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AI Summary

  • China's claims of mediating between India and Pakistan during recent conflicts have been met with skepticism, given its close ties to Pakistan and historical territorial disputes with India.
  • The price of healthy diets is on the rise due to inflation and supply chain disruptions, yet improvements in income and food access have made nutritious options more affordable for some populations.
  • Venezuela's complex oil landscape is causing friction as the U.S. government urges investments from major oil companies while the local situation remains unstable, with key industry leaders considering the country "uninvestable."
  • The technology sector is undergoing significant transformation as major banks have shifted from viewing cryptocurrencies as risks to actively developing their own digital assets and tokenized cash.
  • International tensions are exacerbating as the U.S. military continues its operations against entities in Venezuela and Syria while facing opposition from both local and global perspectives regarding its foreign policy decisions.

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ZeroHedge

  • It's Very Difficult To Believe China's Claim Of Mediating Between India & Pakistan 3 hours ago by Tyler Durden

    It's Very Difficult To Believe China's Claim Of Mediating Between India & Pakistan Authored by Andrew Korybko, China is uniquely unqualified to mediate between them since it has territorial disputes with India and arms Pakistan to the teeth. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi recently claimed that his country mediated between India and Pakistan during last spring’s clashes, but it’s very difficult to believe that this actually happened. Trump has repeatedly claimed the same despite India’s denials, which greatly contributed to the deterioration of their ties over the past year. India’s half-century-long position since the 1972 Simla Agreement has been that its problems with Pakistan are bilateral, ergo why it’s always rejected

  • Healthy Diets Are Getting Pricier, Yet More Affordable 4 hours ago by Tyler Durden

    Healthy Diets Are Getting Pricier, Yet More Affordable A healthy diet is often discussed as a top public health issue, but affordability remains one of its biggest barriers. Over the past decade, food prices have climbed due to inflation, supply chain disruptions, and climate-related shocks. At the same time, incomes and food access have improved in many regions. This graphic, via Visual Capitalist's Niccolo Conte, highlights how these competing forces have shaped the global cost of eating well—and who is still being left behind. The data for this visualization comes from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. It tracks the average daily cost of

  • Escobar: How Trump's Oily Dreams May Collapse In A Venezuelan Dark Pit 4 hours ago by Tyler Durden

    Escobar: How Trump's Oily Dreams May Collapse In A Venezuelan Dark Pit Authored by Pepe Escobar, So the Big Oil Picture in Venezuela is way more complex than the Trump 2.0 gang suspects... Let’s start with neo-Caligula’s new edicts on the imperial satrapy he says he now owns; not exactly edicts but outright threats directed to interim President Delcy Rodriguez: 1. Crack down on “drug trafficking flows”. Well, this should actually be directed to Colombian and Mexican smugglers in cahoots with big American buyers. 2. Expel Iranian, Cuban, and other “operatives hostile to Washington” – before Caracas is allowed to increase oil production.

  • These Are The World's Top Silver Producers 5 hours ago by Tyler Durden

    These Are The World's Top Silver Producers Silver prices surged more than 5% in recent trading, breaking above $80 per ounce once again. The rally has been driven by China’s restrictions on silver exports, rising demand from green technologies like solar power, and renewed interest in safe-haven assets. This visualization, via Visual Capitalist's Bruno Venditti, highlights the world’s largest silver-producing countries and shows where global supply is most concentrated. The data for this visualization comes from the U.S. Geological Survey’s Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025. It presents estimated silver mine production by country for 2024. MEXICO’S PRODUCTION DOMINANCE Total world silver production reached roughly 25,000 metric tons in 2024. Mexico remained

  • California's Billionaire Tax Is A Trojan Horse... Not A Solution 6 hours ago by Tyler Durden

    California's Billionaire Tax Is A Trojan Horse... Not A Solution Authored by Mollie Engelhart via The Epoch Times, California was my home for most of my adult life—long enough to know that what looks good in a campaign slogan can feel very different when you’re the one carrying the load. I built restaurants there. I employed people there. I signed permits, licenses, and applications like they were holiday cards. I navigated agencies that asked for more paperwork than profit statements. I paid into a system that always wanted one more filing, one more inspection, one more approval, one more fee. The joke was


The Guardian

  • Attempt to overturn the Gambia’s ban on FGM heard by supreme court 2 days ago by Sarah Johnson
    Global development, Female genital mutilation (FGM), Women, Health, Global health, Violence against women and girls, Anti-rights movement, The Gambia, Society, Africa, World news, Human rights, Life and style

    Case brought by Muslim leaders and MP follows failed 2024 bid and seen as part of global anti-women’s rights backlash A group of religious leaders and an MP in the Gambia have launched efforts to overturn a ban on female genital mutilation at the country’s supreme court. The court case, due to resume this month, comes after two babies bled to death after undergoing FGM in the Gambia last year. Almameh Gibba, an MP and one of the plaintiffs, tabled a bill to decriminalise FGM that was rejected by the country’s parliament in 2024. Continue reading...

  • Two weeks on, questions linger over targeting and impact of US airstrikes in Nigeria 3 days ago by Rachel Savage in Johannesburg
    Nigeria, Islamic State, Trump administration, US foreign policy, US news, Africa, World news

    Very little information has been shared about strikes in Sokoto state Two weeks after the US carried out Christmas Day airstrikes in north-west Nigeria on what it described as Islamic State fighters, questions remain over the specific group that was targeted and the operation’s impact. In the aftermath of the strikes, Donald Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform that “ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians” were hit with “numerous perfect strikes”. Continue reading...

  • Anthony Joshua’s driver charged with dangerous driving after fatal crash in Nigeria 9 days ago by Serena Richards
    Anthony Joshua, Nigeria, Africa, World news, Boxing, Sport

    British boxer was injured in collision that killed his personal trainer Latif Ayodele and strength coach Sina Ghami Nigerian police have charged Anthony Joshua’s driver with causing death by dangerous driving after a fatal crash that killed two people. Adeniyi Mobolaji Kayode, 46, was also charged with driving without a valid driving licence and “driving without due care and attention, causing bodily harm and damage to property”. He is due to appear in court on 20 January. Continue reading...

  • Cremation pyre in Africa thought to be world’s oldest containing adult remains 10 days ago by Nicola Davis Science correspondent
    Anthropology, Archaeology, World news, Africa, Malawi, Science

    9,500-year-old pyre uncovered in Malawi offers rare insight into rituals of ancient African hunter-gatherer groups A cremation pyre built about 9,500 years ago has been discovered in Africa, offering a fresh glimpse into the complexity of ancient hunter-gatherer communities. Researchers say the pyre, discovered in a rock shelter at the foot of Mount Hora in northern Malawi, is thought to be the oldest in the world to contain adult remains, the oldest confirmed intentional cremation in Africa, and the first pyre to be associated with African hunter-gatherers. Continue reading...

  • US ‘adapt, shrink or die’ terms for $2bn aid pot will mean UN bowing down to Washington, say experts 10 days ago by Kaamil Ahmed
    Aid, Global development, US news, Trump administration, US foreign policy, United Nations, USAID, US politics, World news, Humanitarian response, Society, Marco Rubio, Haiti, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africa, Americas, Sudan, Afghanistan, Yemen

    Afghanistan and Yemen excluded from list of 17 priority countries chosen by Trump administration to receive aid laden with demands The $2bn (£1.5bn) of aid the US pledged this week may have been hailed as “bold and ambitious” by the UN but could be the “nail in the coffin” in changing to a shrunken, less flexible aid system dominated by Washington’s political priorities, aid experts fear. After a year of deep cuts in aid budgets by the US and European countries, the announcement of new money for the humanitarian system is a source of some relief, but experts are deeply concerned about


South China Morning Post

  • Elon Musk blasts ‘prison island’ UK in showdown over Grok AI sexual images 5 hours ago by Bloomberg

    Elon Musk accused the UK government of being “fascist” after it stepped up threats to block X over sexualised images of women and children produced by his artificial intelligence tool Grok. Responding to a chart claiming to show the UK had the highest arrests for social media comments in the world, Musk posted: “Why is the UK government so fascist?” In separate posts hours earlier, Musk said the UK wanted to “suppress free speech” and referred to the country as a “prison island”. X, formerly...

  • Nobel panel rejects Machado’s idea to give her Peace Prize to Trump 7 hours ago by Reuters

    The Norwegian Nobel Institute said the Nobel Peace Prize cannot be transferred, ‌shared, or revoked, following remarks by Venezuelan opposition leader Maria ‍Corina Machado suggesting she might give her 2025 award to US President Donald Trump. In a statement, the institute said the decision to award a Nobel Prize is final and ⁠permanent, citing the statutes of the Nobel Foundation, which do not allow appeals. The organisation also noted that committees awarding the prizes do not comment on the...

  • Who is Jonathan Ross, the ICE agent who killed US woman Renee Nicole Good? 9 hours ago by Tribune News Service

    The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who shot and killed Renee Nicole Good on a Minneapolis street served in a multitude of law enforcement roles during a two-decade career that also included military service. Federal court records show Jonathan Ross’ career includes US military experience and mostly high-level federal law enforcement positions. The details of his tenure are revealed in a federal criminal case against a driver who seriously injured Ross after dragging him 100 metres...

  • US says it carried out new ‘large-scale’ strikes against Isis in Syria 10 hours ago by Agence France-Presse

    US and allied forces carried out “large-scale” strikes against the Islamic State jihadist group in Syria on Saturday, the US military said, in the latest response to an attack last month that left three Americans dead. Washington said a lone gunman from the militant group carried out the December 13 attack in Palmyra – home to Unesco-listed ancient ruins and once controlled by jihadist fighters – that killed two US soldiers and a US civilian interpreter. “The strikes today targeted ISIS...

  • Trump declares US national emergency to protect Venezuela oil money 10 hours ago by Agence France-Presse

    US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order protecting US-held money derived from sales of Venezuelan oil, after the ousting of Nicolas Maduro, the White House said. In an order signed on Friday, Trump – who has made clear that tapping Venezuela’s vast oil reserves was a key goal in the US ousting of Maduro – is acting “to advance US foreign policy objectives”, the White House said in a fact sheet accompanying the order. The action follows a meeting Friday in Washington where Trump...


New York Times

  • Trump Is Briefed on Options for Striking Iran as Protests Continue 4 hours ago by Tyler Pager, Eric Schmitt and Edward Wong
    United States Defense and Military Forces, United States International Relations, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Quds Force, State Department, Khamenei, Ali, Rubio, Marco, Trump, Donald J, Netanyahu, Benjamin

    The president has said he will be “hitting them very hard” if Iranian leaders kill protesters amid widespread demonstrations calling for wholesale changes in the country.

  • Death Toll Grows as Nationwide Protests Rock Iran for a Third Night 5 hours ago by Farnaz Fassihi and Malachy Browne
    Iran, Demonstrations, Protests and Riots, Human Rights and Human Rights Violations, Arson, Khamenei, Ali, Deaths (Fatalities)

    Antigovernment unrest that began two weeks ago has intensified in recent days, as has violence.

  • Why Are Iranians Protesting? What to Know About the Unrest. 10 hours ago by Abdi Latif Dahir, Leily Nikounazar and Farnaz Fassihi
    Iran, Khamenei, Ali, Tehran (Iran), Demonstrations, Protests and Riots, Amini, Mahsa (2000-22), Trump, Donald J, Economic Conditions and Trends, Politics and Government, Iran-Israel War (2025- ), Embargoes and Sanctions, Human Rights and Human Rights Violations, United States International Relations, Currency, Hemmati, Abdolnaser, Pezeshkian, Masoud

    Demonstrations that began as outrage at the state of the economy have spread to cities across the country, amid an escalating crackdown by the authorities.

  • FBI’s Inquiry Into Minneapolis ICE Shooting Faces Doubts After White House’s Remarks 9 hours ago by Glenn Thrush
    United States Politics and Government, Illegal Immigration, Police Brutality, Misconduct and Shootings, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (US), Gupta, Vanita, Blanche, Todd (Attorney), Floyd, George (d 2020), Frey, Jacob (1981- ), Noem, Kristi, Attorneys General

    Ex-law enforcement officials said the administration’s declarations that the killing was justified elicited questions about the F.B.I.’s willingness to scrutinize the agent who fatally shot an unarmed activist.

  • Anti-ICE Protests Spread Nationwide After Minneapolis Shooting 3 hours ago by Chris Hippensteel
    Demonstrations, Protests and Riots, Immigration Detention, United States Politics and Government, Immigration and Emigration, Annunciation Catholic Church (Minneapolis, Minn), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (US), Border Patrol (US), Minneapolis (Minn), Portland (Ore), Washington (DC), Good, Renee Nicole (1988-2026)

    Demonstrators across the country expressed anger at the killing of a woman in Minneapolis by federal immigration agents.


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