20. Suriye Cumhurbaşkanı (2025–günümüz)
As Pakistan’s monsoon arrives, people with HIV worry
As contaminated floodwater gushed into their home in Buner, north-western Pakistan, Khalid (name changed) and his wife helped their three children up to higher ground. Amid the chaos, the couple had one more crucial thing to rescue: their life-saving HIV drugs. They trudged through neck-deep water inside their home to save their antiretroviral treatment pills from being swept away, ignoring all other valuables. “The waist-deep mud left behind by floodwaters had cut off our village for more than eight days,” Khalid recalls. “Thankfully, my wife and I still had our HIV medication with us,” says the daily wager, who contracted the virus while working abroad five years prior. This happened last monsoon, in August 2025, when the skies opened on Pakistan, causing widespread flooding. Devastating riverine floods affected places like Buner, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Punjab province. The floods claimed over a thousand lives, with 808 of these casualties reported in the two provinces alone. They displaced three million people and damaged nearly 230,000 houses. For people living with HIV and AIDS, their illness was an added risk factor. During last year’s floods, many people with HIV got sick because they were cut off from antiretroviral therapy centres and couldn’t access drugs, Asma Nasim tells Dialogue Earth. Nasim is head of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Sindh Institute for Urology and Transplantation. In Pakistan, antiretroviral treatment for HIV/AIDS is provided free of cost at dedicated centres. Such therapy enables persons with HIV “to live healthy lives by suppressing the virus and preserving immune functions,” explains Asghar Ilyas Satti, national coordinator for the Association of People Living with HIV-Pakistan. This year, as monsoon rolls in, Pakistan is on high alert, and has warned citizens of heavy rainfall, urban flooding and more weather-related risks. On 1 July, the country’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) issued a glacier lake outburst flood alert in two valleys in Gilgit-Baltistan, a region bordering Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Rising river water levels damaged roads and bridges across several parts of the region, Dawn reported. Soon after, heavy rains lashed Pakistan, claiming at least 14 lives across the country, according to The Nation. These warnings and recurring floods coincide with Pakistan recording a dramatic increase in the incidence of HIV. Waheed (name changed), a teacher living with HIV in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Swat district, worries about the impacts of this year’s monsoon on his health due to his experience last year. While guiding his elderly mother, wife and three children to safety during the floods, he had to return to the house, but struggled to explain why. “Due to the stigma associated with the disease, I have kept my illness a secret from everyone, even from my spouse,” Waheed tells Dialogue Earth. “I had only nine tablets left and was worried about facing a gap in treatment due to [loss of] access to [the antiretroviral] centre,” he recalls. Eventually, he managed to rush back to his submerged house to extract his antiretroviral drugs from a hidden spot. “Gaps in treatment have severe health consequences, including viral rebound, immune system damage and progression to AIDS,” Satti tells Dialogue Earth. “For HIV patients, who are already navigating stigma and fragile health systems, climate disasters are not only destroying their homes and livelihoods, but also endangering access to essential medication, a disruption that could have life-threatening consequences,” Satti notes. HIV spikes amid floods On World AIDS Day in December 2025, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported that new infections in Pakistan had risen by 200 per cent in 15 years — from 16,000 in 2010 to 48,000 in 2024. Hospitals in Karachi recently reported a “dramatic increase” in the number of paediatric HIV cases over the last nine months alone, noted Dawn. “During the last three months, I have seen more children who are HIV positive than I have seen in the last ten years,” says Nasim. “It isn’t just that more people are being tested. It is that there are more people being infected,” she adds. Unsafe medical practices appear to have been the main cause of these spikes, Samreen Sarfaraz, chair of infection control services and consultant infectious diseases at Indus Hospital, told Dawn. In April, the BBC published a story on how 331 children had tested positive for HIV between November 2024 and October 2025 in the city of Taunsa, Punjab. Their story, confirmed via undercover filming, linked the outbreak to a hospital where children were being injected with reused syringes. Waheed believes he contracted the virus while getting dental treatment where non-sterile instruments were used. After the 2019 HIV outbreak in Larkana, auto-disable syringes were introduced, which lock or break the plunger after one use. But more recently, such syringes have been discovered to be fake or substandard in some areas, she notes. “This virus has reached epidemic proportions in Pakistan,” says Nasim. These are troubling developments as the monsoon season and the potential for dangerous floods arise yet again. At a press conference in November, chairperson for Pakistan’s NDMA Inam Haider Malik cautioned that the 2026 monsoon could result in 22-26pc more rainfall than last year’s. A person with HIV has a consultation with a healthcare professional at the antiretroviral therapy centre in Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar. — Adeel Saeed At the same event, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif endorsed a five-year plan for flood preparedness. This is significant in a country where no relief fund has ever been legally secured, climate and water expert Ali Tauqeer Sheikh noted in a recent Dawn op-ed. In May, Sharif ordered authorities to strengthen monsoon preparedness. He also issued a directive to ensure comprehensive screening of all patients in public hospitals for hepatitis and HIV. Memories of the catastrophic floods of 2022 are still fresh for many, when Pakistan suffered damage worth $10 billion, with more than 33 million people affected. In Sindh, the floods cut people with HIV off from treatment centres. “The devastating floods in 2022 disrupted our contact with a large number of HIV patients,” says Robina, the province’s head of the Association of People Living with HIV-Pakistan (APLHIV). When communication networks are disrupted due to climate-related disasters, treatment delays become more common, says Pulwasha (name changed), a person with HIV who has volunteered to deliver medicine to patients at their homes in Peshawar. Many patients prefer having medicines delivered to avoid being seen at antiretroviral therapy centres, she notes. Robina, who goes by a single name, tells Dialogue Earth that after six months of sustained efforts tracking patients lost to follow-up (LTFU) — those who drop out of treatment before it is complete — many patients came back to the treatment network. These were individuals who had stopped attending scheduled appointments or seeking care due to mental trauma and financial losses, including property and livelihoods. “The LTFU also indicated that several HIV patients were completely missing [and] presumed dead, either due to drowning or interruptions in treatment, as vast areas of interior Sindh remained submerged under floodwaters and [were] cut off from major cities for several months, severely restricting patients’ access to treatment centres,” she says. Nearly 20,000 patients who initiated treatment at antiretroviral therapy centres for HIV/AIDS were considered missing by Pakistan’s health ministry as of May 2026. This finding raised serious questions about follow-up, counselling and patient retention, noted the Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination in a press release. Who can help? Realising the health risks faced by HIV patients during the August 2025 floods, APLHIV activated an Emergency Response Cell to ensure uninterrupted treatment for affected individuals in Buner, Swat and Mansehra districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Satti says. Using its national registry of 25,000 people with HIV, APLHIV identified about 1,000 individuals residing in these flood-affected areas, over a hundred of whom were confirmed as directly affected by climate-induced disasters. Immediate coordination with centres, case managers, provincial and national programs ensured urgent re-supply of medicines to the flood-affected patients, Satti adds. Sobo Malik, an activist working closely with people living with HIV at the NGO Khawaja Sira Society in Lahore since 2015, says that while the government provides treatment, crucial follow-ups such as voluntary confidential counselling and testing are carried out by community-based organisations. Sadly, erratic weather patterns, extreme heat and last year’s flood have all impacted people’s access to medication especially in rural areas “There are no special programs for HIV-positive persons in case of disasters. Last year, during floods, [people] living in or near the cities received nutritional packages plus treatment, but we are not so sure those in rural areas get the same facilities,” she tells Dialogue Earth. “General aid in climate disasters, like medical camps and ration, is not specific to people with HIV. In flood relief camps, only verbal history is taken, and basics are checked like sugar [levels] and blood pressure. But no specific blood tests for HIV are conducted.” Confidentiality is also an issue with people with HIV, Malik says. “Because of the stigma, they usually don’t want to tell anyone. And in mainstream society … testing is rare.” Diagnosis is important, but treatment, follow-up and counselling are just as important, she notes. “Their immunity is obviously compromised. The viral load needs to be brought down through medication, plus nutrition needs to be maintained to strengthen immunity. If that isn’t done, then severe weather conditions… will impact their health more than an average person.” Sara Malik, deputy director of media at the NDMA, tells Dialogue Earth that the government body hopes to address the needs of people with HIV “over time”. While there are no policies specific to these individuals, NDMA has partner NGOs that are active in the health sector, so they must be indirectly benefiting from their initiatives, she says. NDMA, she says, “ensures that vulnerable populations are supported during its post-disaster response”, adding that it is now “expanding [the] scope of its relief activities to reach [the] maximum number of vulnerable people during emergencies”. Risk of other diseases Environmentalist and social