World
AI Summary
- German officials are intensifying discussions with China regarding the management of critical raw materials, particularly rare earth elements, amid geopolitical tensions and economic interests.
- The U.S. is ramping up military presence in the Caribbean, seizing an oil tanker linked to Venezuela amidst growing fears of conflict with President Nicolás Maduro's regime as sanctions pressure escalates.
- Academic and political institutions in the U.S. and Canada are facing scrutiny over potential biases and inadequate vetting processes, highlighted by rising numbers of students claiming disabilities, and ongoing investigations into immigration policies.
- Mexico has approved significant tariffs on Chinese imports, aiming to boost domestic production in light of upcoming trade negotiations with the U.S. and Canada, while facing potential retaliatory measures from Beijing.
- The S&P 500 set new records as markets recovered from previous downturns, although concerns remain about broader economic conditions, including labor strikes impacting the NHS in the UK and unexpected economic contractions prior to budget announcements.
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ZeroHedge
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Battle For Rare Earths And Recognition: Germany's Wadephul Arrives In China As A Supplicant
15 minutes ago
by Tyler Durden
Battle For Rare Earths And Recognition: Germany's Wadephul Arrives In China As A Supplicant Submitted by Thomas Kolbe After German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul was forced to cancel his October trip to China due to a lack of scheduled meetings, he has now finally met with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Commerce Minister Wang Wentao. At the center of the talks was one issue with immense strategic weight for Germany and Europe: the future handling of critical raw materials—above all rare earths. The relationship between Germany and the EU on the one hand and China’s political leadership on the other is clearly creaking.
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Who's Glued To The 'Telly'?
an hour ago
by Tyler Durden
Who's Glued To The 'Telly'? The United Kingdom has a particularly strong culture of television viewership. As Statista's Anna Fleck reports, according to a survey by Statista Consumer Insights, almost a third of UK respondents watch at least 11 hours of television per week. You will find more infographics at Statista This is slightly higher than other European nations such as France at 29 percent, or Germany at 28 percent. By contrast, China has a far lower share of heavy TV users, at just 16 percent. Tyler Durden Fri, 12/12/2025 - 02:45
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Brussels Bureaucrats Push For Expanded Legal Migration Routes Into Europe To Help Those Who 'Dream Of A Better Life'
2 hours ago
by Tyler Durden
Brussels Bureaucrats Push For Expanded Legal Migration Routes Into Europe To Help Those Who 'Dream Of A Better Life' Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix News, The European Union must expand legal migration channels and intensify pressure on the criminal networks behind illegal border crossings, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday at a global migration conference in Brussels. Von der Leyen argued that creating structured, regulated routes into the EU is essential if the bloc wants to reduce reliance on smuggling networks. > “We must open more safe pathways, legal pathways to Europe,” she said, urging closer cooperation between Europe
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NYT Editorial Board Urges US To Prepare For Future War With China
4 hours ago
by Tyler Durden
NYT Editorial Board Urges US To Prepare For Future War With China Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com, The New York Times editorial board released a video this week calling for the US to "prepare for the future of war" and urged the Pentagon to take drastic steps to be better prepared for a potential fight with China, a conflict that could quickly turn nuclear. "US politicians often boast that America has the ‘Strongest and most powerful military in the history of the world’ but behind closed doors, they’re being told a different story," the editorial board said. "New York Times Opinion has learned that the Pentagon
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Gaming The System: Huge Proportion Of 'Elite' University Students Claiming Disabilities
5 hours ago
by Tyler Durden
Gaming The System: Huge Proportion Of 'Elite' University Students Claiming Disabilities Just when you thought the ongoing cultivation of weakness in American youth couldn't get much worse, huge proportions of the student bodies at US universities are enrolling with official disability designations that bestow various accommodations upon the students who claim them. As you may have expected, the alarming trend is most pronounced at what are supposed to be the most "elite" institutions. We're not talking about people in wheelchairs, but rather students snagging diagnoses for ADHD, anxiety and depression from indulgent doctors. "It’s rich kids getting extra time on tests," an un-tenured professor at
The Guardian
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Fate of 11 Nigerian troops unclear after ‘unauthorised’ plane landing in Burkina Faso
14 hours ago
by Eromo Egbejule in Abidjan
Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Africa, World newsConfusion over diplomatic standoff deepens after conflicting reports about the soldiers’ whereabouts Eleven Nigerian military personnel are reportedly still in Burkina Faso days after their plane made an “unauthorised” landing in the south-west city of Bobo Dioulasso, despite earlier suggestions they had been freed, deepening confusion about the diplomatic standoff. Burkinabé authorities told the BBC on Tuesday that the troops had been released and given permission to return to Nigeria, but officials in Abuja have said the matter is yet to be resolved. Continue reading...
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Burkina Faso releases 11 Nigerian troops after ‘unauthorised’ plane landing
2 days ago
by Eromo Egbejule in Abidjan
Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Benin, Africa, World newsMilitary personnel told they can return to Nigeria after actions described as ‘unfriendly act’ * Fate of 11 Nigerian troops unclear after ‘unauthorised’ plane landing in Burkina Faso Authorities in Burkina Faso have released 11 Nigerian military personnel held after a cargo plane from Lagos made an “unauthorised” emergency landing in its second largest city, Bobo-Dioulasso. The breakaway regional Association of Sahel States (AES) said on Monday that the C-130 aircraft had entered Burkina Faso’s airspace without clearance, calling it an “unfriendly act”. Continue reading...
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DRC fighting forces 200,000 to flee just days after Washington peace deal
3 days ago
by Reuters
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africa, Rwanda, US foreign policy, Trump administration, US news, World newsRwanda-backed M23 rebels clash with Congolese army and other groups as they march on strategic eastern town About 200,000 people have fled their homes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as Rwanda-backed rebels march on a strategic eastern town just days after Donald Trump hosted the Rwandan and Congolese leaders to proclaim peace. The UN said at least 74 people had been killed, mostly civilians, and 83 admitted to hospital with wounds from escalating clashes in the area in recent days. Continue reading...
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US puts sanctions on network said to funnel Colombian mercenaries to Sudan
3 days ago
by Harriet Barber
Sudan, World news, Africa, War crimes, Conflict and arms, Global development, Trump administrationUS treasury accuses Colombian nationals and companies of aiding the RSF, which has committed horrific war crimes The United States has sanctioned four people and four companies accused of enlisting Colombian mercenaries to fight for and train a Sudanese paramilitary group accused by Washington of committing genocide. Announcing the sanctions on Tuesday, the US treasury said the network was largely composed of Colombian nationals and companies. Continue reading...
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Nigerian troops held in Burkina Faso after ‘unfriendly’ emergency landing
3 days ago
by Eromo Egbejule in Abidjan
Nigeria, Africa, World news, Burkina Faso, BeninUnauthorised touchdown comes less than 24 hours after Nigerian forces intervened in attempted coup in Benin Eleven Nigerian military personnel are being held in Burkina Faso after a Nigerian plane reportedly entered Burkinabé airspace without authorisation on Monday, the latest twist in a region enmeshed in multiple political and security crises. In a statement on Monday evening, the breakaway Alliance of Sahel States (AES), of which Burkina Faso is a member alongside Mali and Niger, said the C-130 transport aircraft had made an emergency landing in Bobo Dioulasso. Continue reading...
South China Morning Post
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US Christmas shoppers are paying a high price for Trump’s tariffs
14 minutes ago
by David Dodwell
It is almost eight years since US President Donald Trump first declared that “trade wars are good, and easy to win”. How much longer will it take him and his tariff hawks to eat those words, and acknowledge the crass economic illiteracy of that conviction? How high a price must everyone pay – in particular, US consumers – before he calls off his tariff war? As America’s Christmas shopping season gets into full swing, typically accounting for around one third of US retailers’ annual profits, the...
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Chinese firms slam EU anti-subsidy probes as ‘discriminatory’
an hour ago
by Xiaofei Xu
A Chinese business group has urged the European Union to halt its “discriminatory and disproportionate” use of anti-subsidy probes to target Chinese companies, as Brussels steps up its scrutiny of firms allegedly receiving unfair state subsidies. The EU launched an in-depth foreign subsidy regulation (FSR) investigation against the Chinese security firm Nuctech on Thursday, just days after Brussels reportedly raided the Chinese-invested e-commerce platform Temu’s European headquarters in Dublin...
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Tensions rise as US prepares to seize more tankers with Venezuelan oil
an hour ago
by Reuters
The United States is preparing to intercept more ships transporting Venezuelan oil following the seizure of a tanker this week, as it increases pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, six sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The seizure was the first interdiction of an oil cargo or tanker from Venezuela, which has been under US sanctions since 2019. It came as the US executes a large-scale military build-up in the southern Caribbean and as US President Donald Trump pushes...
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How the global market in SIM cards powers fraud and influence
2 hours ago
by dpa
A massive international grey market in mobile phone SIM cards is fuelling large-scale manipulation and fraud online, a University of Cambridge study has found. The researchers say physical and virtual SIMs from providers like SMSActivate, 5Sim, SMShub and SMSPVA were being used to verify fake accounts on social media platforms and e-commerce services. “We find a thriving underground market through which inauthentic content, artificial popularity and political influence campaigns are readily and...
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Greek minister takes over as Eurogroup president, marking historic turnaround
3 hours ago
by Reuters
Greece’s finance minister was on Thursday named head of the Eurogroup, the body that helps shape euro zone policy, underlining his country’s turnaround since the years when it came close to crashing out of the single currency. Kyriakos Pierrakakis saw off the rival Belgian candidate to become president of the assembly of finance ministers from the 20 countries sharing the euro. Greece had to be bailed out three times between 2010 and 2015 by euro zone governments to avoid economic collapse after...
New York Times
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Indiana Senate Republicans Reject Trump’s Redistricting Effort
9 hours ago
by Mitch Smith
United States Politics and Government, Redistricting and Reapportionment, State Legislatures, Federal-State Relations (US), Indiana, Trump, Donald J, Republican PartyRepublicans hold an overwhelming majority in the Indiana Senate, but more than a dozen of them defied the president’s wishes, voting against a map aimed at adding Republicans in Congress.
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Republicans Undercut Johnson, Circumventing Him to Force Votes
9 hours ago
by Michael Gold
House of Representatives, Johnson, Mike (1972- ), Golden, Jared, United States Politics and Government, Law and Legislation, Conservatism (US Politics), Defectors (Political), Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010), Republican Party, Trump, Donald J, Greene, Marjorie Taylor (1974- )The speaker has repeatedly lost his grip on the House floor thanks to a once rare parliamentary maneuver that G.O.P. members are increasingly using to force action on legislation.
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Key Takeaways After Indiana Lawmakers Defy Trump’s Redistricting Push
6 hours ago
by Nick Corasaniti and Mitch Smith
Indiana, Redistricting and Reapportionment, Republican Party, Trump, Donald J, Midterm Elections (2026), State Legislatures, United States Politics and Government, Threats and Threatening Messages, Voting Rights Act (1965)President Trump’s failure to ram through a Republican-friendly House map was a new sign that his iron grip on the party has slipped, and was likely to reverberate nationally.
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Senate Deadlocks Over Obamacare Subsidies in Dueling Votes
13 hours ago
by Carl Hulse
Senate, Health Insurance and Managed Care, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010), Tax Credits, Deductions and Exemptions, United States Politics and Government, Republican Party, Democratic PartyRepublicans blocked Democrats’ effort to extend the expiring subsidies while Democrats thwarted a G.O.P. proposal to replace them with direct payments for basic health coverage.
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A Grand Jury Again Resists Trump’s Push to Reindict Letitia James
8 hours ago
by Jonah E. Bromwich, Devlin Barrett and Glenn Thrush
United States Politics and Government, Halligan, Lindsey, James, Letitia, Siebert, Erik S, Trump, Donald JIt was a striking rejection of the administration’s retribution campaign.