19 jili slot
2025-01-13   

19 jili slot 。

NoneForeign man in SG earning S$10K/month asks for help from S’poreans after he lost all his savings and fell into S$100K debt due to leverage tradingChristmas came early to Broadway this year – and guess who they stuffed in our stocking? Adolf Hitler !” So reads a review of “Springtime for Hitler”, the fictitious, good-taste-obliterating musical-within-a-musical staged towards the end of The Producers . Christmas has come early to London’s Menier Chocolate Factory , too, via a new revival of the Tony-winning 2001 musical (itself an adaptation of Mel Brooks ’s seminal 1967 comedy film). The Führeris back, and he’s absolutely bringing the house down. The premise is simple and ingenious: two showbiz no-hopers realise they can profit more from a flop than a hit, so they set out to purposely produce the worst show on Broadway. Andy Nyman is Max Bialystock, the unscrupulous hack who funds his productions by seducing randy pensioners. Marc Antolin is Leopold Bloom, the gibbering, blanket-fondling accountant who quits his office job to partner up with “Bialy”. The surefire dud they settle on is a gooey paean to Hitler’s Third Reich, written by an ursine, helmet-wearing not-so-ex-Nazi (Harry Morrison), and directed by the explosively camp Roger de Bris (Trevor Ashley). What’s impressive about The Producers is just how sharp its teeth still are, nearly 60 years on. The sight of swastikas being gaily twirled around the stage still has the hard kick of taboo: as a satire both of fascist nationalism and showbiz, The Producers remains ever-relevant. Directed by Patrick Marber ( Closer , Leopoldstadt ), this production does a lot with a small, intimate stage; Lorin Latarro’s choreography is showy and dynamic – but lets the comedy rightfully hoard the focus. It’s hard to resist incessant comparisons to the original, so closely does The Producers hew to it; all of the funniest lines are ripped verbatim from the 1967 screenplay. (“Hitler... there was a painter. He could paint an entire apartment in one afternoon. Two coats!”) The variations are chiefly musical, the lively and bombastic songs dotted across the musical’s two acts, all written by Brooks himself – an artist who always has one foot in vaudevillian tradition. There is variation, too, in the casting: the brilliant Nyman is far slighter than the original Bialystock Zero Mostel (and smaller too than Nathan Lane, who played him in the 2005 musical film), lending a completely different physicality to the character’s shameless, craven scheming. Antolin, meanwhile, approximates the air of Gene Wilder’s hysterical nebbish, girding it with a sort of mannered precision of his own. The supporting players are roundly excellent, from Morrison through to Joanna Woodward, who plays the preposterously accented Swedish siren Ulla. I’m not sure anything new is achieved with this production, but then, that’s always been the case with The Producers onstage. It never needed to exist – but that doesn’t make it any less delightful. The jokes are rapid, the satire outrageous. How could it possibly fail? ‘The Producers’ runs at the Menier Chocolate Factory until 1 March 2025

AP Business SummaryBrief at 1:23 p.m. EST

#16to365: New resources for year-round activism to end gender-based violence and strengthen bodily autonomy for allRENEWABLE energy (RE) solutions company Coastal Renewable Energy Technology Center (CRETC) said Sunday that it had strengthened a wind resource technology collaboration with German firm Ammonit GmbH. CRETC said the partnership aimed to provide the Philippine RE sector with more top-tier wind resource assessment instruments and solutions that are essential for ensuring accuracy, durability, and reliability across varied environmental conditions. Register to read this story and more for free . Signing up for an account helps us improve your browsing experience. OR See our subscription options."Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum." Section 1.10.32 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum", written by Cicero in 45 BC "Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?" 1914 translation by H. Rackham "But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?" 1914 translation by H. Rackham "But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure, but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain pain of itself, because it is pain, but because occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?" To keep reading, please log in to your account, create a free account, or simply fill out the form below.

