World

Assad Exit Puts US at Perilous Crossroads in Syria
Assad Exit Puts US at Perilous Crossroads in Syria

For more than a decade, the United States has sought to keep out of Syria's political debacle, seeing no viable partner. Islamist rebels' toppling of strongman Bashar al-Assad has forced a change of tune and a debate over just what US interests are. Donald Trump, who returns to the White House in little more than a month, on the eve of Assad's ...

Syrian Rescuers Urge Russia to Push Assad for Secret Prison Maps
Syrian Rescuers Urge Russia to Push Assad for Secret Prison Maps

Syria's White Helmet rescuers on Tuesday called on Russia to pressure former president Bashar al-Assad into providing maps of secret jails and lists of detainees as they race against time to release prisoners. The rescuers said they "sent a request to the United Nations through an international mediator to demand that Russia pressure... Assad ...

The Missing and Detained in Syria: Between Confusion and Inaccurate Estimates
ExplainerThe Missing and Detained in Syria: Between Confusion and Inaccurate Estimates

An independent emergency committee has been established by the national commission for missing and forcibly disappeared persons to investigate the fate of these individuals. The number of people reported missing during the Lebanese Civil War was previously estimated at 17,415. Additionally, between 200 and 700 Lebanese were believed to have been ...

Netanyahu Denies Charges in First Court Testimony in Corruption Trial
Netanyahu Denies Charges in First Court Testimony in Corruption Trial

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday dismissed the allegations against him as he testified in court for the first time in his corruption case. Netanyahu, who has repeatedly sought to delay his court appearance, is the first sitting Prime Minister of Israel to face a criminal trial. He faces charges of bribery, fraud, and ...

Victor Ambros: From Skepticism to the Nobel Prize
ExclusiveVictor Ambros: From Skepticism to the Nobel Prize

“All of my remaining realisable assets are to be disbursed as follows: the capital, converted to safe securities by my executors, is to constitute a fund, the interest on which is to be distributed annually as prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.” These were Alfred Nobel's final ...

Islamic State Executes 54 Soldiers Fleeing Rebel Advance in Central Syria
Islamic State Executes 54 Soldiers Fleeing Rebel Advance in Central Syria

A Syria war monitor said Tuesday that Islamic State group jihadists in central Homs province killed 54 soldiers who were fleeing as Islamist-led rebels pressed a major offensive on government-controlled areas. IS jihadists captured "personnel fleeing military service in the desert... during the collapse of the regime" of president Bashar al-Assad ...

Macron Vows to Name New Prime Minister Within 48 Hours
Macron Vows to Name New Prime Minister Within 48 Hours

French President Emmanuel Macron aims to name a new Prime Minister for France "within 48 hours", party chiefs who met him Tuesday told AFP in a bid to end the political deadlock following the ouster of Michel Barnier. The president invited leaders from across the political spectrum, leaving out the far-right National Rally (RN) and hard-left ...

Rewards for Justice: $10 Million for Information on American Missing in Syria
Rewards for Justice: $10 Million for Information on American Missing in Syria

The US embassy in Beirut shared an announcement by the US Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service Rewards for Justice, offering a “reward of up to $10 million for information leading to Austin Tice's whereabouts for his recovery, location and return.” Austin Tice, a US law student and freelance journalist has been missing since ...

Syria: Mohammed al-Bashir Appointed Head of Transitional Government
Syria: Mohammed al-Bashir Appointed Head of Transitional Government

The Syrian rebels now in power in Damascus have appointed Mohammed al-Bashir as head of a transitional government that will be in place until March 1, state media said Tuesday. "The general command has tasked us with running the transitional government until March 1," said a statement attributed to Bashir on state television's ...

Israel Orders Creation of Weapons-Free Zone in Southern Syria
Israel Orders Creation of Weapons-Free Zone in Southern Syria

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday that together with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he had instructed the military to create a weapons-free zone in southern Syria following the overthrow of Bashar Al-Assad. "Together with the prime minister, I have instructed the Israeli army to establish a sterile defense zone free of weapons ...

Syria, Rebuilding the Future
Syria, Rebuilding the Future

According to estimates from various UN and international sources, Syria's reconstruction could yield benefits for all. However, these prospects remain uncertain and far from guaranteed. With the country still reeling from the war that followed the 2011 uprising, Syria's reconstruction is shaping up to be a lengthy and costly process, but it ...