President Ahmad Al-Sharaa hosts first US Congress member to visit post-Assad Syria

President Ahmad Al-Sharaa hosts first US Congress member to visit post-Assad Syria
President Al-Sharaa meets with US Congressman Cory Mills in Damascus. (Courtesy: SANA)
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Updated 20 April 2025
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President Ahmad Al-Sharaa hosts first US Congress member to visit post-Assad Syria

President Ahmad Al-Sharaa hosts first US Congress member to visit post-Assad Syria
  • Rep. Cory Mills and Rep. Marlin Stutzman visited Syria at the invitation of the non-profit Syrian American Alliance for Peace and Prosperity
  • Washington has already eased some sanctions on Syria affecting essential services

DAMASCUS: Syria’s president on Saturday received a Republican member of Congress in the first visit to the country by American legislators since the ouster of former leader Bashar Assad in December.
State news agency SANA did not give details about the meeting between President Ahmad Al-Sharaa and Rep. Cory Mills of Florida in the capital Damascus. It said the meeting was attended by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shibani, and comes in the wake of calls by Syria’s new rulers for the lifting of sanctions imposed by the US and other Western nations early in the conflict.
Since arriving in Syria on an unofficial visit Friday, Mills and Rep. Marlin Stutzman of Indiana toured parts of Damascus, including the old quarter as well as one of the oldest synagogues in the world that was badly damaged and looted during the country’s 14-year conflict that killed half a million people. The came at the invitation of the Syrian American Alliance for Peace and Prosperity, a US-based nonprofit that describes its mission as fostering “a sustainable political, economic, and social partnership between the people of Syria and the United States.”
On Saturday, Stutzman visited the country’s notorious Saydnaya Prison near Damascus, where tens of thousands of people were subjected to killings and torture during the 54-year rule of the Assad family.
Al-Sharaa’s Islamist Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham group led the offensive that captured Damascus in early December, forcing Assad and his family to flee to his ally Russia, where he was given asylum.
Days after Assad was removed from power, the then-Biden administration decided not to pursue a $10 million reward it had offered for the capture of Al-Sharaa, a former leader of Al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria. The announcement in December followed a meeting between Al-Sharaa and then top US diplomat for the Middle East, Barbara Leaf, who led the first US diplomatic delegation into post-Assad Syria.
The Trump administration has yet to officially recognize the current Syrian government and Washington has not yet lifted harsh sanctions that were imposed during Assad’s rule.
After visiting the prison, Stutzman told reporters that he saw that the people of Syria now have energy and optimism, adding that as the country’s new government makes decisions, “it will be very helpful having the United States understand what the changes are here and that the sanctions lifted would be a huge economic boom.” Any move to lift sanctions “would be President Trump’s decision,” he said.
“As a member of Congress, I can go back home and share with my colleagues, share with the president and others, and tell the story of the changes that are happening in Syria and we want to be here to support that,” Stutzman said. “We would not want to see Syria fall back in the hands of another dictator.”
After the fall of Assad, the US eased some restrictions on Syria to allow the entry of humanitarian aid. The US Treasury issued a general license, lasting six months, that authorizes certain transactions with the Syrian government, including some energy sales and incidental transactions.
Syrian officials have been calling for the lifting of Western sanctions but the US administration has been demanding steps by the country’s new authorities including protecting the rights of religious and ethnic minorities.
“I think lifting the sanctions will be very beneficial and I understand why the people that I’m encountering and traveling with want the sanctions lifted,” Stutzman said.


Israel PM warns ‘more to come’ after strikes on Yemen ports

Israel PM warns ‘more to come’ after strikes on Yemen ports
Updated 7 sec ago
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Israel PM warns ‘more to come’ after strikes on Yemen ports

Israel PM warns ‘more to come’ after strikes on Yemen ports
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Yemen’s Houthi rebels there was “more to come” after the air force struck two rebel-held ports on Friday following Houthi missile attacks on Israel.
“Our pilots now hit successfully two terror ports belonging to the Houthis again. This is a continuation and there is more to come,” Netanyahu said in a video statement. “We are not willing to sit on the sidelines and let the Houthis attack us. We will hit them far more, including their leadership and all the infrastructure that allows them to hit us.”

British lawmakers praise Jordan’s role in regional peace efforts

British lawmakers praise Jordan’s role in regional peace efforts
Updated 16 May 2025
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British lawmakers praise Jordan’s role in regional peace efforts

British lawmakers praise Jordan’s role in regional peace efforts
  • Politicians stress value of Jordanian-British relations, necessity of strategic partnership
  • “Jordan plays an important role in consolidating stability in the Middle East,” said MP Hamilton

DUBAI: British lawmakers have applauded Jordan’s role in maintaining regional stability and providing aid to the Gaza Strip.

The comments came in an interview with the Jordan News Agency’s correspondent in London.

The visit was at the invitation of the British Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and was headed by MP Zuhair Khashman of the Jordanian delegation.

British politicians stressed the value of Jordanian-British relations and the necessity of their strategic partnership.

“Jordan plays an important role in consolidating stability in the Middle East,” said MP Fabian Hamilton, chairman of the BGIPU.

Hamilton added that there were three key reasons for its role in helping to stabilize the Middle East: its vital geographical location, its political stability, and the leadership of King Abdullah II.

Baroness Gloria Hooper, a member of the House of Lords, said a two-state solution in the region was essential to securing lasting peace. She also made note of the UK’s public opinion on the war in Gaza.

She added: “Despite growing pressure in Parliament on the British government to take more measures to stop the Israeli war on Gaza, we need to increase and redouble these efforts.”

