With Syrian rebels edging ever-closer to the capital, President Bashar Al-Assad is making a last-ditch attempt to remain in power, including indirect diplomatic overtures to the US and President-elect Donald Trump, according to people with direct knowledge of the situation. Assad is ordering his army to fall back to defend Damascus, essentially ceding much of the country to insurgents, who seized the major cities of Aleppo and Hama in a lightning offensive over the past week. They’re now on the outskirts of Homs, less than 100 miles to the north. As his remaining troops dig in, Syria’s longtime ruler is signaling his willingness to reach a deal that would allow him to hold on to the rump territory his army controls, or guarantee his safe passage into exile if needed, said the people. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss secret meetings. Also Read | ‘Not our fight’: Donald Trump says US should avoid military action in Syria One offer Assad made to the US via the United Arab Emirates is for Syria to cut all involvement with Iran-backed militant groups, such as Hezbollah, if Western powers wield influence to stem the fighting, the people said. Another initiative saw Assad dispatch a senior Christian leader to meet Hungarian President Viktor Orban to relay what he sees as an existential threat to Syria’s Christian minority if Islamist rebels prevail, according to other people familiar with the plan. The intention was that Orban, a Trump ally, would convey this danger to the incoming US president, they said. It’s a dramatic turn of events for a dynasty that’s ruled Syria with an iron fist for half a century, crushed peaceful protests in 2011 and clung to power through years of civil war that spurred one of the worst humanitarian crises of modern times. Iranian and Russian military support was crucial to the survival of the 59-year-old president, but both are now distracted and stretched thin by other conflicts. Also Read | Syrian rebels storm Homs, just 20 kms away from capital Damascus | Top updates “Assad is in huge danger — it’s almost like in 2015 when the insurgents were at the gates of Damascus,” said Sergei Markov, a political consultant close to the Kremlin, referring to the year Russia intervened to save him. Western nations were equally surprised, including the US, which had largely relinquished much of its influence in Syria to Iran, Russia and Turkey but has reacted to protect its interests, according to senior officials. Multiple Western officials said it was difficult to see Assad remaining in power. The fall of Homs, Syria’s third-largest city, could cut the highway linking Damascus and the country’s west and Mediterranean coast — the stronghold of the Assads and loyalists from their Alawite sect. The president’s whereabouts are unclear, although he’s believed to be in Damascus or his hometown of Al-Qardaha, close to Russia’s Khmeimim airbase. It’s also possible he’s in the Iranian capital, Tehran, a person familiar with US policy said Saturday. Assad’s office issued a statement condemning “rumors and fake news,” saying the the president remains in the capital. Assad has ordered the bulk of Syria’s remaining army — estimated at between 30,000 to 40,000 fighters — to rush to defend Damascus, according to two people familiar with the matter. An army spokesman said in a TV address on Saturday that it was strengthening its defenses around the city and in southern Syria. The main rebel offensive has been led by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, or HTS, a former al-Qaeda affiliate, and various armed groups backed by Turkey. Other fighters have joined in, including army defectors who’d fought the regime and laid down arms in previous ceasefires, said the people. As rebels converge on Damascus from the north and south, Iran had drawn back its presence in Syria, leaving its military advisers concentrated around the capital, according to the people. Some Tehran-backed Iraqi militia have also returned their country after the government ceded the eastern city of Deir Ezzor to US-backed Kurdish fighters, they said. Russian personnel now remain mainly around the capital and at the Khmeimim airbase and Tartous naval base, they said. After a meeting with his Iranian and Turkish counterparts in Doha on Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow is “trying to do everything not to allow terrorists to prevail.” “We don’t want them to follow the fate of Iraqis, Libyans and other nations who were disturbed by the people desiring to keep their domination,” he said. Trump said Saturday a withdrawal from Syria might “be the best thing that can happen” to Russia and that troops shouldn’t get involved in the fighting. Back Channels Russia has launched airstrikes around Homs to try and stall the rebel advance. But with signs the Kremlin’s help may not be enough, Assad is pressing on with back-channel negotiations. A key goal would be retaining control of a portion of the country and addressing Turkey’s demands for a political transition and the potential return of millions of Syrian refugees, a major issue for Ankara. Assad is also proposing a new constitution and talks with the mostly exiled political opposition, according to the people familiar with the outreach. It’s unclear if the