News & Stories

A Japanese chess association has apologised to a prominent 'shogi' player who criticised a rule that bars pregnant players from title matches around their expected due dates.

Under the current rules of shogi - a game similar to chess - such players are replaced, meaning they forfeit all competitions and potential titles during that time.

Kana Fukuma, one of Japan's most decorated shogi players, says this forces players to choose between having a child and developing their careers, and "significantly restricts reproductive rights".

"I hope the body will consider allowing female players to take time off before their due dates without suffering demotion," she told a news conference on Wednesday.

Current rules stipulate that a pregnant women cannot compete within a 14-week period - from six weeks before they give birth, to eight weeks after.

"I hesitated to have a child while pursuing my career in shogi, which is everything to me," Ms Fukuma said, according to Japan's Kyodo News.

The 33-year-old has been playing the popular Japanese board game professionally since 2003.

Before giving birth to her first child in December 2024, however, Ms Fukuma was forced to withdraw from several tournaments due to health issues related to her pregnancy.

In a written request submitted on Tuesday, Ms Fukuma urged the association to adjust match dates or venues to accommodate pregnant players, allow competition during pregnancy if the woman's condition allows for it, and ensure women are not stripped of titles during their maternity leave, Kyodo News reported.

The association said it could revise the rules after "discussions with experts while considering the safety of the mother and the fairness of title matches".

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado appeared in Oslo, Norway after winning the Nobel Peace Prize, waving from the balcony of the Grand Hotel after months in hiding. M

achado made the covert journey despite a travel ban, and has mostly laid low since Venezuela's disputed presidential election in 2024. S

he last appeared in public in January. F

rom a balcony on Wednesday with a crowd cheering below, Machado placed her hand on her heart and sang with her supporters, before walking outside to greet them in person. H

er daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, accepted the award on her mother's behalf earlier in the day. T

he Nobel Institute awarded Machado the Peace Prize this year for "her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy" in Venezuela. A

fterwards, Machado went the outside to greet her supporters, who waited behind metal barricades on the street. "

Maria!" "

Maria, here!" t

hey shouted in Spanish, as many held their phones aloft to record the historic moment. A

US forces have seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, President Donald Trump said, marking a sharp escalation in Washington's pressure campaign against Nicolás Maduro's government. "

We have just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela - a large tanker, very large, the largest one ever seized actually," Trump told reporters at the White House. R

eleasing a video of the seizure, Attorney General Pam Bondi described the vessel as a "crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran". C

aracas swiftly denounced the action, calling it an act of "international piracy". E

arlier, President Maduro declared that Venezuela would never become an "oil colony". T

he Trump administration accuses Venezuela of funnelling narcotics into the US and has intensified its efforts to pressure President Maduro in recent months. V

enezuela - home to some of the world's largest proven oil reserves - has, in turn, accused Washington of seeking to take its oil. O

il prices inched higher on Wednesday as news of the seizure stoked short-term supply concerns. A

nalysts warn the move could threaten shippers and further disrupt Venezuela's oil exports. U

S Attorney General Pam Bondi, who leads the US Department of Justice, said the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and the US Coast Guard co-ordinated the seizure. "

The number of Indigenous people who have died in custody in Australia has hit the highest level since records began in 1980.

New data from the Australian Institute of Criminology showed 33 of the 113 people who died in custody in the 12 months to June this year were Indigenous, up from 24 compared to the previous corresponding period.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system, making up more than one-third of all prisoners, despite being less than four per cent of the country's population.

The figures come more than three decades after a landmark inquiry into Indigenous deaths in custody which made hundreds of recommendations.

Of the 33 Indigenous deaths in custody between last July and this June, 26 died while in prison custody, an increase from 18 in the previous 12-month period.

One died in youth detention and all except one were male.

The remaining six Indigenous deaths in custody happened in police custody, where someone has died while police were detaining or attempting to detain them.

The main cause of Indigenous deaths was categorised as "self-inflicted" followed by "natural causes," the report found.

Hanging was found to be the cause in eight of the deaths.

The Australian state of New South Wales recorded the highest number of Indigenous deaths in prison custody with nine, followed by Western Australia with six.

