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。Scott Farquhar sells $2.08 million in Atlassian stockBOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored the Celtics’ first 15 points on five consecutive 3-pointers and finished with 29 points, before Boston withstood a late charge to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 107-105 on Sunday. Jayson Tatum added 26 points and eight rebounds to help Boston post a season-high fifth straight victory. Anthony Edwards had 28 points and nine rebounds for Minnesota, which has lost five of its last seven. Julius Randle added 23 points, and Rudy Gobert finished with 10 points and 20 rebounds, his eighth double-double of the season. Minnesota got within 55-54 early in the third quarter, before a 14-0 run by Boston. The spurt featured four 3s by the Celtics, including two by Tatum. The lead grew to 79-60 with 4:26 to play in the period. But the Timberwolves chipped it all the way down in the fourth, getting within 107-105 with 34 seconds left on a driving layup by Randle. Takeaways Timberwolves: Minnesota will be looking to for some wins at home, after dropping four of its last five on the road. Celtics: The Celtics have struggled at home at times this season but improved to 6-2 at the Garden. Key moment The Timberwolves had the ball with 7.1 seconds and a chance to win. Edwards got the inbounds and tried to drive on Brown. But he was cut off, and the ball swung to Naz Reid, who failed to get off a 3 as time expired. Key stat Boston assisted on 25 of its 37 made field goals. Up next The Timberwolves host Houston in NBA Cup play on Tuesday, beginning a four-game homestand. The Celtics host the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night. ___ AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba Kyle Hightower, The Associated PressATHENS EU states failed to agree on a new sanction package for Russia, the Politico news outlet reported Friday. Latvia and Lithuania refused to support the package as it also extended a provision that permits Western companies to keep working in Russia despite existing sanctions, it said, citing diplomats familiar with the issue. Critics of the provision, which was initially designed to benefit companies, said they want to divest from Russia but cannot for various reasons. They said the benefit is being abused and gives companies too much political cover to stay in Russia, said the US news outlet. Politico said Slovakia is seeking to extend another sanctions exemption that enables it to export refined Russian oil to neighboring Czech Republic, which announced it wants the arrangement to end. The sanctions package is expected to come up for discussion when EU foreign ministers meet Dec. 16.
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator' make gravity-defying theater debuts NEW YORK (AP) — “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” have debuted in theaters with a combined $270 million in ticket sales. Their worldwide performance breathed fresh life into global box office results that have struggled lately. Together the films turned the moviegoing weekend into one of the busiest of the year. Jon M. Chu’s lavish big-budget musical “Wicked,” starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, debuted with $114 million domestically and $164.2 million globally. Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II” is a sequel to his 2000 best picture-winning original and launched with $55.5 million in ticket sales. “Moana 2” is being released Wednesday, so it looks like Hollywood might be looking at historic sales over the Thanksgiving holiday. Verstappen captures 4th F1 championship after Mercedes sweep of Las Vegas Grand Prix LAS VEGAS (AP) — Max Verstappen cruised to a fourth consecutive Formula 1 championship Saturday night by finishing fifth in the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Verstappen needed only to finish ahead of Lando Norris of McLaren to give Red Bull a fourth straight driver championship. The Dutchman started fifth but was already up to second by the 10th lap around the street circuit that includes the famed Las Vegas Strip. Norris, who had to score at least three points more than Verstappen to extend the championship fight, finished sixth. The race was won by George Russell who was followed by Lewis Hamilton in the first 1-2 sweep for the Mercedes drivers since 2022. Dartmouth sorority, two members of fraternity face charges after student who attended party drowned HANOVER, N.H. (AP) — A sorority at Dartmouth College and two members of a fraternity faces charges related to the death of a student who drowned after attending an off-campus party. The Hanover, New Hampshire police department, where Dartmouth is located, said Friday that Alpha Phi was charged with one count of facilitating an underage alcohol house. Two members of the Beta Alpha Omega face a charge of providing alcohol to a person under 21. Won Jang, 20, of Middletown, Delaware, had attended an off-campus party in July hosted by Alpha Phi sorority. Police said the alcohol was provided by Beta Alpha Omega. Tens of thousands of Spaniards protest housing crunch and high rents in Barcelona BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Tens of thousands of Spaniards are marching in downtown Barcelona to protest the skyrocketing cost of renting an apartment in the popular tourist destination. Protesters cut off traffic on main avenues in the city center, holding up homemade signs in Spanish reading “Fewer apartments for investing and more homes for living." The lack of affordable housing has become one of the leading concerns for the southern European Union country, mirroring the housing crunch across many parts of the world, including the United States. The average rent for Spain has doubled in the last decade. In cities like Barcelona, rental prices have also been driven up by short-term renters including tourists. Jason Kelce's wife announces she is pregnant with the couple's fourth child Former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce's wife is announcing she's pregnant with the couple's fourth child. Kylie Kelce posted a photo on Instagram on Friday of the couple's three young daughters reacting to the news. The oldest daughter, Wyatt, appears to be cupping her head in shock. The middle daughter, Ellioette, is smiling. The youngest, Bennett, is in tears. A caption attached to the photo reads: “I feel like we captured a very accurate representation of how each of the girls feel about getting another sister. At least Ellie, mom and dad are on the same page!” Israeli-Moldovan rabbi living in UAE is missing. Israeli officials fear he may have been kidnapped DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An Israeli-Moldovan rabbi living in the United Arab Emirates has gone missing, with Israeli authorities raising the suspicion he may have been kidnapped as tensions remain high with Iran. The Israeli prime minister’s office said that Zvi Kogan has been missing since noon Thursday. It said that against the backdrop of information that this was a terrorist incident, an extensive investigation has been opened in the country. Emirati officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday. State-run media in the UAE, an autocratic federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula and home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, did not immediately report the incident. Alyssa Nakken, first full-time female coach in MLB history, leaving Giants to join Guardians CLEVELAND (AP) — Alyssa Nakken, the first woman to coach in an MLB game, is leaving the San Francisco Giants to join the Cleveland Guardians. Nakken made history in 2022 when she took over as first-base coach following an ejection. A former college softball star at Sacramento State, Nakken joined the Giants in 2014 and was promoted to a spot on manager Gabe Kapler’s staff in 2020, becoming the majors’ first full-time female coach. Nakken has been hired as an assistant director within player development for the Guardians, who won the AL Central last season under first-year manager Stephen Vogt. Nakken, 34, will work with former Giants coaches Craig Albernaz and Kai Correa. Officer kills pet dog mistaken for a coyote in Massachusetts town. The owner says it was unnecessary An animal control officer shot and killed a pet dog in a Massachusetts town after mistaking it for a coyote in an incident local police are describing as a sad mix-up. Police in Northbridge, Massachusetts, say the shooting happened on Tuesday after police received a call of a report of a coyote in a residential backyard. Police say the animal control officer went into the woods to look for the coyote and found what they thought was the animal in a threatening position and shot it. The incident happened as communities around Massachusetts and the country have dealt with an uptick in interactions between coyotes and people. Kendrick Lamar surprises with new album 'GNX' LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kendrick Lamar gave music listeners an early holiday present with a new album. The Grammy winner released his sixth studio album “GNX” on Friday. The 12-track project is the rapper’s first release since 2022’s “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers.” Lamar’s new album comes just months after his rap battle with Drake. The rap megastar will headline February's Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show in New Orleans. The 37-year-old has experienced massive success since his debut album “good kid, m.A.A.d city” in 2012. Since then, he’s accumulated 17 Grammy wins and became the first non-classical, non-jazz musician to win a Pulitzer Prize. NBA memo to players urges increased vigilance regarding home security following break-ins MIAMI (AP) — The NBA is urging its players to take additional precautions to secure their homes following reports of recent high-profile burglaries of dwellings owned by Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis and Kansas City Chiefs teammates Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. In a memo sent to team officials, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, the NBA revealed that the FBI has connected some burglaries to “transnational South American Theft Groups” that are “reportedly well-organized, sophisticated rings that incorporate advanced techniques and technologies, including pre-surveillance, drones, and signal jamming devices.”PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The campus of Butler Hospital is awash in fall colors as the sun moves toward the horizon, on Thursday afternoon, Nov. 7. The shift of nurses, doctors and patients is on the move, the daily changing of the caretakers, as ConvergenceRI struggled on trekking poles to reach the main entrance, on time for an interview with Dr. Linda Carpenter, M.D. One of the pioneering neuroscience researchers at Butler Hospital, Dr. Carpenter is the lead clinical trial researcher on a new, take-home device (Relivion) created by Neurolief to treat major depressive disorder, a chronic and recurring condition that afflicts millions. The interview took place in Dr. Carpenter’s office at Butler Hospital, a portal into a space defined by stylish design and acute attention to detail. Dr. Carpenter is wearing a turquoise scarf that depicts the brain’s synapse structure, replete with dendrites and axons depicted in black. Two days before the interview, former President Donald Trump had been elected the 47th President of the United States, as if the entire nation had been victimized by a mass psychosis where facts no longer seemed to matter. That evening, members of the Rhode Island Senate would convene in a caucus that replicated a medical intervention, as Senators endorsed the continued leadership of Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, despite indications that his chronic health conditions had taken a severe toll. Earlier this summer, ConvergenceRI had conducted an interview with Dr. Carpenter, “Listening to what your brain is telling you,” following her being awarded the Clinical Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Society Gold Medal. Dr. Carpenter serves as director of the Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Clinic and Neuromodulation Research Facility at Butler Hospital, a division of Care New England. ConvergenceRI: I am amazed at the latest work, which seems to be just remarkable, in terms of its groundbreaking nature of treatment: The idea that people can have a take-home device that can help them with their treatment of drug-resistant depression. The treatment moves forward in such a way that it may help patients to overcome everything from long-term depression to migraines. CARPENTER: Right. The particular device that we are talking about today which is the subject of clinical trial that we just finished, is the same device that they have already gotten approved for migraines, but the stimulation pattern that it gives for depression is different. You would use this device [taking off her glasses to put on the device to model it], they may look the same, but the stimulation of the prescription , if you will, would be different for migraine than it is for depression. But, it is incredibly exciting, because we don’t yet have any FDA-approved home-use devices for depression. ConvergenceRI: My first question to you is, “How would I be able to get one of these devices?” How would I qualify? Are the clinical trials’ hurdle now over? CARPENTER: The clinical trial was conducted at multiple sites around the country, and I think we also had an Israeli site [the Relivion corporate headquarters are based in Israel with a facility in Florida]. The clinical trial proved the efficacy [of the device] by randomizing people in active or sham, right? The data demonstrated a superior outcome for the people who had active [devices]. At this point, the whole package of results has gone to the FDA, maybe about a month ago. And, they are processing it. Before the FDA started this trial, they gave this company what is known as a “breakthrough designation,” to help them get onto a fast track for going through the regulatory process, because they identified a need for patients with treatment-resistant depression to have [access to a device] at home. Many of [the patients] can’t come to our clinic five days a week for TMS [transcranial modulation stimulation], or they can’t come in for ECT [electro-convulsive therapy]; you would have to have someone drive [the patient] here and then drive them home. The FDA identified the need and put [the firm] on fast track. The company expects, and I don’t work for the company, but I think they expect to receive FDA approval in early 2025. And then, when that happens, they can commercially market the device. Now, how will that work? I don’t know. This is the first of its type, There are a couple different of ways that this can go. It could be that you come to your doctor’s office, they supervise you using it a couple of times until they are