguni, underlining how geographically close this theatre is to Japanese territory. Such moves are not isolated acts but are part of a larger pattern meant to act as a “show of strength” while stopping short of starting a full-scale war.

Why This Small Island is Significant to Both Countries

For Beijing, the island is a core territorial claim bolstered by narratives about sovereignty and historical rectification. Losing the island, or allowing it to consolidate international backing as a separate political entity, would be depicted by Chinese leaders as an unacceptable erosion of national integrity. Its location is also a matter of strategy: full control over the island would make it harder for outside powers to operate in China’s seas.

For Tokyo, the calculus is concrete and immediate. Taiwan’s proximity means that military operations in the straits could quickly affect Japanese airspace and waters. Japanese industry is also deeply integrated with Taiwanese firms notably in fields such as semiconductors and electronics, so instability would hit the stock markets and raise costs for manufacturers.

Possible Future Scenarios and Regional Impact

The stand-off could begin a prolonged period of low-level confrontation. Both Beijing and Tokyo could double down: China sustaining pressure through patrols and economic sanctions, Japan strengthening its military capabilities and aligning more tightly with the United States and other western partners.

This doesn’t mean that there is no time for pragmatic de-escalation from both sides.  Recognising the mutual costs of prolonged hostility, Tokyo could clarify that its statements were contextual and not a call to aggressive action, while Beijing could temper sanctions once its political point has been made. Diplomacy behind closed doors might restore exchanges and trade, though the underlying policy differences between the two countries would remain unresolved. Therefore, such an outcome would buy more time but not resolve the underlying causes of these issues.

A third way would be one where a deeper realignment could take place. Japan might accelerate defence modernisation and legal reforms to make collective defence more actionable. On its part, China could respond by heavily investing and intensifying military presence in its south or seeking closer security ties with partners that counterbalance U.S. influence.

In the worst case, simple miscalculations could lead to direct clashes for example between Chinese forces operating near Taiwan and Japanese ships or aircraft which could rapidly draw in the United States given treaty commitments and strategic interests.

While full-scale war remains unlikely for now, we can never be 100% sure as the simple probability increases more and more with these incidents that have developed recently.

Implications for the Rest of The World

No matter if the situation escalates further or not, the United States will undoubtebly remain a central factor to any such issue. Washington’s alliance with Tokyo and its historically ambiguous but substantial support for Taipei mean that any serious incident will have trans-Pacific repercussions.

Neighbouring states like South Korea, ASEAN members, Australia, India, etc. would be forced into a difficult diplomatic calculation, by balancing economic ties with Beijing against security concerns and relations with Washington and Tokyo. Economically, prolonged instability would disrupt semiconductor production, shipping routes and regional investment, with global consequences.

Most analysts agree that this issue has shifted from a regional diplomatic concern to a great security risk for the larger world. In the near term, careful diplomacy from both sides may limit the damage, but the issues at hand suggest this will most likely be a long term gap in East Asian security. How both sides manage politics and deterrence will determine whether the next phase is a steady containment or a dangerous step toward direct military confrontation.

With information from Reuters.

LOUISE Thompson has revealed she will never be able to carry another child due to severe health issues following the birth of her son Leo.

The Made In Chelsea star, 35, came close to dying after going into labour with her son four years ago.

The harrowing ordeal led to a myriad of health issues, the most recent of which saw Louise bravely reveal she had a stoma.

Following Leo’s birth she suffered multiple injuries including a post-natal haemorrhage, developing Asherman’s Syndrome, in which scar tissue in the uterus becomes ‘glued’ together, worsening bowel problems and emergency surgery.

Her injuries mean that she cannot carry another child.

Louise also has post-traumatic stress as a result of the horrific complications she endured and now relies on a stoma bag.

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She believes women are being deterred having children due to a growing number of horror stories.

She told Daily Mail: “It’s something that a lot of people within my circle are talking about fairly regularly – the population problems we have.

“Thousands of women are crying out to me about this topic.

“Speaking on my own personal experience, I won’t be able to carry another child.

“So immediately that puts us in a position where we are part of that problem now.”

She is now an advocate for women’s health and maternity rights, and has spoken about her ordeal to the Birth Trauma All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG).

