Pause on visas and halting of asylum applications comes after shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC.
The US State Department has announced it is “immediately” pausing issuing visas for individuals travelling on Afghan passports to protect “public safety”, as President Donald Trump administration’s immigration crackdown intensifies in the wake of a deadly attack on two National Guard members.
The announcement on Friday came as United States immigration authorities said they are also halting decisions on all asylum applications for the foreseeable future.
Recommended Stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed in a post on X on Friday that the State Department had “paused visa issuance for ALL individuals traveling on Afghan passports”.
The move comes after authorities named Afghan national Rahmanaullah Lakanwal as the main suspect in Wednesday’s shooting in Washington, DC, which killed one National Guard member and left another in critical condition.
“The United States has no higher priority than protecting our nation and our people,” Rubio said.
President Trump’s State Department has paused visa issuance for ALL individuals traveling on Afghan passports.
The United States has no higher priority than protecting our nation and our people. https://t.co/HuR1Lj7F9t
Lakanwal is alleged to have ambushed West Virginia National Guard members Sarah Beckstrom and Andrew Wolfe in an unprovoked attack as they patrolled near the White House.
On Thursday evening, the Trump administration confirmed that 20-year-old Beckstrom had died from her injuries, while 24-year-old Wolfe remains in critical condition.
The CIA confirmed this week that Lakanwal had worked for the spy agency in Afghanistan before emigrating to the US shortly after the withdrawal of Western forces from the country in 2021.
The office of US Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, announced on Friday that the charges against Lakanwal had been upgraded to first-degree murder, along with two counts of assault with intent to kill while armed.
In a separate announcement on Friday, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) director Joseph Edlow said the agency had also paused all asylum decisions in the interest of the “safety of the American people”.
“USCIS has halted all asylum decisions until we can ensure that every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible,” Edlow said in a post on X.
A day earlier, Edlow said he had ordered “a full-scale, rigorous re-examination of every green card for every alien from every country of concern” at the direction of Trump.
The moves are the latest in a series of escalating restrictions imposed on immigration into the US at Trump’s urging.
Trump, who called the deadly Washington, DC, shooting a “terrorist attack”, has on several occasions over recent days attacked former President Joe Biden’s administration’s immigration policies, including the granting of visas to Afghan nationals who worked with US forces in Afghanistan.
Lakanwal came to the US under a Biden-era programme known as “Operation Allies Welcome”, following the US withdrawal in 2021.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Thursday, Trump ordered authorities to re-examine all green card applications from 19 “countries of concern”, before saying he planned to suspend immigration from “all Third World countries”.
He did not define the term “Third World”, but the phrase is often used as a shorthand for developing countries in the Global South.
Trump also said that he would “remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States, or is incapable of loving our Country”.
“[I will] denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquillity, and deport any foreign national who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western civilization,” he said.
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has already taken aggressive measures to restrict immigration, announcing in October his administration would accept only 7,500 refugees in 2026 – the lowest number since 1980.
Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla’s resignation comes amid an investigation into her role in luring South Africans to fight for Russia in war on Ukraine.
A daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma has resigned from parliament amid allegations that she lured 17 men to fight as mercenaries in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla’s resignation on Friday comes after police said she was under investigation for her alleged role in luring South Africans to Russia. The police announcement came after a group of men aged 20 to 39 ended up on the front lines of the conflict in Ukraine.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
Zuma-Sambudla had served as a member of parliament since June 2024 for uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), an opposition party created by her father in 2023 following his expulsion from South Africa’s then-governing African National Congress.
“The national officials have accepted comrade Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla’s decision to resign and support her efforts to ensure that these young South Africans are brought back safely to their families,” the MK Party’s national chairperson, Nkosinathi Nhleko, told a news conference.
MK officials said Zuma-Sambudla’s resignation was voluntary and that her departure from the National Assembly and all other public roles was effective immediately.
The MK’s Nhleko also said that the party was not involved in luring the men to Russia and that Zuma-Sambudla’s resignation was not an admission of guilt, but added that MK would help support the families of the men stranded in Ukraine.
Zuma-Sambudla was present at the news conference but did not speak, and has not publicly responded to the accusations from her half-sister.
Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, left, the daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma, appears in court on charges of terrorism in Durban, South Africa, on November 11, 2025 [EPA]
South Africa’s government said earlier this month that 17 of its citizens were stuck in Ukraine’s Donbas region after being tricked into fighting for mercenary forces under the pretext of lucrative employment contracts.
Then, last weekend, police said they would investigate Zuma-Sambudla after her half-sister made a formal request for the probe into her and two other people.
According to police, an affidavit submitted by Zuma-Sambudla’s half-sister, Nkosazana Bonganini Zuma-Mncube, alleged that Zuma-Sambudla and two other people tricked the South Africans into fighting by promising to provide them with security training in Russia. The identities of the other two people were unclear.
The affidavit alleges the South Africans were handed over to a Russian mercenary group and forced to fight in the conflict. It also says that eight of the 17 men were members of Zuma-Sambudla’s and Zuma-Mncube’s extended family.
South African presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya told Al Jazeera that the government had received “distress calls” from the group caught up in the Ukraine war, and authorities were “working ever so quietly” at all levels “to secure their safe return”.
“But also, there is an investigation that is ongoing, that’s looking at how they were recruited, who was involved, and what were they promised?” Magwenya said.
On Thursday, Jordan became the latest country to rebuke Russia for recruiting its citizens to fight, following the killing of two Jordanian nationals.
While Jordan did not specifically reference Russia’s war on Ukraine, the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would “take all available measures” to end the further recruitment of Jordanians, and called for Moscow to terminate the contracts of its currently enlisted citizens.
Ukraine says Moscow has recruited at least 18,000 foreign fighters from 128 countries, according to figures shared by Ukrainian Brigadier General Dmytro Usov, who also said that almost 3,400 foreigners have died fighting for Russia.
Michael Appel, reporting for Al Jazeera from Johannesburg, said Zuma-Sambudla is seen as a divisive political figure in South Africa, and is already facing “serious charges” related to unrest in South Africa in 2021 that led to the deaths of hundreds of people.
She has denied any wrongdoing in that case and has pleaded not guilty to inciting violence through social media posts.
With Thanksgiving in the rearview mirror we are now hurtling toward Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and the New Year. December can bring stress, but it also brings the feel-good holiday shows, including “Tinselcolor,” which opens Dec. 2 at CineVita, a 15,000-square-foot double-decker Belgian spiegeltent operated by For the Record, which stages live musical revues of well-known film soundtracks.
Joey McIntyre — the youngest member of the ultra ‘90s boy band, New Kids on the Block — signed on as host of the candy-colored world-premiere extravaganza, which features an eight-piece band and 14 singers performing holiday movie music from 25 film scores including “Home Alone,” “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” and “White Christmas.”
For the Record has been putting on shows for more than 15 years, starting in a small bar and restaurant in Los Feliz and moving up to bigger venues leading to CineVita. Over the years, the company became known for attracting celebrity clientele. Quentin Tarantino and Rosario Dawson attended a performance based on Tarantino’s film scores, and Demi Moore’s daughter, Rumer Willis, once joined the troupe. Moore is now an investor.
In an email, McIntyre wrote that he saw the Tarantino show years ago and loved it.
“I knew the caliber of talent and production that this company puts up, and then I stepped foot into this unparalleled space and almost verbatim said ‘sign me up,’” he wrote. “I’m a theater kid. The venue was like Jessica Rabbit calling me in.”
The unparalleled space McIntyre is referring to contains 3,000 hand-beveled mirrors, hand-cut stained glass windows and carved wood ornamentation. It will be decorated with outsized holiday flair for “Tinselcolor,” but it will also feel cozy.
