- Palestinians welcome ICC arrest warrants for Israeli officials
- Senegal ruling party wins parliamentary majority: provisional results
- Fiji's Loganimasi in for banned Radradra against Ireland
- New proposal awaited in Baku on climate finance deal
- Brazil police urge Bolsonaro's indictment for 2022 'coup' plot
- NFL issues security alert to teams about home burglaries
- Common water disinfectant creates potentially toxic byproduct: study
- Chimps are upping their tool game, says study
- US actor Smollett's conviction for staged attack overturned
- Fears rise of gender setbacks in global climate battle
- 'World's best coach' Gatland 'won't leave Wales' - Howley
- Indian PM Modi highlights interest in Guyana's oil
- Israel strikes kill 22 in Lebanon as Hezbollah targets south Israel
- Argentina lead Davis Cup holders Italy
- West Bank city buries three Palestinians killed in Israeli raids
- Fairuz, musical icon of war-torn Lebanon, turns 90
- Jones says Scotland need to beat Australia 'to be taken seriously'
- Stock markets push higher but Ukraine tensions urge caution
- IMF sees 'limited' impact of floods on Spain GDP growth
- Fresh Iran censure looms large over UN nuclear meeting
- Volkswagen workers head towards strikes from December
- 'More cautious' Dupont covers up in heavy Parisian snow before Argentina Test
- UK sanctions Angola's Isabel dos Santos in graft crackdown
- Sales of existing US homes rise in October
- Crunch time: What still needs to be hammered out at COP29?
- Minister among 12 held over Serbia station collapse
- Spurs boss Postecoglou hails 'outstanding' Bentancur despite Son slur
- South Sudan rejects 'malicious' report on Kiir family businesses
- Kyiv claims 'crazy' Russia fired nuke-capable missile
- Australia defeat USA to reach Davis Cup semis
- Spain holds 1st talks with Palestinian govt since recognising state
- Stock markets waver as Nvidia, Ukraine tensions urge caution
- Returning Vonn targets St Moritz World Cup races
- Ramos nears PSG return as Sampaoli makes Rennes bow
- Farrell hands Prendergast first Ireland start for Fiji Test
- Gaza strikes kill dozens as ICC issues Netanyahu arrest warrant
- Famed Berlin theatre says cuts will sink it
- Stuttgart's Undav set to miss rest of year with hamstring injury
- Cane, Perenara to make All Blacks farewells against Italy
- Kenya scraps Adani deals as Ruto attempts to reset presidency
- French YouTuber takes on manga after conquering Everest
- Special reunion in store for France's Flament against 'hot-blooded' Argentina
'First Buddy': Musk takes unusual star role with Trump
As Donald Trump prepares his return to the White House, one of his most omnipresent confidants has been not his running mate or wife but a fellow brash billionaire, Elon Musk.
Since campaigning for Trump -- with such enthusiasm that Musk literally jumped in the air at a rally -- Musk has been a near-constant presence at Trump's side.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has joined telephone calls with world leaders and dispensed advice on personnel choices both directly and publicly through X, the social media platform he bought.
In between his constant postings of memes of himself and Trump, Musk has even embraced a title suggested for his role: "First Buddy."
When the president-elect triumphantly returned to Washington on Wednesday, tagging along aboard his plane was Musk, the world's richest person, who appears to have spent most of the week since the election hobnobbing at Trump's Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago.
Musk, trading his Silicon Valley bro sweatshirts for a crisp and somber black suit, was given a front-row seat among Republican House lawmakers who gathered to hear the president-elect.
"Elon, you've been so good," Trump said, as the elected representatives offered Musk a standing ovation, according to footage posted by a congressman.
On Tuesday, Trump appointed Musk and another billionaire, former Republican presidential contender Vivek Ramaswamy, to a new "Department of Government Efficiency" tasked with trimming down Washington bureaucracy.
Musk, who sacked 80 percent of Twitter's workforce when he bought it and rechristened it as X, vowed in an announcement to "send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in government waste."
Musk has also offered advice well outside of any defined lane for him.
He called for the appointment of the president-elect's daughter-in-law Lara Trump to a US Senate seat expected to open up in Florida should Marco Rubio become secretary of state.
Musk -- and not career diplomats, as would be customary -- reportedly joined Trump in calls with the leaders of Turkey and Ukraine, where Musk's Starlink has provided a vital source of communication during the war.
He also has taken to X while advising Trump to back efforts to defeat Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
- Trump's perilous inner circle -
The South African-born Musk, who controversially ran a $1 million-a-day sweepstakes in swing states in a clear bid to attract Trump voters, has so far managed to avoid blowback from the mercurial president-elect.
Trump has gone so far as to suggest he would put aside some of his climate skepticism and back electric cars due to Musk.
The president-elect was said to fume after a first-term consigliere, far-right political strategist Steve Bannon, appeared on the cover of Time magazine and was described as the "second most powerful man in the world."
Trump eventually fired him and nicknamed him "Sloppy Steve."
Musk, whose Tesla cars had been status symbols for wealthy liberals, has also quickly become a lightning rod for criticism from Democrats.
Senator Elizabeth Warren mocked the new initiative of Musk and Ramaswamy, writing on X that the effort for efficiency was "off to a great start with split leadership: two people to do the work of one person."
Until the latest election, Musk said he voted for Democrats for president, including Joe Biden.
The turning point, according to a Wall Street Journal report, was when Biden invited automaker executives to the White House but snubbed Musk because Tesla, unlike the Detroit Big Three, is not unionized.
Whatever the causes, Musk's political transformation has paid off with access unimaginable with most presidents.
On Election Night, a beaming Trump gathered his family together for a picture at Mar-a-Lago. His wife Melania was missing but, at Trump's urging, into the picture came Musk, one of his dozen children in his arms.
P.Anderson--BTB