World
Syrian army command tells officers that Assad’s rule has ended, officer says
Syrian rebels said Damascus was “now free of Assad,” Reuters reported.
Syrian rebels said Damascus was “now free of Assad,” Reuters reported.
Earlier Assad flew out of Damascus for an unknown destination on Sunday, two senior army officers told Reuters, as rebels said they had entered the capital with no sign of army deployments.
Thousands in cars and on foot congregated at a main square in Damascus waving and chanting “Freedom”, witnesses said.
“We celebrate with the Syrian people the news of freeing our prisoners and releasing their chains and announcing the end of the era of injustice in Sednaya prison,” said the rebels.
Sednaya is a large military prison on the outskirts Damascus where the Syrian government detained thousands.
A Syrian Air plane took off from Damascus airport around the time the capital was reported to have been taken by rebels, according to data from the Flightradar website.
The aircraft initially flew towards Syria’s coastal region, a stronghold of Assad’s Alawite sect, but then made an abrupt U-turn and flew in the opposite direction for a few minutes before disappearing off the map.
Reuters could not immediately ascertain who was on board.
The head of Syria’s main opposition group abroad Hadi al-Bahra Syrian on Sunday also declared that Damascus is now “without Bashar al-Assad”.
Just hours earlier, rebels announced they had gained full control of the key city of Homs after only a day of fighting, leaving Assad’s 24-year rule dangling by a thread.
Thousands of Homs residents poured onto the streets after the army withdrew from the central city, dancing and chanting “Assad is gone, Homs is free” and “Long live Syria and down with Bashar al-Assad”.
Rebels fired into the air in celebration, and youths tore down posters of the Syrian president, whose territorial control has collapsed in a dizzying week-long retreat by the military.
The fall of Homs gave the insurgents control over Syria’s strategic heartland and a key highway crossroads, severing Damascus from the coastal region that is the stronghold of Assad’s Alawite sect and where his Russian allies have a naval base and air base.
Homs’ capture is also a powerful symbol of the rebel movement’s dramatic comeback in the 13-year-old conflict. Swathes of Homs were destroyed by gruelling siege warfare between the rebels and the army years ago. The fighting ground down the insurgents, who were forced out.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham commander Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the main rebel leader, called the capture of Homs a historic moment and urged fighters not to harm “those who drop their arms”.
Rebels freed thousands of detainees from the city prison. Security forces left in haste after burning their documents.
Syrian rebel commander Hassan Abdul Ghani said in a statement early Sunday that operations were ongoing to “completely liberate” the countryside around Damascus and rebel forces were looking toward the capital.
In one suburb, a statue of Assad’s father, the late President Hafez al-Assad, was toppled and torn apart.
Outside the city, rebels swept across the entire southwest over 24 hours and established control.
World
Ex-U.S. President Biden’s cancer has spread, is very painful, son says
World
US Senate passes Russia sanctions championed by Graham; US House next
In a statement, the Ukrainian embassy in Washington welcomed passage, calling it “a timely and significant step that strengthens pressure on Russia.”
The U.S. Senate easily passed sweeping Russia sanctions legislation on Friday, advancing a long-delayed measure backed by late Senator Lindsey Graham and setting the stage for consideration by the House of Representatives within weeks, Reuters reported.
Graham, a South Carolina Republican who died last month, was among Kyiv’s most outspoken allies in Congress in its four-year-long war with Russia, and the bill aims to increase economic pressure on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
It also includes expanded sanctions on Iran sought by President Donald Trump as lawmakers pushed for a vote on the measure well over a year since it was introduced in 2025.
The Senate’s Republican leaders had not brought the bill up because of resistance from Trump, who had kept decisions on sanctions at the White House, not Congress, since starting his second term in January 2025.
The Senate voted 86-11 to pass the “Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026,” to sanction Russian officials and authorize stiff tariffs on China, India and other countries to reduce their dependence on Russian oil and gas.
In a statement, the Ukrainian embassy in Washington welcomed passage, calling it “a timely and significant step that strengthens pressure on Russia.”
