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Iran State TV Suggests at Least 26 Dead from Protests

FILE - In this Nov. 25, 2019, file photo, an Iranian soldier stands guard overlooking a pro-government rally organized by authorities in Tehran, Iran, denouncing violent protests over a government-imposed fuel price hike. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)
FILE - In this Nov. 25, 2019, file photo, an Iranian soldier stands guard overlooking a pro-government rally organized by authorities in Tehran, Iran, denouncing violent protests over a government-imposed fuel price hike. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)
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Iran State TV Suggests at Least 26 Dead from Protests

FILE - In this Nov. 25, 2019, file photo, an Iranian soldier stands guard overlooking a pro-government rally organized by authorities in Tehran, Iran, denouncing violent protests over a government-imposed fuel price hike. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)
FILE - In this Nov. 25, 2019, file photo, an Iranian soldier stands guard overlooking a pro-government rally organized by authorities in Tehran, Iran, denouncing violent protests over a government-imposed fuel price hike. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)

Iranian state television suggested that the death toll of protests over the death of a 22-year-old woman in police custody has risen to over two dozen, without providing more information as the unrest continues.

An anchor on Iran’s state television suggested the death toll from the mass protests could be as high as 26 on Thursday, but did not elaborate or say how he reached that figure.

“Unfortunately, 26 people and police officers present at the scene of these events lost their lives,” the anchor said, adding official statistics would be released later.

Clashes between Iranian security forces and protesters have killed at least 11 people since the violence erupted over the weekend, according to a tally Thursday by The Associated Press.

The demonstrations in Iran began as an emotional outpouring over the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman held by the country’s morality police for allegedly violating its strictly enforced dress code.

The police say she died of a heart attack and was not mistreated, but her family has cast doubt on that account.

Iran’s state-run media this week reported demonstrations of hundreds of people in at least 13 cities, including the capital, Tehran.

Iranian authorities imposed some restrictions on the internet and blocked access to WhatsApp and Instagram.

People in Tehran and some other cities planned to hold a counter-protest rally after the Friday prayer.

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World

Trump Vows Economic Boom, Blames Biden in Address to Nation

US President Donald Trump delivered a speech to the American people from the White House. (AP)
US President Donald Trump delivered a speech to the American people from the White House. (AP)
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Trump Vows Economic Boom, Blames Biden in Address to Nation

US President Donald Trump delivered a speech to the American people from the White House. (AP)
US President Donald Trump delivered a speech to the American people from the White House. (AP)

President Donald Trump promised Americans an economic boom in an address to the nation on Wednesday, while blaming Democratic predecessor Joe Biden for high prices that have hit the Republican's popularity.

"Good evening America. Eleven months ago I inherited a mess, and I'm fixing it," the 79-year-old said in his live speech from the White House at the end of his first year back in power.

Trump faces growing voter anger over the issue of affordability despite his efforts to dismiss it as a "hoax" by Democrats, sparking Republican fears they could be punished in the 2026 midterm elections, said AFP.

The billionaire president insisted that prices of gas and groceries that have worried Americans were "falling rapidly, and it's not done yet. But boy, are we making progress."

In a surprise announcement, Trump said that 1.45 million United States military service members would each receive "warrior dividend" bonus checks for $1,776 before Christmas, paid for with revenues raised from tariffs.

He added that specific amount was in honor of the year of the founding of the United States, the 250th anniversary of which the country will celebrate next year.

Trump then promised that "we are poised for an economic boom the likes of which the world has never seen" in 2026, when the United States will co-host the FIFA World Cup, with Canada and Mexico.

But while the White House had billed the speech as a chance for Trump to set out his economic agenda for the rest of his second term, much of it consisted on attacks on familiar targets.

He repeatedly raged against Biden, the Democrats, and migrants whom he said "stole American jobs."

Democrats fired back after the speech, with Senator Chuck Schumer saying in a statement that Trump "just showed he lives in a bubble completely disconnected from the reality everyday Americans are seeing and feeling."

"The facts are that prices are going up. Unemployment is going up. And there's no end in sight," he added.

