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REFORM, Ala. (AP) — A federal judge ruled that the family of former NFL player Glenn Foster Jr., who died in law enforcement custody in Alabama, can pursue a lawsuit alleging his death was the result of excessive force. Foster, a former New Orleans Saints defensive end, died on Dec. 6, 2021, three days after being arrested and taken to jail in rural Pickens County for alleged speeding and attempting to elude police. A judge ordered Foster taken to a medical facility in Tuscaloosa for a mental evaluation. Foster was found unresponsive in the back of a law enforcement vehicle when he arrived at the facility. He was pronounced dead about 30 minutes later. His widow, Pamela Foster, filed a lawsuit against officers at the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office and jail saying Foster had been beaten, shocked with a Taser and strangled while at the jail. The defendants then asked a federal judge to dismiss the case. U.S. District Judge Annemarie Carney Axon ruled Thursday refused to dismiss allegations of excessive force and failure to intervene. Axon dismissed other portions of the lawsuit. The ruling came a day before the third anniversary of Foster’s death. Foster appeared in 17 games for the Saints in 2013 and 2014.

Verizon is making good on one of the many unfulfilled promises of 5G with . According to , it delivers “optimized video and sound quality on calling apps,” even in times of congestion. That may not sound exciting on its own. But under the hood, Verizon is using network slicing to boost video call performance, which is a new technology only possible on a standalone 5G network. Unlike , network slicing is a real benefit of 5G technology that we can reasonably expect to see in more places in the next few years. Slicing lets network operators provide the right resources for certain kinds of demanding activities where a strong connection is critical. Right now, that means boosting performance for video calls, but in the future it could mean being able to prioritize the data needed to safely guide an autonomous vehicle through an intersection. The catch is that you need a standalone 5G network to pull this off, and much of the US’ 5G networks still operate on 4G cores. T-Mobile has been able to move quicker on this thanks to , and it rolled out its first feature based on slicing this fall with a service that . Verizon has been testing slicing , but this is its first rollout of a consumer feature based on the technology. In order to try Enhanced Video Calling out for yourself, you have to meet a specific set of requirements. It’s available in , with more to be added in 2025. But you also need to be on Verizon’s priciest plan, Unlimited Ultimate, which costs $90 per month for one line with autopay. And you’ll need an iPhone 14 or newer running iOS 18.2. Samsung Galaxy S23 and newer and Pixel 9 phones will be compatible too, but support for Android video calling apps on Android is arriving in 2025. If you meet the above prerequisites, you should see a setting in iOS that reads “Enhance 5G” if you go to , .

Russian President Vladimir Putin Russian President Vladimir Putin says he has a stock of new missiles ready to be used and that no other nation has weapons like Russia. Mr. Putin said the Oreshnik missile could not be intercepted and promised to carry out more tests, including in "combat conditions". Russia's use of the Oreshnik capped a week of escalation in the war that also saw Ukraine fire US and British missiles into Russia for the first time. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for a "serious response" to Russia's use of a new experimental ballistic missile, saying Putin will keep trying to intimidate Ukraine. Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk says the threat of global conflict is serious and real with the Ukraine-Russia war entering a decisive phase. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1531230668029-0'); });4 Ways The US Military Is Using 3D Printing TechnologyHere’s what Wall Street analysts say is ahead for Intel after CEO Pat Gelsinger’s departure

Judge says lawsuit over former NFL player Glenn Foster Jr.'s jail death can proceedSaskatchewan fall legislative sitting ends with barbs after civility promise