However, broad support may not be enough to secure House passage, with some lawmakers and industries wary that new tariff powers for Trump could raise costs for U.S. importers and consumers while exposing Republicans to political blowback.
Representatives Gregory Meeks of New York and Don Beyer of Virginia said in a statement they still had “fundamental concerns” about the tariff powers for Trump, who has made them a central piece of his “America First” approach to foreign policy, read the report.
“What the bill does grant … are sweeping new tariff authorities that the president could weaponize with abandon, as he has repeatedly done in the past,” said Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Beyer, the senior Democrat on the Joint Economic Committee.
Trump’s fellow Republicans control only slim majorities in both the House and Senate.
Only one Senate Republican, Rand Paul of Kentucky, voted against the bill, likening tariffs to taxes on American consumers.
The chamber erupted into applause after Graham’s sister, Darline Graham, who was appointed to fill his seat, read out the final tally.
The Senate rejected an amendment sponsored by Paul and Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon that would have removed the tariff powers.
Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia, who also sought to change the tariff language, said he had received a written commitment from Trump’s U.S. trade representative, Jamieson Greer, to put guardrails on the tariff authorities, Reuters reported.
If it is approved by the House and signed into law by Trump, the measure would allow the president to impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries that are major consumers of Russian energy, including India, Japan and some countries in the European Union, and leave it to his discretion to lift them.
The legislation’s backers insist that the tariffs are narrow enough that they would do their intended job of reducing Russian energy revenue that funds its war on Ukraine without negative consequences.
Supporters called the legislation the best opportunity to support Ukraine, and the strong bipartisan Senate vote provided momentum for it to pass the House after it returns from its summer recess on August 31.
Graham had announced shortly before his sudden death on July 11 that he and Trump agreed finally to move forward with the legislation.
The legislation lets the president impose targeted tariffs on imported goods from countries that buy the vast majority of Russian oil or gas and enable Russia’s evasion of sanctions.
The bill limits these tariffs to the five largest importers of Russian crude oil or gas and the top five countries that aid Russia’s energy sanctions evasion. The measure includes a provision to prevent a lapse in sanctions authority that restricts funding for Iranian energy and weapons.
World
Two dead, including gunman, at school shooting in Thailand, officials sayd
The incident took place in the Bang Kruai district of Nonthaburi province. Police identified the perpetrator as a student.
At least one teacher was killed and four other people injured by a student who opened fire at a school in Thailand north of Bangkok on Friday before killing himself, authorities said, Reuters reported.
Lt. Col. Dechrapee Kongdee Nonthaburi Provincial Police Commander confirmed the casualties to Reuters and said the suspected gunman had committed suicide. Among those injured were one teacher and three students, he said.
The incident took place in the Bang Kruai district of Nonthaburi province. Police identified the perpetrator as a student.
In photos circulated by emergency workers, students streamed out of the Debsirin Nonthaburi School, on the northwestern outskirts of Bangkok, as ambulances operated. In one photo, one person is seen lying down on a stretcher outside an ambulance, while another is attended to by a medic, read the report.
In the 2025 academic year, the school had an enrollment of around 3,100 students and 147 teachers, according to district authorities.
In February a teacher died and a student was injured in southern Thailand’s Hat Yai district after a gunman opened fire at a school.
-
Sport5 days agoAfghanistan aim to strengthen ODI ranking in Ireland series
-
Latest News4 days agoKhalilzad says Pakistan needs ‘reset’ amid economic crisis and rising instability
-
Latest News4 days agoFirst Afghanistan-Ireland ODI abandoned without a ball bowled
-
Sport4 days agoAfghanistan aim for winning start against Ireland
-
Sport3 days agoAfghanistan holds Russia to 3-3 draw, earns first point at Continental Futsal Championship
-
Latest News4 days agoAfghan boxer appears in Greek court over death of Scottish woman
-
Business3 days agoUzbekistan’s Fergana region strengthens economic ties with Afghanistan
-
Regional3 days agoIran threatens to hit Gulf states if US launches new strikes
