Genf (AFP) – Political transition in Syria should “ensure accountability for perpetrators of serious violations,” says UN rights chief Volker Turk during a press conference in Geneva. Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad fled the country as Islamist-led rebels swept into the capital, bringing to an end on Sunday five decades of brutal rule by his clan over a country ravaged by one of the deadliest wars of the century.
London (AFP) – Syrians around the world gather to celebrate the dramatic fall of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, chanting slogans and waving Syrian flags. The president fled Syria as Islamist-led rebels swept into Damascus, triggering celebrations across the country and beyond at the end of his oppressive rule. Assad’s government fell 11 days after the rebels began a surprise advance, more than 13 years after Assad’s crackdown on anti-government protests ignited Syria’s civil war — which had become largely dormant until the rebel push.
Jerusalem (AFP) – Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar says that Israel’s takeover of Syria’s buffer zone is a “limited and temporary step” during a press briefing in Jerusalem. A Syria war monitor said Monday that overnight Israeli strikes targeted military positions and depots in several parts of the country after Islamist-led rebels ousted President Bashar al-Assad.
Montevideo (AFP) – The EU and four South American countries have concluded a controversial trade deal that was opposed by France and many European farmers, European Commission chief Usula von der Leyen announces. “This is a win-win agreement,” von der Leyen says in Uruguay, where she is attending a summit of the Mercosur bloc involved in the deal, which also comprises Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. SOUNDBITE
San Francisco (AFP) – Residents in San Francisco and Santa Cruz responded swiftly to a tsunami warning issued after a powerful earthquake struck off the coast of California. Though the alert was later cancelled, precautionary measures saw locals evacuating to higher ground and harbour officials securing docks and vessels.
Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky lays flowers at a memorial to honour fallen soldiers and attends a commemoration in Kyiv on the Day of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. “More than 1,000 days of battle for the state. More than 700,000 enemy losses. For us, they are nameless, dishonourable,” says Zelensky, adding, “we all cry out in our hearts for our fallen soldiers.”
Syria (AFP) – Residents of Hama’s countryside flee to safe areas in northern Syria, fearing intense clashes between the rebels fighters and regime forces. In little over a week, the rebel offensive has seen strategically located Hama and Syria’s second city Aleppo fall from President Bashar al-Assad’s control for the first time since the civil war began in 2011.
(AFP) – Afghan women partake in a video protesting against a reported plan to ban women from attending medical training institutes. The footage was shared by Afghan women’s protest group: Purple Saturday. An Afghan health ministry source and managers from private medical institutes told AFP earlier this week that the public health ministry had issued a directive from the Taliban supreme leader to suspend women’s attendance. The ban would be the latest restriction on women’s education since the Taliban swept to power in 2021 and imposed what the United Nations has dubbed “gender apartheid”.
Montevideo (AFP) – Argentine President Javier Mieli, Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Paraguayan President Santiago Pena and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hold a joint meeting during the LXV Mercosur Summit in Montevideo. IMAGES
Montevideo (AFP) – EU chief Ursula von der Leyen assures that “the concerns” of the European agricultural sector have been taken into account and is introducing “guarantees” in the trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur. “We are listening to the concerns of our farmers and acting accordingly. This agreement includes robust safeguards to protect our food supply,” she says during a joint press conference with the presidents of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, announcing the agreement reached after 25 years of negotiations. IMAGES
Seoul (AFP) – Key figures in South Korea’s failed martial law bid share one key connection: they are all graduates of a prestigious, all-boys school in Seoul. President Yoon Suk Yeol, his former defence minister, his interior minister and his head of the military’s intelligence all graduated from the Choongam High School. The coincidence has led the school to issue a public rebuke of its infamous alumnus.
Melbourne (AFP) – Police are investigating a pre-dawn arson attack on a synagogue in the Australian city of Melbourne. The fire broke out at 4:10 am (1710 GMT) in the Adass Israel Synagogue when some congregants were already inside, police said.
