The city of Los Angeles violated the state’s open meeting law when council members took up a plan to clear 9,800 homeless encampments behind closed doors, a judge ruled this week.
In a 10-page decision, L.A. County Superior Court Judge Curtis Kin said the City Council ran afoul of the Ralph M. Brown Act by approving the encampment strategy during a Jan. 31, 2024, closed session.
The encampment plan was part of a larger effort by the city to comply with a legal settlement with the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights, which had sued over the city’s handling of the homelessness crisis.
Kin, in his ruling, said the city is allowed under the Brown Act to confer with its attorneys in closed-door meetings to discuss legal strategy.
“However, what the City cannot do under the Brown Act is formulate and approve policy decisions in a closed session outside the public eye merely because such decisions are in furtherance of a settlement agreement,” Kin wrote.
Karen Richardson, a spokesperson for City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto, said her office had no comment on the decision, which was issued earlier this week.
The ruling delivered a victory to the Los Angeles Community Action Network, which advocates for homeless residents and had sued the city over the closed-door deliberations.
Lawyers for LA CAN have warned that the city’s goal of removing 9,800 encampments over four years has created a quota system that could make sanitation workers more likely to violate the property rights of unhoused residents. Under the agreement, the city must reach its encampment removal target this summer.
“The City Council approved an extremely controversial plan to clear almost 10,000 encampments entirely in secret,” said Shayla Myers, the group’s attorney. “They never disclosed the plan before they voted on it, or even after, and the only one they disclosed the plan to was the business community.”
Lawyers for the city have offered contradictory explanations for what transpired during the Jan. 31, 2024, meeting. Now, LA CAN is seeking a court order requiring that the city produce all records — including audio of the closed-door deliberations — to show what transpired.
The city’s strategy for clearing 9,800 encampments has become a major sticking point in its long-running legal battle with the LA Alliance. U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter ruled that a tent discarded by sanitation workers can only count toward the city’s numerical goal if its owner has been offered housing or shelter first.
Feldstein Soto’s legal team, in a memo to the council, said later that the judge had “reinterpreted” some of the city’s settlement obligations.
In this week’s ruling, Kin found that the city violated the Brown Act a second time in May 2024, when the council went behind closed doors to take up another agreement — this one between the city and L.A. County on the delivery of homeless services.
The LA Alliance first sued the city and county in 2020, alleging that too little was being done to address the homelessness crisis, particularly in Skid Row. The city settled the case two years later, agreeing to create 12,915 new shelter beds or other housing opportunities by June 2027.
After that deal was struck, the city began negotiating an accompanying agreement with the LA Alliance to reduce the number of street encampments. Those talks dragged on for more than a year.
The LA Alliance ran out of patience, telling Judge Carter in February 2024 that the city was 447 days late in finalizing its plan and should be sanctioned. The group submitted to the court a copy of the encampment removal plan, saying it had been approved by the City Council on Jan. 31, 2024.
Video from that day’s meeting shows that council members went behind closed doors to discuss the LA Alliance case. When they returned, Deputy City Atty. Jonathan Groat said there was nothing to report from the closed session.
LA CAN demanded that the city produce any vote tally on the encampment plan. The city declined to do so, saying there was no vote.
“To this day, [we] still don’t know who voted for it, or even if a vote was taken at all,” Myers said.
Lawyers for the city have argued that they were not required to issue any report from that closed session meeting. They also have said that the Brown Act allowed the two agreements — the one on encampment removals and the other with the county — to be discussed behind closed doors.
Carter ruled last year that the city had failed to comply with the terms of its settlement agreement with the L.A. Alliance. On Tuesday, he ordered the city to pay $1.6 million to cover the group’s legal fees.
The judge also instructed the city to pay about $201,000 for fees incurred by LA CAN and the LA Catholic Worker, which have intervened in the LA Alliance case.
On Thursday, lawyers for the city notified the court that they intend to appeal the order to pay the various groups.
Hours after the call with President Donald Trump, , Colombian President Gustave Petro addressed a rally in Bogotá’s Plaza de Bolívar, convened “in defense of sovereignty,” and acknowledged that he softened a previously tougher attitude toward the American president. Photo by Carlos Ortega/EPA
Jan. 8 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro held their first phone call Wednesday since the U.S. leader started his second term — a conversation described as “constructive” that could open a path to rebuilding a historically close relationship shaped by decades of cooperation on security and a fight against drug trafficking.
The more-than-40-minute conversation followed months of verbal escalation and administrative sanctions between the two governments and against a regionally tense backdrop after a U.S. operation led to the Jan. 3 capture in Caracas of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Hours after the call, Petro addressed a rally in Bogotá’s Plaza de Bolívar, convened “in defense of sovereignty,” and acknowledged that he softened a previously tougher attitude after speaking with Trump.
“If there is no dialogue, there is war. Colombian history has taught us that,” Petro said, announcing he had requested the restoration of formal communication channels between Colombia’s Foreign Ministry and the U.S. State Department.
During his remarks, the Colombian president said the call covered counternarcotics cooperation and rejected accusations linking him to drug trafficking, stating that for more than two decades, he has confronted criminal organizations and allied politicians, according to Colombian outlet Noticias Caracol.
Petro said he presented Trump with official government figures, including drug seizure levels that he said reached 2,800 metric tons by year’s end, as well as the extradition of hundreds of narcotics leaders.
He also argued that, unlike previous administrations, his government halted the growth of coca crops, which he said doubled under former President Iván Duque, while increasing by no more than 10% during his tenure. Coca leaves are used to make cocaine.
Petro defended voluntary crop substitution over forced eradication, contending the latter increases violence in rural areas.
The Colombian leader added that he briefed Trump on coordination experiences with Venezuela in the fight against drug trafficking in border regions such as Catatumbo, one of the main illicit trafficking corridors, where guerrillas, dissidents and criminal gangs operate.
In a message posted on social media, Trump said it was “a great honor” to speak with Petro and that he looks forward to meeting him “soon.”
