Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado greeted supporters in Oslo after missing the ceremony to award her the Nobel Peace Prize. Machado has spent more than a year in hiding, and has backed sanctions and US military intervention against the government.
Bolivian law enforcement officials have arrested former President Luis Arce as part of a corruption investigation, in a polarising move just a month after the inauguration of conservative President Rodrigo Paz ended 20 years of socialist rule.
A senior official in Paz’s government, Marco Antonio Oviedo, said on Wednesday that Arce had been arrested on charges of breach of duty and financial misconduct related to the alleged embezzlement of public funds during his stint as economy minister in the government of charismatic former leader Evo Morales (2006-2019).
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A special police force dedicated to fighting corruption confirmed to The Associated Press news agency that Arce was in custody at the unit’s headquarters in Bolivia’s capital of La Paz.
“It is the decision of this government to fight corruption, and we will arrest all those responsible for this massive embezzlement,” Oviedo said.
While officials described Arce’s arrest as proof of the new government’s commitment to fighting corruption at the highest levels in fulfilment of its flagship campaign promise, Arce’s allies say his arrest is unjustified and smacks of political persecution.
Authorities accused Arce and other officials of diverting an estimated $700m from a state-run fund dedicated to supporting the Indigenous people and peasant farmers who formed the backbone of Morales’ Movement Toward Socialism party.
As Bolivia’s first Indigenous president, Morales transformed the country’s power structure and gave Indigenous people more sway than ever.
Serving on the board of directors of the Indigenous Peasant Development Fund from 2006 to 2017, Arce was in charge of allocating funds to social development projects in rural areas.
During that time, officials allege Arce siphoned off some of that money for personal expenses.
“Arce was identified as the main person responsible for this vast economic damage,” said Oviedo.
Bolivia’s attorney general, Roger Mariaca, told local media that Arce had invoked his right to remain silent during police questioning, adding that he would remain in police custody overnight before being brought before a judge to determine whether he will remain in prison pending trial.
Renewed fighting between Thailand and Cambodia has entered its fourth day, with both sides accusing one another of violating international law, as they await a promised phone call from United States President Donald Trump.
Cambodia’s Ministry of Defence accused Thailand’s military of carrying out numerous attacks within the country in the early hours of Thursday morning, including deploying tanks and artillery to strike targets in the country’s Pursat, Banteay Meanchey, and Oddar Meanchey provinces.
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In one such attack, Cambodia accused Thai soldiers of violating international humanitarian law by firing on civilians in Prey Chan village in Banteay Meanchey province.
In another, it accused Thai forces of shelling “into Khnar Temple area”, and said Thai forces had also “fired artillery and support fire into the O’Smach area”.
“Cambodia urges that Thailand immediately stop all hostile activities and withdraw its forces from Cambodia’s territorial integrity, and avoid acts of aggression that threaten peace and stability in the region,” the Defence Ministry said.
Clashes took place on Wednesday at more than a dozen locations along the contested colonial-era demarcated 817-kilometre (508-mile) Thai-Cambodian border, with some of the most intense fighting being reported since a five-day battle in July, which saw dozens killed on both sides.
Cambodia’s Ministry of the Interior said homes, schools, roads, Buddhist pagodas and ancient temples had been damaged by “Thailand’s intensified shelling and F-16 air strikes targeting villages and civilian population centres up to 30km [18.6 miles] inside Cambodian territory”.
“It should be noted that … these brutal acts of aggression of the Thai military indiscriminately opened fire targeting civilian areas, especially schools, and further destroyed Ta Krabey and Preah Vihear temples, the highly sacred cultural sites of Cambodia and the world cultural heritage,” it said.
The ministry added that, as of Wednesday, the death toll on the Cambodian side of the border stands at 10 civilians, including one infant, while 60 people have been injured.
Responding to the accusations, the Thai army said Cambodia had “intentionally” used a historical site as a “military base of operations” and therefore was guilty of violating international law.
“Cambodia intentionally used the ancient site for military operations, as a base to attack Thailand, and deliberately undermined the protection of the ancient site. Thailand retaliated as necessary,” the Thai army said.
Eight Thai soldiers have also been killed in the fighting so far this week, with 80 more wounded, it said.
Both sides have blamed one another for reigniting the conflict, which began on Monday and has expanded to five provinces across Thailand and Cambodia, according to a tally by the AFP news agency.
More than 500,000 Thai and Cambodian civilians have been forced to flee border areas due to fighting.
It was only on October 26 that Trump presided over the signing of a ceasefire between the Southeast Asian neighbours in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Hailing the deal, which was also brokered by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Trump said mediators had done “something that a lot of people said couldn’t be done”.
Optimistic of securing another peace deal, Trump told reporters on Wednesday that “I think I can get them to stop fighting”.
Italian cuisine, long cherished for its deep regional traditions, has been officially recognised by UNESCO as an “intangible cultural heritage” – a designation the country hopes will elevate its global prestige and draw more visitors.
“We are the first in the world to receive this recognition, which honours who we are and our identity,” Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a statement on Instagram on Wednesday.
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“For us Italians, cuisine is not just food, not just a collection of recipes. It is much more, it is culture, tradition, work, and wealth,” Meloni said.