activist Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr, who advocates for the rights of people with HIV, says that access to medicines can make the condition quite manageable. “While in many countries the onus falls on the general population to remain safe, in Pakistan it is the government that must now act to ensure medical malpractice does not take any more lives,” Bhutto tells Dialogue Earth. “Thankfully, [antiretroviral] medication can be obtained for free in Pakistan. This is a good system that can work, it just needs to be utilised,” he says. “Sadly, erratic weather patterns, extreme heat and last year’s flood have all impacted people’s access to medication, especially in rural areas.” In the event of floods this year, APLHIV will expand the services of its Emergency Response Cell to Punjab and Sindh provinces, Satti says. The government of Punjab, another province hard hit by last year’s floods, has committed to flood preparedness initiatives this year. Dialogue Earth made multiple attempts to contact the Punjab AIDS Control Program, a provincial government initiative, but got no response. APLHIV staff, meanwhile, remain on alert and are prepared to respond swiftly and take all necessary measures to provide assistance to people with HIV in the event of a disaster, Satti says. International agencies like the World Bank, Unesco and UN Development Programme, in collaboration with developed nations, have pledged support to Pakistan in disaster-preparedness and to help with early-warning systems. But experts remain cynical about whether this will result in ground relief for vulnerable communities. When asked about patients whose disease has progressed to AIDS, Nasim says that immunocompromised patients suffer much more in extreme weather events. “Post-floods, areas with floodwater are infested with mosquitoes, which means more malaria and dengue. In addition, after floods, water is often contaminated. How can AIDS patients survive that?” Header image: The floods of August 2025, which claimed over a thousand lives in Pakistan, carried particularly high risks for those living with HIV. — Kamran Khan This article was originally published by Dialogue Earth and has been republished with permission.
Pakistan'da Muson Selinde HIV Hastalarının İlaç Mücadelesi- Güvenlik04 Tem
STR, SARA bukti kerajaan usaha ringankan kos sara hidup rakyat, kata Anwar
Perdana menteri berkata bantuan tunai itu juga ditambah baik bagi pastikan ia disalur dengan lebih pantas dan tepat kepada golongan sasar.
Blast at Damascus cafe leaves six dead
BEIRUT: A bomb blast at a crowded cafe in central Damascus killed at least six people and wounded 22 others on Thursday, Syrian state media reported. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Syrian state television said an explosive device had been planted at the cafe, near the Palace of Justice in the centre of the capital. Damascus Governor Maher Idlibi said the blast was caused by a crudely made improvised explosive device, according to Syrian state media. Videos that circulated on social media showed wounded people and blood on the floors of a cafe, purportedly the site of the blast. A correspondent saw ambulances weaving through traffic with their sirens blaring as they headed to the site, and security forces cordoned off the area of the blast. “The explosion that occurred in a cafe near the Palace of Justice in Damascus resulted from an explosive device planted in the location,” state television said. Nour Khayyat, 40, who owns a shop selling batteries for solar panels near the site, said that “at about 3pm, I heard a powerful blast and the storefront shook”. “People rushed to the cafe and called ambulances,” he added. Mohammed al-Dahabi, the owner of a glasses shop next to the targeted cafe, was trembling as he described the explosion, telling this news agency: “I felt strong pressure, and the whole place shook”. “I ran to the place and saw people lying on the floor with blood pooled around them everywhere,” he added, saying the scenes recalled the bombings Damascus experienced during Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war. ‘Malicious parties’ Arriving at the scene, Damascus governor Maher Eldibi said an investigation had been launched. “Those responsible for this bloodshed will be punished,” he said. “Each time the country sees a period of stability, malicious parties try to destabilise it.” Since the toppling of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December of 2024, Syria’s new authorities led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa have sought to exercise full control, restore security and reunify the country. Damascus has been the site of multiple attacks and incidents since the new authorities took over. The attack presents another security challenge to the Syrian government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who took control after overthrowing former President Bashar al-Assad in late 2024. Assad’s ouster effectively ended more than 14 years of civil war. Damascus has witnessed a handful of security incidents since then, including a car bomb that killed one Syrian soldier and wounded at least 18 people outside the defence ministry in May. Although no group claimed responsibility for Thursday’s blast, the militant Islamic State group has sought to exploit the security vacuum created by Assad’s ouster by reactivating sleeper cells, recruiting fighters and moving weapons as the new government extends its authority across the country, security officials had said. The group announced earlier this year what it described as a new phase of operations against Sharaa’s government. The group is far weaker than when it controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq before the collapse of its self-declared caliphate in 2019. It remains, however, capable of carrying out deadly insurgency-style attacks and is viewed by Syrian, Iraqi and Western officials as one of the biggest threats to Syria’s transition. Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2026
Şam'da Adalet Sarayı yakınındaki kafede bomba patladı: 5 ölüDefense comments on pretrial order; Bantug sees no delay in July 6 trial
MANILA, Philippines — The defense team of Vice President Sara Duterte filed its comments on the Senate impeachment court’s pretrial order before Thursday’s deadline, with Senate Secretary and Impeachment Clerk of Court Renato Bantug Jr. saying he sees nothing that would delay the scheduled start of the impeachment trial on July 6. Defense lawyer Michael
‘Inhumane and avoidable’: activists call for end to manual sanitation work
KARACHI: Civil society members gathered on Thursday at Karachi’s Urban Resource Centre (URC) to discuss the perils of manual sanitation work across Pakistan, stressing the need to preserve workers’ dignity and calling for an end to the “inhumane and avoidable” practice. As the discussion began, speakers Advocate Sara Malkani, social activist Naeem Sadiq and URC’s Zahid Farooq recalled an incident in Karachi’s Usmanabad in September 2025, when three sanitation workers — 22-year-old Vishal, 19-year-old Shahir and 42-year-old George — lost their lives after asphyxiating in a manhole while cleaning it. The three, who belonged to the same family, had been hired to clean the manhole for a wage of Rs15,000. On behalf of a group of human rights activists, Malkani filed a constitutional petition in the Sindh High Court (SHC) in November 2025, asking the court to declare the practice of manual gutter cleaning a violation of human dignity and therefore unconstitutional. Malkani said the petition also contended that the court should direct legislative and regulatory bodies to enact legislation to prohibit the “inhumane practice”. She added that the petition names the Karachi Water and Sanitation Corporation (KWSC), the Sindh government and local government bodies as respondents. Malkani maintained that the practice was entirely avoidable, as technology for cleaning gutters already exists. She recalled that in its response to the SHC, KWSC had also admitted that machinery existed; however, it submitted that “due to some circumstances, people have to go inside gutters.” She added that the utility did not specify those circumstances in its response to the petition. KWSC Employees’ Union Secretary General Mohsin Raza, who was also present at the dialogue and spoke to Dawn, explained that while machinery existed within KWSC, most of it required manual operation. “We do not have a standardised system; some manholes are 4 feet deep, while others may be up to 24 feet deep, so in many cases staff still have to enter the manholes,” he said, adding that at present the machinery also required manual operation. Malkani further recalled that the water utility had also stated that the deceased workers were contracted through a private firm. She contended that ultimate responsibility for gutter cleaning rests with municipal bodies, whether the work is carried out by government employees or private contractors. ‘Dirty and undesirable’ Speaking at the panel, Malkani also highlighted the discriminatory nature of sanitation work in the country, particularly along religious lines. “The practice also continues because sanitation workers have not been given any status in society,” she remarked. A 2025 Amnesty International report describes sanitation work as stigmatised due to its association with a “caste system” in South Asia. In the Pakistani context, this is transposed onto religious identities, leaving those engaged in such work labelled as “undesirable” by wider society. Meanwhile, Sadiq said the dehumanisation of sanitation workers was a result of society’s apathy towards them. “It is a problem that we expect our brothers and fellow citizens to clean up after us,” he said. “Will we continue to disregard these people the way we have for many decades? Would a civilised society force its people to enter manholes?” He questioned how it could sit with one’s conscience to “debate how much compensation sanitation workers should receive for their untimely deaths” instead of ensuring safety standards, recalling the compensation offered to the three deceased workers in Usmanabad. He said that if such an incident were to occur in another country, the leadership of the responsible authorities would be held accountable. The activist urged the audience to mobilise on the issue and demand an end to the practice of manual gutter cleaning. According to the National Commission for Human Rights, Pakistan (NCHR), sanitation workers in the country work in hazardous conditions without adequate occupational safety standards or legal protections. In its 2025 report, Amnesty recommended that manual cleaning of gutters be replaced with machinery, and that workers be trained to operate the equipment. It also called for constitutional amendments to provide protection against caste-based discrimination, in order to address issues faced by communities associated with sanitation work.
