Sunday, December 21

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Decades of brutal Assad dynasty rule are at an end – but there are dark clouds on the horizon for Syria | World News
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Decades of brutal Assad dynasty rule are at an end – but there are dark clouds on the horizon for Syria | World News

It's over. Fifty-four years of brutal Assad dynasty rule has come to an end.The streets of Damascus have erupted in celebration. President Bashar al Assad has fled the country and the capital has fallen. What comes next is of great concern. Syria is deeply divided, geographically and socially. This is a moment of huge peril.Once the euphoria cools there will be deep hatred and anger towards former Assad loyalists after decades of murderous rule. Containing that will be difficult.Who governs Syria is unknown. Syria latest: President Assad reported to have fled Image: An image of Syrian President Bashar al Assad riddled with bullets in Hama, Syria. Pic: AP Multiple rebel groups control different parts of the country and, we a...
Stan Grant grapples with disappointment of Voice referendum in new book
World News

Stan Grant grapples with disappointment of Voice referendum in new book

Stan Grant told Saturday Morning The Voice was a modest proposal to enshrine Aboriginal Australians into the constitution. Photo: Harper Collins Australian journalist Stan Grant's new book Murriyang Song of Time is a response to the 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum. Grant is a Wiradjuri first nations Australian with a long broadcasting career, reporting extensively from around the world for more than three decades. Grant told Saturday Morning The Voice was a modest proposal to enshrine Aboriginal Australians into the constitution. "It sought to put into the constitution the acknowledgement of First Nations people, as the first peoples, which is obviously unquestioned. "And then to form an administrative body, one that would have no veto power, would control no money, would n...
Two distant wars changed Syria’s fortune. What comes next is impossible to know
World News

Two distant wars changed Syria’s fortune. What comes next is impossible to know

Syria has been in the grip of a horrifically brutal dictatorship for decades. Photo: AFP / Omar Haj Kadour By Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Analysis - In every crisis lies opportunity, and in every opportunity lurks crisis. The startling advance of Syria's opposition in a week is the unintended consequence of two other conflicts, one near and one far. It leaves several key US allies with a new and largely unknown Islamist-led force, governing swathes of their strategic neighbour - if not most of it, given the pace of events, by the time you read this. Syria has absorbed so much diplomatic oxygen in the past 20 years, it is fitting this week of sweeping change popped up as if from a vacuum. Since the invasion of Iraq, the US has struggled to find a policy for Syria that could accommodate the vas...
As Assad falls, the power dynamics of this troubled, volatile region will utterly change | World News
Business

As Assad falls, the power dynamics of this troubled, volatile region will utterly change | World News

Seismic is an overused word. Not when it comes to events currently under way in Syria, a country straddling the fault lines of the Middle East. The collapse of the Assad regime will be the most significant event yet in the upheaval that's followed the 7 October attacks by Hamas in Israel last year. Syria latest: President Assad reported to have fled SyriaIt will be the end of a brutal reign of terror that has lasted since the Assad family under patriarch Hafez Assad seized power in the early 1970s. And the end of a devastating civil war that has raged since 2011.The Assads maintained their grip on Syria with diabolical cynicism. They used massacre and torture, chemical weapons and barrel bombs to secure their rule for almost five decades. But they also cleverly leveraged their country's pi...
Live: Syrian army command tells officers that Assad’s rule has ended, officer says
World News

Live: Syrian army command tells officers that Assad’s rule has ended, officer says

People stand atop a toppled statue of Syria’s late president Hafez al-Assad in Damascus on December 8, 2024. Islamist-led rebels declared that they have taken Damascus in a lightning offensive on on December 8, sending President Bashar al-Assad fleeing and ending five decades of Baath rule in Syria. Photo: LOUAI BESHARA / AFP By Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Timour Azhari, Reuters Syria's army command notified officers on Sunday that President Bashar al-Assad's 24-year authoritarian rule has ended, a Syrian officer who was informed of the move told Reuters, following a rapid rebel offensive that took the world by surprise. Syrian rebels, who said Damascus was "now free of Assad", are expected to broadcast their first statement to the Syrian people on state television, two rebel sources said. ...
Aamir Khan – a Bollywood icon redefining what it means to be a star | Ents & Arts News
Business

