Sunday, 7 December 2025

Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk hit by 'massive' strike as peace talks in US conclude: Russian defence ministry said it had shot down 77 Ukrainian drones in several locations (LINK) 7 December 2025

Soldiers announce apparent military coup in Benin (LINK) — ground.news: 39 media reports (LINK) 7 December 2025

Saturday, 6 December 2025

Ukraine: Moscow launched 653 drones and 51 missiles at Ukraine overnight into Saturday, triggering air raid alerts across the country and wounding at least eight people. (LINK) 6 December 2025

New clashes break out between Pakistan and Afghanistan (LINK) 6 December 2025

23rd Doha Forum 2025 kicks off with focus on global challenges and creating lasting peace (LINK) 6 December 2025

— "The suffering of the Palestinian people under blatant violations of international law, and the tragedies unfolding in Sudan, including massacres and grave human rights abuses, all underscore that achieving justice and protecting rights are indispensable conditions for preserving the region's stability and preventing its disintegration."

Judge temporarily blocks Justice Department's use of "ureasonable" seizure of evidence in dismissed Comey case as the Trump administration prepares to seek a new indictment after the dismissal of previous charges early last week (LINK) 6 December 2025

Tourists among at least 25 killed in Goa nightclub fire: Fire broke out at midnight in Arpora, North Goa district, according to reports, with victims mostly kitchen workers according to chief minister (LINK) 6 December 2025

Hundreds of passengers in turmoil across Switzerland as 10 cancellations and 141 delays (LINK) 6 December 2025

Trump awards medals to the Kennedy Center honorees including Sylvester Stallone, George Strait and more (LINK) 6 December 2025

UK: 4 arrested after throwing custard at Crown Jewels: "Take Back Power" group is demanding a citizen-led assembly that has the power to tax the rich (LINK) 6 December 2025

Pressure grows on 'reckless' Hegseth as twin scandals engulf Pentagon chief (LINK) 6 December 2025

South Africa: hostel shooting in Pretoria leaves at least 11 dead, including 3 children: the motive remains unclear (LINK) — ground.news: 205 media reports (LINK) 6 December 2025

Friday, 5 December 2025

Kremlin says Russia is encouraged by talks with US, ready to engage further (LINK) 5 December 2025

CNBC: Putin's latest warning to Ukraine shows how unlikely a peace deal is: on visit to India, the Russian leader said Moscow would take part of Ukraine by force if Kyiv's troops did not withdraw from the region (LINK) 5 December 2025

Russia terminates decades-old military agreements with Portugal, France and Canada (LINK) 5 December 2025

— Portugal and France both support EU proposals to use frozen Russian assets to provide loans to Ukraine. The announcement follows a similar move in July, when Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin cancelled a 1996 military-technical cooperation agreement with Germany

IAEA says Chornobyl nuclear plant’s protective shield damaged (LINK) 5 December 2025

IAEA launches expert mission to Ukraine as Russia ramps up attacks on energy infrastructure: mission is in Ukraine to "assess the status of electrical substations critical for nuclear safety and security", including at the Chornobyl site (LINK) 5 December 2025

Ukraine confirms drone strikes on seaport, oil refinery in Russia (LINK) 5 December 2025

Journal retracts weed killer study backed by Monsanto, citing 'serious ethical concerns': highly cited paper was used as evidence that the widely used herbicide Roundup is safe (LINK) 5 December 2025

— In 2017, a lawsuit uncovered internal emails from chemical giant Monsanto that suggested its employees helped ghostwrite an influential paper that claimed to find no evidence the company’s widely used glyphosate herbicide, Roundup, caused cancer. Now, the scientific journal that published the 2000 paper has announced it has been retracted.

Coast Guard seizes 3,800 lbs. of cocaine worth $28m in Miami's largest small boat bust since 1995 (LINK) 5 December 2025

Most countries make progress towards universal health coverage, but major challenges remain, WHO–World Bank report finds: the share of people experiencing financial hardship due to large and impoverishing out-of-pocket (OOP) health payments declined from 34% to 26% between 2000 and 2022. (LINK) 5 December 2025

— The report cautions that the poorest populations continue to bear the greatest burden of unaffordable health costs, with 1.6 billion people further pushed into poverty. Overall, an estimated 4.6 billion people worldwide still lack access to essential health services and 2.1 billion people experience financial hardship to access health care, including the 1.6 billion people living in poverty or pushed deeper into it due to health expenses.

