ABBA Makes First Public Appearance Since 2016 at ‘Voyage’ Digital Concert Premiere

AFP
Dating apps move to friend zone in search of profits
Burnt-out love-seekers are shunning dating apps in their millions, but the apps are trying to woo them back with a counter offer: If you don't want a lover, perhaps you just need a friend? - 'App fatigue' - Sensor Tower said while Bumble For Friends was soaring, its dating app had shed eight percent of its monthly active users between the start of October last year and this year -- the figure now standing at 21 million.
AFP
As Trump returns, African exporters torn between hope and horror
Citrus growers in South Africa are among the businesses most nervous that duty-and-quota-free exports to the United States could be scrapped next year when Donald Trump takes office again.The South African company, which asked to remain anonymous, said it employed more than 3,000 people and exported an average of 350 containers of sorbet products per year to the United States, where they are sold at a major retailer.
Reuters
BRICS offered Turkey partner country status, Turkish trade minister says
Turkey was offered partner country status by the BRICS group of nations, Trade Minister Omer Bolat said, as Ankara continues what it calls its efforts to balance its Eastern and Western ties. Turkey, a NATO member, has in recent months voiced interest in joining the BRICS group of emerging economies, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Ethiopia, Iran, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attended a BRICS leaders' summit hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Kazan last month, after Ankara said it had taken formal steps to become a member of the group.
NBC News
Every uncalled race left in the fight for control in Washington
With votes still being counted, here's a look at the key races that remain uncalled by the NBC News Decision Desk (read more on how those races are called on NBCNews.com).
Reuters
Rubio pick signals a Trump China policy that could go beyond tariffs
With his nomination of China hardliner Marco Rubio for secretary of state, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has signaled his policy toward Beijing could go beyond his focus on tariffs and trade to a more hawkish stance towards China as the United States' top strategic rival. Rubio's selection on Wednesday came along with other cabinet picks that might upset China, such as Representative Mike Waltz as national security adviser and John Ratcliffe to lead the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Taken together, the choices suggest Trump wants to upend the Biden administration's approach of "managing competition" with Beijing on issues ranging from support for Taiwan to China's role in the U.S. fentanyl crisis.
Reuters
Siemens flags geopolitical risks ahead after profit falls
ZURICH (Reuters) -Siemens reported a drop in profit at its industrial business on Thursday and lowered its sales target for next year, citing geopolitical risks like trade conflicts and weak consumer demand. The German engineering group said its industrial profit fell 7% to 3.12 billion euros ($3.29 billion) in the three months to the end of September, ahead of analyst forecasts for 3.0 billion euros. On a comparable basis, which cuts out the impact of currency swings, acquisitions and disposals, sales rose 2%.
Reuters
France's Thales sees revenue and profit growth after cyber expansion
Defence and technology firm Thales unveiled new four-year targets on Thursday, predicting more than 25 billion euros ($26.34 billion) of revenues by 2028 as it reaps a decade of cyber investments. Thales is also targeting an operating profit of 13% to 14% in 2028, up from 11.6% in 2023 and the 11.7% to 11.8% it expects to make this year. France-based Thales is a key defence contractor in Europe and selected overseas markets like Australia.
CNN
What we know about the deadly factory explosion in Louisville, Kentucky
A massive explosion at a food dye factory in Louisville, Kentucky on Tuesday left two people dead and a dozen others injured, as smoke billowed out of torn metal structures and rubble.
AFP
Trump's climate impact 'recoverable': researchers
US president-elect Donald Trump's expected climate rollbacks will likely have a "small" impact on global warming, as long as other countries resist the temptation to slacken their own carbon-cutting efforts, new research found Thursday.The report comes after research published on Wednesday found that carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels rose again this year to a new record, meaning the cuts needed in the future are even sharper if the world is to meet its warming target.