But the City boss has vowed to stay on and lift the club back to the top even if they are sent all the way down to the National League. Guardiola ended speculation over his immediate future this week by extending his contract, which had been due to expire at the end of the season, through to the summer of 2027. That has given the club some stability at a time of great uncertainty as they fight 115 charges related to alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial regulations. City have denied all wrongdoing but their punishment if found guilty could be severe, with demotion even a possibility. Guardiola has strongly defended the club in the past and is happy to continue doing so. The Spaniard said: “I don’t enjoy it, I prefer not to be in that position, but once it’s there I love it because, when you believe in your club, and the people there – I believe what they say to me and the reasons why. “I cannot say yet because we’re awaiting the sentence in February or March – I don’t know when – but at the same time, I like it. “I read something about the situation and how you need to be relegated immediately. Seventy-five per cent of the clubs want it, because I know what they do behind the scenes and this sort of stuff. “I said when all the clubs accused us of doing something wrong, (and people asked) what happens if we are relegated, (I said) I will be here. “Next year, I don’t know the position of the Conference they are going to (put) us, (but) we are going to come up and come up and come back to the Premier League. I knew it then and I feel it now.” The immediate priority for Guardiola, who said his contract negotiations were completed in “just two hours”, is to arrest a run of four successive defeats in all competitions. Yet, ahead of their return to action against Tottenham at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, the champions continue to grapple with a lengthy injury list. Mateo Kovacic is their latest casualty after sustaining a knock on international duty that could keep him out for up to a month. On the positive side, defenders Nathan Ake, John Stones and Manuel Akanji could feature and Jack Grealish is also closing in on a return after a month out. Much to Guardiola’s frustration, Grealish was called up by England for their recent Nations League games, although he later withdrew. Guardiola said: “I want the best for Jack and I want the best for Jack with the national team but the doctor said to me that he was not ready to play. “I know (England) want him but they have 200 players to select from and Jack was not fit. He had to recover from many things.” Kyle Walker played for England against both Greece and the Republic of Ireland despite limited game time since suffering injury in the October international break. Guardiola said: “If he is fit I like him to play in the national team. It is not a problem, don’t misunderstand me. “Kyle has a dream to make 100 caps for the national team. Do I want to cancel this dream? Absolutely not. “But if you are not fit, if you cannot play here, you cannot play for the national team. It is quite obvious.”

It was an accident. My finger hit the wrong button and, in a flash, all my “sent” messages disappeared from their e-mail folder. I panicked. I looked in Trash. They were all there. I copied and pasted them back into the Sent folder. But, the next day, they were gone. I looked all over my desktop for them. I called Apple Support, then Spectrum, then Apple again. Nobody could retrieve them. I had backed up my desktop on Time Machine about 20 days before, but now, all those messages were encrypted and I would have to read them one at a time to know what I had. And there was still no way to get them back into the Sent folder. The genie got out of the lamp. The bird had flown. I consoled myself that much of that information also resided in other specified folders, but it still bothered me to no end that a foolish mistake had wiped them all out. And then, I remembered one of the tenets of Alcoholics Anonymous: We’re all human, so we all foul up. And Alexander Pope’s famous saying: “To err is human. To forgive, divine.” Grace is a divine gift that we allow ourselves to participate in. Grace allows us to forgive ourselves for being human, for being fallible. For making mistakes. But the incident also left me with a lingering dread, although briefly, of technology. Now, as you can imagine, this couldn’t possibly last longer than 48 hours. Practically everything I do, from writing this column to the music I listen and play along to, to the soundscapes I create, to navigating my car all rely on technology. And, unlike many folks in my age group, I am on intimate terms with it, which gave me even more cause to pause and reflect. It’s one thing to rely on technology for certain things: your car, your phone, a GPS, texting, voice mails. It’s when we rely on technology for everything that we come closer to trouble. In the play “Inherit The Wind,” Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee write this speech for Colonel Drummond: “Progress has never been a bargain. You have to pay for it...You can have a telephone, but you lose privacy and the charm of distance. Madam, you may vote...but you lose the right to retreat behind the powder-puff or your petticoat....you may conquer the air, but the birds will lose their wonder and the clouds will smell of gasoline.” And, as Mark Twain said: “They have taken a thousand luxuries and turned them into necessities.” We didn’t know how much we would rely on our phones to take and make calls, track our appointments, take pictures of our grandchildren, text a relative in Florida, keep track of the weather or learn about the latest scandal until they became our caretakers and, in some sense, our keepers. And towards the end of the election cycle, it seemed to me that technology was getting a little glitchy, like somebody was tampering with the wires. I am hardly anti-technology. I am against technological abuse. And I see examples of that every day, from folks not looking up when they cross the street to misinformation and name calling online to the spin newscasters place upon a story that’s more entertainment than actual news. Walter Cronkite must be spinning in his grave. On a walk during a lovely October afternoon, Joan found a book about “unplugging” from digital technology. I went online and found these suggestions from another author, Seff Bray, who quoted some famous writers , including one of my favorites, Anne Lamott. “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” - Anne Lamott “Technology should improve your life, not become your life.”