Louise teamed up with former Conservative MP Theo Clarke to set up the APPG and is now launching a petition urging the Government to appoint a commissioner dedicated to overseeing maternity care.

Their goal is to reach the 100,000 signatures needed to trigger a Parliamentary debate.

Louise has spoken about her distressing birth experience in the past.

The former reality star lost three-and-a-half litres of blood following the arrival of her son Leo by emergency C-section.

Things got even worse when Louise eventually returned home and suffered another haemorrhage, during which she lost five litres of blood and woke up in intensive care.

She previously spoke about the “uncertainty” around having another child.

She said last year on Lorraine: “It’s still fairly inconclusive. I will never mentally be strong enough to carry a child and, physically, I have something called asherman syndrome where my uterus is glued together with scar tissue.

“I suppose in one sense, it’s a bit of a miracle that I didn’t have to have a hysterectomy, so I do still have a womb.

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“I had a year with no periods, then I had a surgery to try and fix that and then that ended up in another haemorrhage so where I am left currently is that the hospital have sort of said ‘It would be too threatening.

“We wouldn’t want to do another surgery in that area. Let’s let you live’. Equally I am so grateful to have one beautiful, healthy child who has lots of friends and cousins. I do have ovaries and embryos so there is a chance I could freeze some eggs… when I am ready…”

Vote occurs amid rising secessionist rhetoric in the Serb-majority entity and Milorad Dodik’s defiance of the Dayton peace treaty.

People are casting their votes in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Serb-majority political entity, in a snap presidential election called after electoral authorities stripped separatist Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik of the presidency in August.

Dodik was removed from office for defying Bosnia’s international peace envoy, Christian Schmidt, after his conviction for ignoring rulings by the international appointee, who oversees a peace deal that has held Bosnia together since the end of its 1992-1995 war, which killed tens of thousands of people and displaced hundreds of thousands more.

The court also handed him a one-year prison sentence, which he avoided by posting bail, and banned him from participating in politics for six years. Bosnia’s top court upheld that ruling in early November.

The election is seen as a crucial test of support for Dodik’s nationalist party, which has been in power for nearly two decades.

The early vote means the winner will serve less than a year before a general election in October. About 1.2 million voters are eligible to choose between six candidates.

The two main favourites to replace Dodik are Sinisa Karan, a 63-year-old former interior minister who is a close ally and Dodik’s personal choice. Dodik remains head of his party, the Union of Independent Social Democrats.

The main opposition group, the Serb Democratic Party, selected Branko Blanusa, a 56-year-old electrical engineering professor who has repeatedly levelled corruption allegations against Dodik and his party.

Preliminary results are expected on election night, but the final official vote count by the Central Election Commission will be announced only after the body also validates all outcomes.

Republika Srpska is one of two main political entities within Bosnia along with the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, each of which enjoys significant autonomy. The two share equal rights over a third, small self-governing administrative unit within the country, known as the Brcko District.

Republika Srpska was proclaimed by Bosnian Serb leaders in 1992 at the start of the war and was formally established as part of Bosnia’s post-war constitutional structure in 1995 under the Dayton peace agreement.

Today, it is overwhelmingly Serb-populated with Serbs making up 82 percent of its residents alongside smaller Bosniak and Croat minorities, according to the latest census, which was held more than a decade ago in 2013.

Its first president, Radovan Karadzic, has been sentenced to life by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague for the 1995 genocide against Bosniaks in Srebrenica, now a town inside Republika Srpska.

Houthi authorities in Yemen want to publicly execute the convicted individuals, and also sentenced two others to prison.

Houthi judges working with prosecutors in Yemen have sentenced 17 people to death by firing squad over alleged espionage on behalf of Israel and its western allies.

The Specialized Criminal Court in the capital Sanaa handed down the sentences on Saturday morning in the cases of “espionage cells within a spy network affiliated with American, Israeli, and Saudi intelligence”, Houthi-run media said.

The court sentenced the 17 men to execution “to be carried out in a public place as a deterrent”, Saba and other outlets said, also publishing a list of names.

A woman and a man were sentenced to 10 years in prison, while another man was acquitted of all charges, bringing the total number of people put on trial in this case to 20.