Iconic footballer Lionel Messi is finally making his way to Fortnite, and according to leakers, he's coming with a pretty impressive bundle. Fortnite 's cosmetic game has been consistently the best in the industry, steering into its absurd approach and delivering on perhaps the biggest and most sprawling pop culture crossovers we've ever seen in gaming. It sounds like high praise, but few games can squeeze an Edward Scissorhands skin and a Disney 's Baymax cosmetic into their game without looking silly. Fortnite has been delivering massively with its massive Chapter 6 Battle Pass full of original characters, and as players work through new Lego and OG Passes at the same time, it seems that there's no shortage of great cosmetics for players to show their flair, but as the Item Shop rolls into new territory, there are more characters (or rather, real people) to be added. And, football fans, you're not going to miss this, as eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi is about to hit the Item Shop with a full cosmetic bundle in tow. Fortnite Ballistic launches in early access: Epic Games introduces first-person 5v5 mode Fortnite players could get $72 million refund stemming from predatory in game purchases Here's what you need to know about the Messi Fortnite skin, and when to expect it. The Messi Fortnite skin will be released into the Item Shop at 7pm EST / 4pm PST on Friday, December 13 , and for UK players, that means 12am GMT on Saturday, December 14 , this is according to reliable leaker @SpushFNBR. This time coincides with the Item Shop refresh for the day, so it seems bang on. According to the leaker, here’s everything we can expect to touch down in the item shop when he arrives: Two outfits (one costing 1,800 V-Bucks, the other costing 1,500 V-Bucks) Two Back Blings (included with each outfit) Two emotes (one built-in, presumably with the more expensive outfit, and one for 400 V-Bucks) Two Pickaxes (800 V-Bucks each) The full bundle containing every Messi Fortnite item will come to 2,800 V-Bucks in total , saving you a huge 2,500 V-Bucks. If you want to buy the pack from a V-Bucks wallet of zero, the best way to do so would be to buy a bundle of 2,800 V-Bucks, which will cost you £17.49 / $22.99 / AU$30.35 . We’re not sure what the Messi Fortnite outfits will look like yet, though we can probably presume that he’ll appear in his current team’s kit, which is Inter Miami, as well as a more abstract outfit if it’s set to come with its own built-in emote. Whatever it is, we’re sure fans will shell out for it anyway. DAILY NEWSLETTER: Sign up here to get the latest news and updates from the Mirror US straight to your inbox with our FREE newsletter.

Love Island winners Kai Fagan and Sanam Harrinanan's jobs and Primark shops as they shun fameMAURA Higgins' mum has revealed her "shock" after her daughter made a raunchy sex confession on I'm A Celebrity. The reality star's beloved mum Sharon is over in Australia to support her daughter whilst she is in the jungle. Former Love Islander Maura , 34, has made several saucy confessions during her time on the show, including one where she revealed she told her mother "EVERYTHING!" . But Sharon has now said sometimes her daughter gives a away a bit "too much" information. Speaking to The Mirror , she said: “I would say to her on Facetime, ‘is everything okay? Are you happy in all aspects of your relationship?’ "And she would always try and embarrass me by saying this, that and the other and I would say: ‘too much information. I don’t need to know, I don’t need to know.’ "She likes to make me embarrassed.” Meanwhile, earlier today The Sun exclusively revealed how Sharon is yet to meet her rumoured lover Pete Wicks . She told us: "I don't know him. I only know what she has told me, which is that she's single. She's just getting on with it. "I suppose being single, she's a young woman, she's going to date. She obviously doesn't want anything serious yet, so I don't know. "I never watch Strictly. I've never had interest in it. It's not a show I've ever watched, so I'm not going to start now." After starring on Love Island in 2019, Maura gained a reputation for being out spoken Commenting on this, Sharon told us: "I've always brought my children up to stand up for themselves. You have to in this life. "Maura has always listened to that end of things with me. "Because you cannot go about and have people insult you. "If there's anything somebody says that is inappropriate, you're entitled to speak up and tell them, 'No, you cannot do that'. "I like that she can stand up for herself. "But also the other side of Maura is, if she has an issue with somebody, she'll tell them. "She doesn't hold grudges. If it's ironed out, it's forgotten about." Asked about her friendship with Reverend Richard Coles - who she lived with in the Jungle Junkyard - Sharon said: "Maura gets on with everybody. "That was the pinnacle for me - I loved the banter between the two of them. It had me in stitches, I loved it. "Maura loves meeting new people, and anybody she does meet, they're friends for life. That's the way she is. "Maura is Maura. She has a potty mouth, but she's funny. I think with Maura, it's just her character. "She's fun-loving and she's a bubbly girl. She's always making any situation bright somehow by cracking jokes and having fun." i'm A Celebrity is back for its 24th series, with a batch of famous faces living in the Aussie jungle. The Sun's Jake Penkethman takes a look at the stars on the show this year.. Coleen Rooney - Arguably the most famous name in the camp, the leading WAG, known for her marriage to Wayne Rooney , has made a grand