Tuesday, Dec 24th
Last update09:30:35 AM GMT
International Glance
- Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least 34 Palestinians on Saturday, health officials in the enclave said, as Qatar voiced hope of fresh momentum in efforts to reach a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
“Zelenskyy and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness,” Trump wrote on social media, referring to Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Syrian rebels seized Damascus on Sunday, and long-time President Bashar Assad fled the battle-scarred country amid the stunning collapse of his regime after 13 years of war.
Assad and his family arrived in Russia, granted asylum "on humanitarian grounds," Russian news agencies reported on Sunday, citing a Kremlin source. Rebel forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist movement that was once an al-Qaeda affiliate, declared in a statement on state-owned TV that Syria was "free from the tyrant" Assad.
The rebel coalition said it was working to complete the transfer of power to a transitional governing body with executive powers to rule the ancient nation of more than 23 million people.
Geoff Bennett:
Amnesty International is accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and is calling on the U.S. to block weapons transfers. In response, Israel's Foreign Ministry called the nonprofit deplorable and fanatical and said its report was entirely false and based on lies.
For the last two months, Israel has been waging a new operation in North Gaza.
Nick Schifrin has the story of one Palestinian man whose family says he was caught in the crossfire.
Nick Schifrin:
In North Gaza, Mahmoud Almadhoun fed the famished. They called him Chef Mahmoud for running a soup kitchen for the most vulnerable. His team filmed these scenes for us back in March, providing sustenance to stop starvation. He told us he had to help.
A South Korean legislative push to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived imposition of martial law fell through on Saturday after most lawmakers from his conservative governing party boycotted the vote.
The defeat of the motion is expected to intensify public protests calling for Yoon's ouster and deepen political chaos in South Korea, with a survey suggesting a majority of South Koreans support the president's impeachment.
Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali said in a video statement that the government is ready to “extend its hand” to the opposition and hand over its functions to a transitional government.
“I am in my house and I have not left, and this is because of my belonging to this country,” Jalili said, as reported by the Associated Press.
He said he would go to his office to continue work in the morning and called on Syrian citizens not to deface public property.
He did not address reports that President Bashar Assad has left the country.
There was no immediate comment from the United Arab Emirates on Assad’s whereabouts. Assad’s family has extensive real estate holdings in Dubai.
US figure skate sensation Ilia Malinin defended his men’s title as compatriot Amber Glenn upset three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto to win women’s gold at the ISU Grand Prix final on Saturday.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates claimed ice dance gold to make it a clean sweep for the United States on the closing day of competition in Grenoble.
Malinin attempted six different quad jumps and, although not all of them came off, he lived up to his self-proclaimed nickname ’the Quad God’.
The 20-year-old world champion went into the free skate with a yawning 12 point cushion over Yuma Kagiyama, the 2022 Olympic silver medallist, after the short programme.
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