Podcasts about assad

While filming in rebel-held Syria, Loubna Mrie is falsely accused of being a spy – an accusation that spirals into a life-threatening ordeal, triggering the deepest loss of her life.In 2011, Loubna Mrie broke from her loyalist family to join Syria's underground network of activists. She used her Alawite identity – the same minority sect as the ruling Assads – to move through checkpoints and secretly film anti-government protests, even as it put her in conflict with her powerful father and the regime that had shaped her childhood. But Loubna's Alawite background made her a target for both sides. While filming in a rebel-held village, a local commander falsely accused her of being “an Alawite spy” and planned to execute her. Rescued at the last moment by a fellow activist, Loubna fled Syria – uploading a video declaring her support for the uprising before crossing into Turkey. What followed was a shattering personal loss. From exile, Loubna struggled with grief, guilt and addiction. She lost friends and a partner to the war, survived alone in a new country, and eventually entered rehab – where she learned that Bashar al-Assad had finally fallen from power in Syria. For Loubna, the news was not a triumph but a painful reckoning: the end had come far too late for so many she loved. Loubna's written a book called Defiance: A Memoir of Awakening, Rebellion, and Survival in Syria.Loubna shares her story over two episodes. In the previous episode, she described her journey from a loyalist upbringing to becoming one of the unlikely young revolutionaries who documented Syria's civil war. In part two, the same identity that once protected her puts her in danger. Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Maryam Maruf Editor: Munazza KhanLives Less Ordinary is a podcast from the BBC World Service that brings you the most incredible true stories from around the world. Each episode a guest shares their most dramatic, moving, personal story. Listen for unbelievable twists, mysteries uncovered, and inspiring journeys - spanning the entire human experience. Step into someone else's life and expect the unexpected.   Got a story to tell? Send an email to liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or message us via WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784   You can read our privacy notice here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5YD3hBqmw26B8WMHt6GkQxG/lives-less-ordinary-privacy-notice

Years of civil war have turned whole areas of the city into rows of empty husks. But after the fall of Assad, Syrians have returned to their old homes determined to rebuild By Ghaith Abdul-Ahad. Read by Mo Ayoub. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Modern Syria has seen violence, repression, and autocracy, suffering through tragedy after tragedy over the past century. Yet the history of Syria is not just a tale of dictators and generals. From the 1800s to the 2020s, the Syrian people have engaged in a passionate struggle for justice, equality, and a better future. Whether fighting for national independence from French colonial rule, battling local landowning elites to share the country's wealth, or rising up against the Assad regime, the Syrian people have fiercely clung to their right to live with respect and dignity. Theirs is a story of protest and perseverance in the long fight to reshape the political destiny of their nation. Daniel Neep's new book, A History of Modern Syria, offers a gripping narrative of how Syrians have navigated the events of the last two centuries. Never losing sight of the fates of ordinary people, it provides a comprehensive account of how a nation born in conflict sustained a rich, complex, and diverse society that after the fall of Assad will chart a new path into the uncertain future. Daniel Neep is Non-Resident Fellow at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies, Brandeis University, and Senior Editor at Arab Center Washington DC. He has taught Middle East politics at George Washington University, Georgetown University, and the University of Exeter. He was previously Research Director (Syria) at the Council for British Research in the Levant and spent several years living in Syria and Jordan. He is also the author of Occupying Syria under the French Mandate: Insurgency, Space, and State Formation (Cambridge University Press, 2012) and articles in journals including International Affairs, Journal of Democracy, New Political Economy, and the Journal of Historical Sociology. Meet our discussant and chair Charles Tripp FBA is Professor Emeritus of Politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. His research interests include the nature of autocracy, state and resistance in the Middle East, the politics of Islamic identities, and the role of art in the constitution of the political. He is currently working on a project on the politics of memory in Tunisia. Jasmine Gani is Assistant Professor in International Relations Theory at LSE. She specialises in anti-colonial theory and history, and the politics of empire, race and knowledge production. She is author of 'The Role of Ideology in Syria-US Relations: Conflict and Cooperation' (2014), and co-editor of 'Actors and Dynamics in the Syrian Conflict's Middle Phase' (2022).

