Andrej Babis and his ANO movement secured victory in the Czech elections after 97% of ballots were counted on Saturday. Prime Minister Petr Fiala acknowledged defeat and congratulated the agricultural tycoon whom local media have labeled the Czech Trump. Babis rejected claims of anti-EU sentiment and told reporters his goal was to save Europe while affirming support for the bloc and NATO.
ANO will pursue forming a single-party cabinet but needs support from smaller parties to achieve a parliamentary majority. The far-right SPD and the Motorists party emerged as likely coalition partners after capturing roughly 8% and 7% of votes, respectively. SPD deputy chairman Radim Fiala stated his party would back even a minority ANO government to...
A federal judge dismissed Spencer Elden's second lawsuit against Nirvana on Tuesday after he claimed the band's 1991 Nevermind album cover featuring him as a naked infant constituted child pornography. U.S. District Judge Fernando Olguin ruled that no reasonable jury would consider the image sexually explicit, and he compared it to a family photograph of a child bathing. The 34-year-old plaintiff first sued in 2021, seeking at least $150,000 from surviving band members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, Kurt Cobain's widow Courtney Love, and photographer Kirk Weddle.
Olguin initially dismissed the case in 2022 because Elden filed after the 10-year statute of limitations expired, but an appeals court reversed that decision. The judge's...
Israeli political leaders ordered the military to suspend its Gaza City offensive after President Donald Trump requested a halt to strikes as part of his hostage release plan. Israeli Army Radio and broadcaster Kan reported the directive came from Washington. Trump's proposal requires Hamas to free all remaining captives within 72 hours after Israel stops operations and pulls back forces to an agreed line.
The United States instructed Israel to limit Gaza actions to defensive maneuvers on Saturday. The Israeli military warned on social media that areas north of Wadi Gaza remain dangerous combat zones and advised residents to relocate south. Troops continue surrounding Gaza City while aerial strikes decreased in intensity but persisted...
The Democratic Republic of Congo's High Military Court sentenced former President Joseph Kabila to death in absentia on Sept. 30, and ordered him to pay $30 billion in restitution to the state. The court convicted Kabila of war crimes, treason, crimes against humanity, and large-scale embezzlement. Authorities confiscated all his assets, and he must pay $2 billion each to North Kivu province, Bukavu city, and Isiro town.
The court ruled Kabila illegally concealed his Rwandan nationality to assume the presidency in violation of Congo's constitution. He faces more than 120 additional charges in military court after lawmakers lifted his parliamentary immunity earlier this year. His whereabouts remain unknown after he failed to appear for...
Polish President Karol Nawrocki deployed military forces to the German and Lithuanian borders on Friday in response to rising illegal immigration. The deployment takes effect on Sunday and continues through April 4, 2026. Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said 700 troops were already stationed at the western frontier in July, and plans call for 5,000 additional personnel to support border guards.
Poland extended temporary border controls with Germany and Lithuania through April 2026 after first reinstating them in early July. Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski said authorities would monitor migration routes from Baltic states through Poland to Western Europe. Polish officials recorded nearly 25,000 attempted illegal crossings...
Hamas announced on Friday its willingness to release all Israeli hostages after reviewing President Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan. The group stated it would enter negotiations through mediators to discuss handover details and transfer Gaza governance to an independent Palestinian body of technocrats based on national consensus and Arab-Islamic support. Hamas agreed to the prisoner exchange formula but did not address full disarmament, stating other issues would be discussed within a Palestinian national framework that would involve the group.
Senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzook told Al Jazeera that stopping the war was the priority, but releasing all hostages within 72 hours before Trump's deadline was unrealistic. He said...
Russian President Vladimir Putin asserted at the Valdai forum on Thursday that Western liberal societies face moral collapse while Russia positions itself as a defender of traditional values. Putin claimed Europeans flee to Russia to escape gender ideology policies and cited the televised assassination of American conservative Charlie Kirk as evidence of Western social disintegration. Russia introduced a Shared Values Visa program in August 2024 for foreigners who embrace traditional Russian spiritual and moral values.
Putin described Europe as experiencing economic decline and cultural crisis with high public debt, strained social security systems, and rising support for far-right parties across the continent. He argued the post-Cold...
The United States has proposed creating a special economic zone in southern Lebanon to encourage the government to disarm Hezbollah. Presidential envoy Tom Barrack introduced the idea during a visit to Beirut in September. The plan proposes a simple exchange: security for development under UN Security Council Resolution 1701.
The framework requires Lebanon to reduce armed activity along the border and regain full army control over the south. In return, the region would receive investments, business tax incentives, and political support from Gulf countries and Eastern Mediterranean partners. The zone would have clear boundaries, unified property rules, transparent tax and customs systems, and straightforward jurisdiction.
Funding would...
The US Treasury Department is evaluating a proposal to feature President Donald Trump on a one-dollar coin commemorating America's 250th anniversary. A design draft released on Friday shows Trump's profile alongside the words Liberty and In God We Trust with the dates 1776-2026 on one side. The reverse displays Trump with a raised fist before an American flag backdrop with the phrases Fight fight fight, United States of America, and E pluribus unum.
The imagery references a photograph captured by AP's Evan Vucci after an assassination attempt against Trump in July 2024. A Treasury Department representative stated that no final design has been chosen for the semiquincentennial dollar coin. Current federal law typically bars images of...