Trump's speech comes at the end of a whirlwind year in which he has launched an unprecedented display of presidential power, including a crackdown on migration and the targeting of political opponents.

Poll worries for Trump

But polls show what Americans are most concerned about is high prices, which experts say are partly fueled by the tariffs he has slapped on trading partners around the world.

Trump got his worst approval ratings ever for his handling of the economy in a PBS News/NPR/Marist poll published Wednesday, with 57 percent of Americans disapproving and expressing concerns about the cost of living.

A YouGov poll published Tuesday showed that 52 percent of Americans thought the economy was getting worse under Trump.

He has also faced criticism from his Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement for focusing on peace deals in Ukraine and Gaza and on tensions with Venezuela, instead of domestic issues.

Trump did not mention Ukraine or Venezuela, but did boast about the Gaza ceasefire, the US attacks on Iran's nuclear program, and what he calls a war on drug traffickers.

There are signs Trump's team has had a wake-up call on the economy in recent weeks, with next year's midterm elections for the control of Congress already looming.

Republicans lost heavily in elections in November for the mayor of New York and governorships in Virginia and New Jersey, while Democrats ran them close in a previously safe area in Tennessee.

The president is now ramping up his domestic travel to push his economic message.

Last week in Pennsylvania he promised to "make America affordable again," and on Friday he is due to give another campaign-style rally in North Carolina.

Vice President JD Vance -- who is rapidly becoming Trump's messenger on the issue as he eyes his own presidential run in 2028 -- also urged voters to show patience during a speech on Tuesday.

World

US Military Says Strike on Alleged Drug Boat Kills 4 in Eastern Pacific

File photo: This screen grab from a video posted by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on his X account on October 28, 2025 shows what he says is one four alleged drug-smuggling boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean that was destroyed in strikes, bringing the death toll from Washington's anti-narcotics campaign to at least 57. (Photo by Handout / US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's X Account / AFP)
File photo: This screen grab from a video posted by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on his X account on October 28, 2025 shows what he says is one four alleged drug-smuggling boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean that was destroyed in strikes, bringing the death toll from Washington's anti-narcotics campaign to at least 57. (Photo by Handout / US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's X Account / AFP)
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US Military Says Strike on Alleged Drug Boat Kills 4 in Eastern Pacific

File photo: This screen grab from a video posted by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on his X account on October 28, 2025 shows what he says is one four alleged drug-smuggling boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean that was destroyed in strikes, bringing the death toll from Washington's anti-narcotics campaign to at least 57. (Photo by Handout / US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's X Account / AFP)
File photo: This screen grab from a video posted by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on his X account on October 28, 2025 shows what he says is one four alleged drug-smuggling boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean that was destroyed in strikes, bringing the death toll from Washington's anti-narcotics campaign to at least 57. (Photo by Handout / US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's X Account / AFP)

The US military said Wednesday that it attacked a boat accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing four people on the same day the House rejected efforts to limit President Donald Trump’s power to use military force against drug cartels.

US Southern Command stated on social media that the vessel was operated by narco-terrorists along a known trafficking route. The military didn't provide evidence behind the allegations but posted a video of a boat moving through water before there was an explosion, The Associated Press said.

The attack brought the total number of known boat strikes to 26 while at least 99 people have been killed, according to numbers announced by the Trump administration. Trump has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and asserted the US is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels.

The administration is facing increasing scrutiny from lawmakers over the boat strike campaign. The first attack in early September involved a follow-up strike that killed two survivors clinging to the wreckage of a boat after the first hit.

House Republicans rejected a pair of Democratic-backed resolutions Wednesday that would have forced the Trump administration to seek authorization from Congress before continuing attacks against cartels.

They were the first votes in the House on Trump’s military campaign in Central and South America.

A majority of Republicans in the Senate had previously voted against similar resolutions, and Trump would almost certainly veto them if they were to pass Congress.

