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Bashar al-Assad releases first statement since he fled Syria

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[File pic] People walk near a poster depicting Syria's ousted President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, May 19, 2023 [Aljazeera]

In the first public remarks attributed to Bashar al-Assad since he left Syria, the deposed Syrian president has defended his rule and denied planning his departure as armed opposition fighters closed in on Damascus earlier this month.

A statement said to be written by al-Assad and released on the Syrian presidency’s Telegram channel on Monday presented an account of how and why the former president fled Syria.

“First, my departure from Syria was neither planned nor did it occur during the final hours of the battles, as some have claimed,” the statement said.

“On the contrary, I remained in Damascus, carrying out my duties until the early hours of Sunday, December 8, 2024.”

The statement added that as rebel fighters, who al-Assad described as “terrorist forces”, entered the capital, he moved to a Russian base on the coastal city of Latakia to “oversee combat operations”.

But according to the statement, the base came under drone attacks from armed opposition fighters.

“With no viable means of leaving the base, Moscow requested that the base’s command arrange an immediate evacuation to Russia on the evening of Sunday 8 December,” it read.

“This took place a day after the fall of Damascus, following the collapse of the final military positions and the resulting paralysis of all remaining state institutions.”

The statement has not been independently verified. Al-Assad has not made any media appearances since he was granted asylum with his family by Russia.

Opposition forces, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), launched a lightning offensive from the northwestern province of Idlib in November, taking city after city from government forces with little resistance.

They reached Damascus in the early hours of December 8 and announced the end of more than 50 years of the al-Assad family’s iron-fist rule over Syria.  Al-Assad’s presidency, which began after the death of his father Hafez in 2000, saw one of the most devastating wars of the 21st century.

The conflict started in 2011 as Syrians took to the streets to protest against the government as part of the “Arab Spring” pro-democracy uprisings that swept the Middle East that year.

As the demonstrations were met with a deadly crackdown by security forces, the protest movement turned into an armed uprising.

The war, which lasted more than 13 years, fragmented the country, killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions.

Rights groups have accused al-Assad’s authoritarian government of perpetrating rampant human rights violations.

Opposition fighters and rights advocates have said they discovered more horrific abuses and signs of torture and mass executions as they freed jails housing thousands of detainees across Syria this month.

Tens of thousands of Syrians believed to have been in government custody remain unaccounted for.

But in Monday’s statement, attributed to “President Bashar al-Assad”, the former president sounded unapologetic about his years in power, saying he considered himself the “custodian” of a national project backed by Syrians.

“I have carried an unwavering conviction in their will and ability to protect the state, defend its institutions, and uphold their choices to the very last moment,” the statement said.

“When the state falls into the hands of terrorism and the ability to make a meaningful contribution is lost, any position becomes void of purpose, rendering its occupation meaningless.”

[BBC]

 



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Foreign News

Trump criticised after posting AI image of himself as Pope

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US President Donald Trump has attracted criticism from some Catholics after posting an AI-generated image of himself as the Pope.

The picture, which was shared by official White House social media accounts, comes as Catholics mourn the death of Pope Francis, who died on 21 April, and prepare to choose the next pontiff.

The New York State Catholic Conference accused Trump of mocking the faith. The post comes days after he joked to reporters: “I’d like to be Pope.”

Trump is not the first president to be accused of making a mockery of the Catholic faith. Former US President Joe Biden caused outrage a year ago when he made the sign of the cross at a pro-abortion access rally in Tampa, Florida.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni declined to answer questions about Trump’s post during a briefing with journalists on Saturday. The Vatican is preparing to host a conclave to choose Francis’s successor beginning on Wednesday [07].

The image posted by Trump on Friday night features him wearing a white cassock and pointed miter, traditionally worn by a bishop. He wears a large cross around his neck, and has his finger held up, with a solemn facial expression.

The New York State Catholic Conference, which represents bishops in New York, took to X to criticise the picture.  “There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr President,” the group wrote.  “We just buried our beloved Pope Francis and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to elect a new successor of St Peter. Do not mock us.”

Left-leaning Italian former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi also blasted Trump’s post. “This is an image that offends believers, insults institutions and shows that the leader of the right-wing world enjoys clowning around,” Renzi wrote in Italian on X.

But the White House rejected any suggestion that the Republican president was making fun of the papacy.

“President Trump flew to Italy to pay his respects to Pope Francis and attend his funeral, and he has been a staunch champion for Catholics and religious liberty,” said press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

[BBC]

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Six people arrested after three shot dead in Sweden

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After the shootings, police cordoned off the area near the hair salon [BBC]

Swedish police have arrested six people in connection with a suspected triple murder at a hair salon in the city of Uppsala.

Those arrested range in age from under 18 to 45, according to the state prosecutor’s office. One is suspected of carrying out the killings on Tuesday evening.

A 16-year-old who had been arrested hours after the incident was released on Friday.

The three victims shot dead in the salon were between the ages of 15 and 20. The attack came on the eve of the Walpurgis spring festival, when large crowds descended on the streets of Uppsala.

