Ukraine was expected to give its latest peace proposals to US negotiators on Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, a day ahead of his urgent talks with leaders and officials from about 30 other countries supporting Kyiv's effort to end the war with Russia on acceptable terms. As tension builds around a US push for a settlement, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke to President Donald Trump by phone on Wednesday. Negotiations are at "a critical moment," the European leaders said in official statements. Trump said the men discussed Ukraine "in pretty strong terms." He also said Zelenskyy "has to be realistic" about the war and that European leaders would like a meeting this coming weekend with both the US and Ukraine. "We'll make a determination depending on what they come back with," the president told reporters during a question-and-answer session at the White House. Washington's goal of a swift compromise to stop the fighting that followed Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 is reducing Kyiv's room for manoeuvring. Zelenskyy is walking a tightrope between defending Ukrainian interests and showing Trump he is willing to compromise, even as Moscow shows no public sign of budging from its demands. Ukraine's European allies are backing Zelensky's effort to ensure that any settlement is fair and deters future Russian attacks, as well as accommodating Europe's defence interests. The French government said Ukraine's allies, dubbed the Coalition of the Willing, will discuss the negotiations on Thursday by video. Zelenskyy said the meeting would include those countries' leaders. "We need to bring together 30 colleagues very quickly. And it's not easy, but nevertheless we will do it," he said late Tuesday. Zelenskyy said discussions with the US were scheduled later Wednesday to focus on a document detailing plans for Ukraine's postwar reconstruction and economic development. Also, Ukraine is finalising work on a separate, 20-point framework for ending the war. Zelenskyy said Kyiv expects to submit that document to Washington soon. Zelenskyy says he's ready for an election After Trump called for a presidential election in Ukraine, Zelenskyy said his country would be ready for such a vote within three months if partners can guarantee safe balloting during wartime and if its electoral law can be altered. Zelenskyy's openness to an election was in response to Trump's comments questioning Ukraine's democracy and suggesting the Ukrainian leader was using the war as an excuse not to stand before voters. Those comments echo similar remarks often made by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyy said late Tuesday he is "ready" for an election but needs help from the US and possibly Europe to ensure its security. He suggested Ukraine could hold balloting in 60 to 90 days if that proviso is met. "To hold elections, two issues must be addressed: primarily, security -- how to conduct them, how to do it under strikes, under missile attacks; and a question regarding our military -- how they would vote," Zelenskyy said. "And the second issue is the legislative framework required to ensure the legitimacy of elections." Zelenskyy pointed out previously that balloting cannot legally happen while martial law -- imposed due to Russia's invasion -- is in place. He has also asked how a vote could occur when civilian areas of Ukraine are being bombarded and almost 20 per cent of the country is under Russian occupation. US seeks closer ties with Russia A new US national security strategy released on December 5 made clear that Trump wants to improve Washington's relationship with Moscow and "reestablish strategic stability with Russia." The document also portrays European allies as weak. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov praised Trump's role in the Ukraine peace effort, telling the upper house of parliament that Moscow appreciates his "commitment to dialogue." Trump, Lavrov said, is "the only Western leader" who shows "an understanding of the reasons that made war in Ukraine inevitable." Trump's peace efforts have run into sharply conflicting demands from Moscow and Kyiv. The initial US proposal was heavily slanted toward Russia's demands. To counter that, Zelenskyy has turned to his European supporters. Zelenskyy met this week with the leaders of Britain, Germany and France in London, the heads of NATO and the European Union in Brussels, and then went to Rome to meet the Italian premier and Pope Leo XIV. Military aid for Ukraine declines Europe's support is uneven, however, and that has meant a decrease in military aid since the Trump administration this year cut off supplies to Kyiv unless they were paid for by other NATO countries. Foreign military help for Ukraine fell sharply over the summer, and that trend continued through September and October, a German body that tracks international help for Ukraine said Wednesday. Average annual aid, mostly provided by the US and Europe, was about 41.6 billion euros (USD 48.4 billion) between 2022 and 2024. But so far this year, Ukraine has received just 32.5 billion euros (USD 37.8 billion), the Kiel Institute said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. 