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The ongoing US actions are ‘suffocating the social fabric of Cuban society’, according to the expert.

The United States must lift unilateral sanctions imposed on Cuba as they are “causing significant effects across all aspects of life” more than six decades after they were imposed during the early part of Fidel Castro’s leadership, according to a senior United Nations expert.

The “extensive regime of economic, trade and financial restrictions” against the island nation marks the longest-running unilateral sanctions policy in US history, said Alena Douhan, special rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on human rights.

Only the US Congress can lift the Cold War-era embargo on communist-run Cuba, whose government has maintained that the country “will not surrender” to Washington’s “policy of collective punishment”.

“As a result, generations of Cubans have lived under unilateral coercive measures, which has shaped the country’s economic and social landscape,” Douhan said in a statement released on Friday.

The UN official cited reports that Washington’s imposed measures have progressively tightened since 2018, with further sanctions imposed on the already existing ones and a significant intensification in 2021 following Cuba’s re-designation as a so-called “state sponsor of terrorism”.

Other countries and international companies also over-comply with the embargoes in an effort to steer clear of being targeted with secondary sanctions, which Douhan said affects the government and the people’s ability for long-term planning, “suffocating the social fabric of Cuban society”.

US governments have for decades ignored international calls to remove the sanctions on Cuba, including the overwhelming UN General Assembly vote at the end of October that showed global support for an end to the embargo for a 33rd year.

According to the UN rapporteur, there are shortages of food, medicine, electricity, water, essential machinery and spare parts in Cuba, while a growing emigration of skilled workers, including medical staff, engineers and teachers, is further straining the country.

The accumulative effect has “severe consequences for the enjoyment of human rights, including the rights to life, food, health and development”, Douhan said.

Cuba has suffered a series of electricity blackouts, grid collapses that have rocked the island of 10 million over the past year.

Even when the US issues very limited licences and exemptions, the UN expert said investors remain wary of committing to long-term projects since there could be a policy shift in Washington.

“I urge all states to adhere to international law principles and norms and ensure that humanitarian concerns are fully respected, grounded in principles of mutual respect, solidarity, cooperation and multilateralism,” she said.

Douhan will present a thorough report to the UN Human Rights Council on the effect of the US sanctions in September 2026, following meetings with government officials, international agencies, church representatives, members of academia, medical personnel and the private sector.

Nov. 21 (UPI) — Bonuses of $10,000 will be awarded to 776 air traffic controllers and technicians with perfect attendance during the 43-day government shutdown.

The extra money was announced Thursday by Department of Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Bryan Bedford. The FAA is part of the Transportation Department.

“These patriotic men and women never missed a beat and kept the flying public safe throughout the shutdown,” Duffy said. “Democrats may not care about their financial well-being, but President Trump does. This award is an acknowledgement of their dedication and a heartfelt appreciation for going above and beyond in service to the nation.”

During the shutdown, essential workers, including those in air traffic control, worked without paychecks.

It ended on Nov. 12 with legislation to fund the government through January.

“I am profoundly proud and grateful for the air traffic personnel who worked during extraordinary operational challenges to keep the NAS running safely during the longest government shutdown,” Bedford said. “Their dedication represents the highest levels of public service.”

Absences caused delays and cancellations of flights, including mandated flight reductions at the largest 40 airports in the United States, which rose to 6%, though there were plans for 10% if the shutdown continued.

Some personnel were required to work six-day workweeks of 10 hours a day. They are on duty for a variety of shifts, including holidays.

Even before the shutdown, there were staffing shortages of air traffic controllers and other essential staff.

Last week, President Donald Trump mentioned the bonuses idea on Nov. 10 in a Truth Social post.

He also threatened to dock the pay of those who called out during the shutdown, telling them he was “NOT HAPPY” with them and “get back to work.”

Selected recipients will receive electronic notification next week, and their payments will be received no later than Dec. 9.

The two agencies didn’t say whether those taking planned vacations or fatigue calls will receive the bonuses, NBC News reported.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association, which has been critical of staffing issues, said it was informed of the decision on cash bonuses hours before the announcement.

Of these receiving bosses, 311 are represented by NATCA.

“We look forward to working with the Administration to provide the appropriate recognition to those not covered by the Secretary’s announcement,” the union, which represents more than 20,000 air industry workers, said in a statement to CNBC.

The Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, which represents 11,000 FAA and Defense Department workers, including technicians, said it is “reviewing the information that has been provided by the FAA and is evaluating how best to ensure that all employees who worked during the shutdown are recognized.”

That union said 423 will get the bonus. In all, it said 6,000 worked without pay.

“It took many hands to ensure that not one delay during the historic 43-day shutdown was attributed to equipment or system failures,” PASS said in a statement.

There are about 14,000 air traffic controllers in the United States. The median salary for the position, including ones not with the FAA, was $144,580, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Salaries start at $55,000 to $68,000, depending on location.

They work in control towers, approach control facilities or en-route centers.

Also, there are about 3,400 trainees, including 1,000 initially at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City.

The mandatory retirement age is 56.

Also last week, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Transportation Security Administration officers who screen passengers at airports would also receive $10,000 bonuses for perfect attendance.

“Despite tremendous personal, operational and financial challenges, these dedicated officers showed up to work every day for more than a month, without pay, ensuring the American people could travel safely,” DHS said in a press release.

Nov. 21 (UPI) — Engineers formerly employed by Amazon accounted for about 40% of its 4,700 jobs cut in October as the online retailer and tech company seeks greater efficiency and innovation.

Amazon fired more than 1,800 engineers in October amid downsizing, while also seeking more rapid innovation, CNBC reported on Friday.

Amazon has 1,578,000 employees as of Sept. 30, which is twice as many as 2019, according to Stock Analysis. The $2.3 trillion market cap is fifth fifth-highest in the world, The Market Fool posted.

The company announced the job cuts in its respective Worker Adjustment and Retaining Notifications filed in California, New Jersey, New York and the state of Washington.

The jobs cut in one month are the largest reduction in Amazon’s 31 years in business and part of the more than 14,000 layoffs announced last month by Amazon officials.

The tech firm’s human resources leader, Beth Galetti, said Amazon needs more artificial intelligence engineers to enable it to better manage operations while reducing labor costs.

“This generation of AI is the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the internet, and it’s enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever before,” Galetti said in the memo notifying states of the job cuts.

“We’re convinced that we need to be organized more leanly, with fewer layers and more ownership, to move as quickly as possible for our customers and business.”

Most of the engineers fired this year are software specialists.

Amazon’s job cuts echo those of other tech firms, which combined for nearly 113,000 job reductions in total among 231 tech firms so far this year, according to Layoffs.fyi.

Amazon Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy in recent years has emphasized downsizing to make Amazon more efficient by cutting its organizational fat, CNBC reported.

The virtual retailer is expected to announce more job cuts in January while revising its workforce to improve efficiency and reduce bureaucracy.

Islamabad, Pakistan – When the United Nations Security Council on Monday adopted a United States-authored resolution that paves the way for a transitional administration and an International Stabilisation Force (ISF) in Gaza, Pakistan – which was presiding over the council – had a seemingly contradictory response.

Asim Iftikhar Ahmed, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, thanked the US for tabling the resolution and voted in its favour. But he also said Pakistan was not entirely satisfied with the outcome, and warned that “some critical suggestions” from Pakistan were not included in the final text.

Though the resolution promises a “credible pathway” to Palestinian statehood, Ahmed, in his comments to the council, said it did not spell that path out, and did not clarify the role of the UN, a proposed Board of Peace (BoP) to oversee Gaza’s governance, or the mandate of the ISF.