“The theater holds about 700, but it is so warm and intimate, like you’re in my living room for the holidays,” McIntyre wrote. “Our guests are going to feel that. Our director, Anderson Davis, and the creative team have been super open to making it feel authentic to me and showcasing what I bring to the table.”
Performers joining McIntyre onstage include Brian Justin Crum, who recently played the role of Annas alongside Cynthia Erivo and Adam Lambert in the Hollywood Bowl’s electrifying “Jesus Christ Superstar”; Vintage Trouble frontman Ty Taylor; Cheyenne Isabel Wells, who starred in “Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies” on Paramount+; and Dionne Gipson from “Found” on NBC and “Haus of Vicious” on BET.
McIntyre noted that he gets to sing the Andy Williams classic, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” in full holiday regalia. His favorite holiday movie song of all time, however, is not in the show. That would be “A Brand New Christmas,” which he co-wrote for last year’s Roku Original “Jingle Bell Love.”
His favorite Christmas carol of all time? “O Holy Night.”
“It sits right in my wheelhouse vocally, and it checks all the boxes: heartfelt, classic melody with a pop bluesy accessibility. And you get to ‘fall on your knees’ when you’re performing it,” he wrote.
“Tinselcolor” runs through Dec. 30. After that, McIntyre will head back to Las Vegas to continue the New Kids on the Block residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM, which was extended through 2026 due to high demand.
“We just announced 3 more stints for 2026. We are a blessed bunch of guys. We’ve been able to keep it fresh and exciting over all these years, and the fact that we still had Vegas on the table was something we have really taken advantage of,” McIntyre wrote about the residency. “Our diehards are genuinely blown away, and Vegas is yet another hook for folks who haven’t seen us in a while. And those newbies are loving it too. It feels like a slam dunk all around.”
I’m arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt wishing you a very happy holiday season filled with love, kindness, health and hope. Here’s your arts and culture news for the week.
You’re reading Essential Arts
On our radar
Clockwise from bottom left: Grand Kiev Ballet, American Ballet Theatre and Inland Pacific Ballet.
(Los Angeles Times photo collage; illustrations by Katie Smith / For The Times; photographs from Grand Kyiv Ballet, Cheryl Mann and Marsha McNeely Photography)
Nutcracker roundup The season of Sugar Plum Fairies is upon us. In last weekend’s holiday preview, Ashley Lee did the legwork gathering intel on productions of the holiday perennial that will be dancing their way across Southern California stages in the coming weeks. From downtown L.A. to the South Bay, Orange County and the Inland Empire, the variety of imaginative interpretations offer something for almost everybody. This week alone sees the openings of Anaheim Ballet’s “Nutcracker” (Friday and Saturday. City National Grove of Anaheim, 2200 E. Katella Ave. anaheimballet.org); American Contemporary Ballet’s “The Nutcracker Suite” (Saturday through Dec. 24. Bank of America Plaza, 333 S. Hope St., downtown L.A. acbdances.com); “Bob Baker’s Nutcracker,” a marionette version of the show (Saturday through Jan. 4. Sierra Madre Playhouse, 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. sierramadreplayhouse.org); and Debbie Allen Dance Academy’s “The Hot Chocolate Nutcracker,” which subs Mariah Carey and other contemporary artists for Tchaikovsky (Thursday through Dec. 14. Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, 1935 Manhattan Beach Blvd. debbieallendanceacademy.com).
What the Dickens!
The cast of “A Christmas Carol” at A Noise Within.
(Craig Schwartz)
Like “The Nutcracker,” the holidays are heavy with varied interpretations of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” Friday night in Anaheim, Chance Theater opens Leslie Bricusse’s “Scrooge! The Musical” (Through Dec. 21. Bette Aitken Theater Arts Center, 5522 E. La Palma Ave. chancetheater.com). Saturday night, two long-standing productions of “A Christmas Carol” make their traditional returns. In Pasadena, Geoff Elliott (who also adapted and co-directs with Julia Rodriguez-Elliott) once again steps into Ebenezer’s slippers for a night of ghostly visitations (Through Dec. 4. A Noise Within, 3352 E. Foothill Blvd. anoisewithin.org).
Richard Doyle in “A Christmas Carol” at South Coast Repertory.
(Robert Huskey)
Meanwhile, down in Orange County, South Coast Repertory celebrates the 45th anniversary of resident dramaturg Jerry Patch’s adaptation (Through Dec. 28. Emmes/Benson Theatre Center, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. scr.org). And on Dec. 5, Independent Shakespeare Co.‘s David Melville plays not Scrooge, but the author himself in “A Christmas Carol With Charles Dickens,” a solo storytelling tour-de-force (Through Dec. 22. ISC Studio, Atwater Crossing, 3191 Casitas Ave., Suite 130, Atwater Village. iscla.org).
The week ahead: A curated calendar
FRIDAY Heisenberg Paul Eiding and Juls Hoover star in Simon Stephens’ drama about a middle-woman and an older man who meet in a London railway station. Directed by Cameron Watson. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday, through Dec. 22. Additional show 8 p.m. Dec. 18. Skylight Theatre, 1816 1/2 N. Vermont Ave., Los Feliz. skylighttheatre.org
SATURDAY
Artist Drew Struzan signs his Oscar poster in 2008.
(Mark Mainz / Getty Images)
Drew Struzan Tribute The American Cinematheque salutes the artist, illustrator and designer who died in October with a triple-feature of films for which he designed the posters: “Back to the Future,” “The Goonies” and “E.T.” Struzan also designed iconic one-sheets for such films as “Star Wars,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Blade Runner.” 11 a.m. Saturday. Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd. americancinematheque.com
TUESDAY
Tom Morello at South by Southwest in Austin in 2025.
(Jack Plunkett / Invision / Associated Press)
The REVOLUTION(S) will be Amplified Musician/activist Tom Morello joins curator Douglas Fogle for a discussion about art, activism, creativity and resistance on the occasion of the exhibition “Corita Kent: The Sorcery of Images.” 7 p.m. Marciano Art Foundation, 4357 Wilshire Blvd. marcianoartfoundation.org
THURSDAY Children of the Winter Kingdom Orphaned twins escape a circus and encounter a king and his dragon, a wild girl, a crow, a sorceress and an ice spider in a holiday adventure filled with music and puppetry. Written by Adam Dugas & Mary Eileen O’Donnell, directed by Adam Dugas. 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays, through Dec. 20. The Actors’ Gang at the Ivy Substation, 9070 Venice Blvd., Culver City. theactorsgang.com
‘Die Heart’ Yippee-ki-yay, Heart lovers! Troubadour Theater Co. revives its holiday musical-comedy synergism of the 1988 Bruce Willis action movie “Die Hard” with the songs of the Wilson sisters. Don’t even think about asking if it’s really a Christmas movie. Dec. 4 to 21. Colony Theatre, 555 N. Third St., Burbank. troubie.com
A scene from “Putney Swope,” directed by Robert Downey Sr.
(Cinema 5 / Photofest)
Putney Swope The Academy Museum’s celebration of film preservation kicks off with the world premiere of a new 35mm print of Robert Downey Sr.’s 1969 social satire. 7:30 p.m. Thursday Academy Museum, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org
Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake The Pacific Symphony and pianist Alexandra Dariescu, conducted by Tianyi Liu, perform works by Cassandra Miller, Maurice Ravel and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. scfta.org/events
Dispatch: The Butterfly Effect
Liviera Lim as Vivian Fang in “The Butterfly Effect.”
