UK royal family's Prince Andrew faces mounting pressure regarding his ties with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, as his most vocal accuser's memoir is published posthumously on October 21, 2025.

London

Prince Andrew has issued a strong denial of allegations made against him in connection with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The denial follows the release of a memoir by Virginia Dufresne, who alleges she was forced to have sex with Andrew as a minor. Amid mounting public and media scrutiny, Andrew announced he would relinquish his royal titles after discussions with the king, stating that the controversy was distracting from the work of the royal family.

Despite stepping back from public duties and settling a civil case with Dufresne in 2022, Andrew continues to face questions about his relationship with Epstein. Recent reports highlighted an email from Andrew to Epstein in 2011, contradicting earlier claims of severed ties. Andrew remains a prince, but his former wife, Sarah Ferguson, will no longer use the title Duchess of York.

Prince Andrew denies Epstein ties despite mounting pressure

Prince Andrew long sought to distance himself from sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. But the stories stacked up and one proved fatal to his royal title of Duke of York. In a posthumous memoir by Virginia Dufresne, she wrote that Andrew believed having sex with her was his birthright and alleged she was forced to have sex with him on three occasions, even when she was 17. On Sunday, Andrew released a statement vigorously denying accusations against him but concluded following a discussion with the king that they were distracting from the work of his majesty and royal family and thus he renounced his titles. Experts say the move is unlikely to stop the public scrutiny. We have to remember at the heart of all this is not really the royal family at all, it is the victims of Jeffrey Epstein and Virginia Dufresne being one of them. We're going to hear very, very harrowing details of her life and the sex trafficking she was subjected to and that is going to spawn more headlines. Prince Andrew stepped back from public life in 2006. Years later, in a well-publicised interview on Newsnight, he said he had cut ties with Epstein in 2010. However, an email emerged recently in UK media in which Andrew wrote to the disgraced financier in 2011 to say, we are in this together. He also agreed to pay a £12 million settlement to Dufresne in 2022. Andrew will remain a prince as he is the second son of the late Queen Elizabeth II. His former wife, Sarah Ferguson, will no longer use the title of Duchess of York.

The EU antitrust enforcer has opened an investigation into the U.S. tech giant over its use of online content to power its AI services, a move that threatens to ratchet up transatlantic relations.

Brussels

EU Commission opens probe into Google over AI

The U.S. government said the approval, which comes in exchange for a 25% surcharge, would also be available to other chipmakers like Intel and AMD.

Washington

Trump gives Nvidia green light to sell H200 chips to China

Ukraine is set to present a revised peace plan to the United States on Tuesday following President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s talks in London with the leaders of France, Germany, and Britain.

Ukraine Invasion

Ukraine to share revised peace plan with U.S., Zelenskiy says

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday (December 8) unveiled a $12 billion aid package for American farmers, the latest government effort to shore up a key political constituency hurt by the financial fallout from his trade policies.

Trump unveils $12 billion aid package for farmers hit by trade war

Thailand and Cambodia are blaming one another for starting a deadly exchange of fire that killed at least five people and threatens to unravel a U.S.-backed ceasefire between the neighbouring southeast Asian countries.

Surin

Thailand-Cambodia ceasefire could be unravelling

Paramount Skydance made a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery for $108 billion US just days after Netflix announced it made a $72-billion US deal with the legacy studio. It’s a move that even has U.S. President Donald Trump weighing in.

Hollywood

Paramount launches hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros.

President Trump announced Monday he will allow Nvidia to sell its advanced H200 computer chips to "approved customers" in China, but Mr. Trump said the deal does not include Nvidia's more advanced Blackwell system or its soon-to-be-released Rubin system.

Trump says he's letting Nvidia sell some AI chips to China

Ukraine's European allies put on a show of support for President Volodymyr Zelensky Monday as they expressed scepticism about parts of the U.S. proposal to end the war with Russia. The discussions came after President Donald Trump accused Zelensky of not reading his administration's proposal on a deal to end Russia's invasion following almost four years of war.

Downing Street

European allies back Zelensky after Trump criticism

A powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake shook northeastern Japan late on Monday (December 8), prompting orders for about 90,000 residents to evacuate and tsunami warnings that hours later were downgraded to advisories.

Aomori

7.5-magnitude earthquake strikes Japan's northeast

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday (December 8) that unity between Europe, Ukraine and the U.S. was important when negotiating an end to Russia's war in Ukraine. He made the remark during a visit to London.

