Georgian lawmakers voted in a far-right former soccer star as the country’s next president on Saturday, amid mounting popular anger over the government’s halt to EU accession talks.

Mikheil Kavelashvili, 53, is a former MP for the ruling Georgian Dream party and played for the English soccer team Manchester City during the 1990s. He was the only candidate in the running.

For the first time, the president was chosen not by a national election, but in parliament by a direct ballot of a 300-member electoral college made up of MPs and representatives of local government. Because the four main opposition groups have boycotted parliament since October’s disputed election, Kavelashvili was a shoo-in to win.

In total there were 225 electors present for the vote, and 224 voted for Kavelashvili, who was the only candidate nominated, Reuters reported. He will be inaugurated on December 29, the news agency said.

Kavelashvili is a hardline critic of the West and his upcoming presidency will no doubt deepen tensions in the country between pro-Kremlin forces and pro-European Union protesters, many of whom who have camped out in Tbilisi for the past 16 nights following the government’s decision to halt talks on joining the EU.

The outgoing president, Salome Zourabichvili, a pro-Western figure who has joined the opposition protesters, said the presidential vote makes “a mockery of democracy.” Before the vote, she vowed to remain in office despite the result, insisting she holds the only legitimate institution left in Georgia.

“I’m here and will remain – standing together with everyone!” Zourabichvili said late Friday.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

The founder of fashion giant Mango, Isak Andic, died unexpectedly in an accident on Saturday, the company announced in a statement.

Andic served as the company’s non-executive Chairman, according to the statement signed by Mango CEO Toni Ruiz.

“He dedicated his life to Mango, leaving an indelible mark thanks to his strategic vision, his inspiring leadership and his unwavering commitment to values that he himself imbued in our company,” read the statement.

The statement did not specify where and how Andic died. However, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Andic died in an accident in the caves of Monserrat, located outside Barcelona.

“All my affection, and recognition for your great work and business vision, which has turned this Spanish brand into a world reference in fashion,” Sanchez wrote on X.

Catalonia’s regional president, Salvador Illa, also reacted to the industry leader’s death. “Dismayed by the loss of Isak Andic, a committed businessman who, with his leadership, has contributed to making Catalonia great and projecting it to the world,” Illa wrote on X.

“He left an indelible mark on the Catalan and global fashion sector,” he added.

Andic was in his seventies and had a net worth of 4.5 billion dollars, according to Forbes. He founded the Mango brand in Barcelona, Spain in 1984.

Mango is one of Europe’s leading fashion groups, according to the company’s website, with stores in over 120 markets. In 2023, the company’s sales surpassed 3.2 billion dollars.

The company currently operates 40 stores in the US and plans to open 20 more next year, according to Mango’s website.

During his first term as US president, Donald Trump was widely seen as a friend to Taiwan, having bolstered support for the island through increased arm sales and upgraded diplomatic visits.

But that goodwill was nowhere to be found on the campaign trail, with Trump repeatedly claiming that the self-ruled democracy should pay the US more for “protection” and that it had “stolen” America’s chip business.

That’s why Taiwan is buckling up for what could be a far more volatile relationship with Washington, its most important security guarantor, now that Trump has clenched a historic political comeback.

What is certain, observers say, is that Taiwan will have to pay more for its own defense and step up engagement with the Trump administration to shore up American support.

China’s ruling Communist Party views Taiwan as part of its territory, despite never having controlled it, and has vowed to take the island by force if necessary. Under the Taiwan Relations Act, Washington is legally required to provide the island with the means to defend itself, and it supplies Taipei with defensive weaponry.

In a statement issued after the November election, Taiwan President Lai Ching-te stressed the importance of Taiwan’s friendship with the US and said Taipei is willing to be “the most reliable partner.”

Experts say Taiwan will be closely watching Trump’s foreign policy and defense appointments, his response to Russia’s war in Ukraine and his demands on allies for clues on the future of the relationship.

The stakes of that relationship are higher than ever as Beijing ramps up military intimidation of Taiwan, sending fighter jets and warships near the island almost on a daily basis and launching large-scale drills to punish what it calls “separatist acts.”

