WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Friday won FIFA&#39;s new peace prize, which is to &quot;recognize the enormous efforts of those individuals who unite people, bringing hope for future generations.&quot; The award was presented at the ceremony in Washington for the draw for 2026 World Cup tournament, which the United States will co-host with Mexico and Canada.

Americas

US President Donald Trump received FIFA’s newly introduced peace prize in Washington during the 2026 World Cup draw ceremony, honoring efforts to promote unity and hope. The tournament will be co-hosted by the US, Mexico, and Canada

Trump wins FIFA's new peace prize

Angelina Duaa Hashir

The &ldquo;perfect wife&rdquo; didn&rsquo;t disappear with the 1950s. She adapted, rebranded, and logged into TikTok. This episode of Unladylike dives into how a postwar fantasy evolved into a glossy digital persona. The image that once sold soap now sells lifestyle coaching, domestic aesthetics, affiliate links, and a highly profitable version of submission. We examine the creators pushing this narrative, the businesses benefiting from it, and the tension between tradwife imagery and what women actually want for their lives. So the next time a tradwife you follow urges you to depend on your man, stop and ask: does she?

Unladylike

The “perfect wife” didn’t stay in the 1950s. She adapted, rebranded, and built a TikTok persona that sells soft lighting, sourdough… and submission.

Pretty little tradwives

LONDON: The UK Friday imposed sanctions on senior commanders of Sudan&#39;s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) suspected of &quot;heinous violence&quot; in the Darfur hub of El-Fasher, which the paramilitary group captured in October.&nbsp;The Foreign Office in London said those targeted include RSF second-in-command Abdelrahim Hamdan Daglo, whose brother Mohammad Hamdan Daglo is the group&#39;s leader, as well as three other commanders.&nbsp;They are accused of &quot;mass killings, systematic sexual violence and deliberate attacks on civilians&quot; when the RSF dislodged the Sudanese army from El-Fasher, its last stronghold in the western Darfur region.&nbsp;They now face UK asset freezes and travel bans.&nbsp;The government said the RSF&#39;s actions in El-Fasher were &quot;not random&quot; but instead &quot;part of a deliberate strategy to terrorise populations and seize control through fear and violence&quot;.&nbsp;It added satellite imagery showed evidence of mass graves where victims have been burned and buried, and the sanctions send &quot;a clear message that those who commit atrocities will be held to account&quot;.&nbsp;The European Union last month also slapped sanctions on Abdelrahim Hamdan Daglo.&nbsp;In a statement unveiling the UK curbs, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the atrocities taking place in Sudan &quot;are so horrific they scar the conscience of the world&quot;.&nbsp;&quot;The overwhelming evidence of heinous crimes -- mass executions, starvation, and the systematic and calculated use of rape as a weapon of war -- cannot and will not go unpunished,&quot; she added.&nbsp;&quot;The UK will not look away, and we will always stand with the people of Sudan.&quot;&nbsp;Minni Minawi, the army-aligned governor of Darfur, welcomed the UK sanctions &quot;as an important step toward holding accountable those responsible for the crimes and violations witnessed in Sudan in recent times&quot;.&nbsp;But he added the measures &quot;remain incomplete&quot; unless they also target Mohammad Hamdan Daglo, &quot;as he is the decision-maker and the direct architect of the violence system&quot;.&nbsp;London also announced Friday &pound;21 million ($28 million) in additional aid to provide food, clean water, healthcare, and protection for women and children in areas of Sudan hardest hit by violence.&nbsp;It said the financial package took UK aid spending in Sudan this year to &pound;146 million.

United Kingdom

The UK imposed sanctions on senior RSF commanders for atrocities during the El-Fasher takeover, citing mass killings and sexual violence. London also announced £21 million in new aid for Sudan, while calls continue to sanction RSF leader Mohammad Hamdan Daglo.

