South Korean president declares martial law claiming need to root out 'anti-state forces'
Syrian insurgents advance on Hama city after capturing Aleppo
Tue 3 Dec 2024 15.08 GMT
Syrian insurgents fighting forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have launched attacks in the central province of Hama, threatening to cut off government troops from a key route linking the capital, Damascus, with rebel-held Aleppo.
The army was engaging in “violent confrontations” with armed groups in Hama, the Syrian state news agency Sana reported.
Insurgents said they were positioned about 6 miles from Hama city, the country’s fourth largest city, and that their forces had captured the towns of Maardis and Soran just north of the city.
Georgian police crack down on pro-EU protesters for fifth consecutive night
Police fired water canons and tear gas at demonstrators who gathered for a fifth consecutive night outside Georgia's parliament building in Tbilisi to protest a government decision to delay EU accession talks.
Police in Georgia's capital again moved to disperse thousands of demonstrators on Monday after over 200 people were detained during four previous nights of protests against the government’s decision to suspend negotiations to join the European Union.
Police used water cannons and tear gas to drive protesters away from the parliament building where they have gathered each night since Thursday when the ruling Georgian Dream party declared its decision to put EU accession talks on hold.
Tycoon on death row for $12 billion fraud loses appeal in Vietnam court
A court in Vietnam on Tuesday upheld a death sentence for real estate tycoon Truong My Lan after rejecting her appeal against a conviction for embezzlement and bribery in a high-profile $12 billion fraud case, state media reported.
Lan, the chairwoman of real estate developer Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group, was sentenced to death in April for her role in Vietnam’s biggest financial fraud case on record.
The High People’s Court in southern Ho Chi Minh City determined there was no basis to reduce Lan’s death sentence, reported online newspaper VnExpress.
BBC 100 Women 2024
Firda Marsya Kurnia, Indonesia
Heavy metal musician
Challenging gender and religious norms is something Firda Marsya Kurnia is comfortable with, as lead vocalist and guitarist in the all-female, hijab-wearing heavy metal band Voice of Baceprot.
Singing in English and Sundanese, one of the most widely spoken languages in Indonesia, the trio’s lyrics express their frustrations with patriarchy.
There has been pushback from more conservative Muslims, who did not respond well when the band ventured into heavy metal.
But the band have come a long way since they started 10 years ago at their village school in Garut, West Java. This year they performed at Glastonbury, the first Indonesian band in the music festival’s 54-year history.
China Bans Rare Mineral Exports to the U.S.
The move escalates supply chain warfare and comes a day after the Biden administration expanded curbs on the sale of advanced American technology to China.
David PiersonKeith Bradsher and Ana Swanson
David Pierson reported from Hong Kong, Keith Bradsher from Beijing and Ana Swanson from Washington.
China said on Tuesday that it would begin banning the export of several rare minerals to the United States, an escalation of the tech war between the world’s two biggest powers. The move comes a day after the Biden administration tightened Chinese access to advanced American technology.
The ban signals Beijing’s willingness to engage in supply chain warfare by blocking the export of important components used to make valuable products, like weaponry and semiconductors.
Sales of gallium, germanium, antimony and so-called superhard materials to the United States would be halted immediately on the grounds that they have dual military and civilian uses, China’s Ministry of Commerce said. The export of graphite would also be subject to stricter review.
No comments:
Post a Comment