AMSTERDAM, Nov 25 (Reuters) – Veteran Dutch anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders vowed on Saturday to become prime minister of the Netherlands, following his party’s landslide election victory.

In a lengthy post on X, previously on Twitter, expressing frustration at other parties’ reluctance to cooperate with his Freedom Party (PVV), Wilders said he would “continue to moderate” his positions if necessary to gain power.

“Today, tomorrow or the day after, the PVV will be part of the government and I will be the prime minister of this beautiful country,” Wilders wrote.

Although Wilders’ Freedom Party (PVV) fared well ahead of rivals on an anti-immigration platform on November 22, his party is projected to win only 25% of the seats in the Dutch parliament.

That means he has to collaborate with at least two moderate parties to form a government.

On Friday, conservative Prime Minister Mark Rudd’s conservative VVD party, which shared many of Wilders’ views on immigration, said it would not join him in cabinet.

However, the VVD’s new leader, Dilan Yesilkos, has not ruled out providing support outside the Wilders government.

Peter Omdjicht, who leads the centrist reformist NSC party and is also seen as a partner in Wilders’ government, said cooperation would be difficult because of Wilders’ extreme positions, which appear to violate Dutch constitutional protections on religious freedom.

Dutch coalition negotiations usually take several months, and positions on the parties’ willingness to work with each other can change over time.

If Wilders is unable to form a government, centrist combinations that exclude the PVV are theoretically possible, while fresh elections are a last resort.

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Kiev, Ukraine
CNN
—

It carried out its largest ever drone strike against Russia on Saturday of Ukraine According to the local authorities, it was the capital of Kai from the beginning of its invasion.

“Almost 75 in total Shahed Drones Launched from both directions: Primorsko-Akhtarsk and Kursk region of Russia. The main target was the city of Kyiv,” Ukraine’s Air Force said in a Telegram post, describing the attack as a “record number” of drones.

It said air defenses intercepted 71 Iranian-made drones in six regions of Ukraine – but most of the drones were intercepted in the Kyiv region.

“Anti-aircraft missile troops, tactical aviation, mobile fire teams and electronic warfare units are involved in repelling the air attack,” the Air Force said. It added that a Kh-59 guided missile was also destroyed in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

Mykhailo Shamanov, a spokesman for the Kyiv City Military Administration, described several waves of drones coming from different directions toward the capital.

A CNN producer in Kiev heard loud explosions and repeated bangs as the drones buzzed overhead. The city’s military administration warned residents to take cover: “A large number of enemy UAVs are entering Kiev from different directions! We ask you to remain in shelters until the alarm goes off!”

According to Shamanov, this is the fourth drone strike in Kyiv this month.

Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said at least two people were injured in Kyiv’s Solomyanskyi district.

The fire broke out in several places in the Solomianskyi district, including a residential building and other non-residential premises, Klitschko said.

He said that the second floor of a five-story residential building in Solomiansky district was damaged, and debris from downed drones fell on two residential buildings – one in Dnibrovsky district, the other in Holozivsky district.

In a separate statement, Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said a fire broke out in a kindergarten complex after a drone was shot down in Solomianskyi district.

The country’s energy ministry said this latest attack on Kyiv left 77 residential buildings and 120 businesses without power in the city center.

Ukrainian energy company DTEK announced on Saturday that it had restored power to all Kyiv residents.

Last winter, Russia launched a sustained campaign of missile and drone strikes to cripple Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

Khmelnytskyi, in western Ukraine, has become a regular target of attacks, with shock waves from explosions damaging infrastructure in the region, including its nuclear power plant.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said “powerful explosions” rocked the area near the Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plant last month, with shock waves breaking windows and temporarily cutting power to some off-site radiation monitoring stations. IAEA experts at the plant also said two drones were shot down near the site.

The IAEA said the incident “once again highlights the dangers to nuclear safety and security during an ongoing military conflict”.

While there are concerns about the country’s energy this winter, DTEK has spent the past seven months restoring infrastructure, trying to increase production and increase safety at its facilities.

“We recovered what was recoverable, bought back-up equipment and installed safeguards around the power plants,” DTEK chief executive Maxim Tymchenko said. told CNN earlier this month.

According to Vadim Skibitsky, deputy head of Ukraine’s security intelligence, attacks on the country Energy grid Russia will be hard to pull this time.

Citizens are also preparing for the possibility of power cuts. A company that installs energy storage systems nationally, demand has risen significantly as people seek off-grid solutions, while businesses and institutions purchase generators and secondary batteries.

Verstappen will start ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and McLaren’s Oscar Piastre after the hour-long qualifying session, which is split into three sections, with five cars each in Q1 and Q2 being knocked out before the top 10 shootout in Q3.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix stage: Verstappen on pole from Leclerc

What happened at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Q1?

Verstappen set the fastest time of 1m24.160s, 0.049s ahead of teammate Perez.

Those who fell at the first barrier were Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), Kevin Magnussen (Haas), the Alfa Romeos of Valtteri Bottas and Cho Guanyu, and Logan Sargent (Williams, who lost two of his flying laptimes for breaching track limits).

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Q1 results: Verstappen fastest from Perez

What happened at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Q2?

Verstappen set the pace here as well, clocking 1m 23.740s on his opening run, 0.18s faster than McLaren’s Lando Norris.

At this point Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Alex Alban (Williams) and Daniel Ricciardo (Alfatori) all dropped out.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Q2 results: Verstappen faster than Norris

What happened at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Q3?

In the first runs, Verstappen set the bar at 1m23.445s, 0.371s faster than Norris.

In the final runs, Verstappen did not make progress, but Leclerc was more than 0.139s clear of pole.

Piastre took third from Norris, who made a big mistake on his final lap, and George Russell (Mercedes) was fourth.

Behind Norris, Yuki Tsunoda (Alfatori) will start sixth, ahead of Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), Nico Hulkenberg (Haas), Perez (whose best time was removed) and Pierre Gasly (Alpine).

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Q3 results: Verstappen takes pole

CNN
—

A former aide to former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has filed a lawsuit against her, alleging that Cuomo grabbed her breast and sexually harassed and abused her, according to summons filed this week.

Brittany Commisso was one of 11 women who were allegedly harassed. August 2021 report By Chief Advocate of the StateAccording to summonses filed Wednesday in Albany County Superior Court, New York’s adult survivors have filed a lawsuit against the former governor.

Six months after it was signed in May 2022, the state law opened a one-year window for sex crime survivors to sue their abusers even though the statute of limitations on their claims had expired.

Cuomo was one of several high-profile figures sued in the winning hours before the law expired at midnight Thursday.

The former governor has repeatedly and vehemently denied Camiso’s claims. His attorney on Friday called the case an attempted “cash grab.”

“Ms. Camiso’s claims are false, which is why the Albany district attorney dismissed the case two years ago after a thorough investigation,” Cuomo attorney Rita Clavin told CNN in a statement. “Ms. Commisso’s apparent attempt at extortion will fail. We look forward to seeing her in court.

The summons lists Cuomo, the state of New York and another former Cuomo aide as defendants and seeks damages for “substantial personal injuries and economic loss to the plaintiffs.”

Camiso was one of the women who spoke to investigators hired by New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct by the former governor. The report prompted Cuomo’s resignation, which he announced a week after its release on August 10, 2021.

According to the state report, Camiso told investigators that Cuomo grabbed her buttocks during a hug and during a photo op. The report also detailed an allegation previously reported by the Albany Times Union that Cuomo allegedly reached under her blouse and grabbed her breast in an incident at the governor’s mansion.

In January 2022, the Albany City Court dismissed the forcible touching complaint after the district attorney declined to pursue it. After the county sheriff’s office filed the misdemeanor charges against Cuomo, Albany District Attorney David Soares filed a letter saying he found Camiso “credible” but “impossible to prove beyond a reasonable doubt in a criminal court.”

The summons filed this week by Commisso alleges that the former governor’s conduct included “unwanted sexual advances” and “sexual comments” about her appearance and personal life. It also alleges that Cuomo excluded incidents of sexual abuse and “humiliating and degrading tasks, hugs, kisses” detailed in the 2021 state report.

It says she was subjected to “objectively unfair and abusive” conduct, believing she “must suffer to maintain her employment.”

The summons alleges that Camiso was retaliated against after rejecting Cuomo’s attempts to engage in sexual activity and later reporting the conduct.

Commisso says then-Lieutenant Governor, now Gov. Kathy Hochul, was fired from the front office and relegated to “the menial task of answering the phones” for Hochul’s office, according to the document.