UN: International Volunteer Day — "Every Contribution Matters": marks the official global launch of the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development (LINK) 5 December 2025

CDC advisers vote to overturn decades-long policy on hepatitis B vaccine for infants (LINK) 5 December 2025

US Supreme Court agrees to hear case challenging birthright citizenship (LINK) 5 December 2025

US: Appeals court hands Trump a victory, OK'ing firings of two independent agency heads (LINK) 5 December 2025

7.1 tons of cocaine seized in Caribbean, 11 people arrested unharmed, Colombia navy says (LINK) 5 December 2025

Netflix announces deal to buy Warner Bros. and HBO (LINK) 5 December 2025

Elon Musk's X fined $140m over transparency rule violations (LINK) 5 December 2025

— The penalty cites deceptive design of the blue checkmark, lack of transparency in its ad repository, and failure to provide public data access for researchers. X has 60 days to explain how it will address the blue checkmark issue and 90 days to present a plan for fixing ad transparency and public data access.

Tesla sales drop 19% in UK, while BYD sales more than triple: from 4,680 to 3,784 — from 11.9% of the market in November 2024 to 9.4% in November 2025. BYD went from 2.4% of the UK EV market to 7.8% (LINK) 5 December 2025

The New York Times sues Perplexity, alleging copyright infringement (LINK) 5 December 2025

— The Chicago Tribune filed a similar copyright lawsuit against Perplexity on Thursday. Founded in 2022, Perplexity is best known for its AI-powered search engine that gives users simple answers to questions. The startup has raised more than $1.5 billion in funding from investors including IVP, New Enterprise Associates and Nvidia, according to PitchBook.

Trump awarded first FIFA peace prize (LINK) 5 December 2025

— The certificate that Infantino handed Trump recognizes the U.S. president for his actions to "promote peace and unity around the world".

French Senate greenlights €15 cruise passenger tax, industry braces for fallout (LINK) 5 December 2025

Switzerland leads much of rich world in integrating immigrants, says the OECD (LINK) 5 December 2025

— At 77%, the employment rate among immigrants in Switzerland is well above the OECD average across its 38 member states.

Swiss researchers glad to have rejoined EU science schemes but ponder damage of exclusion (LINK) 5 December 2025

Bolsonaro's eldest son to run for President next year (LINK) — ground.news: 111 media reports (LINK) 5 December 2025

The secret language of dolphins decoded by researchers (LINK) 5 December 2025

— Whistles are primarily used for social communication. Burst-pulsed sounds are rapid series of broadband clicks that sound like buzzes, squeaks, or squawks to human ears and appear to convey emotional states or serve as reprimands. One of the most fascinating discoveries is the existence of signature whistles that function similarly to names.

Swiss taxes on lottery winnings: the Federal Council intends to tighten the screws for winners: winners could be taxed according to their place of residence at the time of winning, curbing tax optimization strategies (LINK) 5 December 2025

50 Top Pizza gives L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele Luigia, present in Bellinzona (TI) and Geneva, prize as the best pizzeria in the world (LINK) 5 December 2025

Dozens of cars targeted by vandalizing robbers in downtown Lausanne (LINK) 5 December 2025

Thursday, 4 December 2025

WMO: Arab region pushed to limits by climate extremes as 2024 smashes heat records (LINK) 4 December 2025

Namibia loses bid to overturn ban on rhino horn trade at CITES conference in Samarkand (LINK) 4 December 2025

US: Grand jury declines to indict N.Y. Attorney General Letitia James, less than two weeks after the first case was dismissed (LINK) 4 December 2025

NPR battles Trump executive order in court (LINK) 4 December 2025

— NPR's lawyers accused President Trump of acting illegally on May 1 when he issued an executive order demanding an end to all federal subsidies for NPR and PBS. The president's order and materials that accompany it accuse the public broadcasters of ideological bias, in NPR's case due to its news coverage. The networks deny this. Under the US Constitution, the government cannot discriminate against people on the basis of the views they express; for news outlets, this extends to news coverage.

New York Times sues Pentagon over Trump team's limits on press reporting (LINK) 4 December 2025

To counter climate denial, UN scientists must be 'clear' about human role in change: IPCC chief (LINK) 4 December 2025

World's top 100 cities: Paris No. 1 for 5th time, Madrid 2, Tokyo 3. Los Angeles and Orlando climb the rankings (LINK) 4 December 2025

— London, which last year dropped out of the top 10 to No. 13, has continued its downward trajectory. It's now at No. 18 on the list, between Hong Kong at No. 17 and Kyoto at No. 19. London ranked No. 4 globally for tourism infrastructure, it lagged in tourism policy, health and safety, and sustainability.

Scientists may have discovered why we gained consciousness: three core functions: plus, second study analyzed birds and found that high levels of consciousness can be achieved in animals with different brain architecture from our own (LINK) 4 December 2025

Trump hires new architect for White House ballroom project (LINK) 4 December 2025

— But two White House officials strongly denied McCrery was fired; they said he instead will remain on the ballroom project as a consultant.

