↩ Accueil

Vue lecture

Kosovo goes to the polls in snap election in bid to end political crisis

PM Albin Kurti’s Self-Determination party may struggle to win majority after rival parties refused alliance

Voters in Kosovo are casting ballots in an early parliamentary election in the hope of breaking a political deadlock that has gripped the small Balkan nation for much of this year.

The snap vote was scheduled after the prime minister Albin Kurti’s governing Vetëvendosje, or Self-Determination, party failed to form a government despite winning the most votes in a 9 February election.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Valdrin Xhemaj/Reuters

© Photograph: Valdrin Xhemaj/Reuters

© Photograph: Valdrin Xhemaj/Reuters

  •  

Comanche finishes fast to win Sydney to Hobart line honours after tough ‘dogfight’ with rivals

  • Supermaxi yacht crosses finish line after two days and five hours

  • Rough conditions have forced 33 yachts to retire

Master Lock Comanche has won Sydney to Hobart line honours for the fifth time after outpointing its supermaxi rivals in a “dogfight” down Tasmania’s east coast.

It was redemption for skippers Matt Allen and James Mayo after the 100ft yacht was forced to retire early in the 2024 race with mainsail damage.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: David Gray/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: David Gray/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: David Gray/AFP/Getty Images

  •  

Kennedy Center president demands $1m from musician who canceled Christmas Eve show

Drummer Chuck Redd decided to cancel his yearly Jazz Jam after Donald Trump added his name to the venue

The president of the Kennedy Center has demanded $1m in damages and fiercely criticized a musician’s sudden decision to cancel a Christmas Eve performance at the venue days after the White House announced that Donald Trump’s name would be added to the facility.

“Your decision to withdraw at the last moment – explicitly in response to the Center’s recent renaming, which honors President Trump’s extraordinary efforts to save this national treasure – is classic intolerance and very costly to a non-profit Arts institution,” the venue’s president, Richard Grenell, wrote in a letter to musician Chuck Redd that was shared with the Associated Press.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

  •  

Comanche and LawConnect locked in tight tussle for Sydney to Hobart line honours

  • Master Lock Comanche holds narrow lead over reigning champion

  • Wild Thing 100 forced to retire from 80th running of race

Sydney to Hobart leader Master Lock Comanche is keeping a “close eye” on major rival LawConnect as the two supermaxi yachts fight out a tight tussle for line honours.

Comanche held a narrow advantage of four nautical miles over LawConnect, which is aiming for a third straight first-past-the-post win, in Bass Strait at 5.30pm on Saturday.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Kevin Manning/Action Plus/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Kevin Manning/Action Plus/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Kevin Manning/Action Plus/Shutterstock

  •  

Russian opposition leader sentenced to six years in prison

Sergei Udaltsov, Putin critic affiliated with the Communist party, convicted of justifying terrorism

A court in Russia on Thursday convicted a pro-war activist and critic of Vladimir Putin of justifying terrorism and sentenced him to six years in prison.

Sergei Udaltsov, the leader of the Left Front movement that opposes Putin and is affiliated with the Communist party, was arrested last year.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Pavel Bednyakov/AP

© Photograph: Pavel Bednyakov/AP

© Photograph: Pavel Bednyakov/AP

  •  

Arkansas Powerball lottery player wins $1.817bn jackpot on Christmas Eve

It was the second-largest lottery windfall in US history, with a lump-sum cash payment option of $834.9m

A Powerball player in Arkansas won a $1.817bn jackpot in Wednesday’s Christmas Eve drawing, ending the lottery game’s three-month stretch without a top-prize winner.

Final ticket sales pushed the jackpot higher than previously expected, making it the second-largest in US history and the largest Powerball prize of 2025, according to www.powerball.com. The jackpot had a lump sum cash payment option of $834.9m.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Eduardo Muñoz/Reuters

© Photograph: Eduardo Muñoz/Reuters

© Photograph: Eduardo Muñoz/Reuters

  •  

Southern California braces as powerful winter storms threaten up to 8in of rain

Governor declared emergency in several counties, with near white-out snow conditions in parts of the Sierra Nevada

A powerful winter storm swept across California on Wednesday, with heavy rain and gusty winds leading to evacuation warnings for mudslides in parts of the southern part of the state, bringing near white-out snow conditions in the mountains and hazardous travel for millions of holiday drivers.

California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, declared a state of emergency in several counties, including Los Angeles.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images

© Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images

© Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images

  •  

Trump approves deployment of 350 national guard members to New Orleans

Critics say deployment is unwarranted and could cause fear in the city, which has seen a decrease in violent crime rates

The Trump administration is deploying 350 national guard troops to New Orleans ahead of the new year, launching another federal deployment in the city at the same time that an immigration crackdown led by border patrol is under way.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said on Tuesday that guard members, as they have in other deployments in large cities, will be tasked with supporting federal law enforcement partners, including the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. Parnell added that the national guard troops will be deployed through February.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Gerald Herbert/AP

© Photograph: Gerald Herbert/AP

© Photograph: Gerald Herbert/AP

  •