Kushimoto (Japan) (AFP) – A start-up aiming to become Japan’s first private firm to put a satellite into orbit says that the second launch attempt of its Kairos rocket failed shortly after lift-off.
Porlamar (Venezuela) (AFP) – Venezuela’s Margarita island, once dubbed the “Pearl of the Caribbean”, is now littered with abandoned hotels, many shops stand empty, and there are regular power outages. The country’s economic collapse, high crime rates and growing international isolation in the wake of bitterly disputed elections have caught up with the island of 500,000 people.
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.
Moscow (AFP) – Investigators attend the site of a blast that killed senior Russian military official Igor Kirillov and his assistant in Moscow. Kirillov, who commanded troops in the Russian army’s chemical, biological and radiation defence, was killed when an explosive device attached to a scooter went off outside an apartment building in the city’s southeast, Russian and Ukrainian officials said. The killing has been claimed by Ukraine’s SBU security service, according to a source within the agency.
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.
