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Dec. 9 (UPI) — The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments Tuesday in a case questioning whether limits on how much political parties can spend in support of candidates violate the First Amendment of the Constitution.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee brought the case against the Federal Election Commission, saying the spending limits restrict the parties’ abilities to reach and influence voters, The New York Times reported.

The FEC has set limits on coordinated spending according to each state’s voting-age population and number of members in Congress.

Attorneys for Public Citizen, a voter advocacy group, filed a brief to the Supreme Court in support of maintaining the limits.

“If those contributions, which dwarf the base limits on [individual] contributions to candidates, are effectively placed at a candidate’s disposal through coordinated spending, they become potent sources of actual or apparent corruption,” the brief said.

The effort to free up coordinated spending is one of many in recent years by Republicans that have sought to loosen campaign purse strings across the board, including the 2010 Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United vs. FEC.

The Democratic National Committee, meanwhile, is expected to argue in favor of preserving coordinated spending limits, first enshrined in 1974 as a way to prevent bribery.

“This has been held constitutional at least twice before by the Supreme Court and more times by lower courts,” Democratic attorney Marc Elias said, according to ABC News.

China’s trade surplus – the difference between the value of goods it imports and exports – has hit $1 trillion for the first time, a significant yardstick in the country’s role as “factory of the world”, making everything from socks and curtains to electric cars.

For the first 11 months of this year, China’s exports rose to $3.4 trillion while its imports declined slightly to $2.3 trillion. That brought the country’s trade surplus to about $1 trillion, China’s General Administration of Customs said on Monday.

Shipments overseas from China have boomed despite US President Donald Trump’s global trade war, largely consisting of sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs on most countries, which were launched earlier this year in a bid to reduce US trade deficits.

But China, which was initially hit with US tariffs of 145 percent before they were lowered to allow for trade talks, has emerged largely unscathed from the standoff by stepping up shipments to markets outside the US.

Following Trump’s 2024 election win, China began diversifying its export market away from the US in exchange for closer ties with Southeast Asia and the European Union. It also established new production hubs, outside of China, for low-tariff access.

Why does China have such a large trade surplus?

China’s exports returned to growth last month following an unexpected dip in October, rising to 5.9 percent more than one year earlier and far outpacing a 1.9 percent rise in imports, according to China’s General Administration of Customs.

China’s goods surplus for the first 11 months of 2025 was up 21.7 percent from the same period last year. Most of the surge was driven by strong growth in high-tech goods, which outpaced the increase in overall exports by 5.4 percent.

Auto exports, especially for electric vehicles, rallied as Chinese firms muscled in on Japanese and German market share. Total car shipments jumped by more than one million to approximately 6.5 million units this year, according to data from China-based consultancy Automobility.

And although China still trails US leaders like Nvidia in advanced chips, it is becoming dominant in the production of semiconductors (used in everything from electric cars to medical devices). Semiconductor exports rose by 24.7 percent over the period.

China’s technological advances have also boosted shipbuilding, where exports rose 26.8 percent compared with the same period in 2024.

So, given the hostile global trade backdrop, how has China achieved this?

Rerouting and diversifying

Though Washington has lowered tariffs on Chinese imports in recent months, they remain high. Average import duties on Chinese goods currently stand at 37 percent. For this reason, Chinese shipments to the US have dropped by 29 percent year-on-year to November.

Some Chinese companies have shifted their production facilities to Southeast Asia, Mexico and Africa, enabling them to bypass Trump’s tariffs on goods arriving directly from China. Despite this, overall trade between the two countries remains down.

In the first eight months of this year, for instance, the US imported roughly $23bn in goods from Indonesia, an increase of nearly one-third on the same period in 2024. It is widely understood that the rise is down to Chinese goods being redirected via Indonesia.

“The role of trade rerouting in offsetting the drag from US tariffs still appears to be increasing,” Zichun Huang, an economist at Capital Economics, wrote in a note to clients on Monday. Huang added that “exports to Vietnam, the top [Chinese] rerouting hub, continued to grow rapidly.”

As trade with the US has slackened, China has doubled down on developing ties with other major trading partners. That includes a 15 percent surge in Chinese shipments to the EU, compared with the year before, and an 8.2 percent rise in exports to countries in Southeast Asia.

Weaker currency

Another reason for China’s trading success is that its currency has been cheap, compared with others, in recent years. A lower renminbi makes exports relatively inexpensive to produce, and imports relatively expensive to consume.

China maintains a “managed float” of the renminbi – meaning the central bank intervenes in foreign exchange markets to maintain its value against other currencies – with the aim of keeping the price stable.

For years, many economists have argued that China’s currency is undervalued. In their view, that gives exporters a competitive edge by boosting the appeal of cheap Chinese products at the expense of other countries, leading to large imbalances in trade.

Indeed, taking into account global inflationary dynamics, the real effective exchange rate – a measure of the competitiveness of Chinese goods – is actually at its weakest level since 2012.

