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Humanitarian group says at least 400 children reached Tawila without their parents after Rapid Support Forces’ advance.

Hundreds of Sudanese children have arrived in the town of Tawila in Sudan’s western Darfur region without their parents since the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized control of the city of el-Fasher last month, a humanitarian group says.

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said on Thursday that at least 400 unaccompanied children had arrived in Tawila but that the real number was likely much higher.

“Children are reaching Tawila exhausted and deeply distressed, often after days of walking through the desert,” the group said.

“Many arrive terrified of the armed groups they fled from or might have encountered on the road. Many became separated from their parents during the chaos of flight, while others’ parents are believed to have gone missing, been detained or killed.”

The RSF seized control of el-Fasher – the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur state – on October 26 after an 18-month siege that cut residents off from food, medicine and other critical supplies.

The paramilitary group, which has been battling the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) for control of Sudan since April 2023, has been accused of committing mass killings, kidnappings and widespread acts of sexual violence in its takeover of the city.

The RSF has denied targeting civilians or blocking aid, saying such activities are due to rogue actors.

But United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk said in mid-November that the “atrocities” that have unfolded in el-Fasher “constitute the gravest of crimes”.

More than 100,000 people have fled el-Fasher since the RSF’s takeover last month, according to the latest figures from the UN, with many seeking refuge in nearby Chad.

Meanwhile, the NRC said on Thursday that it had registered at least 15,000 new arrivals in Tawila, about 60km (37 miles) from el-Fasher, since October 26. More than 200 children are being registered each day on average, it added.

Nidaa, a teacher with the humanitarian group’s education programme in Tawila, said children arrive showing “signs of acute trauma”.

“When we first started our classes, some of the children could not speak at all when they arrived. Others were waking up with nightmares,” she said. “They describe hiding for hours, travelling at night to avoid attacks, and becoming separated from family in the chaos.”

Fears of human trafficking

Humanitarian groups have said the already heavily populated displacement camps in Tawila are becoming overwhelmed with the influx of new arrivals from el-Fasher and its surrounding villages.

The Sudanese American Physicians Association estimated in early November that more than 650,000 internally displaced people from el-Fasher and other parts of Darfur had sought refuge in Tawila amid months of fighting in the region.

Nearly three-quarters of displaced residents – 74 percent – lived in informal sites without adequate infrastructure, the group said in a November 5 report, while less than 10 percent of displaced households had reliable access to water or latrines.

“These conditions mean Tawila has effectively become a stand-alone crisis epicentre, not merely an overflow from el-Fasher,” the report said.

At the same time, a group of UN experts warned on Thursday that the deteriorating situation in the region has opened Sudanese women and girls up to a heightened risk of sexual exploitation and trafficking.

Displaced children are also increasingly vulnerable to being recruited to fight in the escalating conflict, the experts said.

“We are deeply concerned at the alarming reports of human trafficking since the takeover of el-Fasher and surrounding areas by the [RSF],” they said in a statement.

“Women and girls have been abducted in RSF-controlled areas, and women, unaccompanied and separated children are at elevated risk of sexual violence and sexual exploitation.”

Noting that families have been left without shelter, humanitarian aid, and access to basic services, including healthcare and education, the experts called for “urgent action to end the human rights violations driving this suffering”.

Nov. 26 (UPI) — Federal authorities on Wednesday announced the arrest of a Virginia high school principal and his brother on charges of plotting to attack immigration agents.

John and Mark Bennett were arrested Nov. 19 — John Bennett in Virginia Beach, where he worked as an assistant principal at Kempsville High School, and Mark Bennett at Norfolk International Airport, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.

According to authorities, an investigation was launched into the brothers on Nov. 17 after an off-duty Norfolk police officer heard the pair allegedly discussing plans to kill police officers and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

“Mark Bennett was also overheard saying he was planning to meet with like-minded individuals in Las Vegas, Nev., to purchase firearms with explosive rounds to carry out the attacks,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.

Mark Bennett was arrested as he was to board a flight to Charlotte, N.C., from where authorities allege he planned to travel to Las Vegas.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin accused the brothers of discussing plans to secure a high-caliber rifle capable of piercing bullet-resistant vests.

“It’s chilling that a human being, much less a child educator, would plot to ambush and kill ICE law enforcement officers,” McLaughlin said.

The arrests come amid an increase in U.S. immigration enforcement operations in many Democratic-led cities as the Trump administration carries out a broader immigration crackdown, which has been met with protests, criticism and legal challenges.

According to Department of Homeland Security statistics, there have been 238 reported assaults on ICE agents so far this year, an increase of 19 from the same period last year.

The Trump administration has criticized Democrats for rhetoric it says is fueling the violence.

“Our law enforcement officers have had Molotov cocktails and rocks thrown at them, been shot at, had cars used as weapons against them and been physically assaulted,” McLaughlin said in a statement on Monday.

“Sanctuary politicians need to tone the rhetoric down before a law enforcement officer is killed.”

Takaichi’s suggestion earlier this month that Tokyo could intervene militarily if Taiwan is attacked has enraged Beijing.

Japan has denied a report that said United States President Donald Trump had advised Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi not to provoke China over Taiwan’s sovereignty.

In a news briefing on Thursday, Japan’s top government spokesperson Minoru Kihara said “there is no such fact” about an article published in The Wall Street Journal claiming that Trump had made such a remark to the Japanese leader.

He declined to comment further on the details of the “diplomatic exchange”.

The row between Asia’s two biggest economies began after Takaichi had suggested earlier this month that Tokyo could intervene militarily in any attack on self-ruled Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory.

Takaichi’s remark ignited anger in Beijing.

After the incident, Beijing’s Foreign Ministry said that Chinese leader Xi Jinping pressed the issue in a phone call with Trump on Monday, saying Taiwan’s return was an “integral part of the post-war international order”.

