AFP UK

Saydnaya (Syria) (AFP) – Outside Syria’s notorious Saydnaya prison, relatives leaf desperately through abandoned ledgers looking for news of the missing, clinging to the dream of seeing missing sons, husbands and sisters again. Desperate Syrians say they were systematically shaken down for bribes to receive news of detainees that together amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars. Ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad’s vast network of prisons was not simply a tool of his brutal crackdown on opposition to his rule, it was a money-making machine for his supporters.

Avignon (France) (AFP) – Gisele Pelicot leaves the court in Avignon after the defendants in the Mazan mass rape trial took the stand for the last time. It was her last appearance before the verdict, expected later in the week.

Pemba (Mozambique) (AFP) – Cyclone Chido made landfall in Mozambique early Sunday December 15, around 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of the northern city of Pemba, with the UN’s agency Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), warning remnants of the cyclone would bring “significant rainfall” on neighbouring Malawi and that Zimbabwe and Zambia could also expect heavy rains.

Beijing (AFP) – China has urged the United States to “stop arming Taiwan… and supporting Taiwan independence forces”. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian made the comments after Taiwan’s defence ministry said it had received dozens of advanced Abrams battle tanks from Washington.

London (AFP) – At her London pub, landlady Kate Davidson has taken to issuing Guinness ration cards, due to a shortage of Ireland’s national drink. Bars across Britain, even Irish ones, have reported limited supplies of the black stuff since Guinness owner Diageo announced earlier this month that it was experiencing “exceptional consumer demand”.

New York (AFP) – Paddle ceiling fans, incandescent light bulbs and vintage advertisements: New York subway cars used from the 1930s to the 1970s are back on the MTA tracks as part of the Holiday Nostalgia Rides program.

Damascus (AFP) – Syrians hold a protest in central Damascus in solidarity with political prisoners that were disappeared under the rule of ousted president Bashar al-Assad. Many of their family members are still seeking information about their fate. 

Seoul (AFP) – The head of South Korea’s ruling party announces he’s resigning after the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived martial law decree.

Seoul (AFP) – Supporters of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol rally at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul to protest against an impeachment vote over his failed martial law bid. IMAGES

Seoul (AFP) – Protesters rally outside the National Assembly in Seoul ahead of a second vote on whether to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed martial law bid. IMAGES

(AFP) – 18-year-old Indian prodigy Gukesh Dommaraju has made history by becoming the world’s youngest undisputed world chess champion. Gukesh won the title after beating China’s Ding Liren in the final match of their series in Singapore. “It is one of the proudest moments in my life,” says a supporter.

The dramatic collapse of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s government has thrown light into many of the dark corners of his rule, including the industrial-scale export of the banned drug captagon. Victorious Islamist-led fighters have seized a warehouse on the outskirts of Damascus, said to belong to Maher al-Assad, military commander and the deposed strongman’s brother.