How has China got here?

China’s eye-watering $1 trillion trade surplus – never before recorded in economic history – is the culmination of decades of industrial policies that have enabled China to emerge from a low-income agrarian society in the 1970s to become the world’s second-largest economy today.

China established itself as a dependable producer of low-cost manufactured goods, like T-shirts and shoes, in the 1980s. Since then, it has climbed the industrial ladder to higher-value goods, such as electric vehicles and solar panels.

By far its largest sector in terms of exports is electronics. China exported a total of more than $1 trillion-worth of electronic goods around the world in 2024. This follows the pattern of other industrialised countries by starting with simple, labour-intensive goods and then moving into more complex sectors. However, China has done so with unusual scale and speed to cement its dominance across numerous global supply chains.

It also dominates trade in rare-earth metals, which are crucial for the manufacture of a wide range of goods from smartphones to fighter jets.

Twelve of the 17 rare earth metals on the periodic table can be found in China, and it mines between 60 percent and 70 percent of the world’s rare-earth resources. It also carries out 90 percent of the processing of these metals for commercial use.

For historical context, China’s trade surplus in factory goods is larger as a share of its economy than the US ran in the years after World War II, when most other manufacturing nations were emerging from the ruins of war.

How are other countries responding to China’s expanding dominance?

Many are looking for ways to redress the balance.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who visited China last week, warned the EU may take “strong measures”, including imposing higher tariffs, should Beijing fail to address the imbalance.

The EU already imposes additional tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs), which range from 17 percent to 35.3 percent, for example, on top of its existing 10 percent import duty.
Germany’s foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, arrived in China for a two-day trip on Monday this week, becoming the latest senior European official to visit for talks amid the country’s rapidly expanding goods trade with Europe.

Before his trip, Wadephul said he planned to raise the issue of tariffs with his Chinese counterparts, particularly those involving rare earths, in addition to concerns about industrial “overcapacities”, which he said are distorting global prices for industrial goods.

Will China’s exports continue to grow?

Despite efforts by the US and other wealthy countries to diversify away from China, few economists expect the country’s broad-based trade momentum to slow anytime soon.

Economists at Morgan Stanley predict China’s share of global goods exports will reach 16.5 percent by the end of the decade, up from 15 percent now, reflecting China’s ability to adapt quickly to shifting global demand.

More immediately, China’s strong trade performance means the annual growth target – set by Beijing to guide economic policy and to align regional governments – of about 5 percent is likely to be met.

Yemen’s Southern Transition Council has declared itself in control of the country’s south, raising fears they will declare independence. Members of the internationally-backed government have fled. So what is the STC? Soraya Lennie explains.

Tickets for North Korea‘s 2026 Pyongyang International Marathon, set for April 5 in the country’s capital, have sold out just a few hours after sales opened, a Beijing-based tour agency said Tuesday.

Koryo Tours, which specializes in travel to North Korea, broke the news on its social media account, saying, “After less than 5 hours the Pyongyang Marathon trips sold out completely, 500 spots on the trips are now all taken.”

The agency said it is working to open additional spots for the trip and urged readers to join a waiting list.

The tour agency’s website earlier announced that next year’s Pyongyang International Marathon will be held on April 5, with departures for the trip available from Beijing, Shanghai and Shenyang.

The event offers four courses, from the full 42-kilometer run to the half marathon, 10 km and 5 km races, and is also open to runners with disabilities, including wheelchair users and those with visual impairments.

Holders of South Korean, U.S., Malaysian or Japanese passports, as well as members of the press, are prohibited, it said.

The international event, previously named the Mangyongdae Prize International Marathon, was inaugurated in 1981 to commemorate the April 15 birthday of late national founder Kim Il-sung.

Beginning in 2020, it was suspended for five consecutive years due to the COVID-19 pandemic before being resumed last year as a channel for the country to earn foreign currency.

Copyright (c) Yonhap News Agency prohibits its content from being redistributed or reprinted without consent, and forbids the content from being learned and used by artificial intelligence systems.

Al Jazeera speaks to Syrians as they celebrate one year since the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.

Damascus, Syria – Syrians have marked the first anniversary of the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad with fireworks and jubilant celebrations in major cities, amid renewed optimism for long-lasting freedom and safety after 14 years of war.

Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa told large crowds in Damascus on Monday that the country had turned the page from a “dark chapter” in its history and now “looks towards a promising future”.

Over the past year, al-Sharaa’s government has taken steps to provide basic services to citizens, as millions of refugees weigh the decision to return home.

Al-Sharaa promised to bring justice to the families of the victims of the al-Assad regime and build an inclusive Syria, amid ongoing efforts to bring all armed forces under Damascus’s authority. His government also managed to reshape foreign ties and obtain the lifting of international sanctions.

