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Melania blows up Trump’s Russia brag with celebration of ‘sophisticated ceasefire’: report

First lady Melania Trump hosted a White House event on a Russian-occupied city’s ceasefire without mentioning President Donald Trump, the Daily Beast reported.The Thursday gathering marked a temporary, localized truce in Oleshky that ended Nov. 1. The Daily Beast reported it let humanitarian aid reach the city and covered the departure of roughly 800 people across six days, and the event came as the president has not made good on his claim that he could end the war in Ukraine on his first day back in office.Melania Trump said she was involved at each stage of what she called a “sophisticated ceasefire,” including reviewing roads and evacuation routes. The Beast said she learned of the crisis in September and served as the sole go-between.Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev credited her with a key coordinating role and said Vladimir Putin personally issued the needed instructions. He added that Putin appreciates the president’s peacemaking effort. Ukrainian politician David Arakhamia praised her work, and ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets gave her the Order of Princess Olga, 1st Class, on behalf of President Volodymyr Zelensky.She said the truce would not have happened without Putin or Zelensky and that their cooperation sets a “meaningful precedent.” She gave officials letters to carry to both leaders.Nobody in the room acknowledged Putin’s invasion caused the crisis, The Beast noted.Melania's role in the ceasefire agreement has been questioned by some observers, who point out that the Pope was involved in ceasefire discussions for Oleshky before Melania's involvement was ever publicly acknowledged.

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Duchess of Sussex’s estranged half-brother ‘person of interest’ in child sexual abuse inquiry

Philippine official says there are ‘signs that point to Thomas Markle Jr’s involvement in crime’, but he’s not yet being treated as a suspectThe Duchess of Sussex’s estranged half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr, has been named as a “person of interest” in the Philippine authorities’ inquiry into child sexual abuse image allegations made against her father, Thomas Markle Sr.The country’s interior and local government secretary, Jonvic Remulla, told a press conference in Manila there were “signs that point that the son is involved in the crime as well”. Continue reading...

Hollywood star turned MAGA pundit Russell Brand convicted of rape: report

Hollywood star turned right-wing commentator Russell Brand has been convicted of rape and sexual assault by a London jury.Jurors at Southwark Crown Court returned guilty verdicts Thursday on one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, TMZ reported. The jury found him not guilty of two other rape charges and one count of attempted indecent assault. Brand, 51, had denied all the charges.The judge signaled that prison time is all but certain. “Obviously a custodial sentence of some length will result,” the judge told Brand after the verdict. He is scheduled to be sentenced Monday.Best known for Hollywood comedies like "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and "Get Him to the Greek," Brand reinvented himself in recent years as an online commentator popular on the right, building a massive following with anti-establishment videos. Deadline described him as a “MAGA outrider,” and after he was charged last year, Fox News host turned podcaster Tucker Carlson called on the Trump administration to “rescue” him from what Carlson called “political and absurd” charges.The trial featured testimony from several women who accused Brand of sexual misconduct, according to TMZ. One accuser, recalling an alleged 1999 assault, described his behavior as “lizard-like.” Another told jurors that after Brand raped her, he said he wanted to “push [her] further.”During the trial, the judge ordered a not-guilty verdict on one count of indecent assault, and prosecutors then brought a new charge of attempted indecent assault, on which the jury acquitted him.TMZ reported that Laura Brand, his wife, backed him throughout the proceedings and took the stand in his defense. She described him as a wonderful father and an “amazing, attentive husband.”

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British healthcare worker with Ebola evacuated from DR Congo to UK

Patient is ⁠in ​stable condition and will be transferred to a specialist ‘high consequence’ infectious disease unitA British healthcare worker with Ebola is being evacuated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the UK for medical treatment, it has been confirmed.“A British citizen currently in the DR Congo has tested positive for Ebola,” a spokesperson for the UK government said in a statement on Wednesday. “The UK has well-established procedures for dealing with cases like this, and those processes have been activated … The risk to the UK public from Ebola remains low.” Continue reading...

GOP trolled by Iran after major election debacle: 'We endorse this message'

The massive electoral wipeout Republicans suffered on Tuesday did not go unnoticed by Iran’s leadership.According to Politico, Tehran took a victory lap as voters dealt a resounding blow to President Donald Trump’s Republican Party.“Conscience or the cost of living, Americans said NO TO WAR, and we endorse this message,” Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X as the results came in.Ghalibaf, who has played a prominent role in negotiations to end the monthslong war, also threatened retaliation if Washington resumes all-out fighting, Politico is reporting.“If the US govt betrays their public will to serve international paymasters and blackmailers, it will learn our NO comes with a Nightmare,” he wrote.Tehran had been anxiously watching the midterms for weeks. According to Politico, Iranian negotiators reportedly even stalled recent talks to keep gas prices high and fuel voter frustration with the Trump administration over affordability.Iranian state media also had a field day as Democrats flipped both the House and the Senate, according to the report.“War on Iran Emerges As Major Factor in Republicans’ Midterm Defeat,” read one headline from Tasnim News Agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.State-run IRNA led with a headline announcing a “heavy defeat for Trump and his supporters,” citing “an unprecedented level of dissatisfaction with US President Donald Trump,” driven in large part by the war.Some anti-war voices in Washington also declared the vote a win for Tehran, Politico also reported.“The Democrats didn’t win the midterms,” wrote Trita Parsi, co-founder of the anti-interventionist Quincy Institute. “Iran did.”