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Seoul: At least 100 North Korean troops killed in Ukraine

Reuters — Thu, 19 Dec 2024 02:50:00 +0000

SEOUL >> At least 100 North Korean troops deployed to Russia have been killed with another 1,000 injured in combat against Ukrainian forces in intense fighting in the Kursk region, a South Korean lawmaker said on Thursday citing the country’s spy agency.

Australian search and rescue teams arrive in quake-hit Vanuatu

Reuters — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 23:53:00 +0000

SYDNEY >> Australian rescue and medical teams have reached Vanuatu, authorities said on Thursday, to help efforts to save people trapped under collapsed buildings after a 7.3 magnitude earthquake killed at least 14 people and injured hundreds.

Ukraine kills Russian chemical weapons chief in Moscow

Reuters — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 18:15:00 +0000

MOSCOW >> A top Russian general accused by Ukraine of being responsible for the use of chemical weapons against Ukrainian troops was assassinated in Moscow by Ukraine’s SBU intelligence service today in the most high-profile killing of its kind.

Canada’s finance minister resigns after clash with Trudeau

Reuters — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 22:40:00 +0000

OTTAWA >> Canada’s Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland quit today after clashing with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on issues including how to handle possible U.S. tariffs, dealing an unexpected blow to an already unpopular government.

Syrian Christians attend services, schools reopen a week after Assad’s overthrow

Reuters — Sun, 15 Dec 2024 22:05:00 +0000

DAMASCUS/LATAKIA, Syria >> Syrian Christians attended regular Sunday services for the first time since the dramatic overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad a week ago, in an early test of assurances by the new Islamist rulers that the rights of minorities will be protected.

Mother sees hope for her son’s release in Syria

Reuters — Sun, 15 Dec 2024 21:17:00 +0000

WASHINGTON >> The mother of American journalist Austin Tice, who was taken captive during a reporting trip to Syria in August 2012, voiced hope on Sunday that upheaval in Syria will lead to freedom for her son.

Israel to close Dublin embassy, citing ‘extreme anti-Israel policies’

Reuters — Sun, 15 Dec 2024 21:04:00 +0000

Israel will close its Dublin embassy due to the “extreme anti-Israel policies of the Irish government,” Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Sunday, citing its recognition of a Palestinian state and support for legal action against Israel.

Israeli forces carry out air, ground attacks in Gaza; dozens dead

Reuters — Sun, 15 Dec 2024 20:48:00 +0000

CAIRO >> Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least 48 Palestinians, including a journalist and rescue workers, medics said, and the Israeli military said its air and ground forces in the north of the enclave killed dozens of militants and captured others.

Mayotte cyclone kills several hundred, maybe thousands

Reuters — Sun, 15 Dec 2024 20:31:00 +0000

PARIS >> Several hundred people and possibly even thousands may have been killed when the most powerful cyclone in nearly a century hit the French Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte, a senior local French official said on Sunday.

N.Korean troops join Russian assaults in large numbers, Ukraine says

Reuters — Sat, 14 Dec 2024 23:35:00 +0000

KYIV, Ukraine >> Russia has begun using North Korean troops in significant numbers for the first time to conduct assaults on Ukrainian forces battling to hold an enclave in Russia’s Kursk region, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said today.

South Korea’s president impeached after martial law crisis

New York Times — Sat, 14 Dec 2024 19:45:00 +0000

SEOUL >> Eleven days ago, President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea made a bold power grab, putting the country under military rule for the first time in 45 years, citing frustration at the opposition for obstructing his agenda in parliament.

At site of mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers

Reuters — Sat, 14 Dec 2024 10:25:00 +0000

DAMASCUS, Syria >> A hip bone in a blown-out building, part of a spine amid some debris, a few foot bones in a worn-out sock. The Tadamon district of Damascus is littered with bones, after what residents and rights groups described as years of killings there under the rule of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad.

China restates stance on Taiwan after days of military action

Reuters — Fri, 13 Dec 2024 19:00:00 +0000

BEIJING/TAIPEI >> China’s defense ministry on Friday broke its silence about days of military activities around Taiwan, saying it was entitled to stage exercises and the military would “not be absent” if required to fight separatist forces.