efforts will bear fruit. Events on the battlefield have their own momentum, and even countries such as Turkey that have influence over the rebels may not be able to fully control events. “I don’t think any of these outside powers have the leverage over their proxies to change the course of what is happening on the ground,” said Andreas Krieg, director of London-based MENA Analytica Ltd. “At this moment most bets are that the Assad regime may not be able to hold out.” Patriarch Visit It was against that backdrop that Assad sent Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II to Hungary on Monday to relay his fears. Syria’s Christian community makes up about 10% of the country’s 24 million population. The plan to have Orban relate this message to Trump was described by an aide to the patriarch and another person with knowledge of the encounter. People close to Trump couldn’t immediately comment, but said he had dispatched his in-law and Middle East adviser, Massad Boulos, to the UAE on Saturday to discuss the situation in the region. Assad has pursued similar tactics before. HTS leader Abu Mohammed Al-Jolani and other rebels have in recent days attempted to allay the fears of Christians and Syria’s other minorities that they envision a form of Islamic rule. Assad’s own Alawite community, which has stuck by him since 2011 and paid a heavy price to defend the regime, also appears to sense the end may be near. Nariman, an Alawite woman reached by phone in Damascus on Friday said she, her husband who’s in the security forces and their 23-year-old son were fleeing to their ancestral village near Jableh in western Syria. She said there were many families like hers. Nobody is going to fight for Assad this time, she said, asking not to be identified by her last name for reasons of safety.( MENAFN - EIN Presswire) Agility federal Hires Veterans! 2nd Lt Diana Dunnigan, US Army, Prepares for Exercises at Quantico, VA, circa 1995. Midshipman Brandon Fausti trains with the US Marines in Quantico, VA, circa 1989. Agility Federal LLC Achieves the Small Business Admintiatration's (SBA) HUBZone Certification for Third Consecutive Year Brandon Fausti Agility Federal +1 510-990-2282 email us here Visit us on social media: LinkedIn JOBS - Agility Federal is hiring for the next 10 years on $91B of awarded federal contracts supporting the VA, VHA, and ARPA-H in Healthcare, ERP, ITSM. Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. 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Baker Mayfield mocks Tommy DeVito's celebration as the Bucs embarrass the Giants 30-7I believe putting money in a Stocks and Shares ISA to invest in great businesses over the long term can potentially help to build wealth. That is why I do it. Along the way, though, here are a handful of common ISA mistakes I aim to avoid. 1. Spending too much on fees and commissions The first is an obvious one but still potentially a costly error. Fees and commissions can eat into the value of a Stocks and Shares ISA – over the long term, perhaps badly. So I take time on an ongoing basis to check whether I am using the that best suits my own needs. 2. Trading not investing I mentioned the long term above. That is because I do not aim to trade by buying and selling shares frequently (likely racking up commissions each time). Rather, I aim to buy what I think are great companies I would like to hold for a while. 3. Not spreading my investments enough Why did sell a lot of his ( ) stake recently? Whatever the reason, one benefit is improved diversification. It is easy to fall in love with an investment idea. It can also happen that a great idea leads to a soaring share price, so the role of one share in a portfolio balloons over time – exactly what happened with Buffett’s Apple stake. Either way, not staying diversified can be a costly mistake. With an annual of £20k, I think it is simple to keep diversified. 4. Buying the business case, not the share At its current price, I think Apple also illustrates another potentially costly investing mistake. Is Apple a great business? I think it is. The market for the sorts of products and services it sells is huge and I think it could grow over time. Within that market, Apple has a unique position that can help it make massive profits, as it has done consistently in recent years. From its brand to patents and customer base to distribution network, Apple has a strong “ “, as Buffett calls a company’s competitive advantage. But, is Apple a great share for me to buy today? I do not think so. In a nutshell, I think its price-to-earnings ratio of 39 means it is overvalued. As an investor, like Buffett, I am not only seeking to buy into great businesses. I also want to buy such shares at . 5. Not reviewing developments along the way But if doing too much can be a mistake, so can doing too little. Again, I think Buffett’s move on Apple is instructive here. He is not a trader, having held some of the shares he owns for decades. But equally, he does not have his head in the sand. A great investment idea can become less attractive because of changes in the company’s outlook, its share valuation, or both. So, although I do not keep tinkering with my Stocks and Shares ISA, that does not mean that I buy shares then ignore them for decades.