Courage is not loud. Sometimes it is a 13-year-old girl standing in a courtroom, promising to defend dignity no matter the cost.  Noura Ghazi's life was shaped by detention, disappearance, and resistance long before she became a human rights lawyer. Growing up in Damascus with a father repeatedly imprisoned for political opposition, she chose early to confront injustice through law rather than violence. From defending political prisoners during the Syrian revolution to marrying her husband inside a prison and later founding No Photo Zone, Noura has built a life rooted in resilience, civil rights advocacy, and unwavering belief in human dignity.  Now living in France as a political refugee, she continues her work supporting families of detainees, survivors of torture, and the disappeared. Her story is not simply about survival. It is about choosing mindset over fear, purpose over despair, and love even in the shadow of loss. This conversation invites reflection on what it means to remain Unstoppable when freedom, justice, and even safety are uncertain.  Highlights:  00:07:06 – A defining childhood moment reveals how a confrontation in a Syrian courtroom shaped Noura's lifelong commitment to defending political prisoners.  00:12:51 – The unpredictable nature of Syria's exceptional courts exposes how justice without standards creates generational instability and fear.  00:17:32 – The emotional aftermath of her father's release illustrates how imprisonment reshapes entire families, not just the person detained.  00:23:47 – Noura's pursuit of human rights education demonstrates how intentional learning becomes an act of resistance in restrictive systems.  00:32:10 – The early days of the Syrian revolution clarify how violence escalates when peaceful protest is met with force.  00:37:27 – Her marriage inside a prison and the global advocacy campaign that followed reflect how personal love can fuel public courage.  00:50:59 – A candid reflection on PTSD reveals how trauma can coexist with purpose and even deepen empathy for others.  About the Guest:   Noura Ghazi's life has been shaped by a single, unwavering mission: to defend dignity, freedom, and justice in the face of dictatorship. Born in Damascus into a family deeply rooted in political resistance, she witnessed firsthand the cost of speaking out when her father was detained, tortured, and disappeared multiple times. That lived experience became her calling. Since 2004, she has defended political prisoners before Syria's Supreme Security State Court, and when the Syrian revolution began in 2011, she fully committed herself to supporting detainees and the families of the disappeared. Even after her husband, activist Bassel Khartabil Safadi, was detained, disappeared, and ultimately executed, she continued her advocacy with extraordinary resolve.  Forced into exile in 2018 after repeated threats and arrest warrants, Noura founded NoPhotoZone to provide legal aid, psychological support, and international advocacy for victims of detention, torture, enforced disappearance, and displacement across Syria, Lebanon, and Turkey. Her mission is not only to seek justice for the imprisoned and the missing, but to restore agency and hope to families living in uncertainty and trauma. Recognized globally for her courage and leadership, Noura remains committed to amplifying the voices of the silenced and ensuring that even in the darkest systems, human rights and human dignity are never forgotten.  https://nouraghazi.org/   https://nophotozone.org/   Book – Waiting by Noura Ghazi - https://www.lulu.com/shop/noura-ghazi-safadi/waiting/paperback/product-1jz2kz2j.html?page=1&pageSize=4   About the Host:  Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.  Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.  https://michaelhingson.com   https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/   https://twitter.com/mhingson   https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson   https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/  Thanks for listening!  Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.  Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!  Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can follow the podcast on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.  Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you are enjoying the show, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. Michael Hingson  00:09 Well, welcome everyone to another episode of unstoppable mindset. Today, we get to chat with Nora Ghazi, who lives in, I believe, France right now. She was born in Syria. She'll tell us about that, and she has had an interesting life, and I would say, a life that has had lots of challenges and some treachery along the way. But we'll get to all of that, and I will leave it to her to describe most of that, but I just want to tell you all we really appreciate you being here and hope you enjoy the episode. So Nora, how are you? Noura Ghazi  00:49 Thank you, Michael, for having me in this great broadcast, doing well. Michael Hingson  00:57 Well, there you go. Well, why don't we start? I love to start this way. Why don't you tell us kind of about the early Nora, growing up and so on, where you grew up, what anything you want to talk about, regarding being a younger person and all of that and and however we want to proceed, we'll go from there. Noura Ghazi  01:17 Okay, so since I was a child, my childhood wasn't like normal, like all the kids at my age, because my father was like a leader in opposition party against the previous Syrian regime. Michael Hingson  01:34 So you were born in Syria? Noura Ghazi  01:37 Yes, I work in Damascus. I'm from Damascus, but I have some like multiple origin that I'm proud of. But yes, I'm from Damascus. So since I was five years old, my father was disappeared and because he was wanted with other, like fellows at his party and other, let's say aliens, parties of opposition against the previous regime. So he disappeared for six years, then he was detained and transferred to what was named the supreme security state court. So it was during my adultness, let's say so since I was a child like I had at that time, only one sister, which is one year younger than me, we were moving a lot. We had no place to live. So my mother used to take us each few days to stay at some, someone place, let's say so it caused to us like changing schools all, all the time, which means changing friends. So it was very weird. And at that age, okay, I I knew the words of like cause, the words of leader or dictatorship. I used to say these words, but without knowing what does it mean. Then, when my father detained, it was his ninth detention. Actually, my mother was pregnant with my brother, so my brother was born while my father was in prison. And while he was in prison, the last time he disappeared for one year, three months, he was in like a kind of isolation in security facility. Then he was referred to this court. So in one of the sessions of the trials, I had a fight with the officer who, like who was leading the patrol that bring my father and other prisoners of conscience. So at the end of this fight, I promised my father and the officer that, okay, I will grow up and become a human rights lawyer and defend political prisoners, which I did at the end. Michael Hingson  04:05 So what? What was the officer doing? He was taking people to the court. Noura Ghazi  04:12 Yes, because Okay, so there is many kind of prisons now. They became like, more familiar to like public opinion because of, like 15 years of violence in Syria. So there was, like the the central civil prison in Damascus, which we call ADRA prison, and we have said, NIA jail, military prison. So those two prisons, they were like, holding detainees in them. So they they used to bring detainees to the court in busses, like a kind of military busses, with patrol of like civil police and military police. So the officer was like. Heading the patrol that was bringing my fathers from other prison. Michael Hingson  05:05 So you, so you, what was the fight about with the officer and your father and so on? What? How? Well, yeah, what was the fight? Noura Ghazi  05:16 It's very good question, although at that time, it was a very like scary situation, but now I laughed a lot about it. Okay, so they used to to catch all the prisoners in one chain with the handcuffs. So we used to come to hug and kiss my father before entering the court. So I was doing what I used to do during the trials, or just upon the trials, and then one of the policemen, like pushed me away. So I got nervous, and my father got nervous. So the officer provoked me. He was like a kind of insulting that my father is a detainee, and he is like he's coming to this court. So I, like I replied that I'm proud of my father and his friends what they are doing. So he somehow, he threats me to detain me like my father, and at that time, I was very angry, and I curse the father Assad just in on the like in the door, at the door of the court, and there was people and and Like all the the policemen, like they were just pointing their weapon to me, and there was some moments of silence. Then they took all the detainees into the court. So at this moment, while I'm entering the court behind them, I said, I will grow up and become a human rights lawyer to defend political prisoners. Michael Hingson  07:02 What did the officers say to that? Noura Ghazi  07:06 Because they used to look to us as because we are. We were against father Assad and the dictatorship, so they used to see us, even if we are kids, as enemies. Michael Hingson  07:22 Yeah, so the officer but, but he didn't detain you. I was Noura Ghazi  07:27 only 13 years, yeah, okay, they used to to arrest the kids, but they didn't. Michael Hingson  07:37 So did the officer react to your comment? You're going to grow up to become a civil rights lawyer? Noura Ghazi  07:43 He was shocked, was he? But I don't know if he knew that I become a human yes, there at the end, yeah. Michael Hingson  07:54 And meanwhile, what did your father do or say? Noura Ghazi  07:58 He was shocked also, but he was very proud, and until now, he like every time, because I'm also like, very close to to his friends who I used to visit in prison. Then I become a human rights lawyer, and I was the youngest lawyer in Syria. I was only 22 years old when I started to practice law. So during the the revolution in Syria, which started in 2011 some of his friends were detained, and I was their lawyer also. So I'm very close to them. So until now, they remember this story and laugh about it, because no one could curse or say anything not good about father Assad or or the family, even in secret. So it's still, like, very funny, and I'm still like, stuck somehow in, like, in this career and the kind of activism I'm doing, because just I got angry of the officer 30 years ago. So at this, at that moment, I've decided what I will be in the future. I'm just doing it well. Michael Hingson  09:20 From everything I've read, it sounds like you do a good job. Noura Ghazi  09:25 I cannot say it's a job, because usually you you do a job, you get paid for your job, you go at a certain time and come back at a certain time. You do certain tasks. But for me, it's like a continuing fight, non violent fight, of course, for dignity, for freedom, for justice, right, for reveal the truth of those who were disappeared and got missing. So yes, until now, I'm doing this, so I don't have that. Are the luxury to to be paid all the time, or to be to have weekends or to work until like certain hour at night. I cannot say I'm enjoying it, but this is the reason why I'm still alive, because I have a motive to help and support other people who are victims to dictatorship and violence. Michael Hingson  10:25 So your father went into court and what happened? Noura Ghazi  10:31 He was sentenced. At the end, he was sentenced to three years in prison. And it's a funny story, another funny story, actually, because, like the other latines at that at that trial, like it was only my father and other two prisoners who sent who were sentenced to three years in prison, while other people, the minimum was seven years in Prison, until 15 years in prison. So my mother and us, we felt like we are embarrassed and shy because, okay, our father will will be released like in few months, but other prisoners will stay much longer. So it's something very embarrassing to our friends who whom their fathers got sentenced to like more. Michael Hingson  11:30 Did you ever find out why it was only three years? Noura Ghazi  11:33 We don't know because it's an exceptional court, so it's up to the judge and the judge at that time, like it's it's very similar to what is happening now and what happened after 2011 so it's a kind of continuing reality in in Syria since like 63 which was the first time my father was detained. It was in 63 just after the what they called the eighth March revolution. So my father was only 11 years old when he was detained the first time because he participated in a protest. So it's up to the judge. It's not like a real court with like the the fair trial standards. So it's it's only once you know, the judge said the sentences for each one. So two prisoners got confused. They couldn't differentiate like Which sentence to whom, so they asked like again, so he forgot, so he said them again in different way. So it's something like, very spontaneously, yeah, very just moody, not any standard. Michael Hingson  12:51 Well, so Did your father then serve the three years and was released. Or what happened? Noura Ghazi  12:58 He was released on the day that he should be released, he disappeared for few days. We didn't know what happened. Then he was released. Finally he came. We used to live with my my grandma, so I was the one who opened the door, and I saw just my father. So we we knew later that okay, he was moved again to a security facility because he refused to sign a paper that say that he will not practice any oppositional action against the authority. So he refused, yeah, yeah. Michael Hingson  13:43 Well, I mean, I'm sure there's, there's a continuing story, what happened to him after that. So he came home, Noura Ghazi  13:53 he came out to my grandma. It was a big surprise, like full of joy, but full of tears as well. Michael Hingson  14:01 And you're you were 16 now, right? Noura Ghazi  14:04 I was when he was raised. I was 15, yeah, okay, yeah. And my sister was 14. My brother was two years and a half, so for him, okay, the father is this person that we visit behind bars every Monday, not this one who stay with us. So for him, it was weird. For my brother, he was very like little kid to understand. Then my father went to to see his parents as well. Then we came back to our apartment that we couldn't live more than few months because my father was detained. So at this night, everything was very, very, very new, like because before the three years he he was disappeared for six years, so there was. Nine years. We don't live with my father, so my brother used to sleep just next to my mom, actually my sister and me, but okay, we were like a teenager, so it's okay. So my brother couldn't sleep. Because why he keep, he kept asking why my father is sleeping with us while he's not with his friend at that place. And he was traumatized for many days. But usually when, like a political prisoner released, usually, like, we have a kind of two, three weeks of people visiting the family to say, Okay, it's it's good. We're happy for you that he was released. So the first two, three weeks were full of people and like, social events, etc. Then the, the real problem started. So my father studied law, but he was fired from university for security reasons at the the last year of his study, and as he was sentenced so he couldn't work, my mother used to work, and so like suddenly he started to feel that okay, He's not able to work. He's not able to fulfill the needs of his family. He's not able to spend on the family. The problems between him and my mother started. We couldn't as like my sister and me as teenagers. We couldn't really accept him. We couldn't see that. He's the same person that we used to visit in prison. He was very friendly. We used to talk about everything in life, including the very personal things that usually daughters don't speak with fathers about it. But then he became a father, which we we we weren't used to it, and he was shocked also. So I can say that this, this situation, at least on emotional and psychological level, for me, it lasted for 15 years. I couldn't accept him very well, even my my sister and and the brother and it happens to all like prisoners, political prisoners, especially who spent long time in prison. Michael Hingson  17:32 So now is your father and well, are your father and your mother still alive? Or are they around? Noura Ghazi  17:41 They are still alive. They are still in Damascus, Michael Hingson  17:44 and they're still in Damascus. Yes, how is I guess I'll just ask it now, how is Syria different today than it was in the Assad regime, Noura Ghazi  17:56 like most of Syrians, and now we should differentiate about what Syrians will talk. We're talking so like those Syrians, like the majority of Syrians, and I'm meaning here, I'm sorry, I shouldn't be very direct. Now, the Arab Sunni Syrians, most of them, they are very happy. They are calling what happened in in last eight December, that it's the deliberation of Syria, but for other minorities, like religious or ethnic minorities, of course, it's almost the same. For me, I feel that okay, we have the same dictatorship now, the same corruption, the same of like lack of freedom of expression. But the the added that we have now is that we have Islamist who control Syria. We have extremists who control Syria. They intervene even in personal freedoms. They they are like, like, they are committing crimes against minorities, like it started last March, against alawed. It started last July, against Druze. Now it is starting against Kurdish, and unfortunately, the international community turning like an attorney, like, okay. They are okay with with it, because they want, like their own interest, their own benefits. They have another crisis in the world to take care and to think about, not Syria. So the most important for the international community is to have a stable situation in Syria, to be like, like, no kind of like, no fight zone in the Middle East, and they don't care about Syrian people. And this is very frustrating for those who. Who have the same beliefs that I have. Michael Hingson  20:04 So in a lot of ways, you're saying it hasn't, hasn't really changed, and only the, only the faces and names have changed, but not the actions or the results Noura Ghazi  20:16 the faces and names, and most important, the sects, has changed. So it was very obvious for me that most of Syrians, they don't mind to be controlled by dictator. They only mind what is the sect of this dictator? Michael Hingson  20:35 Unfortunately. Well, yeah. Well, let's go back to you. So your father was released, and you had already made your decision about what you wanted to be, what how does school work over there? Did you go to a, what we would call a high school? Or how does all that work? Noura Ghazi  20:58 Yeah, high school, I was among the like the student who got the highest score in Damascus. I was the fourth one on Damascus when I finished. We call it back like Baccalaureate in Syria, which came from French. And I studied law, and I was also very, like, really hard, hard study person. So I was graduated in four years. Actually, nobody in Syria used to finish studying law in Damascus University only in four years. Like some people stayed more than 10 years because it it was very difficult, and it's different than like law college or law school or university of law, depending on the country, than other countries, because we only like study law. Theoretically, we don't have any practice because we were 1000s of students, it was the like the maximum university that include students. And I registered immediately in the Bar Association in Damascus, and I started because we have, like, a kind, it's, it's similar to stage for two years, like under the supervision of another lawyer who was my uncle at the first and then we we have to choose a topic in certain domain of flow, to write a kind of book which is like, it's similar to thesis, to apply it, to approve it, and then to have the kind of interactive examination, then we have the the final graduated. So all of them to be like a practice lawyer. It's around six years, a little bit more. So my specialist was in criminal law, and my thesis, what about what we call the the impossible crime. It was complicated topic. I have to say that in Syria at that time, I'm talking about end of of 90s, beginning of 2000 so we don't have any kind of study related to human rights. We weren't allowed even to spell this word like human rights. So then in 2005 and 2006 I started to study human rights under international laws related to human rights in Jordan. So I became like a kind of certified human rights defenders and the trainer also, Michael Hingson  23:47 okay, and so you said you started practice and you finished school when you started practice, when you were 22 Yes, okay, I'm curious what, what were things like after September 11, of course, you know, we had the terrorist attacks and so on. Did any of that affect anything over in Syria, where you lived, Noura Ghazi  24:15 of course, like, we stayed talking, watching the news for like four months, like until now we remember, like September 11. But you know, I now when I remember, it was a shock, usually for the Arab world, or Arab people like America is against the Arab world. So everything happened against it was like, this was like, let's say 2030, years ago. Everything that caused any harm to America, they celebrate it. So that. At that time, I was 19 years old, and okay, it's the first time we we hear that a person who was terrorist do like is doing this kind in in us, which is like a miracle for us. But then I started to to think, okay, they it's not an army. They are. There are civilians. Those civilians could be against the the policies of the US government. They could be like, This is not a kind of fight for freedom or for rights or for any like, really, like, fair cause. This is a terrorist action against civilians. And then we started, I'm very lucky because I'm from very educated family. So we started to think about, like, okay, bin Laden. And like, which we have a president from Qaeda now in Syria, like, you can imagine how I feel now. Like, I Okay, all the world is against al Qaeda, and they celebrated that the President in Syria is from al Qaeda. So it's, it's very it's, it's, really, it's not logical at all. But the funniest thing that happened, because, like, the name of Usama bin Laden, was keeping on every like, every one tongue. So I have my my oldest uncle. His name is Usama, and he lives in Germany for 40, more than 40 years, actually. So my brother was a child, and he started to cry, and he came to my mother and asked her, I'm afraid, is my uncle the same Usama? So we were laughing all, and we said, No, it's another Usama. This is the Usama. This is Osama bin Laden, who is like from is like a terrorist group, etc. But like this unfortunate incident started to bring to my mind some like the concept of non violence, the concept of that, okay, no civilian in any place in the world should be harmed for any reason, Because we never been told this in Syria and mostly in most of of countries like the word fight is very linked to armed fights, which I totally disagree with. Michael Hingson  27:56 Well, the when people ask me about September 11 and and so on. One of the things that I say is this wasn't a religious war. This wasn't a religious attack. This was terrorist. This was, I put it in terms of of Americans. These were thugs who decided they wanted to have their way with people. But this is not the way the Muslim the Islamic religion is there is peaceful and peace loving as as anyone, and we really need to understand that. And I realize that there are a lot of people in this country who don't really understand all about that, and they don't understand that. In reality, there's a lot of peace loving people in the Middle East, but hopefully we'll be able to educate people over time, and that's one of the reasons I tell the story that I do, because I do believe that what happened is 19 people attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and so on, and they don't represent the the typical viewpoint of most people, religious wise in the Middle East. And I can understand why a lot of people think that the United States doesn't like Arabs, and I'm not sure that that's totally true, but I can appreciate what you're saying. Noura Ghazi  29:28 Yeah, I'm talking about specific communities actually, who they are, like totally against Israel, and they believe that you us is supporting Israel. So that's that's why they have their like this like attitude towards us and or like that US is trying to invest all the resources in the in the Middle East, etc. But what you were mentioning. Is really very important, because those 19 persons, they like kind of they, they cause the very bad reputation for for Muslims, for Middle Eastern because for for for other people from other countries, other culture or other religion, they will not understand that, okay, that, as you said, they don't represent Muslims. And in all religions, we have the extremist and we have those peaceful persons who keep their their religion as a kind of direct connection with God. They respect everyone, and normally in in in Syria, most of of the population like this, but now having a terrorist as a President, I'm not able to believe how there is a lot of Syrians that support him. Mm, hmm. Because when Al Qaeda started in Syria at the beginning, under the name of japet Al Nusra, then, which with July, who is now Ahmad Al shara, was the leader, and he's the leader of the country now most of Syrians, especially the the the Sunni Syrians, were against this, like terrorist groups, because the most harm they cause is for for Sunnis in Syria, because all other minorities, they will think about every Sunni that they, He or she, like, believe and behave like those, which is totally not true. Michael Hingson  31:47 Yeah, I hear you. Well, so September 11 happened, and then eventually you started doing criminal law. And if we go forward to what 2011 with the Syrian revolution? Yeah, and so what was, what was that revolution about? Noura Ghazi  32:10 It was okay. It started as a reaction against detaining kids from school. Okay, of course, this like the Syrian people, including me, we were very affected and inspired about what was happening in Egypt and Tunisia. But okay, so the security arrested and tortured those kids in their south of Syria. So people came out in demonstration to ask for their freedom and the security attack those protesters with, like, with weapons, so couple of persons died. So then it was, it started to be like a kind of revolution, let's say, yeah, the the problem for me, for lot of people like me, that the the previous Syrian regime was very violent against protesters and the previous president, Bashar Assad, he refused to listen to to to those people, he started to, like dissipated from the reality. So this like, much violence that was against us, like, I remember during some protest, there was not like, small weapon toward us. There was a tank that bombing us as protesters, peaceful, non violent, non armed protesters. So this violence led to another violence, like a kind of reaction by those who defected from the army, etc. And here, my father used to say, when the opposition started to to carry weapon in a country that, like the majority of it, is from certain religion, this could lead to a kind of Jihadist methodology. And this is what happened. So for for people like us, which we are very little comparing of like, the other beliefs of other people like we were, we started to be against the Syrian regime, then against the jihadist groups, then against that, like a kind of international, certain International, or, let's say original intervention, like Iran and Russia. So we were fighting everywhere, and no one. No one wanted us because those like educated, secular, non violent people, they. Form a kind of danger for every one of those parties. But what happened with me is that I met my late husband during a revolution at the very early of 2011 and having the relationship with me was my own revolution. So I was living on parallel like two revolution, a personal one and the public one. And then, like he was detained just two weeks before our our wedding. He was disappeared, actually, for nine months, then he was moved to the same prison that my father was in, to the central prison in Damascus that we got married in prison by coincidence. I don't know if coincidence is the right word in this situation, but my late husband was a very well known programmer and activist. So we were he was kind of, let's say, famous, and I was a lawyer and lawyer that defend human rights defenders and political prisoners. And the husband was detained, so I used to visit him in prison and visit other prisoners that I was their lawyers. And because my like, we have this personal aspect that okay, the couple that got married in prison and that, okay, I'm activist as a lawyer, and my late husband was a well known programmer. So we created a very huge campaign, a global campaign. So we invested this campaign to like, to shed the light about detention, torture, disappearance, exceptional courts, then, like also summary execution in Syria. So then, after almost three years of visiting him regularly, he disappeared again in 2015 and in 2017 I knew that he was sentenced to death, and I knew the exact date of his execution, just in 2018 which was two days ago. It was October 5. So this is what happened then. I had to leave Syria in 2018 so I left to Lebanon. Michael Hingson  37:27 So you left Syria and went to Lebanon? Noura Ghazi  37:33 Yes, the The plan was to stay only six months in Lebanon because I was wanted and I was threatened like I lived a terrible life, really, like lot of Syrians who were activists also, but the plan was that I will stay in Lebanon for six months, then I will leave to to UK because I had A scholarship to get a master in international law. But only two months after I left to Lebanon, I decided to stay in Lebanon to establish the organization that I'm I'm leading until now, which was a project between my late husband and me. Its name is no photo zone, so it was a very big decision, but I'm not regrets. Michael Hingson  38:23 You, you practice criminal law, you practiced human rights, you visited your your fiance, as it were, and then, well, then your husband in prison and so on. Wasn't all of that pretty risky for you? Noura Ghazi  38:42 Yes, very risky. I, I lived in under like, different kind of risk. Like, okay, I have the risk that, okay, I'm, I'm doing my activism against the previous regime publicly because I also, I was co founder of the First Family or victim Association in Syria families for freedom. So we, we were, like, doing a kind of advocacy in Europe, and I used to come back to Syria, so I was under this risk, but also I was under the risk of the like, going to prison, because the way to prison and the prison itself were under bombing. It was in like a point that separate the opposition militias and the regime militias. So they were bombing each other and bombing the prison and bombing the way to prison. So for three years, and specifically for like, in, let's say, 2014 specifically, I was among, like, I was almost the only lawyer that visited the prison, and I, I didn't mind this. I faced death more than 100 time, only on the way to prison, two times the person next to me in the like transportation. It's a kind of small bus. He died and fell down on me, but I had a strong belief that I will not die, Michael Hingson  40:21 and then what? Why do you think that they never detained you or or put you in prison? Do you have any thoughts? Noura Ghazi  40:29 I had many arrests weren't against me, but each time there was something that solve it somehow. So the first couple of Earths weren't actually when, when my late husband was detained, he he made a kind of deal with them that, okay, he will give all the information, everything about his activism in return. They, they canceled the arrest warrant against me. Then literally, until now, I don't know how it was solved. Like I, I had to sleep in garden with my cats for many nights. I i spent couple of months that I cannot go to any like to family, be house or to friend house, because I will cause problem for them, my my parents, my brother and sister, and even, like my sister, ex, until like just three months before the fall of the Syrian regime, they were under like, investigation By the security, lot of harassment against them so, but I don't know, like, I'm, I'm survive for a reason that I don't really realize how, Michael Hingson  41:52 wow, it, it's, it certainly is pretty amazing. Did you ever write a book or anything about all of this, Noura Ghazi  42:02 I used to write, always the only book like, let's say, literature or emotional book. It was about love in prison. Its name is waiting. And I wrote this book in English and basil. My late husband translated it. Sorry. I wrote it in Arabic, and Basset translated it into English in prison. So it was a process of smuggling the poems in Arabic and smuggling the them in English, again out of the prison. And we published the book online just after basil disappearance in 2015 then we created the the hard copies, and I did the signature in in Beirut in, like, early 2018 but like, it's, it's online, and it's a very, like light book, let's say very romantic. It's about love in prison. I'm really keen to write again, like maybe a kind of self narrative or about the stories that I lived and i i I heard during my my journey. Unfortunately, like to write needs like this a little stable situation, but I did write many like legal or human rights book or like guides or studies, etc. Michael Hingson  43:34 Now is waiting still available online? Noura Ghazi  43:37 Yes, it's still available online. Michael Hingson  43:40 Okay? It would be great if you could, if you have a picture of the book cover, if you could send that to me, because I'd like to put that in the notes. I would appreciate it if you would, okay, for sure. But anyway, so the the company you founded, what is it called Noura Ghazi  44:02 it's a non government, a non profit organization. Its name is no photo zone. Michael Hingson  44:07 And how did you come up with that name? Noura Ghazi  44:12 It was Vasil who come up with this name, because our main focus is on prisoners of conscious and disappeared. So for him, it was that okay, those places that they put disappeared in them. They are they. There is no cameras to show the others what is happening. So we should be the the like in the place of cameras to tell the world what is happening. So that's why no photos on me, like, means that prisons or like unofficial detention centers, because they're it's an all photo zone, right? Michael Hingson  44:54 And no photo zone is is still operating today. Noura Ghazi  44:58 It's still operating. We are extending our work, although, like we have lots of financial challenges because of, like, funds issues, but for us, the main issue, we provide legal services to victims of torture, detention, disappearance and their families. So we operate in Syria, Lebanon and Turkey. We are a French woman led organization, but we have registration in Turkey and Syria, and like in seven years now, almost seven years, we could provide our services to more than 3000 families who most of them are women, and they are responsible about kids who they don't have fathers. So we defend political prisoners. We search the disappeared. We provide the legal services related to personal and civil status. We provided the services related to identification documents, because it's a very big issue in Syria. Beside we provide rehabilitation, like full rehabilitation programs for survivors of detention or torture, and also advocacy. Of course, it's a very important part of our our work, even with the lack of fund, we've decided in the team, because most of the team, or all the team, they they were themselves victims of detention, or family members of victims, even the non Syrian because we have many non Syrian member in the team. So for us, it's a cause. It's not like a work that we're doing and getting paid. So we're, we're suffering this this year with the fund issues, because there is a lot of change related to the world and Syrian issues, which affected the fund policies. So hopefully we'll be, we'll be fine next year, hopefully, and we're trying to survive with our beneficiaries this year, Michael Hingson  47:02 yeah, well, you, you started receiving, and I assume no photo zone started receiving awards, and eventually you moved out of Lebanon. Tell me more about all of that. Noura Ghazi  47:16 During my journey, I I got many international recognition or a word, including two by Amnesty International. But after almost two years, like just after covid, like the start of covid, I was thinking that I should have another residence permit in another country because, like, it became very difficult for Syrians to get a residence in Lebanon. So I I moved to Turkey, and I was between Lebanon and Turkey. Then I got a call from the French Embassy in Turkey telling me that there is a new kind of a word, which is Marianne award, or Marianne program, that initiated by the French president. And they it's for human rights defenders across the world, and they will give this award for 15 human rights defender from 15 country. And I was listening, I thought they want me to nominate someone. Then they told me that the French government are honored to choose you as a Syrian human rights defender. So it was a program for six months, so I moved to Paris with my cat and dog. Then they extended the program and to become nine months. And at the almost at the end of the program, the both of Lebanese and Turkish authorities refused to renew my residence permit, so I had to stay in France to apply for asylum and a political refugee currently. Michael Hingson  49:10 And so you're in France. Are you still in Paris? Noura Ghazi  49:13 I'm still yes in Paris. I learned French very fast, like in four months. Okay, I'm not perfect, but I learned French. Michael Hingson  49:25 So what did your dog and cat think about all that? Sorry, what did your dog and cat think about moving to France? Noura Ghazi  49:33 They are French, actually, originally, they are friends. Michael Hingson  49:36 Oh, there you go. Noura Ghazi  49:38 My, my poor dog had like he he was English educated, so we used to communicate in English. Then when I was still in Lebanon, I thought, okay, a lot of Syrians are coming to my place, and they don't speak English, so I have to teach him Arabic. Then we moved to Turkish. So I had to teach him Turkish. Then we came to. France. So now my dog understand more than four languages, Michael Hingson  50:06 good for him, and and, of course, your cat is really the boss of the whole thing, right? Noura Ghazi  50:12 Of course, she is like, the center of the universe, Michael Hingson  50:16 yeah, yeah, just ask her. She'll tell you. And she's Noura Ghazi  50:20 very white, so she is 14 years. Oh, it's old, yes. Michael Hingson  50:29 Well, I have a cat we rescued in 2015 we think she was five then. So we think that my cat is 15 going on 16. So, and she moves around and does very well. Noura Ghazi  50:46 Yeah, my cat as well. Michael Hingson  50:49 Yeah. Well, that's the way it should be. So with all the things that you've been dealing with and all the stress, have you had? Noura Ghazi  50:59 PTSD, yes, I started, of course, like it's the minimum, actually, I have PTSD and the TSD, and I started to feel, or let's say, I could know that the what is happening with me is PTSD two years ago. I before, like, couple of months before, I started to feel like something unusual in my body, in my mind. At the beginning, we thought there is a problem in the brain. Then the psychologist and psychiatrist said that it's a huge level of PTSD, which is like the minimum, and like, we should start the journey of of treatment, which is like the behavior treatment and medical treatment as well. Like, some people could stay 10 years. Some people need to go to hospital. It's not the best thing, but sometimes I feel I'm grateful that I'm having PTSD because I'm able to deal with people who are in the same situation. I could feel them, understand them, so I could help them more, because I understand and as a human rights defender and like victim of lot of kind of violations, so I'm very aware about the like, let's call it the first aid, the psychological first aid support. And this is helpful somehow. Okay, I'm suffering, but this suffering is useful for others Michael Hingson  52:47 well and clearly, you are at a point where you can talk about it, which says a lot, because you're able to deal with it well enough to be able to talk about it, which I think is probably pretty important, don't you think? Noura Ghazi  53:03 Yeah, actually, the last at the first time I talked about it very publicly in a conference in Stockholm, it was last October, and then I thought it's important to talk about it. And I'm also thinking to do something more about PTSD, especially the PTSD related to to prisons, torture, etc, this kind of violations, because sharing experience is very important. So I'm still thinking about a kind of certain way to to like, to spread my experience with PTSD, especially that I have lot of changes in in my life recently, because I got married again, and even the the good incident that people who have PTSD, even if they have, like good incident, but it cause a kind of escalation with PTSD, Michael Hingson  54:00 yeah, but you got married again, so you have somebody you can talk with. Noura Ghazi  54:06 Yes, I got married five months ago. The most important that I could fall in love again. So I met my husband in in Paris. He's a Lebanese artist who live in Paris. And yeah, I have, I have a family now, like we have now three cats and a dog and us as couple. But it's very new for me, like this kind of marriage, that a marriage which I live with a partner, because the marriage I used to is that visit the husband in prison. I'm getting used to it. Michael Hingson  54:43 And just as always, the cat runs everything, right? Yes, of course, of course. So tell me about the freedom prize in Normandy. Noura Ghazi  54:55 Oh, it was like one of the best thing I had in my life. I. Was nominated for the freedom prize, which is launched by usually they are like young people who who nominate the the nominees for this prize, but it's launched by the government of Normandy region in France and the International Institute for Human Rights and peace. So among hundreds of files and, like many kind of round of, like short listing, there was me, a Belarusian activist who is detained, and a Palestinian photographer. So like, just knowing that I was nominated among more than 700 person was a privilege for me. The winner was the Palestinian photographer, but it was the first time they invite the other nominee to the celebration, which was on the same date of like liberating Normandy region during the Second World War. So I chose, I thought for my for couple of days about what I will wear, because I need to deliver a message. So I, I I came up with an idea about a white dress with 101 names in blue. Those names are for disappeared and detainees in Syria. So like there was, there was seven persons who worked on this dress, and I had the chance to wear it and to deliver my message and to give a speech in a very important day that even like those fighters during the Second World War who are still alive, they they came from us. They came from lot of countries. I had the privilege to see them directly, to touch them, to tell them thank you, and to deliver my message in front of an audience of 4500 persons. And it's like I love this dress, and like this event was one of the best thing I had in my life. Michael Hingson  57:21 Do you have a picture of you in the dress? Yes, I would think you do. Well, if you want, we'd love to put that in the show notes as well, especially because you're honoring all those people with the names and so on. Kind of cool. Well, okay, so, so Syria, you're, you're saying, in a lot of ways, hasn't, hasn't really changed a whole lot. It's, it's still a lot of dictatorship oriented kinds of things, and they discriminate against certain sex and and so on. And that's extremely unfortunate, because I don't think that that's the impression that people have over here, Noura Ghazi  58:02 exactly I had a chance to visit Syria, a kind of exceptional visit by the French government, because, as political refugees were not allowed to visit our country of origin. And of course, like after eight years, like out of Syria after six years without seeing my family. Of course, I was very happy, but I was very traumatized, and I I came back to Paris in in July 21 and since that time, I feel I'm not the same person before going to Syria. I'm full of frustration. I feel that, okay, I just wasted 14 years of my life for nothing. But hopefully I'm I'm trying to get better because okay, I know, like much of human rights violations mean that my kind of work and activism is more needed, yeah, Michael Hingson  59:03 so you'll so you'll continue to speak out and and fight for freedom. Noura Ghazi  59:10 Yes, I continue, and I will continue fighting for freedom, for dignity, for justice, for civil rights, and also raising awareness about PTSD and how we could invest even our pain for the sake of helping others. Michael Hingson  59:29 Well, I want to tell you that it's been an honor to have you on the podcast, and I am so glad we we got a chance to talk and to do this because having met you previously, in our introductory conversation, it was very clear that there was a story that needed to be told, and I hope that a lot of people will take an interest, and that it will will allow what you do to continue to grow, if people would like to reach out to you. And and help or learn more. How do they do that? Noura Ghazi  1:00:05 We you have the the link of my website that people could connect me, because it includes my my email, my personal email, and I always reply. So I'm happy to to talk with the to contact with people, and it also include all the all my social media, Michael Hingson  1:00:23 right? What? What's the website for? No photo zone. Noura Ghazi  1:00:27 It's no photo zone.org. No photo zone.org. Michael Hingson  1:00:30 I thought it was, but I just wanted you to say it. I wanted you to say it. Noura Ghazi  1:00:35 It's included in my website. Michael Hingson  1:00:37 Yeah, I've got it all and and it will all be in the show notes, but I just thought I would get you to say no photo zone.org Well, I want to thank you for being here. This has been a wonderful time to have a chance to talk, and I appreciate you taking the time to, I hope, educate lots of people. So thank you very much for doing that, and I want to thank all of you for listening and watching. We'd love you to give us a five star rating. Give us a review. We really appreciate ratings and reviews. So wherever you're watching or listening to this podcast, please give us a five star rating. Please review the podcast for us. We value that, and I know that Nora will will appreciate that as well. Also, if you if you know any guests, and Nora you as well, if you know anyone who you think ought to be a guest on the podcast, we would really appreciate it. If you would let us know you can reach me. At Michael M, I, C, H, A, E, L, H, I at accessibe, A, C, C, E, S, S, i, b, e.com, love to hear from you. Love to hear your thoughts about the podcast. So Nora, very much my I want to thank you again. This has been great. Thank you very much for being here. Noura Ghazi  1:01:56 Thank you Michael, and thank you for those who are listening, and we're still in touch.