In the same message, he said Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Colombia’s foreign minister, Rosa Villavicencio, already are working on arrangements for a White House meeting.
Colombia’s ambassador to the United States, Daniel García-Peña, told Noticias RCN that the communication was facilitated by Republican Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and that Trump extended the invitation to meet in Washington.
The diplomat described the exchange as “an extraordinary call” and said both leaders focused on issues of shared interest.
The conversation took place amid heightened domestic political tension in Colombia, marked by growing polarization and public confrontation on social media, fueled by earlier statements from Trump.
In the preceding days, the U.S. president suggested that an operation similar to the one carried out in Venezuela also “sounds good” for Colombia — rhetoric that drew strong official rebukes in Bogotá.
Petro has been a persistent critic of U.S. operations in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific, where U.S. forces have intercepted and sunk boats suspected of carrying drugs.
He has questioned that approach for its human cost, citing deaths reported during such operations.
In September, the U.S. government revoked Petro’s visa, and the Treasury Department later placed him, along with people in his inner circle, on the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s sanctions list, known as the “Clinton List,” following accusations made by Trump that the Colombian government rejected and that were not accompanied by public evidence.
Despite recent friction, bilateral ties rest on a solid historical foundation. Colombia has for decades been one of Washington’s main partners in Latin America on security and counternarcotics.
In the early 2000s, cooperation was consolidated under Plan Colombia with an initial U.S.-approved aid package of $1.3 billion in 2000, and in 2022 Washington designated Colombia a “Major Non-NATO Ally,” a status reserved for strategic partners outside the alliance.
Under Petro’s government, that partnership has faced political strain, particularly over differences on counternarcotics policy and bilateral rhetoric in a more volatile regional environment.
Israel has launched intense artillery and helicopter attacks on southern Gaza despite a United States-brokered ceasefire, bombing a tent housing displaced Palestinians and killing a five-year-old girl and her uncle, according to officials.
The killings on Monday brought the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces since the truce came into effect in October to at least 422, according to Gaza health authorities.
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The Nasser Medical Complex in southern Khan Younis said the deadly Israeli strike hit a tent in the coastal al-Mawasi area, and that four others, including children, were also wounded.
Israel’s military said it struck a Hamas fighter who was planning to attack Israeli forces “in the immediate timeframe”. But the military did not provide evidence for the claim, and it was not clear if its statement referred to the tent attack.
Despite the ceasefire, Israeli forces have continued near-daily attacks on Gaza and have maintained restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid. Much of the enclave has been devastated by Israel’s genocidal war, with roughly 88 percent of buildings damaged or destroyed, Palestinian officials say.
Most of Gaza’s two million people are now living in tents, makeshift shelters or damaged buildings in areas vacated by Israeli troops.
The Palestinian Civil Defence said on Monday that another Palestinian home damaged in earlier Israeli strikes collapsed in the central Maghazi camp, killing a 29-year-old father and his eight-year-old son.
But the rescue service said in a subsequent statement that it was unable to respond to requests to remove hazards caused by damaged buildings because of a lack of equipment and continuing fuel shortages.
The Gaza ceasefire, agreed upon after more than two years of Israeli attacks that killed more than 71,000 people, is being implemented in phases. The first stage includes exchanges of captives and prisoners, increased humanitarian aid and the reopening of Gaza’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
Hamas has freed all remaining living captives and returned dozens of bodies, except for one, while Israel has released nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees and prisoners, including some serving life sentences.
Hopes for Rafah crossing
However, humanitarian groups say that Israeli restrictions continue to hamper aid deliveries, while Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt remains closed. The crossing had long been Gaza’s only connection to the outside world until the Israeli military occupied the Palestinian side in May 2024.
Israel’s Kan broadcaster reported on January 1 that Israeli authorities are preparing to reopen the crossing in “both directions” following pressure from US President Donald Trump.
If confirmed, it would mark a shift from an earlier Israeli policy that stated the crossing would only open “exclusively for the exit of residents from the Gaza Strip to Egypt”. The policy drew condemnation from regional governments, including Egypt and Qatar, with officials warning against the ethnic cleansing of Gaza.
The latest Israeli report has left many Palestinians hopeful.
Tasnim Jaras, a student in Gaza City, told Al Jazeera that it was her “dream that the crossing opens so we can continue our education”.
Moaeen al-Jarousha, who was wounded in the war, said he needed to leave Gaza to receive medical treatment abroad. “I need immediate medical intervention. I live in very difficult conditions,” he said.
Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City, said Palestinians in Gaza have been waiting for the crossing to open for a long time.
“For many, this isn’t about travel, it’s about survival. Parents are asking about medical access they haven’t been able to obtain over the past two years. Students think of this as an opportunity to continue their education,” he said.
“And for many families, this is an opportunity to reunite with family members who have been separated for too long. But hope here is never simple. People here have heard about these announcements numerous times, and many recall how quickly it shut again,” he added.
Israel, meanwhile, continues to retain control of 53 percent of Gaza, and witnesses on Monday reported continued demolitions of residential homes in the eastern Zeitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City.
The Israeli military also said it attacked a Palestinian who had crossed the so-called “yellow line” – an unmarked boundary where the Israeli military repositioned itself when the truce came into effect – in southern Gaza on Monday with the aim of “removing the threat”. It did not provide evidence for the claim.
Israel also said it had carried out strikes against Hezbollah and Hamas targets in southern and eastern Lebanon.
Earlier, three-time Australian Open finalist Daniil Medvedev called for the tournament to bring forward its night session matches.
Matches begin at 19:00 local time, with two matches scheduled to take place on Rod Laver Arena and Margaret Court Arena.
Djokovic and Andy Murray have previously spoken about late finishes in Melbourne, with Murray describing his 04:05am finish in 2023 as a “farce”.
Medvedev, who was beaten by Learner Tien in a match that finished at 2:55am local time, said he was “happy” to play in the night sessions but scheduling changes would be “better for everyone”.
