From doctor to brutal dictator: the rise and fall of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad
Toppled president came to power keen to show he was different to his father but proved to be as repressive
Sun 8 Dec 2024 15.34 GMT
On the face of it at least, the Bashar al-Assad of 2002 presented a starkly different figure to the brutal autocrat he would become, presiding over a fragile state founded on torture, imprisonment and industrial murder.
He had been president then for just two years, succeeding his father, Hafez, whose own name was a byword for brutality.
For a while the gawky former ophthalmologist, who had studied medicine in London and later married a British-Syrian wife, Asma, an investment banker at JP Morgan, was keen to show the world that Syria, under his leadership, could follow a different path.
Ukraine: Zelenskyy urges 'enduring peace' in Elysee talks
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy says Kyiv needs "effective guarantees for peace" in facing the threat from Russia. His remarks come after talks with US President-elect Trump and French leader Macron.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has responded to a call by US President-elect Donald Trump for an "immediate ceasefire" and peace talks in Ukraine by saying that his country needed "effective guarantees" for a peace that was secured from further Russian aggression.
Both Trump and Zelenskyy made their comments after three-way talks hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris that came as Moscow's invasion of its neighbor draws close to the three-year mark.
South Korea president to resign despite surviving impeachment vote, party says
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's party said on Sunday it had "effectively obtained" a promise from the leader to step down, despite the fact that he survived an impeachment vote on Saturday hours after making a public apology for briefly imposing martial law.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's future remained uncertain Sunday even after surviving an impeachment vote over his brief imposition of martial law.
Yoon's party killed off an impeachment motion late Saturday even as huge crowds braved freezing temperatures to demand his ouster four days after he sent troops and helicopters to parliament.
But the deeply unpopular president's survival may be short-lived, with Yoon's People Power Party (PPP) saying that it had "effectively obtained (Yoon's) promise to step down" in exchange for blocking his impeachment.
Israeli attacks on central Gaza kill at least 16
Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed 44,708 people as Israeli forces continue their siege of Kamal Adwan Hospital.
Israeli air attacks in the Gaza Strip have killed at least 16 Palestinians in separate attacks in the central part of the enclave.
Five members of one family, including children, were killed in an attack on a camp for displaced people in Deir el-Balah in the early hours of Sunday as they slept.
“We woke up to a loud explosion in the middle of the night,” said Mahmoud Fayad, an eyewitness. “We ran to the loud screams and found many civilians killed; and entire family, man, wife and their children.”
Opposition wins Ghana presidential election, vice-president says
Thomas Naadi, Favour Nunoo, Komla Adom & Joseph Winter
Ghana's Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia has accepted defeat in Saturday's election and congratulated the opposition candidate, former President John Mahama, on his victory.
"The people have voted for change," said Bawumia.
The elections come amid the country's worst economic crisis in a generation, which saw the cost of basic goods shoot up, while young people struggled to get jobs and the country was unable to repay its debts.
The making of a legend and the role of ‘Godzilla Minus One’
By HIDEO KAITO/ Staff Writer
December 8, 2024 at 07:00 JST
The mere mention of the Meguro to a diehard motorbike fan in Japan is likely to induce raptures.
And now, the legendary motorcycle is making its return after 75 years to its manufacturing place here, where a rare model--identical to the one featured in “Godzilla Minus One”--is being meticulously restored to like-new condition.
Fans across Japan are gearing up for the moment they hear its engine roar once more in its rightful setting: Karasuyama in Tochigi Prefecture.
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