jili178 log in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Defense Minister Rustem Umerov's talks in South Korea on November 27 focused on cooperation on the security of both Ukraine and South Korea in light of the deployment of North Korean forces in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Zelenskiy said Umerov went to Seoul at his instruction to discuss all aspects of North Korea’s involvement in the war “and the things we can do together to defend our nations and to secure our regions together.” Umerov said earlier that he had discussed joint steps to strengthen security and stability with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol while in Seoul. Umerov also met with South Korea’s defense minister and national-security adviser. "We believe that our arguments about the need to increase cooperation between Ukraine and the Republic of Korea will lead to a tangible strengthening of security for our peoples and regions," Umerov said on Telegram. Umerov said he raised the presence of the North Korean troops and the North Korean military's "active" support for energy infrastructure attacks on Ukraine. For South Korea, the deployment of the North Korean troops poses a serious threat because they are gaining combat experience, which could create additional security challenges, he said. A statement issued by Yoon’s office does not say whether the parties discussed the possibility of Seoul supplying weapons to Ukraine. Ukraine has previously asked Seoul for weapons, and South Korea has said it could consider such aid, depending on what Russia and North Korea do. Zelenskiy also said in his nightly address that decisions made in July at the NATO summit in Washington on air defense and other supplies to the front line “have not yet been fully implemented...and this, of course, has had a significant impact on our people’s motivation and morale.” The recent authorization of long-range strikes on military targets in Russia “has been helpful, but the pressure on Russia must be maintained and increased at various levels to make Russia feel what war really is,” Zelenskiy said. Russian forces have been making steady gains along the front line as Kyiv's troops battle a larger and better equipped enemy. Zelenskiy did not mention a news report that President Joe Biden's administration is urging Ukraine to quickly increase the size of its military by drafting more troops. A senior Biden administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, was quoted earlier on November 27 by the Associated Press as saying that the outgoing administration wants Ukraine to lower the mobilization age to 18 from 25 to help expand the pool of fighting-age men. The official said “the pure math” of Ukraine's situation now is that it needs more troops in the fight, according to the AP. The official said the Ukrainians believe they need about 160,000 additional troops, but the U.S. administration believes they probably will need more than that. Calin Georgescu, the pro-Russian far-right independent candidate who scored a shock victory in the first round of Romania's presidential election, has denied that he wants the country out of NATO and the European Union. Georgescu, who garnered nearly 23 percent of the vote in the November 24 poll, will face off against center-right Elena Lasconi, a staunch Euro-Atlanticist, in the December 8 runoff after both pushed ahead of favorite leftist Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu. Without the backing of a party, Georgescu's campaign relied heavily on social media platform TikTok, where his account had 1.6 million likes and where he posted videos of himself attending church, doing judo, running on a track, and speaking on podcasts. He has described NATO as "the world's weakest alliance" and the alliance's ballistic missile-defense shield in Deveselu, southern Romania, as a "shame of diplomacy," claiming the military alliance would not defend any of its members in case of a Russian attack. Instead, he recommended "Russian wisdom" as Romania's best path forward and launched a TikTok campaign calling for an end to Romanian aid for Ukraine. Under incumbent Klaus Iohannis, Romania has been one of Kyiv's staunchest allies. But facing a public backlash as hundreds of mostly young people took to the streets of Bucharest and other big Romanian cities chanting, "No Putin, no fear, Europe is our mother," and "Young people ask you not to vote for a dictator," Georgescu denied in a YouTube video on November 26 that he wanted Romania out of the Euro-Atlantic structures. "I do not want out of NATO, I do not want out of the European Union," Georgescu said, standing side-by-side with his wife, adding, "but I do want us to stand firm, not to kneel there, not to accept everything, to do everything in our national interest." He went on to say that he wanted peace, adding, "We cannot get into other peoples' wars for their interests that cause us prejudice," again alluding to Romania's support for Ukraine. For the December 8 runoff, Georgescu has rallied the support of far-right pro-Russia AUR party of which he used to be a member until 2022 and whose leader, George Simion, garnered almost 14 percent in the first round, while the center-right liberals threw their weight behind Lasconi, a former TV reporter and mayor of the small southern Romanian city of Campulung Muscel. But first, Romanians will elect a new parliament on December 1, with Ciolacu's Social Democratic Party, the centrist National Liberal Party, and Lasconi's Save Romania Union favorite to win most of the 332 seats in the lower Deputy Chamber and 137 mandates in the upper chamber, the Senate. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on November 27 tapped Keith Kellogg, a retired army lieutenant general who has long served as a top adviser to Trump on defense issues, as his nominee to be special envoy for Ukraine and Russia. "Keith has led a distinguished Military and Business career, including serving in highly sensitive National Security roles in my first Administration," Trump said on social media. Kellogg "was with me right from the beginning," Trump said on Truth Social. "Together, we will secure PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH, and Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN!" Kellogg's nomination comes after Trump's criticism during the 2024 presidential campaign of the billions of dollars that the United States has poured into Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Trump also said he could end the war within 24 hours of retaking the White House, a statement that has been interpreted as meaning that Ukraine would have to surrender territory that Russia now occupies. Kellogg has already put forth a plan for ending the war that involves freezing the battle lines where they are and forcing Kyiv and Moscow to the negotiating table, Reuters reported in June. According to Reuters, Kellogg has advocated telling the Ukrainians that if they don't come to the negotiating table, U.S. support would dry up, while telling Russian President Vladimir Putin that if he doesn't come to the table, the United States would give the Ukrainians "everything they need to kill you in the field." NATO membership for Ukraine would be off the table as part of the incentive for Russia to come along, while putting it back on would be punishment for holding back. Kellogg, 80, earlier this year wrote that "bringing the Russia-Ukraine war to a close will require strong America First leadership to deliver a peace deal and immediately end the hostilities between the two warring parties." He made the statements in a research paper written for the America First Policy Institute, a think tank formed after Trump left office in 2021. "The United States would continue to arm Ukraine and strengthen its defenses to ensure Russia will make no further advances and will not attack again after a cease-fire or peace agreement," the document said. "Future American military aid, however, will require Ukraine to participate in peace talks with Russia." Kellogg served in several positions during Trump's first term, including as chief of staff on Trump's national security council and national-security adviser to then-Vice President Mike Pence. Russian Deputy Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy told a UN Security Council meeting that any decision by Trump's incoming administration to cut support for Ukraine would be a "death sentence" for the Ukrainian Army. "Even if we're to lay to one side the prediction that Donald Trump will cut assistance to Ukraine, which for the Ukrainian Army would essentially be a death sentence, it is becoming clearer that he and his team will, in any case, conduct an audit of the assistance provided to Kyiv," Polyanskiy said. Polyanskiy said Russia had repeatedly offered to negotiate, but Ukraine and its Western backers have favored escalation. Ukraine has consistently rejected Russian offers to negotiate because Moscow's conditions, including accepting Russia's occupation of Ukrainian territory, have been unacceptable to Kyiv. The Russian diplomat also accused the Biden administration of trying through its increased support to Ukraine to create a "mess, both in Russia and with the new team in the White House." He warned the decision by the Biden administration and its European allies to authorize the Ukrainian military to use long-range missiles against targets inside Russia had "placed the world on the brink of a global nuclear conflict" and said Russia would respond decisively. "I will be frank, we believe that it is our right to use our weapons against the military facilities of those countries who allow the use of weapons against our facilities." Speaking earlier at the same Security Council session, UN Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca highlighted recent Russian long-range missile strikes against Ukraine and called the use of ballistic missiles and related threats against Ukraine "a very dangerous, escalatory development." U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood told the session Washington would "continue to surge security assistance to Ukraine to strengthen its capabilities, including air defense, and put Ukraine in the best possible position on the battlefield." Russian President Vladimir Putin has been warmly received in Kazakhstan, where he and Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev discussed boosting energy and industry ties. Putin arrived in Astana on a state visit on November 27 and was greeted by Toqaev with a handshake, according to images released on social media. Toqaev said he had "carefully read" Putin’s commentary published in state newspaper Kazakhstanskaya Pravda ahead of the visit and said he had published his own commentary on the state of the relationship between Moscow and Astana in the Russian media. "I think that we have very thoroughly, as if in unison, outlined our approaches to the development of cooperation aimed at the future," Toqaev said. He emphasized in his article that Kazakhstan "remains a reliable strategic partner and ally of Russia in this very difficult time," Toqaev's press service quoted Toqaev as saying. Putin thanked Toqaev "for his careful attitude toward the Russian language," a reference to the lower house of parliament's ratification of an agreement to create the International Organization for the Russian Language a few days before Putin's arrival. Kazakhstan has tried to distance itself from Moscow's war in Ukraine but remains highly dependent on Russia for exporting oil to Western markets and for imports of food, electricity, and other products. Underscoring that more than 80 percent of Kazakhstan's oil is exported to foreign markets via Russia, Putin said he and Toqaev always focus on "a specific result" in their talks. "Our countries are...constructively cooperating in the oil and gas sector," Putin wrote in his article, which was also featured in the Kremlin's website. Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told journalists on November 26 that Putin and Toqaev would sign a protocol on extending an agreement on oil supplies to Kazakhstan. He did not give details. The two leaders said after their meeting that they had discussed plans to increase the transit through Kazakhstan of Russian natural gas to Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, part of Moscow's pivot away from European energy markets. They also said they talked about joint projects in hydroelectric power, car tires, and fertilizers and other areas. Putin said in his article that Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom was "ready for new large-scale projects." The company already is involved in some projects in Kazakhstan, which in October voted in favor of constructing its first nuclear power plant. Neither leader mentioned the nuclear project after their talks. Toqaev said he had raised the issue of agricultural trade following a Russian ban on imports of grain, fruit, and other farm products from Kazakhstan in October. Moscow imposed the ban after Kazakhstan barred Russian wheat imports in August to protect its producers. "Our countries should not compete on the Eurasian Economic Union market or foreign markets," Toqaev said, referring to agricultural exports within and outside a Moscow-led post-Soviet trade bloc. Nordic-Baltic countries and Poland have pledged to step up support for Ukraine, including making more ammunition available to strengthen deterrence and defense against hybrid attacks . The leaders of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Norway, Poland, and Sweden, who met near Stockholm on November 27, also said they were ready to step up sanctions against Russia and backers of its Ukraine invasion and discussed an investigation into the severing of undersea communication cables earlier this month in the Baltic Sea. "Together with our allies, we are committed to strengthening our deterrence, and defense, including resilience, against conventional as well as hybrid attacks, and to expanding sanctions against Russia as well as against those who enable Russia's aggression," the leaders said a statement. The leaders met for talks covering transatlantic relations, regional security cooperation, and a common policy on the war in Ukraine. The meeting was the first of the Nordic-Baltic heads of government since 2017. Poland attended for the first time. Ahead of the meeting Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk proposed joint monitoring of the Baltic Sea by the navies of the Baltic states following damage to two undersea communication cables that is being investigated as a hybrid attack. "Baltic air policing already exists for the airspace over the Baltic Sea," Tusk said. "I will convince our partners of the necessity to immediately create an analogous formula for the control and security of the Baltic Sea waters, a naval surveillance," he added. The underwater cables -- one linking Finland and Germany and the other connecting Sweden to Lithuania -- were damaged on November 17-18, prompting suspicions of sabotage. Sweden, Germany, and Lithuania have all launched investigations, but the cause of the damage is still unknown. Finnish police have said they believe the incident was caused by a Chinese ship dragging its anchor, and Swedish investigators have focused on the Chinese cargo ship Yi Peng 3, which is thought to have passed both locations at the times of the cable breaks. The ship now sits idle in international waters but inside Denmark's exclusive economic zone. Sweden has asked the vessel to return to Swedish waters to help facilitate the investigation, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on November 26, but he stressed he was not making any accusations. Kristersson told a press conference he was hopeful China would respond positively to the request to move the ship to Swedish waters. "From the Swedish side we have had contact with the ship and contact with China and said that we want the ship to move towards Swedish waters," Kristersson said. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said communications with Sweden and other relevant parties had been "unobstructed." Mao Ning said at a regular news briefing on November 27 that China has shown "consistent support" in working with other countries to maintain the security of international undersea cables and other infrastructure. Yi Peng 3 left the Russian port of Ust-Luga on November 15. Russia last week said suggestions it had anything to do with the breaches were "absurd." The Wall Street Journal reported on November 27 that the ship has been surrounded by European warships in international waters for a week. Investigators suspect the crew of the Yi Peng 3, which is loaded with Russian fertilizer, deliberately severed the cables by dragging its anchor for more than 160 kilometers, the newspaper reported. The probe centers on whether the captain of the ship was induced by Russian intelligence to carry out the sabotage, the report said. Georgia's billionaire political power broker Bidzina Ivanishvili has introduced a Euroskeptic former soccer player as his ruling party's nominee for a disputed presidential vote next month, despite mounting constitutional disagreements and a post-parliamentary election boycott in the Caucasus nation. The nomination of Mikheil Kavelashvili came hours into a new legislative session dominated by the ruling Georgian Dream party -- which Ivanishvili founded -- that the current president, Salome Zurabishvili, contends is unconstitutional because of alleged flaws in last month's parliamentary vote. The fractured opposition disputes the results and sought to nullify the seating of legislators in order to spark a constitutional impasse. The Georgian Dream claimed victory with 88 seats in the 150-seat parliament after voting on October 26, suggesting it will try to steamroll opposition to put the fiery 53-year-old former international footballer and right-wing populist lawmaker Kavelashvili in the presidency. Kavelashvili is one of the founders of a 2-year-old, anti-Western offshoot of the Georgian Dream party called People's Power. His party introduced a draft law on "foreign agents" in 2023 that sparked massive protests before it was withdrawn and replaced earlier this year with a slightly reworded bill to curb "foreign influence" at nongovernment groups. Amid this year's protests against the polarizing so-called Russian law, Kavelashvili invoked Georgia's "civil war started in the '90s" to accuse its opponents -- including current Georgian international soccer great Khvicha Kvaratskhelia -- of stoking violence. The law was eventually enacted when lawmakers overrode Zurabishvili's veto. The looming presidential vote is the country's first under a 2017 change from a direct to an indirect vote by an electoral college for the head of state, a largely ceremonial post that Zurabishvili has used to oppose what Georgian critics decry as a "Russian law." Zurabishvili has called the legislature that emerged from the October elections "unconstitutional" and appealed to the Constitutional Court for their annulment over alleged Russian influence and fraud. The European Union has stalled Tbilisi's bid to join the bloc, while the United States has vowed to "revise" its relations with Georgia over the law and other recent moves by the Georgian Dream-led government. Zurabishvili has accused the ruling party of "capturing" Georgia and diverting it from its pro-EU path, a goal that is enshrined in the constitution and supported by an overwhelming majority of around 80 percent of Georgians, and toward Russia instead. Georgian Dream lawmakers voted on November 26 to hold the presidential election on December 14, a move some experts say is illegal until the courts rule on Zurabishvili's and other postelection challenges. Ivanishvili, who made his fortune in Russia and is the influential honorary chairman of Georgian Dream, called Kavelashvili "the best embodiment of a Georgian man" when he introduced him as the party's presidential choice the same day. In a pointed shot at Zurabishvili, who has fallen out dramatically with Georgian Dream since that party nominated her to the presidency in 2018, Ivanishvili said Kavelashvili would "fully restore the dignity temporarily taken from the institution of the presidency." In accepting the disputed nomination, Kavelashvili accused Zurabishvili of having "insulted and neglected" the Georgian Constitution and that she "continues to violate it today." Detractors have pointed out Kavelashvili's apparent lack of a university degree, or at least the absence of any information about it in his official parliamentary profile. In 2015, Kavelashvili filed a lawsuit seeking to cancel a provision of the national soccer federation's guidelines requiring presidents of that body to have a university degree. A new criminal trial against imprisoned former Moscow municipal deputy Aleksei Gorinov, known for his outspoken criticism of Russia's war against Ukraine, began at a Russian military court on November 27. Before the hearing started, Gorinov displayed a hand-drawn message on piece of paper that said: "Stop killing. Let's stop the war." When court bailiffs attempted to confiscate the makeshift poster, Gorinov refused to hand it over, saying that he was not breaking any regulations and insisting the bailiffs must document the seizure formally. Asked about his health before the session, Gorinov revealed ongoing struggles with illness. "There's no treatment available," he said, adding that he relied on psychotherapy. "I don’t understand why they’re targeting an ordinary person like me." His lawyer, Alyona Savelyeva, said that Gorinov was suffering from bronchitis, which makes his transportation to court and time spent in cold rooms particularly difficult. Gorinov, 63, was sentenced in July 2022 to seven years in prison for spreading "fake news" about the Russian military because of his public opposition to Russia's full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine. In October 2023, the authorities opened a new case against him, accusing him of "justifying terrorism" based on alleged conversations with fellow inmates about Ukraine's Azov Regiment. During the hearing, Gorinov firmly denied any ties to terrorism. "I am far from any ideology of terrorism," he said. "I am a committed internationalist and an opponent of war and violence, as I have consistently stated publicly throughout my life." Gorinov's initial conviction stemmed from an anti-war speech he delivered at a city council meeting in Moscow's Krasnoselsky district. He was the first person sentenced under Russia's new law criminalizing "fake news" about the military, introduced after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Earlier this year, Gorinov was transferred from a detention center in Moscow to a prison in the Vladimir region. He complained of harsh conditions, including solitary confinement in a cold cell without a mattress, blanket, or access to hot water. Dmitry Muratov, editor in chief of the Novaya gazeta newspaper and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross for an urgent inspection of the conditions Gorinov was being held in. Following this, local officials and prosecutors inspected the facility, resulting in Gorinov's relocation to a slightly improved cell with a window that opens and closes, a functioning toilet, and reportedly no mice. Gorinov has been repeatedly subjected to punitive measures, including spending extended periods in solitary confinement. In spring 2023, he spent 48 consecutive days in a punishment cell, a treatment often reported by other political prisoners in Russia. The Russian state-run Channel One television company in Germany said the government has ordered two of its journalists to leave the country, prompting Moscow to revoke the accreditations of two correspondents from German media group ARD. The affected Channel One journalists, correspondent Ivan Blagoi and cameraman Dmitry Volkov, said they were informed that they must depart Germany by mid-December. The media outlet confirmed the expulsions on social media on November 27. Blagoi said the decision was justified by the German authorities as being "in the interest of the security of the Federal Republic of Germany." Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news conference on November 27 that Moscow had revoked the accreditations of two ARD correspondents, saying, "we have to take tit-for-tat measures." She gave no further details. The expulsions mark the latest in a series of escalating tensions between Russia and Western countries over the role of Russian state media. Since Moscow launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian broadcasters have faced bans, restrictions on access to social media platforms, and accusations of disseminating propaganda. Channel One, a Russian-language broadcaster popular among older audiences in Russia and some other former Soviet republics, has come under scrutiny for its coverage. ARD is an association of German public broadcasters. German authorities reportedly accused the outlet of spreading propaganda and disinformation among the Russian-speaking diaspora in Germany, which numbers in the hundreds of thousands. The accusations include claims the channel justifies the Russian invasion of Ukraine and portrays Ukraine's defenders as "Nazis." The expulsions follows a report aired by Blagoi on November 24 regarding Nikolaj Gajduk, a German citizen detained by Russia's Federal Security Service in October. The report alleged that Western intelligence agencies, including the CIA, were involved in Gajduk's alleged actions ordered by Ukrainian special services. The timing of the decision to expel the journalists, shortly after this broadcast, raises questions about the broader geopolitical dimensions of the incident. Russia has consistently retaliated against measures targeting its state media. Following Germany's 2022 ban on RT, a Kremlin-backed broadcaster, Moscow shut down the Deutsche Welle bureau in Russia and revoked accreditations for German journalists. Similar restrictions have been imposed on other foreign correspondents, reflecting a tit-for-tat approach. The German government has not publicly detailed the reasons behind its decision, but the move underscores the increasing focus on disinformation as a national security threat. Channel One claimed its journalists had complied with German laws and accused the authorities of using vague accusations to stifle alternative narratives. Germany has a large number of residents who have emigrated from the former Soviet Union, who are mostly ethnic Germans from Kazakhstan and Russia. A Russian drone strike on Kyiv early on November 27 wounded two people and damaged a nonresidential building, the mayor of Ukraine's capital, Vitali Klitschko, said on his Telegram channel. Ukraine's air force, meanwhile, said that Russia launched 89 drones at eight regions -- Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Poltava, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskiy, and Mykolayiv. Ukrainian air defenses shot down 36 of the attacking drones, while 48 were lost due to the jamming of their navigation systems by electronic means, the air force said on Telegram. Five other drones left the territory of Ukraine in the direction of Belarus and back to Russia, it said. Russia's Defense Ministry said separately that its air defenses shot down 10 Ukrainian drones over the Rostov region and two off the Black Sea port of Sevastopol. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, click here . Police arrested nearly 1,000 supporters of Imran Khan as security forces cracked down on a massive protest in Islamabad demanding the release of the jailed former Pakistani prime minister, police said on November 27. Islamabad police chief Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi told a news conference that 19 Afghan citizens were among the 954 protesters arrested by Pakistani security forces over the past three days. The protesters, who had marched for days toward Islamabad from Khan's stronghold of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province in the northwest, were dispersed and the capital cleared during a sweeping midnight raid by Pakistani security forces. Rizvi said police used only nonlethal means during the overnight raid. Khan's Pakistan Tehrik-e Insaf (PTI) party issued a statement on X on November 27 saying the protest, during which at least six people -- four members of the security forces and two protesters -- had been killed, was being suspended "for the time being" and accused the government of brutality. PTI spokesman Sheikh Waqas Akram confirmed the suspension of the protest. Party officials said Khan's wife, Bushra Bibi, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, a key Khan ally, had returned "safely" to the province from Islamabad following the security forces' crackdown. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told journalists in Islamabad at the late-night briefing that the protesters, some of whom were armed with sticks and slingshots, had been successfully dispersed after the Pakistani military deployed to the capital earlier on November 26. He announced that schools would reopen on November 27 and all roads would be cleared. The minister also said that details regarding the involvement of Afghan nationals in the protest would be shared with the media on November 27, adding that "an important decision has been taken about Afghan nationals," which would be announced in the next few days. PTI claimed on X that the police in Islamabad fired directly at protesters. The capital had been locked down since late on November 23 and mobile Internet services were sporadically cut. The Islamabad city administration last week announced a two-month ban on public gatherings, but convoys of Khan supporters traveled from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province on November 25 determined to enter the city. PTI's chief demand is the release of Khan, who served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The 72-year-old former cricket superstar-turned-politician has been in jail for more than a year and faces more than 150 criminal cases, although he enjoys huge popularity among Pakistanis. PTI has said the cases are politically motivated. PTI has defied a government crackdown since Khan was barred from running in elections in February with regular demonstrations aiming to seize public spaces in Islamabad and other large cities. Before the raids, security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets at Khan supporters after thousands defied roadblocks to march some 150 kilometers from the northwest toward Islamabad despite a lockdown and a ban on public gatherings. The party is also protesting alleged tampering in the February polls and a recent government-backed constitutional amendment giving it more power over the courts, where Khan is tangled in dozens of cases. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's government has come under increasing criticism for deploying heavy-handed measures to quash PTI's protests, which have largely cut off Islamabad from the rest of the country, with travel to other parts of Pakistan almost at a standstill. A cease-fire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah has come into effect in southern Lebanon after almost 14 months of fighting that triggered concerns of a wider conflict in the region. After the cease-fire kicked off at 4 a.m. local time, the Israeli military warned civilians not to return to their homes in south Lebanon yet and not to approach Israeli positions. However, convoys of civilians crossed into southern Lebanon, defying the both the Israeli warning and appeal by the Lebanese Army, which is set to deploy to the area to replace the Israeli forces. Hezbollah is designated a terrorist organization by the United States and its military wing is blacklisted by the European Union. The cease-fire was overwhelmingly approved by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet, Netanyahu’s office said on November 26, marking a major development toward peace between Israel and Hezbollah militants. The move was immediately welcomed by U.S. President Joe Biden, who said it represents a fresh start for Lebanon and shows that peace is possible after nearly 14 months of cross-border fighting that forced tens of thousands of Israelis to flee and killed thousands of Lebanese. Netanyahu’s office said the plan was approved by a 10-1 margin. Earlier, Netanyahu defended the cease-fire agreement as he recommended his security cabinet adopt the plan, vowing to strike Hezbollah hard if it violates the deal. In the hours leading up to the meeting, Israel carried out its most intense wave of strikes in Beirut and its southern suburbs and issued a record number of evacuation warnings, while Hezbollah said it launched drones toward Israel amid cross-border fire. In a televised address, Netanyahu did not say how long the truce would last but noted that the length of the cease-fire "depends on what happens in Lebanon." He added: "If Hezbollah violates the agreement and attempts to rearm, we will strike. If they try to renew terror activities near the border, we will strike. If they launch a rocket, dig a tunnel, or bring in a truck with missiles, we will strike." The cease-fire marks the first major step toward ending the violence triggered by the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, by Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. However, the truce will not apply directly to Israel's ongoing war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Shortly after the cease-fire took effect, Hamas said it was also "ready" for a truce. Earlier, Netanyahu said on November 26 that Israel would now focus its efforts on Hamas and releasing the hostages seized by the militants on October 7. "From Day 2 of the war, Hamas was counting on Hezbollah to fight by its side. With Hezbollah out of the picture, Hamas is left on its own," he said. "We will increase our pressure on Hamas and that will help us in our sacred mission of releasing our hostages." Biden said that Israel reserved the right to resume operations in Lebanon if Hezbollah breaks the terms of the truce. "This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities," Biden said at the White House shortly after Netanyahu announced the security cabinet approval of the truce. If any party breaks the terms of the deal, "Israel retains the right to self-defense." He said that over the next 60 days civilians on both sides will be able to safely return to their own communities. The deal requires Israeli troops to withdraw from south Lebanon and Lebanon's army to deploy some 5,000 troops in the region, while Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the border south of the Litani River. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati welcomed the cease-fire and said it was a "fundamental step towards establishing calm and stability in Lebanon." The war has killed at least 3,799 people in Lebanon since October 2023, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. On the Israeli side, the hostilities have killed at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians, authorities say. The war in Lebanon escalated after nearly a year of limited cross-border exchanges of fire initiated by Hezbollah. Separately, Syria's Defense Ministry said six people were killed in Israeli strikes on border crossings with Lebanon just after midnight on November 27, hours before the cease-fire took effect. Protests against the rise of pro-Russian politician Calin Georgescu spread beyond Bucharest to other Romanian cities on November 26 after his surprise victory in the first round of a presidential election over the weekend. Protests opposing Georgescu took place on the evening of November 26 in Bucharest, Timisoara, Iasi, Brasov, and Sibiu. Georgescu faces a runoff against pro-Western center-right candidate Elena Lasconi on December 8 after winning 22.94 percent of the vote in the first round of balloting on November 24 in the EU and NATO member state. About 1,000 people turned out in Bucharest for the second night of protests against Georgescu in the Romanian capital's University Square. Most of those who took to the streets were young people who expressed their concern about Georgescu's radical attitudes and the future of their country. "I came here because at the moment our democracy is in a precarious situation and I strongly believe that we, the young generation, can prevent a future disaster, which could take place in the second round," said a student from Bucharest who declined to be identified by name. Another protester said she was demoralized that people chose not to inform themselves about Georgescu before the election. "I cannot accept that I or my future children...would be led by a fascist," said the protester, who also declined to provide her name. She said that Romanians must go down the path of democracy and there is still a chance for that in parliamentary elections scheduled to take place on December 1 and in the December 8 runoff in the presidential race. "We can go back 35 years and see what our parents and grandparents went through...the mass misinformation they went through when [communist Romanian dictator Nicola] Ceausescu was elected,” she said. “Let's inform ourselves before choosing. We have to go massively to the vote. We young people have a voice and we have to use it.” In Timisoara, young people chanted "Today in Timisoara, tomorrow throughout the country," a reference to the December 1989 revolution, which began in Timisoara. The protesters also displayed posters saying, "Down with the legionaries," a reference to statements made by Georgescu in television appearances in which he affirmed his sympathy for the legionary or religious fascist Iron Guard movement in Romania and its leaders. Similar protests were held on November 26 in Iasi and Brasov, where several dozen young people gathered. The protesters in Iasi said they did not want to be led by a dictator or a sympathizer of anti-Semitic and fascist leaders from Romania in the 1930s and 1940s. Georgescu, 62, has denied that he is an extremist or a fascist and referred to himself as "a Romanian who loves his country." He had been polling in single digits before a viral TikTok campaign calling for an end to aid for Ukraine. The independent candidate insisted "there is no East or West" and stressed that neutrality was "absolutely necessary." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet has overwhelmingly approved a cease-fire deal with Hezbollah, Netanyahu’s office said on November 26, marking a major development toward peace between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants. The move was immediately welcomed by U.S. President Joe Biden, who said it represents a fresh start for Lebanon and shows that peace is possible after nearly 14 months of cross-border fighting that forced tens of thousand of Israelis to flee and killed thousands of Lebanese. Netanyahu’s office said the plan was approved by a 10-1 margin. Earlier, Netanyahu defended the cease-fire agreement as he recommended his security cabinet adopt the plan, vowing to strike Hezbollah hard if it violates the expected deal. In the hours leading up to the meeting, Israel carried out its most intense wave of strikes in Beirut and its southern suburbs and issued a record number of evacuation warnings. In a televised address, Netanyahu did not say how long the truce would last but noted that the length of the cease-fire “depends on what happens in Lebanon." He added: "If Hezbollah violates the agreement and attempts to rearm, we will strike. If they try to renew terror activities near the border, we will strike. If they launch a rocket, dig a tunnel, or bring in a truck with missiles, we will strike." A cease-fire would mark the first major step toward ending the violence triggered by the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, by Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. Biden said that, under the deal reached between Israel and Hezbollah, the cease-fire will take effect at 4 a.m. local time on November 27. He stressed that Israel reserved the right to resume operations in Lebanon if Hezbollah breaks the terms of the truce. “This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities,” Biden said at the White House shortly after Netanyahu announced the security cabinet approval of the truce. If any party breaks the terms of the deal, “Israel retains the right to self-defense.” He said that over the next 60 days civilians on both sides will be able to safely return to their own communities. The deal requires Israeli troops to withdraw from south Lebanon and Lebanon's army to deploy in the region, while Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the border south of the Litani River. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati welcomed the cease-fire and said it was a "fundamental step towards establishing calm and stability in Lebanon." The cease-fire does not address the war in Gaza, but Biden said it deserves a cease-fire deal as well. Netanyahu said Israel would now focus its efforts on Hamas militants and his top security concern, Iran. "From day two of the war, Hamas was counting on Hezbollah to fight by its side. With Hezbollah out of the picture, Hamas is left on its own," he said. "We will increase our pressure on Hamas and that will help us in our sacred mission of releasing our hostages." U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier that a cease-fire would save lives and livelihoods in Lebanon and in Israel. “It will make a big difference in creating the conditions that will allow people to return to their homes safely in northern Israel and in southern Lebanon,” Blinken said at a briefing at the conclusion of a Group of Seven foreign ministers’ meeting in Fiuggi, Italy. He said he also believed that de-escalating tension could help end the conflict in Gaza by letting Hamas know that it can’t count on other fronts opening up in the war. “In terms of Gaza itself, I also think this can have a significant impact.... Because one of the things that Hamas has sought from day one is to get others in on the fight, to create multiple fronts, to make sure that Israel was having to fight in a whole series of different places,” Blinken said. The war has killed at least 3,799 people in Lebanon since October 2023, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. On the Israeli side, the hostilities have killed at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians, authorities say. The war in Lebanon escalated after nearly a year of limited cross-border exchanges of fire initiated by Hezbollah. The Lebanese group said it was acting in support of Hamas after its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza. The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) leading industrialized countries expressed their support for Ukraine on November 26 in the final statement following their summit in Italy. They also condemned what they described as Russia's "irresponsible and threatening nuclear rhetoric." The G7 ministers’ statement also warned that North Korean support for Russia marked a dangerous expansion of the war, condemning the development and saying Russia’s procurement of North Korean ballistic missiles and munitions was a violation of UN Security Council resolutions. “We stand firm against Russia’s war of aggression. We vehemently condemn the brutal attacks against Ukraine’s cities and critical civilian infrastructure and its unacceptable toll on the civilian population,” the minister said in a joint statement at the conclusion of their two-day meeting. The foreign ministers of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States noted Russia’s use of an intermediate range ballistic missile on November 21, saying it is “further evidence of its reckless and escalatory behavior.” They also said their support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence “will remain unwavering.” The ministers, who were joined by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha and the EU’s foreign policy chief at their meeting in Fiuggi, a spa town southeast of Rome, added that they hoped to start distributing a $50 billion loan package stemming from frozen Russian assets by the end of the year. They also pledged to act against groups helping Russia to evade sanctions and called on China, a long-standing ally of North Korea, to act against the deployment of North Korean troops to the battlefield. The ministers also tried to raise the pressure on Israel to accept a cease-fire deal with Hezbollah in Lebanon, saying "now is the time to conclude a diplomatic settlement." They called on the Israeli government to facilitate humanitarian assistance to the civilian population in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. "We express our strongest condemnation for the rise in extremist settler violence committed against Palestinians, which undermines security and stability in the West Bank and threatens prospects for a lasting peace," the statement added. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has written an autobiography in which she reaffirms her decision to push back against offering Ukraine future membership in NATO at a summit in 2008 despite criticism that such a move may have prevented Russia from invading Ukraine. In the book, Merkel reflects on how that decision and others during her 16 years in office have fared over time and recalls her relationships with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Freedom: Memoirs 1954-2021 was launched in Berlin on November 26 nearly three years to the day after she left office and ahead of a promotional tour of major European cities and the United States. The 70-year-old Merkel, known for her calm and unflappable leadership style, in the book rejects blame for any of the current strain in the West's relations with Russia in a rare commentary on her time in office. Concerning the 2008 Bucharest NATO summit, Merkel noted a pledge that Ukraine and Georgia would eventually join the western military alliance was a "battle cry" to the Russian leader, adding that he later told her: "You won't be Chancellor forever. And then they'll become a member of NATO. And I want to prevent that." Six years later Putin launched the Russian occupation and annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, and followed that with the February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which the Russian president has justified in part by citing Kyiv's NATO membership desires. Russia Is 'An Indispensable Geopolitical Factor' Putin was always on guard not to be treated badly and engaged in power games, according to the book. Merkel wrote about his inclination to make others wait and recalls how, despite her fear of dogs, he allowed his black Labrador to be in the room during a meeting in 2007 in Sochi. “You could find all this childish, reprehensible, you could shake your head at it,” she writes. “But that didn’t make Russia disappear from the map. Russia with its nuclear arsenal exists and remains “an indispensable geopolitical factor.” Merkel also details her experience with Trump during his first term as president, saying he “judged everything from the perspective of the real estate developer he had been before entering politics.” She writes that they “talked on two different levels,” in their March 2017 meeting at the White House. “Trump on an emotional level, me on a factual one.” Trump 'Captivated' By 'Dictatorial Tendencies' She added that Trump, who won a second