Wiki News Live
Today:
Can you have a community without craic? Scholars of Ireland’s pubs warn of declining numbers
NEWS | 30 November 2025
Like triple-distilled whiskey, Irish pubs appear to have timeless appeal. Two new books, The Irish Pub: Invention and Reinvention, and The Dublin Pub: A Social and Cultural History, brim with footnotes, data and lore as they analyse what makes a “perfect pub” and the mysterious alchemy that produces “craic”. However, in each case the authors come to a sobering conclusion: Irish pubs are in trouble. “It feels like a moment of transition,” said Donal Fallon, author of The Dublin Pub. View image in fullscreen People enjoy festive drinks outside a Dublin pub decorated with Christmas lights.

Top Stories:
Ukrainian and US officials to meet in Florida to discuss proposals to end Russia’s war
NEWS | 30 November 2025
Ukrainian negotiators are preparing to meet US officials in Florida to thrash out details of Washington’s proposed framework to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, as Kyiv faces pressure on military and political fronts. A drone attack on the outskirts of Kyiv on Saturday night had killed one person and wounded 11, the regional governor said. Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv – videoA Ukrainian security source said Kyiv was responsible for attacks by naval drones on two oil tankers off Turkey’s Black Sea coast that it believed were covertly transporting sanctioned Russian oil. The talks are expected to focus on details of a draft framework to end the war, more than three years after Russian forces launched their full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said he expected that the results of recent meetings with the US in Geneva to now be “hammered out”.

World:
Ukrainian naval drones strike two Russian oil tankers in Black Sea
NEWS | 30 November 2025
The two oil tankers, identified as the Kairos and Virat, were empty and sailing to Novorossiysk, a major Russian Black Sea oil terminal, the official at the security service of Ukraine told Reuters. This will deal a significant blow to Russian oil transportation,” the official said in a written statement. Ukraine has been attacking Russian oil refineries for months, using long-range aerial drones to strike far behind the frontlines of Moscow’s full-scale war against Ukraine. The Virat was reportedly struck about 35 nautical miles offshore, further east in the Black Sea, the ministry said. The Ukrainian official did not say when the Ukrainian strikes took place.

Current Events:
Benjamin Netanyahu asks Israel’s president for pardon in corruption case
NEWS | 30 November 2025
Benjamin Netanyahu has asked Israel’s president for a pardon for bribery and fraud charges and an end to a five-year corruption trial, arguing that it would be in the “public interest”. The president’s legal adviser would also formulate an opinion before Herzog made a decision, it added. “The office of the president is aware that this is an extraordinary request which carries with it significant implications,” a statement from his office said. Netanyahu rejects the allegations, and has condemned the case as a “witch-hunt” orchestrated by the media, police and judiciary. “Only the guilty seek pardon,” Yair Golan, the leader of the opposition Democrats party, said in a social media post.

News Flash:
Hong Kong mourns as apartment fire death toll rises to 146
NEWS | 30 November 2025
The death toll in Hong Kong’s apartment complex fire has risen to 146 after investigators discovered more bodies in the burnt-out buildings. View image in fullscreen A mourner holding a flower at a makeshift memorial near Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong. View image in fullscreen People line up to lay flowers near Wang Fuk Court housing complex in Tai Po on Sunday. View image in fullscreen Residents pay tribute to the victims of the fire in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district on Sunday. The Wang Fuk Court fire is the worst on record in Hong Kong since a warehouse blaze in 1948 killed 176 people.

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SPONSORED | 30 November 2025
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Latest:
Venezuela denounces ‘colonialist threat’ as Trump orders airspace closed
NEWS | 30 November 2025
In a statement, the Venezuelan government said Trump’s comments are a “colonialist threat” against their sovereignty and violate international law. The government also said it demanded respect for its airspace and would not accept foreign orders or threats. Deportation flights to Venezuela have been a significant point of contention for the Trump administration, as it continues to engage in its mass deportation program. The president told military service members this week that the US would “very soon” begin land operations to stop suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers. The Trump administration has accused the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, of involvement in drug trafficking, a charge he has denied.

Breaking:
Trump news at a glance: Venezuela suspends all deportation flights after Trump airspace closure warning
NEWS | 30 November 2025
The Venezuelan government has responded defiantly to heightened pressure by the US government, including Donald Trump’s statements on Saturday that the airspace above and surrounding Venezuela is to be closed. In a statement, the Venezuelan government said Trump’s comments were a “colonialist threat” against their sovereignty and violated international law. The government also said it demanded respect for its airspace and would not accept foreign orders or threats. Deportation flights to Venezuela have been a significant point of contention for the Trump administration, as it continues to engage in its mass deportation program. The White House said – without proof – that the people in the boats in the Caribbean, killed in Pentagon operations, were drug smugglers.

