Politics

In a historic visit, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock traveled to Syria to meet with the country’s transitional leaders, signaling a new phase in relations between Syria and the European Union. This marks the first such visit by EU officials since the regime of Bashar al-Assad was toppled in December. The ministers met with Syria’s de facto leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, in the capital Damascus. Sharaa’s group, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led the rebellion that brought an end to Assad’s authoritarian rule. In recent years, HTS has distanced itself…

A quiet New Year in the small town of Cetinje, Montenegro, was shattered when a gunman went on a deadly rampage, killing 12 people, including two children, before succumbing to self-inflicted injuries early Thursday. The tragedy, one of the worst mass killings in Montenegro’s history, has left the Balkan nation in shock and mourning. The attacker, identified by police as 45-year-old Aleksandar Aco Martinovic, began his spree on Wednesday afternoon following a brawl at a local restaurant. According to authorities, Martinovic killed four people at the restaurant before moving to three other locations, where he shot and killed eight more,…

Ecuador has been shaken by a tragic case involving the disappearance and deaths of four children, leading to the detention of 16 air force members accused of involvement. The charred remains of the children, aged 11 to 15, were found weeks after they were reportedly forced into a military patrol car. The case has sparked national outrage and protests, tarnishing the image of the armed forces amidst an ongoing crackdown on violent criminal groups under President Daniel Noboa. The children—Saúl Arboleda, Steven Medina, and brothers Josué and Ismael Arroyo—were last seen on December 8 in Guayas province after playing soccer.…

The US Treasury Department has revealed that hackers, allegedly backed by the Chinese government, infiltrated its workstations in what officials are calling a “major cybersecurity incident.” The breach, which the department disclosed to lawmakers on Monday, involved the use of a stolen security key to access certain Treasury systems and unclassified documents. According to a letter reviewed by CNN, the Treasury was notified of the intrusion on December 8 by BeyondTrust, a third-party software service provider. The hackers reportedly exploited the stolen key to override security measures and remotely access several departmental workstations. Aditi Hardikar, the Treasury’s assistant secretary for…

Efforts to detain South Korea’s suspended president, Yoon Suk Yeol, were dramatically halted on Friday after a tense standoff between investigators and the president’s security forces at the presidential compound in Seoul. The attempted arrest deepens the political chaos that has gripped the country since Yoon declared martial law in December, a move that led to his impeachment. Investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office (CIO), accompanied by 80 police officers, entered the presidential compound early Friday morning to enforce an arrest warrant issued earlier this week. However, they were blocked by a “human wall” of approximately 200 soldiers and members…

Here are lives at the intersection of fun and scary. One of my companions summed the whole experience up perfectly. He leaned back in his chair at dinner that night, shrimp taco in hand, “These are the kinds of experiences that give something back to you. They show you who you are in a whole new way.” These eight shots crystallize the hard work moms put into keeping their kids alive, happy, and healthy. They might give you the inspiration you need for filling out that card—or stand-alone for your mom’s interpretation. Bob Dyalon At the bottom of the mountain, my legs…