Israeli Raid On Syria, HK Blaze Death Toll Rises, Pope On Tour

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🗞️ FRONT PAGE​​

“Ábalos and Koldo in prison,” Madrid-based daily ABC writes on its front page, after a judge ordered prison on remand for former transport minister José Luis Ábalos and his aide Koldo García, citing extreme flight risk as they face 19- to 24-year sentences for bribery, embezzlement and influence peddling. The high-profile corruption case, which has long dogged the Spanish government, centers on allegations that they rigged COVID-era medical supply tenders, including contracts for face masks, while Ábalos was in office.

🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

• Hong Kong fire death toll soars to 128 as rescue efforts end. Firefighting and rescue operations have ended at Hong Kong’s Wang Fuk Court estate in the northern district of Tai Po, a government spokesperson said on Friday, with the death toll from the devastating fire rising to 128. Although flames were “largely extinguished” as of Friday morning, dozens of people are still unaccounted for. The fire broke out on Wednesday at a large housing complex which had been undergoing renovations and was wrapped in bamboo scaffolding and green mesh. Authorities announced the arrest of three construction company officials on suspicion of manslaughter for using unsafe materials and a separate investigation into possible corruption has been launched. The fire service also found that fire alarms in all eight blocks were not working effectively.

• Israeli raid in Syria kills at least 10. Israeli forces in southern Syria raided a village and opened fire when they were confronted by residents on Friday, killing at least 10 people, according to Syrian state media. The Israeli military said five soldiers were wounded in a clash during an operation to apprehend members of a militant group there. Syria’s foreign ministry condemned the attack, calling it a “war crime.”

• Ukraine anti-corruption police search home of Zelensky’s top aide. Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies searched the home of Andriy Yermak, President Volodymyr Zelensk’s chief of staff, on Friday, marking a new escalation in the major political crisis unfolding in Kyiv. A corruption scandal has engulfed several figures close to Zelensky, though neither Ukraine’s president nor Yermak have been accused of any wrongdoing. This comes as faces mounting pressure from Washington to accept a peace deal that could force it into painful concessions. For more, check this La Stampa analysis, translated from Italian by Worldcrunch.

• Trump vows to suspend migration from “third world countries” after D.C. shooting. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he will “permanently pause migration” to the U.S. from all “third world countries,” a day after an Afghan national was accused of shooting two members of the National Guard in Washington D.C. Sarah Beckstrom, one of the two soldiers, has died while Andrew Wolfe, 24, is still “fighting for his life,” Trump said. The U.S. president didn’t provide details of his plan or name which countries might be affected.

• Southeast Asia battles worst flooding in years, at least 183 dead. Authorities in Southeast Asia have stepped up recovery operations to restore power and communications as the death toll from floods across large swathes of the region increased to at least 183 on Friday. A rare tropical storm formed in the Malacca Strait, triggering torrential rain for a week on large parts of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

• Tokyo High Court rules same-sex marriage ban as constitutional. Japan’s refusal to recognize same-sex marriages is constitutional, the Tokyo High Court concluded on Friday. The ruling disappointed plaintiffs who had hoped to build on five earlier rulings that found the ban unconstitutional, signaling a possible path toward marriage equality. Japan is the only G7 country that does not fully recognize same-sex couples or offer them clear legal protection. In Asia, only Taiwan, Thailand and Nepal offer same-sex marriages: Read more about it in this Global Press Journal piece: What Took LGBTQ-Friendly Nepal So Long To Say “I Do” To Same-Sex Marriage?

• News Quiz! Studying bones found at archaeological sites, what has a team of researchers discovered about cats?

A. They had woolly hair
B. They were domesticated later than previously thought
C. They used to be twice as big
D. They did not drink milk
[Answer below]

#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS

€32

The Louvre has announced it will raise ticket prices for most non-EU tourists by €10, bringing it to €32 ($37) from January 2026 on. The 45% price hike, which unions have criticized as discriminatory, seeks to rake in €20-23 million annually to repair structural issues and strengthen security at the Paris museum, after a high-profile daylight jewel theft on Oct. 18 exposed serious vulnerabilities.    

📰 IN OTHER NEWS

🇹🇼 Because of her comments that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would constitute an “existential threat” to Japan, the Japanese prime minister has been facing Beijing’s wrath for three weeks. Taiwan is the central issue in East Asian tensions, and Donald Trump has stepped in with characteristic ambivalence.
— FRANCE INTER

🛤️ The EU’s new military mobility push is turning delayed infrastructure projects like Germany’s Murr Railway into potential defense assets, reshaping transport priorities across the continent.
— DIE ZEIT

🇺🇦 Ukraine’s president must confront demands to concede occupied territories while navigating red lines set in Kyiv and mounting pressure from both Washington and the Kremlin.
— LA STAMPA