Zelensky Warning, RIP Jimmy Cliff, Great Ice Wall Of China

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🗞️ FRONT PAGE​​

Brazilian daily Folha de S. Paulo displays an ominous photo of Jair Bolsonaro behind bars on its front page, as the country’s former president was jailed after reportedly damaging his house-arrest ankle monitor. He told a judge the tampering stemmed from medication-induced “hallucinations” and denied any escape attempt. Bolsonaro had been under house arrest while appealing a 27-year sentence handed down in September for plotting a post-2022 election coup.

🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

• Recognition of Russia-occupied territory is “main problem,” says Zelensky after U.S. talks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the Swedish parliament via video link on Monday morning, saying this is “a critical moment” after top U.S. and Ukraine officials met on Sunday in Geneva to discuss a 28-point peace proposal presented last week by the U.S. While officials reported that the talks were “highly productive” and that a “refined peace framework” was drafted, Zelensky said the “main problem” facing the peace talks is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demand for legal recognition of the territory he has “stolen” from Ukraine. The leader insisted that “borders cannot be changed by force” and that it would set a dangerous precedent. European officials welcomed what they called steps in the right direction but warned the discussions still have a long way to go.

• Israel strikes Beirut for first time in months, killing top Hezbollah official. Israel’s military reported the killing of Haitham Ali al-Tabtabai, a senior member of the militant group Hezbollah, in an airstrike on a southern suburb of Beirut on Sunday. At least five people were killed and 28 others wounded in the strike, Lebanon’s health ministry said. This marked Israel’s first strike on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital in months, despite a U.S.-brokered truce a year ago. Hezbollah confirmed the death of the top military official, warning that Israel had crossed a “red line” in carrying out the strike. For more, check this Kayhan-London piece, translated from Persian by Worldcrunch.

• Six killed in suicide bombing in Pakistan. Three suicide bombers targeted the headquarters of a Pakistani paramilitary force early on Monday in the city of Peshawar in north-western Pakistan, killing at least three security personnel and wounding at least 12 people. Pakistan authorities have described the attack as a “foiled terrorist plot,” reporting that one attacker detonated his explosives at the gate to the complex while the other two were gunned down by the forces of the Federal Constabulary, which is responsible for handling situations beyond the capabilities of the police force. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

• Reggae legend Jimmy Cliff dies at 81. Reggae and soul icon Jimmy Cliff, known for hits like “You Can Get It If You Really Want,” “Many Rivers To Cross” and his cover of Johnny Nash’s “I Can See Clearly Now,” has died at the age of 81, his wife Latifa Chambers announced in a message posted on Instagram on Monday. The singer, actor and multi-instrumentalist is widely credited with helping bring reggae music to the global stage.

• Pope heads to Lebanon, Turkey in first overseas trip. Pope Leo XIV will travel to Lebanon and Turkey for a six-day trip starting Thursday to promote peace and unity, marking his first international visit since he was elected head of the Roman Catholic Church in May. The Chicago-born pontiff’s upcoming visit will come amid heightened tensions in the Middle East.

• Bosnian Serbs elect separatist as president. Bosnian Serb politician Sinisa Karan, a close ally of dismissed separatist leader Milorad Dodik, won Sunday’s snap presidential election with 50.89% of the vote, ahead of his challenger Branko Blanusa who secured 47.8%. The tight race was seen as a crucial test of support for Dodik’s Serb Democratic Party (SDS), which has been in power for nearly two decades in the Bosnian Serb statelet. The election came after Dodik was stripped of his office and banned from politics for six years, following his conviction for ignoring rulings by top international envoy Christian Schmidt. 

• News Quiz! A Lebanese artist set a new Guinness World Record by using over 450,000 green plastic bottles to build what?

A. A replica of Beirut’s Pigeon Rocks
B. A 10-meter wide plate of hummus
C. A cedar tree
D. A portrait of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam
[Answer below]

📰 IN OTHER NEWS

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— CONFIDENCIAL

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— LA STAMPA

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— LE FIGARO

📣 VERBATIM

“We’re not warmongers, and we don’t reject peace, but no one can threaten us or dictate terms to us.”

— Sudan’s Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan rejected a U.S.-led ceasefire plan as “the worst yet,” accusing mediators of bias. The new proposal, already accepted by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary, calls for a humanitarian truce and a political roadmap, aiming to halt the war’s latest escalation after 30 months of conflict that has already killed more than 40,000 people and displaced 14 million.