Syria, Russia forces step up air raids in a bid to slow opposition advance
Syrian and Russian jets have intensified air attacks in Idlib city and positions in Aleppo as the government of President Bashar al-Assad tries to slow the advance of opposition fighters. The raids on Monday followed big gains by the opposition over the past few days that has greatly shifted the front line in Syria’s long-running war. The dramatic advance by a coalition of Syrian opposition groups, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has somewhat slowed in the past 24 hours, according to Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koseoglu, reporting from the Turkish-Syrian border. “The advances by the Syrian opposition continue on the battlefront, but not as fast as before. The acceleration is down as the diplomatic efforts to discuss the crisis have risen within the last two days,” Koseoglu said. However, opposition fighters are still on the outskirts of Hama, south of Aleppo. Elsewhere, they have seized most of the city of Tel Rifaat, where Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are calling for a humanitarian corridor to allow Kurds to safely evacuate. Advertisement Meanwhile, a member of Syria’s opposition has pledged to continue the fight until the government agrees to a political transition. Speaking at a news conference on Monday, the sixth day of a blistering rebel offensive that forced Syrian government forces out of the city of Aleppo, Istanbul-based opposition leader Hadi al-Bahri stated: “We are ready to negotiate starting tomorrow.” To counter the rebels’ momentum, dozens of Iran-backed militias from Iraq crossed into Syria overnight to beef up the Syrian military’s defences, according to reports. “These are fresh reinforcements being sent to aid our comrades on the front lines in the north,” a senior Syrian military source told Reuters news agancy, adding the fighters had crossed in small groups to avoid air attacks. Iran also plans to keep up military advisers in Syria, according to Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei. Al-Assad’s main backers Russia and Iran have thrown their weight behind Syria’s government, with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian pledging to provide “all the support needed” to push back the rebels in a phone call with the Syrian leader. He echoed comments from Iran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi, who visited al-Assad on Sunday before travelling to Ankara, Turkiye, which backs a faction of Syria’s opposition. “Given the consensus in most areas and differences of opinion with Turkiye in some cases, we hope to reach a common understanding that will bring stability to the region and prevent Syria from becoming the centre of terrorist groups again,” Araghchi was quoted by Iranian state media as saying. Advertisement In a joint news conference following a meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Ankara continues to support Syria’s territorial integrity, adding that there is a “need for compromise between the Syrian government and opposition”. Turkiye, which has supported opposition factions in Syria, on Monday rejected any suggestion that “foreign interference” was behind the offensive launched by the fighters in the country’s north. “It would be a mistake at this time to try to explain the events in Syria by any foreign interference,” the Turkish foreign minister said, blaming instead an absence of dialogue between opposition groups and the government of al-Assad. But the Syrian president says the opposition offensive was a bid to redraw the map of the region in line with the US interests. “The terrorist escalation reflects the far-reaching goals of dividing the region and fragmenting the countries in it and redraw the map in line with the objectives of the United States and the West,” al-Assad said in a statement from his office after phone calls with Iranian President Pezeshkian. The latest fighting marks the most significant turn in years in Syria’s war, which began with popular uprisings across the country in 2011. Since 2020, the front lines have largely been stagnant with an array of opposition groups largely contained to a small portion of Idlib province. But in just a matter of days, that changed abruptly, as HTS and its allies pressed into Aleppo and beyond, initially meeting little resistance. Advertisement “This is a major change,” Jean-Marc Rickli, head of global and emerging risks at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, told Al Jazeera. The opposition was “very well prepared”, facing an army that was “not very motivated or equipped”. Ultimately, how successful the rebel operation turns out to be, Rickli said, will hinge on how far Russia, which provides Syria’s government with crucial air support, and Iran, whose militias are now in the fray, dig their heels in. “To what extent these actors [Russia and Iran] will be willing to commit enough force to stop these different [opposition] factions, that’s a different story,” he said. Adblock test (Why?)
Renewed fighting in Syria leaves thousands internally displaced
NewsFeed Thousands of people are displaced in Syria after intense fighting between opposition groups and government forces. Published On 2 Dec 20242 Dec 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
‘Deeply regrettable’: India on breach of premises of Bangladesh mission in Agartala
The comments came hours after thousands of people took out a massive rally around the Bangladeshi mission in the capital city of Tripura.
Who was IPS officer Harsh Bardhan? Youngest IPS died in road accident while on his way to join first posting
Harsh Bardhan succumbed to his injuries in a hospital. He was a 2023-batch IPS officer of the Karnataka cadre and hailed from Madhya Pradesh, police said. Soon after getting news ofing in the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Navy remains focused on safeguarding India’s interests in the Indian Ocean region.
