Ukraine On Nationwide Alert, Trump-MBS Meeting, Klimt Record

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🗞️ FRONT PAGE​​

Jeddah-based daily Okaz reports on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House, where they unveiled major F-35 and civilian nuclear agreements. During Tuesday’s visit, Trump downplayed U.S. intelligence findings on the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, saying: “whether you like him or didn’t like him, things happened, but he [the prince] knew nothing about it.” A U.S. intelligence assessment had concluded in 2021 that Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler had ordered the operation to kill Khashoggi, who was murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

• Deadly Russian strikes across Ukraine put whole country on alert. Russian strikes on Ternopil, western Ukraine, killed at least 16 and injured dozens, while barrages on Kharkiv wounded at least 36. Ukraine put the entire country on air raid alert, warning residents to seek shelter as Moscow intensifies winter strikes on infrastructure. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to meet U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara to kickstart stalled peace efforts, although no Russian representatives will attend. For more, read this piece by Spanish online media outlet Ethic: How Ukraine’s War Has Shifted Europe’s Identity.

• IDF strike kills 13 at Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. An Israeli drone strike on the Ein el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in Sidon, the third-largest city in Lebanon, killed 13. It is the deadliest attack since a ceasefire was struck between the two countries a year ago. IDF representatives say it targeted a Hamas training site, while Hamas claims the strike hit a sports field. For more, read this recent analysis by France Inter’s Pierre Haski, translated from French and adapted by Worldcrunch: Lebanon To Gaza, The Wars Of The Past Two Years Are Not Over Yet.

• China to ban Japanese seafood amid escalating diplomatic row. China has announced it will re-impose a blanket ban on Japanese seafood, following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s suggestion earlier this month that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a military response from Japan. The move reverses recent easing of restrictions that were first imposed after Japan began releasing treated wastewater from the Fukushima power plant that was hit in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

• U.S. Congress orders release of Epstein files, awaiting Trump’s signature. Both the U.S. House and Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill requiring the Department of Justice to release its files on sex offender and former hedge fund manager Jeffrey Epstein. President Donald Trump reversed his opposition amid supporter pressure and is expected to sign. 

• Myanmar arrests hundreds in major raid on scam hub near Thai border. Myanmar’s military raided a large online fraud compound near the border with Thailand, arresting 346 foreign nationals and seizing thousands of phones. The crackdown comes amid growing online scam operations across Southeast Asia, fueled by lawless border zones and human trafficking. 

• Scotland and Curaçao clinch historic World Cup spots. Scottish soccer fans rejoiced as their country qualified for their first World Cup since 1998, after a dramatic 4-2 win over Denmark. Meanwhile, the tiny Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao also made history, becoming the smallest nation ever to reach the finals with a 0-0 draw against Jamaica. Scotland and Curaçao will head to the 2026 tournament, which will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico. 

• News Quiz! According to researchers from Oxford University and the Florida Institute of Technology, what behavior began around 20 million years ago among early primates?

A. Exercising
B. Singing
C. Kissing
D. Brunch
[Answer below]

#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS

23

At 40 years old, LeBron James broke an NBA record on Tuesday by becoming the first player to take part in 23 consecutive seasons when he returned after a near one-month injury absence in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 140-126 victory over the Utah Jazz. James, who last season became the first player in NBA history to score 50,000 combined points across regular season and play-off games, overtook Vince Carter’s mark of having played in 22 successive NBA seasons.

📰 IN OTHER NEWS

⛏️ An accident in an illegal mine near Kolwezi, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has left at least 70 people dead. It is yet another tragedy in a region where hundreds of thousands of people work with no rules or safety measures, extracting the minerals used in our digital devices.
— FRANCE INTER

📉 Following Elon Musk’s criticism of the declining birth rate in Italy, economist Tommaso Nannicini argues that the true threat to the country is not low fertility, but the steady flight of young talent that weakens growth, innovation, and the future of the welfare state.
— LA STAMPA

🧠 Chronic pain affects millions and often resists medical treatment. German researchers are exploring how the brain’s pain matrix can be retrained, offering hope to those trapped in cycles of constant pain.
— DIE ZEIT