Author: Daily Sabah With Reuters
A deepening political crisis in South Korea has not diminished the military readiness of 28,500 troops stationed in the Asian state, a U.S. official said on Friday, but Washington is closely monitoring the situation. South Korea’s parliament impeached acting President Han Duck-soo on Friday, less than two weeks after suspending President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived martial law declaration, plunging the country further into political chaos. Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok assumed the position of acting president while the cases of Yoon and Han are considered by the Constitutional Court. The United States has troops stationed in South Korea as…
Russia sees no point in a weak ceasefire to freeze the war in Ukraine but Moscow wants a legally binding deal for a lasting peace that would ensure the security of both Russia and its neighbours, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday. “A truce is a path to nowhere,” Lavrov said, adding that Moscow suspected such a weak truce would be simply used by the West to re-arm Ukraine. “We need final legal agreements that will fix all the conditions for ensuring the security of the Russian Federation and, of course, the legitimate security interests of our neighbors,” Lavrov…
President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday there was no time left this year to sign a new Ukrainian gas transit deal, and laid the blame firmly on Ukraine for refusing to extend the agreement that brings gas to Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Austria. “They announced that they would not renew the contract,” Putin said, adding that Kyiv was punishing Europe by the move. The current five-year gas transit deal between Russia and Ukraine expires in the end of the year. “There is no contract and it is impossible to conclude it in 3-4 days,” Putin said in a televised…
Syria’s new authorities on Thursday launched a security crackdown in a coastal region where 14 policemen were killed a day before, vowing to pursue “remnants” of the ousted Bashar al-Assad government accused of the attack, state media reported. The violence in Tartous province, part of the coastal region that is home to many members of Assad’s Alawite sect, has marked the deadliest challenge yet to the authorities which swept him from power on Dec. 8. Members of the Alawite minority, an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam, wielded huge sway in Assad-led Syria, dominating security forces he used against his opponents during…
Iran’s foreign ministry on Thursday rejected accusations that Tehran interfered in Syria, after the new Syrian foreign minister told the Islamic Republic not to spread chaos in his country. “We reject the baseless accusations by some media … against Iran over interfering in Syria’s internal affairs,” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei was quoted as saying by state media. “It is necessary to prevent the spread of insecurity and violence … and ensure the security of Syrian citizens,” he added.
President Joe Biden said on Wednesday he asked the U.S. Defense Department to continue its surge of weapons deliveries to Ukraine after condemning Russia’s Christmas Day attack against some of Ukraine’s cities and its energy system. “The purpose of this outrageous attack was to cut off the Ukrainian people’s access to heat and electricity during winter and to jeopardize the safety of its grid,” Biden said in a statement. Republican President-elect Donald Trump will replace Democrat Biden on Jan. 20. Russia attacked Ukraine’s energy system and some cities with cruise and ballistic missiles plus drones on Wednesday, Ukraine said. Since…
Valencia have appointed Carlos Corberan as head coach on a two-and-a-half-year contract after his departure from West Bromwich Albion, the struggling La Liga club announced. Corberan previously spent three years at Leeds United, initially as their Under-23 coach and later as part of Marcelo Bielsa’s coaching staff, before taking over as Huddersfield Town manager in 2020. The 41-year-old, who has since coached Olympiakos Piraeus and West Brom, also previously played for Valencia’s youth team. “Carlos Corberan becomes the new Valencia CF coach until 2027,” the club said in a statement Tuesday. “The club has informed West Bromwich Albion FC of…
Valencia have appointed Carlos Corberan as head coach on a two-and-a-half-year contract after his departure from West Bromwich Albion, the struggling La Liga club announced. Corberan previously spent three years at Leeds United, initially as their Under-23 coach and later as part of Marcelo Bielsa’s coaching staff, before taking over as Huddersfield Town manager in 2020. The 41-year-old, who has since coached Olympiakos Piraeus and West Brom, also previously played for Valencia’s youth team. “Carlos Corberan becomes the new Valencia CF coach until 2027,” the club said in a statement Tuesday. “The club has informed West Bromwich Albion FC of…
Azerbaijan Airlines is suspending all its flights from Baku to Russia’s Chechnya region until an investigation into a fatal crash involving one of its planes is finished, Russia’s state TASS news agency cited the company saying on Wednesday. An Embraer EMBR3.SA passenger jet flying from Azerbaijan to Russia crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan on Wednesday with 62 passengers and five crew on board, Kazakh authorities announced, saying 32 survivors had been rescued. (
Russia attacked Ukraine’s energy system and cities in its eastern region with cruise and ballistic missiles on Wednesday morning, Ukraine’s energy minister and local officials said. At least three people were wounded in a missile attack on Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine on Wednesday morning, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said. Ukrainian air forces said Kharkiv was attacked by ballistic missiles and regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said on the Telegram messaging app that there were “damages to civilian non-residential infrastructure”. Separately, Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram: “Since the morning, the Russian army has been massively attacking the Dnipro region. It is…