The WSJ reported on Thursday that, shortly after that phone call between the US and Chinese leaders, “Trump set up a call with Takaichi and advised her not to provoke Beijing on the question of the island’s sovereignty”. The report quoted unidentified Japanese officials and an American briefed on the call.

Takaichi said in her reporting of the call with Trump that they discussed the US president’s conversation with Xi, as well as bilateral relations.

“President Trump said we are very close friends, and he offered that I should feel free to call him anytime,” she said.

Beijing, which has threatened to use force to take control of the self-ruled island, also took other punitive steps to register its anger over Takaichi’s initial remarks in parliament on November 7.

It summoned Tokyo’s ambassador and advised Chinese citizens against travelling to Japan.

As the diplomatic row escalated, the Chinese embassy in Tokyo issued a new warning to its citizens on Wednesday, saying there had been a surge in crime in Japan, and that Chinese citizens had reported “being insulted, beaten and injured for no reason”.

Japan’s Foreign Ministry denied any increase in crime, citing figures from the National Police Agency in response that showed the number of murders from January to October had halved compared with the same period in 2024.

Last week, Japanese media reported that China will again ban all imports of Japanese seafood as the diplomatic dispute between the two countries escalated.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun reiterated on Thursday a call for Japan to officially retract Takaichi’s comments.

“The Japanese side’s attempt to downplay, dodge, and cover up Prime Minister Takaichi’s seriously erroneous remarks by not raising them again is self-deception,” Guo told a regular news briefing.

“China will never accept this.”

Meanwhile, Trump’s public silence on Japan’s escalating dispute with China has further frayed nerves in Tokyo.

Some officials worry that Trump may be prepared to soften support for Taiwan in pursuit of a trade accord with China, a move they fear will embolden Beijing and cause conflict in an increasingly militarised East Asia.

“For Trump, what matters most is US-China relations,” said Kazuhiro Maejima, a professor of US politics at Sophia University.

“Japan has always been treated as a tool or a card to manage that relationship,” Maejima told Reuters news agency.

Washington’s envoy to Tokyo has said the US supports Japan in the face of China’s “coercion”, but two senior ruling party lawmakers said they had hoped for more full-throated support from their top security ally in Washington, DC.

Photographer Yasin Akgul says he will continue on his path ‘with even more reporting’ following his acquittal.

A Turkish court has acquitted four journalists accused of taking part in an allegedly unlawful demonstration they were covering in Istanbul earlier this year.

The ruling was issued on Thursday morning after the court found no evidence that the media workers – a photographer with the AFP news agency and three local journalists – had committed any offence, according to AFP and local media reports.

Those cleared are AFP’s Yasin Akgul, Ali Onur Tosun of Turkish broadcaster NOW Haber and freelancers Bulent Kilic and Zeynep Kuray.

Turkiye’s Hurriyet Daily News reported three other journalists had also been acquitted.

The reporters were arrested in March amid a mass protest movement triggered by the arrest of Istanbul’s Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who is a critic of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Turkish government has rejected accusations of political interference, insisting the judiciary acts independently.

They, along with thousands of protesters, had been accused of violating Turkiye’s Law 2911 on meetings and demonstrations – a measure rights groups say is used to curb peaceful assembly.

Supporters of Law 2911 say that it is necessary for public order to regulate all protests and assemblies. They cite its legal basis for dispersing gatherings that impede public movement or violate security instructions.

‘Journalists must be allowed to work unhindered’

AFP, which had repeatedly called for Akgul’s acquittal, hailed the court decision.

“AFP welcomes the acquittal of Yasin Akgul and his colleagues. This case against photographers doing their job on the streets of Istanbul should never have been brought,” Phil Chetwynd, AFP’s global news director, said.

“Journalists must be allowed to cover demonstrations and protests unhindered,” he added.

Media rights group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also welcomed the decision in a case it has described as “unlawful”.

AFP’s Akgul said the decision was expected even though it came late. “Now that the psychological strain of the trial process and my difficulty in focusing are gone, I will continue on my path with even more reporting,” he told AFP after the verdict. “The right decision has been made. I hope that other journalists who are still inside will also be freed as soon as possible.”

Bamboo scaffolding, a centuries-old technique that was traditionally ubiquitous in Hong Kong, is under scrutiny for its role in the city’s deadliest fire in more than a century.

At least 55 people have died, and hundreds are still missing since scaffolding at a housing estate in Tai Po district caught fire on Wednesday, according to the latest government figures.

Bamboo is cheap, lightweight, and strong enough to withstand the city’s many typhoons and tropical storms. Hundreds of bamboo poles can often be seen lashed together on the side of a modern office tower.

But could one of Hong Kong’s iconic symbols also have served as the kindling for one of its most horrific tragedies in decades?

How is bamboo scaffolding used?

Buildings or housing estates – like the one in Tai Po district – encased in bamboo during significant renovation projects are not a rare sight in the city-state. Sometimes, the scaffolding can remain up for a year or more.

Bamboo scaffolding is built by speciality workers known as “spiders”. They lash together bamboo poles to build intricate grid-like scaffolding that is then typically covered in additional netting to catch construction materials.

While the use of bamboo has faded in other parts of Asia, it has been hard to replace it completely in Hong Kong, even with options such as metal scaffolding, said experts.

“It’s light, cheap and fast to build with,” Ehsan Noroozinejad, a senior researcher and construction expert at Western Sydney University, Australia, told Al Jazeera. “Crews carry poles by hand, cut them on site, and wrap awkward facades without cranes. That speed and flexibility keep projects moving and costs down.”

Because it is “light and easy to cut”, bamboo scaffolding also fits the narrow living environment of Hong Kong, said Xinyan Huang, deputy director of the Research Centre for Fire Safety Engineering at Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

But there are other reasons, too, why bamboo is hard to replace.

“It [Hong Kong] has a long history, so it is a tradition, and it is not easy to change tradition,” Huang told Al Jazeera by email. “Any change in the construction industry will meet much resistance from current players.”