Aktivistler Pakistan'da 'insanlık dışı' elle sanitasyona son verilmesini istediTrump'ın çıkışı sonrası Suriye'den dikkati çeken mesaj
ABD Başkanı Donald Trump'ın "İsrail'e Hizbullah meselesini Suriye'nin halletmesine izin vermesini önerdim, bu işi onların çok daha iyi yapacağını düşünüyorum." şeklindeki çıkışının ardından yeni bir gelişme yaşandı. Suriye Dışişleri Bakanı Esad el Şibani, ülkesinin çıkarları için gerekirse Lübnan Hizbullahı ile görüşebileceğini söyledi. Suriye Dışişleri Bakanı Esad el Şibani, bugün Beyrut'a gerçekleştirdiği ziyaret kapsamında, çıkarların gerektirmesi halinde Lübnan Hizbullah'ı ile görüşmeye açık olduklarını ifade etti. Şibani, ziyareti sırasında Cumhurbaşkanı Joseph Aoun ve Hizbullah'ın müttefiki olan Meclis Başkanı Nebih Berri'nin de aralarında yer aldığı Lübnan hükümet liderleriyle görüştü. Bu temas, ABD Başkanı Donald Trump'ın Lübnan'daki Hizbullah yapılanmasıyla mücadele için Suriye güçlerinin devreye girmesi olasılığını gündeme getirmesinin ardından gerçekleştirilen ilk ziyaret niteliği taşıyor. Suriye Devlet Başkanı Ahmed el Şara, daha önce Suriye güçlerinin Lübnan topraklarına gireceğine yönelik iddiaları asılsız söylentiler olarak nitelendirip yalanlamıştı. Suriye'yi şu an yöneten eski muhalifler ve askeri komutanlar, eski Devlet Başkanı Beşar Esad rejimine destek vermek amacıyla Suriye'de konuşlanan Hizbullah unsurlarına karşı uzun yıllar boyunca savaşmıştı. Suriye'de iktidara gelen yeni yönetim, 14 yıllık iç savaşın yaralarını sarmaya çalışan ülkede istikrarı korumak adına askeri adımlarını ve ittifak dengelerini hassasiyetle yürütüyor. Lübnan resmi haber ajansının aktardığı açıklamalarında Şibani, bugünkü görüşmelerinde Hizbullah dosyasının gündeme gelmediğini ancak Suriye tarafının grup ile bir araya gelmeye açık olduğunu kaydetti. Ajans, Şibani'nin açıklamalarına dair henüz ayrıntılı bir bilgi paylaşmadı. Lübnan Cumhurbaşkanı Joseph Aoun'un ofisinden yapılan açıklamada ise komşu ülkeler Suriye ve Lübnan'ın karşılıklı olarak birbirlerinin istikrarını arzuladığı, Şam yönetiminin Lübnan'ın iç işlerinde taraf tutmayacağı konusunda Şara'nın Aoun'a güvence verdiği aktarıldı. Yeni Şam yönetimi, ABD, İsrail ve İran arasındaki bölgesel çatışmaların büyük oranda dışında kalmayı tercih ediyor. Diğer yandan Hizbullah, Güney Lübnan'da geniş çaplı yıkıma yol açan askeri bir çatışma içinde İsrail ile savaşıyor. ABD öncülüğünde yürütülen çatışmaları durdurma girişimleri askeri hareketliliği azaltsa da kalıcı barışı henüz sağlayamadı. TRUMP'IN AÇIKLAMALARI DİKKATİ ÇEKMİŞTİ ABD Başkanı Donald Trump geçen ay yaptığı açıklamada, İsrail'in Lübnan'da çok sayıda sivil kayba yol açmasını eleştirdikten sonra Ahmed el Şara ile Hizbullah ile mücadele konusunu görüştüğünü açıklamıştı. Trump açıklamasında, "İsrail'e Hizbullah meselesini Suriye'nin halletmesine izin vermesini önerdim, çünkü dürüst olmak gerekirse bu işi onların çok daha iyi yapacağını düşünüyorum" ifadelerini kullanmıştı. ŞAM YÖNETİMİ ÇATIŞMAYA ÇEKİLMEKTEN KAÇINIYOR Suriye resmi medyasında yer alan haberlere göre Devlet Başkanı Ahmed el Şara, bu açıklamaların ardından Suriye güçlerinin Lübnan'a gireceğine dair söylentilerin tamamen asılsız olduğunu dile getirdi. Reuters haber ajansının mart ayında yayımladığı bir haberde, ABD'nin Suriye'yi, Hizbullah'ın silahsızlandırılmasına yardımcı olmak üzere Lübnan'ın doğusuna askeri güç göndermeye teşvik ettiği aktarılmıştı. Ancak Şam yönetiminin, Ortadoğu'daki savaşın içine çekilmekten ve hem Suriye hem de Lübnan'daki mezhepsel hassasiyetleri tetiklemekten çekindiği için bu misyona sıcak bakmadığı bildirilmişti. ABD'nin Ankara Büyükelçisi ve Suriye Özel Temsilcisi Tom Barrack ise ABD'nin Suriye'yi Lübnan'a güç göndermeye teşvik ettiğine dair haberleri yalanlayarak bu iddiaların gerçeği yansıtmadığını açıkladı.
