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It was a fine first win for Ruud van Nistelrooy , and perhaps one final defeat for Julen Lopetegui. Leicester marked Van Nistelrooy’s first match in charge of the team by surging to a 3-1 win over Lopetegui's West Ham in the Premier League on Tuesday. Van Nistelrooy, the former Manchester United striker, is back in English soccer this time as a manager, with Leicester taking something of a gamble on the Dutchman after his brief and impressive spell as interim coach at United this season following Erik ten Hag's departure. He faces the tough task of keeping Leicester, one of the top candidates for relegation, in the top division. For that to happen, he’s likely to need goals from Jamie Vardy — and the 37-year-old former England international delivered immediately. Nine years after breaking Van Nistelrooy’s record for scoring in consecutive games, Vardy scored the first goal of the Dutchman’s tenure at Leicester by beating the offside trap and slotting home a finish with less than two minutes gone. Morocco midfielder Bilal El Khannouss supplied the pass for Vardy’s goal and scored himself with a low shot in the 61st minute to make it 2-0. Patson Daka added a third for Leicester in the 90th minute, before a stoppage-time consolation by West Ham substitute Niclas Füllkrug. “We are very happy with the new manager," El Khannouss said of Van Nistelrooy. “He arrived two days ago, and there’s a new dynamic in the group.” Van Nistelrooy praised the “spirit and energy” in his team. “The foundation for us going forward is everyone working their socks off, fighting for every inch and defending together,” he said. “We can look further then, and they did that in an unbelievable way.” This dismal result for West Ham came three days after its 5-2 thrashing at home by Arsenal , which piled more pressure of Lopetegui early in the former Spain and Real Madrid coach's first season with the London club. West Ham's disgruntled traveling fans chanted "You’re getting sacked in the morning” toward Lopetegui during the second half — even if his team dominated large parts of the game but only had one goal to show from 31 shots on goal. “We're very frustrated but in the same way I can say nothing about the players — they fight until the end,” Lopetegui said. "It’s not easy to explain football some days.” West Ham has lost seven of its 14 games so far and is in 14th place in the 20-team league, one spot above Leicester. Guehi defies FA Crystal Palace won for just the second time in the league this season, beating relegation rival Ipswich 1-0 to pull clear of the bottom three. Jean-Philippe Mateta scored the goal in the 59th minute. Palace’s only other league victory was against Tottenham in October. While Ipswich stayed in next-to-last place, Palace moved three points above the relegation zone. Much of the focus ahead of the game was on the teams’ captains , Sam Morsy of Ipswich and Marc Guehi of Palace, during another round when the Premier League was celebrating LGBTQ+ inclusion in its campaign to promote equality and diversity. For the second straight game, Morsy chose against wearing a rainbow armband issued to the captain of each of the 20 teams in the league. He has made the decision “due to his religious beliefs,” Ipswich says. Guehi did wear the rainbow armband but defied Football Association rules by writing a religious message on the item. The message read “Jesus loves you” — using a heart sign instead of the word “loves.” During the match against Newcastle on Saturday, Guehi wrote “I love Jesus” — and was later contacted by the FA for acting in contravention of its regulations. ___ AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer Steve Douglas, The Associated PressA senior North Korean general has been wounded in Russia’s Kursk region, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing Western officials. More than 10,000 North Korean troops are supporting Russian forces in Kursk. Russian President Vladimir Putin is hoping to recover the swath of the Kursk region that Ukraine seized in August before President Donald Trump takes office early next year. The United States this week gave Ukraine the green light to use its long-range ATACMS missiles to strike Russian assets in Kursk and said North Korean troops would be fair game. It is unclear how the North Korean general was wounded, the WSJ reported . The United States has sanctioned Gazprombank, Russia’s third-largest lender, and dozens of other financial institutions as President Joe Biden seeks to further curtail the Kremlin’s ability to finance its war in Ukraine before he leaves office in two months. Gazprombank, which plays an important role in facilitating Russian energy exports, was the only remaining large Russian lender not under U.S. sanctions. Washington and Brussels had avoided sanctioning Gazprombank amid concern over possible energy export interruptions. Along with Gazprombank, the United States also announced sanctions on more than 50 other Russian banks conducting international operations, more than 40 Russian securities registrars and 15 Russian finance officials. The United States also warned financial institutions against joining Russia’s version of the international messaging system for banks known as SWIFT. Russia is seeking to attract international banks to its messaging platform to get around U.S. financial sanctions. “Today’s action reaffirms the U.S. commitment to curtail Russia’s ability to use the international financial system to conduct its war against Ukraine and disrupts Russia’s attempts to make cross-border payments for dual-use goods and military materiel,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a November 21 statement. Ukraine backers had been calling on the Biden administration for months to tighten sanctions on Russia’s banking sector, saying the Kremlin was finding ways around existing sanctions to pay for technology imports and other dual-use items. In addition to facilitating energy payments, Gazprombank had been acting as a conduit for the purchase of military goods. The Kremlin also uses Gazprombank to pay Russian soldiers and compensate families for war deaths. “I am grateful to @POTUS and his administration for today’s strong package of financial and banking sanctions targeting Russia’s economy and war chest,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a tweet . Eddie Fishman, a former State Department official and sanctions expert, called the latest announcement a “strong step” toward closing loopholes around Russia’s energy sector, which generates about half of federal budget revenues. Biden will leave office on January 20 to make way for President-elect Donald Trump, who has promised to end the war in Ukraine by getting Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin to sit down at the negotiating table, something that experts say will be harder done than said. The financial sanctions come at a critical time for Russia’s economy as Putin’s record spending on the war effort drives up inflation and interest rates. The Russian Central Bank last month raised interest rates to 21 percent, the highest in decades, and could continue to ratchet them up with no end in sight to the war. Russian President Vladimir Putin said his military fired a new intermediate-range missile into Ukraine following accusations by Kyiv that it was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). In a November 21 video statement to the nation, Putin said the use of the new weapon was a response to the United States and the United Kingdom giving permission to Kyiv to fire their long-range missiles into Russia. "In combat conditions, one of the newest Russian medium-range missile systems was tested," Putin said, adding that it was a hypersonic, ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. Earlier in the day, Kyiv accused Russia of striking Ukraine with what it said appeared to be an ICBM. The new weapon was part of a larger missile attack on Dnipropetrovsk, home to important military-industrial plants. ICBMs, which are designed to deliver long-distance nuclear strikes, have never been used in war before. "On the morning of November 21, 2024...Russian troops attacked the city of Dnipro (facilities and critical infrastructure) with missiles of various types. In particular, an intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from the Astrakhan region of the Russian Federation," the Ukrainian Air Force said in its statement on Telegram. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Telegram later that the new Russian weapon had "all characteristics -- speed, altitude -- [of an] intercontinental ballistic missile." Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said Russia struck Ukraine with an "experimental" intermediate-range ballistic missile that was based on its RS-26 Rubezh ICBM. She said Russia had informed the United States it would be launching the experimental missile shortly beforehand through "nuclear risk reduction channels." She said the new weapon had a smaller warhead that some other missiles Russia has launched into Ukraine. A U.S. official who asked not to be identified told media that Putin was seeking to intimidate Ukraine but added that Moscow only had a few of the "experimental" missiles. The Russian attack comes just days after reports that Ukraine used British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles and U.S.-made ATACMS systems to strike military targets deeper inside Russia following the long-sought approval by President Joe Biden. The RS-26 Rubezh is a solid-fueled, road-mobile ICBM currently in development that has been tested with heavier payloads at intermediate ranges. Military analysts said ICBM missiles can be classified as intermediate-range weapons when their payloads are increased and ranges decreased. The main target of the Russian attack was the southeastern region of Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine's most important industrial region, and its capital, the city of Dnipro. Ukraine's air force said that besides the ICBM, Russian aircraft also launched a hypersonic Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missile and seven subsonic Kh-101 cruise missiles. Ukrainian air defenses shot down six Kh-101 missiles, the air force reported. Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysak said his region bore the brunt of the Russian attack. "Since early in the morning, the aggressor massively attacked our region," Lysak reported on Telegram, adding that preliminary information showed that an industrial facility was damaged in the regional capital, Dnipro, where two fires were started by the attack. Explosions were also reported in Kremenchuk, in the central Poltava region. Moscow's use of a large number of sophisticated missiles as opposed to the usual drone attacks appears to be in response to Ukraine's gaining approval to use some Western-donated long-range missile systems to strike deeper into Russia. On November 20, Russian military bloggers and a source cited by Reuters reported that Ukraine had fired up to 12 Franco-British Storm Shadow missiles into Russia's Kursk region, part of which has been under Ukrainian control following a surprise incursion by Ukrainian troops in August. A spokesman for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer declined to confirm whether the missiles had been used. Previously, London had given permission to use the Storm Shadows, which have a 250-kilometer range, within Ukraine's territory. Earlier this week, Ukraine reportedly used ATACMS to strike a military facility in Russia's Bryansk region after Biden was reported as giving his OK. The White House has not officially confirmed the approval and Ukraine hasn't directly acknowledged the use of ATACMS on Russian targets. Russia has long warned that Ukraine's use Western-supplied long-range weapons to strike inside its territory would mark a serious escalation of the conflict. On November 21, Moscow said a new U.S. missile defence base in the Polish town of Redzikowo near the Baltic coast, which was opened on November 13 as part of a broader NATO missile shield, will lead to an increase in the overall level of nuclear danger. "This is another frankly provocative step in a series of deeply destabilising actions by the Americans and their allies in the North Atlantic alliance in the strategic sphere," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. "This leads to undermining strategic stability, increasing strategic risks and, as a result, to an increase in the overall level of nuclear danger," Zakharova said. Poland rejected the claim, saying there were no nuclear missiles at the base. "It is a base that serves the purpose of defense, not attack," Foreign Ministry spokesman Pawel Wronski said on November 21. At least 38 people were killed and more than 40 wounded after gunmen opened fire on a convoy of cars carrying Shi'ite Muslims in northwest Pakistan as religious tension in the region rises. Three women and a child were among those killed in the November 21 attack, police told RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal. The convoy of 200 cars was heading from Peshawar to Parachinar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province near the border with Afghanistan when the unknown gunmen attacked. No one has taken responsibility for the attack, the latest in a series of deadly confrontations in the Kurram region. Police, who were escorting the cars, said the death toll could climb. There were about 700 people in the convoy, according to law enforcement. Tension in Kurram began to heat up after 17 people were killed in an attack on a convoy on October 12. There have been about a handful of deadly attacks since then. Sunnis and Shi'a live together in Kurram and have clashed violently over land, forests, and other property as well as religion over the years, despite government and law enforcement efforts to build peace. Influential Ukrainian tycoon Dmytro Firtash is among eight people targeted by fresh British sanctions that accuse the group, which includes his wife, Lada, of large-scale, international corruption. Angolan-Russian billionaire Isabel dos Santos and Latvian politician and businessman Aivars Lembergs are also among those hit by the new sanctions announced on November 21. The British government accuses Firtash of bribing officials to secure mining licenses for his companies and profiting illegally from Ukraine's gas-transportation system. Firtash is also linked to financier Denys Horbunenko, a resident of the United Kingdom who was added to the sanctions list on November 21 for his association with Firtash. Firtash has faced legal scrutiny in Ukraine over embezzlement and money-laundering accusations involving fraudulent gas-trading schemes. The United States has been seeking his extradition from Austria on charges of bribing Indian officials. Firtash, who gained prominence in the 2000s through his joint venture RosUkrEnergo with Russian energy giant Gazprom, has denied allegations of working in Russia's interests. Dos Santos, daughter of former Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, is Africa's first female billionaire. She is accused of corruption in Angola, where she allegedly exploited her political connections for personal gain. Dos Santos claims she has held Russian citizenship since birth, as she was born in Baku, Azerbaijan, in 1973 under the former Soviet Union. Lembergs, a former populist mayor of the Latvian city of Ventspils, has been convicted in Latvia of corruption and sentenced to five years in prison. He claims the charges against him are politically motivated. The sanctions are part of a British efforts to combat international corruption and disrupt the financial networks of individuals accused of abusing their power for personal enrichment. The measures include asset freezes, travel bans, and restricting these individuals from accessing the U.K.'s financial system or entering the country. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Muhammad Deif, a military commander in the Iran-backed group Hamas, alleging they committed crimes against humanity in the ongoing Gaza war. All three are accused of committing war crimes connected to the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, an EU- and U.S-designated terrorist organization that is part of Tehran's network of proxies in the Middle East, and Israel's subsequent military intervention in the Gaza Strip. Iran's backing of Hamas and Hezbollah, another Iran-supported militant group and political party that controls much of the southern part of Israel's neighbor, Lebanon, has sparked fears that the war in the Gaza Strip will engulf the Middle East. Hezbollah is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, while the European Union blacklists its armed wing but not its political party. Hezbollah’s political party has seats in the Lebanese parliament. The court said the warrants had been classified as "secret" to protect witnesses and to safeguard the conduct of the investigations. Israel, which claims it killed Deif in July, blasted the move as "a dark moment for the ICC." Hamas, which has never officially acknowledged Deif's death, called the warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant an "important step toward justice." The ICC said it had issued the arrest warrant for Deif as the prosecutor had not been able to determine whether he was dead. His warrant shows charges of mass killings during the October 7 attack on Israel that left some 1,200 dead, as well as charges of rape and the taking of around 240 hostages in the attack. "The Chamber considered that there are reasonable grounds to believe that both [Israeli] individuals intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity, from at least 8 October 2023 to 20 May 2024," the ICC said in a statement . "This finding is based on the role of Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Gallant in impeding humanitarian aid in violation of international humanitarian law and their failure to facilitate relief by all means at its disposal," it said. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar called the move against Netanyahu and Gallant "absurd" in a post on X, saying it was an attack of Israel's right to self-defense. "A dark moment for the ICC in The Hague, in which it lost all legitimacy for its existence and activity," Sa'ar said. Tehran has yet to comment publicly on the warrants. Neither the United States nor Israel have recognized the ICC's jurisdiction. A U.S. National Security Council spokesperson said Washington "fundamentally rejects" the issuance of the arrest warrants and "the troubling process errors that led to this decision. Meanwhile, the EU's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said in a post on X that ICC decisions "are binding on all states party to the Rome Statute, which includes all EU Member States." The court said Israel's acceptance of the court's jurisdiction was not required. However, the court itself has no law enforcement levers to enforce warrants and relies on cooperation from its member states. Russian police have conducted searches at the PERMM Museum of Contemporary Art in the city of Perm, as well as at the home of its current director, in connection with a case against former director Marat Gelman , REN-TV reported, citing anonymous sources. The PERMM Museum announced on social media that it would remain closed until 3 p.m. local time due to "technical reasons." Gelman, a well-known art dealer who currently lives in Montenegro, where he owns an art gallery, was placed on Russia’s federal wanted list in December 2022 under a criminal charge, though details of the accusation remain unclear. In an interview with Current Time, Gelman suggested that the charges might be in connection with him "discrediting" the Russian military, a common pretext used against critics of Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Gelman has been a vocal member of the Anti-War Committee and a member of the Permanent Committee of the Free Russia Forum. He has repeatedly expressed his support for Ukraine and his opposition to Russia's war efforts. The raid in Perm is part of a broader pattern of increasing pressure on Gelman. In the past week, he was added to Russia's list of "terrorists and extremists," with a designation indicating an ongoing criminal case against him. Critics argue this move is part of a crackdown on anti-war activists and dissenting voices within and beyond Russia. The Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Novi Sad announced on November 21 that 11 people were arrested after being found responsible for the deadly collapse of a concrete canopy at the railway station in Serbia's second-largest city. 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 a consortium of four companies -- China Railway International and China Communications Construction, France's Egis, and Hungary's Utiber. Among those arrested are former Construction, Transport, and Infrastructure Minister Goran Vesic, and the ex-director of Railway Infrastructure, Jelena Tanaskovic. They face charges of committing criminal acts against public security, endangering the public, and irregular construction work, the prosecutor said in a statement, adding that they faced up to 12 years in prison. The arrests came after public protests that turned violent demanded the punishment of those responsible amid accusations of corruption that resulted in substandard renovation work on the railway station. In a message on X, Vesic wrote that he had not been arrested, but had "voluntarily responded to the call of the police officers" and "made himself available to police authorities." Vesic, an official from the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, resigned after the accident on November 4 but said he did not accept blame for the accident. Tomislav Momirovic, who headed the Construction, Transport, and Infrastructure Ministry from 2020 to 2022, submitted his resignation as trade minister on November 20. The same day, Tanaskovic resigned as head of Serbian Railway Infrastructure. Opposition politicians have voiced scepticism about the arrests and demanded that the case be handed over to organized-crime prosecutors. The office of Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya has issued a statement condemning the recent extradition from Vietnam to Belarus of Vasil Verameychyk, who fought on the Ukrainian side against invading Russian troops. Verameychyk, who moved