Today’s news: Syrian rebels have taken control of Hama and are targeting Homs. New arrest warrant against Imran Khan’s wife after protests in Islamabad. Marcos signs bill to open typhoon evacuation centers in all Philippine cities. NBA basketball games in Macau will generate different revenue than casinos. Russian Orthodox priests oppose war: truce in Ukraine at least for Christmas.
SOUTH KOREA
The leader of the People Power Party – the ruling party – also declared today that it is necessary to immediately suspend the powers of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol following his attempt to impose martial law. Han Dong Hoonwho until a few hours ago had said that the party would try to prevent the approval of the impeachment motion against Yoon that will be voted on tomorrow, now seems inclined to support it. The advance came after reliable sources confirmed that Yoon, on the night he decreed martial law, also ordered the arrest and imprisonment of prominent politicians – including Han himself – calling them anti-state forces.
SYRIA
Syrian rebels took control of the central city of hama. The Syrian army announced it was no longer in control, while a group of activists claimed that fighters led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham freed hundreds of prisoners from the local jail. Rebel forces are now targeting Homs, a city that played a major role in the 2011 anti-Assad uprising that descended into civil war.
PAKISTAN
A Pakistani court has issued a arrest warrant against the wife of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi, a measure that could lead to her re-arrest two months after her release on bail. Both she and Khan, currently in prison awaiting new trials, are accused of selling gifts worth more than 140 million rupees that Khan received during his first term and that belonged to the state’s assets. Both deny the charges. Bibi, 50, who mobilized thousands of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party supporters to demand Khan’s release, was forced to flee to the party-ruled northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after a force paramilitary to break up the demonstration in Islamabad.
PHILIPPINES
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed the Ligtas Pinoy Centers Act on Friday, December 6, which provides for the construction of evacuation centers in all cities and municipalities of the country. The Ligtas Pinoy Centers Law requires each city and municipality in the country to build a fully equipped evacuation center, capable of withstanding super typhoons and located far from risk areas.
MACAU
The National Basketball Association (NBA) – the American professional basketball league – has signed a multi-year agreement with local casino operator Sands China to hold preseason games in Macau. This is a step on the path towards diversifying the income of the former Portuguese colony urged by the government in Beijing, which currently depends 80% on gambling in the only Chinese tourist center where it is allowed. The agreement provides for two games a year for the next five years at the Sands’ Venetian Arena.
RUSSIA
Russian Orthodox priests opposed to the war, almost all of them abroad, have launched an appeal, through the “Peace for All” association, to the combatants of both sides on the territory of Ukraine for a “Christmas armistice” to at least for a few days to “give a little relief to the devastated land” in the two weeks between the Catholic and Orthodox dates.
KAZAKHSTAN
Following the devaluation of the ruble, the Kazakh tenge is also weakening, reaching 1,200 tenge per dollar, and the director of the Central Bank’s analysis center, Meruert Makhmutova, urged the authorities in Astana to think about the possibility of introducing a system of importing items from Russia without tariffs, to put a stop to it.
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