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BEIRUT (AP) — Insurgents' stunning march across Syria accelerated Saturday with news that they had reached the gates of the capital and that government forces had abandoned the central city of Homs. The government was forced to deny rumors that President Bashar Assad had fled the country. The loss of Homs is a potentially crippling blow for Assad. It stands at an important intersection between Damascus and Syria’s coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus — the Syrian leader’s base of support and home to a Russian strategic naval base. The pro-government Sham FM reported that government forces took positions outside Syria’s third-largest city, without elaborating. Rami Abdurrahman who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said Syrian troops and members of different security agencies have withdrawn from the city, adding that rebels have entered parts of it. The capture of Homs is a major victory for insurgents, 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 Homs falling into rebel hands 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. For the first time in the country’s long-running civil war, the government now has control of only three of 14 provincial capitals: Damascus, Latakia and Tartus. The advances in the past week were among 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, on Saturday called 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. Assad's status Syria’s state media denied social media rumors that Assad left the country, saying he is performing his duties in Damascus. He has had little, if any, help from his allies. Russia, is busy with its war in Ukraine . Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which at one point sent thousands of fighters to shore up Assad's forces, has been weakened by a yearlong conflict with Israel. Iran has seen its proxies across the region degraded by regular Israeli airstrikes. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday posted on social media that that the United States should avoid engaging militarily in Syria. Pedersen said a date for talks in Geneva on the implementation a U.N. resolution, adopted in 2015, and calling for a Syrian-led political process, would be announced later. The resolution calls for the establishment of a transitional governing body, followed by the drafting of a new constitution and ending with U.N.-supervised elections. Later Saturday, foreign ministers and senior diplomats from eight key countries, including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Egypt, Turkey and Iran, along with Pederson, gathered on the sidelines of the Doha Summit to discuss the situation in Syria. In a statement issued late Saturday, the participants affirmed their support for a political solution to the Syrian crisis “that would lead to the end of military activity and protect civilians.” They also agreed on the importance of strengthening international efforts to increase aid to the Syrian people. The insurgents' march Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said insurgents were in the Damascus suburbs of Maadamiyah, Jaramana and Daraya. Opposition fighters were marching toward the Damascus suburb of Harasta, he added. A commander with the insurgents, Hassan Abdul-Ghani, posted on the Telegram messaging app that opposition forces had begun the “final stage” of their offensive by encircling Damascus. HTS controls much of northwest Syria and in 2017 set up a “salvation government” to run day-to-day affairs in the region. In recent years, HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani has sought to remake the group’s image, cutting ties with al-Qaida, ditching hard-line officials and vowing to embrace pluralism and religious tolerance. The shock offensive began Nov. 27, during which gunmen captured the northern city of Aleppo, Syria’s largest, and the central city of Hama , the country’s fourth largest city. Opposition activists said Saturday that a day earlier, insurgents entered Palmyra, which is home to invaluable archaeological sites had been in government hands since being taken from the Islamic State group in 2017. To the south, Syrian troops left much of the province of Quneitra including the main Baath City, activists said. Syrian Observatory said government troops have withdrawn from much of the two southern provinces. The Syrian army said in a statement that it carried out redeployment and repositioning in Sweida and Daraa after its checkpoints came under attack by “terrorists." The army said it was setting up a “strong and coherent defensive and security belt in the area,” apparently to defend Damascus from the south. The Syrian government has referred to opposition gunmen as terrorists since conflict broke out in March 2011. Diplomacy in Doha The foreign ministers of Iran, Russia and Turkey, meeting in Qatar, called for an end to the hostilities. Turkey is a main backer of the rebels. Qatar's top diplomat, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, criticized Assad for failing to take advantage of the lull in fighting in recent years to address the country’s underlying problems. “Assad didn’t seize this opportunity to start engaging and restoring his relationship with his people,” he said. Sheikh Mohammed said he was surprised by how quickly the rebels have advanced and said there is a real threat to Syria’s “territorial integrity.” He said the war could “damage and destroy what is left if there is no sense of urgency” to start a political process. ____ Karam reported from London. Associated Press writers Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria; Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad; and Josef Federman and Victoria Eastwood in Doha, Qatar, contributed to this report. Bassem Mroue And Zeina Karam, The Associated Pressslot machine 88 。

