Monday, December 9, 2024

Six In The Morning Monday 9 December 2024

 

Crowds gather at notorious Damascus prison as Syrians search for missing inmates

'I hope my dad comes back... I have never heard his voice'

I have been speaking to the Nadaf family in Idlib, north-western Syria, about their search for family member Thaer, who they believe is still alive in Saydnaya prison.

Thaer was 25 when he was arrested by the Syrian regime in 2011. His mother Fayzah says nobody knows why.

Thaer's brother, Mohammad, is currently in Damascus looking for him. He has been to Saydnaya prison and is also searching in mosques and hospitals.


Summary

  • Huge crowds are outside Saydnaya prison in Syria's capital Damascus, following allegations some inmates are being detained in underground cells

  • Images show people desperate as they await more information - our correspondent describes investigators frantically searching for hidden cells

  • The Association of Detainees & The Missing in Sednaya Prison (ADMSP) group has dismissed the claims, saying there are "no detainees left" in the prison

  • Thousands of Syrians are thought to have disappeared under former President Bashar al-Assad's regime, which was toppled at the weekend - catch up on what happened

  • Assad, now reported to be in Russia, fled after rebels led by a group known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took control of Damascus

South Korea president banned from leaving country as ruling party accused of ‘second coup’

Yoon Suk Yeol subjected to travel ban after his party’s boycott of impeachment vote condemned by opposition

 in Tokyo and agencies
Mon 9 Dec 2024 07.23 GMT

South Korea’s president, Yoon Suk Yeol, has been banned from leaving the country, as opposition politicians accused his party of staging a “second coup” by refusing to impeach him over his botched declaration of martial law last week.

Bae Sang-up, an immigration services commissioner at the justice ministry, confirmed during a parliamentary hearing on Monday that Yoon was the subject of a travel ban.

Yoon’s attempt to end civilian rule last Tuesday lasted just six hours after lawmakers scuffled with soldiers in the parliament building before voting to lift the order.

Haiti gang massacres 110 after accusing them of using voodoo

A Haiti gang boss ordered the killing of more than a hundred people who appeared to be practicioners of voodoo after accusing them of casting spells that killed his son.

At least 110 people were massacred in a slum in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, after a gang leader appeared to have targeted people he suspected of causing his child's illness through witchcraft, a human rights group said Monday. 

The National Human Rights Defense Network (RNDDH), based in the capital, said a local gang leader, Monel "Mikano" Felix, ordered the killings after a voodoo priest told him that elderly people in Wharf Jeremie, a district of the capital's notorious Cite Soleil slum, had cursed his son.

Gang members then reportedly butchered at least 60 people on Friday and another 50 on Saturday with knives and machetes. Most of the victims were reportedly voodoo followers over the age of 60.

South Korea's opposition accuse ruling party of staging 'second coup' by refusing to impeach Yoon

South Korea's opposition accused the ruling party of a "second coup" for blocking President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment over his short-lived attempt at imposing martial law. Yoon has been banned from leaving the country as authorities investigate him on insurrection charges, the country's justice ministry said Monday.

South Korea's opposition on Monday accused the ruling party of staging a "second coup" by clinging to power and refusing to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his declaration of martial law.

Yoon plunged the country into political chaos with his attempt to scrap civilian rule, which lasted just six hours after lawmakers scuffled with soldiers in the parliament building and managed to vote the measure down, forcing Yoon into an embarrassing U-turn.

The president and a slew of top officials are now being investigated for insurrection, but a bid to impeach Yoon failed Saturday after a boycott by the ruling party, who claim the wildly unpopular leader has agreed to hand power to the prime minister and party chief.

China is probing Nvidia in a major escalation of its chip war with the US

China has opened an antitrust investigation into American chipmaker Nvidia, the world’s largest provider of processors that power artificial intelligence, according to Chinese state media.

The probe serves as the latest escalation of a growing battle for AI dominance, which both the United States and China believe is crucial for national security.

China Central Television in a report Monday said the Chinese government believes Nvidia’s purchase of Israeli networking company Mellanox could violate the country’s anti-monopoly laws, though the report did not specify what the merger did to potentially break the law. China approved the acquisition in 2020.


Briton jailed in Dubai for past 16 years pleads with Starmer to end ‘nightmare’ on UAE visit

Exclusive: PM urged to fight for release of Ryan Cornelius, now 70, who has spent almost two decades imprisoned on a fraud charge the UN has said is unjust

Tom Watling

Monday 09 December 2024 14:16 GM

British politicians and the family of jailed businessman Ryan Cornelius, imprisoned in Dubai jail for the last 16 years, are pleading with Sir Keir Starmer to fight for the property developer’s freedom as he visits the United Arab Emirates for trade talks.

Father-of-three Mr Cornelius, 70, has spent his children’s lives languishing in prison over an alleged £370 million fraud. The UAE says he illegally obtained a loan from the government-affiliated Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) by bribing staff members, but the United Nations says the charge of fraud is unjust. Mr Cornelius accuses the DIB, which is chaired by a senior, non-royal government official, of being his “effective jailers”.



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