Author: Reporter

President Joe Biden said on December 8 that the sudden collapse of the Syrian government under Bashar Assad was an overdue and “fundamental act of justice” after decades of repression, but it was also “a moment of risk and uncertainty” for the Middle East. President Biden spoke at the White House hours after after rebel groups completed a takeover of the country following more than a dozen years of violent civil war and decades of leadership by Assad and his family. President Biden said the United States was monitoring reports of the whereabouts of Assad, with Russian state media...

The Syrian government collapsed early on December 8, falling to a lightning rebel offensive that seized control of the capital of Damascus and sent crowds into the streets to celebrate the end of the Assad family’s 50 years of iron rule. Syrian state television aired a video statement by a group of men saying that President Bashar Assad had been overthrown and all prisoners had been set free. The man who read the statement said the opposition group, known as the Operations Room to Conquer Damascus, called on all rebel fighters and citizens to preserve the institutions of “the...

Syrian President Bashar Assad fled the country on December 8, bringing to a dramatic close his nearly 14-year struggle to hold onto control as his country fragmented in a brutal civil war that became a proxy battlefield for regional and international powers. Assad’s exit stood in stark contrast to his first months as Syria’s unlikely president in 2000, when many hoped he would be a young reformer after three decades of his father’s iron grip. Only 34 years old, the Western-educated ophthalmologist appeared as a geeky tech-savvy fan of computers with a gentle demeanor. But when faced with protests...

Half a century of rule by the Assad family in Syria crumbled with astonishing speed after insurgents burst out of a rebel-held enclave and converged on the capital, Damascus, taking city after city in a matter of days. Opposition forces swept across the country and entered Damascus with little or no resistance as the Syrian army melted away. President Bashar Assad, Syria’s ruler for 24 years — succeeding his father, Hafez Assad — was reported to have fled the country for an undisclosed location. It is a stunning development in Syria’s devastating 13-year conflict. Anti-government protests in 2011 met...

The U.S. Commerce Department has expanded the list of Chinese technology companies subject to export controls to include many that make equipment used to make computer chips, chipmaking tools, and software. The 140 companies newly included in the so-called “entity list” are nearly all based in China. But some are Chinese-owned businesses in Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. The revised rules were posted on December 1 on the website of the U.S. Federal Register for publication later. They also limit exports of high-bandwidth memory chips to China. Such chips are needed to process massive amounts of data in advanced...