World

US Announces Massive Package of Arms Sales to Taiwan Valued at More than $10 Billion

(FILES) A motorist commutes past paintings on a wall of the Taiwan flag and a soldier in Taiwan's Kinmen on May 18, 2024. (Photo by I-Hwa CHENG / AFP)
(FILES) A motorist commutes past paintings on a wall of the Taiwan flag and a soldier in Taiwan's Kinmen on May 18, 2024. (Photo by I-Hwa CHENG / AFP)
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US Announces Massive Package of Arms Sales to Taiwan Valued at More than $10 Billion

(FILES) A motorist commutes past paintings on a wall of the Taiwan flag and a soldier in Taiwan's Kinmen on May 18, 2024. (Photo by I-Hwa CHENG / AFP)
(FILES) A motorist commutes past paintings on a wall of the Taiwan flag and a soldier in Taiwan's Kinmen on May 18, 2024. (Photo by I-Hwa CHENG / AFP)

The Trump administration has announced a massive package of arms sales to Taiwan valued at more than $10 billion that includes medium-range missiles, howitzers and drones, a move that is sure to infuriate China.

The State Department announced the sales late Wednesday during a nationally televised address by President Donald Trump, who made scant mention of foreign policy issues and did not speak about China or Taiwan at all. US-Chinese tensions have ebbed and flowed during Trump’s second term, largely over trade and tariffs but also over China’s increasing aggressiveness toward Taiwan, which Beijing has said must reunify with the mainland.

The eight arms sales agreements announced Wednesday cover 82 high-mobility artillery rocket systems, or HIMARS, and 420 Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS — similar to what the US had been providing Ukraine during the Biden administration to defend itself from Russia — worth more than $4 billion. They also include 60 self-propelled howitzer systems and related equipment worth more than $4 billion and drones valued at more than $1 billion, The Associated Press said.

Other sales in the package include military software valued at more than $1 billion, Javelin and TOW missiles worth more than $700 million, helicopter spare parts worth $96 million and refurbishment kits for Harpoon missiles worth $91 million.

In separate but nearly identical statements, the State Department said the sales serve “US national, economic, and security interests by supporting the recipient’s continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability.”

“The proposed sale(s) will help improve the security of the recipient and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance, and economic progress in the region,” the statements said.

Under federal law, the US is obligated to assist Taiwan with its self-defense, a point that has become increasingly contentious with China, which has vowed to take Taiwan by force, if necessary.

Taiwan's Defense Ministry in a statement Thursday expressed gratitude to the US over the arms sale, which it said would help Taiwan maintain “sufficient self-defense capabilities” and bring strong deterrent capabilities. Taiwan's bolstering of its defense “is the foundation for maintaining regional peace and stability,” the ministry said.

Taiwan's Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung similarly thanked the US for its “long-term support for regional security and Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities,” which he said are key for deterring a conflict in the Taiwan Strait, the body of water separating Taiwan from China's mainland.

The arms sales comes as Taiwan's government has pledged to raise defense spending to 3.3% of the island's gross domestic product next year and to reach 5% by 2030. The boost came after Trump and the Pentagon requested that Taiwan spend as much as 10% of its GDP on its defense, a percentage well above what the US or any of its major allies spend on defense. The demand has faced pushback from Taiwan's opposition KMT party and some of its population.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te last month announced a special $40 billion budget for arms purchases, including to build an air defense system with high-level detection and interception capabilities called Taiwan Dome. The budget will be allocated over eight years, from 2026 to 2033.

The US boost in military assistance to Taiwan was previewed in legislation adopted by Congress that Trump is expected to sign shortly.

Last week, the Chinese embassy in Washington denounced the legislation, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, saying it unfairly targeted China as an aggressor.

“The bill has kept playing up the ‘China threat’ narrative, trumpeting for military support to Taiwan, abusing state power to go after Chinese economic development, limiting trade, economic and people-to-people exchanges between China and the US, undermining China’s sovereignty, security and development interests and disrupting efforts of the two sides in stabilizing bilateral relations,” Beijing’s embassy in Washington said after the legislation passed the House.

“China strongly deplores and firmly opposes this,” it said.

The US Senate passed the bill Wednesday.