For today, links to four reports: from Reuters, National Public Radio, and Middle East Eye, and to commentary via Consortium News, and to an imaginary conversation from ScheerPost; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names below. (UKRAINE and GAZA entries for this date, so far, are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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After Assad’s ouster, rebel leader tightens his grip on the state. From Reuters. Rebel leader Ahmad al-Sharaa’s Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is stamping its authority on Syria’s state with the same lightning speed that it seized the country, deploying police, installing an interim government and meeting foreign envoys — raising concerns . . . READ MORE . . .

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Doubts remain as Syria’s new prime minister promises the country will be inclusive. Reported by Hadeel Al-Shalchi and Steve Inskeep | NPR  Syrians living inside and outside their country are trying to figure out what comes next after the Assad regime fell. We hear from Syrians along the road from Lebanon to Damascus. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Demoralised and abandoned by allies: why Assad’s army failed to fight in Syria. From Reuters. DAMASCUS / AMMAN/ BAGHDAD — For years, the Islamist rebels of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) had sat behind the frontline in the city of Idlib, with Syria’s long civil war frozen. But on Wednesday, Nov. 27 . . . READ MORE . . .

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Did the U.S. fund the Syrian rebels that toppled Assad? From Middle East Eye. After Syrian opposition forces led an offensive that rapidly swept through Syria’s major cities in a matter of weeks and ultimately led to the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government, U.S. President Joe Biden publicly took credit for the rebel takeover. “Our approach . . . READ MORE . . .

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Assad’s legacy, by John Wight | Medium / Consortium News  There are already emerging reports of Islamist gangs in Homs, Syria’s country’s third largest city, seeking out and slaughtering members of the city’s Shia community along with former Syrian army soldiers and officers. Scenes of celebration over Assad’s departure are giving way to the grim realities of life under Salafi-jihadism. READ MORE . . .

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FROM DEC. 6  The end of pluralism in the Middle East, by Craig Murray | CraigMurray.org.uk / Consortium News  BEIRUT — A truly seismic change in the Middle East has occurred.  At its heart is a devil’s bargain – Turkey and the Gulf States accept the annihilation of the Palestinian nation and creation of a Greater Israel, in return for the annihilation of the Shia minorities of Syria and Lebanon and the imposition of Salafism across the Eastern Arab world. READ MORE . . .

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FROM DEC. 10  Mr. President, isn’t your ‘friend’ a terrorist? Robert Scheer of ScheerPost in the role of President Biden and Ray McGovern, who was the CIA’s daily briefer to a succession of U.S. presidents, as himself as if he had not retired. In another imaginary “briefing,” they discuss some of the latest events. Click HERE to listen and watch.

For today, links to four reports: from the Associated Press, the Kyiv Independent, Time magazine, and Reuters; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA and SYRIA entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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Russian forces edge closer to a key eastern Ukraine city in ‘intense’ fighting, officials say, by Illia Novikov | AP  KYIV — Fighting around the key eastern Ukraine city of Pokrovsk is “extremely intense” after a monthslong Russian push, Ukraine’s top military commander said, with analysts estimating Russian forces are within just a few miles of the city. READ MORE . . .

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Trump hints he won’t ‘abandon’ Kyiv but opposes Ukraine launching U.S. missiles inside Russia, by Martin Fornusek | The Kyiv Independent  U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said he “very vehemently” disagrees with Ukraine using U.S.-made missiles to strike targets “hundreds of miles” inside Russia, the Time magazine reported today. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for interview from Time.

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FROM DEC. 11  Russia could launch another hypersonic missile at Ukraine, U.S. official says. From Reuters. WASHINGTON — Russia could launch another hypersonic ballistic missile in Ukraine in the coming days, but Washington does not consider the Oreshnik weapon a game-changer in the war, a US official said on Wednesday. READ MORE . . .