“Those are all crucial aspects with a bearing on the success of this endeavour. We earnestly hope that further details in coming weeks will provide the much-needed clarity on these issues,” he said.

But the country had already endorsed US President Donald Trump’s 20-point Gaza ceasefire plan in September – the basis for the UN resolution. And while several other Arab and Muslim countries have also cautiously supported the resolution, Pakistan, with the largest army among them, is widely expected to play a key role in the ISF.

The vote in favour of the resolution, coupled with the suggestions that Pakistan still has questions it needs answers to, represents a careful tightrope walk that Islamabad will need to navigate as it faces questions at home over possible military deployment in Gaza, say analysts.

“The US playbook is clear and has a pro-Israel tilt. Yet, we need to recognise that this is the best option that we have,” Salman Bashir, former Pakistani foreign secretary, told Al Jazeera. “After the sufferings inflicted on the people of Gaza, we did not have any option but to go along.”

Pakistan’s rising geopolitical value

In recent weeks, Pakistan’s top leaders have engaged in hectic diplomacy with key Middle Eastern partners.

Last weekend, Jordan’s King Abdullah II visited Islamabad and met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, the army chief. Munir had earlier travelled to Amman in October, as well as to Cairo in Egypt.

Pakistan has traditionally had close relations with Gulf states, and those ties have tightened amid Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. Pakistan has long called for “Palestinian self-determination and the establishment of a sovereign, independent and contiguous State of Palestine based on pre-1967 borders with al-Quds al-Sharif [Jerusalem] as its capital”.

But in recent weeks, Pakistan – the only Muslim nation with nuclear weapons – has also emerged as a key actor in the region’s security calculations, courted by both the United States and important Arab allies.

In September, Pakistan signed a Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA) with Saudi Arabia, days after Israel had struck Doha, the Qatari capital. Then, in October, Prime Minister Sharif and Field Marshal Munir joined Trump and a bevy of other world leaders in Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh for the formal signing ceremony of the Gaza ceasefire agreement. Sharif lavished Trump with praise on the occasion.

By then, Trump had already described Munir as his “favourite field marshal”. Following a brief escalation with India in May, during which Pakistan said it shot down Indian jets, Munir met Trump in the Oval Office in June, an unprecedented visit for a serving Pakistani military chief who is not head of state.

In late September, Munir visited Washington again, this time with Sharif. The prime minister and army chief met Trump and promoted potential investment opportunities, including Pakistan’s rare earth minerals.

Now, Pakistan’s government is mulling its participation in the ISF. Though the government has not made any decision, senior officials have publicly commented favourably about the idea. “If Pakistan has to participate in it, then I think it will be a matter of pride for us,” Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on October 28. “We will be proud to do it.”

That’s easier said than done, cautioned some analysts.

Palestine is an emotive issue in Pakistan, which does not recognise Israel. The national passport explicitly states it cannot be used for travel to Israel, and any suggestion of military cooperation with Israeli forces – or even de facto recognition of Israel – remains politically fraught.

That makes the prospect of troop deployment to Gaza a highly sensitive subject for politicians and the military alike.

Government keeps cards close to chest

Officially, the government has been opaque about its position on joining the ISF.

Even while describing any participation in the force as a cause for pride, Defence Minister Asif said the government would consult parliament and other institutions before making any decision.

“The government will take a decision after going through the process, and I don’t want to preempt anything,” he said.

In a weekly press briefing earlier this month, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said the question of Pakistan’s contribution would be decided “after consultation at the highest level”.

“The decision will be taken in due course, as and when required. Certain level of leadership has stated that the decision will be taken with the advice of the government,” he said.

Al Jazeera reached out to Asif, the defence minister, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, and the military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations, but received no response.

Legal, operational ambiguities

Some retired senior officers say Pakistan will not decide the matter behind closed doors.

Muhammad Saeed, a three-star general who served as Chief of General Staff until his 2023 retirement, said he expects the terms of reference and rules of engagement for any ISF deployment to be debated in public forums, including Pakistan’s National Security Council and parliament.

“This is such a sensitive topic; it has to be debated publicly, and no government can possibly keep it under wraps. So once the ISF structure becomes clear, I am certain that Pakistani decision-making will be very inclusive and the public will know about the details,” he told Al Jazeera.

Kamran Bokhari, senior director at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy in Washington, DC, said the mutual defence agreement with Saudi Arabia meant that Pakistani troops in Gaza would likely be representing both countries. He, however, added that Pakistan would likely have participated in the ISF even without the Saudi pact.

Still, the lack of details about the ISF and Gaza’s governance in the UN resolution remains a stumbling block, say experts.

Several countries on the council said the resolution left key elements ambiguous, including the composition, structure and terms of reference for both the BoP and the ISF. China, which abstained, also described the text as “vague and unclear” on critical elements.

The resolution asks for the Gaza Strip to be “demilitarised” and for the “permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups”, a demand that Hamas has rejected.

Hamas said the resolution failed to meet Palestinian rights and sought to impose an international trusteeship on Gaza that Palestinians and resistance factions oppose.

So far, the US has sent nearly 200 personnel, including a general, to establish a Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) near Gaza on Israeli territory. The centre will monitor humanitarian aid and act as a base from which the ISF is expected to operate.

US-based media outlet Politico reported last month that Pakistan, Azerbaijan and Indonesia – all Muslim-majority states – were among the top contenders to supply troops for the ISF.

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates, which joined the Abraham Accords in 2020 and recognised Israel in Trump’s first tenure, has said it will not participate until there is clarity on the legal framework.

King Abdullah of Jordan also warned that without a clear mandate for the ISF, it would be difficult to make the plan succeed.

Costs, incentives and Pakistan’s historical role

Bokhari argued Pakistan has limited options, adding that many of its close allies are “deeply committed” to the initiative and have sought Islamabad’s participation.

“Pakistan’s economic and financial problems mean it will need to reciprocate militarily in order to secure” the goodwill of the US and Islamabad’s Gulf allies, he said. “We have to assume that the current civilian-military leadership is aware of the domestic political risks.”

Others point to Pakistan’s long experience with UN peacekeeping. As of September 2025, UN figures show Pakistan has contributed more than 2,600 personnel to UN missions, just below Indonesia’s 2,700, ranking Pakistan sixth overall.

Qamar Cheema, executive director of the Islamabad-based Sanober Institute, said Pakistan has emerged as a security stabiliser for the Middle East and has “extensive experience of providing support in conflict zones in the past”.

Pakistan currently faces security challenges on both its borders – with India to its east and Taliban-ruled Afghanistan to the west. But it “may not have to cut troops from its eastern or western borders, since the number of troops [needed in Gaza] may not be that big, as various countries are also sending troops,” Cheema told Al Jazeera.

Saeed, the retired general, said Pakistan’s historic position on Palestine remained intact and that its prior peacekeeping experience meant that its troops were well-equipped to help the ISF.

“Pakistan has one of the richest experiences when it comes to both peacekeeping and peace enforcement through the UN. We have a sizeable force, with a variety of experience in maintaining peace and order,” he said.

“The hope is that we can perhaps provide help that can eliminate the violence, lead to peace, bring humanitarian aid in Gaza and implement the UN resolution,” the former general said.

Domestic political risks and the Israeli factor

Despite those arguments, many in Pakistan question the feasibility – and political acceptability – of serving alongside or coordinating with Israeli forces.

Bashir, the former foreign secretary, acknowledged the risks and said the demand that Hamas deweaponise made the ISF “a difficult mission”.