Inside the new flagship Plaza Premium Lounge at Vancouver airport opening in December 2024The other day I was browsing through the Daily Reckoning archives and stumbled across a March 2013 piece by our long-time contributor Jeffrey Tucker. The article was titled “Bitcoin’s Moment”, and BTC was trading at around $93 at the time. Here’s an excerpt: “Many people fear that Bitcoin is overpriced right now. This view is held even by people in the Bitcoin community who worry that a move from $15 to $93 in three months is not good for long-term viability. A crash could bring down the currency unit in devastating ways, leading to another round of debunking and clucking from the advocates of government money.” It’s fascinating to see this discussion in retrospect. And it’s true that many thought Bitcoin was overvalued at the time. It had just increased 6x in three months. Calls of “bubble” had already begun. But Tucker was bullish. “Maybe the price will keep climbing. Next month at this time, people might be kicking themselves for not getting in right now. My instincts right now tend in this direction. I’m seeing BTC at $250, then $500, and then $1,000 by year-end.” Jeffrey’s prediction of $1,000 Bitcoin by the end of 2013 came true. In late November Bitcoin briefly surpassed the key psychological barrier of $1k. Bitcoin has come a long way since then. Today the original cryptocurrency sports a $1.9 trillion market cap and trades at about $98,000 as I write this. It’s become a titan in the financial world. Kudos to Jeffrey Tucker for having the foresight to see it coming, and sharing it with our readers. But while Bitcoin itself continues to dominate headlines, one company’s bold strategy has captivated Wall Street and Main Street alike... The Curious Case of Microstrategy MicroStrategy Inc. (MSTR) has been grabbing a lot of headlines recently. The company has raised huge amounts of convertible debt to purchase Bitcoins. So far they’ve bought an incredible 423,650 Bitcoins, for a total value of about $41 billion at $98,000/BTC. Their average purchase price is around $60,000. The curious part is that Microstrategy stocks currently have a market cap of $91 billion, and only have about $41 billion worth of BTC. The underlying company isn’t worth much, perhaps a few billion. It’s basically just a vehicle that raises debt to buy Bitcoin. So why are they trading at more than 2x the value of the Bitcoin the company holds? Previously, I would have explained this by the fact that Bitcoin ETFs were unavailable, so people are just looking for a stock to play it. But that explanation no longer flies with the widespread availability of cheap ETFs. Now I think the market has simply gotten ahead of itself with regards to MSTR. It’s overvalued compared to Bitcoin at this point, and I would avoid it. Those who want to buy Bitcoin in a stock account should just buy the Fidelity (FBTC) or iShares (IBIT) ETF. If Bitcoin has a significant correction, MSTR will likely move sharply lower. And I don’t see it outperforming the underlying cryptocurrency going forward. Not worth the risk. The Trump Factor The importance of Trump winning for crypto cannot be overstated. Gary Gensler, the anti-crypto SEC head, has already announced he will resign on inauguration day. Trump has signaled that he will create a US Bitcoin Reserve Fund, consisting of the 210,000 confiscated BTC owned by the federal government. Those are coins that would have otherwise been dumped on the market, so this alone will have a significant impact. Trump also plans to end the crackdown on crypto companies, which has been a major problem for the last 4 years. With US debt and deficits soaring higher, and another wave of inflation almost certain, the stage is set for a continuing bull market in crypto.

CARSON, Calif. — Joseph Paintsil and Dejan Joveljic scored in the first half, and the LA Galaxy won their record sixth MLS Cup championship with a 2-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls on Saturday. After striking twice in the first 13 minutes of the final with goals from their star forwards, the Galaxy nursed their lead through a scoreless second half to raise their league's biggest trophy for the first time since 2014. MLS' most successful franchise struggled through most of the ensuing decade, even finishing 26th in the 29-team league last year. But the Galaxy turned everything around this season with a high-scoring new lineup that finished second in the Western Conference and then streaked through the playoffs with a whopping 18 goals in five games to win another crown. Sean Nealis scored for the seventh-seeded Red Bulls, whose improbable charge through the playoffs ended one win shy of its first Cup championship. With the league's youngest roster, New York fell just short of becoming the lowest-seeded team to win MLS' playoff tournament under first-year German coach Sandro Schwarz. Galaxy goalkeeper John McCarthy made four saves to win his second MLS title in three seasons. He was the MVP of the 2022 MLS Cup Final for the Galaxy's crosstown rival, Los Angeles FC. The Galaxy won this title without perhaps their most important player. Riqui Puig, the playmaking midfielder from Barcelona who ran their offense impressively all season long, tore a ligament in his knee last week in the Western Conference final. Puig watched the game in a suit, but his teammates hadn't forgotten him: After his replacement, Gastón Brugman, set up LA's opening goal with a superb pass, Paintsil held up Puig's jersey to their fans during the celebration. Paintsil put the Galaxy ahead in the ninth minute