For today, links to four reports: from the Associated Press and Reuters; others are accessible by clicking on their names and initials below. (SYRIA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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Israeli strikes on Gaza kill at least 29, Palestinian medics say, by Samy Magdy and Wafaa Shurafa | AP  DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli strikes pounded the Gaza Strip overnight and into today, hitting a home where displaced people were sheltering in the isolated north and a built-up refugee camp. At least 29 people were killed, according to Palestinian health officials. The Israel-Hamas war has raged on with no end in sight . . . Click HERE for AP report including map, and HERE for report from Reuters.

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Humanitarian aid to northern Gaza mostly blocked for the last 2 months, UN says. From AP. UNITED NATIONS — Humanitarian aid to north Gaza, where Israel launched a ground offensive on Oct. 6, has largely been blocked for the past 66 days, leaving between 65,000 and 75,000 Palestinians without access to food, water, electricity or health care the United Nations said Tuesday. READ MORE . . .

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These Palestinians disappeared after encounters with Israeli troops in Gaza, by Wafaa Shurafa, Sarah el Deeb and Julia Frankel | AP  DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Reem Ajour says she last saw her husband, Talal, and then 4-year-old daughter, Masaa, in March, when Israeli soldiers raided a family home in northern Gaza and ordered her to go, leaving them — both wounded — behind. The Israeli legal group Hamoked says thousands like them . . . READ MORE . . .

For today, links to reports from the Associated Press and Reuters; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA and SYRIA entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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2 Ukrainian women are pulled alive from Russian missile strike, by Illia Novikov | AP  KYIV — Rescue crews working through the night pulled two women from rubble more than seven hours after a Russian missile struck a private medical clinic in the southern Ukraine city of Zaporizhzhia, killing eight people and wounding 22 others, authorities said today. READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine strikes Russian port, claims oil depot hit. From Reuters. MOSCOW — Ukraine struck a southern Russian port on the Azov Sea with missiles and triggered a fire at an oil depot in the western Bryansk region with drones, officials and various media and sources said. The extent of . . . READ MORE . . .

For today, links to five reports from National Public Radio, and to commentary from Consortium News, Indian Punchline, and Substack; others are accessible by clicking on its initials below. (GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE. SYRIA, 12-10-24, entry is HERE.) — MCM

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FROM DEC. 10  NPR reports from Syria: The atmosphere in Damascus and the horrors of Saydnaya prison. Reported by Ruth Sherlock | NPR  In Syria, people have known that one wrong step could land them in trouble with the government. For the first time in more than half a century, Syrians are experiencing life without that shadow. Click HERE to listen and read.

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FROM DEC. 10  Who is the leader of Syria’s rebels? What to know about Abu Mohammed al-Golani. Reported by Willem Marx | NPR  As a new form of government starts to take shape in Syria, the armed group that led efforts to topple former President Bashar al-Assad will play a significant role. Its head may act as a power broker. Click HERE to listen and read.

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FROM DEC. 10  What could happen to the chemical weapons in Syria. Reported by Tom Bowman | NPR  The news in Syria has raised immediate questions about the fate of Assad’s stockpiles of chemical weapons and the continued presence of U.S. forces fighting the Islamic State in the northeast. Click HERE to listen and read.

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FROM DEC. 10  Israel takes credit, in part, for the fall of the Assad regime. But what now? Reported by Michele Kelemen | NPR  Soon after Bashar al-Assad’s regime fell in Syria, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Israel paved the way for the uprising by its attacks on Iran and its proxies. Click HERE to listen and read.

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FROM DEC. 10  After celebrations, Syria faces an uncertain future. Jane Arraf of NPR, who crossed over the Jordanian border into Syria on Tuesday morning, speaks with Michel Martin soon afterward from the countryside of Daraa, where the Syrian civil war began in 2011. Click HERE to listen and read.

