In the last Turkish town on the road to Aleppo, jihadis and spies mixed with reporters trying to prove themselves. At the Hotel Istanbul, I was to meet a Syrian activist who went by the code name Harvester. I was twenty-two and wanted to learn how journalists work in conflict zones. In the spring of 2013--when I was twenty-two and had little sense of the direction my life might take--I travelled to the Turkish-Syrian border, to learn how journalists work in war. During the previous two years, the security forces of the Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, had carried out a brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters, and the situation had spiralled into armed conflict, with thousands of civilians dead and hundreds of thousands of refugees spilling into neighboring countries. Rebels had captured half of Syria's largest city, Aleppo, and most of the territory north and west of it, including the official crossings into southern Turkey. In practice, that meant any freelancer, humanitarian, or ...

What is Lebanon's Beaufort Castle? Why is Israel attacking Nabatieh? An Israeli drone attack has wounded six people in Lebanon's Hermel district, close to the Syrian border, according to the Lebanese health ministry. The ministry said on Friday that the six wounded included five Syrian nationals, two of them women, and one Lebanese. It added the area has largely been spared such attacks since an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire was agreed in June. Israel's military claimed it struck "a Syrian terrorist" who "operated under the direction of the Iranian regime", alleging that the man "planned and advanced attacks" against Israeli forces in Syria's southern territory.

Is the war entering a new phase? Syria has called for an "independent and transparent" investigation into the sinking of a cargo ship in the Black Sea, demanding answers over the fate of the ship's 10 crew members, including nine Syrians and an Egyptian, who remain unaccounted for. The Togolese-flagged Alfa Watan, went down in Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone early on Tuesday, amid a rising number of drone strikes hitting Black Sea shipping during the Russia-Ukraine war. Mazen Aloush, from the Syria's port authority asked the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and Bulgarian authorities to find out why a search and rescue mission was called off, before the missing sailors were found. "Their fate is still unknown" said Aloush, adding that "the reasons that led to the suspension of search and rescue operations" had to be established.

Australia's deaths to outnumber births by 2060s, report says Share Australia's deaths to outnumber births by 2060s, report says on social media Australia will see more deaths than births by the 2060s, hitting a milestone already surpassed by advanced economies including Japan, Germany and France, according to a government report. In its latest Intergenerational Report released on Monday, Australia's Treasury forecast that the country's population will hit 39.3 million by 2065-66, 1.8 million lower than projected in its last outlook in 2023. The number of Australians aged 85 or older is projected to triple by 2065-66, with immigration accounting for all population growth as the fertility rate falls to 1.34, the Treasury said. Despite plunging birthrates, the Treasury said it expects the economy to more than double in size by the mid-2060s, citing productivity gains due to artificial intelligence and greater workforce participation by women and older Australians. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said that while Australia's economy faces serious risks due to the demographic shift, it also holds "substantial" advantages compared with its peers.

Things to Do in L.A. Tap to enable a layout that focuses on the article. Former prison warden Samir Osman Alsheikh, left, meets with Syrian President Bashar Assad in 2011. U.S. officials say Alsheikh is the highest-ranking former member of the Assad regime to be tried and convicted in person outside Syria. This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here .

In Super Macklemore 64, players are chased by a giant Ed Sheeran, dodge tiny billionaire Robert Krafts and summon musicians to chant "Free Palestine". Creator Jonathan Mann says it highlights the "absurdity" of Macklemore being dropped from Sheeran's concerts and Israel's genocide in Gaza. Trump says Denmark deal gives US security'control' over Greenland'Daughter of Damascus' Assala performs in Syria after 15-year exile Jerusalem Daily: Netanyahu says he will'change the face of the Middle East

An inquiry into allegations British Special Forces murdered unarmed Afghan civilians has cost UK taxpayers £58m, figures from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) show. When the inquiry was launched in 2023, its chair Lord Justice Haddon-Cave said it would aim to report, at least on an interim basis, within 12-18 months. However, the inquiry has now been running for more than three and a half years, and has yet to publish any findings. In a statement, the inquiry said its work was greater and more complex than it originally envisaged. It added that delays by the MoD in disclosing information had also affected the timetable.

Assad regime planned US journalist's kidnap for weeks, BBC finds US journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared in Syria in 2012, was kidnapped in a calculated operation which was more than a month in the planning, the BBC can reveal. A member of the group which detained Tice has also claimed the abduction was sanctioned by Syria's leader at the time, President Bashar al-Assad. Tice was seen getting into a car with a driver he knew and trusted. For years, many assumed they had stumbled upon a government checkpoint, and that the abduction of the journalist had been opportunistic. But we have uncovered evidence that, in fact, his disappearance was anything but chance.

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'Can I take the door?' woman pleads at Syrian prison exhibit'Can I take the door?' woman pleads at Syrian prison exhibit A Syrian woman spotted her missing brother's name on a prison cell door at an exhibition in Damascus. The display was among artefacts retrieved from notorious prisons run by the Assad regime. Share'Can I take the door?' woman pleads at Syrian prison exhibit on social media Faith leaders say they were'duped' into attending RSS-linked event Egypt's Sisi welcomes China's President Xi in Grand Egyptian Museum tour OpenAI's Sam Altman tells G20 AI will be as essential as electricity Former campaign chair: Trump'cares about Trump the most'