Author: Justin M. Larson

As Washington made combating fentanyl a priority, cocaine trafficking has surged. Nowhere have the ripples been felt like in Ecuador, where criminal groups have run rampant. Source link

The Cloudflare logo appears on a smartphone screen and on the background on computer screen Internal server error in this photo illustration on November 18, 2025 in Lviv, Ukraine.Global Images Ukraine | Global Images Ukraine | Getty ImagesU.S. internet infrastructure company Cloudflare said on Friday it had issued a fix for an issue with its dashboard and related apps.Shares of the company fell as much as 4.5% in premarket trading after global websites went down and Cloudflare said it was investigating.The company issued an update minutes later saying it had “implemented a fix” and was watching for results. Cloudflare shares…

Taiwan on Thursday announced an immediate one-year ban on the Chinese social media network Xiaohongshu, saying the app posed a risk of fraud. Taiwan’s interior ministry said in a statement that it will block access to Xiaohongshu, also known in English as Rednote, calling it a potential “high-risk area for online shopping fraud.”Authorities linked the platform to about 1,700 fraud cases that caused financial losses of over 247.7 million New Taiwan dollars ($7.9 million) since 2024, the ministry said. The app has over 3 million users on the island, the ministry said.Officials also said that Taiwanese law enforcement agencies face “significant difficulties” obtaining…

The Tony-nominated American playwright and actor has been in custody since airport customs officers found Ecstasy in his bag last month. Source link

On his first trip as pontiff, Leo XIV predictably called for peace and unity. But he also addressed technology’s promise and pitfalls. Source link

An armed group backed by the United Arab Emirates has pushed into the oil-rich province of Hadramout, a move that could reignite conflict in Yemen after years of a stalemate. Source link

The Reserve Bank of India logo outside its headquarters in Mumbai on Feb. 7, 2025. Indranil Mukherjee | Afp | Getty ImagesIndia’s central bank cut its policy rate by 25 basis points to 5.25%, matching forecasts from economists polled by Reuters.The monetary policy committee delivered a unanimous reduction, citing “weakness in some key economic indicators,” even as headline inflation has eased significantly and is expected to be revised lower in the first quarter of 2025, said RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra.The economy expanded 8.2% from July to September, outpacing expectations, while inflation remains subdued.RBI’s Malhotra, explaining the rationale for keeping rates unchanged…

Iran’s capital Tehran is counting down to “day zero” – the day the water runs out and the taps run dry.Reservoirs that supply Tehran’s 15 million residents are almost empty. The Karaj dam, which supplies a quarter of the city’s drinking water, is just 8% full.Water rationing has begun in some areas, with the flow from taps reduced or even stopped altogether overnight.President Masoud Pezeshkian has urged people to use water sparingly – or the city, or at least parts of it, may even have to evacuate. So what’s going on?Rain should start falling in the autumn after Iran’s hot…

Australia will introduce one of the world’s toughest social media policies for children next week, with a ban that comes into effect on Wednesday.Technology giant Meta has already started locking children under the age of 16 out of Instagram and Facebook, as it runs age checks on its users. Other platforms have started contacting underage users – advising them to download their photos and contacts, and offering the choice of deleting their accounts or freezing them until they turn 16.The age-restricted ban also includes TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, Reddit, Twitch, Kick, Threads and X. Image: Skateboarders post photos and videos of…

Congress is focusing on two deaths in one strike. But nine other people died in that same attack, and the United States has killed 83 in all. Were any of those killings legal? Source link

President Trump presided over a Congo-Rwanda peace deal on the same day his administration was being questioned about potential war crimes. Source link

Mark SavageMusic correspondentWatch: Which countries are boycotting Eurovision and why?Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands and Slovenia will boycott the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, after Israel was allowed to compete. They were among a number of countries who had called for Israel to be excluded over the war in Gaza, as well as accusations of unfair voting practices.Spanish broadcaster RTVE led calls for a secret ballot on the issue at a meeting in Geneva. It said organisers denied that request – a decision that “increased [our] distrust of the festival’s organisation”.Ireland’s RTÉ said it felt that its “participation remains unconscionable given the…