Police are investigating the possibility that the shooting was related to gang crime.

The father of one of the victims told state-run broadcaster STV on Saturday that his 15-year-old son had asked him to transfer money so he could have a haircut ahead of the Walpurgis celebrations. That was the last he heard from his son.

“He was a really nice boy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It could have happened to anyone,” the father said.

One of those killed was reportedly known to the police, local media said.

The victim was involved in a police investigation over a planned attack against a relative of gang leader Ismail Abdo, according to the reports. The person was never charged.

Uppsala, a university town north of Stockholm, has long been the base of Abdo and rival gang leader Rawa Majida.

A new chapter in their turf wars began in 2023, when Abdo’s mother was murdered at her home.

Sweden has seen a wave of teenage gang crime in recent years, with suspects accused of a range of offences from vandalism to murder.

The Swedish government has proposed new legislation that would allow police to wiretap children under the age of 15 in an attempt to grapple with the problem.

[BBC]

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Australia PM Albanese makes stunning comeback with landslide win

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Anthony Albanese says his election was a vote for equality and kindess [BBC]

Labor’s Anthony Albanese has defied the so-called “incumbency curse” to be re-elected Australia’s prime minister in a landslide win.

Official vote counting won’t finish for days, but Albanese’s centre-left government will dramatically increase its majority after the conservative Liberal-National coalition suffered a thumping defeat nationwide.

“Today, the Australian people have voted for Australian values: for fairness, aspiration and opportunity for all; for the strength to show courage in adversity and kindness to those in need,” Albanese said.

Coalition leader Peter Dutton, who lost his own seat of 24 years, said he accepted “full responsibility” for his party’s loss and apologised to his MPs.

Following the result, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio both said they looked forward to deepening their bilateral relationships with Australia.

Labor has seen swings towards them right across the country – a rare feat for a second-term government in Australia – and Albanese becomes the first prime minister to win back-to-back elections in over 20 years.

The party’s success has also tempered a trend of voters abandoning the two major parties, which was the big story of the last election in 2022.

Labor is on track to finish with 85 seats, the Coalition about 40, and the Greens Party with one or two, according to projections by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Other minor parties and independents are ahead in nine seats.

That represents an increase of nine for Labor and a significant drop in support for the Greens. However most “teal” independents have been returned in their more conservative, inner-city electorates.

It’s a remarkable turnaround from the start of the year, when polling put Albanese’s popularity at record lows after three years of global economic pain, tense national debate, and growing government dissatisfaction.

The five-week campaign was dominated by cost-of-living concerns – particularly the affordability of healthcare and housing – with issues like energy and climate change, international relations, and migration also rearing their heads.

Albanese touched on most of them on Saturday night. He reiterated his promises to make healthcare – most critically GP appointments – more affordable, put buying a house in reach for more Australians, and do more to address climate change and protect the environment.

Notably, he also vowed to advance reconciliation for First Nations people: “We will be a stronger nation when we Close the Gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.”

It’s a veiled referenced to the biggest moment of Albanese’s tenure, the failed Voice referendum of October 2023, which sought to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the constitution, and simultaneously establish a parliamentary advisory body for them.

Australia remains the only Commonwealth country to have never signed a treaty with its Indigenous people.

The Voice was one of Albanese’s most defining policies, and his most striking setback – it was overwhelmingly rejected after months of often toxic and divisive national debate.

Indigenous Australians have told the BBC they feel like they’ve been forgotten by policymakers since.

The prime minister also found difficulty trying to walk a middle path on the Israel-Gaza war, raised eyebrows after buying a multi million dollar beach pad as voters grappled with a housing crisis and, like other leaders globally, grappled with tough economic conditions.

With tanking poll numbers, Albanese was broadly seen as the underdog coming into the election, and was poised to be the next victim of the “incumbency curse” – a term to explain a global trend where struggling constituents were turfing out governments after a single term.

Dutton, on the other hand, looked like he was writing a great political comeback – he was on the edge of bringing his party from its worst loss in 70 years back into office in a single term.

It has been almost a century since a first-term government has failed to win re-election, but as Australian National University Emeritus Professor John Warhurst said: “Dutton entered the campaign [year] in front. It was his to lose.”

Instead tonight Dutton has overseen a party loss so emphatic he has lost his own electorate of Dickson, to Labor’s Ali France.

Getty Images Peter Dutton giving his concession speech on election night
Peter Dutton is one of the opposition’s most experience MPs [BBC]

“I love this country and have fought hard for it,” he told supporters in Brisbane, conceding defeat.

“We have been defined by our opponents in this election which is not a true story of who we are, but we will rebuild from here and we will do that because we know our values, we know our beliefs, and we will always stick to them.”

His campaign was marred by unforced errors: including a series of policy backflips which caused confusion, awkward mistakes on important issues like cost of living and, perhaps most memorably, accidentally booting an AFL ball into a cameraman’s head.

[BBC]

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