There are 4,000 bamboo scaffolding workers in the city, Hong Kong Free Press reported, citing union figures, although the industry is on the decline thanks to increased competition from metal scaffolding and an ageing cohort of workers.

Is bamboo scaffolding dangerous?

Prior to the fire, most concerns around bamboo scaffolding have focused on worker safety.

There were 22 fatal workplace accidents involving bamboo scaffolding in Hong Kong between 2018 and 2024, according to government figures. Six accidents occurred while new scaffolding was being built, while the rest took place during repairs.

Besides the fact that bamboo is by its very nature combustible, it is also structurally weaker and less stable than steel, according to Huang. He told Al Jazeera that it should be phased out for larger projects.

“I think the bamboo scaffolding can be used for small-scale applications, such as installing an air conditioning unit and replacing a window of a room. However, the large-scale usage such as covering the entire building facade should be stopped. Perhaps, a maximum area of bamboo scaffolding can be defined in future regulation,” he said.

What role did bamboo scaffolding play in the Tai Po fire?

The fire is the deadliest in Hong Kong in more than a century, since a blaze in 1918 at the Happy Valley Racecourse in British Hong Kong led to the deaths of more than 600 people.

Bamboo scaffolding played a big role in spreading the fire, according to experts like Anwar Orabi, a lecturer in fire safety engineering at the University of Queensland, although it was helped by other materials in the estate.

The fire broke out on the scaffolding of one of the estate’s towers on Wednesday, but the speed with which the fire spread took many observers by surprise. Orabi said the design of the scaffolding made it difficult to keep the blaze limited to just a few floors.

“In my point of view, the scaffolding presented a path for the fire to spread vertically which compromised compartmentation. The fire ‘climbed’ the scaffolding, and ignited the multiple fuel sources in people’s homes,” he told Al Jazeera by email.

“Fire can break windows by imposing a strong heat flux [flow of heat] which heats up the glass and breaks it. It is also possible that many people left their windows open resulting in ingress of the fire. This resulted in a multi-storey fire,” he said. Heat radiation and embers from one building helped spread the fire to the next, he said, ultimately engulfing seven towers.

Hong Kong officials also say substandard construction materials were another contributing factor. The South China Morning Post reported that the netting placed over the scaffolding did not adhere to the fire code, citing local officials.

Senior police superintendent Eileen Chung said highly flammable Styrofoam boards had also been placed in windows in the housing estate’s lifts, public broadcaster RTHK reported, helping the fire spread.

Two directors and one engineering consultant from the company behind the construction have been detained, Chung confirmed.

Hong Kong’s leader, John Lee Ka-chiu, has promised that all housing estates undergoing significant improvements will now be inspected.

“The government has immediately arranged for inspections of all housing estates across the city undergoing major repairs, to examine the safety of scaffolding and building materials,” he wrote on Facebook.

South Korea on Thursday confirmed the successful launch of its homegrown space rocket Nuri, which took off from Naro Space Center, with the main unit of the 13 satellites deployed establishing communication with King Sejong Station in Antarctica.

The 200-ton Nuri blasted off from the center in the country’s southern coastal village of Goheung, some 330 kilometers south of Seoul, at 1:13 a.m., slightly behind the original plan of 12:55 a.m. due to a sensor issue.

According to the KASA and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), the main satellite, CAS500-3, made communication with South Korea’s research center in Antarctica at 1:55 a.m., allowing experts to check the unit’s condition.

“The fourth launch of Nuri was successful,” Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon said during a press briefing at the center, noting all satellites have been put into orbit.

“This was an important turning point in which the focus of the space ecosystem shifted to the private sector from the previous government-oriented approach,” Bae added, noting the government will make efforts to become one of the world’s top five space powerhouses in an unwavering manner.

Yoon Young-bin, administrator of the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA), echoed the view, while stressing the government’s plan to continue efforts to bolster South Korea’s space exploration capabilities.

President Lee Jae Myung hailed the successful launch of Nuri in a social media post, calling it “a moment that opens a new chapter” in the country’s space exploration history.

Researchers will continue to monitor the main satellite through communication with other ground stations, including those in the central city of Daejeon and Norway, space authorities added.

The CAS500-3, built by Korea Aerospace Industries Co., is a medium-class satellite unit developed using the standard platform technology from the first CAS500 model.

The satellite will conduct observations of Earth’s auroras and upper atmosphere, and be used in various experiments, including the verification of three-dimensional stem cell cultivation using bio 3D-printing technology.

About two minutes after liftoff, Nuri separated the first stage, followed by the second-stage four minutes and 30 seconds into the flight.

After reaching the target altitude of 600 km, Nuri separated the main satellite, along with 12 cube satellites.

The main satellite will be tasked with conducting space science research, including measurement of space magnetic fields and plasma along with observation of auroras.

Nuri’s flight ended at 1:31 a.m., completing its 18-minute mission. It will later reenter Earth’s atmosphere and disintegrate as it falls.

South Korea first launched the Nuri rocket in October 2021, which failed to enter orbit while carrying a 1.5-ton dummy satellite. In June 2022, the rocket successfully put a Performance Verification Satellite (PVSAT) and a 1.3-ton dummy satellite into orbit.

The third launch was held in May 2023 with South Korea putting a next-generation small satellite and seven cube satellites into orbit.

The latest launch marked the first time for Hanwha Aerospace Co. to oversee the entire assembly process as part of the government’s long-term plan to hand over space technologies to the private sector.

South Korea, meanwhile, plans to carry out the fifth launch in 2026, followed by another in 2027.

Yoon said KASA will seek to secure additional funding beyond the sixth launch.

“We are planning to secure funds for the seventh launch (in 2028) as part of efforts to advance Nuri’s performance, although it has not been confirmed,” Yoon said, noting the administration aims to launch the rocket at least once every year starting with the eighth launch.

