Beyoncé Shares ‘Renaissance’ Album Cover Art and Statement: ‘I Hope You Find Joy in This Music’

Reuters
South Korea's Yoon, Malaysia's Anwar agree to cooperate in defence, minerals
South Korea and Malaysia signed an agreement on Monday to cooperate in supplying critical minerals from Malaysia's reserves and to boost cooperation in the defence industry as the Southeast Asian country looks to upgrade its air force jets. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim also shared their commitment at a summit to conclude a free trade agreement by next year, which would include additional areas such as services, investment, and green energy, Yoon's office said.
AFP
Uruguay's Orsi: from the classroom to the presidency
Uruguay's next president is a former history teacher who swapped the classroom for local government -- and will now lead the nation of 3.4 million following his Sunday win at the polls.Orsi taught history in high school until 2005, when he entered local government.
AFP
UN chief slams landmine threat days after US decision to supply Ukraine
The UN Secretary-General on Monday slammed the "renewed threat" of anti-personnel landmines, days after the United States said it would supply the weapons to Ukrainian forces battling Russia's invasion. This includes the renewed use of anti-personnel mines by some of the Parties to the Convention, as well as some Parties falling behind in their commitments to destroy these weapons," he said in the statement.
Associated Press
A desert oasis outside of Dubai draws a new caravan: A family of rodents from Argentina
A desert oasis hidden away in the dunes in the far reaches of skyscraper-studded Dubai has drawn a surprising new set of weary world travelers: a pack of Argentinian rodents. A number of Patagonian mara, a rabbit-like mammal with long legs, big ears and a body like a hoofed animal, now roam the grounds of Al Qudra Lakes, typically home to gazelle and other desert creatures of the United Arab Emirates. How they got there remains a mystery in the UAE, a country where exotic animals have ended up in the private homes and farms of the wealthy.
Associated Press
Lebanon's Shiite Muslims pay high price in war between Israel and Hezbollah
The Lebanese civilians most devastated by the Israel- Hezbollah war are Shiite Muslims, and many of them believe they are being unfairly punished because they share a religious identity with Hezbollah militants and often live in the same areas. “This is clear,” said Wael Murtada, a young Shiite man who anxiously watched paramedics search rubble after a recent Israeli airstrike destroyed his uncle’s two-story home and killed 10 people. Israel has concentrated its attacks on villages in southern and northeastern Lebanon and neighborhoods south of Beirut.
Associated Press
Namibia may elect its first-ever female president in elections this week
Namibia's Vice President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah could become the country’s first female president if she wins the presidential election Wednesday. At least 1.4 million people, or about half of the population, have registered to vote in the elections, with 15 political parties running for president and seats in the National Assembly. Results from special early polls held for Namibia 's foreign missions, seamen and security services announced by the Electoral Commission of Namibia this month indicate Nandi-Ndaitwah and her party, the South West Africa People’s Organization, or SWAPO, are in the lead.
Associated Press
Stock market today: Asian shares mostly gain after Trump picks billionaire for Treasury post
Shares climbed in Asia on Monday, tracking last week’s gains on Wall Street, and analysts said investors were viewing President-elect Donald Trump’s choice of billionaire investor Scott Bessent as his nominee for Treasury secretary as a relatively market-friendly choice. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index gained 1.4% to 38,815.31, while the Kospi in Seoul rose 1.4% to 2,535.03. In China, shares fell further, with the Shanghai Composite index giving up 0.4% to 3,255.39 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong falling 0.5% to 19,131.82.
Associated Press
Senators took down one Trump Cabinet pick. But the fight over their authority is just beginning
The withdrawal of Matt Gaetz as Trump's nominee for attorney general dramatically affirmed that the Senate still maintains its “advice and consent” powers when it comes to vetting and installing a president's Cabinet. Trump has been making his Cabinet announcements at a rapid clip, often over social media, and frequently catching GOP senators off guard. Gaetz’s selection on Nov. 13, in particular, left Republicans shocked and momentarily dumbfounded.
AFP
Left-wing candidate Orsi wins Uruguay presidential election
Left-wing politician Yamandu Orsi was elected president of Uruguay, official results showed on Sunday, in a rebuke by voters of five years of conservative rule.- 'A very different world' - Orsi's victory will see Uruguay swing left again after five years of center-right rule in the country of 3.4 million inhabitants.