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11 December,2025 01:35 PM IST | Kyiv | APPresident Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the United States has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela as tensions mount with the government of President Nicolas Maduro. Using US forces to take control of a merchant ship is incredibly unusual and marks the Trump administration's latest push to increase pressure on Maduro, who has been charged with narco-terrorism in the United States. The has built up the largest military presence in the region in decades and launched a series of deadly strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. The campaign is facing growing scrutiny from Congress. "We've just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela -- a large tanker, very large, largest one ever seized, actually," Trump told reporters at the White House, later adding that "it was seized for a very good reason." Trump did not offer additional details. When asked what would happen to the oil aboard the tanker, Trump said, "Well, we keep it, I guess." The seizure was led by the US Coast Guard and supported by the Navy, according to a US official who was not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The official added that it was conducted under US law enforcement authority. Storming the oil tanker The Coast Guard members were taken to the oil tanker by helicopter from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford, the official said. Ford is in the Caribbean Sea after arriving last month in a major show of force, joining a fleet of other warships. Video posted to social media by Attorney General Pam Bondi shows people fast-roping from one of the helicopters involved in the operation as it hovers just feet from the deck. The Coast Guard members can be seen later in the video moving throughout the superstructure of the ship with their weapons drawn. Bondi wrote that "for multiple years, the oil tanker has been sanctioned by the United States due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organisations." Venezuela's government said in a statement that the seizure "constitutes a blatant theft and an act of international piracy." "Under these circumstances, the true reasons for the prolonged aggression against Venezuela have finally been revealed. ¿ It has always been about our natural resources, our oil, our energy, the resources that belong exclusively to the Venezuelan people," the statement said. Half of ship's oil is tied to Cuban importer The US official identified the seized tanker as the Skipper. The ship departed Venezuela around December 2 with about 2 million barrels of heavy crude, roughly half of it belonging to a Cuban state-run oil importer, according to documents from the state-owned company Petróleos de Venezuela SA, commonly known as PDVSA, that were provided on the condition of anonymity because the person did not have permission to share them. The Skipper was previously known as the M/T Adisa, according to ship tracking data. The Adisa was sanctioned by the US in 2022 over accusations of belonging to a sophisticated network of shadow tankers that smuggled crude oil on behalf of Iran's Revolutionary Guard and Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group. The network was reportedly run by a Switzerland-based Ukrainian oil trader, the US Treasury Department said at the time. Hitting Venezuela's sanctioned oil business Venezuela has the world's largest proven oil reserves and produces about 1 million barrels a day. PDVSA is the backbone of the country's economy. Its reliance on intermediaries increased in 2020, when the first Trump administration expanded its maximum-pressure campaign on Venezuela with sanctions that threaten to lock out of the US economy any individual or company that does business with Maduro's government. Longtime allies Russia and Iran, both also sanctioned, have helped Venezuela skirt restrictions. The transactions usually involve a complex network of shadowy intermediaries. Many are shell companies, registered in jurisdictions known for secrecy. The buyers deploy so-called ghost tankers that hide their location and hand off their valuable cargoes in the middle of the ocean before they reach their final destination. Maduro did not address the seizure during a speech before a ruling-party organised demonstration in Caracas, Venezuela's capital. But he told supporters that the country is "prepared to break the teeth of the North American empire if necessary." Maduro has insisted the real purpose of the US military operations is to force him from office. Democrat says the move is about regime change Sen Chris Van Hollen, D-Md, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the US seizing the oil tanker cast doubt on the administration's stated reasons for the military buildup and boat strikes. "This shows that their whole cover story -- that this is about interdicting drugs -- is a big lie," the senator said. "This is just one more piece of evidence that this is really about regime change by force." The seizure comes a day after the US military flew a pair of fighter jets over the Gulf of Venezuela in what appeared to be the closest that warplanes had come to the South American country's airspace. Trump has said land attacks are coming soon but has not offered more details. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. 