Houthi-run media said state prosecutors had charged the defendants, who can theoretically appeal the sentences, with “espionage for foreign countries hostile to Yemen” in 2024 and 2025, which also included the United Kingdom.

Israel’s Mossad spying agency reportedly “directed” intelligence officers who were in contact with the accused Yemeni citizens, whose work allegedly “led to the targeting of several military, security, and civilian sites and resulting in the killing of dozens and the destruction of extensive infrastructure”.

The United States and the UK conducted dozens of deadly joint air strikes across Yemen after the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, as the Houthis launched attacks on Israel and international maritime transit through the Red Sea in a stated attempt to support Palestinians under fire.

The Houthis have stopped their attacks since last month’s Gaza ceasefire deal.

Israel has also unleashed huge air attacks on Yemen and its infrastructure, repeatedly hitting fuel tanks, power stations and a critical port city where desperately needed humanitarian aid flows through, killing political leaders and dozens of civilians.

In August, the Houthis confirmed that an Israeli air raid killed the prime minister of their government in Sanaa.

Ahmed al-Rahawi was killed with “several” other ministers, the Houthis said in a statement at the time.

Houthi authorities, who control Sanaa and parts of Yemen to the north after an armed takeover more than a decade ago, made no mention of any links with the United Nations or other international agencies in the cases announced Saturday.

But they have, over the past year, increasingly raided UN and NGO offices, detaining dozens of mostly local but also international staff and confiscating equipment.

Amid condemnation and calls for the release of staff by the UN and international stakeholders, the Houthis have framed the efforts as necessary to stave off Israeli operations.

Self-centered news anchor Tulio Triviño and his reporter best friend Juan Carlos Bodoque, who has a gambling problem, have amused audiences for 22 years. Neither has aged a day. That’s because they are hand puppets — a monkey in a suit and a red rabbit in a striped shirt, respectively — at the forefront of the beloved Chilean TV show “31 Minutos.”

First conceived as a children’s program for Chile’s public television, “31 Minutos” debuted in March 2003, and now spans four seasons. A parody of a traditional newscast, the irreverent concept features dozens of peculiar puppets who populate the fictional town of Titirilquén. Their sharply absurdist misadventures and reportages are accompanied by pun-heavy, humorous original songs.

“The Muppets and ‘Sesame Street’ have been great inspirations for us,” says co-creator Pedro Peirano speaking in Spanish from Santiago, Chile, during a recent Zoom interview. “But we mixed that with a more Latin American idiosyncrasy, so it’s familiar but very different.”

Peirano voices and puppeteers Tulio, while Álvaro Díaz, the show’s other co-creator, gives life to Bodoque (who started out as a green toad before taking on his rabbit form). Among their fabric-made pals are Patana, Tulio’s niece who is a duck, field reporter Mario Hugo, a Chihuahua in a suit, and Juanín, a fuzzy white creature with no visible eyes, the newscast’s producer.

“What we set out to do, I don’t know if consciously, was to create characters who are not role models of anything,” says Peirano. “They have their flaws and their virtues; in fact, they have more flaws, especially Tulio, who is a villain, but he’s also the face of the show.”

Over the years, as the show’s popularity grew across Latin America, “31 Minutos” has transcended the small screen and spilled into other formats. Through Aplaplac, their production company, Díaz and Peirano have created “31 Minutos” live shows that tour the region, a theatrically released feature film, and even an ambitious museum exhibit.

This fall, “31 Minutos” sets its sights on the global market with the release of “Calurosa Navidad” (One Hot Christmas), their first special for Prime Video, streaming on Friday. The Spanish-language film comes on the heels of another big moment for the puppet troupe, when they performed some of their hits on NPR’s “Tiny Desk” last month.

Co-creators Álvaro Díaz, left, and Pedro Peirano on the set of “31 Minutos: Calurosa Navidad.” (Sebastian Utreras)

Although “31 Minutos” emerged as kids’ programming, Díaz and Peirano sidestepped expectations for message-driven storylines.

“In Latin America we tend to confuse children’s television with educational television, as if everything has to be an extension of school,” says Díaz. “We wanted to quickly transform it from that into more of a family show.”

