This is Beirut - Damascus

Silent Protest in Damascus Demands Justice for Assad Regime's Disappeared

This is Beirut, 2024-12-27 21:53 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

A silent crowd gathered in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Friday to press the new authorities about the fate of relatives who went missing under Bashar al-Assad and to demand justice for their loved ones. The fate of tens of thousands of people who disappeared under Assad, who was ousted on December 8 by a coalition of Islamist-led rebels, is a ...

Damascus Governor: Syria's New Government Seeks Peaceful Relations With Israel

This is Beirut, 2024-12-27 16:15 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

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Three weeks after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, the new Syrian government says it wants to establish cordial relations with Israel. This was stated by the governor of Damascus, Maher Marwan, during an interview with NPR in his office in the Syrian capital. Speaking on behalf of Syria's new leader, Ahmed el-Sharaa, Marwan stressed that ...

Souhaid from Damascus: What Unites Us Is Stronger Than Events

This is Beirut, 2024-12-27 13:25 - Reading : less than a minute

Damascus USA

In a speech in front of the Maronite Archdiocese of Damascus, former MP Fares Souhaid declared, “We have come from Lebanon to tell everyone to look with hope at the transformations in our region.” Souhaid added, “We came to tell our brothers in Syria that what unites us is stronger than the events, to wish a free and dignified life for all ...

'No More Fear': Stand-Up Comedy Returns to Post-Assad Syria

This is Beirut, 2024-12-26 11:15 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

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In post-Assad Syria, stand-up comedians are re-emerging to challenge taboos, mocking the former president and his regime and even testing the waters with Damascus's new rulers. Melki Mardini, a performer in the Syrian capital's stand-up scene, is among those embracing newfound freedoms. "The regime has fallen," he declares from the stage, ...

Turkey: The Arabs... Pawns Caught in Power Play

Marc Saikali, 2024-12-26 08:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Erdogan seems to be indomitable and relentless in pursuing his ambitions. He just pulled off a remarkable masterstroke: toppling the Assad regime, with an American green light and a tacit Russian approval. Once shunned and labeled the gravedigger of Ataturk’s secular legacy – not to mention contested in the ballot box – he has now staged a ...

Syria Authorities Say Torched 1 Million Captagon Pills

This is Beirut, 2024-12-25 14:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Damascus Saudi Arabia Syria captagon

Syria's new authorities torched a large stockpile of drugs on Wednesday, two security officials told AFP, including one million pills of captagon, whose industrial-scale production flourished under ousted president Bashar al-Assad. Captagon is a banned amphetamine-like stimulant that became Syria's largest export during the country's more than ...

Qatar Says Sanctions on Syria Must Be Lifted Quickly

This is Beirut, 2024-12-24 14:40 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Qatar syria sanctions Damascus

Qatar called on Tuesday for the quick removal of sanctions on Syria following the ousting of president Bashar al-Assad by Islamist-led rebels. "We call for intensified efforts to expedite the lifting of international sanctions on Syria," foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari told a regular briefing. Qatar's call came a day after a ...

US NGO Believes Missing Journalist Austin Tice 'Alive' in Syria

This is Beirut, 2024-12-24 13:45 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Damascus USA Syria Austin Tice NGO

US group Hostage Aid Worldwide said Tuesday that it believes journalist Austin Tice, who went missing in Syria in 2012, is still alive, though it did not offer concrete information on his whereabouts. "We have data that Austin is alive till January 2024, but the president of the US said in August that he is alive, and we are sure that he is alive ...

Turkey Says over 25,0000 Syrians Returned Home Since Assad's Fall

This is Beirut, 2024-12-24 13:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

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More than 25,000 Syrians have returned home from Turkey since Bashar al-Assad was overthrown by Islamist-led HTS rebels, Turkey's interior minister said Tuesday. Turkey is home to nearly three million refugees who fled the civil war that broke out in 2011, and whose presence has been an issue for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government. "The ...

Saudi Delegation Meets Syria's New Leader

This is Beirut, 2024-12-23 13:50 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

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A Saudi delegation has met Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, a source close to the government told AFP on Monday. The delegation joins a list of visitors to the Syrian capital since the Islamist Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, led by Sharaa, spearheaded the toppling of president Bashar al-Assad on December 8. The "Saudi senior ...

Jordan Foreign Minister Hold Talks With Syria's New Leader

This is Beirut, 2024-12-23 12:58 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

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Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi expressed his country's support for Syria's reconstruction in a meeting with its new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on Monday, in the latest visit to Damascus by a high-profile delegation since Bashar al-Assad's overthrow. It was the first trip to Syria by a senior Jordanian official since Assad's ...

Joumblatt Delivers 13-Point Memorandum to Al-Sharaa

This is Beirut, 2024-12-23 11:20 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Damascus Walid Jumblatt Ahmed al-Sharaa Lebanon

Following Sunday’s visit to Syria by the former head of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), Walid Joumblatt, a 13-point memorandum was submitted to Syria’s new leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa. The memorandum focuses on establishing “healthy and stable relations” between Beirut and Damascus. It also provides a potential roadmap for addressing ...

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