Still, he said, “realism demands that we go along with a less than perfect solution”.

Bokhari of New Lines Institute said stakeholders often sort out details “on the go” in the early stages of such missions.

“Of course, there is no way Pakistan or any other participating nation can avoid coordinating with Israel,” he said.

Saeed, however, disagreed. He said ISF would likely be a coalition in which one partner coordinates any dealings with Israeli forces, meaning Pakistani troops might not have direct contact with Israel.

“There are other countries potentially part of ISF who have relations with Israel. It is likely they will take the commanding role in ISF, and thus they will be the ones to engage with them, and not Pakistan,” he said. He added Pakistan’s involvement – if it happens – would be narrowly focused on maintaining the ceasefire and protecting Palestinian lives.

But Omar Mahmood Hayat, another retired three-star general, warned that any operational tie to Israel “will ignite domestic backlash and erode public trust”.

Hayat said Pakistan has no diplomatic ties with Israel “for principled reasons” and that blurring that line, even citing humanitarian considerations, would invite domestic confusion and controversy.

“This is not just a moral dilemma, but it is also a strategic contradiction,” he said. “It weakens our diplomatic posture.”

In early November, democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani won the New York City mayoral election in a landslide, a victory that sent shockwaves across United States politics and galvanised the country’s political left.

It was a dramatic turnaround for a campaign that – less than a year earlier – had been polling at 1 percent support.

Among those who were most surprised was Zohran’s own father, Mahmood Mamdani.

“He surprised me and his mother,” Mahmood told Al Jazeera Mushaber reporter Allaa Azzam in an interview this week. “We wouldn’t expect him to become mayor of New York City. We never thought about it.”

But Mahmood, an anthropology professor and postcolonial scholar at Columbia University, framed his son’s electoral success as evidence of a shifting political landscape.

Zohran, for instance, campaigned heavily on questions of affordability and refused to back away from his criticisms of Israel’s abuses against Palestinians, long considered a taboo subject in US politics.

He is the first Muslim person to become mayor of the country’s largest city by population, as well as its first mayor of South Asian descent.

“There were certain things that were near and dear to him,” Mahmood explained. “Social justice was one of them. The rights of Palestinians was another.”

“These two issues he has stuck by. He’s not been willing to trade them, to compromise them, to minimise them.”

Inside the Mamdani family

The son of Mahmood and Indian American director Mira Nair, Zohran first emerged as the frontrunner in the mayoral race in June, when his dark-horse campaign dominated the Democratic Party primary.

He earned 56 percent of the final tally, besting former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

When Cuomo ran as an independent in the November 4 election, Zohran once again beat him by a wide margin, with more than 50 percent of the vote to Cuomo’s 41 percent.

Mahmood told Al Jazeera that, while his son’s sudden political ascent came as a surprise, his resilience did not.

“It didn’t surprise us, with his grit and determination,” he said of the election. “I don’t think he joined the race thinking that he was going to win it. I think he joined the race wanting to make a point.”

He traced back some of Zohran’s electoral finesse to his upbringing. Zohran, Mahmood explained, was not raised in a typical US nuclear family but instead shared his home with three generations of family members.

Living with a diverse age range allowed Zohran to expand his understanding and build his people skills, according to Mahmood.

“He grew up with love and patience. He learned to be very patient with people who are slower, people who were not necessarily what his generation was,” Mahmood said.

“He was very different from the American kids around here who hardly ever see their grandparents.”

A ‘mood of change’

Mahmood also credited his son’s victory to a shifting political landscape, one where voters are fed up with the status quo.

“There’s a mood of change. The young voted like they never voted before,” Mahmood said.

“Sections of the population which had been completely thrown into the sidelines – Muslims, recent immigrants whether Muslim or not – he gave them enormous confidence. They came out and they voted. They mobilised.”

Local media outlets in New York reported that turnout for November’s mayoral race was the highest in more than 50 years. More than two million voters cast a ballot in the closely watched race.

Mahmood cast his son’s upcoming tenure as mayor as a test of whether that voter faith would be rewarded.

“America is marked by low levels of electoral participation, and they’ve always claimed that this is because most people are satisfied with the system,” Mahmood said.

“But now the levels of political participation are increasing. And most people, it’s not just that they are not satisfied, but they no longer believe – or they begin to believe that maybe the electoral system is a way to change things. Zohran’s mayoral term will tell us whether it is or it is not.”

Mahmood was frank that his son faces an uphill battle as mayor. He described politics as a sphere dominated by the influence of moneyed powers.

“ I am not sure he knows that world well,” Mahmood said of his son. “He’s a fast learner, and he will learn it.”

He noted that significant resources were mobilised during the mayoral election to blunt Zohran’s campaign.

“ He’s taking on powerful forces. He’s being opposed by powerful forces. They failed during the campaign,” Mahmood said. That defeat, he added, “exposed the failure of money” as a defining force in the race.

A focus on Palestine

Mahmood also addressed the role of Zohran’s advocacy on the campaign trail.

Though faced with criticism from his mayoral rivals, Mamdani has refused to retreat from his stance that Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to genocide.

That position, though widely affirmed by rights groups and experts, including at the United Nations, is relatively rare in mainstream US politics, where opposition to Israel is a political third rail.

Still, voters appear to be shifting on the question of US support for Israel.

A March poll from the Pew Research Center found that the percentage of US respondents with an unfavourable view of Israel has increased from 42 percent in 2022 to 53 percent in 2025.

While unfavourable views were most pronounced among Democratic voters, they have also increased among conservatives, especially those under the age of 50.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 69,500 Palestinians since its start in October 2023, and there has been continued outrage over widespread Israeli violence in the occupied West Bank as well.

Mahmood said the undeniable human rights abuses are causing a shift in public perception – and not just in the US.

“The real consequence of Gaza is not limited to Gaza. It is global,” said Mahmood. “Gaza has brought us a new phase in world history.”

“There will never be a return to a period when the world believes that what Israel is doing is defending itself.”

Nov. 21 (UPI) — A U.S. Supreme Court justice on Friday night at least temporarily paused a lower court’s decision to throw out Texas’ new congressional map to potentially add five House seats for Republicans.

Justie Samuel Alito, chosen to decide on emergency appeals in the state, granted the request, writing it “is hereby administratively stayed” with a response to the application to be filed by 5 p.m. Monday.

So, this puts the block on hold until the full court decides.

Earlier Friday, state lawyers formally asked for an emergency stay to allow the map borders that were approved this summer by the legislature.

On Tuesday, a three-member panel in the U.S. District Court of Western Texas threw out the mapsin a 2-1 vote.

President Donald Trump had urged Texas to change the maps to favor Republicans.

After the state filed its appeal, Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote in a news release: “Texas engaged in partisan redistricting solely to secure more Republican seats in Congress and thereby better represent our state and Texans. For years, Democrats have aggressively gerrymandered their states and only cry foul and hurl baseless ‘racism’ accusations because they are losing.”

He described the legislation signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in August as Texas’ “Big Beautiful Map.”

The state had asked the high court by Monday night to decide on pausing the lower court ruling.

The lower court’s decision caused “chaos” for the election, the state said.

“Campaigning had already begun, candidates had already gathered signatures and filed applications to appear on the ballot under the 2025 map, and early voting for the March 3, 2026, primary was only 91 days away,” Texas officials told the Supreme Court.

Those seeking to run for House seats must declare their candidacy by Dec. 8.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown, appointed by President Trump in his first term, and David Guaderrama, appointed by President Obama, threw out the maps.

Circuit Court Judge Jerry Smith, nominated by President Ronald Reagan, dissented, writing: “In my 37 years on the federal bench, this is the most outrageous conduct by a judge that I have ever encountered in a case in which I have been involved.

“If, however, there were a Nobel prize for fiction, Judge Brown’s opinion would be a prime candidate.”

In the 107 pages, he mentioned billionaire George Soros, a donor for Democrats, 17 times.

Brown, writing the majority opinion, directed the state to correct four districts because they were illegal racial gerrymanders.

Brown focused on how the new map would affect the racial makeup of Texas’ congressional districts.

“The public perception of this case is that it’s about politics,” Brown wrote. “To be sure, politics played a role in drawing the 2025 map. But it was much more than just politics. Substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 map.”

But Texas disagreed, saying: politics, not race, drove the new maps.

“This summer, the Texas Legislature did what legislatures do: politics,” the state told the high court.

Texas said the lower court ruling “erroneously rests on speculation and inferences of bad faith.” And it said the state GOP’s chief mapmaker worked with data on partisanship rather than race.

After the decision, Paxton wrote in a post on X that he would appeal the order to the U.S. Supreme Court. He added that he expects the Supreme Court to “uphold Texas’ sovereign right to engage in partisan redistricting.”

Republicans now hold 25 of Texas’ 38 House seats.

Missouri and North Carolina approved a new map that could create another Republican-leaning district in each state.

Unlike those Republican-dominant states, California voters approved the new map that potentially can add five Democratic seats. Proposition 50 was approved by a 64.4-35.6%. The breakdown now is 43 Democrats and nine Republicans.

Other states are considering changes.

The U.S. House party breakdown is 219 Republicans, 213 Democrats and three vacancies. On Thursday, Democrat Mikie Sherill resigned her seat because she was elected New Jersey’s governor earlier this month.

Trump praises Mamdani for ‘incredible’ victory in New York City mayoral election and focus on affordability.

United States President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani have held talks in the White House, expressing their hope for a productive and cordial relationship despite their history of mutual criticism.

Speaking to the press after their discussion on Friday, Trump praised Mamdani – the Muslim politician whom he once tarred as a “jihadist” and threatened to strip him of his US citizenship – for his successful campaign and emphasis on cost-of-living issues.

“We’ve just had a great meeting, a really productive meeting. We have one thing in common: we want this city of ours that we love to do very well,” said Trump, who grew up in New York, adding that Mamdani had run an “incredible race” and beat his rivals “easily”.

“I appreciated the meeting with the president, and as he said, it was a productive meeting focused on a place of shared admiration and love, which is New York City,” responded Mamdani, saying he discussed issues in areas such as rent, utilities and groceries.

Mamdani, a democratic socialist who embraced New York’s status as a community made up of people from around the world and offered a firm defence of Palestinian rights, is politically at odds with Trump, whose nativist politics have depicted immigrants as a dangerous internal threat and previously pushed for a ban on Muslims entering the US.

Asked about areas of disagreement with Trump, such as immigration enforcement, Mamdani said he hoped to work together towards shared goals despite their differences.

He referred to a video he shared in November 2024, in which he discussed issues such as affordability and US involvement in conflicts abroad with Trump voters after the 2024 presidential election. Mamdani said he now hopes to find common ground on ending US “forever wars” and bringing down the cost of living.

“I think both President Trump and I are very clear about our positions and our views. And what I really appreciate about the president is the meeting that we had focused not on places of disagreement, of which there are many, and focused on the shared purpose that we have of serving New Yorkers,” said Mamdani.

“That’s something that could transform the lives of 8.5 million people who are currently under a cost-of-living crisis, with one in four people living in poverty,” he said.

With polls showing growing concerns over the state of the US economy, Trump has recently spoken positively about Mamdani’s focus on cost-of-living issues, despite previous acrimony.

“He said a lot of my voters actually voted for him,” Trump told reporters. “And I’m ok with that.”

Banerji said in his resignation letter that he was unhappy about governance issues at the organisation, BBC News reported.

Shumeet Banerji has resigned from the BBC board and criticised governance issues at the organisation, the latest blow to the broadcaster weeks after its director general quit.

The BBC confirmed Banerji’s departure on Friday, saying he stepped down only weeks before the end of his four-year term.

According to BBC News, Banerji said in his resignation letter that he was unhappy about governance issues at the organisation.

He also said he had not been consulted about key developments surrounding the abrupt exits of director general Tim Davie and BBC News chief executive Deborah Turness, BBC News reported.

Both stepped down on November 9 after mounting criticism of the broadcaster’s handling of political coverage, including the editing of a Donald Trump speech delivered on January 6, 2021, shortly before his supporters stormed the United States Capitol.

‘No legal basis’

The BBC issued an apology on November 13 for how its investigative programme Panorama edited the footage. However, it insisted there was “no legal basis” for Trump to sue for defamation.

The dispute focuses on Panorama’s documentary, Trump: A Second Chance?, broadcast in October 2024, just days before Trump secured re-election.

The film stitched together two separate lines from Trump’s January 6 address, almost an hour apart, creating the impression he urged supporters to “fight like hell” while heading towards the Capitol.

Trump and his allies say the sequence was misleading and stripped away crucial context from the speech.

They argue that Trump also told the crowd “to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard” and encouraged supporters to “cheer on our brave senators and Congressmen and women”. The edited version, they say, suggested a more direct incitement to violence.

The scandal has intensified scrutiny of the BBC at a moment when the broadcaster is already grappling with accusations of internal bias, fuelled by a leaked internal memo.

Nov. 21 (UPI) — The Christian Association of Nigeria said 215 Catholic school students in Central Nigeria were kidnapped on Friday by a group of armed men.

The attackers also kidnapped a dozen teachers from the religious school in the north-central Niger State, CNN reported.

Many students managed to escape, and their parents began picking them up before the school closed, Niger State CAN Chapter leader Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna told media.

CAN officials are working with the government and its security agencies to safely return the abducted children and teachers, a CAN spokesman said.

It’s the second mass abduction of school students this week in the West African coastal nation.

According to police, the pupils were taken when armed “bandits” stormed the St. Mary’s School in Papiri and forced students out of their hostel sleeping space.

Boarding schools already were closed by state authorities in a large part of the country due to concern over rising security threats following a renewed string of attacks by militant groups.

The incident occurred after more than 20 Muslim schoolgirls were kidnapped Monday from a different boarding school in the neighboring Kebbi state.

But officials said St. Mary’s, in Nigeria’s largest state of Niger, defied the order to close despite intelligence warnings by the Nigerian government.

“Regrettably, St. Mary’s School proceeded to reopen and resume academic activities,” they told the BBC in a statement.

“Without notifying or seeking clearance from the state government, thereby exposing pupils and the staff to avoidable risk,” Nigerian officials stated.

The mass kidnappings came on top of U.S. President Donald Trump‘s threat to issue strikes against Islamic extremists in Nigeria, such as ISWAP and Boko Haram, which are currently engaged in ongoing armed conflicts for control of sovereign territory with various militarized groups, described as “bandits,” across the West African country.

Boko Haram is designated by the United States as a terrorist organization.

On Wednesday, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu said he was “fully apprised” of the “recent uptick in violent extremism in pockets across the country.”

“And I have directed our security agencies to respond with urgency, clarity, and decisive action. Our forces need the full cooperation of every community. Sharing information can save lives and protect our children,” Tinubu posted on social media.

Tinubu said that Nigeria was canceling plans to participate in the looming G20 and AU-EU summits in South Africa and Angola, respectively.

The right-wing leader has sought to appeal his 27-year sentence for allegedly fomenting a coup after his 2022 defeat.

Lawyers for former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro have asked Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes to allow him to serve his 27-year sentence under house arrest, citing health concerns.

According to a document reviewed by the Reuters news agency on Friday, Bolsonaro’s lawyers said the 70-year-old former president’s recurring intestinal issues would make imprisonment life-threatening.

He had been stabbed in the stomach while campaigning in the state of Minas Gerais in 2018.

“It is certain that keeping the petitioner in a prison environment would pose a concrete and immediate risk to his physical integrity and even his life,” the document said. It asked for house arrest on humanitarian grounds.

In September, Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison by a five-judge panel from Brazil’s Supreme Court. He was convicted of plotting a coup to remain in power after losing the 2022 election to leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The former right-wing leader has already been under house arrest for violating precautionary measures in a separate case, in which he allegedly courted United States interference to halt the criminal proceedings against him.

Court sources said Bolsonaro’s arrest appeared imminent after the Supreme Court panel earlier this month unanimously rejected an appeal filed by the former president’s legal team.

His lawyers said they would file a new appeal, but they argued that, if it is also rejected, Bolsonaro should begin serving his sentence under house arrest once all appeals are exhausted.

They noted that, earlier this year, the top court let 76-year-old former President Fernando Collor de Mello serve house arrest due to his age and health issues, including Parkinson’s disease, after he was sentenced to almost nine years in prison on corruption and money laundering charges.

Recent medical tests on Bolsonaro show that “a serious or sudden illness is not a question of ‘if’, but of ‘when’,” his legal team said.

One of Bolsonaro’s sons, Carlos, said on Friday that the former president was facing severe hiccups and vomiting constantly. “I’ve never seen him like this,” he wrote on the social media platform X.

Bolsonaro, who governed Brazil between 2019 and 2022, was convicted of five crimes, including participating in an armed criminal organisation, attempting to violently abolish democracy and organising a coup.

On Friday, the former president made a brief appearance in the doorway of his house while receiving a visit from federal lawmaker Nikolas Ferreira.

Nov. 21 (UPI) — Students and teachers were injured during a grizzly bear attack in Canada, and authorities are warning locals to stay indoors until they can find the bear.

The attack happened Thursday in the Bella Coola Valley of the Nuxalk Nation in British Columbia. The CBC reported that two people were critically injured, two were seriously hurt and others were treated at the scene.

The group were from the Acwsalcta School, about 435 miles northwest of Vancouver.

A male teacher “got the whole brunt of it” and some children got sprayed with bear spray as the adults tried to scare the bear away, parent Veronica Schooner told the Canadian Press, Canada’s state news agency.

Schooner’s 10-year-old son was part of the group, but wasn’t attacked.

“He said that bear ran so close to him, but it was going after somebody else,” she said, noting that “he even felt its fur.”

“Officers are armed” the Nation said on Facebook. “Remain indoors and off the highway.” The Facebook page also told people not to walk anywhere and take the bus, which is free to ride.

The Nation’s officials have temporarily shut the school and are offering counselling services.

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has announced it will not release inflation information for the month of October, citing the consequences of the recent government shutdown.

On Friday, the bureau updated its website to say that certain October data would not be available, even now that government funding has been restored and normal operations have resumed.

“BLS could not collect October 2025 reference period survey data due to a lapse in appropriations,” it wrote in a statement. “BLS is unable to retroactively collect these data.”

The cancelled data includes the Consumer Price Index (CPI) — a report that is commonly used to calculate inflation by measuring the changing costs of retail items — and the Real Earnings summary, which tracks wages among US workers.

For some of the reports, including the Consumer Price Index, the bureau said it would use “nonsurvey data sources” to make calculations that would be included in a future report for the month of November.

The November Consumer Price Index will also be published later than anticipated, on December 18.

The most recent government shutdown was the longest in US history, spanning nearly 43 days.

It began on October 1, after the US Congress missed a September 30 deadline to pass legislation to keep the government funded.

Republicans had hoped to push through a continuing resolution that made no changes to current spending levels. But Democrats had baulked at the prospect, arguing that recent restrictions to government programmes had put healthcare out of reach for some US citizens.

They also warned that insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act are set to expire by the end of the year. Without an extension to those subsidies, they said that insurance premiums for many Americans will spike.

Republicans rejected the prospect of negotiating the issue until after their continuing resolution was passed. Democrats, meanwhile, feared that, if they passed the continuing resolution without changes, there would be no further opportunity to address healthcare spending before the end of the year.

The two parties hit an impasse as a result. Non-essential government functions were halted during the shutdown, and many federal employees were furloughed.

Only on November 10 did a breakthrough begin to emerge. Late that night, seven Democrats and one independent broke from their caucus to side with Republicans and pass a budget bill to fund the government through January 30.

The bill was then approved by the House of Representatives on November 12, by a vote of 222 to 209. President Donald Trump signed the legislation into law that very same day.

Trump had openly sought to leverage the shutdown to eliminate federal programmes he saw as benefitting Democratic strongholds.

He also attempted to blame the political left for the lapse in government services, though he acknowledged public frustration with Republicans after Democrats won key elections in November.

“If you read the pollsters, the shutdown was a big factor, negative for the Republicans,” he told a breakfast for Republican senators on November 5. “That was a big factor.”

The Trump administration had warned as early as October that the month’s consumer price data would be negatively affected as a result of the shutdown.

In a White House statement, Trump officials touted Trump’s economic record while slamming a potential lapse in the government’s collection of data. Once again, they angled the blame for any slowed economic growth at the Democrats.

“Unfortunately, the Democrat Shutdown risks grinding that progress to a halt,” the statement said.

“Because surveyors cannot deploy to the field, the White House has learned there will likely NOT be an inflation release next month for the first time in history — depriving policymakers and markets of critical data and risking economic calamity.”

September’s Consumer Price Index, the most recent available, showed that inflation across all retail items rose about 3 percent over the previous 12-month period.

For food alone, inflation for that period was estimated at 3.1 percent.

Nov. 21 (UPI) — Former U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, has decided not to run for governor of his state in 2026.

“After careful consideration, much prayer and reflection, and after long conversations with my family, my closest friends and advisors, I’ve made the decision not to run for governor in 2026,” Ryan said in a statement.

His bowing out will ease the path for former state health director Amy Acton, who will likely be the nominee against Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, who is endorsed by President Donald Trump.

Gov. Mike DeWine can’t run again due to term limits.

Ryan has faced criticism from Democrats for his ties to cryptocurrency. He represented some of the Akron and Youngstown areas for 20 years in Congress and ran for Senate in 2021, but lost to Vice President JD Vance.

Recently, he has been considering running for governor. An advisor said Ryan’s interest in running for governor was “renewed and heightened” by former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown‘s decision to run for Senate again instead of Ohio governor, Cleveland.com reported.

Ryan ran for president in 2019.

Nov. 21 (UPI) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told his people that the country “may soon face an extremely difficult choice” in response to the peace plan put forward by the President Donald Trump administration.

“Either the loss of dignity or the risk of losing a key partner. Either 28 complicated points or the hardest winter yet — and the risks that follow,” the Kyiv Independent reported Zelensky said on Telegram.

The speech came just one day after U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll delivered the plan to Zelensky, who said he is willing to negotiate with Trump.