when he ran onto that sublime pass from Brugman and pounded home his 14th MLS goal — including four in the playoffs — in the Ghanaian forward's outstanding first season. Just four minutes later, Joveljic sprinted past four New York defenders and chipped home the 21st goal of his outstanding year as the Galaxy's striker. Nealis got New York on the scoreboard in the 28th minute when he volleyed home a ball that got loose in LA's penalty area after a corner. The Galaxy's usually shaky defense gave up another handful of good chances before reaching halftime with a tenuous lead. The second half was lively, but scoreless. Red Bulls captain Emil Forsberg hit the outside of the post in the 72nd minute, while Gabriel Pec and Galaxy substitute Marco Reus nearly converted chances a few moments later. The ball got loose again in the Galaxy's penalty area in the third minute of extra time, but two Red Bulls couldn't finish. The Galaxy bench rushed onto the field and prematurely celebrated a victory in the seventh minute of injury time, only to be herded back off for another 30 seconds of play. The Galaxy finished 17-0-3 this season at their frequently renamed suburban stadium, where the sellout crowd of 26,812 for the final included several robust cheering sections of traveling Red Bulls supporters hoping to see their New Jersey-based club's breakthrough on MLS' biggest stage. The Galaxy's Greg Vanney became the fourth coach to win an MLS title with two clubs. The former Galaxy player also won it all with Toronto in 2017. The club famous for employing global stars from David Beckham and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Robbie Keane and Javier "Chicharito" Hernández rebuilt itself this season with lesser-known young talents from around the world. The Galaxy signed Pec from Brazil and the Ghanaian Paintsil out of Belgium, and the duo combined with incumbent Serbian striker Joveljic to form a potent attack that could outscore almost any MLS opponent. But the Galaxy also relied heavily on Puig, their Catalan catalyst and one of MLS' best players. Puig stayed in last week's game after injuring his knee, and he even delivered the decisive pass to Joveljic for the game's only goal. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!

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FILE PHOTO: South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun attends a joint press conference during a 2+2 meeting, at the State Department in Washington, U.S., October 31, 2024. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo SEOUL - South Korean prosecutors on Sunday questioned ex-Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun over his alleged role in President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law on Tuesday, Yonhap News Agency said. Kim voluntarily appeared at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office for questioning at around 1:30 a.m. on Sunday (1630 GMT on Saturday), the report said. The office was not immediately available for comments. Kim, who offered his resignation on Wednesday, was seen as a central figure in Tuesday's brief martial law declaration. A senior military official and filings to impeach Yoon by opposition members said Kim had made the proposal to Yoon. Yoon survived an impeachment vote in parliament on Saturday, prompted by his short-lived attempt to impose martial law, but the leader of his own party said the president would eventually have to step down. Three minority opposition parties filed a complaint with the prosecution against Yoon, Kim and martial law commander Park An-su, accusing them of treason. Kim faces a travel ban as prosecutors investigate, Yonhap said. The national police are also investigating claims of treason against Yoon and top ministers. Yoon shocked the nation on Tuesday night when he gave the military sweeping emergency powers to root out what he called "anti-state forces" and obstructionist political opponents. He rescinded the order six hours later, after parliament defied military and police cordons to vote unanimously against the decree. Yoon's martial law declaration plunged South Korea, Asia's fourth-largest economy and a key U.S. military ally, into its greatest political crisis in decades, threatening to shatter the country's reputation as a democratic success story. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you. Read 3 articles and stand to win rewards Spin the wheel nowAnnamayya district Superintendent of Police V. Vidyasagar Naidu has said that measures have been implemented to check smuggling of rice. Raids were conducted at various rice mills in Rayachoti, Madanapalle and Rajampeta sub-divisions on December 8 (Sunday) night. These operations, which employed technology, were executed in collaboration with special teams from the police, revenue and civil supplies departments. The SP said 157 cases involving Public Distribution System (PDS) rice have been reported from the district and 336 individuals have been apprehended during raids, with the seizure of 7,971.385 quintals of rice. This confiscated rice was returned to government custody. Additionally, 16 tonnes of PDS rice that had been unlawfully stored in rice mills and godowns in Kalakada have been seized. A case has been registered, and the stock has been shifted to the Civil Supplies Department’s godown at Kalakada. The SP said that the information regarding the individuals involved in the malpractice was being collected, and appropriate legal actions would be taken. These inspections are driven by reports indicating that certain individuals were misappropriating the PDS rice for gain, he added. Published - December 10, 2024 04:24 am IST Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit