The Fall of the Captagon Empire: Assad’s Regime and the Drug Trade

Vanessa Kallas 2024-12-16 11:10 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Hezbollah Middle East Captagon Syria

The Assad regime has fallen, leaving behind the largest Captagon empire in the world. For years, the regime relied on the multibillion-dollar Captagon market to finance its war efforts, support allied militias like Hezbollah and circumvent international sanctions. Recent seizures of Captagon factories and pills in former regime strongholds ...

EditorialNavigating the Uncertainties of the Post-Assad Era

Michel Touma 2024-12-16 11:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Israel Middle East Benjamin Netanyahu Syria Bashar al-Assad

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had anticipated it well before Bashar al-Assad's downfall, pointing to the emergence of a new Middle East. Likewise, President-elect Donald Trump had set the tone during his campaign, emphasizing his commitment to forging peace in a region beset by over seven decades of armed conflict and largely ...

EU Sending Envoy to Talk to Syria's New Leaders

This is Beirut 2024-12-16 10:40 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Damascus European Union Syria HTS

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Monday the bloc's envoy to Syria was going to Damascus to talk to the new Islamist-led rulers, as Western powers stepped up engagement after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad. The outreach from Brussels comes after the United States and Britain said they had made contact with the new authorities in Damascus, ...

Gaza Rescuers Say Israeli Strikes Kill 40 Palestinians

This is Beirut 2024-12-16 10:10 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Hamas Israel Palestine United Nations

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli strikes across the Palestinian territory on Sunday killed at least 40 people, including several children, an Al Jazeera TV cameraman and three rescuers. Qatar-based news channel Al Jazeera said its cameraman Ahmed al-Louh was killed "in an Israeli bombardment" that targeted Nuseirat refugee camp in the ...

AnalysisSyria’s Future and the Shifting Tectonics

Charles Chartouni 2024-12-16 09:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Syria Turkey USA Israel

Syria’s political plight is at the crossroads between potential disintegration, renewed civil instabilities and eventual reconciliation, which helps overcome the bitter legacy of a long-haul civil war. The downfall of the Assad regime is of good omen since it sets an end to the excruciating travails bequeathed by a bloody dictatorship and its ...

Hundreds Feared Dead in Mayotte After Cyclone Chido

This is Beirut 2024-12-15 23:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

European Union United Nations Mayotte Cyclone Chido France

A senior official said Sunday that the death toll from cyclone Chido's passage across Mayotte would be in the hundreds, perhaps even thousands, as France rushed in rescue workers and supplies. Their efforts will likely be hindered by the damage to airports and electricity distribution in the French Indian Ocean territory. Even before the ...

Qatar Announces Embassy in Syria Will Reopen on Tuesday

This is Beirut 2024-12-15 22:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Qatar Syria Diplomacy HTS

Qatar's embassy to Syria is to resume operations on Tuesday, the Gulf emirate announced on Sunday as its diplomats visited the country and met with its transitional government following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad. "Qatar announces the resumption of the work of its embassy in the sisterly Syrian Arab Republic starting the day after ...

Syrians Return to Ruined Homes in City That Became Hezbollah Hub

This is Beirut 2024-12-15 21:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Hezbollah Syria HTS Qusayr

Residents of Qusayr in central Syria are finally returning home after the departure of Hezbollah fighters, who helped Bashar al-Assad's forces seize the city a decade ago and left with his fall. Many of the houses are now in ruins, after years under the control of the Lebanese armed group, a key Assad ally which had set up a military base and ...

VideosFez: UNESCO-Listed Medina, a Living Testament to Morocco’s History!

AFP 2024-12-15 20:35 - Reading : less than a minute

Fez, the cultural heart of Morocco, is home to a UNESCO-listed medina that offers a rich glimpse into the country’s history and craftsmanship. Spanning 280 hectares, it is one of the best-preserved old cities in the Arab-Muslim world. Within its walls, you’ll find centuries-old mosques, traditional madrassas and the Choura tannery, still ...

Israel Approves Plan to Double the Population of Annexed Golan Heights

This is Beirut 2024-12-15 20:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Golan Heights Israel Syria

The Israeli government on Sunday approved a plan to double the population of the occupied and annexed Golan Heights, following the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, the prime minister's office said. The government had "unanimously approved" the 40 million shekel ($11 million) "plan for the demographic development of the Golan... in light of the ...

Moscow Says ‘Part’ of Its Diplomatic Personnel in Syria Evacuated by Plane

This is Beirut 2024-12-15 20:15 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Russia Syria Tartus

Russia's foreign ministry said it has evacuated some of its diplomatic staff from Syria Sunday, a week after the fall of Bashar al-Assad. "On December 15, the withdrawal of part of the personnel of the Russian (diplomatic) representation in Damascus was carried out by a special flight of the Russian Air Force from the Hmeimim airbase" in Syria, ...

Al Jazeera Reports Its Journalist Killed in Israeli Strike On Gaza

This is Beirut 2024-12-15 19:50 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Israel Hamas Press Freedom Gaza Palestine

An Israeli airstrike on Gaza killed Al Jazeera journalist Ahmed al-Louh on Sunday, the Qatar-based network reported. The strike targeted the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, according to Al Jazeera's Arabic-language website. The Israeli military, when contacted by AFP for comment, stated that it is "looking into the reports." Since the ...