(Charly Charney Cohen)
Young local theater troupe Last Call Theater specializes in interactive, participatory productions, and its latest, “The Butterfly Effect,” is an intimate affair that encourages one-to-one and small group pairings with actors. The show examines past choices and the consequences of changing them. There’s a fantastical bent, as it’s set in a cafe that promises the ability to time travel. The decade-hopping coffee shop backdrop gives the company a chance to play with multiple storylines that touch on L.A. history, from immigrant tales of a family-run business to those often overlooked by our city’s emphasis on celebrity. The production, which opened in mid-November, runs Thursday through Saturday at Stella Coffee and closes Dec 6. ticketleap.events — Todd Martens
Culture news and the SoCal scene
Robert Therrien‘s “No title (red chapel relief),” 1991, enamel on paper and wood.
(Christopher Knight / Los Angeles Times)
A place at the (big) table If you’ve ever visited the Broad, you’re quite familiar with the large table and chairs in its permanent collection that dwarf even the tallest viewer. Times art critic Christopher Knight (who is retiring as of today) calls the Broad’s new exhibition, “Robert Therrien: This Is a Story,” a “smashing retrospective” and one of the year’s best museum solo shows. Therrien, who died at 71 in 2019, was a unique talent who sits comfortably among the most significant L.A. artists since the ‘60s and ‘70s. “Whether he was making a 3D sculpture to stand on the floor, a 2D painting to hang on the wall, or a 3D sculpture attached to a wall like an ancient frieze,” writes Knight, “he managed the same uncanny result — objects where the purely visual and the utterly physical demand equal time.”
Maya Keleher in the national tour of the musical “Suffs.”
(Joan Marcus)
Suffragette City An all-female and nonbinary cast dramatizes the inspiring story of American women fighting for the right to vote in the musical “Suffs,” playing at the Hollywood Pantages through Dec. 7. Shaina Taub won Tony Awards for its book and score, while also starring as suffragette leader Alice Paul in the Broadway run. In L.A., the national tour’s Maya Keleher “lends alluring warmth to the role,” writes Times theater critic Charles McNulty in his review. “The teamwork of the performers honors the messy yet undeniably effective cooperation of Alice and her freedom fighters — women who changed the world by not staying silent in their prescribed place.”
Viola time Times music critic Mark Swed noted a recent “fall-harvesting viola bandwagon,” with multiple ensembles spotlighting the humble middle child of stringed instruments played with a bow. “The L.A. Phil began viola week with a Tuesday evening program, ‘Brahms Strings,’ as part of the orchestra’s chamber music series at Walt Disney Concert Hall that included the blazing early First Sextet and late, luminously serene Second Quintet,” wrote Swed. “As part of its chamber music series across the street in the Colburn School’s Zipper Hall, Saturday, [the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra] coincidentally held ‘A Brahmsian Affair,’ in this case featuring both the sextets.” On Saturday, recent Colburn graduate Lan Cao and current conservatory student Ran Tae performed Korean composer Isang Yun’s 1988 “Contemplation,” for two violas, “played with gripping meditative intensity” during a day-long MOCA seminar on South Korean artist Haegue Yang.
Enjoying this newsletter? Consider subscribing to the Los Angeles Times
Ray Ushikubo will play a rare 1741 Guarneri “del Gesù” violin at a free concert at the Colburn School on Dec. 3.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
History in his hands Ray Ushikubo of San Gabriel, a 24-year-old virtuoso musician, has been selected to play the Playfair violin, an ultra-rare model crafted by the famed luthier Guarneri “del Gesù.” “I’m only 24,” Ushikubo told reporter Emma Madden. “This instrument is from 1741. It’s older than the United States. I can barely comprehend that amount of history. But mostly I feel happiness. And honor. It sounds better than any violin that’s ever been made.” The musician will debut the instrument in a free concert at the Colburn School’s Zipper Hall on Dec. 3.
East L.A. Youth Orchestra gets a reprieve “After recently announcing major cuts to its youth orchestra, the L.A. Phil has secured additional donor funding to ensure the East L.A. branch of the Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA) program will continue at full capacity until the end of the school year,” reports The Times’ Cerys Davies. The initial cuts to the programming at the Esteban E. Torres High School site included laying off teaching artists, gutting programs for younger students and reduced practices for older students. The parents of students and members of the local community responded to the cuts by organizing an Instagram campaign and town hall meeting, imploring the L.A. Phil to temporarily preserve the Torres site.
An architectural whodunit In 2013, Robert Mosher, one of San Diego’s most respected architects, called Keith York, founder of Modern San Diego, a digital archive devoted to the region’s mid-century design, asking to meet for lunch. “I have something I need to tell you,” he said. A revelation at that meeting led York and fellow architecture buff Stephen Buck to investigate the provenance of Balboa Park’s Timken Museum of Art, which opened in 1965. Did two of the biggest names in American design have a hand in it? Sam Lubell has the details on the decades-old mystery.
— Kevin Crust
And last but not least
I give you the 2025 Times holiday gift guide. Even if you don’t see anything on these carefully curated lists that you like, it’s a great inspiration starter.
An Airbus A320-232 jet of China’s Sichuan Airlines flies past the Grand Hotel before landing at the Taipei Songshan Airport in Taipei, Taiwan, in 2018. Airbus just issued a recall of the A320 line for a software update. File Photo by David Chang/EPA
Nov. 28 (UPI) — Airplane manufacturer Airbus has announced a recall of its A320 planes for a software update to address an issue that contributed to a sudden drop in altitude of a JetBlue plane last month.
At least 15 passengers aboard the JetBlue flight were hospitalized after the plane suddenly dropped. It made an emergency landing in Tampa, Fla. It was headed to Newark, N.J.
Airbus said an analysis revealed intense solar radiation can corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls on the A320 family of aircraft. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency announced a requirement to address the issue.
The update may cause flight delays as airlines work to fix the issue, especially as Americans try to return home after the Thanksgiving holiday.
The setback appears to be one of the largest recalls affecting Airbus in its 55-year history. At the time Airbus issued its bulletin to the plane’s more than 350 operators, about 3,000 A320-family jets were in the air, The Guardian reported.
Fixing the issue mostly means reverting to earlier software, CNBC reported.
American Airlines, which is the world’s largest A320 operator, said about 340 of its 480 A320 planes need the fix. It said it expects these to be updated by Saturday, taking about two hours for each plane.
Colombian carrier Avianca said the recall affected more than 70% of its fleet, causing it to halt ticket sales for travel dates through Dec. 8.
The millions who have fled Sudan’s conflict are desperate for it to end
Wracked by war for two-and-a-half years, Sudan lies in ruins. Half a dozen peace initiatives have failed, none of them able to pressure or persuade regional powerbrokers to push for a compromise.
Many Sudanese ask if the world cares whether they live or die.
Could that be about to change with direct intervention from the Oval Office?
By US President Donald Trump’s own admission, the conflict was not on his “charts to be involved in that. I thought it was just something that was crazy and out of control.”
But that was before a White House meeting 10 days ago with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia. He briefed the president on what was happening and asked him to intervene.
Afterwards, Trump said: “We’re going to start working on Sudan.”
He later posted on social media that “tremendous atrocities are taking place in Sudan. It has become the most violent place on Earth” and pledged to work with Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to end the violence.
In fact, the US had already been involved in negotiations, but perhaps Trump’s personal leverage with the leaders of those allies – all accused of backing one side or the other in Sudan – could make a difference.
With nearly 12 million driven from their homes and famine conditions continuing in parts of the country, the Sudanese are desperate for something – anything – that could break the deadlock.
Trump’s comments on the situation came just a few days after the civil war reached a new nadir of horror at the end of October.
Following a 500-day starvation siege, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) captured the city of el-Fasher, the army’s last stronghold in the westernmost region of Darfur.
Reuters
Mohammed bin Salman seems to have persuaded Donald Trump to get involved in efforts to bring peace to Sudan
The RSF fighters rampaged through the city, killing, raping and looting. Estimates for the numbers of people who perished in this ethnically targeted massacre range upwards from 5,000.
