Julianne Hough Celebrates 32nd Birthday: 'One Lucky Girl'

Associated Press
Israeli strikes in Gaza kill at least 10 people including a family, Palestinian officials say
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli strike killed at least 10 people, including a family of four, in Gaza City overnight, Palestinian medics said Monday, as Israel pursues its 14-month war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. The strike late Sunday hit a house in Gaza City’s eastern Shijaiyah neighborhood, according to the Health Ministry’s emergency service. The strikes were part of Israel’s war in Gaza that erupted on Oct. 7 2023, when Hamas militants from Gaza stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1, 200 people and taking another 250 hostage.
AFP
Ex-husband in French rape trial asks 'forgiveness' from family
The French man who has admitted to enlisting dozens of strangers to rape his heavily-sedated wife on Monday asked forgiveness from his family and hailed the courage of his now ex-spouse during his trial.In a trial that has shocked the country, Dominique Pelicot, 72, has admitted to drugging his then wife Gisele Pelicot for almost a decade so he and strangers he recruited online could rape her.
AFP
Syrian jails were an extortion machine funding ousted rulers
Ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad's vast network of prisons was not simply a tool of his brutal crackdown on opposition to his rule, it was a money-making machine for his supporters.Hundreds of thousands of people have been detained since protests erupted against Assad's rule in early 2011.
Associated Press
France rushes help to Mayotte, where hundreds or even thousands died in Cyclone Chido
France was rushing help by ship and military aircraft to its poor overseas territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean on Monday after the island was shattered by its worst storm in nearly a century. Authorities in Mayotte fear hundreds and possibly thousands of people have died in Cyclone Chido, although the official death toll on Monday morning stood at 14. Rescue teams and medical personnel have been sent to the island off the east coast of Africa from France and from the nearby French territory of Reunion, as well as tons of supplies.
Time
The Case Against Dogs in the Office
Pets need meaningful work of their own. Not 'dog-friendly' human workplaces, writes bioethicist Jessica Pierce.
Yahoo Finance
The Fed could be on the verge of ripping up its rate script for 2025
Investors are betting a final 2024 rate cut this week is a sure thing from the Federal Reserve this week, but the bigger question is whether the central bank is ready to scale back what it expects to do in 2025.
Reuters
Malaysia PM appoints Thai heavyweight Thaksin his adviser on ASEAN
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Monday appointed Thailand's billionaire political heavyweight and former premier Thaksin Shinawatra as his personal adviser for when he becomes chair of Southeast Asia's regional bloc next year. Anwar said Thaksin's role during his leadership of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will be in an informal capacity, alongside advisors from several of the bloc's 10 member states. Anwar made the announcement during a visit to Malaysia by Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thaksin's youngest daughter and fourth member of their family to hold Thailand's top political post.
Reuters
Leader of Russia's Chechnya says he is ready to ensure wheat supplies to Syria if necessary
Chechnya's Kremlin-backed leader Ramzan Kadyrov has said he is ready to step in if necessary and ensure that Syria gets the wheat it needs in what he said was the unlikely event that Russian wheat supplies to the country were disrupted. Russian and Syrian sources told Reuters on Friday that Russian wheat supplies to Syria had been suspended due to uncertainty about the new government there after two vessels carrying Russian wheat for Syria failed to reach their destinations. In a message posted on his Telegram channel on Sunday, Kadyrov said that the two rerouted vessels had been carrying "commercial" wheat and that Russian state-backed supplies to Syria had not been affected.
AFP
Race against time for rescuers as hundreds feared dead in Mayotte
Rescuers raced against time Monday to reach survivors after a devastating cyclone ripped through the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte, destroying homes across the islands, with hundreds feared dead.Images from Mayotte, which like other French overseas territories is an integral part of France and ruled from Paris, showed scenes of devastation, with homes reduced to piles of rubble.
