Major MAGA figure Greene resigns from US Congress

US lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene, an influential right-wing figure and MAGA acolyte who recently broke with President Donald Trump, announced she is quitting her seat in Congress, prompting him to double down on Saturday on accusations she is a “traitor.”In a video posted online, the 51-year-old Republican congresswoman from Georgia, who was elected in 2020, said on Friday she had “always been despised in Washington DC and never fit in.”Greene said she did not want her supporters and family to endure “a hurtful and hateful primary against me by the President we all fought for, only to fight and win my election while Republicans will likely lose the midterms.””I will be resigning from office with my last day being January 5, 2026,” she said.Trump responded on his Truth Social platform by referring to the lawmaker as Marjorie “Traitor” Brown, a label she had singled out as unacceptable in an explanation of her decision to step away. “For some reason, primarily that I refused to return her never ending barrage of phone calls, Marjorie went BAD,” he said in the post early on Saturday morning.The shock move by Greene was the clearest sign yet of a growing split in MAGA world, still churning over strong Democratic victories in this month’s off-year elections, including the win for leftist New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani — who had a chummy meeting with Trump Friday. The movement has been particularly riven over Trump’s flip-flop on releasing emails related to the case of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein, a wealthy financier, moved in elite circles for years, cultivating close ties with business tycoons, politicians, academics and celebrities to whom he was accused of trafficking girls and young women for sex. The Epstein affair appeared to have forced the break between Trump and Greene — something she referenced in her resignation speech.”Standing up for American women who were raped at 14, trafficked and used by rich powerful men should not result in me being called a traitor and threatened by the President of the United States, whom I fought for,” Greene said.Trump ended his Truth Social post by saying: “Nevertheless, I will always appreciate Marjorie, and thank her for her service to our Country!”- ‘A two-way street’ -Just this week, Congress passed and the president signed a law requiring government records on the millionaire sex predator to be made public, after months of Trump trying to keep a lid on the material.But before his about-face on the issue, the president announced he was withdrawing all support for “‘Wacky’ Marjorie,” a vocal proponent of the release of the so-called Epstein files.He followed up the following morning with multiple posts on his Truth Social platform attacking Greene as a “lightweight” and even a “traitor” to the Republican Party.The former key political ally to Trump subsequently said she was being targeted by a wave of threats.Greene had previously been a standard-bearer of Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, a proponent of immigrant deportation, champion of gun rights and a vaccine skeptic. The high-profile rupture came after Greene distanced herself from the president, who has faced growing criticism over US cost of living concerns and the Epstein scandal.Trump himself had campaigned on releasing the Epstein files, delighting a political base fervent about throwing a spotlight on the scandal and convinced that doing so would expose many powerful figures.Greene’s sudden shift away from Trump prompted speculation that she is lining up for her own presidential bid in 2028, although she dismissed it as “baseless gossip.”Her resignation comes halfway through her third term in the US House of Representatives. In her resignation speech, she did not say what she will do next.“Her split with Trump made her an even bigger national sensation,” observed the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Georgia’s biggest newspaper, in its coverage of her resignation.Greene said she “fought harder than almost any other elected Republican to elect Donald Trump and Republicans,” spending “millions” of her own money along the way — comparing herself with “establishment Republicans who secretly hate him and who stabbed him in the back.””My voting record has been solidly with my party and the president,” Greene said. “Loyalty should be a two-way street.”

L’ouverture du G20 en Afrique du Sud dominée par le plan américain pour l’Ukraine

Le plan américain pour l’Ukraine vient bousculer l’agenda du sommet des grandes économies du G20, qui s’est ouvert samedi à Johannesburg (Afrique du Sud) et où les Européens multiplient les consultations pour adopter une contre-proposition, selon des sources européennes.Le président américain Donald Trump boycotte le sommet, mais les dirigeants européens présents dans la capitale économique …

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Ukraine: Kiev et ses alliés cherchent à resserrer les rangs face au plan Trump

L’Ukraine et ses alliés européens s’activent samedi pour trouver dans l’urgence une réponse au plan américain qui vise à mettre fin à près de quatre ans d’invasion russe, Donald Trump sommant Volodymyr Zelensky de l’accepter rapidement.”Il faudra bien que cela lui plaise, et si cela ne lui plaît pas, alors, vous savez, ils n’auront qu’à …

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South Africa 247-6 after Kuldeep takes three in second India Test