Despite bouts of sectarian violence, recurring Israeli attacks and deep economic challenges, Syrians remain largely confident that the end of the al-Assad family’s decades-long tyrannical rule has ushered in a new era of stability.

Al Jazeera spoke to Syrians celebrating in public squares on Monday about what they expect from the new government and their hopes for the future.

Lina al-Masri

Today truly feels like a celebration. Syria is free. We are living in safety. This is a happiness we haven’t seen among Syrians in ages.

We fully support [al-Sharaa’s] administration, wholeheartedly and sincerely. For now, the state has done everything well. Most importantly, it has provided us with security. It has ensured that our youth can go out safely, and that’s the greatest achievement so far.

We were worried, sitting in fear for our young men and boys, anxious that they might be taken and not return, or die. But now, the streets are filled with our youth walking safely. Our men walk freely and safely without any fear.

Khaled Jaboush

Injustice and oppression have been lifted off the shoulders of Syrian citizens. Now they can express their feelings, their liberty, and their beliefs.

You see the crowds out here – they came out of their own free will. In the past, people used to march out of obligation. Today, the people came out willingly, joyful and happy with their [newfound] freedom.

We are delighted with the wise leadership we have. We are happy with the development and progress which, God willing, will prevail in our country. Today, God willing, the economy has begun to grow, and the wheel is starting to turn.

It’s an indescribable feeling. After decades of injustice and oppression, we got our freedom back. The freedom we were denied for 50 years.

Yehya and Hussein

Everyone is chanting, everyone is together, all in harmony. I feel the security forces and the army are now part of us. You pass by, and they greet you without hesitation. You don’t feel scared, like someone’s out to get you.

We used to dream of charging our phones. Now we have electricity, we have lights, we have comfort.

I’ve lived abroad my whole life because of al-Assad’s oppressive regime. When I came back here, I felt like I’m living in my country for the first time.

There were times when I visited Syria, but I felt like an outsider. Now, no – now I feel like I belong in my own country.

I hope today continues to be a lasting symbol of peace for us and for our entire country.

Rima al-Omari

Everything is evolving. There are some nice initiatives and beautiful partnerships with other countries. So hopefully, our country will flourish.

Work opportunities in ministries have become easier; they care about the country and the people’s circumstances.

Services are improving step by step. Of course, everything starts small, but we’re lacking nothing. Everything is available, thank God.

The Syrian people have improved, too. They’ve become warmer, more passionate, and found something to rebuild this country on. They’ve got a life now.

Dec. 9 (UPI) — Police investigating Sunday’s devastating Goa nightclub fire said the establishment’s owners have fled to Thailand, according to reports.

Twenty-five people were killed and six injured in the blaze at the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Arpora, located in India’s southwestern coastal state of Goa.

Authorities have arrested at least four people in connection with the fire and have issued arrest warrants for nightclub owners Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra, who are brothers.

A Monday statement from Goa Police said the brothers had fled to Phuket a few hours after the fire began, The Times of India and Financial Express reported.

The Luthra brothers had departed on a 5:30 a.m. local-time Sunday IndiGo flight, authorities said.

Goa Police said that after a formal complaint was recorded against them, officers raided their Delhi addresses. Lookout notices for the brothers have since been circulated by the Bureau of Immigration, Goa Police said.

Authorities are now coordinating with Interpol to arrest the two men.

The fire erupted shortly before midnight Saturday.

A magisterial inquiry into the fire found major procedural lapses by local authorities, All India Radio News reported.

Failing to seal off the premises, permitting it to operate illegally since March 2024, was named among the lapses.

Dec. 9 (UPI) — A federal judge has ordered two senior Justice Department attorneys, including one fired by the Trump administration, to testify before the court in its inquiry into a March deportation flight that proceeded in defiance of court orders.

Chief Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., on Monday ordered Erez Reuveni, a former Justice Department attorney-turned-whistleblower, to testify the morning of Dec. 15. Drew Ensign, a senior Justice Department official, is to testify the afternoon of Dec. 16.

“Both sides shall appear in person at such hearings and will have the opportunity to question witnesses,” Boasberg said in his order.

The case centers on a March 15 deportation flight of 100 Venezuelans to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act, which was last used to deport Japanese Americans during World War II.

The flight departed amid litigation over President Donald Trump‘s invocation of the AEA. As it departed, Boasberg issued an order for the plane to return, which it did not occur.

Earlier this month, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem admitted she was responsible for allowing the plane to complete its flight, stating she made the decision prior to Boasberg issuing his temporary restraining order.

Boasberg has launched an inquiry to determine whether Noem’s decision was a willful violation of the court’s order.

In his order Monday, Boasberg said it “would be premature” to refer Noem for prosecution for criminal contempt and ordered the testimony of Reuveni and Ensign “to better understand the bases of the decision to transfer the deportees out of the United States’ custody in the context of the hearing on March 15, 2025.”