Bahçeli'den Uluslararası Düzene 'Beka Satrancı' UyarısıSuriye'de geçici meclis haftaya ilk toplantısını yapacak
Suriye Devlet Başkanı Ahmed el Şara, geçici parlamentonun 70 üyesini atayarak sekiz aydan uzun süredir devam eden meclis kurma sürecinde kritik bir aşamayı tamamladı. Suriye'de geçici parlamentonun kurulması için sekiz ay önce başlatılan süreçte yeni bir aşamaya geçildi. Devlet Başkanı Ahmed el Şara'nın atadığı 70 milletvekilinin isimlerinin açıklanmasıyla birlikte, yeni meclisin önümüzdeki hafta toparlanmasının önü açıldı. Yüksek Yargı Seçim Komisyonu Başkanı Muhammed Taha el Ahmed düzenlediği basın toplantısında, 210 üyeli Halk Meclisi'nin ilk oturumunu pazartesi günü gerçekleştireceğini duyurdu. Üyelerinin üçte ikisi geçen yıl bölgesel seçim kurulları tarafından belirlenen meclisin yetkileri, Beşar Esad'ın 2024 yılında devrilmesinden sonra Şara liderliğinde kurulan başkanlık sisteminde sınırlı bir çerçevede yer alıyor. Yeni parlamentonun yapısı, Şara'nın Esad sonrası Suriye'de siyasi kapsayıcılık yönünde verdiği taahhütler açısından bir sınav niteliği taşıyor. Şara'nın doğrudan belirlediği 70 vekil arasında 15 kadın yer alıyor. Geçen yılki seçim sürecinde sadece altı kadının meclise girebilmesiyle oluşan tablo, bu atamalarla birlikte kadın milletvekili sayısının 21'e yükselmesini sağladı. Şara, daha önce yaptığı açıklamalarda, kadın temsili başta olmak üzere geçen yılki seçimlerde ortaya çıkan adaletsizlikleri atama yetkisiyle gidereceğini belirtmişti. Yetkililer, yeni atanan vekiller arasında dini ve etnik azınlıkların temsil oranına dair detaylı bilgi paylaşmadı. Geçen yıl seçilen üyelerden 10'unu Kürtler, Hristiyanlar ve Esad'ın da mensubu olduğu Aleviler dahil olmak üzere dini ve etnik azınlıkların temsilcileri oluşturuyordu. Eski bir El Kaide komutanı olan Şara, Suriye'nin Sünni çoğunluğuna mensup. Komisyon Başkanı Ahmed, Dürzilerin yoğunlukta yaşadığı Süveyda vilayetine ait milletvekilliği seçimlerinin ise "koşullar uygun hale gelene kadar" ertelendiğini açıkladı. Süveyda, geçen yılın temmuz ayında hükümet güçleri ve müttefik milisler ile yerel Dürzi gruplar arasında çıkan çatışmalardan bu yana Şam yönetiminin kontrolü dışında yer alıyor. Birleşmiş Milletler (BM) verilerine göre bu çatışmalarda yaklaşık 1700 kişi hayatını kaybetmişti. Esad yönetiminin devrilmesi, Suriye'de parlamentonun sembolik bir kurum olarak görüldüğü, yarım asrı aşan Esad ailesi iktidarını sona erdirmişti. BM Suriye Başkan Yardımcısı ve Özel Temsilci Vekili Claudio Cordone, geçen hafta Güvenlik Konseyi'ne yaptığı bilgilendirmede, parlamentonun kurulmasındaki gecikmenin toplumda endişe yarattığını ifade etmişti. Geçen yıl belirlenen vekillerin üçte ikisi, Şara tarafından atanan bir komitenin gözetiminde kurulan seçim kurulları vasıtasıyla seçilmişti. Suriyeli yetkililer, yıllar süren savaşın milyonlarca insanı yerinden etmesi nedeniyle ülke genelinde sağlıklı nüfus ve seçmen kayıtlarına dayanarak bir seçim yapmanın imkansız olduğunu, bu sebeple böyle bir yöntemin zorunlu olduğunu savunuyor. Süreci eleştiren Suriyeli bazı siyasi figürler ve sivil toplum kuruluşları ise mevcut seçim çerçevesinin yasama organı üzerindeki nüfuzu doğrudan başkanlık makamında topladığını belirtiyor. Suriyeli insan hakları örgütlerinden oluşan bir koalisyon, yayımladıkları ortak bildiride bu yöntemin parlamenter bağımsızlığı ve siyasi çoğulculuğu zedeleme riski taşıdığını kaydetti. Hak örgütleri, daha geniş tabanlı bir siyasi katılım, yargı bağımsızlığı ile seçim denetimi için güçlü güvenceler ve kadınlar ile Suriye'nin farklı toplulukları için daha geniş bir temsil alanı talep ediyor. Mart 2025'te yürürlüğe giren geçici anayasa, meclise kısıtlı yetkiler tanıyor. Yeni sistemde hükümetin parlamentodan güvenoyu alma zorunluluğu bulunmuyor. Yasa tasarıları önerme ve onaylama yetkisine sahip olan Halk Meclisi'nin görev süresi, uzatılabilir olmak kaydıyla 30 ay olarak belirlendi. Meclis, kalıcı bir anayasa kabul edilip genel seçimler düzenlenene kadar yasama görevini üstlenecek.
Suriye'de Geçici Meclis Haftaya İlk Toplantısını Yapıyorİçişleri Bakanı Çiftçi: Suriye yönetiminden gönüllü geri dönüşleri teşvik edici adımlar bekliyoruz
Görüşmede, Türkiye ile Suriye arasında güvenlik, kamu düzeni ve kurumsal kapasitenin geliştirilmesine yönelik işbirliği konuları ele alındı. Bakanlar, trafikte elektronik denetleme sistemlerinin kurulması, plaka tanıma ve parmak izi tanıma teknolojilerinin yaygınlaştırılması, pasaport ve kimlik basım süreçlerinin geliştirilmesi ile güvenlik ekipmanları alanındaki işbirliği imkanlarını ele aldı. Taraflar ayrıca, 112 acil çağrı ve ambulans ağının kurulması, uyuşturucuyla mücadele alanında tecrübe paylaşımı ve Suriyeli polislerin eğitimi başlıklarında işbirliği imkanlarını görüştü. Tişrin Sarayı'ndaki görüşmeye Türkiye tarafından Jandarma Genel Komutanı Orgeneral Ali Çardakcı, Vali-Emniyet Genel Müdürü Ali Fidan, Göç İdaresi Başkanı Muhammed Selami Yazıcı, AFAD Başkanı Ali Hamza Pehlivan katıldı. Suriye tarafında ise İçişleri Bakan Yardımcısı Abdülkadir Tahan, İdari ve Mali İşler Bakan Yardımcısı Basim el-Mansur, İnsan Kaynakları Bakan Yardımcısı Hüsam Fettuh, Göç ve Pasaport Dairesi Müdürü Osman Hilal ile çok sayıda yetkili görüşmede yer aldı. İki bakanlık arasında yürütülen heyetler arası görüşmelerin tamamlanmasının ardından mutabakat zabıtlarının imzalanmasının beklendiği öğrenildi. Bakan Çiftçi'nin, İçişleri Bakanı Hattab ile gerçekleştirdiği görüşmenin ardından Acil Durum ve Afet Yönetimi Bakanı Raed el-Salih'le temaslarda bulunması, daha sonra ise Cumhurbaşkanı Ahmed Şara tarafından kabul edilmesi bekleniyor. 2017 YILINDAN BU YANA 1 MİLYON 439 BİN 228 SURİYELİ ÜLKESİNE DÖNDÜ Çiftçi, yaptığı açıklamada, Türkiye'nin Suriyelilerin gönüllü, güvenli, onurlu ve düzenli geri dönüşlerini desteklemeyi sürdürdüğünü dile getirdi. Suriye yönetiminden, gönüllü geri dönüş yapanlara yönelik destekleyici ve teşvik edici politikalar geliştirmesini beklediklerini dile getiren Çiftçi, güvenlik ve barınma başta olmak üzere geri dönenlerin karşılaşabileceği sorunların giderilmesinin dönüş sürecini hızlandıracağını vurguladı. Suriye'de istikrarın sağlanmasına yönelik gelişmelerle birlikte geri dönüşlerde ivme görüldüğünü ifade eden Çiftçi, şunları aktardı: "Bu geri dönüşlerin, Suriye'nin yeniden ayağa kaldırılması ve inşası bakımından kıymetli olduğunun farkındayız. Bu nedenle gönüllülük esasına dayalı ve güvenli şekilde sürecin yürütülmesine yönelik desteklerimizi sürdürüyoruz." İçişleri Bakanı Çiftçi, Türkiye'nin Suriye'nin kuzeyinde hayata geçirilen altyapı projeleri başta olmak üzere, Suriyelilerin ülkelerine dönüşlerini kolaylaştıracak imkanları seferber ettiğini dile getirdi. Geri dönüş yapan çok sayıda kişinin kimlik, aile cüzdanı, konut ve arazi mülkiyet belgelerini kaybettiğini bildirdiğini belirten Çiftçi, belge eksikliği yaşayanlara hukuki destek sağlanmasının gönüllü geri dönüşleri artıracağına dikkati çekti. Çiftçi, gönüllü geri dönüşler ve göç alanındaki diğer konularda işbirliğinin geliştirilmesi amacıyla Şam Büyükelçiliği ve Halep Başkonsolosluğu bünyesinde kurulan Göç Ofisleri