Governor Hochul is not a named defendant in the suit, but is mentioned in the summons description.

Hochul’s spokesman, Avi Small, told CNN in a statement: “The claim about then-Lieutenant Governor Hochul is a mistake because he has no control over the decisions of executive chamber personnel. We can only regard this allegation as an error in the preparation of the summons.

New York state is listed as a defendant, and CNN has reached out for comment.

Meanwhile, Politics Cuomo — citing eight people who have spoken to him or his inner circle — said this week that he was assessing how viable a potential mayoral bid would be amid the pending FBI investigation into New York City Mayor Eric Adams. attention Campaign money, favors and potential foreign influence.

News of Cuomo’s political ambitions surfaced in a court document filed under the same Adult Survivors Act before Adams was charged with sexual assault in 1993.

Adams has repeatedly and vehemently denied the allegations and says he does not remember meeting the woman.

In a statement to CNN, Commisso said: “It disgusts me that Andrew Cuomo for mayor is even considering running for public office. [Eric] Adams was sexually harassed.

CNN’s Michelle Watson contributed to this report.

Black Friday deals keep getting better, especially from one of our favorite (but very expensive) brands, Apple.

Amazon is showcasing some of the best prices during its Black Friday sale event, with savings ranging from 13% to 38% on Apple AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 2, and AirPods 3 models.

Several years ago, the No Fun League changed its celebration rules to allow for widespread displays of joy. However, the league still has a strict rule against the use of outside props.

The Cowboys defied that rule Thursday by putting a turkey leg in the Salvation Army kettle. After a fourth quarter touchdown that pushed the score to 38-10, quarterback Dak Prescott He retrieved the bird from the oversized bowl.

“Team effort, team idea,” Prescott told reporters after the 45-10 win. “It was a 15-yard penalty and we talked about a two-, three-day long process about whether the coach would accept it. I’m telling you, I’m actually talking to the coach. [Mike McCarthy] Before every game, I catch him talking [owner/G.M.] Jerry [Jones] So I mentioned it. Of course, Jerry loved it. . . . At that point I made sure we were in my direction and the game was in hand, so CeeDee’s touchdown [Lamb] and the following two-point transition [which made the score 31-10], if you see I’m like, is it time? Can we do it? Me, no we’ll get another one. Of course, right after I threw it [KaVontae Turpin] I was like yeah, let it go. So, that was great.”

McCarthy actually went along with the idea on one condition.

“Well, you know when Jerry Jones is in the locker room talking before the game, he was there for that,” McCarthy told reporters. “So before we started pulling turkey nuggets out of the kettle can, I told them the game was going to be good. That was a little weird pregame for me.”

Jones confirmed that he knew the turkey leg was coming.

“If you use props in the NFL, you can get some fines,” Jones told reporters. “Now, if they add something to the red kettle . . . fine, I’m all for it, and we’ll fuss over it to bring more attention to the red kettle,” Jones said.

The Salvation Army kettle is occasionally used as part of the celebration. It is usually fined.

This time the flag was not hoisted. We’ll find out next weekend if anyone will contribute to the NFL’s overall charitable efforts (if the money doesn’t go to the Salvation Army) and if Jones will match it from his own sizable deep pockets.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has requested information from China on the rise in children’s respiratory diseases.

A Thursday In a news release, the health agency said Chinese health officials reported an increase in respiratory illnesses, including a cluster of pneumonia in children earlier this month.

Health officials attributed the increase to the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions and the circulation of known pathogens such as influenza, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and COVID-19.

Mycoplasma pneumonia is a common bacterial infection that usually affects younger children, the news release said.

“On November 22, WHO requested additional epidemiological and clinical information and laboratory results of these reported clusters among children through the International Health Regulatory Mechanism,” the health agency said in its news release. “We also requested more information on recent trends in the circulation of known pathogens, including influenza, SARS-CoV-2, RSV and mycoplasma pneumoniae, and the current burden on healthcare systems.”

According to the Associated Press, China’s National Health Commission said Thursday that children experiencing mild symptoms should first go to primary health care centers or general hospital children’s wards because major hospitals can be crowded and have long waits.

According to Chinese state media, the average number of patients in the internal medicine department at Beijing Children’s Hospital has risen to 7,000 per day, exceeding the hospital’s capacity.