Reuveni, a 15-year DOJ veteran, was fired after acknowledging in court in April that the Trump administration wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador.

After his firing, he filed a whistleblower complaint alleging that Emil Bove, a former criminal attorney on Trump’s personal defense team, directed the Trump administration to disregard a court order to stop the deportation flight.

Ensign is being asked to testify as the government’s attorney of record during the March 15 hearing.

Noem, in a brief Dec. 4 sworn statement to the court, said she made the decision for the deportation flight to continue, and had done so after receiving “privileged legal advice” from Trump administration counsel.

Dec. 9 (UPI) — Florida has designated the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations as foreign terrorist organizations, becoming the second GOP-led state in as many months to move against the Islamic groups.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a Monday statement that the designations were “EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY.”

“Florida agencies are hereby directed to undertake all lawful measures to prevent unlawful activities by these organizations, including denying privileges or resources to anyone providing material support,” the Republican governor and President Donald Trump ally said.

The executive order signed by DeSantis accuses the Muslim Brotherhood of supporting and being affiliated with “political entities and front organizations that engage in terrorism and funnel money to finance terrorist activities.”

CAIR, the order alleges, was founded by persons connected to the Muslim Brotherhood.

The order also designates them based on their alleged connections to Hamas, an Iran-backed militant group in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza.

The designations, issued under state authority and while mostly symbolic, can prohibit contracts with the groups and bar them state funds and resources, among other measures.

On the governor’s personal X account, DeSantis said that members of the GOP-controlled Florida legislature were “crafting legislation to stop the creep of sharia law, and I hope that they codify these protections for Floridians against CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood in their legislation.”

CAIR, and its Florida branch, were swift to respond, announcing they will sue Florida over the designation, which they called “defamatory and unconstitutional.”

The United States’ largest Muslim organization accused DeSantis of serving the Israeli government over residents of his state and of seeking to silence Americans critical of U.S. support for alleged Israeli war crimes.

“Gov. DeSantis knows full well that CAIR-Florida is an American civil rights organization that has spent decades advancing free speech, religious freedom and justice for all, including for the Palestinian people. That’s precisely why Gov. DeSantis is targeting our civil rights group,” CAIR National and CAIR-Florida said in a joint statement.

“We look forward to defeating Gov. DeSantis’ latest Israel First stunt in a court of law, where facts matter and conspiracy theories have no weight.”

The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in the 1920s, renounced violence in the 1970s and now provides a mixture of religious teaching with political activism and social support, such as operating pharmacies, hospitals and schools, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.

CAIR was founded in 1994 with the mission to promote justice, protect civil rights and empower American Muslims. CAIR condemns all acts of terrorism by any group designated by the United States as a terrorist organization, including Hamas.

Neither the Muslim Brotherhood nor CAIR has been designated as terrorist organizations by the U.S. government.

However, President Donald Trump last month, via executive order, directed the Treasury and State Department to evaluate if any chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood in the United States should be blacklisted.

The Trump administration has accused the Muslim Brotherhood of fueling terrorism in the Middle East, highlighting actions by alleged members following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

The federal government, under Trump, has repeatedly taken action against individuals and organizations that have criticized Israel over its war in Gaza, including revoking visas from students studying in the United States and fining universities over alleged failures to protect Jewish students during pro-Palestine protests that erupted on their campuses.

Federal immigration authorities last month detained British journalist and political commentator Sami Hamdi, who was on a CAIR speaking tour in the United States. He was released a little more than a week later under an agreement with the United States to leave the country.

No explicit reason for his detention was given, though Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin had said “those who support terrorism and undermine American national security will not be allowed to work or visit the country.”

Texas was the first state to designate CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood on Nov. 18.

Top court sentences Alejandro Gil in the highest profile case against an ex-official in Cuba in decades.

Cuba’s top court has sentenced former Economy Minister Alejandro Gil to life in prison for espionage following a closed-door trial, in one of the country’s highest-profile cases in decades.

In a statement on Monday, the Supreme Popular Tribunal said Gil also received a second concurrent prison sentence of 20 years on corruption charges.

These include bribery, falsification of documents and tax evasion.

Gil, who served as economy minister from 2018 to 2024, was once a close confidant of President Miguel Diaz-Canel.

The 61-year-old politician was sacked in February 2024 and had not been seen or heard from until the trials.

The court did not give details about what exactly the former minister did or who he was spying for.

It said Gil had engaged in “corrupt and deceitful actions” and that he had abused the powers of his office “to obtain personal benefits”. It also said he received money from foreign companies and bribed other public officials to legalise the acquisition of assets.

“He failed to follow work procedures with the classified official information he handled, he stole it, damaged it, and finally made it available to the enemy,” it added.

Gil has the right to appeal the sentence within 10 days.

The former minister’s case is the highest profile among officials who have fallen from grace since 2009, when then-Vice President Carlos Lage and Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque were dismissed.