Taiwan closes emergency response center as Chinese drills end

Reuters — Fri, 13 Dec 2024 00:13:00 +0000

TAIPEI, Taiwan >> Taiwan’s defense ministry today closed an emergency response center opened this week in response to what it said were stepped up Chinese military activities nearby, likely signaling an end to Beijing’s maneuvers.

Top Biden aides head to Mideast in diplomatic push on Syria, Gaza

Reuters — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 19:57:00 +0000

WASHINGTON >> President Joe Biden’s top aides were heading to the Middle East on Wednesday seeking to advance efforts to reach an elusive Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal and help ensure a smooth transition in Syria following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad.

U.S. successfully conducts missile intercept test from Guam

Reuters — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 23:19:00 +0000

WASHINGTON >> The U.S. Missile Defense Agency successfully intercepted an air-launched intermediate range ballistic missile target during a test off Guam for the first time, a significant milestone in the island’s defense capabilities, the Pentagon said today.

Israel, seeing opportunity, demolishes Syria’s military assets

New York Times — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 22:00:00 +0000

JERUSALEM >> As soon as it became clear Sunday that there would be regime change in neighboring Syria, Israel began a sweeping aerial campaign.

Rebel-backed figure takes charge as Syria’s interim prime minister

Reuters — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 17:00:00 +0000

DAMASCUS >> Syria’s new interim leader announced today he was taking charge of the country as caretaker prime minister with the backing of the former rebels who toppled President Bashar al-Assad three days ago.

Pacific islands wait for Trump, wary of climate and China stance

Reuters — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 16:00:00 +0000

Pacific island nations at the center of a strategic rivalry between the U.S. and China that brought infrastructure and funding hope President-elect Donald Trump stays engaged in the region but are wary of competition spilling into confrontation, diplomats say.

Syria’s rebels work to form government after Assad ouster

Reuters — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 03:41:00 +0000

DAMASCUS >> The lightning overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad left Syrians, countries in the region and world powers nervous on Tuesday about what comes next as the rebel alliance took its first steps in a government transition.

Haiti gang massacres around 180 people, targeting elderly

Reuters — Mon, 09 Dec 2024 21:00:00 +0000

Around 180 people were killed over the weekend in Haiti’s Cite Soleil area, Haiti’s prime minister’s office said today, after attacks that an NGO said were ordered by a gang leader who suspected his child had been made ill using witchcraft.

Taiwan raises alert as China deploys 90 ships in likely exercises

Reuters — Mon, 09 Dec 2024 19:00:00 +0000

TAIPEI >> Taiwan raised its alert level on Monday, saying China had reserved airspace and deployed naval and coast guard vessels in what a security source called the first military drills across a broad swathe of the region’s waters.

Tonga prime minister resigns ahead of no-confidence vote

Reuters — Mon, 09 Dec 2024 16:00:00 +0000

SYDNEY >> Tongan Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni has resigned “for the good of the country and moving Tonga forward,” the Pacific Island nation’s parliament said on Monday.

Bewildered, elated prisoners pour out as Assad’s jails flung open

Reuters — Sun, 08 Dec 2024 21:25:00 +0000

Bewildered and elated prisoners poured out of Syrian jails on Sunday, shouting with joy as they emerged from one of the world’s most notorious detention systems and walked to freedom following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s government.

Trump: Russia abandoned Syria’s Assad; never should have been involved

Reuters — Sun, 08 Dec 2024 10:44:00 +0000

President-elect Donald Trump said today that Russia’s abandonment of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad led to his downfall, adding Moscow never should have protected him in the first place and then lost interest because of a war in Ukraine that never should have started.

Macron brings Trump, Zelenskyy together at Notre Dame ceremony

Reuters — Sat, 07 Dec 2024 20:53:00 +0000

PARIS >> President-elect Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy held talks in Paris today, brought together by a grand ceremony to mark the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral.