- Billy Cox “Clarity about what matters provides clarity about what does not.”- Cal Newport “The more ways we have to connect, the more many of us seem desperate to unplug.” - Pico Iyer So, it’s not just me. Many people seem to have experienced information/sensory overload and are thinking a cleanse is a good idea. We can’t derive everything from technology, and, in many ways, it robs from us many more things than it bestows upon us. It’s here to stay, so figuring out how to strike a balance between our digital lives and a walk in the sun on a beautiful October afternoon with your loved one should become of paramount importance to each of us. I may have lost some emails, but I gained a new perspective about how important they are or are not to me. You know my feelings about “saving” artifacts from the ravages of time and digitizing them. But, as Joan often reminds me, hard drives aren’t forever either. I plan to gift my granddaughter with some of mine after I pass, but who knows what kind of technology we’ll be looking at in ten or fifteen years? If Elon Musk has his way, humans won’t even be necessary in order to keep the race alive. Ever read “R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots)” in high school? I did. Let me tell ya...it doesn’t end well for the humans! RECOMMENDED • silive .com The National Council of Negro Women, Staten Island Section, honors beloved founder Dec. 6, 2024, 6:00 p.m. On ‘Giving Tuesday,’ $75K campaign launched for Staten Island autism empowerment food truck Dec. 3, 2024, 5:40 p.m. Hold those magnificent grey heads high! Comments may be submitted to “Talk To The Old Guy” on Facebook.Pep Guardiola sure 75 per cent of Premier League clubs want Man City relegated

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Maryland turned the ball over 25 times, blew a 17-point lead and was outrebounded in the second half. Coach Brenda Frese still had plenty to be happy about. “I thought it was a phenomenal game from two really competitive teams,” Frese said. “Credit Michigan State. We knew they were going to play hard for 40 minutes.” No. 8 Maryland faced its biggest test in a while Sunday, and the Terrapins held off the No. 19 Spartans 72-66 . It wasn't a pretty game from an offensive standpoint, but the Terps were able to execute when they needed to at the end. Up by two in the final minute, Shyanne Sellers found Christina Dalce on a pick-and-roll for an easy layup with 36.3 seconds left — her only points of the game. Michigan State didn't score again, falling short in this matchup between two ranked Big Ten teams. This was nearly a clash of unbeatens, but the Spartans (11-2, 1-1 Big Ten) lost to Alabama in their last game before this one. Maryland (12-0, 2-0) has equaled the second-best start in team history. “It's one of the most competitive groups I've ever coached," Frese said. “It's not really about being undefeated. Of course we love it. I think it shows just the work that they're putting in. But for us, as long as we just continue to keep our head down and work hard through this process, I think that's where you're seeing the results pay off.” The Terrapins beat Duke last month, but this was their first ranked opponent since. It was a physical game in which rebounds were not for the faint of heart. “One thing I've loved about our team all year is our effort's always been in a great space,” said Michigan State coach Robyn Fralick, whose team had a 10-1 edge in offensive rebounds in the second half. Maryland let a big lead get away, but with the score tied at 57, Saylor Poffenbarger and Bri McDaniel made 3-pointers to put the Terps up by six. McDaniel had to leave the game earlier in the fourth after falling to the ground with a thud, but she was able to return. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump said he can't guarantee that his promised tariffs on key U.S. foreign trade partners won't raise prices for American consumers and he suggested once more that some political rivals and federal officials who pursued legal cases against him should be imprisoned. The president-elect, in a wide-ranging interview with NBC's “Meet the Press” that aired Sunday, also touched on monetary policy, immigration, abortion and health care, and U.S. involvement in Ukraine, Israel and elsewhere. Trump often mixed declarative statements with caveats, at one point cautioning “things do change.” A look at some of the issues covered: Trump has threatened broad trade penalties, but said he didn’t believe economists' predictions that added costs on those imported goods for American companies would lead to higher domestic prices for consumers. He stopped short of a pledge that U.S. an households won't be paying more as they shop. “I can’t guarantee anything. I can’t guarantee tomorrow,” Trump said, seeming to open the door to accepting the reality of how import levies typically work as goods reach the retail market. That's a different approach from Trump's typical speeches throughout the 2024 campaign, when he framed his election as a sure way to curb inflation. In the interview, Trump defended tariffs generally, saying that