confident that you can use it properly. And then you take home the device, use it, come back, check in every two or three or four weeks, something like that. There is also this question of durable medical equipment, which is out of my wheelhouse and how it would work. Which is where you are a clinic and you actually sell the device to the patient. You have a stock of them. I don’t know what the business model will look like. What I do know is that it’s a prescription device . So, you will have to be monitored by a doctor. It doesn’t mean that it has to be a psychiatrist. You could go to a primary care doctor. But, when it first rolls out, because it is FDA-approved for people who have not gotten better with at least one anti-depressant medication, it will b prescribed typically by a psychiatrist at first, I think. And as broadly as it can be disseminated, that would be great. Because the goal would be to reach all of those patients who can’t come to a specialty clinic. And there are a lot of those. If you think about, when we talk about treatment resistant depression, basically about a third of patients don’t get better with standard anti-depressant treatment. And, that’ a huge number; it’s millions of patients, [looking it up on her computer]. There are some 21 million patients with depression, 9 million being treated with anti-depressants, and 3 million meet this criteria for treatment resistant depression if they don’t get better with a standard anti-depressant. We are looking to find and implement a treatment that would be more convenient and accessible – and I am very excited about that. ConvergenceRI: For me as the journalist, the question is: How could I get one of these devices and write about it, and perhaps become part of the follow-up. The goal would be, that as much as a scientific endeavor, I think that for people to understand what is going on, it might be helpful to have a journalist who can write about the experience and share that... CARPENTER: ...It would be fantastic. ConvergenceRI: ...in a comprehensive fashion, I am willing to raise my hand... CARPENTER: ...And volunteer? ConvergenceRI: I would volunteer to become a patient, or whatever is required, to do this, because I think for all the studies you can do, having someone to actually talk about it in a cogent fashion is intriguing to me. CARPENTER : Yes. You can go onto the company’s website and get a prescription for the migraine device. And, I don’t how you do that, I just noticed this (Relivion website for migraine) today, and I think you can purchase it and have it sent to you, and it would be very similar. You would get the experience of what it is like; they have a prescription and then there are accessories. ConvergenceRI: Would that come from through my primary care physician? CARPENTER: I was just looking to see if you could get a prescription under the migraine indication. The trial would go on for 60 days. This is a brand new website, (there is a listing, “Getting started. Telehealth and find a doctor.”) You might b able to interact with this website and get one for a migraine, with a telehealth physician. It looks like they give you ways to do that. ConvergnceRI: I will consider following up with that. From what you have described, it seems like it is a major breakthrough in treatment, with the possibility that this device will be something that will change the way that depression is treated. And perhaps conditions that are linked to depression, such as obsessive compulsive behavior. CARPENTER: Well, we haven’t tested those other indications. But I think you have the right idea. And, in fact, here are a number of devices, if you just Google them, you can find them. But the difference between this and those [other devices] is that they haven’t been put through large, randomized control trials, which takes a lot of time and a lot of money. ConvergenceRI: Have you gone through Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III clinical trials? CARPENTER: The clinical trials design are not the same for drugs as they are for devices. This would be a device that they tested it in an early pilot study. And, they have done all their safety testing before they came to this clinical trial. And, then, I guess, after FDA approval, this is all that will likely be needed according to the FDA to get the clearance. And then, after the clearance, there will be a lot of questions we need to address. We studied this, with people using it every day, active or sham, for a period of eight weeks. And then, what happened in this clinical trial, at the end of eight weeks, you got to crossover and go to active, if you had gotten the sham, and if you had already got active for eight weeks, you could, continue with eight more weeks of active. There were a number of questions built into [the study]. One, if you aren’t all the way better by eight weeks, and you keep going, will you get more people into remission? And, the answer to that question was yes, because more people kept getting better. And the other question was: If you had sham for the first eight weeks, and now you get the real device, can you replicate that the same percent of people were getting better, and we did. But some of the questions we haven’t answered are: OK, we’ve had people using the device for up to 16 weeks, what does the maintenance look like? Do you stop using it? Do you continue to use it? Do you continue to use it less often? How long will it last? Is it something that you are going to pick up when you start to slip and your [depressive] symptoms start to come up again? As soon as the FDA approval happens, then those will be next types of studies that we are doing. And also, we will be doing more mechanism of action studies. To do scans, before and after treatment, to look at how is it changing connections in the brain, and the way it does. ConvergenceRI: How has it changed your life? You have spent a large amount of time working on this, to see it come to creation. To now have a device that is sitting on front of you on your desk, and it seems to work, what is that like for you as a researcher, as a neuroscientist? CARPENTER: It is really exciting. I am very big on “the bench to bedside.” Getting all the way to implementation is something that I really, really enjoy. You know, a few of the hurdles that lay ahead are that this is a small, start-up company that is looking for a big company such as Pfizer to buy them and co-license it to help facilitate the next bunch of clinical trials that need to happen to answer all these additional questions. A lot of this is now in the hands of the device manufacturer, to take the next big steps to help get the device out there. I’m thrilled to be able to talk about it. I am thrilled to know that it works and to recommend it. But, access is so important. And, like all these other new treatments, if people can’t afford them, if health insurance doesn’t cover it... There needs to be access. I am just really hopeful that the pieces fall into place and that they are taken care of, because that is not [the focus of] my work. My work is the scientific work. To get it to implementation, so I can see patients using it. And not just in my clinical trials. We want people to be able to be use it; I think that will take some time. To answer your question directly, there is a little bit of antsy-ness about wanting to keep moving forward, and doing the next thing, to get their money and to get their companies and their commercial model all built. But, it’s exciting. It’s exciting to have been a part of designing the trial to help pick the sites, and make sure that it was conducted with scientific rigor. And to have good data. Because, you know, there are a number of devices out there. Congess passed a law in 1972 that said the FDA will regulate medical devices. And, ever since then, all the biomedical devices go through FDA. But, there were a bunch of devices on the market before 1972. And they were grandfathered in. They have been able to market themselves legally, without ever doing clinical trials, So there are all these devices that patients can get that they advertise for depression or for anxiety or pain, or to improve your dreaming, or something. But they just don’t have the science behind them. Psychiatrists and other physicians tend not to prescribe them; patients sometimes find them and ask, “Will you sign this form I got online?” But they haven’t really been incorporated into the mainstream of treatment because they haven’t had the science. So now, we have the first one with the science. And that is really exciting. I would like to see it become used as a regular treatment for depression. ConvergenceRI: What does it feel like for you to be able to help direct the first of its kind device with the promise of something to be so helpful to people, who are often struggling to get by day-today? CARPENTER: It feels great. It feels really great. We all want to do something, you work with patients, and you are experiencing their suffering, and the disabling nature of the depression. And, the problems with side effects. And, the burdens on families and the economy. It feels great to have something. It will feel greater when I can go, here you are. There are so many people who were involved with the device. I didn’t design it; I didn’t invent it. And, the company did really elegant work in putting it together. It has a really elegant interaction with your smart phone that walks you through how to use it, that checks to make sure that the device is on right, and that sends the information to the cloud that I can look at on a dashboard to see if the patient is using the device safely. But, you know, we are not completely at the finish line until it is disseminated. ConvergenceRI: Let me go back and ask about what is actually happening in the brain with the device. And please correct me if I get this wrong. The idea is what you are working with is the way that the brain can reconfigure the way that the synapses and the neurons fire, essentially that there is a learned pattern that takes place, so if you fire the sequence enough times, it becomes the learned pattern in the brain, and it doesn’t go back to all of the intermediate steps. It goes from A to F, without having gone through B, C, D, and E to get to F. What the device seems to be doing is retraining , if that is the right “verb” to use, to get the neurons to fire differently. CARPENTER: Right. ConvergenceRI: To take the “memories” that are contained, if “memory” is the right word, of what gets lost in the translation of the firing of the synapse. Is that accurate? CARPENTER: That’s a good way to think about it. Think about it like a computer. The computer has all these different parts that have to interact and, if one part breaks down, then the other parts might go around that part. This part might have the control of that part, like a circuit board. Think of depression like a circuit board. And just like you said, A, B, C, and D. And the circuits are connected by synapses, neurons and synapses, right? And so, like you said, if the part of the reward center and joy is turned off and not coming on, and the fear center and anxiety is on when it shouldn’t be, and the top control isn’t telling the others this isn’t the time to be anxious. This isn’t the time to be turned off, this isn’t the time to be attending – all those different signals. So, we know that there are these functional changes in the brain when someone is depressed. And, by and large, you can see when people get better, although depression has a lot of different versions, right? There are a lot of different versions of depression. If you look at all the different symptoms, and there are lot of different ways that it can look. But, in general, if you think about circuit pathology , that the circuit Is not working properly... ConvergenceRI: Circuit pathology? CARPENTER: Yes. Again, if I have a lot of anxiety in my depression, then my amygdala, its connections to other things are not being regulated. We want our brain to say, “Oh yes, be fearful,” when it is appropriate to be fearful, when you are in a terribly dangerous situation. But not when you are trying to relax, and your reward center should be able to turn on when you experience certain things. And so, negative old memories should stay put, and not come in and re-evaluate what is happening in the present, The question of how the device’s treatment for depression works to fix that is unanswerable. How does psychotherapy fix that? How does ECT fix that? How does medication fix that? What we know is where the device has its actions. Or where EMS has its actions. Or what Prozac sticks to on the molecule, right? And what we know about this device is that it stimulates some peripheral nerves, branches of nerves called the trigeminal nerve in the front and branches of these nerves in the back, and these are right underneath your skin, these nerves are stimulated in this synchronous way, carrying messages down to the brain stem. And, this goes up through a bunch of connections, the solitary tech nucleus, the hypothalamus, and gets into the nodes, as you will, of the circuit. How that fixes the regulation is the question. ConvergenceRI: Am I asking the right questions? CARPENTER: Oh, yes, I think they are great questions. ConvergenceRI: Thanks. Trying to translate what you are saying into language that people can understand, that’s part of the problem. I think I get some of it. But I am very much in awe of what it takes to translate what is happening, and the way that you then see it. There is clearly a difference between causation and correlation. CARPENTER: Just think about Prozac’s impact on the serotonin uptake inhibitors And people said: It sticks on this little thing on the cell and it causes more serotonin to be in the cell. It’s not like we’re all down a quart of serotonin; it still is changing the circuits and how they talk to each other. And sometimes, we act like we know exactly how a treatment works. How does psychotherapy work? And that is really a retraining right? Forcefully creating new habits. ConvergenceRI: How tied into other senses is this work? With psychotherapy, you have to listen. In terms of drug intake, it is all about modulating how we respond to pleasure, versus things that are not pleasurable, and the wirings that enable that to happen. CARPENTER: That’s the black box, the wiring that enables it to happen. So, that when a pleasant thing happens, joy, dopamine, the reward circuit is firing. You see your grandchild, you see your friend. You have a good thing happen. The common bottom line seems to be getting all those different functional areas of the brain to coordinate properly, particularly with top-down control, turning off things that are not appropriate and allowing things that are. When reward circuits are down, people feel apathetic, they feel no interest in things, no drive to pursue things. The last step is making the symptoms go away. Each of the treatments we talked about has a different way of approaching it.