UK slaps sanctions on Sudan RSF paramilitary deputy, other commanders

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: The World Health Organization (WHO) has commended Pakistan&rsquo;s progress toward achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC), with the agency&rsquo;s representative in Islamabad calling for continued partner and donor support to help the country further strengthen its health system.&nbsp;In a report released on World Health Day, WHO Representative to Pakistan Dr. Dapeng Luo highlighted the government&rsquo;s commitment to expanding quality health services, noting that Pakistan has made &ldquo;notable milestones&rdquo; in improving national health indicators.&nbsp;Last week, WHO hosted a dialogue under the theme &ldquo;Health: It&rsquo;s on the Government,&rdquo; bringing together senior officials including the Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Health, Dr. Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath.&nbsp;Representatives from the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, the Benazir Income Support Program, the Sehat Sahulat Program (SSP), and other national institutions also participated.&nbsp;According to the report, Pakistan&rsquo;s UHC Index has risen significantly, moving from 40 in 2015 to 52.7 in 2022.&nbsp;Dr. Luo praised the government&rsquo;s efforts, saying the achievements reflect &ldquo;Pakistan&rsquo;s commitment to strengthening its health system and ensuring better care for its people.&rdquo;&nbsp;He encouraged continued collaboration with partners to help the country reach its 2030 UHC target, emphasizing the importance of sustained investment and coordinated action.&nbsp;The dialogue also showcased major national achievements, including the successful expansion of the Sehat Sahulat Program, which now provides health coverage to 190 million people.&nbsp;Launched in 2016 to support families below the poverty line, SSP was expanded between 2020 and 2021 to move Pakistan closer to universal health coverage, the report noted.&nbsp;Participants reaffirmed their commitment to advancing UHC as a national priority, highlighting the importance of accessible, equitable, reliable, and high-quality services for all citizens.&nbsp;National guidelines launchedThe report further detailed the launch of comprehensive national guidelines and training program designed to strengthen reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health across the country.&nbsp;&ldquo;In Pakistan, around 4 million pregnant women and newborns receive health care services from the public and private sectors each year,&rdquo; the report said.&nbsp;Dr. Luo underscored the importance of continued progress in this area, stating: &ldquo;Improving the lives of these mothers and newborns is essential to ensuring good health for all. No real sustainable development can be achieved without healthy mothers and newborns.&rdquo;&nbsp;The report also noted that International Universal Health Coverage Day aims to promote the need for strong and resilient health systems that &ldquo;work for everyone, no matter who they are, where they live, or how much money they have.&rdquo;

Health

WHO praised Pakistan’s progress on Universal Health Coverage, noting major improvements, expanded health services, and rising UHC indicators, while urging stronger partner support to meet 2030 targets and sustain nationwide healthcare reforms

WHO praises Pakistan’s progress, calls for stronger partner support

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan plans to explore converting up to $2 billion in government bonds and other sovereign assets into blockchain-based digital tokens through an memorandum of understanding signed Friday with cryptocurrency giant Binance, the finance ministry announced.&nbsp;In an official statement, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and Binance Co-CEO Richard Teng signed the MoU&nbsp;at the Finance Division. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao also attended the ceremony.&nbsp;The MoU&nbsp;establishes a framework for exploring potential collaboration on the tokenization and blockchain-based distribution of Pakistan&rsquo;s real-world and sovereign assets, including government bonds, treasury bills, commodity reserves, and other federally owned assets.&nbsp; Subject to applicable laws, policies, and regulatory approvals, it aims to improve liquidity, transparency, and international market accessibility.&nbsp; Binance may provide technical expertise, advisory support, training, and capacity-building to help Pakistan evaluate its blockchain infrastructure. The initiative aims to boost liquidity, transparency, and access to international markets while respecting Pakistan&#39;s regulatory framework and sovereignty.&nbsp;&ldquo;This is a very strong message &mdash; not only for Pakistan, but the entire world,&rdquo; Aurangzeb said. &ldquo;The next step for us is execution, and we are fully committed to delivering results with speed and quality.&rdquo;&nbsp;Changpeng&nbsp;called the proposal&nbsp;&ldquo;a landmark development for Pakistan&rsquo;s future,&rdquo; stating it would have &ldquo;a very big impact on the country&rsquo;s future and its technology-driven generation.&rdquo;&nbsp;The MoU is nonbinding, the ministry noted. Final&nbsp;agreements will be negotiated within six months, subject to all legal, regulatory, and policy approvals. Any future arrangement will be governed by Pakistani law and will not involve exclusivity or procurement commitments.

Economy

A memorandum of understanding between the finance ministry and Binance marks a potential shift in how Pakistan plans to access international capital markets through emerging financial technology.

