VOA Mandarin: Assad's fall affects Russia's popularity
Voice of America
A torn poster shows ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad at the entrance of a detention center in Damascus, Syria, Dec. 14, 2024.
With the sudden fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime and the beginning of Russia's withdrawal from Syria, Moscow's great power prestige and ambitions have suffered another blow, following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.
Macao's new leader, Sam Hou Fai, left, is sworn in by China's President Xi Jinping during an inauguration ceremony as part of marking the 25th anniversary of Macao's handover from Portugal to China, in Macao, Dec. 20, 2024.
FILE - The Russian oil tanker Volgoneft-147 stands in Muscat's Mina al-Fahl port, Feb. 7, 2000.
Chinese military personnel line up during the Golden Dragon military exercise in Svay Chok village, Kampong Chhnang province, north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, May 30, 2024.
A view of the launch event for the "New Mogadishu," a development initiative that aims to reshape the capital's economic landscape, in Mogadishu, Somalia, Dec. 19, 2024. (Somali National News Agency)
Vietnamese military officials look at S-125-2TM anti-aircraft missile launchers and ammunition during the Vietnam 2024 International Defense Expo in Hanoi on Dec. 19, 2024.
FILE - People examine photos as they search for missing or deceased people on the wall outside the morgue of Al-Mojtahed Hospital in Damascus, Syria, Dec. 11, 2024.
France's President Emmanuel Macron visits the Kavani district in Mamoudzou, on the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte on Dec. 19, 2024, following Cyclone Chido's passage over the archipelago. A young girl walks in the Kaweni slum on the outskirts of Mamoudzou, in the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte, Dec. 19, 2024, after Cyclone Chido. France's President Emmanuel Macron speaks with children during his visit at the Kavani district in Mamoudzou, on the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte on Dec. 19, 2024, following the Cyclone Chido's passage over the archipelago. A child sleeps at the Lycee des Lumires where he found refuge, in Mamoudzou, Mayotte, Dec. 19, 2024.
FILE - A Pakistani-made Shaheen-III missile, capable of carrying nuclear warheads, is displayed during a military parade in Islamabad, March 23, 2022.
FILE - The Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3 is anchored near Jutland, Denmark, Nov. 20, 2024. On Dec. 19, Denmark announced that China allowed investigators from four European nations to board the ship, which is suspected in the breach of undersea cables.
Fire personnel inspect a building burned down by a fire in Hanoi, Vietnam, Dec.19, 2024.