From a powerful Alawite family in Syria, Loubna Mrie trusted the Assad regime – until witnessing its violent crackdown led her to defy loyalty and secretly film the uprising.In 2011, 20‑year‑old Loubna Mrie was an English literature student from a high-profile Alawite family, the same minority sect as the Assads who had ruled Syria for decades. For most of her life, loyalty felt like survival. Loubna had grown up believing the Assad regime protected her community, and that dissent was unthinkable. But as the Arab Spring reached Syria, Loubna became curious and secretly went to an anti-government protest in Damascus. Unable even to chant against the president she'd been taught to revere, Loubna's loyalties collapsed when security forces opened fire on the unarmed demonstrators. Narrowly escaping, Loubna's decision to side with the uprising brought her into open conflict with her family – especially her father, whose wealth and power had defined her life. Yet with her mother's encouragement, Loubna stepped into a world she'd been kept apart from: Damascus' underground activist networks. There, among Syrians from all sects, she began using her Alawite identity as a shield – to slip through government checkpoints, smuggle medical aid, and protect friends who would otherwise be at risk. Loubna also picked up a camera, learning to film the revolution from within, convinced that showing the world what was happening might help change it. Loubna shares her story over two episodes. In this first episode, she describes her journey from a loyalist upbringing to becoming one of the unlikely young revolutionaries who documented Syria's uprising. In part two, the same identity that once protected her would soon become a threat when she is mistaken for a spy.Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Maryam Maruf Editor: Munazza KhanLives Less Ordinary is a podcast from the BBC World Service that brings you the most incredible true stories from around the world. Each episode a guest shares their most dramatic, moving, personal story. Listen for unbelievable twists, mysteries uncovered, and inspiring journeys - spanning the entire human experience. Step into someone else's life and expect the unexpected.   Got a story to tell? Send an email to liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or message us via WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784   You can read our privacy notice here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5YD3hBqmw26B8WMHt6GkQxG/lives-less-ordinary-privacy-notice

Subscribe now for the full episode. Derek speaks with Alexander McKeever, publisher of This Week in Northern Syria, about the defeat of the Syrian Democratic Forces' (SDF) autonomous project and its integration into the new Syrian state. They discuss the fall of the Assad regime, the March 2025 integration agreement between Damascus and the SDF, the breakdown of negotiations and January fighting in Aleppo, the rapid collapse of SDF control in Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor, tribal defections and grievances against the autonomous administration, and the uncertain future for Kurdish rights under the centralized Syrian government. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, Damascus has rapidly emerged as an internationally recognized actor. By providing internal security and through high-level diplomatic engagements, the Al-Sharaa government has marked Syria's return to the international arena. At the same time, stability at home has remained fragile, with unresolved challenges related to territorial integrity, sovereignty, security, governance, and post-conflict integration. Domestic disturbances were contained and agreements were reached in a relatively short amount of time, strengthening hopes of lasting stability.Most recently, a ceasefire and a comprehensive “Ceasefire and Full Integration Agreement” between the Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has been reached. The agreement provides a framework for restoring state authority, including the phased transfer of territories under YPG/SDF control to Syrian state institutions, integration of military and administrative structures, dismantling of parallel governance arrangements, and measures addressing civilian rights as well as return of displaced populations. In this timely panel discussion, leading experts examine the implications of this agreement, the prospects for successful integration, and the broader processes of political reconstruction and state consolidation in Syria.Speakers James Jeffrey, Distinguished Fellow, The Washington Institute for Near East PolicyCharles Lister, Senior Fellow and Director of the Syria Initiative, Middle East Institute Mona Yacoubian, Director and Senior Adviser, Middle East Program, Center for Strategic and International StudiesKadir Ustun, Executive Director, The SETA Foundation at Washington DCModeratorKilic Bugra Kanat, Research Director, The SETA Foundation at Washington DC