tariffs are "going to make us rich.” He has pledged that, on his first day in office in January, he would impose 25% tariffs on all goods imported from Mexico and Canada unless those countries satisfactorily stop illegal immigration and the flow of illegal drugs such as fentanyl into the United States. He also has threatened tariffs on China to help force that country to crack down on fentanyl production. ”All I want to do is I want to have a level, fast, but fair playing field,” Trump said. He offered conflicting statements on how he would approach the justice system after winning election despite being convicted of 34 felonies in a New York state court and being indicted in other cases for his handling of national security secrets and efforts to overturn his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden. “Honestly, they should go to jail,” Trump said of members of Congress who investigated the Capitol riot by his supporters who wanted him to remain in power. The president-elect underscored his contention that he can use the justice system against others, including special prosecutor Jack Smith, who led the case on Trump’s role in the siege on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump confirmed his plan to pardon supporters who were convicted for their roles in the riot, saying he would take that action on his first day in office. As for the idea of revenge driving potential prosecutions, Trump said: “I have the absolute right. I’m the chief law enforcement officer, you do know that. I’m the president. But I’m not interested in that." At the same time, Trump singled out lawmakers on a special House committee who had investigated the insurrection, citing Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo. “Cheney was behind it ... so was Bennie Thompson and everybody on that committee,” Trump said. Asked specifically whether he would direct his administration to pursue cases, he said, “No,” and suggested he did not expect the FBI to quickly undertake investigations into his political enemies. But at another point, Trump said he would leave the matter up to Pam Bondi, his pick as attorney general. “I want her to do what she wants to do,” he said. Such threats, regardless of Trump's inconsistencies, have been taken seriously enough by many top Democrats that Biden is considering issuing blanket, preemptive pardons to protect key members of his outgoing administration. Trump did seemingly back off his campaign rhetoric calling for Biden to be investigated, saying, “I’m not looking to go back into the past.” Trump repeatedly mentioned his promises to seal the U.S.-Mexico border and deport millions of people who are in the U.S. illegally through a mass deportation program. “I think you have to do it,” he said. He suggested he would try to use executive action to end “birthright” citizenship under which people born in the U.S. are considered citizens — although such protections are spelled out in the Constitution. Asked specifically about the future for people who were brought into the country illegally as children and have been shielded from deportation in recent years, Trump said, “I want to work something out,” indicating he might seek a solution with Congress. But Trump also said he does not “want to be breaking up families” of mixed legal status, “so the only way you don’t break up the family is you keep them together and you have to send them all back.” Long a critic of NATO members for not spending more on their own defense, Trump said he “absolutely” would remain in the alliance “if they pay their bills.” Pressed on whether he would withdraw if he were dissatisfied with allies’ commitments, Trump said he wants the U.S. treated “fairly” on trade and defense. He waffled on a NATO priority of containing Russia and President Vladimir Putin. Trump suggested Ukraine should prepare for less U.S. aid in its defense against Putin’s invasion. “Possibly. Yeah, probably. Sure,” Trump said of reducing Ukraine assistance from Washington. Separately, Trump has called for an immediate cease-fire . Asked about Putin, Trump said initially that he has not talked to the Russian leader since Election Day last month, but then hedged: “I haven’t spoken to him recently.” Trump said when pressed, adding that he did not want to “impede the negotiation.” The president-elect said he has no intention, at least for now, of asking Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to step down before Powell's term ends in 2028. Trump said during the campaign that presidents should have more say in Fed policy , including interest rates. Trump did not offer any job assurances for FBI Director Christopher Wray, whose term is to end in 2027. Asked about Wray, Trump said: “Well, I mean, it would sort of seem pretty obvious” that if the Senate confirms Kash Patel as Trump's pick for FBI chief, then “he’s going to be taking somebody’s place, right? Somebody is the man that you’re talking about.” Trump promised that the government efficiency effort led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will not threaten Social Security. “We're not touching Social Security, other than we make it more efficient,” he said. He added that “we're not raising ages or any of that stuff.” He was not so specific about abortion or his long-promised overhaul of the Affordable Care Act. On abortion, Trump continued his inconsistencies and said he would “probably” not move to restrict access to the abortion pills that now account for a majority of pregnancy terminations, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights. But pressed on whether he would commit to that position, Trump replied, “Well, I commit. I mean, are -- things do -- things change. I think they change.” Reprising a line from his Sept. 10 debate against Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump again said he had “concepts” of a plan to