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Iran's theocratic government, it keeps getting worse. Its decades-long strategy of building an «Axis of Resistance» supporting militant groups and proxies around the region is falling apart. First came the crushing Israeli campaign in Gaza triggered by the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Iranian-backed Hamas. That war spawned another in Lebanon, where Israel has mauled Iran's most powerful ally, Hezbollah, even as Israel has launched successful airstrikes openly inside of Iran for the first time. And now Iran's longtime stalwart ally and client in Syria, President Bashar Assad, is gone. As dawn broke Sunday, rebel forces completed a lightning offensive by seizing the ancient capital of Damascus and tearing down symbols of more than 50 years of Assad's rule over the Mideast crossroads.

Bashar al-Assad to flee the country and impose a new revision of the strategic map in the Middle East. The Syrian strongman had for nearly 14 years held off an uprising that many believed had been exhausted. But his downfall followed a series of battlefield convulsions for other allies of Iran. Israel has all but decapitated the Hezbollah leadership in Lebanon since September, while the killing of Hamas figureheads has dealt major blows to Assad's key backer Tehran.

Oil prices were mixed in early Asia trade on Monday as concerns over weak Chinese demand were offset by rising tensions in the Middle East following the rebel overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Brent crude futures fell by 1 cent to $71.11 per barrel by 1117 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose by 1 cent to $67.21 per barrel.

Assad regime that brutalised, tortured and killed thousands of innocent Syrians over the past half a century is a historic opportunity for the people of the country, outgoing US President Joe Biden said on Sunday. Biden spoke at the White House hours after rebel groups took over the country following more than a dozen years of violent civil war and decades of leadership by Bashar Assad and his family. «After 13 years of civil war in Syria and more than half a century of brutal authoritarian rule by Bashar Assad and his father before him, rebel forces have forced Assad to resign his office and flee the country. We're not sure where he is, but there's word that he's in Moscow. At long last, the Assad regime has fallen,» Biden said. «This regime brutalised, tortured and killed hundreds of thousands of innocent Syrians. The fall of the regime is a fundamental act of justice. It's a moment of historic opportunity for the long-suffering people of Syria to build a better future for their proud country,» he said.

Indian Embassy in Damascus remains operational and is in constant communication with Indian nationals in Syria, sources confirmed. As the violence in Syria escalates, the embassy continues to provide support to the 90 Indian nationals in the country, ensuring their safety amidst the conflict.

Bashar al-Assad's government. All across Syria, families wept as they were reunited with children, siblings, spouses and parents who vanished years ago into the impregnable gulag of the Assad dynasty's five-decade reign. Newly freed prisoners ran through the Damascus streets holding up the fingers of both hands to show how many years they had been in prison, asking passers-by what had happened, not immediately understanding that Assad had fallen.

Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the militant leader whose stunning insurgency toppled Syria's President Bashar Assad, has spent years working to remake his public image, renouncing longtime ties to al-Qaida and depicting himself as a champion of pluralism and tolerance. In recent days, the insurgency even dropped his nom de guerre and began referring to him by his real name, Ahmad al-Sharaa. The extent of that transformation from jihadi extremist to would-be state builder is now put to the test. Insurgents control capital Damascus, Assad has fled into hiding, and for the first time after 50 years of his family's iron hand, it is an open question how Syria will be governed. Syria is home to multiple ethnic and religious communities, often pitted against each other by Assad's state and years of war. Many of them fear the possibility Sunni Islamist extremists will take over. The country is also fragmented among disparate armed factions, and foreign powers from Russia and Iran to the United States, Turkey and Israel all have their hands in the mix.

Bashar al-Assad’s long-standing reign. The capture of the Syrian capital comes after rebels seized northern Aleppo last week and rapidly advanced southwards, overrunning key cities like Homs. The takeover severed Damascus from the Alawite-dominated coastal regions, long considered Assad’s stronghold. Two senior Syrian military officials confirmed that Assad fled the capital aboard a plane on Sunday. Flightradar24 data showed a Syrian Air aircraft departing Damascus but abruptly vanishing from radar. Speculation abounds about whether the plane’s transponder was deactivated or if it was downed. “It disappeared off the radar, possibly the transponder was switched off, but I believe the bigger probability is that the aircraft was taken down,” a source stated, speaking anonymously.

immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, shortly after a meeting in Paris with French and Ukrainian leaders, claiming Kyiv «would like to make a deal» to end the more than 1,000-day war. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump claimed that Moscow and Kyiv have both lost hundreds of thousands of soldiers in a war that «should never have started.» «There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin. Too many lives are being needlessly wasted, too many families destroyed,» he said, as he called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to act to bring the fighting to an end.

rebels who led the movement to topple the Assad's rule have said that Abu Mohammed al-Jolani is the leader of the Islamist alliance that spearheaded an offensive and allowed the overthrow to be possible. Jolani heads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is rooted in Syria's branch of Al-Qaeda. He is an extremist who adopted a more moderate posture in order to achieve his goals. On Sunday, as the rebels entered Damascus, he ordered all military forces in the capital not to approach public institutions.