La Syrie reçoit sa première cargaison de blé depuis la chute d'Assad, ravivant les tensions géopolitiques dans la région.Traduction:Syria receives its first wheat shipment since Assad's fall, reigniting geopolitical tensions in the region. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

La Syrie reçoit sa première cargaison de blé depuis la chute d'Assad, ravivant les tensions géopolitiques dans la région.Traduction:Syria receives its first wheat shipment since Assad's fall, reigniting geopolitical tensions in the region. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

President Donald Trump has ordered a second aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford, to the Middle East, escalating pressure on Iran over its nuclear program. Meanwhile, U.S. and Iranian diplomats have met in Geneva for another round of high-stakes negotiations. Is this strategic leverage—or a dangerous gamble?In this episode of the Blessors of Israel Podcast, Dr. Matthew Dodd and Pastor Rich Jones analyze the latest developments, the risks of military escalation, and what these events could signal prophetically for Israel and the Middle East.Visit the Blessors of Israel Website: https://www.blessors.org/ Thank you for supporting Blessors of Israel. Donate Online: https://blessors.org/donate/Please Subscribe and Like our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUfbl_rf8O_uwKrfzCh04jgSubscribe to our ⁠Spotify Channel⁠: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/blessorsofisrael Subscribe to our Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blessors-of-israedl/id1699662615Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlessorsofIsrael/Twitter: https://twitter.com/BlessorsIGettr: https://gettr.com/i/blessorsofisrael Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-1670015Thank you for watching. Please like and share this video.We would love to hear your comments.Those who bless Israel will be blessed (Genesis 12:3).Pastor Rich JonesPastor Matthew DoddDr. Matthew DoddRich Jones Blessors of IsraelMatthew Dodd Blessors of IsraelBlessors of IsraelBlessers of IsraelTags:Pastor Rich JonesPastor Matthew DoddRich JonesDr. Matthew DoddRich Jones, Blessors of Israel, Rich Jones, Blessers of Israel, Matthew Dodd, Blessors of Israel, Matthew Dodd, Blessers of Israel, Blessers of Israel, Blessors of Israel, Two-State Solution, Palestine, Modern Palestinian Problem, Israel, Jesus Christ, Anti-Semitism, Prophecy Update, End Times Prophecy, Latter Days, Bible Prophecy, The Great Tribulation, Hamas, Gaza Strip, Terrorism, Hezbollah, Iran, Russia, Persia, Gog and Magog, BRICS, China, CCP, Persia, Iran, Turkey, Russia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, India, Yahya Sinwar, Nasrallah, Ismail Haniyeh, Deif, United Nations, Terrorism, Antisemitism, Syria, Bashar al Assad, HTS, Damascus, Mount Hermon, Erdogan, Netanyahu, Trump, Putin, Ceasefire, Hostages, al Jolani, al Sharaa, Holocaust Day of Remembrance, China, Egypt, Iran Nuclear Deal, Trump, War, WWIII, Hamas, Anti-Semitism, October 7, 2023, Trump's 20-Point Peace Plan, Qatar, Egypt, Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, Erdogan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Board of Peace, Iranian Riots, Iranian Revolution

Photojournalist Loubna Mrie grew up in Syria in a wealthy and abusive home. Her father was part of the regime, allegedly an assassin for Bashar al-Assad's father. Loubna joined the Syrian revolution first as a protester and then as a photojournalist. She talks with guest interviewer Aarti Shahani about how her family and country fell apart, and lessons she brought to her new home in the U.S.. Her book is ‘Defiance: A Memoir of Awakening, Rebellion, and Survival in Syria.' Later, John Powers reviews ‘Crime 101,' a thriller starring Chris Hemsworth and Halle Berry. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Syria is at a pivotal moment. After the fall of Bashar al-Assad, the country's new leadership under President Ahmed al-Sharaa is working to reunify a fractured state — and the biggest test is unfolding in the northeast, where the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have operated autonomously for nearly a decade.In recent weeks, a fragile ceasefire and phased integration agreement has put Syrian Interior Ministry forces back into major cities like Hasakeh and Qamishli. On paper, the deal could mark the beginning of Syria's re-centralization. However, that fragility was exposed in early 2026, when fighting broke out between the SDF and Syrian government forces, raising fresh doubts about whether integration can hold.In this episode of The Burn Bag, A'ndre Gonawela sits down with Charles Lister, Senior Fellow and Director of the Syria Initiative at the Middle East Institute, to provide a clear, ground-level primer on what's actually happening — and what could come next.Together, they unpack how Syria's political map shifted after Assad's fall and why the Syrian Democratic Forces remain central to the country's trajectory. The discussion breaks down what the March 2025 integration framework actually required, why talks stalled ahead of the January escalation, and what Interior Ministry deployments into Hasakeh and Qamishli signal about Damascus' return to the northeast. They also examine how Arab tribal defections reshaped eastern Syria, whether ISIS is quietly adapting, how the U.S. posture may evolve, and the most likely paths ahead — consolidation, hybrid control, or renewed conflict.Follow Charles on X @Charles_Lister and check out his other work here.

durée : 00:58:27 - Cultures Monde - par : Julie Gacon, Mélanie Chalandon - Depuis la chute du régime Assad il y a un an, la levée des sanctions occidentales a ouvert le marché syrien et suscité de nombreuses promesses de reconstruction. Ces dernières peinent toutefois à se concrétiser, les bailleurs restant frileux face à l'instabilité sécuritaire et économique du pays. - réalisation : Vivian Lecuivre - invités : Dorothée Schmid Responsable du programme Turquie/Moyen-Orient de l'Institut français des relations internationales (Ifri); Joseph Daher Chercheur spécialiste de l'économie politique du Moyen-Orient; Taha Almohammad Politiste, doctorant à l'EHESS, rattaché au CéSor

Chas and Melina Wicks discuss Kid Rock's Wide Margin For Error, Lutnicking And THE DOW IS AT 50,000!!! WARNING: This episode of PEP may contain explicit language.   Timestamps: 0:00 Introducing: Guest PEPCaster Melina Wicks 2:07 - Grateful (Good Journalism, Kid Rock) 14:34 - Correspondence (Music List) 18:40 - The Fulton County Elections Office Raid 56:57 - Nationalising Elections 1:22:19 - Epstein Files (The Main Players) 2:24:49 - General Epstein Findings 2:43:25 - Unleashed (More Epstein Stuff) 3:12:04 - Unleashed (Bondi Hearing)   SHOW LINKS: *Chat with the PEPpers on the Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/WxDD2PPvaW   Homework: Wings of Pegasus Kid Rock - https://bitly.cx/2X6E Melina's Atlantic Story Fall of Assad - https://bitly.cx/4s7Iy   THE (UPDATED) DR DAVE BOOK CLUB MASTERLIST: Connie Willis - Doomsday Book & To Say Nothing of the Dog (Mentioned 4:26, Ep 244) Richard Yates - Revolutionary Road  (Mentioned 1:48:45, Ep 240) Michael Lewis - Who Is Government? (Mentioned 2:19:59, Ep 235) Orlando Whitfield - All That Glitters (Mentioned 2:34:37, Ep 232) John Lyons - Balcony Over Jerusalem (Mentioned 2:45:26, Ep 231) Yukio Mishima - Spring Snow (Mentioned 2:35:12, Ep 227) John Steinbeck - Cannery Row (Mentioned 02:39, Ep 226) David Simon & Ed Burns - The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood (Mentioned 2:21:40, Ep 225) William Appleman Williams - The Tragedy of American Diplomacy (Mentioned 2:11:23, Ep 222) Mahmood Mamdani - Good Muslim, Bad Muslim (Mentioned 2:07:14, Ep 220) Carlo Rovelli - The Order Of Time (Mentioned 06:36, Ep 220) Carlo Rovelli - Reality Is Not What It Seems (Mentioned 06:36, Ep 220) Ryszard Kapuściński - Shah of Shahs (Mentioned 2:21:27, Ep 217) Ervand Abrahamian - Khomeinism (Mentioned 2:23:19, Ep 217) Anthony Seldon - Truss at 10 (Mentioned 1:36:09, Ep 215) Steven Teles - The Conservative Legal Movement (Mentioned 2:12:12, Ep 215) Amin Maalouf - The Crusades Through Arab Eyes (Mentioned 4:32, Ep 214) Geoffrey Blainey - The Causes Of War (Mentioned 43:49, Ep 198) Margaret Levi - Of Rule And Revenue (Mentioned 1:11:16, Ep 195) Margaret Levi - Consent, Dissent, and Patriotism (Mentioned 1:11:16, Ep 195) Sayaka Murata - Convenience Store Woman (Mentioned 2:14, Ep 194) Sid Meier - Sid Meier's Memoir! (Mentioned 16:30, Ep 178) David Simon & Ed Burns - The Corner (Mentioned 8:40, Ep 178) Maurice O. Wallace - King's Vibrato (Mentioned 14:26, Ep 164) Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky - Manufacturing Consent - (Mentioned 32:12, Ep 164) Robert Plunket - My Search For Warren Harding (Mentioned 1:49:12, Ep 158) Ian Lambot & Greg Girard - City of Darkness Revisited (Mentioned 39:25, Ep 157) Max Chafkin - The Contrarian (Mentioned 32:18, Ep 155) Claire Conner - Wrapped In The Flag (Mentioned 31:42, Ep 155) Rita Abrahamsen, Mike Williams et al - Global Right (Mentioned 31:12, Ep 155) Philip Gorski and Samuel Perry - The Flag And The Cross (Mentioned 30:49, Ep 155) Cynthia Miller-Idriss - Hate In The Homeland (Mentioned 30:10, Ep 155) Cory Doctorow & Rebecca Giblin - Chokepoint Capitalism (Mentioned 34:55, Ep 150) Elizabeth Ingleson - Made In China (Mentioned 31:50, Ep 150) John Corrigan - Religious Intolerance, America, and the World (Mentioned 1:16:18, Ep 141) Gérard Prunier - From Genocide to Continental War (Mentioned 48:18, Ep 141) Liu Cixin, - The Three Body Trilogy (Mentioned 1:11:04, Ep 136) Tilman Allert - The Hitler Salute (Mentioned 22:03, Ep 134) Philip Roth - Nemesis (Mentioned 1:56, Ep 133) Joshua Cohen - The Netanyahus Zeke Faux - Number Go Up Michael Paul Rogin - The Intellectuals and McCarthy Cathy Kramer - The Politics of Resentment Naomi Klein - Doppelganger Maria Bamford - Sure, I'll Join Your Cult Wendy Brown - States Of Injury Corey Robin. - The Reactionary Mind Patricia Lockwood - No One Is Talking About This David Cay Johnston - The Making of Donald Trump Jane Mayer - Dark Money Harry Frankfurt - On Bullshit Stephen King - The Dead Zone Elle Hardy - Beyond Belief Federico Finchelstein - From Fascism to Populism in History Robert Jervis - Why Intelligence Fails Alex Haley and Malcolm X - The Autobiography of Malcolm X Jonathan Haidt - The Righteous Mind David Graeber - Debt: The First 5000 Years Jerry L. Mashaw - Creating The American Administrative Constitution Brian Balogh - A Government Out of Sight Paul Connerton - How Societies Remember Paul Connerton - How Modernity Forgets Catherine Green and Sarah Catherine Gilbert - Vaxxers John Zaller - The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion Matthew Karp - This Vast Southern Empire Robert Fatton - The Guise of Exceptionalism Anatol Lievin - Climate Change and the Nation State: The Realist Case James Alfred Aho - The Politics of Righteousness The substack that Dr Dave apparently plagiarises liberally from! https://luke.substack.com/ James Beverley - God's Man in the White House Jane Chi Hyun Park - Yellow Future Matthias Gardell - In The Name of Elijah Muhammad Gosta Esping-Andersen - The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism Suzanne Mettler - The Submerged State Brendon O'Connor - Anti-Americanism and American Exceptionalism James Morone - Hellfire Nation Nathan Kalmoe - With Ballots and Bullets Winnifred Fallers Sullivan - The Impossibility of Religious Freedom Mary L. Trump - Too Much And Never Enough Richard Cooke - Tired of Winning Jon Ronson - So You've Been Publicly Shamed Rodney Tiffen, Ross Gittins, Anika Gauja, David Smith, Brendon O'Connor - How America Compares Tony Horwitz - Confederates In the Attic Ghassan Hage - White Nation George Lakoff - Women, Fire and Dangerous Things George Lakoff - Metaphors We Live By Michelle Alexander - The New Jim Crow Alex S. Vitale - The End of Policing Dave Cullen - Parkland: Birth of a Movement Thomas Sugrue - The Origins of the Urban Crisis Rick Pearlstein - The Invisible Bridge Rick Pearlstein - Before the Storm Rick Pearlstein - Nixonland Brian Doherty - Radicals for Capitalism Leon Festinger, Henry W. Riecken, Stanley Schachter - When Prophecy Fails Nancy L. Rosenblum & Russell Muirhead - A Lot Of People Are Saying Benjamin Moffitt - The Global Rise of Populism Jon Krakauer - Missoula THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!  

Photojournalist Loubna Mrie grew up in Syria in a wealthy and abusive home. Her father was part of the regime, allegedly an assassin for Bashar al-Assad's father. Loubna joined the Syrian revolution first as a protester and then as a photojournalist. She talks with guest interviewer Aarti Shahani about how her family and country fell apart, and lessons she brought to her new home in the U.S.. Her book is ‘Defiance: A Memoir of Awakening, Rebellion, and Survival in Syria.' Later, John Powers reviews ‘Crime 101,' a thriller starring Chris Hemsworth and Halle Berry. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The latest on talks between the US and Iran happening this week, how the post-Assad leadership regime is faring in Syria, and the latest from Gaza. 

In this episode of the International Risk Podcast, Dominic Bowen speaks with Dr Ola Rifai about the evolution of Syrian identity and how competing narratives of nationalism, sectarianism, and statehood have shaped the country's political trajectory before and after 2011.Find out more about how identity was managed under the Assad regime, how sectarianisation unfolded differently in cities such as Homs and Damascus, and why collective memory, displacement, and institutional weakness continue to influence Syria's fragile post-conflict landscape.The conversation also examines citizenship, state formation, and the structural challenges of rebuilding trust between communities after prolonged violence. Dr Rifai explores whether a unified Syrian national identity can be reconstructed, and what role education, transitional justice, and institutional reform will play in that process.Finally, they discuss the regional and geopolitical dimensions of Syria's transformation, the risks posed by unresolved identity fractures, and the indicators policymakers and risk professionals should monitor as Syria navigates its next phase.Tell us what you liked!

