NEWS

Photo Credit; Getty Images

The United States and Ukraine have reached a consensus on several critical issues aimed at bringing an end to the nearly four-year conflict, but sensitive issues around territorial control in Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland, along with the management of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, remain unresolved, Ukraine’s president said.

 Photo Credit; Getty Images

German prosecutors have charged a suspected former member of Syrian intelligence with crimes against humanity and the torture and murder of dozens of prisoners held in a Damascus prison under Bashar al-Assad, a statement said on Monday.

Photo Credit; Getty Images

Amazon has disclosed that it has blocked over 1,800 job applications from individuals suspected of being North Korean agents. According to a LinkedIn post by Amazon's chief security officer, Stephen Schmidt, these applicants sought remote IT positions using stolen or fabricated identities. Schmidt further explained that their objective was to secure employment, earn wages, and then channel those funds back to support North Korea's weapons programs, a trend he believes is occurring extensively across the US technology industry.

Authorities in the US and South Korea have warned about Pyongyang's operatives carrying out online scams.

Amazon has seen a nearly one-third increase in job applications from North Koreans in the past year, said Mr Schmidt in his post. He said the operatives typically work with people managing "laptop farms" - referring to computers based in the US that are run remotely from outside of the country.

The firm used a combination of artificial intelligence marks tools and verification by its staff to screen job applications, he said.

The strategies used by such fraudsters have become more sophisticated, Mr Schmidt said.

Photo Credit; Getty Images

The U.S. Coast Guard on Sunday was pursuing another sanctioned oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea as the Trump administration appeared to be intensifying its targeting of such vessels connected to the Venezuelan government.

The pursuit of the tanker, which was confirmed by a U.S. official briefed on the operation, comes after the U.S. administration announced Saturday it had seized a tanker for the second time in less than two weeks.

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly about the ongoing operation and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Sunday’s pursuit involved “a sanctioned dark fleet vessel that is part of Venezuela’s illegal sanctions evasion.”

Photo Credit; Getty Images

CBS News has come under scrutiny following its last-minute decision to pull a segment from its Sunday broadcast concerning the Trump administration's deportations of Venezuelan men to an El Salvador detention center. The move, attributed to top editor Bari Weiss, drew extensive criticism, notably from CBS correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi, who reported the story and privately labeled the decision "political" in a leaked note to colleagues.

CBS had promoted the segment on social media ahead of its scheduled airtime on 60 Minutes, but said in a statement on Monday that the piece needed additional reporting.

The programme was set to document allegations of "brutal and torturous conditions" at the Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador, known as CECOT.

The Trump administration had deported about 250 Venezuelan men there earlier this year, accusing them of being members of a dangerous gang.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

The next presidential election is three years away, but Turning Point USA already knows it wants Vice President JD Vance as the Republican nominee.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

The United States Department of Justice has released an initial tranche of documents linked to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, a figure whose criminal case has remained a source of public anger and political tension for years. The release follows the passage of a law by Congress requiring the Justice Department to make the Epstein files public by a set deadline. While the release was highly anticipated, it has already sparked controversy due to delays, redactions and the removal of some materials shortly after publication.

Photo Credit; Getty Images

Keith Lee was named Creator of the Year at the inaugural U.S. TikTok Awards, taking home the top honor during the platform's first American awards ceremony held on December 18 at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles.

The food critic and content creator, who has amassed more than 17 million followers on TikTok, accepted the fan-voted award onstage after it was presented by Paris Hilton. Visibly emotional, Lee told the audience, "I never in a million years thought I was going to be standing on this stage." He went on to describe how meaningful the recognition was to him, adding, "This means more to me than I can explain."