Three American citizens held for years in Chinese prisons have been released, the White House announced Wednesday.
The freed Americans are Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and John Leung. “Soon they will return and be reunited with their families for the first time in many years,” the White House said in a statement.
Source: AP
Elon Musk’s recent public identification of government climate staff has unleashed waves of fear through the federal workforce, as employees worry about becoming personal targets of the world’s richest man and his millions of followers.
Last week, Musk amplified posts revealing names and titles of four relatively obscure climate-related government positions, generating tens of millions of views and triggering an avalanche of negative attention. The posts, which he shared from an account called “Fentasyl,” led at least one of the targeted employees to delete her social media accounts.
“These tactics are aimed at sowing terror and fear at federal employees,” said Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, representing more than 800,000 of the 2.3 million civilian federal workers. “It’s intended to make them fearful that they will become afraid to speak up.”
The impact of such targeting can be severe, according to Mary “Missy” Cummings, who experienced similar treatment during her time at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “It’s his way of intimidating people to either quit or also send a signal to all the other agencies that ‘you’re next,'” said Cummings, now an engineering professor at George Mason University. She received death threats and had to relocate temporarily after Musk criticized her appointment.
Several current federal employees told CNN they fear their lives could be forever changed if targeted, including facing physical threats. Others indicated the possibility of Musk’s attention might drive them from their jobs entirely. The climate of fear has spread so deeply that multiple experts on cyber harassment and online abuse declined to comment, citing concerns about becoming Musk’s next targets.
The timing of Musk’s posts has heightened anxiety among federal workers, coming as President-elect Donald Trump indicates plans for major government cuts, with Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy tapped to recommend reductions. While the information Musk shared is publicly available, the targeted employees held positions that typically avoid public interaction.
The American Federation of Government Employees noted that Musk himself has benefited from federal programs as a contractor, with the government spending $750 billion annually on contractors compared to about $200 billion for the civilian workforce. “We are a comparative steal, and we want to help clean it up too,” Kelley said.
The eldest son of Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit will be released from custody while authorities investigate new sexual offense allegations, Norwegian broadcaster NRK reported Wednesday.
Marius Borg Høiby, 27, stepson to Crown Prince Haakon and son of Mette-Marit from a previous relationship, was arrested last week in Oslo on preliminary charges of having “sexual intercourse with someone who is unconscious or for other reasons unable to resist the act.” He holds no royal title and performs no official duties.
Prosecutor Andreas Kruszewski said police have reviewed evidence seized during the arrest and conducted numerous witness interviews during Høiby’s week in custody. Norwegian media report police found videos on Høiby’s phone allegedly showing assaults, though he denies all accusations.
Police decided against seeking extended detention, saying there was no risk of evidence tampering. “This was not surprising. He shouldn’t have been imprisoned at all,” defense attorney Øyvind Bratlien told NRK, indicating his client would likely be released Wednesday.
The case has drawn intense attention in Norway, where the royal family enjoys broad popularity. It follows earlier incidents involving Høiby, including an August 4 disturbance in downtown Oslo leading to preliminary charges of bodily harm and criminal damage. Additional charges have since emerged, including violations of restraining orders and driving without a valid license, involving four women and one man.
Høiby lives with the royal couple and their two children, Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus. The royal palace has not commented on the recent allegations, according to Norwegian news agency NTB.
Georgia’s governing Georgian Dream party nominated former national soccer player Mikheil Kavelashvili, 53, as its presidential candidate Wednesday, following a contentious parliamentary election that has deepened the country’s political divisions.
Kavelashvili, a former Premier League striker who played for Manchester City and Swiss clubs, is expected to win the December 14 electoral college vote, which is controlled by the ruling party. The nomination comes amid ongoing protests over October’s disputed parliamentary election, widely viewed as a referendum on Georgia’s European Union aspirations.
The opposition has boycotted parliament and alleged Russian interference in the October 26 vote, which kept Georgian Dream in power. European election observers reported a “divisive” atmosphere marked by bribery, double voting, and physical violence.
