Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed Saturday that Russia has begun deploying North Korean soldiers in combat operations against Ukrainian positions in the Kursk region, marking a significant escalation in foreign military involvement in the conflict.
In his evening address, Zelensky cited preliminary evidence of “noticeable numbers” of North Korean troops participating in Russian assault operations, noting that these forces have already sustained significant casualties. The president indicated that North Korean forces may be operating beyond Kursk along other sections of the front line.
The deployment follows a major defense agreement between Moscow and Pyongyang, with Washington and Seoul estimating more than 10,000 North Korean troops have been sent to support Russian operations. This military cooperation has intensified since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Russia has been working to counter Ukraine’s August incursion into the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces still maintain control of approximately 800 square kilometers, though this represents a reduction from their previous hold of 1,400 square kilometers. The presence of North Korean troops suggests Russia is drawing on new military resources to strengthen its position in the region.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has released Alexander Golubev, a 24-year-old convicted murderer, from prison to join military operations in Ukraine. Golubev had been serving a nine-and-a-half-year sentence for the brutal killing of his girlfriend, Viktoria Kurman, but was freed only three months into his sentence under a controversial program to bolster Russia’s dwindling military ranks.
Golubev was convicted earlier this year after admitting to strangling Kurman, a 23-year-old computer graphics designer, during an argument. Following the murder, Golubev hid her body in a plastic barrel sealed with tape, which was later discovered by Kurman’s mother on the balcony of his apartment in Veliky Novgorod. Golubev confessed that he killed Kurman to prevent her from discovering his infidelity.
The Russian government has reportedly enlisted thousands of prisoners to fight in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Golubev, now assigned to clerical duties far from the front lines, has allegedly described his time in the military as “fun,” according to messages obtained by acquaintances. If he survives his military service, Golubev’s conviction will be expunged.
The program to free convicts for military service highlights the challenges faced by Russia, which has reportedly lost hundreds of thousands of soldiers since the start of the war. NATO officials estimate that over 1 million casualties have occurred on all sides since the conflict began in February 2022.
This policy has drawn international condemnation, with critics questioning the implications of releasing dangerous criminals into a wartime environment. Golubev is one of several convicts granted early release under the scheme, as Russia seeks to replenish its forces amid heavy losses.
Napoli’s quest for a second Serie A title in three years remains alive after a determined 3-1 victory against Udinese at the Dacia Arena on Saturday. The win keeps the Partenopei within two points of league leaders Atalanta.
Following Atalanta’s earlier victory, Napoli needed all three points to maintain their pursuit of the Scudetto. Antonio Conte’s side started the match strongly, dominating possession with 75% in the first 15 minutes. An early opportunity saw Giovanni Di Lorenzo deliver a pinpoint cross to David Neres, who fired over the bar from close range.
Udinese, slow to find their rhythm, capitalized on a high press when Florian Thauvin flashed a shot over the bar. The French forward later opened the scoring after converting his own rebound following a saved penalty, awarded for a Stanislav Lobotka handball.
Napoli struggled to create chances before halftime, with Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa’s strike forcing a save from Udinese goalkeeper Razvan Sava.
Conte’s halftime adjustments spurred Napoli into action. Five minutes after the restart, Scott McTominay’s precise through ball set up Romelu Lukaku, who powered past Udinese’s defense and calmly slotted the equalizer.
The visitors continued to press, and David Neres played a pivotal role. The Brazilian winger’s dynamic run led to a deflected own goal by Lautaro Giannetti, putting Napoli ahead. Zambo Anguissa sealed the victory in the 81st minute with a solo effort, showcasing his pace and power to break through the defense and score.
Udinese failed to muster a response, managing little offensive threat in the second half. Napoli’s fifth win in seven away games solidifies their position as strong contenders in the title race.
Arsenal’s Premier League title ambitions suffered another setback Saturday as they were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw by Sean Dyche’s defensive-minded Everton side at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners dominated possession but struggled to penetrate Everton’s well-organized defense, managing their first shot on target only after 30 minutes. Martin Odegaard’s early attempts sailed wide while Jordan Pickford produced crucial saves to deny Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli.