Indian Navy hopeful to finalise Rs 90000000000 deal for 26 Rafale Marine combat aircraft and…
Meanwhile, Indian Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi on Monday said that the maritime force keeps a watch on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLA Navy) in the Indian Ocean Region.
Newsom proposes $25M from state legislature to ‘Trump-proof’ California
California Gov. Gavin Newsom will convene the state legislature for a special emergency session Monday to propose a “Trump-proof” legal defense fund of up to $25 million for the state’s justice department. Newsom said in a statement the Golden State “is a tent pole of the country … protecting and investing in rights and freedoms for all people” and that officials “will work with the incoming administration and we want President Trump to succeed in serving all Americans.” “But when there is overreach, when lives are threatened, when rights and freedoms are targeted, we will take action,” Newsom said. “And that is exactly what this special session is about – setting this state up for success, regardless of who is in the White House.” PROPOSITION 36 OVERWHELMINGLY PASSES IN CALIFORNIA, REVERSING SOME SOROS-BACKED SOFT-ON-CRIME POLICIES State lawmakers, who are majority Democratic, are expected to introduce the proposed legislation in the coming weeks. Officials anticipate the legislation will be signed into law before Inauguration Day on Jan. 20. Between 2017 and 2021, California’s Department of Justice led 122 lawsuits against Trump administration policies, spending $42 million on litigation. Newsom’s office said in one case, the federal government was ordered to reimburse California nearly $60 million in public safety grants. While California filed over 100 lawsuits against the Trump administration, President-elect Donald Trump lobbed only four major lawsuits against the state. In 2018, Trump’s DOJ filed a lawsuit over three California sanctuary state laws that restricted cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. That same year, Trump sued California for its state-level net neutrality law. TRUMP PLANNING TO LIFT BIDEN’S LNG PAUSE, INCREASE OIL DRILLING DURING 1ST DAYS IN OFFICE: REPORT In 2019, Trump also filed a lawsuit against California’s vehicle emissions standards, attempting to revoke California’s ability to set its own emissions rules. The Trump administration also sued California over its controversial independent contractor law, AB 5, in 2020. California, a sanctuary state for illegal immigrants, abortion procedures and transgender transition treatments for children, could be targeted by the Trump administration, especially considering Trump’s mass deportation plan of illegal immigrants. Meanwhile, Republican state Sen. Brian Jones, who serves as the upper chamber’s minority leader, said last month the special session “is clearly just another political stunt” and a “desperate attempt to distract from Democrats’ significant losses across California on Tuesday — in the state Senate, state Assembly, U.S. House, and on key ballot measures, including Prop 5’s defeat and Prop 36’s overwhelming win.” “Californians have made it clear: affordability is their top concern,” Jones said. “Yet, even with the massive deficit he created, Gov. Newsom wants to hand his attorney general a blank check to wage endless battles against the federal government — while our own state is on fire, both literally and metaphorically.”
‘Irreparably damaged’: Mike Johnson unleashes on Biden’s handling of justice over Hunter pardon
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is accusing President Biden of “irreparably” damaging the U.S. justice system on his way out the door after he granted a sweeping pardon to his son. “President Biden insisted many times he would never pardon his own son for his serious crimes. But last night he suddenly granted a ‘Full and Unconditional Pardon’ for any and all offenses that Hunter committed for more than a decade!” Johnson said in a statement on Monday. “Trust in our justice system has been almost irreparably damaged by the Bidens and their use and abuse of it. Real reform cannot begin soon enough!” He’s the highest-ranking Republican official to add to the tidal wave of criticism that followed the president’s surprise decision on Sunday evening. LAWMAKERS HARSHLY CRITICIZE BIDEN’S DECISION TO PARDON HUNTER: ‘LIAR’ Biden said he pardoned Hunter because he had been “treated differently” than others investigated for similar crimes, painting him as a victim of political weaponization. “The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election,” his statement said. “No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son – and that is wrong. There has been an effort to break Hunter – who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me – and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough.” The pardon affects Hunter’s pending firearm and tax charges, which were both due to go to trial soon. But in a departure from tradition, the order covers any and all possible offenses from the start of 2014 through Dec. 1, 2024. BIDEN PARDONS SON HUNTER BIDEN AHEAD OF EXIT FROM OVAL OFFICE In theory, that would cover any possible accusations brought by Republicans when they control the levers of power in Washington, D.C. next year. Hunter is Biden’s only surviving son after the death of Beau Biden from brain cancer in 2015. The 81-year-old president’s decision to pardon him sent shockwaves through members of both parties. “I respect President Biden, but I think he got this one wrong. This wasn’t a politically-motivated prosecution. Hunter committed felonies, and was convicted by a jury of his peers,” Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., wrote on X. TRUMP ASKS ABOUT ‘J-6 HOSTAGES’ IN RESPONSE TO BIDEN’S PARDON OF HUNTER: ‘SUCH AN ABUSE’ House GOP Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., wrote, “You’ve been lied to every step of the way by this Administration and the corrupt Biden family. This is just the latest in their long coverup scheme. They never play by the same rules they force on everyone else.” Meanwhile, a significant number of Democrats who spoke up did so in Biden’s defense. “If you defended the 34x felon, who committed sexual assault, stole national security documents, and tried running a coup on his country…you can sit out the Hunter Biden pardon discussion,” Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., wrote on X.