The only time Richard Cody Graham has been able to stay out of trouble from the law in the past 20-plus years was when he became a father. Crown attorney Kurt Froehlich told a Penticton court last week Graham has an “unbroken pattern of criminal conduct stretching back to the early 2000s” and now has more than 60 criminal convictions after he pleaded guilty to numerous offences over several months. Graham, 41, dressed in jail-issued red overalls and speaking via videoconference from a holding cell, pleaded guilty to two counts of flight from police, failing to stop for police, dangerous operation of a vehicle, assaulting police, illegally removing a court-ordered monitoring device, among other charges. In late May of 2017, Graham was arrested in Penticton on warrants in the Lower Mainland for bank robbery and use of an imitation handgun in the commission of a criminal offence. After spending the past seven months in jail following an extended crime spree over several months dating back two years and getting clean and sober for the first time in a long time, Graham promised to stay clean, resume his relationship with his daughter and become a role model for her. “When my daughter was born, that was the biggest thing in my life,” Graham told Justice Greg Koturbash during a sentencing hearing. “I changed my life and I tried to get myself together. “This is the biggest regret of my life. I’ve done all kinds of crime (but) losing my daughter has really kind of opened my eyes to not continue this lifestyle.” Court heard Graham now has more than 60 criminal convictions dating back over 20 years. He was given a 19-month jail sentence by Koturbash on Nov. 20. Because he’s served more than seven months in custody — he was given 1.5 days credit for every day spent in pre-trial detention — Graham will have to spend another 171 days behind bars before he’s released. Froehlich told the court Graham was found by RCMP officers in Kelowna in his sports car the afternoon of Nov. 21, 2023. When officers tried to arrest him, Graham started up the vehicle and drove it towards a police cruiser. He drove the vehicle through a ditch and also avoided a spike belt laid by police and took off at a high rate of speed and there was a short pursuit before officers decided to call off the chase due to public safety concerns, said Froehlich. Graham was eventually arrested in January of this year and spent a few weeks in jail before being released on strict conditions, including having to wear an electronic monitoring device, said Froehlich. He was living at a group home in Surrey, when it was reported “he had cut off an ankle bracelet” monitoring device and left the group home on March 18, he said. While police attempted to track him, he wasn’t found until April 8 when RCMP officers in Oliver noticed a vehicle they believed belonged to Graham outside a grocery store in Oliver, said Froehlich. Officers again tried to arrest Graham, who was in the vehicle with a woman, he said. An RCMP officer attempted to open the door to the vehicle and place Graham under arrest, but Graham closed the door, forced the woman outside the vehicle and jumped into the driver’s seat, he said. He put the car into drive and clipped the police cruiser, before taking off at a high rate of speed. Five days later, police were given notice that Graham might be staying at a hotel in West Kelowna the evening of April 13. When an officer approached the hotel room, he was told Graham had just left and was on foot. The officer saw him running, pursued him and eventually caught up to him and placed him under arrest. Before tackling Graham with other officers, Graham “launched himself” into one officer, forcing him to the ground. Police discovered Graham was in possession of a large quantity of controlled drugs and drug paraphenalia, said Froehlich. Graham has remained in custody ever since. Graham has an unenviable criminal record that now has more than 60 convictions, as well as a long record of Motor Vehicle Act convictions as well, including two previous convictions for dangerous driving and fleeing police, he said. Defence counsel Matthew James said his client grew up in a very dysfunctional family and turned to drugs and alcohol at an early age and this has played a significant role in his criminal lifestyle. Graham is an Indigenous man and his grandmother was a victim of the residential school system, he said. His biological father abused him, his siblings and mother and he also suffered other abuse at the hands of trusted family members, he said. He eventually went to live with his grandmother with his brother, but she overdosed when he was only 11 years of age and he had to witness that horrific incident, he said. The only time his client hasn’t been in trouble with the law in the last 20 years was for an extended period of time from 2017, when his daughter was born, and until 2022, he said. Not only did he establish a good relationship with his daughter, he was working full-time in Kelowna and doing well, he said. However, he relapsed last year when the mother of his daughter cheated on him “and he spiraled out of control,” he said. After being incarcerated for more than seven months, Graham is again clean and sober and has a new perspective on life, he said. “Where he’s at now is where he wants to be,” he said. “Graham is before the court with, as I noted, substantial childhood trauma. And what’s important is to note that that is connected to the residential school systems and the intergenerational effects of it on his family, where that trauma stimulated his substance use, and through that, also his criminality.” His goal is to get out of jail, get a job and resume his relationship with his daughter, he said. “He wants to be a positive influence in his daughter’s life,” he said. “He’s shown in the past he can cease his criminal activity.” Koturbash said he would agree to the 19-month collective sentence, which will see Graham spend just under six more months behind bars. The two incidents of avoiding police by driving away at very high speeds could have resulted in tragedy, said Koturbash. “I take a very, dim view of people that flee from the police, especially in vehicles, because so many dangerous and unfortunate consequences can happen when situations like that arise,” said Koturbash. “The sentences that are imposed have to be high enough to discourage you from ever considering doing that, or people from ever considering doing that going forward in the future.” Besides the jail sentence, Graham was prohibited from driving anywhere in Canada for three years following his release. He’s also prohibited from owning or possessing any firearms or prohibited weapons for the rest of his life. After the sentencing hearing, Graham thanked Koturbash and returned to his cell.
Prospera Financial Services Inc reduced its stake in Upstart Holdings, Inc. ( NASDAQ:UPST – Free Report ) by 16.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,213 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,934 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Upstart were worth $609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Upstart by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 59,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,392,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Upstart by 18.2% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Upstart by 4.2% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Upstart by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 16,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Upstart by 125.3% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 989 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the period. 63.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Upstart Stock Up 3.7 % NASDAQ:UPST opened at $74.06 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $51.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $36.77. Upstart Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.60 and a 52-week high of $86.07. The firm has a market cap of $6.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -38.37 and a beta of 1.97. Insider Activity Wall Street Analyst Weigh In UPST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Upstart in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Piper Sandler upgraded Upstart from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $31.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Upstart from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $30.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Mizuho increased their price target on Upstart from $33.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Upstart from $25.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Upstart currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.83. Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Upstart Upstart Company Profile ( Free Report ) Upstart Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates a cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) lending platform in the United States. Its platform includes personal loans, automotive retail and refinance loans, home equity lines of credit, and small dollar loans that connects consumer demand for loans to its to bank and credit unions. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding UPST? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Upstart Holdings, Inc. ( NASDAQ:UPST – Free Report ). Receive News & Ratings for Upstart Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Upstart and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .
London Symposium: How new tech and sustainability can transform mining
A whopping 26 players from the Tracy area were recognized for their efforts when the All-Tri-City Athletic League (TCAL) lists were published last week. Atop were Kimball junior Emma Coronado and Tracy senior Bayli Brown who were named the Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively. Dazzling at quarterback, Coronado helped the Jaguars to a 14-9 record (5-5 TCAL) and a playoff berth in the program’s debut campaign. Kimball was the No. 8 seed in CIF SJS Division 2 and won the first round matchup against No. 9 El Capitan 27-25. The Jags bowed out in the next round at the hands of No. 1 Ponderosa. Coronado ended her year 11th in the nation in passing yards (6,636) and 10th in total yards (7,358). She averaged 288.5 air yards per game with a QB rating of 131.6. Coronado completed passes at a 74 percent clip. Brown was the focal point on both ends for the Bulldogs as she won most of her duels with her length and agility. She shined brightest on the defensive end, however, as Tracy gave up just 8.5 points per game on the season. The Bulldogs went 11-6 overall (6-4 TCAL) and made the playoffs for the second time in as many years after winning the inaugural league title last fall. They suffered a second consecutive first round exit at the No. 6 seed in D2 after losing to No. 11 Antelope 7-6. Jaguars’ junior Anaiya Garcia was selected to the All-TCAL offensive first team after being Coronado’s top target throughout the year. West senior Bailey Dunn also made the first team despite the Wolf Pack going 1-13 (0-10 TCAL) in their campaign. Dunn was a constant bright point for the Pack across several positions. Bulldogs’ freshmen Adriana Powers and Eden Fry and senior Addison Perry were named to the All-Defense first team along with Jags’ junior Nadia Mirghani. On the second team All-Offense, Tracy junior Izzy Gutierrez and senior ReAnna Zuniga were recognized – as was Kimball freshman Karaliya De Perio. Defensively, West sophomore Phoenix Amos and senior Hannah Cardozo were selected. Kimball senior Emily Monterroso and Tracy sophomore Addison Riddle were also named to the team. All three teams also boasted multiple honorable mentions. For Kimball, senior Renee Mendez, juniors Kameyiah De Perio and Amazjah Wyatt, and sophomore Briez Dodds made the list. Tracy freshmen Taylor Munoz and Levi Jones, sophomore Ava Palumbo, and junior Eliana Perez were named. Sophomore Kaliyah Byrd and senior Mia Gonzalez were the Wolf Pack selections. Contact Arion Armeniakos at aarmeniakos@tracypress.com , or call 209-830-4229.
President-elect Donald Trump is reportedly preparing to nominate Scott Bessent, and campaign ally, for Treasury secretary, one of the biggest prizes. Multiple news organizations reported the plans Friday evening. Trump's spokesperson did not immediately return Business Insider's request for comment. Bessent, 62, founded and runs the macro hedge fund Key Square Group and emerged as a to Trump on the campaign trail. His journey to the top tier of the GOP financial world hasn't been entirely linear, though — it includes years working for the liberal philanthropist George Soros and hosting a fundraiser for Al Gore, a former Democratic vice president. The billionaire investor spent his childhood in South Carolina. His father went bankrupt investing in real estate, which Bessent later said led him to get his first summer job when he was 9 years old, . Bessent attended Yale and broke onto the investing scene after working for Soros' first partner, James Rogers. He joined Soros Fund Management in 1991. By 2011, Bessent was Soros' chief investment officer, and he was instrumental in the fund's hugely successful bets against the British pound and Japanese yen. In 2015, Bessent broke off to start Key Square. He hasn't talked to Soros in years, The Wall Street Journal said. In 2011, Bessent married his husband, John Freeman, a former New York City prosecutor. They primarily live in Charleston, South Carolina, with their two children. They spend their spare time preserving historic mansions and used to own an . Despite his nomination that would put him at the center of Trumpworld, Bessent has a somewhat checkered political history. He disagreed with much of the work Soros did through his nonprofit and has primarily donated to Republican candidates, though he's helped Democrats on occasion. In 2000, Bessent held a fundraiser at his home for Gore's presidential bid. By 2016, Bessent was inching toward Trump, telling people they weren't taking Trump seriously enough as a candidate. After Trump won, Bessent donated $1 million to his inaugural committee. Though Bessent has known Trump's family for decades, the 2024 election brought him closer to the former and future president — Trump has called Bessent " " and "a nice-looking guy." Rather than slam Bessent for his previous connections to Soros, a favorite right-wing punching bag, Trump appears impressed by how successful he was at Soros' firm. Bessent donated $3 million to Trump-aligned PACs and Republican committees this election cycle. His support extended beyond his pocketbook, as he frequently conferred with campaign officials on . Known for his interest in niche economic data, Bessent helped draft speeches and write policy proposals for Trump's economic ideas. By the end of the race, Bessent was fully woven into Trump's orbit; he attended the last two rallies and watched from as election results rolled in. As treasury secretary, Bessent would face a . While unemployment is low and the economy is growing at a healthy clip, Americans remain frustrated by and what they see as . Dubbed a "Trump whisperer" by , Bessent has signaled support for some of Trump's key proposals. Among Bessent's top priorities is shrinking the country's significant debt, primarily through increasing growth and, in turn, boosting tax revenues. He has also supported Trump's , telling CNBC that they should be "layered in gradually" to spread out any inflationary impact. At one point, Bessent floated the idea of a — under his theory, Trump would nominate a replacement to lead the central bank before Jerome Powell's term ends in 2026. After facing , Bessent walked back the idea. Bessent has advised Trump on a "3-3-3 policy," which "cutting the budget deficit to 3% of gross domestic product by 2028, spurring GDP growth of 3% through deregulation, and producing an additional 3 million barrels of oil or its equivalent a day." On November 10, the published an opinion piece by Bessent that praised Trump's economic vision. The , he wrote, were evidently giddy about the former president's return to the White House. Beyond lavishing praise on Trump, he said that the US should slash bank regulations, overhaul the Inflation Reduction Act, and reinvigorate American energy investment. "Mr. Trump has turned around the economy before, and he is ready to do so again," Bessent said. Read the original article onBOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 18, 2024-- Berkshire Partners (“Berkshire”) is pleased to announce that Managing Director Ted Rainaud has been featured as one of GrowthCap ’s top 40 under 40 growth investors of 2024 . This annual list recognizes individuals who are shaping the future of growth equity and buyouts. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241218520353/en/ Ted Rainaud, Managing Director (Photo: Business Wire) During Ted’s tenure at Berkshire, he has co-led the firm’s investments in Food Chain ID , a provider of food safety and supply chain compliance technology and services; and Harvey Performance Company , a leading designer and manufacturer of specialized cutting tools for precision machining applications. Ted supported Berkshire’s investment in SRS Distribution, one of the nation’s leading distributors of roofing materials and building products. SRS was recently sold to The Home Depot for $18.25 billion, one of the largest private equity exits of 2024. Ted has also been involved with other Berkshire portfolio companies, including Advanced Drainage Systems and Consolidated Precision Products. “Since joining the firm as an associate, Ted has continuously proven himself and has developed his skills and capabilities becoming the investor he is today,” said Mike Ascione, Managing Director Berkshire Partners. “His leadership and collaborative spirit have significantly impacted multiple portfolio companies and our firm as a whole.” Ted joined Berkshire Partners in 2010 as an associate on the private equity team and then returned to the firm in 2014 as vice president after graduating from business school. He was promoted to Managing Director in 2023. Ted earned a B.A. in economics from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from Stanford Graduate School of Business. The 11 th annual GrowthCap list recognized its most competitive pool of applicants yet, with honorees selected based upon evaluation of feedback from nominees’ colleagues, peers, portfolio company CEOs and others on their capabilities and performance over time. To view GrowthCap's “Top 40 Under 40 Growth Investors of 2024” list, click here . Award issued December 2024. No compensation was paid in connection with being considered for this award. However, a publishing fee was paid following selection for the award. About GrowthCap Founded in 2013, GrowthCap has provided private company CEOs with insight, exposure and access to the private capital markets. GrowthCap’s content is distributed to over 25,000 CEOs, senior executives, private equity investors, family offices and institutional limited partners. GrowthCap publishes and distributes content through its website, email newsletter, podcast, and social media. About Berkshire Partners Berkshire Partners is a 100% employee-owned, multi-sector specialist investor in private and public equity. The firm’s private equity team invests in well-positioned, growing companies across business services & industrials, consumer, healthcare, and technology & communications. Berkshire recently announced the close of its 11 th private equity fund – Fund XI – with approximately $7.8 billion in commitments. Since inception, Berkshire Partners has made more than 150 private equity investments and has a strong history of collaborating with management teams to grow the companies in which it invests. The firm's public equity group, Stockbridge, founded in 2007, manages a concentrated portfolio seeking attractive long-term investments. For additional information, visit www.berkshirepartners.com . View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241218520353/en/ CONTACT: Greg Winter; gwinter@berkshirepartners.com ; 617-227-0050 KEYWORD: MASSACHUSETTS UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FINANCE SOURCE: Berkshire Partners Copyright Business Wire 2024. PUB: 12/18/2024 03:11 PM/DISC: 12/18/2024 03:10 PM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241218520353/en
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Creed’s 2001 Thanksgiving Halftime Show Remains Unrivaled Madness'Wicked' and 'Gladiator' make gravity-defying theater debuts NEW YORK (AP) — “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” have debuted in theaters with a combined $270 million in ticket sales. Their worldwide performance breathed fresh life into global box office results that have struggled lately. Together the films turned the moviegoing weekend into one of the busiest of the year. Jon M. Chu’s lavish big-budget musical “Wicked,” starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, debuted with $114 million domestically and $164.2 million globally. Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II” is a sequel to his 2000 best picture-winning original and launched with $55.5 million in ticket sales. “Moana 2” is being released Wednesday, so it looks like Hollywood might be looking at historic sales over the Thanksgiving holiday. Verstappen captures 4th F1 championship after Mercedes sweep of Las Vegas Grand Prix LAS VEGAS (AP) — Max Verstappen cruised to a fourth consecutive Formula 1 championship Saturday night by finishing fifth in the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Verstappen needed only to finish ahead of Lando Norris of McLaren to give Red Bull a fourth straight driver championship. The Dutchman started fifth but was already up to second by the 10th lap around the street circuit that includes the famed Las Vegas Strip. Norris, who had to score at least three points more than Verstappen to extend the championship fight, finished sixth. The race was won by George Russell who was followed by Lewis Hamilton in the first 1-2 sweep for the Mercedes drivers since 2022. Dartmouth sorority, two members of fraternity face charges after student who attended party drowned HANOVER, N.H. (AP) — A sorority at Dartmouth College and two members of a fraternity faces charges related to the death of a student who drowned after attending an off-campus party. The Hanover, New Hampshire police department, where Dartmouth is located, said Friday that Alpha Phi was charged with one count of facilitating an underage alcohol house. Two members of the Beta Alpha Omega face a charge of providing alcohol to a person under 21. Won Jang, 20, of Middletown, Delaware, had attended an off-campus party in July hosted by Alpha Phi sorority. Police said the alcohol was provided by Beta Alpha Omega. Tens of thousands of Spaniards protest housing crunch and high rents in Barcelona BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Tens of thousands of Spaniards are marching in downtown Barcelona to protest the skyrocketing cost of renting an apartment in the popular tourist destination. Protesters cut off traffic on main avenues in the city center, holding up homemade signs in Spanish reading “Fewer apartments for investing and more homes for living." The lack of affordable housing has become one of the leading concerns for the southern European Union country, mirroring the housing crunch across many parts of the world, including the United States. The average rent for Spain has doubled in the last decade. In cities like Barcelona, rental prices have also been driven up by short-term renters including tourists. Jason Kelce's wife announces she is pregnant with the couple's fourth child Former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce's wife is announcing she's pregnant with the couple's fourth child. Kylie Kelce posted a photo on Instagram on Friday of the couple's three young daughters reacting to the news. The oldest daughter, Wyatt, appears to be cupping her head in shock. The middle daughter, Ellioette, is smiling. The youngest, Bennett, is in tears. A caption attached to the photo reads: “I feel like we captured a very accurate representation of how each of the girls feel about getting another sister. At least Ellie, mom and dad are on the same page!” Israeli-Moldovan rabbi living in UAE is missing. Israeli officials fear he may have been kidnapped DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An Israeli-Moldovan rabbi living in the United Arab Emirates has gone missing, with Israeli authorities raising the suspicion he may have been kidnapped as tensions remain high with Iran. The Israeli prime minister’s office said that Zvi Kogan has been missing since noon Thursday. It said that against the backdrop of information that this was a terrorist incident, an extensive investigation has been opened in the country. Emirati officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday. State-run media in the UAE, an autocratic federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula and home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, did not immediately report the incident. Alyssa Nakken, first full-time female coach in MLB history, leaving Giants to join Guardians CLEVELAND (AP) — Alyssa Nakken, the first woman to coach in an MLB game, is leaving the San Francisco Giants to join the Cleveland Guardians. Nakken made history in 2022 when she took over as first-base coach following an ejection. A former college softball star at Sacramento State, Nakken joined the Giants in 2014 and was promoted to a spot on manager Gabe Kapler’s staff in 2020, becoming the majors’ first full-time female coach. Nakken has been hired as an assistant director within player development for the Guardians, who won the AL Central last season under first-year manager Stephen Vogt. Nakken, 34, will work with former Giants coaches Craig Albernaz and Kai Correa. Officer kills pet dog mistaken for a coyote in Massachusetts town. The owner says it was unnecessary An animal control officer shot and killed a pet dog in a Massachusetts town after mistaking it for a coyote in an incident local police are describing as a sad mix-up. Police in Northbridge, Massachusetts, say the shooting happened on Tuesday after police received a call of a report of a coyote in a residential backyard. Police say the animal control officer went into the woods to look for the coyote and found what they thought was the animal in a threatening position and shot it. The incident happened as communities around Massachusetts and the country have dealt with an uptick in interactions between coyotes and people. Kendrick Lamar surprises with new album 'GNX' LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kendrick Lamar gave music listeners an early holiday present with a new album. The Grammy winner released his sixth studio album “GNX” on Friday. The 12-track project is the rapper’s first release since 2022’s “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers.” Lamar’s new album comes just months after his rap battle with Drake. The rap megastar will headline February's Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show in New Orleans. The 37-year-old has experienced massive success since his debut album “good kid, m.A.A.d city” in 2012. Since then, he’s accumulated 17 Grammy wins and became the first non-classical, non-jazz musician to win a Pulitzer Prize. NBA memo to players urges increased vigilance regarding home security following break-ins MIAMI (AP) — The NBA is urging its players to take additional precautions to secure their homes following reports of recent high-profile burglaries of dwellings owned by Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis and Kansas City Chiefs teammates Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. In a memo sent to team officials, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, the NBA revealed that the FBI has connected some burglaries to “transnational South American Theft Groups” that are “reportedly well-organized, sophisticated rings that incorporate advanced techniques and technologies, including pre-surveillance, drones, and signal jamming devices.”A federal appeals court panel on Friday unanimously upheld a law that could lead to a ban on TikTok in a few short months, handing a resounding defeat to the popular social media platform as it fights for its survival in the U.S. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied TikTok's petition to overturn the law — which requires TikTok to break ties with its China-based parent company ByteDance or be banned by mid-January — and rebuffed the company's challenge of the statute, which it argued had ran afoul of the First Amendment. “The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States,” said the court's opinion, which was written by Judge Douglas Ginsburg. “Here the Government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to gather data on people in the United States.” TikTok and ByteDance — another plaintiff in the lawsuit — are expected to appeal to the Supreme Court, though its unclear whether the court will take up the case. “The Supreme Court has an established historical record of protecting ans’ right to free speech, and we expect they will do just that on this important constitutional issue," TikTok spokesperson Michael Hughes said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the TikTok ban was conceived and pushed through based upon inaccurate, flawed and hypothetical information, resulting in outright censorship of the American people,” Hughes said. Unless stopped, he argued the statute “will silence the voices of over 170 million Americans here in the US and around the world on January 19th, 2025.” Though the case is squarely in the court system, it's also possible the two companies might be thrown some sort of a lifeline by President-elect Donald Trump, who tried to ban TikTok during his first term but said during the presidential campaign that he is now against such action . The law, signed by President Joe Biden in April, was the culmination of a yearslong saga in Washington over the short-form video-sharing app, which the government sees as a national security threat due to its connections to China. The U.S. has said it’s concerned about TikTok collecting vast swaths of user data, including sensitive information on viewing habits , that could fall into the hands of the Chinese government through coercion. Officials have also warned the proprietary algorithm that fuels what users see on the app is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who can use it to shape content on the platform in a way that’s difficult to detect. The European Union on Friday expressed similar concerns as it investigates intelligence that suggests Russia possibly abused the platform to influence the elections in Romania. TikTok, which sued the government over the law in May, has long denied it could be used by Beijing to spy on or manipulate Americans. Its attorneys have accurately pointed out that the U.S. hasn’t provided evidence to show that the company handed over user data to the Chinese government, or manipulated content for Beijing’s benefit in the U.S. They have also argued the law is predicated on future risks, which the Department of Justice has emphasized pointing in part to unspecified action it claims the two companies have taken in the past due to demands from the Chinese government. Friday’s ruling came after the appeals court panel, composed of two Republicans and one Democrat appointed judges, heard oral arguments in September. In the hearing, which lasted more than two hours, the panel appeared to grapple with how TikTok’s foreign ownership affects its rights under the Constitution and how far the government could go to curtail potential influence from abroad on a foreign-owned platform. On Friday, all three denied TikTok’s petition. In the court's ruling, Ginsburg, a Republican appointee, rejected TikTok's main legal arguments against the law, including that the statute was an unlawful bill of attainder, or a taking of property in violation of the Fifth Amendment. He also said the law did not violate the First Amendment because the government is not looking to "suppress content or require a certain mix of content” on TikTok. “Content on the platform could in principle remain unchanged after divestiture, and people in the United States would remain free to read and share as much PRC propaganda (or any other content) as they desire on TikTok or any other platform of their choosing,” Ginsburg wrote, using the abbreviation for the People’s Republic of China. Judge Sri Srinivasan, the chief judge on the court, issued a concurring opinion. TikTok’s lawsuit was consolidated with a second legal challenge brought by several content creators — for which the company is covering legal costs — as well as a third one filed on behalf of conservative creators who work with a nonprofit called BASED Politics Inc. Other organizations, including the Knight First Amendment Institute, had also filed amicus briefs supporting TikTok. “This is a deeply misguided ruling that reads important First Amendment precedents too narrowly and gives the government sweeping power to restrict Americans’ access to information, ideas, and media from abroad,” said Jameel Jaffer, the executive director of the organization. “We hope that the appeals court’s ruling won’t be the last word.” Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, lawmakers who had pushed for the legislation celebrated the court's ruling. "I am optimistic that President Trump will facilitate an American takeover of TikTok to allow its continued use in the United States and I look forward to welcoming the app in America under new ownership,” said Republican Rep. John Moolenaar of Michigan, chairman of the House Select Committee on China. Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who co-authored the law, said “it's time for ByteDance to accept” the law. To assuage concerns about the company’s owners, TikTok says it has invested more than $2 billion to bolster protections around U.S. user data. The company has also argued the government’s broader concerns could have been resolved in a draft agreement it provided the Biden administration more than two years ago during talks between the two sides. It has blamed the government for walking away from further negotiations on the agreement, which the Justice Department argues is insufficient. Attorneys for the two companies have claimed it’s impossible to divest the platform commercially and technologically. They also say any sale of TikTok without the coveted algorithm — the platform’s secret sauce that Chinese authorities would likely block under any divesture plan — would turn the U.S. version of TikTok into an island disconnected from other global content. Still, some investors, including Trump’s former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and billionaire Frank McCourt, have expressed interest in purchasing the platform. Both men said earlier this year that they were launching a consortium to purchase TikTok’s U.S. business. This week, a spokesperson for McCourt’s Project Liberty initiative, which aims to protect online privacy, said unnamed participants in their bid have made informal commitments of more than $20 billion in capital.