Everton’s tactical approach proved effective, with ten men consistently behind the ball limiting space for Arsenal’s creative players. The visitors’ discipline particularly neutralized the usual impact of Saka, Odegaard, and Martinelli, who struggled to find their typical attacking rhythm.
Mikel Arteta’s late-game decisions raised eyebrows as he withdrew influential midfielders Declan Rice and Odegaard for Ethan Nwaneri and Jorginho. The substitutions failed to break the deadlock despite late penalty appeals from Thomas Partey being dismissed by both referee and VAR.
The result leaves Arsenal further adrift in the title race following Liverpool’s draw with Fulham earlier in the day. Gabriel’s return to Arsenal’s defense provided a rare bright spot, though his involvement was limited primarily to set-piece situations due to Everton’s defensive setup.
Liverpool maintained their Premier League lead despite Andy Robertson’s early dismissal, twice coming from behind to secure a 2-2 draw with Fulham at Anfield in a match filled with controversy and drama.
The contest sparked into life when Andreas Pereira escaped punishment for a dangerous challenge on Ryan Gravenberch before acrobatically volleying Fulham ahead. Liverpool’s challenges mounted when Robertson received a straight red card for denying Harry Wilson a clear goalscoring opportunity after 16 minutes.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, Liverpool showed remarkable resilience. Mohamed Salah provided his 100th assist for the club as Cody Gakpo equalized early in the second half. Though Rodrigo Muniz restored Fulham’s lead, returning substitute Diogo Jota secured a crucial point for the league leaders.
Fulham’s Antonee Robinson emerged as the standout performer, providing two assists while demonstrating defensive excellence with five tackles, four interceptions, and a block. The American left-back’s performance highlighted Robertson’s difficult afternoon and growing struggles.
Liverpool maintained control despite their disadvantage, recording 60% possession and outshooting Fulham 16-12. The result, combined with Arsenal’s goalless draw at Everton, keeps Liverpool atop the Premier League table, while Fulham remain ninth and in European contention.
Attorneys for Jay-Z have moved to dismiss a lawsuit alleging his involvement in a 2000 sexual assault, citing significant inconsistencies in the accuser’s account of events following the MTV Video Music Awards.
The lawsuit, filed by an Alabama woman using the pseudonym Jane Doe, claims Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs drugged and assaulted her at age 13 during a house party. However, key details of her account have been challenged, including an alleged interaction with celebrities who were documented to be on tour at the time.
The accuser’s father has been unable to verify crucial elements of the story, including her claim that he drove five hours to collect her after the alleged incident. Additionally, photographic evidence places both Jay-Z and Combs at a different location during the timeframe in question.
Jay-Z’s attorney, Alex Spiro, condemned the filing in a statement to the BBC, criticizing the lack of proper vetting of the allegations. The rapper himself characterized the lawsuit as a pursuit of “money and fame,” while the accuser’s attorney, Tony Buzbee, maintains his client’s commitment to the allegations and has offered to submit to polygraph testing.
The case emerges amid multiple sexual assault lawsuits against Combs, who currently faces federal sex-trafficking charges in New York. While rape support providers note that assault survivors often misremember details, particularly in cases involving alleged drugging, the defense points to documented inconsistencies in the accuser’s timeline and location claims.
At least 18 Palestinians were killed on Saturday in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, according to Palestinian medics. The Israeli military stated that the strikes targeted militants operating from shelters and aid storages.
An airstrike near the municipal building in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza killed at least 10 people, including civilians who had gathered to receive aid. Casualties were transported to hospitals by foot, rickshaws, and private cars. A Hamas source said the strike also killed the head of the Hamas-run administrative committee in the region. The Israeli military confirmed it was investigating the incident.
Another strike targeted militants and weapon caches near an aid warehouse, according to the military, after rockets were reportedly fired from the area into Israel. In Gaza City, a separate attack on a former shelter housing displaced people killed at least seven individuals, including a woman and her baby, Palestinian medics said. The military stated the attack targeted Hamas fighters while precautions were taken to reduce civilian harm.
