Beijing — The Chinese government protested Sunday the latest American announcements of military sales and assistance to Taiwan, warning the United States that it is “playing with fire.” U.S. President Joe Biden authorized Saturday the provision of up to $571 million in Defense Department material and services and in military education and training for self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory and says must come …
Saudi Arabia announces resumption of embassy operations in Kabul
Riyadh , Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia announced on Sunday the resumption of operations of its diplomatic mission in the Afghan capital, Kabul, more than three years after withdrawing its diplomats from the country amid the chaos that accompanied the Taliban’s rise to power. “Based on the keenness of the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to provide all services to the brotherly Afghan people, …
Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmuk shows extent of violence during 13-year civil war in Syria
The former Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmuk, on the outskirts of Damascus, offers a glimpse into how brutal the Syrian civil war was for the civilian population. Home to more than 150,000 people, Yarmuk was completely destroyed during the early years of the war. Now, many are returning to try to rebuild their devastated homes. (Images taken on Dec. 20, 2024) …
Putin meets Slovak PM Fico at Kremlin
Moscow — Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks at the Kremlin on Sunday with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, one of the few European leaders he has stayed friendly with since the eruption of hostilities with Ukraine, according to Russian television. “Putin is currently holding talks in the Kremlin with Slovak Prime Minister Fico,” Russian TV journalist Pavel Zarubin, a Kremlin insider, posted on his Telegram …
Thousands protest in Serbian capital over fatal train station accident
Belgrade — Thousands protested Sunday in Serbia’s capital Belgrade to demand that leaders take responsibility for the collapse of a train station roof that killed 15 people last month. For over seven weeks, the Serbian government has been under pressure from nation-wide demonstrations following the deaths in the northern city of Novi Sad, with many protesters accusing authorities of corruption and inadequate oversight. Sunday’s protest organized …
2 US Navy pilots shot down over Red Sea in apparent ‘friendly fire’ incident, US military says
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — Two U.S. Navy pilots were shot down Sunday over the Red Sea in an apparent “friendly fire” incident, the U.S military said, marking the most serious incident to threaten troops in over a year of America targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Both pilots were recovered alive after ejecting from their stricken aircraft, with one suffering minor injuries. But the shootdown underlines just …
Italy’s Meloni says security threat posed by Russia is far-reaching
SAARISELKA, Finland — Russia poses a bigger threat to European Union security than just defense as Moscow can use illegal immigration and other issues to undermine the bloc, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Sunday. Finland hosted the leaders of Italy, Sweden and Greece, as well as the EU foreign affairs chief, in its northern Lapland region at the weekend to discuss security in the …
German authorities received a warning last year about the suspect in Christmas market attack
MAGDEBURG, GERMANY — German authorities received a warning last year about the suspected perpetrator in a car attack at a Christmas market, a government office said Sunday as more details emerged about the five people killed in the attack. “This was taken seriously, like every other of the numerous tips,” the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees said Sunday on X about the tip it said …
Israeli strikes across Gaza kill at least 20
DEIR AL-BALAH, GAZA STRIP — Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip overnight and into Sunday killed at least 20 people, including five children, Palestinian medical officials said. Israeli authorities meanwhile allowed Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the leader of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, to enter Gaza and celebrate a pre-Christmas Mass with members of the territory’s small Christian community. A strike on a school housing …
What Assad’s fall has revealed about Syria’s trade in stimulant drug Captagon
BEIRUT — Since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad, industrial-scale manufacturing facilities of the amphetamine-like stimulant Captagon have been uncovered around the country, which experts say fed a $10 billion annual global trade in the highly addictive drug. Among the locations used for manufacturing the drug were the Mazzeh air base in Damascus, a car-trading company in Latakia and a factory that once made …
US says 2 Navy pilots shot down over Red Sea in apparent ‘friendly fire’ incident
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — Two U.S. Navy pilots were shot down Sunday over the Red Sea in an apparent “friendly fire” incident, the U.S military said, marking the most serious incident to threaten troops in over a year of America targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Both pilots were recovered alive after ejecting from their stricken aircraft, with one suffering minor injuries. But the shootdown underlines just …
France supports Ethiopia’s quest for sea access through discussion
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA — French President Emmanuel Macron said his country supports Ethiopia’s quest for access to the sea through discussion and respecting international laws and neighboring countries. Macron spoke on Saturday after a one-day visit to Addis Ababa, where he held bilateral talks with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. During a news conference, Macron welcomed the Ankara Declaration reached by the Federal Democratic Republic of …