There are some days in the calendar that people will never forget. 8 December 2024 is a day Syrians will certainlt remember: Liberation Day. Now a national holiday, it marks the fall of the Assad family regime—a dictatorship that had ruled Syria for half a century.Fourteen months on, where is Syria today? Internationally, the country has secured a number of diplomatic victories. At home, however, the road to rebuilding and ensuring safety and stability remains long. Much of the country still lies in ruins, sectarian tensions have flared up periodically, and there are ongoing threats to Syria's territorial integrity, including incursions by Turkey and Israel.What, then, are the main priorities for Syria and al-Sharaa's government—and what key challenges does the country face as it rebuilds?And today, to unpack this further, we are joined by a familiar voice, Dominic Bowen, the host you are used to listening to on the International Risk Podcast. Yes, today he is back in the interviewee spot, joining us live from Damascus, and I, Anna Kummelstedt, one of the producers of the show, take on the interview hat once again. Many of you may be used to hearing Dominic's voice,but what you may not know is that this is not Dominic's first time in Syria. In fact, he was working with MSF (Doctors without Borders) as a field coordinator in northern Syria in 2014; he then became the Head of the NGO Forum for northern Syria, where Dominic provided leadership and coordination of humanitarian activities. He also authored the report in 2025, “Failing Syria: Assessing the impact of UNSC Resolutions in protecting civilians, and in 2018-19, he supported Save the Children's operations in Syria. The International Risk Podcast brings you conversations with global experts, frontline practitioners, and senior decision-makers who are shaping how we understand and respond to international risk. From geopolitical volatility and organized crime, to cybersecurity threats and hybrid warfare, each episode explores the forces transforming our world and what smart leaders must do to navigate them. Whether you're a board member, policymaker, or risk professional, The International Risk Podcast delivers actionable insights, sharp analysis, and real-world stories that matter.The International Risk Podcast is sponsored by Conducttr, a realistic crisis exercise platform. Conducttr offers crisis exercising software for corporates, consultants, humanitarian, and defence & security clients. Visit Conducttr to learn more.Dominic Bowen is the host of The International Risk Podcast and Europe's leading expert on international risk and crisis management. As Head of Strategic Advisory and Partner at one of Europe's leading risk management consulting firms, Dominic advises CEOs, boards, and senior executives across the continent on how to prepare for uncertainty and act with intent. He has spent decades working in war zones, advising multinational companies, and supporting Europe's business leaders. Dominic is the go-to business advisor for leaders navigating risk, crisis, and strategy; trusted for his clarity, calmness under pressure, and ability to turn volatility into competitive advantage. Dominic equips today's business leaders with the insight and confidence to lead through disruption and deliver sustained strategic advantage.Tell us what you liked!

Syria's Jewish community fled the country's repressive Assad regime. Now, a new government is encouraging their return by giving back ownership of synagogues and other property. Jane Arraf is there as one Jewish group turns the key on a synagogue's door in the northern city of Aleppo.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In this episode of The Burn Bag, A'ndre Gonawela is joined by Dr. Iulia Joja, Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute, to examine Russia's strategy in the Middle East in 2026 following major setbacks in Syria and Iran. The conversation breaks down how Moscow is adapting after the collapse of Bashar al-Assad's regime, Iran's military losses and internal unrest, and growing U.S. pressure across the region.Dr. Joja explains how Russia is pursuing a long-term strategy focused on maintaining relevance rather than dominance, using selective military presence, economic engagement, energy diplomacy, and partnerships with regional actors including Iran, Gulf states, and eastern Libya. The episode also explores Russia's coordination with Iran short of a formal alliance, its ties to regional proxies, and how footholds in Libya and the Red Sea expand Moscow's leverage over Europe, NATO, and global trade routes.This discussion offers a clear-eyed assessment of what Russia can realistically achieve in the Middle East, where its limits are, and what Moscow's evolving approach means for U.S. foreign policy, regional stability, and great-power competition going forward.

In Syria, last week's agreement between Kurdish forces and Damascus includes a humanitarian component, ultimately aimed at allowing refugees to return home. These families fled the fighting that followed the fall of Bashar al-Assad. There are now more than 100,000 internally displaced people in the Qamishli region, in Syria's far northeast. Report by Marie Charlotte Roupie, Abdulrahman Daoud and Josh Vardey.

Die internationale Buchmesse in Damaskus ist das erste kulturelle Großereignis nach dem Sturz von Diktator Assad. Es ist eine Verkaufsmesse ohne Zensur, mit vielen Büchern auch zu umstrittenen Themen, sagt der Islamwissenschaftler Stefan Weidner. Weidner, Stefan www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de, Fazit

After more than a decade of war, a surge of violence in northern Syria is forcing thousands of people to flee – even as others return to a fractured country under a fragile interim government. With two-thirds of the population in need of urgent assistance and the UN humanitarian response underfunded, the Danish Refugee Council's Charlotte Slente tells RFI why aid groups fear catastrophic consequences as cold weather and economic collapse push millions to the brink. Clashes in and around Aleppo have displaced around 170,000 people since mid-January, as the Syrian army seeks to extend its control over previously Kurdish-controlled areas. Ongoing hostilities between government forces and armed groups continue to trigger displacement in several parts of the country, according to the UN. While political transition is underway after the fall of Bashar al-Assad at the end of 2024, reconstruction and recovery efforts are hindered by instability and lack of funding.  Access to healthcare remains unreliable, and basic services are severely disrupted. A harsh winter and long-term drought are exacerbating the crisis. More than 16 million Syrians are expected to need humanitarian assistance in 2026 – yet the UN's response plan is only 33.5 percent funded, leaving a $3.2 billion gap. "It is an incredibly fragile moment for Syria," said Slente, secretary-general of the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), speaking to RFI on a visit to the Syria, including areas in and around Damascus.  "This is a country where two out of every three Syrians need humanitarian assistance, and 90 percent of the population lives below the poverty line." A year after Assad's fall, Syrian hopes for transitional justice are fading Returning to ruins, landmines Around 3 million Syrian refugees and internally displaced people have returned home since the fall of the Assad regime, over 1 million from other countries and nearly 2 million from within Syria. "Syria has had a new government in place for the last year," Slente said, "and it's time to sort of recap on our programming here and adapt our programming to the new realities on the ground. A vast percentage of the population here are in dire need of humanitarian assistance on the ground." Many people are returning to their homes to find almost nothing after more than 13 years of civil war, she added. One of the DRC's priorities now is to work on getting rid of the landmines that still litter areas where fighting took place, and pose a deadly threat to returnees. The organisation recently finished training local teams to help clear mines, Slente said. "We are helping build the capacity here of the National Mine Action Centre in the Ministry of Emergencies that needs to coordinate that very big endeavour of clearing Syria of unexploded ordinance and landmines. It means that now we can get more jobs done on the ground with the clearing of mines, getting them out of fields and villages, so that people can actually be safe when they move around the territory." As Syrian workers return home from Turkey, local businesses feel the loss Upheaval in Kurdish north In north-eastern Syria, near the border with Turkey, civilians say they are still fearful. After months of tension, Kurdish-led forces have ceded swathes of territory to advancing government troops. Under a deal agreed last week, Kurdish forces and administrative institutions are to be integrated into the state. It is a blow to the Kurds, who had sought to preserve the de facto autonomy they exercised after seizing swathes of territory in battles against the Islamic State jihadist group during the civil war. "We are afraid that they will attack our regions and that massacres and genocide will occur," one woman told RFI's reporter in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli, where government forces entered on Tuesday. Another resident said he was hoping for "a positive resolution to the conflict, so that no more bloodshed occurs". This episode was mixed by Nicolas Doreau.

In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks to veteran Singaporean diplomat Prof. Kishore Mahbubani about his thesis that the 21st century will be remembered as ‘the Asian Century', and how the West can prepare peacefully and optimistically for China's return as the fulcrum of world history. Drawing on his books Living the Asian Century, Has China Won?, and Can Asians Think?, Prof. Mahbubani explains: Why the 21st century will be the Asian century and why this need not require Western decline How colonialism shaped Asian self-perception, and the need for intellectual decolonisation How other countries can adopt Singapore's model for success His meeting with Fidel Castro, Hafez al-Assad, and Yasser Arafat The hypocrisy of Western power and diplomacy How the United States keeps the UN weak on purpose Why Pres. Trump's China realism has been a good thing The threat of war in Asia Follow Prof. Mahbubani on X: https://x.com/mahbubani_k Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm Find us on X: https://x.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. This episode was produced and edited by Thomas Small. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New research which has just been published in the British Medical Journal, suggests that testing menstrual blood for signs of cervical cancer could be an accurate way of screening for the disease. The BBC's Health Correspondent, Sophie Hutchinson, and Fiona Osgun, Head of Health information at Cancer Research UK join Anita Rani to talk about this new area of research and discuss the options currently open to women. English actor Imogen Poots is back on our screens taking on a challenging role in Kristen Stewart's first feature film, The Chronology of Water. It's a creative adaptation of an acclaimed memoir by American writer Lidia Yuknavitch which centres on her coming to terms with being abused as a child, battling pain and loss, and her ongoing healing journey. Imogen Poots joins Anita in the studio.The Kurdish-led self-administration in the north east of Syria is a territory where for years women have sat at the centre of political life, security and decision-making. But many are worried that the system is now under pressure following a new agreement between Kurdish authorities and the Syrian government, which will integrate the region into the Syrian state being rebuilt after the toppling of Bashar al-Assad in 2024. Anita is joined by Lina Shaikhouni, journalist at the BBC World Service and Dilar Dirik, Kurdish writer and author of The Kurdish Women's Movement: History, Theory, Practice.Paula Varjack talks to Anita about her show Nine Sixteenths. It examines the fallout from the infamous Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake ‘wardrobe malfunction' incident at the 2004 Superbowl and the backlash that almost ruined Jackson's career. The play questions what this says about the demographics of who controls the media, the scrutinising of black women in the public eye and asks if anything has changed?Presenter: Anita Rani Producer : Corinna Jones

The Director of National Intelligence showed up to an FBI raid on a Georgia elections office. Then she put the President on speakerphone with the agents. Then we found out she's been sitting on a whistleblower complaint about herself for eight months. This week, we're talking about Tulsi Gabbard, the woman who went from Bernie Sanders endorser to Democratic presidential candidate to Fox News guest host to Trump's spy chief in one of the most cynical political transformations in modern American history. We're talking about the Fulton County raid, the classified complaint locked in a safe, her documented history of consuming Russian state media, her secret meeting with Assad, and why Russian state TV calls her "Russia's girlfriend." I'm not going to dance around it: I think Tulsi Gabbard is a Russian asset. And I'm going to tell you exactly why.  Buckle up.KEY POINTSOn January 28, 2026, FBI agents seized 700 boxes of 2020 election materials from Fulton County, Georgia. DNI Tulsi Gabbard was physically present, at Trump's specific direction.The day after the raid, Gabbard visited the FBI's Atlanta field office and put Trump on speakerphone with the agents. He gave them a "pep talk" for investigating the election he lost.Former FBI officials called this "unprecedented" and said there is "unanimous disgust" across current and former agents.A whistleblower complaint about Gabbard has been locked in a safe for eight months. Federal law requires transmission to Congress within three weeks.Three former aides told ABC News that Gabbard regularly read and shared articles from RT, the Kremlin's principal propaganda outlet.In 2017, Gabbard took a secret trip to Damascus and met with Assad for nearly three hours. Congressional staffers later worried she might leak information about a Syrian defector.A former U.S. ambassador to NATO called Gabbard's 2017 foreign policy memo "basically the Russian playbook."At her confirmation hearing, Gabbard refused to call Edward Snowden a traitor. Senator Bennet responded: "Apparently, you don't understand how critical our national security is."Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/we-saw-the-devil-crime-political-analysis--4433638/support.Website: http://www.wesawthedevil.comPatreon: http://www.patreon.com/wesawthedevilDiscord: https://discord.gg/X2qYXdB4Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/WeSawtheDevilInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/wesawthedevilpodcast.

"Il primo giorno mi sono chiesta 'perché non ci sono più donne?'", racconta Hind Kabawat.È la ministra siriana per gli Affari sociali e il Lavoro, l'unica donna nel governo di transizione che dovrebbe guidare il difficile cammino del paese dalla guerra alla pace.https://www.radiobullets.com/notiziari/3-febbraio-2026-notizie-donne-mondo-podcast/

Syria is entering a new and terrifying phase. In this episode Breht is joined by a panel of scholars and activists (Angie Bittar, Adam, Joma, Nur and Jalyssa) to take a clear-eyed look at what's unfolded over the last year and how it fits into the longer arc of the Syrian civil war, including the rapid collapse of the Assad-era order and the emergence of a new regime centered around HTS and Ahmad al-Sharaa (Jolani). Together, they break down the latest waves of mass violence and displacement across the coast, Suwayda, Aleppo, and Rojava, and ask what these events reveal about the new Syria. From there, they turn to the Kurdish question. They discuss the SDF, the long history of US imperial instrumentalization of Kurdish forces, the recurring pattern of abandonment, and the growing pressure now facing Rojava amid shifting regional and international priorities. They also examine ongoing kidnappings and sect-based killings, the breakdown of accountability, and what the allegations surrounding Syrian security institutions tell us about the direction of the new order. Finally, they zoom out to the information war. They map the propaganda narratives being pushed in Western and Zionist media, and offer practical "tells" for separating genuine reporting from information operations. Then, they close by asking what Syria teaches us about the current political moment: imperial strategy, proxy warfare, sectarian fragmentation, and what real solidarity demands. Access a full list of all the sources used for this episode HERE Donate to Jalyssa on Cash App: $JalyssaDugrot Or donate at: BuyMeACoffee/Jalyssa Check out Joma's great podcast: JDPOD Previous Episodes on Syria and Rojava:  "The Situation in Syria" Episode w/ Angie last year "On Syria: Civil War and US Imperialism" with Rania Khalek from 2018  "The Kurds and Revolutionary Rojava" with Dr. Redcrow from 2017 Interview with Murray Bookchin's Daughter on his Life and Legacy ---------------------------------------------------- Support Rev Left and get access to bonus episodes: www.patreon.com/revleftradio Make a one-time donation to Rev Left at BuyMeACoffee.com/revleftradio Follow, Subscribe, & Learn more about Rev Left Radio https://revleftradio.com/    

