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WASHINGTON — Donald Trump on Sunday called for an immediate cease-fire in Russia’s war with Ukraine and the president-elect renewed warnings that he was open to pulling the United States out of NATO. Trump made his cease-fire proposal after a weekend meeting in Paris with French and Ukrainian leaders, claiming in a social media post that Kyiv “would like to make a deal” to end the more than 1,000-day war.

BEIRUT — Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the militant leader whose stunning insurgency toppled Syria’s President Bashar Assad, has spent years working to remake his public image, renouncing longtime ties to al-Qaida and depicting himself as a champion of pluralism and tolerance. In recent days, the insurgency even dropped his nom de guerre and began referring to him by his real name, Ahmad al-Sharaa. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The extent of that transformation from jihadi extremist to would-be state builder is now put to the test. Insurgents control capital Damascus, Assad has fled into hiding, 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.

BEIRUT — Syrian President Bashar Assad fled the country on Sunday, bringing to a dramatic close his nearly 14-year struggle to hold onto control as his country fragmented in a brutal civil war that became a proxy battlefield for regional and international powers. The exit of the 59-year-old Assad stood in stark contrast to his first months as Syria’s unlikely president in 2000, when many hoped he would be a young reformer after three decades of his father’s iron grip.

Deadly mystery illness has DR Congo on alert DW (English)Video: Doctors aren’t yet sure what the illness is that killed 143 people within 2 weeks CNNexpert reaction to unknown illness in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Science Media CentreMystery ‘Disease X’ Probed After Killing 79 People in Congo Bloomberg

Vortex electric field discovery could impact quantum computing Phys.orgObservation of new electric field signals strong potential for assorted devices: new research at City University of Hong Kong EurekAlertNew electric field can enhance electronic, optical devices: Researchers Daijiworld.com

Avian influenza detected in migratory birds as feds step up virus detection in California Sacramento BeeH5N1 outbreaks in California dairy cattle top 500 as virus strikes more poultry in 3 states University of Minnesota Twin CitiesMarin County health officials investigating possible bird-flu case in child San Francisco ChronicleFall Migration Brings the Return of Avian Influenza in Wild Birds Contra Costa News