non-consecutive term on November 5, did not share her conviction that cooperation could benefit all but instead believed that all countries were in competition with each other. “He did not believe that prosperity of all could be increased through cooperation,” she writes of the U.S. president, who "was captivated by politicians with autocratic and dictatorial tendencies." Merkel also writes about the difficulties of being the first female candidate for chancellor and her decision to welcome large numbers of migrants and displaced people in 2015 in the 700-plus page memoir, which is being simultaneously published as an audiobook and translated into more than two dozen languages, including French and English. She will make a special presentation in Washington on her book tour to to present it in the United States on December 2 alongside former U.S. President Barack Obama. The book is being published as Germans rethink her legacy, including her policy on migration, which many in Germany believe led to a surge in the far right. The former leader of Germany's center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) uses the book to justify the decisions she made regarding Russia, which launched its invasion of Ukraine just five months after Olaf Scholz of the Social Democrats (SPD) was elected to succeed Merkel, who had decided not to seek reelection. Under Scholz the German economy has stagnated. The war in Ukraine prompted Berlin to wean itself off cheap Russia gas. At the same time the country has had to deal with a reduction in exports to China. Scholz now faces a challenging campaign for reelection after the collapse of his coalition government. The flight recorders of a cargo plane belonging to global courier DHL that crashed near Vilnius on November 25 have been found as investigators continue to search for the cause of the deadly accident. The Boeing 737-476 aircraft crashed as it attempted to land at Vilnius International Airport, killing the jet's Spanish pilot and injuring another Spanish crew member, a German, and a Lithuanian. The crash came amid concerns among Western security officials that Russian intelligence is preparing acts of sabotage targeting Western cargo aircraft, though officials have said so far they have no evidence of a link. The plane's flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, the so-called black boxes, "were found and removed from the wreckage," Lithuania's Justice Ministry said in a statement , adding that investigators are analyzing the data on the two devices. "The goal of a safety investigation is to prevent future accidents," the statement said, adding the probe "does not seek to determine who is at fault or responsible." Lithuanian Chief Prosecutor Arturas Urbelis separately said at least 19 witnesses were interviewed in connection with the incident but so far no indication has been found of "more serious actions." The plane that departed Leipzig, Germany, about 90 minutes before the crash hit several buildings as it skidded hundreds of meters, according to the police and DHL. One of the buildings hit by the plane was a house whose occupants survived, authorities said. Firefighters were not able to determine whether the plane began burning or breaking up while still in the air, and authorities have appealed to the public to hand over possible video recordings of the crash. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the crash could have been a "hybrid incident" with outside involvement. "We must now seriously ask ourselves whether this was an accident or whether it was another hybrid incident," Baerbock told reporters at a G7 foreign ministers meeting in Italy. "We have recently seen multiple hybrid attacks in Europe, often targeting individuals and infrastructure, whether underwater or hard infrastructure," she said, alluding to the recent severing of telecom cables in the Baltic Sea that officials have said could have been sabotage. German authorities are working very closely with the Lithuanian authorities to get to the bottom of the crash, she added. Lithuanian authorities have so far stopped short of making the same link. "We cannot reject the possibility of terrorism...but at the moment we can't make attributions or point fingers because we don't have such information," Lithuanian counterintelligence chief Darius Jauniskis told reporters. Many Western intelligence agencies have accused Moscow of involvement in sabotage acts in Europe, which they have said are aimed at destabilizing allies of Ukraine as it relies on Western governments in its war against Russia's full-scale invasion. Lithuanian Commissioner-General of Police Arunas Paulauskas said surviving crew members told investigators there was no smoke, fire, or other emergency situation in the cabin prior to the crash. He also said the probability of an external force impact was very low. The crash came after a series of fires at DHL depots in Britain and Germany during the summer. Western security officials were quoted in a news report earlier this month linking the fires to a test run of an alleged Russian operation aimed at igniting fires on cargo or passenger aircraft bound for North America. The Wall Street Journal quoted security officials as saying devices that ignited in July in DHL depots in Leipzig and the British city of Birmingham were part of the test run. Last month, Polish officials said four people had been detained as a result of the investigation into parcels that caught fire while en route to United States and Canada. The activities of the four people "consisted of sabotage and diversion related to sending parcels containing camouflaged explosives and dangerous materials via courier companies to European Union countries and Great Britain, which spontaneously ignited or detonated during land and air transport," Polish prosecutors said in a statement on October 25. "The group's goal was also to test the transfer channel for such parcels, which were ultimately to be sent to the United States of America and Canada," the statement said, adding that foreign intelligence services were to blame. The statement did not directly accuse Russia of involvement. Canada in early November expressed concern to Russian officials after he arrests were announced. Russia responded by summoning a Canadian diplomat on November 8 to rebut allegations that Russia's secret services had orchestrated the campaign to mail explosive packages. Russia has expelled Edward Prior Wilks, a second secretary in the Political Department of the British Embassy in Moscow, accusing him of espionage under diplomatic cover. The Federal Security Service (FSB) announced the decision on November 26, claiming Wilks was part of an "undeclared intelligence presence" in Russia, deepening tensions between Moscow and London. According to the FSB, Wilks entered Russia with false information and engaged in "intelligence and subversive activities" that posed a threat to national security. The diplomat, reportedly linked to the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s Directorate for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, has had his accreditation revoked. Russian authorities have given him two weeks to leave the country. The expulsion follows the removal of six British intelligence officers in August amid strained relations between the two nations over issues ranging from the war in Ukraine to alleged interference in domestic affairs. The move comes on the same day Russia’s Foreign Ministry expanded its sanctions list, barring 30 prominent U.K. officials, military personnel, and journalists from entering the country. The list includes Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, and high-profile figures in the defense and technology sectors. In a statement, Moscow accused Britain of pursuing an "aggressive, Russophobic policy," including support for Ukraine, disinformation about Russia, and direct involvement in the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin warned London to abandon its "futile course" and engage in constructive dialogue. The announcements mark a further escalation in the strained relations, reflecting the deepening crisis in relations between the Kremlin and the West over Moscow's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s actions highlight a deliberate strategy to challenge what it perceives as Western interference. By targeting both diplomatic channels and influential figures, Moscow is signaling that it will not tolerate perceived provocations. At the same time, these moves are part of a broader pattern of Russia asserting its geopolitical stance against the West amid ongoing tensions over Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The diplomatic expulsion, coupled with expanded sanctions, reflects the Kremlin’s view of the United Kingdom as a central player in the Western coalition supporting Ukraine, escalating an already hostile dynamic. The so-called Supreme Court in Ukraine's Russian-occupied Donetsk region has sentenced Mamuka Mamulashvili, leader of the Georgian Legion, to 23 years in prison in absentia. The court, operating under Russia’s authority in the illegally annexed region, accused Mamulashvili of recruiting and training foreign mercenaries to fight against Russian forces in Ukraine. According to the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office, the 46-year-old Mamulashvili, who says he has been the focus of several poisoning attempts, was found guilty under several articles of the Russian Criminal Code. While the ruling will likely have no practical impact on Mamulashvili or the Georgian Legion’s operations, it provides valuable propaganda for the Kremlin as it continues its campaign to suppress dissent and isolate Ukraine diplomatically. For Ukraine and its allies, the verdict underscores the ongoing challenges in countering Russia’s narrative both on and off the battlefield. The charges allege that from 2014 to 2024 Mamulashvili recruited ex-military personnel from Georgia and other nations not directly involved in the ongoing war in Ukraine. Prosecutors claimed Mamulashvili provided training, weapons, and logistical support to these recruits, enabling their participation in military operations. The court further stated Mamulashvili received compensation equivalent to over 23 million rubles ($221.500) for his activities. Russian authorities also highlighted an April 2022 interview Mamulashvili gave to the Khodorkovsky-LIVE YouTube channel where he voiced staunchly anti-Russian sentiments and criticized Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. In addition to Mamulashvili, three other Georgian fighters -- Giorgi Rusitashvili, Nodar Petriashvili, and Vano Nadiradze -- were sentenced in absentia to 14 years in prison each. They were convicted of participating as mercenaries in an armed conflict. The Russian prosecutor’s office stated that all four individuals would serve their sentences in a strict-regime penal colony if captured. The Georgian Legion, founded in 2014, is a volunteer military unit supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression. Composed primarily of Georgian ex-soldiers, the group has been actively involved in key battles across eastern Ukraine. Russia has labeled the Georgian Legion a terrorist organization, aligning with its broader narrative of framing foreign support for Ukraine as illegitimate and criminal. The in absentia sentencing of Mamulashvili and other Georgian fighters appears to serve several purposes beyond legal action. It reinforces Moscow’s portrayal of foreign volunteers aiding Ukraine as mercenaries and terrorists, undermining their legitimacy. By focusing on Mamulashvili’s recruitment efforts and financial rewards, Russian authorities aim to discredit the broader network of international support for Ukraine’s resistance. The verdict also underscores Russia’s effort to project authority over Donetsk, a region it annexed in violation of international law. Issuing high-profile verdicts from a “Supreme Court” in the occupied territory serves to normalize its judicial and political structures in the eyes of its domestic audience, despite their lack of international recognition. Russia's Investigative Committee announced on November 26 that it had opened a criminal case against James Scott Rhys Anderson, a British citizen accused of committing terrorism and mercenary activities. Anderson, who is alleged to have fought for Ukraine's International Legion, was detained in Russia's Kursk region after crossing the border in mid-November. His case underscores the growing complexities of international involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war and the heightened risks faced by foreign volunteers. According to the Investigative Committee , Anderson, alongside other members of Ukrainian forces and foreign mercenaries, illegally entered Kursk with weapons, military equipment, and drones armed with explosive devices. Russian authorities claim the group carried out actions intended to intimidate the local population, cause "significant" property damage, and destabilize government operations. A statement from the Investigative Committee said Anderson and his associates were armed with automatic firearms, missile systems, and drones, underscoring the technological capabilities of Ukraine's forces and their international allies. The authorities allege these actions constitute terrorism under Russian law. A video circulated on pro-Russian Telegram channels and by the state news agency TASS over the weekend showed a man identifying himself as James Scott Rhys Anderson, a 22-year-old former British Army signalman who joined Ukraine's International Legion after leaving military service in 2023. Speaking with a clear British accent, Anderson confirmed his identity and discussed his role in the ongoing war. However, the footage has not been independently verified, raising questions about the circumstances surrounding its recording. Anderson's situation highlights the dangers faced by foreign volunteers in Ukraine's resistance, as well as the propaganda value such incidents hold for Russia. The Kremlin has consistently sought to portray foreign fighters as illegitimate actors, using their presence to bolster its narrative that Ukraine's defense is dependent on mercenaries and extremists. Since Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's 2022 call for international recruits, thousands of foreign volunteers have joined Ukraine’s International Legion. The elite unit, integrated into Ukraine’s military, has attracted fighters from across the globe, including Western nations. For many, the war represents a fight against Russian aggression and a defense of democratic values, but their participation also exposes them to legal and physical risks. Anderson's case is not the first instance of a foreign fighter being captured or accused by Russia. Moscow has consistently sought to criminalize foreign involvement, labeling such fighters as mercenaries -- a status not protected under international law -- and often accusing them of terrorism. This tactic not only targets individual fighters but also aims to deter further international participation in Ukraine's defense. The announcement of Anderson's detainment comes amid shifting dynamics in the border regions, including Kursk. Ukraine's recent cross-border operations signal an escalation in tactics, challenging Russian defenses within its own territory. These incursions, while symbolic of Ukraine's bold resistance, also amplify Moscow's narrative of external aggression threatening its sovereignty. At the same time, reports of Russia employing North Korean soldiers and pushing to reclaim territory lost during Ukraine's August counteroffensive suggest a deepening of the conflict. Russia's efforts to portray foreign fighters like Anderson as central to these operations serve as both a legal and propaganda tool, distracting from its own controversial use of international personnel and tactics. A court in the Siberian city of Chita has sentenced journalist Nika Novak, a former RFE/RL contributor, to four years in prison. Sources close to the investigation told RFE/RL on November 26 that Novak was found guilty of "collaboration with a foreign organization on a confidential basis." Novak was arrested in Moscow last year and transferred to Siberia. Her case was marked as classified, and the details were not publicized. Novak had worked for ChitaMedia and was editor in chief of the Zab.ru website. She contributed to programs by RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities in 2022. RFE/RL President and CEO Stephen Capus condemned Novak's conviction, saying the charges against her were politically motivated and "intended to silence individual reporters and cause a chilling effect." He also called for her immediate release. The law criminalizing collaboration with foreign organizations on a confidential basis allows prosecution for sharing nonclassified information with foreign organizations. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities, click here . Russia overnight launched 188 drones and four cruise missiles at targets in Ukraine -- a record number of projectiles in a single attack, Kyiv's air force said, as NATO and Ukrainian envoys prepared to gather in Brussels to assess Moscow's launching last week of an experimental missile at a Ukrainian city. Ukrainian air-defense systems "tracked 192 air targets -- four Iskander ballistic missiles and 188 enemy drones," the air force said in a message on Telegram. It added that 76 Russian drones were shot down over 17 Ukrainian regions, while another 95 drones "were lost in location" after their navigation systems had been jammed by Ukrainian electronic warfare systems. Five more drones changed course and flew toward Belarus, it said. No casualties were immediately reported in any of the 17 regions targeted, but critical infrastructure facilities such as the country's power grid and high-rise apartment buildings were damaged in several regions, officials said. During the attack, the western Ukrainian city of Ternopil was temporarily left without electricity. For the past several months, Russia has been battering Ukrainian cities with increasingly heavy drone, missile, and glide bomb strikes, causing casualties and damaging energy infrastructure as the cold season settles in. In Brussels, a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council (NUC) is to discuss on November 26 Russia's launching of an experimental hypersonic intermediate-range missile at Ukraine last week. The NUC was established at a NATO summit in Vilnius last year to step up the alliance's collaboration with Kyiv and support Ukraine's aspirations for NATO membership. The NUC meeting of envoys from Ukraine and the 32 member states of the alliance was called by Kyiv after Russia on November 21 struck the Ukrainian city of Dnipro with what President Vladimir Putin said was a new missile called Oreshnik. Putin said the move was part of Moscow's response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian soil with U.S.-supplied ATACMS and British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles. Putin said the Oreshnik is new and not an upgrade of previous Soviet-designed weaponry. The United States said the new missile is "experimental" and based on Russia’s RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Ukraine initially accused Russia of having used an ICBM in the Dnipro attack. An ICBM has never been used in a war. Pakistani police and security forces launched a massive crackdown on thousands of supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad on November 26 after they refused to call off a protest march demanding his release. The protesters were dispersed and the capital cleared after security forces conducted a sweeping late-night raid, said Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi at a briefing. A security official told RFE/RL that around 500 people had been arrested. It was unclear whether the leaders of the march were among those arrested or whether they managed to escape to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, where Khan's Pakistan Tehrik-e Insaf (PTI) party holds power. The Pakistani military deployed troops earlier on November 26 following the deaths of at least three army rangers. Dozens of security forces were wounded in clashes between them and the protesters, some seriously. Naqvi told journalists in Islamabad at the late night briefing that the protesters had been successfully dispersed. He announced that schools would reopen on November 27 and all roads would be cleared. The minister also said that details regarding the involvement of Afghan nationals in the protest would be shared with the media on November 27, adding that "an important decision has been taken about Afghan nationals," which would be announced in the next few days. The Interior Ministry issued a statement during the day strongly condemning the killing of security forces by supporters of PTI. The ministry said on X that a policeman and four rangers were killed in the violence, but according to an RFE/RL correspondent at the scene, the number of rangers killed was three and their deaths were the result of an accident. Before the raids security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets at Khan supporters after thousands defied roadblocks to march some 150 kilometers from the northwest toward Islamabad despite a lockdown and a ban on public gatherings. PTI claimed on X that the police in Islamabad fired directly at protestors and published a video in which a top Karachi official said that in the history of Pakistan there has not been an injustice equal to what he says is going on in Islamabad. The city has been locked down since late on November 23 and mobile Internet services have been sporadically cut. The Islamabad city administration last week announced a two-month ban on public gatherings, but convoys of Khan supporters traveled from the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province on November 25 determined to enter the city. The leadership of PTI went ahead with their plans to travel to the capital even as Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka arrived for a three-day visit. He was received at an airport near the capital by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif late on November 25. PTI's chief demand is the release of Khan, who served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The 72-year-old former cricket superstar turned politician, has been in jail for more than a year and faces more than 150 criminal cases, although he enjoys huge popularity among Pakistanis. PTI has said the cases are politically motivated. PTI has defied a government crackdown since Khan was barred from running in elections in February with regular demonstrations aiming to seize public spaces in Islamabad and other large cities. The party is also protesting alleged tampering in the February polls and a recent government-backed constitutional amendment giving it more power over the courts, where Khan is tangled in dozens of cases. Sharif's government has come under increasing criticism for deploying heavy-handed measures to quash PTI's protests, which have largely cut off Islamabad from the rest of the country, with travel to other parts of Pakistan almost at a standstill. The key Grand Trunk Road highway in Punjab Province has been blocked by authorities with shipping containers, prompting protesters to use heavy machinery to remove the containers. The ongoing clashes also have affected Afghan refugees living in Islamabad or nearby cities who say they cannot leave their homes and are afraid of getting arrested. One of them, Fazel Saber, who lives in a guesthouse in Islamabad, told RFE/RL by phone on November 26 that the security situation has disrupted his life. “We have been banned from going out for three or four days, not even to the park near the guesthouse. Children and women also cannot go out," Saber said. "This is a deprivation of freedom, even though we are not illegal immigrants.” Thousands of protesters calling for the release of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan defied roadblocks and tear gas on November 25 to march toward Islamabad despite a lockdown and a ban on public gatherings. Protesters clashed early on November 26 with police firing tear gas and rubber bullets at Khan supporters to stop them from entering the capital. The government said one police officer had been killed and dozens were critically wounded in clashes with demonstrators as they closed in on Islamabad. Islamabad has been locked down since late on November 23 and mobile Internet services have been sporadically cut. The Islamabad city administration last week announced a two-month ban on public gatherings, but convoys of Khan supporters traveled from the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province determined to enter the city. Security officials say they expected between 9,000 and 11,000 demonstrators, while Khan's party, Pakistan Tehrik-e Insaf (PTI), said the number would be much higher. Video on social media showed Khan supporters donning gas masks and protective goggles. The leadership of Khan's party went ahead with their plans to travel to the capital even as Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka arrived for a three-day visit. He was received at an airport near the capital by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif late on November 25. Meanwhile, the government was in talks with Khan's party to avoid any further violence, officials said. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told reporters that the government was willing to allow Khan supporters to rally on the outskirts of Islamabad, but he threatened extreme measures if they entered the city to protest. Khan, who has been in jail for over a year and faces more than 150 criminal cases, remains popular. PTI has said the cases are politically motivated. PTI has defied a government crackdown since Khan was barred from running in elections in February with regular demonstrations aiming to seize public spaces in Islamabad and other large cities. PTI's chief demand is the release of Khan, the charismatic, 72-year-old former cricket star who served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The party is also protesting alleged tampering in the February polls and a recent government-backed constitutional amendment giving it more power over the courts, where Khan is tangled in dozens of cases. Sharif's government has come under increasing criticism for deploying heavy-handed measures to quash PTI's protests. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the deadly crash of a cargo plane in Lithuania on November 25 could have been a " hybrid incident " with outside involvement. "We must now seriously ask ourselves whether this was an accident or whether it was another hybrid incident," Baerbock told reporters at a G7 foreign ministers meeting in Italy. "We have recently seen multiple hybrid attacks in Europe, often targeting individuals and infrastructure, whether underwater or hard infrastructure," she said, alluding to the recent severing of telecom cables in the Baltic Sea that officials have said could have been sabotage. German authorities are working very closely with the Lithuanian authorities to get to the bottom of the crash, she added. Lithuanian authorities have so far stopped short of making the same link. "We cannot reject the possibility of terrorism.... But at the moment we can't make attributions or point fingers because we don't have such information," Lithuanian counterintelligence chief Darius Jauniskis told reporters. Marius Baranauskas, head of the Lithuanian National Aviation Authority, said the communications between the pilots and the control tower indicated nothing extraordinary, adding that investigators need to examine the black-box recordings to know what was happening in the aircraft. Many Western intelligence agencies have accused Moscow of involvement in sabotage acts in Europe, which they have said are aimed at destabilizing allies of Ukraine as it relies on Western governments in its war against Russia's full-scale invasion. The cargo plane, which belonged to global courier DHL, crashed as it attempted to land at Vilnius airport, killing the jet's Spanish pilot and injuring another Spanish crew member, a German, and a Lithuanian, according to airport and police officials cited by Reuters. At least one of the injured was in critical condition. The plane, a Boeing 737-400 jet that had departed Leipzig, Germany, about 90 minutes before the crash, hit several buildings as it skidded hundreds meters, according to the police and DHL. A spokesperson for the governmental National Crisis Management Center said one of the buildings hit was a house whose occupants survived. Firefighters were not able to determine whether the plane began burning or breaking up while still in the air, and authorities were still looking for the black boxes that record flight data. A DHL statement said the plane "made a forced landing" about 1 kilometer from the Vilnius airport and the cause of the crash was still unknown. Lithuanian Commissioner-General of Police Arunas Paulauskas said surviving crew members told investigators there was no smoke, fire, or other emergency situation in the cabin prior to the crash. He also said the probability of an external force impact was very low. The crash came after a series of fires at DHL depots in Britain and Germany during the summer. Western security officials were quoted in a news report earlier this month linking the fires to a test run of an alleged Russian operation aimed at igniting fires on cargo or passenger aircraft bound for North America. The Wall Street Journal quoted security officials as saying that devices that ignited in July in DHL depots in Leipzig and the British city of Birmingham were part of the test run. Last month, Polish officials said four people had been detained as a result of the investigation into parcels that caught fire while en route to United States and Canada. The activities of the four people "consisted of sabotage and diversion related to sending parcels containing camouflaged explosives and dangerous materials via courier companies to European Union countries and Great Britain, which spontaneously ignited or detonated during land and air transport," Polish prosecutors said in a statement on October 25. "The group's goal was also to test the transfer channel for such parcels, which were ultimately to be sent to the United States of America and Canada," the statement said, adding that foreign intelligence services were to blame. The statement did not directly accuse Russia of involvement. Canada in early November expressed concern to Russian officials after he arrests were announced. Russia responded by summoning a Canadian diplomat on November 8 to rebut allegations that Russia's secret services had orchestrated the campaign to mail explosive packages . Serbian lawmakers scuffled in parliament on November 25 after opposition members accused the ruling coalition of failing to address the deadly collapse of a concrete canopy at the railway station in Serbia's second-largest city earlier this month. A scuffle broke out after Radomir Lazovic, a member of the opposition Green-Left Front party, placed a poster showing a red hand imprint with the words "You have blood on your hands" on the speaker's platform. After Health Minister Zatibor Loncar approached Lazovic and started arguing, other deputies rushed in shouting, pulling, and hitting one another. Lazovic told N1 television that he was "attacked" by Loncar, and after a fight with him, there was a "general fight" in the assembly hall. Lazovic said several deputies were injured. The