to Vietnam after he was denied permission to settle in Lithuania because of he had previously served in the Belarusian Army, was detained in Vietnam earlier this year. Despite international appeals, Vietnamese authorities proceeded with his extradition in late October 2024. Tsikhanouskaya's office described the extradition as a direct consequence of the repressive policies of the authoritarian ruler of Belarus, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, highlighting the regime's efforts to target opponents beyond its borders. The statement emphasizes the urgent need for stronger international mechanisms to protect human rights, not only for Belarusians fleeing repression but also for those supporting Ukraine in its efforts to repel Russia's ongoing invasion. It calls on the international community to adopt individualized approaches when reviewing cases for international protection, end cooperation with the Belarusian security forces, and suspend bilateral agreements on extradition and legal assistance with Belarus. Additionally, the statement advises Belarusians abroad to remain vigilant against potential actions by Lukashenka's security services. It recommends consulting resources like Pashpart.org to identify countries deemed unsafe for Belarusians at risk of persecution. Russian mathematician and political prisoner Azat Miftakhov has been placed in solitary confinement for seven days. According to a support group for Miftakhov, the decision came after he reported feeling endangered by his current cellmate. In a letter shared by the group, Miftakhov explained that instead of being transferred to another cell, he was put in solitary confinement. It remains unclear whether Miftakhov will be returned to the same cell after completing his time in solitary. His support group says that his cellmate appears to be mentally ill. Miftakhov said that the man had undergone treatment while in pretrial detention but was nonetheless sentenced to more than 10 years in prison and is now being held in a general cell without access to medical care. Miftakhov is currently serving his sentence in a prison in Dimitrovgrad in the Ulyanovsk region. In March 2023, he was sentenced to four years in prison for "justifying terrorism." The charges stemmed from comments Miftakhov allegedly made while serving a previous sentence expressing support for Mikhail Zhlobitsky, who carried out a suicide bombing in 2018 at a Federal Security Service building in Arkhangelsk. Only Zhlobitsky was killed in the bombing. Before this, Miftakhov served five years and nine months on charges of hooliganism for allegedly participating in an attack on a Moscow office of the ruling United Russia party in 2018. He and his supporters have maintained his innocence, stating that he was tortured during the investigation and coerced into signing a confession, which he retracted. In 2019, the Russian human rights organization Memorial recognized Miftakhov as a political prisoner. Vietnam has extradited a Belarusian national who fought as a volunteer in Ukraine on Kyiv's side to Minsk, Belarusian media reported on November 20. The opposition-led Coordination Council said Vasyl Verameychyk, who is a member of the council, was turned over to Belarus on November 14. Verameychyk served in the Belarusian Army for seven years but participated in the 2020 anti-government protests. After the threat of arrest, he fled to Ukraine, where he joined the fighting against Russian forcesand was wounded in April 2022. Nasha Niva news reported Verameychyk moved to Vietnam after he was denied permission to settle in Lithuania because of his former Belarusian Army service. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Belarus Service, click here . European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson told RFE/RL in an interview that she is “optimistic” that Romania and Bulgaria will be fully integrated into the visa-free Schengen travel zone by the end of the year. “Romania and Bulgaria are ready, the Schengen area is ready, so I can’t see any obstacles,” she said. “It’s time to lift internal border controls now.” The interview, conducted on November 19, will be published in full on November 21. In March, both countries joined the Schengen area on a partial basis , allowing visa-free travel for those arriving and departing on flights and by boat to both countries, but not by road. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Romanian Service, click here . Serbian Trade Minister Tomislav Momirovic on November 20 became the second government minister to resign following the collapse of a railway station overhang in Novi Sad that killed 15 people on November 1. He didn't mention the tragedy in his resignation statement. Goran Vesic, minister of construction, transport, and infrastructure, resigned on November 5, saying he was quitting for "moral" reasons, without admitting any guilt. Protests have been held in Novi Sad and Belgrade demanding those responsible for the collapse be held to account. The railway station was built in 1964 but recently underwent a renovation. Serbian Railways insisted that work didn’t include the concrete overhang, but some experts disputed that. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Balkan Service, click here . A Ukrainian court has sentenced prominent Russian actor Vladimir Mashkov in absentia to 10 years in prison, according to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). Mashkov was found guilty of undermining Ukraine’s territorial integrity and promoting war propaganda. Additionally, the court ordered the confiscation of Mashkov’s apartment in Odesa, reportedly gifted to him by fans for his role in the TV series Liquidation, which is set in post-war Odesa. The SBU highlighted Mashkov’s participation in pro-Kremlin events, including “concert rallies” advocating aggression against Ukraine, some of which took place in Russian-occupied territories. Mashkov was a trusted ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and served as a senior member of Putin’s election campaign team this year. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here . The United States, Germany, and the Netherland -- three key Ukrainian allies -- on November 20 provided details of additional aid to Kyiv as it battles against Russia’s full-scale invasion, which passed the 1,000-day mark this week. The Dutch Defense Ministry said the Netherlands had turned over the final two of 18 promised U.S.-made F-16 fighter warplanes to a Romania training base, where Ukrainian pilots and staff are being taught to fly and maintain the jets. The Netherlands has been one of the main players in a coalition of Western partners to supply Ukraine with the sophisticated F-16s to strengthen its defenses against destructive Russian attacks on military and civilian sites. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in the past hailed the delivery of the warplanes as he pressed allies to step up aid to his country’s stretched military. Separately, the U.S. Defense Department announced an additional security assistance package worth $275 million under the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) program. It said the package will provide Ukraine with “additional capabilities to meet its most urgent needs, including munitions for rocket systems and artillery and anti-tank weapons.” “The United States will continue to work together with some 50 Allies and partners through the Ukraine Defense Contact Group and its associated Capability Coalitions to meet Ukraine's urgently needed battlefield requirements and defend against Russian aggression ,” it said. President Joe Biden is scrambling to provide Ukraine with assistance in the face of increased Russian military activity ahead of the return to the White House on January 20 of Donald Trump, who has expressed opposition to the massive aid packages of the current administration. The U.S. statement said the Biden administration has provided Ukraine with $61.3 billion in security assistance, including $60.7 billion since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. The Germany government said it had sent a package of military aid to Ukraine, including armored vehicles, artillery, and drones. Four Panzerhaubitze 2000 howitzers and seven M109 howitzers were included, along with 41,000 rounds of 155-mm artillery shells. The German government noted that its military assistance is delivered in two different manners -- through federal government funds that are used to finance deliveries of military hardware from industry and, separately, from deliveries taken out of current armed forces stocks. Berlin is the second-largest foreign supplier of military aid to Ukraine since February 2022, behind only the United States. Germany in total has provided 28 billion euros ($29.5 billion) to Kyiv. Meanwhile, multiple media reports have stated the United States has given Ukraine permission to launch long-range ATACMS cruise missiles deeper inside Russia, while unconfirmed reports on November 20 said Kyiv had fired British-made Storm Shadow missiles into Russian territory for the first time. Kyiv, Washington, and London have not denied the reports but also have not officially confirmed them. Permission for such strikes had been denied in the past by Western allies amid fears of provoking a wider war. Following the ATACMS and Storm Shadow reports, Ukraine has criticized Germany for refusing to provide its down long-range weapons, the Taurus cruise missile. An Almaty court has found RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, known locally as Radio Azattyq , guilty of disseminating false information, and the court imposed a fine of 184,000 tenges ($371), it said on November 20. The case originated from a complaint filed on November 13 by Shymkent resident Alisher Turabaev. Turabaev alleged that a Kazakh-language video published on Radio Azattyq’s portal on September 13 falsely stated that a prosecutor had requested an eight-year prison sentence for journalist Daniyar Adilbekov on September 12. Turabaev pointed out that court proceedings did not reach this stage until October 16, making the prosecutor’s request impossible at the time. Radio Azattyq acknowledged the error was due to a translation mistake when adapting content from a Russian-language publication. The original Russian report stated that Adilbekov faced "up to eight years in prison" for charges of defamation based on a Telegram post. However, during translation into Kazakh, the phrase was inaccurately rendered as stating that the prosecutor had already "requested eight years." Radio Azattyq expressed readiness to correct the mistake. This marks the second time Radio Azattyq has been fined under Article 456-2 of Kazakhstan’s Administrative Offenses Code. In October 2023, Turabaev successfully filed another complaint against Radio Azattyq, alleging the phrase "Russian-led CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization)” on its Russian-language site was false information. The court fined Radio Azattyq 103,500 tenge ($220) in that case. Details of Turabaev's motives in filing the accusations are unknown. Some people have speculated that he has taken the action on the orders of the authorities. The Dissemination of False Information article