The duo met while studying journalism at the Universidad de Chile in the late 1980s, as the country transitioned from a dictatorship to a democracy. It was their compatible humor, a shared interest in film, and a desire to explore a variety of mediums that brought them together.

“We had a lot of free time to develop our interests,” says Díaz. “And you connect through those interests, even more so that’s based on your personality or your origins.”

Before “31 Minutos,” Díaz and Peirano already had experience working in written media and television, so their impulse was to parody the news world they were familiar with.

When first developing the show, which they produced after winning public funding, the puppets appeared somewhat organically, Díaz says, because neither he nor Peirano wanted to be on camera. And since the project was originally geared toward children, it seemed appropriate.

A scene from Prime Video’s “31 Minutos: Calurosa Navidad.” “We believed that by putting puppets in front of the camera — initially very simple puppets — children would immediately identify with them,” says co-creator Álvaro Díaz.

(Amazon MGM Studios)

“We believed that by putting puppets in front of the camera — initially very simple puppets — children would immediately identify with them, and we wouldn’t be forced to emphasize the children’s tone so much,” recalls Díaz. “On the contrary, the puppets were a vehicle that allowed us to tell stories that interested us.”

And while it was Díaz who first suggested puppets, Peirano, who is also a comic book author, was a lifelong fan of Jim Henson and the worlds he created, including more adult fare like “The Dark Crystal.” The first puppets they used were those that Peirano had made as a child. As self-taught puppeteers, Díaz and Peirano honed their craft along the way.

“It’s much cheaper and faster to make puppets and create this fantastical world than to produce animation,” says Peirano. “Puppets have an immediacy that also makes them fun to perform with and to improvise with.”

As is often the case with children’s shows, they needed to incorporate music. Peirano brought along his friend Pablo Ilabaca, the guitarist and composer of Chilean rock band Chancho en Piedra, who tangentially had created tracks that could work for the show.

“He showed us that music, and we immediately felt that the sound of the ’31 Minutos’ was there,” says Díaz. “There was a lo-fi quality about it. It had something candid that didn’t necessarily have an infantile tone but had a lightness. And we could add lyrics to that music.”

The editorial line for the songs was to validate childhood experiences without trying to impart any life lessons, acknowledging those feelings through comedy.

“There is a song called ‘Diente Blanco’ [White Tooth], for example, which is not about the importance of brushing or taking care of your teeth but, rather, about a child saying goodbye to a tooth he was very fond of,” explains Díaz.

As a father of three (who he hopes will eventually take on the show’s mantle), Díaz operates from a conviction that young audiences deserve quality content that’s not patronizing nor simplistic.

“The entertainment options for children in Latin America, and generally everywhere, are very poor,” says Díaz. “It’s mostly about extracting money from parents with disappointing offerings. As kind of a governing principle for ’31 Minutos,’ we want these options to improve.”

“31 Minutos” rapidly became entrenched in Chilean popular culture. Peirano remembers the exact moment when he realized its cross-generational influence.

“I heard someone whistling the show’s theme song, and it wasn’t a child — it was an adult sweeping the street,” he says. “That was the first time I said, ‘How strange, someone is actually watching it!’ ”

Pedro Peirano remembers the moment he realized “31 Minutos” was becoming entrenched in Chilean pop culture. “I heard someone whistling the show’s theme song, and it wasn’t a child — it was an adult sweeping the street,” he says.

(Sebastian Utreras)

For Díaz, it was when he heard the album with the first batch of songs, released about four months after the show’s debut, playing in multiple record stores around Santiago. Not long after that, they saw the first bootleg merchandise: a toy version of Mico, el Micófono, a character that is just a microphone with googly eyes that street vendors could easily replicate.

Internationally, Mexico became a key market for “31 Minutos.” The creators first realized that country’s adoration for the show when an email address where viewers could write to Tulio was flooded with more messages from Mexico than Chile.

A tribute album, “Yo Nunca Vi Television” (I Never Watched Television), where Mexican and Chilean bands reinterpreted songs from “31 Minutos,” was released in 2009. The show’s museum exhibit, “Museo 31,” visited two Mexican cities (Mexico City and Monterrey) between 2024 and 2025 after its time in Santiago at Centro Cultural La Moneda.

