The US Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law that will ban TikTok in the United States, potentially denying the video-sharing app to 170 million users in the United States on January 19.
In a major defeat for TikTok, the court ruled that the law does not violate free speech rights and that the US government had demonstrated legitimate national security concerns about a Chinese company owning the app.
Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was arrested on Wednesday, marking the end of a weeks-long standoff with authorities over his failed bid to impose martial law. This makes him the first president in the nation’s history to be detained.
Yoon faces charges of insurrection following his attempt to declare martial law last month. In a pre-recorded video message released after his arrest, Yoon stated that he chose to cooperate with investigators to avoid “bloodshed,” though he disputed the legality of the investigation.
The former prosecutor and leader of the conservative People Power Party (PPP), who won the 2022 presidential election, could face life imprisonment or the death penalty if found guilty of insurrection.
Yoon had evaded arrest for weeks by remaining in his fortified residence, protected by loyal members of the Presidential Security Service (PSS). His security detail installed barbed wire and barricades around the compound, drawing criticism from opposition leaders who likened it to a “fortress.”
An earlier attempt to arrest Yoon on January 3 failed after a tense, hours-long standoff between his guards and anti-corruption investigators.
However, early on Wednesday, hundreds of police officers and investigators from the Corruption Investigation Office surrounded the residence once again. Some officers scaled walls and used back trails to reach the main building. After a five-hour standoff, authorities confirmed Yoon’s arrest.
The former president was taken in a convoy to the offices of the Corruption Investigation Office, where questioning began shortly after his arrival, according to Yonhap News Agency
“We’re a nervous wreck,” Sarah Cohen told the Los Angeles Times of the threat to her Tarzana home.“Every time they drop water, it gets better. But then it gets worse again.”
At least 16 people were now confirmed dead from fires that have ripped through the city, leaving communities in ruins and testing the mettle of thousands of firefighters — and millions of California residents.
Despite heroic efforts, including precision sorties from aerial crews, the Palisades Fire continued to grow Saturday, pushing east towards the priceless collections of the Getty Center art museum and north to the densely populated San Fernando Valley.
“We’re a nervous wreck,” Sarah Cohen told the Los Angeles Times of the threat to her Tarzana home.
“Every time they drop water, it gets better. But then it gets worse again.”
Footage from the Mandeville Canyon area showed one home consumed, with a wall of flame licking up a hillside to menace others.
A brief lull in the wind was rapidly giving way to gusts that forecasters warned would feed the blazes for days to come.
“Critical fire-weather conditions will unfortunately ramp up again today for southern California and last through at least early next week,” the National Weather Service said.
“This may lead to the spread of ongoing fires as well as the development of new ones.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation on Monday, saying he will leave office as soon as the ruling Liberal party chooses a new leader.
“I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister,” Trudeau, who has been in power since 2015, told reporters in Ottawa following a protracted political crisis that saw top Liberal allies urge him to quit.
More to follow…..
Following the recent outbreak of a new strain of Coronavirus in China, the World Health Organisation has declared the situation as a global health emergency.
The international organisation also expressed concern over the virus’ ability to spread to countries with weak health systems.
Speaking at a press conference in Geneva, Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO’s director-general said the organisation’s committee on epidemic in an almost unanimous decision declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern(PHEIC).
According to Tedros, the decision which was not taken easily is as a result of happenings across countries of the world, not just China.
He said, “Our greatest concern is the potential for the virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems and which are ill-prepared to deal with it.
“Let me be clear, this declaration is not a vote of no confidence in China,” Tedros said.
Stating that the WHO is confident that China can contain the disease outbreak, Tedros highlighted recommendations which include the development of vaccines among others for controlling the incidents.
For the past few days China has been inundated with the growing incidents from the outbreak of the disease.
However, no fatality has been reported since the outbreak of the disease which has overwhelmed China hospitals and health workers.
A drunk police officer in Zambia freed 13 suspects from custody so that they could go and celebrate the new year, officials say.
A report by the BBC said detective inspector Titus Phiri was arrested after releasing the suspects from Leonard Cheelo police station in the capital, Lusaka, before running away himself.
The 13 detainees were accused of crimes such as assault, robbery and burglary.
They are all currently on the run and a manhunt has been launched to find them.
Police spokesperson Rae Hamoonga said that Phiri, “in a state of intoxication, forcibly seized cell keys” from constable Serah Banda on New Year’s Eve.
“Subsequently, Detective Inspector Phiri unlocked both the male and female cells and instructed the suspects to leave, stating they were free to cross over into the new year,” he said.