Aamir Khan – a Bollywood icon redefining what it means to be a star | Ents & Arts News

Aamir Khan, often hailed as Bollywood's Tom Cruise, has built a reputation not just as an actor, director and producer but as a true change-maker in Indian cinema.Known for tackling pressing social issues, his films have long been a catalyst for shifting perspectives in Bollywood. His latest project, The Lost Ladies, is no exception, with a comedic twist that's earned a spot in the BAFTA race and been selected for the Oscars' international category. Image: The Lost Ladies is both funny and thought-provoking Image: Pics: Aamir Khan Productions The film, directed by his ex-wife Kiran Rao, tells the story of two men who mistakenly bring home the wrong brides ...
Pair of Judy Garland’s ruby slippers from ‘The Wizard of Oz’ sell at auction for $28 million
World News

Pair of Judy Garland’s ruby slippers from ‘The Wizard of Oz’ sell at auction for $28 million

The ruby slippers are one of the most beloved artefacts from the iconic 1939 movie. Photo: AFP / Karen Bleier By Maria Sole Campinoti, CNN A pair of Judy Garland's ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz, which were stolen from a Minnesota museum almost 20 years ago, sold at auction for US$28 million (NZ$48m) Saturday. Bidding opened at $1.55 million and escalated quickly. According to the lot page, 25 bidders participated in the auction. Only two bidders remained toward the end, and the slippers were sold to a bidder participating over the phone. With auction house commissions, the slippers sold for a staggering US$32.5m (NZ$55.7m), nearly 11 times its estimate of US$3m (NZ$5.1). "At $32.5 million, the slippers are the most valuable cinema treasures in the world, and they helped make this ...
Kritika Kamra takes few days off from Matka King shoot to work on fashion label
Entertainment, Movies

Kritika Kamra takes few days off from Matka King shoot to work on fashion label

While acting provides her with creative satisfaction, Kritika Kamra finds fulfilment in supporting local artisans by showcasing their craftsmanship through her fashion label based in Madhya Pradesh. Currently filming Nagraj Manjule’s Matka King, which also stars Vijay Varma, the actor took time off her schedule to visit the local artisans. She adopts a hands-on approach, personally overseeing production to maintain the quality of her label’s designs.  Speaking about her dual journey, she says, “Balancing my acting career and business has been challenging yet incredibly fulfilling. I feel a deep sense of responsibility towards both worlds. On one hand, I’m creating stories that resonate with audiences, especially with Matka King, on the other, I’m building a brand that celebrates the talen...
Syrian president leaves Damascus on plane as army says his rule ends – reports | World News
Business

Syrian president leaves Damascus on plane as army says his rule ends – reports | World News

The Syrian president has fled Damascus on a plane for an unknown destination.That's according to two senior Syrian army officers speaking to the Reuters news agency and Rami Abdurrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, speaking to AP. Syria's army command has now notified officers that President Bashar al Assad's rule has ended, a Syrian officer who was informed of the move told Reuters.Hours earlier, rebels announced they had gained complete control of the key city of Homs after only a day of fighting.Their lightning offensive threatens to end Bashar al Assad's 24-year rule. Image: Rebel fighters in the Homs countryside on Saturday. Pic: Reuters Read more: Why significance of rebel assault is hugeThousands of S...
Live: Syria rebels celebrate in captured Homs, set sights on Damascus
World News

Live: Syria rebels celebrate in captured Homs, set sights on Damascus

Armed men pose for pictures near a military vehicle belonging to the Syrian regime forces and seized by anti government forces, on fire after it was hit by regime forces, in the Hama governorate. Photo: OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP By Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Timour Azhari, Reuters Syrian rebels announced they gained full control over the key city of Homs after only a day of fighting, leaving President Bashar al-Assad's 24-year rule dangling by a thread as insurgents march on the capital, Damascus. 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, wh...