Díaz believes that “31 Minutos” benefited from evolving in front of a young audience who accepted the show’s peculiarities at face value. The industry these days, he thinks, demands every narrative choice be justified with substantial meaning.

“You now have to write with an explicit intention and give everything coherence, as if life is a series of very coherent interconnections,” Díaz says. “It’s impossible to make something like ‘31 Minutos’ today.”

That’s especially true, in their eyes, of the U.S. entertainment industry where one must “understand fun down to its smallest detail” even before anything has been produced.

“Much of the fun of making ’31 Minutos’ has to do with spontaneity,” says Díaz.

Nevertheless, their “Tiny Desk” concert and the Christmas special have brought them to their closest proximity yet to American audiences.

To prepare for their “Tiny Desk” performance, which features some of the show’s most emblematic puppets, the “31 Minutos” team re-created the set in Santiago — a famously tight space where bands are sandwiched between a desk and overflowing bookshelves. “We had to reduce the idea of ‘31 minutes’ to 20 minutes in a small space, without lighting, without special effects,” explains Díaz.

Tapping into current events, the running joke of their “Tiny Desk” appearance is that their work visas will expire immediately after performing.

“We didn’t intend to make a political statement, but since we were in the United States, what’s the joke in the air? That they are going to kick us — as Latin Americans, the joke is always that the U.S. wants us out,” says Peirano. “In the end, it still ends up being a commentary, and we included this crocodile puppet [as an immigration agent] because that’s the satirical nature of ‘31 Minutos.’ ”

Meanwhile, making “Calurosa Navidad” for Prime Video fulfilled their goal of entering the streaming realm. Amazon was interested in genre films, and they opted for a Christmas one.

Fans of “31 Minutos” will recognize that the story, in which Bodoque has to search for Santa and bring him to heat-stricken Titirilquén; it’s the expansion of a story from an earlier special Christmas episode that later evolved into a Christmas live show. The cheeky charm remains intact, but now it’s going to be accessible to a global audience.

Currently, Peirano splits his time between Santiago and Los Angeles. In the U.S., away from the media empire that “31 Minutos” has built in Latin America, he works as a screenwriter. His credits include the HBO series “Perry Mason.” He’s working on a project for horror outfit Blumhouse with collaborator Mauricio Katz. The two recently signed an exclusive overall deal with Sony Pictures Television.

But don’t expect Tulio or Bodoque to speak English anytime soon or for their adventures to be crafted outside of their South American homeland. Díaz has no desire to leave Chile.

“I live five kilometers from the hospital where I was born. And that’s the farthest I can be,” he says. “Chile is the reality that I understand, and, above all, that nourishes us. I like to travel and go on tour, but I hope things always happen here, with the people we know here.”

Díaz cites director Peter Jackson’s ethos to establishing WETA FX, a world-renowned digital effects company, in his home country of New Zealand instead of moving abroad, as a mindset that resembles their own — in admittedly a smaller scale.

“What we advocate for in ‘31 Minutos’ is artistic excellence from Chile,” Díaz adds. “From Chile to Latin America first, and hopefully from Chile to the world.”

Nov. 22 (UPI) — A 14-year-old boy died and eight other teenagers were wounded in separate shootings in downtown Chicago hours after people were celebrating the start of the holiday season nearby.

The shooting occurred around 9:50 p.m. Friday, about four hours after the city’s official tree lighting at Daley Plaza and a few blocks away, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

The mass shooting was outside the Chicago Theater on State Street and the other an hour later near Federal Plaza.

“The holiday season is a time when we come together as a city. It’s when we spend time with our family and our loved ones,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “This is the opposite type of behavior that anybody wants to see. We have too many guns and too many young people who don’t value their own lives or the lives of others.”

According to reports, a so-called teen takeover occurred after the tree lighting, and was described as 300 teens rioting in the streets.

Johnson said the chaos “set us back as a city, and it evokes fear.”

Several ambulances and police presence were seen with police tape wrapped across State Street near the Chicago Theater and Joffrey Ballet, according to WMAQ-TV, and WLS-TV reported gunfire outside its studios.

