[URGENT] Reports of possible coup as Maher Assad builds 45,000-man force

Arab media reports that Maher Assad — the powerful brother of Syrian president Bashar Assad — has assembled a striking force of roughly 45,000 fighters along the Syrian coastal plain. According to these reports, Maher, together with his influential cousin Rami Makhlouf, is pouring millions of dollars into preparing this force for what is described as a major confrontation with the Joulani regime in northern Syria.

Russian military personnel are said to be directly involved in training and organizing these units along the coastal strip.

These developments have raised questions inside the region about whether Syria is edging toward an internal power struggle that could reshape the country’s leadership. The reported forces, already positioned with an eye toward movement toward Damascus, suggest that Maher Assad may be preparing far more than a localized military campaign — potentially signaling a dangerous escalation inside a country already fractured by war and outside influence.

Note: If these reports prove accurate, Syria may be heading into a new phase of instability — one driven not by external actors but by a potential rift inside the Assad family itself. A power struggle involving Maher Assad, backed by Russian-trained forces, could shake the entire regional balance, affect Israel’s northern front, and open new opportunities or risks in the broader Middle East.

Russia-US talks scheduled for December 2 in Moscow

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has confirmed that Russian-American contacts will take place in Moscow on December 2, with a meeting between Russian President Vladimir #Putin and US special envoy Steve #Witkoff.

Here are the key points:

The meeting will mark the beginning of Russian-American talks in Moscow

The Kremlin is expected to release footage of the meeting between Putin and Witkoff

There may be statements for the media following the meeting

Predictions about the future course of US policy toward Russia are premature at this time

Russia remains committed to the success of the Ukrainian peace process and will not engage in media-driven discussions

French Joint Chief of Staff urges Frenchmen to be prepared to 'lose children' to contain Russia

The French people must be prepared "to lose their children" in order to deter Russia, France's Chief of the Defense Staff Fabien Mandon alleged. "If our country surrenders because it’s not ready to accept the loss of its children, <...> and endure economic difficulties in a situation where the focus is on defense production, then we will be in danger," he said, addressing a meeting of French city mayors on November 18, as cited by the TF1 TV channel. Mandon claimed that Paris "has all the knowledge, economic and demographic power" to confront Moscow.

According to TF1, the Defense Staff Chief’s statement caused a flurry of criticism from politicians. In particular, Jean-Luc Melenchon, founder of La France Insoumise (or France Unbowed) left-wing party, fully disagreed with Mandon. "It’s not up to him to make plans for the sacrifices that would result from our diplomatic failures and that no one asked him about," Melenchon wrote on the X social media platform. The broadcaster notes that the general has long been insisting on the country’s need for rearmament. Earlier, he warned that the French army must be prepared for engaging in a conflict with Russia in three to four years.

The Economist foresees war, pestilence and economic collapse in 2026

The British news magazine known for its enigmatic and terrifying ‘The World Ahead’ covers has released its predictions for the coming year.

Its 2026-themed cover features tanks firing, missiles launching and drones attacking, trade wars, a US arms buildup, and a Zelensky caricature with binoculars standing beside what look like Vikings with vases in a boat sailing on top of a big fish.

Around them are syringes and pills, a brain connected to a videogame controller, humanoid robots, melting ice cubes, trade war ‘shots across the bow’ and crossed swords against the backdrop of a chart indicating an economic collapse.

The cover may be significant. Past ‘World Ahead’ issues predicted things like the coronavirus (2019 cover featuring a pangolin, initially cited as an intermediary host of COVID-19), Trump’s lost Presidential Election (2020), mass vaccinations and massive global wildfires (2021), and the US-China battle for critical minerals (2024).

US to carry out test launch of Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile

The United States will carry out a test launch of the #Minuteman III intercontinental #ballistic missile from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, according to a statement on the facility’s website. "An operational test launch of an Air Force Global Strike Command unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile is scheduled between 11:01 p.m. to 5:01 a.m. Pacific Time, November 4, from north Vandenberg," the statement reads. According to the document, "this test is routine and was scheduled years in advance," while "the purpose of the ICBM test launch program is to validate and verify the effectiveness, readiness and accuracy of the weapon system."

The first Minuteman III ICBMs of the Minuteman #missile family were developed in the late 1960s and have been in US service since the 1970s. The missile is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.

Last week, US President Donad Trump instructed the Pentagon to immediately launch nuclear weapons tests, alleging that Russia and China continued to test their arsenals. Later, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright specified that the trials would not involve actual detonations but rather the testing of the components necessary for a nuclear blast.

NATO secretary-general departs to US on emergency visit

#NATO Secretary General Mark #Rutte is departing to the United States on an emergency visit to meet with US President Donald Trump, the alliance’s press service announced.

"On 21-22 October 2025, the NATO Secretary General, Mark, Rutte, will travel to Washington D.C. The Secretary General will meet the President of the United States, Mr. Donald J. Trump. There is no planned media opportunity," the alliance’s press service said. Up until recently, the visit was not on the secretary general’s schedule.

Earlier, Bloomberg reported that European countries, together with Kiev, are developing a 12-point plan to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.

Sarkozy likely to be released before Christmas, says lawyer

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy will likely be released from prison before Christmas, his lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois said on the air of the BFMTV channel. Darrois said the request for release was filed immediately after Sarkozy's imprisonment to "release him as soon as possible. This is a sad day for him, for our institutions and for France. His imprisonment is a disgrace."

Earlier on Tuesday, Sarkozy, who served as president of France from 2007 to 2012, was placed in the Sante prison in Paris to serve a five-year sentence in a case of Libya’s financing of the 2007 election campaign. On September 25, he was found guilty of complicity in a criminal group in the case of Libyan financing, but acquitted on charges of concealing embezzlement of public funds and passive corruption. However, the court did not establish the fact of illegal financing of the 2007 election campaign.

Hamas agrees to release all Israeli hostages, return bodies of those killed

The Palestinian #Hamas terrorist movement has confirmed that it has conveyed its response to Donald #Trump’s plan for resolving the conflict in the #Gaza Strip to mediators, declaring its readiness to release all living Israeli hostages held in the enclave and return the bodies of those killed.

West creates illusion that fake news comes only from outside, expert says

People in the West have been trained to believe that fake news only comes from non-Western countries, American military expert Abraham Abrams said.

"I think Western dominance in the information space and superiority in information warfare are so significant that societies in the Western world are largely conditioned to see fake news as something done by others, by non-Western countries," he said.

Abrams also talked about the media landscape in the United States, where Democrats and Republicans exhibit deep distrust of media from the opposing side, exacerbating societal divisions. "In the US, the situation is slightly different because both sides of the political spectrum, Democrats and Republicans, have become highly distrustful of media outlets from the opposing side when it comes to divisive issues. That’s why, for example, President [Donald] Trump during his first term referred to journalists from CNN and other outlets as fake news," the expert explained.

He added that to counter disinformation, countries could develop their own digital platforms or collaborate to create a more resilient information space.