⚠️ JUST IN: At Least Two Dead, Multiple Missing after Explosion at Energy Refinery in Calenzano, near Florence – Sky News

Multiple people have also sustained severe burns in the blast, as per Italian authorities.

@RiseGS

❗️Berlin Halts Syrian Asylum Applications – Der Spiegel

Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees has paused all asylum decisions for Syrians, citing concerns that current rulings would be “on shaky ground.”

Some 47,270 asylum claims from Syrians are affected, including around 46k first-time applications - that have not yet been decided, according to German authorities.

@RiseGS

⚠️ Flashback to 2017: Julian Assange Reveals Donald Trump and CIA at Loggerheads Over Syria Policy

The CIA’s number one priority - and biggest budget item - was to topple Bashar al-Assad, Assange told DW.

However, Trump’s decided to defy the agency and aim instead to eradicate ISIS along with Russia and Assad’s govt.

His rejection of the CIA’s plans to remove Assad sparked a volatile clash between the two and is probably the real reason the coup occurred before Jan 20.

Sleepy Joe is now concerned that the move might “lead to a return of ISIS…” No sh*t, Sherlock.

@RiseGS

🔴 Seoul Imposes Travel Ban on President Yoon

South Korea’s Justice Dept has banned Yoon from leaving the country after requests by police, prosecutors and an anti-corruption agency following his unsuccessful power grab.

Yoon was saved from an opposition-led attempt to impeach him at the weekend - when all but three members of the ruling People Power Party boycotted the vote in the National Assembly.

He has been out of the public eye since expressing remorse in televised remarks on Saturday.

@RiseGS

⚠️ Hezbollah Sees ‘Major, Dangerous’ Change in Syria

“What is happening in Syria is a major, dangerous and new transformation, and how and why what happened requires an evaluation, and the evaluation is not done on the podiums,” Hassan Fadlallah, a Hezbollah politician, said in a statement.

@RiseGS

🎯 Egypt Condemns Israel’s Takeover of Buffer Zone

The Egyptian foreign ministry accused Israel of “exploiting the power vacuum to occupy more Syrian territories and create a fait accompli in violation of international law.”

Cairo also called for the UN Security Council to take “a firm position towards the Israeli aggression on Syria,” after Tel Aviv seized a buffer zone in the Golan Heights that was established by a 1974 agreement with Damascus.

@RiseGS

⚡️ JUST IN: Police Begin Questioning Man in Connection with Fatal Shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson

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🇷🇺 In November 2024, Russia liberated nearly five times more territory than in all of 2023, according to UA War Infographics.

▪️ The primary reasons cited are Ukraine's lack of resources and the Russian Armed Forces' use of new tactics.

@ukraine_watch

💵New York Gov Kathy Hochul proposes sending $3bn in one-time, direct payments to 8.6mn New Yorkers - to alleviate inflation costs for working families (Bloomberg)

@RiseGS

⚡️ BREAKING: Netanyahu claims Golan Heights will remain Israeli "for eternity” - AFP

The Israeli PM has clearly gone for the “why bother hiding genocidal intent” philosophy.

@RiseGS

🔴 NEW: Suspect in UHC CEO shooting is identified as Luigi Mangione - an ex-Ivy League student, anti-capitalist, and climate-change activist (The Guardian)

@RiseGS

🤔 Nelson Mandela Remained on the US Terror List Until 2008 - some 14 years after he became president of South Africa

@RiseGS

😳 Israeli ex-President Rivlin reveals relations between Jewish State and Queen Elizabeth II were “difficult” - because the British royal believed every Israeli was “either a terrorist or a son of a terrorist” (TOI)

@RiseGS