The president on Thursday indicated that he is giving Ukraine until Thanksgiving to accept the plan. He said on Fox News Radio’s Brian Kilmeade Show, “Well, we have, you know, I’ve had a lot of deadlines, but if things are working well, you tend to extend the deadlines,” Trump to a question about the deadline. “But Thursday is, we think, an appropriate time.”

The administration has said that if Zelensky doesn’t accept by the deadline, Ukraine will lose U.S. support, The Washington Post reported.

The plan asks Ukraine to allow Russia to take some Ukrainian territory in the Donbas region in southeast Ukraine. Zelensky has in the past refused any effort to give Russia land. It would also require Ukraine to significantly cut the size of its army and give up many of its weapons.

“Ukraine’s national interest must be taken into account,” Zelensky said in his speech. “We will pursue a calm dialogue with America and all of our partners. There will be a constructive search for solutions with our main partner.”

He also said that the country needs more unity.

“We need to pull ourselves together, stop the quarrels, stop the political games. The state must function. The parliament of a country at war must work in unity. The government must work effectively,” he said.

Some European leaders have voiced their support of Ukraine since the details were released. They’ve insisted that any decisions must be made by Kyiv.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had a joint call with Zelensky Friday and, “agreed to continue to pursue the goal of safeguarding vital European and Ukrainian interests in the long term,” CNN reported.

A German press office statement said that includes “ensuring that the line of contact is the starting point for an understanding and that the Ukrainian armed forces remain capable of effectively defending Ukraine’s sovereignty.”

Zelensky told his people that he would work around the clock and would not betray his country.

“I will present arguments, I will persuade, I will offer alternatives, but we will definitely not give the enemy any reason to say that Ukraine does not want peace, that it is disrupting the process, and that Ukraine is not ready for diplomacy,” he said.

Nov. 21 (UPI) — Healthcare giant Eli Lilly on Friday became the first global healthcare company to hit $1 trillion in value.

The Indiana-based company hit the $1 trillion market capitalization threshold for a brief period at roughly $1,061 a share during morning hour trading before it scaled back.

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway was the first known non-tech company to reach the trillion-dollar valuation mark.

The company is currently riding on the popularity of its Zepbound weightloss inject and Mounjaro, which is Eli’s diabetes treatment.

Eli Lilly has long been a player in the pharmaceutical industry for more than 100 years, introducing such medication as Prozac in the early 1990s and the Humulin insulin drug.

In June, Eli revealed its billion-dollar buyout of Boston-based Verve Therapeutics to advance Verve’s new line of experimental cardiac health drugs.

Meanwhile, a medical and science expert pointed out that American citizens currently “are getting slammed by medical bills and rising care costs.”

“One in four is in medical debt. Eli Lilly just hit a $1 trillion valuation. Two realities, same healthcare system,” Dr. Carolyn Barber posted Friday on X.

The company’s stock has zoomed this year, driven by the explosive growth of the weight-loss drug market.

Eli Lilly has hit $1 trillion in market value, making it the first drugmaker to enter the exclusive club dominated by tech giants and underscoring its rise as a weight-loss powerhouse.

A more than 35 percent rally in the company’s stock this year has largely been driven by the explosive growth of the weight-loss drug market and saw it join the $1 trillion club on Friday.

Once seen as a niche category, obesity treatments are now one of the most lucrative segments in healthcare, with steadily rising demand.

Novo Nordisk had the early lead in the space, but Lilly’s drugs – Mounjaro and Zepbound – have surged in popularity and helped eclipse its rival in prescriptions.

The company’s shares were up 1.3 percent at a record high of $1,057.70.

Lilly now trades at one of the richest valuations in big pharma, at about 50 times its expected earnings over the next 12 months, according to LSEG data, reflecting investors’ belief that demand for obesity drugs will remain strong.

Shares have also far outpaced the broader United States equity market. Since the launch of Zepbound in late 2023, Lilly has gained more than 75 percent, compared with a more than 50 percent rise in the S&P 500 over the same period.

In the latest reported quarter, Lilly posted combined revenue of more than $10.09bn from its obesity and diabetes portfolio, accounting for more than half of its total revenue of $17.6bn.

“They are doing so many things outside of obesity, but to suggest anything is driving share price beyond obesity at this point, I don’t know if that would be a factual statement,” said Kevin Gade, chief operating officer at Lilly shareholder Bahl and Gaynor, in advance of the milestone.

‘Sales phenomenon’

Wall Street estimates the weight-loss drug market to be worth $150bn by 2030, with Lilly and Novo together controlling the majority of projected global sales.

Investors are now focused on Lilly’s oral obesity drug, orforglipron, which is expected to be approved early next year.

In a note last week, Citi analysts said the latest generation of GLP-1 drugs have already been a “sales phenomenon”, and orforglipron is poised to benefit from the “inroads made by its injectable predecessors”.

Lilly’s recent deal with the White House to cut prices for its weight-loss drugs, as well as planned investments to expand drug production, augur well for its growth.

Lilly is starting to resemble the “Magnificent Seven” again, said James Shin, director of Biopharma Equity Research at Deutsche Bank, referring to the seven tech heavyweights, including Nvidia and Microsoft, that have powered much of the market’s returns this year.

At one point, investors viewed it as part of that elite group, but after some disappointing headlines and earnings, it slipped out of favour.

Now, however, it seems poised to rejoin that circle, possibly even as an alternative for investors, especially given recent concerns and weakness in some AI stocks, he added.

Still, analysts and investors are watching whether Lilly can sustain its current growth as prices of Mounjaro and Zepbound come under pressure, and whether its scale-up plans, along with its diversified pipeline and dealmaking, will offset margin pressure.

Nov. 21 (UPI) — The Dominican Republic’s Constitutional Court struck down legal provisions that criminalized same-sex relationships within the National Police and the Armed Forces.

The ruling invalidates two articles in the justice codes of both institutions that imposed criminal penalties, including prison time, on service members who engaged in same-sex relationships.

The regulations, in place since the mid-20th century, imposed penalties of up to one year in prison for officers and six months for enlisted personnel under the stated aim of “maintaining discipline and institutional morality.”

However, the high court found that the provisions violated fundamental rights, including privacy, equality before the law and the free development of one’s personality.

The decision responds to a direct constitutional challenge filed by Dominican attorneys Anderson Dirocie de León and Patricia Santana. According to the attorneys, the disciplinary codes of the National Police and the Armed Forces violated fundamental rights recognized in the Dominican Constitution and in human rights treaties the country has ratified.

The measure adopted by the Constitutional Court has prompted mixed reactions in the country.

Cristian Gonzales Cabrera, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, said “for decades, these provisions forced LGBT officers to live in fear of punishment simply for who they are.”

“This ruling is a resounding affirmation that a more inclusive future is both possible and required under Dominican law,” Gonzales said.

Conservative groups in the country, especially those linked to evangelical churches, described the measure as an affront to moral values.

“This ruling is a direct blow to the moral, ethical and spiritual principles that have sustained our nation since its founding. This decision by the Constitutional Court is unconstitutional because it disregards the spirit, value framework and guiding principles established in the Constitution.”

The Dominican Bar Association called the ruling “unfortunate and unnecessary.”

In comments reported by Diario Libre, the association’s president, Trajano Potentini, said the Constitutional Court applied a constitutional test that does not apply to an area that, by its nature, relies on a work ethic, discipline and special subordination inherent to military and police institutions.

In the Dominican Republic, same-sex marriage remains illegal and high levels of stigma toward LGBTQ+ people persist.

With this ruling, the country joins Peru, Ecuador and Venezuela in eliminating similar discriminatory laws and policies that criminalized same-sex conduct among military personnel.