“I like soccer, but here [in Australia] I don’t watch the Premier League because it’s at two in the morning.
“It’s pretty much the same — people who really love tennis would like to see it at six because then they are almost sure to watch both matches.
“OK, if it goes ridiculously long, [instead of finishing] at three, it would finish at two. It’s better for everyone.”
United States tennis legend Venus Williams returns to the Australian Open for the first time since 2021.
Published On 2 Jan 20262 Jan 2026
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Seven-time major singles champion Venus Williams has been handed a wildcard to the Australian Open aged 45, becoming the oldest woman to play at the season-opening tennis Grand Slam.
The American, who has played only a limited number of singles matches in recent years, will compete in the main draw at Melbourne Park for the first time since 2021.
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“I’m excited to be back in Australia and looking forward to competing during the Australian summer,” Williams said on Friday.
“I’ve had so many incredible memories there and I’m grateful for the opportunity to return to a place that has meant so much to my career.”
Williams is a five-time Wimbledon champion and also won two US Opens.
She was an Australian Open singles finalist in 2003 and 2017.
She will become the oldest woman to play at the Australian Open since Japan’s Kimiko Date, who was 44 when she lost in the first round in 2015.
Williams, a four-time Australian Open doubles champion, is set to begin her preparations for the January 18-February 1 tournament at the Auckland Classic next week, having returned to the circuit at the US Open last year after a 16-month break.
She will then head to the Hobart International immediately before Melbourne.
Two-time Grand Slam champion and fellow American Coco Gauff said it was “incredible” to see Williams still turning up for tournaments.
“She’s a legend of the sport, so it will be cool to see her back in action,” she said.
“It’s incredible the longevity of her career. She’s one of the people I looked up to, so looking forward to seeing her back on court.”
Venus Williams is set to become the oldest female player to compete in the Australian Open main draw at the age of 45.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion has received the final women’s wildcard for the tournament, which begins on 18 January.
Williams last appeared at Melbourne Park in 2021 when she was beaten by Italy’s Sara Errani in the second round.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to return to a place that has meant so much to my career,” she said.
The American, twice a runner-up in the first Grand Slam event of the year, will surpass the record of Japan’s Kimiko Date, who was 44 when she played at the event in 2015.
Venezuela leader strikes conciliatory tone while renewing claim US wants to topple government to access vast oil reserves.
Venezuela is open to negotiating a deal with the United States to combat drug trafficking, President Nicolas Maduro has said, even as he remained silent on a reported CIA-led strike on his country last week.
The latest statement, made during an interview that aired on Thursday, comes as Maduro has struck a more conciliatory tone towards the US amid Washington’s months-long sanctions and military pressure campaign.
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That included, on Thursday, the release of more than 80 prisoners accused of protesting his disputed victory in the 2024 election, the second such release in recent days.
“Wherever they want and whenever they want,” Maduro told Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet of the idea of dialogue with the US on drug trafficking, oil and migration in an interview on state TV.
He stressed that it is time for both nations to “start talking seriously, with data in hand”.
“The US government knows, because we’ve told many of their spokespeople, that if they want to seriously discuss an agreement to combat drug trafficking, we’re ready,” he said.
Still, Maduro renewed his allegations that the US is trying to topple his government and gain access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves through Washington’s months-long sanctions and military pressure campaign.
“If they want oil, Venezuela is ready for US investment, like with Chevron,” he added, referring to the US oil giant, which is the only major oil company exporting Venezuelan crude to the US.
Asked point-blank by Ramonet if he confirmed or denied a US attack on Venezuelan soil, Maduro said: “This could be something we talk about in a few days.”
To date, Maduro has not confirmed a US land attack on a docking facility that allegedly targeted drug boats.
For months, the US has launched numerous strikes on alleged drug smuggling boats originating from Venezuela, in what rights groups have decried as extrajudicial killings. The Trump administration has also imposed a blockade on sanctioned oil tankers entering and exiting Venezuela’s coast.
Tensions further escalated after Trump revealed earlier this week a strike on a docking area for alleged Venezuelan drug boats, in the first known attack on Venezuelan territory of the US campaign.
Trump has not confirmed widespread reports in US media that the attack was a CIA operation or where it occurred, saying only it was “along the shore”.
“There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs,” he told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
“So we hit all the boats and now we hit the area, it’s the implementation area, that’s where they implement. And that is no longer around.”
The US president has repeatedly threatened ground strikes on drug cartels in the region, which he has labelled “narcoterrorists”. He has claimed, without providing evidence, that Maduro leads a trafficking organisation that aims to destabilise the US by flooding it with drugs.
However, regional experts have noted that Venezuela is not known to be involved in the illicit fentanyl trade, which far and away accounts for the highest number of overdose deaths in the US. Trump has labelled the drug a “weapon of mass destruction”.
Maduro has said the Trump administration’s approach makes it “clear” that the US “seek to impose themselves” on Venezuela through “threats, intimidation and force”.
Maduro’s interview was taped on New Year’s Eve, the same day the US military struck five alleged drug-smuggling boats, killing at least five people.
The latest attacks bring the total number of known boat strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific to 35 and the number of people killed to at least 115, according to numbers announced by the Trump administration.
Venezuelans and Colombians have been among the victims.
The Brenner Base Tunnel, which is currently under construction, will be the longest tunnel in the world when it opens in 2032 – and it will connect Austria and Italy.
Longest tunnel in the world costing £7billion will connect 3 European cities(Image: BBT)
The Brenner Base Tunnel is presently being built and will link Austria and Italy together. This remarkable tunnel, destined to become the world’s longest, is due to launch in 2032.
The rail tunnel will join Innsbruck in Austria with Franzensfeste/Fortezza in Italy, bridging two nations across different time zones. Building costs are projected at 8.54billion euros (£7.4billion).
The spectacular BBT will form a cutting-edge railway tunnel spanning 55km (34 miles) in total.
BBT explained: “In May 1994, a railway bypass was opened south of Innsbruck, known as the Inn valley tunnel. This 12.7 km tunnel links to the Brenner Base Tunnel.
