The night before, opposition forces had taken the central city of Homs, Syria's third largest, as government forces abandoned it. The government denied rumors that President #Bashar #Assad had fled the country.

The loss of Homs represented a potentially crippling blow for Assad. It stands at an important intersection between Damascus, the capital, and Syria’s coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus — the Syrian leader’s base of support and home to a Russian strategic naval base.

Sham FM reported that government forces took positions outside Homs without elaborating. Rami Abdurrahman who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said Syrian troops and members of different security agencies withdrew from the city, adding that rebels entered parts of it.

The insurgency announced later Saturday that it had taken over Homs. The city's capture was a major victory for the rebels, who have already seized the cities of Aleppo and Hama, as well as large parts of the south, in a lightning offensive that began Nov. 27. Analysts said rebel control of Homs would be a game-changer.

The rebels' moves around #Damascus, reported by the monitor and a rebel commander, came after the Syrian army withdrew from much of southern part of the country, leaving more areas, including several provincial capitals, under the control of opposition fighters.

Should Damascus fall to the opposition forces, the government would have control of only two of 14 provincial capitals: Latakia and Tartus.

The advances in the past week were by far the largest in recent years by opposition factions, led by a group that has its origins in al-Qaida and is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the United Nations. In their push to overthrow Assad's government, the insurgents, led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, or HTS, have met little resistance from the Syrian army.

The rapid rebel gains, coupled with the lack of support from Assad's erstwhile allies, posed the most serious threat to his rule since the start of the war.

The U.N.’s special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, called Saturday for urgent talks in Geneva to ensure an “orderly political transition.” Speaking to reporters at the annual Doha Forum in Qatar, he said the situation in Syria was changing by the minute. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, whose country is Assad's chief international backer, said he feels “sorry for the Syrian people.”

In Damascus, people rushed to stock up on supplies. Thousands went to Syria's border with Lebanon, trying to leave the country.

Many shops in the capital were shuttered, a resident told The Associated Press, and those still open ran out of staples such as sugar. Some were selling items at three times the normal price.

“The situation is very strange. We are not used to that,” the resident said, insisting on anonymity, fearing retributions.

“People are worried whether there will be a battle (in Damascus) or not.”

It was the first time that opposition forces reached the outskirts of Damascus since 2018, when Syrian troops recaptured the area following a yearslong siege. The U.N. said it was moving noncritical staff outside the country as a precaution.

Analysis: After years of lying dormant, the civil war in Syria is suddenly active again.
Now, with President Bashar al-Assad's final strongholds under threat, the question is whether his weakened allies will step up to save him.

MINSK, December 6. Russia's Oreshnik missile system may be deployed in Belarus in the second half of 2025, President Vladimir Putin has said.

"As far the possibility of deploying such, let's say, formidable weapons as the Oreshnik in Belarus is concerned, since we have signed today an agreement on security guarantees with the use of all available forces and means, I consider the deployment of such systems as the Oreshnik in Belarus possible," Putin said after a meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State.

He added that this would become possible in the second half of next year as the serial production of these systems in Russia increased and the missile systems entered service with the Russian strategic missile forces.

Putin warned of the need for addressing some technicalities before the deployment of the Oreshnik system in Belarus.

"Of course, there are a number of technical issues here for the specialists to address, namely, the determination of the minimum range with due regard for the security priorities of Belarus," he said. "It takes specialists to look into this matter."

The Russian president remarked that deploying the Oreshnik in Belarus would not require heavy spending.

#CAIRO -Palestinian officials say Fatah and Hamas are closing in on an agreement to appoint a committee of politically independent technocrats to administer the Gaza Strip after the war. It would effectively end Hamas' rule and could help advance ceasefire talks with #Israel.

The rival factions have made several failed attempts to reconcile since Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007. Israel has meanwhile ruled out any postwar role in Gaza for either Hamas or Fatah, which dominates the western-backed Palestinian Authority.

A #Palestinian Authority official on Tuesday confirmed that a preliminary agreement had been reached following weeks of negotiations in #Cairo. The official said the committee would have 12-15 members, most of them from #Gaza.

It would report to the Palestinian Authority, which is headquartered in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and work with local and international parties to facilitate humanitarian assistance and reconstruction.

A #Hamas official said that Hamas and Fatah had agreed on the general terms but were still negotiating over some details and the individuals who would serve on the committee. The official said an agreement would be announced after a meeting of all Palestinian factions in Cairo, without providing a timeline.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media on the talks. There was no immediate comment from Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until Hamas is dismantled and scores of hostages are returned. He says Israel will maintain open-ended security control over Gaza, with civilian affairs administered by local Palestinians unaffiliated with the Palestinian Authority or Hamas.

No Palestinians have publicly volunteered for such a role, and Hamas has threatened anyone who cooperates with the Israeli military.

The United States has called for a revitalized Palestinian Authority to govern both the West Bank and Gaza ahead of eventual statehood. The Israeli government, which is opposed to Palestinian statehood, is reportedly discussing a postwar plan with the United Arab Emirates, which normalized relations with Israel in 2020 and backs a rival Fatah faction.

The Hamas official said the emerging Palestinian agreement would fulfill one of Israel's war goals by ending Hamas' rule in Gaza. It's unclear if Israeli officials would see it that way.