However, activists warn that although the ruling is historic, it does not by itself guarantee a cultural shift within the armed forces.

The judgment, which still must be implemented, marks a milestone in Dominican jurisprudence and could set a precedent for future reforms in other areas of public service.

Tunis, Tunisia – Night had just about fallen in Halq al-Wadi, also known as La Goulette, a balmy coastal suburb of Tunis, when the Virgin Mary emerged from the local church, Saint-Augustin and Saint Fidele, into a packed square.

Carried on the shoulders of a dozen churchgoers, the statue of the Virgin was greeted with cheers, ululations and a passionately waved Tunisian flag.

Hundreds of people – Tunisians, Europeans, and sub-Saharan Africans – had gathered for the annual procession of Our Lady of Trapani.

Many of those participating in the procession, and the Catholic Mass that came beforehand, were from sub-Saharan Africa.

“It’s the Holy Virgin who has brought us all here today,” Isaac Lusafu, originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, told Al Jazeera. “Today the Virgin Mary has united us all”.

In a large, packed square just beyond the church gates, the statue moved in a circle as people prayed and sang hymns. It was all under the watchful eye of a mural of Claudia Cardinale, the renowned Italian actress born in La Goulette, a reminder of the distant past when the district was home to thousands of Europeans.

A melting pot

The Catholic feast of Our Lady of Trapani was brought to La Goulette in the late 1800s by Sicilian immigrants, in the days when the port town was a hub for poor southern European fishermen in search of a better life.

Immigration to Tunisia from Sicily peaked in the early 20th century. Nearly all of the fishermen, along with their families and descendants, have now returned to European shores, but the statue of the Virgin remained – and, every year on August 15, it is carried in procession out of the church.

“It’s a unique event,” Hatem Bourial, a Tunisian journalist and radio presenter, told Al Jazeera.

He went on to describe how, in the procession’s heyday in the early 20th century, native Tunisians, Muslims and Jews alike, would join Tunisian-Sicilian Catholics in carrying the statue of the Virgin Mary from the church down to the sea.

There, participants would ask Mary to bless the fishermen’s boats. Many residents would shout “Long live the Virgin of Trapani!”, Bourial said, while others threw their chechia, a traditional red cap worn in the Maghreb, in the air.

As well as its religious significance – for Catholics, August 15 marks the day that Mary was taken up into heaven – the feast also coincides with the Italian mid-August holiday of Ferragosto, which traditionally signals the high point of the summer.

Silvia Finzi, born in Tunis in the 1950s to Italian parents, described how, after the statue had been brought down to the sea, many of La Goulette’s residents would declare that the worst of the punishingly hot Tunisian summer was over.

“Once the Virgin had been taken down to the water, it was as if the sea had changed”, Finzi, a professor of Italian at the University of Tunis, told Al Jazeera.

“People would say ‘the sea has changed, the summer’s over’, and you wouldn’t need to go swimming to cool down any more”.

European exodus

The first European immigrants began to arrive in La Goulette in the early 19th century. Their numbers rapidly increased after 1881, when Tunisia became a French protectorate. At its height in the early 1900s, the number of Italian immigrants – who were largely Sicilians – across the whole of Tunisia is estimated to have been more than 100,000.

In the decade after 1956, when Tunisia gained its independence from France, the vast majority of its European residents left the country, as the new government pivoted towards nationalism.

In 1964, the Vatican signed an agreement with Tunisia, transferring control of the majority of the country’s churches – now largely empty – to the government for use as public buildings. The agreement also put an end to all public Christian celebrations, including the procession in La Goulette.

For more than half a century, August 15 was marked only with a Mass inside the church building, and the statue of Our Lady of Trapani remained immobile in its niche. The date remained important for La Goulette’s much-reduced Catholic population, but it largely ceased to be an important event for the wider community.

Nostalgia

In 2017, the Catholic Church received permission to restart the procession, initially just inside the church compound. This year, when Al Jazeera visited, the procession left the church property but only travelled as far as the square outside.

Many attendees were young Tunisian Muslims, with little connection to La Goulette’s historic Sicilian population.

A major reason for this is undoubtedly the high status accorded to the Virgin Mary in Islam – an entire chapter of the Quran is dedicated to her.

Other participants seemed to be drawn by a feeling of nostalgia for La Goulette’s multiethnic, multireligious past.

“I love the procession”, Rania, 26, told Al Jazeera. “Lots of people have forgotten about it now, but European immigration is such an important part of Tunisia’s history”.

Rania, a student, told Al Jazeera of her love for the 1996 film, Un ete a La Goulette (A Summer in La Goulette).

Featuring dialogue in three languages, and evocative shots of sunlit courtyards and shimmering beaches, the film is an ode to La Goulette’s past.

Directed by the renowned Tunisian filmmaker Ferid Boughedir, it follows the lives of three teenage girls – Gigi, a Sicilian, Meriem, a Muslim, and Tina, a Jew – over the course of a summer in the 1960s.

The film ends, however, on a bleak note, with the outbreak of the 1967 War between Israel and several Arab states, and the subsequent departure of almost all of Tunisia’s remaining Jewish and European residents.

New migrations

As Tunisia’s European population declined, the country has seen an influx of new migrant communities from sub-Saharan Africa.

The majority of these new migrants, who number in the tens of thousands, hail from Francophone West Africa. Many come to Tunisia in search of work; others hope to find passage across the Mediterranean to Europe.

Many of the sub-Saharan migrants – who face widespread discrimination in Tunisia – are Christian, and as a result, they now make up the vast majority of Tunisia’s churchgoing population.

This fact is reflected in a mural in the church in La Goulette, inspired by the feast of Our Lady of Trapani. Painted in 2017, it depicts the Virgin Mary sheltering a group of people – Tunisians, Sicilians and sub-Saharan Africans – under her mantle.

The air around the Virgin in the mural is full of passports. The church’s priest, Father Narcisse, who hails from Chad, told Al Jazeera that these represent the documents that immigrants throw into the sea while making the journey from North Africa to Europe in the hope of evading deportation.

The mural highlights the fact that the Madonna of Trapani, once considered the protector of Sicilian fishermen, is today called upon by immigrants of far more varied backgrounds.

“This celebration, in its original form, marked the deep bonds between the two shores of the Mediterranean,” Archbishop of Tunis Nicolas Lhernould told Al Jazeera. “Today, it brings together a more diverse group – Tunisians, Africans, Europeans; locals, migrants, and tourists.”

“Mary herself was a migrant,” Archbishop Lhernould said, referring to the New Testament story which narrates Mary’s flight, together with the child Jesus and her husband Joseph, from Palestine to Egypt.

From a Christian perspective, he suggested, “we are all migrants, just passing through, citizens of a kingdom which is not of this world”.

The spirit of La Goulette

La Goulette was once home to ‘Little Sicily’, an area characterised by its clusters of Italian-style apartment buildings. The vast majority of these structures – modest buildings built by the newly-arrived fishermen – have been torn down and replaced, and little more than the church remains to testify to the area’s once significant Sicilian presence.

As of 2019, there were only 800 Italians descended from the original immigrant community left in the whole of Tunisia.

“There are so few of us left”, said Rita Strazzera, who was born in Tunis to Sicilian parents. The Tunisian-Sicilian community meets very rarely, she explained, with some members coming together for the celebration on the 15th August, and holding occasional meetings in a small bookshop opposite the church.