A Palestinian man inspects the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, December 11, 2024. REUTERS/Abd Elhkeem Khaled TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
In a separate incident, a local journalist was reportedly killed in an airstrike in Gaza City. The Israeli military said it was looking into the claim.
The conflict began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a large-scale assault on Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking over 250 hostages to Gaza, according to Israeli officials. In response, Israel launched a comprehensive offensive by air, sea, and land, which Palestinian authorities say has killed over 44,000 people, mostly civilians, and displaced nearly the entire population of Gaza.
Recent diplomatic efforts led by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States to negotiate a ceasefire and a hostages-for-prisoners exchange have gained momentum. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi discussed these initiatives with U.S. officials during a meeting on Saturday, according to his office.
The ongoing violence has left Gaza in ruins, displaced its population, and caused significant humanitarian and political repercussions. Efforts to secure a ceasefire and increase humanitarian aid continue as international actors work to de-escalate the situation.
At least five migrants have died, and many are feared missing after a wooden boat capsized off the southern Greek island of Gavdos, the Greek coastguard reported on Saturday. The tragedy unfolded Friday night, sparking an extensive search and rescue operation.
So far, 39 men, most of whom are from Pakistan, have been rescued by cargo vessels in the area. The survivors were transferred to the island of Crete. However, authorities have not yet confirmed the number of missing persons.
Search operations are ongoing, involving coastguard boats, merchant vessels, an Italian frigate, and naval aircraft.
In separate incidents on Saturday, rescue efforts continued in the surrounding waters:
– A Malta-flagged cargo ship saved 47 migrants from a boat about 40 nautical miles from Gavdos.
– A tanker rescued an additional 88 migrants roughly 28 nautical miles away from the island.
Initial investigations suggest that the boats involved in these incidents departed from Libya. This aligns with a troubling trend of increased migrant crossings through the central Mediterranean over the past year.
While Greece has historically been a primary entry point for migrants into the European Union—especially during the peak of the 2015–2016 migration crisis—shipwrecks around Crete and Gavdos have been on the rise. These isolated areas in the central Mediterranean have become increasingly treacherous routes for migrants seeking a better life.
In 2023, the Mediterranean witnessed one of its deadliest migrant disasters when an overcrowded vessel sank off the coast of Pylos in southwestern Greece, claiming hundreds of lives.
The latest incident highlights the enduring challenges of migration across the Mediterranean. Greek authorities and international organizations continue to grapple with ensuring the safety of those attempting these perilous journeys while managing migration pressures on the region.
The Trump administration’s transition team has recommended eliminating a car-crash reporting rule that automakers must follow, including Tesla, which has strongly opposed the measure. The rule, enforced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), requires automakers to report crashes involving advanced driver-assistance or autonomous-driving technologies.
The recommendation was outlined in a document seen by Reuters, which described the rule as an “excessive data collection mandate.” Critics say removing the rule would hinder the government’s ability to investigate and regulate the safety of emerging automated-driving systems, such as Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features.
Tesla, led by Elon Musk, has submitted data on more than 1,500 crashes under the program, accounting for the majority of incidents reported to NHTSA. The data has been pivotal in NHTSA’s investigations, including probes into Tesla crashes that led to multiple recalls in 2023.
For instance, Tesla vehicles were involved in two high-profile incidents in 2023. In one, a car using Autopilot collided with a tractor-trailer, resulting in a fatality. In another, an Autopilot-equipped Tesla struck a firetruck, killing the driver and injuring four firefighters.
NHTSA has emphasized that the crash-reporting requirement is critical for evaluating the safety of driver-assistance systems. The agency has used the data to identify patterns and conduct 10 investigations into six companies, resulting in nine recalls across four automakers.
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Critics argue that Tesla’s crash data may disproportionately highlight its vehicles due to the company’s extensive reporting systems and higher usage of driver-assistance features compared to competitors. However, experts like Bryant Walker Smith, a law professor specializing in autonomous driving, note that Tesla’s transparency may also give the impression that its vehicles are involved in more crashes than others.