This week, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said China fielded its largest regional maritime deployment in decades, as it braced for expected military exercises after Lai sparked Beijing’s ire by making unofficial stops in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam.

Beijing has not announced any military drills or acknowledged the large-scale deployment cited by Taipei. US officials have said China’s regional naval deployments are elevated but consistent with other large exercises in the past.

Under pressure

But one thing’s for sure: Trump is a less vocal supporter of Taiwan than Joe Biden. The outgoing president has repeatedly said the US would be willing to intervene militarily should the Chinese attack the island, before the White House would walk back his comments.

The US has long been governed by a policy of “strategic ambiguity” over exactly how it would respond to an invasion of Taiwan. Trump, though, has taken that ambiguity to another level.

Asked by the Wall Street Journal if he would use military force against a blockade on Taiwan by China, Trump said it would not come to that because Xi respected him and knows he’s “crazy.” Instead, he said he would slap 150% to 200% tariffs on Beijing.

In an October episode of the “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, Trump hit out at America’s longtime friend, saying Taiwan doesn’t “pay us money for the protection, you know? The mob makes you pay money, right?”

Taiwan’s mutual defense treaty with Washington ended in 1979 along with official diplomatic ties. Unlike South Korea and Japan, it doesn’t pay for American military forces to be based in its territory. Still, the US is the island’s biggest arms dealer.

“US and Taiwanese national security interests overlap significantly,” said Kanapathy. “But the Unites States can’t want to help Taiwan more than Taiwan wants to help itself. That’s the bottom line.”

Taiwan has long procured weaponry and military equipment from the US. There is currently a backlog of more than $20 billion in military gear that Taiwan has ordered and is still awaiting delivery. It has also been increasing its defense budget over the years.

This year, the Taiwanese government proposed a record high military budget that accounts for approximately 2.5% of the island’s total economic output, far less than the 10% target Trump said Taiwan should commit to.

A significant increase in defense spending, however, could be politically difficult for Taiwan’s President Lai, as his party does not have a majority in the legislature. And 10% would make Taiwan among the highest military spenders in the world, three times more than what the US spends on its military as a percentage of its economy.

Trump won re-election earlier this month and has announced a proposed cabinet stacked with multiple China hawks.

Chip giant

Trump has also repeatedly accused Taiwan of “stealing” America’s chip business and has suggested imposing tariffs on Taiwan’s critical chip exports, which are used to power an array of modern technologies, from smartphones to artificial intelligence applications.

While experts have dismissed Trump’s comments, saying Taiwan grew its own semiconductor industry organically through a combination of foresight, hard work and investment, the remarks have prompted jitters that Taiwan would need to move more of its critical chip supply chain to the US at a faster pace.

A move like that could affect the island’s economic security and dismantle the very “silicon shield” that some say helps protect Taiwan from the threat of an invasion by Beijing.

“If Trump is going to do something against the chips supply chain, including more rigid export controls, that may have a lot of impact on Taiwan,” she said, referring to restrictions on which countries or companies Taiwanese chip suppliers may sell to.

Earlier this month, Reuters reported the US had ordered Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, or TSMC, to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers. TSMC manufactures 90% of the world’s most advanced chips.

The move came after TSMC-made chips were reportedly found in devices made by Huawei, a Chinese telecommunications giant sanctioned by the US in 2019. TSMC said it had not supplied chips to Huawei since September 2020, but it continues to supply other Chinese clients, prompting concerns that Huawei may still have access to these chips through other Chinese firms.

Analysts say increasing outreach and education efforts would be key for Taiwanese chip businesses to mitigate risks as Trump begins his second term.

The commander of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk group of forces has been replaced following Russian advances in the region, a military official said Saturday.

The move comes after Lutsenko faced heavy criticism for failing to stop recent Russian advances on the key city of Pokrovsk.

Russian forces have been spotted just three kilometers (1.9 miles) from the city, according to Ukrainian mapping service DeepState.

Pokrovsk has been the site of some of the fiercest battles on the eastern front for months, as Russia attempts to close in on the city.

