International from Thursday, December 5th, 2024

French President Emmanuel Macron met allies and parliament leaders on Thursday as he sought to swiftly appoint a new prime minister to replace Michel Barnier, who officially resigned a day after opposition lawmakers voted to topple his government.

A Pakistani court indicted jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday on charges of inciting his supporters to attack the country's military and its installations in 2023, Geo TV reported.

Syrian rebels said on Thursday they had started pushing into Hama, a major city where pro-government forces backed by intense Russian air strikes are trying to stave off a new rebel victory and halt the lightning advance.

South Korean prosecutors have opened an investigation into President Yoon Suk Yeol, his interior minister, and the now-former defence minister over their roles in an attempt to impose martial law, Yonhap news agency reported on Thursday.

Ukraine on Wednesday rejected as "groundless" Russian suggestions it was involved in the Syria conflict, after Moscow's UN envoy accused Kyiv of aiding rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government. 

Hamas said it had information that Israel intended to carry out a hostage rescue operation similar to one conducted in Gaza's Nuseirat camp in June, and threatened to "neutralise" the captives if any such action took place, according to an internal statement seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has accepted the resignation of Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun and nominated the ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Choi Byung-hyuk, as new defence minister, the presidential office said on Thursday.

French lawmakers passed a no-confidence vote against the government on Wednesday, ousting the Prime Minister and throwing the European Union's second-biggest economic power deeper into a crisis that threatens its capacity to legislate and tame a massive budget deficit.