was added to Kazakhstan’s Administrative Offenses Code in September 2023 and has been widely criticized by human rights organizations as a tool to restrict freedom of speech. The law does not require proof of intent to spread falsehoods, nor does it provide opportunities for corrections or warnings. It also does not require the existence of a victim. Critics have likened the law to Russia’s legislation against "fake news," warning it is being used to silence journalists, activists, and bloggers. Radio Azattyq’s challenges extend beyond legal battles. On January 3, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry denied or refused to renew accreditation for 36 of its employees, citing violations of the Dissemination of False Information law. This dispute was later resolved through mediation. The growing use of Article 456-2 to penalize media and activists has raised concerns about press freedom and the shrinking space for dissent in Kazakhstan. Alyaksandr Lukashenka, the authoritarian ruler of Belarus, has pardoned an additional 32 political prisoners, according to reports from the pro-government Pul Pervogo Telegram channel, although an estimated 1,300 opposition activists remain behind bars in the country. The identities of those pardoned were not disclosed, but the report said they had all been convicted of extremism, a charge widely used against political activists. The report further identified the pardoned individuals as 24 men and eight women, with nine of them above the age of 50. The pardons released the individuals from serving their full sentences but did not remove their criminal records. Their behavior will continue to be monitored by the Interior Ministry after their release, the report said. This marks the sixth instance of political prisoner pardons in Belarus this year, bringing the total number of individuals set free to 178. Earlier this month , 31 political prisoners were pardoned. In July, the government pardoned 18 people, including Ryhor Kastusyou , the former leader of the opposition Belarusian Popular Front party who had been serving a 10-year sentence and is reportedly in poor health. Additional pardons followed in August (30 individuals), early September (30), and mid-September (37). In mid-November, prominent opposition figure Maryya Kalesnikava , who is serving an 11-year sentence on charges of conspiring to seize power, met with her father for the first time in 21 months. A month earlier, Lukashenka had suggested he might consider pardoning Kalesnikava if she submitted a formal request. However, it remains unclear whether she has accepted the offer. Kalesnikava has previously refused to request a pardon, maintaining her innocence and rejecting the legitimacy of the charges against her. The latest pardons come in the context of a harsh crackdown on dissent following the mass protests in Belarus in 2020, sparked by contested presidential election results. Lukashenka responded to the demonstrations with widespread repression, forcing at least 13,000 people into exile. According to human rights organizations, approximately 1,300 political prisoners remain in Belarusian jails, including politicians, journalists, human rights advocates, and civic activists. Belarus has scheduled its next presidential election for January 2025, with Lukashenka widely expected to be declared the winner. PRISTINA -- European soccer's governing body ordered Kosovo to forfeit its November 15 Nations League match in Bucharest that was abandoned after Kosovar players left the field complaining of "racist" abuse. UEFA on November 20 ruled Kosovo was responsible for the match not being completed. It fined the Kosovo soccer federation 6,000 euros ($6,300). The Romanian federation was also punished for the behavior of Romanian fans. It was ordered to play its first World Cup qualifying home game next year in an empty stadium and was fined 128,000 euros ($136,000) for a variety of offenses, including what UEFA called "the racist and/or discriminatory behavior” of its supporters and "provocative political messages not fit for a sports event." The federation was also fined for its supporters' throwing objects, lighting fireworks, and causing disturbances during national anthems, among other issues, UEFA said . Kosovo’s soccer federation said the fines against the Romanian federation was confirmation of the "validity" of the Kosovo national team's decision to abandon the match. "This decision fully justifies our actions, and we are proud that our national team correctly assessed the situation when it decided to leave the field in protest against these racist chants, provocative political messages, and other discriminatory behaviors," it said of the ruling, which officially meant a 3-0 victory for Romania. It added, however, that it disagreed with the decision that Kosovo should lose points in the league table, indicating it will appeal the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland. DigiSport in Romania reported that the Romanian Soccer Federation will await further details from UEFA before deciding on its next actions. The GSP sports site, meanwhile, quoted Romanian coach Mircea Lucescu as welcoming the ruling granting his team the victory, but he said he was stunned by the fines. "Us? Fined? Such a large amount? It's absurd," he was quoted as saying. Kosovo national team manager Bajram Shala had said the decision to abandon the match was made by the Kosovar federation, coach Franco Foda, and the players after "racist calls" against their country. The captain of the Kosovo team, Amir Rrahmani, said Romanian fans chanted, "Serbia, Serbia," and "Kosovo is Serbia," and that he had informed Danish referee Morten Krogh "at least three times" that his team would leave the field. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and has been recognized by more than 100 countries, but not Romania and other four EU states -- Spain, Cyprus, Greece, and Slovakia. After Kosovar players departed, the Romanian team remained on the pitch for about an hour before the referee decided to abandon the game after the Kosovo's team refused to return. DigiSport quoted Romanian team captain Nicolae Stanciu as expressing puzzlement that his team continues to play Kosovo, even though the Romanian state does not recognize its independence. "If we as a state do not recognize [Kosovo] and considering what happened in past matches, why do we continue to play against them?" The Danish Defense Command said it is "present" in the area near the Chinese cargo ship Yi Peng 3, which is anchored off the coast of Denmark and suspected of being involved in recent damage to fiber-optic communications cables in the Baltic Sea. Suspicions have been growing in Western capitals that damage to two key Baltic Sea cables was likely the result of deliberate actions. The Chinese ship, reportedly captained by a Russian naval officer, was sailing from the Russian port of Ust-Luga. It is suspected of having traveled over the area in the Baltic Sea where the cables connecting Sweden and Lithuania are located. European governments and Washington have not tied Moscow directly to the damage, but they have accused Russia of orchestrating "hybrid attacks" on Western infrastructure to punish European countries for their assistance and support for Ukraine's military as it tries to repel invading Russian forces. Some analysts say the ship may have damaged the cables when dragging its anchor. "The Danish Defense can confirm that we are present in the area near the Chinese ship Yi Peng 3. The Danish Defense currently has no further comments," the Danish Defense Command said in a post on X on November 20. Ukraine's allies pointed to past incidents of alleged sabotage by Moscow, especially following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which has hit the 1,000-day mark this week amid devastating losses on both sides. Authorities in states bordering the Baltic Sea are investigating the cutting of the cables -- the second connects Finland to Germany -- following similar suspicious occurrences in the sea in recent years. A year ago, Finland said it couldn't exclude that a "state actor" was responsible for damage to the Balticconnector gas pipeline and a telecommunications cable in the Baltic Sea. The pipeline was damaged by an anchor dropped from the deck of the Chinese container ship Newnew Polar Bear. The ship was not detained and sailed away. Moscow has said such allegations are being fabricated by the West to discredit Russia. Chinese officials have not commented on the situation surrounding the Yi Peng 3. Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on November 20 that its officers had detained a German citizen on suspicion of involvement in a March explosion that damaged a gas pipeline at a distribution center in Kaliningrad, the capital of Russia's western exclave of the same name. According to the FSB, Nikolaj Gajduk was detained after investigators found 0.5 liters of an unspecified "explosive substance" in his car while he was entering Kaliningrad from Poland. The statement also said that Gajduk had planned to conduct "sabotage acts" at energy facilities in the region, adding that the plan had been "masterminded" by a Ukrainian citizen residing in Germany. Gajduk was charged with terrorism and smuggling explosive substances. The Agentstvo Telegram channel said that Gajduk is a 57-year-old native of Ukraine. German authorities are yet to comment on the situation. T o read the original report by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here . Iranian authorities are using executions as "a tool of fear," particularly directed at ethnic minorities, dissidents, and foreign nationals, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on November 20. The rights watchdog highlighted a recent surge in capital punishment sentences against these groups, noting that the verdicts are handed down amid rampant violations of due process. According to Iran Human Rights group, in the first 10 months of this year, at least 651 people were executed in Iran -- 166 people in October alone. HRW noted the case of Kurdish political prisoner Varisheh Moradi, sentenced to death by Iran’s revolutionary court in Tehran on November 10 on the charge of “armed rebellion against the state." Moradi, a member of the Free Women’s Society of Eastern Kurdistan, was arrested in the city of Sanandaj in Kurdistan Province in August last year and kept for five months in solitary confinement in the infamous Evin prison where she was tortured. Her family has not been allowed to visit her since May, the group said. Moradi was not allowed to defend herself, and the judge did not permit her lawyers to present a defense, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network reported. “Iranian authorities use the death penalty as a tool of fear, particularly targeting ethnic minorities and political dissidents after unfair trials,” said HRW's Nahid Naghshbandi. “This brutal tactic aims to suppress any opposition to an autocratic government through intimidation,” she said. Five other Kurdish men were sentenced to death in recent weeks on charges of “espionage for Israel," HRW said. Four Arab prisoners from Ahvaz, Khuzestan Province, are at risk of imminent execution, after being sentenced to