Unbiased headline news – The M23 rebel group’s advance toward eastern Congo’s largest city has forced over 178,000 people to flee in the last two weeks, according to the United Nations. The fighters are moving closer to Goma, which lies on the border with Rwanda, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the region.
The M23 has continued to make notable gains, though their intention to seize Goma remains uncertain. The rebels previously captured the city in 2012, holding it for more than a week. Congolese officials reported that the group has now taken control of Minova, a strategically important town on a key supply route leading to Goma, a central hub for both security operations and humanitarian assistance.
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Colombia’s government is reinstating arrest warrants for the leadership of the country’s largest rebel group, citing attacks on civilians amid a violent territorial conflict with dissident guerrillas over control of a coca-producing region near the Venezuelan border.
President Gustavo Petro’s administration had paused these warrants in 2022 as part of an effort to broker peace with the National Liberation Army, or ELN, a group that has been engaged in armed insurgency for six decades.
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Steve Bannon is pushing for a more combative legal team to defend him in his upcoming trial on charges of defrauding donors to an online fundraiser for a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico. Bannon made his case during a court hearing on Wednesday.
“I’ve been the target of political persecution for years, and I need attorneys who will aggressively use every available strategy to fight this,” Bannon said. He entered a not guilty plea in 2022 to allegations that he defrauded contributors to the “We Build the Wall” crowdfunding campaign.
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A New York aesthetician has been arrested for allegedly purchasing counterfeit Botox from China and administering it to patients without proper licensing, federal prosecutors announced. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York brought the charges.
Joey Grant Luther, 54, faces allegations of wire fraud, smuggling, and related offenses tied to importing counterfeit and misbranded drugs. Luther operated JGL Aesthetics, a medical spa located in New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood. Prosecutors noted that the Botox in question was not approved by the FDA.
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A tragic fire claimed the lives of two children and two adults early Wednesday morning in a Kansas City, Missouri, suburb, where freezing temperatures compounded the devastation.
The blaze, which broke out at around 6 a.m. at the Indy Ridge Apartments in Independence, left victims including two children, aged 3 and 8. Independence Fire Chief Jimmy Walker confirmed the deaths in a news conference, calling it “a sad day for the community” and emphasizing the need for solidarity during the aftermath.
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Former President Donald Trump unveiled a new joint venture named Stargate, which aims to inject billions of dollars in private investments into artificial intelligence infrastructure across the United States.
Oracle, Softbank, and OpenAI announced their commitment to invest roughly $500 billion over the next four years as part of the initiative. “Together, these world-leading technology giants are launching Stargate,” Trump said during his first full day as president at a White House briefing. “This new American enterprise will invest at least $500 billion.”