Mobile phone footage filmed by the killers themselves of them tormenting, torturing and killing victims – known as “trophy videos” – circulated on social media.
In the wake of the killing, the war leaders’ posturing followed a long-standing pattern.
After seizing el-Fasher, RSF head Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as “Hemedti”, announced that he would be ready for a ceasefire. He wanted to polish a reputation stained by the mass killing.
But stung by their humiliation on the battlefield, Sudan’s generals were not ready to compromise.
Armed forces chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, leader of the UN-recognised government, rejected a ceasefire, promising to fight on.
Burhan – and especially the Islamists within his camp – are in fighting mood now, describing the RSF as a terrorist rabble that must be defeated completely.
Hemedti publicly offers compromise. But the atrocities of his troops tell a different story and few people of the cities they have ransacked will contemplate living under their rule.
When they have just suffered a defeat, the army commanders consistently vow to avenge their losses and regain their pride. And when they are winning, they insist that they can finish the job.
Reuters
The war began in April 2023 after Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (L) fell out with Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (R) over the future direction of the country
During 40 years of wars in southern Sudan, Darfur and elsewhere, this mindset has meant that Sudan’s leaders spurn formulas for peace offered by mediators.
With the country now facing de facto partition, this is the pattern that Trump needs to break.
Regional states back different sides in the war.
Egypt and Turkey have stepped up their arms supplies to the Sudanese army. Saudi Arabia also leans towards the army.
Multiple reports from investigative journalists and intelligence agencies show that the UAE has been arming the RSF, and it is reportedly increasing its supplies. The UAE has always denied this.
The first step towards peace is for the key regional states to cease fuelling the flames and instead use their influence for peace.
For six months, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and senior advisor for Africa Massad Boulos have been hammering out a plan.
They established the “Quad” – the US plus Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE – and drafted a plan with three key elements:
a ceasefire
access for humanitarian aid
negotiations to set up a government headed by civilians.
The Quad affirmed its plan in September and met again Washington last month. But it could not quite close the gap between the Sudanese warring parties, and then the RSF attacked el-Fasher.
On face value, Bin Salman’s appeal to Trump gives much more weight to the Quad plan.
The US president is the one figure who could intervene with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and persuade him to change course.
The problem is that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are engaged in a fierce rivalry for influence across the Arab world, including countries such as Yemen and Syria, as well as Sudan.
It is a contest for who will be the leading power in the Arabian peninsula.
The two also have policy differences, especially on how to handle the Muslim Brotherhood – Saudi Arabia can tolerate the Islamists provided they do not have a leading role, whereas the UAE considers it a terrorist organisation.
Because Burhan’s coalition includes Islamists, who were powerful and wealthy during the 30-year rule of former President Omar al-Bashir from 1989 to 2019, the UAE has taken sides against them.
Trump would also need to get Saudi Arabia and the UAE to push Sudan higher up their list of priorities.
For both countries, Sudan comes below issues such as Gaza and Syria, as well as finance and commerce.
Despite his personal appeal to the US president, it is not clear whether Bin Salman offered to set aside his differences with the Emirati leader in order to make peace in Sudan.
And Burhan appears to interpret the prince’s intervention in Washington as overriding the Quad plan, not bolstering it, as it could imply excluding the UAE.
He wants to see a bigger role for Saudi Arabia in the mediation, and the UAE shut out of it – which is a green light to intensify the war, not end it.
Reuters
Some of those who managed to flee el-Fasher in October headed west to the border with Chad
In order to really be effective, Trump would need to exert enormous pressure on the UAE to end its reported backing of the RSF.
But with bigger issues at stake – the UAE is the champion of the Abraham Accords and a major investment partner – the Trump White House is not likely to take sides against Abu Dhabi over the war in Sudan.
It has not made a single public reprimand of the UAE and the prospect of actions – used in other conflicts – such as economic sanctions is zero.
For now, the US is relying on quiet diplomacy to persuade the Emiratis to use their leverage over their Sudanese proteges. That demands diplomatic finesse.
Sudan’s long-suffering people are hoping that the Trump White House has the skill and patience for peace.
Even if the Quad wins a ceasefire, it is only the beginning.
With aid budgets cut to the bone, the $3bn (£2.3bn) urgently needed for humanitarian aid will be hard to find. Without a massively stepped-up aid effort, any truce will be fragile.
And that is just the beginning of a long and fraught road to peace in Sudan.
The Sudanese are polarised and bitter, and most of them do not trust any of the generals.
The civilians who took to the streets to bring down Bashir seven years ago are still demanding democracy and justice.
And many worry that if the Arab countries steer the peace process, Sudan’s destination will be to become an Arab dependency.
Alex de Waal is the executive director of the World Peace Foundation at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in the US
Jess Glynne, who has been dating former footballer Alex Scott since the summer of 2023, spoke following her partner’s departure from I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here
Alex Scott and Jess Glynne, pictured in September, have been dating for more than two years(Image: Max Cisotti/Dave Benett/Getty Im)
She said that her mother suffered “a major stroke and needed urgent brain surgery”. Opening up, Jess said: “My woman might be out far earlier than she ever deserved, but l’m so unbelievably proud of her. She didn’t get the airtime to show how incredible she really is and trust me, this is only the beginning.
“I know people will wonder why I wasn’t there at the end of the bridge, so I wanted to share something personal. Over the last few weeks my mum suffered a major stroke and needed urgent brain surgery. It’s been a really serious, life-altering time for my family, and I’ve had to stay close to home. Alex would always want me to be where l’m needed most. I can’t wait to have her back by my
Alex said: “It’s like being free. It’s been such an incredible experience. Mentally it’s been tough and I have struggled.” She added: “It’s tough in there – constantly going to get water and firewood.”
During her time on the programme, the football broadcaster spoke openly about their relationship. When asked by campmate Ruby Wax about whether she’d tie the knot with Glynne, Scott replied: “I will get married to her, just waiting for her to ask, Rubes!
Speaking after her eviction, the former footballer also opened up about sneaking banned salt into camp, which she sprinkled onto dinner. Alex continued: “I just grabbed a load of salt and I put them in my sock. My campmates were in on it. And now everyday they wish they had salt.”
She also backed Shona McGarty to win. She said: “It will change her and give the confidence to be brilliant at life.” Millions are expected to have voted – mainly led by fans of popular duo Angry Ginge and Aitch.
The insider added: “It’s been unprecedented…and one of the reasons why people have had issues with the app.”
It comes as weather in camp has hit 30 degrees over the last few days – which has come as a relief after they were battered by storms earlier this week. This is a relief to the celebs as the damp conditions attract leeches, and an influx of biting insects. The insider said: “All the celebs were complaining about being bitten in the last few days…there were very uncomfortable conditions.”
‘Buy now, pay later’ schemes are booming. But with more users turning to them, are they as risk-free as they seem?
“Buy now, pay later” has become a retail fixture seemingly overnight, and Cyber Monday is set to be the services’ biggest sales day yet. But as these payment options offer customers freedom and flexibility, are they also opening the door to a wave of unregulated debt?
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
Welcome to Bunker Talk. This is a weekend open discussion post for the best commenting crew on the net, in which we can chat about all the stuff that went on this week that we didn’t cover. We can also talk about the stuff we did or whatever else grabs your interest. In other words, it’s an off-topic thread.
This week’s second caption reads:
NANTWICH, ENGLAND – MAY 24: A general view inside the former RAF Hack Green secret nuclear bunker on May 24, 2023 in Nantwich, England. Hack Green played a central role in the defence of Britain for almost sixty years. It was chosen during WW2 to protect the land between Birmingham and Liverpool from hostile attack and as a location for the new RADAR equipment. The bunker went on to be used for shelter and protection during the Cold War. As relations between East and West thawed many of the UK’s nuclear bunkers were sold off. The Secret Bunker is now privately owned by the Siebert family and is run as a museum trust. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Also, a reminder:
Prime Directives!
