Ex Bangladesh PM Sentenced To Death, Zelensky In Paris, Disney Backlash

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🗞️ FRONT PAGE​​

Chilean daily Diario de Concepción devotes its front page to Chile’s first-round presidential vote on Sunday which set up a tense showdown between far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast and Jeannette Jara, the former labor minister and candidate of Chile’s center-left governing coalition. Kast, 59, a hard-right former lawmaker and devout Catholic opposed to same-sex marriage and abortion, is favored to clinch a runoff victory on December 14 despite lagging slightly behind Jara, as he’s set to benefit from a large share of votes that went to three eliminated right-wing challengers. This could bring a drastic change from the wave of left-wing optimism that brought to power current President Gabriel Boric, whose presidency ends in March and who isn’t allowed to run for reelection.

🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

• Netanyahu vows to reject Palestinian statehood ahead of UN vote. Speaking in Tel Aviv on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would oppose any move toward a Palestinian state, as the UN Security Council prepares to vote today on a U.S. resolution that allows for future Palestinian independence. Netanyahu argues statehood would reward Hamas, even as international pressure mounts. Read more about why the West is pushing for Palestinian recognition now.

• Ex-Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina sentenced to death over 2024 crackdown. Bangladesh’s former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to death in absentia by a special tribunal that found her guilty of crimes against humanity for ordering a violent security crackdown on student-led protests in 2024, which the UN estimates left up to 1,400 dead. Hasina, speaking from exile in India, denounced the ruling as politically motivated. The verdict has triggered fresh unrest in Dhaka and places India under renewed pressure to grant its neighbor an extradition request for Hasina.

• Ukraine signs fighter jets deal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron signed a letter of intent allowing Ukraine to purchase up to 100 Rafale jets and new air-defence systems over the next decade to bolster long-term defenses. Zelensky’s visit to Paris comes as a Russian missile strike on Balakliia killed three and wounded 10 amid intensified attacks across the Kharkiv region. Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen has urged EU leaders to agree by December on funding options to cover Ukraine’s €135 billion needs through 2027. Read more about Ukraine’s arsenal here, courtesy of German weekly Die Zeit’s Maxim Kireev — translated and adapted by Worldcrunch.

• Taiwan to distribute civil defense handbooks amid China escalation. Taiwan has announced it would begin distributing millions of updated civil defense handbooks this week, offering guidance for emergencies ranging from natural disasters to a potential Chinese attack. The booklet instructs residents on how to respond to enemy soldiers, locate shelters and prepare kits, reflecting rising concern as neighboring Beijing escalates military and political coercion. Discover how Japan fits into the regional tensions here.

• Saudi crown prince in Washington to deepen security and tech ties. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is set to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House on Tuesday, to pursue security guarantees, AI access and a civilian nuclear deal. Meanwhile, Trump will seek to secure a $600-billion Saudi investment pledge. Commentators expect only limited progress, amid stalled Saudi-Israel normalization efforts. France Inter’s Pierre Haski unpacks the stakes of this state visit in his daily analysis, translated and adapted by Worldcrunch.

• Iran turns to cloud-seeding as historic drought worsens. Iran has launched cloud-seeding operations in an effort to trigger rainfall, as the country faces its driest fall season in 50 years. Authorities warn that shrinking reservoirs and a fifth year of drought are threatening water supplies in major cities, prompting expanded seeding operations into next spring.

• News Quiz! A recent decision by Disney CEO Bob Iger has prompted a major backlash and calls to boycott Disney+. What did he say the streaming platform would soon allow?

A. AI-generated content
B. A button to skip musical numbers
C. Facial recognition to cast users as the main character
D. Ads every 8 minutes
[Answer below]

📣 VERBATIM

“We have nothing to hide.”

— U.S. President Donald Trump has urged lawmakers in his own party to vote to make public additional files related to the notorious late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, marking a reversal of his earlier opposition to the documents’ release. “House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide,” Trump wrote on Sunday night on his Truth Social platform. The shifting position of the U.S. president, who was friends with Epstein until a falling out two decades ago, comes as dozens of Republicans have signaled they are willing to break ranks and vote in favor of a bill that would compel the U.S. government to to unseal all remaining Epstein-related records.

📰 IN OTHER NEWS

🇩🇪 When conservative German politician Jens Spahn urges Syrian refugees to return home out of “patriotic duty,” his words reveal more about Germany’s politics than about the Syrians themselves.
— DIE ZEIT

📱 Smartphones have transformed the way we go about our lives. Street names, squares — even the very sense of place itself — seem to have vanished.
— CATALUNYA PLURAL

⛪ Why do a few U.S. megachurches boom while most barely survive? A decade of data reveals the secrets — and limits — of evangelical growth.
— RELIGION UNPLUGGED