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Journalists, students and aid workers shortlisted for Sakharov Prize

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Journalists, students and aid workers shortlisted for Sakharov Prize

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The European Parliament decided on Thursday the three finalists of the 2025 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, awarded to individuals and organisations who have defended human rights, freedom of expression and democratic values.

This year, the shortlisted candidates are imprisoned journalists Andrzej Poczobut from Belarus and Mzia Amaglobeli from Georgia, journalists and humanitarian aid workers in Palestine and across all conflict zones, and Serbian students for their continuous nationwide protests.

Each political group of the Parliament presented a candidate. Journalist, essayist, and blogger from the Polish minority in Belarus, Poczobut, was nominated by the EPP and ECR groups.

His candidacy was paired with that of Amaglobeli, a Georgian journalist detained in 2025 for participating in an anti-government protest and imprisoned for two years on politically motivated charges.

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The second entry, represented by the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, the Red Crescent, and UNRWA, was put forward by the S&D group and backed by The Left, which itself nominated journalists in Palestine, specifically mentioning Hamza and Wael Al-Dahdouh, Plestia Alaqad, Shireen Abu Akleh and Ain Media.

The Serbian students who initiated nationwide protests after a railway station awning collapsed in Novi Sad in November 2024, killing 16, were selected by the liberal group Renew Europe.

Charlie Kirk not among the nominees

The Budapest Pride, nominated by the Greens/EFA group, the Franco-Algerian writer Boualem Sansa, nominated by the Patriots for Europe (PfE) group, and the late US conservative activist Charlie Kirk, nominated by the Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) group, have not gained enough votes to make it to the shortlist.

Kirk’s figure sparked controversy in the European Parliament, as a minute of silence to commemorate his death led to a political mudslinging during the Strasbourg plenary session in September.

His candidacy was supported by ESN members and some PfE MEPs, sources from the party told Euronews, but it was not enough to make it to the list.

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“Charlie Kirk was a strongly divisive figure. He is for sure a victim, but he was sowing words of hate against certain minorities,” S&D MEP Marco Tarquinio told Euronews after the vote.

“On the contrary, the triad resulting from the vote includes entries in the full spirit of the Sakharov Prize: victims who do not give up, who do not use hate speech, nor legitimise it.”

On the other side of the chamber, MEP from the Spanish far-right party Vox, Hermann Tertsch, praised Kirk’s legacy and criticised the inclusion of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate among the finalists.

“Palestinian journalists often mean members of Hamas,” he told Euronews.

The winner of the Sakharov Prize will be announced next Wednesday in Strasbourg. The decision will be taken by the Parliament’s Conference of Presidents, which includes President Roberta Metsola and the leaders of the eight political groups.

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The award ceremony, which encompasses an allocation of 50,000 euros, will take place on 16 December in Strasbourg.

Named after Soviet physicist and political dissident Andrei Sakharov, the Prize for Freedom of Thought has been awarded since 1988 to dissidents, political leaders, journalists, lawyers, and civil society activists, including figures such as South African anti-apartheid activist and first president Nelson Mandela and Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Last year, the Sakharov Prize laureate was the recently-awarded Nobel Peace Prize recipient María Corina Machado, along with the other leader of the Venezuelan opposition, Edmundo González.

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Honduran election authorities resume vote tallies amid allegations of fraud

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Honduran election authorities resume vote tallies amid allegations of fraud

Central American nation on edge after voting plagued by fraud claims and a recent history of contested elections.

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Election officials in Honduras have released updated voting results from the country’s November 30 election, following a three-day pause in tallies amid allegations of fraud and inconsistencies.

With 89 percent of ballots tallied on Monday, the conservative candidate Nasry Asfura held a slim lead of 40.21 percent over centrist contender Salvador Nasralla, who has 39.5 percent.

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Rixi Moncada, a leftist candidate with the governing LIBRE party, is trailing in third place, with 19.28 percent.

“After carrying out the necessary technical actions (with external auditing), the data is now being updated in the results,” Ana Paola Hall, president of the National Electoral Council (CNE), said in a social media post.

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Allegations of fraud had dominated the lead-up to the election, and statements from United States President Donald Trump have likewise stirred controversy.

In the final days before the election, Trump indicated that he may not be able to work with anyone but Asfura. That, in turn, led to an outcry from other candidates who accused the US leader of election meddling.

The electoral body stated that about 14 percent of the tally sheets showed inconsistencies and would be reviewed. Hall added in her post that candidates must “stay alert and, where applicable, file the corresponding challenges in accordance with the law”.

Following a coup in 2009, Honduras experienced a period of repression and disputed elections that left many sceptical about the legitimacy of the electoral process. Security forces killed at least 16 people when they opened fire on protesters following a contested vote in 2017, with about 30 killed in protests across the country.

The prolonged vote-counting has fuelled concerns that similar clashes might erupt.

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The opposition has also criticised Trump’s stated preference for Asfura as a form of interference, given his threat that US support could be withdrawn if he did not win.

Trump has previously written, “If he [Asfura] doesn’t win, the United States will not be throwing good money after bad.”

Moncada, the LIBRE candidate, has said she will not recognise the results that took place under “interference and coercion”. Nasralla has also said that Trump’s interference may have cost him votes.

Accusations of impropriety are widespread, with a conservative member of the CNE panel accusing a LIBRE member of “intimidation”, and Nasralla saying that “the corrupt ones are the ones holding up the counting process”.

Rights groups and civil society organisations have called for patience and transparency.