Lying around 11 miles from Ukraine’s Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions, it is a strategic target for Moscow.

Its fall to Russian forces would mark the largest setback for Ukraine in months and compound Ukraine’s struggles to get off the backfoot while Russian troops pile severe pressure on the eastern front lines.

Losing it would also add to the anxiety Ukraine’s military faces over the looming Donald Trump presidency in the United States, which has raised the risk that military aid from Kyiv’s largest source could dry up as the grinding conflict approaches its fourth year.

Elsewhere in the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that Moscow’s forces had begun to deploy a “significant” number of North Korean soldiers in its effort to drive Ukraine’s army out of Russia’s Kursk region.

Ukraine launched an incursion into Kursk in August and still retains some settlements there.

“Today, there is already preliminary evidence that the Russians have begun to use soldiers from North Korea in assaults – a significant number of them,” Zelensky said.

“The Russians include them in combined units and use them in operations in the Kursk region,” Zelensky said, adding there had already been “noticeable” losses among these soldiers.

He added that Ukraine had information that North Korean soldiers may be being used along other parts of the front line.

A few years ago, it would have been unimaginable that Italy would be home to one of the most stable governments in Europe. Italian coalition administrations tended to last just over a year before collapsing, making Italy predictably unpredictable.

But a series of factors, including government crises in relatively stable countries like France and Germany, and the roaring popularity of Italy’s current coalition led by far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, in power since 2022, have made Rome the key player in Europe’s relationship with the US under Donald Trump’s second presidency.

During his last term Trump called Europe a “foe” of the US. This time, Meloni has the potential to turn that around thanks in part to their mutual friend Elon Musk.

Musk, Trump and Meloni dined together at French President Emmanuel Macron’s 60-person dinner after the official reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris last weekend, an experience Trump later told The New York Post was positive.

“We got along great,” he said, adding that he and Meloni had spent “a lot of time together.”

Describing the diminutive figure (Meloni herself has often joked about her 5’ 2” height) as a “live wire,” he predicted that they could “straighten out the world a little bit.”

The two leaders, while politically similar, don’t necessarily align on all the world’s most pressing conflicts. Meloni has been one of Ukraine’s strongest backers, having met with President Volodymyr Zelensky a dozen times since Russia’s invasion.

Whether she can in any way affect what Trump might do, however, is hard to know, but she will have first dibs to try in Europe.

“Meloni and Musk have a very good ongoing relationship, and Musk can be a kind of best friend to both, as long as the Trump-Musk honeymoon lasts at least.”

Musk and Meloni forged their very strong friendship in the summer of 2023, and the Tesla founder headlined Meloni’s Brothers of Italy political convention, Atreju, in December last year.

He is rumored to be making a surprise appearance at the same convention this weekend in Rome, which is being headlined by Argentinian President Javier Milei, another of Trump’s populist bedfellows.

So close is their relationship that Meloni and Musk had to take to social media earlier this year to dispel rumors of a romance, after he gushed about her beauty when he presented her with a Global Citizens Award on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

A photo of them locked in a gaze went viral, to which Musk tweeted that he was there with his mother and that there is “no romantic relationship whatsoever with PM Meloni.”

Orsina believes that Musk can make it easier for the Italian prime minister to “get in touch” with Trump whenever she feels the need.

“There is an opportunity for Meloni to take the initiative and be a bridge between the Trump administration and Europe,” he said.

Meloni claims to have already started that bridging process in Paris, posting a thumbs-up shot of herself with Trump on X with the headline, “There is already an alliance. The USA-EU axis passes through Italy.”

Once she was elected in 2022 and became more moderate, Bannon, no longer wielding the power he once did as Trump’s chief strategist, grew cold, telling Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera last week that she has been a disappointment.

“Meloni has almost turned into a Nikki Haley,” he told the Italian daily, referring to Trump’s opponent in the Republican primaries. Citing her support for Ukraine, and what he describes as Italy’s lack of work on trade, he predicts that it won’t be Meloni who influences Trump, but the other way around.

