Assad
WORLD
Syria: Latest Visit Hints at Russia’s Return to Syria
Syria’s new president Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Putin in Moscow, signalling a pragmatic reset as Russia seeks to rebuild influence in the Middle East.
EUROPE
Lebanon Teeters on Default: Europe Opts Out of Pushing Disarmament
Lebanon faces $11bn recovery costs, looming default, and stalled IMF bailout as France and the EU weigh aid against real reform demands.
EXCLUSIVE
A Tug of War: Türkiye and its Rivals in Syria
Türkiye emerges as Syria’s dominant power post-Assad, rejecting federalism to block Kurdish autonomy and rival regional influence.
EXCLUSIVE
The Vacuum Narrative: A Tool of Subjugation or Security?
The myth of post-regime chaos fuels authoritarian survival: fear of a vacuum blocks real democratic change in Syria, Yemen, and beyond.
EXCLUSIVE
ISIS 2.0: New Islamism in Syria and Iraq
ISIS-linked jihadist factions resurge in post-Assad Syria as a deadly church attack signals a dangerous new extremist consolidation.
Popular
Winter Storm Research Rewrites a Witch Trial Tragedy
As new research published in Smithsonian Magazine this week connects a 1617 Arctic storm to Norway's deadliest witch trials, climate historians reveal how weather shock fed decades of persecution.
Prediction Takes Politics: Prophets and Polymarkets Collide
As 11 Peruvian shamans predicted Nicolás Maduro's fall on 29 December 2025, crypto traders were placing similar bets online—five days before U.S. forces extracted the Venezuelan leader to New York.
Mladenov Takes Over Gaza Board After Regional Veto
Nickolay Mladenov becomes Gaza peace board head after Arab states blocked Tony Blair, raising questions about whose interests guide Washington's selection.
Abu Dhabi Rebuffs British Universities Over Campus Radicalisation
The world’s wealthiest patrons now view Western campuses as hazards, forcing a costly inversion of the traditional hierarchy that once defined global education.
Bury the Lead: MTV ‘Death’ and the Way We Read Now
As MTV continued broadcasting across the United States and most of Europe on 1 January 2026, millions of social media tributes mourned a channel that had never actually shut down.