It's hard to be the only woman , I feel lonely sometimes because I'd like to have another woman colleague to talk too.'The BBC's Chief international correspondent, Lyse Doucet speaks to Hind Kabawat, Syria's Minister for Social Affairs and Labour. and the only female minister in the transitional government.She was born in India and grew up across the Middle East and Europe. Her life has been shaped by movement, exile and conflict. She studied economics in Damascus, law in Beirut, and later continued her education in the United States.During Syria's war, she worked abroad on diplomacy and legal reform, advising on negotiations and pushing for greater representation of women in public life. After the fall of the Assad regime and the creation of a transitional authority, she returned home to take up public office. In this conversation, she talks about power, responsibility, and what leadership means in a country still reckoning with more than a decade of conflict.The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with the Colombian president Gustavo Petro, the Palestinian-American human rights lawyer Noura Erekat and Mexican actor Diego Calva. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Lyse Doucet Producers: Lina Shaikhouni, Farhana Haider Editor: Justine LangGet in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.(Image: Hind Kabavat Credit: Beyza Comert/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Amidst protests and aggressive tactics by federal immigration agents, Christians in Minnesota are caring for their immigrant neighbors. CT's Emily Belz joins us to talk about her reporting from the Twin Cities, with an eye to how churches are responding to those living in fear and at risk of deportation. Then, Harvest Prude stops by to give us an update on the annual March for Life, the largest gathering of pro-life supporters in the US, and how the pro-life movement is faring under the current administration. Finally, is Trump leaving behind pro-democracy Syrians? Hadeel Oueis joins Russell Moore, Mike Cosper, and Clarissa Moll to discuss the dynamics in the post-Asaad regime. REFERENCED IN THE EPISODE: In a Tense Minnesota, Christians Help Immigrant Neighbors - Emily Belz First Year of Trump 2.0 Leaves Pro-lifers with Misgivings - Harvest Prude ABOUT THE GUESTS: Emily Belz is a staff writer with Christianity Today. She is a former senior reporter for World magazine. She is a World Journalism Institute graduate and also previously reported for the New York Daily News, The Indianapolis Star, and Philanthropy magazine. Harvest Prude is Christianity Today's national political correspondent and a congressional reporter based in Washington, DC. She is a former reporter for The Dispatch and World, having served there as political reporter for their Washington bureau. Hadeel Oueis is a political writer with a focus on US foreign policy in the Middle East. She is a news analyst for BBC, France 24, DW Arabic, and other international news channels. In 2011, at the age of 18, she was arrested by the Assad regime for playing a key role in the early days of Syrian protests. In 2012, the US delegation in Geneva helped her relocate to the United States. GO DEEPER WITH THE BULLETIN: Join the conversation at our Substack. Find us on YouTube. Rate and review the show in your podcast app of choice. ABOUT THE BULLETIN: The Bulletin is a twice-weekly politics and current events show from Christianity Today moderated by Clarissa Moll, with senior commentary from Russell Moore (Christianity Today's editor-at-large and columnist) and Mike Cosper (senior contributor). Each week, the show explores current events and breaking news and shares a Christian perspective on issues that are shaping our world. We also offer special one-on-one conversations with writers, artists, and thought leaders whose impact on the world brings important significance to a Christian worldview, like Bono, Sharon McMahon, Harrison Scott Key, Frank Bruni, and more. The Bulletin listeners get 25% off CT. Go to https://orderct.com/THEBULLETIN to learn more. “The Bulletin” is a production of Christianity Today Producer: Clarissa Moll Associate Producer: Alexa Burke Editing and Mix: Kevin Morris Graphic Design: Rick Szuecs Music: Dan Phelps Executive Producer: Erik Petrik Senior Producer: Matt Stevens Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this special podcast we go deep into the darkness that has descended upon the Kurdish ethnic minority in northern Syria. The massacre of civilians and brutality is reminiscent of ISIS. In fact, the Syrian state army is comprised of many former jihadists - some still openly wearing ISIS patches on their uniforms. The Kurds, of course, led the military force that led the assault on ISIS and its eventual retreat and defeat. But with the anointment of former al Qaeda man, Ahmed al Sharaa, as President of Syria…..violent Islamism has enjoyed something of a resurgence.Absolute hell has been visited upon the Syrian Kurds while the west and the world are distracted by chaos in the Islamic Republic of Iran. But the massacre of Syrian Kurds has barely been noticed. We feature interviews with four experts on the Syrian Kurds. (Their photos and bios are set out below in the Podcast Notes.) Each one brings a very deep understanding of the complexity of this situation. In order to assist as you work your way through this we have provided time stamps so that you may skip to particular bits that interest you more.In addition to the experts featured here we spoke to many others. I am grateful to all for their time and generosity in sharing their expertise and insight. I would like to draw particular attention to Noor Dahri, a devout Muslim living in the UK and originally from Pakistan. I learned so much from Noor and hope to share part of our interview in the near future. Editing such rich material is not easy. So thanks, Noor, for helping me to better understand the forces that are driving fanatical Islamism in the Middle East and the west.And to our loyal listeners, this episode is being made available to all subscribers in full. Consider it our contribution to doing whatever is possible to amplify awareness of the Kurdish plight.There are some graphic videos included in this podcast. If you prefer not to view them we provide advance notice so that you may skip over them.Timestamps:Introduction with video clips: 00:00Interview with Dr. Qanta A. Ahmed: 05:53Al Jazeera report on the release of ISIS prisoners in Al Hol Detention Camp in northern Syria: 36:41Interview with Ateret Shmuel: 39:22Interview with Dr. Jan Ilhan Kizilhan: 51:54Interview with Ahmad Sharawi: 01:02:15Conclusion: 1:19:08Show your support for STLV at buymeacoffee.com/stateoftelavivPodcast Notes:* Maps referred to and shown in the podcast introduction:* X post of U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, on January 20, 2026:Full text of this post: The greatest opportunity for the Kurds in Syria right now lies in the post-Assad transition under the new government led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa. This moment offers a pathway to full integration into a unified Syrian state with citizenship rights, cultural protections, and political participation— long denied under Bashar al-Assad's regime, where many Kurds faced statelessness, language restrictions, and systemic discrimination.Historically, the US military presence in northeastern Syria was justified primarily as a counter-ISIS partnership. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), led by Kurds, proved the most effective ground partner in defeating ISIS's territorial caliphate by 2019, detaining thousands of ISIS fighters and family members in prisons and camps like al-Hol and al-Shaddadi. At that time, there was no functioning central Syrian state to partner with—the Assad regime was weakened, contested, and not a viable partner against ISIS due to its alliances with Iran and Russia.Today, the situation has fundamentally changed. Syria now has an acknowledged central government that has joined the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS (as its 90th member in late 2025), signaling a westward pivot and cooperation with the US on counterterrorism. This shifts the rationale for the US-SDF partnership: the original purpose of the SDF as the primary anti-ISIS force on the ground has largely expired, as Damascus is now both willing and positioned to take over security responsibilities, including control of ISIS detention facilities and camps.Recent developments show the US actively facilitating this transition, rather than prolonging a separate SDF role:• We have engaged extensively with the Syrian Government and SDF leadership to secure an integration agreement, signed on January 18, and to set a clear pathway for timely and peaceful implementation.• The deal integrates SDF fighters into the national military (as individuals, which remains among the most contentious issues), hand over key infrastructure (oil fields, dams, border crossings), and cede control of ISIS prisons and camps to Damascus.• The US has no interest in long-term military presence; it prioritizes defeating ISIS remnants, supporting reconciliation, and advancing national unity without endorsing separatism or federalism.This creates a unique window for the Kurds: integration into the new Syrian state offers full citizenship rights (including for those previously stateless), recognition as an integral part of Syria, constitutional protections for Kurdish language and culture (e.g., teaching in Kurdish, celebrating Nawruz as a national holiday), and participation in governance—far beyond the semi-autonomy the SDF held amid civil war chaos.While risks remain (e.g., fragile ceasefires, occasional clashes, concerns over hardliners, or the desire of some actors to relitigate past grievances), the United States is pushing for safeguards on Kurdish rights and counter-ISIS cooperation. The alternative—prolonged separation—could invite instability or ISIS resurgence. This integration, backed by US diplomacy, represents the strongest chance yet for Kurds to secure enduring rights and security within a recognized Syrian nation-state.In Syria, the United States is focused on: 1) ensuring the security of prison facilities holding ISIS prisoners, currently guarded by the SDF; and 2) facilitating talks between the SDF and the Syrian Government to allow for the peaceful integration of the SDF and the political inclusion of Syria's Kurdish population into a historic full Syrian citizenship.* Dr. Qanta A. AhmedDr. Ahmed is a physician, non-fiction author and broadcast media commentator. Her first book, In the Land of Invisible Women (Sourcebooks 2008) details her experience of living and working in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and has been published internationally in 14 countries. She is also a prolific opinion journalist and contributor to the American, British, Australian, Pakistani and Israeli media. Dr.Ahmad has been recognized for her work as a physician, researcher, journalist and advocate. She lives and works in New York City.* Ateret Shmuel Ateret Shmuel lives with her two children in Jerusalem and is the founder of the not-for profit organization Indigenous Bridges and has worked with Kurdish communities and organizations in the Middle East for more than 20 years. https://www.indigenousbridges.com/* Jan Ilhan KizilhanDr. Jan Ilhan Kizilhan is a psychologist, psychotherapist, trauma expert, orientalist, author and publisher. He is also the Director of the Institute for Health Science the State University in Baden-Württemberg, Germany and the chief psychologist of the Special-Quota Project, a programme funded by the State Government of Baden Württemberg. The project brought 1,100 women and children who were in IS captivity to Germany for medical treatment. He is the Founding Dean of the Institute for Psychotherapy and Psychotraumatology at the University of Duhok/Northern Iraq.* Ahmad SharawiAhmad Sharawi is a senior research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, focusing on Middle East affairs, specifically the Levant, Iraq, and Iranian intervention in Arab affairs, as well as U.S. foreign policy toward the region. Previously, Sharawi worked at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, where he focused mainly on Hezbollah. He created a map visualizing the border clashes on the Israeli-Lebanese frontier and authored articles on Jordan and Morocco. Ahmad previously worked at the International Finance Corporation and S&P Global. He holds a B.A. in international relations from King's College London and an M.A. from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.State of Tel Aviv is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.stateoftelaviv.com/subscribe

En Syrie, après l'annonce du cessez-le-feu entre les Forces démocratiques syriennes (FDS) et les autorités de Damas, des centres de réconciliation ont été ouverts pour les anciens membres des FDS qui souhaitent se rendre. En creux, s'y raconte le système de conscription obligatoire des populations arabes et kurdes sur le territoire. La défection rapide d'une partie d'entre eux a précipité la chute des FDS. De notre correspondante à Raqqa, Sourire timide, Suleyman, 26 ans, s'avance au milieu d'une rangée d'hommes en armes. Il est kurde et est un ancien membre des Forces démocratiques syriennes. Il est venu aujourd'hui se rendre et participer au processus de réconciliation en Syrie : « Au début, quand l'armée gouvernementale est arrivée, nous avons eu peur. Nous ne savions pas ce qui allait arriver. Mais jusqu'à présent, nous n'avons pas eu de problème. Je voulais surtout participer au processus de réconciliation pour apaiser la situation avec mes voisins arabes. Ils m'accusent d'être toujours affilié aux FDS. »  « J'étais soldat de garde » pour les Forces démocratiques syriennes Dans les rangs de ceux venus se rendre, figurent d'anciens membres de la sécurité intérieure, d'anciens combattants. « J'étais soldat de garde pour les FDS, dans la 17ème base, au nord de Raqqa », explique Yazan, 19 ans. Lui est arabe. Et il raconte, comme beaucoup d'autres, avoir été obligé de s'enrôler au sein des forces à dominante kurdes. « Il y avait le service obligatoire à partir de 18 ans. Si tu n'y allais pas, ils t'arrêtaient sur les points de contrôle. Ils avaient des listes de personnes recherchées », développe-t-il. Ses amis, qui avaient fait le choix de déserter, « restaient cachés à l'intérieur de chez eux, ils ne sortaient plus ». Au micro, Yazan raconte la différence de traitement, au sein des FDS. « Ils disaient ''moi je suis Kurde, donc je suis supérieur à toi, parce que tu es arabe''. Les valeurs de fraternité dont ils faisaient la promotion n'étaient pas appliquées. Le pouvoir était entre les mains des Kurdes. » Un chef l'obligeait chaque matin à faire des pompes pour obtenir un café. « Je n'étais vraiment pas à l'aise, je n'aime pas être humilié », poursuit-il. Puis, sa désertion, qui lui a valu deux mois de prison : « Il y avait beaucoup de corruption au sein des FDS. Cela marchait aussi quand tu étais en prison. Il suffisait de connaître un Kurde bien placé pour se faire libérer. Moi, j'ai payé un pot-de-vin, et j'ai été réintégré au centre de commandement militaire des FDS. » À lire aussiSyrie: «Nous étions 33 dans 20 mètres carrés», un jeune ex-détenu de la prison d'Al-Aqtan témoigne Un document en guise de « réconciliation » Escorté, Yazan déambule patiemment dans les différentes salles du bâtiment. Il passe un entretien, se fait prendre en photo, avant de récupérer un document. « Voilà, ça c'est une garantie quand tu passeras sur les points de contrôle, comme quoi tu as été "réconcilié". C'est un retour à la vie normale, une nouvelle page qui s'ouvre, où tous les liens avec les FDS ont été coupés », lui explique un soldat. La procédure est la même que celle qui avait été imposée aux anciens membres de l'armée de Bachar el-Assad, explique le responsable du centre de réconciliation à Raqqa, qui a souhaité rester anonyme. « Nous avons un fichier complet avec les informations de tous les combattants FDS. Le service de renseignement de l'État syrien a pu se les procurer et les rassembler dans une base de données. Ceux qui se rendent seront "réconciliés" avec l'État. Ils pourront encore être jugés s'il y a une plainte personnelle contre eux. » « Nous laisserons ces portes ouvertes le temps qu'il faut, ajoute-t-il. Nous attendons l'ensemble des FDS jusqu'au dernier. » À lire aussiSyrie: le gouvernement et les Kurdes parviennent à un accord, sur fond de tensions