return to TV as she looks to put the Wagatha Christie scandal behind her. The Sun revealed the mum-of-four had bagged an eye-watering deal worth over £1.5million to be on the show this year making her the highest-paid contestant ever. Tulisa - The popstar and former X Factor judge has made her triumphant TV comeback by signing up to this year's I'm A Celeb after shunning TV shows for many years. Known for being a member of the trio, N-Dubz, Tulisa became a household name back in 2011 when she signed on to replace Cheryl on ITV show The X Factor in a multi-million pound deal. Alan Halsall - The actor, known for playing the long-running role of Tyrone Dobbs on ITV soap opera Coronation Street, was originally signed up to head Down Under last year but an operation threw his scheduled appearance off-course. Now he has become the latest Corrie star to win over both the viewers and his fellow celebrities. Melvin Odoom - The Radio DJ has become a regular face on TV screens after rising to fame with presenting roles on Kiss FM, BBC Radio 1 and 4Music. Melvin has already been for a spin on the Strictly dancefloor and co-hosted The Xtra Factor with Rochelle Humes in 2015 but now he is facing up to his biggest challenge yet - the Aussie jungle . GK Barry - The UK's biggest social media personality, GK, whose real name is Grace Keeling, has transformed her TikTok stardom into a lucrative career. Aside from her popular social media channels, she hosts the weekly podcast, Saving Grace, and regularly appears on ITV talk show, Loose Women. She has even gone on to endorse popular brands such as PrettyLittleThing, KFC and Ann Summers. Dean McCullough - A rising star amongst this year's bunch of celebs , Dean first achieved notability through his radio appearances on Gaydio and BBC Radio 1. He was chosen to join the BBC station permanently in 2021 and has featured prominently ever since. He has enjoyed a crossover to ITV over the past year thanks to his guest slots on Big Brother spin-off show, Late & Live. Oti Mabuse - The pro dancer has signed up to her latest TV show after making her way through the biggest programmes on the box. She originally found fame on Strictly Come Dancing but has since branched out into the world of TV judging with appearances on former BBC show The Greatest Dancer as well as her current role on ITV's Dancing On Ice . Danny Jones - The McFly star was drafted into the programme last minute as a replacement for Tommy Fury. Danny is the second member of McFly to enter the jungle , after Dougie Poynter won the show in 2011. He is also considered a rising star on ITV as he's now one of the mentors on their Saturday night talent show, The Voice , along with bandmate Tom Fletcher. Jane Moore - The Loose Women star and The Sun columnist is braving the creepy crawlies this year. The star is ready for a new challenge - having recently split from her husband . It will be Jane's first foray into reality TV with the telly favourite having always said no to reality shows in the past. Barry McGuigan - Former pro boxer Barry is the latest fighting champ to head Down Under following in the footsteps of Tony Bellew and Amir Khan. It comes after a tough few years for Irish star Barry, who lost his daughter Danika to bowel cancer . He told The Late Late Show in 2021: "She was such an intrinsic part of the family that every day we ache." Maura Higgins - The Irish TV beauty first found fame on Love Island where she found a brief connection with dancer Curtis Pritchard . Since then, she has competed on Dancing On Ice as well as hosting the Irish version of the beauty contest, Glow Up. Since last year, she has been working on building up her career in the US by being the social media correspondent and host of Aftersun to accompany Love Island USA. She even guest hosted an episode of the spin-off, Love Island Games, in place of Maya Jama last year. Rev. Richard Coles - Former BBC radio host the Rev Richard Coles is a late arrival on I’m A Celebrity , and he's ready to spill the beans on his former employer. The former Communards and Strictly star , said the BBC did not know its a**e from its elbow last year. An insider said: "Rev Coles will have a variety of tales to tell from his wild days as a pop star in the Eighties, through to performing on Strictly and his later life as a man of the cloth."The AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll is back every week throughout the season! Get the poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here . BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Riley Allenspach and Trey Fort scored 15 apiece in Samford’s 72-47 victory over Austin Peay on Sunday. Allenspach shot 6 of 12 from the field and 3 for 4 from the line for the Bulldogs (9-2). Fort went 5 of 9 from the field (5 for 8 from 3-point range). The Governors (4-5) were led by Darius Dawson with 18 points. Akili Evans added 10 points and three steals. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .

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BEIRUT — Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the militant leader whose stunning insurgency has spent years working to , renouncing longtime ties to al-Qaida and depicting himself as a champion of pluralism and tolerance. As he entered Damascus behind his victorious fighters Sunday, he even dropped his nom de guerre and referred to himself with his real name, Ahmad al-Sharaa. The extent of that transformation from jihadi extremist to would-be state builder is now put to the test. Insurgents control Damascus, and for the first time after 50 years of his family’s iron hand, it is an open question how Syria will be governed. Syria is home to multiple ethnic and religious communities, often pitted against each other by Assad’s state and years of war. Many of them fear the possibility that Sunni Islamist extremists will take over. The country is also fragmented among disparate armed factions, and foreign powers from Russia and Iran to the United States, and Israel all have their hands in the mix. Hours after Damascus’ capture, the 42-year-old al-Sharaa made his first appearance in the city’s landmark Umayyad Mosque, declaring Assad’s fall “a victory for the Islamic nation.” A senior rebel commander, Anas Salkhadi, appeared on state TV to declare, “Our message to all the sects of Syria, is that we tell them that Syria is for everyone,” Al-Sharaa, who has been labeled a terrorist by the United States, and his insurgent force, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS – many of whose fighters are jihadis — now stand to be a major player. For years, al-Sharaa worked to consolidate power, while bottled up in the province of Idlib in Syria’s northwest corner as Assad’s Iranian- and Russian-backed rule over much of the country appeared solid. He maneuvered among extremist organizations while eliminating competitors and former allies. He sought to polish the image of his de-facto “salvation government” that has been running Idlib to win over international governments and reassure Syria’s religious and ethnic minorities. And he built ties with various tribes and other groups. Along the way, he shed his garb as a hard-line Islamist guerrilla and put on suits for press interviews, talking of building state institutions and decentralizing power to reflect Syria’s diversity. “Syria deserves a governing system that is institutional, no one where a single ruler makes arbitrary decisions,” he said in an interview with CNN last week, offering the possibility HTS would eventually be dissolved after Assad falls. “Don’t judge by words, but by actions,” he said. Throughout his rise through extremist ranks, al-Sharaa was only known by the jihadi nickname he adopted, Abu Mohammed al-Golani. His ties to al-Qaida stretch back to 2003, when he joined insurgents battling U.S. troops in Iraq. The Syrian native was detained by the U.S. military but remained in Iraq. During that time, al-Qaida usurped like-minded groups and formed the extremist Islamic State of Iraq, led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. In 2011, a popular uprising in Syria against Assad triggered a brutal government crackdown and led to all-out war. Al-Golani’s prominence grew when al-Baghdadi sent him to Syria to establish a branch of al-Qaida called the Nusra Front. The United States labeled the new group as a terrorist organization. That designation still remains in place and the U.S. government has put a $10 million bounty on him. As Syria’s civil war intensified in 2013, so did al-Golani’s ambitions. He defied al-Baghdadi’s calls to dissolve the Nusra Front and merge it with al-Qaida’s operation in Iraq, to form the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS. Al-Golani nonetheless pledged his allegiance to al-Qaida, which later disassociated itself from ISIS. The Nusra Front battled ISIS and eliminated much of its competition among the Syrian armed opposition to Assad. In his first interview in 2014, al-Golani kept his face covered, telling a reporter for Qatari network Al-Jazeera that he rejected political talks in Geneva to end the conflict. He said his goal was to see Syria ruled under Islamic law and made clear that there was no room for the country’s Alawite, Shiite, Druze and Christian minorities. In 2016, al-Golani revealed his face to the public for the first time in a video message that announced his group was renaming itself Jabhat Fateh al-Sham -– the Syria Conquest Front — and cutting its ties to al-Qaida. “This new organization has no affiliation to any external entity,” he said in the video, filmed wearing military garb and a turban. The move paved the way for al-Golani to assert full control over fracturing militant groups. A year later, his alliance rebranded again as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham -– meaning Organization for Liberating Syria — as the groups merged, consolidating al-Golani’s power in northwest Syria’s Idlib province. HTS later clashed with independent Islamist militants who opposed the merger, further emboldening al-Golani and his group as the leading power in northwestern Syria, able to rule with an iron fist. With his power consolidated, al-Golani set in motion a transformation that few could have imagined. Replacing his military garb with shirt and trousers, he began calling for religious tolerance and pluralism. He appealed to the Druze community in Idlib, which the Nusra Front had , and visited the families of Kurds who were killed by Turkish-backed militias. Related Articles In 2021, he had his first interview with an American journalist on PBS. Wearing a blazer, with his short hair gelled back, the now more soft-spoken HTS leader said that his group posed no threat to the West and that sanctions imposed against it were unjust. “Yes, we have criticized Western policies,” he said. “But to wage a war against the United States or Europe from Syria, that’s not true. We didn’t say we wanted to fight.”