aracılığıyla koordinasyonu artırmak istediklerini kaydetti. İçişleri Bakanı Çiftçi, 2017 yılından bu yana vatanlarına dönen Suriyelilerin sayısının 1 milyon 439 bin 228'e ulaştığını, 8 Aralık 2024'ten bu yana ise 699 bin 225 kişinin ülkesine döndüğünü kaydetti. Göç ve geri dönüşlerin, insani yardımlar ve acil durum yönetimiyle birlikte Türkiye ile Suriye arasındaki önemli işbirliği başlıklarından biri olduğunu belirten Çiftçi, Türkiye'nin 2011 yılından bu yana sürdürdüğü Suriye politikası kapsamında Suriyelilere destek verdiğini ifade etti. Türkiye'de geçici koruma kapsamında hala 2 milyon 255 bin 31 Suriyelinin bulunduğunu aktaran Çiftçi, geri dönüşlerin tamamen gönüllülük esasına göre gerçekleştirildiğini vurgulayarak "Hiçbir Suriyeli kardeşimizi zorla geri göndermiyoruz." diye konuştu. BAKAN ÇİFTÇİ'DEN SURİYELİ MEVKİDAŞI İLE YAPTIĞI GÖRÜŞMEYE İLİŞKİN PAYLAŞIM Çiftçi, NSosyal hesabından yaptığı videolu paylaşımda, Suriye'de, Suriye İçişleri Bakanı Hattab ve beraberindeki heyetle görüştüklerini belirtti. "Görüşmemizde ülkelerimiz ve bakanlıklarımız arasındaki ilişkileri, güvenlik işbirliğini, terör, uyuşturucu ve sınır aşan suçlarla mücadeleyi, sınır güvenliğini, göç ile gönüllü geri dönüş süreçlerini ele aldık" ifadesini kullanan Çiftçi, ayrıca plaka tanıma sistemleri, parmak izi altyapısı, pasaport ve kimlik belgelerinin basımı, acil çağrı ve ambulans sisteminin kurulması ile Suriye polisinin eğitimi gibi başlıklarda işbirliği imkanlarını görüştüklerini aktardı. Bakan Çiftçi, kimlik kartı, sürücü belgesi, pasaport ve aile cüzdanı gibi belgelerin basımında Suriye makamlarına teknik destek sağlayabileceklerini ifade ettiklerini, eğitim ve ticaret amacıyla Türkiye'ye gelmek isteyen Suriye vatandaşlarına yönelik vize kolaylığı talebinin de gündeme geldiğini kaydetti. Çiftçi, açıklamasında şu ifadelere yer verdi: "Muhterem Cumhurbaşkanımız Recep Tayyip Erdoğan'ın da ifade ettikleri üzere, hiçbir Suriyeli kardeşimizi zorla geri göndermiyoruz. Gönüllü, güvenli, onurlu ve düzenli geri dönüşleri esas alıyor, Suriye'de istikrar güçlendikçe dönüşlerin de ivme kazanmasını memnuniyetle karşılıyoruz. Suriye'nin yeniden ayağa kalkması bakımından büyük önem taşıyan bu süreci destekliyor, başta kuzey bölgelerinde hayata geçirilen altyapı çalışmaları olmak üzere, geri dönüşleri kolaylaştıracak bütün imkanlarımızı seferber ediyoruz. Suriyeli muhataplarımıza, geri dönen kardeşlerimize yönelik destekleyici, kolaylaştırıcı ve cesaretlendirici politikaların geliştirilmesi, özellikle güvenlik ve barınma alanındaki sorunların giderilerek dönüş ve uyum süreçlerinin hızlandırılması beklentimizi ifade ettik. Suriye'nin istikrarı, güvenliği ve toprak bütünlüğü, yalnızca kardeş Suriye halkı için değil, bölgemizin geleceği bakımından da büyük önem taşımaktadır. Türkiye olarak, komşumuz Suriye'nin yeniden huzura kavuşması, devlet kurumlarının güçlenmesi ve Suriyeli kardeşlerimizin kendi topraklarında güven içinde yaşayabilmesi için samimi ve yapıcı desteğimizi sürdüreceğiz. Güçlendireceğimiz işbirliğinin, ülkelerimiz ve bölgemizin ortak geleceği için hayırlara vesile olmasını temenni ediyorum."
Çiftçi'den Suriye yönetimine gönüllü dönüşler için adım beklentisiVisit of Hakan Fidan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye, to Syria, 5 April 2026, Damascus
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan had meetings with President of Syria Ahmad al-Sharaa, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Foreign Minister of Syria Al-Shaibani and Foreign Minister of Ukraine Sybiha,...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan was received by Ahmad al-Sharaa, President of Syria, 17 April 2026, Antalya
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan and İbrahim Kalın, Director of the National Intelligence Organization were received by Ahmad al-Sharaa, President of Syria, prior to the Antalya Diplomacy Forum. ##dinamik:gallery:gla|src=/images/enformasyon/gg/sayin-bakanimizin-suriye-cumhurbaskani-ahmed-sara-tarafindan-kabulu-17-nisan-2026-antalya-1/##
Sayın Bakanımızın Suriye’yi Ziyareti, 5 Nisan 2026, Şam
Bakanımız Hakan Fidan, Suriye ziyareti kapsamında Suriye Cumhurbaşkanı Ahmed Şara, Ukrayna Devlet Başkanı Volodimir Zelenskiy, Suriye Dışişleri Bakanı Şeybani ve Ukrayna Dışişleri Bakanı Sibiha ile görüşmelerde bulundu. ##dinamik:gallery:gla|src=/images/enformasyon/gg/sayin-bakanimizin-suriye-yi-ziyareti--5-nisan-2026--sam-1/##
Sayın Bakanımızın Suriye Cumhurbaşkanı Ahmed Şara Tarafından Kabulü, 17 Nisan 2026, Antalya
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Thousands rally in Philippines over graft case against pro-Duterte senator
Senator Rodante Marcoleta, a member of the Iglesia Ni Cristo church and an ally of vice-president Sara Duterte, was set to be charged with graft tied to his election campaign fund.
OFAC Sara Maria GONZALES GARBANCHO DE ZEVALLOS kişisini yaptırım listesine ekledi
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OFAC’tan Terör ve Uyuşturucu Odaklı Kapsamlı Yaptırım HamlesiOFAC SARA PROPERTIES LIMITED kuruluşunu yaptırım listesine ekledi
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OFAC’tan Terör ve Uyuşturucu Odaklı Kapsamlı Yaptırım HamlesiLiberia: Foreign Minister Nyanti Pushes Energy Deal, Ded Relief in U.S. Talks
[Liberian Observer] The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Madam Sara Beysolow Nyanti, has held a high-level strategic engagement with the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., Mr. Frank Garcia Jr., as both countries move to deepen cooperation on energy reform, regional security, and migration concerns affecting thousands of Liberians in the United States.
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Girls' primary school blown up by unidentified miscreants in KP's Lower South Waziristan
LOWER SOUTH WAZIRISTAN: Unidentified miscreants blew up a government girls’ primary school using explosive material late on Tuesday night in Sara Ghowara area of Birmal tehsil, police said. According to District Police Officer (DPO) Muhammad Tahir Shah, the school building was destroyed in the explosion, which occurred late at night. DPO Shah told Dawn that police had registered an initial report in the daily log and launched an investigation into the incident. No individual or group has claimed responsibility so far. According to local police and residents, attacks targeting educational institutions have increased in Lower South Waziristan in recent months. Unidentified attackers had earlier targeted two schools in Birmal tehsil in February and March. Residents and community leaders say such attacks not only reflect hostility toward education but also pose a serious threat to children’s future, particularly girls, who already face challenges in accessing educational opportunities in remote areas. Meanwhile, a government school for girls in North Waziristan’s Mir Ali was also destroyed by explosives in December 2025. In October, the building of a government primary school for girls was blown up with explosives in the Wanda Zahidgul area of KP’s Lakki Marwat district.
