“About 100 activists gathered on Thursday in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta to demand that the government cancel a plan to grant late authoritarian leader Suharto the status of national hero, reflecting wider concerns about historical revisionism. The country’s social ministry and culture ministry have proposed Suharto along with 48 other candidates to President Prabowo Subianto to receive the title. The honour is bestowed every year on November 10 to those considered to have made a significant contribution to the country. Indonesia faced decades of repressive rule under Suharto’s military-backed ‘New Order.’ He held power for 32 years before being forced to step down during an economic crisis, mass protests and deadly riots in Jakarta in 1998.” (11/06/25)
“The United States is preparing to establish a military presence at an airbase in Damascus to help enable a security pact that Washington is brokering between Syria and Israel, six sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The US plans for the presence in the Syrian capital, which have not previously been reported, would be a sign of Syria’s strategic realignment with the US following the fall last year of longtime leader Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Iran. The base sits at the gateway to parts of southern Syria that are expected to make up a demilitarised zone as part of a non-aggression pact between Israel and Syria. That deal is being mediated by US President Donald Trump’s administration.” (11/06/25)
“Peloton has recalled hundreds of thousands of its Bike+ products over seat issues manufactured over the last six years. On Thursday, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said its recall on at least 833,000 units came after the company got two reports of injuries ‘due to a fall’ when its post broke off. In total, it received three reports of seat detachment during Bike+ use. It impacted units produced from 2019-2022 and sold January 2020 through April this year.” (11/06/25)
“The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed President Donald Trump’s administration to enforce a policy blocking transgender and nonbinary people from choosing passport sex markers that align with their gender identity. The decision by the conservative-majority court is Trump’s latest win on the high court’s emergency docket, and it means his administration can enforce the policy while a lawsuit over it plays out. It halts a lower-court order requiring the government to keep letting people choose male, female or X on their passport to line up with their gender identity on new or renewed passports.” [editor’s note: Why should passports be required in the first place … and if they are required, why should a “sex marker” be part of one? – TLK] (11/06/25)
“The Israeli military says it has launched a wave of air strikes targeting what it says are Hezbollah military sites in southern Lebanon as Israel escalates daily attacks on its northern neighbour in flagrant violation of a one-year-old ceasefire. The barrage on Thursday came soon after a separate Israeli raid targeted southern Lebanon’s Tyre district. The Israeli army claimed it hit members of Hezbollah’s construction unit and that it would ‘continue to operate in order to remove any threat to the territory of the state of Israel.’ … Despite reaffirming its commitment to the ceasefire, Hezbollah accused Israel of exploiting Lebanon’s internal divisions and continuing its attacks under the pretext of security operations.” (11/06/25)
“A path to dismissing President Trump’s hush money criminal conviction was reopened Thursday after an appeals panel revived his bid to move the case to federal court. Trump wants to move the case out of New York state court so he can try to convince a federal judge that the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling compels tossing the jury’s 34-count guilty verdict. A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit ruled that it ‘cannot be confident’ a lower judge adequately considered Trump’s arguments as he sought to move the case. … Trump was convicted last year of falsifying business records in connection with a hush money scheme to keep quiet his alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.” (11/06/25)
“Maryland officials sued President Donald Trump’s administration Thursday for blocking the previously-approved construction of new FBI headquarters just outside the nation’s capital. Gov. Wes Moore joined other Maryland leaders to criticize the plan to move the FBI’s headquarters several blocks from its current home in Washington to the Ronald Reagan Building complex, instead of to Greenbelt, Maryland, which had been selected by the Biden administration for a modern building after years of planning. The FBI announced the change over the summer after a yearslong battle over the location. But Moore, a Democrat, described that building as ‘too old, too small and too exposed.’ ‘The big problem with the current FBI building is that it lacks the modern security provisions and protections that the bureau needs in 2025,’ the governor said at a news conference with other Maryland officials.” (11/06/25)
“A Virginia jury has found a former elementary school administrator liable for $10 million in the shooting of a first-grade teacher by a 6-year-old student nearly three years ago. Former first-grade educator Abigail Zwerner sued Ebony Parker, the former vice principal of Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Va., for gross negligence, alleging Parker failed to act on multiple warnings that the 6-year-old boy had a gun and was acting alarmingly the day of the January 2023 shooting. After over five hours of deliberation on Wednesday and Thursday, the seven-person jury ruled in favor of Zwerner — who had been seeking $40 million in damages. Parker sat stoically, her face unchanging as the verdict was read out. While Zwerner pursed her lips, her eyes wide, as if to hold back tears.” (11/06/25)
“Nancy Pelosi, the first and only female speaker of the US House of Representatives and one of the most powerful figures in Democratic politics for decades, has announced she will not seek reelection. … The announcement ends heightened speculation in recent days that the longtime Democrat would soon announce her intention to draw her congressional career to a close after 38 years. She was widely expected to leave Congress after this term, her first in decades as a rank-and-file member.” (11/06/25)
“Singapore this week passed a law allowing for the caning of those involved in scamming, its latest attempt to combat a runaway surge in online fraud of all kinds. Under the measure, which was passed by Parliament on Tuesday, scammers and members or recruiters of scam syndicates will face mandatory caning of at least six strokes, the Straits Times reported. Depending on the severity of the offense, the punishment that can be increased up to the legal limit of 24 strokes. Scam mules who enable scammers will face discretionary caning of up to 12 strokes, the Times added.” (11/06/25)