Syria er et land hvor ting stadig vekk skjer, både positivt og negativt. VI tar en prat med tidligere landdirektør for Kirkens nødhjelp i Syria og Libanon, Benedicte Næss Hafskjold, og forteller om hvordan ståa er i dag, og et Syria både før og etter Assad.Vil du høre de to landepisodene om Syria? Pell deg over til podimo.no/198landProdusert av Marie Nyrud, PLAN-BBooking og manus av Martin Oftedal, PLAN-B Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Trotz aktueller Verhandlungen in Abu-Dhabi greift Russland mit Drohnen und anderem Kriegsgerät gezielt die Energieinfrastruktur der Ukraine an, es gibt kein Strom, kein Wasser, keine Heizung. Eisige Kälte, seit Wochen. Tausende Hochhäuser sind ohne Strom, die Menschen leiden bei Temperaturen von bis zu minus 20 Grad enorm, dieser Winter gilt als härtester seit Kriegsbeginn. Und das in einer Zeit, in der US-Präsident Donald Trump die bisherige Weltordnung stark verändern will. In der dritten Folge unsere Podcast Sonderreihe „Trumps neue Welt“ schauen wir in die Ukraine und Russland. Mit ARD-Korrespondentin Rebecca Barth aus dem Studio Kiew besprechen wir, was Trumps neue Weltordnung für die Menschen in der Ukraine konkret bedeutet. Wir blicken auch auf die aktuellen Gespräche zwischen Vertretern der Ukraine, Russlands und den USA. Wie steht der russische Präsident Putin im Moment da? Profitiert Putin von Trumps Kurs? Antworten gibt ARD-Korrespondent Björn Blaschke, Korrespondent für Russland. Und was hat der Wegfall und die Schwächung der Verbündeten Russlands, wie etwa von Assad in Syrien oder auch dem iranischen Regime, für Moskau zur Folge. Moderation: Janina Werner Redaktion: Heribert Roth Mitarbeit: Nils Neubert, Caroline Mennerich Redaktionsschluss: 27.01.2026  -----  Alle Folgen des Weltspiegel Podcasts findet ihr hier: https://www.ardaudiothek.de/sendung/weltspiegel-podcast/61593768/ -----  Podcast-Tipp: Amerika verstehen: https://www.deutschlandradio.de/neuer-podcast-amerika-verstehen-100.html -----  Feedback, Themenvorschläge & Lob an: weltspiegel.podcast@ard.de

Trotz aktueller Verhandlungen in Abu-Dhabi greift Russland mit Drohnen und anderem Kriegsgerät gezielt die Energieinfrastruktur der Ukraine an, es gibt kein Strom, kein Wasser, keine Heizung. Eisige Kälte, seit Wochen. Tausende Hochhäuser sind ohne Strom, die Menschen leiden bei Temperaturen von bis zu minus 20 Grad enorm, dieser Winter gilt als härtester seit Kriegsbeginn. Und das in einer Zeit, in der US-Präsident Donald Trump die bisherige Weltordnung stark verändern will. In der dritten Folge unsere Podcast Sonderreihe „Trumps neue Welt“ schauen wir in die Ukraine und Russland. Mit ARD-Korrespondentin Rebecca Barth aus dem Studio Kiew besprechen wir, was Trumps neue Weltordnung für die Menschen in der Ukraine konkret bedeutet. Wir blicken auch auf die aktuellen Gespräche zwischen Vertretern der Ukraine, Russlands und den USA. Wie steht der russische Präsident Putin im Moment da? Profitiert Putin von Trumps Kurs? Antworten gibt ARD-Korrespondent Björn Blaschke, Korrespondent für Russland. Und was hat der Wegfall und die Schwächung der Verbündeten Russlands, wie etwa von Assad in Syrien oder auch dem iranischen Regime, für Moskau zur Folge. Moderation: Janina Werner Redaktion: Heribert Roth Mitarbeit: Nils Neubert, Caroline Mennerich Redaktionsschluss: 27.01.2026  -----  Alle Folgen des Weltspiegel Podcasts findet ihr hier: https://www.ardaudiothek.de/sendung/weltspiegel-podcast/61593768/ -----  Podcast-Tipp: Amerika verstehen: https://www.deutschlandradio.de/neuer-podcast-amerika-verstehen-100.html -----  Feedback, Themenvorschläge & Lob an: weltspiegel.podcast@ard.de

The brutal crackdown on protesters killing tens of thousands has been a "sledgehammer" to Iranians everywhere, said Dr. Meir Javedanfar, an Israeli-Iranian expert on the government led by Ayatollah Ali Khameini. "The people of Iran have just gone through their own Babi Yar massacre," Javedanfar said on the Haaretz Podcast, referring to the largest single mass-killing during the Holocaust. "The Nazis killed 30,000 people in the space of two days. The Iranian regime – if we accept the 30,000 number – has done the same in less than a month. … The level of cruelty is unlike anything Iranians have seen before. The people of Iran are being massacred in unprecedented and historic numbers." The killings in the decade-long Syrian civil war was a laboratory for Iranian techniques of repression, he said, noting that Iranian leaders were often "disappointed when Bashar al-Assad was not violent enough against the people of Syria when they rose up." In Syria, he said, the Iranians "honed their skills" of deadly repression and are now using them "against their own people on the streets of Iran." On the question of whether a U.S. attack on Iran could be averted by a change of heart by the regime, bringing them to the negotiating table, Javedanfar said he sees no chance of concessions unless Khamenei believes that "the Americans could kill him and his family." If the U.S. attacks and Iran retaliates against Israel, he noted, the Israeli military will quickly join in the attack. "If the Iranian regime makes a mistake of attacking us, we have very genuine targets in Iran to attack, especially Iran's missile program," Javedanfar said, adding "I also hope Israel targets regime officials who are taking part in the oppression and suppression of the people of Iran in such a violent manner, I think that would hold Israel in very good stead in future history books of Iran." Read more: Some 30,000 Iranian Protesters May Have Been Killed in Two Days, Officials Reportedly Say U.S. Central Command Head to Coordinate With Israeli Defense Chiefs Ahead of Possible Iran Strike Trump Says 'Armada' Heading Toward Iran: 'Maybe We Won't Have to Use It'; Officials Confirm Warships en Route to Mideast UN Probe Condemns Iran Protest Deaths as Regime Provides Conflicting Casualty Reports Iran Will Treat Any Attack as 'All-out War Against Us,' Says Senior Iran Official Why the pro-Israel Right Is Suddenly Committed to Human Rights – for Iranians, Not PalestiniansSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Notes This week on Live Like the World is Dying, we have a new episode with Virginia from the After the Fall podcast who talks about life in Rojava after the fall of Assad. We also talk about what's been going on more since this episode was recorded as Rojava was preparing to defend itself. For more on internationalism check out a previous episode Martyr Culture or our book Orso Links https://afterthefallpod.libsyn.com/ https://kolektiva.social/@afterthefallpod Free syrian women's foundation https://wjas.org/en/the-foundation/ Kongra Star https://kongra-star.org/eng/ Fajawat https://interstices-fajawat.org/ Leila Al Shami podcasts[ https://fromtheperiphery.com/2025/12/09/syria-one-year-on-after-the-fall-of-assad/ and https://fromtheperiphery.com/syria-the-inconvenient-revolution-pod/]( This podcast is powered by Pinecast. Try Pinecast for free, forever, no credit card required. If you decide to upgrade, use coupon code r-69f62d for 40% off for 4 months, and support Live Like the World is Dying.

During the conflict, the Damascus suburb became a killing field. But some of Assad's henchmen are still around – and even working with the new government By Melvyn Ingleby. Read by Selva Rasalingam. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

In this episode, Aaron Zelin returns to Conflicted to unpack the extraordinary collapse of the Syrian Democratic Forces' position in northeast Syria over the past week — and what the fallout could mean for Syria's fragile post-Assad order. Aaron explains: Why the March 2025 framework agreement ultimately failed Why Sunni Arab tribes abandoned the SDF — and how Damascus prepared the ground How and why fighting erupted in Kurdish neighbourhoods of Aleppo The rapid fall of SDF-held areas in Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor, and Hasakah What happened at ISIS prisons and detention camps during the collapse Why claims of ‘Kurdish abandonment' by the United States are misleading The PKK factor — and the risk of a new insurgency or terrorism campaign What Syria's consolidation means for ISIS, regional stability, and the country's future Follow Aaron on X: https://x.com/azelin This episode includes BONUS MATERIAL after the credits ONLY for subscribers to the Conflicted Community. Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm  Find us on X: https://x.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. This episode was produced and edited by Thomas Small. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It was hoped the fall of Syria's former dictator Bashar al-Assad would usher in a period of stability, unity and perhaps - eventually - democracy.But now the country enters a new and unpredictable phase as President Ahmed Al-Sharaa tightens his grip on power.In the north-east of the country the Kurds were the West's key ally against Islamic State.Now their control in the region is collapsing after days of fierce battles with government forces. A tentative ceasefire is in place but the fallout is far from clear, including the fate of thousands of ISIS prisoners and their families who were in Kurdish-controlled camps.Regional powers like Turkey and Iran, as well as China, Russia and the West are also jostling for influence.Could these developments finally bring a period of calm and stability in Syria or just open the door to new dangers?In this episode of The Fourcast, Jackie Long was joined by Channel 4 News International Editor Lindsey Hilsum and Lina Khatib, Principal Analyst at geopolitical foresight company ExTrac.

This week we talk about war, inflation, and currency devaluation.We also discuss tyrants, police violence, and social media threats.Recommended Book: Post-Growth Living by Kate SoperTranscriptBack in mid-June of 2025, a shooting war erupted between Iran and Israel, with Israeli military forces launching attacks against multiple Iranian military sites, alongside sites associated with its nuclear program and against individual Iranian military leaders.Iran responded to these strikes, which left a lot of infrastructural damage and several military leaders assassinated, with large waves of missiles and drones against both Israeli and allied military targets, and soon after, later the same month, both sides agreed on a ceasefire and that was that.Following that blip of a war, though, Iran's economy suffered greatly. It already wasn't doing well, in part due to the crippling sanctions enforced by the US government for years, but also because of persistent mismanagement by Iran's ruling regime, and the resultant deterioration of local infrastructure, both physical and bureaucratic.Millions of people fled Iranian urban centers during the war with Israel, and while most of them returned when the ceasefire was brokered, the pace of life and other fundaments of these cities never got back up to where they were, before, as there have been fairly consistent blackouts that have kept people from being able to function as normal, and these outages have also kept businesses from getting back on their feet. That, in turn, has resulted in closures and firings and an overall reduction in economic activity.The general hamhandedness of the government has amplified these issues, and the countless other issues of trying to exist within a country that is being so persistently targeted—both in the sense of those crushing sanctions from the US, but also in the sense of being periodically struck by Israel—has dramatically increased uncertainty throughout Iran these past several years.Even before that brief war, Iran was already on the backfoot, having suffered the loss of their local proxies, including the Assad regime in Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and Hamas in the Gaza Strip—all of which have been either severely weakened by Israel in recent years, or functionally wiped out—and that in turn has more directly exposed them to meddling and attacks from their key opposition, which includes the US, Israel, and Saudi Arabia.That new vulnerability has put the Iranian government on high-alert, and the compounding effects of all that infrastructural damage, mismanagement, and the need to reallocate more resources to defense has left the country suffering very high levels of inflation, a severely devalued currency, regular blackouts, mass unemployment, a water shortage, and long-time repression from a government that is in many ways more paranoid and flailing than in any time in recent memory.What I'd like to talk about today is a recent wave of protests across Iran and why the US government is apparently considering taking action to support protestors against the Iranian government.—Iran has long suffered all sorts of issues, including regular efforts by ethnic secessionists to pull it apart into pieces they periodically occupy and want to govern, themselves, and concerns from citizens that the government spends a whole lot of their time and the nation's resources enriching themselves, oppressing the citizenry, funding what seems to be a pointless nuclear program, and prioritizing their offensive efforts against Israel and their other regional enemies, often by arming and funding those aforementioned, now somewhat defunct proxy militias and militaries.On top of all that, as of October 2025, inflation in Iran had surged to 48.6% and the Iranian currency, the rial, dropped in value to 1.45 million per dollar. The government tried to artificially boost the value of the rial to 1.38 million per dollar in early January of 2026, but it dropped further, to 1.5 million per dollar a few days later, hitting a record low. This combined with that wild inflation rate, made the basic fundamentals of life, food, electricity, and so on, unaffordable, even for those who still had jobs, which was an ever-shrinking portion of the population.For context, the drop of the rial to a value of 1.38 million per dollar, the boosted value, represented a loss of about 40% of the rial's value since June of 2025, just before that war with Israel, which is a staggering loss, as that means folk's life savings lost that much in about half a year.When currency values and inflation hit that level of volatility, doing business becomes difficult. It often makes more sense to close up shop than to try to keep the doors open, because you don't know if the price you charge for your product or service will make you a profit or not: there's a chance you'll sell things at a loss, because the value of the money you receive and the cost of goods you require, both to survive and to keep your business functioning, will change before the day ends, or before the sale can be completed.Iran's economic crisis has further exploded in the past few weeks, then, because all those issues have compounded and spiraled to the point that simply selling things and buying things have become too risky for many people and entities, and that means folks are having even more trouble getting food and keeping the lights on than before; which becomes a real survival issue, on top of the regular crackdowns and abuses by the government that they've suffered in various ways for decades.In 2022, those abuses and limits on personal rights led to large protests that were catalyzed by the death of a 22-year-old woman named Mahsa Amini, who was in police custody for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly. Those 2022 protests were historically large—the biggest in the country, by some estimates at least, since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.On December 28 2025, a group of shopkeepers in Iran's capital city, Tehran, went on strike, closing their shops in protest against what's been happening with Iran's economy; again, it's basically impossible to safely do business in a country with that much inflation and currency devaluation happening.Other shopkeepers followed suit, and large protests formed around these closed shops. Those protests flooded social media platforms in short order, protestors shouting slogans that indicated they were pissed off about all the economic mismanagement in the country, and then eventually that led to anti-government slogans being shouted, as well.Things remained peaceful at these protests, at first, and they expanded across the country within the next few days, shops closing and people filling the streets.By the fourth day, police had started to use live ammunition and tear gas against protestors, some of the protestors were killed, and things spiraled from there.By December 31, the government ordered a total, nationwide business shutdown, to try to get ahead of these protests, which again tended to revolve around the shutdown of businesses in protest—the government said they were making this call because of cold weather, but the writing was kind of on the wall at this point that they were scrambling to make it look like businesses were shutting down because they said so, not in protest of the government.The government also announced that they would start cracking down on protestors, hard, and on the first day of 2026, things escalated further, police using even more force against those who gathered, which of course led to more protests in more places, more angry slogans being shouted, and more protestor deaths at the hands of government forces.Protests had spread to all 31 Iranian provinces by early January of 2026, and at this point there were only 17 confirmed deaths.US President Donald Trump got involved around this time, maybe feeling confident following the successful nighttime grab of Venezuelan President Maduro; whatever the case, he warned the Iranian government not to shoot protestors, or the US government might have to get involved, coming to the protestors' rescue.Iran's government responded by saying the rioters must be put in their place, suppressing the funerals of protestors, and muffling local internet service, slowing down access speeds and increasing the number of outages by about a third. They threatened to execute hundreds of protestors by hanging, then said they wouldn't. Trump declared this to be a personal victory, though the Iranian government has used his insinuation of himself into the matter to position the fight as Iran against the US, the protestors backed by their great enemy, which has shown itself to be responsible for these protests.The government then started forcing captured protestors to make confessions on video, which only seemed to further anger the non-arrested protestors, and some protestors began to fight back, in one case setting a police officer on fire, and in other cases local militia groups defended protestors against police, leading to several deaths.Iran's government shut down more communication services in an attempt to regain control, in some cities taking down the internet completely, though some information, photos and videos of police abuses of protestors still made it out into the wider world using satellite services like Starlink, and by the 9th of January, protests reached a scale that rivaled and maybe surpassed those seen during the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and protestors began to set fire to buildings associated with the Islamic Republic, the government, and directly clashing with security forces in some cases.Hundreds of people were reportedly killed per day from that point forward, and thousands were rushed to hospitals, overwhelming local doctors.Thousands of people were also violently killed by police, under cover of the now complete internet blackout, and on January 10th, it was estimated that around 2,000 protestors had been killed in the past two days, alone, while other estimates from inside and outside Iran range from 12,000 to 20,000 protestors killed by the government. The most reliable source I could find, as of last weekend, indicated that the true number of dead is something like 3,300 people, at minimum.In the past week or so, the Iranian government has apparently figured out how to jam Starlink internet signals, making it even more difficult for protestors to share what's happening in the country, and President Trump posted on his social network, Truth Social, telling Iranian citizens that they should overthrow the government and that help is on the way.The Iranian government has arrested tens of thousands of people, has tanks patrolling their towns and cities, and seems to have successfully quashed protests for the time being; no protests at all were reported across the country as of mid-January, and so many people were killed and injured that hospitals and other institutions are still overwhelmed, trying to work through their backlog; much of the country is in mourning.Government forces are reportedly going door to door to arrest people who were spotted in CCTV and social media footage participating in protests, and they've set up checkpoints to stop people, look through their phones, and arrest them if any photos or videos are found that indicate they were at protests, deleting that digital evidence in the process.This remains a fast-moving story and there's a chance something significant, like the US striking Iranian government targets, or renewed, more focused protests will arise in the coming days and weeks.Some analysts have argued that it's kind of a no-brainer for the Trump administration to hit the Iranian government while it's strained in this way, because it's a long-time enemy of the US and its allies that's currently weak, and doing so would reinforce the narrative, sparked with the capture of Maduro, that Trump's administration is anti-tyrant; which is questionable by most measures, but again, this is a narrative, not necessarily reality. And narratives are powerful, especially going into an election year.It's also possible that, because economic conditions in Iran haven't changed, that this is just the beginning of something bigger; protestors and militias taking a moment to regain their footing and consider what they might do to have more of an impact when they start back up again.Show Noteshttps://www.iranintl.com/en/202601130145https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/31/we-want-the-mullahs-gone-economic-crisis-sparks-biggest-protests-in-iran-since-2022https://www.nytimes.com/article/iran-protests-inflation-currency.htmlhttps://www.fdd.org/analysis/2025/06/25/mapping-the-protests-in-iran-2/https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/10/us/politics/trump-iran-strikes.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/10/world/middleeast/iran-protests-death-toll.htmlhttps://www.reuters.com/world/china/iranian-mp-warns-greater-unrest-urging-government-address-grievances-2026-01-13/https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/iran-is-hunting-down-starlink-users-to-stop-protest-videos-from-going-global-d8b49602https://archive.is/20260114175227/https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/bank-collapse-iran-protests-83f6b681https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iran-protest-death-toll-over-12000-feared-higher-video-bodies-at-morgue/https://sundayguardianlive.com/world/did-irans-currency-collapse-rial-plummets-to-000-against-euro-while-inflation-protests-escalate-across-the-country-164403/https://archive.is/20260116034429/https://www.ft.com/content/5d848323-84a9-4512-abd2-dd09e0a786a3https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2jek15m8nohttps://theconversation.com/the-use-of-military-force-in-iran-could-backfire-for-washington-273264https://archive.is/20260114182636/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/01/14/iran-regime-protest-trump-strike/https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/16/world/middleeast/iran-protests-deadly-crackdown.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/17/world/middleeast/iran-ayatollah-khamenei.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025%E2%80%932026_Iranian_protestshttps://www.en-hrana.org/day-thirteen-of-the-protests-nighttime-demonstrations-continue-amid-internet-shutdown/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Iran_internal_crisishttps://apnews.com/article/iran-protests-trump-khamenei-fc11b1082fb75fca02205f668c822751 This is a public episode. 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When a joke could get you killed, should you say it anyway? A group of Syrian comedians test the limits of their newfound freedom, a year after the fall of the brutal Assad regime. Visit thisamericanlife.org/lifepartners to sign up for our premium subscription.Prologue: Under the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad, comedian Sharief Homsi knew which jokes were too dangerous to say on stage. Now that Syria is under the control of a new government, Sharief and the other comedians of “Styria” set out on a national tour to see how far their comedy can go in this new Syria. (6 minutes)Act One: The comedians test out risky material and get big laughs on early tour dates. It's going smoothly until they find out that their show scheduled in the conservative city of Hama is in danger of being cancelled. (13 minutes)Act Two: The comedians go to battle with local officials. (18 minutes)Act Three: The comedians try everything they can think of to keep their shows from being cancelled. (20 minutes)Transcripts are available at thisamericanlife.orgThis American Life privacy policy.Learn more about sponsor message choices.