Ahmed Şara'dan Lübnan açıklaması
Suriye Cumhurbaşkanı Ahmed Şara, "Suriye'nin geçmişte Lübnan'a yaptığı askeri müdahale anlayışına dönmek istemiyoruz." dedi. Şara, ABD Başkanı Donald Trump’ın açıklamalarının kamuoyunda yanlış yorumlandığını ifade etti.
Surprise witnesses allowed in Sara Duterte impeachment trial
MANILA, Philippines – The presentation of surprise witnesses is still possible during the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, despite the prior submission of a list of witnesses by the prosecution and defense teams. This was according to Senate Secretary Renato Bantug, who serves as clerk of court in the impeachment trial of the
Suriye Cumhurbaşkanı Şara'dan Lübnan mesajı: Geçmişe dönmek istemiyoruz
Suriye Cumhurbaşkanı Ahmed Şara, ABD Başkanı Donald Trump’ın Suriye’nin Lübnan’a müdahale edeceği yönündeki sözlerinin yanlış anlaşıldığını belirterek, "Suriye'nin geçmişte Lübnan'a yaptığı askeri müdahale anlayışına dönmek istemiyoruz." dedi.
Suriye Cumhurbaşkanı Şara: Suriye'nin geçmişte Lübnan'a yaptığı askeri müdahale anlayışına dönmek istemiyoruz
Suriye Cumhurbaşkanı Ahmed Şara, ABD Başkanı Donald Trump’ın Suriye’nin Lübnan’a müdahale edeceği yönündeki sözlerinin yanlış anlaşıldığını belirterek, "Suriye'nin geçmişte Lübnan'a yaptığı askeri müdahale anlayışına dönmek istemiyoruz." dedi.
How to counter the Trump shock to free trade
How to counter the Trump shock to free trade The World Today iallan.drupal 8 June 2026 Interview: Creon Butler tells Sara Seth that rule-supporting economies can unite to form a third economic pole without the US or China. Your new research paper is ‘Saving global economic governance from the ‘Trump shock’’. What is the ‘Trump shock’? Up until recently, the United States and other advanced economies were largely in consensus on the benefit of international rules and had a long history of collaborating to tackle global problems. But since January 2025, President Trump’s approach on trade is no longer about achieving mutual benefits through a rules‑based system but rather extracting as much value as possible from other countries. At the same time, the US has withdrawn, more or less, from supporting a wide range of global public goods, including the pursuit of net zero, energy security and financial stability. The third pole should start with the European Union and 11 signatories of the CPTPP. Many hoped that this was just for the Trump presidency period, but in my view, this is a fundamental shift in US policy. Trump may be succeeded by another Republican and the Democrats are also highly sceptical about the benefits of free trade. It would be hard for them to roll back many of Trump’s policies even where they wanted to. What’s the solution? Some think that countries have no choice but to ally themselves with either the US or with China. Others, such as Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister, argue that the so‑called ‘middle powers’ must work together in coalitions designed on an issue‑by‑issue basis. Instead, the argument this paper makes is that you need a new, permanent ‘third’ economic pole, without the US or China, built by countries in favour of a rules‑based approach to the global economy, the provision of global public goods and cooperation to achieve mutual benefit.
Trump şokuna karşı üçüncü ekonomik kutup arayışı- İnsani15 Haz
50,000 keluarga di Selangor terima bantuan tunai RM100
Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari berkata bantuan itu usaha kerajaan bantu rakyat hadapi tekanan kos sara hidup ketika krisis bekalan global.
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MANILA, Philippines — Senator-judges by day, detainees by night? Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said this could be a potentially awkward situation if detained senators are allowed by the courts to attend the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte—allowing them to wear their senator-judge robes during the trial and their persons deprived of liberty uniforms
Syria denies military intervention plans in Lebanon
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa on Saturday dismissed reports suggesting Damascus plans to intervene militarily in Lebanon as "completely untrue," stating that border demarcation between the two neighbors is not currently a priority given the ongoing Israeli attacks that have displaced over 1.5 million people.
Suriye Cumhurbaşkanı: Lübnan’a askeri müdahale iddiaları tamamen asılsız130 yıllık gizem çözüldü! İşte ipek elbiseden çıkan şifreli notların sırrı
Her şey ABD'de yaşayan Sara Rivers Cofield adlı bir koleksiyoncunun 2013 yılında ABD'nin Maine eyaletinde bir antika dükkanından 1880’lere ait ipek bir elbise satın almasıyla başladı. Elbisenin etek kısmındaki gizli bir cepte, üzerinde anlaşılması güç kelimeler ve sayılar bulunan iki buruşuk kağıt bulundu. İŞİN İÇİNE KRİPTOLOGLAR DAHİL OLDU Yaklaşık on yıl boyunca kriptologlar, kağıtlardaki ifadelerin anlamını çözmeye çalıştı. Metinlerde şu tarz cümleler yer alıyordu: "Bismark yaprak dökmeyen geyik bankası" "Calgary Küba korumasız ördek faganı çürütüyor" "Bahar vahşi doğası bir okuma acemisini kaplıyor" Kağıtların kenarlarına ayrıca "101 PM" (22:11) ve "1124 P" (23:24) gibi zaman notlarının düşüldüğü görüldü. İlk değerlendirmelerde bu notların yasa dışı kumar ağlarına, gizli ajan jargonuna ya da elbise ölçülerine ait olabileceği ihtimalleri üzerinde duruldu. İPUCU TELGRAF TEKNOLOJİSİYLE BULUNDU Araştırmacı Wayne Chan, çözüm yolunu telgraf sistemlerinde buldu. O dönem telgraf şirketlerinin kelime başına ücretlendirme yapması nedeniyle, mesajların daha kısa iletilebilmesi için “telgraf stenosu” olarak bilinen bir sıkıştırma sistemi kullanılıyordu. Chan, 170’ten fazla kod kitabını inceledikten sonra nihayet doğru bağlantıyı kurdu: Söz konusu kodlar, 1800’lerin sonlarında ABD ulusal hava servisi olarak görev yapan ABD Ordusu Sinyal Kolordusu’na aitti. 1887’de kabul edilen bu sistem, bir meteoroloji istasyonunun hava raporunu yalnızca altı kelimeye kadar sıkıştırmasına imkan veriyordu. KODLARIN ANLAMI NE? Çözülen ifadeye göre "Bismark, omit, leafage, buck, bank" şu meteorolojik verileri içeriyordu: Bismark: İstasyon konumu (Dakota Bölgesi) Omit: Barometrik basınç (30.08 inHG) ve hava sıcaklığı (56°F) Leafage: Çiğ noktası (32 derece) Buck: Yağış yok, rüzgâr kuzeyden esiyor Bank: Açık hava koşulları, rüzgâr hızı saatte 12 mil Wayne Chan, bu verileri dönemin hava durumu kayıtlarıyla karşılaştırarak mesajın gönderildiği tarihi de netleştirdi: 27 Mayıs 1888. İlginizi Çekebilir ÇÖZÜLEN ŞİFRENİN ARKASINDAN BAŞKA BİR GİZEM ÇIKTI Mesajların anlamı büyük ölçüde çözülmüş olsa da, bu resmi hava raporlarının bir ipek elbisenin gizli cebine nasıl ve neden yerleştirildiği hâlâ yanıt bekliyor. Elbisenin iç kısmında yer alan etikette “Bennett” ismine rastlandı. Wayne Chan ve araştırmacılar, dönemin Washington DC’deki Sinyal Servisi ofisinde görev yapan ya da telgrafla çalışan kadınların izini sürse de elbisenin gerçek sahibine henüz ulaşılamadı. Elbisenin 130 yıl boyunca el değiştirmiş, farklı ortamlarda karışmış veya yeniden satılmış olabileceği değerlendiriliyor. Gizem büyük ölçüde çözülse de ipek elbisenin ardındaki hikâyenin tamamı hâlâ bilinmezliğini koruyor. 'En ölümcülü' doğada ortaya çıktı, bir diğeri şehirde kabus yaşattı: Dev yılanlar kamerada!
Suriye Cumhurbaşkanı Şara'dan "Lübnan'a müdahale" iddiasına yalanlama
Suriye Cumhurbaşkanı Ahmed Şara, Suriye'nin Lübnan'ın iç işlerine müdahale edeceği yönündeki iddiaların gerçeği yansıtmadığını belirterek, ülkesi olarak her zaman savaşın sona erdirilmesini, devlet kurumlarının...Devamı için tıklayınız
Syria’s Sharaa visit to White House will not happen this weekend: Official says
Ahmed al-Sharaa also invited to G7 in France, NATO summit in Ankara, with Trump meeting in Ankara under consideration, Syrian official tells Anadolu
Dems: $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget a ‘blank check’ for war
Amid the U.S. war on Iran and the looming prospect of conflict with Cuba, Democrats are gearing up for an especially bitter fight over next year’s Pentagon budget. As Punchbowl News reported Tuesday, Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) will introduce an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY 2027 to cut $150 billion from the proposed and record-breaking $1.15 trillion dollar Pentagon budget. Advocates say Moulton’s proposal is a rare one this early in the annual defense budget process. “Even the fact that we have [this] topline challenge… is indicative that [lawmakers] are willing to push back on this total dollar amount in a way that they have not on a committee level before,” Savannah Wooten, Public Citizen's People Over Pentagon Advocate, said at a press briefing yesterday on the subject. Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) said she will support Rep. Moulton’s amendment at the press briefing. “Frankly, the $150 billion [cut] isn't even enough,” Rep. Jacobs said. “If [the] Armed Services Committee passes this authorization, it hands [Defense] Secretary Hegseth a blank check to keep the war in Iran going, to pursue regime change in Venezuela and Cuba, and wherever else, and to continue the lethal strikes off the coast of South America.” “I won't stand idly by and let it happen, not when it's my community who pays the human price for what's happening,” Rep. Jacobs said. But other political dynamics are at play. On the condition of anonymity, a congressional aide told Responsible Statecraft that Rep. Moulton wants to cultivate a more progressive profile ahead of his senate race against Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) later this year. “I suspect he's trying to strengthen his credentials,” the aide said. “The NDAA is an authorization bill, and cutting the top line from the NDAA doesn't save any money, and it doesn't preclude or prevent appropriators” from funding the DoD, the aide pointed out. Rep Moulton’s amendment “is a symbolic motion.” Meanwhile, Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) will introduce an amendment to strike down section 224 of the NDAA, which, as RS reported last week, moves to more closely integrate the U.S. and Israeli militaries. Jacobs plans to support that amendment, a staffer from the lawmaker’s office told RS. But the effort also faces an uphill battle, even as a growing number of Americans oppose Israel's actions in the Middle East. Those include its wars on Gaza and Iran, and its escalating attacks on Lebanon. For many Republicans, Massie is “an example of what could happen to them if they break with the admin,” an advocate who works on the NDAA told RS, referencing Massie’s recent primary loss. “It is a [political] risk for Republicans to support his amendment.” Rep. Khanna “has his work cut out for him,” they said. As the advocate who works on the NDAA told RS, the U.S.-Israel war on Iran is “definitely the elephant in the room” in debates on the upcoming defense legislation. Democratic lawmakers, they said, want to show constituents they are taking action against it. "Voters feel [the war] at the gas pump, and…they have seen the reports of more than 100 school girls killed in a U.S. bombing at the school in Minab," the advocate said. "They're telling their lawmakers, 'we want you to fight against this.'" Ultimately, congressional Democrats are up against a Pentagon budget fueled by endless wars, but also by decades of runaway spending and lack of fiscal accountability. “The administration cares more about spilling blood abroad than about the communities bleeding right here at home, and what makes it even worse is that we don't know where the money goes,” Jacobs said at the briefing. “They can't account for the trillions we've already given them, and they still want more money for war toys that aren't even necessary or useful for the war fighting of the 21st century.” “That further emboldened our country to reach for military tools first, even though we know that development and diplomacy tools are cheaper and actually work better,” Jacobs said.
Demokratlar Rekor Pentagon Bütçesini 'Savaş İçin Açık Çek' Olarak NitelendiriyorPro-Israel voices win out, kill bill to stop US-Israel military integration
A House committee summarily struck down an amendment to strip a measure from the massive annual defense policy bill that would provide Israel “a higher level of military-industrial integration" with the U.S. than Washington has "with any other country in the world.” Pro-Israel voices on the House Armed Services Committee argued that reports about Section 224 — that Congress was trying to integrate U.S. and Israeli military systems as a way to entrench aid without proper oversight — were disingenuous and wrong. In fact, members claimed that these were “existing initiatives” and that Section 224 “actually improves oversight and accountability of these programs by designating a single official responsible for them,” according to Chairman Mike Rogers, (R-Ala.) Not quite true, said the Quincy Institute’s Ben Freeman, who broke the initial story of Section 224 for RS last week. “Members of Congress supporting the proposal laid out caricatures of critiques against Section 224. And when they did actually talk about the provision itself they spread half-truths and outright inaccuracies about how far this provision will go to integrate the U.S. and Israeli defense sectors.” According to Freeman, as reported in these pages, Section 224 would lay the groundwork for: …bilateral research and development, co-production of weapons, joint ventures, licensing agreements, and seemingly every manner of U.S.-Israeli military-industrial complex cooperation. The U.S. and Israel already work together heavily on missile defense, but this provision would greatly expand coordination to seemingly every area of defense tech, including AI, quantum, autonomous systems, directed energy, cyber, biotech, and many more. It also proposes “network integration” and “data fusion.” In other words, the U.S. military’s data could soon be the Israeli military’s data. Critically, it would shift the annual $3.8 billion the U.S. now gives Israel (a 10-year memorandum of understanding soon up for renewal) to these programs and partnerships, i.e. “co-production” and other “fusion” deep inside Pentagon procurement and acquisitions process, where sunlight is rare and often fleeting. A perfect solution — which is, by the way, endorsed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — given the dwindling American support for Israel’s wars and U.S. military assistance for them. In his remarks on Section 224, Khanna spoke vociferously against what he saw as a blank check at a time when a majority of Americans say they do not want to send more military aid to Israel. “The American people are tired of the arrogance and insolence of Prime Minister Netanyahu telling America what we should do. The entire country of Israel has a GDP that is less than a single town in my district, yet somehow Netanyahu thinks he could tell the American people what we should do,” he charged. “I am for Team America. I am for the interests of this country, and I believe that's what Donald Trump ran on. That includes American interests against any foreign country,” Khanna said. “We should have American sovereignty and make it clear that we strike 224. If we want to give aid to Israel, if we want to sell them weapons, that should be a vote for the entire Congress.” Unfortunately for Khanna, the majority on the committee did not agree. According to several members, not only is Israel the only friend we have in the region, it helped us create new technologies and capabilities, and we would only benefit from the deeper military ties. “This is a win-win relationship. We have Silicon Valley, Israel has Tel Aviv, and it's like Silicon Valley number two. We have gained so much technology advantages from our partnership with Israel, and vice versa,” declared Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb). “They gain as well, and this is what we're trying to do, is create that synergy. They support our foreign policy, they've been the most supportive of us in the U.N. They're the only democracy in Middle East, and so I'll oppose the amendment.” Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) warned that American national security would be at risk if such synergy didn't occur. After “the bad actors” of the world go after Israel they will then “exercise their free will against us," he charged. Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) took the line that the reports about Section 224 were overblown. “It's not a new framework at all. We have three existing programs right now where we do military cooperation with Israel to develop technologies. Those programs already exist," he said. "This amendment ... suggests some other areas where maybe we should look at opportunities, and as the chairman noted, we had somebody now appointed to coordinate those programs.” He said he, too, was “frustrated with Netanyahu’s leadership” and Israel's support for a “war with Iran that has strengthened Iran and weakened our position,” but he disagrees that Section 224 “is Congress just bowing to what Netanyahu wants — this is to our benefit.” In fact, such sharing should occur with Ukraine, too, he added. Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) was the only other member who spoke out in favor of Khanna’s amendment, pointing out that current laws prohibit transfers of weapons to countries committing war crimes and violating international law, but Section 224 makes no such provisions, and takes oversight away, despite what some of her colleagues were arguing on Thursday. She raised the issue of Israeli-owned Pegasus spyware, which was blacklisted for its use against Americans. “Two administrations from both parties left it on that list, and that same company is right now trying to buy its way into the American market, fusing our defense and technology sectors together permanently,” she said. A proposal “with no conditions in the exact area where we have already been burned (Section 224) is reckless on its own terms, and it would do it through a must-pass bill with almost no oversight and with none of the human rights conditions that govern the rest of security assistance," Jacobs added. Next steps: Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) says he will work with Khanna to strip the language from the final House NDAA. If the parade of voices that insist Israel must have this relationship with the U.S. military is any indication, it will be a hard road ahead.