MP Alistair Carmichael, chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Jordan Group, said: “The situation in Gaza is continuously deteriorating, making support for Jordanian humanitarian efforts a top priority.”

MP Bambos Charalambous said that “the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza cannot be dealt with by individual efforts or through a single country alone, but through broad international partnerships.”


Gaza, Sudan most at risk as global starvation approaches 300m: Report

Gaza, Sudan most at risk as global starvation approaches 300m: Report
Updated 16 May 2025
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Gaza, Sudan most at risk as global starvation approaches 300m: Report

Gaza, Sudan most at risk as global starvation approaches 300m: Report
  • Populations of both face ‘starvation, death, destitution and high rates of acute malnutrition’
  • War, aid cuts, climate among issues causing food shortages in Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia

LONDON: Almost 300 million people face death from starvation, with the most at risk in war-torn Gaza and Sudan, the latest Global Report on Food Crises has warned.

The report said 295.3 million people have been identified as facing “high levels of acute food insecurity” after a sixth consecutive year of the global number growing, with people in South Sudan, Yemen, Somalia, Afghanistan and Pakistan also noted as being at particular risk.

Cuts to humanitarian aid budgets and escalating conflicts were highlighted as having pushed as many as 13.7 million people into chronic food insecurity over the past 12 months.

The report noted that the number of people most at risk of food shortages as defined by the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification had more than doubled in that period, and that 95 percent of those were in Gaza and Sudan.

It added that the populations of both face “starvation, death, destitution and high rates of acute malnutrition.”

More than half of Gaza’s approximately 2.1 million people face “catastrophe,” while Sudan has as many as 24 million people suffering food insecurity. Famine has been officially declared in the African country.

“Intensifying conflict, increasing geopolitical tensions, global economic uncertainty and profound funding cuts are deepening acute food insecurity,” the GRFC said.

“Following the closure of all crossings into the Gaza Strip in early March, and the collapse of the two-month ceasefire, food access has been severely restricted.”

The GRFC said 19 other countries are suffering from worsening food security “aggravated” by drought, highlighting Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Ethiopia and Kenya.

War is also increasing several other countries’ food security, especially Nigeria and Myanmar.


UN peacekeepers attacked by civilians in Lebanon, no casualties reported

UN peacekeepers attacked by civilians in Lebanon, no casualties reported
Updated 16 May 2025
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UN peacekeepers attacked by civilians in Lebanon, no casualties reported

UN peacekeepers attacked by civilians in Lebanon, no casualties reported
  • The troops used non-lethal force to protect themselves and those present, according to UNIFIL
  • The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) were notified and arrived shortly after the incident

DUBAI: A large group of civilians wielding metal rods and axes attacked a patrol of UN troops in southern Lebanon on Friday, causing damage to UN vehicles but no injuries, a United Nations peacekeeping force said.

The UN troops used non-lethal force to protect themselves and those present, according to the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), adding the patrol had been on a routine operation between the villages of Jmayjmeh and Khirbat Silim.

The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) were notified and arrived shortly after the incident, escorting the patrol back to base.

UNIFIL said the patrol had been pre-planned and coordinated with the LAF.

The UN peacekeeping mission stressed that its mandate, under UN Security Council Resolution 1701, guarantees freedom of movement in its area of operations with or without LAF accompaniment.

On Wednesday, UNIFIL said that direct fire from the Israeli army had hit the perimeter of one of its peacekeeping positions in south Lebanon. UNIFIL said the incident on Tuesday was the first of its kind since Israel and Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire last November.


British doctor releases footage of aftermath of Israeli strike on Gaza hospital

British doctor releases footage of aftermath of Israeli strike on Gaza hospital
Updated 16 May 2025
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British doctor releases footage of aftermath of Israeli strike on Gaza hospital

British doctor releases footage of aftermath of Israeli strike on Gaza hospital
  • Dr. Tom Potokar, consultant plastic surgeon, took video after 6 bombs killed 28 people at European Gaza Hospital
  • ‘It’s a direct hit on the hospital … Shrapnel everywhere … Absolute mayhem’

LONDON: A British doctor in Gaza has released footage showing the devastation caused by an Israeli airstrike on the European Gaza Hospital near the southern city of Khan Younis on Thursday.

Dr. Tom Potokar, a consultant plastic surgeon, shared the video with the BBC, documenting the aftermath of an attack by Israel on the facility. Six bombs were dropped on the hospital, killing 28 people.

Potokar, who has traveled to Gaza 16 times to provide vital treatment to Palestinians trapped in the enclave, described the footage as a “snapshot” of his experience working at the hospital.

In the video, he described an “absolutely massive strike … right in front of the emergency room,” as people ran and lay on the ground outside the hospital.

“Shrapnel everywhere. Devastation right in the forecourt of the hospital. Absolutely terrible,” he said in the footage.

In further scenes described as “absolute mayhem,” Potokar walked through the corridors of the hospital as medics, patients and other civilians tried to respond to the attack. 

“It’s a direct hit on the hospital,” he said, as screams echoed in the background and smoke billowed through the building.

Standing outside an operating theater, Potokar then turned the camera on himself to survey the damage, and said the facility was “too dangerous” to take people to be operated on, and staff were leaving to find shelter. He later reported that the hospital had been entirely evacuated.

Potokar told the BBC: “We’ve been treating patients with huge open wounds, some even with maggots in, infected, multiple amputations, children down to the age of two with significant nerve injuries, traumatic brain injuries.”

At least 114 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza on Thursday, according to local authorities.