Pakistan, Binance explore tokenizing $2 billion in sovereign assets via blockchain

BERLIN: Germany said Friday it had identified two Russian cyber operations, targeting air traffic control and February&#39;s general election, and that it had summoned the Russian ambassador.&nbsp;A foreign ministry spokesman said: &quot;We can now clearly attribute the cyberattack against German Air Safety in August 2024 to the hacker collective APT28, also known as Fancy Bear.&nbsp;&quot;Second, we can now state definitively that Russia, through the Storm 1516 campaign, sought to influence and destabilise the most recent federal election,&quot; he added at a press conference.&nbsp;The Russian embassy in Berlin was not immediately reachable for comment.&nbsp;The foreign ministry spokesman said that Germany &quot;would take a series of countermeasures to make Russia pay a price for its hybrid actions in close coordination with our European partners&quot;.&nbsp;Berlin would support &quot;new individual sanctions against hybrid actors on a European level&quot;, he said, without providing further details.&nbsp;Governments across Europe are on high alert over alleged Russian espionage, drone surveillance and sabotage activities, as well as cyber attacks and disinformation campaigns.&nbsp;Germany has been Ukraine&#39;s second-biggest supplier of aid since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022 and has accused Moscow of &quot;hybrid attacks&quot;, including drone flights near various European airports in recent months.

Europe

Germany said it had identified two Russian cyber operations targeting air traffic control and the February general election, summoned the Russian ambassador, and EU-level sanctions in response to Moscow’s alleged hybrid attacks

Germany blames Russia for cyberattack on air safety, election interference

LONDON: Britain&rsquo;s economy unexpectedly contracted again in October, official data showed Friday, dealing a blow to the Labour government&rsquo;s hopes of reviving economic growth. Gross domestic product fell 0.1% in October following a contraction of 0.1% in September, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement. Analysts had forecast growth of 0.1%. Manufacturing rebounded in the month as carmaker Jaguar Land Rover resumed operations after a cyberattack that had weighed on the UK economy in September. But analysts noted that businesses and consumers reined in spending ahead of Britain&rsquo;s highly expected annual budget.<figure id="isPasted"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/3167df24-30e1-4fce-a0a3-99f4aefa2b35-Untitled.jpg" alt="Untitled.jpg" class="fr-fic fr-dii"><figcaption>LONDON: Pedestrians walk past the Bank of England (L) and the Royal Exchange building (back R) at Bank in central London on December 12, 2025. -- Photo by AFP/Henry Nicholls</figcaption></figure>&ldquo;Business and consumers were braced for tax hikes and the endless speculation, and leaks have once again put the brake on the UK economy,&rdquo; said Lindsay James, investment manager at Quilter. Prime Minister Keir Starmer&rsquo;s Labour Party raised taxes in last month&rsquo;s budget to slash state debt and fund public services. At the same time, Britain&rsquo;s economic growth was downgraded from next year until the end of 2029, according to data released alongside the budget. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves raised taxes on businesses in her inaugural budget last year -- a decision widely blamed for causing weak UK economic growth and rising unemployment. She returned in November with fresh hikes, this time hitting workers. Analysts said that Friday&rsquo;s data strengthened expectations that the Bank of England would cut interest rates next week.

Business

Gross domestic product fell 0.1% in October following a contraction of 0.1% in September, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement; analysts had forecast growth of 0.1%.

UK economy unexpectedly shrinks in October

Foreign Affairs

Sharif says Pakistan has been and shall continue to support all efforts aimed at upholding the inalienable right to self-determination of Palestinian people as well as the brave and resilient Kashmiri people.