#Syrian jets destroy terrorist headquarters in Idlib, kill dozens of militants — report
According to the report, "dozens of militants were killed and wounded," including one of their leaders of #Arab descent.

Supported by the Russian #Aerospace Forces, the Syrian Air Force destroyed a command center of the terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (banned in Russia) in the west of Idlib City, Sham FM radio reported.

According to the report, "dozens of militants were killed and wounded," including one of their leaders of Arab descent.

On the morning of November 27, the Jabhat al-Nusra extremist group (banned in Russia) carried out a major attack in northern #Syria. According to the Syrian armed forces, the terrorists attempted to attack villages and towns under the protection of the Syrian armed forces and military sites, continuing to target the positions of government units. The Syrian military started an operation to repel the raid. On November 30, the country’s military command stated that the armed forces were conducting strikes on the positions of terrorists who had infiltrated many neighborhoods of the city of Aleppo. According to the Syrian Defense Ministry, the armed forces had to regroup to protect the lives of civilians and troops and prepare for a counterattack.

#Romanians were voting in a parliamentary election on Sunday, in which the far right is expected to gain from uncertainty over whether the shock result in a presidential #election will stand.

#SEOUL, November 30. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said at a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov that strikes inside Russia with longer-range Western weapons represent direct interference in the conflict in Ukraine, the Korean Central News Agency reported.

"Comrade Kim Jong Un said the fact that the US and the West, with the hands of the Kiev government, struck Russia's territory with their long-range weapons constitutes direct military intervention in the conflict," the report said.

"Kim Jong Un mentioned that the retaliatory strike on Ukraine that was recently launched by the Russian government and the military is a timely and effective measure to notify the US, the West and Ukraine, which are clinging to unwise military recklessness, of the seriousness of the situation and Russia's will for harsh countermeasures," the KCNA reported.

According to the North Korean leader, it should be shown to the "US-led provocative forces" that they will achieve nothing useful if they ignore Russia's warning.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on November 21 that the US and its NATO allies had announced authorizing the use of longer-range weapons. Following the announcement, US and UK missiles attacked Russian targets in the Kursk and Bryansk regions, according to the president.

Russia responded by firing its newest Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile with a non-nuclear warhead at a Yuzhmash Ukrainian defense industry plant in the city of Dnepr, Putin said. The Russian leader said the West could bring upon itself heavy consequences, should its inflammatory policies prompt further escalation of the conflict.

#BEIRUT, #Lebanon -Insurgents breached Syria's second-largest city Aleppo after blowing up two car bombs on Friday and were clashing with government forces on the city's western edge, according to a Syria war monitor and fighters. Residents were fleeing neighborhoods on the city's edge because of missiles and gunfire, according to witnesses in Aleppo.

The insurgents' advance on Aleppo followed a shock offensive they launched on Wednesday, as thousands of fighters swept through villages and towns in Syria's northwestern countryside.

The surprise attack added new uncertainly to a region already reeling from the dual wars in #Gaza and Lebanon with Israel, and other conflicts including the unresolved Syrian civil war that began in 2011.

It was the first time the city has been attacked by opposition forces since 2016, when they were ousted from Aleppo's eastern neighborhoods following a grueling military campaign in which Syrian government forces were backed by Russia, Iran and its allied groups.

But this time, there was no sign of a significant pushback from government forces or their allies. Instead, there were reports of government forces melting away in the face of advances, and insurgents have posted messages on social media, calling on troops to surrender. The offensive came as Iran-linked groups, primarily Lebanon's Hezbollah, who had backed Syrian government forces since 2015, have been preoccupied with their own battle at home.

A ceasefire in Hezbollah's two-month-long war with Israel came into force Wednesday, the day the Syrian opposition factions announced their offensive. Israel has also escalated its attacks against Hezbollah and Iran-linked targets in Syria during the last 70 days.

The attack on #Aleppo came after weeks of simmering low-level violence, including government attacks on opposition-held areas. Turkiye, which has backed Syrian opposition groups, failed in its diplomatic efforts to prevent the government attacks, which were seen as a violation of a 2019 agreement sponsored by Russia, Turkiye and Iran to freeze the line of the conflict.

Biden says he hopes Trump rethinks tariffs on Mexico and Canada.

#NANTUCKET, Massachusetts -U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday said he hoped president-elect Donald Trump would rethink his plan to impose tariffs on Mexico and Canada, saying it could "screw up" relationships with close allies.

"I hope he rethinks it. I think it's a counterproductive thing to do," he told reporters in Nantucket.

"We have a unusual situation in America - we're surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and two allies: #Mexico and #Canada. The last thing we need to do is begin to screw up those relationships."

Trump on Monday said he would impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico until they clamped down on drugs and migrants crossing the border, in a move that would appear to violate the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free-trade deal.

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Thursday she did not specifically discuss tariffs in a call she held with Trump on Wednesday, adding the two had agreed there would be good relations between the two nations.

Following the call, Trump said Sheinbaum had "agreed to stop migration through Mexico, and into the United States, effectively closing our Southern Border."

Sheinbaum, however, said she had laid out a strategy that "attended to" migrants before they reached the U.S. border.