2 times Biden said he would not pardon son Hunter Biden
President Biden had stated he would not pardon his son Hunter Biden multiple times before reversing course on Sunday, ultimately granting clemency to Hunter for all offenses against the United States he committed or may have committed from Jan. 1, 2024, to Dec. 1, 2024. On June 6, Biden said he would not pardon Hunter during an interview with ABC News anchor David Muir in Normandy, France, on the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Regarding President-elect Trump’s conviction in the Manhattan “hush-money” trial, Biden told “MAGA Republicans” to “Stop undermining the rule of law. Stop undermining the institutions.” Muir, noting Hunter was in the midst of a federal trial himself at the time, then asked Biden, “Will you accept the jury’s outcome no matter what it is?” “Yes,” Biden said flatly. REPUBLICANS HAMMER BIDEN’S ‘NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW’ CLAIM FOLLOWING HUNTER PARDON: ‘AGED LIKE FINE MILK’ “Have you ruled out a pardon for your son?” Muir asked. Again, the president responded, “Yes.” About a week later, Biden told a news conference on the sidelines of the G-7 summit in Italy that he would not use his presidential powers to lessen Hunter’s sentence. A sentencing date for Hunter’s conviction on federal gun charges had not been set at the time, though the three counts carried up to 25 years in prison. U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, who was nominated by Trump, would have made the decision. LAWMAKERS HARSHLY CRITICIZE BIDEN’S DECISION TO PARDON HUNTER: ‘LIAR’ “I’m extremely proud of my son Hunter. He has overcome an addiction. He is one of the brightest, most decent men I know,” Biden said during the press conference on June 13. “I abide by the jury decision. I will do that, and I will not pardon him.” Biden, who will leave office on Jan. 20, on Sunday granted Hunter a “full and unconditional pardon” for offenses against the United States “which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024.” That includes, but is not limited to, those prosecuted by Special Counsel David Weiss. “The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election,” Biden said in a statement. “Then, a carefully negotiated plea deal, agreed to by the Department of Justice, unraveled in the court room – with a number of my political opponents in Congress taking credit for bringing political pressure on the process. Had the plea deal held, it would have been a fair, reasonable resolution of Hunter’s cases.” “There has been an effort to break Hunter – who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution,” he added. “In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me – and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here.” Hunter Biden was supposed to be sentenced this month in two federal cases, which the special counsel brought after a plea deal with prosecutors that likely would have spared him prison time fell apart under scrutiny by a judge. Under the original deal, Hunter was supposed to plead guilty to misdemeanor tax offenses and would have avoided prosecution in a gun case as long as he stayed out of trouble for two years. The plea hearing quickly unraveled last year when the judge raised concerns about unusual aspects of the deal. Hunter was subsequently indicted in the two cases. Hunter Biden was convicted in June in Delaware federal court of three felonies for purchasing a gun in 2018 when, prosecutors said, he lied on a federal form by claiming he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs. He had been set to stand trial in September in a California case accusing him of failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes, but he agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor and felony charges in a surprise move hours after jury selection was set to begin. House Republicans also sought to use Hunter’s history of overseas business ventures in a since-abandoned attempt to impeach his father, who has long denied involvement in his son’s dealings or benefiting from them in any way. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
NYC home to nearly 60k ‘criminal’ migrants: Report
New York City is populated by over 58,000 illegal migrants who are convicted of or facing criminal charges. “It’s shocking that Democrats have gone so far out of their way to harbor gang members, drug traffickers and other criminals who are in our country illegally,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., told the New York Post. The comments by Malliotakis, who represents parts of Staten Island and Brooklyn, come after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency data obtained by the New York Post showed 58,626 of the 759,218 illegal immigrants living in New York City had previously been convicted of a crime or had criminal charges pending, or 7.7% of the city’s illegal migrant population. Of the 58,626 criminal migrants, 1,153 are “suspected or known gang members,” the report added. VENEZUELAN GANG MEMBERS LINKED TO VIOLENT APARTMENT TAKEOVER