substitute for the 2010 Affordable Care Act, which he called “lousy health care.” He added a promise that any Trump version would maintain insurance protections for Americans with preexisting health conditions. He did not explain how such a design would be different from the status quo or how he could deliver on his desire for “better healthcare for less money.” Barrow reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writers Adriana Gomez Licon in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Jill Colvin and Michelle L. Price in New York contributed to this report.Following his ouster on Sunday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his family have arrived in Russia and have been granted asylum by the Russian authorities, Russian news agencies reported citing a Kremlin source. The Interfax news agency quoted the unnamed source as saying: “President Assad of Syria has arrived in Moscow. Russia has granted them (him and his family) asylum on humanitarian grounds.” What we know so far: Earlier, Two Syrian sources said there was a very high probability that Assad may have been killed in a plane crash as it was a mystery why the plane took a surprise U-turn and disappeared off the map according to data from the Flightradar website. Flight path of the Syrian aircraft reportedly carrying ousted President Bashar al-Assad. — Screengrab from FlightRadar24 Israel has pushed tanks over the border into the buffer zone with Syria after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was ousted earlier on Sunday after rebel forces captured the capital Damasus. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that he has ordered the military to “seize” a UN-patrolled buffer zone between the Israeli-occupied and Syrian-controlled Golan Heights. He said a 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria “has collapsed”, so he “directed the [military] yesterday to seize the buffer zone and the commanding positions nearby.” “We will not allow any hostile force to establish itself on our border,” he added. The UN buffer zone. — AFP Earlier the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that Assad had left office and departed the country after being ousted by Syrian rebels, who ended the 50-year Assad dynasty in a lightning offensive that has raised fears of a new wave of instability in the Middle East. In a statement, the ministry said that Assad had ordered a peaceful handover but did not say where he was now. The ministry denied Russia’s role in talks about his departure and added that Russian military bases in Syria were at a state of high alert, although there was no serious threat to them at the current time. Syria’s army command notified officers that Assad’s regime had ended, a Syrian officer who was informed of the move told Reuters . But the Syrian army later said it was continuing operations against “terrorist groups” in the towns of Hama and Homs and Deraa countryside. Dozens of Syrians entered Assad’s luxurious Damascus home after it was looted on Sunday, an AFP correspondent said, following the fall of the capital to rebel forces. Women, children and men could be seen inspecting the six-storey home and its large garden, with the entrance to the residence burnt down and the rooms completely empty, save some furniture and a portrait of Assad thrown on the floor. Assad, who had crushed all forms of dissent, flew out of Damascus for an unknown destination earlier on Sunday, two senior army officers told Reuters , as rebels said they had entered the capital with no sign of army deployments. “We celebrate with the Syrian people the news of freeing our prisoners and releasing their chains and announcing the end of the era of injustice in Sednaya prison,” the rebels said, referring to a large military prison on the outskirts of Damascus where the Syrian government detained thousands. Thousands in cars and on foot congregated at a main square in Damascus waving and chanting “Freedom” from a half-century of Assad family rule, witnesses said. People with Syrian opposition flags celebrate after Syrian rebels announced that they have ousted President Bashar al-Assad, at Bar Elias, Bekaa Governorate, Lebanon on December 8. — Reuters The dramatic collapse also marks a seismic moment for the Middle East, dealing a massive blow to Russia and Iran, which have lost a key ally at the heart of the region and creating more uncertainty as the Gaza offensive rages. The pace of events has stunned Arab capitals and raised fears of a new wave of regional instability. It marks a turning point for Syria, shattered by more than 13 years of war which has turned cities to rubble, killed hundreds of thousands of people, and forced millions abroad as refugees. Stabilising western areas of Syria captured in the rebels’ advance will be key. Western governments, which have shunned the Assad-led state for years, must decide how to deal with a new administration in which a globally designated terrorist group — Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) — looks set to have influence. HTS, which spearheaded the rebel advances across western Syria, was formerly an al Qaeda affiliate known as the Nusra Front until its leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani, severed ties with the global jihadist movement in 2016. “The real question is how orderly will this transition be, and it seems quite clear that Golani is very eager for it to be an orderly one,” said Joshua Landis, a Syria expert and Director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma. Golani will not want a repeat of the chaos that swept Iraq after US-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003. “They are going to have to rebuild ... they will need Europe and the US to lift sanctions,” Landis said. HTS is Syria’s strongest rebel group and some Syrians remain fearful it will impose draconian religious