U.S. President Joe Biden declared Sunday that the sudden demise of the Syrian government under Bashar Assad was a “fundamental act of justice,” but that it was “a moment of uncertainty” for the Mideast. Biden, speaking at the White House, said the collapse of the decades-long iron rule by the Assad family was “the best opportunity in a generation for the Syrian people to forge their own destiny.” Biden said that action by the U.S. and its allies over the last two years weakened Syria's backers — Russia, Iran and Iran-supported Hezbollah militants in Lebanon — to the extent that "for the first time" they could no longer defend the Assad government. "Our approach has shifted the balance of power in the Middle East," Biden said, after a meeting with his national security advisers at the White House. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said Sunday that Assad had fled his country, which his family had ruled for decades, because close ally Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, "was not interested in protecting him any longer." Trump’s comments on his social media platform came a day after he decried the possibility that the U.S. might intervene militarily in Syria to aid the rebels as they moved to oust Assad, declaring, "THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT." The Biden administration had no intention of intervening, according to Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan. The U.S has about 900 troops in Syria, including forces working with Kurdish allies in the opposition-held northeast to prevent any resurgence of the Islamic State group. Biden said he intends for those troops to remain, adding that U.S. forces on Sunday conducted "dozens" of what he called "precision airstrikes" on Islamic State camps and operations in Syria. Biden said the U.S. is "clear eyed" that ISIS will try to take advantage of the situation in Syria. The Syrian opposition that brought down Assad is led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. The Biden administration has designated the group as a terrorist organization and says it has links to al-Qaida, although Hayat Tahrir al-Sham says it has since broken ties with al-Qaida. "We will remain vigilant," Biden said. "Make no mistake, some of the rebel groups that took down Assad have their own grim record of terrorism and human rights abuses." He added that the groups are "saying the right things now." "But as they take on greater responsibility, we will assess not just their words, but their actions," Biden said. Trump, who takes office January 20, linked the upheaval in Syria and Russia's war in Ukraine, noting that Assad's allies in Moscow, as well as in Iran, the main sponsor of Hamas and Hezbollah, "are in a weakened state right now." Vice President-elect JD Vance, a veteran of the U.S.-led war in Iraq, wrote on his own social media Sunday to express skepticism about the insurgents. "Many of 'the rebels' are a literal offshoot of ISIS. One can hope they've moderated. Time will tell," he said. With the collapse of the Assad regime, the family of missing U.S. journalist Austin Tice renewed calls to find him. "To everyone in Syria that hears this, please remind people that we're waiting for Austin," Tice's mother, Debra, said in comments that hostage advocacy groups spread on social media. "We know that when he comes out, he's going to be fairly dazed & he's going to need lots of care & direction. Direct him to his family please!" Tice disappeared in 2012 outside Damascus. “We've remained committed to returning him to his family," Biden told reporters. "We believe he's alive, we think we can get him back, but we have no direct evidence to that yet. And Assad should be held accountable." The president added: "We have to identify where he [Tice] is." Some material in this report came from The Associated Press.AP News Summary at 3:15 p.m. ESTA pair of teams with minimal rest will face off in Nassau, Bahamas, on Sunday when No. 22 St. John takes on Georgia. St. John's (5-1), which will play its third game in four days, began the stretch in the Bahamas Championship on Thursday, dropping a heartbreaker to No. 13 Baylor. The Red Storm led by 18 in the first half before Baylor forced overtime. From there, St. John's rallied from five down with 1:47 left to send the game to a second overtime, where it saw Baylor knock down a pair of 3-pointers in the final seven seconds -- including Jeremy Roach's buzzer-beater -- to knock off the Red Storm 99-98. In the third-place game on Friday, St. John's breezed past Virginia 80-55. RJ Luis Jr. led the way with 18 points and four steals, followed by Kadary Richmond's 12 points, as the Red Storm took a one-point lead with 15:21 left in the first half and didn't trail again. "I'm really impressed with our guys, coming off a double-overtime, extremely emotional loss," St. John's head coach Rick Pitino said. "To respond that way was extremely impressive, both offensively and defensively." Pitino, in his second year with the Red Storm, was moved by something off the court on Friday, involving captain Zuby Ejiofor, who chipped in eight points, nine boards, two steals and two blocks. Ejiofor was serenaded by St. John's fans during the win, following his two missed free throws at the end of double overtime against Baylor. "When you've only been in a job for a year, you search for things you love about a place," Pitino said. "Tonight I found out what I love about St. John's. Our fans chanted Zuby's name the whole game, which doesn't happen anywhere else in America. I was really impressed with our fans and I thank them for making Zuby feel good, because he gives you all the energy." Luis leads the Red Storm with 17.3 points per game, followed by Ejiofor (10.7), Aaron Scott (10.5), Deivon Smith (10.3) and Richmond (10.2). Georgia enters Sunday's matchup looking to rebound from its first loss after falling to No. 15 Marquette 80-69 on Saturday. Georgia (5-1) battled back from a 15-point, second-half deficit, but was held to just three points over the final 4:57 in Saturday's loss. Blue Cain led the Bulldogs with a season-high 17 points, including five 3-pointers. "It's a process. It's a journey with this team," Bulldogs head coach Mike White said. "It's about continuing to make strides, continuing to protect our culture. ... At the end of the day, wins and losses are going to take care of themselves. We just have to embrace the process and enjoy it." Five-star freshman recruit Asa Newell was held to a season-low nine points but leads the team with 15.5 points per game. Silas Demary Jr. is second with 13.8. --Field Level Media
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In a closed-door trial Tuesday, a Russian court sentenced a journalist to four years in prison for her work with foreign media outlets. Nika Novak was arrested in December 2023 on accusations of “preparing inaccurate materials” to discredit the Russian armed forces. The FSB security service said that Novak’s work was "aimed at causing reputational damage” to Russia and an attempt to destabilize the country and its war in Ukraine, according to the Interfax news agency. The court, which is in the Siberian region of Zabaykalsky Krai, did not say which foreign media outlet Novak is accused of working for. Novak worked previously for the Russian news websites Chita and Zab.ru, and had been a freelance reporter at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty or RFE/RL. A sister network to VOA, RFE/RL is an independent U.S.-funded media outlet. Moscow designates RFE/RL a so-called foreign agent. RFE/RL President Stephen Capus on Tuesday condemned the sentence handed to Novak. “These politically motivated charges are intended to silence individual reporters and cause a chilling effect. We call for Nika's immediate release to her family,” Capus said in a statement shared with VOA. Russia has ramped up its arrests and harassment of independent journalists since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Shortly after, the government issued directives on how media could report the war, and legislators enacted a law to penalize anyone authorities deemed to be spreading false news or information that could discredit the military. Russian authorities have also issued several arrest warrants in absentia. In October, authorities ordered the arrest in absentia of a CNN correspondent who had reported from Russia’s Kursk region as Ukraine forces made advances. The Memorial human rights group described Novak as a "political prisoner." It added that the journalist appeared to “hold anti-Ukrainian views," based on social media posts, but had criticized local authorities for supporting the offensive, according to AFP. The Coalition for Women in Journalism has also condemned Novak’s detention. In a statement at the time of her arrest, the group said, “The Kremlin is continuously abusing legislation to target journalists and activists. This must stop.” “The serious charges and lengthy prison term facing Novak are deeply worrying,” the statement said, adding that the coalition called on Russia to drop the charges and release the journalist. This report contains information from Agence France-Presse.
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