Blog

By Maher Al Mounes for AFP A man sits in an armchair outside of the Tishrin residential palace of Syria's ousted president Bashar al-Assad. Photo: AFP / Omar Haj Kadour Roaming the opulent Damascus home of ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, Abu Omar felt a sense of giddy defiance being in the residence of the man he said had long oppressed him. "I am taking pictures, because I am so happy to be here in the middle of his house," said the 44-year-old, showing photographs he took on his mobile phone. He was among the dozens an AFP correspondent saw entering Assad's home after Assad fled the country -- to Moscow according to Russian news agencies -- as rebels took control of the capital in an 11-day lightning offensive. The swift campaign by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS...

By Ashley R. Williams, Gloria Pazmino, Evan Perez, Mark Morales, Brynn Gingras, Shimon Prokupecz and Ryan Young, CNNAs the investigation into the fatal shooting of a health care executive in Manhattan enters its fifth day, police are missing key pieces of evidence and are combing through what they have gathered for more clues, as the suspect remains on the run.The New York Police Department is working with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies across the country to search for the suspect, with the public being encouraged with rewards. Two new photos released by police show the suspect masked with a hood in the backseat of a vehicle and wearing a jacket walking on the street.While authorities say they believe the suspect has long left New York City after fatally shooting UnitedHealthca...

By Simone McCarthy, CNN A portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is pictured with its frame broken, in a Syrian regime's Political Security Branch facility on the outskirts of the central city of Hama, following the capture of the area by anti-government forces, on December 7, 2024. Photo: OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP Syria's iron-fisted leader Bashar al-Assad is the second generation of an autocratic family dynasty that held power for more than five decades and his disappearance amid a lightning rebel advance signals an astonishing reordering of power in a strategically vital Middle Eastern nation. Assad is known for a brutal rule over Syria, which since 2011 has been devastated by a civil war that ravaged the country and turned it into a breeding ground for extremist group ISIS, whi...

By John Lyons, global affairs editor, ABC Bashar al-Assad, pictured with Russia's Vladimir Putin in 2021. Photo: AFP Analysis - The Middle East has changed dramatically in just eight days. Whether the regime of Syria's leader Bashar al-Assad is finished or just seriously wounded, he is now a leader with little authority. A rebel army has been able to take swathes of the country, storming into Damascus and tearing down a picture of Hafez al-Assad, the man who set up the brutal regime. Whatever the final outcome of the chaos in Syria, the last week has seen an extraordinary upheaval. Russia and Iran take a hit The big losers are Russia and Iran. They have both been instrumental in helping to prop up the regime since uprisings began in 2011. For Russia, Syria is its strongest ally in th...