KARI noted Hanwha Aerospace will take on a broader role in the fifth and sixth launches in terms of launch and operation.

“Currently, Hanwha Aerospace is playing a secondary role (in the area), but it will take a more proactive role in the fifth and sixth launches and receive technology transfers related to the launch process,” said Park Jong-chan, director of the Korean Launch Vehicle Enhancement Program at KARI.

Park added that while the government does not plan to charge for satellites loaded onto Nuri for public purposes through the sixth launch, KARI will coordinate with KASA on how to assess costs when the launch is led by the private sector starting with the seventh launch.

Following the liftoff, spectators at a launch viewing site at the Naro Space Center erupted in cheers, lifting their phones to capture the historic moment in photos and videos.

Park Sung-wook, 40, who traveled from the central city of Dangjin with his son, said observing the launch in person was “overwhelming,” adding, “We came here at 3 p.m. yesterday to wait, and it was absolutely worth it.”

Kim Do-yun, a 22-year-old university student who visited Goheung with friends, said he had worried the rocket might be difficult to see at night, “but it was even clearer than I had expected, which was surprising.”

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Up to 8,000 people across North Sumatra have been evacuated and roads remain blocked by landslide debris.

Floods and landslides brought about by torrential rain in Indonesia’s North Sumatra province have killed at least 34 people, authorities said, with rescue efforts hampered by what an official described as a “total cutoff” of roads and communications.

North Sumatra regional police spokesman Ferry Walintukan told Detik news website that aside from the confirmed deaths, at least 52 people remain missing as of Thursday.

A rare tropical cyclone blew across Indonesia’s Sumatra island, inundating the nearby Malacca Strait and causing floods and landslides, the country’s meteorological agency said on Wednesday, as large swaths of Southeast Asia grappled with deadly flooding.

Up to 8,000 people across North Sumatra have been evacuated, and roads remain blocked by landslide debris, with aid now being distributed via helicopters, Abdul Muhari, spokesperson for the country’s disaster mitigation agency, said on Thursday.

The regions of Sibolga and Central Tapanuli were among the hardest hit, Yuyun Karseno, an official at the agency’s North Sumatra division, told the Reuters news agency, adding that communications and power had been cut off.

“There is no more access, due to a total cutoff,” Yuyun said when asked about the rescue efforts. “Until now, we can’t communicate with folks in Sibolga and Central Tapanuli.”

Among the dead were one family in Central Tapanuli, Indonesia’s search and rescue agency said.

A video shared by radio channel Elshinta on its social media account showed a person carrying a baby in a plastic container on a roof in Central Tapanuli.

Footage and photos shared by the agency show rapid currents of water overflowing across the region, leaving buildings destroyed in their wake, with rescuers using orange rafts to visit the flooded homes of residents.

Flooding and landslides also affected the provinces of West Sumatra and Aceh, authorities said. Indonesia’s official news agency Antara reported that 10 of the 23 cities and districts in Aceh have been submerged.

More flooding is expected in several other Sumatran provinces, including Aceh and Riau, over the next two days, the meteorological agency said, citing extreme weather.

Flooding elsewhere in Asia

The Indonesian flooding is one of a series of disasters to hit Southeast Asia this week.

On Thursday morning, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake hit the island of Simeulue off the coast of Sumatra in western Indonesia, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The quake, which struck Simeulue Island at 11:56am (04:56 GMT) at a depth of 25km (15.5 miles), prompted rain-soaked residents to rush outside. There were no immediate reports on casualties or a possible tsunami.

Meanwhile, more than 30 people were killed by floods in Thailand and Malaysia in recent days, with water levels high enough to submerge hospitals.

In Sri Lanka, floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains killed at least 31 people this week, with 14 others missing, authorities said on Thursday.

US President Donald Trump has called for a review of all Afghans who entered the US under the Biden administration, after two National Guard members were shot and critically wounded in Washington DC. US immigration authorities have also halted all Afghan-related applications.

Nov. 27 (UPI) — President Donald Trump has withdrawn South Africa’s invitation to next year’s G20 summit in Miami, Fla., escalating a row with Johannesburg.

Trump made the announcement Wednesday on his Truth Social platform as this year’s summit of the wealthy nations, held in South Africa, came to an end without the United States participating.

“South Africa has demonstrated to the World they are not a country worthy of Membership anywhere, and we are going to stop all payments and subsidies to them, effective immediately,” the American leader said in the statement.

Trump has escalated his criticisms against South Africa since returning to the White House.

In February, he threatened to cut U.S. funding to the African nation over a new law allowing authorities to expropriate land in the public interest as part of efforts to redress racial inequalities rooted in apartheid.

Though the law states that property cannot be expropriated arbitrarily and allows expropriation without compensation only in limited cases, Trump accused South Africa of “confiscating land” in violation of the human rights of White South Africans.

Trump has since escalated his rhetoric, alleging that White South Africans face genocide — a claim rejected by South African officials and regional leaders and not supported by available evidence.

After Trump announced that the United States wouldn’t be attending the G20 summit in Johannesburg due to “Afrikaners … being killed and slaughtered and their land and farms … being illegally confiscated,” the African National Congress described Trump’s allegations as “part of a long and disgraceful pattern of imperial arrogance and disinformation.”

“These statements are not borne of ignorance, they are deliberate attempts to distort the reality of South Africa’s democracy and to mobilize racial fear for political gain in the United States,” the African National Congress, the ruling political party of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, said Nov. 8 in a statement.

“Donald Trump’s continued siding with racist and right-wing movements across the world is well-documented and consistent with his dangerous rhetoric. From defending White supremacists at Charlottesville to vilifying African nations as ‘expletive countries,’ his record speaks of a man driven by prejudice, not principle.”

Trump on Tuesday reiterated his allegations that Afrikaners were being killed and their land being stolen from them, while stating that at the conclusion of the G20 summit in Johannesburg, the South African delegation “refused” to hand over the G20 presidency to a senior U.S. Embassy official who attended the closing ceremony.