Williams' 19 lead East Texas A&M over Abilene Christian 68-67Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal has been crowned the 2024 Golden Boy , becoming the youngest-ever recipient of the prestigious award for the best under-21 men’s player in the world. At just 17 years old, Yamal continues Barcelona’s dominance in the award, following in the footsteps of previous winners Pedri (2021) and Gavi (2022). Yamal’s triumph marks a significant milestone in his young career, joining an elite group of past winners including Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappé, and Lionel Messi. The award, established in 2003 by Italian sports newspaper Tuttosport, is voted on by top journalists across Europe. Yamal succeeds last year’s winner, Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham. Yamal’s rise has been meteoric since making his first-team debut for Barcelona at just 15 years old in 2023. His standout performances this season have seen him net six goals and provide eight assists in 16 appearances across all competitions. The teenager also played a pivotal role in Spain’s success at Euro 2024, where his one goal and four assists helped secure the title. His impressive form earned him the Young Player of the Tournament accolade. In October, Yamal made further history by winning the Kopa Trophy at the Ballon d’Or ceremony, awarded to the best under-21 player in the world, making him the youngest-ever recipient of that honour. Yamal’s remarkable year underscores his importance in Hansi Flick’s new-look Barcelona side, where he continues to be a key figure domestically and internationally. Meanwhile, in the women’s category, the third edition of the Golden Girl award was won by Barcelona’s Vicky López, following Jule Brand and Linda Caicedo in previous years.CARSON, Calif. — The LA Galaxy and the New York Red Bulls have been Major League Soccer mainstays since the league's inaugural season in 1996, signing glamorous players and regularly competing for championships through years of success and setbacks in a league that's perpetually improving and expanding. Yet just a year ago, both of these clubs appeared to be a very long way from the stage they'll share Saturday in the MLS Cup Final. The Galaxy were one of MLS' worst teams after a season of internal turmoil and public fan dissent, while the Red Bulls were merely a steady mediocrity seeking yet another coach to chart a new direction. A year later, these MLS founders are meeting in the league's first Cup final between teams from North America's two biggest markets. "Two original clubs being able to put themselves in this situation, I think it's great," Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. "To see two clubs that have been at it as long as this league has been around be here, I think it's a special moment. Couldn't be two more different and contrasting styles as well, which could make for an interesting game, and I would imagine a high-intensity game." Everything changed in 2024 after a dismal decade for the Galaxy, who are favored to cap their transformation by winning their team's record sixth MLS championship with a roster that's dramatically different from its past few groups — albeit with one massive injury absence in the final. The transformation of the Red Bulls happened only in the postseason, when a team that hadn't won a playoff game since 2017 suddenly turned into world-beaters under rookie coach Sandro Schwarz. New York struggled through the final three months of league play with only two wins before posting road playoff victories over defending champ Columbus, archrival New York City FC and conference finalist Orlando to storm into the Cup final. "We know about the history (of our club), and we know tomorrow will define what that could mean," Schwarz said Friday. "To feel the pressure for tomorrow, it's necessary, because it's a final, and without pressure it's not possible to bring the best quality on the field." The Red Bulls have never won an MLS Cup, only reaching the championship match once before. What's more, they've somehow never won a Cup in any tournament, although they've collected three Supporters' Shields for MLS' best regular-season record. The Galaxy's trophy case is large and loaded, and those five MLS Cups are on the top shelf. But not much of that team success happened in the past decade for the club that famously brought David Beckham, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robbie Keane, Steven Gerrard and many other international stars to Hollywood. In fact, this season has ended a grim era for the Galaxy, who haven't lost all year at their frequently renamed home stadium — which was the site of protests and boycotts just a year ago. The club's fans were tired of LA's steady underachievement and ineptitude in the front office run by team president Chris Klein, who was fired in May 2023. One year ago Thursday, the Galaxy hired Will Kuntz, a longtime Los Angeles FC executive who engineered his new club's roster transformation, most dramatically by landing new designated players Gabriel Pec and Joseph Paintsil — two international talents that LAFC also had in its sights. "I give Will and the group up there a ton of credit," Vanney said. "It's one thing to have players you like, and it's a whole other thing to get them here and get them to connect with your group." Pec and Paintsil combined for 32 goals and 27 assists while boosting the incumbent talents of striker Dejan Joveljic and Riqui Puig, the gifted Barcelona product who runs the offense from the midfield. The Galaxy clicked in the postseason, scoring a jaw-dropping 16 goals in four matches. Puig has been the Galaxy's most important player all season, but he won't be in the MLS Cup Final after tearing a knee ligament late in last week's conference final victory over Seattle. The loss of Puig — who somehow kept playing on his injured knee, and even delivered the game-winning pass to Joveljic — makes the Galaxy even more difficult to anticipate. "He played a lot in the regular season, so it was not so easy to analyze all these games now without him," Schwarz said. "But the main focus is to analyze what we need to do, because it's not clear now how they're playing without him." The Galaxy could give some of Puig's responsibilities to Marco Reus, the longtime Dortmund standout who joined LA in August. Reus is nursing a hamstring injury, but Vanney expects him to play. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!Authorities in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) on November 24 said three suspects have been arrested in the killing of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi in an assault that Israel called an anti-Semitic "terrorist attack." The victim, who was reported missing on November 22, was identified as Zvi Kogan, who worked in the U.A.E. for the Orthodox Jewish group Chabad, which supports Jewish visitors and residents in the country. His body was found in the city of Al Ain near the Omani, but it was not clear where he had been killed. The U.A.E. Interior Ministry did not provide further details on the suspects held in in the matter. The first train carrying goods from China to Afghanistan arrived in Mazar-e Sharif on November 23 after crossing through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the de facto Taliban rulers said. The Taliban said 55 containers arrived in Afghanistan after a 22-day journey, marking the inauguration of the first direct train link between China and Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. The train is expected to take Afghan goods back to China for sale there. Since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, no country, including China, has formally recognized the extremist group -- which has been accused of massive rights violations -- but Beijing has attempted to increase ties as part of its economic push in the region, including its Belt and Road initiative. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Azadi, click here . Aleksandr Darchiyev is slated soon to be appointed as Russia's ambassador to Washington, the Kommersant newspaper reported on November 24, citing three unidentified sources. Darchiyev, head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's North American section, was ambassador to Canada from October 2014 to January 2021. He would succeed Anatoly Antonov, who concluded his term in October. The move would come at a time of high tensions between Washington and Moscow and just ahead of the return of Donald Trump to the presidency on January 20. The United States, under President Joe Biden, has been the top foreign supporter of Ukraine in its battle against Russia's full-scale invasion, while Trump has suggested aid could be curtailed. The Financial Times reports that Russia has recruited hundreds of Yemeni men to fight in Ukraine, lured by the promise of high salaries and potential Russian citizenship. The November 23 report said they were helped by a Huthi-linked company to travel to Russia, then forcibly inducted into the Russian Army and sent to the front lines in Ukraine . The report said the action illustrates how the Kremlin is desperately trying to avoid a full mobilization of its society by using foreign fighters following reports that North Korea has sent thousands of soldiers to train and fight alongside Russian forces. Iran on November 24 confirmed it will hold talks regarding its disputed nuclear program with officials from Britain, France, and Germany on November 30, saying they will also focus on “bilateral, regional, and international issues.” In a news conference, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei spokesman did not specific the location of the talks. Earlier, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported that Iran was arranging nuclear talks with Britain and the European Union starting on November 30 in Geneva. Kyodo quoted several diplomatic sources as saying the Iranian administration is seeking a solution to Iran's nuclear impasse ahead of the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on January 20. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, click here . The Pakistani government on November 24 said its mediation team had reached agreement on a seven-day cease-fire among warring sectarian groups in the northwest of the country, looking to end clashes that have killed more than 80 people. Mohammad Ali Saif, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa information minister and government spokesman, told news agencies that Shi'ite and Sunni leaders had agreed to halt attacks for at least a seven-day period as a longer-lasting solution was sought. The violence between Sunni and Shi'ite groups in the Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province began on November 21 after gunmen opened fire on a convoy of vehicles carrying Shi'ite Muslims, killing at least 38 people. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest in a series of deadly confrontations in Kurram. Police said armed men torched shops, houses, and government property before a government delegation arrived in the area seeking to defuse the crisis. "The clashes and convoy attacks on November 21, 22, and 23 have resulted in 82 fatalities and 156 injuries," a local administration official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. He added that among the dead were 16 were Sunni and 66 Shi’ite members of the community. Prior to announcement of the truce agreement, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Law Minister Aftab Alam Afridi said that "our priority today is to broker a cease-fire between both sides. Once that is achieved, we can begin addressing the underlying issues." The delegation arrived on November 23 and met with Shi’ite leaders, then held talks with Sunni leaders on November 24, an official said. Sunnis and Shi'a living in Kurram have clashed over land, forests, and other property as well as religion over the years, despite government and law enforcement efforts to build peace. Minority Shi'ite Muslims have long complained of discrimination and violence in Sunni-majority Pakistan. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on November 24 his country "needs more air-defense systems" to protect its people as Russia continues to target Ukraine with aerial bombs, combat drones, and missiles. "Strengthening the protection of our skies is absolutely critical," Zelenskiy wrote on social media, adding that Kyiv was "actively working" with its partners on improving the country’s air defenses. Russia has launched more than 800 guided aerial bombs, around 460 strike drones, and over 20 missiles of various types against Ukraine over the past week, according to Zelenskiy. Both Ukraine and Russia on November 24 reported repelling dozens of drones from the other side overnight. Ukrainian military said early in the morning that its air defenses shot down 50 of 73 Russian drones, with more than 10 of the intercepted drones targeting the capital, Kyiv. The Ukrainian Air Force added that it lost track of 19 drones and four more were still in the air. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv's military administration, said the air-raid alert lasted for more than three hours as the drones "were flying from different directions" toward the city. Russia's Defense Ministry reported its air-defense systems destroyed 34 drones overnight, including 27 over the Kursk region bordering Ukraine. The ministry did not provide information about any damage or casualties caused by the strikes. Ukrainian forces swept into the Kursk region in a surprise offensive in August, seizing nearly 1,400 square kilometers of Russian territory. But Kyiv has since lost about 40 percent of the territory it captured in Kursk, according to a source in Ukraine’s General Staff. "At most, we controlled about 1,376 square kilometers, now of course this territory is smaller. The enemy is increasing its counterattacks," the source was quoted by news agencies as saying. The source said Kyiv now controls approximately 800 square kilometer in Kursk and "will hold this territory for as long as is militarily appropriate." The United States and the United Kingdom reportedly gave permission to Ukraine recently to strike inside Russia with ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles, respectively. The missiles are precision tactical weapons designed to hit command-and-control centers, logistics, and arms depots near the front. Ukraine has already used the missiles to strike in Kursk and the neighboring region of Belgorod. France also joined the United States and Britain in signaling to Ukraine that it is allowed use long-range weapons against targets on Russian territory. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in an interview with the BBC that Ukraine could fire French long-range missiles into Russia "in the logics of self-defense.” But he would not confirm if French weapons had already been used. Pakistani authorities have locked down Islamabad and partially suspended mobile phone and Internet services as supporters of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan geared up for a protest in the capital, calling for his release. The government announced late on November 23 that Internet and cellphone services would be temporarily unavailable "in areas with security concerns" while "continuing to operate as usual in the rest of the country." It did not specify the areas, nor did it explain when the suspension would be lifted. The announcement was posted on X, which is banned in Pakistan. Highways leading to Islamabad through which the protesters are expected to enter the city and gather near the parliament have been blocked by the government. Most major roads in the city have also been sealed off with shipping containers, while large contingents of police and paramilitary personnel could be seen deployed in riot gear. Islamabad police issued a statement, saying gatherings of any sort have been banned under legal provisions. Khan has been in prison since August 2023 and has over 150 criminal cases against him, ranging from corruption to inciting violence. Khan and his party, Pakistan Tehrik-e Insaf or PTI, deny all the charges as politically motivated. Khan’s supporters rely heavily on social media to demand his release and use messaging platforms like WhatsApp to share information, including details of protest rallies. Ali Amin Gandapur, the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province and a key Khan ally, called on protesters to gather near the entrance of Islamabad's red zone, known as D Chowk. The red zone houses the country's parliament building and important government offices, as well as embassies and foreign institutions' offices. "Khan has called on us to remain there till all our demands are met," Gandapur said in a video message on November 23. He is expected to lead the largest convoy into Islamabad. Last month, a PTI protest in Islamabad turned violent with one policeman killed, dozens of security personnel injured, and protesters arrested. Both protesters and authorities accused one another of instigating the clashes. The shutdown of Internet and cellphone services during that protest disrupted communications and affected everyday services such as banking, ride-hailing, and food delivery. BUCHAREST -- Romanians are voting on November 24 in the likely first of two rounds in a presidential election that will have a key impact on foreign policy, particularly on Bucharest's current support for embattled Ukraine, with which it shares a 613-kilometer border. Romanian Prime Minister and Social Democratic Party leader Marcel Ciolacu is favored to receive the most votes among the 13 candidates, but if no one garners more than 50 percent, a second round will be held on December 8 featuring the two leaders. According to pre-vote polls, five candidates have a shot at advancing to the runoff to succeed the outgoing center-right incumbent, Klaus Iohannis, who is ending his second term and a decade in office. A possible second-round challenger for Ciolacu is George Simion , leader of the far-right, ultranationalist Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR). Fourteen candidates are officially registered in the race, but Ludovic Orban announced he was withdrawing from the contest. Romania also has parliamentary elections set for December 1. As of 7 p.m., election officials put the turnout at 49 percent, with 8.8 million voters casting their ballots. Long lines were reported at polling stations in the capital, Bucharest, ahead of the 9 p.m. scheduled poll closings. In 2019, total first-round turnout was 51.18 percent. In the second round, it rose to 55.1 percent. At three polling stations, turnout was reported at more than 150 percent. It was not immediately clear if the figure was the result of irregularities or due to supplemental lists holding more names than the permanent lists. Romania has become a key ally of Ukraine , not only providing training and military equipment but playing a key role in transporting Ukrainian grain and other agricultural goods to global markets. Much of the credit for Bucharest's pro-Ukraine stance goes to the incumbent, Iohannis. Romania's president has significant decision-making powers , including on matters of national security and foreign policy. Elected for a five-year term, the president can also reject party nominees for prime minister and government nominees for judicial appointments. Diaspora voting began on November 23, with initial figures indicating a higher turnout than in 2019 among those abroad, with about 675,000 of such votes cast by 6 p.m. on November 24, up about 90,000 from the 2019 election. By 4 p.m. in Moldova , more than 65,000 had voted at 59 polling stations, with officials calling it a record high. In the first round of the 2019 Romanian presidential election, 43,307 people voted in Moldova. Most of Moldova was part of Romania until the end of World War II and many Moldovans also hold Romanian citizenship. Voting was also reported to be high in London, where almost 8,900 Romanians went to the polls. Oana Popescu-Zamfir, director of the Bucharest-based think tank GlobalFocus Center, told RFE/RL that this is a high-stakes election for the NATO and EU nation. "Romania is faced with two important realities next year: the threat of further instability and conflict in the region and globally, especially in the context of a [President-elect Donald] Trump White House," she said. Also, "the risks of deepening economic and financial crisis, given that [Romania is] currently running one of the highest twin budget deficits and inflation rates in the EU and the cost of commodities has continued to increase while government expenditure has stayed high (largely because of the bloated state apparatus)," she added. Foreign policy is also of concern to voters, namely Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine and how that conflict could change with a switch in Washington from U.S. President Joe Biden, who has steadily backed Kyiv, to Trump, who has suggested support could be curtailed. "The threat of regional instability and war is also a source of concern. Voters care about candidates' positions on Ukraine, Russia, Trump, the extent of their Euro-Atlantic orientation," Popescu-Zamfir said, adding that voters were also focused on the presidential candidates' "ability to lead the country in case of escalating tensions with Russia." In an interesting sidelight, election officials say that at least 50 Romanians over the age of 100 are expected to vote in the presidential election. The oldest is a man aged 113, while the oldest woman is aged 108, officials said. Developing nations staged a walkout at the United Nations climate talks in Baku, demanding wealthy emitter nations step up financial aid to combat the effects of global warming. Host nation Azerbaijan urged delegates to seek consensus as COP29, already extended into an extra day, verged on the brink of failure. “I know that none of us wants to leave Baku without a good outcome,” COP President Mukhtar Babayev told climate officials from around the world on November 23, urging them to “bridge the remaining divide.” Small island states and the least developed nations walked out of negotiations on a funding package for poor countries to curb and adapt to climate change, saying their climate finance interests were being ignored. “[The] current deal is unacceptable for us. We need to speak to other developing countries and decide what to do,” said Evans Njewa, chair of the Least Developed Countries group. Developing countries have been pushing rich countries for years to finance their attempts to battle the impact of climate change, saying that the extreme weather and rising seas hurting them is the result of greenhouse gas emitted by the wealthy nations decades ago. In 2009, rich countries pledged $100 billion a year in annual climate aid by the early 2020s but some have been struggling to meet their commitments. The last official draft on November 22 pledged $250 billion annually by 2035, more than double the previous goal, but far short of the annual $1 trillion-plus that experts say is needed. Experts said that rich countries like the United States and Europe are facing budget constraints due to the coronavirus pandemic and now wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. The United States has allocated $174 billion to Ukraine and billions more to Israel to help bolster their defenses. European nations have also allocated well north of $100 billion for Ukraine. In a bid to save COP29, representatives from the European Union, the United States, and other wealthy countries met directly with those of developing nations to work out an agreement. “If we don’t get a deal I think it will be a fatal wound to this process, to the planet, to people,” Panama’s special representative for climate change, Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez said. Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev has fired several top officials in the State Security Service (SSS) and Interior Ministry in a sweeping reshuffle following an assassination attempt last month on a close ally of his eldest daughter. Abdusalom Azizov, the head of the State Security Service (SSS) and Alijon Ashurov, the head of the Presidential Personal Security Department, were among those dismissed by Mirziyoev on November 22, several law enforcement sources told RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service. Meanwhile, Otabek Umarov, the deputy head of the SSS and the husband of Mirziyoev’s youngest daughter, left the country on November 23, the sources said. It is unclear whether he fled or intends to come back, they added said. The upheaval is the biggest in the security services since the authoritarian Mirziyoev took office eight years ago. It comes amid a back-door power struggle among Uzbekistan's political elite that was thrust into the spotlight following an assassination attempt on Komiljon Allamjonov, a former high-ranking official in the presidential administration. Alisher Ilkhamov, an analyst at U.K.-based political risk firm Central Asia Due Diligence, said Mirziyoev needed to take action to show that no one was above the law and demonstrate his control over the country. "Impunity for such actions is a sign that the group that committed this is given carte blanche. And this will create a certain mood in society - an atmosphere of fear," he said. Allamjonov was traveling in a car on October 26, one day before parliamentary elections, when it was sprayed with bullets. Allamjonov survived, but the incident -- the first assassination attempt on a current or former member of Mirziyoev’s administration -- sent shockwaves through the country. Earlier this month, South Korean authorities detained Uzbek citizen Javlon Yunusov on suspicion of involvement in the attempted murder of Allamjonov. An RFE/RL investigation also linked another man, Shokhrukh Ahmedov, along with Yunusov and other suspects to organized crime, prior assassination attempts in Turkey, and high-level officials within Uzbekistan’s administration, including Umarov. The 40-year-old Allamjonov left his government post in September allegedly to focus on a private business venture. Meanwhile, Umarov had been accused of allegedly establishing a "deep state," controlling the country's security services and major businesses through his proxies. Sources close to the investigation have suggested that the organizers of the attack may have sought to curb Allamjonov’s growing influence and connections within the administration. Prior to the assassination attempt, Allamjonov received the personal backing of 39-year-old Saida Mirziyoeva, the president’s eldest daughter who is widely seen as his potential successor. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that Russia is seeking to drive his forces out of the Kursk region before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office next year but added that the military situation in the Donetsk region is the most critical for his country. “I am certain that [Russian President Vladimir Putin] wants to push us out before January 20,” Zelenskiy told reporters, referring to the day of Trump’s inauguration. “It is very important for him to show that he controls the situation” in Kursk. Ukraine stunned the Kremlin by sweeping into the Kursk region in August, seizing nearly 1,400 square kilometers of Russian territory. With Trump promising to end the war upon entering office, Moscow could be forced to exchange land it seized in Ukraine for Kursk territory should it fail to push Ukrainian forces out in time. Putin has sent tens of thousands of Russian troops to Kursk who are mounting wave after wave of counterattacks, a source on Ukraine's General Staff said. Russia has regained about 800 square kilometers in Kursk or about 40 percent of the territory Ukraine seized, the source said. Zelenskiy said that Ukrainian troops are inflicting large-scale losses on Russian forces in Kursk. Russia has recently been losing as many as 1,500 troops a day to injury and death across the entire theater of the war, the most since the invasion began in February 2022, Ukrainian and Western officials said. “Russia hasn’t suffered such losses as it is now suffering in Kursk,” Zelenskiy said. Russia has recruited more than 11,000 North Korean troops to help it take back Kursk territory. The North Korean troops reportedly arrived last month though it is unclear if they have taken part in fighting yet. The United States and the United Kingdom reportedly gave permission this week to Ukraine to strike inside Russia with ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles respectively. The missiles are precision, tactical weapons designed to hit command-and-control centers, logistics and arms depots near the front. Ukraine has already used the missiles to strike in Kursk and the neighboring region of Belgorod. Russian Advances Meanwhile, Russian ground forces continue to make incremental advances in eastern Ukraine, including near the town of Velyka Novosilka, according to Deep State, an open-source organization with ties to the Ukrainian Army, and confirmed by other analysts. Ukraine has been struggling to hold back the Russian advances due to a lack of manpower, raising concern about a possible breakthrough. While Russia is losing forces at a greater rate, the Kremlin is able to quickly replace them thanks to lucrative wages and incentives. Putin on November 23 widened those incentives, signing a law permitting the cancellation of debt for new army recruits volunteering to fight in Ukraine. The new law allows the state to forgive up to 10 million rubles ($95,835) of debt for those signing contracts with the Defense Ministry to fight in Ukraine for at least a year, beginning on December 1. The law applies to all potential recruits who have had debt collection proceedings opened against them before December 1. The maximum debt forgiveness is several times the average annual salary in Russia’s provinces. Valeriy Zaluzhniy, the former commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, said in an interview published on November 23 that new technological advances will prevent a “serious breakthrough” at the front. Ukraine and Russia have been rapidly developing reconnaissance and strike drones as well as electronic warfare weapons. The technology advancements have helped Ukraine partially compensate for its lack of manpower. In the interview, Zaluzhniy said that Russia will struggle to expand the front line and break through because it would require huge resources "which the Russians no longer have." Trump Presidency U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet his counterparts from the Group of Seven (G7) leading industrialized nations outside Rome on November 25-26 to discuss