at 18:00 (JST), December 08 (Ai-CC by Clipchamp)

20241208180000_english_1.mp3

Welcome to NHK Newsline. I'm Gene Otani in Tokyo.

We start with breaking news from Syria. Anti government forces have announced on state TV that Damascus is free of the tyrant Bashar al-Assad. The rebels say they have taken control of the country's capital, virtually ending Assad's rule.
The rebel forces appeared on state-run TV on Sunday. The Assad government has not made any announcement. Opposition forces began intensifying their attacks in late November and advanced into Damascus.
The insurgents had also taken control of the major northern city of Aleppo, the key central city of Hama, and Homs, a key transportation hub in central Syria that leads to Damascus. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Saturday that local rebel factions had taken control of most of the country's southern areas. It says government troops have withdrawn from Daraa, Sweda and Quneitra in the southwest.
Opposition forces over the past few weeks have made major advances by taking advantage of the conflicts in Lebanon and Ukraine. These conflicts have hampered efforts by the Lebanon based.
Shia Muslim group Hezbollah, and Russia to provide military support to the Assad government. For more, we go to NHK's Cairo Bureau Chief Kojima May on our domestic service to find out what's going on and get her analysis with simultaneousinterpretation.

Then we have Ms. Kojima, who is covering the Syria. Could you tell us the latest?

In Damascus, there has not been no report of major fighting.
And the anti-government forces seem to have entered capital Damascus without any major struggle. Through the state TV, they announced that they fleed the capital. And also al-Jazeera showed images of the anti-government forces entering into the presidential palace.
And the rebels claimed that President Assad fled Damascus. But president whereabouts is not known. A man in south Damascus told NHK anxiously that he heard gunfire around 5:00 AM and water supply still continues, but there's no electricity.
The civil war in Syria started 13 years ago, and the Assad government maintained the military dominance. But in the last few years, the situation was in a stalemate. But it is a major turning point now. And what could happen going forward in Syria? It's not clear if the situation could stabilize in Syria. And the current level offensive has been led by an extremist group which is affiliated with the former al-Qaeda-related group.
Furthermore, there are a group supported by Turkey and Kurdish organizations that Turkey is hostile to but supported by the United States. And the situation is growing even more complex. So far, the anti-government forces said that the public facilities are under the former prime minister's control until their formal transfer. and they sounded conciliatory, but it's not clear how the country could be governed. Since last October, the fighting between the fighting is going on in the Middle East, and it's said that three out of four people in Syria are receiving humanitarian aid, and it is not known how the situation could stabilize in Syria.

South Korean media outlets say prosecutors have detained former Defense Minister Kim Yong Yong amid a probe into alleged treason after the president declared a short-lived state of martial law. Kim was reportedly detained on Sunday after presenting himself for questioning by prosecutors in order to cooperate with the investigation. Kim allegedly advised President Yoon Suk-yeol to declare martial law. Opposition party members have filed A complaint accusing Kim of treason and other misdeeds. Media reports say Kim was detained after questioning by the prosecutors who seized his mobile phone.
Kim expressed his intention to step down on Wednesday after the martial law episode, saying that he was responsible as defense minister for causing confusion and concern for the public. President Yoon accepted his resignation the following day. South Korean media say Kim and Yoon attended the same high school, with the former defense minister being Yoon's senior by one year. Kim was reportedly. president's closest aide.

A ceremony has been held in Hawaii to commemorate the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 83 years ago.
About 1,200 people, including military personnel, their families and veterans gathered at the national memorial overlooking the harbor on Saturday. They observed a moment of silence at 7:55 a.m. The exact time the attack began on December 7, 1941. About 2,400 Americans died in the attack that brought the United States into World War II. U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Steve Keller expressed his resolve to protect peace through defense. He said he promised they would never forget the example the greatest generation set and the excellence demonstrated. The theme of this year's remembrance was Forging Ahead. A grandchild of the USS Arizona crew member,stressed the importance of passing on the experiences to the next generations.

Whether through doing the hard things, courage, grit, compassion, loyalty, or joy, the lessons of Pearl Harbor will continue to guide us forward. The latest survivor of the USS Arizona, which sank during the attack, died in April.

Delegates from a Japanese organization of survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki have left for Oslo, Norway to attend the award ceremony for this year's Nobel Peace Prize. Members of the Nihon Hidankyo are scheduled to stay in Norway until Thursday.
The approximately 30 delegates include atomic bombing survivors, or hibakusha. They left Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Sunday morning. One of the organization's co-chairs, Tanaka Terumi, experienced the atomic bombing in Nagasaki when he was 13 years old. He will deliver a speech at the awards ceremony in Oslo on Tuesday.

I'm planning to convey to the world that its support will be needed to continue the campaign that has been carried out by Hibakusha. Also, I'd like to talk about our expectations about what young people will pass on about atomic bomb survivors.

The atomic bomb survivors plan to visit local schools to talk about their experiences in a bid to appeal to the world for abolition of nuclear weapons.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and other global figures have gathered in the French capital for the reopening of the restored Notre Dame Cathedral.
The Parisian landmark was almost destroyed in a blaze five years ago.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and Britain's Prince William were among the dignitaries at Saturday's ceremony. President-elect Trump was on his first overseas trip since the November election. French President Emmanuel Macron looked back on the five years of restoration involving more than 2000 people, including artisans in various fields. Macron said they have rediscovered what great nations can do achieve the impossible. He called on people to never forget, how much each person counts, and how the greatness of the cathedral is inseparable from the work of all. Words of gratitude in French and other languages were projected onto the cathedral to show appreciation for the restoration workers and the donations from around the world.
Those were the main stories for this hour.

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And that's the news this hour. I'm Gene Otani. From all of us here at NHK Newsline to all around the world, thanks very much for joining us.