In response, the office of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that since the United States did not participate in the summit, it handed over the instruments of the G20 presidency to a U.S. Embassy official at South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation.

The office added that it will continue to participate as a full, active and founding member of the G20.

“It is regrettable that despite the efforts and numerous attempts by President Ramaphosa and his administration to reset the diplomatic relationship with the U.S., President Trump continues to apply punitive measures against South Africa based on misinformation and distortions about our country,” his office said in a statement.

Here are the key events from day 1,372 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here’s where things stand on Thursday, November 27.

Fighting

• Intense clashes took place across eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, including in Slobozhanske, Kupiansk, Lyman, Kramatorsk, Kostiantynivka, Pokrovsk, Huliaipole and Orikhiv.
• Ukraine’s military said some of the fiercest fighting was in the strategic town of Huliaipole in the southeastern region of Zaporizhia, where forces are battling for “every metre” of land amid increased Russian shelling and drone attacks.
• A Russian drone attack on the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson killed a woman and a young child, while Russian air strikes in Zaporizhzhia city injured 18 people, including 12 women, according to local authorities.
• Ukraine’s military claimed it struck a Russian military-industrial complex in the region of Chuvashia, sparking a fire.
• Early on Thursday, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces claimed its forces killed or wounded 1,140 Russian soldiers over the last day. It also claimed it destroyed one Russian tank, three armoured combat vehicles, 21 artillery units, 214 drones and two aircraft.

Diplomacy

• Russian officials expressed caution over the prospect of a quick peace deal. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that while negotiations are “ongoing” and “serious”, it is “premature” to suggest a deal is imminent.
• Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said Moscow is not ready to publicly discuss the Trump administration’s recently modified peace plan, but that it will not budge on its key demands. “The overall success of this process is not guaranteed,” he said.
• Still, US special envoy Steve Witkoff is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow next week, the exact date of which is yet to be confirmed, according to Russia’s Peskov.
• European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the Trump-backed peace plan is a “starting point” but requires more work to ensure future Ukrainian and European security.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated his call for further sanctions on Russia, accusing the country of obstructing peace efforts.
• Sweden’s Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard also urged the EU to immediately enact a 20th round of sanctions on Russia.
• Numerous Baltic states issued strong statements of support for Ukraine after a meeting of EU foreign ministers, with Estonia’s Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna saying peace talks must begin with “firm conditions for the aggressor, not the victim”.

Energy

• Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy urged the public to conserve electricity and warned of emergency outages in some regions where energy infrastructure has been targeted by Russian attacks.
• Ukraine’s prime minister said the state would provide targeted energy assistance to 280,000 families living in front-line areas to help them “get through the winter period more easily and meet basic needs”, including by paying for up to 300 kilowatt hours per family monthly.
• Putin, on a state visit to Kyrgyzstan, announced Russia’s state nuclear energy corporation is considering building a nuclear power facility in the former Soviet state.

Nov. 26 (UPI) — A three-judge panel on Wednesday permitted North Carolina to adopt a redrawn congressional map that is expected to favor the Republican Party.

The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina unanimously ruled against the plaintiffs’ request for an injunction against legislation approved in October by the state’s General Assembly that critics say threaten one federal congressional district, specifically Congressional District 1, which represented by Democrat Don Davis.

In their 57-page ruling on Wednesday, the three Republican-appointed judges said the plaintiffs failed to prove that the state’s General Assembly enacted the legislation, Senate Bill 249, with the intent to “minimize or cancel out the voting potential” of Black North Carolinians as they had claimed.

The ruling comes in protracted litigation that began in 2023, when the Republican-led state sought to redraw some of the districts for electing representatives to the state Senate and federal Congress.

The plaintiffs, who include the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, sued that December. In October, amid litigation on the maps, the state’s General Assembly passed legislation to swap counties between Congressional District 1 and Congressional District 3.

The plaintiffs again sued the state, alleging the legislation was unconstitutional and asking the court to enjoin S.B. 249.

Earlier this month, the same three-judge panel issued a ruling approving the changes to the map put forward in 2023.

A hearing on S.B. 249 was held Nov. 19, during which the plaintiffs argued that the speed with which the General Assembly passed the 2025 plan was evidence of discriminatory intent.

But the panel of judges disagreed, stating “they have offered no reason to believe that the speed of the 2025 process indicates an intent to discriminate on the basis of race. Nor do they explain what weight we are supposed to assign to what they call ‘the near uniform outcry among North Carolina voters against the map and the process.'”

The ruling comes amid something of a gerrymandering race in the United States that began in earnest when Texas this summer — under pressure of President Donald Trump — sought a mid-decade redraw of its maps to make them more favorable to the Republican Party.

California is in the process of redrawing its maps in retaliation and other states under control of both parties have followed with similar plans.

Arrest warrant issued for missing Thai mogul Anne Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip, as co-owner investigated in Mexico.

The Miss Universe competition has been overshadowed by legal drama as its owners face charges of fraud in Thailand and an investigation into drugs and weapons trafficking in Mexico just days after the latest pageant concluded.

The Miss Universe Pageant, which once belonged to United States President Donald Trump, has been owned by Thai mogul Anne Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip and her company, JKN Global, since 2022.

Jakrajutatip is wanted in Thailand after she failed to attend a Bangkok court hearing this week over a 30 million baht ($930,000) legal dispute with an investor in JKN Global. The Bangkok South District Court said on Wednesday that it had issued an arrest warrant for Jakrajutatip, whose current whereabouts are unknown, according to Thai media.

Jakrajutatip and JKN Global have been facing major balance sheet problems since 2023, when the company began to default on payments to investors, according to the Associated Press news agency. The company filed for rehabilitation with a Thai bankruptcy court in 2024, and reportedly owes about3 billion baht ($92.63m), according to the Associated Press.

