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, …
Read More »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 …
Read More »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 …
Read More »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 …
Read More »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 …
Read More »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 …
Read More »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 …
Read More »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 …
Read More »Muhamad Yehia A wave of Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen’s main airport Thursday just as the World Health Organization’s director-general said he was about to board a flight there. One of the U.N. plane’s crew was wounded, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X. The Israeli military …
Read More »Iran restores access to WhatsApp and Google Play after they were banned amid protests
Muhamad Yehia TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s government on Tuesday said it had lifted a ban on access to WhatsApp and Google Play after more than two years, the official IRNA news agency reported. The report said the country’s Supreme Council of Cyber Space made the decision in a meeting …
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