game background Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield reverses decision to put a time limit on anesthesiaDAZN ADVANCES GLOBAL EXPANSION WITH ACQUISITION OF FOXTEL, A LEADING AUSTRALIAN SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA GROUPJosh Norris scores late power-play goal in the Senators' 3-1 victory over the Wild

Vita Vea did the most athletic thing anyone has done on an NFL field this year

Technology Don't miss out on the headlines from Technology. Followed categories will be added to My News. While most Australians support Bunnings using facial recognition technology (FRT) to protect customers and staff, one of the nation’s leading experts in the field has warned it’s far from foolproof. In a poll conducted by news.com.au, 78 per cent of the almost 11,000 people who voted backed the company’s use of the controversial program as an “important tool”. It comes after the Privacy Commissioner found Bunnings had breached Australians’ privacy over the course of three years, ruling “just because a technology may be helpful or convenient, does not mean its use is justifiable”. Former Human Rights Commissioner Edward Santow has explained why the “experimental” technology was unsettling for authorities despite the “legitimate concerns” of issues like crime prevention. An alleged assault at Midland Bunnings in 2020. Picture: Bunnings He said the current generation of FRT generally relied on data captured without “rigour” by big tech companies scraping our social media. “So there’ll be people caught up in that who have never been accused, let alone convicted, of any crime,” Mr Santow said. “What you’re creating with this sort of facial recognition is a kind of virtual line up and we’re always in it every time we walk into one of those stores.” Bunnings was this week found to have breached privacy by capturing the faces of “likely hundreds of thousands” of Australians who entered 63 Bunnings stores in Victoria and NSW from November 2018 to November 2021. It has not used the technology since its trial ended in November 2021. Bunnings Managing Director Michael Schneider said the company believes it was using FTR lawfully. Picture: AAP Image/Joel Carrett The hardware giant maintained that using the technology was an important safety measure, and released a compilation of shocking incidents in stores which included clips or armed robbers, staff being physically attacked, and a naked man following an employee. Managing Director Michael Schneider said the ruling did not “pass the pub test”, adding images were captured and held for 0.00417 seconds – “or less than the blink of an eye”. “I think any reasonably minded person is going to understand that is not capturing and storing data,” Mr Schneider said. “Particularly when you look at it through the lens of keeping our team and our customers safe.” Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind said FRT had “emerged as one of the most ethically challenging” issues in recent years. She accepted Bunnings had “well-intentioned efforts to address unlawful activity” but found “deploying facial recognition technology was the most intrusive option, disproportionately interfering with the privacy of everyone who entered its stores, not just high-risk individuals”. Some kinds of facial recognition technology is still considered “experimental”. Picture: iStock Mr Santow, co-founder of the University of Technology Sydney’s Human Technology Institute, said the privacy commissioner’s ruling was “balanced” in recognising Bunnings’ good intentions and declining to impose any financial penalties. “But what (Ms Kind) was really saying was that in this specific situation, they weren’t taking strong enough privacy protections,” he said. On its website Bunnings states how the technology is used with matches to a “potential offender” sending an alert to staff who then manually check the images. If confirmed, a loss prevention officer would then decide to deploy a security officer to monitor the person, inform store leadership and/or call police. Bunnings was using the technology between 2018 and 2021. Picture: NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw Mr Santow said from a safety perspective, the problem for staff confronted by a person armed with a weapon was not whether you could identify them. “Your problem is whether you can get a police or a security guard or something to protect your staff,” he said. “I’m very, very sympathetic to any staff member or anybody else who’s affected, but it’s got almost nothing to with facial recognition.” The human rights lawyer said Australia’s laws surrounding FRT were “pretty vague”, and “don’t set clear rules about when you can and can’t” use it. He said lists of banned or suspected individuals were usually maintained by companies, not “official” databases created by police or government agencies. It’s understood Bunnings used sources such as staff reports, CCTV and police advice to compile its database. This man was captured on camera after entering the Taree store naked last year. Picture: Bunnings Another issue with this type of facial recognition is that error rates were “significantly higher” for people with dark skin, women, those with physical disabilities and young people. “So that actually takes in quite a lot of the community, basically anyone who doesn’t look like me. I’m a white, middle aged man,” Mr Santow said. “It’s pretty accurate for people who look like me, but if you don’t make that description, it’s less accurate, and that means that you’re having the errors cluster, particularly in respect of those sorts of groups where that’s really unfair.” Former Human Rights Commissioner Edward Santow says there needs to be a balance between privacy and safety. Picture: AAP Image/Joel Carrett Mr Schneider said using the technology was “all about safety”, and that it was targeting people who were not the kind “you want your family, your kids around at any time”. “We’ve seen a significant rise in violent and aggressive behaviour towards frontline workers, whether they’re in a Bunnings store, in a fast-food outlet, in a supermarket environment,” he said. “It’s something that as an industry we’ve been working hard to get legislation changed to raise the awareness of this. “The types of people we’re talking about here, no one wants to be around. They’re convicted felons, they’re people who have been identified as perpetrating violent crime.” He said “70 per cent of incidents are caused by the same group of people” and the high volume of customers coming through the doors made it “virtually impossible” to enforce bans. A staff member was pushed to the ground at Greenacre Bunnings in 2018. Picture: Bunnings Mr Santow said there may be a place for FRT in addressing crime, and pointed to the example of the European Union which had recently provided guidelines for its use to agencies. “Our privacy law was passed in the 1980s before the rise of the internet, let alone things like facial recognition technology and it’s dangerously out of date,” he said. “Obviously, my background is as a human rights lawyer, so I care really deeply about the community, but I actually really care about business as well. “Because I think they suffer from the law being so out of date because the rules are not as clear as they need to be.” Consumer group Choice, which brought attention to Bunnings, Kmart and The Good Guys using facial recognition technology in 2022 , said this week’s determination was a “landmark decision”. More Coverage ‘Control’: Musk’s chilling warning to Aussies Joseph Olbrycht-Palmer ‘Worried’: Biggest threat to Coles, Woolies Duncan Evans Originally published as How facial recognition technology puts us in a ‘virtual line-up’ Join the conversation Add your comment to this story To join the conversation, please log in. Don't have an account? Register Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout More related stories Motoring News ‘Shame’: Aussie EV push backfires big time Car industry warns that a policy intended to drive motorists toward electric cars could have the opposite effect. Read more Gadgets Urgent safety recall for JB Hi-Fi product A popular product sold at JB Hi-Fi stores between January and October has sparked serious safety concerns. Read moreKLA Corp. stock falls Thursday, underperforms marketHow To Watch NZ vs ENG 2nd Test 2024 Day 1 Free Live Streaming Online? Get Free Telecast Details of New Zealand vs England Match on TV

Millions of substandard homes making older people sick, report reveals alarming statisticsCanadians have lost a staggering $447 million through various scams and fraud through the first nine months of 2024. Figures from the show Canadians lost more than $228 million to investment fraud alone from January to September of this year. Complete year-end stats will be available in January. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre received 3,038 investment fraud reports from January through September. The figures include 2,890 victims who lost an average of nearly $79,000 each. Competition Bureau Canada says investment fraud can occur when someone solicits investments based on false or misleading information. “For example, the scammer may try to get you to buy digital currencies, stocks, bonds, or real estate, or to invest in a business directly,” the agency notes online. Fraudsters often use social media, dating apps, online ads or websites telling investors to act now while promising high returns. Claims of huge returns coupled with high-pressure sales tactics should set off warning bells. Here are some tips to detect a potential investment scam. Beware investment claims promising a lot of money with little to no risk. Watch for high-pressure tactics. Scammers want to get your money and move on to another victim. They also know that if you have time to check things out, you may not fall for the fraud. If the seller isn’t registered with the provincial security regulator, that should also set off a red flag. In general, anyone selling securities or offering investment advice must be registered with a provincial securities regulator. Be careful of unsolicited investment opportunities and research all investments through credible sources. Take your time before deciding. Know the risks of investing in cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency investments carry no legal protections and payments are typically irreversible, Competition Bureau Canada warns. If the entity is not located in Canada, it may be even more difficult to pursue legal action. Here are the top scams reported to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre through the first nine months of 2024. Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our and . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google and apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our .

The Bank of Scotland’s business barometer poll showed 73% of Scottish businesses expect to see turnover increase in 2025, up from 60% polled in 2023. Almost a quarter (23%) of businesses expect to see their revenue rise by between six and 10% over the next 12 months, with just over a fifth (21%) expecting it to grow by even more. The poll found that 70% of businesses were confident they would become more profitable in 2025, a two per cent increase when compared with the previous year. Revenue and profitability growth was firms’ top priority at 52%, though 40% said they will be targeting improved productivity, and the same proportion said they will be aiming to enhance their technology – such as automation or AI – or upskill their staff (both 29%). More than one in five (22%) want to improve their environmental sustainability. Other areas businesses are hoping to build upon AI-assisted technology (19%), and 24% will be investing in expanding into new UK markets and 23% plan to invest in staff training. The business barometer has surveyed 1,200 businesses every month since 2002, providing early signals about UK economic trends. Martyn Kendrick, Scotland director at Bank of Scotland commercial banking, said: “Scottish businesses are looking ahead to 2025 with stronger growth expectations, and setting out clear plans to drive this expansion through investments in new technology, new markets and their own teams. “As we enter the new year, we’ll continue to by their side to help them pursue their ambitions and seize all opportunities that lie ahead.”

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A mobile application to provide seamless access to loans for disabled entrepreneurs and individuals was launched on Sunday. The app, launched at the concluding event of the 22nd Divya Kala Mela, was developed by the National Divyangjan Finance and Development Corporation. It aims to provide seamless access to loans for Divyang entrepreneurs and individuals, marking a significant step towards economic inclusion. The Union social justice and empowerment ministry said in a statement that the Divya Kala Mela made record sales of more than Rs 13.5 crore. Organised by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, the 11-day event was a celebration of the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of Divyangjan (persons with disabilities). The grand finale featured the cultural programme Divya Kala Shakti at Kartavya Path , where Divyang artists showcased their talents through dance, music, painting and theatre. Entrepreneurship Marketing & Sales Strategies for Startups: From Concept to Conversion By - Dr. Anu Khanchandani, Startup Coach with more than 25 years of experience View Program Marketing Digital Marketing Masterclass by Neil Patel By - Neil Patel, Co-Founder and Author at Neil Patel Digital Digital Marketing Guru View Program Web Development 12-Factor App Methodology: Principles and Guidelines By - Prince Patni, Software Developer (BI, Data Science) View Program Finance Financial Literacy i.e Lets Crack the Billionaire Code By - CA Rahul Gupta, CA with 10+ years of experience and Accounting Educator View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Master in Python Language Quickly Using the ChatGPT Open AI By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Generative AI for Dynamic Java Web Applications with ChatGPT By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Web Development Mastering Full Stack Development: From Frontend to Backend Excellence By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) ChatGPT Mastery from Zero to Hero: The Complete AI Course By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Finance Crypto & NFT Mastery: From Basics to Advanced By - CA Raj K Agrawal, Chartered Accountant View Program Data Science SQL Server Bootcamp 2024: Transform from Beginner to Pro By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Web Development Django & PostgreSQL Mastery: Build Professional Web Applications By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass By - CA Himanshu Jain, Ex McKinsey, Moody's, and PwC, Co - founder, The WallStreet School View Program Office Productivity Advanced Excel Course - Financial Calculations & Excel Made Easy By - Anirudh Saraf, Founder- Saraf A & Associates, Chartered Accountant View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Java Programming with ChatGPT: Learn using Generative AI By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Finance A2Z Of Finance: Finance Beginner Course By - elearnmarkets, Financial Education by StockEdge View Program Web Development A Comprehensive ASP.NET Core MVC 6 Project Guide for 2024 By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Entrepreneurship Startup Fundraising: Essential Tactics for Securing Capital By - Dr. Anu Khanchandani, Startup Coach with more than 25 years of experience View Program Marketing Performance Marketing for eCommerce Brands By - Zafer Mukeri, Founder- Inara Marketers View Program Web Development C++ Fundamentals for Absolute Beginners By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Data Science MySQL for Beginners: Learn Data Science and Analytics Skills By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Strategy ESG and Business Sustainability Strategy By - Vipul Arora, Partner, ESG & Climate Solutions at Sattva Consulting Author I Speaker I Thought Leader View Program Web Development JavaScript Essentials: Unlock AI-Driven Insights with ChatGPT By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program The event drew enthusiastic applause from a large audience, including dignitaries such as department secretary Rajesh Aggarwal and Richa Shankar, a deputy director general in the ministry, alongside other senior officials. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories Aggarwal highlighted the achievements of Divyang entrepreneurs and artists and said, "Divyangjan are setting milestones in every field, including entrepreneurship. The government remains steadfast in its commitment to the economic, social and educational empowerment of Divyangjan."

