Deposed former Syrian president Bashar Alassad released a statement regarding the circumstances of his exit from Syria: [click to expand]:

Moscow - December 16, 2024

With the expansion of terrorism in Syria, and its arrival in the capital Damascus on the evening of Saturday, December 7, 2024, questions began to be raised about the fate and location of the president, amidst a torrent of confusion and stories far from the truth, which constituted support for the process of installing international terrorism as a Syrian liberation revolution.

At a critical historical moment in the life of the nation, when truth should have a place, there is something that needs to be clarified through a brief statement. These circumstances and the subsequent complete cessation of communication for security reasons did not allow for it to be made, and its brief points do not replace the narration of the details of everything that happened later, when the opportunity arises.

First of all, I did not leave the country in a planned manner as was rumored, nor did I leave it during the last hours of the battles, but rather I remained in Damascus following up on my responsibilities until the early morning hours of Sunday, December 8, 2024. With the expansion of terrorism inside Damascus, I moved in coordination with my Russian friends to Latakia to follow up on the combat operations from there. Upon arriving at the Hmeimim base in the morning, it became clear that the forces had withdrawn from all the battle lines and that the last army positions had fallen, with the deterioration of the field situation in that area increasing, and the attack on the Russian military base itself being escalated by drones. In light of the impossibility of leaving the base in any direction, Moscow asked the base leadership to work on securing immediate evacuation to Russia on the evening of Sunday, December 8, the day after the fall of Damascus, and after the fall of the last military positions and the subsequent paralysis of the rest of the state institutions.

During those events, the issue of asylum or resignation was not raised by me or by any person or party, and the only option presented was to continue fighting in defense of the terrorist attack.

In this context, I emphasize that whoever, since the first day of the war, refused to trade his country's salvation for personal salvation, or to bargain with his people with various offers and temptations, is the same person who stood with the officers and soldiers of his army on the front lines, dozens of meters away from the terrorists in the hottest and most dangerous hotbeds of conflict, and is the same person who did not leave during the most difficult years of the war and remained with his family and people to face terrorism under bombardment and the danger of terrorists storming the capital more than once during fourteen years of war. And whoever did not abandon the non-Syrian resistance in Palestine and Lebanon, and did not betray his allies who stood with him, cannot be the same person who abandons his people to whom he belongs, or betrays them and his army.

I have never been a person who seeks positions on a personal level, but rather I considered myself the owner of a national project that derived its support from a people who believed in it. I carried the certainty of the will of that people and their ability to preserve their state and defend its institutions and choices until the last moment. With the fall of the state into the hands of terrorism, and the loss of the ability to provide anything, the position becomes empty and meaningless, and there is no meaning to remaining responsible in it. This does not mean in any way abandoning the authentic national affiliation to Syria and its people, a fixed affiliation that is not changed by position or circumstance, a affiliation filled with hope that Syria will return free and independent.



🇨🇳 China's skies witness the first sighting of the 6th-generation fighter jet during a test flight.

The aircraft, said to have made its maiden flight on December 20, draws attention with its delta-wing design.

🔴 🇮🇱Israeli naval commandos intercepted a boat heading for Gaza following a 40-minute pursuit at sea.

How China Built the World’s Biggest Train Station on Top of a Mountain (mind boggling engineering feat)

Welcome to Chongqing East Station: China's $7.8 billion high-speed rail megaproject. 1.22 million square metres. 40,000 peak workers. A 16,500-tonne steel tube truss roof assembled on the ground and hydraulically slid 57 metres upward onto 41-metre tree-shaped "Huangjue" columns.

🔺How 40,000 workers built a 1.22M m² station in just 38 months on a mountain
🔺The sliding assembly method — why the 16,500-tonne roof was built on the ground first.
🔺The Huangjue tree columns — 41-metre branching steel structures designed for earthquake resistance
🔺Stainless steel cladding installation at 57 metres above a mountain slope
🔺Why Chongqing East Station is now the largest railway hub in the world
🔺The high-speed rail network connecting Southwest China to 14 major cities

Soldier returns home as the only survivor of his Muslim village, Bosnia 1995.

Footage from the attacks on the command post of the 226th Division of the Israeli army on Al-Bayyadah Hill and other military positions in the area. Hizbullah also used an FPV drone to take down the Israeli flag in another attack.

🇺🇸⚡🇮🇷 The Navy has placed directed energy systems on nine ships and is working to expand testing and employment in the fleet,” a U.S. Navy official told TWZ.

However, the official declined to discuss current operations when asked if the systems have been employed in the Middle East.

Nine American destroyers stand at the vanguard of the U.S. Navy’s efforts to integrate laser weapons into the battlefield of the future. Lasers and other directed energy (DE) weapon systems went from an elusive dream to reality over the past decade, which TWZ has covered extensively. We’ve now compiled the most complete public accounting of the warships equipped with operational systems today, where they’re deployed, and what they can do.

Two ODIN-enabled destroyers are on combat deployments in the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility (AOR). USS Spruance (DDG-111), part of the five-ship Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and the independently deployed USS John Finn (DDG-113) are operating in the Indian Ocean supporting ongoing operations against Iran. USS Gridley (DDG-101), the only other ODIN-equipped DDG underway, is in SOUTHCOM AOR escorting aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) to her new homeport at Norfolk. The four other destroyers are at their respective homeports in San Diego and Yokosuka.

The U.S. military is moving aggressively to reduce reliance on expensive single-use munitions, and laser weapons are oft-touted as part of a long-term solution. The recently released FY2027 budget reflects the urgency, with billions appropriated for scaled directed energy research and development (R&D) programs. “DE capabilities offer an inexpensive cost-per-shot alternative to conventional systems, increased magazine depth, and enhanced defense-in-depth,” budget documents state. The volume of high-end munitions expended during Operation Epic Fury, previous engagements with Iran, and the fight in and around the Red Sea against the Houthis, not to mention the near half-decade-long war in Ukraine, has sparked debate around the status and depth of U.S. stockpiles, driving renewed interest and investment in low-cost, reusable alternatives.

Rus askerleri, Ukrayna'ya ait orta menzilli bir İHA'yı Yolka anti-dron sistemi ile düşürdü.

🇷🇺⚡️ — WATCH: Russia’s Defense Ministry released footage showing its nuclear forces carrying out recent exercises.

🇺🇦🇷🇺 Herson bölgesinde Rusya Federal Güvenlik Servisi (FSB) subaylarının karargahına saldırı düzenlendi.

🇱🇹🇺🇦🇷🇺Lithuanian schoolchildren are being told that Ukrainian drones "accidentally" fly into the country's territory, that they "just got lost"

All of this is happening in basements during air raid alerts precisely because of Ukrainian kamikaze UAVs