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Judge says lawsuit over former NFL player Glenn Foster Jr.'s jail death can proceedSenate Democrats staged dramatic showdowns to protest nominations during President-elect Donald Trump’s first term in office. This time around, Democrats are shifting tactics, reluctant to pick endless battles with Trump Cabinet picks that are unlikely to succeed. It’s a careful tightrope for a party that is still reeling from losing the White House and Senate in the November elections, but one that many Democrats believe reflects the underlying reality of the situation – voters picked Trump despite all of their party’s warnings and attacks against him. And Democrats may need to win over some of those very same voters to find their way out of the political wilderness. “The mood is slightly different than the last time and there is a sense that if you are freaking out about everything, it becomes really hard for people to sort out what is worth worrying about,” Sen. Brian Schatz, a Democrat from Hawaii, told CNN. Now, Democrats are looking to implement a deliberate and disciplined strategy in Trump’s second term: pointing out the places where they could work with a nominee when they see fit and forcing Republicans to defend Trump’s picks when a nominee faces ethics questions, has a history of controversial statements or doesn’t have what Democrats view as the necessary qualifications for the job. “We have to acknowledge something even if we are disappointed that’s true: Trump won. He is the president. We have to accept that,” Sen. Peter Welch, a Democrat from Vermont, said. “We are going to approach this in a very straightforward way. President Trump won. He has a right to nominate his Cabinet members. Our approach will be to give him the benefit of the doubt but not a blank check.” Some Democrats have already been clear they may be open to voting for some of Trump’s picks even if they’ve sparred with them before. Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania told CNN earlier this month he would “absolutely” vote to confirm his one-time political rival Dr. Mehmet Oz to lead a key health care agency as long as Oz “agrees to protect and preserve Medicaid and Medicare,” offering up praise for his qualifications as a doctor and even saying he would “have a beer with the dude.” And several Democrats said they are looking forward to backing their colleague Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida to be the next secretary of state. During Trump’s first term in office, Democrats, in some instances, used procedural or tactical hurdles to delay votes in committee, something which can backfire quickly. Democrats won’t back away from made-for-TV moments during public confirmation hearings as they look to drive a wedge between Republicans on issues or past statements that nominees have made. But several Democrats CNN spoke to said they are also reticent to needlessly delay confirmations or “play games,” knowing that doing so could risk a GOP backlash and could embolden Trump to use what are known as recess appointments, essentially bypassing Congress altogether. Democrats stress that a measured approach shouldn’t be mistaken for Democratic support for Trump’s most controversial picks. In the course of conversations with more than a dozen Democrats, members and aides said it’s clear that some of Trump’s most contentious picks from Pete Hegseth to lead the Department of Defense to his Director of National Intelligence selection, Tulsi Gabbard, are unlikely to win over many of their members. But Democrats believe their only real strategy to move the needle on these canbdidates is to give their GOP colleagues space to make the decisions about their futures on their own and not engage in partisan battles just for the sake of the exercise. Democrats are also acutely aware that they will be in the minority and Republicans have a comfortable three-seat margin. “ Sometimes all you can do is create a record that shows people ‘Ok, this is what you are getting,’” Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, told CNN. The Senate Democratic caucus is diverse and represents an ideological spectrum. As a result, there will won’t necessarily be one singular unified strategy. Some members may pursue divergent approaches or differ in their opinions. But based on interviews with multiple members and aides it’s clear that many in the party believe a new approach is needed after Democrats lost to Trump a second time. During the first Trump administration, Democrats staged a surprise boycott of the Senate Finance Committee to deny Republicans a quorum to vote to advance the nominations of Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin as Democrats argued they needed additional information about the nominees’ finances and business practices. Democrats similarly used procedural hurdles in the Senate Judiciary Committee to force Republicans to reconvene one day later to vote on Jeff Sessions to be the attorney general. At the time, Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell blasted Democrats for the moves, saying, “It is time to get over the fact that they lost the election..none of this is going to lead to a different outcome.” “I can’t predict what tactics may be adopted. I personally would be inclined to show up for committee meetings, not the private committee of a forum. That’s just my personal inclination,” Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal said. For committees, a key question emerges with Trump shifting norms Democrats are also clear they won’t cease reminding voters of the ways Trump and his incoming administration are defying precedent if they decline to have nominees undergo FBI background checks. On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer penned a letter to incoming GOP leader Sen. John Thune insisting that Thune maintain the process of confirming nominees, including FBI background checks. Schumer wrote that the Senate should work “in a bipartisan fashion to