Their case involved leaks of sensitive information, although they were not sentenced.

Gil was the public face of monetary and financial reforms in 2021 in Cuba, including trying to unify the country’s currency system. But Cuba, already affected by an economic crisis and shortage of some products, saw an inflationary spiral.

Dec. 9 (UPI) — Honduras’ attorney general on Monday night announced that he had issued an international arrest warrant for former President Juan Orlando Hernandez, days after he was released from a U.S. prison following a pardon from President Donald Trump.

Attorney General Johel Antonio Zelaya Alvarez said in a statement that he had instructed ATIC, Honduras’ elite criminal investigative body housed within the Public Prosecutor’s Office, to pursue the international arrest warrant, while urging security agencies and international allies, including INTERPOL, to do the same.

“We have been lacerated by the tentacles of corruption and by criminal networks that have deeply marked the life of our country,” he said.

Hernandez is accused of money laundering and fraud in what is known as Pandora II, a corruption case in which prosecutors allege that between 2010 and 2013, a network siphoned nearly $12 million in public funds meant to alleviate extreme poverty in Honduras through abuse of authority, fraud and money laundering.

As part of the sprawling case investigating several government officials, including ministers, Honduras’ Public Prosecutor’s Office filed a criminal complaint against Hernandez in October 2023. Prosecutors accuse him of receiving at least $2.5 million of the siphoned funds through foundations, front men and fictitious contracts. The money was allegedly used to finance his political campaign.

In the United States, Hernandez was charged with drug trafficking and weapons offenses in late January 2022 during the Biden administration amid its crackdown on corruption in Central and South America.

Honduran authorities arrested him in February 2022 and extradited him to the United States, where he was convicted in March 2024 on all counts and sentenced in June of that year to 45 years in prison.

U.S. prison officials released Hernandez earlier this month after receiving a pardon from Trump, who said the disgraced Honduran president had been “treated very harshly and unfairly.”

Trump made the announcement while urging Hondurans to vote for conservative Nasry “Tito” Asfura for president ahead of the Nov. 30 elections, in which he is challenging left-leaning President Xiomara Castro, moves widely seen as opposition to her government.

The announcement of the pardon was met with criticism from both Democrats and Republicans, as well as critics of Trump’s administration, which has killed 86 people in 22 military strikes targeting alleged drug-trafficking boats in international waters.

“Hernandez once boasted at a meeting of narco-traffickers that ‘together they would shove the drugs right up the noses of the gringos.’ What message does pardoning this criminal send to parents who have lost children to narcotics, to law enforcement officers risking everything to stop the flow of deadly drugs?” Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a Dec. 2 floor speech.

“This disgraceful pardon should be met with bipartisan condemnation as an affront to our values, our safety, our rule of law, our democracy.”

Hernandez served two terms as president, from 2014 to 2022.

The election between Asfura and Castro was still too close to call as of Monday night.

The arrest warrant for the country’s former president comes amid a closely-fought election.

Honduras’s top prosecutor has issued an international arrest warrant for former President Juan Orlando Hernandez, intensifying legal and political turmoil just days after the ex-leader walked free from a United States prison.

Attorney General Johel Antonio Zelaya announced the move on Monday in a post on X, saying he instructed the Agencia Técnica de Investigación Criminal, the main investigative body of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and urged Interpol “to execute the international arrest warrant against former President Juan Orlando Hernández”.

Hemos sido lacerados por los tentáculos de la corrupción y por las redes criminales que han marcado profundamente la vida de nuestro país. Es por ello que en el marco del Día Internacional Contra la Corrupción que se conmemora mañana 9 de diciembre, informo al pueblo hondureño… pic.twitter.com/8V4cpyrKq2

— Johel Antonio Zelaya Alvarez (@jaza_hn) December 8, 2025

Zelaya’s announcement comes as Hernandez was released from a 45-year prison sentence in the US after President Donald Trump pardoned him.

Hernandez’s wife, who insists he is innocent, said he will not return to Honduras immediately due to safety concerns and that he is currently in a “safe place” in the US.

Hernandez was extradited to the US in 2022, where New York prosecutors had accused him of three drug- and weapons-related offences and alleged he used his presidency to transform Honduras into a “narco-state”.

US prosecutors later secured a conviction, saying Hernandez played a central role in moving cocaine through Honduras and onward to the United States. He was handed a 45-year prison sentence on the back of “one of the largest and most violent drug trafficking conspiracies in the world”, according to prosecutors.

At the same time, Hernandez has been at the centre of investigations in his country that have targeted current and former politicians suspected of diverting public money. In 2023, along with several former officials, he was charged with involvement in the alleged misappropriation of more than $12m in state funds for his political campaign.

Trump’s decision to pardon Hernandez came as he urged Hondurans to rally behind presidential candidate Nasry “Tito” Asfura, a member of Hernandez’s right-wing National Party, in the country’s November 30 presidential election.