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11 December,2025 12:59 PM IST | Washington | APExecutive Director of the Observer Research Foundation America, Dhruva Jaishankar, has stated that one of the key challenges in India-US relations is Washington's renewed engagement with Pakistan's military leadership. He made these remarks at the House Foreign Affairs South and Central Asia Subcommittee's hearing titled "The US-India Strategic Partnership: Securing a Free and Open Indo-Pacific." Speaking about India's concerns, Jaishankar said, "The second challenge in India relates to the United States' renewed engagement with Pakistan's military leadership. Pakistan has a long and well-documented history of using non-state terrorist proxies against India. As a result, over many years, India's experience is that third-party mediation has often contributed to Pakistan's adventurism. So the United States has pursued a policy of de-hyphenation between India and Pakistan, engaging with both but minimising involvement in their disputes. There remains considerable progress for future collaboration should differences over trade and Pakistan be successfully managed between the United States and India..." His remarks come at a time when the United States has announced a major investment to boost mining activity in Pakistan's Balochistan province. On Wednesday, the US Export-Import Bank (EXIM) approved USD 1.25 billion in financing to support the development of the Reko Diq critical minerals project. Sharing a video on X, Charge d'Affaires ad interim at the US Embassy in Islamabad, Natalie A. Baker, said that the Trump administration had made such commercial deals central to its diplomatic approach. "I'm pleased to highlight that the US Export-Import Bank recently approved financing of USD 1.25 billion to support the mining of critical minerals at Reko Diq in Pakistan," she said. Baker added that EXIM's financing would support "up to USD 2 billion in high-quality US mining equipment and services needed to build and operate the Reko Diq mine, along with creating an estimated 6,000 jobs in the US and 7,500 jobs in Balochistan, Pakistan." She called Reko Diq a model mining project that would benefit "US exporters, as well as local Pakistani communities and partners, by bringing employment and prosperity to both our nations." She further said, "The Trump administration has made the forging of deals exactly like this one central to American diplomacy." The US Embassy in Islamabad also posted a short message on X saying the new commitment "will drive economic growth in Balochistan" and described the project as a "game-changer for US businesses and local Pakistani communities." This move follows growing economic outreach from Washington to Islamabad. In July, US President Donald Trump announced a separate trade initiative with Pakistan focused on developing the country's oil reserves. In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, "We have just concluded a Deal with the Country of Pakistan, whereby Pakistan and the United States will work together on developing their massive Oil Reserves. We are in the process of choosing the Oil Company that will lead this Partnership. Who knows, maybe they'll be selling Oil to India someday!" Trump announced this just hours after imposing 25 per cent tariffs, along with additional penalties, on India. Earlier this year, around June, following the May conflict when India launched Operation Sindoor in response to the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed the lives of 26 people, Trump hosted Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir at the White House for a lunch meeting. At the time, Trump praised Munir for preventing further military escalation. "The reason I had him here was I wanted to thank him for not going into the war and ending it..." Trump said. Munir later visited the United States again in August, where he made remarks against India. According to Pakistan-based media outlet ARY News and a report in The Dawn, Munir told members of the Pakistani-American community in Tampa, Florida, "We will wait for India to build a dam, and when they do so, we will destroy it." He also repeated Pakistan's line on Kashmir, calling it Pakistan's "jugular vein" and claiming it was not India's internal matter. Ahead of the Pahalgam attack, India had rejected Similar remarks from Munir on Kashmir. Responding to questions at a media briefing on April 17, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal dismissed the claims as baseless. "How can anything foreign be in a jugular vein? This is a union territory of India. Its only relationship with Pakistan is the vacation of illegally occupied territories by that country..." Jaiswal said. Pakistan had also nominated the US President for the Nobel Peace Prize, citing his "decisive diplomatic intervention and pivotal leadership" during the May conflict. Later, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), dedicated a significant portion to praising Donald Trump, calling him a "man of peace" and nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize for allegedly brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. However, India had agreed to a cessation of hostilities only after the Pakistani Army's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) contacted his Indian counterpart. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. 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11 December,2025 12:56 PM IST | Washington | ANITwo four-story buildings housing eight families collapsed overnight in the Moroccan city of Fes, killing 19 people in the second fatal collapse there this year, authorities said on Wednesday. Sixteen people were injured in the collapse. The neighbourhood has been evacuated and search and rescue efforts were ongoing. It was unclear what caused the collapse or how many people were unaccounted for on Wednesday morning. Fes is Morocco’s second-largest city and one of the hosts of this month’s Africa Cup of Nations and the 2030 FIFA World Cup. It is known for its walled city packed with medieval souks and tanneries. But beyond tourism, it’s also one of the country’s poorest urban centres, where aging infrastructure is common. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