rule or instigate reprisals. A Syrian Air plane took off from Damascus airport around the time the capital was reported to have been taken by rebels, according to data from the Flightradar website. The aircraft initially flew towards Syria’s coastal region, a stronghold of Assad’s Alawite sect, but then made an abrupt U-turn and flew in the opposite direction for a few minutes before disappearing off the map. Reuters could not immediately ascertain who was on board. “It disappeared off the radar, possibly the transponder was switched off, but I believe the bigger probability is that the aircraft was taken down...,” said one Syrian source without elaborating. As Syrians expressed joy, Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali said the country should have free elections so Syrians can choose who they want. But that would require a smooth transition in a country with complex competing interests, from fighters to groups with links to the United States, Russia and Turkey. Jalali also said he had been in contact with rebel commander Abu Mohammed al-Golani to discuss managing the current transitional period, marking a notable development in efforts to shape Syria’s political future. Jordan affirmed on Sunday the importance of preserving the stability and security of Syria, the state news agency reported. US President Joe Biden and his team were monitoring the “extraordinary events in Syria” and were in touch with regional partners, the White House said. The Russian Foreign Ministry said Assad left office and departed the country after ordering a peaceful handover of power. In a statement, the ministry did not say where Assad was now and said Russia had not taken part in the talks about his departure. It added that Russia’s military bases in Syria had been put on a state of high alert, but that there was no serious threat to them at the current time. Syria’s civil war, which erupted in 2011 as an uprising against Assad’s rule, dragged in big outside powers, created space for militants to plot attacks around the world and sent millions of refugees into neighbouring states. The frontlines of Syria’s complex civil war were dormant for years. Then fighters once affiliated with Al Qaeda suddenly burst into action, posing the biggest challenge to Assad, who had survived years of gruelling war and international isolation with the help of Russia, Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah. But Assad’s allies were focused on and weakened by other crises, leaving Assad at the mercy of his opponents with an army that was not prepared to defend him. Israel, which has severely weakened Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, will likely celebrate the fall of Assad, another of Iran’s key regional allies. But the prospects of a hardline religious group ruling Syria will likely raise concerns. Thousands of Homs residents poured onto the streets after the army withdrew from the central city, dancing and chanting “Assad is gone, Homs is free” and “Long live Syria and down with Bashar al-Assad”. Men hold flags as people celebrate, after Syrian rebels announced that they have ousted President Bashar al-Assad, in Qamishli, Syria on December 8. — Reuters Rebels fired into the air in celebration, and youths tore down posters of the Syrian president, whose territorial control has collapsed in a dizzying week-long retreat by the military. The fall of Homs gave the insurgents control over Syria’s strategic heartland and a key highway crossroads, severing Damascus from the coastal region that is the stronghold of Assad’s Alawite sect and where his Russian allies have a naval base and air base. Homs’ capture is also a powerful symbol of the rebel movement’s dramatic comeback. Swathes of Homs were destroyed by gruelling siege warfare between the rebels and the army years ago. The fighting ground down the insurgents, who were forced out. Rebels freed thousands of detainees from the city prison. Security forces left in haste after burning their documents. The head of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces Mazloum Abdi said on Sunday on X: “We are witnessing historic moments in Syria as the authoritarian regime in Damascus falls. This change presents an opportunity to build a new Syria founded on democracy and justice, ensuring the rights of all Syrians.” Iran’s embassy in the Syrian capital was stormed by rebels on Sunday following their capture of Damascus and the fall of Iran-allied Bashar al-Assad, Iranian state TV reported. “It is said that the Iranian embassy was stormed alongside nearby stores by an armed group different from the group now controlling [most of] Syria,” Iranian state TV said, referring to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) which spearheaded the rebel advances across western Syria. Footage from inside the embassy’s premises was shared by Saudi Arabia’s al-Arabiya channel, showing that assailants had rummaged through furniture and documents inside the building and damaged some windows.Reuters could not verify the videos. People load items looted from the Iranian embassy onto trucks in the Syrian capital Damascus on December 8. — AFP Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Sunday that Iranian diplomats had vacated the embassy in the early morning, prior to any assault. Iran’s state TV said HTS had guaranteed there would be no disturbance to the Sayeda Zeinab and Sayeda Ruqqaya shrines in Damascus. Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said on Sunday that all Iranian servants of the shrines returned to Iran prior to the capture of Damascus by rebels. Header image: Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad attends the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Riyadh in this file photo from November 2023. — Reuters/File

Related hot word search:

Previous: jili slot game download apk
Next: 54 jili slot