“I think her attitude will change with the arrival of President Trump, who will convince her,” Bannon said. “And that NATO countries will get on board quite quickly. Otherwise, if she really believes what she has said in recent years, she should be ready with others in Europe to put money into it, to write checks as big as the speeches. We in the MAGA movement are adamant, we want to cut funding for Ukraine in the Chamber by 100%.”

For the moment, Meloni appears to be on Musk’s, and as a result, Trump’s right sides.

“She is a ‘day after’ politician, much more than a ‘day before’ politician,” Orsina says, referring to the likelihood she will be reactive rather than proactive when it comes to Trump’s approach to Europe.

A California couple visiting Mexico for the holidays was shot and killed on Wednesday when armed gunmen fired on their vehicle, according to authorities.

Their three children, two of whom are minors, were not present during the shooting and are currently with extended family in Angamacutiro, the US official said. The US State Department is in contact with their adult daughter.

Rafael Cardona’s brother-in-law is Hermes Arnulfo Pacheco Bribiesca, a Mexican government official in Amangcutiro who assumed office after the kidnapping and murder of his predecessor in late October, according to the US official.

According to a statement Rafael Cardona’s brother, Cesar, gave to local police, the couple were driving Hermes’ van when they were killed, the US official said.

The motive for the attack has not been confirmed by Mexican authorities.

The couple had arrived in the Pacific coast state on November 30, local authorities said earlier.

“We are closely monitoring local authorities’ investigation into the reported killings,” the spokesperson said.

A mass will be held in Angamacutiro Saturday to commemorate the couple, local authorities said. The municipality has canceled all celebrations for the rest of the month, authorities added.

Michoacan has been long affected by gang violence, with cartels moving into the state in the 1980s. Its homicide rate today is more than twice the country’s average. Nationally, Mexico’s homicide rate is among the highest in the world.

The state is also Mexico’s largest grower of avocados – a market long troubled by violent groups and corrupt public authorities, researchers at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime said in a report this year. Nearly three-quarters of Mexican avocados come from Michoacán.

Gangs such as the Zetas and Familia Michoacana were formed in the state, which has become home to drug production and drug traffickers who target local farmers to cultivate marijuana and other drugs, according to a report from Insight Crime.

More than 100,000 people remain missing in the country, with no explanation of their fate. According to think tank Mexico Evalua, around 95% of all crimes nationwide went unsolved in the country in 2022.

Cyclone Chido caused extensive damage on the French territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean, leaving several people dead, officials said Saturday, as the storm roared toward the east coast of Africa.

French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said a “very provisional” tally shows there are at least “a few people” who have died. He said he would not yet provide any precise numbers of people killed and injured given rescuers have not yet been able to assess the situation on the ground.

“We’re afraid the toll will be high, but for the moment I can’t give any figures,” Retailleau told reporters following an emergency meeting at the interior ministry in Paris. “The island seems devastated.”

Chido brought winds in excess of 220 kph (136 mph), according to the French weather service, ripping metal roofs off houses in Mayotte, which has a population of just over 300,000 spread over two main islands that lie about 800 kilometers (497 miles) off Mozambique.

France’s new Prime Minister François Bayrou, who was appointed Friday, said public facilities have been “severely damaged or destroyed” including at the prefecture, the hospital and the airport. He said many people living in precarious shacks in slum areas have faced “very serious risks.”

French President Emmanuel Macron said he was closely monitoring the situation.

“Our island is being hit by the most violent and destructive cyclone since 1934. Many of us have lost everything,” Mayotte prefect François-Xavier Bieuville said in a Facebook post Saturday. He said the highest alert had been lifted so that rescuers can help after the worst of the cyclone had passed.

The French Interior Ministry said 1,600 police and gendarmerie officers have been deployed to “help the population and prevent potential looting.”

Some 110 rescuers and firefighters sent to Mayotte from France and the nearby territory of Reunion have been deployed and an additional reinforcement of 140 people will be sent on Sunday.

France’s poorest island, Mayotte has previously struggled with drought and underinvestment.

French Transport Minister François Durovray said Mayotte airport was “badly damaged, particularly the control tower” by the cyclone in a message on X. He said infrastructure on the island had been heavily impacted and air traffic will first be reopened to military aircraft only. Ships are being used to provide supplies.