President Donald Trump has launched a scheme offering fast-tracked US visas to wealthy foreigners who can pay at least $1m (£750,000). T

he card will give buyers a "direct path to Citizenship for all qualified and vetted people. S

O EXCITING! O

ur Great American Companies can finally keep their invaluable Talent," Trump said on social media on Wednesday. T

he Trump Gold Card, which was first announced earlier this year, is a US visa awarded to those who can demonstrate they will provide a "substantial benefit" to the country, according to the scheme's official website. I

t comes as Washington intensifies its immigration crackdown, including raising work visa fees and deporting undocumented migrants. T

he Gold Card scheme promises US residency in "record time" and will require a $1m fee which is "evidence that the individual will substantially benefit the United States", the programme's website said. B

usinesses sponsoring employees are required to pay $2m, along with additional fees. A

"platinum" version of the card that offers special tax breaks will also be available soon for $5m, the website said. E

xtra fees to the government may be charged depending on each applicant's circumstances, the site said. I

Portugal is facing severe disruption to transport, flights, hospitals, schools and other public services on Thursday, as the two main union federations stage a general strike over unprecedented labour reforms.

The last time the CGTP and the generally less militant UGT joined forces was during the eurozone debt crisis in 2013, when a "troika" of international institutions demanded cuts in salaries and pensions as part of Portugal's bailout.

Twelve years later, Portugal's economy has become the fastest growing in the eurozone in recent months, but Prime Minister Luís Montenegro says it is still necessary to tackle "rigidities" in the labour market "so companies can be more profitable and workers have better salaries" as a result. "

I will not give up on having a country with the ambition to be at the forefront, to be at the vanguard of Europe," he said on the eve of the strike. H

owever, Montenegro appears to have been taken aback by the strength of feeling against his minority right-of-centre government's plans: one of his Social Democrat MPs is on the UGT executive and even he voted for a strike. T

he prime minister tweaked some proposals after calling the federation in for talks late last month, but it was clearly not enough. A

mong the most controversial of the more than 100 proposals are: I

t is Portuguese in their 20s who are likely to be most affected by the changes - and opinion is rather mixed. D

iogo Brito, who works as an air steward but has friends who do casual work in tourism, supports the right to strike but backs the package: "It has to be done. W

e have to catch up with richer countries and with these measures I think we can evolve more." B

Shares of cloud computing giant Oracle plunged more than 10% in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the company's revenues fell short of Wall Street expectations.

The company reported revenue of $16.06bn (£11.99bn) for the three months that ended in November, compared with the $16.21bn projected by analysts. R

evenue growth was up 14%, with a 68% surge in sales at its AI business, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), the company said. O

CI services major AI technology developers whose demand for Oracle's AI infrastructure helped the company's shares reach new highs this fall but Wednesday's results failed to quell fears about a potential AI bubble. I

n September, Oracle inked a highly sought-after contract with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI which agreed to purchase $300bn in computing power from Oracle over five years. O

racle chairman and chief technology officer Larry Ellison briefly became the world's richest man in September. O

racle stock has lost 40% of its value since peaking three months ago. S

till, shares are up more than a third since the start of the year. I

n a statement issued on Wednesday, Mr Ellison struck a cautious tone. "

There are going to be a lot of changes in AI technology over the next few years and we must remain agile in response to those changes," he wrote. M

In a matter of days, three big names in South Korea's entertainment industry have made headlines in separate scandals that could derail their careers.

The allegations that have embroiled comedians Park Na-rae and Cho Sae-ho, as well as veteran actor Cho Jin-woong, are all different - ranging from workplace abuse to previous teenage detention to associations with a gang member.

But the results have been the same: departures from the television screens where they had worked their way up to become household names.

The scandals have also raised questions about the standards to which South Korea's public figures are held - especially in the entertainment industry.

Park Na-rae, one of the country's most successful female comedians, made headlines last week when two of her former managers lodged criminal complaints claiming she had verbally abused and physically assaulted them.

The 40-year-old had also made them do her personal chores, they alleged.

Park has denied these allegations and sued the former managers for blackmail, her agency said over the weekend.

She is separately being accused of receiving IV drips illegally at home, which violates the local medical law, local media reported - prompting a police investigation.

On Monday, Park Na-rae announced on social media that she had talked things through with her accusers, but would halt all broadcasting activities until things were "clearly resolved".

"As a comedian whose job is to bring laughter and joy, I cannot continue to be a burden to my programmes and colleagues," she wrote on social media.

Italian cooking has been awarded special cultural heritage status by the United Nations' cultural agency Unesco.