Los Angeles Chargers ’ QB Justin Herbert is, in a few words, a football robot. If you want to teach elite processing and timing at the position, you watch No. 10 for LA. He’s long been one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks, but he always felt like he played a bit more ... buttoned up. Herbert is often going to get through his entire progression, choosing to safely check it down rather than try and extend for more explosive plays. That’s changed under new head coach Jim Harbaugh, though. Herbert has been unlocked in his style of play, and it’s helped him turn in an MVP-caliber season. Herbert’s scramble numbers are lower than they were last year, but they feel much more important this year, due to the dearth of talent around him. This season, Herbert as a runner has been the most effective and successful high-volume runner on the Chargers, posting a 38.7 Positive Play Rate this year and a 30.6% First Down Rate as a runner. The Chargers need his elevated level of play, and it was on display in a pivotal win over the Denver Broncos on Thursday night. Herbert was his usual very good self in the pocket, but it was the out of structure work that he did that’s keeping the Chargers’ offense afloat. If there’s anything all of the top QBs have learned in their respective careers, it’s the art of the timely scramble. Patrick Mahomes might be the best in the world at it, scrambling for 15 yards on 3rd and 10 or 8 on 3rd and 7. It’s the backbreaking scrambles when the defense has everyone covered, but the drive continues because the QB makes a play on his own. It’s something Herbert didn’t really use a lot in his career leading up to this year, but in 2024 he’s unlocked this different level of play that’s keeping him amongst the ranks of the elite. This scramble drill comes on second down, but you can see how Herbert’s willingness to go out and get the first down and more with his legs helps open up that offense much more than previous years. Look at the juke he puts on to split two Bronco defenders and get even more out of this play. I say all the time that Herbert runs like the Iron Giant, but this robot is learning how to kick ass more like Baymax. Where he’s also developed is working more out of structure, where the Chargers desperately need his magic. The Chargers’ offense is built to be explosive on the ground and efficient in the air; with guys like Ladd McConkey and Josh Palmer, who are more used for the in between game as well as the multiple tight ends in the offense, they want to be able to hit you with jabs in the passing game and haymakers running the ball. The problem, however, is that the Chargers aren’t explosive on the ground. Without RB JK Dobbins, the Chargers have eight carries of 10 or more yards, which just isn’t going to cut it. Why does this matter for Herbert? Well, if the Chargers aren’t explosive on the ground, he has to keep the offense alive without many guys who can separate...or catch the ball. The Chargers’ 8.6% Drop Rate this year would be the ninth highest in the NFL since 2020, according to Sports Information Solutions. Herbert isn’t given much in these big moments, but his ability to extend and buy time for his guys is why the offense is working. The touchdown he threw to WR Derius Davis on Thursday was stuff that all the elite QBs do. He’s fading away to his left and DL Zach Allen is closing in on him, which means for most guys this ends in a sack. But not this version of Justin Herbert. Just a little calm flick of the wrist to Davis in the endzone and the Chargers are on the board with a touchdown. This is bonkers, bonkers stuff from Herbert, who has taken his creative suite to the next level this season. On the final touchdown of the game, Herbert creates for RB Hassan Haskins, who is able to take this to the house. He steps up with the pressure coming around the edge, but nothing is open downfield, with McConkey running an over route and Quentin Johnston running a go. Herbert opens his creative suite, and casually flips this ball to Haskins, who does the rest. This type of creation, while small, is what’s keeping this offense alive, and it’s done via Herbert changing how he plays. Jim Harbaugh has changed a lot about the Chargers, but where he’s had the biggest hand is with unleashing Herbert as a QB. Herbert is doing more from a creation standpoint than he has in his career, and it looks like it’ll be enough to get the Chargers to the playoffs in year one of the Harbaugh era. Herbert’s numbers might not be gaudy (18 passing touchdowns this season), but in terms of how truly valuable he is to a Chargers team that doesn’t have much at the skill position, he deserves to get MVP votes. The robot QB has been unleashed.

Rumors from undisclosed sources hold no meaning, says Minister Gurung

Saudi Arabia makes foray into cricket with IPL auctionTommy Tuberville , a Donald Trump loyalist , said it wasn’t the “job” of Senate Republicans to vet the president-elect’s cabinet nominations as debate around Pete Hegseth’s position continues. The GOP senator told CNN on Thursday that, in his opinion, it is up to Democrats to vet nominations, and that members of his own party should be inclined to automatically confirm them. “Who’s to say we’re a better vetter and picker of people than Donald Trump?” Tuberville told CNN on Thursday. Tuberville’s confident assertion arrives amid a contentious moment for several of the president-elect’s cabinet picks – notably Hegseth , the defense secretary nominee currently fighting accusations of sexual misconduct and heavy drinking in work environments. The Alabama senator said Republicans who are hesitant to confirm Hegseth are “throwing rocks” at Trump, rather than the potential defense secretary. “Because [Republicans] are saying ‘Well we don’t believe you did the right vetting and we don’t believe he can do the job’. Wait a minute, that’s not our job to do that. That’s the Democrats.” Tuberville said. When pressed about his role as a Senator in confirming process – to advice and consent, something deliberately laid out in the Constitution – Tuberville admitted it was the Senate’s job to vet the president’s nominees but only the Democrats. “To some degree but we have to be convinced. I mean, [Democrats] should do all the background work, they should go after our nominees. I’ve not heard very little from the left,” Tuberville said. “Donald Trump did all the vetting they needed to do on Pete Hegseth and I just can’t believe we even have people on our side saying, ‘Well I’ve gotta look at this, gotta look at that,’” he added. Though it is typical that Senators of the same party as the president approve their cabinet nominations, it is not required. The Consitution gives all Senators the responsibility to advise and consent against or for nominations, regardless of party lines. Several Senate Republicans voted against Trump’s cabinet nominees in 2017, despite being in the same party. This time around will likely be no different as some GOP senators have expressed skepticism toward Hegseth – a veteran and former Fox News host that, if confirmed, would oversee all agencies and functions related to national security and the military. Over the last few weeks, media reports about Hegseth’s past have painted him in an unflattering light – leading some Senators to question whether he is trustworthy to serve as defense secretary. Hegseth had multiple extramarital affairs during his first and second marriage, one of which led to him fathering a child with a Fox News producer. He was accused of sexually assaulting an unnamed woman in 2017, though formal charges were never filed against him and he maintains the sexual encounter was consensual. However, Hegseth later paid the woman as part of a non-disclosure agreement. Hegseth is also accused of heavily drinking alcohol while working at Fox News, both during work hours and at work events – though he disputes he ever struggled with alcohol abuse. But he’s remained firm that he will stay in the nomination process and so far, Trump has stood by his side. Though Tuberville believes Senate Republicans should remain wholly loyal to Trump and put aside their hesitancy about Hegseth, it’s not clear if that will come to fruition. Several other of Trump’s cabinet picks have faced skepticism including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Tulsi Gabbard and Kash Patel.

5G spectrum auction: path towards digital transformationAbout 3,000 people marched in Bucharest on December 5 demanding Romania maintain its pro-European path ahead of a runoff that will decide whether a far-right pro-Russian candidate will become the country’s next president. With the country braced for a December 8 second round vote pitting pro-European centrist candidate Elena Lasconi against Calin Georgescu , who won the first round amid allegations of election influence orchestrated by Russia, Romanians gathered in University Square chanting "Freedom" and "Europe." Georgescu's first-place finish sparked fears and triggered protests, especially among younger Romanians, over the future of democracy in the country. The country was rocked further when Romania's Supreme Council of National Defense (CSAT) on December 4 declassified documents revealing the country was the target of an "aggressive hybrid Russian action" that led to Georgescu's shock first-round victory. Activists, including poet Ana Blandiana, prominent actors and other Romanians spoke at the rally, which was sponsored by the group Romania Hope. Blandiana said the vote represents more than just a simple election. The balloting is a true referendum: "'Yes' - for Europe or 'no' for the past that I came out of 35 years ago," she told the crowd. Serban Pavlu, an actor known for playing in feature films and television series, echoed Blandiana's comments, urging voters to choose the pro-European candidate. "We cannot, 30 years after the revolution, fear that the Russians will come after us," Pavlu said. Both speakers referred to the events of December 1989 when civil unrest spread through the country and resulted in the Christmas day execution of communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife, Elena. Actress Oana Pellea told the gathering that there is only one path for Romanians: the one toward freedom "so that we don't end up spending our holidays [in Russia] in St. Petersburg." After each speaker, the people gathered in the square shout "Freedom! Freedom!" as they were urged to vote for Lasconi, a small town mayor and former journalist. History professor Marcel Bartic opened the rally by telling people they were using their voices to speak out against fascism, which he said Romania doesn't want. "We are here to remind our compatriots that Romania says no to extremists, to fascism. We want Europe, European values and we are not afraid to say it," Bartic said. The group's announcement on Facebook said Romania is at a decisive moment after the revolution opened the country's path to freedom and democracy. The organization said the country had been on a “difficult road...with many disappointments” since 1989 but had still achieved the right to travel, settle, study, and work in the countries of Europe and membership in NATO. “Human dignity, fundamental freedoms, equality between persons, solidarity, citizens' rights, and justice are the values that can unite us all,” the organization said, adding that it represents a “common cry for the protection and strengthening of these fundamental values.” Britain’s counterterrorism police say they are awaiting the extradition of two Romanian men who are suspects in the stabbing in March of a journalist working for a Persian-language media organization in London. Britain's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said on December 5 that Nandito Badea, 19, and George Stana, 23, had been arrested in Romania and charged in the attack on Pouria Zeraati, a London-based TV host for the Iran International news network. Badea and Stana appeared in a Romanian court after their arrest on December 4 for the start of extradition proceedings," a CPS spokesperson was quoted by Reuters as saying. "We continue to work closely with Romanian authorities, to ensure that our extradition request is progressed through the courts." British authorities have authorized charges against both of "wounding and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm," according to a statement issued by the London Metropolitan Police. Zeraati, a British-Iranian journalist, suffered injuries after being stabbed near his home on March 29 in southwestern London. Counterterrorism police have led the investigation into the attack over concerns he had been targeted because of his job at Iran International, which is critical of Iran's government. “We now await the extradition process to progress so that the men can face prosecution here in the U.K.,” Acting Commander Helen Flanagan of the Counter Terrorism Command said in the statement. Flanagan said the command planned no further comments on the investigation and urged others not to speculate about the case, given criminal proceedings are now pending. Officials had previously said that the Romanians were suspected of being associates of an Eastern European crime network hired to carry out an attack directed by Iran’s security services. The suspects were likely hired to carry out the attack and had arrived in Britain shortly before the incident, according to British police sources quoted by The Guardian newspaper. British police, security officials, and politicians have issued a number of warnings about what they say is Iran's growing use of criminal proxies to carry out attacks abroad. The U.S. Justice Department last month unsealed criminal charges that included details of a plot allegedly backed by Iran to kill President-elect Donald Trump before the November 5 election. FBI Director Christopher Wray said at the time that the charges exposed Iran's “continued brazen attempts to target U.S. citizens” and dissidents who criticize the Iranian regime, which has rejected accusations that it is involved. One of the targets of the alleged plot was dissident journalist Masih Alinejad, who said on X that she was shocked to have learned of the conspiracy from the FBI. Alinejad, who has criticized Iran's laws requiring women to wear a hijab, was the target of a kidnapping plot in 2021 according to U.S. prosecutors, and in 2022 a man was arrested with a rifle outside her home. Britain and the United States have imposed sanctions on Iranian officials who they say have been involved in threats to kill journalists on their soil. Iran International said the network is pleased that the police investigation has made progress. “It is reassuring for our journalists, as for others in organizations under similar threat," said Adam Baillie, a spokesman for the network, according to Reuters. Authorities initially believed three suspects were involved in the attack on Zeraati. The three men abandoned their vehicle shortly after the incident and left the country by air within hours, police said. A third person was detained in Romania on December 4, but was later released, according to individuals familiar with the case quoted by The Washington Post. The London Metropolitan Police statement did not mention the third person or specifically accuse those arrested of acting on behalf of Tehran. Zeraati did not comment directly on the developments but posted links on his X account to news stories about the arrests made in Romania. Georgian law enforcement officers conducted searches of homes owned by former Defense Minister Davit Kezerashvili following a decision by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to uphold a ruling that he had embezzled over 5 million euros ($5.3 million) during his tenure as defense minister more than a decade ago. It was not clear what was being sought during the December 5 investigative actions. Details will be announced once the searches are complete, Kezerashvili's lawyer said. The searches took place amid large anti-government protests in the country over the ruling Georgian Dream party’s decision to suspend talks on Georgia joining the European Union and a crackdown that has drawn international condemnation and sanctions. One of the leaders of the opposition United National Movement (ENM), Dimitri Chikovani, currently lives in one of the homes searched. Chikovani reacted to the search on social media, saying it was an attempt to intimidate by “the Russian regime” and vowing that it would not succeed. “They want to form a dictatorship in the country, and they are wrong if they think they can do it,” Chikovani said. “Home invasions, illegal arrests, and pressure on individuals will not stop anyone. The Georgian people will soon force the Russian dictator and his regime out of Georgia forever and ever.” Kezerashvili, who fled Georgia in 2012 for France, reacted to the searches by taunting the Georgian authorities in a post on social media. "The so-called authorities have been so overwhelmed by the ECHR's decision that they are entering my house at the moment. Come on boys, keep it up. We still got this!!" Earlier on December 5, Georgian Justice Minister Anri Okhanashvili told a news conference in Tbilisi that the embezzled funds had been designated in the state budget for the Georgian armed forces shortly before the August 2008 war with Russia. Okhanashvili described Kezerashvili’s actions as a “blatant act of corruption,” and added that the former minister had signed a fictitious agreement with an offshore company for army training, bypassing the General Staff of the Defense Forces. The justice minister said the Strasbourg-based ECHR ruling showed thatthere had been no political prosecution