Earlier this year, Jakrajutatip and JKN Global were sanctioned by Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for publishing “false or misleading information” in the company’s financial statement, and were fined 4 million baht ($124,000).

The SEC statement said JKN Global did not fully disclose to investors that it signed an October 2023 agreement to sell 50 percent of its shares in the Miss Universe Pageant to Mexican businessman Raúl Rocha Cantu and his company, Legacy Holding Group USA Inc.

Jakrajutatip resigned from all positions in the company, but she is still a shareholder following the sanction, according to AP. She also did not attend the latest Miss Universe competition in Bangkok earlier this month.

Cantu is facing separate legal troubles in Mexico, where prosecutors said on Wednesday that he was under investigation for alleged arms, drug and fuel trafficking between Mexico and Guatemala, according to the AFP news agency.

Prosecutors charged 13 people in connection with the case, although Cantu has not been formally named yet, the AFP said.

The Miss Universe Pageant concluded on November 21 following a series of scandals throughout the competition season, including allegations that the competition was rigged.

Nov. 26 (UPI) — Two West Virginia National Guardsmen have been hospitalized in critical condition and a suspect is hospitalized after a targeted shooting near the White House on Wednesday afternoon.

The Guardsmen and the shooter were taken to nearby hospitals after the shooting occurred about two blocks northwest of the White House at 2:15 p.m. EST on Wednesday, WTTG reported.

West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey earlier said the two Guardsmen were killed, but he later backtracked and affirmed they are in critical condition.

The suspect has been identified as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who is a citizen of Afghanistan, the New York Post, NBC News and Newsweek reported.

The FBI said it is investigating the attack as a possible act of terrorism.

Lakanwal is a lone gunman who ambushed the two National Guardsmen when he came from around a corner and started shooting, said Jeffrey Carroll, MPD executive assistant chief, who addressed media during a news conference.

The National Guard members were on “high-visibility patrol … when a suspect came around a corner, raised his arm with a firearm and discharged at the National Guard members,” Carroll said.

Other National Guardsmen were nearby and intervened.

Carroll said there was “some back and forth” between the suspect and National Guard members, who were able to subdue him until local police arrived moments later.

At a news conference afterward, FBI Director Kash Patel called the targeting shooting “an attack on a federal law enforcement officer” and said it will be treated as such at the federal level.

He said the FBI, Secret Service, other federal agencies and local police will work together to investigate the shooting, which he called a “matter of national security.”

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said local officials will “join with the FBI director in ensuring that the MPD investigates and the U.S. attorney prosecutes this case to the fullest extent of the law.”

There are no other suspects in the shooting, authorities said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump was briefed on the matter, and White House staff are monitoring the situation.

The president afterward expressed his support for the two wounded Guardsmen.

“The animal that shot the two National Guardsmen, with both being critically wounded, and now in two separate hospitals, is also severely wounded,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

He said the suspect “will pay a very steep price” for the shooting that so far lacks a known motive.

“God bless our great National Guard and all of our military and law enforcement,” the president said. “These are truly great people.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the president has ordered him to deploy 500 more National Guard members to the capital, The New York Times reported.

About 2,100 National Guard members already are deployed in the capital.

The shooting occurred at the intersection of 17th Street and H Street Northwest.

Russian “shadow vessels” are using false flags to skirt sanctions imposed on Moscow over its war in Ukraine, according to a new report.

A total of 113 Russian vessels have flown a false flag in the first nine months of this year, transporting some 11 million tonnes of oil valued at 4.7 billion euros ($5.4bn), according to the report published on Thursday by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), a Helsinki-based think tank.

“The number of Russian ʻshadowʼ tankers sailing under false flags is now increasing at an alarming rate,” said report co-author Luke Wickenden.

“False-flagged vessels carried 1.4 billion euros ($1.6bn) worth of Russian crude oil and oil products through the Danish Straits in September alone.”

Russia’s clandestine shadow fleet transports sanctioned commodities, especially oil, under non-Russian flags to evade scrutiny.

Every vessel sailing on the open seas is required to fly a flag that provides it with legal jurisdiction for its operations in international waters.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea allows countries to grant their nationality to ships and fly their flag.

Some countries provide open registries that allow foreign-owned or controlled vessels to use their flag, a practice favoured by some shippers due to lower regulatory burdens and registration costs.

In its report, CREA said that 96 sanctioned vessels had flown a false flag at least once this year as of the end of September.

A total of 85 vessels registered at least two flag changes six months after being sanctioned by the European Union, the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) or the United Kingdom, according to the think tank.

Six flag registries that had not flagged a Russian ship before Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 had at least 10 such vessels each in their fleet in September 2025, according to CREA, for a total of 162 shadow vessels.

“In addition to the risks of false flagging, we also see that ʻshadowʼ vessel operators are taking advantage of capacity limitations of economically weak nations to exploit their flags and existing regulations to gain passage rights to deliver blood oil,” said co-author Vaibhav Raghunandan, calling on the EU and the UK to reform their flagging regulations and practices.

CREA said it based its report on vessel ownership and flag registry records obtained from maritime safety platform Equasis.

It said it cross-referenced the data with the IMO Global Integrated Shipping Information System (GSIS), a global shipping industry database.

‘More evasive techniques’

Rachel Ziemba, adjunct senior fellow at the Washington-based Center for a New American Security, said the CREA’s findings aligned with previous reports on Russia’s shadow fleet.

Ziemba said Moscow had resorted to “more evasive techniques” on the back of increased pressure from the EU, as well as moves by China to block so-called “zombie vessels”, which use the registration numbers of retired vessels.

While the US and the EU have continued to roll out new sanctions on Russian oil, “there is an open question about enforcement”, Ziemba said.

With sanctions enforcement becoming more difficult due to the growing illicit trade, countries would need to target vessels, intermediaries and buyers to significantly reduce Russia’s oil sales, she said.