“Passenger and freight trains along this stretch will therefore not only travel through the Brenner Base Tunnel, but for a few kilometres, through the Inn valley tunnel as well. This line, totalling 64 kilometres, will become the longest underground railway connection in the world.”
An unusual aspect of the Brenner Base Tunnel is the “exploratory tunnel running from one end to the other.”
“This tunnel lies between the two main tunnels and about 12m below them and with a diameter of 5m is noticeably smaller than the main tubes.
“The excavations currently underway on the exploratory tunnel should provide information on the rock mass and thereby reduce construction costs and times to a minimum.
“The exploratory tunnel will be essential for drainage when the BBT becomes operational.”
Polls have opened in Myanmar’s first general election since the country’s military toppled Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government in a 2021 coup.
The heavily restricted election on Sunday is taking place in about a third of the Southeast Asian nation’s 330 townships, with large areas inaccessible amid a raging civil war between the military and an array of opposition forces.
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Following the initial phase, two rounds of voting will be held on January 11 and January 25, while voting has been cancelled in 65 townships altogether.
“This means that at least 20 percent of the country is disenfranchised at this stage,” said Al Jazeera’s Tony Cheng, reporting from Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon. “The big question is going to be here in the cities, what is the turnout going to be like?”
In Yangon, polling stations opened at 6am on Sunday (23:30 GMT, Saturday), and once the sun was up, “we’ve seen a relatively regular flow of voters come in,” said Cheng.
“But the voters are generally middle aged, and we haven’t seen many young people. When you look at the ballot, there are only few choices. The vast majority of those choices are military parties,” he said.
The election has been derided by critics – including the United Nations, some Western countries and human rights groups – as an exercise that is not free, fair or credible, with anti-military political parties not competing.
Aung San Suu Kyi, who was deposed by the military months after her National League for Democracy (NLD) won the last general election by a landslide in 2020, remains in detention, and her party has been dissolved.
The pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) is widely expected to emerge as the largest party.
The military, which has governed Myanmar since 2021, said the vote is a chance for a new start, politically and economically, for the nation of 55 million people, with Senior General Min Aung Hlaing consistently framing the polls as a path to reconciliation.
The military chief cast his ballot shortly after polling stations opened in Naypyidaw, the country’s capital.
The polls “will turn a new page for Myanmar, shifting the narrative from a conflict-affected, crisis-laden country to a new chapter of hope for building peace and reconstructing the economy”, an opinion piece in the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar said on Saturday.
‘A resounding USDP victory’
But with fighting still raging in many areas of the country, the elections are being held in an environment of violence and repression, according to UN human rights chief Volker Turk. “There are no conditions for the exercise of the rights of freedom of expression, association or peaceful assembly that allow for the free and meaningful participation of the people,” he said last week.
The civil war, which was triggered by the 2021 coup, has killed an estimated 90,000 people, displaced 3.5 million and left some 22 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, more than 22,000 people are currently detained for political offences.
In downtown Yangon, stations were cordoned off overnight, with security staff posted outside, while armed officers guarded traffic intersections. Election officials set up equipment and installed electronic voting machines, which are being used for the first time in Myanmar.
The machines will not allow write-in candidates or spoiled ballots.
Among a trickle of early voters in the city was 45-year-old Swe Maw, who dismissed international criticism.
“It’s not an important matter,” he told the AFP news agency. “There are always people who like and dislike.”
In the central Mandalay region, 40-year-old Moe Moe Myint said it was “impossible for this election to be free and fair”.
“How can we support a junta-run election when this military has destroyed our lives?” she told AFP. “We are homeless, hiding in jungles, and living between life and death,” she added.
The second round of polling will take place in two weeks’ time, before the third and final round on January 25.
Dates for counting votes and announcing election results have not been declared.
Analysts say the military’s attempt to establish a stable administration in the midst of an expansive conflict is fraught with risk, and that significant international recognition is unlikely for any military-controlled government.
“The outcome is hardly in doubt: a resounding USDP victory and a continuation of army rule with a thin civilian veneer,” wrote Richard Horsey, an analyst at the International Crisis Group in a briefing earlier this month.
“But it will in no way ease Myanmar’s political crisis or weaken the resolve of a determined armed resistance. Instead, it will likely harden political divisions and prolong Myanmar’s state failure. The new administration, which will take power in April 2026, will have few better options, little credibility and likely no feasible strategy for moving the country in a positive direction,” he added.
The Southeast Asian nation of about 50 million is riven by civil war, and there will be no voting in rebel-held areas, which is more than half the country [Nhac Nguyen/AFP]
1 of 2 | A foreign journalist who covered North Korea’s Punggye-ri nuclear test site demolition reads the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the country’s Workers’ Party, on a North Korean chartered flight heading to Beijing, China, 26 May 2018. Reporters from South Korea, China, Russia, the United States and Britain were invited to watch the dismantlement of the site, which was carried out on 24 May through a series of explosions over several hours. Photo by YONHAP/EPA
Dec. 26 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s Unification Ministry said Friday it will move ahead next week with administrative steps to make North Korea’s state newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, publicly accessible.
The ministry said a consultative meeting of supervisory agencies held Friday confirmed a consensus to reclassify Rodong Sinmun from “special materials” to “general materials,” clearing the way for broader public access.
Participants in the meeting included the Ministry of Unification, the National Intelligence Service, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Communications Commission.
Following completion of required administrative procedures, including the issuance of official notices to supervisory and handling agencies, the ministry said the reclassification will take effect next week.
Deputy Unification Ministry spokesperson Jang Yun-jeong said earlier Friday that the government has been reviewing ways to expand public access to North Korean materials. She noted that many such materials, including Rodong Sinmun, are currently designated as special materials and can be handled only by authorized agencies.
In a written response submitted Thursday to the office of Yoon Gun-young, the intelligence service said it plans to decide on reclassification through interagency consultations, citing the public’s right to know and the promotion of inter-Korean exchanges.
