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.
Conservationists in Cambodia weigh and tag critically endangered Mekong giant catfish after discovering six of them in the critical river, which is plagued by illegal fishing, habitat loss and plastic waste.
Dindigul (Inde) (AFP) – A fire at a private hospital in southern India has killed at least six people, with more than two dozen others injured. The blaze erupted late Thursday night in Tamil Nadu, a southern state. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.
