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A portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is pictured with its frame broken, in a Syrian regime's Political Security Branch facility on the outskirts of the central city of Hama, following the capture of the area by anti-government forces, on 7 December 2024. Photo: OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP Overthrown Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his family have arrived in Moscow after being granted asylum in Russia, according to Russian state media TASS, citing a source in the Kremlin. "Assad and his family have arrived in Moscow. Russia, for humanitarian reasons, has granted them asylum," the Kremlin source said, according to TASS Meanwhile, Syrian rebel forces reached additional cells in the notorious Saydnaya prison on Sunday, freeing more prisoners from inhumane conditions after seizing ...

By Sophie Tanno, Nic Robertson, Madalena Araujo, Catherine Nicholls and Mostafa Salem, CNN File photo. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, left, talks to Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting in Moscow, Russia. om 2022.. Photo: AFP As many in Syria celebrated the end of the long rule of Bashar al-Assad, rumours swirled about his whereabouts. After a day of intrigue, the mystery was solved when Russian state media announced he had landed in Moscow. "Assad and his family have arrived in Moscow. Russia, for humanitarian reasons, has granted them asylum," a Kremlin source said, according to TASS. Since the uprising began, and the rebels rapidly advanced through the country, Assad had kept a low profile. After meeting with Iran's foreign minister last weekend, he pledged to fig...

By Maher Al Mounes for AFP A man sits in an armchair outside of the Tishrin residential palace of Syria's ousted president Bashar al-Assad. Photo: AFP / Omar Haj Kadour Roaming the opulent Damascus home of ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, Abu Omar felt a sense of giddy defiance being in the residence of the man he said had long oppressed him. "I am taking pictures, because I am so happy to be here in the middle of his house," said the 44-year-old, showing photographs he took on his mobile phone. He was among the dozens an AFP correspondent saw entering Assad's home after Assad fled the country -- to Moscow according to Russian news agencies -- as rebels took control of the capital in an 11-day lightning offensive. The swift campaign by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS...

By Ashley R. Williams, Gloria Pazmino, Evan Perez, Mark Morales, Brynn Gingras, Shimon Prokupecz and Ryan Young, CNNAs the investigation into the fatal shooting of a health care executive in Manhattan enters its fifth day, police are missing key pieces of evidence and are combing through what they have gathered for more clues, as the suspect remains on the run.The New York Police Department is working with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies across the country to search for the suspect, with the public being encouraged with rewards. Two new photos released by police show the suspect masked with a hood in the backseat of a vehicle and wearing a jacket walking on the street.While authorities say they believe the suspect has long left New York City after fatally shooting UnitedHealthca...

By Simone McCarthy, CNN A portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is pictured with its frame broken, in a Syrian regime's Political Security Branch facility on the outskirts of the central city of Hama, following the capture of the area by anti-government forces, on December 7, 2024. Photo: OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP Syria's iron-fisted leader Bashar al-Assad is the second generation of an autocratic family dynasty that held power for more than five decades and his disappearance amid a lightning rebel advance signals an astonishing reordering of power in a strategically vital Middle Eastern nation. Assad is known for a brutal rule over Syria, which since 2011 has been devastated by a civil war that ravaged the country and turned it into a breeding ground for extremist group ISIS, whi...