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FROM DEC. 9  Syria now, by As`ad AbuKhalil | Special to Consortium News  This moment in Syrian history was inevitable: the Hafiz (Hafiz) al-Assad, and his son Bashar Assad’s regime was destined to collapse. It is gone Ba’th Party rule in the Arab world, which is now also gone, proved to be an abysmal . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM DEC. 8  Winners and losers in Syria, by M.K. Bhadrakumar | Indian Punchline  Iran and Russia are the two big losers in the ouster of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday. The Arab oligarchies of the Gulf region are full of trepidation over the surge of a variant of political Islam. Israel and Turkey are the biggest winners, having established . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM DEC. 10  The fall of Bashar Assad, and my encounters with the Syrian dictator, by Seymour M. Hersh | Substack  Damascus, considered to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world, is steeped in charm, beauty, and history. One could not imagine in the spring of 2003 what was to come. READ MORE . . .

For today, links to two articles of commentary from Middle East Eye, the first with a video, the other with a map. Sandwiched between them are nine reports: from the Associated Press (the second with map), Middle East Eye, Reuters, Middle East Monitor, and Kyiv Post. Other published material is accessible by clicking on the sources’ names or initials below. (GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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Is the Arab Spring back from the dead? by David Hearst | Middle East Eye  Books have been written, and careers forged, on the premise that this foolishly optimistic yearning for democracy is dead. Throughout this prolonged funeral, Syria was held as the object lesson that the Arab world was told to avoid. Click HERE for article and a video.

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Thousands scour Syria’s most horrific prison but find no sign of their loved ones, by Sarah el Deeb | AP  SAYDNAYA, Syria — The first place tens of thousands of Syrians rushed to after the fall of their longtime tormentor, former President Bashar Assad, was here: Saydnaya Prison, a place so notorious for its horrors it was long known as “the slaughterhouse.” READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Middle East Eye.

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Israeli warplanes pound Syria as troops reportedly advance deeper into the country, by Abdulrahman Shaheen, Bassem Mroue and Melanie Lidman | AP  DAMASCUS — Israel carried out a wave of heavy airstrikes across Syria as its troops advanced deeper into the country, a Syrian opposition war monitor said today. Israel denied its forces were advancing toward Damascus after they pushed into a buffer zone inside Syria following the overthrow of President Bashar Assad. READ MORE . . .

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Israel pounds Syrian army bases, denies further incursion, by Maya Gebeily and Timour Azhari | Reuters  DAMASCUS Israel pounded Syrian army bases today in strikes it says aim to keep weapons from falling into hostile hands, but denied its forces had advanced into Syria beyond . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Middle East Monitor.

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Moscow evacuates troops by air and sea as Syrian base faces siege. From Kyiv Post. Russia has begun a large-scale withdrawal from Syria, using military aircraft and naval vessels to evacuate troops and equipment. The primary route out, says Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate, is via . . . READ MORE . . .

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Mohammed al-Bashir: Who is Syria’s new interim prime minister? From Middle East Eye. Mohammed al-Bashir, the head of the administration that ran Idlib in northwest Syria, has been appointed as the country’s interim prime minister following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad. READ MORE . . .

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FROM DEC. 9  As Israel advances on a Syrian buffer zone, it sees peril and opportunity, by Melanie Lidman | AP  TEL AVIV — The dramatic downfall of Syrian President Bashar Assad presents possible danger, and an opening, for neighboring Israel. Click HERE for article and map.

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Here’s how the U.S. is countering the Islamic State group during Syria’s upheaval, by Lolita C. Baldor | AP  WASHINGTON — Massive U.S. airstrikes on Islamic State militants in Syria were meant in part as . . . READ MORE . . .

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Mount Hermon: Why control of Syria’s highest peak matters, by Alex MacDonald | Middle East Eye  Israel has occupied the Golan Heights since the 1967 war with Syria. Between 1974 and 2024 the territory was divided between areas controlled by Israel and areas controlled by Syria, split by a buffer zone. On Sunday . . . Click HERE for article and map.