death by a revolutionary court with two other individuals for their alleged involvement in the killings of two Basij members, a law enforcement officer, and a soldier. The four -- Ali Majdam, Moein Khonafri, Mohammadreza Moghadam, and Adnan Gheibshavi (Musavi) -- were arrested in 2017 and 2018, according to human rights groups. Afghan citizens in Iran have been targeted, in particular, by death sentences, HRW noted, adding that according to human rights groups, at least 49 Afghan nationals have been executed in Iran this year, 13 in the past month alone. “Iran’s revolutionary courts are a tool of systematic repression that violate citizens’ fundamental rights and hand out death sentences indiscriminately, leaving legal protections meaningless,” Naghshbandi said. “The international community should categorically condemn this alarming trend and pressure Iranian authorities to halt these executions,” she added. Mai Sato, the United Nations special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran, has also voiced concern about the "alarming" increase in the number of executions. "In August 2024 alone, at least 93 people were executed, with nearly half in relation to drug offences," Sato said on November 1. At least 11 members of Pakistan's security forces were killed and at least four others were wounded in a car-bombing and shooting attack, the country's military said in a statement. The attack occurred late on November 19 in Bannu, a district in the restive northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, the statement said. Residents told RFE/RL that the sound of gunfire could be heard until late at night. A splinter faction of the Pakistani Taliban, the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement, saying that 23 members of the Pakistani security forces had been killed, a toll that could not be independently verified. The attack occurred as Pakistan's political and military leadership was meeting in Islamabad to discuss ways to tackle the current surge in militant violence. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal, click here . TBILISI -- Hundreds of Georgian police have forced demonstrators for a second night in a row out of the area near Tbilisi State University where they were protesting the results of last month's parliamentary elections and calling for a repeat of the vote. Unlike the previous day , there were no clashes early on November 20 as protesters retreated from the advancing police forces and left the university area, moving to the nearby Melikishvili Avenue in downtown Tbilisi. The protest leaders then announced that they were temporarily suspending their action in order to come up with a new plan. "We have to somehow replan and think about something different, not the same as what we have been doing here," Zurab Japaridze, one of the leaders of the Coalition for Change movement, told the demonstrators. On November 19, Georgian police violently dispersed the days-long protest at the university, detaining at least 16 people and taking down the tents where demonstrators had taken shelter from the cold during the night. The Interior Ministry told RFE/RL that the 16 people detained were held for alleged disobedience to the lawful demands of the police and petty hooliganism. Three of them were released on their own recognizance. Tbilisi has been rocked by protests since the elections, with opposition leaders demanding a repeat of parliamentary elections amid claims of widespread fraud and Russian influence during the October 26 polls that were won by the Georgian Dream party, which has been in power since 2012. The latest protests broke out after Georgia's Central Election Commission (CEC) on November 16 validated the results of last month's disputed elections, despite accusations of widespread fraud and Russian interference. According to the official results, Georgian Dream won 53.93 percent of the vote against 37.79 percent garnered by an opposition alliance. The office of pro-European President Salome Zurabishvili -- who backs the protesters and has refused to recognize the October 26 vote -- said she filed a lawsuit in the Constitutional Court on November 19, "requesting annulment of the election results as unconstitutional,” although she acknowledged little hope of success. "This is not because I believe in the Constitutional Court -- we all know that no institution in this country is independent any longer and we have received evidence of this repeatedly. Georgia's pro-European opposition has boycotted the new parliament, renouncing its mandates from the October 26 vote, alleging widespread fraud and Russian interference. EU and other Western officials have expressed serious doubts about the elections and perceived irregularities. Georgia has been a candidate for EU membership since last year, but a "foreign influence" law and anti-LGBT measures have stalled that effort. On November 20, the EU Delegation to Georgia issued a statement voicing support for young people who are fighting to protect the country's European values . "Here in Georgia, youth is safeguarding their rights, freedoms and the country's EU future. We stand firmly by them and stress the need to respect their fundamental right to freedom of expression and assembly," the EU Delegation said in a message on X on the occasion of "World Children's Day." The United States in July announced that it would pause more than $95 million in assistance to the Georgian government, warning it that it was backsliding on democracy. Dilmurod Ergashev, a Tajik opposition activist who was deported from Germany despite significant concerns about the risk of his detention and torture upon returning to Tajikistan, has been jailed for two months, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on November 20, calling on Berlin to press for his release. An administrative court in Germany ordered Ergashev's deportation on October 28. The 40-year-old is a prominent member of Group 24, an opposition movement that is banned in Tajikistan, and part of the Reforms and Development of Tajikistan movement established by exiled dissidents. His activism has included participating in demonstrations in Berlin, notably during a protest against Tajik President Emomali Rahmon's visit to Germany in September 2023. "Germany should urgently press Tajikistani authorities to release Ergashev or make clear the legal grounds and evidence justifying his detention and ensure that his due process rights are fully respected," HRW said in a statement . "This includes access to appropriate and quality medical care and ensuring that he is not mistreated. Ergashev was deported after a German court dismissed concerns, that he and human rights groups had raised, that he would be detained on arrival in Tajikistan," it said. Ergashev has been in Germany since February 2011 and first applied for asylum on political grounds that same year. Despite several applications, his asylum requests have been consistently rejected. According to his lawyer, German immigration authorities have expressed doubts about the sincerity of Ergashev's commitment to opposition causes. On November 6, The Insider investigative group reported that Ergashev had attempted to commit suicide before being deported from Germany to Tajikistan, citing self-exiled Tajik opposition activist Sharofiddin Gadoev. Germany has faced criticism for similar actions in the past. In 2023, two Tajik dissidents, Abdullohi Shamsiddin and Bilol Qurbonaliev, were deported to Tajikistan, where they were immediately detained and later sentenced to lengthy prison terms on dubious charges related to attempts to overthrow the constitutional order. Reports indicate that Shamsiddin has faced mistreatment while incarcerated. The Tajik government is known for its systematic persecution of opposition members, especially those affiliated with banned groups like Group 24. A recent report by HRW highlighted Tajikistan as a country of major concern regarding transnational repression, noting that the government actively targets critics abroad on charges of extremism and terrorism, leading to severe penalties and mistreatment upon forced return. Given Ergashev's documented activism and participation in protests, he is seen as a clear target for persecution by the Tajik authorities. KYIV -- The White House said it will provide Ukraine with antipersonnel mines to help it fend off Russia’s battlefield advances , despite widespread opposition to such weapons by international rights groups and following heavy usage of similar devices by Russia. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was quoted on November 20 by news agencies as saying during a visit to Laos that the decision to provide the controversial mines was made because of a change in Russian tactics. "They don't lead with their mechanized forces anymore," he said "They lead with dismounted forces who are able to close and do things to kind of pave the way for mechanized forces." Ukraine has a need "for things that can help slow down that effort on the part of the Russians," he added. Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Russia had used at least 13 types of antipersonnel mines in Ukraine since February 2022. "Russia has used anti-personnel land mines widely in Ukraine...causing hundreds of casualties and contaminating vast tracts of agricultural land," it said. Rights and humanitarian groups have long criticized the use of antipersonnel mines, saying they pose a danger to civilians. In a statement following the U.S. announcement, HRW said the "decision to transfer antipersonnel land mines risks civilian lives and sets back international efforts to eradicate these indiscriminate weapons.” More than 160 countries have agreed to ban the use of antipersonnel mines, although the United States and Russia are not signatories to the convention . Ukraine ratified the convention in December 2005. When asked in the past about possible use of such mines, Ukraine said it could not comment on the types of weapons utilized during the current armed conflict "before the end of the war and the restoration of our sovereignty and territorial integrity." Antipersonnel mines are hidden in the ground and are designed to detonate when enemy troops walk on or near them. Some reports have said the mines being provided by Washington are "nonpersisent," meaning that after a set period of time they no longer are operational and are rendered harmless. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hailed the decision on the mines, calling them "very important" weapons in the effort to blunt Russian assaults and saying the move would "totally strengthen" Ukraine's frontline troops. Meanwhile, U.S. officials said Washington's embassy in Kyiv will likely resume normal operations on November 21 after having closed earlier on November 20 when it received "specific information" about "a potential significant air strike." Late in the day, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told a briefing that "I can't go into the details of the threat, but we're always keeping a close eye on it. “The embassy is expected to return to normal operations tomorrow," he added. In closing, the embassy urged employees and U.S. citizens in the Ukrainian capital to take immediate shelter if an air-raid alert was announced. "Out of an abundance of caution, the Embassy will be closed, and Embassy employees are being instructed to shelter in place," it said in a statement, without giving any details about the possible strike. The embassies of Italy, Greece, and Spain said they had also shut their operations following the unusual U.S. warning. Spain later said it reopened its facility after a temporarily closing. The Ukrainian military suggested the information the U.S. Embassy was referring to was "fake." "Messengers and social networks...are spreading a message about the threat of a 'particularly massive' missile and bomb attack on Ukrainian cities today." "This message is a fake. It contains grammatical errors typical of Russian information and psychological operations,” it added. It urged residents not to ignore air-raid sirens but also "not to succumb to panic." An air-raid alert was issued for several Ukrainian regions, including Kyiv, early on November 20 due to the imminence of Russian drone strikes. The U.S. warning came one day after Moscow said Ukraine had used U.S.-made long-range missile systems to strike a weapons depot in Russia's Bryansk region following U.S. President Joe Biden's reported authorization of their use. The White House has not officially confirmed the decision. In another move by the current U.S. administration aimed at aiding Ukraine, Biden has informed Congress that he intends to cancel $4.65 billion in loans to Ukraine, a State Department spokesman said. Zelenskiy did not confirm or deny the use of ATACMS in the attack on Bryansk, saying during a news conference that "Ukraine has long-range capabilities.... We now have a long 'Neptune' (Ukrainian-made cruise missiles) and not just one. And now we have ATACMS. And we will use all of this." On November 20, Ukraine's military intelligence agency said a Russian military command post had been "successfully struck" in the town of Gubkin in Russia's Belgorod region, some 168 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. It did not say what kind of missiles had been used in the attack. Meanwhile, Bloomberg News reported the Ukrainian military had also fired a British-supplied Storm Shadow into Russia for the first time, citing an unnamed Western official. Separately, the Ukrainian Air Force said Russian troops attacked Ukraine early on November 20 with 122 drones, 56 of which were shot down over 14 regions -- Kyiv, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Poltava, Kirovohrad, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskiy, Sumy, Mykolayiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhya, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, and Kharkiv. The mayor of Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa, Hennadiy Trukhanov, said the death toll after a Russian strike on the city on November 18 had risen to 11.
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A priest, a lumberjack and an entrepreneur walk into a bar. Which one is happiest? It’s definitely not the bartender — she’s doing one of the jobs least likely to give you satisfaction in life. How in the world do we know that? Well, a while back, when we looked at the happiest jobs — shout-out to forestry — we considered how happy folks felt while at work. Outdoor jobs look awesome by that metric, dangerous as they often are in the long run, but readers kept reminding us that there’s more to a fulfilling job than how happy you are while doing it. We didn’t have a stellar way to measure other feelings about work, but we kept our eye on an often-overlooked federal data provider: AmeriCorps. The independent agency, which CEO Michael D. Smith described to us as “bite-sized” but “punching well above our weight,” funds the Civic Engagement and Volunteering Supplement, part of the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey. True data aficionados may remember the CEV as the source we used to find that Boston and Philadelphia are among the nation’s friendliest cities (yes, we were stunned, too). In 2021 and again in 2023, the researchers behind the CEV asked if you agree or disagree with these four statements: • I am proud to be working for my employer. • My main satisfaction in life comes from work. • My workplace contributes to the community. • I contribute to the community through my work. The two years of surveys give us enough responses to start doing some serious analysis — or, in the grand tradition of this column, some less-than-serious analysis. The questions may sound subjective compared with the usual Census Bureau fare, but they’re the next big step in a slow-building but snowballing academic effort to better measure the non-pecuniary benefits we get from our jobs. As the luckiest Americans worry less about their basic needs, more of us are seeking jobs with a moral or social mission. “As traditional third places where Americans engage with their community are waning,” said Smith, the AmeriCorps CEO, “it’s great to see that workplaces are creating a space where employees can put their values into action.” For better or worse, this shift has blurred the boundary between professional and civic life. “There is this expectation or this desire for people to find meaning in the work that they’re doing and feeling like it contributes to some greater good,” AmeriCorps research and evaluation director Mary Morris-Hyde told us. Americans are more and more interested in working “for a place that gives them time and respects and encourages and wants them to be good citizens in their community.” And — as your local newspaper reporter or AmeriCorps staffer could probably tell you — having a job that allows you to fight the good fight while on the clock may be worth forgoing a better paycheck elsewhere. But who gets to do these jobs? The basic demographic outlines are easy to draw. As a rule, you feel better about your job as you get older. Presumably it’s some mix of people who love their work delaying retirement, people job-hopping until they find meaningful employment, and people learning to love whatever hand they’ve been dealt. Most measures of satisfaction also rise with education, often quite sharply. Someone with a graduate degree is twice as likely as a high school dropout to strongly agree their workplace contributes to the community. There’s one exception: More-educated folks are actually a bit less likely to strongly agree that work is their main satisfaction in life. But demographics aren’t the main event. As you probably guessed, much of our job satisfaction depends not on who we are, but on what job we’re doing. In that, we see a separation in the questions about personal satisfaction and the questions about contributing to the community. The workers most likely to say they’re proud to be working for their employer and that they gain satisfaction from work are — surprise! — the self-employed. The self-employed who are incorporated — a group that often includes small-business owners — are almost twice as likely as private-sector, for-profit workers to strongly profess pride in their employer. Government and nonprofit workers fall somewhere in the middle on those questions. But they rank at the very top on “My workplace contributes to the community” and “I contribute to the community through my work.” Local government workers, who include teachers, take the top spot for strong agreement on both, followed by nonprofit workers. Private-sector, for-profit workers once again lag behind. The jobs that do worse on these measures tend to be in manufacturing or other blue-collar production and extraction jobs, or at the lower-paid end of the service sector. Folks in food services (e.g., bartenders and food prep), janitorial roles and landscaping, and personal services (e.g., barbershops, laundry and hotels) all struggle to find greater meaning in their work. Though some better-paid service jobs also struggle by some measures — think sales, engineering or software development. On the questions regarding pride in your employer and life satisfaction, we see managers and our old friends in agriculture and forestry take the top spots. But right behind them — and actually in the lead in the other question — lurks the real standout, a set of jobs we’d classify as “care and social services.” That includes, most notably, religious workers. Looking a bit deeper at about 100 occupations for which we have detailed data, we see clergy were most likely to strongly agree on every question. When we did our column on the happiest jobs, readers such as the Rev. Elizabeth Rees in Alexandria, Virginia, who left the legal profession to become an Episcopal priest, asked why we had ignored the spiritual angle. We didn’t have enough responses to isolate clergy in that particular dataset, but the clues were there. As Rees pointed out, Americans rank religious and spiritual activities as the happiest, most meaningful and least stressful things we do. And if we look at places instead of activities, houses of worship top the rankings in all three measures. So we maybe should have seen the clergy coming. To understand why religious workers would be so dang happy, we tracked down economist Olga Popova at the Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies, part of a publicly funded web of German research powerhouses. From her perch in Regensburg on Bavaria’s Danube plain, Popova wrote the book — or more specifically the book chapter — on religion and happiness research. She and other scholars have found a strong relationship between religion and well-being. And they’ve found that active participation in religion — beyond simple affiliation with a mosque or temple — increases the well-being boost. And nobody participates more actively in religion than the clergy! Furthermore, Popova said, clergy may gain a greater sense of purpose through their deeper engagement with church doctrine. In particular, research shows religion better equips folks to handle some of life’s trials and tribulations. “It’s plausible that clergy, through their constant work of helping others cope, develop a heightened ability to contextualize their own struggles,” she said. “By guiding parishioners through difficult times, clergy may acquire valuable skills and insights that buffer their own well-being.” But of course, religious work may also attract the sort of people who prioritize living fulfilling lives. “Individuals drawn to religious careers are more likely to possess certain personality traits, such as altruism or a strong sense of purpose, that are independently linked to well-being,” Popova told us. To help untangle this web of causes, we called the Rev. Cheryl Lindsay, minister of worship and theology at the United Church of Christ. Among endless other responsibilities, Lindsay mentors and trains young pastors and has, since 2019, led a congregation in Wellington, Ohio. As we ticked off the survey questions, each seemed to resonate more than the last: Of course, she’s proud of her employer, both God and the Deity’s servants on earth. And of course her work contributes to the community! For well over a century, the red-brick spires of her church have loomed over Main Street in Wellington, an old-growth hamlet of fewer than 5,000 people south of Oberlin where Lindsay provides food assistance and serves on community boards working on everything from overdose prevention to local theater. “That is also one of the things that I truly love about being a pastor,” Lindsay said. “It’s a great fulfillment to be able to engage beyond Sunday morning, beyond Bible study, beyond the confines of our religion, to be in community with others outside the faith.” Such work has exposed her to a breadth of human experience far beyond what she saw in her previous life as a banker, she said, and given her skills to apply to her own life: “In effect, you minister to yourself out of the reservoir that you build.” Lindsay noted that, to be sure, her job can be stressful, isolating and demanding. Work-life balance often eludes her. A typical pastor is running a small business and putting on weekly events even as they help parishioners navigate the highest peaks and deepest valleys of their lives. “You don’t get to divorce yourself from the messiness of life. I’ve been in hospital rooms, visiting a member of the church. If they have a health crisis — I’m there. I’ve got calls in the middle of the night because a parishioner lost a child,” she said. “Those moments bring a heaviness.” At the same time, Lindsay said, she has been “the first one to visit new parents when their baby is born. I’ve baptized babies and adults who have decided to join the church. I’ve officiated weddings. I’ve been invited to graduation parties.” “The fulfillment, I think, is really sharing life with one another, but also ... drawing people deeper and deeper into their faith — which also can fortify your own.”