The Unification Ministry also said it is pushing to amend the Information and Communications Network Act and enact a separate law on the management and use of North Korean materials, a move that would allow access to North Korean websites and publications such as Rodong Sinmun.
President Lee Jae-myung has said the public should not be treated as inherently vulnerable to propaganda or agitation.
The plan has drawn mixed reactions. Some experts have urged a cautious, phased opening of North Korean media, while others have called for countermeasures against Pyongyang’s sophisticated propaganda efforts and warned of potential cybersecurity risks from North Korean websites.
A new planetarium experience is coming to the UKCredit: Planetarium Go!It will tour five destinations across the country, with the first spot being LondonCredit: Planetarium Go!
It will then head to Sheffield from March 6 to 28, then Hull between April 3 and 25, then Manchester from May 1 to 23 and Northampton between May 29 and June 21 – though specific destinations have not been revealed yet.
Inside, the planetarium will feature a 360-degree screen which will show different films either science-related or of fictional stories and each will last between 20 to 35 minutes.
The experience itself will be in a large, spherical pop-up dome and different film showings will be suitable for different age groups.
For example, you could opt to watch ‘Exploring The Solar System + The Ring World’, a film that takes visitors on an exploration of the solar system, seeing Venus, Mars and the moon.
Viewers will the head to ‘The Ring World’ to see a star and find out whether humans could live on other planets.
For younger kids, ‘3-2-1 Lift Off’ might be better; visitors follow Alan the hamster scientist, who discovers a robot that has crashed from outer space.
There is also ‘From Earth to the Universe’, a documentary film lasting 30 minutes that is more of an educational option for kids aged over 10-years-old.
The planetarium will be open at Battersea Power Station Monday to Thursday and Sunday between 10am and 7:10pm and on Friday and Saturdays between 10am and 9pm.
Tickets cost from £15 per person or £12 for students and children under four go free.
If heading to the planetarium whilst it is at Battersea Power Station, there are a number of other attractions there to explore as well, so you can make it a day out.
The experience will pop experience will be at Battersea Power Station from January 30 to March 1Credit: Planetarium Go!Tickers cost from £15 per person or £12 per studentCredit: Planetarium Go!
Inside the experience visitors can explore 10 immersive zones across two floors.
You can walk under a giant Brachiosaurus, look around the genetics lab and even meet Blue the Velociraptor from the Jurassic World films.
The experience costs £36.70 per adult and £29.55 per child.
Alternatively, there is the Lift 109 experience, which recently had a refresh.
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary James A. Baker III faced open hostility to the Reagan Administration’s tax revision proposal Tuesday as the Senate Finance Committee began what is expected to be at least three months of testimony on overhauling the current tax code.
“The best simplification this committee could do for the country would be just to adjourn,” Sen. Steven D. Symms (R-Ida.) complained.
Senate Republican leader Bob Dole of Kansas, a committee member, conceded that progress on tax revision could be slow. “Once the initial glow has faded,” Dole said, “there are a lot of questions this committee has to deal with.”
Warning of ‘Fiscal Disaster’
Meanwhile, Martin S. Feldstein, former chairman of President Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers, warned that the Administration’s tax proposal could be a “fiscal disaster if tax reform became a deficit-enlarging tax cut.”
Feldstein, who left the White House last year after several disputes over Administration policy toward budget deficits, told the House Ways and Means Committee that the tax proposal “is at best revenue neutral and has a substantial risk of losing revenue.”
Other economists testifying before the House panel, which originates tax legislation, also expressed skepticism over the Administration’s contention that the tax plan would raise as much revenue as the current tax system. They contended that the package could exacerbate deficits that are now expected to remain larger than $170 billion annually well into the next decade, even if the package of spending cuts now working its way through Congress becomes law.
“I suspect that the President’s proposal is a revenue loser, particularly after 1990,” said John H. Makin, director of fiscal studies at the American Enterprise Institute.
But Baker, in defending the tax proposal to the Senate panel, insisted that Reagan’s plan would lose only $11.5 billion during the next five years, substantially less than 1% of the $4.7 trillion that the government estimates it will collect in total revenues during that period.
Contradictory Attacks
In grilling Baker, senators on the tax panel attacked the White House proposal on a wide variety of sometimes contradictory points.
Sen. William V. Roth Jr. (R-Del.) complained that the proposal “tends to soak the middle class,” but he worried also that the plan would be too generous to consumers at the expense of those who save.
Some senators argued that the plan would do little to help businesses facing the threat of foreign competition, but others suggested that individuals should receive a more generous tax break even if it means increasing taxes for corporations.
Most members of the Republican-controlled committee warned that they would attempt to restore certain tax breaks that would be eliminated by the White House package.
In particular, they criticized Reagan’s proposals to abolish the deductions for state and local taxes and for two-earner couples, to eliminate the investment tax credit and alternative energy tax credits and to tax growth in the cash value of insurance policies. But Sen. Bill Bradley (D-N. J.), author of a separate tax revision proposal, argued that the White House tax plan does not go far enough in eliminating special tax preferences. He told Baker that he would try to eliminate some tax breaks for the oil industry and wealthy investors.
Exemption Hike Opposed
Sen. George J. Mitchell (D-Me.) challenged Baker’s contention that the best way to help families living below the poverty line to escape income taxes is to increase the personal exemption from the current $1,040 to $2,000 next year.
Mitchell said that he would introduce a proposal to limit the increase in the personal exemption and grant a larger increase than Reagan recommended in the standard deduction, or zero-bracket amount, a proposal that would help only taxpayers who do not itemize their deductions. Mitchell said that his approach would concentrate tax relief more directly on middle-income and lower-income families than would the Administration’s plan.
Baker vigorously defended the Administration’s plan against the attacks. “We think our plan is very fair,” he said, pointing out that the majority of taxpayers at every income level would receive tax reductions and that the average tax cut would be 7%.