Still, the spirit of Little Sicily has not entirely vanished. Traces of the old La Goulette linger – in memory, in film, and, Strazzera told Al Jazeera, in other, more surprising ways as well.

“Every year, on All Saints’ Day, I go to the graveyard”, said Strazzera, referring to the annual celebration when Catholics remember their deceased loved ones.

“And there are Tunisians there, Muslims, people who maybe had a Sicilian parent, or a Sicilian grandparent, and have come to visit their graves, because they know it’s what Catholics do.”

“There have been lots of mixed marriages”, Strazzera added, “and so, every year, there are more of them visiting the graves. When I see them, it’s like a reminder that Little Sicily is still with us.”

Nov. 21 (UPI) — The United States has sanctioned dozens of individuals, entities, vessels and aircraft accused of participating in Iran’s oil-shipping networks, as the Trump administration continues to squeeze the Islamic nation with its reinstated maximum pressure campaign.

The State Department said Thursday it was adding 17 names of companies people and vessels to its sanctions list, while the Treasury said it was adding 41.

“The United States remains committed to disrupting the illicit funding streams that finance all aspects of Iran’s malign activities,” State Department spokesman Thomas Pigott said in a statement.

“As long as Iran devotes revenue to funding attacks against the United States and our allies, supporting terrorism around the world and pursuing other destabilizing actions, we will use all the tools at our disposal to hold the regime accountable.”

In February, President Donald Trump reinstated his maximum pressure campaign of sanctions and other punitive economic measures against Iran from his first administration to force Iran to return to the negotiating table on a new deal aimed at preventing Tehran from securing a nuclear weapon.

Since reinstating the policy, Trump has repeatedly imposed sanctions targeting Iran, specifically its illicit oil trade, which funds its military forces.

The Treasury said it was sanctioning an additional six vessels of Tehran’s shadow fleet of oil tankers that export energy products. It also blacklisted Mahan Air, which works closely with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force, the Iranian military’s specialized elite unit that oversees international operations and funds proxy militias, such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

The State Department said its sanctioned targets were located in several countries, including India, panama and the Seychelles, among others.

The sanctions freeze all property of the named companies and individuals in the United States and bar U.S. persons from doing business with them.

“Today’s action continues Treasury’s campaign to cut off funding for the Iranian regime’s development of nuclear weapons and support of terrorist proxies,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.

“Disrupting the Iranian regime’s revenue is critical to helping curb its nuclear ambitions.”

Jubata al-Khashab, Quneitra, Syria – When Syrians gather to record Israeli incursions, soldiers point their guns at them.

Israeli military incursions have become more brazen, more frequent and more violent since Israel expanded its occupation of southern Syria following the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

Across Quneitra province, the Israeli military’s tanks have established checkpoints and patrols, even setting up gates. They stop and search civilians, and some are abducted.

Khadija Arnous’s husband and brother-in-law are among those taken from their home in July. Her brother-in-law was released from Sednaya prison, and now he is in Israeli custody.

At 3am (00:00 GMT) one day, Israeli soldiers ordered both men to leave the house and blindfolded them.

“We’ve had no news about them since,” Arnous told Al Jazeera, covering her face for fear of reprisal. “We contacted the Red Cross, but to no avail.”

“I have four children – my husband was the sole provider. I urge the government to find a solution for us. Why are the Israelis coming and taking whoever they want?”

Described by Israel as security operations, Syrian authorities and human rights groups refer to such incidents as abductions or unlawful arrests. As many as 40 people have reportedly been detained in recent weeks.

Israel first seized territory in the Golan Heights following the 1967 war. But after the fall of al-Assad, it claimed its 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria was void and has widened its occupation in Syria by some 400sq km (155sq miles).

Mohammad Mazen Mriwed, an elder from Jubata al-Khashab village, told Al Jazeera that people are living in fear of Israeli incursions and can no longer work their land.

“Since the fall of the regime, many are no longer building or cultivating,” he said. “We don’t know how the government will respond, but true relief will come only when the occupation ends.”

In addition to taking Syrians, Israeli forces are also fortifying their positions with large berms and watchtowers. Sanad, Al Jazeera’s fact-checking agency, has verified the establishment of nine new Israeli military camps in Syria since December 2024.

Local elders estimate 1,700 acres (688 hectares) of land seized by Israeli forces includes orchards, fields and grazing lands.

Israeli forces have flattened entire areas, uprooting trees believed to be hundreds of years old, to build more military presence on Syrian soil, villagers and shepherds say.

Mohammad Makkiyah went too close to a watchtower and was shot by an Israeli sniper. He says the first shot missed his head, but as he ran from a volley of fire, a bullet hit his leg.

In a nearby house, Hussain Bakr’s son and brother were taken five months ago.

“We complained to the UN and the Red Cross, who told us that they will ask the Israelis, but there is no response,” Bakr told Al Jazeera. “They are innocent, taken for no reason.”

Residents say interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa should remember his own family’s displacement when Israel occupied the Golan Heights. The president has previously said his grandfather was forced to flee the area in 1967.

Government representatives say they are trying for solutions through diplomacy.

But until the missing come home, words offer little solace.

“The situation is painful for the families and for us as a government,” Jamal Numairi, a People’s Assembly member from Quneitra, told Al Jazeera. “To the families, I say: the government will spare no effort to resolve the issue. I consider them kidnapped, not as prisoners.”

Mahmood Mamdani, father of New York City’s Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, says his son’s drive is both innovative and uncompromising – and he is fully aware of the enormity of the job ahead.

Nov. 21 (UPI) — Federal authorities have arrested four people, including two Chinese nationals, on accusations of scheming to illegally export cutting-edge Nvidia technology with artificial intelligence uses to Beijing, which prosecutors said seeks to be the AI world leader by the end of the decade.

Federal authorities in Tampa, Fla., on Wednesday arrested 34-year-old Hong Kong-born U.S. citizen Hong Ning Ho, also known as Matthew Ho, and 45-year-old Jing Chen, also known as Harry Chen, who was in the United States on a F-1 nonimmigrant student visa.

Brian Curtis Raymond, 46, of Huntsville, Ala., and 38-year-old Cham Li, also know as Tony Li, a Chinese national, were also arrested, though when was not clear.

Federal prosecutors alleged in an indictment — unsealed Wednesday but publicized by the Justice Department on Thursday — that from September 2023 until their arrests, the defendants conspired to illegally export NVIDIA graphics processing units to China through Malaysia and Thailand.

“The indictment unsealed yesterday alleges a deliberate and deceptive effort to transship controlled NVIDIA GPUs to China by falsifying paperwork, creating fake contracts and misleading U.S. authorities,” John Eisenberg, assistant attorney general for National Security said in a statement.

The court documents statement that they attempted four separate exports consisting of hundreds of GPUs. The first two shipments saw 400 Nvidia A100 GPUs being exported to China between October 2024 and January. The other two shipments of 50 Nvidia H200 GPUs and 10 Hewlett Packard Enterprises supercomputers with Nvidia H100 GPUS were intercepted by authorities.

In return for the shipments, the defendants allegedly received more than $3.89 million in wire transfers, according to the indictment.

The indictment states they used Tampa-based Janford Realtor, owned by Ho and Li, as a front company to buy the goods and export them to China.

Federal prosecutors alleged that despite being labeled a real estate company, it was involved involved in property transactions.

The court document accuses Raymond of supply the GPUs to Ho through his Alabama-based electronics company.

According to federal prosecutors, China is seeking to become the world leader in AI by 2030 and seeks to use the technology for military modernization efforts, including designing and testing its weapons of mass destruction as well as surveillance tools.