The morning after the first mayoral debate of the general election, Andrew M. Cuomo said it would be nearly impossible to win if Curtis Sliwa did not drop out. Mr. Sliwa said he was not going anywhere.
Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is running a distant second in the New York City mayor’s race to Zohran Mamdani, a state assemblyman and the Democratic nominee.
Readers, many with Parkinson’s, respond to an article about Sue Goldie, who has the disease. Also: Tears over Trump’s America; losing to China; learning through play.
The annual pop-up sale of retired signs and other transit artifacts from the New York City subway system attracted a line of collectors that stretched for blocks.
Missteps in cutting clean energy spending and friction between staffers has led to questions about whether the former fracking company CEO will remain in the Cabinet.
House Republicans pointed to the staff reductions as a national security consequence of the shutdown, pressing Senate Democrats to yield and vote to reopen the government.
A landmark deal to cut global shipping emissions has been abandoned after Saudi Arabia and the US succeeded in ending the talks.
More than 100 countries had gathered in London to approve a deal first agreed in April, which would have seen shipping become the world's first industry to adopt internationally mandated targets to reduce emissions.
But President Trump had called the plan a "green scam" and representatives of the US administration had threatened countries all week with tariffs if they had voted in favour.
Reflecting the pressure countries faced, the Secretary General of the Internatiobal Maritime Organisation issued a "plea" for this not to be repeated.
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The proposed new embassy at Royal Mint Court would be the biggest in Europe if it goes ahead
China has warned the UK of "consequences" amid an escalating row over its delayed application to build a mega-embassy in London.
It comes after the government confirmed it had pushed back a decision on the controversial site for a second time, to 10 December.
On Friday, Beijing's foreign affairs ministry said the delay went "entirely against the UK's commitments and previous remarks about improving China-UK relations".
Downing Street said it did not "recognise any claims of commitments or assurances".
Beijing's application for the embassy was initially rejected by Tower Hamlets Council in 2022 over safety and security concerns.
However, it was taken over by the UK government housing department last year, after China resubmitted an application one month after Labour came to power.
Asked about the latest delay on Friday, Beijing's ministry of foreign affairs accused the UK of "constantly complicating and politicizing the matter".
Spokesman Lin Jian said the UK had "repeatedly put off the approval of the project citing various excuses and linked the project with other issues".
"That goes entirely against the UK's commitments and previous remarks about improving China-UK relations," he added.
"We once again call on the UK to fulfil its obligation and honour its commitments at once, otherwise the consequences arising therefrom shall be borne by the UK side".
Downing Street hit back at Mr Jian's comments, saying: "We do not recognise any claims of assurances, and I can't explain the statement they've set out."
The PM's official spokesman added: "Protecting the UK's national security is our first duty.
"In terms of the planning process, as set out yesterday, this is a decision that is independent of the rest of government."
He added it would not be "appropriate for me to comment further" on a decision being made by the housing department.
China bought the site of the proposed new embassy, at Royal Mint Court near the Tower of London, for £255m in 2018. At 20,000 square metres, the proposed complex would be the biggest embassy in Europe if it goes ahead.
The pending decision on whether to approve the new embassy has attracted close scrutiny because of concerns about the security implications of the plan, including the location, size and design of the building.
There are concerns held by some opponents that the site could allow China to infiltrate the UK's financial system by tapping into nearby fibre optic cables carrying sensitive data for firms in the City of London.
Some residents nearby also fear it would pose a security risk to them and attract large protests.
The proposed complex would include offices, a large basement area, housing for 200 staff, and a new tunnel to connect the Embassy House to a separate building on the embassy grounds.
Sir Keir Starmer said last year that Chinese President Xi Jinping had raised the embassy issue during their first leaders' phone call in August.
Speaking in November, the prime minister told China's leader "you raised the Chinese embassy building when we spoke on the telephone, and we have since taken action by calling in that application".
"Now we have to follow the legal process and timeline," Sir Keir added.
The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have urged the government to throw out China's application.
Defence lawyers said Cédric Jubillar had just found out his wife had begun an affair when she disappeared
A murder trial without a body which transfixed France has ended with 38-year-old painter-decorator Cédric Jubillar convicted of killing his wife.
Throughout the four-week trial, Jubillar maintained his innocence but was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to 30 years in jail.
In four weeks of hearings in the southern town of Albi, the defence argued that because the body of his wife Delphine had never been found there was no certainty a crime had been committed.
But the jury of six civilians and three magistrates decided that even in the absence of a body there was enough circumstantial evidence to conclude that Jubillar was guilty of murder.
