Syrian foreign minister met Israeli delegation for regional stability talks
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani met an Israeli delegation in Paris Tuesday to discuss regional stability and de-escalation in southern Syria, Reuters reported.
The US-mediated talks focused on reviving the 1974 Golan Heights disengagement agreement. This was their second Paris meeting in a month after July talks failed to yield a final accord.
According to Reuters, recent clashes in Sweida between local fighters and government forces, partially checked by Israeli airstrikes, underline the challenges facing interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa in stabilizing Syria.
Court rejects house arrest for Colombia ex-president Uribe during appeal
Bogota’s superior court has overturned an order placing former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe under house arrest while he appeals his 12-year conviction for bribery of a public official and abuse of process, Reuters reported.
The case stems from allegations that Uribe, who led Colombia from 2002 to 2010, ordered a lawyer to bribe jailed paramilitaries to discredit claims linking him to right-wing militias. Uribe, 73, maintains his innocence, calling the case political persecution.
According to Reuters, the ruling marks the first time a former Colombian president has been found guilty at trial and comes less than a year before the 2026 presidential election, where several of his allies are competing for office.
Mexico's Sheinbaum says no agreement exists with DEA on 'Project Portero'
President Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday that Mexico has no agreement with the US DEA on “Project Portero,” a new initiative targeting cartel operations. She called the DEA’s announcement unexpected and stressed that any cooperation must respect Mexico’s sovereignty, Reuters reported.
Sheinbaum noted that Mexico and US are finalizing a broader security coordination framework. The DEA plans a training program in Texas for Mexican and US officials, but past DEA activities in Mexico have faced criticism for potential infringements on national sovereignty.
Man in US gets 8 years in prison for sending weapons to North Korea
A Chinese national has been sentenced to eight years in prison for smuggling firearms and other military items to North Korea, the US justice department said, BBC reported.
Shenghua Wen, 42, received around $2m (£1.5m) from North Korean officials to ship the items from California, according to a statement from the agency on Monday.
A resident of Ontario, California, Wen has been detained since December 2024. He pleaded guilty in June to conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and being an illegal agent of a foreign government.
Wen's case shines a light on the various ways in which North Korea circumvents international sanctions on its arms trade, according to BBC.