audio of the parliament's internal broadcast was turned off, so it was not possible to hear what the deputies were saying to each other. They were separated by security guards. While the government accused the opposition of trying to "seize power by force," opposition members said they were also attacked by government representatives in the hall of the parliament building and accused them of starting the fight. The collapse of the concrete canopy on November 1 at the station in Novi Sad has turned into a political headache for President Aleksandar Vucic and his ruling party. The Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad announced on November 21 that 11 people had been arrested. The huge canopy collapsed on November 1, killing 15 people and seriously injuring another two. The accident occurred after the railway station, built in 1964, had been renovated twice in recent years by the consortium China Railway International and China Communications Construction Company. The most recent renovation was included in a project involving several companies that were in charge of the expert supervision of the reconstruction of the railway line from Novi Sad to the border with Hungary. The main contractor for the project was the company Project Biro Utiber of Novi Sad. The opposition has called on Prime Minister Milos Vucevic, who was mayor of Novi Sad when construction started, to resign. The ruling coalition denies the allegations and accuses the opposition of triggering clashes with police in protests at the station. The parliament was due to debate the 2025 budget on November 25, but the opposition demanded a debate on the collapse of the canopy. They also filed a no-confidence motion against the government, but speaker Ana Brnabic said it would not be on the agenda. The session was interrupted for almost two hours before resuming, but opposition deputies continued disrupting the session as Brnabic spoke surrounded by security guards who prevented opposition legislators from approaching her. "This is what freedom of speech looks like in their interpretation," Brnabic said as opposition deputies blew whistles in the hall. Brnabic accused the opposition of an "attempt to seize power by force." She told reporters at a news conference that opposition deputies damaged a microphone and a monitor in the hall after the session was adjourned. The session began with a minute of silence for those killed in at the railway station and with Brnabic asking that the session be dignified. "Unfortunately, this is anything but a dignified tribute to the deceased and their families," Brnabic said at the news conference.Personalized Medicine Market Size & Trends To 2030 11-26-2024 07:48 PM CET | Health & Medicine Press release from: Prudent Markets The Personalized Medicine Market 2024 Report makes available the current and forthcoming technical and financial details of the industry. It is one of the most comprehensive and important additions to the Prudent Markets archive of market research studies. It offers detailed research and analysis of key aspects of the global Personalized Medicine market. This report explores all the key factors affecting the growth of the global Personalized Medicine market, including demand-supply scenario, pricing structure, profit margins, production, and value chain analysis. The report concludes with the profiles of major players in the Personalized Medicine market are: Abbott Laboratories, ASURAGEN, INC., bioMerieux SA, Bristol-Myers Squibb, CETICS Healthcare Technologies GmbH, GlaxoSmithKline, IBM Corporation, Illumina, Inc., Intomics A/S, JOHNSON & JOHNSON, Laboratory Corporation of America, F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, GE Healthcare, Gilead Sciences, Inc., Merck KGaA, Novartis AG, Pfizer, Inc., Quest Diagnostics, Randox Laboratories, SANOFI, Almac Group, Amgen, Inc., Astellas Pharma, Inc., AstraZeneca PLC , Teva Pharmaceuticals Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Discover Who You Really Compete Against In The Marketplace, Get PDF Sample Report Now! @ https://www.prudentmarkets.com/sample-request/22972/ Personalized Medicine Market Segmentation are: Application(Health Informatics, Clinical Research, Companion Diagnostics, Biomarker Identification), By End-user(Hospitals, Contract Research Organizations, Molecular Diagnostic Laboratories and Testing facilities Academic Institutes and Research Laboratories, Bio and health informatics companies), By Therapeutic Area(Cardiology, Antiviral, Psychiatry, Oncology, Neurology), Industry Trends, Estimation & Forecast, 2017 - 2025 Personalized Medicine Market 2018-2026 report is a professional study on the current state of the market that focuses on the major drivers, challenges, opportunities for the leading players. The research report also offers a granular analysis of various definitions, and classification of the industry, applications of the industry, regional breakdown, opportunities, challenges, and chain structure. About Personalized Medicine Market Personalized medication is an advanced version of the conventional approaches for the treatment of diseases on an individual level. It is a process of diagnosing and preventing a disease by providing treatment to a patient using the information regarding his/her genetic structure, proteins, and the external environment. Its a methodology which is based upon the analysis of unique risks associated to a specific person regarding specific diseases. The major advantage of this medicine therapy is that, it incorporates the usage of highly precise equipment and tools, coupled with specialized doctors who determine the treatment on the basis of patients molecular profile after the analysis of harmful side effects. This saves the patient from unnecessary delay in the treatment and extra cost which is caused by the conventional trial and error approach. There are various funded programs supported by the European Union for the development of biotechnology research and personalized medicine. For example, the EU has already sanctioned a fund of more than 3 billion euros for the personalized medication research. Market Summary: The Personalized Medicine market is a comprehensive report which offers a meticulous overview of the market share, size, trends, demand, product analysis, application analysis, regional outlook, competitive strategies, forecasts, and strategies impacting the Personalized Medicine Industry. The report includes a detailed analysis of the market competitive landscape, with the help of detailed business profiles, SWOT analysis, project feasibility analysis, and several other details about the key companies operating in the market. The study on the worldwide Personalized Medicine market strives to offer substantial and profound insights into the current market scenario and the developing growth dynamics. Moreover, the report also provides the market players along with the new contenders a complete view of the market landscape. The inclusive research will enable the well-established as well as the entry-level players to establish their business strategies and accomplish their short-term and long-term goals. Scope and Segmentation of the Report Prudent Markets provides attractive discounts that fit your needs. Customization of the reports as per your requirement is also offered. Get in touch with our sales team, who will guarantee you a report that suits your needs. Speak To Our Analyst For A Discussion On The Above Findings, And Ask For A Discount On The Report @ https://www.prudentmarkets.com/discount-request/22972/ The report covers the competitive analysis of the market. As the demand is driven by a buyer's paying capacity and the rate of item development, the report shows the important regions that will direct growth. This section exclusively shares insight into the budget reports of big-league members of the market helping key players and new entrants understand the potential of investments in the Global Personalized Medicine Market. It can be better employed by both traditional and new players in the industry for complete know-how of the market. Regional Analysis for Personalized Medicine Market: • North America (the USA and Canada) • Europe (UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Scandinavia and Rest of Europe) • Asia Pacific (Japan, China, India, Australia, Southeast Asia and Rest of Asia Pacific) • Latin America (Brazil, Mexico and Rest of Latin America) • Middle East & Africa (South Africa, GCC and Rest of the Middle East & Africa) TO KNOW MORE ABOUT COVID-19 IMPACT @ https://www.prudentmarkets.com/sample-request/22972/ Strategic Points Covered in Table of Content of Global Personalized Medicine Market: Chapter 1: Introduction, market driving force product Objective of Study and Research Scope the Personalized Medicine market Chapter 2: Exclusive Summary - the basic information of the Personalized Medicine Market. Chapter 3: Displaying the Market Dynamics- Drivers, Trends and Challenges & Opportunities of the Personalized Medicine Chapter 4: Presenting the Personalized Medicine Market Factor Analysis, Porters Five Forces, Supply/Value Chain, PESTEL analysis, Market Entropy, Patent/Trademark Analysis. Chapter 5: Displaying the by Type, End User and Region/Country Chapter 6: Evaluating the leading manufacturers of the Personalized Medicine market which consists of its Competitive Landscape, Peer Group Analysis, BCG Matrix & Company Profile Chapter 7: To evaluate the market by segments, by countries and by Manufacturers/Company with revenue share and sales by key countries in these various regions Chapter 8 & 9: Displaying the Appendix, Methodology and Data Source Why should you purchase this report? -Prudent Markets provides the vital historical and analysis data of global Personalized Medicine market. -The report provides the entire assessment of the future market and altering market scenario or behavior. -All the business decision could be backed through the several strategic business methodologies offered in the report. -An extra edge in the competitive market could be obtained from this elaborative research report -The report offers all the competitive landscape, growth drivers, applications, market dynamics, and other necessary details as well. For In-Depth Competitive Analysis - Purchase this Report now at a Complete Table of Contents (Single User License) @ https://www.prudentmarkets.com/checkout/?id=22972&license_type=su Free Customization on the basis of client requirements on Immediate purchase: 1- Free country-level breakdown of any 5 countries of your interest. 2- Competitive breakdown of segment revenue by market players. Customization of the Report: This report can be customized to meet the client's requirements. Please connect with our sales team (sales@prudentmarkets.com), who will ensure that you get a report that suits your needs. You can also get in touch with our executives on +91 83560 50278 || USA/Canada(Toll Free): 1800-601-6071 to share your research requirements. Get ready to Recognize the pros and cons of the regulatory framework, local reforms, and its effect on the Industry. Understand how the Leaders in Intelligent Network are keeping themselves one stage forward with our most up-to-date survey analysis. In conclusion, the Personalized Medicine Market report is a genuine source for accessing the research data which is projected to exponentially grow your business. The report provides information such as economic scenarios, benefits, limits, trends, market growth rates, and figures. 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Star-studded evening featured Tamron Hall , Halsey, and Honored LRA Founder Robert Wood Johnson and Verizon Chairman and CEO Hans Vestberg NEW YORK , Nov. 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2024 Lupus Research Alliance (LRA) Breaking Through Gala raised nearly $3 million for lupus research, bringing the hope for a world free of lupus closer with every dollar. Emceed by two-time Emmy Award-Winning host and bestselling author Tamron Hall , the evening included a commanding performance by GRAMMY ® nominated genre-blending singer, songwriter, and activist Halsey . In welcoming the 500 guests, Tamron Hall explained why she continues to support the Lupus Research Alliance. "Almost everyone in this room knows what it means to live with lupus only too well – you cope with it every day, or you see its effects on someone you love – and sometimes that's even harder to bear," Hall commented. "I too watch several people I am close to struggle with this disease. Like you, I am here tonight, helping increase disease awareness and raise funds for the most promising research because that is how we can best help the people we care so much about." This spring, Halsey bravely revealed her lupus diagnosis, raising broad public awareness among 30+ million Instagram followers and beyond, referring them to the Lupus Research Alliance to learn more. On the heels of releasing a powerful album about struggling with chronic illness, including lupus, Halsey shared her lupus journey with Gala guests before performing. "Opening up about my own lupus diagnosis a few months ago has brought me a sense of comfort, knowing I'm now part of such a passionate and supportive community," said Halsey. "I hope that through my music, I can help amplify the strength we all share and the brighter future we're working toward." LRA President and CEO Albert T. Roy commented, "This year's Gala celebrates the Heart of Innovation – inspiring words that eloquently convey why so many support the work of the LRA. Our organization was founded and continues to be fueled by people like this year's co-honorees The Honorable Robert Wood Johnson and Verizon Chairman and CEO Hans Vestberg who believe in the power of science and technology as the best way to help those living with lupus. Our mission is driven by that kind of passion, getting to the very heart of what causes lupus and bringing forth innovative discoveries that are transforming lives." Why improved treatments are still so urgently needed was poignantly illustrated by speaker Jenny Zwick along with her husband and Board member Spencer sharing how lupus has affected their lives. Special Supporters Recognized for Contributions Mr. Roy also thanked Lady Gaga and Selena Gomez for their support as Gala Honorary Co-Chairs along with the event Co-Chairs: Ira Akselrad, President of The Johnson Company and Lupus Research Alliance Board Chair; Bob Pittman , Chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia, Inc.; and Spencer J. Zwick ; Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Solamere Capital. Philanthropist and Honorary Gala Co-Chair Michael R. Bloomberg addressed the audience in a special videotaped message of enduring support for the lupus cause as well as a tribute to the organization's late Board of Directors Co-Chair Richard K. DeScherer who passed away this past year. Robert Wood Johnson Honored for Founding the LRA to Improve the Future for Daughter Jaime LRA Founding Chairman The Honorable Robert Wood Johnson started the Lupus Research Alliance (then the Alliance for Lupus Research) in 1999 to find answers when his daughter was first diagnosed with lupus as a young child. Ambassador Johnson explained, "Back then, there was not even one treatment developed for lupus and few scientists were working in the field. Funding more research to improve treatment was clearly critical, not just for my daughter, but for millions more. I am proud that our work laid the foundation for two of the three current lupus-specific treatments, and for many more now in clinical development." Honoree Hans Vestberg Recognized for Verizon Support of Lupus Research As Chairman and CEO of Verizon, Hans Vestberg was also honored for the company's long-standing commitment to furthering lupus research. In addition to many years supporting the LRA Walk program directly, Verizon is a cornerstone sponsor of the New York Jets, contributing to the Jets Foundation which is committed to the LRA as one of its primary causes. In addition to thanking the speakers on stage, Mr. Roy also applauded the entire lupus community who donate for LRA-funded research, advocate for federal research funding, raise disease awareness and participate in clinical research – all doing what they can to improve current treatment and ultimately free the world of lupus. He also pointed everyone's attention to the lighting of the iconic Empire State Building which lit up NYC's skyline in the colors of lupus research – purple and red. About Lupus Lupus is a chronic, complex autoimmune disease that affects millions of people worldwide. In lupus, the immune system, meant to defend against infections, produces autoantibodies that mistake the body's own cells as foreign, causing other immune cells to attack organs such as the kidneys, brain, heart, lungs and skin, as well as blood and joints. Ninety percent of people with lupus are women, most often diagnosed between the ages of 15-45. Black, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian and Pacific Islander people are disproportionately affected by lupus and more likely to experience severe lupus symptoms. About the Lupus Research Alliance The Lupus Research Alliance is the largest non-governmental, non-profit funder of lupus research worldwide. The organization aims to transform treatment by funding the most innovative lupus research, fostering diverse scientific talent, and driving discovery toward better diagnostics, improved treatments and ultimately a cure for lupus. Because the Lupus Research Alliance's Board of Directors funds all administrative and fundraising costs, 100% of all donations goes to support lupus research programs. For more information or to donate to lupus research, visit the LRA at LupusResearch.org and on social media at: X , Facebook , LinkedIn , and Instagram . View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/2024-lupus-research-alliance-gala-raises-millions-to-improve-lives-of-people-with-lupus-302316842.html SOURCE Lupus Research Alliance

"Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum." Section 1.10.32 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum", written by Cicero in 45 BC "Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?" 1914 translation by H. Rackham "But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?" 1914 translation by H. Rackham "But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?" To keep reading, please log in to your account, create a free account, or simply fill out the form below.Swansea boss Luke Williams thought his side were second best for the majority of the contest despite earning a 2-1 win at Derby. The Swans stunned Pride Park into silence with less than two minutes on the clock when Zan Vipotnik sent a bullet past Jacob Widell Zetterstrom before Ronald slotted home his first of the season in the 14th minute. Cyrus Christie brought Tom Barkhuizen down inside the box and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing dispatched the resulting penalty to cut the deficit in half and, despite piling on the pressure, Derby succumbed to a second home defeat of the season. Williams told a press conference: “We started the game very well, we were good up until we scored the second goal then we lost the grip on the game and I thought Derby were the better team. “The next thing for us we have to be able to maintain that level throughout the game and we weren’t able to do that to be quite honest today. “They made it difficult, reacted very well after the second goal and didn’t go under, far from it.” Swansea leapfrogged their opponents into the top half of the table with their sixth win of the season and took three points back to south Wales following two last-minute defeats by Burnley and Leeds heading into the match. Williams added: “We’ve recently conceded late goals but they’re a very resilient group and we saw it out in the end. “We’ve dominated games a lot but probably failed to score when we’ve been that dominant and tonight we managed to score the goals when we were dominant. “We scored the goals at the right time today.” Derby had been unbeaten in their last three matches coming into this one but Paul Warne put defeat down to a poor start. He said: “We conceded two and didn’t get close enough, weren’t aggressive enough, not enough body contact and looked soft, that’s my fault. “Maybe I didn’t message it properly. Sometimes it doesn’t come down to shape and tactics but I thought that was what the difference was. “Credit Swansea for the win but after the 25 mins it looked like we would score. I really enjoyed it, that’s the truth. I had 70 minutes of a team giving everything, I don’t think we’ve had that many attempts in the Championship this season. “It’s a rude awakening, last year we would’ve won that 4-2.”

The Latest: UnitedHealthcare shooting suspect contests his extradition back to New YorkTIMMINS - The newly named federal NDP candidate is ready to hit the ground running. Sunday, Nicole Fortier-Levesque was chosen to carry the NDP banner for the new riding of Kapuskasing-Timmins-Mushkegowuk in the next federal election. Fortier-Levesque is excited and ready to take on the challenge. “It took me a while to make the decision to run, but that’s how I am,” she said. “When I get involved in something, I like to do my research and make sure that I can make a difference. I am ready to start working for Canadians, especially for all our residents in our riding. I’m ready for this.” Born in Opasatika, Fortier-Levesque was a teacher at Cité de Jeunes in Kapuskasing for decades. She is also the former mayor of Moonbeam, where she served as a councillor first. Earlier this year, veteran NDP MP Charlie Angus announced his retirement from politics. RELATED: ‘Perfect time to pass the baton’: Charlie Angus not seeking re-election Fortier-Levesque is committed to continuing the work started by Angus and the broader NDP team. “I know I need to continue to work on all the initiatives that the party has been working on. We need to see the end of their hard work. That legacy is what we’ve been working on for many years,” she said. The transition is already in motion, with Fortier-Levesque talking to Angus and Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing MP Carol Hughes, who is also leaving politics after this term, after Sunday’s meeting. “When I was talking to Charlie Angus, he said that he’s planning to go meet with Indigenous communities in January. So we are planning to go to Moosonee by train. So things are really rolling right now.” As Christmas approaches, Fortier-Levesque is eager to be present in the community, meet people, and further build trust with voters. “I need to talk to people so they can have confidence in our party again,” she said. “I will be fighting very hard to regain that confidence from the people to make sure they understand what we have to offer.” A significant portion of Fortier-Levesque’s platform is focused on improving conditions for Indigenous communities. “It’s important that Indigenous people receive the same services as everywhere else in the country, such as access to clean water, housing, and safe and reliable infrastructure, as well as quality education and better health care,” she said. “We can’t say that they receive the same services as we do, because it’s not true... We need to defend their fundamental rights by creating a partnership that will be based on the great cognition of our history in order to achieve reconciliation.” She also plans to focus on key issues such as affordability, poverty and homelessness. “I want to ensure that every person has a home, that every child can learn on a full stomach, and to help families make ends meet by creating new jobs with better working conditions and better pay,” she said. The opioid crisis also needs to be addressed, she said, along with the rising costs of rent and groceries, provide better health care and offer better mental mental health services. Fortier-Levesque’s vision for Canada is one where every citizen is valued and no one is left behind. “I am there for them, and I think my way of working will be the hope for change to make sure that families come first and no one is left behind, because everybody deserves the best,” she said. “A Canada where everything is possible, where we stand together, and where everyone is included... It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from. We need to work together, and we need a fairer Canada, a fairer society.” The latest the next federal election will be is October 2025, but the writ could drop any time before then. The local Conservatives named their candidate more than a year ago — retired forestry executive Gaétan Malette. A local Liberal candidate has not been announced yet. The next federal election will also see a new riding locally as new riding boundaries took effect on April 22, 2024.

Andy Murray is set to make a swift return to the court following his retirement this summer, for the first time in his career as a coach. The British legend will join Novak Djokovic ’s coaching team ahead of the Australian Open. Former ATP player Nicolas Mahut has given his opinion about the collaboration. This season, Djokovic failed to reach the expectations he set in 2023, as he is without a tour-level title this year. The former World No. 1’s only silverware came at the Paris Olympics, where he defeated Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets to claim the elusive gold medal. Djokovic did reach two finals this season but failed to win the titles. He is now seeking to bounce back in 2025, and in a bid to do so, he announced on Saturday (November 23) that Murray will be his new coach . The Serbian was without a coach for a month this year after splitting with Goran Ivanisevic in March. He partnered with Boris Bošnjakov ahead of the 2024 French Open, but that has not yielded much success. For Djokovic, he believes it is the right move to make Murray his coach ahead of the 2025 Australian Open. The Serbian legend’s choice has led former ATP player Nicolas Mahut to believe that Murray will give him the much-needed boost in his career. Maybe he must have felt it too on his side. Sometimes, when you have trouble finding personal resources inside, you look for them a little bit outside, and the fact of renewing the staff can sometimes be a trigger. There, very clearly, taking Andy, who was his rival for years, who has known him since he was little, it will give him a little boost, he will want to do well. Now, I really have the feeling that we can see a super Novak. Murray might have ended his career winning only three Grand Slams, but he was the only player who competed up to the level of the Big 3. He made history in 2013 by becoming the first British man to win Wimbledon in 77 years. Greg Rusedski reacts to Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray collaboration Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray’s partnership has left fans and legends in shock since the announcement . The duo, who were stern rivals for over 15 years, will now be working as a team. They both faced each other 35 times on the court, with Djokovic leading 25-11 in their head-to-head record. ATP legend Greg Rusedski took to social media to react to Djokovic and Murray’s partnership. The 51-year-old former British player revealed that it will be a fascinating collaboration between the two legends. Novak Djokovic coached by Andy Murray is going to be fascinating to watch the player coach relationship. Andy is a great tactician , and knows all the current player’s strengths & weaknesses. This could be an inspired choice or will it be a clash of personalities? Intriguing. Novak Djokovic coached by Andy Murray is going to be fascinating to watch the player coach relationship .Andy is a great tactician ,knows all the current player’s strengths & weaknesses. This could be an inspired choice or will it be a clash of personalities? Intriguing Murray’s last professional match was at the Paris Olympics, where he and his partner Dan Evans exited in the quarterfinals. The 37-year-old struggled with injuries at the latter end of his career after sustaining a hip injury in 2019. This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.Stitch Fix Announces First Quarter of Fiscal Year 2025 Financial Results

EVERETT, Wash., Dec. 10, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Coastal Financial Corporation CCB ("Coastal" or the "Company"), the holding company for Coastal Community Bank (the "Bank"), today announced the launch of a proposed underwritten public offering of shares of its common stock, no par value. Coastal expects to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 15% of the number of shares of its Common Stock sold in this offering at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes, including, without limitation, supporting investment opportunities and the Bank's growth. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, a Stifel company , is serving as the lead bookrunning manager, Hovde Group, LLC is serving as a joint bookrunning manager and Raymond James & Associates, Inc. and Stephens Inc. are serving as co-managers for the proposed offering. The shares of common stock will be issued pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-279879) filed by Coastal with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), which was declared effective by the SEC on June 13, 2024. A preliminary prospectus supplement related to the offering has been filed with the SEC and a final prospectus supplement relating to this offering will be filed with the SEC. Prospective investors should read the preliminary prospectus supplement, the final prospectus supplement, when available, and other documents Coastal has filed with the SEC for more complete information about Coastal and the offering. You may get these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov . Copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement, the final prospectus supplement, when available, and the accompanying prospectus relating to this offering may be obtained by contacting Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., 787 Seventh Avenue, Fourth Floor, New York, NY 10019, attention: Equity Capital Markets, or by calling toll free at (800) 966-1559 or emailing USCapitalMarkets@kbw.com. This press release is for informational purposes only and shall not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, the securities, nor shall there be any offer, solicitation, or sale in any jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. About Coastal Financial Corporation Coastal Financial Corporation CCB (the "Company"), is an Everett, Washington based bank holding company whose wholly owned subsidiaries are Coastal Community Bank ("Bank") and Arlington Olympic LLC. The $4.07 billion Bank provides service through 14 branches in Snohomish, Island, and King Counties, the Internet and its mobile banking application. The Bank provides banking as a service to broker-dealers, digital financial service providers, companies and brands that want to provide financial services to their customers through the Bank's CCBX segment. Member FDIC. Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to, among other things, future events and our financial performance and statements regarding the proposed offering. Any statements about our management's expectations, beliefs, plans, predictions, forecasts, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not historical facts and may be forward-looking. Words or phrases such as "anticipate," "believes," "can," "could," "may," "predicts," "potential," "should," "will," "estimate," "plans," "projects," "continuing," "ongoing," "expects," "intends" and similar words or phrases are intended to identify forward-looking statements but are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. Any or all of the forward-looking statements in this press release may turn out to be inaccurate. The inclusion of or reference to forward-looking information in this press release should not be regarded as a representation by us or any other person that the future plans, estimates or expectations contemplated by us will be achieved. We have based these forward- looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy, and financial needs. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the risks and uncertainties discussed under "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the most recent period filed, our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the most recent quarter, and in any of our other filings with the SEC. If one or more events related to these or other risks or uncertainties materialize, or if our underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, actual results may differ materially from what we anticipate. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law. Contact: Joel Edwards CFO 425.357.6987 Jedwards@coastalbank.com © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.New era in amphibian biology