Prosecutors had called for a 30-year sentence, and Jubillar's lawyers have said they will appeal.
"We respect the jury's decision," said defence lawyer Alexandre Martin. "Of course we're disappointed, but we knew there would be a second battle, and we will get back to work on this appeal.
"Delphine was killed by her husband's hands," said Laurent Boguet, acting for the couple's two children. It was now for Jubillar to "tell us where his wife's remains are and return them to the family".
LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP
Jubillar's lawyers Alexandre Martin (L) and Emmanuelle Franck were shocked by the verdict
With its central mystery of his wife's missing body, the case has been hotly followed across news and social media since it broke five years ago. Amateur detectives proliferated online, much to the annoyance of police and families, with theories of what happened.
It was on the night of 15-16 December 2020, in the middle of the Covid pandemic, that 33-year-old Delphine Jubillar disappeared from the house in Cagnac-les-Mines where the couple lived with their two children aged six and 18 months.
Cédric Jubillar contacted police at around 04:00 on 16 December to say he had been woken up by the crying of the younger child and discovered that his wife had gone missing.
Police and neighbours conducted extensive searches in the local area – including in its many abandoned mines – but no body was ever found.
The court heard during the trial how Cédric and Delphine's relationship had turned sour. She had asked for a divorce, and was beginning an affair with a man she met over a chatline.
According to the prosecution, on the evening of her disappearance she had told Cédric Jubillar for the first time that she had taken a lover. This led to a row – during which Delphine's screams were heard by a neighbour – and then he killed her, probably by strangling.
Jubillar was then said to have disposed of her body somewhere in the countryside nearby, which he knew well.
CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP
A poster of Delphine Jubillar posted on a wall some time after her death
A key piece of evidence was that Delphine's car on the street outside was facing in the opposite direction from the way she normally parked it, suggesting he had used it on the night.
Other key elements were:
a broken pair of Delphine's glasses in the sitting-room
the lack of steps recorded on Jubillar's phone pedometer, even though he claimed to have been out searching for his wife
and a statement by their son Louis about an argument between his parents taking place "between the sofa and the Christmas tree".
Psychological assessments presented Jubillar as a feckless character with a rough childhood, who smoked marijuana every day, had difficulty holding down a job and thought of little but his personal gratification.
He was said to have shown little concern over the disappearance of Delphine – drawing money from her bank account a short time later, for example.
And there was crucial evidence from Cédric Jubillar's mother, who recalled him telling her when he first heard that Delphine wanted a divorce: "I've had enough. I'm going to kill her and bury her, and they'll never find her."
Jubillar's defence lawyer Emmanuelle Franck said none of this amounted to more than speculation – and that the accused's habits and attitudes could not be taken as signs of criminal responsibility.
"Courts do not convict bad characters. They convict the guilty," she said.
According to the defence, there were alternative explanations for all the circumstantial clues. They said witnesses had been coached by investigators, in order to corroborate the theory of guilt.
They argued that in any normal crime of passion, there were tell-tale signs left at the scene – blood, or evidence of a clean-up. But all this was absent from the Jubillar home.
His lawyers said that details told in court of Cédric Jubillar's behaviour were all irrelevant: his use of pornography, a pair of panda pyjamas with ears and tail that he was wearing when police came, and making his son Louis sit on Lego bricks as a punishment.
"Either [Cédric] is a criminal genius, or he is a bit of an idiot – you have got to decide," said Emmanuelle Franck.
The defence offered no alternative explanation for Delphine's disappearance.
Convictions for murder without a body are rare because of the difficulty of proving the existence of a crime. But they do happen, with jurisdictions in many countries concluding that circumstantial evidence alone can constitute proof.
For a guilty verdict in France, jurors need to have an "intimate conviction" that a crime has been committed – a concept that is left vague in law. If more than two of the nine jurors dissent, then the accused is found not guilty.
The UK's stock market has fallen sharply after a warning from two US banks sparked a widespread sell-off in global shares.
Two US regional lenders, Western Alliance Bank and Zions Bank, said on Thursday that they had been hit by either bad or fraudulent loans, sparking fears that other banks may be exposed.
Some of the UK's biggest banks, including Barclays and Standard Chartered saw their share prices fall more than 5%, taking the FTSE 100 index of leading shares down about 1.5% at one point.
Stock market indexes around the world, including Germany's Dax and the Cac 40 in France, also fell.
On Thursday, Zions Bank said it would write off a $50m loss on two loans, while Western Alliance disclosed it had started a lawsuit alleging fraud.