Musk, who has advocated for federal regulations to streamline autonomous vehicle development, has criticized the current system as overly burdensome. During an October earnings call, he argued for a unified approval process to replace the patchwork of state laws that automakers currently navigate.
Musk’s close ties with the Trump administration have further fueled speculation about his influence on the transition team’s recommendations. After Trump’s election, Musk was appointed co-leader of the Department of Government Efficiency, a role focused on cutting federal regulations and spending.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group representing most automakers except Tesla, has also criticized the crash-reporting rule as unnecessarily burdensome. However, NHTSA maintains that the program is essential for ensuring public safety as automated-driving technologies become more prevalent.
Whether the proposed changes will be implemented remains uncertain. For now, the debate underscores the growing tensions between regulatory oversight and innovation in the rapidly evolving autonomous vehicle industry.
Little Isabella Wheildon was a “healthy, contented, well-cared for little girl” before she suffered harrowing abuse when Chelsea Gleason-Mitchell struck up a relationship with Scott Jeff prosecutor Sally Howes KC said. The little girl tragically died in a temporary housing unit in Ipswich and her body was found on June 30 last year.
Jurors at Ipswich Crown Court during her murder trial heard she was dead for several days before her body was found under blankets in a shower. She had suffered “extensive external traumatic injuries to the soft tissues of the body including head, neck, torso, limbs” and other areas. Injuries to her pelvis were consistent “stomping or kicking” but Gleason-Mitchell “stood back, watched, did nothing and allowed this to happen”.
It is also believed that Isabella’s mother and her then-partner had continued to wheel her body around in a pushchair. The judge told 24-year-old Gleason-Mitchell: “You felt able to go shopping with Jeff, the two of you pushing Isabella’s body around in a pushchair covered with a blanket, as if you were enjoying a family day out.”
He said the two eventually left Isabella’s dead body in a bathroom at a hostel for the homeless and took a train to Bury St Edmunds, where Gleason-Mitchell was seen “sitting happily with a glass of wine in a pub … smiling and laughing.” They were found and arrested in Bury St Edmunds in the early hours of July 1.
Yesterday, Jeff was jailed for life for the girl’s murder and was told he will serve a minimum of 26 years in jail. The toddler’s mother was jailed for 10 years for causing or allowing Isabella’s death. Judge Mr Justice Neil Garnham, sentencing the two at Ipswich Crown Court on Friday, said Jeff, also 24, subjected Isabella to a “cruel campaign of violence and abuse which ended in her death on June 26” last year.
The judge described former nursery worker Gleason-Mitchell, who “stood back and let that abuse and violence happen to your little girl”, as a “weak and spineless person”. He said she was “so concerned about her own comfort and pleasures, and about maintaining a relationship with this man, that you would tolerate anything, including these dreadful assaults on your daughter.”
The judge said the two defendants had previously been in a relationship in 2019 which ended. Gleason-Mitchell had a daughter, Isabella, with a man called Thomas Wheildon and after this relationship broke down she contacted Jeff again in May 2023, the judge said.
Gleason-Mitchell and Jeff decided to take Isabella on holiday to the Norfolk coast where they stayed initially in hotels then spent four nights in a tent on the beach at Caister, and began seeking council accommodation. The judge said Jeff took over potty training of Isabella who would sometimes wet herself and Jeff “couldn’t tolerate such accidents and began punishing her when they occurred.”
He said her injuries were concealed with a puffer jacket and sunglasses, with her arms fractured and her pelvis later “in effect shattered”. The judge said the pelvic injury was caused when Jeff either stamped on her or “kicked her between her legs with enormous force”, resulting in her death hours later.
Her medical cause of death was recorded as “bone marrow embolism caused by skeletal trauma.” Jeff, of no fixed address, had denied her murder but was found guilty following an earlier trial. He was also found guilty of two counts of child cruelty. Gleason-Mitchell, of no fixed address, had pleaded guilty to causing or allowing the death of a child and two counts of child cruelty at an earlier hearing.