“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”, Trump wrote in a social media post last week.

With 97 percent of ballots counted, Asfura held 40.52 percent of the vote, remaining ahead of centrist rival Salvador Nasralla by roughly 42,100 votes.

The tally had already been halted temporarily on Friday with 88 percent of ballots processed. According to the National Electoral Council (CNE), about 16 percent of tally sheets contained irregularities requiring further review, an issue it attributed to the company managing the vote-counting system.

International observers have urged authorities to speed up the counting process and take steps to reassure voters of its integrity.

Dec. 8 (UPI) — Dr. Gabrielle Henry suffered an intracranial hemorrhage when she fell from the stage as Miss Jamaica during preliminary competition of the Miss Universe pageant last month.

The Miss Universe Organization gave an update Monday in a news release, saying she suffered loss of consciousness, a fracture, facial lacerations “and other significant injuries” on Nov. 19.

That day, Miss Universe Jamaica posted on Facebook she was “not suffering any life-threatening injuries; however they continue to conduct tests to ensure her full recovery.”

The 28-year-old physician was caught on video in the fall while wearing a long, flowing orange dress on Nov. 19. She was admitted in intensive care at a hospital Bangkok, according the the release.

“Certain media reports suggesting that Dr. Henry contributed in any way to the incident are entirely inaccurate,” the organization said. “The Miss Universe Organization has never attributed blame to Dr. Henry and confirms that those suggestions are unfounded and do not reflect the facts.”

Henry has remained in critical condition under neurological monitoring and requires 24-hour specialist supervision, the organization said.

“From the time the incident took place, the Miss Universe Organization has stood beside Gabrielle and her family as if she were their own, assuming full and immediate responsibility without hesitation,” the release read.

In a few days, Henry will return to Jamaica with a full medical escort team and transferred directly to a hospital in her home country for continued treatment and recovery, the organization said.

The organization has covered all hospital, medical and rehabilitation expenses in Thailand, as well as the accommodation and living costs for her mother and sister.

The organization also said it’s paying for Henry’s medically escorted flight home to Jamaica and has committed to covering all future medical expenses from this incident.

“The Henry family is deeply grateful to the Miss Universe Organization for their unwavering compassion, presence and love shown,” the release said. “Their response so far has gone beyond professional responsibility and reflected devotion and protection of the family.”

The release ended: “Dr. Henry and her family extend their heartfelt thanks to the people of Jamaica, the Miss Universe community, and supporters worldwide for the overwhelming outpouring of love, prayers, and encouragement.”

Miss Universe Jamaica posted an updated profile of her on Jan. 9, 10 days before her fall.

Miss Mexico Fatima Bosch was crowned Miss Universe on Nov. 21. It was broadcast live on Telemundo and streamed on Peacock.

In early November, Miss Universe Thailand director Nawat Itsaragrisil called her “stupid” during a livestreamed speech to contestants on Nov. 4. Several contestants walked out after the comments.

The pageant has been marred by other controversies: Jakkaphong “Anne” Jakrajutatip of Thailandout as CEO, financial instability, accusations of rigged judging and resignations by two of them, and protests by several contestants.

The co-owners of the Miss Universe Organization are facing charges: Jakkaphong with failing to appear at a hearing involving fraud and Rocha Cantu of Mexico on accusations that include drug and fuel trafficking.

Thai police investigated allegations that event publicity included illegal promotion of online casinos.

Brigitta Schaback, who represented Estonia, announced that she was stepping down from her title.

The next day, Olivia Yace, who was the pageant’s fourth runner-up as Miss African and Oceania, also resigned. She added that she was also removing herself from “any future affiliation with the Miss Universe Committee.”

Days before the pageant began on Nov. 2, Mario Bucaro of Guatemala succeeded Jakrajutatip, who resigned from the position on June 20.

Donald Trump owned the pagent from 1996-2015 when he sold it to WME/IMG. In 2022, Thai media conglomerate JKN Global Group, led by Jakrajutatip, purchased the organization. In early 2024, JKN sold a 50% stake to Cantu’s Legacy Holding Group USA.

Dec. 8 (UPI) — Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a Democrat and fierce Trump critic, announced Monday she was launching a high-stakes U.S. Senate campaign in Texas, the same day Democratic primary opponent Colin Allred dropped out.

Crockett, who filed just hours before the deadline, will face Democratic Rep. James Talarico of Austin in the March 3rd primary, as she tries to turn incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn‘s seat from red to blue.

“For too long, Texas has elected senators who have defended politics as usual and protected the status quo, while Texans have paid the price,” Crockett said on her website. “We’ve had senators who have pushed the American Dream further and further out of reach.”

“I’m running for the U.S. Senate because I believe Texas deserves a senator who will be an independent voice for all 30 million Texans — not a rubber stamp or party line vote for Donald Trump.”

Crockett’s primary opponent Talarico on Monday welcomed her to the race after Allred dropped out.