For today, a link to just one report: from the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on its initials below. (UKRAINE and SYRIA entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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Israeli forces kill at least 34 people in Gaza, rescue workers say, by Nidal al-Mughrabi | Reuters  CAIRO — Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip killed at least 34 Palestinians overnight and today, medics said, as Israeli tanks pushed into areas in central and southern parts of the enclave. READ MORE . . .

For today, links to four reports: from Agence France-Presse, the Associated Press, and the Kyiv Independent, and to commentary from the Independent; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA and SYRIA entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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3 dead in Russian strikes on east, south Ukraine. From AFP. Three people were killed and more than a dozen wounded in Russian attacks on southern and eastern Ukraine over the past 24 hours, authorities said today. READ MORE . . .

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Biden is rushing aid to Ukraine. Both sides are digging in. And everyone is bracing for Trump, by Ellen Knickmeyer, Illia Novikov and Aamer Madhani | AP  WASHINGTON — The grinding war between Ukraine and its Russian invaders has escalated ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration, with President Joe Biden rushing out billions of dollars more in military aid before U.S. support for Kyiv’s defenses is thrown into question . . . READ MORE . . .

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Negotiations over the war in Ukraine could start ‘in the winter,’ Poland’s leader Tusk says. From AP. WARSAW — Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said today that negotiations over the war in neighboring Ukraine could start “in winter,” as his country prepares to take over the rotating presidency of the European Union on Jan. 1. READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine won’t trade young soldiers’ lives for better weapons, Zelensky says, by Abbey Fenbert | The Kyiv Independent  Responding to pressure from U.S. officials and other Western allies to lower its draft age from 25 to 18 in order to mobilize more troops, President Volodomyr Zelensky said Monday that . . . READ MORE . . .

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What does Assad’s downfall mean for Russia and Ukraine? by Oleg Sukhov | The Kyiv Independent  As Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s regime collapsed in a matter of days, Russia’s influence in the Middle East appeared to wane. Preoccupied . . . READ MORE . . .

For today, a link to a report from the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on its initials below. (UKRAINE and SYRIA entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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FROM DEC. 8 Gaza health officials say latest Israeli airstrikes kill at least 14 including children, by Wafaa Shurafa and Samy Magdy | AP  DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli airstrikes in central Gaza killed at least 14 people including children Sunday, Palestinian health officials said, while the bombing of a hospital in northern Gaza wounded a half-dozen patients. READ MORE . . .

For today, links to six reports: from the Associated Press, Reuters, the Kyiv Independent, Agence France-Presse, and Tass; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA and SYRIA entries are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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Trump calls for immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and says a U.S. withdrawal from NATO is possible, by Joanna Kozlowska and Ellen Knickmeyer | AP  WASHINGTON — Donald Trump on Sunday pushed Russian leader Vladimir Putin to act to reach an immediate ceasefire with Ukraine, describing it as part of his active efforts as president-elect to end the war despite being weeks from taking office. READ MORE . . .

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Zelenskiy seeks diplomatic end to Russia’s war, floats role for foreign troops, by Yuliia Dysa and Tom Balmforth | Reuters  KYIV — President Volodymyr Zelenskiy made the case today for a diplomatic settlement to Russia’s war in Ukraine and raised the idea of foreign troops being deployed in his country until it could join the NATO military alliance. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from the Kyiv Independent.

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FROM DEC. 8  Trump says Zelensky is ready for ‘deal’ with Russia. From AFP. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Sunday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is keen on a “deal” to end the war with Russia, after the pair met in Paris to discuss the future of the conflict. On Saturday, French President . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia open to negotiating Ukraine settlement, unlike Kiev regime — senior diplomat. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russia is ready to talk about settling the Ukraine conflict, but sees nothing but stonewalling from the Kiev regime and its Western handlers, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said.  READ MORE . . .

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Situation in Russia’s Kursk Region. From Tass. MOSCOW — The Ukrainian armed forces have lost more than 200 troops in the Kursk area over the past day, the Russian Defense Ministry said. READ MORE . . .