11 December,2025 12:42 PM IST | Morocco | AgenciesUS representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove while talking about the famous car selfie of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Russian President Vladimir Putin said that it spoke a thousand words. Dove said that US President Donald Trump's coercive policies come with a cost. "Trump's policies towards India can only be described as cutting our nose to spite our face... Being a coercive partner has a cost. And this poster is worth a thousand words. You do not get a Nobel Peace Prize by driving US strategic partners into the arms of our adversaries. We must move with incredible urgency to mitigate the damage that this administration has done to the US-India partnership and return to the cooperation that is essential to US prosperity, security, and global leadership," she said. These remarks were made at The House Foreign Affairs South and Central Asia Subcommittee's hearing titled, 'The US-India Strategic Partnership: Securing a Free and Open Indo-Pacific'. Talking in the same platform, US Representative Pramila Jayapal raised concerns over trade barriers and immigration policies affecting India-US economic and people-to-people ties. Jayapal pointed to ongoing tariff challenges impacting both countries, stressing their consequences for businesses and consumers. She said, "We also are facing challenges around tariffs, both here in the United States and in India. These tariffs are damaging India's economy and also hurting American businesses and consumers." Her concerns over tariffs came as trade tensions escalated further following comments by US President Donald Trump on Tuesday. Trump warned of possible new tariffs on India's rice exports, accusing New Delhi of "dumping" cheap rice into the American market and harming US farmers. His remarks were made during a White House meeting where he also announced a USD 12 billion aid package for American agricultural producers. During the meeting, several US farmers complained that low-cost imports from India, Vietnam and Thailand were driving down domestic prices. Responding to these concerns, Trump questioned why additional duties had not been imposed on India and said he would "take care" of the alleged dumping, signalling that fresh tariffs could soon be considered. These developments came as a US trade delegation was already in India on December 10-11 for negotiations that have struggled to yield substantial progress. The ongoing talks have been weighed down by disagreements over market access and tariff measures, deepening strain in the trade relationship. The United States had earlier imposed 50 per cent tariffs on most Indian goods in August 2025 amid broader trade disputes and concerns over India's purchases of Russian oil. Trump's latest warning has added fresh uncertainty to already difficult negotiations, heightening the risk of further trade friction between the two countries. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
11 December,2025 12:05 PM IST | Washington DC [US] | ANIPresident Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that his long-promised "gold card" was officially going on sale, offering legal status and an eventual pathway to US citizenship for individuals paying USD 1 million and corporations ponying up twice that per foreign-born employee. A website accepting applications went live as Trump revealed the start of the programme while surrounded by business leaders in the White House's Roosevelt Room. It is meant to replace EB-5 visas, which Congress created in 1990 to generate foreign investment and had been available to people who spent about USD 1 million on a company that employed at least 10 people. Trump sees the new version as a way for the US to attract and retain top talent, all while generating revenue for federal coffers. He has been promoting the gold card programme for months, and once suggested that each card would cost USD 5 million, though he more recently revised that to the USD 1 million and USD 2 million pricing scheme. The president said all funds taken in as part of the programme will "go to the US government" and predicted that billions would flow into an account run by the Treasury Department "where we can do things positive for the country." The new programme is actually a green card, effectively offering permanent legal residency with the chance for citizenship. "Basically, it's a green card but much better," Trump said. "Much more powerful, a much stronger path." The president made no mention of requirements for job creation for applying corporations or on overall caps on the programme, which exist under the current EB-5 programme. Instead, he said he had heard complaints from business leaders who had been unable to recruit outstanding graduates from US universities because they were from other countries and lacked permission to stay. "You can't hire people from the best colleges because you don't know whether or not you can keep the person," Trump said. Trump has built his political career around clamping down on the US-Mexico border and championing hard-line immigration policies. His second administration spent its first 10-plus months launching mass deportation pushes and sweeping immigration crackdowns that have targeted cities including Los Angeles and Charlotte. But he has also drawn criticism from leading voices of his "Make America Great Again" movement for repeatedly suggesting that skilled immigrants should be allowed into the US, something the gold card programme could facilitate. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the programme will include USD 15,000 for applicant vetting and that the thorough process used to scrutinise backgrounds would "make sure these people absolutely qualify to be in America." Companies will be able to receive multiple cards, but will be limited to one individual per card, he said. Lutnick also said the current green card holders earn less money than the average American, and that Trump wanted to change that. "So, same visas, but now just full of the best people," Lutnick said. Investors' visas are common around the world, with dozens of countries offering versions of "golden visas" to wealthy individuals, including the United Kingdom, Spain, Greece, Malta, Australia, Canada and Italy. Trump said the programme means the US is "getting somebody great coming into our country because we think these will be some tremendous people" and singled out top US college graduates from China, India and France as among those who will possibly be receiving gold cards. "The companies are going to be very happy," he said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
11 December,2025 11:12 AM IST | Washington | APSouth Korea will now require advertisers to label their ads made with artificial intelligence technologies from next year as it seeks to curb a surge of deceptive promotions featuring fabricated experts or deep-faked celebrities endorsing food or pharmaceutical products on social media. Officials said they will ramp up screening and removal of problematic AI-generated ads and impose punitive fines, citing growing risks to consumers, especially older people who struggle to tell whether content is AI-made. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
11 December,2025 11:08 AM IST | Seoul | AgenciesVenezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado did not arrive in Norway early enough to receive her Nobel Peace Prize in person, but her trip elicited mixed feelings in her country, where many backed her precisely because she had not left her homeland. Machado's daughter accepted the award on her behalf in a ceremony Wednesday that became a rally for democracy, and equally, an indictment of Venezuela's government, with attendees hearing in detail documented human rights abuses carried out against real or perceived opponents of President Nicolas Maduro. "She wants to live in a free Venezuela, and she will never give up on that purpose," Ana Corina Sosa told the audience in Oslo before reading her mother's prepared remarks. "That is why we all know, and I know, that she will be back in Venezuela very soon." Machado greeted supporters from an Oslo hotel balcony early Thursday morning after arriving in the Norwegian capital. Neither Machado nor her staff explained when and how she left Venezuela or what had delayed her arrival in Oslo. Machado has not been seen in public since January 9, when she was briefly detained after joining supporters in an anti-government protest in Caracas, Venezuela's capital. The following day, Maduro was sworn in to a third six-year term despite credible evidence that he lost the presidential election. Machado intended to challenge Maduro in last year's contest, but the government barred her from running for office, forcing her to endorse retired diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez in her place. Before and after the election, many voters said they backed Machado -- and by extension Gonzalez -- because she had not gone into exile while the country came undone. On Wednesday, some Venezuelans understood her decision to depart while others questioned why she was awarded the Nobel. "They say she left the country, if that's true, good for her," office worker Josefina Paez said in Caracas. "That woman has made many sacrifices to fight for democracy, and it's time she reunites with her family, with her children, and continues fighting from abroad." Meanwhile, shopkeeper Jose Hurtado called Machado a "traitor" for her support of US President Donald Trump's policy toward Venezuela. "Those awards are very discredited," he said. The ceremony took place as Trump continues a military operation in the Caribbean that has killed Venezuelans in international waters and threatens to strike Venezuela. Gonzalez, who attended the ceremony in Oslo, sought asylum in Spain last year after a Venezuelan court issued a warrant for his arrest. His son-in-law, Rafael Tudares, is among the hundreds of people who are in prison for what human rights organisations have determined to be political reasons. Independent experts backed by the United Nations, Venezuelan non-governmental organisations and other groups have documented extensively brutal government repression throughout Maduro's presidency. Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel committee, told attendees about repeated instances of torture, including the experiences of children who were detained in the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election. "The United Nations documented their experience as follows: Plastic bags pulled tight over their heads, electric shocks to the genitals, blows to the body so brutal it hurt the great, sexualised violence, cells so cold as to cause intense shivering, foul drinking water teeming with insects, screams that no one came to stop," he said. Watne Frydnes then called on Maduro to "accept the election result and step down." It is unclear when and how Machado and Gonzalez could return to Venezuela. An opposition plan to get Gonzalez back ahead of the January 10 ceremony that gave Maduro another term did not materialise. "People are anxiously awaiting news about what will happen, about how Maria Corina receiving or not receiving the award will affect things," Caracas teacher Jose Murillo said. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