Pakistan PM calls on world to press Kabul to curb terrorism from Afghan soil 

BANGKOK:&nbsp;Thailand&#39;s prime minister dissolved parliament on Friday, paving the way for general elections early next year as deadly border clashes continue with neighbor Cambodia. The move comes earlier than expected and just three months after Anutin Charnvirakul -- of the conservative Bhumjaithai party -- became prime minister when his predecessor was removed from office over an ethics violation. &ldquo;The House of Representatives is dissolved to hold a new general election for members of the House,&rdquo; a decree published in the Royal Gazette on Friday said. Anutin was widely expected to wait until after Christmas to dissolve parliament. &ldquo;Since the administration is a minority government and domestic political conditions are fraught with multiple challenges, the government cannot continue administering state affairs continuously, efficiently, and with stability,&rdquo; the Royal Gazette said, citing a report received from Anutin. &lsquo;Appropriate solution&rsquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;Therefore, the appropriate solution is to dissolve the House of Representatives and hold a new general election.&rdquo; The dissolution comes as fighting stemming from a decades-long territorial dispute over ancient temples has flared again on the border with Cambodia, where clashes have killed at least 20 people and displaced around 600,000, mostly in Thailand. In a statement, Cambodia&rsquo;s defense ministry said the Thai military continued to shell and fire machine guns into Cambodian territory on Friday morning. AFP journalists heard continuous artillery fire at the border on Friday, ahead of an expected call between Anutin and US President Donald Trump, who has made vocal attempts to broker peace between the southeast Asian neighbors. &lsquo;Couple of phone calls&rsquo;At the congressional ball at the White House on Thursday night, Trump claimed again to have solved eight wars. &ldquo;Although Thailand and Cambodia, I think I&rsquo;m going to have to make a couple of phone calls on Thailand, but we&rsquo;ll get that one back on track,&rdquo; he said. The two countries have blamed each other for the fresh fighting, which saw Thailand launch air strikes and use tanks against its neighbor on Monday. Evacuees at a shelter in Thailand&rsquo;s Surin province told AFP they were less concerned about who leads the new government than about who would improve their lives along the border. &ldquo;I just care that the leader, whoever that is, is someone who helps ordinary farmers like us,&rdquo; said 68-year-old Somrak Suebsoontorn. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">&lsquo;Power to the people&rsquo; </h2>Under Thai law, elections must be held between 45 and 60 days after parliament is dissolved, meaning polls are expected around the end of January or early February. Anutin said in a Facebook post late Thursday he &ldquo;would like to return power to the people&rdquo;, a signal in the kingdom that a prime minister intends to dissolve parliament. His coalition backer, the People&rsquo;s Party, said Thursday it would submit a motion of no-confidence in Anutin, claiming Bhumjaithai broke its agreement during a crucial vote on constitutional amendments. &ldquo;They said they wouldn&rsquo;t support me anymore. They asked me to dissolve the house. I just followed their request,&rdquo; Anutin told reporters Friday outside the Government House. The cannabis-championing conservative took power in September with coalition backing conditional on dissolving parliament, becoming the kingdom&rsquo;s third leader in two years. He was once an ally of the influential political clan of Thaksin Shinawatra -- who have been a dominant force in Thai politics since the turn of the century, but are increasingly faltering after a succession of legal and political setbacks. Anutin abandoned his coalition with their Pheu Thai Party this summer in apparent outrage over former Thai prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra&rsquo;s conduct during the border row with Cambodia. During his three months in office, Anutin has had to deal with the escalating military conflict, as well as attacks on scam hubs in Myanmar driving hundreds across the border into Thailand, and the death of the former queen Sirikit in October.

Asia

The move comes earlier than expected and just three months after Anutin Charnvirakul -- of the conservative Bhumjaithai party -- became prime minister when his predecessor was removed from office over an ethics violation.

Thai PM dissolves parliament, paving way for national elections

ISLAMABAD: The Indian environment minister&rsquo;s clarification in the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) -- that widely cited global air-quality rankings are &quot;not conducted by any official [Indian] authority&quot; -- drew a sarcastic reaction from the Indian National Congress, which mocked the remarks in a post on X. India&rsquo;s major cities, including the capital Delhi, are frequently rated among the most polluted in global air quality indices.&nbsp; The Union government&rsquo;s clarification in the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) on Thursday regarding global air-quality assessments sparked renewed discussion over how India evaluates its pollution levels.&nbsp; Responding to questions from Communist Party of India MP V Sivadasan, Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh of the Bharatiya Janata Party stated that no official global country-wise air-pollution ranking exists, and that widely quoted international indices, including the IQAir World Air Quality Report, WHO Global Air Quality Database, Environmental Performance Index and Global Burden of Disease metrics, are &ldquo;not conducted by any official authority.&rdquo; &#39;Only as guidance&#39;Singh noted that the World Health Organization&rsquo;s air-quality guidelines serve only as guidance, intended to help countries achieve better standards over time. He added that nations formulate their own air-quality benchmarks depending on geography, environmental factors, background levels, socio-economic conditions, and national circumstances.&nbsp; India follows its National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), notified in 2009, which specify limits for 12 pollutants; the ministry said that these are tailored to the country&rsquo;s specific conditions.&nbsp; The standards set the 24-hour permissible PM2.5 limit at 60 &micro;g/m&sup3;, which is four times the WHO&rsquo;s updated 2021 guideline. Delhi&rsquo;s air qualitySeparately, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav presented data on Delhi&rsquo;s air quality in response to another question.&nbsp; According to the government, &ldquo;Good to Moderate&rdquo; air-quality days (AQI &le;200) in the capital have actually risen from 110 days in 2016 to 200 days in 2025 (to date).&nbsp; The average AQI between January and November has improved from 213 in 2018 to 187 in 2025, and no day in 2025 has entered the &ldquo;Severe Plus&rdquo; category (AQI &gt;450), the ministry said.&nbsp; The ministry also reported that farm-fire incidents in Punjab and Haryana have fallen by around 90% in the 2025 paddy-harvesting season compared to 2022. The government said that it conducts the annual Swachh Vayu Survekshan, ranking 130 cities under the National Clean Air Programme based on the implementation of air-quality improvement measures. Congress&#39;s reaction&nbsp;The opposition quickly seized upon the government&rsquo;s responses.&nbsp; The Indian National Congress posted a sharp, sarcastic comment on X, mocking the minister&rsquo;s dismissal of global rankings: &ldquo;Our air is special kind of air. While other countries have only 20% Oxygen, we have 80% Oxygen and a little bit of Nitrogen and Carbon Dioxide. Same with our GDP, Exchange rate, and so on. Perks of electing an 8th fail as PM.&rdquo;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 2;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-2" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-2&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1999105178184872004&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fsections%2F&sessionId=9c2e435bda59bbbac982e7528e199d336563d88f&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 873px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>