the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. It will be the last G7 meeting for the Biden administration, which is seeking to ensure that support for Ukraine is sustained when Trump enters office in January. Trump has criticized aid to Ukraine, raising questions whether he will continue support should a peace deal not be reached. The president-elect met with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in Florida on November 22 to discuss Ukraine and other issues facing the alliance. Meanwhile, Trump is reportedly considering Richard Grenell, his former intelligence chief, for the new post of special envoy for the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Zelenskiy told reporters that the war could end next year if Ukraine continues to get strong Western support. Zelenskiy spoke with media following the Grain From Ukraine Summit in Kyiv. Ukraine is one of the largest exporters of grains to world markets. Prior to the conference, Zelenskiy visited a memorial to the victims of the Holodomor, the man-made famine orchestrated by the Soviet government in the 1930s that led to the deaths of millions of Ukrainians. In a clear reference to Putin’s war against Ukraine, Zelenskiy said: "There is something we know for certain. They wanted to destroy us. To kill us. To subjugate us. They failed." The violent detentions of brawling foreign university students, including from Iran, in Tatarstan has led to a protest by Iran’s consul general to the Russian region. “Iranian citizens studying abroad have the right to respect and fair treatment,” Consul General Davud Mirzakhani said on November 23. “We will ensure that the rights of our students are fully protected." "The Russian police confuse the Iranian people with those of other nations," Mirzakhani added. "We will never allow anyone to treat our people abroad inhumanely and illegally." The comments came after a brawl broke out among foreign students at Kazan Federal University on the morning of November 22 as they stood in line for documentation needed to renew their student visas. Video of the incident can be seen here: According to the Russian news agency TASS, two students who instigated the brawl were detained. Iranian students involved in the incident were later released. However, Tatarstan’s Investigative Committee announced that it has opened a criminal case against one student who “used violence against a police officer.” It is not clear if the student being investigated was among those released. Local media reported that the brawl may have started when someone cut into a large line of students who had been waiting to register their documents for hours. Foreign students were reportedly transferred from their dormitories at the university to make room for attendees of the BRICS summit held in Kazan on October 22-24. Students affected by the move launched a petition to protest the decision at the time, and were reportedly among those attempting to get their documentation in order on November 22. Local media reported that the foreign students lining up for documents were there trying to extend their student visas needed to study in Kazan. Following the brawl, the university reportedly opened additional service stations for the foreign students to submit their documents. Local authorities have reported that at least 25 people, most of them Shi’a, were killed on November 22 in fresh sectarian violence in a tribal region of northwest Pakistan long known as a hotspot of Shi’ite-Sunni conflict. The deaths in the Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province came just two days after dozens of people were killed when gunmen opened fire on a convoy of vehicles in the Sunni-majority district. Speaking to RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal on November 23, Kurram district administrative head Javedullah Mehsud said the renewed clashes erupted unexpectedly and the authorities could not respond in sufficient numbers to control them. Other news agencies, citing local officials, reported that at least 32 people had died and 47 were wounded in the violence on November 22. Locals in the Bagan area of the district told Radio Mashaal that an angry mob of hundreds of Shi’a set several shops and homes on fire. Locals in the predominantly Sunni area claimed that some inhabitants were unaccounted for. Local Shi'ite leader Malik Dildar Hussain told Radio Mashaal that Shi’a have frequently come under attack in the area. On November 21, at least 50 people, including several women and children, were killed and more than 40 wounded when gunmen opened fire on November 21 on a police-escorted convoy of 200 vehicles carrying Shi'ite Muslims. The convoy was traveling from the provincial capital, Peshawar, to Parachinar, the capital city of the Kurram district. The threat of additional violence led local authorities to impose a curfew on November 22 and to suspend mobile telecommunications services in the remote mountainous district. Local leaders told RFE/RL that most of those killed in the renewed violence on November 22 were Shi'a, but at least four Sunnis were also among the dead. No group has taken responsibility for the attack. RFE/RL correspondents on the ground reported on November 22 that heavily armed people set fire to a military checkpoint in the area overnight. In Parachinar, witnesses reported seeing dozens of angry people armed with automatic weapons gathering amid reports that several other facilities of the Pakistani Army and the paramilitary Frontier Constabulary had been attacked and destroyed. RFE/RL correspondents reported hearing heavy gunfire. Jamshed Shirazi, a social activist in Parachinar, told RFE/RL that several government installations were damaged by the mob. "People are expressing their anger by attacking government offices," Shirazi said. Jalal Hussain Bangash, a local Shi'ite leader, voiced dismay at the violence during a Friday Prayers sermon on November 22 and said that Shi'a had nothing to do with the ensuing violence, RFE/RL correspondents on the ground reported. Hamid Hussain, a lawmaker from Kurram in the national parliament, was adamant that the violence was the work of provocateurs. "We are helpless. Neither Shi'a nor Sunnis are involved in this. This is [the result of] some other invisible forces who do not want to see peace in the area," Hussain told RFE/RL. Sectarian tensions have risen over the past several months in the Kurram district, which was formerly semiautonomous. Seventeen people were killed in an attack on a convoy on October 12, and there have been a handful of deadly attacks since then. Sunnis and Shi'a living in Kurram have clashed over land, forests, and other property as well as religion over the years, despite government and law enforcement efforts to build peace. Minority Shi'ite Muslims have long suffered discrimination and violence in Sunni-majority Pakistan. Russia has included the territories it occupies in Ukraine in its recent greenhouse gas inventory report to the United Nations, drawing protests from Ukrainian officials and activists at the COP29 climate summit in Baku. The move by Moscow comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin eyes potential peace deal negotiations with incoming U.S. President Donald Trump that could decide the fate of vast swaths of territory. "We see that Russia is using international platforms to legalize their actions, to legalize their occupation of our territory," Ukraine's Deputy Environmental Minister Olha Yukhymchuk told Reuters. She said Ukraine is in touch with officials from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the UN's main climate body, to ask it to resolve the dispute. Russia had already included emissions from Ukraine's Crimea region, annexed in 2014, in its last few reporting submissions to the UNFCCC. The Moscow-friendly Georgian Dream party, fresh off a contested victory in parliamentary elections last month that ignited calls for fresh polls and pro-EU demonstrations in Tbilisi, is preparing to hold its first parliamentary session on November 25. In comments to RFE/RL, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili said that foreign diplomats would not be invited to attend the opening session, saying it “should only be celebrated by the Georgian people." EU and other Western officials have expressed serious doubts about the October 26 elections in which Georgian Dream officially won 53.9 percent of the vote. Opposition leaders this week called on foreign diplomats not to legitimize the new parliament by attending the first session of parliament. Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has refused to recognize the result validated by the country’s Central Election Committee (CEC), and protests demanding new elections continue to be held in the country’s capital. Protesters have alleged that there was widespread fraud during the campaign and vote, and that Russia heavily influenced the outcome favoring Georgian Dream, which has been in power since 2012. In recent days, Georgian police have shut down the demonstrations, including through the use of violence on November 19. Video footage by RFE/RL correspondents in Tbilisi showed police dragging people to the ground, including women, and beating them before taking them away. The same day, Zurabishvili filed a lawsuit in the Constitutional Court "requesting annulment of the election results as unconstitutional.” The first item on the agenda for the opening session, which will be attended by the head of the CEC, will be recognizing the authority of all 150 parliament members. Georgia has been a candidate for EU membership since last year, but a "foreign influence" law and anti-LGBT measures enacted under Georgian Dream’s leadership have stalled that effort. 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. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is considering tapping Richard Grenell, his former intelligence chief, to be a special envoy for the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to four sources familiar with the transition plans. Grenell, who served as Trump's ambassador to Germany, as special envoy to Serbia-Kosovo talks, and was acting director of national intelligence during Trump's 2017-2021 term, would play a key role in Trump's efforts to halt the war if he is ultimately selected for the post. While there is currently no special envoy dedicated solely to resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Trump is considering creating the role, according to the four sources. Grenell has advocated for the creation of "autonomous zones" as a means of settling the conflict. He also suggested he would not be in favor of Ukraine joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in the immediate future. EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola supports the use of long-range missiles by Ukraine in its defense against Russia's full-scale invasion and said Germany should quickly deliver its long-range Taurus system to the embattled country. Metsola, in an interview published on November 23 by the Funke Mediengruppe newspapers, said "yes," when asked whether countries providing long-range missiles to Ukraine should allow it to use them against targets in Russia -- and whether Germany should deliver its Taurus weapons system to Ukraine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a Social Democrat, has been staunchly opposed to sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine. His coalition partners, the pro-business Free Democrats and the Greens, however, are in favor of sending Kyiv the missiles. Austria has dropped its long-standing veto to Bulgaria and Romania joining the passport free Schengen zone, opening the door to their accession next year. The breakthrough development was announced on November 22 by the Hungarian presidency of the EU Council, which hosted a meeting in Budapest with the interior ministers of Romania, Bulgaria, and Austria. The EU will meet with the two candidate countries to finalize a joint security package at a meeting on December 11-12. The two countries could become Schengen members in January. “Bulgaria and Romania belong fully to the Schengen area. I welcome the positive outcome of informal discussions in Budapest today.” Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said in a tweet following the announcement. The addition of Bulgaria and Romania will expand the Schengen zone to 28 states, including 24 EU members. Ireland and Cyprus will remain the only EU members not part of the Schengen Area. Bulgarians and Romanians currently are not permitted to travel freely into other Schengen member states over land borders. Early this year, they received the right to travel freely by air and sea in the first concession by Vienna. After the meeting in Budapest, Hungarian Interior Minister Sandor Pinter told media that the agreement to be signed next month includes the establishment of a special contingent of at least 100 border police officers on the Turkish-Bulgarian border. Hungary will contribute to the full deployment of the officers and provide the necessary technical equipment to ensure effective protection of the border, he said. Pinter expressed confidence that the issue could be resolved by December 31. EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said a January accession date is a realistic goal. Yekaterina Neroznikova, a journalist and member of the Marem human rights group, is facing administrative charges in Russia for her alleged involvement with an "undesirable organization." The charges stem from Neroznikova's participation in an interview with RFE/RL earlier this year, where she discussed the high-profile abduction of Seda Suleimanova, a native of Chechnya. The administrative protocol was filed with the Zhukovsky City Court in Moscow Oblast on November 15, with a hearing scheduled for November 26. Neroznikova, who left Russia following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, disclosed the development to the OVD-Info human rights group, a prominent watchdog monitoring political persecution in Russia. The case against Neroznikova is linked to her April 2024 appearance on RFE/RL’s program Human Rights Are A Right. During the program, she discussed the abduction of Suleimanova, who was forcibly taken from St. Petersburg in August 2023 by local police and Chechen operatives. Suleimanova, who fled Chechnya in 2022 because of pressure being put on her to agree to a forced marriage, has been missing since September last year. The charges against Neroznikova are seen as part of Russia’s broader crackdown on dissent and press freedom. Suleimanova's case has prompted global protests and solidarity campaigns highlighting ongoing human rights concerns in Chechnya and Russia in general. According to Neroznikova, a man identifying himself as an officer of the Interior Ministry contacted her relatives last week before reaching out to her directly. He informed her of the administrative charges, citing her commentary on RFE/RL as the reason. RFE/RL's Russian Service and its multiple projects in the Russian language were designated as "undesirable organizations" in Russia in February 2024, making any association with them punishable under Russian law. Participation in the activities of an “undesirable organization” in Russia can result in fines of up to 15,000 rubles for individuals. Repeat offenses within a year can escalate to criminal charges, carrying penalties of up to four years in prison. Suleimanova's case has drawn international attention. In 2022, she fled her family in Chechnya to avoid an arranged marriage and persistent conflicts. In August 2023, she was abducted in St. Petersburg by individuals including local police and plainclothes Chechen security officers. She was taken to her family in Chechnya, and no information about her whereabouts has been available since September 2023. An investigation into Suleimanova’s disappearance was launched in March 2024 following thousands of public appeals. Despite the family's claims that she left home again in February, observers remain skeptical, citing conflicting statements made by her relatives. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the country's new intermediate-range ballistic missile, a nuclear-capable weapon, will continue to be tested, including in combat conditions, as Moscow struck several Ukrainian regions with other, less powerful weapons. "We will continue these tests, including in combat conditions, depending on the situation and the nature of the security threats that are created for Russia," Putin said on November 22 at a meeting with Defense Ministry officials and military-industrial complex officials. The Kremlin leader also called for serial production of the large missile to begin. Russia launched the so-called Oreshnik ballistic missile against Ukraine on November 21 in a strike targeting the city of Dnipro. Putin said at the time it was part of Moscow's response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian soil with U.S.-supplied ATACMS and British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles. The use of the Oreshnik "is first and foremost a messaging and saber rattling kind of weapon. This is the sort of delivery system that's not cheap. It's not a battlefield sort of weapon," Tom Karako, a missile defense expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, told RFE/RL. Putin added on November 22 that 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. Strategic Weapons Russia has been striking Ukraine with Iskanders, ground-launched, short-range ballistic missiles, and Kinzhals, air-launched, intermediate-range ballistic missiles, as well as various cruise missiles. Russia probably only has several units of the Oreshnik in stock, a U.S. official told media following the November 21 strike. Ukraine's military intelligence put the figure at up to 10 units. If Russia were to move forward with serial production of the Oreshnik, it would be for its nuclear force posture and not for use in a conventional war like the one with Ukraine, Karako said. "This is not an alternative to a cruise missile. It's probably designed for strategic weapons," he said. Zelenskiy's Response In his November 21 address to the nation announcing the use of the Oreshnik, Putin said that the missile traveled at a speed of Mach 10, or 2.5-3 kilometers per second, claiming that "there are currently no ways of counteracting this weapon." Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on November 22 that Ukraine was working on developing new types of air defenses to counter "new risks," a reference to missiles like the Oreshnik. In his nightly video address, Zelenskiy said testing a new weapon for the purposes of terror in another country was an "international crime" and called for a worldwide "serious response" to keep Russia from expanding the war. "When someone starts using other countries not only for terror, but also for testing their new missiles through acts of terror, then this is clearly an international crime." A lack of air defenses has been one of Ukraine's major weak spots in the 33-month war with Ukraine. Zelenskiy has called on the West to deliver more air defense systems since the first days of the invasion. He had also called on the West to ease restrictions preventing Ukraine from striking inside Russia with powerful long-range weapons. Zelenskiy said the deep strikes were necessary to target airfields critical for Russia's daily aerial attacks. The United States and the United Kingdom reportedly lifted the restrictions on November 17 with Ukraine using their long-range weapons -- ATACMS and Storm Shadow respectively -- to hit targets in Russia's regions of Belgorod and Kursk. Putin launched the Oreshnik into Ukraine to warn the West against arming Ukraine. Parliament Session Canceled Russia did not use the Oreshnik to strike Ukraine during another deadly air attack on November 22. Two people were killed and 12 wounded in Russian strikes on Sumy, Artem Kobzar, the mayor of the northeastern Ukrainian city, reported in a video statement on Telegram. The Ukrainian Air Force said Russian drone attacks were under way in four regions -- Sumy, Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Zhytomyr. In the capital, which has been on edge for several days amid intense Russian attacks on Ukraine, lawmakers were advised to avoid the government district on November 22 and parliament canceled a scheduled session due to warnings of a potential missile strike. "We were informed about the risk of a missile strike on the Verkhovna Rada in Kyiv in the coming days. Putin has significantly raised the stakes . Tomorrow's parliamentary session is canceled," lawmaker Taras Batenko said. Oleksiy Honcharenko, another lawmaker, said on Telegram that the next session was now planned for December, although parliament leaders have not officially commented on the warnings. Zelenskiy's office assured the public that the presidential administration would continue operating "as usual" on November 22. The Russian Supreme Court has declared the international organization Post-Russia Free Nations Forum a terrorist group, the latest move in the Kremlin's clampdown on any sign of dissent. The organization, founded in Poland in 2022, has been accused of promoting separatism and aiming to disband the Russian Federation into independent states under foreign influence. Russia is a multiethnic state comprised of more than 80 regions, many of which have large indigenous populations, such as Chechnya and Tatarstan. Since coming to power in 1999, Russian President Vladimir Putin has centralized authority, curtailing the autonomy that some ethnic regions enjoyed. Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its attempt to wipe out Ukrainian identity has shone a bright light on the Kremlin's historical mistreatment of its own indigenous populations and triggered a "decolonization" movement that seeks to give more prominence to ethnic groups within Russian historical and cultural studies. The case against the Post-Russia Free Nations Forum was launched in late October by the Prosecutor-General’s Office, which cited its activities as a threat to Russia’s territorial integrity and national security. In its statement, the Prosecutor General’s Office alleged that the forum operates through 172 regional and national entities, including the Baltic Republican Party, the Ingria Movement, the Congress of Peoples of the North Caucasus, the Free Yakutia Foundation, and the Far Eastern Confederation. The office claims these groups are directed by exiled leaders of separatist movements. “These leaders aim to divide the Russian Federation into independent states that would fall under the influence of hostile foreign countries,” the Prosecutor-General’s Office stated on its official website. The Post-Russia Free Nations Forum is registered in Poland and describes itself as a civic movement advocating for greater regional autonomy within Russia, with some members supporting full independence for regions. On its website and social media platforms, the organization also uses variations of its name, such as the Post-Russia Free States Forum. Ukrainian businessman Oleh Mahaletskiy positions himself as one of the founders of the group and is believed to be a major sponsor. The group’s activities have included discussions on decentralization and independence, with notable speakers such as the noted Tatar activist Nafis Kashapov, Bashkir activist Ruslan Gabbasov, Russian opposition politician Ilya Ponomaryov, U.S. political analyst Janusz Bugajski, and others. Following the November 22 terrorist designation by the Supreme Court, all activities of the Post-Russia Free Nations Forum are now banned in Russia. Membership or association with the group is subject to criminal prosecution under Russian anti-terrorism laws. Critics of the ruling argue that the designation reflects a broader crackdown on dissent and regional autonomy movements in Russia. They note that the Forum primarily operates abroad and online, raising questions about the ruling’s effectiveness outside Russian borders. The Forum has not yet responded to the court’s decision. Observers suggest that this ruling may escalate tensions between Russia and countries hosting members of the organization, particularly Poland, where it is registered. The authoritarian ruler of Belarus, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, has threatened to shut down the Internet in the event of mass protests during or after the upcoming presidential election, after the previous vote in 2020 erupted in unprecedented unrest amid opposition allegations it was rigged. Speaking to students at Minsk State Linguistic University on November 22, Lukashenka defended past Internet restrictions and warned of future measures to throttle dissent. "If this happens again, we will shut it down entirely. Do you think I will sit idly and pray you don't send a message when the fate of the country is at stake?" state news agency BelTA quoted him as saying. Lukashenka admitted that Internet disruptions during the 2020 protests were conducted with his approval, citing the need to "protect the country." Following the August 9, 2020, election, which many Western governments have said was not free and fair, Internet access across Belarus was disrupted for several days and intermittently blocked. The disputed election that extended Lukashenka's decades of rule -- he has held power since 1994 -- for another term was widely condemned as fraudulent by the United States, the European Union, and other international actors. The protests, which demanded Lukashenka’s resignation, were met with mass arrests, alleged torture, and violent crackdowns that left several people dead. Many opposition leaders remain imprisoned or in exile, while Lukashenka refuses dialogue with his critics. The next presidential election in Belarus is scheduled for January 26. Alsu Kurmasheva, a journalist for RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service, was honored with the International Press Freedom Award by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in a ceremony held in New York on November 21. Kurmasheva, who was recently released from detention in Russia after spending 288 days in custody, thanked the CPJ for its efforts toward gaining her freedom. "Journalism is not a crime," she said , noting that more than 20 journalists are currently imprisoned in Russia. Kurmasheva added that she was dedicating the award to her colleagues still imprisoned , including RFE/RL journalists Ihar Losik and Andrey Kuznechyk in Belarus, Vladislav Yesypenko in Crimea, and Farid Mehralizada in Azerbaijan. "My colleagues are not just statistics; like me they are real human beings with families who miss and love them. There are dozens of other journalists in Russian prisons. They should be released at once," Kurmasheva stressed . Other recipients of the award this year included Palestinian journalist Shorouq al-Aila, Guatemalan journalist Kimi de Leon, and Nigerien investigative journalist Samira Sabou, all recognized for their courage in the face of persecution. Detained by authorities in June 2023 as she was visiting relatives in the central Russian city of Kazan, Kurmasheva was initially charged with not declaring her U.S. passport. She was released but barred from leaving the country. That October, however, she was arrested, jailed, and charged with being an undeclared "foreign agent" -- under a draconian law targeting journalists, civil society activists, and others. She was later hit with an additional charge: distributing what the government claims is false information about the Russian military, a charge stemming from her work editing a book about Russians opposed to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. RFE/RL, as well as the U.S. government, called the charges absurd. The prisoner exchange that came to fruition on August 1 included 24 people in all -- including Kurmasheva, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gerskovich, and Russian political activist Vladimir Kara-Murza -- in a complex, seven-country deal. Religious tensions are on the rise in northwestern Pakistan following a deadly attack on a police-escorted convoy of Shi'ite Muslims that threatened to reignite sectarian violence in a strife-plagued region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. In the aftermath of the attack on the 200-vehicle convoy traveling from Peshawar to Parachinar, the capital city of the Kurram district, authorities on November 22 imposed a curfew and suspended mobile service in the remote mountainous district. RFE/RL correspondents on the ground reported on November 22 that heavily armed people set fire to a military checkpoint in the area overnight. In Parachinar, dozens of angry people carrying automatic weapons were gathering, amid reports that several other facilities of the Pakistani Army and the paramilitary Frontier Constabulary were attacked and destroyed, with RFE/RL correspondents reporting sounds of constant heavy gunfire. Jamshed Shirazi, a social activist in Parachinar, told RFE/RL that several government installations had been damaged by the angry protesters. "People are expressing their anger by attacking the government offices," Shirazi said. But Jalal Hussain Bangash, a local Shi'ite leader, voiced dismay at the violence during a Friday Prayer sermon on November 22 and said that Shi'a had nothing to do with the ensuing violence, RFE/RL correspondents on the ground report . Hamid Hussain, a lawmaker from Kurram in the national parliament, was adamant that the violence was the work of provocateurs. "We are helpless. Neither Shi'a nor Sunnis are involved in this. This is some other invisible forces who do not want to see peace in the area," Hussain told RFE/RL. At least 48 people, including several women and children, were killed and more than 40 wounded when gunmen opened fire on November 21 on the convoy of vehicles in the Kurram district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan border. Local leaders told RFE/RL that most of those killed were Shi'a, but at least four Sunnis were also among the dead. No one has taken responsibility for the attack, the latest in a series of deadly confrontations in Kurram, long known as a hotspot of Shi'ite-Sunni sectarian conflict. Local tribal leader Malik Dildar Hussain told RFE/RL that there were about 700 people in the convoy. Tensions in Kurram began to heat up in the past several months, where clashes again erupted between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslim tribes in the area, which was formerly semiautonomous. On October 12, 17 people were killed in an attack on a convoy, and there have been 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. Minority Shi'ite Muslims have long suffered discrimination and violence in Sunni-majority Pakistan.
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