Good morning.
The Kremlin has denied reports that Donald Trump spoke to Vladimir Putin in recent days, and said the Russian president did not yet have concrete plans to speak to the US president-elect.
The Washington Post first reported that Trump had spoken to Putin over the phone and advised him not to escalate the Ukraine war, citing unidentified sources. Reuters also reported on the call, citing an unidentified source.
But the Kremlin said the reports were incorrect. “This is completely untrue. This is pure fiction, it’s just false information,” said the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov. “There was no conversation.”
During his campaign, Trump said he would find a way to end the war “within a day”, but did not provide further details, leading to fears from many in Kyiv of what this could entail.
Trump says former Ice director Tom Homan will be in charge of borders and deportations
Tom Homan, the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, will be in charge of controlling the US borders under the Trump administration, the president-elect has said.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said Homan’s areas of control would include “the southern border, the northern border, all maritime, and aviation security” and that as “border czar” Homan would preside over deportations.
Trump ran a campaign that centered on immigration, with promises of mass deportations and detaining migrants in camps, and had praised Homan on the campaign trail, telling Fox News in July: “I have Tom Homan lined up, we have the greatest people.” Homan, who is a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a Project 2025 author, vowed in July to “run the biggest deportation force this country has ever seen” if Trump was re-elected.
Netanyahu seeks to delay testimony in corruption case, citing war
Benjamin Netanyahu’s legal team has requested a postponement of the Israeli prime minister’s testimony at his corruption trial, according to reports in Israeli media.
His lawyers filed the request for a delay of two and a half months, citing recent major developments in the war that they claim have prevented Netanyahu from preparing his evidence, the Times of Israel reported. Netanyahu’s legal team said “this small delay will enable the defence to properly prepare for his testimony and won’t harm the public interest”.
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What is the latest news from Gaza? An Israeli strike killed at least three people, including the parents of twins, who were sheltering in a tent in central Gaza after being displaced, according to Palestinian medical officials.
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And in Israel? Firefighters were battling blazes west of Jerusalem that the army said were ignited by debris from an intercepted missile fired from Yemen, AFP reported.
In other news …
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Cop29 has begun in Baku, Azerbaijan, with finance top of the agenda as developing nations call for increased funding to help them cope with the fallout of climate breakdown.
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Haiti’s transitional council has fired its interim prime minister as the country’s security crisis continues to escalate, with armed gangs expanding their control.
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Drought is hitting Zambia and Zimbabwe’s hydropower systems, leading to daily power cuts and devastating economic effects.
Stat of the day: extreme weather cost ‘$2tn globally over past decade’
Extreme weather events over the past decade globally have come with an economic cost of $2tn, a report has found. Within the last two years alone, there were economic losses of $451bn, according to research by the International Chamber of Commerce. The US was most financially affected over the last decade, at $935bn, followed by China at $268bn and India at $112bn.
Don’t miss this: actors tell of the tricky art of taking over a much-loved character
Recasting supporting roles is common in US network sitcoms, with Friends, Roseanne, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and The Big Bang Theory all having done it, and a flurry of shows look set to bring in more replacements in upcoming seasons. Michael Hogan looks at how fans react, how the process can be executed delicately – and what happens when it all goes wrong.
… or this: women walking Camino de Santiago speak of ‘terrifying’ sexual harassment
Women walking the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route have spoken out about facing “terrifying” sexual harassment in remote parts of rural Spain, Portugal and France, with one female pilgrim telling of how she feared for her life.
Climate check: developing world needs private finance for green transition, says Cop president
The private sector must play its part in funding the developing world’s transition to net zero if the world is to avoid the worst consequences of climate breakdown, the president of the UN climate summit has said. But many civil society groups question increasing the reliance on private finance, which comes with strings attached.
Last Thing: 100,000 Chinese students join 50km night-time bike ride in search of good soup dumplings
It started with four students deciding to bike several hours from their university city of Zhengzhou to Kaifeng in search of the city’s famous oversized soup dumplings in June. But several months on, it has ballooned into a movement of 100,000 young people on share bikes, overwhelming local roads and services, doing the same, galvanized by a hashtag: “Youth is priceless, night ride to Kaifeng has it.”
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