Like many others in the Syrian capital Damascus, student Shadi chose to stay home so he could keep up with the pace of events since rebels launched a shock offensive last week.”I had no wish to go out and everyone chose to stay in to follow the news surrounded by their loved ones,” said Shadi, …
Damascus gripped by anxiety in face of rebel offensive Read More »
Iran plans a major increase in the production rate of highly enriched uranium, the UN nuclear watchdog said Friday in a confidential report seen by AFP.An updated design of Iran’s Fordo plant showed that the effect of the change “would be to significantly increase the rate of production of uranium enriched up to 60 percent”, …
Iran plans to ‘significantly increase’ enriched uranium production: IAEA Read More »
The EU and four South American countries concluded a huge but controversial trade deal on Friday despite fierce opposition from France, which called the agreement “unacceptable.”The deal between Brussels and four members of the Mercosur bloc — Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay — aims to create a 700-million-customer free-trade area.EU Commission chief Ursula Von der Leyen announced …
EU and S.America countries conclude divisive trade deal Read More »
TikTok faces a US ban after it lost an appeal on Friday against a law requiring the video-sharing app to divest from its Chinese parent company by January 19.The potential ban could strain US-China relations just as president-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office on January 20. TikTok will likely take the case to the Supreme …
The image is particularly symbolic: A statue of former President Hafez al-Assad, the father of Syria’s current ruler Bashar, was toppled in Hama after Islamist-led rebels overran the country’s fourth-largest city, video authenticated by AFP showed.A machine’s long mechanical arm tipped the towering statue over to cheers and cries of “Allahu Akbar” (God is Greatest) …
Statue of former Syrian president toppled in Hama Read More »
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday looked increasingly likely to be unseated after the head of his ruling party demanded he be stripped of office for briefly imposing martial law.If Yoon remains, “there is a significant risk that extreme actions similar to the martial law declaration could be repeated, which could put the …
Impeachment looms ever closer for South Korean president Read More »
A former British soldier on Friday pleaded not guilty to murdering two men during the 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre, one of the most significant events in Northern Ireland’s decades-long conflict.The ex-paratrooper, identified only as “Soldier F”, applied to have the case against him dismissed, but a judge at Belfast Crown Court on Friday dismissed his …
British ex-soldier pleads not guilty to Bloody Sunday killings Read More »
Mask-wearing arsonists set a synagogue ablaze before dawn on Friday in the Australian city of Melbourne, police said, as the attack was widely condemned.The fire broke out at 4:10 am (1710 GMT Thursday) in the Adass Israel Synagogue when some congregants were already inside, police said, gutting much of the building in the southeast Melbourne …
“We can do it!” President Emmanuel Macron told France on the night of April 16, 2019, the day after the fire that ravaged Notre Dame, as he set a target of five years to rebuild the great mediaeval edifice in the heart of Paris to its former glory.When he attends the re-opening ceremony of the …
Political storm clouds Macron’s Notre Dame glory Read More »
At least 90 people have been killed in Mozambique amid clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces sparked by October’s disputed presidential elections, civil society group Plataforma Decide said Friday. Unrest has rocked the southern African nation since an October 9 polls, which was won by the ruling Frelimo party, in power since 1975, but denounced …
Dozens killed in Mozambique post-election violence Read More »
