Syrian army withdraws from key city of Hama amid rebel surge, state news reports
Zana Halil/ dia images via Getty Images
(LONDON) — Syrian state media said Thursday that government forces were withdrawing from the city of Hama in the face of a rebel advance, marking another major setback for President Bashar al-Assad and his backers in Russia and Iran.
The Syrian Arab News Agency said government forces withdrew to positions outside the central Syrian city. The report came hours after opposition fighters — led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group — claimed to have entered the city and struck towards its center.
Hama is Syria’s fourth largest city. It sits between the capital Damascus to the south and Aleppo — Syria’s second city — to the north. Aleppo fell to the lightning rebel offensive on Nov. 29. Hama was one of the few major cities that did not fall to anti-government forces following the 2011 revolution against Assad’s rule.
The Syrian army said its troops withdrew after rebel fighters broke through government defenses in Hama. The army accused the opposition groups of using suicide attacks to breach government lines.
The army’s General Command said the withdrawal was ordered to “preserve civilian lives” by avoiding fighting inside the city, SANA reported.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Someyah Malekian contributed to this report.
(WELLINGTON, New Zealand) — Māori lawmakers interrupted a New Zealand parliamentary vote with a Haka on Thursday to protest a proposed law that critics say would erode the land and cultural rights of Indigenous New Zealanders.
When asked how her party’s representatives would vote during the session, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke of New Zealand’s Māori party stood up and began a soaring Haka, a ceremonial Māori dance that demonstrates pride, strength and unity through a series of intricate movements and facial expressions. She ripped a copy of the bill in half as she did the Haka.
About half of the lawmakers present, including members of the Labour and Green parties, joined in, along with members of the public seated in the gallery, their chants echoing through the chamber.
Gerry Brownlee, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, appeared to roll his eyes as the Haka began. Unable to regain control of the room, he later suspended the House and ordered the gallery to be cleared.
He suspended Maipi-Clarke for one day. Earlier in the session, he ejected veteran Māori lawmaker Willie Jackson for yelling “Shame! Shame!” at the representative who proposed the controversial law.
The Treaty Principles Bill proposes reinterpreting the Treaty of Waitangi, an 1840 agreement guaranteeing the Māori certain land and cultural rights in exchange for allowing the British to govern.
Critics of the bill said it will eliminate dedicated land, government seats, health care initiatives and cultural preservation efforts granted to the Maori people under the Treaty of Waitangi. Together for Te Tiriti, a group that advocates for Maori people, said the bill “clears the way for politicians and corporations to have greater control over our communities.”
David Seymour, a Māori lawmaker who authored the Treaty Principles Bill, argued that the existing laws grant Māori people “different rights from other New Zealanders.”
Under the Treaty of Waitangi, lawmakers set up programs to revitalize the Māori language and tackle poor health metrics through a Māori Health Authority.
Although the Treaty Principles Bill is unlikely to pass, leaders, including Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, voted for it in the first stage as part of a political coalition deal, promising they would not allow it to pass any further.
Thousands of New Zealanders marched toward Wellington on Monday to protest the Treaty Principles Bill. The protest is expected to be the biggest race relations march in the country’s history.
(SEOUL) — South Korea’s military said Tuesday it detected explosions on two cross-border roads connecting the country to North Korea, amid a significant recent deterioration in inter-Korean relations.
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that North Korean forces detonated explosives on the Gyeongui Line and Donghae Line, “presumably to block connection roads.”
North Korean forces also deployed “heavy equipment” for “further operations,” the JCS said.
There was no damage to South Korean forces, it added.
“Our military has fired warning shots in areas south of the Military Demarcation Line,” the JCS statement said.
“The military is closely monitoring North Korean activities and has reinforced surveillance and alert posture in cooperation with the U.S., maintaining a state of full readiness,” the JCS said.
Seoul warned on Monday that Pyongyang appeared to be preparing to destroy the roadways.
“The North Korean military has been carrying out activities assumed to be linked to explosions on the roads along the Gyeongui and Donghae lines,” JCS spokesperson Col. Lee Sung-jun said.
“If North Korea undertakes a provocation, we will strongly retaliate in terms of our right to self defense,” he added.
The North Korean military said last week that it would permanently seal off its border with its southern neighbor, cutting rail and road connections and reinforcing defensive fortifications.