Global Press shuts down: "What 20 years with local reporters taught us about impact in international journalism" (LINK) 4 December 2025

1. Hire local journalists
2. Prioritize publishing in local languages
3. Create media partnerships where your news is reported
4. Create avenues for local feedback

Wednesday, 3 December 2025

WHO launches new, unified plan for countries to manage coronaviruses: COVID-19 and beyond (LINK) 3 December 2025

— To strengthen global coronavirus monitoring, WHO has also expanded its Coronavirus Network (CoViNet), a network of disease surveillance programmes and reference laboratories for SARS-CoV-2, MERS-CoV, and emerging coronaviruses of public health significance.

Major win at CITES CoP20: protections for iconic elephants, giraffes & rhinos upheld (LINK) 3 December 2025

Trump warns land strikes in Venezuela could come 'very soon' (LINK) — ground.news: 13 media reports (LINK) 3 December 2025

EU bans Russian gas imports from early next year after last-minute agreement (LINK) 3 December 2025

— "We were paying to Russia €12 billion per month at the beginning of the war for fossil fuels. Now we're down to €1.5 billion per month ... We aim to bring it down to zero," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters.

Libya war crimes suspect makes first appearance at ICC (LINK) — ground.news: 31 media reports (LINK) 3 December 2025

— Judges believe a significant number of detainees experienced torture, sexual violence, and other abuses during Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri's command from February 2015 to early 2020.

2 former South African apartheid police officers are convicted of killing activist and student leader Caiphus Nyoka 38 years ago (LINK) — ground.news: 21 media reports (LINK) 3 December 2025

— The 2 men in their 60s were convicted by a judge in the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg. They will be sentenced later. A third former police officer was acquitted. They were brought to trial after another ex-police officer confessed publicly to Nyoka's killing in 2019.

Leading scientific journal Nature retracts study predicting global economic collapse from climate change (LINK) 3 December 2025

— Annual global climate damage by the middle of the century is predicted to be five times greater than the cost of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius, rather than six times greater as previously calculated.

The era of ads in ChatGPT begins: users furious as even $200 a month Pro subscribers hit with app suggestions (LINK) 3 December 2025

Tuesday, 2 December 2025

CITES: countries take steps at Uzbekistan conference to protect wildlife in legal trade (LINK) 2 December 2025

— There have already been some conservation wins, including stronger protections for fish, snakes and mammals.

Trump signs Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, prompting praise from Taipei, objection from Beijing: (LINK) — ground.news: 18 media reports (LINK) 2 December 2025

— Trump signed the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act into law, requiring the U.S. State Department to review and update its guidelines for U.S. engagements with Taiwan at least once every five years. The measure is designed to deepen the U.S.–Taiwan relationship in the absence of formal diplomatic relations

Which countries in Europe do teachers use it the most? (LINK) 2 December 2025

— 2024; highest adoption: Albania leads at 52% of teachers using AI.Lowest adoption: France has only 14% teacher AI usage. Regional averages: EU-22 average is 32%, while OECD average across 27 countries is 36%. The data shows significant variation across 32 countries surveyed, with no clear regional pattern, though Western European countries generally show lower adoption than the Balkans and Eastern Europe.

Monday, 1 December 2025

China's state defence giants see revenue slump as corruption probes stall procurement (LINK) 1 December 2025

Ex-Credit Suisse employee charged with money laundering by lending to Mozambican state-owned companies totalling over $2 billion (CHF1.6 billion): Credit Suisse and its successor company UBS are accused of failing to prevent the offence (LINK) 1 December 2025

— swissinfo: The loans were granted by the Credit Suisse Financial Group to three Mozambican state-owned companies in 2013. In 2016, they became known as the "Mozambique debt scandal". In 2020, the OAG opened initial criminal proceedings in this connection, which it is currently conducting against two people on suspicion of money laundering and aiding and abetting the bribery of foreign public officials.

Bitcoin pulls back under $86k, stocks find support in Fed expectations (LINK) 1 December 2025

Bybit, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, announces $100K humanitarian aid for Sri Lanka as Cyclone Ditwah triggers severe flooding in Southeast Asia (LINK) 1 December 2025

Swiss crossword setter, charged with defaming the Valais section of the right-wing Swiss People's Party, acquitted of defamation (LINK) 1 December 2025

— In its verdict on Monday, the court found that the two men had merely expressed an opinion, which is protected by freedom of expression. Nor did the judge find them guilty of offences against honour or slander. A clue in a Valais paper, Le Nouvelliste, on November 18, 2023, was: "Swiss political party — racist, xenophobic, homophobic, anti-feminist, anti-ecological, anti-poor, nationalist". The answer: UDC (the French abbreviation for the Swiss People’s Party). The Valais section of the People's Party took exception to this and demanded, and received, an apology from Le Nouvelliste.