"Those who remember the disappeared would also disappear." Under dictator Bashar al-Assad, grieving publicly in Syria was punishable. Now the silenced stories of lost loved ones are emerging and there are public spaces to grieve. Syrian architect Ammar Azzouz's friend and colleague Tahir Sabai was killed on his street in 2011. After 14 years in exile, Azzouz returned home and says it's not just a right but "a duty to remember." IDEAS hears about Azzouz's classmate from architecture school, the lives of a father, a brother, and a singer who became the voice of the revolution.Guests in this podcast:Jaber Baker is a novelist, researcher, former political prisoner, human rights activist, and filmmaker. He is the author of Syrian Gulag: Assad's Prisons, 1970-2020, the first-ever comprehensive study of Syrian political prisons.Ammar Azzouz is a British Academy Research Fellow at the University of Oxford. He studied architecture in Homs, Syria and is the author of Domicide: Architecture, War and the Destruction of Home in Syria.Noura Aljizawi is a senior researcher at the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. She was a prominent figure in the Syrian uprising and a survivor of abduction, detention, and torture.When civil war broke out in his home country in 2011, Hassan Al Kontar was a young Syrian living and working in the UAE. A conscientious objector, he refused to return to Syria for compulsory military service and lived illegally before being deported to Malaysia in 2018. He became trapped in the arrivals zone at Kuala Lumpur Airport. Exiled by war and trapped by geopolitics, Al Kontar used social media and humour to tell his story to the world, becoming an international celebrity and ultimately finding refuge in Canada.Khabat Abbas is an independent journalist and video producer based in northeastern Syria. Since 2011, she has extensively covered the developments that have shaken her country starting with the popular demonstrations, to the fight against the so-called Islamic State and its aftermath.

Kevork Almassian, an Armenian-Syrian, discusses with Firas Israel's role in Syria, how Assad fell, and the ongoing threats to minorities.

WESTERN AIRSTRIKES ON ISIS Colleague Akmed Sharawari. Sharawari discusses recent British and Frenchairstrikes against ISIS weapons caches in Syria. He notes that despite opposing the central government, ISIS remains a universal threat. The chaos following the Assad regime's fall has allowed ISIS cells to regroup in urban areas, necessitating Western intervention to destroy their stolen arsenals. NUMBER 6 1924 ALEPPO

Guest: Jonathan Schanzer. The fall of the Maduro regime disrupts a critical transit hub for Hezbollah's illicit finance and drug trade in Latin America. Meanwhile, Iran faces its most significant threat since 2009 due to widespread protests, economic collapse, and the recent loss of key allies like Assad and Maduro.1914 MT ZION

HEADLINE: Iran and Hezbollah Lose Strategic Foothold as Maduro Regime Collapses. Jonathan Schanzer discusses the collapse of the Maduro regime, describing it as a "gut punch" to Iran and Hezbollah, who utilized Venezuela for training and illicit finance. Following the earlier fall of Syria's Assad regime, Schanzer observes that Iran is losing key allies like "rapid fire dominoes".1845 CARACAS

SHOW 1-5-26 THE SHOW BEGINS IN DOUBTS ABOUT VENEZUELA, NIGERIA, SYRIA, RUSSIA, CHINA 1936 KENYA 1. NIGERIA AIRSTRIKE AND THE JIHADIST SHIFT Guest: Edmund Fitton-Brown Edmund Fitton-Brown analyzes a US airstrike against ISIS in Nigeria, discussing the growing jihadist threat in West Africa's "ungoverned spaces." He highlights a strategic shift where African juntas reject Western support for Russian mercenaries, who offer security without governance conditions, inadvertently boosting local support for Al-Qaeda coalitions like JNIM,,. 2. EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN ALLIANCE VS. TURKEY Guest: Edmund Fitton-Brown Fitton-Brown examines the cooperation between Greece, Cyprus, and Israel as a necessary pushback against Turkish President Erdogan's neo-Ottoman expansionism. He argues Erdogan's aggressive rhetoric regarding Jerusalem and maritime claims threatens regional stability, necessitating a unified defense from these democracies to counter Turkish overreach in the Mediterranean,. 3. CHINA'S OIL LOSS IN VENEZUELA Guest: Gordon Chang and Charles Burton The guests discuss how the US removal of Maduro disrupts China's oil supply, leaving Beijing with billions in unpaid debt. They note that Chinese military equipment failed to detect the US operation, embarrassing Beijing. Burton suggests Canada faces a difficult choice between aligning with US hemispheric security or appeasing China,,. 4. 2026: A HOLLOW SUPERPOWER Guest: Gordon Chang and Charles Burton Chang and Burton speculate that the US operation in Venezuela exposes China's inability to protect its allies, making Beijing appear "hollow." Chang argues this weakens China's threat against Taiwan, while Burton suggests that with China's economy failing and its allies collapsing, the regime faces internal instability and a loss of global prestige,. 5. SECTARIAN WARFARE IN SYRIA Guest: Akmed Sharawari Akmed Sharawari reports on escalating violence between Syria's Alawite minority and the central government led by former jihadist Al-Shara. He explains that regime remnants and Russian influence are fueling Alawite defiance, while Druze and Kurdish factions also resist integration, complicating US hopes for a stable, unified post-Assad state,,. 6. WESTERN AIRSTRIKES ON ISIS Guest: Akmed Sharawari Sharawari discusses recent British and French airstrikes against ISIS weapons caches in Syria. He notes that despite opposing the central government, ISIS remains a universal threat. The chaos following the Assad regime's fall has allowed ISIS cells to regroup in urban areas, necessitating Western intervention to destroy their stolen arsenals,. 7. HEZBOLLAH'S LATIN AMERICAN FINANCING Guest: David Daoud David Daoud details Hezbollah's deep entrenchment in Venezuela, used to challenge US hegemony. He explains how the group exploits Latin American networks, illicit trade, and legitimate business fronts within expatriate communities to generate essential funding, compensating for losses in Lebanon and serving Iran's broader strategy in the Western Hemisphere,. 8. LEBANESE ARMY COLLUSION Guest: David Daoud Daoud highlights the compromised nature of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), citing a recent incident where an LAF soldier killed alongside Hezbollah members received a joint funeral. He argues this collusion makes the LAF an untrustworthy partner for Israel, as sectarian loyalties often supersede national duty, leading to dangerous intelligence leaks,. 9. THE FALL OF MADURO Guest: Alejandro Peña Esclusa and Ernesto Araújo Alejandro Peña Esclusa celebrates the swift US capture of Maduro as Venezuela's liberation. He argues Vice President Delcy Rodriguez must now dismantle the "Cartel of the Suns" to avoid Maduro's fate. Ernesto Araújo frames this as a decisive victory for freedom, forcing a choice between democracy and criminal syndicates,,. 10. US DEMANDS: TERRORISTS OUT Guest: Alejandro Peña Esclusa Peña Esclusa supports US demands for Iran, Hezbollah, and the ELN to be expelled from Venezuela, asserting the population shares these desires. He characterizes Maduro as a drug lord and a threat to Western security, criticizing European leftists who condemn the operation for failing to recognize the regime's criminal nature. 11. PANIC AMONG THE LATIN LEFT Guest: Alejandro Peña Esclusa and Ernesto Araújo Ernesto Araújo explains that leftist leaders like Lula and Petro fear the US action against Maduro because their power structures share similar corruption. Peña Esclusa adds that Colombian President Petro is terrified because his campaign was funded by Venezuelan drug money, making him vulnerable to the exposure of these secrets,. 12. THE RIGHTWARD SHIFT IN ELECTIONS Guest: Alejandro Peña Esclusa and Ernesto Araújo Araújo predicts the US action in Venezuela will energize the Latin American right, specifically boosting the Bolsonaro movement in Brazil. Peña Esclusa forecasts electoral defeats for the left in Costa Rica, Peru, and Colombia, arguing the region is turning away from narco-socialism toward US-aligned conservative leadership,. 13. RUSSIA'S MAXIMALIST DEMANDS Guest: John Hardie John Hardie outlines Russia's unyielding demands for peace, including territorial concessions and barring Ukraine from NATO. He notes that while Zelensky is nearing agreement with the West on security guarantees, the gap with Russia remains wide. Hardie urges the Trump administration to increase pressure to force Putin to compromise,. 14. THE IMPOSSIBLE DMZ Guest: John Hardie Hardie discusses the complexities of implementing a demilitarized zone (DMZ) in Ukraine, citing disagreements over sovereignty and administration. Regarding the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, he notes Russia is unlikely to return control to Ukraine. He concludes that peace deals requiring Ukraine to cede territory are "poison pills" likely to fail,. 15. HAMAS AND THE IMPOSSIBLE RECONSTRUCTION Guest: Peter Berkowitz Peter Berkowitz argues that Hamas, as a Muslim Brotherhood offshoot, remains committed to Israel's destruction, making peace impossible. He criticizes the "Project Sunrise" reconstruction plan, noting that US-led development is futile without first disarming and deradicalizing Gaza, a task only the IDF can currently achieve given Hamas's refusal to surrender,. 16. IRAN ON THE BRINK Guest: Jonathan Sia Jonathan Sia reports on unprecedented Iranian protests and rumors that Ayatollah Khamenei plans to flee to Moscow. He attributes the regime's panic to the recent fall of allies like Maduro. Sia notes a shift in protester sentiment toward pro-monarchy chants, suggesting a coordinated opposition now exists to replace the theocracy,.

SECTARIAN WARFARE IN SYRIA Colleague Akmed Sharawari. Akmed Sharawari reports on escalating violence between Syria's Alawite minority and the central government led by former jihadist Al-Shara. He explains that regime remnants and Russian influence are fueling Alawite defiance, while Druze and Kurdish factions also resist integration, complicating US hopes for a stable, unified post-Assad state. NUMBER 5 1921 ALEPPO

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