Mayotte is still under red alert for the ordinary population and people were asked to “remain confined in a solid shelter,” prefect Bieuville said. Only emergency and security services were allowed to go out.

Local broadcaster Mayotte la 1ere said that thousands of homes were without power, tin huts and other small structures had been blown away and many trees had been blown over.

Comoros also battered as the storm closes in on mainland Africa

The nation of Comoros, a group of islands north of Mayotte, also was being battered by Chido and the highest alert had been announced in some areas. Authorities said they were concerned for a group of 11 fishermen who had gone out to sea on Monday and had not been heard from.

Comoros authorities have ordered all ships to remain anchored in harbors and have closed the main airport and government offices. Schools were ordered closed on Friday so that people could prepare for the cyclone.

Chido was expected to continue its eastern trajectory and hit Mozambique on the African mainland late Saturday or early Sunday, forecasters said. Mozambique’s disaster agency has warned that 2.5 million people might be affected in the northern provinces of Cabo Delgado and Nampula.

And further inland, landlocked Malawi and Zimbabwe were also preparing. Malawi’s Department of Disaster Management Affairs said it was expecting flooding in some parts and urgently advised some people to move to higher ground. In Zimbabwe, authorities said some people should prepare for evacuation.

December through to March is cyclone season in the southeastern Indian Ocean and southern Africa has been pummeled by a series of strong ones in recent years.

Cyclone Idai in 2019 killed more than 1,300 people in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Cyclone Freddy left more than 1,000 dead across several countries last year.

The cyclones bring the risk of flooding and landslides, but also stagnant pools of water may later spark deadly outbreaks of the waterborne cholera disease — as happened in the aftermath of Idai — as well as dengue fever and malaria.

Studies say the cyclones are getting worse because of climate change. They can leave poor countries in southern Africa, which contribute a tiny amount to climate change, having to deal with large humanitarian crises.

The remaining five Australians from the infamous heroin-trafficking “Bali Nine” gang have returned home after Canberra struck a deal with Indonesia to end their two decades of imprisonment overseas.

“I am pleased to confirm that Australian citizens, Si Yi Chen, Michael Czugaj, Matthew Norman, Scott Rush and Martin Stephens have returned to Australia this afternoon,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wrote on X on Sunday.

The five, who were serving life sentences, belong to a wider group of nine who were caught attempting to smuggle more than 8 kilograms (17.6 pounds) out of Bali’s international airport and into Australia in 2005.

The botched plot has long been a point of tension between the two countries with the Australian government advocating for their return for decades.

Indonesia executed the group’s two Australian ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran in 2015, prompting then Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott to call it “a dark moment in the relationship.”

Last month, Albanese raised the men’s case to Indonesia’s newly sworn in President Prabowo Subianto on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in Peru, Reuters reported. Indonesia’s Law Minister had confirmed at the time that it had agreed to return the remaining men, the agency said.

“I thank President Prabowo Subianto for his compassion,” Albanese wrote on X on Sunday.

The five members are now set to be free, Nine News reported.

In a separate joint statement with Albanese and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke on Sunday, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said, “The men will have the opportunity to continue their personal rehabilitation and reintegration in Australia.”

The Bali Nine were arrested in 2005 by Indonesian police following a tip from Australian authorities.

Four of them were arrested at Denpasar International Airport with over 8 kilograms of heroin strapped to their bodies, while another four were found at a hotel on the island of Kuta. Chan, one of the ringleaders, was captured after boarding a plane to Sydney.

Chan and Sukumaran were sentenced to death while the other seven were eventually handed a life sentence after an appeal.

The only female member of the group, Renae Lawrence, was freed in 2018 after serving 13 years of her 20-year sentence. Lawrence had initially been sentenced to life in prison, but later her punishment was commuted to 20 years and she was released early on good behavior.

Another member, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, died of kidney cancer in 2018 while in custody, Nine News reported.

The case of the Bali Nine highlighted the strict laws on drug trafficking in Indonesia, where several foreigners are currently detained on similar charges.