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I'm VOA's Joe Ramsey with your worldwide news update.
Ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he had no plans to leave the country after the fall of Damascus a week ago, but the Russian military evacuated him after their base in western Syria came under attack. Reuters correspondent Sean Hogan reports. A statement published on Monday on the Syrian presidency's Telegram channel was posted from Moscow, where Assad has been granted asylum. It said he wanted to address "distortions" given during a critical juncture in the nation's history and at no point did he consider stepping down, seeking refuge, or did he receive a proposal from an individual party. He was ousted after insurgent forces led by the Islamist Hayat Tahir al-Sham swept through Syria in a lightning offensive, ending more than 50 years of iron-fisted rule by his family. Assad wrote that he left Damascus to manage combat operations from Hmeimim Base in Latakia on December 8. But after it came under drone attack, Moscow "requested" the base's command arrange an immediate evacuation to Russia. President Vladimir Putin made the decision to grant Assad asylum in Russia, which deployed its air force to Syria in 2015 to help him repel rebel forces. Reuters correspondent Sean Hogan. Ukraine's military intelligence agency and U.S. military officials say some North Korean troops have been killed during combat against Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk border region. These are the first reported casualties since the U.S. and Ukraine announced North Korea had sent 10,000 to 12,000 troops to Russia to help in the almost three-year war. The Ukrainian agency said Monday that around 30 North Korean troops were killed or wounded over the weekend during battle in Kursk where Russia has for months been trying to quash a Ukrainian incursion. This is VOA News. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Monday held his first news conference since winning last month's election. AP correspondent Sagar Meghani reports. From considering a pardon for New York's embattled mayor, "Yea, I would," to suspected drone sightings in the eastern U.S. "Our military knows and our president knows and for some reason they wanna keep people in suspense." Trump backed his pick, a prominent vaccine skeptic Robert Kennedy, for health secretary. "He's gonna be much less radical than you would think," and vowed to preserve access to a key vaccine. "You're not going to lose the polio vaccine. That's not gonna happen." He's calling on President Biden to stop following Congress's directive to sell unused border wall parts. "It's almost a criminal act." Threatening more defamation suits against media organizations, "Our press is very corrupt," and defending trade proposals many economists say would hurt Americans. "Tariffs will make our country rich." On the Middle East, "We had a very good talk" with Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu about ending the Gaza war. But as for Russia and Ukraine, "I see that as more difficult," backing off earlier promises to end the fighting before even taking office. Sagar Meghani Washington. TikTok on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step in on an emergency basis to block the federal law that would ban the popular platform in the United States unless its China-based parent company agreed to sell it. AP correspondent Norman Hall reports. Lawyers for the company and China-based ByteDance urged the justices to step in before the law's Thursday deadline. President-elect Donald Trump was asked if he will keep his pledge to save the platform. "You know, I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok because I won youth by 34 points." If the ban takes effect, it would expose app stores that offer TikTok and internet hosting services that support it to potential fines. Norman Hall, Washington. Canada's finance minister quit on Monday, dealing another major political blow to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's already unpopular government. Reuters correspondent Olivia Zollino reports. Kristia Freeland said in a stinging resignation letter that she was quitting in the wake of a meeting last Friday with Trudeau, who had asked her to take on a lesser post after the two had argued for weeks over spending. In a letter posted to social media, Freeland said the possibility of new U.S. tariffs represented a grave threat. She joins a wave of cabinet ministers who have either already quit or announced they won't run in the next election. Reuters correspondent Olivia Zollino. That wraps up this update, but the world and news never stop. For additional updates, visit our website, voanews.com. I'm Joe Ramsey, VOA News. |