AFP
Equity markets struggle after more weak China data
Most markets fell on Monday after an unexpected slowdown in retail sales reinforced worries about China's economy, with the latest batch of weak data compounding the disappointment of Beijing's latest stimulus pledges.That came after investors were left unimpressed last week with Beijing's pledge to introduce measures aimed at "lifting consumption vigorously" as part of a stimulus drive.
AFP
Taiwan receives first batch of US-made Abrams tanks
Taiwan has received 38 advanced Abrams battle tanks from the United States, the defence ministry said Monday, reportedly the island's first new tanks in 30 years.China's foreign ministry on Monday urged the United States to "stop arming Taiwan... and supporting Taiwan independence forces".
CNN
‘It’s as if an atomic bomb fell on Mayotte’: Widespread destruction after 100-year cyclone pummels French territory
Reports of widespread damage are emerging from Mayotte after a 100-year cyclone ripped across the French archipelago Saturday, inflicting devastation that one resident likened to an atomic bomb, with hundreds and possibly even thousands of feared victims.
Associated Press
Middle East latest: Israeli strikes kill at least 10 in Gaza, target missile warehouses in Syria
Palestinian medics said Monday an Israeli strike killed at least 10 people, including a family of four, in Gaza City overnight. This comes as mourners gathered for the funeral of a Palestinian journalist working for Al Jazeera who was killed in a strike on a point for Gaza’s civil defense agency Sunday. The Israel-Hamas war erupted on Oct. 7 last year when Hamas militants stormed southern Israel, killing some 1, 200 people and taking another 250 hostage.
Associated Press
For the first time in 8 years, a US Navy ship makes a port call in Cambodia, a top Chinese ally
A U.S. Navy warship arrived Monday in Cambodia, the first such visit in eight years to a nation that is China’s close ally in Southeast Asia. Cambodia's government has suggested the port call reflects an upgrade in often-strained relations. The USS Savannah docked at the port of Sihanoukville on the Gulf of Thailand for a five-day visit.
CNN
Seven hotel guests hospitalized with suspected poisoning after drinking cocktails at 5-star Fiji resort
Seven tourists are being treated for suspected poisoning after drinking cocktails at a bar in an upscale Fiji resort that’s now being investigated by police.
Associated Press
Pakistan begins last anti-polio vaccination campaign of the year after a surge in cases
Pakistan began on Monday its last nationwide vaccination campaign for the year to protect 45 million children from polio after a surge in new cases hampered efforts to stop the disease, officials said. Pakistan has reported 63 confirmed cases since January. Ayesha Raza Farooq, the prime minister’s adviser for the polio eradication program, said the anti-polio drive will continue until December 22.
CNN
Key US Air Force base closes airspace amid drone sightings
Drone activity caused officials to close airspace over one of the United States’ most critical Air Force bases for almost four hours late Friday and early Saturday, according to a base spokesperson and a Notice to Airmen posted on a federal website.
CNN
Israeli strike kills Al Jazeera photojournalist on one year anniversary of colleague’s death
An Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed an Al Jazeera photojournalist on Sunday – exactly one year to the day after an attack killed one of his colleagues.
Reuters
Indonesia to repatriate Philippine drug convict this week
Indonesia will transfer Mary Jane Veloso, a Philippine woman sentenced to death in 2010 for drug trafficking, to her home country in the early hours of Wednesday, a senior Indonesian official said. Jakarta agreed last month to repatriate Veloso, a former domestic helper and mother of two, who was arrested in Yogyakarta 14 years ago after being found with 2.6 kg (5.73 lb) of heroin concealed in a suitcase. Veloso's case caused a domestic outcry in the Philippines.
AFP
Bangladesh to hold elections in late 2025 or early 2026
Bangladesh's interim leader Muhammad Yunus, who heads the caretaker government installed after an August revolution, said Monday that general elections would be held late next year or in early 2026.Bangladesh last held general elections in January when Hasina celebrated victory -- in a poll denounced as neither free nor fair and boycotted by rivals after a crackdown during which thousands of opposition party members were arrested.

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