If you want to talk politics, do so respectfully and know that there’s always somebody that isn’t going to agree with you.
If you have political differences, hash it out respectfully, stick to the facts, and no childish name-calling or personal attacks of any kind. If you can’t handle yourself in that manner, then please, discuss virtually anything else.
No drive-by garbage political memes. No conspiracy theory rants. Links to crackpot sites will be axed, too. Trolling and shitposting will not be tolerated. No obsessive behavior about other users. Just don’t interact with folks you don’t like.
Do not be a sucker and feed trolls! That’s as much on you as on them. Use the mute button if you don’t like what you see.
So unless you have something of quality to say, know how to treat people with respect, understand that everyone isn’t going to subscribe to your exact same worldview, and have come to terms with the reality that there is no perfect solution when it comes to moderation of a community like this, it’s probably best to just move on.
Finally, as always, report offenders, please. This doesn’t mean reporting people who don’t share your political views, but we really need your help in this regard.
ROBBIE Williams looks specs-tacular in glasses weeks after saying he fears fat jabs are ruining his eyesight.
The Rock DJ singer, 51, wore chunky white frames at a London club on Thursday.
Sign up for the Showbiz newsletter
Thank you!
Robbie Williams has been spotted in chunky-framed glasses weeks after saying he fears fat jabs are ruining his eyesightCredit: SplashRobbie was out with wife Ayda Field, 46, and daughter Teddy, 13Credit: PA
Robbie, whose debut solo album was called Life Thru A Lens, was out with wife Ayda Field, 46, and daughter Teddy, 13.
She is the eldest of their four kids, and they were out in town after the premiere of festive filmTinsel Town in Leicester Square.
“It’s been blurry for a while now, and it’s only getting worse.
“I don’t believe it’s age; I believe it’s the jabs.”
His comments come after a study revealed a link between Semaglutide, the active ingredient in some fat jabs, and an eye condition which causes blindness.
“I went to anAmerican footballgame the other night and the players were just blobs on a green field in front of me.
1 of 2 | Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez walks surrounded by police agents during his extradition process at the headquarters of the National Special Forces Directorate, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, in April 2022. Hernandez was convicted by a U.S. court of trafficking cocaine into the United States. On Friday, President Donald Trump said he will pardon him. File photo by Gustavo Amador/EPA
Nov. 28 (UPI) — President Donald Trump posted that he plans to pardon former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was convicted in a U.S. court of trafficking drugs to the United States.
“I will be granting a Full and Complete Pardon to Former President Juan Orlando Hernandez who has been, according to many people that I greatly respect, treated very harshly and unfairly,” he posted on Truth Social Friday.
Trump also said in the post that he is supporting a conservative Honduran candidate as the Central American country prepares for election. He endorsed Tito Asfura, who is from the same party that Hernandez once led, the National Party.
In March 2024, Hernandez was convicted in a U.S. court of conspiring to import cocaine into the United States. He served as president of Honduras from 2014 to 2022. He was extradited to the United States in April 2022.
He was sentenced by a U.S. judge to 45 years in prison for running a “narco-state” that helped send South American cocaine to the United States.
U.S. prosecutors said he built his political career on millions of dollars in bribes from drug traffickers in Honduras and Mexico. They also said he helped move at least 400 tons of cocaine to the United States and protected traffickers from extradition and prosecution, the Washington Post reported.
The post by Trump said, “If Tito Asfura wins for President of Honduras, because the United States has so much confidence in him, his Policies, and what he will do for the Great People of Honduras, we will be very supportive. If he doesn’t win, the United States will not be throwing good money after bad, because a wrong Leader can only bring catastrophic results to a country, no matter which country it is. Tito will be a Great President, and the United States will work closely with him in order to ensure the success, with all of its potential, of Honduras! Additionally, I will be granting a Full and Complete Pardon to Former President Juan Orlando Hernandez who has been, according to many people that I greatly respect, treated very harshly and unfairly. This cannot be allowed to happen, especially now, after Tito Asfura wins the Election, when Honduras will be on its way to Great Political and Financial Success. VOTE FOR TITO ASFURA FOR PRESIDENT, AND CONGRATULATIONS TO JUAN ORLANDO HERNANDEZ ON YOUR UPCOMING PARDON. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE HONDURAS GREAT AGAIN!”
On Wednesday, Trump endorsed Asfura, called the opposition in Honduras “Narcoterrorists,” and compared them to Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro.
“Tito and I can work together to fight the Narcocommunists, and bring needed aid to the people of Honduras,” Trump said.
Violeta Chamorro, Nicaragua
President-elect of Nicaragua Violeta Chamorro makes victory signs after attending Sunday service in Houston on March 11, 1990. Chamorro was the first woman elected president of Nicaragua and the first female president in the Americas. She led the country from 1990 to 1997 following the end of the Contra War. Photo by George Wong/UPI | License Photo
Japan and China are in their most dangerous diplomatic crisis in years as escalating tensions over Taiwan have cancelled earlier hopes of post-pandemic improvement. After COVID-19 restrictions were mostly lifted by 2023, relations between Beijing and Tokyo seemed to slowly improve. However, by late 2025 a series of disputes especially over the so-called “Taiwan Question” have severely deteriorated into their lowest point in years.
The high-stakes diplomatic visit at the October 2025 APEC summit, where Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi immediately followed a stable-ties agreement with President Xi Jinping by meeting Taiwanese officials, only escalated tensions.
Escalation Through Diplomatic and Military Incidents
Sanae Takaichi, declared on November 7, 2025 during a cabinet meeting, that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could justify Japan using military force in the area. China quickly reacted. China’s U.N. ambassador Fu Cong accused Japan of violating international law warning the country of its “self-defense”. Raising such an issue all the way to the United Nations is a rare move we don’t often see in global geopolitics.
In mid-November 2025 China’s coast guard sailed through waters around the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands (islands which are administered by Japan but claimed by China) on patrol and Japanese Coast Guard vessels sent in response. Japan also sent out fighter jets, and even announced plans to deploy Japanese missiles on Yonaguni island (just 110 km from Taiwan) as a deterring measure.
China also announced travel advisories urging its citizens to avoid Japan, with large numbers of airlines offering ticket refunds. Meanwhile, Japanese officials warned their nationals in China to be cautious amid a rise in hostilities. Chinese authorities abruptly canceled planned concerts by Japanese bands, and state media halted screening of new Japanese films.
The Roots of Tensions: History, the U.S. and Taiwan
The island of Taiwan is an indispensably strategic asset for both countries: for China, Taiwan is the core of its national unity; for Japan the security of a separate and democratic Taiwan is now explicitly seen in Tokyo as linked to Japan’s own defense.
Japan’s long-standing policy of strategic ambiguity on the Taiwan Question, similar to the one upheld by the United States, has been abandoned by P.M. Takaichi. Authorities in Taipei have publicly supported Japan, urging China to show restraint and highlighting how an invasion would draw in allies including Japan and the U.S. .
Invoking Japan’s World War II era atrocities, China claims moral high ground or justify its own territorial aims. For example, Chinese official statements have reminded audiences of Tokyo’s past warcrimes in the region when attacking Japanese policies in the present. Japanese politicians (especially ones from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party) have grown hawkish to these types of statements, any incident easily tying into nationalist sentiment on both sides.