against Kezerashvili and the judgment of the Supreme Court of Georgia on Kezerashvili's guilty plea was also substantiated and the presumption of innocence against him was not violated. “The court unequivocally found no violation of the presumption of innocence and affirmed that the Supreme Court of Georgia’s verdict was well-founded,” he said. "I congratulate our state, the Georgian Army, and our community on this worthy victory in the European Court," Okhanashvili added. However, ECHR decision indicated that an article of the Convention on Human Rights on the right to a fair trial was violated in Kezerashvili’s case. The court held that the presence of former Prosecutor-General Shalva Tadumadze on the three-judge panel that convicted him was sufficient to question the objectivity of the Supreme Court during the hearing of the appeal. But the court did not believe that the Supreme Court's decision was unsubstantiated and would result in a denial of the fairness of the proceedings as a whole. Kezerashvili filed the case with the ECHR in February 2022. The decision was made by the Grand Chamber of the ECHR with the consent of seven judges. The Syrian Army said it was redeploying troops "to preserve civilians lives and prevent urban combat" after Islamist-led rebels entered the key city of Hama, another loss for the country's president, Bashar al-Assad, as well as his allies in Russia and Iran. "Over the past few hours, with the intensification of confrontations between our soldiers and terrorist groups...these groups were able to breach a number of axes in the city and entered it," a Syrian Army statement said on December 5. Hama, Syria's fourth-largest city, is key to the defense of Damascus and the gateway to the coastal cities of Tartus and Latakia, the former being home to a strategic Russian naval base. Syrian and Russian forces had shelled the rebels a day earlier and used air strikes to try and stop their advance. "With that (advance in Hama), Assad's in real trouble. Homs is next & its countryside is FAR more amenable to facilitating an opposition advance," Charles Lister, a senior fellow and the Director of the Syria and Countering Terrorism & Extremism programs at the Middle East Institute, wrote on X . The rebels, led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), have made major advances over the past several days, including the capture of Aleppo, the country's largest city, as well as 14 central villages and towns, and gotten as close as 35 kilometers from the Russian-operated Khmeimim Airbase. Syria turned over the air base to Russia in 2015 as Moscow moved in to help Damascus turn the tide of a four-year civil war in its favor. Besides HTS, the rebels also include an umbrella group of Turkish-backed Syrian militias called the Syrian National Army. The United Nations has said tens of thousands of civilians have been displaced by the fighting. The European Union has ordered TikTok to freeze all its data amid reports that the Chinese-owned social platform had been instrumental in implementing a Moscow-orchestrated campaign to influence Romania's presidential and parliamentary elections. Romania's Supreme Council of National Defense (CSAT) on December 4 declassified documents revealing the country was the target of an "aggressive hybrid Russian action" that led to last month's surprise victory of pro-Russian far-right candidate Calin Georgescu in the first round of presidential elections. CSAT said the document showed EU and NATO member Romania was the target of various coordinated actions, most likely orchestrated by a "state actor," leading up to the November 24 election won by Georgescu, who ran as an independent. The European Commission -- the bloc's executive arm -- on December 5 issued a "retention order" to TikTok under its Digital Services Act (DSA) that would preserve evidence "related to actual or foreseeable systemic risks its service could pose on electoral processes and civic discourse in the EU," the commission said in a statement . It added the move was necessary in case of a further probe of TikTok's "compliance with its obligations under the DSA." According to the declassified documents, Romania's intelligence services believe Georgescu was massively promoted on TikTok with backing from Russia through multiple methods, including coordinated accounts, algorithms to boost his presence on the platform, and paid promotion. The documents purported to explain how Georgescu's popularity increased from 1 percent shortly before the race to 22 percent through a vast operation of manipulation that involved influencers and ensnared Romanian institutions as well as ordinary voters. A parliamentary election a week later resulted in a surge for three pro-Russia far right parties that garnered about a third of the vote, although the pro-European parties appear to have enough votes to form a coalition government. On December 8, voters will decide the winner of the presidential election in a runoff that pits Georgescu against pro-European centrist candidate Elena Lasconi. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova denied Russia was interfering in the election. "The campaign for the Romanian presidential election...is accompanied by an unprecedented outburst of anti-Russian hysteria," Zakharova said. "More and more absurd accusations are being made by local politicians, officials and media representatives," she added. "We firmly reject all hostile attacks, which we consider absolutely groundless." Ahead of the vote, the United States called for a thorough investigation into Moscow's alleged actions. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that while the United States does not interfere with the Romanian people's choice or the election process, Washington is "concerned by the CSAT's report of Russian involvement in malign cyberactivity designed to influence the integrity of the Romanian electoral process." Miller said Romania is a strong NATO ally and the United States values its contributions to the alliance's security and the country's hard-earned position in the transatlantic community cannot be reversed "by foreign actors seeking to shift Romania's foreign policy away from its Western alliances." Such a change in policy would have "serious negative impacts on U.S. security cooperation with Romania," Miller said. The declassified documents say influencers on TikTok were recruited to promote Georgescu directly by publicly supporting him and indirectly through neutral messages that contained labels associated with him. Dozens of TikTok accounts were found that falsely used the intelligence service's logo and the title Anti-Terrorist Brigade, each displaying thousands of followers and over 100,000 likes. Romania's intelligence services hinted that large sums of money would have been spent in the operation. Georgescu has told Romanian electoral authorities that he spent nothing on his campaign. Romanian intelligence linked the operation to Russia by noting that access data for official Romanian election websites was published on Russian cybercrime platforms. The access data was probably procured by targeting legitimate users or exploiting the legitimate training server, the intelligence services said. The State Department statement said Washington has been "closely following the elections in Romania" and that it "will continue to work together [with Romanian authorities] "to preserve the security of our nations and the prosperity and well-being of our citizens." On December 5, three Romanian institutions, including the country's top political sciences school, and a former presidential candidate asked the Constitutional Court to annul the first round of presidential elections and repeat them. It was not known immediately if the Court would consider the requests just hours ahead the start of the runoff abroad. TBILISI -- A Georgian opposition leader who was beaten unconscious during his arrest is recovering and expecting a court hearing, his lawyer said on December 5, as the United States firmly condemned the ruling Georgian Dream party's use of violence against demonstrators protesting the party's move to halt accession talks with the European Union. Nika Gvaramia, leader of the Akhali party under the Coalition for Change umbrella, was detained on December 4 by police during searches by authorities at opposition parties' headquarters in Tbilisi and was repeatedly hit in the stomach until he lost consciousness before being dragged motionless into a police vehicle. Gvaramia's lawyer, Dito Sadzaglishvili, said on December 5 that the opposition leader's health is "satisfactory." Sadzaglishvili said Gvaramia was arrested for "petty hooliganism and failing to comply with police orders" and a court hearing in his case should take place within 48 hours from his arrest. Another prominent member of the Coalition for Change, activist Gela Khasaia, was also taken into custody during the police operation. The wave of repression unleashed by the Georgian Dream government against protesters drew international condemnation as well as sanctions. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a stern warning to the Georgian Dream government, urging it "to cease its repressive tactics, including its use of arbitrary detention and physical violence" as Tbilisi was roiled by a sixth day of mass protests that were met with excessive force by riot police. "The United States strongly condemns the Georgian Dream party's brutal and unjustified violence against Georgian citizens, protesters, members of the media, and opposition figures," Blinken said in a statement. Blinken reaffirmed the United States' "solidarity with the Georgian people and their democratic aspirations," warning those attempting to suppress the Georgians' right to freedom "will be held to account," including through additional sanctions. Washington in July suspended $95 million in assistance to Georgia after the Georgian Dream-controlled parliament adopted legislation related to foreign agents that critics say was inspired by a similar Russian law used by the Kremlin to crack down on political dissent and that sparked weeks of mass protests. Blinken's statement came after the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi on December 4 urged authorities to treat protesters with dignity as law enforcement authorities conducted raids on the offices of several Georgian opposition parties and protest leaders. On December 5, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced that Kyiv was imposing sanctions on 19 Georgian individuals. Zelenskiy's move came after the three Baltic states on December 2 announced joint sanctions against 11 Georgians, including Ivanishvili and Gomelauri. The list included Georgian Dream founder and billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, State Security Service chief Grigol Liluashvili, Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri, Tbilisi City Mayor Kakha Kaladze, and a number of judges and lawmakers. Despite the growing protests, Kobakhidze has refused to back down and threatened to punish political opponents, whom he accuses of being behind violence that has occurred at the protests. Georgia's ombudsman accused police of torturing pro-EU protesters. Levan Ioseliani, whose role is to defend citizens' rights, said he and his officials had met people subjected to "the harshest treatment" by police. Protesters have described to RFE/RL the brutality employed by security forces against them. "They were hitting us in the head," protester Salome Zandukeli said, describing how she and a friend had been chased on the night of December 2 by some 25 riot police into a building in downtown Tbilisi before taking refuge in a cafe. Activist Gia Jvarsheishvili told RFE/RL that he was thrown to the ground by charging officers and beaten before being shoved into a police van where police pushed detainees to the floor and began stomping on them. "Suddenly, I was in unbearable pain and I realized that I had been injured. I didn't know it then, but I had a broken rib," Jvarsheishvili said. Georgia's pro-European president, Salome Zurabishvili, who has sided with the demonstrators, said on X that many of the arrested protesters had injuries to their heads and faces. Some people were subjected to systematic beatings between arrest and transportation to detention facilities, she added. Georgia has been thrown into the latest wave of turmoil since parliamentary elections in October in which Georgian Dream secured 54 percent of the vote. The opposition and Western governments argued that the poll was marred by violations and Russian influence. Kobakhidze has blamed the unrest on foreign "instructors" and tried to explain the decision to halt EU accession talks through 2028 by saying Georgia is ready for the talks, "but only with dignity and justice and without blackmail." Georgia received EU candidate status in December 2023 but relations with Brussels have soured in recent months, beginning with the adoption of a Russian-style "foreign agent" law, which critics say threatens media outlets and civil society groups. accusing them of "serving" outside powers. A majority of Georgians support EU membership, and efforts to join the bloc are mandated in the Georgian Constitution. Documents declassified by Romania's security council on December 4 said the country was the target of an "aggressive hybrid Russian action" during recent election campaigns, including last month's surprise victory of a pro-Russian far-right candidate. The Supreme Council of National Defense declassified the documents, saying they showed that Romania was the target of various coordinated actions leading up to the presidential election's November 24 first round, won by Calin Georgescu. Voters in the EU and NATO member state will decide the winner of the presidential election in a runoff on December 8 that pits Georgescu against pro-European centrist candidate Elena Lasconi. It had already been reported that TikTok was used to generate support for Georgescu and connect him to a Romanian audience in the millions. But the declassified documents show that Romania's intelligence service believes that Georgescu was massively promoted on TikTok with backing from Russia through multiple methods, including coordinated accounts, algorithms to boost his presence on the platform, and paid promotion. The documents help explain how Georgescu's popularity increased from 1 percent shortly before the race to 22 percent artificially, through a vast operation of manipulation that involved influencers and ensnared Romanian institutions as well as ordinary voters. Some 25,000 TikTok accounts allegedly used to increase Georgescu's popularity "became very active two weeks before the date of the elections," according to the declassified documents. About 800 of these accounts had extremely low activity until November 11. From that date onward "the entire network was activated at full capacity," according to the documents. The intelligence service documents also show that influencers on TikTok were recruited to promote Georgescu directly by publicly supporting him and indirectly through neutral messages that contained labels associated with him. Another method used to promote the independent candidate involved the creation of accounts that falsely represented institutions of the Romanian state. Dozens of TikTok accounts were found that falsely used the intelligence service's logo and the title Anti-Terrorist Brigade (BAT), each displaying thousands of followers and over 100,000 likes. These fake accounts had supportive posts for Georgescu, presenting the false notion that these state institutions supported him. In addition, Georgescu's posts were not marked as belonging to a candidate, and this favored their mass dissemination. Other candidates whose posts were labeled as belonging to a candidate had a diminished online presence. Romania's intelligence services hinted that large sums of money would have been spent in the operation. Georgescu, according to information revealed in the declassified documents, declared to Romanian electoral authorities that he spent nothing on his campaign. The intelligence service linked the operation to Russia by noting that access data for official Romanian election websites was published on Russian cybercrime platforms. The access data was probably procured by targeting legitimate users or by exploiting the legitimate training server, the intelligence service said. It added that it had identified more than 85,000 cyberattacks that aimed to exploit system vulnerabilities. "The attacks continued intensively including on election day and the night after elections," the agency said in one of the declassified document. "The operating mode and the amplitude of the campaign leads us to conclude the attacker has considerable resources specific to an attacking state." Russia has denied any interference in Romania's elections. TikTok confirmed the deletion of electoral propaganda materials two days after the request of the Central Electoral Bureau, but it did not delete the electoral content as requested by the Permanent Electoral Authority, and it continued to be available to the public even after the end of the election campaign, including on election day, in violation of Romanian election law. Serbian lawmakers have begun deliberating a bill submitted to parliament that would establish a " foreign agents " registry, a move that may alienate Serbia from its EU ambitions. Initiated by members of the Movement of Socialists, led by pro-Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin, the bill aims to regulate organizations and individuals receiving more than 50 percent of their funding from foreign