ZEINA KARAM

Syrian President Bashar Assad looks on at his country's flag at the opening of the 16th ordinary session of Arab Summit in Tunis, May 22, 2004. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)
The fall of Bashar Assad after 13 years of war in Syria brings to an end a decades-long dynasty
Syrian President Bashar Assad has fled the country. Assad’s departure on Sunday brings to a dramatic close his nearly 14-year struggle to hold onto power in a brutal civil war that became a proxy battlefield for regional and international powers.
 
Syrians celebrate the arrival of opposition fighters in Damascus, Syria, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
Syrian government falls in stunning end to 50-year rule of Assad family
The Syrian government fell early Sunday in a stunning end to the 50-year rule of the Assad family after a sudden rebel offensive sprinted across government-held territory and entered the capital in 10 days.
 
An image of Syrian President Bashar Assad, riddled with bullets, is seen on the facade of the provincial government office in the aftermath of the opposition's takeover of Hama, Syria, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)
Alone against a renewed insurgency, Assad may face the end of his rule without his strongest allies
The last time Syrian President Bashar Assad was in serious trouble was 10 years ago. That was 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.
 
A destroyed journalists' car at the site where an Israeli airstrike hit a compound housing journalists, killing three media staffers from two different news agencies according to Lebanon's state-run National News Agency, in Hasbaya village, southeast Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
An Israeli airstrike killed journalists covering the war in Lebanon as they slept
An Israeli airstrike that hit a guesthouse in southeast Lebanon has killed three journalists who were covering the Israel-Hezbollah war.
 
FILE - People react during the funeral procession of their relatives, who were killed in Monday's Israeli airstrikes, in the southern village of Saksakieh, Lebanon, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari, File)
Lebanon fears Gaza-like carnage as Israel ramps up airstrikes across the country
Almost one year after launching its war on Hamas in Gaza, Israel has turned its focus on Lebanon, significantly ratcheting up the air campaign against its archenemy Hezbollah.
 
An Iranian demonstrator holds up a poster of the leader of Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group Hassan Nasrallah in a gathering to support Hezbollah at the Felestin (Palestine) Square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
What to know after Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah
The assassination of Hezbollah’s leader by Israel is a monumental and demoralizing blow to the Lebanese militant group he led for 32 years. It also marks a significant inflection point for Lebanon and the region.
 
A man who was injured in the explosion of one of the handheld devices, sits outside the Eye Specialist hospital, in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Thousands of exploding devices in Lebanon trigger a nation that has been on edge for years
For millions of Lebanese, this week’s mass explosion of pagers and walkie-talkies and the bloody aftermath are painfully similar to the horrific explosion four years ago of haphazardly stored ammonium nitrates that tore through Beirut’s port.
 
EXPLAINER: Will Russia bring Syrian fighters to Ukraine?
Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved bringing in volunteer fighters from the Middle East, particularly Syria, to fight in Ukraine. The development comes as Russia’s invasion is now in its third week.
 
Lebanon’s Cabinet wins confidence vote after power cut delay
Lebanon’s new Cabinet has won a vote of confidence from Parliament during a session that was delayed due to a power outage and a broken generator at the venue. It took some 40 minutes before electricity came back on.
 
Lebanese judge charges caretaker PM in August port explosion
Lebanon’s official news agency says the prosecutor probing last summer’s explosion at Beirut’s port has filed charges against the caretaker prime minister and three former ministers.
 
US sanctions Hezbollah-allied Lebanese Christian politician
The U.S. Treasury says it has imposed sanctions on Lebanon’s former foreign minister and a leading Christian political ally of the militant Hezbollah group.
 
FM says Germany ready to help Lebanon but reforms necessary
Germany’s foreign minister says his country stands ready to help Lebanon with reconstruction and further investment after last week’s massive explosion.
 
Lebanese PM says Cabinet will seek IMF financial assistance
Lebanon’s prime minister says his government will seek financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund based on an economic and financial reform plan that was approved earlier in the day.
 
Freezing weather compounds crisis for displaced in Syria
A military offensive on an opposition-controlled region of northwestern Syria has created one of the worst catastrophes for civilians in the country’s long-running war.
 
Unidentified planes hit Iraqi militiamen in Syria, killing 8
Activists and Iraqi officials say unidentified planes have hit targets in Syria near the border with Iraq, killing eight Iraqi militiamen amid soaring tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
 
World Bank sounds alarm about Lebanon amid protests, crisis
The World Bank has called on Lebanese authorities to urgently form a new government that can address the country’s worsening economic situation. It says that Lebanon “does not have the luxury of time to waste.”
 
Syrian army presses on in Idlib province as death toll rises
Syrian state-run media and a war monitor say government forces are pressing ahead with their military offensive in Idlib province, seizing a cluster of villages on the southeastern edges of the province.
 
Syria retakes territory in NW held by rebels since 2012
The army and a war monitor say Syrian President Bashar Assad’s troops have seized control of a string of villages in the northern countryside of Hama province, completing their takeover of the formerly rebel-held region just south of Idlib province for the first time since 2012.
 
Lebanon festival drops popular band after Christian pressure
Organizers of a multi-day Lebanese music festival have cancelled a planned concert by Mashrou’ Leila, a popular Mideast rock band whose lead singer is openly gay.
 
Lebanese rock band takes center stage in freedoms debate
A popular Mideast rock band known for its rousing concerts and lyrics challenging social norms in the conservative Arab world is once again at the center of a heated debate about freedom of expression, this time over a planned concert in its hometown in Lebanon.
 
Amid Iran tensions, a look at Mideast’s powers and proxies
The U.S. has tens of thousands of troops scattered across military bases in the Middle East.
 
Iran FM extends support for new Lebanese government
Iran’s foreign minister says his country is ready to cooperate with the new Lebanese government, offering support in all sectors, including military.
 
AP Interview: Iraqi militia leader wants US troops to leave
The leader of one of Iraq’s most powerful Iranian-backed militias says he expects a vote in the coming months by the Iraqi parliament calling for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
 
Trump move to pull US troops from Syria opens way to turmoil
President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out U.S. troops from Syria has plunged the volatile region into profound uncertainty and leaves America’s only allies in Syria in the lurch.
 
Militant or poet? US sanctions Hezbollah leader’s son
The son of Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader designated by the U.S. State Department this week as a “global terrorist” is a poet and music lover who is said to move around without security and whose role within the group is shrouded in secrecy.
 
Lebanon’s Hariri finds himself caught in regional feuds
Lebanon Prime Minister Saad Hariri has found himself caught between the region’s two feuding powers _ the Sunni kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran.
 
AP Exclusive: Lebanese PM’s brother breaks silence
Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s older brother has broken his silence over the premier’s mysterious resignation, saying he supports his brother’s decision to step down over the growing demands and actions of Hezbollah.
 
Hezbollah says new US measures won’t affect group
Hezbollah has dismissed a multimillion dollar reward offered by the Trump administration in return for information on two of its key operatives, describing it as an ongoing attempt to “demonize” the group.
 
Russia, Iran, Turkey sign on ‘de-escalation zones’ in Syria
Turkey, Iran and Russia have signed an agreement calling for the setting up of four “de-escalation zones” in war-torn Syria.
 
Syrian army retakes town of Palmyra as IS defenses crumble
Syrian state media say military forces have retaken the town of Palmyra from the Islamic State group.
 
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