Rapidly expanding its defense capabilities the Japanese 2025 Defense White Paper explicitly names China as its “greatest strategic challenge” and commits to raising defense spending to 2% of GDP by 2026. New submarine fleets and the potential deployment of medium-range missiles on islands like Yonaguni, have developed into a broader security problem. This means that any Chinese blockade or attack on Taiwan would encircle Japan’s supply lines. Therefore to Japan’s leaders, Taiwan’s fate is inseparable from their own national survival. China in turn, claims an eventual military approach to Taiwan as inevitable by 2027.
Economic Dimensions in East Asia
China and Japan remain among each other’s largest economic partners even amid the confrontation. In 2024 China was still Japan’s second-biggest export market (after the US), with roughly $125 billion of Japanese goods sent there, mainly machinery and automobiles. This has been leveraged as a geopolitical tool. China’s Commerce Ministry now warns that Takaichi’s comments have “fundamentally undermined” the political foundation of economic ties.
After the Fukushima nuclear wastewater release in 2023, China imposed a blanket ban on all Japanese seafood imports. (Japan has pointed out that the UN’s nuclear agency found the discharge safe.) In mid-November 2025 China reinstated these seafood bans.
In another economic sector, Chinese tourists make up about a fourth of all visitors to Japan. Japanese travel agencies organising group tours told Reuters they lost ~80% of their remaining bookings for 2025.
U.S. Security and International Alliance Dynamics
U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass offered guarantees for its ally if China will militarily intervene and The State Department similarly declared its full support for Japan, explicitly opposing any unilateral attempts to alter the status-quo in the Taiwan Strait or East China Sea. U.S. President Donald Trump has so far avoided endorsing Takaichi’s statements, at least publicly.
China often accuses Japan of following the U.S. strategy of containment and have opposed Japan’s involvement in The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) and its new defense pacts, such as with Australia, and more recently the Philippines. In contrast, Indonesia, Malaysia and others aim for neutrality.
Analysts suggest that China unusually strong criticism may reflect a strategic calculation, a hope that Prime Minister Takaichi’s term will be short-lived, just as the short tenures of other post-Abe premiers. For China, such a political victory could be a great geopolitical win in promoting its view on the Taiwan Question.
With information from Reuters, The Diplomat and South China Morning Post.
Periodically, the Latinx Files will feature guest writers. Filling in this week is film reporter extraordinaire Carlos Aguilar.
With the explicit goal of making people laugh, the endearingly foul-mouthed Mexican American filmmaker Alejandro Montoya Marin is building an unpretentious body of work.
“There are far smarter people than me to make ‘Parasite’ or to make Yorgos [Lanthimos’] movies,” says Montoya Marin, 42, laughing during a recent video interview from his home in Los Angeles. “I want to entertain you for 88 minutes and have you come out and be like, ‘I’m going to recommend that to a friend.’ That’s it.”
It’s not that he lacks ambition.Montoya Marin, whose T-shirt is emblazoned with Hong Kong action film legend John Woo, feels secure in the type of storytelling that best suits his interest and abilities. And he’s taken a DIY approach to making films and promoting them so that they can reach audiences directly.
“Their job is to tell you no,” he says of decision makers in the entertainment industry. “But you have the ability to say, ‘F— you, I’m going to be creative. You’re not going to tell me when I can be creative.’ And that was always the mentality that I had.”
His third feature, “The Unexpecteds,” now available on streaming platforms, features a mostly Latino cast: Chelsea Rendon (“Vida”), Francisco Ramos (“Gentefied”) and Alejandro De Hoyos (“The Man From Toronto”) — as well as actor Matt Walsh in the lead role. Executive produced by independent cinema legend Kevin Smith of “Clerks” fame, the action comedy follows a group of everyday working people who take justice into their own hands after an online financial guru, Metal Mike (John Kaler), scams them out of their savings.
“I love underdog stories because I feel like I am one and there are so many people like that,” Montoya Marin says about “The Unexpecteds” and his other films. “Maybe there could be movies that can inspire them or make them feel good about themselves for a little bit.”
Born in Laredo, Texas, to parents from Yucatán and Mexico City, Montoya Marin owes his cinematic awakening to a disparate double feature that introduced him to the gritty dystopia of “RoboCop” and the heart-rending sentimentality of “Cinema Paradiso.”
He was about 7 years old and had tagged along with his uncle, who was taking a date to the movies, in the Mexican border city of Nuevo Laredo. “I didn’t understand [“Cinema Paradiso”] because it was in Italian and subtitled in Spanish. My Spanish wasn’t amazing then,” says Montoya Marin. “But I understood a lot of it, and that double feature did it for me.”
You’re reading Latinx Files
Fidel Martinez delves into the latest stories that capture the multitudes within the American Latinx community.
And thus, his topsy-turvy, multicity trail to the triumphs and pitfalls of moviemaking began. At 12, Montoya Marin moved from the U.S. to Merida, Yucatán, where he then made his first amateur short film inspired by the “Star Wars” universe.
He later studied marketing in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon. To supplement his income during those days, Montoya Marin opened his own video store, which he called Quick Stop Video, in honor of Quick Stop Groceries, the convenience store in Smith’s “Clerks.” One day, an office opened across the street that had a sign that read “Go study in Canada.” Intrigued, Montoya Marin inquired about film schools, and was immediately enticed by Vancouver Film School, mainly because a young Smith had briefly attended there. He sold all his movies and, as an American citizen, got a student loan and moved to Canada.
Though they now have a close relationship, Montoya Marin’s father, a successful businessman, did not initially support his artistic aspirations, which caused conflict.
“My dad would go, ‘Bring those dreams down because the fall will be less hard,’ and I’d go, ‘F— that. Why?’” he recalls. “He told me, ‘If you go there I don’t want to see you. You’re not seeing the family.’ I was like, ‘OK, that’s a risk I have to take.’”
After graduating, Montoya Marin couldn’t afford to live in Los Angeles and instead moved to Albuquerque, N.M., where he worked for 13 years as a production assistant and as a commercial director. During that time, a career-altering opportunity came his way.
While in Europe shooting a project, Montoya Marin finished the screenplay for his first feature, “Monday.” The script earned him a spot in Robert Rodriguez’s reality show “Rebel Without a Crew,” which aired in 2018 on El Rey Network. Each participant had to produce their feature film with a budget of $7,000, the same amount of money Rodriguez made his debut, “El Mariachi,” for.
“It was a dream come true. Robert is very down to earth. You could tell he’s not bulls—. He doesn’t play the game,” he says. “We would be filming at three in the morning, y ahí lo veías trabajando.”
“I was honored to mentor Alejandro as he directed his very first feature film,” Rodriguez said in an email. “He had the true indie filmmaking spirit within him and inspired me right back! He’s a great representation of what audiences desire: authenticity and passion.”
After “Monday,” an action comedy centered on a man down on his luck who gets caught in a cartel war, Montoya Marin raised $60,000 via crowdfunding to make his sophomore effort, “Millennium Bugs,” a Y2K-set tale about two people coming of age as the world anticipates chaos. And while neither of those films had the impact he’d hoped for, that outcome did not deter him in the slightest.
“There’s no Plan B, compadre,” he said, laughing. “That’s why I can firmly just go headfirst because if I die on set, I will be a happy man.”
Montoya Marin met Walsh while shooting Eva Longoria’s “Flamin’ Hot,” where they both had acting parts. A friendship developed between them, and eventually the filmmaker offered Walsh the part in “The Unexpecteds.” Although he shot the film in 15 days, like his previous features, this time he had a more sizable budget (still under $1 million).
As part of its 2024 festival run, “The Unexpecteds” screened at Smith’s Smodcastle Film Festival in New Jersey, where it won the Best Comedy Award. It was there that Montoya Marin first connected with one of his heroes.
“Giving a platform to fledgling filmmakers with the Smodcastle Film Festival is meaningful to an old film fest kid, and if my name can help them open a single door, I’m happy to help,” Smith said. “But being involved with ‘The Unexpecteds’ does me more good than them. Attaching myself to a talent like Alejandro is a sure way to ensure I get to stick around in a business I’m getting too old for.”
