Category: World

Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was fatally shot in the chest in midtown Manhattan during an annual investor conference. The attacker shot the CEO several times at close range and fled.

Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, one of the largest American health insurance companies, was fatally shot in the chest in midtown Manhattan, UNN reports citing the New York Times.

Details

Brian Thompson was taken to Mount Sinai West Hospital in serious condition.

Police are currently searching for the attacker. According to them, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare was targeted during the company's annual investor conference in New York.

Brian Thompson is known to have arrived at the event early to prepare. The armed man apparently knew which door Thompson was about to enter and shot him several times from a distance of only a few meters before fleeing.

Brian Thompson was appointed CEO of UnitedHealthcare in April 2021, leading one division of the larger UnitedHealth Group. He is based in Minnesota.

Recall

Businessman Michael Kline, 64, co-founder of the ticketing service Fandango, died after falling from the 20th floor of a hotel in Manhattan. His business was struggling during the pandemic, when movie theaters were closed.

The Board of Directors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved investments in Ukraine amounting to over €1.3 billion.

Source: Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal

Details: The funding will support eight projects aimed at bolstering both the public and private sectors.

Quote: "This includes projects in the recovery of transport and energy infrastructure, support for government programmes on the development of distributed generation, and enhancement of energy efficiency."

He also noted that part of the funding will be allocated as non-repayable grants.

Background: Ukraine has previously received US$4.8 billion from the World Bank under the PEACE project.

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Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan said that the country considers itself outside the CSTO and does not participate in the development of the organization's documents. He emphasized that the point of no return has already been passed.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that the republic considers itself outside the CSTO, UNN reports citing Armenia Today.

Details

According to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, the current situation in relations between Yerevan and the CSTO is increasingly complicating Armenia's return to the CSTO.

“I think the point of no return has already been passed. We do not participate in the development of any document, we also do not veto any document, because we already consider ourselves outside the CSTO, let them decide what they want, we do not interfere in their affairs,” the Prime Minister said.

He also assured that the situation with the freezing of relations between Armenia and the CSTO has nothing to do with Artsakh.

Recall

The Armenian Prime Minister said that the country has frozen its participation in the CSTO due to threats to security and sovereignty. Pashinyan emphasized that the resumption of participation is possible only after receiving concrete answers to the issues raised.

The German Ministry of Defence’s spokesperson has refused to comment on media reports that Russia allegedly launched flares at a German helicopter.

Source: Suddeutsche Zeitung, quoted by European Pravda

Details: The spokesperson for Germany's Defence Ministry declined to comment on media reports alleging that Russian forces fired signal flares towards a German helicopter.

In response to inquiries about the reported incident in the Baltic Sea, the spokesperson stated that violations of maritime or airspace regulations occasionally occur.

Quote: "In such cases, it becomes a matter for the navy or air force to respond calmly and with a de-escalating effect."

Earlier reports described an alleged encounter in the Baltic Sea between a Russian vessel and a German helicopter on a reconnaissance mission, during which the Russian crew reportedly fired signal flares.

Signal flares are typically used only in emergencies, and no further details about the incident have been provided so far.

Background:

• The Baltic Sea has become a hotspot for tensions between Russia and NATO, which involve espionage and the protection of critical infrastructure.
• Previous reports revealed that Russian ships, under the guise of routine civilian operations, have allegedly been collecting sensitive data about critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.

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500 journalists from The Guardian and The Observer have begun a 48-hour strike over the possible sale of the Observer to Tortoise Media. The employees oppose the separation of the two publications, which have existed together since 1791.

Scott Trust is considering selling The Observer to Tortoise Media. Journalists from The Guardian and The Observer go on 48-hour strike.

Reported by UNN with reference to Variety and Sky News.

Journalists from The Guardian and The Observer have begun a 48-hour strike to protest the proposed sale of the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.

Earlier this year, it was reported that the Scottish Trust was considering selling The Observer to the relatively young company Tortoise Media, which was founded in 2019 by editor James Harding as a platform for long-form journalism and podcasts.

Longtime editor of The Observer, Paul Webster, who retired last month, also criticized the sale, saying it would “do serious damage to the reputation of the Scott Trust.

Reference

The Observer is the sister newspaper of The Guardian, published weekly on Sundays. First published in 1791, it now employs around 70 journalists and publishes supplements such as The Observer Magazine and The Observer Food Monthly.

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It is reported that 500 journalists of the company voted for the strike.

The union said the new strike coincides with the 233rd anniversary of the first publication of The Observer in 1791.

Details of events from Sky News

On Monday, Sky News reported that it had received a memo sent to Guardian Media Group employees by CEO Anna Bateson outlining a revised package of measures designed to calm journalists who were outraged by the proposals.

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On Tuesday, it became known that Ole Jakob Sunde, chairman of The Guardian's parent company, Scott Trust, insisted that it would remain a co-owner of The Observer if the deal goes through.

Employees picketed outside the newspapers' London headquarters.

The journalists said that there has been “a huge amount of uncertainty” in recent months and they believe that “these two big newspapers should be together.

