Latest Bashar Assad News
Shiite pilgrims make annual pilgrimage in Iraq amid regional upheaval
BAGHDAD (AP) — Thousands of Shiite pilgrims dressed in black marched on Saturday, heading on foot toward the golden twin-domed shrine of Imam Moussa al-Kadhim in the northwestern Baghdad district of al-Kadhimiyah. The site in the Iraqi capital holds great religious significance...
Middle East latest: 4 Israeli women soldiers will be next hostages freed from Gaza
The second batch of Israeli hostages set to be released by Hamas this weekend are four female soldiers, an advocacy group representing the captives' family members confirmed Friday. Hamas had announced the names hours earlier. Under the terms of the fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire...
Syria's economic pains far from over despite Assad's ouster
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Samir al-Baghdad grabbed his pickax and walked up a wobbly set of stairs made of cinderblocks and rubble. He is rebuilding his destroyed family house in the Qaboun neighborhood near Damascus, Syria 's capital. The traditional building, which...
The Senate confirms John Ratcliffe to lead the CIA, giving Trump his second Cabinet member
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Thursday confirmed John Ratcliffe as CIA director, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead America's premier spy agency and his second nominee to win Senate approval. Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term and is...
Why Netanyahu's political future is as fragile as the ceasefire
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be flying high. Israel’s enemies across the region have been badly weakened during 15 months of war. Israeli hostages have begun to come home from captivity in Gaza, and Netanyahu’s good friend, Donald Trump, is...
Saudi foreign minister makes first official trip to Lebanon in a decade after years of strained ties
BEIRUT (AP) — Saudi Arabia's top diplomat visited Lebanon on Thursday for the first time in a decade following years of strained relations between the oil-rich kingdom and the small Mediterranean country. Prince Faisal bin Farhan's visit comes almost two months after a ceasefire...
Commercial flights between Turkey and Syria resume after 13 years
ISTANBUL (AP) — Commercial flights between Turkey and Syria resumed Thursday after 13 years with a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to Damascus. Turkish media showed Syrian families draped in their national flag singing pro-opposition songs and cheering as they prepared to...
Southern rebels loom large as Syria's new rulers try to form a national army
NAWA, Syria (AP) — As insurgents raced across Syria in a surprise offensive launched in the country's northwest late last year, officials from several countries backing either the rebels or Syria’s government met in Qatar on what to do. According to people briefed on the Dec. 7...
Middle East latest: Israel says it killed a militant in Gaza as fragile ceasefire holds
The Israeli military said Wednesday its soldiers killed an alleged militant in Gaza whom it said posed a threat to its forces, as the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas stretched into a fourth day. It appeared to be the first time since the ceasefire began Sunday that the Israeli...
Mother of missing journalist Austin Tice says Trump team offered help in search
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The mother of American journalist Austin Tice said Monday that the Trump administration had offered support to help find her son, who disappeared in Syria in 2012. Debra Tice made the remarks at a news conference in Damascus on her first visit to the country...