The first time Montoya Marin met Smith in person was right before going on a news show where the two were supposed to have a joint interview to promote the film. It was there that Montoya Marin witnessed his hero’s walk-the-walk allyship in action.
Before going on air, the production informed Montoya Marin that they wouldn’t be able to have him do the interview. Only Smith would be on camera. “But to make it up to you guys, we’re going to make this a Hispanic Heritage Month themed segment,” the team told them.
That’s when Smith stepped in. “You’re going to put the white guy to come and promote Hispanic Heritage Month,” he said, according to Montoya Marin. “Kevin goes, ‘That’s stupid. I’m not doing that. Mic him up, because the filmmaker is the best salesman of a film.’” Smith was shocked at what the TV folks had tried to pull. “I told Kevin, ‘You were just witness of what they do to us without saying an insult. It’s just polite,’” Montoya Marin recalls.
Thanks to Smith’s intervention, Montoya Marin ultimately did the interview. “I fell in love with him even more,” he added.
Now that his most ambitious project yet is out in the world, Montoya Marin has multiple projects in the works, from a thriller to a comedy set in the ‘90s, and even a project that would allow him to shoot in Mexico. Like a good salesman, he has perfected his pitch.
“I’m dying to make a movie in Spanish. I already have the concept and some producers. I just need $1.5 million and I will give you one of the best comedies in Mexican cinema,” he declares. “And I’m not saying just to be m—, but I know I’m funnier in Spanish.”
Speaking with Montoya Marin, one gets the sense that he’s consistently trying to disarm you into rooting for him. It’s not manipulative but refreshingly sincere — and a bit brash. Getting behind him is a vote of confidence for independent cinema that doesn’t take itself so seriously. His humorous conviction and rousing spiel make one eager to believe him.
The announcement comes as undocumented people flee neighbouring Chile in anticipation of an immigration crackdown.
Peruvian President Jose Jeri has announced on social media that he will declare a state of emergency on the border with Chile, sparking concerns of a humanitarian crisis.
Jeri’s statement on Friday comes just more than two weeks before a presidential run-off takes place in Chile.
Recommended Stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
Leading far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast is facing leftist Jeannette Jara on December 14, and he has pledged to detain and expel migrants who are in Chile without documentation if he wins.
The campaign pledges have led to a surge in crossings into Peru, mostly by Venezuelans who long sought opportunity in Chile amid economic woes at home.
Jeri is himself a far-right leader. Formerly the head of Peru’s Congress, he succeeded his impeached predecessor, Dina Boluarte, in October.
He confirmed media speculation of the state of emergency in a brief post on the social media platform X.
“We ARE going to declare a state of emergency at the border with Chile to generate tranquility before the risk of migrants entering without authorisation,” Jeri wrote.
He further added that the influx could “threaten the public safety” of Peru’s population of about 34 million.
At least 100 people were at the border seeking to enter Peru on Friday, Peruvian police General Arturo Valverde told local television station Canal N.
Peruvian media have for days broadcast images of families seeking to cross the border from Chile.
This came shortly after candidate Kast filmed a campaign video at the border, warning undocumented people to leave before the country’s December 14 election.
Chile’s current left-wing president, Gabriel Boric, is limited by law to one four-year term at a time, though non-consecutive re-election bids are allowed.
The new president will be sworn in on March 11, 2026. Kast is considered the frontrunner going into December’s vote.
“You have 111 days to leave Chile voluntarily,” Kast said in his campaign video, referring to the inauguration.
“If not, we will stop you, we will detain you, we will expel you. You will leave with only the clothes on your back.”
Earlier this week, Peruvian President Jeri also visited the border and declared he would surge troops to the area.
About 330,000 undocumented people are estimated to live in Chile. It was not immediately clear how many had crossed into Peru in recent days.
Chilean Minister of Security Luis Cordero has criticised Kast’s campaign tactics, telling reporters that “rhetoric sometimes has consequences”.
“People cannot be used as a means to create controversy for the elections,” he said.
“Our main purpose is to prevent a humanitarian crisis.”
Juan Orlando Hernandez, member of Trump-endorsed candidate Nasry Asfura’s party, serving US drug trafficking sentence.
Published On 28 Nov 202528 Nov 2025
Share
Washington, DC – United States President Donald Trump says he will pardon the former leader of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernandez, just days before the Central American country’s closely contested presidential election.
The announcement on Friday came two days before Honduras’s vote, in which Trump has endorsed conservative National Party candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura.
Recommended Stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
Hernandez was the party’s last successful presidential candidate and had served as president from 2014 to 2022. Last year, he was sentenced to 45 years in prison in the US after being extradited from Honduras on charges of drug trafficking.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that Hernandez has been “treated very harshly and unfairly”. He cited “many people that I greatly respect”.
Trump also again threw his support behind Asfura, who is facing four opponents in the scandal-plagued race. No clear frontrunner has yet emerged.
He added that a loss for Asfura would lead to a rupture in US support for the country of about 11 million, echoing a similar threat he made in support of Javier Milei before Argentina’s presidential election in October.
“If he doesn’t win, the United States will not be throwing good money after bad, because a wrong Leader can only bring catastrophic results to a country, no matter which country it is,” Trump wrote.
The US president and several right-wing figures have previously accused Rixi Moncada, the candidate for outgoing President Xiomara Castro’s left-leaning LIBRE party, as well as Salvador Nasralla, of the centre-right Liberal Party, of being in the pocket of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Both candidates have rejected the claims, which come as Trump has increased pressure against Maduro. That has included surging US military assets to the region and floating possible land operations.
Drug trafficking conviction
Despite Trump’s statements, the decision to pardon Hernandez sits uncomfortably with his administration’s pledges to target drug cartels and narcotic smuggling into the US.
That has included designating several cartels as “foreign terrorist organisations” and launching strikes on alleged drug smugglers in international waters. Rights groups have said the attacks are tantamount to extrajudicial killings and likely violate both domestic and international law.
During his trial, prosecutors accused Hernandez of working with powerful cartels to smuggle more than 400 tonnes of cocaine en route to the US. That included ties to the Mexico-based Sinaloa cartel, one of the criminal groups designated by the Trump administration as “terrorists”.
Hernandez allegedly relied on millions of dollars in cartel bribes to fuel his political rise.
At the time of his sentencing, former US Attorney General Merrick Garland said Hernandez used his presidency “to operate the country as a narco-state where violent drug traffickers were allowed to operate with virtual impunity, and the people of Honduras and the United States were forced to suffer the consequences.”
ITV News went down as the network issued an apology to viewers mid-broadcast, in a bizarre moment minutes after Friday night’s exciting I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here
Syrians perform funeral prayers for several victims killed in the Israeli strike on the town of Beit Jinn, Syria, Friday. The Damascus Countryside Health Directorate reported that 13 people were killed in the attack. These developments come amid escalating tensions near the Syrian Golan. Photo by Mohammed Al Rifai/EPA
Nov. 28 (UPI) — The Israeli Defense Forces launched an attack on Beit Jinn in southern Syria, which killed 13 residents, including two children, and seriously wounded some Israeli soldiers.
The Israeli military described the event as an “exchange of fire” in Beit Jinn, where three of its soldiers were seriously injured. It also said it arrested three people associated with Jamaa Islamiya, a Lebanon-based militant group.
The Washington Post reported that, according to their families, there were two girls, ages 4 and 17, and a 10-year-old boy killed.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry called it a “criminal attack carried out by an Israeli occupation army patrol in Beit Jinn. The occupation forces’ targeting of the town of Beit Jinn with brutal and deliberate shelling, following their failed incursion, constitutes a full-fledged war crime,” Al Jazeera reported.
