US Treasury Department Hit by Cyberattack Linked to Chinese Hackers

US Treasury Department Hit by Cyberattack Linked to Chinese Hackers

On December 30, 2024, the US Treasury Department revealed it had been the target of a cyberattack orchestrated by state-sponsored Chinese hackers, according to an internal document. The breach allowed the hackers to bypass security measures and access non-classified documents after compromising...

Fiery Crash Claims 174 Lives as Korean Airliner Goes Down

Fiery Crash Claims 174 Lives as Korean Airliner Goes Down

Authorities in South Korea have confirmed that at least 174 people were killed following the crash of a passenger plane carrying 181 individuals at Muan International Airport in the southwest of the country on December 29, 2024. The aircraft, a Boeing 737-8AS operated by Jeju Air, reportedly en...

Arrest of Assad Family Members with Forged Passports at Beirut Airport

Arrest of Assad Family Members with Forged Passports at Beirut Airport

On December 27, 2024, Syrian state television reported that Lebanese authorities detained the wife and daughter of Dureid Rifaat Assad at Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut after discovering they were carrying forged Syrian passports. Lebanese newspaper An-Nahar noted that the detaine...

Russia Turns to Cryptocurrency to Break Western Sanctions

Russia Turns to Cryptocurrency to Break Western Sanctions

Russian companies have started using Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for international payments following legislative changes that allow such transactions in response to Western sanctions, according to Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. This move comes as Russia faces increasing difficulties in t...

14 Syrian Security Forces Killed in Ambush in Tartus

14 Syrian Security Forces Killed in Ambush in Tartus

In a shocking attack, 14 members of the Syrian security forces were killed and 10 others injured in an ambush orchestrated by remnants of the former regime in the countryside of Tartus, as announced by Interior Minister Mohammad Abdul Rahman on December 25, 2024. The minister stated in a press ...

Tragic Plane Crash in Kazakhstan: 42 Dead After Bird Strike

Tragic Plane Crash in Kazakhstan: 42 Dead After Bird Strike

Kazakhstan authorities reported on December 25, 2024, that 42 people lost their lives in the crash of an Azerbaijani Airlines plane in western Kazakhstan. Of the 67 people on board, 28 survived the tragic incident. According to Russian news agency Sputnik, preliminary information indicates that...

Financial Times: Assad Regime Transferred Two Tons of Cash to Moscow

Financial Times: Assad Regime Transferred Two Tons of Cash to Moscow

The Financial Times reported that the ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's regime transferred approximately $250 million in cash to Moscow between 2018 and 2019, while his family secretly acquired assets in Russia. According to an analysis of banking records, the funds were delivered t...