A Syria war monitor said that President Bashar al-Assad has left the country, after losing swathes of territory to a lightning offensive led by an Islamist-led rebel coalition that said it entered Damascus on Sunday.Residents in the Syrian capital told AFP heavy gunfire rang out, after a source close to Hezbollah saying fighters from the …
War monitor says Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has left the country Read More »
Gunfire rang out in the Syrian capital Sunday, residents told AFP, as Islamist-led rebels said they were “entering Damascus” in a lightning offensive against President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.As a war monitor reported the army and security forces abandoned the capital’s international airport, a source close to Hezbollah told AFP fighters from the key Assad ally …
Islamist-led rebels announced Sunday they had captured the strategic city of Homs, on the way towards Damascus where Syria’s embattled government said it was setting up an impenetrable security cordon.The defence ministry earlier denied rebels had entered Homs, describing the situation there as “safe and stable”.But the leader of the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) …
Syria rebels say their forces control Homs, eye Damascus Read More »
South Korea’s former defence minister was arrested Sunday, local media reported, a day after President Yoon Suk Yeol survived an impeachment vote over his calamitous attempt to impose martial law.The motion failed due to a boycott of the vote by Yoon’s party, even though huge crowds braved freezing temperatures in another night of protests outside …
South Korea ex-defence chief reportedly arrested as president hangs on Read More »
Ghana counted ballots on Saturday after a tight election with the ruling party’s Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia trying to shake off anger over economic woes and counter a challenge by opposition party candidate ex-president John Mahama.Voting was mostly calm, but police said at least two people were shot dead in separate incidents.Ghana’s struggling economy dominated …
Ghana counts ballots after tight presidential race Read More »
France celebrated the re-opening of the newly restored Notre Dame cathedral on Saturday at a special church service that featured a standing ovation for the firefighters who saved the 12th-century landmark during a 2019 blaze. A two-hour service attended by incoming US president Donald Trump among other world leaders began with the archbishop of Paris knocking …
‘Open your doors’: Notre Dame re-opens after five-year refit Read More »
Thousands of protesters marched in the Georgian capital Tbilisi Saturday for the 10th day of rallies sparked by a disputed election and the government’s decision to shelve EU accession talks.Demanding fresh elections and a return to European integration, the demonstrators headed towards parliament, undeterred by a police crackdown on pro-EU protesters and attacks on the …
Thousands of pro-EU protesters march on Georgia parliament Read More »
A war monitor said late Saturday that Islamist-led rebels had entered the strategic city of Homs, on the way towards Damascus where Syria’s embattled government said it was setting up an impenetrable security cordon.The defence ministry denied rebels had entered Homs, describing the situation there as “safe and stable.”The capture of Homs, Syria’s third-largest city, …
War monitor says Syria rebels enter strategic city of Homs Read More »
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday insisted at a meeting with US President-elect Donald Trump that any settlement with Russia after its invasion of Ukraine had to be “just”, as fears grow in Kyiv on the position of the incoming administration.President Emmanuel Macron hosted three-way talks with Zelensky and Trump at the Elysee Palace, discussing what …
Zelensky insists on a ‘just peace’ at Trump Paris meeting Read More »
Syria’s embattled government said Saturday it was setting up a ring of steel around Damascus, as rebels on a lightning advance said they were bearing down on the capital.”There is a very strong security and military cordon on the far edges of Damascus and its countryside, and no one… can penetrate this defensive line that …
Syria govt says set up security cordon as rebels advance on Damascus Read More »