“We’re building a movement in Texas — fueled by record-breaking grassroots fundraising and 10,000 volunteers who are putting in the work to defeat the billionaire mega-donors and puppet politicians who have taken over our state,” Talarico said. “Our movement is rooted in unity over division — so we welcome Congresswoman Crockett into this race.”

Rep. Allred of Dallas decided Monday not to run in the U.S. Senate primary and opted instead to run for the newly-drawn 33rd Congressional District in Dallas County after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week that the redrawn map, which favors Republicans, could be used in the 2026 election.

In a statement, Allred admitted Crockett played a part in his decision to drop out.

“In the past few days, I’ve come to believe that a bruising Senate Democratic primary and runoff would prevent the Democratic party from going into this critical election unified against the danger posed to our communities and our Constitution by Donald Trump and one of his Republican bootlickers Paxton, Cornyn or Hunt,” Allred said earlier Monday.

The winner of the Democratic Senate primary will face one of three Republican primary opponents in the midterm elections, Republican incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, Attorney General Ken Paxton or U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt.

On Monday, Paxton commented in a post on X saying, “everyone knows Crockett will be soundly defeated,” as he also focused on Cornyn’s campaign spending and lower standing in the polls.

Paxton has been vocal about Texas’ redrawn district map and the order’s appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Last month, he predicted the Supreme Court would “uphold Texas’s sovereign right to engage in partisan redistricting,” after he criticized partisan gerrymandering in Democratic-led states, including California, Illinois and New York.

Texas Republicans have not lost a statewide office in more than three decades. Crockett’s decision to run for the Senate also opens up the 30th Congressional District seat she has held since 2023.

Surat, India – In 2018, Alpesh Bhai enrolled his three-year-old daughter in an English-language private school in Surat. This was something he never imagined possible while growing up in his village in the Indian state of Gujarat, where his family survived on small fields of fennel, castor and cumin, with their earnings barely enough to cover basic needs.

He had studied in a public school, where, he recalled, “teachers were a rarity, and English almost didn’t exist”.

“Maybe if I knew English, I would have been some government worker. Who knows?”, he said, referring to the dream of a majority of Indians, as government jobs come with tenure and benefits.

His finances improved once he joined the diamond cutting industry in Surat, a city perched along India’s Arabian Sea coast, where nearly 80 percent of the world’s diamonds are cut and polished. Monthly earnings of 35,000 rupees ($390) for the first time brought Alpesh a sense of stability, and with it, the means to give his children the education he never had.

“I was determined that at least my children would get the kind of private education I was deprived of,” he said.

But that dream did not last. The first disruption to business came with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The sanctions on Russia hurt supply chains, as India sourced at least a third of its raw diamonds from Russia, leading to layoffs.

Alpesh’s earnings fell to 18,000 rupees ($200) a month, then to 20,000 rupees ($222). Soon, the 25,000 rupees ($280) annual school fee became unmanageable. By the time his older daughter reached grade three, just as his younger child started school, the pressure became impossible.

Earlier this year, he pulled both children out of private school and enrolled them in a nearby public one. A few months later, when new United States tariffs deepened the crisis as demand slumped further, his polishing unit laid off 60 percent of its workers, Alpesh among them.

“Seems like I’ve come back to where I started,” he said.

Surat, India’s diamond hub, employs more than 600,000 workers, and hosts 15 large polishing units with annual sales exceeding $100m. For decades, Surat’s diamond‑polishing industry has offered migrant workers from rural Gujarat, many with little or no education, higher incomes, in some cases up to 100,000 rupees ($1,112) a month, and a path out of agrarian hardship.

But recent shocks have exposed the fragility of that ladder, with close to 400,000 workers having faced layoffs, pay cuts, or reduced hours.

Even before Russia’s war on Ukraine began in February 2022, Surat’s diamond industry faced multiple challenges: disrupted supplies from African mines, weakening demand in key Western markets, and inconsistent exports to China, the second-largest customer. With the onset of the war, India’s exports of cut and polished diamonds in the financial year ending on March 31, 2024, fell by 27.6 percent, with sharp declines in its top markets – the US, China, and the United Arab Emirates.

The 50 percent tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump have worsened the downturn.

Alpesh now works loading and unloading textile consignments for about 12,000 rupees ($133) a month, barely enough to cover food and rent.

“If I had kept them in the private school, I don’t know how I would have survived,” Alpesh said. “People here have killed themselves over debts and school fees. When you don’t have enough to eat, how will you think of teaching your children well?”

His daughters are still adjusting. “They sometimes tell me, ‘Pupa, the studies aren’t as good now’. I tell them we’ll put them back in the private school soon, but I don’t know when that will happen.”

‘An exodus’

Some workers have returned to their villages, as many migrant families in Surat can no longer afford rent or find alternative work.