Spinner Kuldeep Yadav took three wickets as India rattled South Africa with late strikes to leave the tourists 247-6 at stumps on the first day of the second Test on Saturday.Tristan Stubbs, who made 49, and skipper Temba Bavuma (41) put on 84 runs for the third wicket after South Africa elected to bat in their bid for a first Test series win in India in 25 years.The World Test champions won the first Test of the two-match series by 30 runs at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.Ravindra Jadeja sent back Bavuma with his left-arm spin in the final session before Kuldeep denied Stubbs his fifty to raise the noise of a large weekend crowd in Guwahati.Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep (3-48) dismissed Wiaan Mulder for 13 and pace bowler Mohammed Siraj ended Tony de Zorzi’s defiance on 28 with the second new ball to further dent South Africa.”I think it was just good old-fashioned attritional Test cricket,” India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate told reporters.”And I thought both sides accounted for themselves very well. I thought we stuck at it brilliantly. Just when the game was slipping away, a couple of times we managed to get a foothold back into the game.”Ten Doeschate said it was an “even day”.Left-hander Senuran Muthusamy, on 25, and wicketkeeper-batter Kyle Verreynne, on one, were batting when bad light forced stumps with only 81.5 overs possible, fewer than the usual 90 overs in a day.Aiden Markram, who scored 38, and Ryan Rickelton (35) fell either side of the first break to Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep after an opening partnership of 82.- The grind -Bavuma and Stubbs, promoted to number three in the batting order, then got to the grind and slowly took the attack to the hosts with regular boundaries as the pair used their feet against the Indian spinners.Jadeja broke through with his left-arm spin to dismiss in-form Bavuma, who scored the only fifty in the opener in Kolkata, after the batter chipped to mid-off.Stubbs attempted to keep up the tempo as he hit Jadeja for a six but soon Kuldeep had him caught at slip.”I definitely think it’s better wicket for batting,” said Stubbs.”I do think they bowl quite well, the seamers especially, just kept bowling straight lines. But all of us (batters) had opportunities, and if you look in it, no one kicked on, so we can take that on ourselves.”Play started 30 minutes earlier than usual, with the order of the session breaks reversed, meaning tea came before lunch at India’s newest Test venue, which attracted an opening-day crowd of more than 15,000 fans.Bumrah had Markram bowled at the stroke of tea when the batsman inside-edged a delivery on to his stumps.Kuldeep struck on the third ball after the break to cut short Rickelton’s 82-ball stay.The openers had started cautiously and Markram got off the mark on his 17th ball with a crunching cover drive for four off Bumrah.Bumrah nearly had his revenge next ball only for KL Rahul to drop a regulation chance at second slip. The bowler covered his face in dismay.South Africa, who recently drew 1-1 in Pakistan, are chasing a first series win in India since Hansie Cronje’s team triumphed there in 2000.

L’Ukraine va entamer des “consultations” en Suisse avec les Américains sur un “futur accord de paix” avec Moscou

L’Ukraine va mener prochainement des pourparlers en Suisse avec les Etats-Unis pour discuter du plan de Donald Trump pour mettre fin à la guerre avec la Russie, a annoncé samedi un haut responsable ukrainien.”Dans les prochains jours, nous lancerons en Suisse des consultations entre de hauts responsables ukrainiens et américains sur les paramètres possibles d’un futur accord de paix”, a indiqué sur Facebook Roustem Oumerov, à la tête du Conseil de sécurité ukrainien.”L’Ukraine aborde ce processus avec une compréhension claire de ses intérêts. Il s’agit d’une nouvelle étape du dialogue qui se poursuit depuis quelques jours et qui vise principalement à harmoniser notre vision des prochaines étapes”, a-t-il ajouté.Le président Volodymyr Zelensky a signé de son côté samedi un décret formant la délégation qui sera chargée de participer “au processus de négociation avec les États-Unis et d’autres partenaires internationaux de l’Ukraine, ainsi qu’avec des représentants de la Russie”.Selon ce décret, la délégation sera menée par le bras droit de M. Zelensky, le chef de la présidence Andriï Iermak, et comprendra entre autres M. Oumerov, les chefs des services de sécurité et de renseignement et le chef d’état-major. Soit une délégation essentiellement militaire.Vendredi, M. Zelensky avait repoussé le plan américain pour mettre fin à près de quatre ans d’invasion russe et assuré qu’il tenterait de suggérer des solutions alternatives à Washington. Le texte est vu avec inquiétude à Kiev car il reprend plusieurs exigences majeures formulées par la Russie.Le plan comprend notamment des cessions de territoires par l’Ukraine et une réduction de la taille de son armée, mais offre aussi des garanties de sécurité occidentales pour Kiev.Donald Trump et Vladimir Poutine ont de leur côté pressé M. Zelensky d’accepter le texte.

Ukraine, Europe scramble to respond to US plan to end war

Ukraine and its European allies scrambled Saturday to come up with counter-proposals after US President Donald Trump gave Kyiv a tight deadline to approve a deal to end the war that accepts some of Russia’s hardline demands.  President Volodymyr Zelensky has pushed back against the 28-point US plan. Russian leader Vladimir Putin has welcomed the proposal, which would force Ukraine to give up land, cut its army and pledge never to join NATO. French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer met Saturday on the the sidelines of a G20 summit in South Africa, the French presidency said.The huddle was held ahead of a wider meeting on the same topic that would include other European leaders, the presidency said. Starmer had earlier said the aim was to “look at how we can strengthen this plan for the next phase of negotiations”. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the allies should make it clear “that there should be nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.”US Vice President JD Vance reacted to the criticism of the plan, saying it “either misunderstands the framework or misstates some critical reality on the ground.””There is a fantasy that if we just give more money, more weapons, or more sanctions, victory is at hand,” he added.Ukraine faces one of the most challenging moments in its history, Zelensky said in an address to the nation, adding that he would propose alternatives to Trump’s proposal.A top Ukrainian official on Saturday said Kyiv would launch talks with the US in Switzerland to discuss ways to end the war. The delegation will be led by Zelensky’s top aide Andriy Yermak.Better equipped and larger in numbers, the Russian army is slowly but steadily gaining ground across the lengthy front line.Ukrainians were meanwhile facing one of the toughest winters since the war began, as Moscow carried out a brutal bombing campaign against energy infrastructure. This comes as a sweeping corruption probe that unveiled graft in the energy sector was unravelling in Kyiv, sparking public outcry.    US President Donald Trump has given Ukraine less than a week to sign. Zelensky pledged to work to ensure any deal would not “betray” Ukraine’s interests, acknowledging he risked losing Washington as an ally.- ‘He’ll have to like it’ -Russia would gain territory, be reintegrated into the global economy and rejoin the G8, under a draft of the plan seen by AFP.Putin said the blueprint could “lay the foundation” for a final peace settlement, but threatened more land seizures if Ukraine walked away from negotiations.”Ukraine and its European allies are still living under illusions and dreaming of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield,” Putin said in a televised meeting with his security council. If Kyiv walks away, Russia claimed its recent recapturing of the Ukrainian city Kupiansk “will inevitably be repeated in other key areas of the front line”, Putin added.The Ukrainian army denies Russia has retaken Kupiansk, which Kyiv lost to Moscow the day it launched its invasion in 2022, then wrested back.Trump said that November 27 — when the United States celebrates Thanksgiving — was an “appropriate time” to set for Zelensky to agree a deal, but he indicated it could be flexible.”He’ll have to like it, and if he doesn’t like it, then you know, they should just keep fighting,” Trump told reporters. “At some point he’s going to have to accept something.”- ‘Loss of dignity’ -Earlier this week, Russia carried out one of its deadliest attacks this year and one of the worst on western Ukraine since the invasion.Thirty-two people died  in the western city of Ternopil after cruise missiles slammed into apartment blocks.To end the war, the US plan envisages recognising territories controlled by Moscow as “de facto” Russian, with Kyiv pulling troops out of parts of the Donetsk region. Ukraine would also cap its army at 600,000, rule out joining NATO and have no NATO troops deployed to its territory.In return, Ukraine would get unspecified “reliable security guarantees” and a fund for reconstruction using some Russia assets frozen in foreign accounts.”The pressure on Ukraine is one of the hardest. Ukraine may face a very difficult choice: either the loss of dignity or the risk of losing a key partner,” Zelensky said in his address.

Aftershock rocks Bangladesh as quake death toll rises to 10

A low-magnitude tremor hit Bangladesh on Saturday, the national meterological service said, a day after a powerful earthquake struck outside the capital Dhaka and killed at least 10 people.Updating earlier tolls from Friday’s 5.5-magnitude quake, disaster management official Ishtiaqe Ahmed told AFP that “the number of casualties has reached 10, while a few hundreds were injured”.The first earthquake was felt in Dhaka and neighbouring districts, causing widespread destruction.Toriful Newaz Kabir of the Bangladesh Meterological Department said Saturday’s 3.3 magnitude jolt was recorded in the town of Palash, Narsingdi district, 29 kilometres (18 miles) from Dhaka.The met office had earlier said its epicentre was in Ashulia, just north of the capital.”There was a mistake while analysing the data,” Kabir told AFP, adding they had revised the epicentre location.Aftershocks are common after major earthquakes, but for some in Bangladesh it has added to fears of an even greater disaster.”I don’t feel safe yet, as there was another jolt this morning in Ashulia. Maybe we are next,” said Shahnaj Parvin.The 44-year-old, who lives near the epicentre of Friday’s earthquake, told AFP she had never experienced such a tremor.Cracks have developed in dozens of houses in her area, she said.”I was hanging my children’s clothes on the washing line when the tremor struck,” added Parvin.”I held onto a mahogany tree, and when I returned home, I found my glassware broken.”The government has activated Bangladesh’s emergency operation centre to assess the scale of the damage and to coordinate relief and rescue operations.Rubayet Kabir of the Meteorological Department’s Earthquake Observation and Research Center said Bangladesh’s geography makes the country of 170 million people prone to quakes.”That’s why we experience earthquakes quite frequently, though they are not as strong as the one” on Friday, he told AFP.”Some small tremors are expected after any major earthquake,” Kabir said.”There has been no massive earthquake in the last 100 years or more, but Bangladesh has been vulnerable for quite some time.”