Andrew Salas

 Delhi's former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia will contest the upcoming Assembly polls from Jangpura and civil services teacher Avadh Ojha is Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) candidate from east Delhi's Patparganj, currently held by Mr Sisodia. AAP today released its second list of 20 candidates for the Delhi Assembly polls, due early next year. Last month, it released a list with names of 11 candidates. The ruling party is yet to announce candidates for 39 seats in the 70-member Assembly. The Jangpura seat has been with AAP since 2013 when former Delhi Assembly Speaker Maninder Singh Dhir won it. When Mr Dhir switched to the BJP, AAP fielded Praveen Kumar who won the seat in the 2015 and the 2020 polls. This time, the party has chosen the seat for Mr Sisodia. The former Deputy Chief Minister, who was arrested in a money laundering case linked to Delhi's now-scrapped liquor policy, is out on bail. He has denied the allegations and said he would join the government only af...

 Abu Mohammed al-Jolani speaks at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus Sunday Dec. 8, 2024. Golani, a former al-Qaida commander who cut ties with the group and says he embraces pluralism and religious tolerance, leads the biggest rebel faction and is poised to chart the country's future. He calls himself by his given name, Ahmad al-Sharaa, and not his nom de guerre. (AP) Syria’s rebel leader has declared a “historic” victory from a landmark mosque in Damascus, marking a major turning point in the country’s conflict. The Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led by Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, successfully seized control of the capital in a lightning-fast offensive that lasted less than two weeks. Jolani’s message was also tuned for regional powers he’ll need to keep onside, promising to clean shop. “Syria is being purified,” he said, referring to the country’s regional reputation as a narco-state, saying Assad’s Syria had “become the world’s leading source of Captagon,” an amphetamine-ty...

 Ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and family have landed in Moscow and have been granted asylum, Russia state media reported today, hours after Islamist-led rebels took control of his country. "Assad and members of his family have arrived in Moscow," a Kremlin source told the TASS and Ria Novosti news agencies. "Russia granted them asylum on humanitarian grounds," he added. There was buzz on social media with flight trackers speculating the mysterious whereabouts of Assad for most part of Sunday. A Syrian Air plane took off from Damascus airport around the time the capital was taken by rebels, according to data from the Flightradar website. The aircraft initially flew towards Syria's coastal region, a stronghold of Assad's Alawite sect, but then made an abrupt U-turn and flew in the opposite direction for a few minutes before disappearing off the map. The sudden change in course and disappearance of the plane from tracking could indicate it had been s...

 The Bashar al-Assad government has, by all means, fallen in Syria. The Sunni-majority country, rocked by a fierce rebellion against an Alawite ruler, now looks ahead for a new start after half a century. Here are 5 big developments in Syria:     The Syrian army command has informed its soldiers that the Assad regime has fallen after the rebels declared that President Assad has fled the country. "We declare the city of Damascus free," they said on Telegram as they stomped into the capital this morning.     The rebels also announced the start of a "new era" for Syria. "After 50 years of oppression under Baath rule, and 13 years of crimes and tyranny and (forced) displacement, we announce today the end of this dark period and the start of a new era for Syria," they said.     The Syrian rebels have called on citizens staying abroad to return to a "free Syria". This morning, they broke into Sednaya jail - known for the darkest abuses under A...

 The Syrian government appeared to collapse early Sunday, marking a stunning end to the 50-year rule of the Assad family following a lightning-fast rebel offensive. According to the head of a Syrian opposition war monitor, President Bashar al-Assad fled the country for an undisclosed location, retreating ahead of insurgents who claimed to have entered Damascus after a rapid advance across the nation. Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi Jalali, in a video statement, said the government was ready to "extend its hand" to the opposition and transfer power to a transitional government. Jalali, who remained at his home, emphasized his commitment to the country and announced plans to continue his work the following day. He urged Syrians not to deface public property but did not address the reports of Assad's departure. Rami Abdurrahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told The Associated Press that Assad took a flight from Damascus on Sunday. Iran's state televisi...

 Samajwadi Party to quit opposition MVA over Shiv Sena (UBT)'s stand on Babri mosque demolition, Maharashtra SP chief Abu Azmi said on Saturday, according to news agency PTI. "An advertisement was given by Shiv Sena (UBT) in a newspaper congratulating those who demolished Babri masjid. His (Uddhav Thackeray) aide has also posted on X hailing the demolition of the mosque," Azmi said. "We are quitting the MVA. I am speaking to (Samajwadi Party president) Akhilesh Singh Yadav," he added. SP's move came after Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Milind Narvekar's social media post on the Babri masjid demolition. Narvekar shared a photograph of the mosque's demolition alongside Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray's quote, "I am proud of those who did this". He also included images of Uddhav Thackeray, Aaditya Thackeray and himself in the post. Azmi questioned the alliance, saying, "If anyone in the MVA speaks such language, what is the difference between th...