Russia has added the spokesman of U.S. technology company Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, to a wanted list, according to an online database maintained by the country’s interior ministry.

Russian state agency Tass and independent news outlet Mediazona first reported that Meta communications director Andy Stone was included on the list  Nov 25 , weeks after Russian authorities in October classified Meta as a “terrorist and extremist” organization, opening the way for possible criminal proceedings against Russian residents using its platforms.

The interior ministry’s database doesn't give details of the case against Stone, stating only that he is wanted on criminal charges.

In April 2022, Russia also formally barred Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg from entering the country.

Former airline boss Christopher Luxon formally took office as New Zealand's prime minister, vowing to tame inflation and bring down interest rates.

Luxon took over six weeks after his conservative National Party won national elections, ending a six-year Labour Party reign ushered in by Jacinda Ardern.

Luxon, 53, once chief executive of Air New Zealand, was sworn in as head of a new coalition government by New Zealand's governor-general in a ceremony in the capital Wellington.

Luxon said his new government would also focus in its first few months on restoring law and order and improving public services.

The former Labour government struggled to control the rising cost of living, a global issue blamed in part on pandemic-related supply issues and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The previous prime minister, Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins, took over from Ardern in January.

She had unexpectedly resigned, calling an end to her five-year period in office because she no longer had "enough in the tank".

He also said his government would scrap anti-smoking legislation adopted last year that bans sales of tobacco to anyone born after 2008.

Irish writer Paul Lynch won the Booker Prize for fiction on Nov 25  with what judges called a “soul-shattering” novel about a woman’s struggle to protect her family as Ireland collapses into totalitarianism and war.

“Prophet Song,” set in a dystopian fictional version of Dublin, was awarded the 50,000-pound ($63,000) literary prize at a ceremony in London. Canadian writer Esi Edugyan, who chaired the judging panel, said the book is “a triumph of emotional storytelling, bracing and brave” in which Lynch “pulls off feats of language that are stunning to witness.”

The other finalists were Irish writer Paul Murray’s “The Bee Sting;” American novelist Paul Harding’s “This Other Eden;” Canadian author Sarah Bernstein’s “Study for Obedience;” US writer Jonathan Escoffery’s “If I Survive You;” and British author Chetna Maroo’s “Western Lane.”

Founded in 1969, the Booker Prize is open to English-language novels from any country published in the UK and Ireland. and has a reputation for transforming writers’ careers. Previous winners include Ian McEwan, Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie and Hilary Mantel.

Lynch received his trophy from last year’s winner, Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka, during a ceremony at Old Billingsgate, a grand former Victorian fish market in central London.

A 13-year-old Indian-origin Yoga prodigy from south-east England with several awards under his belt has added another Gold Medal to his tally at the European Yoga Sports Championship in Sweden.

Ishwar Sharma, from Sevenoaks in Kent, started taking up Yoga when he was three years old after seeing his father practise daily and went on to win several World Yoga Championships.

 Last weekend, he bagged the Europe Cup 2023 in the Boys 12-14 category when he competed in the European competition organised by the International Yoga Sports Federation in collaboration with Swedish Yoga Sports Federation in Malmo.

Derek Chauvin, the US police officer whose murder of George Floyd sparked massive racial justice protests in 2020, was stabbed in prison.

The US Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed an assault to AFP without naming the person wounded.

Chauvin survived the attack, according to a New York Times source. 

Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in 2021, and sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison.

Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn plans to invest $1.54 billion in India, as the country doubles down on local manufacturing.

In a stock exchange filing, Foxconn said that the investment will help it fulfil “operational needs.” The company, however, did not provide further details.

Foxconn is the main assembler of Apple iPhones and both companies are keen to move away from China and create alternative supply chains.

Foxconn already has an iPhone factory in Tamil Nadu, which employs 40,000 people and has signed an agreement to invest Rs 1,600 crore in a new electronics components unit in the state that will create 6,000 jobs.

The company has also announced that it will be investing an additional Rs 3,300 crore in its manufacturing facility in Telangana. This will take the total investment of the company in the state to more than Rs 4,550 crore.

In September, Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the government was “fully committed” to support Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn’s ambitious plans to double its manufacturing capacity in the country.

Foxconn chairman Young Liu had visited India recently to attend the ‘SemiconIndia 2023’ event hosted for global semiconductor companies that was inaugurated by PM Modi in Gandhinagar.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has been asked to pay a $210 million fine to DXC Technology (formerly CSC) by a Texas court in a trade secret case. This comes days after the US Supreme Court confirmed a punitive damages award of $140 million in the Epic Systems case.

According to reports, the jury agreed that the company had wilfully and maliciously misappropriated both source and confidential documentation by improper means awarding CSC $140 million in damages with another $70 million for unjust enrichment.

TCS in a statement said, “TCS respectfully disagrees with the jury’s advisory verdict. The matter will now be decided by the court, which has ordered further briefing from the parties. We plan to continue to litigate this ongoing case. We will have no further comment as the case remains pending.”

CSC and Transamerica had inked a deal in 2014. TCS bagged a deal from Transamerica to enhance its digital capabilities, and in 2019, the DXC lawsuit alleged that TCS hired over 2,000 employees of Transamerica and through whom it got access to CSC’s software.

Sri Lanka's sports minister was sacked  on Nov 26  hours after he accused President Ranil Wickremesinghe of trying to assassinate him over his moves to clean up corruption at the cricket board.

Officials said Roshan Ranasinghe was dismissed ahead of weekly cabinet meeting after he told parliament that Wickremesinghe should be held responsible if he was killed.

Ranasinghe sacked the elected cricket board earlier this month after accusing office-bearers of gross corruption, a charge they have denied and are challenging in court.

The cricket board is the richest sporting organization in the otherwise bankrupt island country.

The International Cricket Council suspended Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) earlier this month, saying it had failed to ensure there was no government interference in its affairs, violating the world body's rules.

Ranasinghe has refused the president's calls to revoke the sacking of the board.

The parliament backed the sports minister by passing a non-binding resolution three weeks ago asking the cricket board to resign pending a forensic audit of its accounts.

Wickremesinghe has appointed a committee to investigate the ICC suspension.

The cash-strapped country defaulted on its $46 billion debt in April last year after running out of foreign exchange to finance imports of even the most essential commodities, making life a misery for the island's 22 million people.