Brad Parscale advised the campaign of Nasry Asfura, a right-wing candidate who was endorsed by the U.S. president. Source link

Which countries are boycotting Eurovision and why? Source link

The automaker switched production from Ontario in a bid to please President Trump. But the company defaulted on contracts covering hundreds of millions of dollars in assistance, Canada said. Source link

In partnership with the UN-backed Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), they have launched the ‘Kick Out Polio’ campaign ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 which begins in Morocco on 21 December.“Polio is an illness that we simply need to take seriously,” said Naby Keïta of the Guinea National Team who plays for Hungarian club Ferencváros. The other footballing greats are Sébastien Haller (Côte d’Ivoire), Fabrice Ondoa (Cameroon), Rodolfo Bodipo Díaz (Equatorial Guinea), Michael Essien (Ghana), and Bruno Ecuele Manga (Gabon).Strides and setbacksDecades of global collaboration have pushed back polio – a highly infectious and debilitating disease that once…

Fighting erupted between rival militaries in April 2023 following a breakdown in the transition to civilian rule, following the overthrow of longtime former President Omar al-Bashir four years earlier.The army of Sudan’s military government has been battling the formerly allied fighters of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia for control of the vast country, where more than 12 million people have been uprooted.Millions have fled across the border in what is the world’s largest displacement crisis.In an in-depth interview with UN News, the UN human rights office’s (OHCHR) top official in Sudan, Li Fung, outlines the scale of violations unfolding,…

Since mid-November, overlapping tropical storms and intensified monsoon systems have triggered catastrophic flooding and landslides across Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Viet Nam.UN teams across the region are supporting government-led emergency operations with food, health, water and sanitation aid, medical deployments and early recovery assessments, as heavy rains continue and fears grow that the crisis could deepen.“We continue to closely monitor the situation and remain in close contact with national authorities,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters in New York on Thursday.“The UN stands ready to support any ongoing efforts.” Storms and cyclones across south and southeast Asia from…

Paramilitary groups have intensified an offensive on a crucial region bordering Darfur, prompting fears of another massacre. Source link

The Netherlands and Slovenia also said they would not take part in next year’s contest, meant to be its celebratory 70th edition. Source link

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! Scientists in Switzerland have built a robot as small as a grain of sand. Surgeons control it with magnets and move it through blood vessels to place medicine exactly where it is needed.Bradley J. Nelson, an author of the paper in Science and a professor of robotics at ETH Zurich, said the team has barely begun to understand what this technology will make possible. He expects surgeons will find many new uses once they see how precise the tool becomes inside the body.Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy Report Get my best tech…

The once allied Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been locked in brutal conflict since April 2023, with the battlefront now shifting to the oil-rich region’s three states.It comes after RSF fighters seized El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, last month following a year-long siege marked by widespread killings, sexual violence, torture and other atrocities. History repeating itselfMr. Türk urged all States with influence over the parties to take immediate action to halt the fighting, and stop the arms flows that are fuelling the conflict. “It is truly shocking to see history repeating itself in…

President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow disagrees with parts of a US plan on how to end the Russia-Ukraine war, after talks with US negotiators in the Kremlin.”At times we said that yes, we can discuss this, but to that we can’t agree,” Putin told India Today.He did not name the sticking points. At least two major points of contention remain – the fate of Ukrainian territory seized by Russian forces and security guarantees for Ukraine.President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, who led the US team at Tuesday’s talks, is due to meet Ukraine’s negotiators in Florida.Trump said the talks…

Paul KirbyEurope digital editorBELGA MAG/AFPFederica Mogherini became rector of the prestigious College of Europe in Belgium in 2020Federica Mogherini, the EU’s foreign policy chief until 2019, has resigned from a leading role in Belgium after she was detained for questioning and accused in connection with an anti-corruption investigation.The investigation, ordered by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), related to suspected fraud involving the award of an EU-funded training for junior diplomats to the College of Europe.Ms Mogherini, 52, was head of the highly regarded institute based in Bruges. She was questioned this week along with another staff member at the…