Umayyad Square in Damascus hummed to the throngs of people brandishing “revolution” flags as Syria rang in the new year yesterday with hope following 13 years of civil war.
Gunshots rang out from Mount Qasioun overlooking the capital, where hundreds of people gazed up at fireworks.
It was the first new year’s celebration without an al-Assad in power for more than 50 years after the fall of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad last month.
Photo: AFP
“Long live Syria, Assad has fallen,” shouted some children.
“We did not expect such a miracle to happen, today the Syrians have found their smile again,” Layane el Hijazi, a 22-year-old agricultural engineering student, told reporters from Umayyad Square. “We were able to obtain our rights, we can now talk. I am letting off steam these last three weeks and tonight by bringing out everything I had buried.”
The green, white and black “revolution” flag with its three red stars was all over the capital.
Such a sight — the symbol of a Syrian uprising against the al-Assad dynasty’s rule — was unthinkable a month ago.
“Whatever happens, it will be better than before,” said Imane Zeidane, 46, a cartoonist, who came to Umayyad Square with her husband and their daughter.
“I am starting the new year with serenity and optimism,” she said, adding that she has “confidence” in the new government under de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia launched a humanitarian air bridge to Syria, delivering food, shelter and medical supplies, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.
The air bridge, established by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center aims to “alleviate the effects of the difficult conditions currently facing the Syrian people,” the news agency reported.
Others, including the EU and Ukraine, have also announced aid for Syria, where the UN said seven out of 10 people need support.
Riyadh’s air bridge would “be followed by another land bridge in the coming days,” said Abdullah al-Rabeeah, the head of the center.
The Taipei MRT is open all night tonight following New Year’s Eve festivities, and is offering free rides from nearby Green Line stations. Taipei’s 2025 New Year’s Eve celebrations kick off at Taipei City Hall Square tonight, with performances from the boy band Energy, the South Korean girl group Apink, and singers Gigi Leung (梁詠琪) and Faith Yang (楊乃文). Taipei 101’s annual New Year’s firework display follows at midnight, themed around Taiwan’s Premier12 baseball championship. Estimates say there will be about 200,000 people in attendance, which is more than usual as this year’s celebrations overlap with A-mei’s (張惠妹) concert at Taipei Dome. There are
LOOKING FOR WHEELS: The military is seeking 8x8 single-chassis vehicles to test the new missile and potentially replace the nation’s existing launch vehicles, the source said Taiwan is developing a hypersonic missile based on the Ching Tien (擎天) supersonic cruise missile, and a Czech-made truck has been tentatively selected as its launch vehicle, a source said yesterday. The Ching Tien, formerly known as Yun Feng (雲峰, “Cloud Peak”), is a domestically developed missile with a range of 1,200km to 2,000km being deployed in casemate-type positions as of last month, an official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. The hypersonic missile to be derived from the Ching Tien would feature improved range and a mobile launch platform, while the latter would most likely be a 12x12 single chassis
UP AND DOWN: The route would include a 16.4km underground section from Zuoying to Fongshan and a 9.5km elevated part from Fongshan to Pingtung Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday confirmed a project to extend the high-speed rail (HSR) to Pingtung County through Kaohsiung. Cho made the announcement at a ceremony commemorating the completion of a dome at Kaohsiung Main Station. The Ministry of Transportation and Communications approved the HSR expansion in 2019 using a route that branches off a line from Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung’s Zuoying District (左營). The project was ultimately delayed due to a lack of support for the route. The Zuoying route would have trains stop at the Zuoying Station and return to a junction before traveling southward to Pingtung County’s Lioukuaicuo Township (六塊厝).
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday vowed to investigate claims made in a YouTube video about China’s efforts to politically influence young Taiwanese and encourage them to apply for Chinese ID cards. The council’s comments follow Saturday’s release of a video by Taiwanese rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源) and YouTuber “Pa Chiung (八炯)” on China’s “united front” tactics. It is the second video on the subject the pair have released this month. In the video, Chen visits the Taiwan Youth Entrepreneurship Park in Quanzhou in China’s Fujian Province and the Strait Herald news platform in Xiamen, China. The Strait Herald — owned by newspaper
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