--:-- Alyssa Nadwarni: Welcome to Up First from NPR News. I'm Alyssa Nadwarni.
Aisha Roscoe: And I'm Aisha Roscoe.
Alyssa Nadwarni: Syrian rebels are gaining momentum as they push their way towards the city of Homs. Government forces were unable to stop the insurgents from taking five towns in less than two weeks.
Aisha Roscoe: We'll have the latest developments on this story. Plus, in South Korea, political chaos after the president declared martial law. He's now facing calls to resign as lawmakers fight over whether to impeach him. We'll have the latest from Seoul. Plus, Pope Francis promotes 21 men to the Catholic Church's College of Cardinals. Stay with us. We have the news you need to start your weekend.
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--:-- Alyssa Nadwarni: A new chapter has started in the long-running Syrian civil war, after a coalition of rebel forces took several key cities. They haven't faced much opposition from government forces until today, as they fight to make their way to the city of Homs, less than 90 miles away from the capital, Damascus.
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--:-- Alyssa Nadwarni: NPR's Jane Araf is in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, near the Syrian border. Good morning, Jane.
Jane Araf: Good morning, Alyssa. So since this offensive started some two weeks ago, we've seen developments on the ground moving at a lightning pace. What's the latest?
Jane Araf: Well, the speed and the pace of this offensive is astonishing. A monitoring group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, now says that opposition fighters are just a few miles from the gates of the capital, Damascus. They earlier took Dara province, which was the start of the uprising that led to civil war more than a decade ago. And they appear close to be taking the major city of Homs, which would allow the opposition to isolate regime forces in coastal areas, Latakia and Tartus, which are key to President Bashar al-Assad's support.
--:-- Jane Araf: You just mentioned Tartus, where Russia has one of its few foreign bases. What is Russia doing at the moment?
Jane Araf: Well, it appears to be pulling out its warships, according to U.S. military sources. It propped up the Syrian regime the last time that the government faced a much more limited threat. And Russia is still launching airstrikes in support of the Syrian government, but it seems able or willing to devote the resources it has in the past.
--:-- Jane Araf: So I guess the big question here has to be if this insurgency could result in the fall of the Assad regime. And if that happens, what would that mean for Iran?
Jane Araf: When the Syrian regime 10 years ago lost control of Aleppo, the major city, Russia and Iran helped retake it. But they're both now in much weaker positions because they're fighting other conflicts. Mohamed Mustafa, who is an activist, the director of the U.S.-based Syrian Emergency Task Force, says these territorial losses we're seeing are of huge significance to Iran, which has used Syria as a corridor to send weapons and fighters to Lebanon and Iraq. It is the fact that Iran has lost its logistical hub in the Middle East. It has lost its connection of Tehran and Baghdad to Beirut or Damascus or the border of Jordan or the border of Israel.
--:-- Jane Araf: So there are a lot of borders there, you can see. And while speaking, Mustafa was getting calls from other activists who have been working for years for this moment and what they hope will follow. 13 years of gathering opposition forces, getting international support, building cases of war crimes against Syrian officials. You know, in this region, Syria for centuries has been considered sort of the beating heart of the Middle East. And between the civil war, the Syrian regime actions and sanctions, the country has been shattered. So for the opposition, it seems like the first time in a decade that there's a real chance of building a new Syria.
--:-- Jane Araf: But Alyssa, to do that, obviously, they'll have to include regime supporters and what is still a divided opposition. So refugees are obviously a huge concern here. Five million people fled Syria during the civil war. Would some of these Syrians go back in the event of a regime change?
Jane Araf: Yeah. You know, a generation has been born as refugees outside their own country. And right now, their families are glued to their phones watching news coverage, showing split screens with the rebel advances. If it were safe enough and they could rebuild their homes, many of them would return to Syria tomorrow.
--:-- Alyssa Nadwarni: Thank you so much, Jane. Jane Araf is in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, near the Syrian border.
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--:-- Aisha Roscoe: There's unprecedented political upheaval in South Korea this week, which started with the president declaring martial law. The parliament immediately reversed that order and threatened to impeach the president. But whether they can succeed with impeachment is unclear. NPR's Anthony Kuhn joins us from Seoul with the latest. Good morning.
Anthony Kuhn: Hi, Alyssa. So update us on this impeachment effort.
Anthony Kuhn: Well, ruling party lawmakers, that's the president's party, boycotted the vote. So the parliament did not get a quorum of 200 out of 300 lawmakers. And although the opposition parties have a majority in parliament, they don't have a two-thirds majority, so they couldn't have a valid vote. Opposition lawmakers say they're going to keep trying, keep submitting impeachment bills until one of them passes, but this one is pretty much finished.
--:-- Anthony Kuhn: You were in parliament today. What was it like?
Anthony Kuhn: I couldn't make it in. I was struggling to get through the massive crowds outside. Organizers estimated a million people there. Police put it at less than 150,000. It certainly reminded everybody of 2017 when there were huge protests and South Korea's first female president, Park Geun was impeached and later jailed on corruption charges.
--:-- Anthony Kuhn: Many of the people I spoke there with said they felt that they owed it to themselves and to their families and to history to be there. I spoke to a 60-year-old retired teacher named Lee-In Son, and when she was a college student in the 1980s, students who protested against the then-military government were often arrested, beaten, and tortured. And here's what she said.
