The opposition party in Benin – Communist Party of Benin (PCB) has openly criticised what it calls foreign military interference following the attempted coup d’état in Benin Republic on Sunday, December 7, 2025. In a statement released on Monday, the opposition party said the failed coup and the events that followed have raised serious concerns about Benin’s sovereignty, warning that the country is drifting into external control under the guise of…

Caribbean coral reefs have lost nearly half of their hard coral cover since 1980, according to a new study. Scientists report a 48 per cent decrease, driven largely by climate breakdown and increasingly frequent marine heatwaves. The heatwaves disrupt the microalgae that sustain coral, turning them toxic and forcing the coral to expel them. In 2023–24, the region endured what researchers described as “the most destructive thermal stress ever recorded”,…

David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance has intensified its campaign to acquire Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), launching a hostile bid despite Netflix’s announcement last week that it had agreed to purchase the company’s studio and streaming operations. Netflix’s offer, valued at $82.7bn, covers WBD’s Hollywood film studio and HBO cable network but excludes its traditional television assets, including CNN and the Discovery channel. Paramount’s all‑cash tender offer, sent directly to shareholders on…

A photograph of eight students lying in the shape of a swastika on a high school football field in San Jose, California, has sparked shock and anger within the Bay Area Jewish community. The image was posted to social media on 3 December by a Branham High School student, accompanied by an antisemitic quotation from Adolf Hitler. A screenshot of the post began circulating on Reddit last Thursday, attracting more…

President Donald Trump has authorised Nvidia to begin selling its advanced H200 artificial intelligence chips to approved customers in China, a move that marks a significant victory for the chipmaker and its chief executive, Jensen Huang. Until Monday’s announcement, US rules had barred sales of Nvidia’s most powerful chips to China on national security grounds. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he had informed President Xi Jinping that…

Israel’s chief of the general staff, Eyal Zamir, has described the “yellow line” dividing Gaza under Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan as a new border for Israel. Speaking to soldiers deployed in the territory, Zamir said the army would maintain its current positions, which give Israel control of more than half of Gaza, including most agricultural land and the border crossing with Egypt. “The ‘yellow line’ is a new border line,…

United States Congressman Riley Moore says “much work still to be done” after holding talks with Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, on the country’s worsening insecurity. In a statement on X on Monday, Moore said the discussions centred on terrorism in the North-East and continued violence in the Middle Belt — issues he described as a priority for both himself and President Donald Trump. The meeting comes during a…

Burkina Faso’s military government has accused Nigeria of violating its airspace after a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) aircraft carrying 11 soldiers reportedly entered the country without clearance. In a statement issued by junta leader Assimi Goita, the authorities said the NAF plane made an unscheduled landing in Bobo Dioulasso on Monday due to what was described as an “emergency situation in flight” while inside Burkinabe airspace. According to the statement,…

Hong Kong recorded one of its lowest ever voter turnouts in Sunday’s Legislative Council elections, with fewer than 32% of eligible voters casting their ballots. The figure of 31.9% was only marginally higher than the record low of 30.2% in 2021, though the overall number of voters fell to 1.3 million compared with 1.4 million four years ago. The city’s population is about 7.5 million. The elections were held under…

A United Nations committee has issued its strongest warning yet to New Zealand, cautioning that government policies risk undermining Māori rights and entrenching long‑standing disparities for the Indigenous population. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) released a 14‑page report on 5 December following its eight‑year review of New Zealand’s compliance with the international convention. The findings represent the most critical assessment of the country’s record to…

Thailand has carried out airstrikes along its disputed frontier with Cambodia after both sides accused one another of breaching a ceasefire agreement brokered earlier this year by US President Donald Trump. The Thai military confirmed the strikes followed clashes on Monday morning in which one soldier was killed and four others wounded. The air force said aircraft had targeted Cambodian military positions, accusing Phnom Penh of deploying heavy weaponry and…

Benjamin Netanyahu has said the first stage of the UN‑endorsed Gaza ceasefire plan is close to completion, insisting that the next phase must involve the disarmament of Hamas. The Israeli Prime Minister confirmed he would discuss the next steps later this month in Washington with US President Donald Trump, whose proposals for Gaza were codified in a UN Security Council resolution on 17 November. “We’re about to finish the first…