Free Syrian Army deploys heavy #weapons to frontline with Kurds — newspaper.

Currently, Turkey is not preparing for a direct military operation against Kurdish forces in Syria, but is not dismissing such an option either

#ANKARA, The Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) has deployed heavy weaponry on the frontline with Kurdish armed formations in Syria as part of preparations for a possible military operation, the Turkiye newspaper reported, noting that the Turkish army is also considering resolving the conflict with Kurds by force.

The FSA has reinforced positions in several areas in the Aleppo, Hasakah, and Raqqa provinces. The Free Syrian Army command noted that it had bolstered its units in these regions, which are now fully combat-ready. Armored vehicles and additional military personnel have been deployed on the frontline.

Currently, Turkey is not preparing for a direct military operation against Kurdish forces in Syria, but is not dismissing such an option either. According to the news outlet, the leadership of the Turkish Defense Ministry and the General Staff has earlier reviewed the units of the armed forces and special forces serving in the regions bordering Syria. These troops will be deployed in the event that it is decided to carry out a military operation.

Earlier, Ankara presented an ultimatum to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and its affiliated People's Defense Units (YPG) operating in Syria. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan noted that his country demands that these organizations lay down their arms and cooperate with the new Syrian administration. At the same time, foreign militants, as well as the heads of the PKK and YPG must leave Syria. Fidan noted that the new Syrian authorities are working on this issue, but should there be no response from the PKK to the calls to settle the situation, a military operation would become a "legitimate choice."

#Russian troops liberated eight communities in the Kharkov area and the Donbass region over the week in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Friday.

"Battlegroup West units liberated the settlements of Kalinovo in the Kharkov Region and Terny in the Donetsk People’s Republic in active operations… Battlegroup South units liberated the settlement of Yantarnoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic as a result of decisive operations… Battlegroup Center units kept advancing deep into the enemy’s defenses and liberated the settlements of Shevchenko, Peschanoye, Ukrainka and Slavyanka in the Donetsk People’s Republic… Battlegroup East units liberated the settlement of Nesckuchnoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic as a result of active operations," the ministry said in a statement.
Russia strikes Ukrainian military airfields, army, mercenaries’ sites over week

Russian troops delivered eight strikes by precision weapons and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), hitting Ukrainian military airfields, army and mercenaries’ deployment sites over the week, the ministry reported.

"In the week of January 11-17, the Russian Armed Forces delivered eight combined strikes by precision weapons and attack unmanned aerial vehicles, hitting critical gas supply sites of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure supporting the operation of the Ukrainian military-#industrial sector, #weapons depots, a fuel base and the infrastructure of military airfields. In addition, the strikes targeted the assembly and storage facilities of unmanned aerial vehicles and uncrewed boats, and also the temporary deployment sites of Ukrainian armed formations and foreign mercenaries," the ministry said.
Russia’s Battlegroup North inflicts over 2,225 casualties on Ukrainian army in week

Russia’s Battlegroup North inflicted more than 2,225 casualties on Ukrainian troops and destroyed 10 enemy tanks in in the Kursk area and the Kharkov Region over the week, the ministry reported.

"Battlegroup North units continued destroying Ukrainian armed formations on the territory of the Kursk Region. They liberated the settlements of Aleksandriya, Leonidovo, Russkoye Porechnoye and Kruglenkoye as a result of active offensive operations. Combat aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles and artillery struck manpower and equipment of an armored brigade, four mechanized brigades and three air assault brigades of the Ukrainian army, a marine infantry brigade and two territorial defense brigades," the ministry said.

During the week in the Kharkov direction, Battlegroup North units inflicted casualties on formations of a mechanized brigade and a motorized infantry brigade of the Ukrainian army and two territorial defense brigades, it said.

Only technical level of communication between US, #Russia — Kremlin
The New York Times earlier reported citing sources that US President Joe Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin had allegedly been maintaining indirect secure channels of communication since February 2022.

There has been only a technical level of communication between the US and Russia, rather than a proper political dialogue, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in response to a question by TASS.

