Former Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad has broken his silence since the fall of his regime, claiming he never intentionally fled to Russia — and blaming his troops for the stunning collapse. A post Monday on Assad’s former Telegram channel claims he merely left the capital on Dec. 8 to meet with Russian forces in the Latakia province “to oversee combat operations” as Syrian rebels stormed Damascus. Amid the assault, Assad…

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has initiated criminal proceedings against European subsidiaries of Apple, accusing the tech giant of incorporating illegally mined “blood minerals” into its global supply chain. The complaints, filed in Paris and Brussels, allege that Apple procured minerals sourced from conflict-stricken eastern DRC and Rwanda, where materials are reportedly mined illicitly and subsequently integrated into tech devices. The filings further claim Apple’s French and Belgian…

UK court sentenced Urfan Sharif, 43, and Beinash Batool, 30, to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of 10-year-old British Pakistani Sara Sharif, who died after enduring a prolonged campaign of “torture” and “despicable abuse.” The pair will serve minimum terms of 40 and 33 years respectively, as ruled by Judge John Cavanagh at London’s Old Bailey. The court heard harrowing details of Sara’s suffering, with her body found covered…

North Korean troops accidentally killed eight Russian paramilitary soldiers in a “friendly fire” attack as they tried to take back Kursk from Ukraine, Kyiv officials said. A Monday skirmish along the frontlines in the Kursk Oblast saw a group of North Korean troops target and fire at the Chechen Akhmat unit, killing eight of their allies, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (GUR). The friendly fire incident allegedly occurred due…

An explosive device planted close to a residential apartment block in Moscow killed the head of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defence Forces, Lt. General Igor Kirillov, early Tuesday, Russia’s Investigative Committee said. Kirillov’s assistant also died in the blast, triggered by the device which was placed in a scooter, officials said. The bomb was triggered remotely, Russian state news agency Tass reported, citing unnamed sources in the emergency services.Russian…

Despite achievements made by South Africa in the past 30 years, it continues to face significant challenges on its journey toward reconciliation, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday.“Our country is still divided by poverty and unemployment,” Ramaphosa said at an event marking National Reconciliation Day.The day is celebrated to foster reconciliation and national unity following the end of apartheid in 1994.“Reconciliation is not a symbolic act,” Ramaphosa said, adding it…

Russian Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov was killed this morning after a device hidden in a scooter was detonated, according to the Russian TASS news agency, citing Moscow’s investigative committee.The e-scooter, which Data and Forensics team has geolocated to the scene outside a residential building in Moscow, is from KugooKirin.The brand was founded in China but has multiple overseas warehouses across Europe including in Russia. Russia is also one of its…

China said Tuesday that claims that a businessman had used his links with Britain’s Prince Andrew to spy for Beijing were “preposterous”, after the UK government voiced mounting concerns over the allegations.Details emerged last week about Andrew’s relationship with Yang Tengbo, a businessman and alleged spy, who had been banned from Britain.Asked about the case while on a visit to Norway, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain was “concerned about…

…Says ‘The government knows what is happening’ President-elect Donald Trump on Monday accused President Biden and the Pentagon of hiding information about large drones spotted hovering above New Jersey and New York. “The government knows what is happening,” Trump, 78, said after Biden representatives pleaded ignorance despite thousands of Garden State and New York City residents seeing — and in some instances photographing — the aircraft. “Look, our military knows…

In a matter of two weeks, Syrian rebel forces took Damascus and displaced President Bashar al-Assad in what came as a surprise to many watchers of political developments in the region.The rebels swept through Syria’s largest city, Aleppo, then Hama and Homs. In a sleek and seamless move, they entered Syria’s capital, Damascus, days later, taking the city without a fight as government forces fled.The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group,…

A former Federal Bureau of Information (FBI) informant on Monday admitted to making up a story about President Joe Biden and his son Hunter taking $5 million in bribes from a Ukrainian energy firm.Alexander Smirnov, 44, pleaded guilty to creating a false record in a federal investigation, as well as three counts of tax evasion for failing to pay taxes and penalties on $2.1 million in income for 2020 through…

Two people were killed and a suspect was found dead in a shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, United States, on Monday morning. Just before 11 a.m. Madison police responded to a shooting at the private school located at 4901 East Buckeye Road. There was a large police presence at the school with multiple emergency vehicles in the parking lot. Police said two people died in the…