“Out of the 15 suspects in custody, 13 escaped. Following the incident, the officer fled the scene.”
Mr Phiri has not yet commented on the allegations.
Reacting to the incident, former presidential spokesperson and lawyer Dickson Jere wrote on Facebook: “I keep laughing each time I picture the scenario – comical! But then, I remembered a similar incident in 1997.”
On New Year’s Eve in 1997, the late, controversial High Court Judge Kabazo Chanda ordered the release of 53 suspects, some of whom were deemed dangerous by the police.
Mr Chanda was annoyed that the suspects had been arrested as long ago as 1992, but had not yet appeared in court.
“Justice delayed, is justice denied,” he said.
A Tesla Cybertruck exploded and burst into flames Wednesday morning just outside the entrance of Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, killing a person inside the vehicle and injuring several others standing nearby, local officials said.
The suspicious blast is being investigated as a possible terrorist attack, three senior law enforcement members briefed on the matter told NBC News. A motive has yet to be established.
The blast came hours after a driver in a rented pickup truck who was flying an ISIS flag plowed into New Year’s Eve revelers on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing at least 15 and injuring more than 30 others before he was shot dead by police.
That pickup truck and the Tesla in the Las Vegas explosion were rented from the same company, Turo, said Clark County/Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Sheriff Kevin McMahill.
“I don’t know,” McMahill said when asked at a news conference whether the two incidents are connected. “But we are investigating whether there is any connectivity.”
Turo, in a statement, said the company is actively aiding investigators.
“We do not believe that either renter involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had a criminal background that would have identified them as a security threat,” the company said.
The blast came hours after a driver in a rented pickup truck who was flying an ISIS flag plowed into New Year’s Eve revelers on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing at least 15 and injuring more than 30 others before he was shot dead by police.
That pickup truck and the Tesla in the Las Vegas explosion were rented from the same company, Turo, said Clark County/Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Sheriff Kevin McMahill.
“I don’t know,” McMahill said when asked at a news conference whether the two incidents are connected. “But we are investigating whether there is any connectivity.”
Turo, in a statement, said the company is actively aiding investigators.
“We do not believe that either renter involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had a criminal background that would have identified them as a security threat,” the company said.
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has signed a law abolishing the death penalty with immediate effect.
The abolition takes immediate effect, making Zimbabwe the latest African country to eliminate capital punishment.
Rights group Amnesty International praised the decision as a “beacon of hope” for abolitionist movements across the region. However, the organisation expressed concern over a clause that allows the death penalty to be reinstated during a state of emergency.
The move follows a parliamentary vote earlier in December to scrap the death penalty. While Zimbabwe last executed a prisoner in 2005, courts continued to impose death sentences for severe crimes such as murder.
Approximately 60 inmates are on death row at the end of 2023, according to Amnesty. These individuals will now be re-sentenced, with judges instructed to consider factors such as the nature of their crimes, the time they spent on death row, and their personal circumstances, reported the state-owned Herald newspaper.
Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi described the abolition as “more than a legal reform,” calling it a “statement of our commitment to justice and humanity.”
The death penalty was introduced during British colonial rule and has long been a contentious issue in Zimbabwe.
President Mnangagwa, a vocal critic of capital punishment, has often cited his own experience: he was sentenced to death in the 1960s for his role in the guerrilla war for independence, but his sentence was later commuted to 10 years in prison.
The Death Penalty Abolition Act, officially published in the government gazette on Tuesday, represents a culmination of Mnangagwa’s long-standing opposition to the practice.
At least 10 people were killed and 30 others injured when a vehicle drove into a crowd in New Orleans popular tourist district, city authorities confirmed on Wednesday.
The incident occurred at the intersection of Canal and Bourbon Streets, a bustling area known for its nightlife and heavy foot traffic.
In a statement, NOLA Ready, the city’s emergency preparedness program, said, “The 8th District is currently working a mass casualty incident involving a vehicle that drove into a large crowd on Canal and Bourbon Street. There are 30 injured patients … and 10 fatalities.”
Authorities are investigating the incident, and additional details are expected to follow as the situation develops.
In celebration of the New Year, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has extended a gesture of goodwill to North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un.
On December 30, 2024, a floral basket was delivered on behalf of President Tinubu by the charge d’affaires ad interim of the Nigerian embassy in Pyongyang.
KCNA reports that the symbolic gesture marks the ongoing diplomatic relationship between Nigeria and North Korea, with the floral basket representing the President’s warm New Year wishes for Kim Jong Un.
Additionally, Kim Jong Un received congratulatory letters from both the Nicaraguan ambassador and the Nigerian charge d’affaires.