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--:-- Anthony Kuhn: Politically deeply divided and polarized.
Aisha Roscoe: Anthony, what have lawmakers been saying about the president declaring martial law on Tuesday night?
Anthony Kuhn: Well, they say that martial law is supposed to be declared in case of emergencies like war or natural disasters. Yoon said he declared it because the opposition was blocking his bills, dogging him and his wife over corruption scandals. And opposition lawmakers say he tried to use the military to arrest top lawmakers, which you can't do under martial law. Earlier today, President Yoon apologized for trying to impose martial law, and he said he wouldn't try it again, but he didn't admit to doing anything illegal.
--:-- Anthony Kuhn: What does this political uncertainty mean for the relationship between South Korea and the U.S.?
Anthony Kuhn: Well, it looks like Yoon is going to keep his job for now, but his problem is that polls in South Korea show that 70 percent of the people think he should be impeached. And so it's highly likely that large-scale protests will continue. Now, the U.S. counts on South Korea for many things, investment in trade, dealing with the North Korean nuclear issue, and it generally sees South Korea as an ally that helps it to promote democracy and defend the liberal international order. But South Korea may be consumed, possibly for months, with defending its own democratic order.
--:-- Aisha Roscoe: Thank you so much, Anthony. Anthony Kuhn is in Seoul.
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--:-- Alyssa Nadwarni: Pope Francis is carrying out a major batch of promotions. He's created 21 new cardinals. But who are these new cardinals and how will they help shape or reshape the Catholic Church under Pope Francis? Claire Giengrave covers the Vatican and her work is produced through a collaboration between NPR and Religion News Service. Good morning, Claire.
Claire Giengrave: Hello. So what can you tell us about these 21 men?
Claire Giengrave: First of all, these men come from six different continents. Some represent very small Catholic communities from places like Japan and Serbia and Iran. It really is to show that Pope Francis wants to move the center of power in the Vatican away from the West and more towards a globalized church that can represent 1.3 billion believers around the world.
--:-- Claire Giengrave: I understand that you've had a chance to talk to some of the latest cardinals. What did you learn about their backgrounds?
Claire Giengrave: Well, the Vatican invited journalists to meet six of the new cardinals on Friday. And what really struck me is that these men are really representing the underdogs, not just in the political spectrum but also when it comes to church teaching. For example, I spoke to a bishop born in Ukraine who at 44 is going to be the youngest cardinal of the College of Cardinals and this likely means that he'll see plenty of conclaves. He made an impassioned speech for the plight of the Ukrainian people and how much he hopes that this position will help him speak to the Pope about what needs to be done to bring peace.
--:-- Claire Giengrave: The same can be said to the Chilean bishop of Palestinian origins, who was made a cardinal, and he also talked about how much there is a need to come to a solution in Gaza and bring peace and resolution to the conflict there. And talk about underdog, the Dominican friar Timothy Radcliffe was basically sidelined for 50 years of his ministry, where he challenged church teaching on inclusivity and welcoming towards marginalized groups, and especially women or LGBTQ Catholics. And it really reflects what kind of vision Pope Francis has for the future of the church.
--:-- Claire Giengrave: Yeah, so what is that vision? Like, how has the role of being a cardinal changed under Pope Francis? What's different now?
Claire Giengrave: Well, Pope Francis has remade the College of Cardinals. This is the 10th time in his papacy that he adds new members to the crop. At this point, he has selected the majority of people who will decide who his successor is, 80% in fact. It's a way for him to cement his legacy. But he's also changed dramatically what it means to be a cardinal in the Catholic Church. Once upon a time, they were considered princes of the church. They had comfy lodgings and they couldn't be fired or tried if they did something wrong. That's no longer true under Pope Francis. In fact, during the mass that Pope Francis usually does after a consistory... And the consistory is the ceremony where they become new cardinals, is that right?
--:-- Claire Giengrave: Yes, correct. The pope has taken to delivering a finger-wagging speech to the cardinals, telling them that this is not a time for them to settle down and relax. In fact, it's a moment for them to really come forward and be of service to their communities and represent the needs of this incredibly diverse and growing reality that is the Catholic Church.
--:-- Alyssa Nadwarni: Thank you so much, Claire. Claire Giangrave covers the Vatican and her work is produced through a collaboration between NPR and Religion News Service.
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--:-- Alyssa Nadwarni: And that's Up First for Saturday, December 7th. I'm Alyssa Nadwarni.
Aisha Roscoe: And I'm Aisha Roscoe. Our producer is Fernando Naro with help from Martin Patience and Andrew Craig. Our director is Michael Radcliffe. Our editors are Dee Parvez, Ed McNulty, Shannon Rhodes, James Heider, and Miguel Macias. Jay Sizz is our technical director with engineering support from Zach Coleman, David Greenberg, and Arthur Holliday-Lorent. Evie Stone is our senior supervising editor, Sarah Lucy Oliver is our executive producer. And Jim Cain is our deputy managing editor.
--:-- Alyssa Nadwarni: Tomorrow, on the Sunday Story from Up First, the federal government launched a program to support the poorest elderly and disabled Americans in 1972. Supplemental security income is a lifeline for some of the most vulnerable Americans. But outdated rules have damaged the efficacy of what was supposed to be a social safety net. And for more news, interviews, sports, and music, you can tune in to Weekend Edition on your radio. Go to stations.npr.org to find your local NPR station.
