Author: AFP

Syrians in the capital Damascus cheered on Sunday as they trampled on a toppled statue of Bashar al-Assad’s father Hafez, AFPTV images showed. Hafez al-Assad ruled Syria from 1971 until his death in 2000, setting up a paranoid, brutal system of government that his son inherited. On Sunday, the anti-regime forces declared Bashar al-Assad had fled the country following a lightning offensive that overran the country.

The leader of the Syrian anti-regime group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, ordered forces Sunday not to approach official institutions in Damascus, saying they would remain under the prime minister until they are “officially” handed over. “To all military forces in the city of Damascus, it is strictly forbidden to approach public institutions, which will remain under the supervision of the former prime minister until they are officially handed over,” Jolani said in a statement on Telegram, using his real name Ahmed al-Sharaa instead of his nom de guerre, and adding: “It is forbidden to shoot into the air.”

South Korea’s main opposition party will try again on December 14 to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol, its leader Lee Jae-myung said Sunday. “Yoon, the principal culprit behind the insurrection and military coup that destroyed South Korea’s constitutional order, must either resign immediately or be impeached without delay,” Lee told reporters. “On December 14, our Democratic Party will impeach Yoon in the name of the people.”

US president-elect Donald Trump said on Sunday that Syrian regime leader Bashar al-Assad had “fled his country” after losing the backing of Russia. “Assad is gone,” he said on his Truth Social platform. “His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer.”

Turkish foreign minister said Sunday Ankara has been in contact with the opposition in Syria to ensure the Daesh [ISIS] group and PKK cannot expand there after anti-government forces took Damascus. “We have to be watchful during this transition period,” Hakan Fidan said at the Doha Forum in Qatar. “We have communication with the anti-regime groups to make sure that terrorist organisations, especially Daesh and PKK, is not taking advantage of the situation.” “New Syria administration must not ‘pose threat’ to neighbours” Fidan said on Sunday that any new government in Syria must not threaten neighbouring nations, after the Syrian…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed fighting Russia in almost three years of war, and that some 370,000 have been wounded. “Since the start of the full-scale war, Ukraine has lost 43,000 soldiers killed in action on the battlefield,” Zelensky said on social media. “There have been 370,000 cases of medical assistance for the wounded,” but he added that “half” of wounded troops return to the battlefield.

Anti-regime fighters who have taken city after city in a lightning offensive in Syria aim to overthrow Bashar al-Assad, the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) leader said in an interview published on Friday. After cutting a swathe through government-held territory in northern and central Syria, the anti-regime forces were at the gates of the country’s third largest city Homs, a war monitor said. In a little over a week, the offensive has seen Assad’s forces ousted from the major cities of Aleppo and Hama for the first time since the civil war began in 2011. Should the opposition forces capture Homs,…

Thousands of protesters marched in the Georgian capital Tbilisi Saturday for the 10th day of rallies sparked by a disputed election and the government’s decision to shelve EU accession talks. Demanding fresh elections and a return to European integration, the demonstrators headed towards the Black Sea country’s parliament, undeterred by a crackdown on pro-EU protesters the day before. Security forces fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse the thousands of people who had likewise gathered outside parliament in Tbilisi on Friday evening, while Georgian police said they had made 48 arrests. The Caucasus nation has been engulfed in turmoil…

US President-elect Donald Trump is in Paris for the reopening ceremony of the Notre Dame Cathedral on Saturday, marking a symbolic moment in the historic structure’s recovery five years after a devastating fire engulfed it in flames. French President Emmanuel Macron personally welcomed Trump at the Elysee Palace’s entrance, highlighting the strong ties between the two leaders during Trump’s first term in office. “It is a great honor for the French people to welcome you five years later,” Macron stated. “You were the president at the time when the cathedral burned, and I remember the solidarity and your immediate action.…

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol escaped impeachment Saturday over his brief declaration of martial law, after lawmakers from his ruling party boycotted a vote despite huge protests outside parliament. Yoon stunned the nation and the international community on Tuesday night by suspending civilian rule and sending troops to parliament, but was forced into a U-turn after lawmakers nixed his decree. Opposition parties proposed the impeachment motion, which needed a two thirds majority to pass, but a near-total boycott by Yoon’s People Power Party (PPP) doomed it to failure. “The number of members who voted did not reach the required…