"As you know, there are certain channels of communication between Washington and Moscow, through both military and diplomatic lines. But these are rather technical contacts, with political dialogue or dialogue at the highest level not taking place," he said.

The New York Times earlier reported citing sources that US President Joe Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin had allegedly been maintaining indirect secure channels of communication since February 2022.

Press review: Kiev hopes #Trump supports its proposals and Russia backs Panama's neutrality .

#Kiev hopes that Trump will support Ukraine's approach to resolving the conflict with Russia; Moscow reaffirms its support for the Panama Canal’s neutral status; and Hamas appears to be facing a possible split. These stories have topped Tuesday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.

Serbia’s president has offered to host a meeting between the Russian and US presidents following a similar initiative proposed by Switzerland. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga emphasized that Kiev and Washington shared a commitment to ending the military conflict with Russia and achieving "a just peace." However, the US president-elect’s incoming national security adviser Mike Waltz remarked that it’s unrealistic to expect Kiev to regain control over Crimea. He also urged Ukraine to lower its conscription age and called for a ceasefire during the talks, Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes.

Meanwhile, it seems too early to talk about what the new US administration’s position will be. The reason is that so far, only vague indications have been made and articles speculating about US President-elect Donald Trump’s peace plan have been published, but the plan itself has not been made public, Nikolay Silayev, a leading researcher with the Center for International Studies at Moscow State Institute of International Relations, pointed out. In his opinion, Moscow and Washington officials could start communicating after Trump’s inauguration, set for January 20. As for a meeting between the two presidents, it’s unlikely to take place in the near future because such events require substantial preparations.

However, if the idea of establishing a ceasefire to facilitate talks is part of the US position, then Washington will have to make it clear. "Still, I don’t think Russia will agree to that. Russian President Putin addressed the matter in December last year. Notably, talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations took place without a ceasefire in the spring of 2022. Many observers are still positive about the Istanbul agreements that were reached back then," Silayev noted.

The expert did not rule out that Waltz’s proposal to lower Ukraine’s conscription age could be a direct call on Kiev to reduce the age threshold. On the other hand, if Kiev refuses, the US could claim it had done everything possible and step back, saying that it has done its best.

A growing force of firefighters moved into the Los Angeles area Monday as more powerful winds were expected to trigger new wildfires that could set back the recent progress made in containing blazes that have destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 24 people.

Crews and equipment arrived from across the U.S., and from Canada and Mexico -- including water trucks and planes that drop firefighting chemicals -- as the National Weather Service warned that the coming days could become "particularly dangerous."

It predicted severe fire conditions will last through Wednesday, with wind gusts in the mountains reaching 105 km/h. The most dangerous day will be Tuesday, warned fire behavior analyst Dennis Burns at a community meeting Sunday night.

The relative calm Sunday allowed some people to return to previously evacuated areas. But even as containment increased in the worst of the fires, more bad news emerged from the ashes: The death toll surged late Sunday with an update from the Los Angeles County medical examiner. At least 16 people were missing, a number authorities said was also likely to rise.

Fierce Santa Ana winds have been largely blamed for turning the wildfires sparked last week into infernos that leveled entire neighbourhoods around the nation's second-largest city where there has been no significant rainfall in more than eight months.

In less than a week, four fires around the nation's second biggest city have ignited more than 60 square kilometres, roughly three times the size of Manhattan.

Most of that destruction has been from the Eaton Fire near Pasadena and the Palisades Fire, in a wealthy enclave along the Pacific Coast. Firefighters have made progress on both fronts in recent days, with the Eaton Fire roughly one-third contained.

The returning high winds could trigger explosive growth of the existing fires and new outbreaks in areas untouched so far, creating new challenges for firefighting crews already stretched thin.

Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony C. Marrone said 70 additional water trucks arrived to help firefighters fend off flames spread by renewed gusts. "We are prepared for the upcoming wind event," Marrone said.

Fire retardant dropped by aircraft will act as a barrier along hillsides, officials said.

A group of artists, musicians, and friends in Topanga Canyon banded together to stop fires breaking out in new areas by turning off gas lines and propane tanks.