“But that comes with costs,” Ziemba said, suggesting that China, a major buyer of Russian oil, could retaliate against countries that tightened sanctions.

“Plus, actual enforcement might mean more quasi-military stoppages of vessels to check papers, something that these countries might be wary of doing,” she added.

Nov. 26 (UPI) — The annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade gets underway at 8:30 a.m. EST on Thursday, marking the event’s 99th celebration of the national holiday.

This year’s holiday event includes 34 balloons, 28 floats and several live performances.

Live performers who are scheduled to appear include BustaRhymes, Lainey Wilson, HUNTR/X from KPop Demons Hunters, Ciara, Cynthia Enrivo and others, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Four new balloons are scheduled to participate, including Mario by Nintendo, Pac-Man by Bandai Namco Entertainment America, Buzz Lightyear by Pixar Animation Studios and Shrek’s Onion Carriage by DreamWorks Animation.

Among new floats will be The Land of Ice & Wonder by HollandAmerica Line, Brick-tastic Winter Mountain by the Lego Group and Master Chocolatier Ballroom by Lindt.

Also new for the parade are the floats Upside Down Invasion: Stranger Things by Netflix, Friends-giving in Pop City by Pop Mart and Serta’s Counting Sheep’s Dream.

Santa’s sleigh brings up the rear and marks the end of the parade when it passes by spectators.

Balloon preparations began at 1 p.m. EST on Wednesday and continued until 6, with each balloon taking about 90 minutes to fill with helium, Macy’s spokesperson Orlanda Veras told CBS News.

The colorful parade starts at 77th Street and Central Park West and will follow a 2.5-mile route running from the Upper West Side of Midtown Manhattan, down 8th Avenue to Columbus Circle, where it turns left onto 59th Street and then right onto 6th Avenue.

Once on 6th Avenue, the parade continues to 34th Street, where it turns right and ends at Macy’s flagship store on Herald Square.

Macy’s says the best viewing locations for those planning to attend are on Central Park West, at the intersection of 7th Avenue and 59th Street, and at the intersection of 6th Avenue and 42nd Street.

Others can watch the parade live on local NBC channels or by livestreaming it on Peacock.

The live broadcast starts at 8:30 a.m. EST and ends at noon, but NBC will air it again starting at 2 p.m.

Viewers also can watch the parade on Telemundo.

Bangkok, Thailand – Stewed, seasoned with sugar and cloves, deep-fried or dished up in a zingy chilli mince – the diets of most Thais are incomplete without pork.

But a $3bn market – supplied nearly entirely by domestic pig farmers – may be about to face competition like never before from the giant hog farms of the world’s third-largest producer, the United States.

While the fine print of the Thai government’s preliminary trade deal with the US is yet to be revealed, some details have emerged.

Washington has a 10,000-item-long wish list of goods it wants to enter Thailand duty-free to reduce its $45.5bn trade deficit with the Southeast Asian country, an imbalance President Donald Trump says unfairly disadvantages US producers.

The list includes pork, corn, soya beans and some fruits.

Shortly after Trump met Thailand’s caretaker prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Malaysia last month, the White House revealed some of the many strings attached to its trade deal, which set the tariff rate for the kingdom’s exports to the US at 19 percent.

They include Thailand agreeing to “address and prevent barriers to US food and agricultural products in the Thai market”, according to the White House, and a commitment to “expediting access” for US meat and poultry products.

That has panicked Thailand’s pig farmers, who say the industry may not survive a flood of cheaper, subsidised US pork, which is fattened up on ractopamine, a livestock additive banned in many countries, including the kingdom.

If US pork is allowed into Thailand without duties, nothing less than the kingdom’s food security is at stake, according to Worawut Siripun, deputy secretary-general of the Swine Raisers Association of Thailand.

“Producers will not be able to survive and will stop raising pigs. But the risks are not only for farms facing falling pig prices,” Worawut, who has about 10,000 pigs, told Al Jazeera.

“Those who grow feed crops are also affected, as well as animal feed traders, animal feed producers, and veterinary drug sellers. Everyone in the production cycle is impacted.”

Trump had made trade talks with Thailand contingent on Bangkok signing an extended ceasefire agreement with Cambodia.

But in the weeks since meeting Anutin, Thailand has suspended truce talks over alleged Cambodian breaches of the terms of the agreement.

While there are conflicting signals over whether tensions with Cambodia have put Thailand’s trade negotiations with its biggest export destination on the back burner, farmers and livestock companies are bracing for intensified competition.

Thailand’s pork industry has weathered challenges ranging from outbreaks of swine flu to illegal imports from China and Vietnam.

But it faces high costs, largely as a result of government price controls on corn and soya used to feed pigs and other livestock – a measure intended to protect the country’s crop farmers, a key voting bloc.

And like most of Thailand’s agricultural producers, the country’s pig farmers deal with slim margins.

“Both imported and locally produced feed materials in Thailand are more expensive compared to the US, where feed is cheaper,” Worawut said.

Corn and other feed farmers are also bracing for tough times.

Thailand announced earlier this month that it would lift its annual corn import limit, from approximately 50,000 tonnes to 1 million tonnes, and scrap a 20 percent tariff to appease Washington.

Prime Minister Anutin is likely to dissolve parliament in the coming weeks and set a date for new elections.

He is angling to return to office in defiance of critics who say he has already given away too much to Washington before a comprehensive trade deal has been signed.

Trump officials have already announced a deal to gain preferential access to Thailand’s rare earths, the sale of billions of dollars of US-made aircraft and a promise by Bangkok not to tax US digital services companies.

Anutin’s bargaining position has been weakened by tough economic conditions.

On Monday, the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council trimmed its economic growth forecast for 2026 to 1.2 percent, down from an expected 2 percent expansion this year – by far the weakest performance among Southeast Asia’s leading economies.

With a third round of trade talks with the US under a cloud following the suspension of the Thailand-Cambodia peace deal, the main political opposition party has called on the government to pause the negotiations and consult with local stakeholders.

