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El Salvador Eyes $3 Trillion Gold Mine Beneath Its SoilFor more than a decade, the United States has sought to keep out of Syria's political debacle, seeing no viable partner. Islamist rebels' toppling of strongman Bashar al-Assad has forced a change of tune -- and a debate over just what US interests are. Donald Trump, who returns to the White House in little more than a month, on the eve of Assad's fall called Syria "a mess" and stated in his plain-speaking style that the United States should not be involved. Joe Biden's administration, after putting Syria on the backburner in a turbulent region, has offered a tacit rebuttal by stating that clear US interests are at stake -- including preventing Syria from fragmenting and avoiding a resurgence of the Islamic State extremist group. Steven Cook, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said Trump's and Biden's statements could be combined and "together they make a kind of decent policy." The United States needs to address real concerns about the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda but "as far as getting involved in arranging the politics of Syria, I think that no good can come from it," Cook said. Since the presidency of Barack Obama, the United States has walked a fine line on Syria that critics often derided as a non-policy. The United States questioned the legitimacy of Assad, demanding accountability for brutality in one of the 21st century's deadliest wars, but stopped short of prioritizing his departure due to suspicions about the main rebels. The Islamist movement Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which has now led Assad's ouster, traces its roots to Syria's Al-Qaeda branch and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States. Since Obama's time, the United States instead has allied itself in Syria with a smaller fighting force of the Kurdish minority -- over strenuous objections of neighboring Turkey, which backs HTS -- with a narrow mission to counter the Islamic State group. Some 900 US troops remain in Syria. Assad fell in a lighting surprise offensive as his protector Russia is bogged down in its invasion of Ukraine and after Israel's military heavily degraded Assad's other key supporters -- Iran and Lebanese militia Hezbollah. Robert Ford, the last US ambassador to Syria, helped spearhead the terrorist designation of HTS in 2012 but said that the group since then has not attacked US or Western targets and has instead fought Al-Qaeda and Islamic State forces. Ford also pointed with hope to post-victory statements by rebel chief Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, including welcoming international monitoring of any chemical weapons that are discovered. "Can you imagine Osama bin Laden saying that?" said Ford, now a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute. "I'm not saying 'trust Jolani.' He's obviously authoritarian. He's obviously an Islamist who doesn't believe that Christians have an equal right to power as Muslims. But I sure as hell want to test him on some of these things," Ford said. He said that the United States should encourage HTS, as well as other Syrian actors, to reach out and reassure the country's diverse communities including Christians, Kurds and Alawites -- the sect of the secular-oriented Assad. Beyond that, Washington should take a back-seat and let Syrians sort out their future, he said. "We should learn from the experience in Iraq that trying to impose exiles on a population traumatized by a brutal dictatorship and war is not a recipe for success," Ford said. Outgoing Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday offered US recognition to a future government that is "credible, inclusive and non-sectarian." Trump in his first term, at the urging of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, abruptly said he would pull troops out of Syria. He backtracked after intense criticism at home and appeals from French President Emmanuel Macron, who pointed to the risk of Islamic State filling the vacuum. Trump has not indicated how he would change Syria policy this time. But he has shown no reluctance in the past to negotiate with foreign adversaries on the US blacklist, from Afghanistan's Taliban to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said there was no legal restriction on US contact with designated terrorists, although he indicated there was no direct dialogue with HTS. Natasha Hall, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Syria could face "devastating economic and humanitarian consequences" unless the United States reconsiders the terrorist designation of HTS, which impedes aid groups. "That said," she said, "if there isn't sort of an established framework for negotiations and good behavior now, before that designation is lifted, that could potentially also be a major mistake down the line for Syria's future." sct/sms
PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. , Dec. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- INOVIO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. INO , a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing DNA medicines to help treat and protect people from HPV-related diseases, cancer, and infectious diseases, today announced that it intends to offer and sell shares of its common stock and accompanying warrants to purchase shares of its common stock, in an underwritten public offering. All of the securities in the proposed offering will be sold by INOVIO. The proposed offering is subject to market conditions, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed, or the actual size or terms of the offering. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. and Citizens JMP are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering. Stephens Inc. is acting as lead manager for the offering. A shelf registration statement relating to the shares of common stock and accompanying warrants offered in the offering described above was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on November 9, 2023 and declared effective by the SEC on January 31, 2024 . The offering will be made only by means of a written prospectus and prospectus supplement that form a part of the registration statement. A preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to and describing the terms of the proposed offering will be filed with the SEC and will be available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov . Copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, when available, may also be obtained by contacting: Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., Attention: Syndicate Prospectus Department, 85 Broad Street, 26th Floor, New York, NY 10004, by telephone at (212) 667-8055, or by email at EquityProspectus@opco.com ; or Citizens JMP Securities, LLC, 600 Montgomery Street, Suite 1100, San Francisco, California 94111, by telephone at (415) 835-8985, or by email at syndicate@jmpsecurities.com . This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities being offered, nor shall there be any sale of the securities being offered in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction. About INOVIO INOVIO is a biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing DNA medicines to help treat and protect people from HPV-related diseases, cancer, and infectious diseases. INOVIO's technology optimizes the design and delivery of innovative DNA medicines that teach the body to manufacture its own disease-fighting tools. Forward-Looking Statements This release contains or may imply "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical fact and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding INOVIO's anticipated public offering, including the completion of the public offering on the anticipated terms, if at all. Any forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties related to market conditions and satisfaction of customary closing conditions related to the proposed public offering. For a discussion of other risks and uncertainties, and other important factors, any of which could cause our actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see the section entitled "Risk Factors" in INOVIO's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 , INOVIO's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2024 and in other filings that INOVIO makes with the SEC from time to time. There can be no assurance that any of the forward-looking information provided herein will be proven accurate. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof and INOVIO undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Contacts Media: Jennie Willson (267) 429-8567 jennie.willson@inovio.com Investors: Peter Vozzo , ICR Healthcare, 443-213-0505 peter.vozzo@icrhealthcare.com View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/inovio-announces-proposed-public-offering-302330740.html SOURCE INOVIO Pharmaceuticals, Inc. © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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