The WHO said it plans to engage with doctors and scientists through existing technical partnerships and networks in China to recommend that Chinese authorities adopt measures to reduce the risk of respiratory disease.

“While WHO seeks this additional information, we recommend that people in China follow measures to reduce the risk of respiratory disease, including recommended vaccination; keeping distance from sick people; Staying at home when sick; examination and necessary medical care; wearing appropriate masks; Ensuring good ventilation; and regular hand washing,” the news release noted. “WHO will continue to provide updates.”

CNN
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A A four-day ceasefire Qatar announced on Thursday that a standoff between Israel and Hamas would begin Friday morning, with civilian hostages and Palestinian prisoners freed in the afternoon, hours after the deal first came into force.

A pause in the fighting will begin at 7 a.m. local time (midnight ET), with the release of the 13 women and child hostages at 4 p.m., said Majid al-Ansari, a spokesman for Qatar’s foreign ministry.

A list of hostages expected to be released has been handed over to Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service, Al-Ansari said, adding that communications and negotiations between all mediating parties continued as of Thursday morning.

He also said that the Mossad would hand over to Qatar a list of Palestinian prisoners to be released. “Once both our lists are confirmed, we can start the process of evicting people,” the spokesperson said.

Responding to a question from CNN, al-Ansari said he could not reveal what path the freed hostages would take, but said they would work with the Red Cross and “parties of the conflict.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed it has received a preliminary list of hostages expected to be released.

Ofir Gendelman, the Israeli Prime Minister’s spokesman for the Arab world, wrote in X: “Israel confirms that it has received a preliminary list of the names of the abductees. Competent authorities are examining the details of the list and are in the meantime contacting all the abducted families.

An Israeli official told CNN on Wednesday that the ceasefire would begin at 10 a.m. local time (3 a.m. ET) on Thursday. takes place Hostages in Gaza. But plans to free the hostages were delayed late Wednesday, hours before the ceasefire was initially expected to begin.

Under the previously mentioned agreement, 150 Palestinian prisoners will be released from Israeli prisons. The prisoners involved were women and children, Hamas said Wednesday, and the deal also included the entry of hundreds of trucks carrying aid, medical supplies and fuel to all parts of the besieged territory.

The Israeli government released a list of 300 Palestinian prisoners for possible release on Wednesday as Israel offers a second round of exchanges.

The list includes the age of the prisoners and the charges they are being held on – stone-pelting and “harming territorial security” are among the most common. Others have been detained for supporting illegal terrorist organizations, illegal weapons charges, incitement and at least two counts of attempted murder.

Most of the Palestinian prisoners listed as eligible for release are male youths between the ages of 16 and 18 – children under the United Nations definition – although a few are as young as 14. According to CNN’s count, 33 were women.

Israel’s National Security Council earlier said in a statement that the first group of hostages would not be released before Friday. An Israeli official told CNN that an agreed-upon temporary ceasefire in the fighting had been delayed until Friday.

“Talks for the release of our hostages are progressing and ongoing. The commencement of the release process will take place as per the original agreement between the two parties and not before Friday,” the statement said.

Comments on current planning echo those of US officials.

A U.S. National Security Council spokesman insisted in a statement late Wednesday that the hostage deal “remains agreed upon” and that the parties are “developing final logistical details, particularly for the first day of implementation.”

“Our view is that nothing should be left to chance as the hostages begin to come home,” NSC spokesman Adrian Watson said. “Our primary objective is to ensure that they are brought home safely. That is on track and we hope to start enforcement on Friday morning.

An Israeli official familiar with the matter downplayed the severity, putting it down to “very small implementation details.”

Speaking at a press conference Wednesday evening before the delay was announced, Netanyahu expressed confidence that the deal would go into effect soon, even as he offered few details about its implementation.

However, the prime minister warned on Thursday that the evacuation of the first group of hostages from Gaza was “not without its challenges”.

“We hope to get this first tranche and then we are determined to get everyone out,” Netanyahu said during a meeting with British Foreign Minister David Cameron.

Officials and analysts in Israel have long warned that any deal would be risky until the hostages could safely cross the border.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) continued ground and air operations in Gaza on Wednesday, launching strikes in the northeastern and central parts of the Gaza Strip ahead of the expected start of a ceasefire. According to Palestinian accounts, areas further south, including Khan Yunis and Rafah, were also hit.

Check out this interactive content on CNN.com

The IDF said Israeli forces continued to attack targets through Thursday, including in northwestern Jabalya.

The IDF said on Thursday that Israeli soldiers found a tunnel inside a mosque and struck another tunnel in an agricultural area in Beit Hanoun. It said IDF soldiers had found “numerous weapons” and identified a tunnel into a civilian settlement in the area.

At a briefing on Wednesday before the delay was announced, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari called the pending ceasefire a “complicated process” that “has not yet been finalized”.

The process “takes time and goes through a few stages,” he added.

The agreement marked a major diplomatic breakthrough nearly seven weeks after the start of a conflict that has turned into a severe humanitarian crisis in the enclave. The announcement was greeted with relief and high expectations from the families of the hostages.

Agreement, Qatar, the main negotiator, has laid out in a statement that hostages held by Hamas will be released in exchange for many Palestinian women and children in Israeli jails. The cease-fire, meanwhile, will allow for “larger numbers of humanitarian convoys and relief aid,” the statement said.

There is an option to extend the suspension to 10 days, but Israeli officials believe it is unlikely to last much longer.

And for every 10 hostages released, there would be an extra day of pause in fighting, Netanyahu said when the deal was ratified.

According to Israeli military figures, Hamas has taken 236 hostages in Gaza, including foreigners from 26 countries. The mass kidnappings at gunpoint came on October 7, when Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people in a coordinated and bloody surprise attack – the largest such attack since Israel’s founding in 1948.

Before the agreement, only a handful of hostages were released.

Israel responded to the attack by declaring war on Hamas, imposing a blockade on Gaza that cut off food, water, medicine and fuel supplies, and conducting relentless air and ground attacks. Some 12,700 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to data from the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the West Bank based on information from health officials run by Hamas.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Nov 23 (Reuters) – The World Health Organization (WHO) has asked China for details on an increase in respiratory illnesses and reported clusters of pneumonia in children, in what its China office on Thursday called “routine” testing.

Chinese officials from the National Health Commission held a press conference on November 13 to report on the rise in respiratory diseases.

Officials attributed the increase to Covid-19 loosening restrictions and the circulation of known pathogens such as influenza, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, a common bacterial infection that usually affects younger children, respiratory syncytial virus and the virus that causes COVID-19.

Both China and the WHO have faced questions about the transparency of reporting on the earliest cases of COVID-19 that appeared in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.

On Wednesday, the WHO said groups including the Emerging Diseases Surveillance Program had reported clusters of undiagnosed pneumonia among children in northern China. The WHO said it was unclear whether these were related to an overall increase in respiratory infections previously reported by Chinese authorities or to isolated cases.

Through the International Health Regulatory Mechanism, the WHO said it had sought epidemiological and clinical information and laboratory results about the alleged outbreak among children.

China has asked for more information on trends in the circulation of known pathogens and the burden on health-care systems. The WHO said it is in touch with doctors and scientists through existing technical partnerships and networks in China.

WHO China said it was “routine” to request information on increases in respiratory illnesses and clusters of pneumonia among children from member countries such as China.

The global agency decided to issue a statement about China to share available information after receiving several inquiries from the media, WHO China said in an emailed statement.

According to a transcript, undiagnosed pneumonia was not mentioned at last week’s press conference, but a speaker said everyone felt that respiratory illnesses had increased this year compared to three years ago.

Global surveillance for Mycoplasma pneumoniae has been low for the past three years and epidemics are cyclical, occurring every three to seven years, the spokesperson said.

Since mid-October, the WHO has reported an increase in flu-like illness in northern China compared to the same period in the previous three years.

It said China has systems in place to capture information on trends in disease incidence and report that data to platforms such as the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System.

In recent days, media outlets in cities such as Xi’an in the northwest have published videos of hospitals filled with parents and children.

Some social media users have posted photos of children doing homework while receiving intravenous drips at the hospital.

While WHO seeks more information, it recommends that people in China adopt measures to reduce the risk of respiratory disease.

Such measures include vaccination, keeping distance from sick people, staying at home when sick, testing and medical care, wearing appropriate masks, ensuring good ventilation and regular hand washing.

Our Standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.