Trending:
Pete Hegseth denies he gave orders to ‘kill everybody’ on alleged ‘narco-boat’
NEWS | 30 November 2025
Following the Washington Post’s reporting, two senators – Republican Roger Wicker and Democrat Jack Reed – released a statement saying the Senate armed services committee would be investigating the boat strikes. To date, more than 80 people have been killed in the series of military strikes, targeting at least 22 more boats. “Every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization.”Earlier this year, the Trump administration designated Tren de Aragua as a terrorist organization. One boat strike in October, off the Pacific coast of Mexico, led the Mexican navy to begin a search-and-rescue operation for survivors. And Adm Alvin Holsey, the commander overseeing the attacks against boat strikes, stepped down in October.

This Just In:
At least four killed in shooting at child’s party in northern California, officials say
NEWS | 30 November 2025
The victims, who range from “juveniles to adults”, were taken to local hospitals, Heather Brent, a spokesperson for the San Joaquin County sheriff’s office, said. The sheriff’s office said detectives were “working to determine the circumstances leading up to this tragedy”. The shooting took place at a child’s birthday party, Stockton’s vice mayor Jason Lee said in a Facebook post. “We are urging anyone with information, video footage, or who may have witnessed any part of this incident to contact the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office immediately,” police said. The California governor, Gavin Newsom, had been briefed on the shooting, his office said in a post to social media.

Today:
Sri Lanka’s capital hit by floods as cyclone death toll nears 200
NEWS | 30 November 2025
Entire areas of Sri Lanka’s capital are flooded after a powerful cyclone triggered heavy rains and mudslides across the island, with authorities reporting nearly 200 dead and dozens more missing. The northern parts of Colombo had been flooded as the water level in the Kelani River rose rapidly, the DMC said. “Although the cyclone has left us, heavy rains upstream are now flooding low-lying areas along the banks of the Kelani River,” a DMC official said. View image in fullscreen People wade through a flooded street after heavy rainfall in Wellampitiya, on the outskirts of Colombo. Photograph: Ishara S Kodikara/AFP/Getty ImagesThe cyclone is Sri Lanka’s deadliest natural disaster since 2017, when flooding and landslides claimed more than 200 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

Top Stories:
Bridge to the past: JR to wrap Pont Neuf again, 40 years after artistic forebears
NEWS | 30 November 2025
View image in fullscreen Christo poses in 1981 with a model of his project to wrap the Pont Neuf. View image in fullscreen The Pont Neuf Wrapped, by Christo and Jeanne Claude, pictured on 22 September 1985. Growing up in one of Paris’s banlieue housing estates, JR was only two when Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrapped Pont Neuf in 1985. I knew the [Pont Neuf] project had had a major impact on my city and it made me wish I’d been there. The Pont Neuf cavern will be open from 6 June to 28 June next year.

World:
Illegal weight-loss drugs being sold in UK by firms with high Trustpilot scores
NEWS | 30 November 2025
Companies selling illegal weight-loss drugs are amassing positive Trustpilot reviews as critics say regulatory gaps allow high-risk operators to appear credible. Ozempic is not licensed in the UK as a weight-loss drug. Alluvi Health Care, the company at the centre of a recent weight-loss drug raid by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, was also reviewed on Trustpilot. View image in fullscreen Alluvi Health Care, the company at the centre of a recent weight-loss drug raid by the MHRA, was also reviewed on Trustpilot. “Against that backdrop, the prevalence of illegal sellers offering unlicensed drugs like retatrutide – and presenting themselves as legitimate via glowing Trustpilot reviews – is especially alarming and dangerous.

Current Events:
Failure to diagnose treatable male infertility leading to unnecessary IVF, experts say
NEWS | 30 November 2025
Couples are needlessly going through IVF because male infertility is under-researched, with the NHS too often failing to diagnose treatable causes, leading experts have said. Many causes of male infertility are treatable. It is understood a refresh of the women’s health strategy may address male infertility. This includes male infertility. “The Men’s Health Strategy sets up a strong foundation for improving how we think and act on men’s health.

News Flash:
Zelenskyy faces ‘mini-revolution’ as Yermak’s fall reshapes Ukraine’s wartime power system
NEWS | 30 November 2025
“It’s a mini-revolution in the political system and the governance system,” said Kyiv-based political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko. Yermak appeared to become untouchable as he got ever closer to the president during the years of full-scale war. He ran the most sensitive tracks of Ukraine’s foreign policy, speaking regularly with national security advisers from allied countries and was in charge of the team working on peace negotiations. Few people in the Ukrainian elite liked Yermak, but many expressed grudging admiration for his work ethic and his ruthless scheming. This could prove challenging for a weakened Zelenskyy, especially if further revelations follow from the corruption investigation.