The Gyeongui line connects the western South Korean city of Paju to North Korea’s city of Kaesong, while the Donghae line runs along the east coast. North Korea has spent months laying mines, removing lights and dismantling buildings along the two routes, Seoul said.
Pyongyang said it communicated its intentions to U.S. forces in South Korea to “prevent any misjudgment and accidental conflict over the fortification project.”
Tuesday’s explosions followed almost a year of rising cross-border tensions, with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un having declared the two nations as “hostile states” in December 2023.
North Korea has sent thousands of “trash balloons” into South Korea since May, according to tallies released by the JCS.
South Korean civic groups also send balloons into North Korean territory, often carrying rice, essential medicine and leaflets critical of the regime in Pyongyang. North Korea has repeatedly protested such action and threatened a response.
Last week, North Korea accused South Korea of flying drones over Pyongyang and ordered eight artillery brigades to be ready to open fire across the border, according to state media.
Seoul’s Defense Ministry warned that Pyongyang will see “the end of its regime” if it causes any harm to South Koreans.
(BUDAPEST, Hungary) — A 31-year-old American tourist in Hungary who had been missing for several days was killed, and a suspect has been arrested for her murder, authorities said Friday.
Mackenzie “Kenzie” Michalski, a nurse practitioner, was last heard from early Tuesday while visiting Budapest, according to her friends, who spread the word about her disappearance.
The American went missing while at a nightclub on Tuesday, according to Budapest police. Amid the search for her, investigators identified a man she was seen with in several nightclubs, police said.
The suspect — a 37-year-old Irish citizen — was arrested and allegedly confessed to killing her, police said. He allegedly showed police where he had hidden her body, police said. The name of the suspect, who was a “a couple of years the victim’s senior,” according to investigators, was only identified as L.T.M.
Investigators provided more details about the murder during a news conference Saturday.
Michalski and the suspect met at a nightclub and spent the night together going to other venues, according to investigators. They then went to the suspect’s rented apartment and he allegedly killed here there, according to investigators.
The perpetrator then tried to cover up the murder; so he allegedly cleaned his apartment and hid the woman’s body in the wardrobe cabinet while he went out to buy a suitcase, according to the police.
He then allegedly put the victim’s body in the suitcase, rented a car and drove to Lake Balaton with the suitcase in the trunk, police said.
The suspect allegedly hid the victim in the woods, in an area outside Szigliget and then drove back to Budapest, investigators said.
The suspect allegedly made several suspicious internet searches including “Do pigs really eat dead bodies?”, “Texas woman killed by a wild boar,” according to investigators.
Michalski lived in Portland, Oregon, and was a native of Fredonia, New York, according to ABC Buffalo affiliate WKBW.
A friend told WKBW that she and Michalski had been traveling with a group of friends through Europe and had spent three days in Hungary before parting ways on Monday.
The friend, Gretchen Tower, told WKBW that Michalski was staying behind for one more night in Budapest before flying out on Tuesday.
When Michalski never checked out of the Airbnb they shared in Budapest, her friend said she began to worry. Michalski also missed her flight, according to her friends.
After not hearing from her, Tower told WKBW she called the U.S. Embassy on Tuesday to report Michalski missing.
The U.S. State Department said Friday it is aware of reports that Hungarian police have detained a suspect in connection with the disappearance of a U.S. citizen in Hungary. It said the U.S. Embassy is in contact with Hungarian police but has no further comment due to “privacy and other considerations.”
Michalski’s family and friends released a statement on Friday that said they are “deeply saddened to confirm a report published by Hungarian police announcing the death of our beloved Kenzie.”
“Kenzie will forever be remembered as a beautiful and compassionate young woman who dedicated herself to caring for others and making the world a better place,” the statement said. “As a nurse practitioner, Kenzie used her humor, positivity, and limitless empathy to help heal her patients and encourage family and friends alike.”
Her family and friends thanked the U.S. and Hungarian authorities for their “prompt attention, diligence, care, and consideration” as well as those who helped raise awareness about her disappearance.
“We are thankful that Kenzie’s soul is now at peace,” the statement said. “Her memory and legacy will endure in the hearts of all whom she’s touched. To understand Kenzie’s spirit is to wholeheartedly embrace the vast joy and wonder of life. Her wish for the world: fully embrace the present moment, be your authentic self, practice kindness, and always walk in the light.”
