20 h. ago Syria’s leader proclaims ‘new history’ after signing constitutional declaration

Five-year transition period declared along with rights for women, freedom of expression and justice for Assad victimsSyria’s leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has hailed the start of a “new history” for his country, after signing into force a constitutional declaration regulating its five-year transitional period and laying out rights for women and freedom of expression.The declaration comes three months after Islamist-led rebels toppled Bashar al-Assad’s repressive government, leading to calls for an inclusive new Syria that respects rights. Continue reading...

Politics

27 h. ago Female Iranian climber who was arrested for competing without a hijab and had family home destroyed by regime is forced to leave the country

Elnaz Rekabi gained global attention in October 2022 when she took part in championships in South Korea without wearing the headscarf.

Society

29 h. ago Syrian leader signs constitution that puts the country under an Islamist group's rule for 5 years

Syria’s interim president has signed a temporary constitution that leaves the country under Islamist rule for five years during a transitional phase

Politics

37 h. ago The reluctant collaborator: surviving Syria’s brutal civil war – and its aftermath

At 18, Mustafa was told his only way out of prison was to join the regime forces. After 14 years, his past as one of Assad’s fighters could get him killedMustafa was 16 when he was detained and beaten by the police for the first time. It was early 2011, and the first stirrings of the Arab spring had grown into anti-government demonstrations across the Middle East. In Syria, a sense of anxious anticipation hung in the air, and the government was responding with propaganda films and TV shows designed to fire up nationalist sentiment. A friend of Mustafa’s hired him to play an extra in one of these shows. The job didn’t pay much, but it was more fun than the long hours Mustafa spent working in a restaurant kitchen. Tall and handsome, with dark eyes and long eyelashes, Mustafa dreamed that maybe one day he could join the long list of Syrians who starred on Arab TV dramas.The youngest of three brothers and a sister, Mustafa had grown up in a crowded working-class district in the eastern ...

Events

37 h. ago Beatings, bribery, boredom: one man’s struggle to survive Syria’s brutal civil war

At 18, Mustafa was told his only way out of prison was to join the regime forces. After 14 years, his past as one of Assad’s fighters could get him killedMustafa was 16 when he was detained and beaten by the police for the first time. It was early 2011, and the first stirrings of the Arab spring had grown into anti-government demonstrations across the Middle East. In Syria, a sense of anxious anticipation hung in the air, and the government was responding with propaganda films and TV shows designed to fire up nationalist sentiment. A friend of Mustafa’s hired him to play an extra in one of these shows. The job didn’t pay much, but it was more fun than the long hours Mustafa spent working in a restaurant kitchen. Tall and handsome, with dark eyes and long eyelashes, Mustafa dreamed that maybe one day he could join the long list of Syrians who starred on Arab TV dramas.The youngest of three brothers and a sister, Mustafa had grown up in a crowded working-class district in the eastern ...

Events

3 d. ago Syria’s leader signs deal to integrate Kurdish forces into new regime

Agreement with US-backed group puts all border crossings with Iraq and Turkey, airports and oil fields in northeast Syria under new regime’s control

Politics

5 d. ago More than 1,000 people killed in two days of clashes in Syria, war monitor says

About 745 civilians among those killed in fighting in Latakia province between security forces and fighters loyal to former president AssadMore than 1,000 people, including 745 civilians, were killed in the two days of clashes between Syrian security forces and fighters loyal to the former Assad regime and ensuing revenge killings, a war monitor has said, one of the highest death tolls in Syria since 2011.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitor, said 745 civilians were killed mostly execution-style, while 125 Syrian security forces and 148 Assad loyalists were killed. Death tolls from the two days of fighting have varied wildly, with some estimates putting the final death toll even higher. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago Death toll rises as Syrian security forces struggle to quell Assad loyalist attacks

Battle in Latakia is marked escalation by Bashar al-Assad loyalists against Syria’s new Islamist-led governmentSyrian security forces have battled Assad regime loyalists on Syria’s coast for a second day, as the country’s new government struggled to contain the biggest rebellion to its rule since it took power in December.Fighters loyal to the ousted Assad government ambushed Syrian security forces in a coordinated attack on Thursday afternoon in the countryside of Latakia province, a former stronghold of the deposed leader where many of Syria’s minority Alawite Islamic sect live. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago Gene Hackman's extreme exercise and diet regime forced on him by wife after they moved to a 'spiritual vortex'

The Hawaiian native, who was of Japanese ancestry, 'believed staying physically fit was of utmost importance to his health,' a source has told DailyMail.com.

Events

3 w. ago ‘We live in constant fear’: Alawites in Syria’s Homs terrified of reprisals

Diverse city has grown tense since fall of Assad regime, as security forces target groups loyal to the former dictatorOutside the deserted Homs political security directorate building, a group of freshly recruited armed guards were engaged in a heated debate about justice. Sado Junaid, whose sister and brother-in-law were detained and tortured in the squat facility’s underground prison, sided with Mahmoud al-Bashar, who as they spoke sometimes held the black coil of wire and a black-and-white rod once used to beat him and other detainees.They clashed with another young recruit about whether they should be allowed to torture officers from the deposed regime of Bashar al-Assad before any accused of crimes face trial, or whether suspects should be immediately delivered to Syria’s nascent justice system. Continue reading...

Society