Dubai to unveil world's largest fountain on October 22

Russia says Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has issued orders for a peaceful transition of power before he resigned and departed from the country.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that President Assad decided to step down after negotiations with “a number of participants in the armed conflict on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic.”

Assad, Russia said, gave “instructions for a peaceful transfer of power.”

The ministry did not provide further information regarding Assad's whereabouts.

According to the statement, Moscow “did not participate in these negotiations,” but it calls on all “parties involved to refrain from the use of violence and to resolve all issues of governance through political means.”

"In that regard, the Russian Federation is in contact with all groups of the Syrian opposition."

Moscow said Russia's military bases in the Arab country had been put on a state of high alert, but that there was no serious threat to them at the current time.

On Saturday evening, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged "political dialogue" between the Syrian government and militant groups after a meeting with foreign ministers of Russia and Turkey in the Qatari capital of Doha on Saturday evening.

Araghchi said there was a consensus among all the participants that hostilities in Syria must end immediately and the country’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty must be respected based on the UN resolution.

The meeting was also attended by United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen, who had urged all parties “to spare bloodshed and focus on a political solution in accordance with Security Council Resolution 2254.”

The conflict began when Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militant group launched a large-scale attack in Aleppo and Idlib provinces in the northwest of Syria on November 27, seizing several areas.

The group took control of parts of the country's second-biggest city, Aleppo, and advanced southward toward the city of Hama. Earlier on Sunday, the armed group declared that they had captured the capital, Damascus.

Mangaluru: In a chilling reminder of the dangers lurking online, a man from Mangaluru fell victim to a sophisticated investment scam, losing a staggering ₹16.9 lakh. The fraudsters, posing as investment advisors, lured the victim via a WhatsApp group with promises of lucrative returns in the share market.

The trap was set when the victim clicked on a link sent by the fraudsters and downloaded a suspicious app. Over time, he transferred substantial sums of money to the fraudsters’ bank accounts, believing he was making profitable investments.

The scam unraveled when the victim tried to withdraw his money but found himself unable to do so. Realizing he had been duped, he lodged a complaint with the Mangaluru Rural Police, who have since registered a case and launched an investigation.

Be cautious

Always verify the authenticity of financial offers, especially when approached via social media or messaging apps. Avoid clicking on unsolicited links or downloading unverified apps. Stay vigilant to protect your hard-earned money from scammers.

Israel has attacked the Kamal Adwan Hospital and several nearby residential buildings in northern Gaza, killing 30 people and wounding many others, amid Israeli attempts to empty the area from the Palestinian people.

“There was a series of air strikes on the northern and western sides of the hospital, accompanied by intense and direct fire,” Hossam Abu Safiya, the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, said on Friday.

He reiterated that the situation in the hospital and its vicinity was "catastrophic," amid a large number of casualties, including four medical staff.

“We are shocked to see hundreds of bodies in the streets surrounding the hospital.”

The forces also conducted a widespread arrest campaign among patients, their companions and caregivers, and forced the others to head to Gaza City.

Abu Safiya noted that the hospital has run out of surgeons and medical supplies are about to completely run out.

The hospital, one of the key medical facilities in the north of Gaza, has been repeatedly attacked by the Israeli forces since they launched a new invasion of the north about two months ago.

On Thursday, a child was killed and 12 others injured in an Israeli drone strike on the hospital.

Late last month, an Israeli drone killed Ahmed al-Kahlout, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital’s intensive care unit, as he was passing through the facility’s entrance gate.

Palestinian medical sources said the regime is trying to forcibly close the hospital, amid its attempts to empty northern Gaza of its people.

Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas waged the surprise Operation al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime's decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against Palestinians.

The regime’s bloody onslaught on Gaza has so far killed at least 44,612 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured more than 105,834 others. Thousands more are also missing and presumed dead under rubble.