South Korea special forces officer says he had orders to block lawmakers
Seoul, South Korea Reuters The commander of South Korea’s special forces that stormed parliament last week after a martial law declaration said on Monday he was ordered to block lawmakers from entering the chamber to prevent a vote to lift the emergency measure. Colonel Kim Hyun-tae, the commanding officer of the 707th Special Missions Group, […]
This year will be the hottest year on record, EU scientists say
Brussels, Belgium Reuters This year will be the world’s warmest since records began, with extraordinarily high temperatures expected to persist into at least the first few months of 2025, European Union scientists said on Monday. The data from the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) comes two weeks after UN climate talks yielded a $US300-billion […]
Haiti gang massacres at least 110 people in Cite Soleil, rights group says
Mexico City Reuters At least 110 people were killed over the weekend in Haiti’s Cite Soleil slum when a gang leader targeted elderly people he suspected of causing his child’s illness through witchcraft, the National Human Rights Defense Network (RNDDH) said on Sunday. All the victims were aged over 60, the rights group said. Wharf […]
Ghana’s former President Mahama wins election
Accra, Ghana Reuters Ghana’s former President John Dramani Mahama has staged a political comeback by winning the West African nation’s presidential election after his rival Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia conceded defeat on Sunday. The result of Ghana’s general election is another blow to a ruling party in a region where voters, hit by economic hardship, […]
Israeli airstrikes hit security complex, research centre in Damascus, sources say
Reuters Israel conducted three airstrikes in the Syrian capital on Sunday against a security complex and a government research centre which it has said in the past was used by Iran to develop missiles, two regional security sources told Reuters on Sunday. Sunday’s strikes, on the day rebels overthrew the government of Syrian President Bashar […]
In pictures – Syrians around the world celebrate the ousting of Assad
Reuters Syrians around the world are celebrating following news of the ousting of the Assad regime. Reuters photographers captured some of them… Syrians living in Turkey celebrate with opposition flags after Syrian rebels announced that they have ousted President Bashar al-Assad, in front of the Fatih Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, on 8th December, 2024. PICTURE: […]
Pope Francis appeals for US to commute death row sentences
Vatican City Reuters Pope Francis appealed on Sunday for US authorities to commute the sentences of death row prisoners, in an unusual request during his weekly Sunday prayer in St Peter’s Square. Pope Francis leads the Angelus prayer from his window, at the Vatican, on 8th December, 2024. PICTURE: Reuters/Guglielmo Mangiapane “Today, it comes to […]
Assad’s fall: Iron-fisted ruler never quelled the Syrian rebels who came back to topple him
TOM PERRY, of Reuters, reports on the rise and fall of now deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad…
Trump vows to pardon 6th January defendants on day one and aims to deport all immigrants in the US illegally
Reuters President-elect Donald Trump said in an interview that aired on Sunday that he would act on his first day in office to pardon rioters involved in the 6th January, 2021 Capitol attack, further building expectations for a broad granting of clemency. “I’m going to be acting very quickly, first day,” Trump said on NBC […]
Essay: Assad leaves behind a fragmented nation – stabilising Syria will be a major challenge for fractured opposition and external backers
Middle East security expert SEFA SECEN, in an article first published on The Conversation, looks at the complicated situation in Syria following the ousting of the Assad regime…