Author: Gulf News Week
When al-Assad fell, Mohamad Yamen finally felt free. On the first anniversary, he speaks of his hopes for the future.Damascus, Syria – In 2013, Mohamad Yamen, then nine years old, fled from the Damascus suburb of Jobar with his family.The Assad regime flattened Jobar, making it uninhabitable. Yamen and his parents moved to the Abbasiyyin neighbourhood of Damascus, where he continued his studies and dreamed of moving to Spain.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4How opposition forces toppled Syria’s Assad a year agolist 2 of 4Baraa in Syrialist 3 of 4One year since the fall of Bashar al-Assad: A…
Israel’s prime minister has said the duo will discuss ‘difficult’ phase two of Gaza ceasefire, which concerns governance of the enclave.United States President Donald Trump will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on December 29, according to an Israeli government spokesperson.The announcement on Monday did not provide any further details of the planned meeting, which the pair had tentatively announced last week.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Netanyahu will win again, because in Israel, ‘there is none like him’list 2 of 3Five key takeaways from Trump’s National Security Strategylist 3 of 3Gaza ceasefire deal…
Heglig is Sudan’s largest oil field and also the main processing facility for neighbouring South Sudan’s oil exports.The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) says it has seized control of the strategic Heglig oilfield in Sudan’s South Kordofan province.The claim early on Monday was supported later by a statement issued by the military government’s Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) saying it had withdrawn from the area. The takeover comes as the RSF, embroiled in a two-and-a-half-year conflict with the SAF, pushes to expand eastwards and southwards from the western Darfur region, over which it took full control last month.Recommended Stories list of…
Massacres at the start of the war in Sudan should have shocked the world into action. They didn’t. And so more massacres followed.Over the last two months in Darfur, Sudan, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have committed horrifying atrocities in the city of el-Fasher. There, they have fired on and killed civilians already shattered by more than 500 days of siege; people already so starved they have been forced to eat animal feed.People who have managed to escape – often walking to the town of Tawila, 60km (37 miles) southwest of el-Fasher – are deeply traumatised. The killings have been…
As Syria celebrates one year since the fall of its longtime ruler, we look back at the events that followed that historic day.Syrians are marking the first anniversary of the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, as the fractured nation struggles to overcome sectarianism and rebuild its economy following 14 years of civil war.The 53-year-long rule of the al-Assad family ended on December 8, 2024, after a lightning 11-day offensive that took Syria and the world by surprise.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Hope, flags, fireworks as Syria starts to celebrate a year without al-Assadlist 2 of 3The fragile fight…
A team has begun the painstaking work of identifying the remains of the disappeared, but it could take years.Damascus, Syria – In the basement of a nondescript building in Damascus is the Syrian Identification Centre’s forensic laboratory with storage units full of human bones.One cabinet is entirely dedicated to ribs. Another contains skulls.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Week in Pictures: Syria salutes year of al-Assad fall, Sudan’s sufferinglist 2 of 3The fragile fight for justice in a post-Assad Syrialist 3 of 3How many Syrians have returned home one year since the fall of al-Assad?end of listThese are…
After Yasser Abu Shabab was killed, al-Duhaini has pledged to continue the Popular Forces’ campaign against Hamas.As the chapter closes on Yasser Abu Shabab, 32, the “Popular Forces” militia leader who appeared in Rafah during the war and was widely viewed as a collaborator with Israel, Ghassan al-Duhaini has been named his successor.Soon after Abu Shabab was killed last Thursday, reportedly during a family dispute mediation, al-Duhaini, who was said to be injured in the same altercation, appeared in a video online dressed in military fatigues and walking among masked fighters under his command.But who is Ghassan al-Duhaini? Has he just appeared,…
Five pitchers combine to secure 3-2 victory for Abu Dhabi franchise, setting up championship series against Mumbai Cobras. The Mid East Falcons defeated the Arabia Wolves 3-2 on Sunday, securing a tie for first place in the inaugural Baseball United regular season. In a tightly contested final game at Baseball United Ballpark, the Falcons’ pitching staff delivered a collective standout performance. Five hurlers combined to hold the Wolves to just five hits, led by starter Shotaro Kasahara’s three scoreless innings and Yunis Halim, who earned the win with two shutout frames. Closer Haru Shoshioka recorded the final three outs to…
Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Festival plans a spectacular 62-minute fireworks display and 6,500-drone performance amid an expanded lineup of cultural shows and family activities Abu Dhabi’s Al Wathba will welcome 2026 with a monumental New Year’s Eve celebration, headlined by a 62-minute fireworks show aiming to break five Guinness World Records and a synchronized drone display featuring 6,500 aircraft. The Sheikh Zayed Festival’s program will unfold in five segments from 8:00 p.m. to midnight, with the main pyrotechnic and drone spectacle capping the evening. The drone show, described as the world’s largest single sortie, will run for 20 minutes and…
Facing global monetary divergence and tech disruption, Middle Eastern institutions are balancing growth themes with structured defensive assets to hedge volatility and enhance returns. Middle Eastern institutional investors are recalibrating their strategies for 2026, directing capital toward artificial intelligence (AI), structured private credit, and flexible bond allocations in response to shifting global monetary policies and technological transformation. The Janus Henderson Market GPS Investment Outlook 2026 identifies a converging set of opportunities in AI adoption, European equity rerating, and a resurgence in biotech. For Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) investors—including sovereign wealth funds managing trillions—this global outlook reinforces a strategic move toward active, theme-based…