Monthly Archives: December 2024

Syrians demonstrate for national unity in several cities

Muhamad yehia DAMASCUS, Syria — Hundreds of Syrian demonstrators gathered after Friday payers in several cities calling for unity against sectarian divisions and to memorialize rebel fighters who have died. It marked the third consecutive Friday of demonstrations since Bashar Assad’s government was overthrown in a sweeping offensive led by …

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Chinese workers found in ‘slavery-like conditions’ in Brazil taken to hotels as probe gets underway

Muhamad Yehia CAMACARI, Brazil (AP) — Dozens of Chinese workers found by authorities in poor condition at a construction site in Brazil for electric vehicle automaker BYD have been taken and placed in hotels in the country’s tropical northeast region. Local prosecutors alleged that the laborers are victims of human trafficking who were living …

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Alone against a renewed insurgency, Assad may face the end of his rule without his strongest allies

Muhamad Yehia BEIRUT — The last time Syrian President Bashar Assad was in serious trouble was 10 years ago, at the height of the country’s civil war, when his forces lost control over parts of the largest city, Aleppo, and his opponents were closing in on the capital, Damascus. Back then, …

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Relatives of Bashar Assad arrested as they tried to fly out of Lebanon, officials say

Muhamad Yehia BEIRUT — The wife and daughter of one of deposed Syrian president Bashar Assad ’s cousins were arrested Friday at the Beirut airport, where they attempted to fly out with allegedly forged passports, Lebanese judicial and security officials said. Assad’s uncle departed the day before. Rasha Khazem, the wife …

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Italian journalist Cecilia Sala detained by police while reporting in Iran

Muhamad Yehia ROME (AP) — An Italian journalist who was reporting in Tehran has been detained by the Iranian police, Italy’s foreign ministry said in a statement Friday. Cecilia Sala was reporting in the Iranian capital when she was detained on Dec. 19, the ministry said, adding that it was …

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Israeli troops forcibly remove staff and patients from northern Gaza hospital, officials say

Muhamad Yehia DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip  — Israeli troops stormed one of the last hospitals operating in northern Gaza on Friday, forcing many staff and patients outside to strip in winter weather, the territory’s health ministry said. The army denied claims it had entered or set fire to the complex and accused …

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Israeli airstrikes hit a Yemen airport as a jet with hundreds onboard was landing, UN official says

Muhamad Yehia UNITED NATIONS  — Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen’s main airport as a civilian Airbus 320 with hundreds of passengers on board was landing and a U.N. delegation was waiting to leave, the U.N.’s top humanitarian official in Yemen said Friday. Julien Harneis told U.N. reporters that the most frightening thing about the …

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An online debate over foreign workers in tech shows tensions in Trump’s political coalition

Muhamad Yehia WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.  — An online spat between factions of Donald Trump’s supporters over immigration and the tech industry has thrown internal divisions in his political movement into public display, previewing the fissures and contradictory views his coalition could bring to the White House. The rift laid bare …

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China sanctions 7 companies over US military assistance to Taiwan

Muhamad Yehia BEIJING — The Chinese government placed sanctions on seven companies on Friday in response to recent U.S. announcements of military sales and aid to Taiwan, the self-governing island that China claims as part of its territory. The sanctions also come in response to the recent approval of the U.S. government’s annual …

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A baby froze to death overnight in Gaza as Israel and Hamas trade accusations of ceasefire delays

Muhamad Yehia JERUSALEM — A baby girl froze to death overnight in Gaza, while Israel and Hamas accused each other of complicating ceasefire efforts that could wind down the 14-month war. The 3-week old baby was the third to die from the cold in Gaza’s tent camps in recent days, doctors …

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