"We helped hopefully save a couple houses and we put out a couple spot fires, Derek Mabra said as he drove along the coast looking at the destruction. "It's complete and total devastation."
Residents check on their homes

Some residents have been able to return to their homes to survey the damage.

Jim Orlandini, who lost his hardware store in Altadena, a hard-hit neighbourhood next to Pasadena, said his home of 40 years survived.

#Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, commenting on reports that hundreds of prisoners have been mobilized to extinguish fires in the US state of California, pointed to the hypocrisy of the United States.

Earlier, The Washington Post, citing the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, reported that the state authorities had sent 395 prisoners to fight forest fires. The newspaper noted that most of them were persons who had committed minor crimes.

On her Telegram channel, Zakharova pointed out that in recent years, US officials have repeatedly criticized China for allegedly using forced labor, particularly in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The diplomat noted that in 2023, Washington restricted imports of products from several Chinese companies in an attempt to exclude goods allegedly produced with the help of Uygur forced labor from the US supply chain. "This raises a logical question: will Congress draft a bill imposing sanctions on California authorities, private companies, and ordinary Americans for using prison labor to put out fires?" she wondered. "We are so sick of this hypocrisy!" Zakharova added.

Wildfires began to spread across Los Angeles County on January 7. According to meteorologists, dry and windy weather was the cause of the rapid spread of the fires. Evacuation notices were sent to nearly 180,000 residents. The fire has destroyed more than 12,300 structures in the region, with damage estimated in the tens of billions of dollars.

What caused the deadly #California #wildfires?

Investigators are considering an array of possible ignition sources for the huge fires that have killed at least 10 people and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses in the Los Angeles area.

In hilly, upscale Pacific Palisades, home to Hollywood stars like Jamie Lee Curtis and Billy Crystal who lost houses in the fire, officials have placed the origin of the wind-whipped blaze behind a home on Piedra Morada Drive, which sits above a densely wooded arroyo.

While lightning is the most common source of fires in the U.S., according to the National Fire Protection Association, investigators were able to rule that out quickly. There were no reports of lightning in the Palisades area or the terrain around the Eaton fire, which started in east Los Angeles County and has also destroyed hundreds of homes.

The next two most common causes: fires intentionally set, and those sparked by utility lines.

John Lentini, owner of Scientific Fire Analysis in Florida, who has investigated large fires in California including the Oakland Hills fire in 1991, said the size and scope of the blaze doesn’t change the approach to finding out what caused it.

“This was once a small fire,” Lentini said. “People will focus on where the fire started, determine the origin and look around the origin and determine the cause.”

So far there has been no official indication of arson in either blaze, and utility lines have not yet been identified as a cause either.

Utilities are required to report to the California Public Utilities Commission when they know of “electric incidents potentially associated with a wildfire,” Terrie Prosper, the commission's communications director, said via email. CPUC staff then investigate to see if there were violations of state law.

The 2017 Thomas Fire, one of the largest fires in state history, was sparked by Southern California Edison power lines that came into contact during high wind, investigators determined. The blaze killed two people and charred more than 440 square miles (1,140 square kilometers), according to the investigation headed by the Ventura County Fire Department.

So far no such reports for the current fires have been posted to the CPUC website that tracks such filings.

While lightning, arson and utility lines are the most common causes, debris burning and fireworks are also common causes.

But fires are incited by myriad sources, including accidents.

In 2021, a couple's gender reveal stunt started a large fire that torched close to 36 square miles (about 90 square kilometers) of terrain, destroyed five homes and 15 other buildings and claimed the life of a firefighter, Charlie Morton.

The Eaton and Palisades fires were still burning with little to no containment on Thursday. Winds softened, but there was no rain in the forecast as the flames moved through miles of dry landscape.

“It’s going to go out when it runs out of fuel, or when the weather stops,” Lentini said. “They’re not going to put that thing out until it’s ready to go out.”

Why does #Trump want to end U.S. daylight saving time?

When do the clocks change?

Any changes that Trump and the Republicans may enact probably would not take effect immediately.