South Korea’s president survives impeachment vote

New York Times — Sat, 07 Dec 2024 20:16:00 +0000

SEOUL >> South Korean lawmakers’ attempt to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol ended in failure today, prolonging the political upheaval and uncertainty that has roiled the country since his short-lived imposition of martial law this past week.

Syrian rebels topple President Bashar al-Assad

Reuters — Sat, 07 Dec 2024 20:00:00 +0000

Syrian rebels seized the capital Damascus unopposed on Sunday after a lightning advance that sent President Bashar al-Assad fleeing to Russia after a 13-year civil war and six decades of his family’s autocratic rule.

Syrian rebels take fourth city, Assad’s rule faces growing threat

Reuters — Sat, 07 Dec 2024 05:00:00 +0000

AMMAN/BEIRUT >> Syrian rebels said they seized control of the southern city of Daraa today, the birthplace of a 2011 uprising against President Bashar al-Assad and the fourth city his forces have lost in a week.

South Korean president apologizes ahead of impeachment vote

Reuters — Sat, 07 Dec 2024 02:00:00 +0000

SEOUL >> South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol today apologized for his attempt to impose martial law this week and bowed during a televised speech to the nation, only hours ahead of a planned impeachment vote.

Taiwan urges China to ‘unclench its fists’ ahead of war games

Reuters — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 10:20:00 +0000

TAIPEI >> Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te urged China on Friday to “unclench its fists” and not take any unilateral actions, saying ahead of expected Chinese war games around the island that Beijing would not win any respect for military drills.

Defense secretary scraps South Korea trip after martial law attempt

Reuters — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 22:36:00 +0000

WASHINGTON >> U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin no longer plans to travel to South Korea, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Thursday, following South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s botched attempt this week to impose martial law.

Internet sleuths hunt for clues on murder of UnitedHealth’s CEO

Reuters — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 21:48:00 +0000

Zooming in on surveillance footage of a gun that could have had a silencer fitted to it. Scouring the web to identify the brand of a backpack. Triangulating data of a rental bike to uncover an escape route.

U.S. defense secretary scraps S.Korea trip after martial law attempt

Reuters — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 18:45:00 +0000

WASHINGTON >> U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin no longer plans to travel to South Korea, two U.S. officials told Reuters today, following South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s botched attempt this week to impose martial law.

Syrian rebels capture key city of Hama in fresh blow to Assad

Reuters — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 18:36:00 +0000

Syrian rebels captured the city of Hama today, a major victory in a week-old lightning advance across northern Syria and a devastating new blow to President Bashar al-Assad and his Russian and Iranian allies.

Prime minister to resign as France’s political crisis deepens

Reuters — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 11:00:00 +0000

PARIS >> French Prime Minister Michel Barnier will resign today after far-right and leftist lawmakers voted to topple his government, plunging the euro zone’s second-largest economy deeper into political crisis.

Taiwan leader talks with U.S. speaker, China warns of red lines

Reuters — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 08:35:00 +0000

TAIPEI >> Taiwan President Lai Ching-te spoke by telephone with U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson during Lai’s visit to the Pacific, the presidential office said on Thursday, as Beijing called the Taiwan issue a “red line” not to be crossed in Sino-U.S. ties.

Biden meets African leaders in Angola to advance Lobito railway project

Reuters — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 20:55:00 +0000

LOBITO, Angola >> President Joe Biden met African leaders in the Angolan port of Lobito on Wednesday to advance a plan to extend a railway that could channel critical minerals from Congo and Zambia to the West via Lobito, and counter Chinese clout in the region.

Taiwan’s President Lai in U.S. territory of Guam as part of Pacific trip

Reuters — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 18:42:00 +0000

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te called on for fellow democracies to unite against authoritarianism to safeguard peace in the region, speaking while on a visit to the U.S. territory of Guam which is home to a major military base.

Chinese war games may start soon as Taiwan’s president tours Pacific

Reuters — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 19:51:00 +0000

TAIPEI >> Taiwan’s defense ministry said today it is watching the movements of a Chinese aircraft carrier and assessing China’s military activities as security sources said Beijing could launch new war games as soon as this weekend.