ARRESTED IN NEW YORK CITY “In many cases, they’ve provided them with housing, food and healthcare. They need to stop using New Yorkers’ hard-earned tax dollars to shield criminals wreaking havoc on our streets and instead cooperate with ICE to have them deported,” Malliotakis said. The nationwide numbers largely mirror those in New York City, the data showed, with 662,586 – or 8.6% — of the 7.8 million illegal immigrants living in the United States currently having a criminal conviction or charges pending. New York City will have a particularly hard time fighting back against the migrant crisis, according to Kenneth Genalo, who heads the ICE’s New York City office, who told the New York Post that, “it would take a lifetime to clear the city of the criminals that we have” if policies failed to change. That frustration was shared by multiple members of the New York City council, who blamed the city’s sanctuary laws for the crisis. COLORADO VIDEO SHOWS TREN DE ARAGUA GANG BEATING APARTMENT COMPLEX WORKER IN AN EXTORTION BID, COMPANY SAYS “These numbers make it clear what everyone but our elected officials already know: sanctuary city laws are endangering New Yorkers by shielding criminals instead of protecting law-abiding citizens,” Councilman Robert Holden, a Queens Democrat, told the New York Post when he was shown the ICE data. Meanwhile, Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli, a Republican from Staten Island, said he is “shocked and appalled, but not surprised” by the ICE data. New York City Mayor Eric Adams has made recent calls to loosen the city’s sanctuary policies, the report noted, citing the mayor’s calls to make it easier to turn over migrants “suspected” of “serious” crimes to federal authorities, though the mayor has also argued that he does not have enough support from the city council to change the rules. Meanwhile, the mayor’s office pointed the finger at the Biden administration’s handling of the border crisis as the reason for the city’s struggles. “Mayor Adams has repeatedly said that while we will continue to respect our city’s sanctuary laws, we must also have a serious conversation about the small number of individuals who repeatedly commit violent crimes in our city and the consequences they face,” Kayla Mamelak, a spokesperson for Adams, told the New York Post. “We must also fix this nation’s unsuccessful border policies that have led us to this place.”
Ted Cruz in July predicted 100% odds of Biden pardoning son Hunter after Election Day
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in July said the odds of President Biden pardoning his son, Hunter Biden, sit at “100%” – a prediction that came to pass on Sunday when the White House announced the president was giving his son a pass. While many Republicans speculated that Biden would break his pledge to Americans about ruling out a pardon for 54-year-old Hunter, who was convicted in two separate federal cases earlier this year, Cruz seemed to foretell that the first son would get a pass sometime after Election Day. “I’m going to place the odds that Joe Biden pardons Hunter Biden at 100%. Hunter Biden will get a pardon as a result of this decision,” Cruz said during his podcast, “Verdict with Ted Cruz,” in July, referring to Biden’s decision this week to drop out of the presidential race. “It will not happen till after Election Day. He’s not going to do it before Election Day. But he’s going to stick around. And after Election Day, I believe it is now 100% that Joe Biden will pardon Hunter,” he added. TRUMP ASKS ABOUT ‘J-6’ HOSTAGES IN RESPONSE TO BIDEN’S PARDON OF HUNTER: ‘SUCH AN ABUSE’ Cruz first predicted Biden would pardon Hunter in January during an episode of his podcast, putting the odds at that time at “95%.” Biden and his staffers had repeatedly said the first son would not get a pardon amid his federal felony gun and tax convictions. Biden flip-flopped on Sunday, granting a sweeping pardon that not only covers the gun and tax offenses, but also any other offenses against the U.S. that Hunter “has committed or may have committed or taken part in” from Jan. 1, 2014, through Dec. 1, 2024. “Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter,” Biden wrote in a statement. “From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted.” On Sunday night, Cruz retweeted a May 31 post from Biden that read, “No one is above the law,” and responded, “This aged like fine milk.” HUNTER BIDEN SAYS HIS MISTAKES WERE ‘EXPLOITED’ FOR POLITICAL SPORT, SAYS HE WON’T TAKE PARDON FOR GRANTED The Democrat president blamed “raw politics” for the unraveling of his son’s plea deal and claimed that Hunter was “treated differently” by prosecutors. When the jury in the gun case found Hunter guilty of the three felony firearm offenses in June, Biden vowed to respect the rule of law. “I am not going to do anything,” Biden said after Hunter was convicted. “I will abide by the jury’s decision.” The broad pardon has lit a firestorm among lawmakers who are fuming over the president’s decision. Fox News’ Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.