Daylight saving time in the United States and some other countries is due to start on March 9 at 2 a.m. local time, meaning people will lose an hour of sleep. Mornings will be darker but it will stay light until later in the evening. Daylight saving time is scheduled to end on Nov. 2. The saying "spring forward, fall back" serves as a helpful reminder for adjusting clocks.

Daylight saving time in the United States always starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November.

In the UK and other European countries, daylight saving time, also known as summer time, begins on the last Sunday in March and ends on the last Sunday in October. This year it will start on March 30 and end on Oct. 26.
When is the shortest day of the year in 2025?

The shortest day of 2025 will be on Dec. 21, which marks the winter solstice. Daylight hours vary significantly across latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. Areas near the North Pole will be plunged into complete darkness while southern regions will still get more than 10 hours of sunshine.
Why and how was daylight saving created in the U.S.?

The modern idea of changing the clocks with the seasons can be traced back to at least the late 19th century, when New Zealand entomologist George Hudson proposed it to conserve energy and extend summer daylight hours, something that would have benefited his hobby of collecting insects after work. The idea was slow to gain traction until World War One, when European states sought any strategies to conserve fuel. Germany was the first country to adopt daylight saving time in 1916. The United States followed in 1918.

The practice went through many variations before the United States standardized it in 1966 in a law called the Uniform Time Act, which allows states to opt out of it but not to stay on daylight saving time permanently.

In a televised speech on Sunday, Iran's Supreme Leader #Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Syrian youth to "stand with firm determination against those who have orchestrated and brought about this insecurity."

"We predict that a strong and honorable group will also emerge in Syria because today Syrian youth have nothing to lose. Their schools, universities, homes, and streets are unsafe," Khameini said.

He added: "Therefore, they must stand firmly with determination against the planners and executors of insecurity and prevail over them."

Syrian rebels ousted President Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8 after a 13-year civil war.

Iran spent billions of dollars propping up Assad during the war and deployed its Revolutionary Guards to Syria to keep its ally in power.

Assad's overthrow is widely seen as a major blow to the Iran-led "Axis of Resistance" political and military alliance that opposes Israeli and U.S. influence in the Middle East.

Clashes between #Islamists now in power in Syria and Assad's supporters leave casualties.

This year, scientists were able to pull back the curtain on mysteries surrounding figures across history, both known and unknown, to reveal more about their unique stories.

In some cases, analysis of ancient #DNA helped fill knowledge gaps and change preconceived notions. A prime example is how aDNA research is reframing the way people understand the archaeological site of Pompeii, which remains trapped beneath a layer of ash thousands of years after Mount Vesuvius’ eruption in AD 79 doomed the Roman town.

Genetic traces collected from the bones of victims showed that what was once considered to be a mother holding her son in their final moments was an unrelated adult male who likely offered comfort to a child before they perished, and they challenged other long-held assumptions.

Unmasking the unknown

A detailed analysis of tooth enamel, tartar and bone collagen helped researchers uncover details about “Vittrup Man,” a Stone Age migrant who died violently in a swamp in northwest Denmark about 5,200 years ago.

His remains, recovered from a peat bog in Vittrup, Denmark, in 1915, were found alongside a wooden club that was likely used to beat him over the head. But little else was known about him.

Using cutting-edge analytical methods, Anders Fischer, project researcher in the department of historical studies at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, and his colleagues set out to “find the individual behind the bone” and tell the story of the oldest known immigrant in Denmark’s history.

Vittrup Man grew up along the Scandinavian coast and belonged to a hunter-gatherer community, enjoying a diet of fish, seals and whales. But his life changed drastically in his late teens when he made the move to Denmark and shifted to a farmer’s diet, eating sheep and goat. He died between the ages of 30 and 40.

Vittrup Man may have been killed as a sacrifice, or perhaps he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But Fischer found the use of multiple techniques to uncover aspects of his identity gratifying.

“In the Vittrup case we meet a genuine first-generation immigrant and can follow his remarkable geographic and dietary transition from northern to southern Scandinavia and from a fisher-hunter-gatherer to a farmer way of life,” he said.