👋 Ki kati!*
Welcome to Monday, where Russia grants Bashar al-Assad asylum, 2024 is set to be the world's warmest year since records began, and Paris’ Notre-Dame celebrates its first mass since the 2019 fire. Meanwhile, Ignacio Pereyra for Recalculating reflects on how men ought to stop deflecting blame and acting so darn defensive.
[*Luganda, Uganda]
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🗞️ FRONT PAGE
Istanbul-based daily Milliyet highlights Turkey’s role as a “key country” in the event leading to the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Following the swift downfall of the Syrian government, Turkey is focused on re-establishing public order, supporting the formation of a transitional government and facilitating the return of more than three million refugees — marking a transformative moment for Turkey’s regional leadership and diplomacy.
🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW
• Putin grants asylum to Assad, joy and uncertainty spread in Syria. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Monday that Vladimir Putin will grant political asylum to the toppled Syrian president and his family. In Damascus, rebels and civilians ransacked the former dictator’s palaces, revealing his luxurious lifestyle through videos. Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israeli forces had bombed strategic Syrian chemical weapons sites to prevent them from being taken over by "extremist elements." On Sunday night, the IDF also entered the buffer zone between Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Syria. While welcoming the end of Assad's dictatorship, the United States launched dozens of precision airstrikes against ISIS targets in central Syria on Sunday in an attempt to "disrupt, degrade and defeat" the terrorist group.
• At least 22 civilians killed in Gaza. Israeli drone attacks Monday targeting Jabalia refugee camp and Rafah reportedly killed 22 Palestinians, including at least 10 who were waiting in line to get flour. Meanwhile, Israel has made new accusations of Hamas infiltration in the UN agency overseeing support for Palestinians.
• South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol barred from leaving the country. A justice ministry official said on Monday authorities had imposed a travel ban on the leader, reportedly under criminal investigation for alleged treason following his short-lived martial law declaration last Tuesday. On Saturday, Yoon survived an impeachment motion against him after MPs from his ruling People Power Party (PPP) boycotted the vote. His party has however decided to delegate presidential authority to the prime minister and leader of his ruling PPP, while the opposition announced another impeachment motion would be introduced this week. Read more about Yoon and the situation in South Korea here.
• Taiwan raises alert level to “high” amid Chinese likely military drills. China has reportedly deployed 90 warships, coast guard ships near Taiwanese waters, as well as around the southern Japanese islands and East and South China Seas. According to Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND), Beijing has also set up seven "temporary reserved areas" of airspace to the east of its eastern Fujian and Zhejiang provinces. In response to these latest moves, Taipei declared the launch of combat readiness drills.
• 2024 set to be the hottest year on record. European Union scientists from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) announced on Monday that this year will be the world's warmest since records began, following the previous record in 2023. It is also the first in which average global temperatures exceed 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial period. Abnormal high temperatures are also expected to persist into at least the first few months of 2025. For more, we offer this article, On The Front Lines, How Indigenous People Are Adapting To Climate Change.
• Haiti gang kills at least 110 people over witchcraft. According to the National Human Rights Defense Network, the gang leader known as Monel "Mikano" Felix ordered the massacre of at least 110 people in Haiti's Cité Soleil slum, located by the port of the capital Port-au-Prince, over the weekend. The mass murder was commissioned after a voodoo priest, who Felix turned to after his son got sick, accused local elderly people of causing his child's illness through witchcraft.
• Raygun musical cancelled. A musical parody about viral Australian breaker Rachael Gunn and her journey to Paris Olympics which was to debut on Saturday in Sydney was forced to cancel after the dancer's legal team sent the producers a legal warning. According to the notice, lawyers expressed concerns the show Raygun: The Musical would damage the controversial breaker’s reputation and argued that the Olympian's dance moves were intellectual property.
#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS
246
British Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton set a new record Sunday at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for the most races with a single constructor, with his 246th start for Mercedes. The previous record holder, Max Verstappen, boasts 186 starts with Red Bull. Hamilton’s final race capped a legendary 12-year journey, as he drove from 16th to fourth in a memorable performance and celebrated with a series of “donuts.” The F1 season concluded with McLaren clinching the constructors’ title for the first time in 26 years, just 14 points ahead of Ferrari.
📹 ON THIS DAY VIDEO — 4 HISTORY-MAKING EVENTS, IN 57 SECONDS
➡️ Watch the video: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
📰 IN OTHER NEWS
🇺🇸 What will Donald Trump do if Russia or Ukraine (or both) refuse to negotiate on U.S. terms and are not intimidated by the threats of the American leader?
— VAZHNYYE ISTORII
🇪🇺 France is the latest European country to fall victim to destabilizing, anti-establishment forces. How can Europe integrate these powerful, far-right forces in its governing bodies without sweeping away democratic ideals?
— DIE ZEIT
♂️ Is feminism wrong in its strategy? Are all male machistas? Here are some ideas on what we men could do better.
— RECALCULATING
📣 VERBATIM
“I don't want to be breaking up families.”
— U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, in his first broadcast network interview since winning November’s election, told NBC in a segment aired on Sunday he doesn’t want to break up families, as he announced plans to end birthright citizenship through executive action, challenging the constitutional right that grants citizenship to anyone born in the United States. Trump also reaffirmed his campaign pledge to deport undocumented immigrants, arguing the solution to keeping families intact is to “keep them together and […] send them all back." He also made a passing threat to jail political opponents, including former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney.
✍️ Newsletter by Laure Gautherin & Ella Nigro
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