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Syria's ousted leader Assad says he wanted to keep fighting but Russian allies evacuated him
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HuffPost UKWest Refuses To 'Recognise 1 Truth' About Russia Which Means Europe Has 'No Chance' Against Putin
Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a dire warning to his allies today.
- The Independent
Trump credited for ceasefire breakthrough as US officials who resigned over Gaza war slam Biden’s inaction
Officials said breakthrough came when Trump applied pressure on Israeli government, something Biden was unwilling to do
- Reuters
Exclusive-Trump team asks three US senior career diplomats to resign, sources say
Aides to President-elect Donald Trump have asked three senior career diplomats who oversee the U.S. State Department's workforce and internal coordination to step down from their roles, two U.S. officials familiar with the matter said, in a possible signal of deeper changes ahead for the diplomatic corps. The team overseeing the State Department's transition to the new administration, the Agency Review Team, has requested that Dereck Hogan, Marcia Bernicat and Alaina Teplitz leave their posts, the sources said. While political appointees typically submit their resignations when a new president takes office, most career foreign service officers continue from one administration to the next.
- The Hill
Michelle Obama signals she’s done with Trump
Michelle Obama is done with President-elect Trump, if her decision to skip next week’s inauguration means anything. The former first lady, who once called on Democrats to go high when Trump’s Republican Party goes low, will not be going to the Capitol to watch Trump take the presidential oath for a second time, leaving her…
- The Daily Beast
Kamala Harris Is Deeply Sad About Biden’s Claim He Could Have Won the Election
Kamala Harris has told friends that she is deeply sad about President Joe Biden’s claim that he could have won the 2024 election. Biden said in an interview at the start of January that he thought he could have defeated Donald Trump. “It’s presumptuous to say that, but I think yes... based on the polling,” he said, speaking to USA Today, later clarifying that he meant both he and Harris “could have... would have” beaten Trump.
- INSIDER
China has been stockpiling a key US crop before Trump takes office
President-elect Donald Trump has threatened tariffs of 60% against all Chinese goods, igniting fears of retaliatory tariffs from China.
- Reuters
Trump's Greenland bid stirs debate in China about what to do with Taiwan
For years, the U.S. government has urged China to show "restraint" in pushing its claim on Taiwan and to drop military threats to bring the democratically governed island under its control. Now - some Chinese commentators say - the power of that long-held U.S. message has been undermined by the threats by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to take control of Greenland and the Panama Canal, by force if necessary. Trump takes office on Jan. 20.
- Evening Standard
Nato jets scrambled as Russia launches massive aerial strike on Ukraine
Putin’s air force pounded critical infrastructure facilities close to the Polish border
- HuffPost
World’s 3 Richest Men To Get VIP Treatment At Trump Inauguration
President-elect Donald Trump is due to take office on Monday.
- Associated Press
Israel supplied Iran with centrifuge platforms containing explosives, top official acknowledges
Israel supplied Iran with centrifuge platforms containing explosives for its nuclear enrichment program, a top Iranian official has acknowledged for the first time, underscoring the sophistication of sabotage programs targeting the Islamic Republic. The comments by Mohammad Javad Zarif, a former foreign minister who serves as vice president for strategic affairs for reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, appear aimed at explaining to the country’s disaffected public the challenges Iran's government faces under crushing Western sanctions over the program. The comments also acknowledged details previously reported in Israel about a 2021 attack on Iran's underground Natanz nuclear enrichment facility.
- The Telegraph
The curious crackdown on Hamas by Palestinians – and what it means for Gaza’s future
The city of Jenin in the northern West Bank has been a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for decades.
- Reuters
Taiwan carries out first execution in five years, upsetting EU, rights groups
Taiwan carried out its first execution in five years late on Thursday, upsetting both rights groups and the European Union which called on the government to maintain its de facto moratorium on the death penalty. Despite Taiwan's reputation as Asia's most liberal democracy, the death penalty remains broadly popular according to opinion polls, though in recent years it has only rarely been carried out and violent crime is relatively low. In September, Taiwan's constitutional court ruled that the death penalty is constitutional but only for the most serious crimes with the most rigorous legal scrutiny, after considering a petition brought by 37 people who were then on death row.
- Reuters
Canada could impose tariffs on $105 billion worth of US imports, source says
Canada could impose countermeasures on up to C$150 billion ($105 billion) worth of U.S. imports if President-elect Donald Trump puts tariffs on Canadian goods and services, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. Canada has drawn up a list of targets but would hold public consultations before acting, said the source, adding the extent of any potential reaction would depend on what Trump does. The Toronto Star was the first to report the proposed countermeasures.
- INSIDER
Here are the names of the 6 new Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers that are poised to lead the US Navy until 2100
Two new aircraft carriers are being named after Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, continuing the Navy convention of naming them after US presidents.
- The Independent
South Korean president sits silently through 10 hours of questioning
Yoon Suk Yeol ‘simply refused to speak’
- The Independent
Cameron Diaz surprises Jamie Foxx after taunting Trump with Elon Musk claim
Foxx couldn’t hide his shock over Diaz’s jab at the president-elect’s friendship with tech billionaire
- Evening Standard
Who is President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon-hee, the political couple mired in scandal?
The impeached president has been arrested for declaring martial law after months of political scandal
- INSIDER
The cost of the Los Angeles wildfires' damage could be at least $250 billion. Here's who pays the bills.
With high property values, catastrophic damage, and lost economic activity, the Los Angeles wildfires could cost up to $275 billion. Here's who pays.
- Associated Press
South Korean authorities take impeached President Yoon to detention center after questioning
South Korea's impeached president, Yoon Suk Yeol, was sent to a detention center near Seoul on Wednesday night, after being questioned by anti-corruption officials who took him into custody over his imposition of martial law last month. Yoon was detained in a major law enforcement operation at the presidential compound earlier in the day. Yoon defiantly insisted that the country’s anti-corruption agency, which led the raid with police, didn’t have the authority to investigate his actions, but said he complied to prevent violence.
- HuffPost
Donald Trump Posts ‘Blacklist’ Online And Critics Fear The Same Thing
The president-elect’s request of potential government employees was slammed.