Temsilciler Meclisi Komitesi, ABD-İsrail askeri entegrasyonu karşıtı değişikliği reddettiTaliban official kills Iranian-Kurdish mother and daughter after failed forced marriage attempt
Sara Yousefi and her mother, Chiman Hosseinzadeh, were said to have been killed by Mofti Mohammadollah, head of the Taliban’s Hajj and Endowments Department in Kohistanat district.
Lebanon–Israel talks must be given a chance
Lebanon–Israel talks must be given a chance Expert comment thilton.drupal 15 April 2026 Rare direct talks are unlikely to succeed in the long-term without Hezbollah disarming, but they are a welcome opportunity for the Lebanese state to regain its authority in foreign policy and pursue confidence-building measures with Israel. The US hosted direct talks between Lebanon and Israel in Washington this week against the backdrop of Israel’s ongoing strikes targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the US, along with the US ambassador to Lebanon, met in Washington on Tuesday. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio chaired the meeting, which he hailed as a ‘historic gathering that we hope to build on.’ The State Department said that both sides agreed to ‘launch direct negotiations at a mutually agreed time and venue.’ While significant hurdles remain, most notably the issue of Hezbollah’s disarmament, these talks should be welcomed as an important initial confidence-building measure that lays the ground for much-needed future negotiations. Importantly, this reasserts the Lebanese state’s independence and authority in foreign policy. New cast, same plot? The talks bring back memories of when the two sides met directly and signed a short-lived accord during Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war. In 1983, a year after Israel launched an invasion of Lebanon with the aim of expelling Palestinian militants, Lebanese President Amin Gemayel entered into negotiations with Israel. On May 17 of that year, both parties reached an agreement that briefly ended the state of war between the two countries. However, the agreement lasted only a short while due to opposition from Syrian President Hafez Assad and pro-Syrian factions in Lebanon. Today, the threat to Israel from Palestinian militants in Lebanon is gone. So is the Assad regime. But Hezbollah remains a formidable security challenge to Israel. This is despite the group having been severely weakened over the past two years due to Israel decapitating its leadership, penetrating its ranks and degrading much of its military capacity. But Israel cannot simply oust Hezbollah – a Lebanese party with Lebanese fighters, parliamentarians, ministers and supporters – from Lebanon like it did with the Palestine Liberation Organization in the 1980s. Nor can it disarm Hezbollah without launching another deep and costly ground invasion, with severe consequences for Lebanon. Hezbollah also has much to lose from a return to civil war. Instead, Israel says it is trying to create a buffer zone in southern Lebanon – like it did in 1985-2000 – to push Hezbollah away from the border and reduce the threat of missile attacks or ground infiltration. Hezbollah restarted drone and missile attacks against Israel following the US-Israeli war on Iran, the group’s main patron. These Israeli strikes and evacuation orders have created a dire humanitarian situation in southern Lebanon. More than 80 towns and villages have been emptied and more than 15 per cent of Lebanon’s population displaced. Last week, Israel bombed more than 100 targets across the country in 10 minutes, killing hundreds of people. The wave of strikes came despite the US-Iran ceasefire, which Tehran and Islamabad said included Lebanon (a claim rejected by the US). Hezbollah’s opposition Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called for direct talks with Israel in March, but until last week Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had refused. President Aoun enjoys a popular mandate, but he faces stiff resistance from Hezbollah. The group insists on a ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory as preconditions for talks. US Vice President JD Vance said last week that Israel had offered to ‘check themselves a little bit in Lebanon’ to avoid undermining the US-Iran ceasefire. However, Israel has continued to strike southern Lebanon and has intensified its ground operations in the town of Bint Jbeil. Related work Any Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon will work to Hezbollah’s advantage Israel is likely aiming to push the Lebanese government to demonstrate its commitment to disarming the group, which it is committed to under UN Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 1701, as well as the 2024 ceasefire deal. Hezbollah has categorically refused to disarm. While Hezbollah’s support base is a minority within Lebanese society, the group has the military and intelligence capabilities to eliminate its domestic political opponents and pressure the Lebanese government, both of which it has done before. This week, Hezbollah political council member Wafiq Safa said that his group will not abide by agreements that may result from the talks. During the talks in Washington, the group claimed it launched at least 24 attacks against Israel and Israeli troops. Unable to prevent talks Given these challenges, it’s easy to be pessimistic about the fate of any future negotiations. But neither Tehran nor Hezbollah have been able to torpedo the talks so far. In a combative speech, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem urged the Lebanese government to cancel the talks but was unable to prevent Tuesday’s meeting in Washington. Politically, Hezbollah doesn’t have the numbers in Parliament to reverse the Lebanese government’s decision. And if it withdraws its ministers from the cabinet in protest, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam can replace them with other Shia figures with no allegiances to Iran. Last week, Hezbollah’s supporters protested against the government. But the small demonstration appeared to have little participation from Hezbollah’s political allies including Amal, led by Shia Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri. Hezbollah could use its weapons against its fellow Lebanese, as it has done previously. But this would be a high-risk move at a time when its ally, Iran, has been severely weakened by the US and Israel. Hezbollah also has much to lose from a return to civil war. It would likely face armed conflict with the Lebanese army, other Lebanese factions that might seek to re-arm, and fighters loyal to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. The near-constant threat from Israeli drones would make it virtually impossible for Hezbollah to mount any effective military campaign in Lebanon. Confidence-building measures None of this means that Lebanon–Israel talks going forward are likely to yield positive results. The current mess is primarily a result of Hezbollah again dragging Lebanon into war with Israel. Moving forward, Israel will expect results, not just speeches, on Hezbollah’s disarmament. Given the deeply rooted nature of the Hezbollah problem, the only way to approach the next round of negotiations is for both sides to pursue confidence-building measures. The initial meeting in Washington is a welcome and historic first step, but both sides should now take more concrete action. Israel will expect results, not just speeches, on Hezbollah’s disarmament. Israel must recognize that this Lebanese government presents the best chance to disarm Hezbollah and disassociate the country from Iran. It should avoid further attacks on state infrastructure and urban centres, and particularly Beirut, which risk civilian casualties, undermine the Lebanese government and bolster Hezbollah’s narrative of resistance. The Lebanese government, meanwhile, should make it as difficult as possible for Hezbollah to operate. Politically, it should consider expelling Hezbollah ministers from the cabinet, given that officials from the group have accused the government of treason. Financially, the government must outlaw all of Hezbollah’s financial activities. And militarily, it could instruct the army to deploy in all of Beirut including its southern suburbs, confiscate any arms belonging to Hezbollah in the capital, and arrest anyone endangering civil peace.
Lebanon–Israel talks must be given a chance