India

The Indian government minister tells the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) that global air-quality rankings are unofficial and that India uses its own standards; opposition party Congress posted a sarcastic comment on social media mocking the minister’s stance.

Opposition mocks Indian minister’s remarks on global pollution rankings

LOS ANGELES: French indie title &quot;Clair Obscur: Expedition 33&quot; dominated the annual Game Awards in Los Angeles, winning a record of nine categories, including best video game of the year. &quot;What a weird timeline for us,&quot; Guillaume Broche of video game studio Sandfall Interactive quipped, thanking his team as he accepted the top award. &quot;And also I want to extend thanks to the unsung heroes of this industry -- the people who make tutorials on YouTube on how to make a game -- &nbsp;because we had no idea how to make a game before.&quot; &quot;Clair Obscur,&quot; the first game from Sandfall Interactive, tells the story of a group of characters battling seemingly impossible odds in a post-apocalyptic universe with a distinctively French visual style. It was nominated in a record number of categories, winning many despite facing heavyweights like &quot;Death Stranding 2,&quot; from industry legend Hideo Kojima of &quot;Metal Gear Solid&quot; fame, and Nintendo&#39;s &quot;Donkey Kong Bananza,&quot; starring the eponymous gorilla. &quot;Clair Obscur&quot; began in 2020 as a project of Broche, a developer at French games giant Ubisoft. He brought ex-colleague Tom Guillermin on board to create the small studio in the French city of Montpellier the same year. &#39;Thank you to the players&#39;They struck a publishing deal in 2022 with UK-based Kepler, which provided funding for the project. Some 5 million copies of &quot;Clair Obscur&quot; have been snapped up since its release in April of this year. &quot;This was supposed to be a joke; I have no idea what&#39;s happening,&quot; Broche joked. &quot;Just a massive &#39;thank you&#39; to the players.&quot; The grassroots popularity of &quot;Clair Obscur&quot; has manifested in fans attending conventions and video game fairs wearing a striped mariner&#39;s shirt and red beret -- one of the most stereotypically French outfits players can equip for their characters. The action game follows a small group of characters as they seek to defeat a powerful entity threatening their home city, Lumiere, which bears a striking resemblance to Belle Epoque Paris. Inspired by Japanese games such as the long-running Final Fantasy series, the French title is a role-playing game featuring turn-based combat against monsters inhabiting the world. Its popularity was founded on the story&#39;s emotional depth and endearing characters, combined with original gameplay that introduced reactive, rhythm-based elements for parrying enemies&#39; attacks. Sandhill &quot;managed to present something really polished and go toe-to-toe with major titles,&quot; industry specialist Benoit Reinier told AFP at the time of the game&#39;s release. At just 30 people for most of its development, the team behind &quot;Clair Obscur&quot; was far smaller than typical blockbuster studios. Broche said they brought everyone from Sandhill to Los Angeles to celebrate the awards. The music of &quot;Clair Obscur&quot; stuck in many players&#39; heads and played an outsized part in their immersion into its universe. Winning categories for the game included narrative, role-playing, and music score. French President Emmanuel Macron hailed the team in May, thanking them for &quot;putting the spotlight on French-style boldness and creativity.&quot; There are also plans to bring the &quot;Expedition 33&quot; story to the big screen.

(L/R) CTO and co-founder of Sandfall Interactive Tom Guillermin, Sandfall Interactive Art Director Nicholas Maxson-Francombe, CEO, Creative Director, and Co-Founder of Sandfall Interactive Guillaume Broche and Co-Founder and Producer of Sandfall Interacti

Video Game

The game won in a record nine categories, including best video game of the year, best narrative, role-playing, and music score.