process each nominee by reviewing standard FBI background-investigation materials, scheduling hearings and markups in the committees of jurisdiction, and considering nominees on the Senate floor.” Democrats are grappling with how much they need to do behind the scenes if Trump’s transition team follows through with their suggestion they won’t have nominees go through the normal FBI vetting process. “It is not like we can substitute the work of the FBI,” one Democratic source told CNN on background to discuss internal deliberations. While each committee has slight variations in how it is briefed on the background reports or uses their contents, members have largely argued that more information – not less – is essential in backstopping their decision of whether to support a nominee. Democrats warn that with some of Trump’s picks having never worked before in government, the checks are even more essential , especially as questions have been raised about the past behavior of some, including Hegseth, who was accused in 2017 of sexual assault. Police did not press charges and Hegseth has denied the incident was an assault. Others suggested the question of whether Democrats engage in their own vetting is still very much up for discussion. “There have to be investigations so whether it’s the FBI or our committee staff, there have to be,” Kaine said while acknowledging “ It can be challenging ” especially as Democrats are seated to lose power over those committees in a matter of weeks. Democrats will remain in the majority until January, but unlike the FBI, which is well versed in conducting the nominee background checks, committees would have to stand up a plan for an investigation and execute it in short order. “We shouldn’t do that. We should get the FBI background check,” Welch said. In the end, Democrats say they are going to stay flexible, recognizing some of the strategy is going to be born of organic and unforeseen circumstances in the months ahead. “I don’t think there is an overall answer. (Trump’s) labor nominee is for example very different than his nominee for the Department of Defense and the approaches should be tailored to the individual nominees,” Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren said. “Democrats are here to carry out our Constitutional duties to advise and consent. To do that, we need our FBI background checks, an opportunity to meet with the candidates and then to ask them questions in open hearings.”B ashar al-Assad’s downfall came not with a bang but a whimper. The Syrian dictator reportedly fled his home in the wake of a blitzkrieg advance by a coalition of anti-government rebels. By Sunday morning he was gone – leaving armed groups as the country’s dominant political players. A spirit of anti-Assad sentiment surged across Syria, manifesting itself through displays of both celebration and defiance. The question now is whether this unleashed energy – brutally suppressed by fear and authoritarian control – will become a unifying force in building a new nation or, rather, a precursor to deeper divisions. The fall of the House of Assad, which has ruled Syria for more than half a century, should be a warning to dictatorial regimes. Mr Assad’s departure underscores a broader truth: societies cannot indefinitely tolerate systemic abuses, such as state-sponsored propaganda, corruption and violence . The fish rots from the head down. Mr Assad’s Syrian state collapsed from within, having spent more than a decade pursuing a reign of terror that only fuelled the very unrest it sought to suppress. The regime’s collapse raises pressing questions about Syria’s future. With weak institutions and a frail civil society, the risk of disintegration looms large. Syria’s prospects depend on both internal and external forces, and notably on Abu Mohammed al-Jolani , the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former al-Qaida offshoot turned moderate Islamist faction. Credited with Mr Assad’s overthrow, Mr Jolani drove the strategic shift from jihadism to national liberation. In 2021 , he declared that he had no intention of waging war against the west, and for the past five years he has overseen a semi-technocratic government in Idlib province for 3 million people under Turkish protection. HTS has avoided extreme sharia interpretations, but remains designated a terrorist group. Critics say it is corrupt and intolerant of dissent. However, Mr Jolani’s outreach to tribes, minorities and former foes has bolstered his national legitimacy, while even Moscow – once Mr Assad’s protector – may engage to secure its military bases. Mr Jolani relies on allies, including the Turkish-backed militia groups collectively called the Syrian National Army, which has a thuggish reputation . Re-elected on a pledge to return 3 million refugees, Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, seeks stability in Syria, but fears that US-backed Kurdish regions in Syria may stir autonomy demands at home. Israel sees an Islamist-led Damascus as a threat, but finds comfort in Hezbollah’s inability to defend the Assad regime, as it prioritises the defence of its Lebanese bases. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, with their financial resources, could aid Syria’s reconstruction, but their past support for Mr Assad complicates their role. Encouragingly , Arab leaders said they would seek to avoid reigniting a 13-year-old civil war after talks in Qatar. Syria will never be the same. Ordinary Syrians have endured unimaginable horrors under the Assad regime. But they have written this chapter of history. Their newfound freedom is shadowed by the daunting task of rebuilding lives and infrastructure. A shared hope to avoid violent vendettas must guide efforts toward a just settlement. The Syrian people were often forsaken. In this moment of fragile hope, the world must not fail them again. A concerted international effort toward political stability, reconciliation and reconstruction is essential to ensure their sacrifices lead to a lasting peace.