Johnson was Tottenham‘s leading Premier League goalscorer last season with 11, and etched his name in Spurs folklore by scoring the winner in their Europa League final triumph over Manchester United in Bilbao, ending the club’s 17-year wait for a trophy.
But the departure of Ange Postecoglou and arrival of Thomas Frank as new head coach has meant Johnson has played more of a peripheral role this season.
Johnson, 24, has made only six top-flight starts under Frank this season.
As a result, a number of clubs have been alerted to his potential availability before the January transfer window.
Given his lack of action and the prospect of a World Cup on the horizon with Wales, a move away from Tottenham may suit Johnson next month.
Johnson joined Tottenham from Nottingham Forest in a deal worth £47.5m in the summer of 2023 and has scored 27 goals for the club.
Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, was meant to be a pivotal civic exercise across Borno State, northeastern Nigeria, as residents were expected to elect chairpersons and councillors responsible for local development, basic services, and community representation. Instead, what unfolded across parts of the state bore little resemblance to a functioning democratic process.
Umar Ali, a resident of Gamboru in Maiduguri, stepped out that morning expecting to vote, but could not locate any polling unit nearby. “We thought it was just a delay, but there was no election activity at all,” he said.
His experience was replicated across the city and other neighbouring council wards. HumAngle observed that many polling units listed by the Borno State Independent Electoral Commission (BOSIEC) were deserted, with neither officials nor voters in sight. In locations where officials were present, there was only a handful of voters, often confined to near-empty compounds.
An exception was Ajari II polling unit in Mafa Ward, where Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum cast his vote, which recorded a higher turnout than most other locations observed.
In several neighbourhoods, residents watched the day pass from outside their homes or went about their chores. Conversations revealed frustration, distrust, and a widespread perception that the outcome had already been predetermined.
“This is not an election. It is a selection,” said Musa Ali, who declined to approach the polling unit closest to his house. He accused the government of determining the results in advance. “They already know what they are doing,” he argued.
For many residents, the only indication that an election was taking place was the restriction of movement imposed across the state. “If not for the ban, you would not even know voting is going on,” said 22-year-old Fatima Alai.
On some of the empty streets, children and even young adults turned it into football fields.
Borno State has over 2.5 million registered voters, with about 2.4 million Permanent Voter Cards collected, as of February 2023. Yet participation in local government elections remains low. It is unclear how many people voted in the Dec. 13 elections. However, this trend is not unique to Borno or even to the current election cycle.
Across Nigeria, turnout in local government elections is consistently lower than in national polls. Analysts and residents alike attribute this to weak service delivery at the council level, the routine imposition of candidates by political parties, and the limited credibility of state-run electoral commissions. For many citizens, local elections appear disconnected from accountability or tangible improvements in daily life.
Malpractice in plain sight
Beyond voter apathy, HumAngle observed troubling procedural violations at multiple polling units. At a polling unit in Bulama Kachallah II, in Maiduguri, HumAngle observed electoral officials stamping ballot papers and depositing them into the ballot box in the absence of voters. This continued between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., when we left the unit.
A similar scene played out at another polling unit in nearby Bulama Kachallah I. BOSIEC officials wearing identification tags, alongside unidentified individuals, openly filled out ballot papers and inserted them into the boxes.
When approached, a party agent who was present at the scene told HumAngle, “Ba ruwan ka,” meaning, “It is none of your business.”
A group of young men were seen stamping on ballot papers at a polling unit in Maiduguri. Photo: Abubakar Muktar Abba/HumAngle.
Despite these irregularities, BOSIEC Chairperson Tahiru Shettima maintained that the process met democratic standards. “I think the commission has done its best and the election was free, fair, inclusive, and transparent,” he said.
Two days after the exercise, BOSIEC announced that the ruling APC won all 27 chairpersonship seats in the state. The election was contested by six political parties, including the New Nigeria People’s Party, Social Democratic Party, Labour Party, and People’s Redemption Party.
Notably absent was the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), the state’s leading opposition force. In the days leading up to the election, the PDP formally boycotted the process, citing concerns about the legitimacy and fairness of the electoral process, the high costs associated with the expression-of-interest and nomination forms, and a lack of trust in BOSIEC’s capacity to conduct credible elections.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC), a national opposition coalition, was also missing from the ballot. A member of the party, who asked not to be named, claimed that “the state government had been a big challenge”. He said that when the party attempted to launch its Borno State chapter in November, security operatives disrupted the event, alleging that the government had not been notified. According to him, this interference contributed to the ADC’s absence from the December local council election.
The electoral commission rejected these criticisms. Shettima said BOSIEC had consulted with stakeholders, including political parties, on logistics and nomination fees, and insisted that participation was voluntary. “We cannot force any political party to take part in the election,” he told journalists.
Public reactions on social media, meanwhile, suggested a contrasting reality to official claims. Tanko Wabba, a Facebook user, wrote: “We didn’t see the election [ballot] box in our street,” reflecting frustration over missing polling units and highlighting a gap between official claims and citizens’ experiences.
Weakened local governance
For more than a decade, local council elections were not held in Borno State due to the Boko Haram insurgency. During that period, councils were administered by caretaker committees appointed by the state government. Elections resumed in 2020, with another round held in January 2024.
While those elections were described by the media as largely peaceful, turnout was characterised as average at best. Analysts cited voter fatigue, lingering security concerns, and persistent doubts about the relevance and autonomy of local councils.
Under Nigeria’s Constitution, local governments constitute the third tier of government, operating under the state’s supervision. Democratically elected councils are mandated to manage basic services such as roads, markets, sanitation, health clinics, business and vehicle licensing, local fees, education, and support for agriculture and health in coordination with the state.
Executive authority at the local level rests with the chairperson and vice chairperson, who implement council policies through supervisory councillors and the civil service. In practice, however, councils often have limited autonomy. State governments frequently override their authority by appointing caretaker committees—often ruling party loyalists—and retaining control of local government finances through joint state–local government accounts.