Former Syrian soldiers seek amnesty, return to civilian life
DAMASCUS, SYRIA — Hundreds of former Syrian soldiers on Saturday reported to the country’s new rulers for the first time since Bashar al-Assad was ousted to answer questions about whether they may have been involved in crimes against civilians in exchange for a promised amnesty and return to civilian life. The former soldiers trooped to what used to be the head office in Damascus of Assad’s …
Syria’s new rulers appoint defense, foreign ministers
DAMASCUS, SYRIA — Syria’s new rulers have appointed Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the insurgency that toppled Bashar al-Assad, as defense minister in the interim government, an official source said on Saturday. Abu Qasra, who is also known by the nom de guerre Abu Hassan 600, is a senior figure in the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group that led the campaign that ousted Assad …
Quake strikes near battered Vanuatu; no major damage reported
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — A magnitude 6.1 earthquake rattled buildings on Vanuatu’s main island early Sunday but did not appear to have caused major damage, just days after a massive, deadly quake wreaked havoc on the Pacific archipelago. The nation’s most populous island, Efate, is still reeling from the 7.3-magnitude quake that struck Tuesday. It killed 12 people as it toppled concrete buildings in the capital, Port …
Albania to shut down TikTok for 1 year, says platform promotes violence among children
TIRANA, ALBANIA — Albania’s prime minister said Saturday the government will shut down the video service TikTok for one year, blaming it for inciting violence and bullying, especially among children. Albanian authorities held 1,300 meetings with teachers and parents following the stabbing death of a teenager in mid-November by another teen after a quarrel that started on TikTok. Prime Minister Edi Rama, speaking at a meeting …
Pope describes Israeli airstrikes of Gaza as ‘cruelty’
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Saturday again condemned Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, a day after an Israeli government minister publicly denounced the pontiff for suggesting the global community should study whether the military offensive there constitutes a genocide of the Palestinian people. Francis opened his annual Christmas address to the Catholic cardinals who lead the Vatican’s various departments with what appeared to be a reference …
Airports reopen following Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s Kazan
MOSCOW — The airport in the Russian city of Kazan reopened on Saturday after temporarily closing earlier in the day following a Ukrainian drone attack, Russia’s aviation watchdog said. Russian state news agencies reported the drone attack on a residential complex and other areas in Kazan, some 800 kilometers east of Moscow. The Defense Ministry said the city had been attacked by three waves of drones …
Lack of shelter, food increases Gazans’ misery as winter sets in
GENEVA — As temperatures drop and seasonal rains flood fragile settlements in the Gaza Strip this winter, aid agencies fear many Palestinians will die while others become critically ill and some permanently disabled. “It is very cold. It has been raining overnight. … We are anticipating very heavy rain here today, and this is while 1.9 million people are displaced,” Louise Wateridge, senior emergency officer for …
France adds first nuclear reactor in 25 years to grid
PARIS — France connected the Flamanville 3 nuclear reactor to its grid on Saturday morning, state-run operator EDF said, in the first addition to the country’s nuclear power network in 25 years. The reactor, which began operating in September ahead of the grid connection, is going online 12 years later than originally planned and at a cost of about $13 billion — four times the original …
Syria’s new rulers name foreign minister in push for international relations
Syria’s new rulers have appointed a foreign minister, the official Syrian news agency, or SANA, said on Saturday, as they seek to build international relations two weeks after Bashar al-Assad was ousted. The ruling General Command named Asaad Hassan al-Shibani as foreign minister, SANA said. A source in the new administration told Reuters that this step “comes in response to the aspirations of the Syrian …
Myanmar ethnic rebels say they’ve captured junta western command
BANGKOK — A Myanmar ethnic rebel group has captured a military regional command in Rakhine state, it said, in what would be a major blow to the junta. The Arakan Army had “completely captured” the western regional command at Ann on Friday after weeks of fighting, the group said in a statement on its Telegram channel. Ann would be the second regional military command to …
Germans mourn attack on Christmas market with no answers about why
MAGDEBURG, GERMANY — Germans on Saturday mourned a violent attack and their shaken sense of security after a Saudi doctor intentionally drove a black BMW into a Christmas market teeming with holiday shoppers, killing at least two people, including a small child, and injuring at least 60 others. Authorities arrested a 50-year-old man at the site of the attack Friday evening and took him into custody …
Missile fired from Yemen hits Israel, wounding 16
TEL AVIV, ISRAEL — A rocket fired from Yemen hit an area of Tel Aviv overnight, leaving 16 people slightly injured by shattered glass from nearby windows, the Israeli military said Saturday. A further 14 people sustained minor injuries as they rushed to shelters when air raid sirens sounded before the projectile hit just before 4 a.m. Saturday, the military said. The Houthis later issued a …