Shyam Patel, 35, was among them. When exports slowed and US tariffs hit in August, the polishing unit where he worked shut down. With no other work available, he returned to his village in the Banaskantha district the following month.

“What other option was there?” he said. “In the city, there’s rent to pay even when there’s no work.”

He now works as a daily-wage labourer in cotton fields in his village. His son, who was in the final year of high school, dropped out after four months of the new academic session.

“We’ll put him back in school next year,” Shyam said. “The government school said they can’t take new students in the middle of the term. Till then, he helps me in the fields.”

Across the city, the disruption is evident in government data. More than 600 students left school mid-session last year as their parents lost work or returned to their villages, mostly in Saurashtra and north Gujarat.

“Most migrants come to Surat to settle – the city has entire [neighbourhoods] and housing clusters built for diamond workers,” said Bhavesh Tank, vice president of the Diamond Workers Union Gujarat. “An exodus in the middle of the year is unprecedented, and the drop in school enrolment suggests many are not coming back soon.”

The union estimates that about 50,000 workers have left Surat over the past 12 to 14 months.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a Hindu nationalist group allied with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has been closely observing the diamond industry crisis in Surat.

“The number of dropouts has reached a point where even government schools are struggling to take in new students, said Purvesh Togadia, a VHP representative in the city. “The poor quality of education is making the transition even more disheartening for families.”

The poor quality of education in public schools is well established. In 2024, only 23.4 percent of grade three students could read at a grade two level, compared with 35.5 percent in private schools. By grade 5, the gap persisted – 44.8 percent in government schools versus 59.3 percent in private ones.

Kishor Bhamre, director at Pratham, an organisation working on children’s rights across education and labour, said the setback is not just academic but psychological.

“Children moving from private to government schools lose the environment they grew up in – their friends, familiar teachers, and a sense of community. For many, it also means shifting from an urban to a rural setting, which makes the adjustment even harder and affects their learning,” he said.

Al Jazeera reached out to the Surat Municipal Corporation and the state’s education minister for comment, but did not receive a response.

Limited help

The Diamond Workers Union has repeatedly appealed to the state government to provide an economic relief package and revise salaries in line with inflation. The union has also urged authorities to address the equally pressing situation of the growing number of school dropouts among workers’ children.

The Gujarat government in May introduced a special assistance package for affected diamond workers – a rare move in the industry.

Under the scheme, the state government committed to paying for one year of school fees for diamond polishers’ children, up to 13,500 rupees ($150) annually. To qualify, workers must have been unemployed for the past year and have at least three years of experience in a diamond factory. The fees will be paid directly to the schools.

The government received nearly 90,000 requests from diamond workers across Gujarat, including about 74,000 from Surat alone.  After a slow start – it had provided assistance to only 170 children by July – officials reported disbursing 82.8 million rupees ($921,000) towards school fees for 6,368 children of jobless diamond workers in Surat by mid-September.

But about 26,000 applicants were rejected, reportedly due to “improper details mentioned” in the forms, leading to frustration and anger among workers. In the past few days, nearly 1,000 diamond polishers have filed applications with the local government, demanding to know who rejected their forms and on what grounds, and alleging opacity in the process.

The scheme’s rigid eligibility criteria have also excluded workers.

“The scheme only covers those who have completely lost their jobs, but it leaves out many who are facing partial cuts or reduced work,” said Tank. “They’re struggling just as much and need support equally.”

Tank added that education remains one of the most common concerns among workers reaching out to the union’s suicide prevention helpline, which was set up by the Diamond Workers Union after Surat had already recorded at least 71 suicides among diamond workers by November 2024. It has received more than 5,000 calls so far.

Divyaben Makwana, 40, lost her 22-year-old son, Kewalbhai, who had been working as a diamond polisher for three years. On June 14, he died by suicide.

Kewalbhai had been under immense mental stress after losing his job in the diamond market, his mother told Al Jazeera.

“He was earning around 20,000 rupees ($220) a month, and when even that collapsed,” he took his life, she said. “We took him to the hospital and did everything we could. I borrowed 500,000 rupees ($5,560) from relatives and friends, but we couldn’t save him. Now, I don’t have a son – only a loan.”

She lives in Surat with her husband, who has been unable to work due to prolonged illness, and their younger son, Karmdeep, 18. With no means to return to their village in Saurashtra, Divyaben has begun working as a domestic worker to make ends meet. Karmdeep dropped out after grade 11, and now attends a local coaching centre, where he is learning diamond faceting while looking for work.

“Education has become so expensive,” Divyaben said. “At least with coaching, he’ll learn a skill. By the time the market recovers, if he’s trained as a craftsman, maybe we’ll be able to repay some of our debts.”

She paused, her voice low. “I don’t know if education, whether taken on loan or given free, can really change our fate. Our only hope is still the diamond.”

If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide, these organisations may be able to help.

You can access the Diamond Workers Union helpline at +91-92395 00009.