Syrian civil defense said they weren’t able to enter the city to rescue the wounded because the IDF continues to target any movement.
Since the civil war in Syria overturned the Bashar al-Assad regime, the Israeli military seized a demilitarized buffer zone in the Golan Heights and in Syria. It has also launched hundreds of air strikes across Syria, including in Damascus. Human Rights Watch has declared some operations war crimes.
Earlier this month, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met with President Donald Trump in the White House, and Trump paused all sanctions against the country for six months. But so far, Al-Sharaa has refused to normalize relations with Israel.
CELEBRITY psychic Sally Morgan has threatened a rival with legal action — for using the stage name Psychic Sal.
The TV medium’s lawyers have warned Sally Cudmore to stop using the title or face court action.
Sign up for the Showbiz newsletter
Thank you!
Celebrity psychic Sally Morgan has threatened a rival with legal action — for using the stage name Psychic SalCredit: Sally Cudmore has defended her right to go by her stage name and insists she looks nothing alike her rivalCredit: Paul Edwards
They claim Sally, 74, dubbed Britain’s best-loved psychic, has trademarked Psychic Sally, Psychic Sal and Sally Psychic.
But mum-of-three Sally, 54, told The Sun last night: “To be honest, I didn’t see this coming.
“My name is Sally. It has been since birth. I didn’t borrow it, steal it, trademark it, or contact Sally Morgan for permission.”
She said her family had been doing readings for four generations and jokingly blamed her mum for her name, saying if she had foreseen it “perhaps she would have chosen Janet”.
She calls herself Psychic Medium Sally Cudmore and uses the handle @psychicsal100 on TikTok.
She said: “How can anyone confuse me with Sally Morgan?
“She is years older than me and looks nothing like me.”
Sally Morgan’s lawyers want her to stop using names such as Psychic Sally, Psychic Sal or similar and make a public statement over the confusion.
And her spokeswoman said: “She is acting in the best interest of her loyal followers to prevent further confusion caused by Sally Cudmore. She is protecting her professional name.”
Nov. 28 (UPI) — President Donald Trump has announced that all orders signed by former President Joe Biden via autopen are “null and void,” and that if Biden tried to argue that he was involved, he would be charged with perjury.
The president posted on his social media platform Truth Social on Friday: “Any document signed by Sleepy Joe Biden with the Autopen, which was approximately 92% of them, is hereby terminated, and of no further force or effect. The Autopen is not allowed to be used if approval is not specifically given by the President of the United States. The Radical Left Lunatics circling Biden around the beautiful Resolute Desk in the Oval Office took the Presidency away from him. I am hereby cancelling all Executive Orders, and anything else that was not directly signed by Crooked Joe Biden, because the people who operated the Autopen did so illegally. Joe Biden was not involved in the Autopen process and, if he says he was, he will be brought up on charges of perjury. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
The president seemed to be arguing that the autopen was used by his staff without the input of Biden. It’s not clear who will validate the orders or under what legal authority he will cancel Biden’s orders.
Trump has acknowledged using the autopen. He said in March that he has used it “only for very unimportant papers.”
In September, the White House unveiled a Presidential Walk of Fame, which posted portraits of past presidents. In Biden’s place, the White House showed a photo of an autopen signing his name.
Biden has denied that any decisions were made without him during his presidency.
“I made the decisions during my presidency,” Biden said in a statement. “I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.”
United States President Donald Trump has said that he will throw out all executive orders issued under predecessor Joe Biden that he believes were signed using an autopen, pushing a dubious claim to delegitimise Democratic policies.
In a social media post on Friday, Trump, a Republican, estimated that the majority of Biden’s orders were executed with autopen, a machine that mimics a given signature.
Recommended Stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
“Any document signed by Sleepy Joe Biden with the Autopen, which was approximately 92% of them, is hereby terminated, and of no further force or effect,” Trump wrote.
Trump has long maintained that Biden — who was 82 when he left office in January — was not in control of the executive office due to his advanced age and declining mental state.
The Republican leader, himself 79 years old, reiterated that message in Friday’s post and threatened to prosecute Biden if the Democrat denied it.
“I am hereby cancelling all Executive Orders, and anything else that was not directly signed by Crooked Joe Biden, because the people who operated the Autopen did so illegally,” Trump said.
“Joe Biden was not involved in the Autopen process and, if he says he was, he will be brought up on charges of perjury.”
The autopen and similar mechanical signature devices have a long history in the White House, stretching back to the third US president, Thomas Jefferson, in the early 19th century. Trump himself has used the device, particularly during his first term.
But Trump has had an acrimonious relationship with his Democratic predecessors, including Biden and former President Barack Obama.
He has trolled Biden in particular for his age and his use of the autopen while in office. After setting up a “presidential walk of fame” near the White House Rose Garden earlier this year, Trump replaced Biden’s portrait with a picture of the mechanical device.
He recently showed off the picture to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a visit this month.
Biden and Trump faced each other twice in presidential elections: once in 2020, when Trump lost, and once in 2024, when Biden dropped out of the race. Trump ultimately won the latter.
He has also consistently denied his defeat in the 2020 election, falsely claiming widespread voter fraud.
Trump has made other misleading and unfounded statements about Biden, including that White House staffers took advantage of the Democrat’s declining age to sign policy documents without his knowledge.
There is, however, no definitive proof that the autopen was used under Biden without his consent. Biden himself denied the allegation in a June statement.
“Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency,” he wrote. “I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.”
Nevertheless, Trump revisited that allegation in Friday’s message on his platform Truth Social.
“The Radical Left Lunatics circling Biden around the beautiful Resolute Desk in the Oval Office took the Presidency away from him,” the Republican leader wrote.
Friday’s announcement is the latest effort by Trump to frame the actions of his political rivals as illegitimate.
In March, for instance, Trump posted a Truth Social message attempting to invalidate the pardons Biden issued before his departure from the White House.
Biden had controversially awarded “preemptive” pardons to politicians who served on a House select committee investigating Trump for his actions on January 6, 2021, when his supporters stormed the US Capitol.
“The ‘Pardons’ that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, and OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen,” Trump wrote in March, reiterating familiar claims.
“Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them!”
Legal experts largely dismissed the president’s post at the time as unconstitutional, as US law does not require presidential pardons to be signed in any given way — or even that they be written down.
A 2005 memo from the US Office of Legal Counsel also explains, “The President need not personally perform the physical act of affixing his signature to a bill he approves and decides to sign in order for the bill to become law.”
It adds that using an autopen to “affix the President’s signature” to legislation — or “directing a subordinate” to do so — is considered acceptable.
Still, Biden did face significant public concern about whether his age had hindered his ability to carry out his duties, particularly in the final years of his four-year term.
A disastrous performance in the June 2024 presidential debate heightened those concerns, as Biden appeared stiff and struggled to maintain his train of thought.
Members of the Democratic Party afterwards pressured Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race, a step he eventually took in July of that year.
Some critics have speculated whether Biden’s age diminished his ability to dedicate time and attention to areas such as foreign policy, giving senior staff members greater influence over policymaking.
This year, Biden revealed he had advanced prostate cancer, and he is currently undergoing radiation therapy.
Should Trump complete his second term, he will also be 82 years old, a few months older than Biden was at the end of his presidential term. Concerns about age and mental health have also dogged Trump’s time in the White House.
Just this week, The New York Times ran an article titled, “Shorter Days, Signs of Fatigue: Trump Faces Realities of Aging in Office”. It detailed instances where Trump appeared to fall asleep during public appearances and described how Trump has limited his public appearances during his second term.
Trump responded on social media by calling the female reporter on the story “ugly” and posting that he had “aced” his physical and cognitive exams.