"Pockets of the US banking sector including regional banks have given the market cause for concern," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
"Investors have started to question why there have been a plethora of issues in a short space of time and whether this points to poor risk management and loose lending standards."
"Investors have been spooked," he added, saying that while there was no evidence of any issues with UK-listed banks, "investors often have a knee-jerk reaction when problems appear anywhere in the sector".
Investors have also been nervous following the failure of two high-profile US firms, car loan company Tricolor and car parts maker First Brands.
These failures have raised questions about the quality of deals in what is known as the private credit market - where companies arrange loans from non-bank lenders.
In addition, there have also been warnings that the surge in artificial intelligence investment has produced a bubble in the US stock market - including from Jamie Dimon, the boss of America's biggest bank, JP Morgan - leading to fears that shares are overvalued.
The market turbulence on Friday saw the price of gold reach a fresh record high of $4,380 per ounce, as investors looked for safe havens for their money.
Another closely watched measure of market nerves, the VIX volatility index sometimes called the "Fear Index", hit its highest level since April.
Baek Se-hee's 2018 memoir was lauded for its honest portrayal of mental health conversations
Baek Se-hee, the South Korean author of the bestselling memoir I Want to Die but I Want To Eat Tteokbokki has died at the age of 35.
Her 2018 book, a compilation of conversations with her psychiatrist about her depression, was a cultural phenomenon with its themes of mental health resonating with readers across the world.
Originally written in Korean, it found international acclaim after its English translation was published in 2022.
The details surrounding her death are unclear.
Baek donated her organs - her heart, lungs, liver and kidneys - which have helped to save five lives, the Korean Organ Donation Agency said in a statement on Friday.
The statement also included comments from her sister, which said that Baek had wanted to "share her heart with others through her work, and to inspire hope".
I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki, published in 2018, has sold more than a million copies worldwide and been translated in 25 countries.
The runaway bestseller was celebrated for normalising mental health conversations and its nuanced take on inner struggles - most notably, the author's personal conflict between depressive thoughts and her appreciation for simple joys.
Bloomsbury
I Want to Die but I Want To Eat Tteokbokki contains a record of conversations between the author and her psychiatrist
"The human heart, even when it wants to die, quite often wants at the same time to eat some tteokbokki, too," goes the book's most famous line.
Born in 1990, Baek Se-hee took creative writing in university and worked for five years at a publishing house, according to her short biography on Bloomsbury Publishing, which produced the English version of her 2018 memoir.
For a decade she received treatment for dysthymia, a mild but long-lasting type of depression, which formed the basis of her bestseller, said her Bloomsbury bio.
A sequel, I Want to Die but I Still Want to Eat Tteokbokki, was published in Korean in 2019. Its English translation was published in 2024.
A list of organisations in the UK offering support and information with some of the issues in this story is available at BBC Action Line. If you are outside of the UK, you can visit the Befrienders website.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, a former hedge fund manager, is orchestrating a $20 billion lifeline to prop up the Argentine peso, which has been declining in value.
The Long Island woman who was diagnosed with chikungunya virus is an inveterate gardener. Maybe, she thinks, that’s how she was exposed to a mosquito carrying the disease.
President Donald Trump phoned into a private Indiana Senate Republican caucus meeting Friday, pressing reluctant Hoosier lawmakers to undertake mid-cycle redistricting, according to two people briefed on the call who were granted anonymity to discuss the private conversation.
The call — which was Trump’s first-known call with rank-and-file Indiana state lawmakers on the matter following an August Oval Office meeting with state House Speaker Todd Huston and Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray — punctuated an intense period of national lobbying on redistricting.
It follows a new push by late MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point Action this week to ramp up pressure on Indiana lawmakers who oppose mid-cycle redistricting. The New York Times first reported details of the call.
Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), a close White House ally, has warned that control of the House of Representatives could ride on whether the state can produce additional Republican-held congressional districts by reopening the maps.
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun is supportive of calling a special session to do so, likely next month, but has not wanted to strong-arm the legislature into convening in Indianapolis.
A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The call also comes on the heels of Vice President JD Vance’s second visit to the Hoosier State to make the case to lawmakers last week. Allies of the White House’s efforts described that meeting as productive but not “a slam dunk.”
The Indiana Conservation Voters, a liberal environmental-focused group, has put six figures behind television ads opposing mid-cycle redistricting and set to play this weekend during this weekend’s Colts, Indiana University and Notre Dame games.
While other federal employees have been furloughed, this week the Interior Department prepared to open more than 250,000 acres of land in Wyoming and Nebraska to oil drilling.
