Spotlight
Sentencing for Syria’s Coastal Massacres
A Syrian court has delivered its first verdicts over the March 2025 violence: a death sentence, a life term, an acquittal and 20 years for a soldier whose case file included a video of a kneeling man being shot.
Fuel for the Fire
Syria raised diesel prices 40% overnight, sparking protests in Idlib. Yet locals say they support the state nevertheless. While Syrians are struggling financially, the protests show that they are also exploring a new relationship with dissent.
Somaliland’s Uphill Struggle for Recognition in Washington
Last December, Israel became the first country to recognize Somaliland, sparking hope that others, especially the U.S., might follow suit. This week, President Abdullahi is going to make his pitch to the Trump administration, but even with support from some powerful Republican lawmakers, he faces an uphill battle.
A Libyan General Accused of Crimes Against Humanity Was Arrested in Turin. Why Did Italy Let Him Go?
Libya’s Gen. Osama Njeem was wanted by the ICC for crimes against humanity he committed at Mitiga Prison, where detainees — many of them migrants — were tortured, raped and extorted. Yet when he was arrested in Turin in 2025, Italy swiftly flew him home. Why?
Why Syria Is Training Women To Protect Its Tourists
Thousands of Syrian women signed up for a police force without knowing exactly why they were being recruited. Some were revolutionaries, some widows. One left a 2-month-old at home to train.
The Syrian War Many Wanted but Two Men Refused To Fight
Syria's president and the country's foremost Kurdish militia commander have defied expectations of a major military clash, overcoming years of discord to make peace against the odds.
The House Ratko Mladić Could Not Destroy
Ratko Mladić, the commander in charge of the Srebrenica genocide and architect of the Sarajevo siege, died serving a life sentence. He died a coward, much as his political progeny today still live as cowards. But Bosnia survives, defined not by its suffering but by joy and humor.