South Korea: even his own party now wants to suspend President Yoon

Today's news: Syrian rebels have taken control of Hama and are targeting Homs. New arrest warrant for Imran Khan's wife after protests in Islamabad. Marcos signs bill to open typhoon evacuation centres in every city in the Philippines. NBA basketball games in Macau to generate revenue other than from casinos. Russian Orthodox priests oppose war: a truce in Ukraine at least for Christmas.

SOUTH KOREA

The leader of the People Power Party - the ruling party - also declared today that it is necessary to immediately suspend the powers of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol after his attempt to impose martial law. Han Dong Hoon, who until a few hours ago had said that the party would try to prevent the impeachment motion against Yoon to be voted on tomorrow from being passed, now seems inclined to support it. The breakthrough came after reliable sources confirmed that Yoon on the night he decreed martial law also ordered the arrest and detention of prominent politicians - including Han himself - labelling them anti-state forces.

SYRIA

Syrian rebels took control of the central city of Hama. The Syrian army announced that it was no longer in control, while an activist group claimed that fighters led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham released hundreds of prisoners from the local jail. Rebel forces are now targeting Homs, a city that played an important role in the 2011 uprising against Assad that turned into civil war.

PAKISTAN

A Pakistani court has issued an arrest warrant for the wife of former premier Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi, a move that could lead to her re-arrest two months after her release on bail. Both she and Khan, currently in jail awaiting further trials, are accused of selling gifts worth over 140 million rupees that Khan received during his premiership and that belonged to state assets. Both deny the charges. Bibi, 50, who mobilised thousands of supporters of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party to demand Khan's release, was forced to flee to the party-ruled northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after a paramilitary force broke up the demonstration in Islamabad.

PHILIPPINES

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed the Ligtas Pinoy Centres Law on Friday, 6 December, which provides for the construction of evacuation centres in every city and municipality in the country. The Ligtas Pinoy Centers Act requires every city and municipality in the country to build a fully equipped evacuation centre, capable of withstanding super typhoons and located away from areas at risk.

MACAO

The National Basketball Association (NBA) - the US professional basketball league - has signed a multi-year agreement with local casino operator Sands China to hold pre-season games in Macau. This is a move on the road to diversifying the revenue of the former Portuguese colony urged by the Beijing government, which is currently 80% dependent on gambling in the only Chinese resort where it is allowed. The agreement provides for two games per year for the next five years in the Venetian arena at Sands.

RUSSIA

Russian Orthodox priests opposed to the war, almost all of whom are now abroad, have issued an appeal by the association ‘Peace to All’ to combatants on both sides on the territory of Ukraine for a ‘Christmas armistice’ at least for a few days to ‘give some relief to the devastated land’ in the two weeks between the Catholic and Orthodox dates.

KAZAKHSTAN

Following the devaluation of the rouble, the Kazakh tenge is also weakening, reaching 1,200 tenge to one dollar, and the director of the Central Bank's analysis centre, Meruert Makhmutova, called on the authorities in Astana to think about the possibility of introducing a system of importing items from Russia without tariffs, to put a stop to it.

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