No, I’m not just like a Republican legislator | Marty EssenThe sight was a common one for Andrew Kolpacki. For many a Sunday, he would watch NFL games on TV and see quarterbacks putting their hands on their helmets, desperately trying to hear the play call from the sideline or booth as tens of thousands of fans screamed at the tops of their lungs. When the NCAA’s playing rules oversight committee this past spring approved the use of coach-to-player helmet communications in games for the 2024 season, Kolpacki, Michigan State’s head football equipment manager, knew the Spartans’ QBs and linebackers were going to have a problem. “There had to be some sort of solution,” he said. As it turns out, there was. And it was right across the street. Kolpacki reached out to Tamara Reid Bush, a mechanical engineering professor who not only heads the school’s Biomechanical Design Research Laboratory but also is a football season ticket-holder. Kolpacki “showed me some photos and said that other teams had just put duct tape inside the (earhole), and he asked me, ‘Do you think we can do anything better than duct tape,?” Bush said. “And I said, ‘Oh, absolutely.’” Bush and Rylie DuBois, a sophomore biosystems engineering major and undergraduate research assistant at the lab, set out to produce earhole inserts made from polylactic acid, a bio-based plastic, using a 3D printer. Part of the challenge was accounting for the earhole sizes and shapes that vary depending on helmet style. Once the season got underway with a Friday night home game against Florida Atlantic on Aug. 30, the helmets of starting quarterback Aidan Chiles and linebacker Jordan Turner were outfitted with the inserts, which helped mitigate crowd noise. DuBois attended the game, sitting in the student section. “I felt such a strong sense of accomplishment and pride,” DuBois said. “And I told all my friends around me about how I designed what they were wearing on the field.” All told, Bush and DuBois have produced around 180 sets of the inserts, a number that grew in part due to the variety of helmet designs and colors that are available to be worn by Spartan players any given Saturday. Plus, the engineering folks have been fine-tuning their design throughout the season. Dozens of Bowl Subdivision programs are doing something similar. In many cases, they’re getting 3D-printed earhole covers from XO Armor Technologies, which provides on-site, on-demand 3D printing of athletic wearables. The Auburn, Alabama-based company has donated its version of the earhole covers to the equipment managers of programs ranging from Georgia and Clemson to Boise State and Arizona State in the hope the schools would consider doing business with XO Armor in the future, said Jeff Klosterman, vice president of business development. XO Armor first was approached by the Houston Texans at the end of last season about creating something to assist quarterback C.J. Stroud in better hearing play calls delivered to his helmet during road games. XO Armor worked on a solution and had completed one when it received another inquiry: Ohio State, which had heard Michigan State was moving forward with helmet inserts, wondered if XO Armor had anything in the works. “We kind of just did this as a one-off favor to the Texans and honestly didn’t forecast it becoming our viral moment in college football,” Klosterman said. “We’ve now got about 60 teams across college football and the NFL wearing our sound-deadening earhole covers every weekend.” The rules state that only one player for each team is permitted to be in communication with coaches while on the field. For the Spartans, it’s typically Chiles on offense and Turner on defense. Turner prefers to have an insert in both earholes, but Chiles has asked that the insert be used in only one on his helmet. Chiles “likes to be able to feel like he has some sort of outward exposure,” Kolpacki said. Exposure is something the sophomore signal-caller from Long Beach, California, had in away games against Michigan and Oregon this season. Michigan Stadium welcomed 110,000-plus fans for the Oct. 26 matchup between the in-state rivals. And while just under 60,000 packed Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon, for the Ducks' 31-10 win over Michigan State three weeks earlier, it was plenty loud. “The Big Ten has some pretty impressive venues,” Kolpacki said. “It can be just deafening,” he said. “That's what those fans are there for is to create havoc and make it difficult for coaches to get a play call off.” Something that is a bit easier to handle, thanks to Bush and her team. She called the inserts a “win-win-win" for everyone. “It’s exciting for me to work with athletics and the football team," she said. "I think it’s really exciting for our students as well to take what they’ve learned and develop and design something and see it being used and executed.”TJ Perenara's Tiriti haka addition welcomed by both Te Pāti Māori and David Seymour