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Bashar al-Assad, four Syrian officials told Reuters. The ousting of Assad, who along with his late father, former President Hafez al-Assad, had forged a close alliance with Moscow, has thrown the future of Russia's bases — the Hmeimim airbase in Latakia and the Tartous naval facility — into question. Satellite footage from Friday shows what appeared to be at least two Antonov AN-124s, among the world's largest cargo planes, at the Hmeimim base with their nose cones open, apparently preparing to load up.

Just hours before his departure, Assad addressed senior military and security officials, assuring them that Russian military support was imminent. According to a commander present at the briefing, he urged the ground forces to hold their positions. However, this claim turned out to be false, as Russia had no plans to intervene further. Also Read: Where’s Joe? Vice President Kamala Harris seems to have snubbed the President for not inviting him for Sunday brunch last week

Assad was overthrown, a major symbolic moment for the country's dramatic change of power. The rebels are now working to establish security and start a political transition after seizing the capital on Sunday. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Friday, pressing ahead with efforts to unify Middle East nations in support of a peaceful political transition in Syria. It's part of Blinken's 12th trip to the Mideast since the Israel-Hamas war erupted last year in Gaza but his first after Assad was ousted. The U.S. is also making a renewed push for an ceasefire in Gaza, where the war has plunged more than 2 million Palestinians into a severe humanitarian crisis.

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's regime was brought down by insurgents in the country, who managed to take control of major territories of the country, forcing the President to escape to Russia and seek asylum there. Meanwhile, there are already reports on how Moscow intelligence officials helped plan Al-Assad's escape, through a Russian airbase along the Syria coast. Now, a shocking development has been seen, where it is being claimed that a white tiny pill, named the Captagon, was responsible for bringing down the Syrian regime, helping the insurgents.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The collapse of the House of Assad has exposed a seam of vulnerability for another autocrat, one of the former Syrian leader’s strongest allies: Russian President Vladimir Putin. At the height of Putin’s great power ambitions, Moscow sought to project its might far beyond the country’s vast frontiers.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. President-elect Donald Trump is weighing options for stopping Iran from being able to build a nuclear weapon, including the possibility of preventive airstrikes, a move that would break with the longstanding policy of containing Tehran with diplomacy and sanctions. The military-strike option against nuclear facilities is now under more serious review by some members of his transition team, who are weighing the fall of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad—Tehran’s ally—in Syria, the future of U.S.

Syria's interim government vowed on Thursday to institute the «rule of law» after years of abuses under ousted president Bashar al-Assad, as the United States warned against any action that risked triggering further conflict. Assad fled Syria after a lightning offensive spearheaded by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group and its allies, which brought a sudden end to five decades of repressive rule by his clan. Syrians across the country and around the world erupted in celebration after enduring an era during which suspected dissidents were jailed or killed, and nearly 14 years of war that killed more than 500,000 people and displaced millions.

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer will attend a meeting of European Union leaders early next year

Visiting UAE foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and external affairs minister S Jaishankar, among other issues, focused on the power vacuum and absence of institutional governance in Syria amid pro-Al Qaeda-ISIS transition government taking over power, it is learnt. The two sides are also understood to have discussed implications of the Syrian developments and ISIS-Al Qaeda gaining in strength in the region. The Gaza-Lebanon situation is also understood to have been discussed.

Middle East have suggested a major shift in power dynamics specifically regarding US influence under US President Joe Biden. According to Independent, following the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu swiftly occupied several villages in the Golan Heights while citing threats from anti-Israel militant groups. Independent reported that this certain action has been severely criticized as a violation of international law and the response of Joe Biden administration has been eventually perceived as really weak while the State Department officials have framed the military actions of Israel as something temporary. Also Read: Who is Bettina Anderson? The Florida socialite who was spotted holding hands with Donald Trump Jr.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons on Monday told Syria that it is under obligations to comply with rules to safeguard and destroy dangerous substances, such as chlorine gas, after rebels entered the capital, Damascus, over the weekend. «Chemical weapons have been used in Syria on multiple occasions and victims deserve that perpetrators that we identified be brought to justice and held accountable for what they did and that investigations continue,» Fernando Arias Gonzalez, the OPCW secretary general, said in his opening remarks.

US President- elect Donald Trump have recently mocked the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on social media while referring to him as the ‘Governor of the Great State of Canada’, reported NBC News. According to NBC News, this certain comment was actually followed by a dinner at Mar-a-Lago, where Donald Trump and Justin Trudeau eventually discussed regarding potential tariffs on Canadian imports. At the same time, Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 25% tariff unless Canada addresses issues related to illegal immigration and drug trafficking. Also Read: What is Israel up to in Syria? Its tanks are just 24 kilometres southwest of Damascus

Donald Trump doesn't think much of Joe Biden's foreign policy record. The Republican president-elect frequently casts the outgoing Democratic president as a feckless leader who shredded American credibility around the world during his four-year term, AP reported. But a funny thing happened on Trump's way back to the White House: The Biden and Trump national security teams have come to an understanding that they have no choice but to work together as conflicts in Gaza, Syria and Ukraine have left a significant swath of the world on a knife's edge, as per AP report.

Beyoncé is putting her family first despite the rapper's rape allegations, sticking by Jay-Z, they'll deal with this together. After Jay-Z was accused of raping a 13-year-old girl during a party with Sean Diddy Combs in 2000, Beyoncé intends to stay married to him. The accusations have been strongly refuted by both rappers. Beyoncé is sticking by Jay, as evidenced by last night's family outing, in reference to the Carters walking the red carpet at Monday night's premiere of Mufasa: The Lion King, as quoted in a report by Page Six.

Bitcoin has been on a tear, surging more than 33% since Donald Trump won the US presidential election on 5 November. On Tuesday, the world’s largest digital token briefly topped $90,000 (€85,000), after breaking through the $80,000 mark over the weekend.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. DAMASCUS, Syria—Rebel fighters and civilians strolled through the grounds of Bashar al-Assad’s presidential palace on Tuesday, stepping on shredded posters of the former dictator who had fled to Russia days earlier. In Assad’s abandoned office, his desk and floor were littered with books and papers: a history of the Russian military, a map of northeastern Syria, a biography of himself.

Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday denied reports that soldiers were operating beyond a buffer zone along the Israel-Syrian border. «Reports circulating in some media outlets claiming that IDF forces are advancing or approaching Damascus are completely incorrect,» tweeted Col. Avichah Adraee, the IDF's Arabic language spokesperson. «IDF forces are present inside the buffer zone and at defensive points close to the border in order to protect the Israeli border.» He was contradicting a Reuters report saying Israeli forces had reached the southern village of Qatana, which is 10 km inside Syria and were within 25 km of Damascus.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has met with officials in Japan to reaffirm the importance of their alliance and Washington's commitment to regional security as threats rise from China and North Korea

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. TEL AVIV—Israel targeted Syria’s naval and other military assets overnight as part of its campaign to destroy weapons left behind by the country’s military following the downfall of President Bashar al-Assad. Israeli missile ships overnight destroyed naval vessels belonging to Assad’s forces that held sea-to-sea missiles, a person familiar with the matter said.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Days after Syria’s autocratic ruler fled the country, European politicians have reignited the debate over the region’s decade-old refugee crisis. On Monday, Germany and Austria said they were putting asylum applications by Syrians on hold.