sources. Supporters of the law argue that it aims to ensure greater transparency in the NGO sector. They claim that some foreign-funded organizations work against Serbia's national interests. However, critics -- both within Serbia and internationally -- warn that such a law could stigmatize civil society organizations, hinder their operations, and limit freedom of expression. "This draft law poses a serious and direct threat to civil society organizations, jeopardizing their role in safeguarding democratic values, human rights, and European integration," the EU's Economic and Social Committee said in a statement . "As with similar initiatives in other candidate countries, such as in the case of Georgia, the EESC reiterates that such legislation is incompatible with the fundamental values of the European Union, which Serbia, as an EU candidate country, is expected to uphold." The regional trend toward adopting such laws, legislation that mirrors Russian law and is often driven by pro-Russian political forces, highlights a broader geopolitical struggle in the Balkans. Several countries in the region find themselves in a situation where they try to balance historic ties with Russia and their aspirations for European integration. Serbia, alongside Montenegro, is considered a front-runner in the EU accession process. However, to achieve membership, candidate countries must harmonize their laws, policies, institutions, and practices with EU standards. Any legislation perceived as suppressing civil liberties, the EU has said, could jeopardize this progress. In Montenegro, a comparable draft law was introduced in October by the coalition For the Future of Montenegro, which includes pro-Russian parties such as the New Serbian Democracy and the Democratic People's Party. The bill in Serbia is also steeped in further controversy because of its origins. Deputy Prime Minister Vulin, a staunch ally of Russia, has positioned the bill as a transparency measure, comparing it to the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). However, Serbian opposition figures and international observers argue that the draft law more closely resembles the restrictive legislation seen in Russia. Vulin's close ties to Moscow -- underscored by frequent visits and his role in coordinating Serbia's BRICS-related activities -- have drawn international attention. In 2023, he was placed under U.S. sanctions for allegedly facilitating Russian activities in the Balkans. Critics view the proposed law as aligning with Moscow’s pattern to muzzle independent civil society organizations and limit dissent. YEREVAN -- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian declared on December 4 in parliament that Yerevan had effectively passed the "point of no return" regarding its reintegration into a Russian-led military alliance. His remarks came in response to recent statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who argued that the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) could not intervene in the 2020 war between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh because it did not occur on Armenian territory. "With all due respect to the Russian president, this statement highlights the fundamental issues within the CSTO," Pashinian said. His comments underscored the growing tensions between Armenia and the CSTO, marking a pivotal shift in the region's security dynamics. The relationship between Armenia and the CSTO has been strained for some time, particularly since the 2022 incursion by Azerbaijani forces into Armenia's sovereign territory. Yerevan accused the CSTO of failing to uphold its commitment to defend a member state, even as Armenia flagged the imminent threat to its allies. According to Pashinian, initial assurances from CSTO allies that Armenia's borders were a "red line" were later dismissed as ambiguous claims of undefined boundaries. "When the aggression occurred, we said that the red line had been crossed. They responded by saying, 'Well, the border isn't officially delimited,'" Pashinian said, stressing the lack of a clear response from the alliance. Armenian authorities have also criticized Russian peacekeepers for failing to prevent Azerbaijan's rapid offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh in September 2023, which ultimately resulted in Azerbaijan regaining control over the region after nearly three decades of ethnic Armenian rule. This lack of action led to Yerevan's decision to freeze its participation in CSTO activities. Armenia did not attend the CSTO Collective Security Council meeting on November 28 in Kazakhstan and has skipped joint military exercises and other meetings. However, it has stopped short of officially withdrawing from the organization. Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan are also CSTO member states. CSTO Secretary-General Imanghali Tasmaghambetov of Kazakhstan has downplayed Armenia's absence, stating that it does not affect the alliance’s overall efficiency. He reiterated on December 4 that Armenia remained a formal ally and that all CSTO commitments to Armenia were intact. Tasmaghambetov also emphasized that Armenia could resume full participation at any time, noting that there are no objections or obstacles from other member states. Despite these reassurances, Armenia's criticisms of the CSTO's inaction in the face of Azerbaijani military moves have fueled a broader debate about the alliance's reliability. Many in Armenia see the CSTO’s hesitancy as a sign of its weakening relevance in addressing the region's security challenges. The deepening divide between Armenia and the CSTO also reflects a broader realignment in Yerevan's foreign policy. Armenia’s growing criticism of the CSTO and its strategic turn toward other international partners suggest a waning dependence on Russian-led security structures. This shift is particularly significant as regional powers, including Turkey and Azerbaijan, assert greater influence in the South Caucasus. While Armenia has not formally initiated the process of leaving the CSTO, Pashinian's remarks signal that such a move may not be far off. The longer Yerevan remains at odds with the alliance, the more its security policies are likely to diverge from the CSTO framework. Senior Russian authorities, including President Vladimir Putin, were directly involved in ordering the forcible transfer , fostering, and later adoption of Ukrainian children moved out of war zones and occupied regions of Ukraine, U.S. researchers found. In a report released on December 3, investigators from Yale University said at least 314 children from Ukraine were subject to a "systematic program of coerced adoption and fostering" by Russian individuals and families. "The Russian Federation engaged in systematic, deliberate, and widespread forced adoption and transfer of children from Ukraine," the report says. "The operation...was initiated by Putin and his subordinates with the intent to 'Russify' children from Ukraine." The findings add to a growing body of evidence pointing to possible culpability for war crimes by Putin and other top officials. The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March 2023 for the "war crime of unlawful deportation" and "unlawful transfer" of children from Ukrainian territory to Russia. The Kremlin's commissioner for children's rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, was also charged. Researchers at Yale University's Humanitarian Research Lab, whose work is partially supported by the U.S. State Department, said they had documented since 2022: The majority of the children from Ukraine who are listed in Russian databases, the report says, were taken from Donetsk, an eastern Ukrainian region that has been partially occupied by Russian and Russian-allied forces since 2014. The Kremlin has declared the annexation of the Donetsk region, and three other Ukrainian regions -- Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya, and Kherson -- plus the Crimean Peninsula. Only Syria and North Korea have recognized the move. Russian officials frequently portray their efforts as a humanitarian gesture, sheltering, feeding, or protecting children from war or the breakdown of services in occupied regions. However, in many cases, Russian authorities did little to identify parents or relatives or legal guardians of the Ukrainian children. Ukrainian officials, journalists, and civil society activists, meanwhile, have also compiled substantial evidence of state support for transferring and deporting children out of Ukraine. In many cases, the effort strained Russia's already overburdened social welfare infrastructure. Hundreds of Ukrainian children were transferred from occupied Ukrainian regions and sent to a network of summer and holiday camps in Belarus, where they were exposed to pro-Russian education and propaganda, RFE/RL found. According to official Ukrainian figures , as of July 24, 2024, 19,546 children had been deported from Ukraine to Russia since the start of Russia's all-out invasion in February 2022. Ukraine’s human rights commissioner last month said 1,012 children had been returned from Russia to date. The U.S. State Department said in a statement on December 4 that it was pursuing visa restrictions for five Russian officials backed or installed by Russia in response to their involvement in human rights abuses in Ukraine, including the forced deportation of children. "Many of these children have had their identities changed and origins obscured, have been subjected to pro-Russian indoctrination and militarization, or have been adopted by Russian families," the State Department said. It did not identify the five Russian officials but added that Kremlin authorities had created obstacles preventing the return of the children to Ukraine. "Russia's continued contempt for its international legal obligations to report the locations of these children makes securing their safe return nearly impossible," the State Department said. The head of the Zaporizhzhya region's military administration, Ivan Fedorov, has alleged that the mayor of the Ukrainian town of Dniproprudne died after being tortured while in Russian custody. Fedorov said in a statement on Telegram on December 4 that the body of Yevhen Matveyev was recently returned to Ukraine during a prisoner exchange with Russia, which has occupied Dniproprudne since the early days of the February 2022 full-scale invasion. Matveyev was captured by Russian forces on March 13, 2022. Last month, Ukraine recovered the bodies of 502 fallen soldiers and civilians, including 17 from morgues in Russia, as part of an exchange of prisoners of war between the two countries. "He was held captive by the occupiers for two years and eight months and tortured to death. During the last exchange, his body was returned to Ukraine," Fedorov said. He gave no further details. Russian officials have not commented publicly on the allegations. Despite the occupation, Matveyev refused to abandon his town and worked to ensure the functioning of essential services and kept the population informed about ongoing events, Federov noted. Matveyev's death underscores the brutal conditions under which Ukrainian officials and civilians have been held while in Russian captivity. In October 2023, a UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine found "continued war crimes and human rights violations gravely impacting civilians," including confirmation that "Russian authorities have used torture in a widespread and systematic way in various types of detention facilities." Ukraine has also been accused of committing war crimes during the conflict, though to a far lesser extent. A war monitor and state media say that Syrian government forces have launched a counterattack against Islamist-led rebels who were getting close to a Russian-operated airbase after capturing a string of towns and closing in on the key city of Hama. The government forces' counteroffensive came after a blitz advance over the past several days by the rebels led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). They have captured Aleppo, the country's largest city, as well as 14 central villages and towns, and gotten as close as 35 kilometers from Khmeimim Airbase. President Bashar al-Assad's regime turned over the air base to Russia in 2015 as Moscow moved in to help Damascus turn the tide of a four-year civil was in its favor. The Syrian state news agency SANA said rebels on December 4 retreated some 20 kilometers from government-held Hama, Syria's fourth largest city, after government troops backed by Russian air strikes repelled the rebels from the city's outskirts. Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said the rebels only withdrew some 10 kilometers. Hama, which is key to the defense of Damascus, is the gateway to the coastal cities of Tartus and Latakia, the former being home to a strategic Russian naval base. Besides HTS, the rebels also include an umbrella group of Turkish-backed Syrian militias called the Syrian National Army. UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen, said on December 3 that tens of thousands of civilians have been displaced by the fighting. Police and security officials have cordoned off a large area near Dusanbe after a drone resembling a military unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) crashed in a nearby town in an area where there are both Tajik and Russian military bases. Officials have not given any details on the drone, which went down on December 3 in the town of Sharora, just 5 kilometers from Tajikistan's capital. Eyewitness footage from the site, obtained exclusively by RFE/RL's Tajik Service, indicated that the drone struck a utility pole before crashing to the ground. The video shows flames at the crash site, which was quickly cordoned off by police and military personnel. The incident occurred near a residential area, but no injuries or damage to homes was reported, according to local residents. Tajikistan's Defense Ministry did not respond to RFE/RL's attempts to get comments from its representatives. The crash site is located near significant military facilities, raising questions about the drone’s origin and purpose. The Aini Military Airbase, controlled by the Defense Ministry, is situated just outside Dushanbe. A Russian military base, part of the 201st Military Division, is also nearby. Both facilities play strategic roles in the regional security infrastructure. Given the size and apparent military design of the drone, some analysts have speculated whether it could also have been a UAV from a third country. Tajikistan has increasingly relied on drone technology in recent years, acquiring UAVs from various sources, including Turkey and China. The presence of advanced drone technology also highlights the increasing militarization of Central Asia, as nations modernize their arsenals. The Russian military base nearby, which accounts for Moscow's largest military presence outside of Russia, also regularly conducts drone operations as part of its regional activities. The region around Dushanbe, including the Hisor district where Sharora is located, is critical to Tajikistan’s national security. Imprisoned Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi has been temporarily released for at least three weeks after receiving urgent medical care, her lawyer said on December 4. "According to the medical examiner's opinion, the Tehran Prosecutor's Office suspended the execution of Ms. Narges Mohammadi's sentence for three weeks and she was released from prison. The reason for this is her physical condition after tumor removal and bone grafting, which was done 21 days ago," human rights lawyer Mostafa Nili said in a post on X. Sources confirmed to RFE/RL's Radio Farda that Mohammadi, 52, had been released. Analysts said that by suspending Mohammadi's sentence instead of granting her a medical furlough, the time she spends outside of prison will be added to her sentence. A medical furlough would have meant time spent outside of prison would be considered the same as time spent incarcerated. A United Nations spokesman told AFP it was important that Mohammadi was released temporarily for health reasons in order to receive adequate treatment. The spokesman said the UN reiterated its call for her immediate and unconditional release. Mohammadi has been campaigning for human rights in Iran for decades and has been in and out of prison for the last 20 years. She has been convicted five times since March 2021 and is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence for "spreading propaganda" against the Islamic republic. Last month, her husband, Taghi Rahmani, said his wife had been moved to a Tehran hospital after suffering health issues for more than two months. "She had an operation, and the operation was on the right leg, and even moving in the prison, sitting, and doing simple things became impossible for her, and even some prisoners went on hunger strike demanding her release," Rahmani told Radio Farda. "Although prison is not a place for Narges, there is no place for human rights activists in prison at all. She should not go back to prison and all human rights activists and civil activists should be released from prison," he added. Despite being nearly continuously incarcerated since 2010, Mohammadi has often tried to raise awareness about prison conditions and alleged abuses faced by female prisoners. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023. Her teenage children accepted the award in Oslo on her behalf and read out a statement by Mohammadi in which she criticized Iran's "tyrannical" government. "Weeks of enduring excruciating pain in prison, despite tireless advocacy from human rights organizations, and international figures, highlights the persistent disregard for Narges Mohammadi’s basic human rights and the inhumane treatment she endures -- even after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize," the Narges Foundation said in a statement . "The Narges Foundation asserts that a 21-day suspension of Narges Mohammadi's sentence is inadequate. After over a decade of imprisonment, Narges requires specialized medical care in a safe, sanitary environment -- a basic human right. As doctors have emphasized, a minimum of three months' recovery is crucial for her healing." NATO members have agreed to make protecting Ukraine's infrastructure a top priority, alliance chief Mark Rutte said on December 4, as Russia continues to pound Ukrainian cities and towns with drone and missile strikes. Speaking to reporters ahead of the second day of a meeting of foreign ministers from the 32-member military alliance, Rutte said the gathering discussed providing Ukraine with enough air defenses to protect its infrastructure from Russian attacks. "There was a clear agreement around the table last night that to help Ukraine, particularly with its infrastructure, has to be a priority," Rutte said. "I'm confident that allies will follow up in the coming days and weeks in making sure that whatever they can supply to Ukraine will be supplied." Russia has been targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure for the third winter in a row, causing casualties and hampering the supply of electricity to thousands of civilians. Early on December 4, Russian drones attacked the northern Cernihiv region, damaging several houses in a village, regional governor Vyacheslav Chaus said on Telegram. In the central region of Vinnytsya, debris from a falling drone set a house on fire in the Haysyn district, partially destroying it, the State Emergencies Service said on December 4. Separately, the Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched a guided air missile and 50 drones at targets in Ukraine. Ukrainian air defenses shot down 29 drones in nine regions -- Kyiv, Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Chernihiv, Khmelnytskiy, Ternopil, Mykolayiv, and Donetsk -- the air force said, adding that 18 drones were neutralized after their navigation systems were jammed using Ukraine's electronic-warfare capabilities. Separately, strong explosions were reported overnight in Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiisk, one of the main hubs for Russian oil exports and an important military port that hosts part of Russia's Black Sea fleet. An air alert was announced and Novorossiisk Mayor Andrei Kravchenko called on residents to take shelter because of a drone attack. Neither Ukraine nor Russia have so far commented on the explosions. TBILISI -- The United States has urged the Georgian government to treat protesters with dignity after several days of a brutal crackdown in Tbilisi and accusation of excessive use of force and even torture by riot police. Early on December 4 security forces again used water cannons and tear gas to disperse protesters taking part in the sixth consecutive night of protests in the Georgian capital triggered by the ruling Georgian Dream party's announced that it would halt accession talks with the European Union. The U.S. Embassy to Georgia posted a laconic message on its Facebook page on December 4, reading only three words: "Leadership with dignity?" The U.S. message came a day after a similarly curt sentence told the Georgian government "Don't blame others" in a post on Facebook, noting it was Georgian Dream that stopped the EU membership process and the party was to blame for a decision by Washington to halt a strategic partnership between the two countries. On December 4, demonstrators moved from the central Rustaveli Avenue to a nearby subway station after security forces blocked their access to the parliament building and arrested several protesters. Later in the day, law enforcement authorities conducted raids on the offices of several Georgian opposition parties. Offices targeted include those of the United National Movement and the Coalition for Change. Notably, Nika Gvaramia, founder of the Mtavari television network and leader of the opposition party Akhali under the Coalition for Change, was detained by police near the offices of allied parties Girchi -- More Freedom and Droa following searches at those locations. Gvaramia's lawyer, Dito Sadzaglishvili, said on Georgian television that during the arrest the policemen hit him repeatedly in the stomach, resulting in Gvaramia losing his breath for a few seconds. Sadzaglishvili also said that Gvaramia learned that he was arrested for petty hooliganism and failure to comply with a police officer's order by eavesdropping on the conversation of the police. These are commonly used administrative offenses. Sadzaglishvili said a hearing should take place within 48 hours. Another prominent member of the Coalition for Change, activist Gela Khasaia, was also taken into custody during the police operation. The crackdown extended beyond party offices. Law enforcement entered the home of Ilia Glonti, administrator of the Facebook platform Daitove. The platform is known for facilitating the coordination of protest activities, where organizers and participants share logistical details and updates about rallies. Despite the growing protests, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has refused to back down and threatened to punish political opponents, whom he accuses of being behind violence that has occurred at the protests. Security forces started dispersing demonstrators gathered in front of the parliament building after the Interior Ministry said some of them had insulted law enforcement officers and thrown various blunt objects, fireworks, and inflammable items in their direction. Three influential U.S. senators -- U.S. Helsinki Commission Co-Chairman Ben Cardin (Democrat-Maryland), Roger Wicker (Republican- Mississippi), and John Cornyn (Republican-Texas) issued a joint statement in support of the Georgian protesters and condemning the excessive use of violence by the government. "The Georgian Dream's move to abandon European Union membership negotiations is a profound betrayal of the Georgian people’s clear and overwhelming desire to embrace European values and institutions," the three senators said in their statement. "This is not the conduct of a government committed to democratic reforms and pluralism but of an insecure regime dragging Georgia toward Russian-style autocracy. These actions flagrantly violate international democratic norms and undermine the legitimate aspirations of the Georgian people," the statement said, adding, "We strongly condemn the violence unleashed against peaceful protesters – tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannons, beatings, and mass arrests have no place on the streets of Tbilisi." Georgia's ombudsman accused police of torturing pro-EU protesters. Levan Ioseliani, whose role is to defend citizens' rights, said he and his officials had met people subjected to "the harshest treatment" by police. "In most cases, they have received serious injuries in the face, eye and head area, which practically excludes even the possibility that the police used the necessary, proportional force against them every time," he said in a statement. Protesters have described to RFE/RL the brutality employed by security forces against them. "They were hitting us in the head," protester Salome Zandukeli said, describing how she and a friend had been chased on the night of December 2 by some 25 riot police into a building in downtown Tbilisi before taking refuge in a cafe. Activist Gia Jvarsheishvili told RFE/RL that he was thrown to the ground by charging officers and beaten before being shoved into a police van where police pushed detainees to the floor and began stomping on them. "Suddenly, I was in unbearable pain and I realized that I had been injured. I didn't know it then, but I had a broken rib," Jvarsheishvili said. Georgia's pro-European president, Salome Zurabishvili, who has sided with the demnstrators, said on X that many of the arrested protesters had injuries to their heads and faces. Some people were subjected to systematic beatings between arrest and transportation to detention facilities, she added. Georgia has been thrown into turmoil since parliamentary elections in October in which Georgian Dream secured 54 percent of the vote. The opposition and Western governments argued that the poll was marred by violations and Russian influence. Kobakhidze has blamed the unrest on foreign "instructors" and tried to explain the decision to halt EU accession talks through 2028 by saying Georgia is ready for the talks, "but only with dignity and justice and without blackmail." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy criticized the crackdown on protesters and accused the country's leaders of "pushing the country into obvious dependence on Russia." When the Georgian government receives praise from Moscow "it clearly shows who they are working for in Tbilisi and who the protests are being dispersed for," Zelenskiy said in his evening address. He added that Ukraine was working with European countries on a response and he has "given the order to prepare appropriate sanctions resolutions." A majority of Georgians support EU membership, and efforts to join the bloc are mandated in the Georgian Constitution. Georgia received EU candidate status in December 2023 but relations with Brussels have soured in recent months, beginning with the adoption of a Russian-style "foreign agent" law, which critics say threatens media outlets and civil society groups. accusing them of "serving" outside powers. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed the need for diplomacy to resolve the conflict in northern Syria in a phone call on December 3 to discuss the renewed fighting. A statement from Erdogan’s office after the call said Syria should not become a source of greater instability. "President Erdogan emphasized that while Turkey continues to support the territorial integrity of Syria, it also strives for a just and permanent solution in Syria," Erdogan told Putin in their conversation on December 3, according to the statement from Erdogan's office posted on X. He also said it is important to open more space for diplomacy in the region and the Syrian regime must engage in the political solution process, according to the statement. Erdogan vowed Turkey will maintain its determined stance on the fight against the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been designated as a terrorist group by Turkey and the United States, and its "extensions,” who are trying to take advantage of the recent developments in Syria, the statement said. Erdogan and Putin spoke as Syrian rebels advanced against government forces after capturing Aleppo last week. The rebels pushed close on December 3 to the major city of Hama, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the rebels said. The Syrian Observatory said on December 3 that the toll from the rebel offensive in the north had risen to 602 dead, including 104 civilians. An attack on Hama would ramp up pressure on Assad, whose Russian and Iranian allies have scrambled to support him against the revived rebellion. The city has remained in government hands since civil war erupted in 2011. A statement from Syria's army command said its forces were striking "terrorist organizations" in north Hama and Idlib provinces with Russian air support. The Kremlin said Putin stressed the need for a "speedy end to the terrorist aggression against the Syrian state by radical groups." Both leaders noted the importance of further close coordination between Russia, Turkey, and Iran on the matter, a Kremlin statement said. "The two presidents will continue to be in contact with each other in the context of seeking steps to de-escalate the crisis," the statement said. The Syrian civil war had been mostly dormant for years until a major offensive by militants in northwestern Syria revived the conflict. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its allies last week seized control of most of Aleppo and the surrounding countryside, marking the biggest offensive in years. HTS is a militant Islamist group that seeks to establish a state in Syria governed by Islamic law. The U.S.-designated terrorist organization has between 5,000 and 10,000 fighters, according to U.S. intelligence estimates. The conflict has pitted Moscow and Tehran against Turkey, which supports armed groups involved in the HTS-led offensive. Russia's ambassador to the United Nations late on December 3 accused Ukrainian intelligence services of aiding the HTS. Rebels fighting with HTS are "openly flaunting" that they are supported by Ukraine, Vasily Nebenzya told the UN Security Council. The envoy said there was an "identifiable trail" showing Ukraine's GUR military intelligence service was "providing weapons to fighters" and claimed Ukrainian military instructors from the GUR are training HTS fighters for combat operations, including against Russian troops in Syria. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said earlier that Russia and Iran "bear the main responsibility" for the recent escalation in fighting. It also noted Ukrainians were being targeted on a nightly basis by Iranian-designed drones. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his allies in Iran "continue to make every effort not to lose control over the puppet Syrian regime, which is associated by the majority of Syrians with inhuman cruelty, tyranny, and crimes," the ministry said on December 2. There are indications the conflict could escalate. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on December 3 in an interview with a Qatari news outlet that Tehran would consider sending troops to Syria if Damascus asked. Iraqi Prime Minister Shia al-Sudani said Baghdad would not be "a mere spectator" in Syria and blamed Israeli military strikes on the Syrian government for the rebel advance, his office said. Compounding Assad's problems, fighters from a U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led coalition battled government forces in the northeast, both sides said, opening a new front along a vital supply route. SUKHUMI, Georgia -- De facto lawmakers of Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia on December 3 rejected an investment deal with Russia, a document that has caused political turmoil and mass protests, highlighting the region’s fraught relationship with Moscow. The extraordinary parliamentary session, convened at the request of 19 deputies, saw 23 members in attendance, while 12 did not show up. The majority voted against the agreement. There were two abstentions and no votes in favor. The investment agreement, signed on October 30 in Moscow, aimed to strengthen economic ties between the breakaway region and Russia but was met with widespread opposition. Critics, including opposition figures and civil society groups, labeled the deal "exploitative," claiming it would give undue advantages to Russian investors while undermining Abkhazia’s sovereignty. The backlash against the agreement intensified, ultimately leading to the resignation of Abkhazia’s de facto leader, Aslan Bzhania, on November 19. During the parliamentary session on December 3, lawmaker Kan Kvarchia talked to opposition activists who gathered in front of the parliament building describing the agreement as "enslaving for Abkhazia" and lambasting the breakaway region's executive branch for pushing it forward despite widespread opposition. Kvarchia highlighted internal resistance to the agreement, including warnings from parliamentary leaders to delay its signing, which were reportedly ignored by the Economy Ministry. The opposition supporters demanded accountability from acting leader Badra Gunba and called for Bzhania to publicly address allegations of deceit regarding the agreement. The protesters also urged swift action against government officials involved in the controversial deal. Bzhania resigned to maintain "stability and constitutional order," a move he negotiated with opposition leaders to end the occupation of government buildings by protesters at the time. However, Bzhania signaled his intention to contest the upcoming presidential elections scheduled for February 15, 2025. In the interim Gunba has assumed leadership, while Valery Bganba, a former parliamentary speaker, has been appointed de facto prime minister. The current administration will remain in a caretaker capacity until a new leader is elected. The rejection of the agreement and the overall political crisis underscore the delicate balancing act Abkhazia faces in its relationship with Russia. While Moscow provides essential economic and military support, the opposition and segments of the public are wary of overreliance on Russia, fearing it could erode Abkhazia's "independence." Abkhazia and South Ossetia broke away from Georgia's rule after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Moscow recognized the independence of the two regions after Russian forces repelled a Georgian attempt to retake South Ossetia in a five-day war in the summer of 2008 that ended with Georgia's defeat. Most countries still recognize Abkhazia as part of Georgia. The ongoing political crisis also highlights internal divisions within Abkhaz leadership. The opposition’s success in mobilizing public dissent and forcing Bzhania’s resignation suggests growing discontent with the current de facto administration’s handling of governance and external policies. The events could serve as a turning point, potentially reshaping