Rep-elect Sarah McBride (D-Del.) said Sunday she is focused on governing, not on culture wars led by the right. Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/ZUMA Rep.-elect Sarah McBride (D-Del.) is not taking Rep. Nancy Mace’s (R-S.C.) bait. In her first interview after Mace’s weeklong, social media–fueled campaign —which included nearly 300 posts on X —to ban her from the women’s bathroom in the House of Representatives offices, McBride showed how a member of Congress who is actually interested in governing , not grabbing headlines, acts. “I’m in Congress to deliver for my constituents, to make health care, housing, and child care more affordable,” McBride said in a Sunday interview on MSNBC’s The Weekend , adding that she plans to support pro-union legislation as well as bills focused on paid leave and affordable childcare. “I’m so grateful to have this opportunity. I think on November 5, Delawareans showed the country what I’ve known throughout my life: that in our state of neighbors, we judge candidates based on their ideas and not their identities.” Mace kicked off this past week by introducing a resolution seeking to bar transgender members and employees in the House from using the bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity in the Capitol building, baselessly alleging that allowing trans women to use women’s bathrooms “jeopardizes the safety and dignity” of cisgender women. (In fact, research has found that there is “no link” between trans-inclusive bathroom policies and safety, and that reports of “privacy and safety violations” in bathrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms are “exceedingly rare.”) Though Mace’s resolution did not mention McBride—the first openly transgender person elected to Congress—by name, Mace admitted it was “absolutely” meant to target her. On Wednesday—which also happened to be the annually recognized Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day meant to memorialize trans people murdered in violent acts of bigotry—House speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) threw his support behind Mace’s effort, telling reporters he was simply formalizing what has long been an “unwritten policy”; he also noted in an emailed statement that all Members have private bathrooms in their offices and there are several unisex bathrooms throughout the Capitol. But Johnson has not clarified how the policy will be enforced or whether he will include it in the rules package the House will vote on in early January. “I worried that the heart of this country wasn’t big enough to love someone like me, and over the last decade, I have been able to bear witness the change that once seemed so impossible to me as a kid.” Johnson also has not addressed whether or not he condemns the threats of physical violence Mace and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) reportedly made against any trans person who violates the bathroom ban. (I’ve repeatedly asked Johnson’s spokesperson if he condemns these threats and if members would face consequences for carrying them out, but have yet to receive a direct answer.) Getting what she wanted did not make Mace dial back her bigotry, though: She has continued to repeatedly misgender McBride and denigrate trans people on social media. But on Sunday, McBride dismissed all that as “noise”—without mentioning Mace by name—and said she is focused on honoring the weight of history in her new role. “I have to be honest, this week was awe-inspiring, being at orientation, despite all of the noise,” McBride said. “Because as you were there, you realize you are in the body that Abraham Lincoln served in. We walked onto the House floor, and you’re in the space where they passed the 13th Amendment and the 14th Amendment, where women got the right to vote. You’re sitting in the chairs in the job where people passed the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act. And you feel that responsibility, but also you feel that you are part of a tradition, because every single one of your predecessors served in incredibly tumultuous, challenging times, and enough of them fulfilled their responsibilities to be stewards of our democracy and that is our calling in this moment, and I feel it very deeply.” Sarah McBride: "I worried that the heart of this country wasn't big enough to support someone like me. And over the last decade, I have been able to bear witness to change that once seemed so impossible to me as a kid that it was almost incomprehensible ... I carry that with me." pic.twitter.com/YKLnhQMeJl She also spoke about her own trailblazing role in Congress, which she said proves that anything is possible. As a college student, she said, “I worried that the heart of this country wasn’t big enough to love someone like me, and over the last decade, I have been able to bear witness the change that once seemed so impossible to me as a kid—that was almost incomprehensible—and I have seen it not only become possible, but become a reality. And I carry that with me in this moment, because I think in so many ways, this country—on both sides of the political divide—this country is facing its own crisis of hope. And I know we still have both the individual and collective capacity meet the scope and the scale of the challenges that we face. And I know, because I have seen it, that nothing is truly impossible.” Mace, meanwhile, spent the morning posting a Bible verse about the creation of “woman” all over social media.
Saquon Barkley is the NFL's version of Shohei Ohtani: AnalysisBy CHRISTOPHER RUGABER WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday named Andrew Ferguson as the next chair of the Federal Trade Commission . He will replace Lina Khan, who became a lightning rod for Wall Street and Silicon Valley by blocking billions of dollars’ worth of corporate acquisitions and suing Amazon and Meta while alleging anticompetitive behavior . Ferguson is already one of the FTC’s five commissioners, which is currently made up of three Democrats and two Republicans. “Andrew has a proven record of standing up to Big Tech censorship, and protecting Freedom of Speech in our Great Country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding, “Andrew will be the most America First, and pro-innovation FTC Chair in our Country’s History.” Related Articles National Politics | Donald Trump is returning to the world stage. So is his trolling National Politics | Biden says he was ‘stupid’ not to put his name on pandemic relief checks like Trump did National Politics | Biden issues veto threat on bill expanding federal judiciary as partisan split emerges National Politics | Trump lawyers and aide hit with 10 additional felony charges in Wisconsin over 2020 fake electors National Politics | After withdrawing as attorney general nominee, Matt Gaetz lands a talk show on OANN television The replacement of Khan likely means that the FTC will operate with a lighter touch when it comes to antitrust enforcement. The new chair is expected to appoint new directors of the FTC’s antitrust and consumer protection divisions. “These changes likely will make the FTC more favorable to business than it has been in recent years, though the extent to which is to be determined,” wrote Anthony DiResta, a consumer protection attorney at Holland & Knight, in a recent analysis . Deals that were blocked by the Biden administration could find new life with Trump in command. For example, the new leadership could be more open to a proposed merger between the country’s two biggest supermarket chains, Kroger and Albertsons, which forged a $24.6 billion deal to combine in 2022. Two judges halted the merger Tuesday night. The FTC had filed a lawsuit in federal court earlier this year to block the merger, claiming the deal would eliminate competition, leading to higher prices and lower wages for workers. The two companies say a merger would help them lower prices and compete against bigger rivals like Walmart. One of the judges said the FTC had shown it was likely to prevail in the administrative hearing. Yet given the widespread public concern over high grocery prices, the Trump administration may not fully abandon the FTC’s efforts to block the deal, some experts have said. And the FTC may continue to scrutinize Big Tech firms for any anticompetitive behavior. Many Republican politicians have accused firms such as Meta of censoring conservative views, and some officials in Trump’s orbit, most notably Vice President-elect JD Vance, have previously expressed support for Khan’s scrutiny of Big Tech firms. In addition to Fergson, Trump also announced Tuesday that he had selected Jacob Helberg as the next undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment.Biden announces ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah and takes credit for ending the fighting Biden has been working to stabilize the Middle East before he leaves office Unclear how this deal will affect Israel's war in Gaza By EMILY GOODIN, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT IN WASHINGTON D.C. Published: 16:20 EST, 26 November 2024 | Updated: 17:06 EST, 26 November 2024 e-mail 28 View comments President Joe Biden confirmed a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah will take effect at 4:00 am local time on Wednesday morning. It came after both sides accepted an agreement brokered by the United States and France . Speaking in the White House Rose Garden, Biden hailed the decision to 'end the violence' after a conflict lasting nearly 14 months. The 82-year-old commander-in-chief said: 'I just spoke with the prime ministers of Israel and Lebanon. I’m pleased to announce that their governments have accepted the United States proposal to end the devastating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.' The ceasefire, mediated by U.S. and French diplomats, starts a 60-day process during which both sides would stop fighting and withdraw from southern Lebanon. Biden added: 'This is designed top be a permanent cessation of hostilities. What is left of Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations will not be allowed. Over the next 60 days, the Lebanese army and state security forces will deploy and take control of their own territory. 