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Paul Dano Joins Cast of Florian Zeller’s Psychological Thriller ‘Bunker’ (EXCLUSIVE)

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Paul Dano Joins Cast of Florian Zeller’s Psychological Thriller ‘Bunker’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Paul Dano has landed his next big project. The actor will star in “Bunker,” an elevated psychological thriller from Oscar-winning filmmaker Florian Zeller.

Dano, known for his performances in “There Will Be Blood,” “The Batman” and “The Fabelmans,” has joined the star-studded ensemble of “Bunker,” led by Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, alongside Stephen Graham and Patrick Schwarzenegger. The actor, who’s been loved-bombed by his Hollywood peers since Quentin Tarantino called him “the worst fucking actor in SAG,” recently presented “The Wizard of the Kremlin” in which he stars as spin-doctor Vadim Baranov.

Currently in its second week of filming, “Bunker” marks Zeller’s hotly anticipated follow up to “The Son” which competed at Venice and earned Hugh Jackman a best actor nomination at the Golden Globes; and “The Father” which won best actor for Anthony Hopkins and best adapted screenplay (for Christopher Hampton and Zeller) at the Oscars.

“Bunker” explores the unraveling of a family as a mysterious construction project — a bunker commissioned by a powerful tech mogul — begins to infiltrate their lives. The movie is already positioned as one of 2026’s standout projects. Zeller, a celebrated playright-turned-filmmaker, has guided actors to deliver career-high performances in his first two movies, from Hopkins in “The Father” to Jackman in “The Son.” “Bunker,” which Zeller also penned, also promises to showcase his signature blend of emotional rigor and haunting atmosphere.

“We are thrilled to welcome Paul Dano to the cast,” said Zeller. “From ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ to ‘There Will Be Blood,’ Paul has consistently impressed me as an actor. He possesses an extraordinary singularity — something genuinely unique — and in that sense, he is truly irreplaceable.”

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The film is produced by Blue Morning Pictures, which is part of Mediawan, and MOD Producciones. “Bunker” is being shot between Madrid and London. International sales are handled by FilmNation Entertainment with CAA Media Finance and WME Independent handling domestic rights.

Blue Morning Pictures’ Federica Sainte-Rose is producing alongside Fernando Bovaira and Simon de Santiago of MOD Producciones. Alice Dawson also serves as a producer on the film. Mariano Cohn, Gaston Duprat, Andres Duprat, Emanuel Nunez and Fernando Sokolowicz are executive producers.

Zeller praised Cohn and Duprat as “incredibly inventive and talented filmmakers, for whom (he holds) a deep artistic admiration.” “Their film ‘El hombre de al lado’ was a source of inspiration for me while writing ‘Bunker,’” Zeller continued.

Dano is represented by WME, Anonymous Content, Relevant and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher.

Zeller is represented by CAA and Adequat in France, as well as attorneys Carlos Goodman and Mitch Smelkinson at Goodman Genow Schenkman Smelkinson & Christopher.

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Ukraine’s Zelenskyy yet to read peace plan, Trump says

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Ukraine’s Zelenskyy yet to read peace plan, Trump says

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President Donald Trump said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has yet to read the updated peace plan to end the war with Russia amid several rounds of talks between U.S. and Ukrainian officials in Miami.

“I’m a little bit disappointed that President Zelenskyy hasn’t yet read the proposal, that was as of a few hours ago,” Trump told reporters at the Kennedy Center on Sunday. “His people love it, but he hasn’t.”

“Russia, I guess, would rather have the whole country when you think of it, but Russia is, I believe, fine with it, but I’m not sure that Zelenskyy is fine with it,” Trump added.

Zelenskyy said Saturday that he held a “long and substantive phone call” with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and the trio covered many points, including how to end Russia’s war and how to ensure Moscow will not invade again.

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PUTIN CALLS TRUMP’S PEACE PLAN A ‘STARTING POINT’ AS HE WARNS UKRAINE TO PULL BACK OR FACE ‘FORCE’

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner attend talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow on Dec. 2, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

The Ukrainian leader said he was waiting for members of his negotiating team to brief him in person on the latest round of talks.

Rustem Umerov, the head of the Ukrainian delegation and secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said Monday that he and Ukraine’s military chief of general staff, General Andriy Hnatov, would brief Zelenskyy on the latest developments, including the takeaways from Witkoff and Kushner’s five-hour meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Putin arrived in New Delhi last week for a state visit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and gave an interview to the India Today news channel, where he said the negotiations with the Americans were long but productive.

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Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi pose for a photo during their talks at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Dec. 5, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

EX-CIA STATION CHIEF WARNS PUTIN USING TALKS TO GAIN LEVERAGE AS UKRAINE DELEGATION MEETS TOP TRUMP OFFICIALS

“Sometimes we said, yes, we can discuss this, but with that one we cannot agree,” said Putin, according to a transcript of the conversation released by the Kremlin.

The Russian leader stuck to his maximalist demands in the interview, arguing his war will only end when his country takes Ukraine’s eastern Donbas or Ukrainian troops withdraw.

Servicemen carry the coffin of 22-year-old volunteer soldier Yukhym Agafontsev during a farewell ceremony in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Dec. 2, 2025. (Dan Bashakov/AP)

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Zelenskyy is set to meet with European leaders in London Monday to discuss the U.S.-led peace plan. His arrival comes amid a new wave of Russian drone and missile barrages that have targeted Ukraine’s civilian and energy infrastructure.

Zelenskyy said in the last week alone, Russia launched more than 1,600 drones, roughly 1,200 guided aerial bombs, and nearly 70 missiles of various types against Ukraine.

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