Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Thursday his country is ready to welcome UN forces into the UN established buffer zone with Israel.

South Korea’s impeached president, Yoon Suk Yeol was formally arrested early on Sunday, days after being apprehended at his presidential compound in Seoul.

In our news wrap Sunday, Biden and Netanyahu spoke by phone amid signs of progress in Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks, efforts are underway for Syria to re-engage with other nations, South Korea’s suspended president will not attend the first hearing of his impeachment trial,

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken agreed Thursday in talks in Rome with European counterparts on the need to encourage stability in Syria, officials said, as Turkey threatens Kurdish forces in the war-torn country.

Yoon Suk Yeol became the first South Korean leader to be held by criminal investigators, ending a long standoff after he imposed martial law.

South Korea has endured six weeks of political turmoil since President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law and sent soldiers and helicopters to parliament.

Lawyers for South Korea’s impeached president say he will appear at a hearing in a Seoul court to oppose a formal arrest over last month’s imposition of martial law.

“Over the course of next year, Putin will likely face mounting domestic problems. Russia’s central bank has forecast economic growth of 0.5 to 1.5 per cent in 2025, down from 3.5 to 4 per cent in 2024, suggesting that the wartime boom may have run its course.”

Putin’s forces locked onto French plane as North Korea troops may ‘be dead by April’ - “This aggressive Russian action is not acceptable,” the French defense minister said

It’s a cliche now that we live in an increasingly dangerous and unstable world. Financial markets anxiously calculate “geopolitical risk”. Europe’s biggest war since 1945 rages in Ukraine. Before our eyes Israel is organising a genocide.

Petroleum giant British Petroleum will cut 4,700 jobs this year in a cost cutting measure, the company announced Thursday. That amounts to about 5% of its total workforce.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Thursday his Cabinet won’t meet to approve the agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of dozens of hostages until Hamas backs down,