Kate Middleton is at loggerheads with her husband, Prince William. The Princes of Wales are reportedly desirous of mending the rift between the Royal Family and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. RadarOnline.com reports that royal correspondent Katie Nicholl believes Princess Kate has the potential to serve as a «role model» and peacemaker for the strained relationship between Prince William and Prince Harry. During an interview with royal journalist Bronte Coy, Nicholl discussed Kate’s “vulnerable” nature and her capacity to help “heal” the royal family. «Kate has faced hurtful accusations from Harry, including mentions of her children, which has deeply upset her,» Nicholl explained. «Prince William, meanwhile, remains extremely angry and betrayed by his brother’s actions.» Despite William’s frustrations, Nicholl suggests that Princess Kate might be open to reconciliation in the future.

Syria, which lasted for more than half a century, has come to a dramatic end after a decade-long bloody civil war. Rebel forces breached the regime’s seat of power in Damascus, prompting President Bashar al-Assad, an ophthalmologist, to flee. This marks the collapse of the Assad family's long-standing rule over the country.

Bashar al-Assad oversaw a merciless crackdown on a pro-democracy revolt that morphed into one of the bloodiest wars of the century. On Sunday, as rebels entered the capital, a Syrian war monitor said he had left the country, in what could spell the end not just of his 24-year rule but the downfall of his clan's five-decade reign. After facing down nationwide protests demanding his ouster and an armed rebellion that he all but crushed, Assad had — until a lightning rebel offensive — taken back control of much of Syria in the civil war that began in 2011.

Catch LIVE updates of Syrian Crisis with MintSyria War Live: X account ‘War Monitor’ hailed ‘first day in the next era of the Levant’ after rpeorts of Assad fleeing and his decade long regime falling into the hands of rebels emerged. Syria War Live: Syrian rebels say it is prohibited to go near public institutions that will remain under the supervision of the ‘former PM’, reports War MonitorSyria War Live: People celebrate in joy as military informs that the Assad regime has felled.

Donald Trump said on Saturday that the US military should stay out of the escalating conflict in Syria as a shock opposition offensive closes in on the capital, declaring in a social media post, «THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT.» With world leaders watching the rapid rebel advance against Syria's Russian-and Iranian-backed president, Bashar Assad, President Joe Biden's national security adviser separately stressed that the Biden administration had no intention of intervening. «The United States is not going to… militarily dive into the middle of a Syrian civil war,» Jake Sullivan told an audience in California. He said the US would keep acting as necessary to keep the Islamic State — a violently anti-Western extremist group not known to be involved in the offensive but with sleeper cells in Syria's deserts — from exploiting openings presented by the fighting.

The nuclear submarine USS Arkansas has been christened, almost a decade since the U.S. Navy announced that a Virginia-class submarine would bear the state’s name

The president of Atlanta-based Tyler Perry Studios has died when the small plane he was piloting crashed on Florida’s Gulf Coast

Fitch credit rating agency on Friday affirmed Ukraine's long-term foreign currency sovereign credit rating at 'RD' (restricted default) as its war with Russia drags past the 33-month mark. The agency also affirmed the sovereign's 'CCC+' long-term local currency amid the ongoing debt restructuring, aimed at easing its wartime financial pressures. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in late November, signed into law Ukraine's widely contested wartime tax increases, raising the war tax for residents to 5% from 1.5%.

Macron welcomed Donald Trump to Paris on Saturday with a full a dose of presidential pomp as the two men resumed the relationship they established during Trump's first term after a four-year hiatus. Trump, the once and future American president, said the two would be discussing a world that's gone «a little crazy» as they met one on one before a celebration of the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral five years after a devastating fire. Trump's visit to France comes as Macron and other European leaders are trying to win Trump's favour and persuade him to maintain support for Ukraine in its defence against Russia's invasion. Macron's office said that would be discussed as well as the wars in the Middle East.

Bashar Assad was in serious trouble was 10 years ago, at the height of the country's civil war, when his forces lost control over parts of the largest city, Aleppo, and his opponents were closing in on the capital, Damascus. Back then, he was rescued by his chief international backer, Russia, and longtime regional ally Iran, which along with Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah militia helped Assad's forces retake Aleppo, tipping the war firmly in his favor. Now, as insurgents pursue a shock offensive that quickly captured not just Aleppo, but other key cities across the country's northwest and in the south, reaching the suburbs of the capital Damascus, the Syrian leader appears to be largely on his own.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. PARIS—The limestone facade of Notre Dame Cathedral is radiant. Its ornate gargoyles and angels show no signs of the smoke and flames that once billowed from the church.