Officers on patrol “observed a large group on the sidewalk” and heard gunshots that sent people scattering, according to the Chicago Police Department.

Three boys aged 14 to 17 had graze wounds, while two others, aged 14 and 16, suffered leg wounds, while a 14-year-old girl was shot in the hip.

The seventh victim, a 13-year-old girl, was shot in the leg and taken to Lurie Children’s Hospital in fair condition.

Alderman Brian Hopkins initially posted on X that “300 juveniles rioting in the Loop now, at least 5 victims shot, one critical with life threatening gunshot wound to torso. Multiple police officers attacked and injured with mace and stun guns, at least one PO hospitalized.”

Less than an hour later at 10:40 p.m., a few blocks away, one person died with multiple gunshot wounds at Northwestern Memorial and an 18-year-old was found in serious condition with a leg wound.

Five weapons were recovered and 18 arrests were made throughout, but those in custody weren’t considered suspects in the shootings, Johnson said.

“No parent wants to get that terrible, life-altering call,” Johnson said Saturday morning at an unrelated event on the West Side. “It is senseless violence like these shootings that makes us all feel unsafe, and it has left too many families in Chicago reeling.”

The city had deployed 700 additional police officers for the tree lighting along with community violence intervention workers.

“Clearly what we put in place did not do enough to prevent what we were concerned about from actually manifesting,” Johnson said.

The mayor said additional police personnel were being deployed for Saturday night’s Mag Mile Lights Festival.

“We will continue to make the necessary adjustments as we move along to ensure that these large, peaceful, citywide events can take place without the terror and the harm of gun violence,” the mayor added.

The City Council has vetoed a “snap curfew” of gatherings of young people anywhere in the city with 30 minutes’ notice.

“I’m the first person to recognize that we have more work to do in this city to provide safe spaces for our young people. But these types of violent gatherings can never be an alternative, nor can they be normalized,” Johnson said.

“We need to deter them from attending large, unsanctioned after-gatherings, where weapons are likely to be present. There’s always more we as adults can do to make sure that we know where our kids are and what they are doing.”

President Donald Trump has decried the violence in the city, though violent crime has decreased for the past several years.

Trump has taken credit for recent declines there, giving credit to the Operation Midway Blitz immigration raids his administration launched in September.

“I am proud to announce that Chicago, Illinois, despite all of the radical opposition and obstruction we have from the Mayor and Governor, has seen Car Theft, Shootings, Robberies, Violent Crime, and everything else drop dramatically,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Nov. 12.

Through Nov. 14, there have been 373 people killed in the city this year, which is 242 less than the same period in 2024, according to tracking by the Chicago Tribune.

In 2024, a total of 573 people were killed in Chicago.

Ex-Juventus and France star midfielder made his return to football, suiting up for Monaco in first game in more than two years after drug ban.

Paul Pogba described his emotional Monaco debut as a moment of relief and gratitude on Saturday, after the French midfielder returned to the pitch for the first time in more than two years following a doping ban.

The former Juventus and Manchester United player, who joined the Ligue 1 side on a free transfer in June, had not played a competitive match since September 2023.

Pogba received a four-year ban in February 2024 after testing positive for the banned substance DHEA, which boosts testosterone levels. The suspension was cut to 18 months after an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The 32-year-old, who was nearing a return last month before suffering a right ankle injury, came on in the 85th minute of Monaco’s 4-1 defeat by Rennes at Roazhon Park and was met with a standing ovation.

“Seeing the crowd rise and applaud, I never imagined that would happen,” Pogba told reporters. “I’m relieved to be playing football again, the thing I love most in the world.

“But there’s still work to do to get back to full fitness and be able to play 90 minutes… If I don’t perform well at Monaco, I can forget about the French national team.

“I believe in myself and in my qualities, and since I knew I had done nothing wrong and it was not my fault, I never lost hope.”

Pogba, who has made 91 appearances for France, played a starring role in his nation’s 2018 FIFA World Cup victory. Knee and hamstring injuries, as well as knee surgery, prevented him from playing for France at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

BBC Breakfast took a brief pause on Sunday morning for a ‘significant’ update

BBC Breakfast was briefly halted for a ‘significant’ update about the forthcoming budget during Sunday morning’s programme (November 23).