Autonomy debates and unresolved tensions
In July 2024, Nigeria’s Supreme Court ordered that allocations from the federation account meant for local governments must be disbursed to them directly, rather than the joint account created by the state government. The court restrained governors from collecting, withholding, or tampering with these funds, declaring such actions unconstitutional, null, and void.
The Minister of State for Defence, Bello Mohammed Matawalle, welcomed the ruling, saying it would allow local governments to manage their own finances, strengthen accountability to voters, and improve service delivery and development.
However, the Nigerian Governors’ Forum opposed the decision. The governors argued that full local government autonomy does not align with Nigeria’s federal structure and said the ruling failed to address longstanding issues of weak administration and executive excesses at the council level.
“The desire for decentralisation must be backed by a commitment to delegate resources, power, and tasks to local-level governance structures that are democratic and largely independent of central government,” said Victor Adetula, a Professor of Political Science at the University of Jos.
Against this backdrop of contested authority and fragile credibility, the conduct of Borno’s local government elections raises deeper questions—not just about electoral integrity, but about whether local democracy in the state can meaningfully deliver the governance and development it promises.
If you’re bored of theme parks with long queues and greasy food, a new ‘luxury’ theme park will be opening in 2026 that promises a much more upmarket experience including “five-star hospitality”
BON – Beauty of Nature theme park is set to combine thrill rides with luxury holiday experiences(Image: VidantaWorld)
A day out at a theme park is hardly what you’d call a luxury experience. While it’s nice to enjoy a day of family-fun, having to queue for 30-second rides and fight the crowds isn’t exactly relaxing.
However, an upmarket resort chain now aims to elevate the average theme park experience. Billed as “the world’s first-ever luxury theme park”, BON (beauty of nature) is set to open in autumn of 2026 for guests of VidantaWorld Nuevo Vallarta in Mexico.
There are ambitious plans for this new theme park, which will eventually have multiple lands including 23 attractions, 25 restaurants, lounges, and shops across the site. It’ll feature both thrill rides and family-friendly options, as well as immersive experiences and playgrounds.
Guests of VidantaWorld Nuevo Vallarta, a resort featuring a 5-star hotel, golf course, and direct beach access, already have access to select attractions within the theme park. The park recently opened Cirque du Soleil LUDÕ, a spectacular water-based show that takes place in a custom-built theater costing $ 200 million (£ 148 million) for an immersive dinner experience. The theatre is surrounded by a wrap-around aquarium for a 360-degree undersea experience.
Two of the theme park’s seven planned lands are also open for guests to preview. There’s Wonder Bay, which includes a lake show and seasonal celebrations. Until January 11, a Christmas theme is in effect, featuring decorations, live performances, and festive meet-and-greets.
Adventure Valley is also open, featuring the serene Carousel of Colors and the family-friendly Time Quest. There’s also Tempest Towers, a ride that takes you to new heights before plunging you down, and Kids Cove playground with plenty for them to explore. Some of the park’s shops and restaurants are also open, offering visitors a glimpse of what the park will be like.
Once fully open, visitors will be able to enjoy rides such as the Tecuani Beast, set to be Latin America’s only double-launch coaster. This will have top speeds of 65mph and more airtime than any other rollercoaster in the region. Another attraction will be the floral-themed Floresta Drop, which will be a family-friendly ride.
There will also be a variety of eateries offering an elevated experience compared to the typical theme park fare. This includes authentic Mexican cuisine offerings, sushi restaurants, and American-style grills.
The park will also feature numerous surprises around every corner, including costumed entertainers, light shows, fireworks, and much more. The company VidantaWorld, who already have two beach resorts in Mexico and a mega yacht, want to create a “multi-generational” experience, with something for all ages.
The news comes as a popular European theme park is set to get a new world based on the Harry Potter series. LEGOLAND Deutschland in Germany confirmed the creation of a new Wizarding World based on J.K. Rowling’s popular franchise. Details will be released in the next 12 months and are set to include Harry Potter themed accommodation.
Disneyland Paris is also set to get a brand new attraction, and has confirmed that the World of Frozen, based on the Frozen movies, will open on March 29, 2026. The area is set to include a brand new ride, character meet and greets, new shows, and exclusive food and drink.
Have a story you want to share? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com
A HUGE airport that is set to become a central hub in Poland in the next six years has been renamed.
Work is still yet to begin on the major airport that was originally called Centralny Port Komunikacyjny, or CPK.
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Poland’s huge airport hub set to open in 2032 has been renamedCredit: CPKThe airport once fully operational could see as many as 60million people each yearCredit: CPK/Foster + Partners
Last week, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that the previous name for the country’s upcoming airport, Centralny Port Komunikacyjny, will no longer be used.
He said: “We won’t be using a name that our predecessors discredited,” adding that the planned new airport is intended to serve as “the largest hub in this part of Europe.”
Instead, the airport will be referred to and renamed as Port Polska.
Mr Tusk added: “Everyone who lands there, everyone who uses this airport, everyone who shops there should know: yes—this is the heart of Europe, yes—this is Port Polska.”
The Polish government estimates put the total cost of the Port Polska project, including the airport and associated rail links, at around PLN 131 billion (£27billion).
The enormous hub will be built in Baranów which is about 25 miles from Warsaw where the current biggest airport in the country is; Warsaw Chopin Airport.
The 450,000sqm airport will have just two runways at first – a third will open by 2045, with plans for long-haul flights.
Inside, the passenger terminal will operate across three levels. On level two will be ticket and baggage check-in, security control, arrivals and departures for the Schengen zone.
Inside, the passenger terminal will be spread across three levelsCredit: CPK/Foster + Partners
Level one will be home to most of the arrivals and departures for the Non-Schengen zone, transfer centres, and passport control.
Level zero will have coach gates for both Schengen and non-Schengen zones, baggage reclaim and an arrivals hall.
It expects to welcome around 34million passengers in its first year, but will grow to as many as 60million.
Building work is set to startnextyear, and the airport has been designed by Foster + Partners – behindLondon‘s the Gherkin and the BatterseaRoof Gardens.