'Once again, Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon will not be allowed to be rebuilt and, over the next 60 days, Israel will gradually withdraw its remaining forces and civilians.' President Joe Biden confirmed Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah had agreed to a permanent ceasefire after a year-long conflict The 82-year-old commander-in-chief confirmed in the White House Rose Garden that the deal would be effective from 4:00 am Wednesday morning, and said it was now Hamas' turn to release the hostages Israel did not let up on its bombardment of Lebanon, hitting Hezbollah hard up to the last minute. As Israel's cabinet prepared to vote on the ceasefire its military bombed Beirut 's southern suburbs 20 times in two minutes on Tuesday afternoon, an Israeli military spokesperson said. At least seven people were killed and another 37 injured in Israeli strikes on a four-story building in central Beirut. Turning to the war in Gaza, Biden added: 'Just as the Lebanese people deserve a future of security and prosperity, so do the people of Gaza. 'Now Hamas has a choice to make. Their only way out is to release hostages, including American citizens, which they hold and in the process bring an end to the fighting, which would make possible a surge of humanitarian relief. 'Over the coming days, the United States will make another push with Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and others to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza. With the hostages released and the end of the war without Hamas in power, that becomes possible.' The Lebanon ceasefire announcement is a win for the Biden administration, which is working to stabilize the Middle East before the president leaves office in January. Biden made his remarks shortly before he was scheduled to leave to Nantucket, where he will spend the Thanksgiving holiday with his family. Ahead of his comments Israel 's security cabinet announced it approved a ceasefire deal in Lebanon. Read More BREAKING NEWS Israel-Lebanon ceasefire to come into effect at 2am: Biden hails deal - but Gaza campaign continues The deal does not affect Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza , which shows no signs of ending. Lebanese officials have said Hezbollah also supports the deal with Israel. It is a major step toward ending the Israel-Hezbollah war that has inflamed tensions across the region and raised fears of an even wider conflict between Israel and Hezbollah's patron, Iran . The U.S. and Biden administration have pushed hard for the deal. It requires Hezbollah to end its armed presence in a broad swath of southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops would return to their side of the border. Biden confirmed that he had spoken to Netanyahu over the phone after the US-backed deal was confirmed Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut on Tuesday A member of Lebanon's emergency services walk at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a building reportedly housing a Hezbollah backed financial institution, in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon 'The length of the ceasefire will depend on what happens in Lebanon,' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address. 'With the full understanding of the United States, we are preserving full military freedom of action — if Hezbollah breaks the agreement and seeks to arm itself, we will attack.' It's not clear how the ceasefire will affect the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Hezbollah had long insisted that it would not agree to a ceasefire until the war in Gaza ends, but it dropped that condition. Netanyahu outlined three reasons for the ceasefire - it would allow Israel to focus on Iran, give the military an opportunity to rebuild its stockpiles, and isolate Hamas in Gaza. Hamas Israel Politics Share or comment on this article: Biden announces ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah and takes credit for ending the fighting e-mail Add commentThe Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) is aiming to improve standards for crew aboard fishing vessels operating in the region. At its just-finished conference in Suva, the Commission agreed to implement measures aimed at ensuring fair pay, safe and decent working conditions, and protections against forced labour and other abuses. Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) deputy director general Dr Pio Manoa said the new labour standards are crucial to ensure the safety and dignity of crew. Pio said the FFA members have been key drivers of this initiative, reflecting the agency's collective commitment to social responsibility in fisheries management. Meanwhile, non-government organisation Pew Charitable Trust said the WCPFC is making a critical effort to modernise oversight of the world's largest tuna fishery. The Commission has adopted interim electronic monitoring standards - after ten years of effort - which will ultimately help improve oversight of the region's valuable fisheries. The move means the work of human observers will be augmented by onboard cameras and other technology. An officer for the Pew Charitable Trusts' international fisheries project Dave Gershman said electronic monitoring will increase data collection and help ensure that fishers are following the Commission's rules. However, he said the Commission has again failed to agree to on ways to improve the transparency of transshipment of fish catches. Pew said the Commission's rules on transshipment remain out of alignment with UN recommendations and lag behind standards adopted by the other four tuna regional fisheries management organisations.
Daily Horoscope For Today, November 23, 2024: Astrological Forecasts For Each Zodiac SignRadical left-wing documentary filmmaker Michael Moore is roasting outgoing President Joe Biden for starting World War III on his way out of office. Moore published a “Dear Joe” letter to the dotard-in-chief noting that he recently laid out an agenda for Biden’s final days in office for “cementing your status as a ‘Great President’,” and then lamented “you have done none of them.” But worse than just ignoring Moore’s suggestions, the filmmaker insisted, “You on the other hand seem to be trying to cement your legacy as a war monger — doubling down on some of your worst mistakes and worst impulses.” The Bowling for Columbine director then laid out some of Biden’s “warmongering.” Instead of using your precious little time left to do something to HELP THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, your first action after Trump won was to fast track the delivery of over $6 Billion in weapons to Ukraine. Then, you called up Zelensky and gave him the green light to start firing long range ballistic missiles into a country with a massive amount of nuclear weapons, Russia. Then, as if that weren’t enough carnage for one week, you authorized the use of antipersonnel land mines in Russia. LAND MINES, Joe? Seriously? THIS is your legacy? This is how you want to go out? In a blaze of horror? Like, if Joe’s gotta go, we all gotta go with him... right into World War III? Moore pointed out that the U.S. has spent a billion dollars in efforts to remove landmines from war torn places such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, adding that these are “the places we invade and then leave our landmines behind.” “Vietnam was 50 years ago, Joe. And kids today in southeast Asia are still getting their arms blown off by our landmines. That’s your legacy, Joe. This is what you’re doing,” Moore railed. Moore was also disgusted by the White House’s lobbying against 19 Democrat senators who moved to block Biden weapons shipment to Israel and expressed his outrage that Biden’s administration accused these senators of being Hamas supporters. The Hollywood elitist then knocked Biden’s administration for blocking a U.N. vote to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, adding, ” America once again single handedly blocked the ceasefire. The only country speaking out in favor of more death and destruction was the one you and I are citizens of. This is your legacy, Joe?” The next “Is this your legacy, Joe?” point Moore included in his screed was Biden’s refusal to back the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu. As he began to wrap up his accusatory letter, he had more suggestions for Biden, writing, “Maybe you should stop arming foreign wars and leave that for the next guy. Maybe instead, you should focus on things that matter to Americans,” and demanded that Biden “make some real and powerful change” in the last two months he has left. He then suggests that the Equal Rights Amendment is a “no brainer.” You have the power to order the E.R.A. be officially published in the United States Constitution. You’ve had nearly 4 years to do this. It was ratified by the required number of states and it should be published as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution. Women, who make up 51% of the American population — THE MAJORITY — should finally be recognized as equal citizens and equal human beings, endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, just as they are in almost every single other Western Democracy. “You have the power to do this, Joe. You have the power to make this your legacy,” Moore concludes. “So, Joe, I’m really telling you for the last time: JUST DO IT. ” However, it is far from clear that Biden has this power at all. The original E.R.A. language that the states considered for ratification in 1974 contains a seven-year time limit to garner its three-quarters vote (38 states). That time passed with only 35 of the 38 states having ratified the amendment for inclusion as part of the U.S. Constitution. The amendment has been constantly reintroduced in succeeding congressional sessions, but has never passed with the needed percentages. Two U.S. Supreme Court cases — Dillon v. Gloss (1921) and Coleman v. Miller (1939) — both held that adding time limits is a legitimate political practice in which Congress has authority to engage. But, while no direct court case has considered the question of placing time limits on constitutional amendments, there is no reason to believe the SCOTUS would not just adopt the past two dictum decisions as precedent. So, the truth is, it isn’t obvious at all that Biden has the power to just add the ERA to the U.S. Constitution on his own hook. And even if he wanted to, his final two months is simply not enough time to propose the move, and then get it approved for action. Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston , or Truth Social @WarnerToddHuston
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