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TORONTO — When Geoffrey Hinton strode across the Stockholm Concert Hall stage Tuesday to receive his Nobel Prize for physics from King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, he was beaming. It has taken decades for many beyond the science community to realize the British Canadian computer scientist's life's work was so significant it eventually formed the foundation of artificial intelligence. But on Tuesday, as he accepted the Nobel diploma and its accompanying gold medal with co-laureate John Hopfield, there was no question about the importance of Hinton's discoveries nor how he has shaped history. Instead, there was only pride for the affable 77-year-old, often called the godfather of AI — and that pride stretched from Stockholm to Toronto. A crowd of about 100 students and colleagues at the University of Toronto, where Hinton is a professor emeritus, gathered at the school's downtown campus to watch the Nobel ceremony. Two other watch parties took over the school's Mississauga and Scarborough campuses. Any mention of physics or a sighting of Hinton, clad in a dark suit and white bow tie, generated rousing applause at the Toronto gathering. When the man of the hour headed to retrieve his accolade from the King, a few former students and colleagues wiped tears from their eyes. "There is, at least for me, this sense that Prof. Hinton created the whole ecosystem here, where there are thousands of people who are working on his ideas," Michael Guerzhoy, one of Hinton's former students who went on to teach a course Hinton had once led at the university, said before the ceremony began. The idea that earned Hinton the Nobel dates back to the 1980s, when he was working at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and AI was far from the buzzy technology it is today. It was then that Hinton developed the Boltzmann machine, which learns from examples, rather than instructions, and when trained, can recognize familiar characteristics in information, even if it has not seen that data before. "It was a lot of fun doing the research but it was slightly annoying that many people — in fact, most people in the field of AI — said that neural networks would never work," Hinton recalled during a press conference on the October day he was named as a Nobel laureate. "They were very confident that these things were just a waste of time and we would never be able to learn complicated things like, for example, understanding natural language using neural networks — and they were wrong." Neural networks are computational models that resemble the human brain's structure and functions. When Nobel physics committee chair Ellen Moons presented Hinton to receive his award, she said these networks are good at sorting and interpreting large amounts of data and self-improve based on the accuracy of the results they generate. "Today, artificial neural networks are powerful tools in research fields spanning physics, chemistry and medicine, as well as in daily life," she said. John DiMarco wasn't surprised that Hinton's work paved the way for such possibilities, but the IT director for U of T's computer science department was taken aback that Hinton's Nobel came in the unlikely physics category. DiMarco met Hinton roughly 35 years ago in a job interview and quickly took note of his proclivity for humour and the quirks in how his mind works. "He is quite insightful and he goes straight to the core of things," DiMarco said. "He would sometimes come out of his office and share some new idea. We didn't always understand what he was sharing, but he was very excited about it." Many of those ideas required lots of computing power the school's systems didn't have, so DiMarco's team patched together a solution with graphics processing units from video game consoles. DiMarco brought one of Hinton's GPUs to the watch party, which was also attended by Joseph Jay Williams, the director of U of T's Intelligent Adaptive Interventions Lab. Williams took one of Hinton's classes and said the Nobel winner "changed the course of my life" by encouraging him to go to grad school, which then led him to win the XPRIZE Digital Learning Challenge, a global competition aimed at rewarding people who modernize learning tools and processes. Other notable mentees and alumni of Hinton's classes include OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever and Cohere co-founders Nick Frosst and Aidan Gomez. With his Nobel win and so many esteemed protege, Williams said Hinton has become a "reluctant celebrity" who is hounded for photos every time he's on campus. Hinton, however, has taken a much more humble approach to his recent win, which he learned of on a trip to California. He initially thought the call from the academy that gives out the Nobel was "a spoof," but later realized it had to be real because it was placed from Sweden and the speaker had a "strong Swedish accent." The award the academy gave him comes with 11 million Swedish kronor (about $1.4 million) from a bequest arranged by Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. Hinton and Hopfield will split the money, with some of Hinton's share going to Water First, an Ontario organization working to boost Indigenous access to water, and another unnamed charity supporting neurodiverse young adults. Hinton has said he doesn't plan to do much more "frontier research." "I believe I'm going to spend my time advocating for people to work on safety," he said in October. Last year, Hinton left a role he held at Google to more freely speak about the dangers of AI, which he has said include bias and discrimination, fake news, joblessness, lethal autonomous weapons and even the end of humanity. At a Stockholm press conference over the weekend, he said he doesn’t regret the work he did to lay the foundations of artificial intelligence, but wishes he thought of safety sooner. “In the same circumstances, I would do the same again,” he said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 10, 2024. Tara Deschamps, The Canadian PressBlack Friday starts in a few short days but vendors like Amazon are already selling big-ticket items at drastically reduced prices. This includes gaming consoles like the PS5 Slim, which the popular retailer has slashed to its lowest price ever. Right now, you can get the PS5 Slim for $374 at Amazon . This digital (or disk-free) model of Sony ’s gaming console typically costs $449, so you’re saving a nice $75 thanks to this deal. And if you or your kids are into Fortnite , the PS5 Fortnite Cobalt Star Digital Edition is also $374 . This is a limited-time deal, so it’s best to act now before it ends. In my PS5 Slim review , I said it’s a terrific video game console due to its raw power and vast library of first- and third-party games. Though it’s still a relatively big system, its slimmer profile makes it easier to store in your entertainment center. The redesigned console is also more modular, making it simpler to swap out its SSD drive and snap off its faceplates. You can even attach and detach the optical disk drive. Standing the system vertically isn’t as dangerous as before, though you’ll need to buy a separate $30 stand for better stability. The PS5 Slim also has more storage than the old PS5. If you already own the original PS5 or snatched up the more expensive PS5 Pro , then you can skip the PS5 Slim. However, if you’re brand-new to the PS5 ecosystem or are tired of looking at the big and bulky original, then switching to a PS5 Slim isn’t a bad idea —- especially at this low price. Again, this is a limited-time deal so act fast before stock runs out! Even with the PS5 Pro available, the PS5 Slim provides an excellent way to play the best PS5 games. See our Black Friday PS5 deals live blog for more discounts.

Mexico’s Tecnológico de Monterrey (Monterrey Technological Institute), a private university based in Monterrey, Nuevo León, is the ninth-best undergraduate university in the world for entrepreneurship according to a ranking by the Princeton Review. The Princeton Review: Top Undergraduate Schools for Entrepreneurship 2025 said it evaluated entrepreneurship programs from nearly 300 schools based on surveys of schools conducted from June through August 2024. The Mexican university stands out because, according to its data, over 68% of its students have taken at least one course related to entrepreneurship during their academic careers. Furthermore, 43% of its graduates have successfully launched businesses that create employment and positively impact their communities. Tec de Monterrey is the only foreign university on the list and the first one in the international category. It has remained on the top 10 ranking since 2019. The University of Houston came in as the best university for undergrad entrepreneurship, followed by University of Texas at Austin, Babson College, University of Washington, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of Maryland College Park, Miami University and at No. 10 on the list, Northeastern University. The entrepreneurship survey methodology is based on several fields. Eduardo Garza Sada (1892-1973), one of Mexico’s top businessmen and founder of today’s FEMSA group (Coca-Cola’s largest bottler and owner of Oxxo convenience stores) founded Tecnológico de Monterrey in 1943. According to the university’s website , in July of that year, Garza convened a group of businessmen and professionals from Monterrey to form the Enseñanza e Investigación Superior, A.C.,with the “purpose of operating a private educational institution of the highest academic level.” The university began with 350 students. Today, it teaches over 90,000 who study under some of the 11 doctoral programs, 59 master and specialization programs, 54 undergraduate degrees and 3 high school programs. Tecnológico de Monterrey is a private, non-profit, independent institution with no political and religious affiliations. With reports from El Economista

Extra Innings podcast: Analyzing the start to the Mariners’ offseasonINDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indianapolis Colts defense started this season struggling. It couldn't stop the run, couldn't keep teams out of the end zone, couldn't get off the field. Now the script has flipped. Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley's group is playing stouter, holding teams — even the high-scoring Detroit Lions — largely in check long enough to give Indy a chance to win, and it's the Colts offense that has struggled. “They are playing their tails off. You don’t want them on the field a bunch and as an offense you want to be able to play complementary football,” running back Jonathan Taylor said after Sunday's 24-6 loss. “I would say specifically on offense, it sucks when you can’t help your defense out when they are fighting their tails off all game.” Indy's defense held up its end of the bargain by limiting the Lions (10-1) to 14 first-half points and allowing just 24, matching Detroit's lowest output since Week 3. The problem: Even when the Colts (5-7) did get Detroit off the field, they couldn't sustain drives or score touchdowns. Again. Anthony Richardson provided the bulk of the ground game by rushing 10 times for 61 yards, mostly early. Taylor managed just 35 yards on 11 carries and a season-high 10 penalties constantly forced the Colts to dig out from deep deficits. Part of that was by design. “We knew Jonathan Taylor was going to be the guy we needed to shut down,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “We did that. The quarterback runs. It got us on a couple but overall, we did what we needed to do, and we kept them out of that game." Part of it could be because of an injury-battered offensive line that has started three rookies each of the past two weeks and finished the previous game with the same three rookies. Whatever the fix, Indy needs a good solution. There is good news for Indy is that its schedule now gets substantially more manageable. After losing four of five, all to teams in playoff position and three to division leaders, Indy faces only one team with a winning record in its final five games. The most recent time the Colts played a team with a losing mark, Richardson rallied them past the New York Jets 28-27. But Colts coach Shane Steichen knows that's not the answer. The Colts must get this offense righted now. “We’ve got to get that figured out. We’ve got to get him going on the ground,” Steichen said when asked about Taylor, who has 92 yards on his past 35 carries. “We’ll look at the offensive line. We’ll look at everything." Pass rush. Pro Bowl DT DeForest Buckner's presence certainly has been felt since he returned from a sprained ankle Oct. 27. In those past five games, the Colts have had 14 sacks, including three of Jared Goff on Sunday. Penalties. The Colts have had one of the cleanest operations in the league most of this season. Sunday was an anomaly, but one that can't merely be written off. WR Michael Pittman Jr. The five-year veteran is one of the league's toughest guys, but playing through a back injury appeared to take its toll on Pittman's productivity. Since sitting out in Week 10, Pittman has 11 receptions for 142 yards including six for 96 yards, his second-highest total of the season, Sunday. Tight ends. Each week the Colts want their tight ends to make an impact. And each week, they seem to fail. It happened again Sunday when Drew Ogletree dropped a TD pass that would have given Indy a 10-7 lead. Instead, Indy settled for a field goal and a 7-6 deficit. Through 12 games, Indy's tight ends have a total of 26 catches, 299 yards and two TDs. That's just not good enough in a league where versatile, productive tight ends increasingly signal success. Pittman and WR Josh Downs both returned to the game after leaving briefly with shoulder injuries. WR Ashton Dulin did not return after hurting his foot in the second half. But the bigger questions come on the offensive line. LT Bernhard Raimann (knee) was inactive Sunday, and rookie center Tanor Bortolini entered the concussion protocol Monday. Bortolini was one of three rookie starters the past two weeks, replacing Pro Bowler Ryan Kelly who is on injured reserve. 55.88 — Indy has scored touchdowns on 55.88% of its red zone trips this season. While it puts it near the middle of the NFL, it's cost the Colts multiple wins. Richardson needs to rebound from this latest 11 of 28 performance and show he can lead the Colts to victories week after week. He'll get plenty of chances over the season's final month, starting with next week's game at the New England Patriots. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl