“Two four-story buildings collapsed overnight in the Moroccan city of Fez, killing 22 people in the second fatal collapse there this year, authorities said on Wednesday. MAP, Morocco’s state news agency, reported the two residential buildings housed eight families. Sixteen people were injured in the collapse and taken to the hospital. Authorities said the neighborhood had been evacuated and search and rescue efforts were ongoing. It was unclear what caused the collapse or how many people were unaccounted for on Wednesday morning, but authorities said an investigation had been opened. MAP reported that the structures were built in 2006 during a self-construction initiative called ‘City Without Slums.’ Fez is Morocco’s third-largest city and one of the hosts of this month’s Africa Cup of Nations and the 2030 FIFA World Cup. It is best known for its walled city packed with medieval souks and tanneries.” (12/10/25)
“Democrats on Tuesday flipped a state House seat in a red-leaning district in Georgia, delivering the party another notable win heading into next year’s midterms. Democrat Eric Gisler was projected to defeat Republican Mack Guest IV in the special election in Georgia’s House District 121, according to Decision Desk HQ. Gisler’s victory is a major upset, as President Trump won the district last year by 12 points, according to DDHQ.” (12/09/25)
“Ukraine is ‘ready for elections,’ President Volodymyr Zelensky has said, after US President Donald Trump repeated claims Kyiv was ‘using war’ to avoid holding them. Zelensky’s five-year term as president was due to end in May 2024, but elections have been suspended in Ukraine since martial law was declared after Russia’s invasion. Speaking to reporters following Trump’s comments in a wide-raging Politico interview, Zelensky said he would ask for proposals to be drawn up which could change the law. Elections could be held in the next 60 to 90 days if security for the vote was guaranteed with the help of the US and other allies, he said.” (12/10/25)
“Democrat Eileen Higgins has flipped the Miami mayor’s office, defeating Republican Emilio Gonzalez and marking the latest sign of the party’s momentum heading into next year’s midterms, according to Decision Desk HQ. Higgins is the first Democrat to become mayor of Miami since 1997. She bested Gonzalez, a former Miami city manager who served on President Trump’s Homeland Security Department transition team, to succeed incumbent Mayor Francis Suarez (R). The race is technically nonpartisan.” (12/09/25)
“Hamas said on Tuesday that the Gaza ceasefire plan cannot proceed to its second phase as long as Israeli ‘violations’ persist and called on mediators to pressure Israel to respect the agreement. The US-sponsored ceasefire, in effect since October 10, halted the war that began after Hamas’s deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. But it remains fragile as Israel and Hamas accuse each other almost daily of breaches. … Meanwhile, an Israeli official said that authorities would allow the Allenby crossing on the Israeli-controlled border between Jordan and the occupied West Bank to reopen on Wednesday to aid trucks destined for Gaza for the first time since late September.” (12/09/25)
“Rights watchdog groups in the United States have filed a lawsuit seeking greater clarification on the legal rationale being used to justify the Trump administration’s targeting of alleged drug trafficking vessels off Latin America. The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the group’s New York state affiliate NYCLU, and the Center for Constitutional Rights, seeks the release of an opinion from the internal Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), which advises the executive branch on legal matters. … At least 86 people have been killed since the Trump administration announced the first strike in early September, in what the president has depicted as a counter-narcotics effort.” (12/09/25)
“Japan issued a megaquake advisory Tuesday after a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck the northern part of the country, causing 34 mostly mild injuries and some damage to roads and buildings. The government has estimated that an offshore megaquake could cause a tsunami of up to 98 feet and kill nearly 200,000 people. Officials said the advisory is not a prediction and the probability of a magnitude 8 or larger quake is only about 1%. But there’s hope the advisory will serve as a wake-up call for a quake that could have the devastation of the 2011 disaster that killed nearly 20,000 people and destroyed a nuclear plant. There’s said to be an increased risk of a subsequent, magnitude 8 or larger quake within the next week.” (12/09/25)
“Tensions are high in Tanzania after the government outlawed planned protests over its disputed victory in elections in October. Police and soldiers were patrolling largely empty streets in major cities on Tuesday – Tanzania’s Independence Day – after the government preemptively ruled that any protest would be illegal and treated as a coup attempt, and urged people to stay at home. … police trucks and officers on foot patrolled the commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, the administrative capital Dodoma and the northeastern city of Arusha, while roadblocks were erected near key government installations including President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s heavily guarded offices. The situation appeared calm as of late morning, although one resident and some activists on social media said small protests had begun in some parts of the city. This could not be immediately confirmed.” (12/09/25)
“Conservative Supreme Court justices on Tuesday appeared to back a Republican-led drive, supported by President Donald Trump’s administration, to overturn a quarter-century-old decision and erase limits on how much political parties can spend in coordination with candidates for Congress and president. … The limits stem from a desire to prevent large donors from skirting caps on individual contributions to a candidate by directing unlimited sums to the party, with the understanding that the money will be spent on behalf of the candidate. The Federal Election Commission and the GOP argue that the court should cast a skeptical eye on the limits, in line with recent high court decisions.” (12/09/25)
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