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is set to present the much-anticipated Autumn Budget on Wednesday, which might include manifesto-breaking tax hikes.

The Chancellor has previously promised that the new budget will “deliver on the priorities of the British people” by reducing NHS waiting lists, the national debt and the cost of living.

Although she has reportedly decided against raising income tax rates, there are rumours that she could announce an extended freeze on income tax and National Insurance thresholds, meaning more people would pay it as wages increase over time.

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There might also be a new tax introduced on high-value homes, of which there are roughly 2.4 million in England. This could impact properties in council tax bands F, G and H, reports the Express.

Roger Johnson and Sarah Campbell were presenting BBC Breakfast today when the show took a brief pause.

“I’m not sure there’s ever a quiet week in politics these days but this week is particularly significant with the budget on Wednesday,” Sarah started.

She then handed over to Laura Kuenssberg who was ready in a separate studio to outline what was coming up on her Sunday morning politics show, momentarily interrupting BBC Breakfast’s schedule.

Speaking about the upcoming episode of Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Laura stated: “It really is, we are now just a few days away from Rachel Reeves’ huge moment in the House of Commons.

“A massive moment for the country, a massive moment for the economy and a massive moment for this government that has had such a turbulent few months.”

She continued: “This morning we’ll be giving you everything you need to know in the final days before the big moment itself.”

BBC Breakfast is broadcast daily from 6am on BBC One and iPlayer.

Lando Norris closes in on first Formula One Drivers’ championship after finishing second to Max Verstappen in Nevada.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday, but McLaren’s Lando Norris has one hand on the Formula One title after finishing second and stretching his lead over teammate Oscar Piastri to 30 points.

Piastri finished fourth after Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, who was ahead of the Australian at the chequered flag, had five seconds added for jumping the start.

George Russell, last year’s winner of the floodlit race and, like Norris, making his 150th start, completed the podium for Mercedes.

With two grands prix and a sprint remaining, worth a maximum 58 points, Norris has 408 points to Piastri’s 378 with four-time world champion Verstappen still mathematically in contention on 366.

Norris finished 20.741 seconds behind but can now secure his first title in Qatar next weekend, with McLaren having already clinched the constructors’ crown for the second year in a row.

Quite a decent gap

“The car was working pretty well, much more to my liking,” said Verstappen, ferried to the podium with Norris and Russell in a LEGO pink Cadillac convertible driven by actor Terry Crews as fireworks lit up the sky over the strip.

“It was at the end quite a decent gap.”

It was the 69th win of Verstappen’s career and his sixth of the season, as well as his 125th podium and eighth in a row in the 150th Grand Prix of Red Bull’s partnership with Honda.

Norris lost the lead to Verstappen at the start, dropping to third when he ran wide at the first corner and opened the door for the Dutch driver and Russell.

He retook second from Russell on the 34th of 50 laps but then had to manage fuel to the finish.

“I let Max have a win,” he joked. “I let him go, let him have a nice race. No, I just braked too late,” he added, with an expletive on the live television feed that could land the Briton in trouble with the governing FIA.

“It was not my best performance out there, but when the guy wins by 20 seconds, it’s because he has just done a better job and they’re a bit quicker.”

Antonelli finished fifth with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc sixth and Williams’ Carlos Sainz seventh. Isack Hadjar was eighth for Racing Bulls, and Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton completed the top 10.

Piastri dropped from fifth to seventh on the opening lap after contact with Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson, who plunged to last with a badly damaged car.

Verstappen was 20 seconds clear of the field by lap 23 and pitted at the halfway point, rejoining in the lead after Russell and Norris had already switched to the hard tyre.

Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was taken out by Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto, as the Brazilian rookie dived aggressively into the first corner and ran out of road, with both retiring immediately.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was also a spinner at the start, and the virtual safety car (VSC) was triggered on the second lap for marshals to retrieve debris between turns one and four.

The VSC was deployed again on lap 16 for more debris on track after Williams’ Alex Albon and Hamilton collided, with the latter racing from 19th and last on the grid to 13th on the opening lap.

Albon, whose team lost radio contact with the car from the start, was handed a five-second penalty for causing the collision and also reprimanded for a starting procedure infringement.