The vote by a cultural panel of UNESCO – the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization – meeting in New Delhi capped a process Italy launched in 2023, with the government portraying the country’s culinary tradition as a social ritual that binds families and communities.
🔴 BREAKING
New inscription on the #IntangibleHeritage List: Italian cooking, between sustainability and biocultural diversity, #Italy🇮🇹.
Congratulations!https://t.co/xoL14QjPPR #LivingHeritage pic.twitter.com/2iY86Obn3n
UNESCO did not single out any famous dishes or regional specialities. Instead, the citation focused on how much Italians value the everyday rituals around food: the big Sunday lunch, the tradition of nonnas teaching kids how to fold tortellini just right, and simply sitting down together to enjoy a meal.
“Cooking is a gesture of love; it’s how we share who we are and how we look after each other,” said Pier Luigi Petrillo, part of Italy’s UNESCO campaign and a professor at Rome’s La Sapienza University.
In its announcement, UNESCO described Italian cuisine as a “cultural and social blend of culinary traditions”.
“Beyond cooking, practitioners view the element as a way of caring for oneself and others, expressing love and rediscovering one’s cultural roots. It gives communities an outlet to share their history and describe the world around them,” it added.
The UNESCO listing could deliver further economic benefits to a country already renowned for its cooking and where the agri-food supply chain accounts for about 15 percent of the national gross domestic product (GDP).
It could also bring some relief to traditional family-run restaurants, long the backbone of Italian dining, which are facing a harsh economic climate in a market increasingly polarised between premium and budget options.
Honouring cultural expressions
Italy is not the first country to see its cuisine honoured as a cultural expression.
In 2010, UNESCO inscribed the “gastronomic meal of the French” on its intangible heritage list, calling out France’s tradition of marking life’s important moments around the table.
Other food traditions have been added in recent years, too, including the cider culture of Spain’s Asturian region, Senegal’s Ceebu Jen dish, and the traditional cheese-making of Minas Gerais in Brazil.
UNESCO reviews new candidates for its intangible-heritage lists every year under three categories: a representative list; a list for practices considered in “urgent” need of safeguarding; and a register of effective safeguarding practices.
At this year’s meeting in New Delhi, the committee evaluated 53 proposals for the representative list, which already includes 788 entries. Other nominees included Swiss yodelling, the handloom weaving technique used to make Bangladesh’s Tangail sarees, and Chile’s family circuses.
The United States House of Representatives has passed a far-reaching defence policy bill authorising a record $901bn in annual military spending.
The tally in Wednesday’s vote saw 312 lawmakers vote in favour of passing the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), with 112 opposing the bill. It has now been sent to the Senate for consideration and is expected to pass next week.
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The $901bn in defence spending for the 2026 fiscal year is $8bn more than US President Donald Trump requested in May this year.
The sweeping 3,086-page bill, which was unveiled on Sunday, includes typical NDAA provisions on defence acquisitions to compete militarily with rivals such as China and Russia. It also includes measures to improve living conditions for American troops, including an almost 4 percent pay rise and improvements in military base housing.
Lawmakers also forced the inclusion of several provisions cementing Washington’s commitment to Europe’s defence in the face of Russian aggression, including $400m in military assistance to Ukraine in each of the next two years to help repel Russia’s invasion.
Another measure requires the Pentagon to keep at least 76,000 troops and major equipment stationed in Europe unless NATO allies are consulted.
This year’s bill, however, also cut several programmes reviled by Trump, including about $1.6bn in funding to initiatives focusing on diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as climate change.
The legislation will now head to the Senate, with leaders aiming to pass the bill before lawmakers depart for a holiday break. Trump will then sign it into law once it reaches the White House.
The NDAA is one of a few major pieces of legislation to typically enjoy broad bipartisan support, having made it through Congress every year since its enactment in 1961.
This year’s process was rockier than usual, coming at a time of growing friction between the Republican-controlled Congress and the Trump administration over the management of the US military.
Before the vote, members of both parties urged their lawmakers to support the vital defence legislation, even if they objected to individual provisions contained within it.
Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Washington, DC, Mike Hanna, said that while there was “some significant dissent”, the bill still passed “very easily indeed”.
Also tucked into the NDAA are several measures pushing back against the Department of Defense, notably a demand for more transparency on deadly attacks carried out by the US military on alleged drug smuggling vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean in recent months.
Hanna said a “very noticeable” part of the bill threatens to take away 25 percent of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s travel funding unless he discloses more information on the US attacks on vessels in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, including allowing lawmakers to review unedited video of the strikes and the orders given to carry out the attack.
“This is a very strong move by the House forcing, it would appear, the defence secretary to provide full details of these attacks,” Hanna said.
At least 86 people have been killed across 22 known strikes since the Trump administration announced the first attack in early September.
The president has depicted them as a necessary counter-narcotics effort, even though they are widely considered illegal under both international and US law.
Hardline conservative lawmakers had expressed frustration that the NDAA did not do more to cut US commitments overseas, including in Europe.
Republican chair of the House Armed Services Committee Mike Rogers responded, saying “we need a ready, capable and lethal fighting force”.
“The threats to our nation, especially those from China, are more complex and challenging than at any point in the last 40 years,” Rogers said.
The top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, Adam Smith, said that while the bill does not do enough to rein in the Trump administration, it’s a “step in the right direction towards reasserting the authority of Congress”.