It went from one of the worst zoos in America to a beloved menagerie filled with disabled and elderly native species. Now the money has just about run out.
John Bolton, Donald Trump's former national security adviser, has arrived at a federal court to surrender to authorities on charges of mishandling classified information.
Bolton served during Trump's first administration but parted with the White House contentiously, and has become one of the president's most vocal public critics.
The indictment makes Bolton, 76, the third of the US president's political opponents to face charges in recent weeks. Bolton has said he would defend his "lawful conduct".
On Friday, Bolton did not respond to shouted questions from reporters as he entered the courthouse in Greenbelt, Maryland, to surrender to authorities.
He is expected to make an initial appearance before a judge and may have to stop at US Marshals office for "possible" fingerprinting and booking photo, CBS News, the BBC's partner in the US, reported.
Prosecutors have accused Bolton of using personal messaging apps and email to illegally transmit sensitive information.
"These documents revealed intelligence about future attacks, foreign adversaries, and foreign-policy relations," prosecutors wrote.
Responding to the charges, Bolton said he would defend his "lawful conduct."
He added he had "become the latest target in weaponizing the Justice Department to charge those he [Trump] deems to be his enemies with charges that were declined before or distort the facts."
The indictment issued this week accused Bolton of sharing "diary-like entries" with two unnamed individuals, and using his personal email account to transmit messages with sensitive materials.
The indictment also states that between 2019 and 2021, Bolton was allegedly the target of a hacking attack from a "cyber actor believed to be associated with the Islamic Repubilc of Iran" gained access to his account, exposing the classified materials.
An indictment in the US justice system is a formal accusation issued by a grand jury - a group of members of the public set up by a prosecutor to review evidence to determine if a case should proceed.
Bolton has been scrutinised for his handling of classified information since 2020, when he sought to publish a book about his time in the first Trump administration.
The Justice Department tried to block the book's release, alleging it could contain classified information.
A federal judge ruled against the government, but rebuked Bolton in his decision, writing he had "gambled with the national security of the United States".
An investigation into Bolton continued into the Joe Biden administration.
Baek Se-hee's 2018 memoir was lauded for its honest portrayal of mental health conversations
Baek Se-hee, the South Korean author of the bestselling memoir I Want to Die but I Want To Eat Tteokbokki has died at the age of 35.
Her 2018 book, a compilation of conversations with her psychiatrist about her depression, was a cultural phenomenon with its themes of mental health resonating with readers across the world.
Originally written in Korean, it found international acclaim after its English translation was published in 2022.
The details surrounding her death are unclear.
Baek donated her organs - her heart, lungs, liver and kidneys - which have helped to save five lives, the Korean Organ Donation Agency said in a statement on Friday.
The statement also included comments from her sister, which said that Baek had wanted to "share her heart with others through her work, and to inspire hope".
I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki, published in 2018, has sold more than a million copies worldwide and been translated in 25 countries.
The runaway bestseller was celebrated for normalising mental health conversations and its nuanced take on inner struggles - most notably, the author's personal conflict between depressive thoughts and her appreciation for simple joys.
Bloomsbury
I Want to Die but I Want To Eat Tteokbokki contains a record of conversations between the author and her psychiatrist
"The human heart, even when it wants to die, quite often wants at the same time to eat some tteokbokki, too," goes the book's most famous line.
Born in 1990, Baek Se-hee took creative writing in university and worked for five years at a publishing house, according to her short biography on Bloomsbury Publishing, which produced the English version of her 2018 memoir.
For a decade she received treatment for dysthymia, a mild but long-lasting type of depression, which formed the basis of her bestseller, said her Bloomsbury bio.
A sequel, I Want to Die but I Still Want to Eat Tteokbokki, was published in Korean in 2019. Its English translation was published in 2024.
A list of organisations in the UK offering support and information with some of the issues in this story is available at BBC Action Line. If you are outside of the UK, you can visit the Befrienders website.
Col Michael Randrianirina said Madagascar was entering a new chapter - and change was on the cards
Col Michael Randrianirina has been sworn in as the new president of Madagascar days after a military takeover on the Indian Ocean nation.
He swapped his fatigues for a suit and thanked the young people who took to the streets for weeks of protests that prompted President Andry Rajoelina to flee the country and led to his impeachment.
The ceremony took place at the Constitutional Court in the capital, Antananarivo, where a large crowd gathered to watch - including those who spearheaded the demonstrations.
"Today marks a historic turning-point for our country. With a people in full fervour, driven by the desire for change... we joyfully open a new chapter in the life of our nation," he said.