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Assad's army launched a counteroffensive against Islamist rebels near the strategic city of Hama with air support. Earlier, the rebels captured Aleppo and advanced 130 km to the South.

After the rapid advance of the Islamist rebel alliance in Syria, the army of ruler Bashar al-Assad launched a counteroffensive. In addition, the Syrian Kurdish alliance repelled an attack by "Turkish mercenaries" in its zone of influence east of the Euphrates River.

Reports UNN with reference to DW and VRT.

Details

According to the official agency and a non-governmental organization, the Syrian army launched a counteroffensive against the rebels near Hama.

The Syrian military launched a counterattack shortly after midnight. The ground forces are supported by fighter aircraft.

President Assad's army is trying to stop an alliance of rebel groups led by Islamic Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. This Wednesday, December 4, the Syrian military forces increased their security zone around the strategic northern city of Hama after fierce fighting with Islamist groups. The Syrian Kurdish alliance also repelled an attack by" Turkish mercenaries " in its zone of influence east of the Euphrates River.

Help

Hama, the capital of the Syrian province of the same name, through which the Strategic Highway M5, which is the mainstay of the country from North to South, is now a key target of the Islamist alliance of the Levant Liberation Organization (Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS), which has already managed to capture large territories in the north-west of the Arab country during the offensive.

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Hama has remained in government hands since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011. It is also important that the Access Road to the city of Homs passes through Hama. In addition, the city of Hama has mainly symbolic significance.

Additional information

In the middle of last week, an alliance of rebels led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched an offensive in northwestern Syria. Over the weekend, it took control of Aleppo, the country's second-largest city. Now the front has moved about 130 kilometers to the south (near the city of Hama).

According to the monitoring center, more than 570 people were killed in the fighting, including almost 100 civilians.

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The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine plans to introduce the position of a military ombudsperson.

Source: Ukrainian Defence Minister Umierov on Telegram

Details: Recently, the minister announced that he had presented the concept for establishing the post of military ombudsperson to President Zelenskyy.

Umierov explained that the initiative aims to provide a systematic approach to protecting the rights of Ukrainian service members.

As the first step, the Ministry created the Central Directorate for the Protection of Service Members' Rights, which is already delivering results: addressing complaints, conducting on-site inspections of violations, carrying out investigations, and ensuring the restoration of soldiers’ rights, Umierov said.

The next step will be to officially establish the post of military ombudsperson.

The ombudsperson will be equipped with the necessary tools to carry out effective and comprehensive work, including protecting the rights of service members, reservists, and their families, as well as identifying and resolving systemic issues.

Umierov promised to submit the proposal to the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) for consideration soon.

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The French parliament will vote on a vote of no confidence in the Government of Michel Barnier because of the pension law. The opposition parties of Melenchon and Le Pen have united against the incumbent prime minister.

After Prime Minister Michel Barnier pushed through the pension law, the parties of Melenchon and Le Pen decided to pass a vote of no confidence in it. Voting will take place in the coming hours.

Reports UNN with reference to Rai and EFE.

Unless a big surprise happens, the French government led by Michel Barnier will be forced to resign this Wednesday. The corresponding forecast may come true after the vote of no confidence, which was put to the vote at 16.00.

Help

The vote of no confidence was put forward by the new Popular Front (NNF) and supported by the National Association (no), Marine Le Pen's party.

Thus, the French National Assembly has two votes of no confidence on its agenda: one represented by deputies of the left – wing coalition of the new Popular Front (La France Insoumise, Socialists, Greens and communists), and the other from the extreme majority.

The opposition has 24 hours to express a vote of no confidence. Voting can take place as early as today.

It is also worth noting that since 1962, no French government has been forced to resign as a result of such a vote.

context

The crux of the problem that Michel Barnier's government is most likely to be defeated is the Social Security funding bill.

It was supposed to be considered starting at 15:00, but Barnier, speaking in the House of the National Assembly, announced the application of Article 49.3 of the Constitution, which allows the adoption of the law without passing a parliamentary vote.

"The French will not forgive us for preferring private interests to the future of the nation. .. We have reached the moment of truth that puts everyone in charge," Barnier said.

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"Faced with this yet another denial of democracy, we will challenge the government. Michel Barnier will go down in history as the person with the shortest mandate," said MP Mathilde panneau, leader of the left – wing La France Insoumise (LFI) group in the chamber led by Jean-Luc Melenchon. Shortly thereafter, Marine Le Pen's right-wing National Association (RN) confirmed that it would vote alongside the left to overthrow the government.

For his part, the head of the economy, Antoine Armand, warned of the "instability" that the fall of the government could cause.

"We are not exposing the government and budget to a vote of no confidence, but the country that we are putting at risk. If interest rates rise tomorrow, if taxes rise, the French will pay for the consequences," he said.

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Barnier's difficulty pushing through the 2025 budget in a deeply divided parliament has plunged France into its second political crisis in six months.

Since its formation in September, the Barnier minority government has relied on the support of the National Front for its survival.

A budget bill that aims to contain France's growing public deficit by raising taxes by 60 billion euros (США 63 billion) and cutting spending could mean the end of this shaky balance sheet.

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