On January 29, 2025, a “Convention to Announce the Victory of the Syrian Revolution” was held in Damascus, where Ahmed Al-Sharaa aka Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani, who had served as leader of jihadi group Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), was announced interim president of Syria.[1] A “Statement Announcing the Victory of the …

On January 29, 2025, Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa aka Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani, described as the “leader of the new Syrian administration,” delivered an address titled “Victory Speech.”[1] Al-Sharaa celebrated the triumph of the Syrian revolution, as he announces radical transformation marked by leadership change, political restructuring, economic …

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Unless the world begins to value Palestinian life as equal to their own, ceasefires in Gaza will be mere pauses in the bloodshed, says Mohammed R. Mhawish. When my family and I emerged from the rubble of our home in Gaza in December 2023, we didn’t know if the calm …

Assessing North Korea’s Role in the Russia-Ukraine Conflict More details are emerging as North Korea continues its direct involvement in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. One interesting aspect is North Korean forces’ rules of engagement. Open-source indicators reveal that Pyongyang has ordered its fighters to avoid being taken as prisoners of …

In Syria, putting Humpty Dumpty together again is no mean task. Israel’s demolition of the ill-equipped Syrian military and the recent occupation of additional Syrian territory beyond the Golan Heights it conquered in the 1967 Middle East war is just one obstacle. So is a daunting list of challenges that, …

Ahmed Al-Sharaa’s announcement, made during a secretive conference in Damascus, left Syrians with unanswered questions about their country’s future Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa was named president of the country during its transitional period less than two months after Bashar al-Assad was toppled. Addressing a military conference, the Hayat …

Despite the delay in their release, Israel freed over a hundred Palestinian prisoners on Thursday as part of the third phase in the Gaza ceasefire deal Israel will release 110 Palestinian prisoners tonight in exchange for captives released earlier by Hamas, as part of the third phase of the ceasefire …

Bottom Line Up Front The Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement, if fully implemented, has the potential to calm the warfare that has roiled the region since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack.The Houthi movement (Ansarallah) vows to resume attacks on Israel, commercial shipping in the Red Sea, and U.S.-led coalition naval vessels, …

The United States has begun the process to again declare the Iran-backed Huthi rebel group of Yemen as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO), restoring the designation President Donald Trump set out during his first term. “Supported by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, which arms and trains terrorist organizations …