The new airport will be three times bigger than the one currently in WarsawCredit: CPK/Foster+Partners
The huge airport will have other transport links too like an underground train network which will connect it to Warsaw and Lodz.
Holidaymakers in Warsaw will be able to get to the airport in just 20 minutes by train – the airport will also open a bus station for travellers.
Once open, Port Polska will take on some of the world’s biggest transport hubs like London Heathrow which welcomed a record 83.9 million passengers in 2024.
The 22sqm airport will feature six runways – up from two – parallel to each other and will be built around the existing King Khalid International Airport.
It will approximately be the same size as Manhattan in New York – or twice the size of the city of Bath, in the UK.
And now the airport has moved into its construction phase. The airport will be designed by Foster + Partners, a UK firm which is behind London‘s famous Gherkin.
Inside, travellers will be able to explore 4.6sqm of shops. A lot of features in the airport are set to include high tech, such as climate-controlled lighted.
Travellers will have plenty of seating, indoor and outdoor spaces with greenery and vast glass windows, ideal for a bit of plane spotting.
Foster + Partner’s is also developing the Wadi Loop, which will connect the airport to other developments allowing travellers to access different sites more easily.
It will eventually accommodate up to 120million passengers each year, which is then expected to rise to 185million by 2050.
And the number of aircraft takeoffs will rise from 211,000 per year to over one million.
In total, the project is estimated to cost around $30billion (£22.5billion).
On December 3, Israel announced that the Rafah border crossing with Egypt would reopen “in the coming days”, allowing Palestinians to leave Gaza for the first time in months. The statement was, of course, framed as a humanitarian gesture that would allow those in urgent need to travel for medical care, education or family reunification to leave.
However, Israel’s announcement was met almost immediately with Egypt’s denial, followed by a firm rejection from several Arab and Muslim states.
To the rest of the world, this response may seem cruel. It may seem like Arab states want to forcibly keep in Gaza Palestinians desperate to evacuate to safety. This fits right into the Israeli narrative that neighbouring Arab countries are responsible for Palestinian suffering because they would not “let them in”.
This is a falsehood that has unfortunately made its way into Western media, even though it is easily disproved.
Let us be clear: No, Arab states are not keeping us against our will in Gaza, and neither is Hamas.
They want to make sure that when and if some of us evacuate temporarily, we are able to come back. We want the same – a guarantee of return. Yet, Israel refuses to grant it; it made clear in its December 3 announcement that the Rafah crossing would be open only one way – for Palestinians to leave.
So this was clearly a move meant to jump-start forced displacement of the Palestinian population from their homeland.
For Palestinians, this is not a new reality but part of a long and deliberate pattern. Since its inception, the Israeli state has focused on the dispossession, erasure, and forced displacement of the Palestinians. In 1948, 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes and were not allowed to return. My 88-year-old grandfather was among them. He still keeps the Tabu (land registry document) for the dunams of land he owns in his village of Barqa, 37km (23 miles) north of Gaza, where we are still not allowed to return.
In 1967, when Israel occupied Gaza, it forbade Palestinians who were studying or working abroad from returning to their homes. In the occupied West Bank, where colonisation has not stopped for the past 58 years, Palestinians are regularly expelled from their homes and lands.
In the past two years alone, Israel has seized approximately 55,000 dunams of Palestinian land, displacing more than 2,800 Palestinians. In Jerusalem, Palestinians whose families had lived in the holy city for centuries risk losing their residency there if they cannot prove it is their “centre of life”. In the past 25 years, more than 10,000 Palestinian residencies have been revoked.
Since October 2023, Israel has repeatedly attempted to engineer forced mass displacement in Gaza – dividing the Strip into isolated zones separated by military corridors and “safe” axes and launching successive operations to push residents of the north towards the south. Each wave of mass bombing carried the same underlying objective: to uproot the people of Gaza from their homes and push them towards the border with Egypt. The most recent push occurred just before the latest ceasefire took effect.
According to Diaa Rashwan, chairman of the Egyptian State Information Service, Cairo rejected Israel’s proposal because it was an attempt to shun its commitments outlined in the second phase of the ceasefire. That phase requires Israel to withdraw from Gaza, support the reconstruction process, allow the Strip to be administered by a Palestinian committee, and facilitate the deployment of a security force to stabilise the situation. By announcing Rafah’s reopening, Israel sought to bypass these obligations and redirect the political conversation towards depopulation rather than reconstruction and recovery.
That Israel wants to create the conditions to make our expulsion inevitable is clear from other policies as well. It continues to bombard the Strip, killing hundreds of civilians and terrorising hundreds of thousands.
It continues to prevent adequate amounts of food and medicines from getting in. It is allowing no reconstruction materials or temporary housing. It is doing everything to maximise the suffering of the Palestinian people.
This reality is made even more brutal by the harsh winter. Cold winds tear through overcrowded camps filled with exhausted people who have endured every form of trauma imaginable. Yet despite hunger, exhaustion, and despair, we continue to cling to our land and reject any Israeli efforts to displace and erase us.
We also reject any form of external guardianship or control over our fate. We demand full Palestinian sovereignty over our land, our resources, and our crossings. Our position is clear: the Rafah crossing must be opened in both directions; not as a tool of displacement, but as a right to free movement.
Rafah must be accessible for those who wish to return, and for those who need to leave temporarily: students seeking to continue their education abroad, patients in urgent need of medical treatment unavailable in Gaza, and families who have been separated and long to be reunited. Thousands of critically ill Palestinians have been denied life-saving care due to the siege, while hundreds of students holding offers and scholarships from prestigious universities around the world have been unable to travel to pursue their education.
Rafah should also be open to those who simply need rest after years of trauma – to step outside Gaza briefly and return with dignity. Mobility is not a privilege; it is a basic human right.
What we demand is simple: the right to determine our future, without coercion, without bargaining over our existence, and without being pushed into forced displacement disguised as a humanitarian project.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