Current President Salome Zourabichvili, whose term expires next month, refused to attend parliament’s opening session Monday, joining the opposition in rejecting the legislature’s legitimacy. While Zourabichvili was elected by popular vote, recent constitutional changes replaced direct presidential elections with a 300-seat electoral college system comprising parliamentarians and regional representatives.
Party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, a billionaire who made his fortune in Russia, presented Kavelashvili’s candidacy, praising his “significant contribution to protecting Georgia’s national interests and strengthening the country’s sovereignty.” Kavelashvili, elected to parliament in 2016, co-founded the People’s Power political movement in 2022, known for its anti-Western stance.
Critics accuse Georgian Dream of increasing authoritarianism and Moscow alignment. The party recently passed legislation similar to Russian laws restricting free speech and LGBTQ+ rights. The EU indefinitely suspended Georgia’s membership application in June after parliament approved a law requiring organizations receiving significant foreign funding to register as foreign agents.
Kavelashvili, who helped author the controversial foreign agents law, addressed parliament claiming “radicalization and polarization” in Georgia was foreign-driven, while promising to “restore the presidency to its constitutional framework.”
Malian authorities arrested prominent politician Issa Kaou N’Djim Wednesday for criticizing the military rulers of neighboring Burkina Faso, marking another crackdown on political dissent in the West African nation.
N’Djim, a former supporter of Mali’s military leader Col. Assimi Goita, faces charges of insulting a foreign head of state after claiming on Joliba TV News that Burkina Faso’s military rulers fabricated evidence of a November coup attempt, according to a judiciary source speaking anonymously due to lack of authorization.
“He knows he is being arrested because of his political struggle,” said his son, Ousmane N’djim, as authorities transferred the politician to Bamako’s main prison. The TV station’s director has also been summoned for questioning.
The arrest highlights growing tensions in the Sahel region, where Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger form the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) under military governments that seized power through coups. Mali and Burkina Faso’s juntas took control in 2020 and 2022 respectively, citing popular discontent with elected governments’ handling of security issues.
N’Djim previously served as vice president of Mali’s National Transitional Council, the junta’s legislative body, before advocating for a return to electoral democracy. He received a six-month prison sentence in 2021 for criticizing the military regime on social media.
The security situation has deteriorated across the three AES countries, with analysts reporting record numbers of Islamic extremist attacks. Government forces face accusations of killing civilian suspects while suppressing political opposition and media freedom. In June, Malian authorities arrested eleven opposition politicians and several activists.
Amnesty International has called for N’Djim’s immediate release.
Philippine police officials filed criminal complaints Wednesday against Vice President Sara Duterte and her security staff for allegedly assaulting authorities and disobeying orders during a recent Congress altercation, marking a significant escalation in the conflict between the country’s two most powerful political families.
The charges come amid separate concerns over Duterte’s public threats to have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., his wife, and the House Speaker assassinated if she were killed in an unspecified plot. Presidential adviser Larry Gadon filed a Supreme Court petition Wednesday to disbar Duterte, citing these threats as “illegal, immoral and condemnable.”
Speaking at a news conference, Duterte broadly denied the allegations while claiming the actions aimed to remove her from office, freeze her assets, and prevent international travel. “This is really oppression and harassment for remarks taken out of logical context,” she said, adding that reconciliation with Marcos appears impossible. “I really believe that we have reached a point of no return.”
The criminal complaints stem from a weekend incident at the House of Representatives involving Duterte’s chief of staff, Zuleika Lopez, who was temporarily detained during an inquiry into alleged misuse of confidential funds. The situation escalated when authorities attempted to transfer Lopez to a women’s prison, prompting intervention from Duterte and her staff.
“The rule of law is fundamental to our democratic system. No one, regardless of their position, should be above accountability,” national police chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil said. “Resistance and disobedience to a person in authority not only violates the law but also undermines public trust.”
The Department of Justice is additionally investigating potentially seditious remarks by former President Rodrigo Duterte, the vice president’s father, who suggested only the military could correct what he called “fractured governance” under Marcos.
The conflict highlights a dramatic collapse of the alliance that saw Marcos and Sara Duterte win landslide victories in 2022 on a unity platform. Their subsequent falling out centers on differences over China policy in the South China Sea and approaches to the elder Duterte’s controversial anti-drug campaign.