Associated Press
Trump 2.0 has a Cabinet and executive branch of different positions and eclectic personalities
Donald Trump’s personnel choices for his new Cabinet and White House reflect his signature positions on immigration and trade but also a range of viewpoints and backgrounds that raise questions about what ideological anchors might guide his Oval Office encore. With a rapid assembly of his second administration — faster than his effort eight years ago — the former and incoming president has combined television personalities, former Democrats, a wrestling executive and traditional elected Republicans into a mix that makes clear his intentions to impose tariffs on imported goods and crack down on illegal immigration but leaves open a range of possibilities on other policy pursuits. “The president has his two big priorities and doesn’t feel as strongly about anything else — so it’s going to be a real jump ball and zigzag,” predicted Marc Short, chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence during Trump’s 2017-21 term.
TODAY
Bishop T.D. Jakes experiences ‘health incident’ during Sunday service
Bishop T.D. Jakes is recovering after suffering a “health incident” during his recent Sunday service, which was streamed live.
Associated Press
Foreign ministers meet in Italy for the last G7 of the Biden administration
Foreign ministers from the world’s leading industrialized nations are meeting Monday, with the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East entering decisive phases and a certain pressure to advance diplomatic efforts ahead of the new U.S. administration taking over. Hopes for brokering a cease-fire in Gaza and Lebanon are foremost on the agenda of the Group of Seven meeting outside Rome that is gathering ministers from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. On the first day of the two-day gathering Monday, the G7 will be joined by ministers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, as well as the Secretary General of the Arab League.
Associated Press
Uruguay’s leftist opposition candidate Yamandú Orsi becomes country's new president
Uruguay's leftist opposition candidate, Yamandú Orsi, became the country's new president in a tight runoff Sunday, ousting the conservative governing coalition and making the South American nation the latest to rebuke the incumbent party in a year of landmark elections worldwide. “The country of liberty, equality and fraternity has triumphed once again,” Orsi said to sprawling crowds of supporters that waved flags and shouted their support. As initial exit polls began showing Orsi, 57, a working-class former history teacher and two-time mayor from Uruguay’s Broad Front coalition, holding a lead over Delgado, cheers rang out across Montevideo’s beaches.
Associated Press
Should sex abuse evidence set the Menendez brothers free? A judge will decide.
A judge will decide Monday whether new evidence warrants a re-examination of the convictions of Erik and Lyle Menendez in the shotgun murders of their parents in their Beverly Hills home more than 30 years ago. The brothers were found guilty of murdering Jose and Kitty Menendez in 1989 and sentenced to life in prison without parole. While their defense attorneys argued at trial that they had been sexually abused by their father, prosecutors denied that and accused them of killing their parents for money.
Reuters
Analysis-Business seeks details in face of mixed COP29 climate messages
COP29 deals on finance and carbon markets could lead to billions more dollars flowing around the business world if countries next year can deliver climate plans with clear policies for markets and investment. Those plans, which are due to the climate body of the United Nations before the next U.N. climate summit in Brazil, need to describe steps for making projects realistic - and less risky. Yet questions remain on the pace of transition after some countries sought to slow down the world's shift from fossil fuels, giving boards already wrestling with the implications of Donald Trump returning to the U.S. presidency even more tough questions to ponder.
CNN
Trump’s determination to install controversial picks faces next test
Donald Trump’s Senate allies are racing to defend Tulsi Gabbard, his pick to lead US intelligence services, in what could become the next test of the president-elect’s bid to install provocative nominees — and of any Republican appetite to stop him.
CNN
Inferno destroys thousands of shanties in Manila’s biggest slum area
A massive fire tore through a coastal shanty town in the Philippine capital on Sunday, leaving at least 2,000 families homeless as flames billowed for nearly eight hours.
AFP
Scholz's party to name him as top candidate for snap polls
Olaf Scholz will on Monday be officially named to lead his centre-left Social Democrats into Germany's snap elections in February, but the embattled chancellor faces a tough fight to win a second term. "In Olaf Scholz we have an excellent chancellor," he said in a YouTube video last week.
Associated Press
New Zealanders help to save about 30 whales after a pod strands on a beach
More than 30 pilot whales that stranded themselves on a beach in New Zealand were safely returned to the ocean after conservation workers and residents helped to refloat them by lifting them on sheets. Four of the pilot whales died, New Zealand’s conservation agency said. New Zealand is a whale stranding hotspot and pilot whales are especially prolific stranders.
AFP
Donkeys offer Gazans lifeline amid war shortages
Amina Abu Maghasib's livelihood rests on one animal: a donkey that pulls the cart she uses to transport people around Gaza, where more than a year of war has led to a widespread shortage of fuel for cars.Donkey-pulled carts were a fairly common sight in pre-war Gaza.

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