CNN
Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of mass displacement in Gaza amounting to a war crime
Israel has overseen the forced mass displacement of Palestinians in Gaza in a deliberate and systematic campaign that amounts to a war crime and a crime against humanity, according to a new Human Rights Watch report.
Associated Press
Russian defense official visits China's premier military showcase in a sign of unity
ZHUHAI- China (AP) — A top Russian defense official has attended China’s premier military showcase in a show of unity between the countries as Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine. Sergei Shoigu, secretary of the Russian Federation Security Council, was in the southern city of Zhuhai to view Chinese and Russian aircraft and other military hardware on Thursday.
CNN
Explosives and timer found on suspect’s body after attack on Brazil’s top court
A man killed himself while detonating explosives after trying to enter Brazil’s Supreme Court, authorities said Wednesday, in an attack on the political heart of the country that prompted the evacuation of court staff and legislators in the capital Brasilia.
NBC News
A yacht, a hollow book and a ‘war room’: How the FBI ensnared a city’s leaders in a bribery investigation
JACKSON, Miss. — For out-of-state developers hoping to bring a win to Mississippi’s capital, their pitch was flat.
Associated Press
An explosion in a house kills 2 children in a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban
A powerful explosion ripped through a house in a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban on Thursday, killing at least two children and wounding some others, police said. Police were still investigating what caused the blast including whether someone was handling explosives to make bomb, local police chief Irfan Khan said. The blast happened in Mir Ali, a city in the northwest province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which borders Afghanistan and where Pakistani Taliban and other insurgents often target security forces with suicide bombings and other violence.
CNN
Rudy Giuliani’s lawyers are trying to quit his defamation case
The lawyers who have been representing Rudy Giuliani are trying to quit his defamation case because of disagreements with him, according to new court filings, as a Friday deadline nears for the former New York City mayor to turn over many of his most valuable possessions to two Georgia election workers to whom he owes nearly $150 million.
CNN
California teen pleads guilty to making hundreds of ‘swatting’ calls across the US
A California teenager pleaded guilty Wednesday in a case involving the swatting of a Florida mosque among other institutions and individuals, federal prosecutors said.
Associated Press
Liberals pressure Senate Democrats to confirm more Biden judges while they can
Demand Justice, a progressive organization focused on the judiciary, is set to bombard Capitol Hill with a message for the closing weeks of the 118th Congress: Do “whatever it takes” to confirm President Joe Biden’s nominees as a second Donald Trump presidency looms. Democrats have confirmed 213 of Biden’s judicial nominees during his presidency.
Associated Press
South Korean court finds former lawmaker guilty of misusing funds meant for sexual slavery victims
South Korea’s Supreme Court on Thursday handed a suspended prison sentence to a former lawmaker who was found guilty of embezzling funds while leading a group supporting Korean survivors of Japan’s wartime sexual slavery. Yoon Meehyang, who was also convicted of fraudulently receiving government subsidies and unlawfully collecting donations, didn’t attend the verdict. Controversy surrounding Yoon and her group, the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, erupted in 2020 when one of the slavery victims, Lee Yong-soo, accused her of misusing donations and other funds and spending little on the victims.
Associated Press
For 3rd straight year, no improvement in Earth's projected warming
For the third straight year, efforts to fight climate change haven't lowered projections for how hot the world is likely to get — and recent developments in China and the United States are likely to slightly worsen the outlook, according to an analysis Thursday. The analysis comes as countries come together for the 29th edition of the United Nations climate talks, hosted in Baku, Azerbaijan, where nations are trying to set new targets to cut emissions of heat-trapping gases and figure out how much rich nations will pay to help the world with that task.
AFP
HRW accuses Israel of 'war crime' with 'forcible transfer' in Gaza
Human Rights Watch said in a report released Thursday that Israel's repeated evacuation orders in Gaza amount to the "war crime of forcible transfer", and to "ethnic cleansing" in parts of the Palestinian territory."Human Rights Watch has amassed evidence that Israeli officials are... committing the war crime of forcible transfer," the report said.

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