Duterte resigned from Marcos’s Cabinet in June as education secretary and anti-insurgency body head, becoming a vocal critic of the president, his wife Liza, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez, the president’s cousin who leads a Congress dominated by administration allies.
Marcos, in a televised address, characterized the vice president’s threats as a criminal plot and promised to uphold the rule of law. The situation underscores the challenges of the Philippines’ system where presidents and vice presidents are elected separately, sometimes placing political rivals in the nation’s top positions.
Brazil’s federal police submitted evidence to the Supreme Court Tuesday revealing former President Jair Bolsonaro’s alleged direct involvement in plotting a coup to overturn his 2022 election loss, detailed in an unsealed 884-page report.
The document, culminating a two-year investigation, presents evidence from search warrants, wiretaps, financial records, and plea bargain testimony pointing to a criminal conspiracy led by Bolsonaro. “Bolsonaro effectively planned, directed and executed, in coordination with other officials since at least 2019, concrete acts that aimed at the abolition of the democratic rule of law, with him remaining as president,” the report states.
Investigators found Bolsonaro had “full knowledge” of plans to assassinate then President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his running mate, based on intercepted conversations and presidential residence meetings. The evidence includes a December 2022 meeting where Bolsonaro allegedly presented top military commanders with a coup proposal, receiving support from Navy commander Admiral Almir Garnier Santos while Army and Air Force leaders refused.
Former Defense Minister Walter Braga Netto allegedly encouraged social media attacks on military commanders who rejected the plot and hosted a meeting where Lula’s assassination was discussed. “It was never a coup, much less a plan to murder someone,” Braga Netto responded on social media following last week’s accusations.
Police formally accused 37 people, including Bolsonaro, of involvement in the planned coup. The former president, who never recognized his defeat by Lula, faces charges of attempted coup, violent abolition of democratic rule, and criminal organization. He denied discussing any coup plans when speaking to journalists Monday in Brasilia.
The investigation delivers another blow to Bolsonaro’s 2026 presidential ambitions, alongside separate probes into alleged COVID-19 vaccination card tampering and embezzlement of Saudi-gifted jewelry. Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet will decide on charges against Bolsonaro and alleged co-conspirators, with sources indicating plans to combine three investigations into a single comprehensive indictment expected next year.
The International Criminal Court prosecutor announced Wednesday he would seek an arrest warrant for Myanmar’s military leader Min Aung Hlaing for crimes against humanity in the alleged persecution of the Rohingya Muslim minority.
The move follows a nearly five-year investigation into the 2017 military offensive that forced a million Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh. United Nations investigators described the campaign as a textbook example of ethnic cleansing, documenting how soldiers, police, and Buddhist residents razed hundreds of villages in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state, conducting mass killings, torture, and gang-rapes.
“He [Min Aung Hlaing] is responsible for orchestrating the genocide against the innocent Rohingya people,” said Mohammed Zubair, a Rohingya researcher living in a Bangladesh refugee camp. “Under his command, the military killed thousands of Rohingya and subjected countless women and girls to horrific acts of sexual violence.”
Myanmar has denied the allegations, claiming security forces conducted legitimate operations against militants who attacked police posts. Most Rohingya refugees now live in Bangladesh camps.
Nicholas Koumjian, head of the U.N. Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, which assisted the ICC investigation, said seeking a warrant for Myanmar’s highest military official “sends a strong message to perpetrators that no one stands above the law.”
The ICC investigation faced significant challenges, including lack of access to Myanmar and the country’s political turmoil following the 2021 military coup. Investigators relied on witness testimonies, including insider accounts, along with documentary evidence and authenticated scientific, photographic, and video materials.
“The ICC prosecutor’s decision to seek a warrant against Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing comes amid renewed atrocities against Rohingya civilians that echo those suffered seven years ago,” said Maria Elena Vignoli, senior international justice counsel at Human Rights Watch.
The court, which has 124 member nations but lacks its own police force, faces significant challenges in securing Min Aung Hlaing’s arrest, particularly as he rarely travels internationally. Major powers including the United States, Russia, China, and India have not joined the ICC, though it maintains support from the European Union, Britain, Japan, and numerous African and Latin American nations.