the region’s political landscape ahead of the February 2025 elections. A Russian national, Nomma Zarubina, has been arrested on possible charges of providing false information to U.S. law enforcement and maintaining connections with Russian intelligence services, linking her to another suspected spy who fled the United States while being pursued by authorities. According to FBI allegations presented in a New York Southern District Court hearing in late November, Zarubina was recruited by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) in 2020 and operated under the codename "Alyssa." She allegedly worked to build a network of contacts among journalists and experts while carrying out tasks for an FSB officer from her native city of Tomsk in Siberia. The FBI claims that Zarubina deliberately misled agents in 2021, denying any connection with Russian intelligence. Contrary to her statements, she allegedly attended forums and meetings in Europe and the United States to fulfill assignments from the FSB. Notably, Russian opposition figure in exile Leonid Volkov said on Facebook on December 2 that he saw Zarubina at a Washington gathering with his supporters in January 2023. The case also links Zarubina to Elena Branson (aka Chernykh), the head of the Coordinating Council of Russian Compatriots in the United States, who was charged in 2022 for illegal activities on behalf of Russian intelligence. Branson, who fled the United States after police searched her New York apartment at the time and is believed to be currently in Russia, has reportedly mentored Zarubina since 2016. Zarubina has been released on $25,000 bail, with restrictions barring her from leaving New York, contacting Russian officials, and surrendering her passport. She said her bail was guaranteed by a third party, but did not say who the party was. Zarubina has maintained an active public profile, often participating as an expert at conferences, such as the Forum of Free States of Post-Russia. On social media, she speculated about Siberia's political future, advocating for a United States of Siberia. Despite her public statements denying espionage, her online activity suggests a more complex narrative. For instance, until September 2023, her profile on VKontakte included posts supporting Kremlin policies, including President Vladimir Putin's 2014 speech on the annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region, a move the United Nations, the United States, and the European Union have all called illegal. Blurred Lines In an interview with RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities, Zarubina denied working as an FSB agent but admitted to being contacted by Russian intelligence in late 2020. She described being coerced into a meeting with FSB officers in Tomsk, where she discussed her personal background and was subsequently monitored by them. Zarubina asserts that she also contacted the FBI in April 2021 to cooperate, sharing insights on various topics, including Ukraine, and has continued to meet with them. Zarubina says she did not expect that FBI would arrest her, stating: "I thought we had good relations; I was helping them. I didn't expect them to use my information against me." She fears reprisal from Russian intelligence, which she believes was unaware of her cooperation with U.S. authorities. "This is no longer about false testimony -- it’s treason in their eyes," she said. Zarubina's case underscores the complexities of modern espionage and influence operations. Her alleged dual involvement with Russian and U.S. intelligence highlights the blurred lines between cooperation and subversion. The mention of her internship at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies and her outreach to opposition activists adds to her narrative. While Zarubina downplays the risk of deportation , citing her American-born daughter, the case is a test of the U.S. judicial system's ability to handle allegations involving foreign intelligence activities. Ukraine has again called for membership in NATO, saying that only joining the alliance in full would guarantee its future security as it fights to stave off Russia's nearly three-year-old full-scale assault. "We are convinced that the only such real guarantee of security for Ukraine, as well as a deterrent factor for further Russian aggression against Ukraine and other states, is only Ukraine's full membership in NATO," Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said in a statement released ahead of a December 3 meeting of the alliance's foreign ministers in Brussels. In reaction to the ministry's statement, Kremlin spokesman Dimtry Peskov said on December 3 that Ukraine's joining NATO would be "unacceptable" and a "threat" to Russia. The statement comes just days after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Sky News that Ukraine's NATO admittance could end what he described as the “hot phase of the war” triggered by Russia when it launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Zelenskiy told Sky News on November 30 that he would be willing to consider a cease-fire if Ukraine’s unoccupied territories fell under NATO's protection, as long as an invitation to join the alliance recognized Ukraine's international borders. "If we want to stop the hot phase of the war, we need to take under the NATO umbrella the territory of Ukraine that we have under our control," Zelenskiy said. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha is set to brief his NATO counterparts in Brussels on the current situation on the eastern front, where Russian troops have been making incremental but steady advances against Kyiv's outnumbered and outgunned forces. The meeting in Brussels is to focus on NATO's continued military support for Ukraine, examine Kyiv's air-defense needs, and also discuss Russia's launching last month of an experimental ballistic missile against the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. Russia has said that the new medium-range missile, called Oreshnik, can also strike targets across Europe and cannot be stopped by air defenses. On December 3, Zelenskiy announced that Ukraine had conducted a test on new, domestically developed missiles. "We thank our Ukrainian missile developers. We're speeding up production," Zelenskiy said on Telegram after a meeting with the leadership of the Ukrainian military. Russian hybrid attacks and sabotage incidents against NATO members is also due to be discussed in Brussels. Early on December 3, Russia launched yet another drone attack on Ukraine that was largely repelled by Ukrainian air defenses, which shot down 22 out of the 28 incoming drones over nine regions -- Kyiv, Chernihiv, Vinnytsya, Khmelnytskiy, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Odesa, Mykolayiv, and Dnipropetrovsk. Russian shelling also killed a woman early on December 3 in the Dnipro district of the southern region of Kherson, local officials reported . TBILISI -- Riot police used water cannons and tear gas against protesters taking part in the sixth consecutive night of protests in Tbilisi after the the Georgian Interior Ministry warned protesters against committing violent acts. The ministry said on December 3 that "aggressive members" of the protest started illegal and violent actions shortly after gathering in central Tbilisi. Special forces started dispersing demonstrators gathered in front of the parliament building after the ministry said some of them had insulted law enforcement officers and thrown various blunt objects, pyrotechnics, and inflammable items in their direction. At around 11:30 p.m. local time, police used water cannons to move protesters away from the parliament building, pushing them in the direction of the Marriott hotel as they had done on previous nights. The special forces periodically also shot tear gas canisters. Police officers responded by directing water cannons at the protesters, some of whom danced in the stream of water while others sheltered under umbrellas. The Caucasus country has been rocked by demonstrations since the ruling Georgian Dream party announced last week it would halt accession talks on Georgia's application to join the European Union. Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has refused to back down and threatened to punish political opponents, whom he accuses of being behind violence that has occurred at the protests. The U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi earlier on December 3 blasted the Georgian Dream party for taking decisions that have cost the country Western support and sparked the demonstrations. Georgia has been thrown into turmoil since parliamentary elections in October in which Georgian Dream secured 54 percent of the vote. The opposition and Western governments argued that the poll was marred by violations and Russian influence. Kobakhidze has blamed the unrest on foreign "instructors" and tried to explain the decision to halt EU accession talks through 2028 by saying Georgia is ready for the talks, "but only with dignity and justice and without blackmail." The U.S. Embassy responded by saying, "Don't blame others" in a post on Facebook, noting it was Georgian Dream that stopped the EU membership process and that the party was to blame for a decision by Washington to halt a strategic partnership between the two countries. The embassy statement came hours after security forces dispersed demonstrators on the fifth night of protests in Tbilisi using tear gas and water cannons. In a change of tactics, several hundred protesters on December 3 left Tbilisi's Chavchavadze Avenue near the state university as police in balaclavas massed in the area following nightlong clashes with demonstrators outside the parliament building, where they have gathered each night since November 28, when the ruling Georgian Dream party declared its decision on EU talks. Georgian security forces' use of excessive violence against protesters has prompted a wave of outrage in the country and abroad, with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte calling it "deeply concerning." At a news conference in Brussels ahead of a meeting of the alliance's foreign ministers, Rutte said NATO members "urge the Georgian government to stay on the path" toward "more EU and NATO integration." "The reports of violence are deeply concerning, and I condemn them unequivocally," he said. Twenty-six people, including 23 protesters and three members of the security forces needed hospitalization after the clashes on the night of December 1, Georgia's Health Ministry said on December 3. "None of the injuries are life threatening," the ministry added in a statement. The Interior Ministry said 224 protesters were detained on administrative charges and three on criminal charges. In addition, three police officers were hospitalized and 113 others have required medical treatment, the ministry said on December 2. Georgian pro-European President Salome Zurabishvili, who has sided with the protesters, said on X that many of the arrested protesters had injuries to their heads and faces. Some people were subjected to systematic beatings between arrest and transportation to detention facilities, she added. Writing on X on December 3, she said force had been used "disproportionately" against the protesters, while Georgia's ombudsman accused police of torturing pro-EU protesters. Levan Ioseliani, whose role is to defend citizens’ rights, said he and his officials had met people subjected to “the harshest treatment” by police. “In most cases, they have received serious injuries in the face, eye and head area, which practically excludes even the possibility that the police used the necessary, proportional force against them every time,” he said in a statement . “The location, character, and degree of the injuries create a credible impression that the police use violent methods against citizens in order to punish them. Intentional, severe violence for the purpose of punishment constitutes an act of torture.” Kobakhidze has claimed that protests were "funded from abroad" and vowed "there will be no revolution in Georgia." Western governments have questioned Georgia's parliamentary elections in October in which Georgian Dream claimed 54 percent of the vote, arguing the elections were marred by violations and Russian influence. Zurabishvili says people wanted free elections, not revolutions. Kobakhidze said earlier that Zurabishvili must leave office at the end of her term later this month. His announcement came despite her pledge to stay in office "until a president is legitimately elected." Zurabishvili and the opposition have alleged fraud and other improprieties and refuse to recognize the new parliament, which last week scheduled an indirect election for a new president for December 14 despite ongoing legal challenges. One of those challenges suffered a setback on December 3 when Georgia's Constitutional Court declined to hear a lawsuit seeking to annul the election results. The case was brought forward by the pro-EU Zurabishvili, whose powers are mostly ceremonial. Her term ends next month. A majority of Georgians support EU membership, and efforts to join the bloc are mandated in the Georgian Constitution. But the ruling Georgian Dream's enactment this year of what Zurabishvili and critics call a "Russian law" clamping down on NGOs and media financed from abroad, as well as a controversial bill on LGBT rights and public attacks on the West by Kobakhidze and other officials, have raised fears the current government is leading the country back into Russia's orbit. Georgia received EU candidate status in December 2023 but relations with Brussels have soured in recent months, beginning with the adoption of the controversial "foreign agent" law, which critics say threatens to publicly discredit thousands of media outlets and civil society groups as "serving" outside powers. The United States on December 2 announced a new $725 million military aid package for Ukraine that includes another shipment of landmines and ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and other artillery systems, Stinger missiles, and drones. The United States announced a first shipment of land mines last month in a move that U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said was necessary because Russian forces were using dismounted infantry units instead of vehicles to lead their advances. The Ukrainian defenders "have a need for things that can help slow down that effort," Austin said. The Biden administration is working to provide more aid to Kyiv before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. Trump has repeatedly criticized U.S. assistance to Kyiv. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement called the new aid a “significant package of urgently needed weapons and equipment.” The Taliban has ordered all private educational institutions in Afghanistan to cease female medical education starting December 3, according to two informed sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. The directive from the Taliban's supreme leader, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, was announced on December 2 during a meeting of the extremist group's Public Health Ministry in Kabul. The two sources told RFE/RL that the heads of the private medical institutions affected by the order were summoned to the ministry for the announcement. As a result of the order, all institutions offering training in midwifery, dental prosthetics, nursing, and laboratory sciences are now barred from enrolling or teaching female students, the sources said. Taliban spokesmen were not immediately available for comment. Polish authorities have arrested Irina Rogova, the wife of the former coordinator of the now defunct Open Russia project, on charges of espionage. Rogova (aka Moseikina) will remain in custody for three months, according to a report by the Vot Tak online channel citing the Polish Prosecutor-General's Office. The primary charge is espionage linked to aiding an attempt to commit a crime, Polish officials said but gave no further details. The case appears to be part of a broader investigation. Poland’s Internal Security Agency on November 27 conducted a search of the residence of Danila Buzanov, a Russian acquaintance of Rogova and her husband, Igor Rogov. According to Buzanov, agents inquired about possible ties between Igor Rogov and Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). "They asked questions like, 'Do you know this man?' and 'Did Irina ever mention Igor’s connections to the FSB?'" Buzanov told journalists. Igor Rogov was arrested in late July in the Polish city of Katowice. He faces charges of making a direct threat to the lives and health of numerous individuals as well as significant property damage through sabotage. Despite these allegations, no charges of espionage have been brought against him. Open Russia was a Russian pro-democracy organization established by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a self-exiled former oil magnate and outspoken critic of the Kremlin. The group aimed to promote civil society, democracy, and human rights in Russia. Over the years, it became a platform for opposition figures, activists, and independent journalists. The Russian government labeled Open Russia as an "undesirable organization" in 2017, effectively banning its activities in the country. Members and affiliates faced harassment, legal persecution, and accusations of extremism or foreign collaboration. The group's coordination efforts extended across Europe, engaging with Russian diaspora communities and advocating against the Kremlin’s authoritarian policies. Igor Rogov’s role as a coordinator for Open Russia suggests his work