11 December,2025 11:05 AM IST | Caracas | APBombardier marked a major moment in business aviation on Monday when it handed over the first Global 8000 — the fastest civilian aircraft to fly since the Concorde — at its Assembly Centre in Mississauga, Ontario. Patrick Dovigi, a former Canadian hockey pro who later built a successful business career, received the first delivery. The Global 8000 reaches Mach 0.95, which makes it the fastest private jet on the market. The company also highlighted its range of 8,000 nautical miles, a figure demonstrated during a long-haul test earlier this year. That distance allows nonstop flights between more global city pairs than any competing business jet. The aircraft also features a refined Smooth Flex Wing with leading-edge slats that improve landing performance. Engineers say this configuration allows the jet to access more runways and provides takeoff and landing capabilities similar to those of much smaller aircraft. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
11 December,2025 11:00 AM IST | Toronto | AgenciesAt least two of several agreements aimed at ending global conflicts that US President Donald Trump has hailed as evidence of his negotiating prowess are in trouble and at risk of collapsing. Less than a week after Congo and Rwanda signed a deal in Trump’s presence in Washington that was meant to halt fighting in eastern Congo, and less than two months after he witnessed Cambodia and Thailand sign a ceasefire pact in Malaysia to end their border conflict, fighting has surged in both places. The developments have caused international alarm, which on Tuesday resulted in urgent calls to halt the renewed violence from countries involved in the African Great Lakes region and from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. In each case, the statements urged the combatants to live up to their commitments in the deals that Trump has touted in part as the rationale for casting himself as the “president of peace”. Displaced residents from Cambodia’s Siem Reap province evacuate with their belongings, on Wednesday. PIC/AFP Trump expressed confidence that once again he could end the fighting. “Tomorrow I’ll have to make a phone call,” Trump said at a rally in Pennsylvania. “Who else could say, ‘I’m going to make a phone call and stop a war of two very powerful countries, Thailand and Cambodia?’” Thai-Cambodia clashes along border continue Renewed border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia showed no signs of abating Wednesday, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced people in both countries living in strained conditions as more moved to temporary shelters. About 400,000 people have been evacuated from affected areas in Thailand, and around 700 schools closed while fighting was ongoing in four border provinces, Thai military spokesperson Rear Adm Surasant Kongsiri said on Wednesday. Cambodia evacuated more than 127,000 villagers, and hundreds of schools closed, the defence ministry said. Thailand’s military announced that casualties this week include five soldiers killed and dozens wounded. Cambodia said seven civilians died and 20 others were wounded, though it did not update those figures on Wednesday. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
11 December,2025 10:48 AM IST | New York | AgenciesAn Indian-origin man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for the murder of a 24-year-old woman on a beach in Australia's Queensland in 2018, local media reported. The Supreme Court in Cairns on Monday found former nurse Rajwinder Singh, 41, guilty of killing Toyah Cordingley, ABC News reported on Tuesday. Justice Lincoln Crowley said Singh's motive for murder was "unknown", characterising it as an "opportunistic killing", the report added. Singh killed Cordingley while she was walking her dog at Wangetti Beach north of Cairns on 21 October 2018, The Guardian reported on Tuesday. Cordingley worked in a health food and pharmacy store in Port Douglas and also volunteered at an animal refuge. Singh left for India after the murder, leaving behind his wife, children and parents in Australia. "You left without even saying a proper goodbye to your wife, your parents, your children, demonstrating that your only concern was to save your own skin, regardless of the consequences for your family", ABC News quoted Crowley as saying. Singh was given a non-parole period of 25 years, seven years after he killed Cordingley, it said. He was extradited from India two years ago after Queensland police posted AUD 1 million reward for his information, the report added. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
10 December,2025 05:32 PM IST | Canberra | PTIADVERTISEMENT
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