“This is a crucial moment,” said Weerayut Karnchuchat, deputy leader of the opposition People’s Party, Thailand’s largest in parliament.

“The minister of commerce has said negotiations will conclude by the end of 2025. That leaves around two months. The government should hold eight weeks of stakeholder hearings … especially groups directly affected, such as corn farmers.”

Thailand should take stock and assess if regional peers with full US trade deals – including Cambodia, Vietnam and Malaysia – are happy with the outcomes and “whether Thailand is offering too much”, he added.

For many midsized businesses, the return of Trump and his trade war has made for a difficult year, with demand depressed across countless supply chains exposed to the US.

Orders are retreating inside Thailand for everything from lightbulbs to electrical wires needed to run factories that export to the US.

Tipok Lertwattanaweerakul, a durian farmer and middleman, said he has seen his profit margins slashed.

Saudi Arabian buyers who sold durian to customers in the US had been Lertwattanaweerakul’s main source of business, but with the Arab country hit with a 10 percent tariff, “they are no longer purchasing from me at all,” he told Al Jazeera.

Nov. 26 (UPI) — The co-owners of the Miss Universe Organization are facing charges: Rocha Cantu of Mexico on accusations that include drug and fuel trafficking, and Jakkaphong “Anne” Jakrajutatip of Thailand with failing to appear at a hearing involving fraud.

The pageant has been embroiled in other controversies this year, including Jakkaphong out as CEO, financial instability, accusations of rigged judging and resignations by two of them, and protests by several contestants.

Prosecutors confirmed to media in Mexico that Cantu was formally charged by federal authorities in Mexico on accusations that include drug trafficking, illicit fuel distribution, weapons smuggling and participation in organized criminal activity.

The Attorney General’s Office requested an arrest warrant, the Spanish version of Forbes reported.

His multinational criminal network allegedly was operating for years under the guise of legitimate business structures.

According to court documents, an operation involving the illegal purchase and transport of fuel from Guatemala into Mexico. Fuel was allegedly altered to disguise its origin and avoid regulatory detection. The modified fuel was then sold through front companies tied to Rocha Cantu.

Also, he was allegedly involved in obtaining firearms and funneling them toward criminal groups in several Mexican states.

Rocha’s company in early 2024 purchased 50% of Miss Universe shares from JKN Global Group Public Co. Ltd., which is owned by Jakkaphong.

JKN acquired the rights to the Miss Universe pageant from IMG Worldwide LLC in 2022.

Donald Trump owned Miss America from 1996 to 2015 and sold it to WME/IMG.

Jakkaphong became the first transgender woman to own the Miss Universe Organization.

In 2023, Jakkaphong was charged and released on bail, but she failed to appear as required for a court hearing in the fraud case on Tuesday in Bangkok, the Independent reported.

She failed to notify the court about her absence and was determined to be a flight risk, the Bangkok South District Court said.

A hearing has been scheduled for Dec. 26.

On Monday, JKN denied reports that Jakkaphong had liquidated the company’s assets and fled the country

In 2023, Jakkaphong and her company were sued for allegedly defrauding Raweewat Maschamadol in selling him the company’s corporate bonds.

Raweewat said he lost $930,362 in the investment.

JKN defaulted on payments to investors beginning in 2023 and debt rehabilitation procedures with the Central Bankruptcy Court began in 2024.

The company says its debts are $93 million.

After Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission accused her of falsifying the company’s 2023 financial statements, Jakkaphong resigned from all company positions in June.

She is still the company’s largest shareholder.

Jakkaphong, who starred in reality shows in Thailand, was not at the 74th Miss Universe competition in Bangkok on Nov. 19.

Fatima Bosch Fernandez of Mexico was crowned Miss Universe 2025. She earlier walked out from the pageant after being berated by a Thai pageant executive.

Shortly before the finals, Gabrielle Henry, who is Miss Jamaica, fell and ended up in intensive care at a hospital.

Two judges reportedly resigned with allegations of judging misconduct.

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

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

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

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

Judges are reviewing the UK government’s decision to ban the activist group Palestine Action under counter-terror laws. Al Jazeera’s Sonia Gallego was at the court where police were arresting people for displaying pro-PA signs.

Nov. 26 (UPI) — Four fire rescuers in Florida were arrested on multiple charges after an alleged waterboarding-related hazing ritual turned violent, deputies said.

The four employees in the Marion County Fire Rescue unit were arrested for the alleged waterboarding incident after sheriff’s deputies responded to Fire Rescue Station 21 in Ocala, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.

Officials said the incident allegedly took place Nov. 16. The unidentified victim reportedly was in the middle of performing his duties, at which point Tate Trauthwein, a 19-year-old co-worker, threw the victim’s boots into a wooded area.

Edward Kenny III, 22, reportedly tried to grabbed the victim from behind and both fell.

Upon arriving, law enforcement learned it allegedly started as a harmless tease but violently escalated.

According to Marion County Sheriff Bill Woods, the victim was smeared with grease and the attackers sought a TikTok video on a locked phone.

The group removed the victim’s belt and then pants during the brutal attack, police said.

Trauthwein and Kaylee Bradley, 25, allegedly took the victim’s phone but refused to give his passcode. Trauthwein proceeded to strike the victim with the belt, police say.

An emergency service call interrupted the assault, authorities say.

Hazing incidents intended to be harmless have led to serious charges.

Last month, a Rutgers University fraternity in New Jersey was permanently shut down after a student was critically injured in an alleged hazing incident.

And earlier this year, nearly a dozen New York students were given an ultimatum to turn themselves in to authorities or be prosecuted as adults following an alleged high school lacrosse team hazing incident.

Meanwhile, Trauthwein, Kenn and Day face multiple criminal counts in Florida, including kidnapping, robbery and battery. Bradley was charged as an accessory to robbery.