National favourites including pizza are already on Unesco's list of "intangible cultural heritage", but now Italian cooking traditions and the way they are practiced and transmitted have been awarded.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has been pushing for her country's cuisine to be recognised since her election, said: "For us Italians, cuisine is not just food or a collection of recipes.

It is so much more: it is culture, tradition, work, wealth."

For millions of fans the news confirms what they already believed - from Sicilian Cannoli to Calabrian 'Nduja - Italian is the best.

The announcement was made during a Unesco assembly meeting in the Indian capital Delhi on Wednesday.

The cultural agency described Italian cuisine as a "means of connecting with family and the community, whether at home, in schools, or through festivals, ceremonies and social gatherings".

Koshary, the spicy dish of lentils, rice, and pasta available at countless Egyptian food stalls, was also added to the list of intangible cultural heritage.

Other countries have had their "practices, skills, traditions and social practices related to foodways" recognised by Unesco, a spokesperson from the agency told the BBC.

Previous examples include "Washoku, traditional dietary cultures of the Japanese, notably for the celebration of New Year, Breakfast culture in Malaysia: dining experience in a multi-ethnic society, or the Gastronomic meal of the French," the spokesperson added.

European leaders say "intensive work" will continue in the coming days on a US-led plan to end the Russia-Ukraine war, after a joint phone call with President Donald Trump.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said they "agreed that this was a critical moment - for Ukraine, its people and for shared security across the Euro-Atlantic region".

A White House official confirmed the call took place but did not give details.

It comes the day after Trump called European leaders "weak", suggesting the US could scale back support for Ukraine.

In the wide-ranging Politico interview published on Tuesday, Trump also claimed Ukraine was "using war" to avoid holding elections, prompting President Volodymyr Zelensky to reply he was "ready" for them.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.

The three European leaders issued identical statements shortly after their call with Trump on Wednesday.

They read: "The leaders discussed the latest on the ongoing US-led peace talks, welcoming their efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace for Ukraine, and to see an end to the killing.

"Intensive work on the peace plan is continuing and will continue in the coming days."

Earlier on Wednesday, Zelensky wrote on social media that a 20-point document on how to end the war would be handed over to the US in "the near future" after "our joint work with President Trump's team and partners in Europe".

A daughter of María Corina Machado, winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize, has said her mother is determined to live in a free Venezuela and will "never give up" as she accepted her mother's award in Oslo. J

ust before the ceremony, the Venezuelan opposition leader, who has been in hiding, sent a voice message saying she was "safe" and on her way to the Norwegian capital, but would not make it to the ceremony in the City Hall in time. A

na Corina Sosa accepted the award on her mother's behalf and delivered a lecture written by her mother. T

he Nobel Institute awarded Machado the prize for "her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy" in Venezuela. T

he opposition leader's daughter started off her speech by speaking of the personal impact of not being able to see her mother for two years. M

achado went into hiding shortly after Venezuela's disputed presidential election in July 2024. H

er daughter told the audience: "And as I wait [for] that moment to hug her, to kiss her, to embrace her, after two years, I think of the other daughters and sons who do not get to see their mothers." M

s Sosa then read the speech written by her mother, telling the audience that Venezuelans "will hug again, fall in love again, hear our streets fill with laughter and music". S

he added: "All the simple joys the world takes for granted will be ours. "

Because in the end, our journey towards freedom has always lived inside us. W

A federal judge in New York has ruled the US Department of Justice can publicly release grand jury records from Jeffrey Epstein's 2019 sex trafficking case.

US District Judge Richard Berman's ruling reverses his previous decision to keep the material sealed.

He cited a new law passed by Congress requiring the justice department to release files about Epstein.

In his latest ruling, Judge Berman said the victims have the right to "have their identity and privacy protected", adding that their "safety and privacy are paramount".

Esptein was charged with sex trafficking in July 2019.

He died in a New York prison cell a month later while awaiting trail.

Judge Berman in August had denied the justice department's request because of concerns about "possible threats to victims' safety and privacy".

But in Wednesday's ruling, he said the materials could now be released because of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was signed into law by US President Donald Trump last month.

The law requires the justice department to release investigative material related to Epstein by 19 December, including unclassified records, documents and communications.

It also allows the department to withhold files that involve active criminal investigations or raise privacy concerns.