Ukraine, Russia, United States resume peace talks in Abu Dhabi
Trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States on efforts to bring an end to the war in Ukraine resumed Tuesday in Abu Dhabi after being paused since February.
“A little bit of flexibility” on the main sticking point of future control of Ukraine’s eastern regions was being demonstrated by both sides, according to U.S. officials.
While Moscow’s official position is that it wants parts of Donetsk still held by Ukraine and Kyiv’s is that it wants to retain them as a security buffer, freezing the current status quo, a U.S. official told the BBC that privately, Moscow and Kyiv were showing some willingness to compromise but that progress depended on security arrangements for after the fighting stopped.
America is building an online ID system by lawsuit
Meta has made roughly $5.3 billion of its $18 billion settlement with state and territorial attorneys general contingent on TikTok and YouTube adopting comparable youth-safety measures, including age assurance, and making matching financial commitments. The tactic is debatable. The underlying point is not.
Age rules that work on one app and vanish on the next are not a child-safety policy. They are an invitation for every platform to become an identity bureau. That is how the United States gets a national online ID system without ever voting for one.
Taiwan says China is conducting ‘area denial’ drills in Western Pacific
China is carrying out “area denial” drills in the Western Pacific involving one of its aircraft carriers and other naval formations, Taiwan Defence Minister Wellington Koo said on Tuesday, following a reported rise in Chinese activities.
China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, regularly sends its warplanes and warships into the skies and waters around the island.
Trump says Air Force pilots described a round UFO flying three times faster than an F-22 fighter jet
President Donald Trump said Air Force pilots told him a mysterious round object flew past an F-22 fighter jet at three times its speed, while pledging to investigate claims that a secret government program studying UFOs could exist without the president’s knowledge.
Trump made the comments during an interview with correspondent Ross Douthat that aired Sunday on CBS’ “60 Minutes.”
Douthat asked Trump whether anything the president had seen, heard or been told led him to believe there was more behind unidentified objects spotted in the sky. Trump described himself as “not too much of a believer,” but pointed to conversations with Air Force pilots in the Oval Office.
Young Christian man killed by ISIS in Libya after refusing to deny Jesus
A 20-year-old Christian from Egypt has been killed by the Islamic State (ISIS) in Libya after he refused to deny Jesus and convert to Islam while held captive by its fighters.
The victim, Milad Malak, was the sole Christian among the Egyptian workers the militants held, Open Doors reported, citing two Muslim friends held alongside him and later freed
43% of Youngest Voters View Sharia Favorably, Fueling Historic Gains for Muslim-American Candidates
A recent Rasmussen Reports/Our Republic survey has found a surprising surge in support for Sharia law among America’s youngest voters.
According to the October results, 43 percent of likely voters between the ages of 18 and 24 view Sharia favorably—marking a notable increase from previous years. The same poll indicated that more than a quarter of voters under 30 would support the adoption of Sharia law within a local community.
Canada plans national travel biometrics strategy, expanded biometric screening
Canada’s 2026 federal budget proposes C$90 million over four years to expand biometric screening for immigration, including remote facial verification for visa-exempt travellers, alongside C$4.3 million for a new Traveller Biometrics Strategy covering airports and border services.
The Traveller Biometrics Strategy aims to make travel faster and simpler, and points to “the potential use of digital credentials” across airports, airlines, security screening and border services. The funding kicks in starting in 2026-27, and Transport Canada will appoint a Special Advisor on Traveller Biometrics to coordinate implementation. The budget says the strategy will address privacy, personal information, accessibility, cybersecurity and individual choice.
Samoa launches national digital ID policy, sets roadmap for biometric identity system
The Polynesian island country of Samoa has launched its National ID Policy 2026, setting out the framework for its National Digital Identification (NDID) System. Samoa’s National Digital Identification System is anchored by the Samoa Digital Identification Number (SDIN), which establishes the foundational layer of the island country’s digital public infrastructure (DPI).
“Crucified” by Egypt for leaving Islam, Christian convert now faces execution
Egyptian security officers tied Said Mansour Rezk Abdelrazek to a wall in the shape of a cross, tried to strip the cross tattoo from his skin, and sent Muslim clerics to his cell to bring him back to Islam. He refused. Now the Egyptian state is asking a terrorism court for the maximum penalty, death or 25 years in prison, for a 30-year-old man whose crime, his lawyers say, is his refusal to renounce Jesus. His fiancée, Sophia, described his treatment in custody to The Jerusalem Post in a single sentence: “They had him crucified the whole time he was there.”