The ICC has previously issued arrest warrants for other serving national leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir. Only Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta has appeared before the court while serving as head of state, in a case that was later dropped.
The prosecutor’s office emphasized the warrant request followed extensive, independent investigations, promising additional arrest warrant applications related to Myanmar would follow.
India’s lower house of parliament suspended proceedings Wednesday for a second consecutive day amid opposition demands to discuss U.S. allegations against billionaire Gautam Adani, even as his conglomerate’s stocks rebounded from recent losses.
U.S. authorities last week accused Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani, and Adani Green managing director Vneet S. Jaain of orchestrating $265 million in bribes to secure Indian power supply contracts and misleading American investors. The ports-to-power conglomerate has denied these charges as “baseless” and promised legal action.
Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi of the Congress party called for Adani’s arrest, telling reporters outside parliament, “The gentleman has been indicted in the United States … and the government is protecting him.” The opposition accuses Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of shielding Adani and blocking Indian investigations, claims the government denies.
BJP spokesperson Gopal Krishna Agarwal maintained Tuesday the party had no reason to defend Adani, saying, “Let him defend himself,” while adding that the law would take its course if wrongdoing occurred.
Adani Green clarified Wednesday that while Gautam Adani faces potential fines for alleged securities law violations, he has not been charged under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The company’s stock exchange filing noted the Securities and Exchange Commission seeks civil monetary penalties but hasn’t specified amounts.
The conglomerate’s listed companies recovered approximately $9 billion in market value Wednesday, after losing up to $34 billion following the indictments. Adani Green, which suffered the heaviest losses, jumped 9% but remains down about $8 billion in value.
The controversy has prompted French oil major TotalEnergies, which holds a 20% stake in Adani Green, to halt further investments in the group. Kenya has also cancelled a $2 billion procurement process that would have given the Adani Group control of its main airport.
REUTERS
The U.S. and French-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect Wednesday, with Lebanese civilians starting their cautious return to southern regions despite military warnings, marking a rare diplomatic breakthrough in the Middle East’s year-long turmoil.
Lebanon’s army, charged with maintaining the truce, prepared to deploy throughout the south while urging residents of border villages to delay their return until Israeli forces, which had advanced about 6 kilometers into Lebanese territory, complete their withdrawal.
Early Wednesday, Israel reported firing on Hezbollah operatives approaching the border but the incident appeared unlikely to derail the agreement. The ceasefire represents a significant diplomatic achievement for President Joe Biden’s administration in its final year.
Cars loaded with mattresses, suitcases, and furniture streamed through the port city of Tyre, heading south despite extensive bombing damage in the region. “The Israelis haven’t withdrawn in full, they’re still on the edge. So we decided to wait until the army announces that we can go in. Then we’ll turn the cars on immediately and go to the village,” said Hussam Arrout, a father of four from Mays al-Jabal.
Under the agreement, Israel will gradually withdraw its forces over 60 days while Lebanon’s army assumes control of border territories to prevent Hezbollah from rebuilding its infrastructure. The deal aims to end a conflict that has killed thousands since it erupted alongside the Gaza war last year.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati urged Israel to “withdraw from all the regions and positions it occupied,” while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed significant victories against Hezbollah, including the elimination of its leader Hassan Nasrallah and destruction of most of their rockets and missiles.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot called for similar diplomatic progress in Gaza: “Force must give way to dialogue and negotiation. This has now been achieved in Lebanon, and it must happen as soon as possible in the Gaza Strip.”
The agreement allows Israel to focus on its conflict with Hamas in Gaza while enabling about 60,000 displaced Israeli civilians to return to their northern border communities. Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri expressed support for Lebanon’s right to reach an agreement protecting its people.
Qatar, Egypt, and Iran welcomed the ceasefire, with Qatar’s foreign ministry expressing hope it could lead to a similar agreement ending the Gaza war. Hezbollah senior official Hassan Fadlallah, while not formally commenting on the ceasefire, told Lebanon’s Al Jadeed TV the group would emerge stronger from the conflict.