Kyiv stresses European unity as allies 'skeptical' of U.S. peace plan

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European allies prepared to hold talks in London on Monday (December 8), after President Donald Trump accused him of not reading the U.S. proposal to end the war with Russia.

Zelenskyy to meet European allies after Trump criticism

Thailand has launched airstrikes on Cambodian military sites as renewed border violence threatens a U.S.-backed peace deal.

Bangkok

Renewed border violence threatens Thai-Cambodia peace

South African authorities have withdrawn a 90-day visa exemption for Palestinians, saying the recent arrival of a charter flight with 153 people onboard was part of a campaign of “forced migration.”

Johannesburg

Middle East Conflict

South Africa withdraws 90-days visa exemption for Palestinians

Chinese and Japanese ties came under further strain after a Chinese fighter aircraft trained fire-control radar on Japanese military jets for the first time.

Okinawa

Chinese fighter jet locks radar on Japan planes

A military coup declared in Benin on Sunday has failed, the country’s interior minister said, just hours after soldiers took over state television to announce the dissolution of government.

Porto-Novo

Benin coup attempt thwarted by soldiers loyal to Republic

Hong Kong's citizens were voting on Sunday in an election where the focus is on turnout, with residents grieving and traumatized after the city's worst fire in nearly 80 years and the authorities scrambling to avoid a broader public backlash.

Hong Kong Island

Hong Kong holds tightly guarded election amid anger over deadly fire

A U.S. envoy says territorial claims remain a sticking point in a proposed peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. The U.S.-led meetings have ended; meanwhile, Russia launched a massive strike on central Ukraine early Sunday.

Kyiv

U.S.-led peace talks wrap as Russia launches strike on Ukraine

Russia targeted Ukraine's energy infrastructure overnight, meaning another winter of power outages for Ukrainians as Vladimir Putin tries to crush their resolve. Holly Williams reports.

Moscow

Russia targets Ukraine's energy infrastructure

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth doubled down on U.S. military strikes on alleged drug boats, saying President Trump can take decisive military action as he sees fit. Willie James Inman reports on the latest.

Pete Hegseth on boat strikes: "We will find you and we will sink you"

To crackdown on so-called “narcoterrorists”, the US has slowly but steadily been building up its military presence in the Caribbean. 15,000 troops are now stationed in the area, many in Puerto Rico.

Ponce

U.S boosts military presence in Puerto Rico amid Venezuela tensions

Residents in the Indonesian region of Aceh Tamiang have been struggling to get aid while mourning the loss of their loved ones, as the death toll from floods and landslides that hit Sumatra island this month rose to more than 900 people.

Jakarta

Indonesian families mourn loved ones as flood deaths pass 900

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that he had had a long and "substantive" phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Zelenskyy says he had 'substantive' phone call with U.S's Witkoff

Netflix is set to buy Warner Bros. in a deal valued at $72 billion, but the announcement has sparked concern among industry workers.

Netflix acquisition of Warner Bros. sparks industry concern

The man suspected of placing pipe bombs around Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5, 2021, had his first court appearance on Friday after he was arrested Thursday following a five-year manhunt. A judge ordered the suspect to remain in jail pending future hearings.

Judge orders D.C pipe bomb suspect to remain in jail

A 22-year-old woman who says she was born and raised in the United States tells "CBS Saturday Morning" about being chased down the street by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents as the Trump administration's New Orleans immigration crackdown ramps up.

New Orleans

ICE crackdown in New Orleans ramps up

One of the world's most influential architects Frank Gehry has died at the age of 96. Known for his whimsical, unpredictable style, he rose to fame with his titanium design for the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao.

Bilbao

Influential architect Frank Gehry dies, 96

At least eleven people are dead after a mass shooting at a shebeen (an unlicensed bar), in Saulsville, a township just west of South Africa's administrative capital Pretoria.

Saulsville

Several killed in mass shooting west of South Africa's capital

The United States is warning its NATO allies that Europe must take on more of its own defence, and fast. According to an exclusive Reuters report, the Pentagon has set an ambitious 2027 deadline for European nations to assume most of the alliance’s conventional military capabilities.

U.S. threatens NATO withdrawal if Europe doesn't take lead by 2027

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide the legality of President Donald Trump's directive to restrict birthright citizenship in the United States, a contentious part of his efforts to curb immigration and a step that would alter how a 19th century constitutional provision has long been understood.

U.S. Supreme Court takes up birthright citizenship case

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's vaccine advisory panel voted to change the recommendation for when children should get their first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine. Meg Oliver has more.

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