World

World Bank: Welfare of Syrian Households Deteriorates
World Bank: Welfare of Syrian Households Deteriorates

Real GDP is projected to contract by 1.5% in 2024. As of 2022, poverty affects 69% of the population. Extreme poverty reached 27%, up from a negligible level in 2009. More than a decade of conflict, compounded by external shocks, has further worsened Syria’s dire economic situation in 2023 and led to a dramatic deterioration in the welfare of ...

Two Hezbollah Fighters Killed in Syria by an Israeli Strike
Two Hezbollah Fighters Killed in Syria by an Israeli Strike

An Israeli drone strike in central Syria killed two fighters from Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement on Saturday, a war monitor said. "An Israeli drone fired two missiles at a Hezbollah car and truck near the town of Qusayr in Homs province, as they were on their way to Al-Dabaa military airport, killing at least two Hezbollah fighters and ...

Hezbollah-Linked Syrian Official Killed in Damascus Car Bomb
Hezbollah-Linked Syrian Official Killed in Damascus Car Bomb

A car bomb killed a Syrian officer working with Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in Damascus Saturday, a war monitor said, with state media reporting one dead without identifying the victim. Bombings targeting military and civilian vehicles still occur intermittently in the Syrian capital more than 12 years into a devastating civil war. "A ...

Italy to Resume Funding for UNWRA
Italy to Resume Funding for UNWRA

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced on Saturday that Rome would restore funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees as he met with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa. "Italy has decided to resume financing specific projects intended for assistance to Palestinian refugees, but only after rigorous controls that ...

End of Chinese Military Intimidation Drills Around Taiwan
End of Chinese Military Intimidation Drills Around Taiwan

China puts an end to the military exercises around Taiwan, which began on Thursday morning in reaction to the election of pro-independence president Lai Ching-te. China has ended two days of military drills around Taiwan that saw jets loaded with live munitions and warships practice seizing and isolating the self-ruled island. The exercises ...

Hundreds of Tunisians Protest Media Law
Hundreds of Tunisians Protest Media Law

Several hundred Tunisians marched through the capital, on Friday, chanting "down with the dictatorship" as they protested a spate of arrests under a presidential decree critics say is being used to stifle dissent. Two Tunisian media figures received one-year jail sentences on Wednesday after making comments the authorities deemed critical, in the ...

Armenia Returns Four Villages to Azerbaijan, in Normalization Move
Armenia Returns Four Villages to Azerbaijan, in Normalization Move

In a key step towards normalizing ties between the historic rivals, Armenia has returned four border villages it seized decades ago to Azerbaijan. The move, which has sparked protracted protests in Armenia, represents an important move towards reaching a comprehensive peace agreement after years of fruitless talks mediated by Russia and Western ...

French Prosecutors Seek Life Sentences for Assad Officials
French Prosecutors Seek Life Sentences for Assad Officials

Prosecutors in France's first trial of officials from the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad said on Friday that they were seeking life sentences for three top security officers. On the final day of the trial before the Paris Criminal Court, they also asked for an international arrest warrant for the three, who are being tried in absentia for ...

China Warns Taiwan of War Amid Military Drills
China Warns Taiwan of War Amid Military Drills

China said on Friday that Taiwan's leadership was pushing the self-ruled island into war and warned of further "countermeasures," as Beijing conducted military drills around the territory. Chinese warships and fighter jets surrounded Taiwan on the second day of drills that Beijing said were a test of its ability to seize the island, days after ...

Iran Denies Foul Play in Raisi Helicopter Crash
Iran Denies Foul Play in Raisi Helicopter Crash

Iran's army has so far found no evidence of criminal activity in a helicopter crash that killed the country's President Ebrahim Raisi and seven others, state media reported. Raisi, 63 years, died on Sunday after his helicopter went down in the country's mountainous northwest, while returning from a dam inauguration on the border with ...

Russia Finally Says Islamic State Behind Deadly Moscow Attack
Russia Finally Says Islamic State Behind Deadly Moscow Attack

Russia said on Friday for the first time that the Islamic State coordinated the March concert hall attack in Moscow, the country's deadliest terror attack in two decades. "In the course of the investigation... it has been established that the preparations, the financing, the attack and the retreat of the terrorists were coordinated via the ...

First Iranian findings on the Raisi accident
First Iranian findings on the Raisi accident

An Iranian General Staff statement on Thursday presented the initial findings of the investigation into the crash of President Ebrahim Raisi's helicopter on Sunday. No suspicious elements were detected in the exchanges between the helicopter's crew and the control tower, the statement issued by the Iranian General Staff's public relations center ...