may have included organizing opposition activities or disseminating critical information about Russian governance, potentially putting him under the scrutiny of Russian intelligence agencies. Polish authorities have not confirmed whether Rogov’s involvement with Open Russia is directly linked to the charges of espionage against his wife. BAKU -- A district court in the Azerbaijani capital on December 2 fined the chairman of the opposition Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (AXCP), Ali Karimli, over accusations that he defamed a bitter rival in connection with his expulsion from the party five years ago. Tempers flared outside the Nasimi District courthouse before Judge Babek Panahov handed down the fine of 1,500 manats ($882) against Karimli, who announced his intention to appeal the decision. AXCP representatives said police detained multiple people after ordering Karimli supporters gathered outside to disperse and to move their vehicles before the court session began. Karimli tweeted that "Using force, the police detained six activists of the [AXCP]." RFE/RL efforts to learn details of the detentions from the Interior Ministry were unsuccessful. The case has drawn criticism from domestic observers and international human rights organizations, further highlighting concerns about judicial independence in Azerbaijan. The accusation stems from a complaint filed as a special indictment against Karimli. Aydin Aliyev, a former AXCP member expelled five years ago but subsequently reinstated by court order, accused Karimli of slandering him in television appearances by alleging that Aliyev was collaborating with government authorities. He has sought Karimli's prosecution under a defamation article of the Criminal Code. Karimli denies the accusation, arguing that Aliyev’s actions were inconsistent with AXCP’s political agenda, thus justifying his expulsion. He and his lawyer said the ruling -- after a monthslong delay -- appeared to lack legal reasoning. "The Azerbaijani authorities dragged this case on for four months, despite knowing that neither the Azerbaijani public nor the international community took it seriously," Karimli said. "Arresting a political opponent on such an absurd charge would have been indefensible, so they chose this measure instead." President Aliyev has ruled the oil-rich South Caucasus state with an iron fist since 2003 after taking over from his father, Heydar, who was president for a decade.Dow Jones futures were little changed after hours, along with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures, heading into the Christmas holiday. The stock market rally had a solid advance in the half-day Christmas Eve session. The Nasdaq led, moving back toward record highs, while the S&P 500 moved back above 6,000. ( ) flashed a buy signal as it cleared key levels, but came off intraday highs. Fellow AI chip stocks ( ) and ( ) continued to soar. ( ) rose strongly, extending Monday's bounce after a modest pullback. China hotel operator ( ) flirted with a buy point. Nvidia is a hedged position on , with Tesla stock and Astera Labs on the Leaderboard watchlist. Nvidia stock is on . Astera Labs stock, Nvidia, Broadcom and Atour Lifestyle are on the . Broadcom stock is on the . Atour stock is on . Nvidia was Tuesday's . The video embedded in this article discusses Tuesday's market action and analyzes Nvidia, Atour Lifestyle and ( ). Dow Jones Futures Today Dow Jones futures were unchanged vs. fair value. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were flat. Most stock markets around the world are closed Wednesday for the Christmas holiday. Remember that overnight action in and elsewhere doesn't necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular session. Stock Market Rally The stock market rally saw the Nasdaq lead a broad rally Tuesday. This was the start of the unofficial Santa Claus rally period, which marks the last five trading days of the year and the first two sessions of next year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.9% in Tuesday's , moving back toward the 50-day line. The S&P 500 index gained 1.1%, back above its 21-day line and the 6,000 level. The Nasdaq composite jumped 1.35%, its third strong session as it moves back toward record highs. The small-cap Russell 2000 ran up 1%, but is still some distance from its 50-day line. The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF ( ) advanced 0.75%, looking a lot like the Russell 2000. The First Trust Nasdaq 100 Equal Weighted Index ETF ( ) popped 1.15%, nearing the 50-day line like the Dow Jones. Meanwhile, the CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX, has plunged since spiking to a four-month high last Wednesday. The market fear gauge is near recent lows, suggesting a high level of bullishness. U.S. crude oil prices rose more than 1% Tuesday to about $70 a barrel. The 10-year Treasury yield edged down 1 basis point to 4.59%, reversing from a fresh multimonth high of 4.63%. So far rising yields haven't stopped the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, though that could be a factor for why the Dow, Russell and equal-weight ETFs are below their 50-day lines. ETFs Among growth ETFs, the Innovator IBD 50 ETF ( ) jumped 2.3%. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF ( ) rallied 1.15%. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF ( ) advanced 0.9%. Nvidia stock is the No. 1 holding in SMH, with Broadcom also a key component. ARK Innovation ETF ( ) leapt 2.9% and ARK Genomics ETF ( ) gained 0.9%. Tesla stock is a major holding across Ark Invest's ETFs. Cathie Wood's Ark also has a big Nvidia stake. SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF ( ) rose 0.3%. SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF ( ) climbed 0.5%. The Energy Select SPDR ETF ( ) was up 0.85% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund ( ) increased 0.4%. The Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund ( ) moved 0.8% higher. The Financial Select SPDR ETF ( ) rallied 1.2%. Nvidia Stock Nvidia stock edged up 0.4% to 140.22, hitting 141.90 intraday. While a slim gain Tuesday, the AI chip giant is up 10.5% since hitting a low of 126.86 on Dec. 17. NVDA stock has retaken the 50-day line and broken a short downtrend, offering an early entry. But investors might want to see a little more strength. At the end of this week, Nvidia is on track to have a shallow with a 146.54 buy point. However, Nvidia isn't the AI chip leader right now. Broadcom stock gained 3.15% Tuesday, moving back toward record highs amid a 48% surge so far in December. AI chip IPO Astera Labs stock popped 4.45% Tuesday to a fresh high, on track for its fourth straight big monthly gain. Tesla Stock Tesla stock jumped 7.4% to 462.28 after Monday's 2.3% bounce. Shares are moving back toward last Wednesday's record 488.54. Tesla China sales remain strong as the EV giant seeks a record quarter for deliveries worldwide. But the momentum in TSLA stock has been about optimism about self-driving, AI, robotics and what the Trump administration will do to help key supporter and advisor Elon Musk. What To Do Now The stock market rally is in good shape, but it's somewhat narrow. Megacaps such as Tesla and Broadcom are propping up the Nasdaq and S&P 500, while a number of hot stocks are powering higher. But much of the market still seems subdued, if not damaged. You want to pay attention to market divergence, because that can be unstable. But you don't want to ignore the areas of strength. It's definitely a stock picker's market, so make sure to pick the right stocks. Obviously AI plays are hot again but there are areas in travel, finance, retail and more that are looking strong as well. Enjoy the holiday, and keep working on your "nice" list of stocks, crossing off those that are naughty. Read every day to stay in sync with the market direction and leading stocks and sectors.

Sunday, December 22, 2024 Rosen Law Firm, a prominent global advocate for investor rights, has announced an investigation into the actions of Southwest Airlines’ directors and officers. The focus of the probe is on potential breaches of fiduciary duties related to the airline’s information technology infrastructure and its impact on the company’s operations, financial health, and stock performance. As a key player in the aviation industry, Southwest Airlines has faced increasing scrutiny over its IT systems, particularly in light of disruptions and challenges that have raised questions about the company’s management and governance. The investigation seeks to determine whether Southwest’s leadership adequately safeguarded shareholder interests by ensuring robust oversight of its technological resources and operational efficiency. Rosen Law Firm has built a global reputation for representing investors in complex securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. The firm’s distinguished record includes achieving the largest securities class action settlement against a Chinese company, a groundbreaking victory that underscores its commitment to holding corporate leaders accountable. Recognized as the top firm by ISS Securities Class Action Services for the number of settlements in 2017, Rosen Law Firm has maintained a consistent presence among the leading firms in securities litigation since 2013, recovering hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone, the firm secured an impressive $438 million in settlements for its clients. Under the leadership of founding partner Laurence Rosen, who was named a Titan of the Plaintiffs’ Bar by Law360 in 2020, the firm has earned accolades for its relentless pursuit of justice. Many of its attorneys have been honored by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers, highlighting their expertise and dedication to investor advocacy. Rosen Law Firm’s enduring success is a testament to its unwavering commitment to protecting investor interests worldwide. By consistently challenging corporate misconduct and advocating for accountability, the firm has become a trusted ally for investors seeking justice and fair treatment. In this latest investigation into Southwest Airlines, Rosen Law Firm aims to shed light on whether the airline’s leadership upheld their fiduciary responsibilities, particularly regarding the technological backbone that is critical to its operations. Investors are encouraged to monitor developments in this case closely, as the findings could have far-reaching implications for corporate governance and shareholder value. Rosen Law Firm’s efforts once again highlight its mission to ensure transparency, accountability, and justice in the corporate world.

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Jacob Holt scores 23 to help Sacramento State beat Stanislaus State 98-47Robbie Williams' stellar 24-year career is now immortalised on the silver screen in his captivating new biopic Better Man. The much-anticipated film hit cinemas on Boxing Day and critics are already singing its praises. The movie boasts an impressive 92% Tomatometer score from Rotten Tomatoes, hot off its release. Reviews are in, with one critic saying: "If you could tear your eyes away from the screen enough to check a stopwatch, not one minute goes by without a flourish that's either funny, ridiculous, stunning or emotional." An enthusiastic review notes: "If you're a Robbie Williams fan, you already know what a great songwriter and performer he is, and Better Man does a fine job telling his backstory and giving you reason to continue loving him." Meanwhile, another critic hailed the film: "It's a visual feast for the eyes: a colourful, well-lit, pristinely-framed showcase for the music, the choreography, and the emotional core of the performances, never trading one aspect for the another. It's brilliant, energetic, electrifying stuff." A fascinating aspect of Better Man is Robbie - who grew up in Burslem and Tunstall - being depicted as a CGI chimpanzee, brought to life by actor Jonno Davies through motion capture technology. This groundbreaking portrayal was conjured by Weta Digital, renowned for their work on high-profile characters like Gollum from Lord of the Rings and Caesar from Planet of the Apes, reports the Mirror . Director Michael Gracey has divulged to the BBC the creative process behind an innovative decision, stating: "I wanted to come at this with a different lens. Quite often Rob will say, 'I'm just like a performing monkey' or 'I'm up the back like a performing monkey'. "It just sparked this idea of, we've got this chance to tell this story, not from the perspective of how we see Rob, but how he sees himself." Robbie initially saw himself as a lion, but later settled on the image of a monkey. The initial concept was for Robbie to play the monkey himself in the production. However, concerns about the time commitment and its impact on his family life led to the decision to use CGI for the portrayal. Port Vale fan Robbie first found stardom with Take That from 1990 until his departure in 1995, and then embarked on a successful solo career. His first solo album, Life Thru a Lens, came out in 1997, featuring the hit single Angels. Better Man is in cinemas now Sign up for the latest breaking news and top stories from StokeonTrentLive on WhatsApp

10 Northern states contribute N13.69bn to VAT pool — allocated N59.17bn in August 2024Putin says Russia will keep testing new missile in combat

HackerTron: Revolutionizing Digital Optimization with Patented AI Technology 12-24-2024 06:54 PM CET | Business, Economy, Finances, Banking & Insurance Press release from: Getnews / PR Agency: Headlineplus Taipei, Taiwan - December 24, 2024 - HackerTron, a leading digital optimization company headquartered in Taiwan, is setting new standards in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions. With its patented AI technology, HackerTron pioneers innovative approaches to digital marketing and customer engagement, including the development of advanced AI chatbots. Driving Excellence in SEO HackerTron specializes in advanced SEO strategies that enable businesses to achieve unparalleled online visibility. By utilizing proprietary tools and cutting-edge algorithms, the company delivers tailored solutions to boost search rankings, enhance web traffic, and maximize conversion rates. HackerTron's services include in-depth keyword research, content optimization, and technical SEO audits, ensuring that every aspect of a client's online presence is fine-tuned for success. This dedication to excellence has positioned HackerTron as a trusted partner for businesses aiming to dominate the digital landscape. Patented AI Technology: Transforming Customer Engagement HackerTron's patented AI technology sets it apart by enabling the creation of intuitive AI chatbots. These chatbots facilitate seamless, personalized customer interactions, from resolving real-time queries to driving sales through intelligent recommendations. HackerTron's AI solutions are built to adapt to various industries, providing scalable and efficient tools for customer engagement. Businesses leveraging these chatbots have reported higher customer satisfaction rates, increased retention, and improved operational efficiency. "Our patented AI technology represents the future of digital optimization," said Yi-Ting Hsieh, CEO of HackerTron. "We're proud to empower businesses with tools that enhance online presence and provide meaningful customer engagement. In today's fast-paced digital world, these capabilities are essential." A Proud Taiwanese Innovation Based in Taiwan, HackerTron blends local expertise with global vision. The company has earned a reputation for innovation, integrity, and results, serving clients from startups to multinational corporations. Taiwan's thriving tech ecosystem has provided HackerTron with access to top talent, advanced infrastructure, and collaborative opportunities, enabling the company to continuously innovate and refine its solutions. "Taiwan is the perfect environment for fostering innovation," added Yi-Ting Hsieh, CEO of HackerTron. "Our team is inspired by the local tech culture and committed to delivering world-class solutions that reflect our roots." Expanding Horizons HackerTron is redefining SEO and AI solutions while exploring partnerships to integrate its technology into industries like e-commerce, healthcare, and education. In the e-commerce sector, HackerTron's AI chatbots help businesses optimize the customer journey, from product discovery to post-purchase support. In healthcare, the company's solutions streamline patient interactions and improve access to information. Similarly, in education, HackerTron's tools facilitate personalized learning experiences and enhance student engagement. With plans to expand its patented AI capabilities globally, HackerTron aims to drive digital transformation across sectors. The company is also investing in research and development to stay ahead of industry trends and ensure that its solutions remain cutting-edge. Commitment to Sustainability and Social Impact HackerTron recognizes the importance of sustainability and social responsibility. The company is committed to reducing its carbon footprint by adopting energy-efficient technologies and promoting digital solutions that minimize resource consumption. Additionally, HackerTron actively supports local community initiatives and collaborates with educational institutions to nurture the next generation of tech professionals. About HackerTron Founded in Taiwan, HackerTron specializes in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and AI technologies. With a focus on innovation and measurable results, HackerTron empowers businesses to thrive in the digital age. For more information, visit www.HackerTron.zone [ http://www.hackertron.zone/ ] Media Contact Company Name: HackerTron Contact Person: Media Manager Email: Send Email [ http://www.universalpressrelease.com/?pr=hackertron-revolutionizing-digital-optimization-with-patented-ai-technology ] City: Taipei Country: Taiwan Website: http://www.HackerTron.zone This release was published on openPR.By BILL BARROW, Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who won the presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, endured humbling defeat after one tumultuous term and then redefined life after the White House as a global humanitarian, has died. He was 100 years old. The longest-lived American president died on Sunday, more than a year after entering hospice care , at his home in the small town of Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife, Rosalynn, who died at 96 in November 2023 , spent most of their lives, The Carter Center said. “Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia,” the center said in posting about his death on the social media platform X. It added in a statement that he died peacefully, surrounded by his family. Businessman, Navy officer, evangelist, politician, negotiator, author, woodworker, citizen of the world — Carter forged a path that still challenges political assumptions and stands out among the 45 men who reached the nation’s highest office. The 39th president leveraged his ambition with a keen intellect, deep religious faith and prodigious work ethic, conducting diplomatic missions into his 80s and building houses for the poor well into his 90s. “My faith demands — this is not optional — my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can, with whatever I have to try to make a difference,” Carter once said. A moderate Democrat, Carter entered the 1976 presidential race as a little-known Georgia governor with a broad smile, outspoken Baptist mores and technocratic plans reflecting his education as an engineer. His no-frills campaign depended on public financing, and his promise not to deceive the American people resonated after Richard Nixon’s disgrace and U.S. defeat in southeast Asia. “If I ever lie to you, if I ever make a misleading statement, don’t vote for me. I would not deserve to be your president,” Carter repeated before narrowly beating Republican incumbent Gerald Ford, who had lost popularity pardoning Nixon. Related Articles Carter governed amid Cold War pressures, turbulent oil markets and social upheaval over racism, women’s rights and America’s global role. His most acclaimed achievement in office was a Mideast peace deal that he brokered by keeping Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at the bargaining table for 13 days in 1978. That Camp David experience inspired the post-presidential center where Carter would establish so much of his legacy. Yet Carter’s electoral coalition splintered under double-digit inflation, gasoline lines and the 444-day hostage crisis in Iran. His bleakest hour came when eight Americans died in a failed hostage rescue in April 1980, helping to ensure his landslide defeat to Republican Ronald Reagan. Carter acknowledged in his 2020 “White House Diary” that he could be “micromanaging” and “excessively autocratic,” complicating dealings with Congress and the federal bureaucracy. He also turned a cold shoulder to Washington’s news media and lobbyists, not fully appreciating their influence on his political fortunes. “It didn’t take us long to realize that the underestimation existed, but by that time we were not able to repair the mistake,” Carter told historians in 1982, suggesting that he had “an inherent incompatibility” with Washington insiders. Carter insisted his overall approach was sound and that he achieved his primary objectives — to “protect our nation’s security and interests peacefully” and “enhance human rights here and abroad” — even if he fell spectacularly short of a second term. Ignominious defeat, though, allowed for renewal. The Carters founded The Carter Center in 1982 as a first-of-its-kind base of operations, asserting themselves as international peacemakers and champions of democracy, public health and human rights. “I was not interested in just building a museum or storing my White House records and memorabilia,” Carter wrote in a memoir published after his 90th birthday. “I wanted a place where we could work.” That work included easing nuclear tensions in North and South Korea, helping to avert a U.S. invasion of Haiti and negotiating cease-fires in Bosnia and Sudan. By 2022, The Carter Center had declared at least 113 elections in Latin America, Asia and Africa to be free or fraudulent. Recently, the center began monitoring U.S. elections as well. Carter’s stubborn self-assuredness and even self-righteousness proved effective once he was unencumbered by the Washington order, sometimes to the point of frustrating his successors . He went “where others are not treading,” he said, to places like Ethiopia, Liberia and North Korea, where he secured the release of an American who had wandered across the border in 2010. “I can say what I like. I can meet whom I want. I can take on projects that please me and reject the ones that don’t,” Carter said. He announced an arms-reduction-for-aid deal with North Korea without clearing the details with Bill Clinton’s White House. He openly criticized President George W. Bush for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He also criticized America’s approach to Israel with his 2006 book “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.” And he repeatedly countered U.S. administrations by insisting North Korea should be included in international affairs, a position that most aligned Carter with Republican President Donald Trump. Among the center’s many public health initiatives, Carter vowed to eradicate the guinea worm parasite during his lifetime, and nearly achieved it: Cases dropped from millions in the 1980s to nearly a handful. With hardhats and hammers, the Carters also built homes with Habitat for Humanity. The Nobel committee’s 2002 Peace Prize cites his “untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” Carter should have won it alongside Sadat and Begin in 1978, the chairman added. Carter accepted the recognition saying there was more work to be done. “The world is now, in many ways, a more dangerous place,” he said. “The greater ease of travel and communication has not been matched by equal understanding and mutual respect.” Carter’s globetrotting took him to remote villages where he met little “Jimmy Carters,” so named by admiring parents. But he spent most of his days in the same one-story Plains house — expanded and guarded by Secret Service agents — where they lived before he became governor. He regularly taught Sunday School lessons at Maranatha Baptist Church until his mobility declined and the coronavirus pandemic raged. Those sessions drew visitors from around the world to the small sanctuary where Carter will receive his final send-off after a state funeral at Washington’s National Cathedral. The common assessment that he was a better ex-president than president rankled Carter and his allies. His prolific post-presidency gave him a brand above politics, particularly for Americans too young to witness him in office. But Carter also lived long enough to see biographers and historians reassess his White House years more generously. His record includes the deregulation of key industries, reduction of U.S. dependence on foreign oil, cautious management of the national debt and notable legislation on the environment, education and mental health. He focused on human rights in foreign policy, pressuring dictators to release thousands of political prisoners . He acknowledged America’s historical imperialism, pardoned Vietnam War draft evaders and relinquished control of the Panama Canal. He normalized relations with China. “I am not nominating Jimmy Carter for a place on Mount Rushmore,” Stuart Eizenstat, Carter’s domestic policy director, wrote in a 2018 book. “He was not a great president” but also not the “hapless and weak” caricature voters rejected in 1980, Eizenstat said. Rather, Carter was “good and productive” and “delivered results, many of which were realized only after he left office.” Madeleine Albright, a national security staffer for Carter and Clinton’s secretary of state, wrote in Eizenstat’s forward that Carter was “consequential and successful” and expressed hope that “perceptions will continue to evolve” about his presidency. “Our country was lucky to have him as our leader,” said Albright, who died in 2022. Jonathan Alter, who penned a comprehensive Carter biography published in 2020, said in an interview that Carter should be remembered for “an epic American life” spanning from a humble start in a home with no electricity or indoor plumbing through decades on the world stage across two centuries. “He will likely go down as one of the most misunderstood and underestimated figures in American history,” Alter told The Associated Press. James Earl Carter Jr. was born Oct. 1, 1924, in Plains and spent his early years in nearby Archery. His family was a minority in the mostly Black community, decades before the civil rights movement played out at the dawn of Carter’s political career. Carter, who campaigned as a moderate on race relations but governed more progressively, talked often of the influence of his Black caregivers and playmates but also noted his advantages: His land-owning father sat atop Archery’s tenant-farming system and owned a main street grocery. His mother, Lillian , would become a staple of his political campaigns. Seeking to broaden his world beyond Plains and its population of fewer than 1,000 — then and now — Carter won an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating in 1946. That same year he married Rosalynn Smith, another Plains native, a decision he considered more important than any he made as head of state. She shared his desire to see the world, sacrificing college to support his Navy career. Carter climbed in rank to lieutenant, but then his father was diagnosed with cancer, so the submarine officer set aside his ambitions of admiralty and moved the family back to Plains. His decision angered Rosalynn, even as she dived into the peanut business alongside her husband. Carter again failed to talk with his wife before his first run for office — he later called it “inconceivable” not to have consulted her on such major life decisions — but this time, she was on board. “My wife is much more political,” Carter told the AP in 2021. He won a state Senate seat in 1962 but wasn’t long for the General Assembly and its back-slapping, deal-cutting ways. He ran for governor in 1966 — losing to arch-segregationist Lester Maddox — and then immediately focused on the next campaign. Carter had spoken out against church segregation as a Baptist deacon and opposed racist “Dixiecrats” as a state senator. Yet as a local school board leader in the 1950s he had not pushed to end school segregation even after the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision, despite his private support for integration. And in 1970, Carter ran for governor again as the more conservative Democrat against Carl Sanders, a wealthy businessman Carter mocked as “Cufflinks Carl.” Sanders never forgave him for anonymous, race-baiting flyers, which Carter disavowed. Ultimately, Carter won his races by attracting both Black voters and culturally conservative whites. Once in office, he was more direct. “I say to you quite frankly that the time for racial discrimination is over,” he declared in his 1971 inaugural address, setting a new standard for Southern governors that landed him on the cover of Time magazine. His statehouse initiatives included environmental protection, boosting rural education and overhauling antiquated executive branch structures. He proclaimed Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the slain civil rights leader’s home state. And he decided, as he received presidential candidates in 1972, that they were no more talented than he was. In 1974, he ran Democrats’ national campaign arm. Then he declared his own candidacy for 1976. An Atlanta newspaper responded with the headline: “Jimmy Who?” The Carters and a “Peanut Brigade” of family members and Georgia supporters camped out in Iowa and New Hampshire, establishing both states as presidential proving grounds. His first Senate endorsement: a young first-termer from Delaware named Joe Biden. Yet it was Carter’s ability to navigate America’s complex racial and rural politics that cemented the nomination. He swept the Deep South that November, the last Democrat to do so, as many white Southerners shifted to Republicans in response to civil rights initiatives. A self-declared “born-again Christian,” Carter drew snickers by referring to Scripture in a Playboy magazine interview, saying he “had looked on many women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times.” The remarks gave Ford a new foothold and television comedians pounced — including NBC’s new “Saturday Night Live” show. But voters weary of cynicism in politics found it endearing. Carter chose Minnesota Sen. Walter “Fritz” Mondale as his running mate on a “Grits and Fritz” ticket. In office, he elevated the vice presidency and the first lady’s office. Mondale’s governing partnership was a model for influential successors Al Gore, Dick Cheney and Biden. Rosalynn Carter was one of the most involved presidential spouses in history, welcomed into Cabinet meetings and huddles with lawmakers and top aides. The Carters presided with uncommon informality: He used his nickname “Jimmy” even when taking the oath of office, carried his own luggage and tried to silence the Marine Band’s “Hail to the Chief.” They bought their clothes off the rack. Carter wore a cardigan for a White House address, urging Americans to conserve energy by turning down their thermostats. Amy, the youngest of four children, attended District of Columbia public school. Washington’s social and media elite scorned their style. But the larger concern was that “he hated politics,” according to Eizenstat, leaving him nowhere to turn politically once economic turmoil and foreign policy challenges took their toll. Carter partially deregulated the airline, railroad and trucking industries and established the departments of Education and Energy, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He designated millions of acres of Alaska as national parks or wildlife refuges. He appointed a then-record number of women and nonwhite people to federal posts. He never had a Supreme Court nomination, but he elevated civil rights attorney Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the nation’s second highest court, positioning her for a promotion in 1993. He appointed Paul Volker, the Federal Reserve chairman whose policies would help the economy boom in the 1980s — after Carter left office. He built on Nixon’s opening with China, and though he tolerated autocrats in Asia, pushed Latin America from dictatorships to democracy. But he couldn’t immediately tame inflation or the related energy crisis. And then came Iran. After he admitted the exiled Shah of Iran to the U.S. for medical treatment, the American Embassy in Tehran was overrun in 1979 by followers of the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Negotiations to free the hostages broke down repeatedly ahead of the failed rescue attempt. The same year, Carter signed SALT II, the new strategic arms treaty with Leonid Brezhnev of the Soviet Union, only to pull it back, impose trade sanctions and order a U.S. boycott of the Moscow Olympics after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. Hoping to instill optimism, he delivered what the media dubbed his “malaise” speech, although he didn’t use that word. He declared the nation was suffering “a crisis of confidence.” By then, many Americans had lost confidence in the president, not themselves. Carter campaigned sparingly for reelection because of the hostage crisis, instead sending Rosalynn as Sen. Edward M. Kennedy challenged him for the Democratic nomination. Carter famously said he’d “kick his ass,” but was hobbled by Kennedy as Reagan rallied a broad coalition with “make America great again” appeals and asking voters whether they were “better off than you were four years ago.” Reagan further capitalized on Carter’s lecturing tone, eviscerating him in their lone fall debate with the quip: “There you go again.” Carter lost all but six states and Republicans rolled to a new Senate majority. Carter successfully negotiated the hostages’ freedom after the election, but in one final, bitter turn of events, Tehran waited until hours after Carter left office to let them walk free. At 56, Carter returned to Georgia with “no idea what I would do with the rest of my life.” Four decades after launching The Carter Center, he still talked of unfinished business. “I thought when we got into politics we would have resolved everything,” Carter told the AP in 2021. “But it’s turned out to be much more long-lasting and insidious than I had thought it was. I think in general, the world itself is much more divided than in previous years.” Still, he affirmed what he said when he underwent treatment for a cancer diagnosis in his 10th decade of life. “I’m perfectly at ease with whatever comes,” he said in 2015 . “I’ve had a wonderful life. I’ve had thousands of friends, I’ve had an exciting, adventurous and gratifying existence.” Former Associated Press journalist Alex Sanz contributed to this report.Amphenol Corp. Cl A stock outperforms competitors despite losses on the day