The former French colony now enters a transition period, which will be full of political obstacles and legal uncertainty - though there is cautious optimism about Col Randrianirina's leadership.
Constitutional Court president Florent Rakotoarisoa has criticised the international community for describing the situation in Madagascar as a coup.
He denied that there had been a violation of the constitution in Madagascar, instead blaming the constitution for causing the situation to deteriorate.
Protesters had hoped that Rajoelina would simply resign and pave the way for a smooth, democratic transition.
Instead, he clung to power, dissolving his government and holding a series of dialogues with different groups of people, efforts that were not enough to appease the protesters.
The protests, which started last month, were initially organised by a youth movement known as Gen Z Mada - angered by persistent power and water shortages.
Reuters
Reuters
Col Michael Randrianirina, looking relaxed, addressed the media immediately after being sworn in.
Security was tight at the proceedings - as seen when the vehicle carrying the new president left the country's top court.
Col Randrianirina was head of Madagascar's elite CAPSAT army unit, when on Tuesday his troops joined the thousands of protesters on the streets of the capital.
He told the Gen Z demonstrators he was taking power and that the military would form a government and hold elections within two years.
Pro-democracy advocates, both inside and outside the country, hope that this promise will be fulfilled.
At the ceremony at the country's top court, Reuters news agency reports that trumpets blared after Randrianirina took his oath of office, promising to "dedicate all my strength to defending and strengthening national unity and human rights".
Wearing an official sash and star of office, he reaffirmed his commitment to change.
"We will work hand in hand with all the driving forces of the nation to draft a fine constitution," he said, adding that electoral reforms would be instituted before a new vote was held.
"We are committed to breaking with the past. Our main mission is to thoroughly reform the country's administrative, socio-economic and political systems of governance."
After the ceremony, the new president spoke to reporters outside the constitutional court and outlined in more detail what he considered to be his top priorities.
He said he would start with launching an investigation into the state-owned water and power company, Jirama.
"Today and tomorrow, we will examine the situation at Jirama - what is happening there and what problems currently exist. This review aims to prevent further difficulties in the future. That is our first social priority," he said.
"The second priority is rice farming. As we enter the agricultural season, we must assess how best to proceed.
"The third priority is the appointment of the prime minister and formation of the government."
Like other former French colonies in Africa that have experienced coups in recent years, it has been hinted that relations with France may also change under his leadership with warmer ties sought with Russia.
On Thursday, Randrianirina attended a meeting with Russian embassy officials to reportedly discuss "serious" co-operation between the two countries.
Earlier during the protests, people had been seen on the streets waving Russian flags calling for Moscow's intervention.
Weeks of unrest in Bangladesh last July ousted Sheikh Hasina, who has since fled to India
Prosecutors in Bangladesh have demanded that former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina be put to death over a deadly crackdown on student-led protests last year that ousted her from power.
Hasina, who has fled to India, is on trial for crimes against humanity. According to a leaked audio clip, she ordered security forces to "use lethal weapons" against protesters. She denies the charges.
Up to 1,400 people were killed in weeks of unrest that ended Hasina's 15-year rule. It was the worst violence Bangladesh had seen since its 1971 war of independence.
Chief prosecutor Tajul Islam said Hasina deserves 1,400 death sentences. "Since that is not humanly possible, we demand at least one," he said.
"[Hasina's] goal was to cling to power permanently, for herself and her family," Islam told the court on Thursday.
"She has turned into a hardened criminal and shows no remorse for the brutality she has committed," he said.
The protests started in July 2024 against civil service job quotas for relatives of those who fought in the 1971 war but soon escalated into a mass movement to overthrow Hasina.
Police killed at least 52 people that day in a busy Dhaka neighbourhood, making it one of the worst cases of police violence in Bangladesh's history.
Hasina's state-appointed defence lawyer argues that the police were forced to open fire in response to violent actions from the protesters.
Hasina is being tried alongside her ex-interior minister, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun.
Prosecutors have sought the death penalty for Kamal, who is also in hiding. Chowdhury pleaded guilty in July but has not been handed a sentence.
Hasina has already been sentenced to six months in prison for contempt of court, and separately faces corruption charges.
Bangladesh is due hold its next elections in February, which will see Hasina's rival party BNP as frontrunner in the vote. Her party Awami League has been banned from all activities, including participating in elections.
John R. Bolton, who served as a national security adviser during President Trump’s first term, leaving his home in Bethesda, Md., on Friday before a court appearance in Greenbelt.
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