Orientul Mijlociu

UK far-right activist Tommy Robinson, known for his anti-immigration stance, has been sentenced to 18 months for contempt of court following false allegations against Syrian refugee Jamal Hijazi, defying a 2021 injunction prohibiting further defamatory statements. Meanwhile, in Qamishli, Syria, large rallies led by the Democratic Union Party protested Turkish attacks on Kurdish-held areas, denouncing the strikes as an occupation. Additionally, an Iraqi militia group claimed responsibility for an alleged drone attack on the US al-Tanf base, though the Pentagon dismissed these reports. In other developments, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi denied SDF involvement in an Ankara attack attributed to the PKK, challenging Turkish airstrikes that have targeted vital Kurdish infrastructure. Lastly, a Times of Israel post by an anonymous Syrian author revealed an unlikely admiration for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, or “Abu Yair,” as some Syrians in Idlib celebrated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s death in an Israeli airstrike—a stark shift for those who once viewed Israel solely through an adversarial lens.

In February 2025, US President Donald Trump designated a series of cartels as Specially Designated Global Terrorists and Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), including Tren de Aragua (TdA) and Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), among others.

Previously, the US Treasury Department sanctioned MS-13 as a Transnational Criminal Organization under Executive Order 13581. The Trump administration similarly designated Foxtrot, which has been used by Iranian intelligence, under the same authority last month.

«Loin de ne concerner que le peuple palestinien, l’avenir de notre monde se joue en partie importante en Palestine … (car) l’hégémonie occidentale est confrontée à une série de résistances qui menacent la poursuite de son pillage du monde sur lequel est bâti son modèle économique». ~ Saïd Bouamama

Impressionnant par son grand format, par la qualité du papier, de la typographie, du graphisme, cet ouvrage de Saïd Bouamama, fruit d’années de recherches, doté de références exhaustives en plusieurs langues, extrêmement bien écrit et surtout non-idéologique sur l’essentiel, se trouve à être parmi les rares productions actuelles en Europe occidentale qui soient – du point de vue de Mendelssohn du moins – indispensable.

The Assad regime collapsed late last year, but a recent spate of sectarian violence has left many Syrians worried for the future.

Samir Ismail sat on his knees, his forehead on the ground and hands clasped behind his back. His young nieces and nephews watched — their eyes wide in horror — as he demonstrated how militants lined the nine men up, then shot and killed them.

Un rapport historique de l’ONU qui accuse Israël de génocide à Gaza, citant la violence sexuelle systématique et la destruction ciblée des infrastructures de santé reproductive comme des outils délibérés d’extermination.

Le 22 mars, Al-Mayadeen English a détaillé les conclusions d’une commission d’enquête internationale indépendante de l’ONU sur «le recours systématique par Israël de la violence sexuelle, reproductive et d’autres formes de violence sexiste depuis le 7 octobre 2023».

As Lebanon and Syria grapple with profound political transformations and the long shadows of conflict, the notion of federalism—a once-taboo idea—is steadily reentering public discourse. But in a region where divisions often take the form of sectarian identity, the question remains: could federalism, or a deepening of cantonal structures, offer a sustainable solution for fragile, post-conflict states like Syria and Lebanon? Or might it simply institutionalize fragmentation and pave the way for a future of inter-cantonal strife?

The French, deeply attached to republicanism, have divided their modern history into five distinct republics, each marked by a significant historical turning point. In our view, this tradition reflects their desire to compensate for their brief and unsuccessful attempt to restore the monarchy between 1870 and 1883—an era commonly associated with the so-called French Third Republic.

Can Shara’s Government Unite a Country Ready to Explode?

In late March, Ahmad al-Shara, Syria’s new leader, introduced a caretaker government that would supervise the country’s transition from five decades of dictatorial rule. He gave some cabinet positions to figures outside his Islamist milieu, including naming a Christian woman minister of social affairs, a Kurdish official minister of education, a Druze minister for agriculture, and an Alawite minister for transport. Those appointments reflect the pressure Shara is under to demonstrate to Arab and Western governments—and to the Syrian people—that he can build an inclusive government that represents the country’s religious and ethnic minorities. It is a challenge made all the harder by an eruption of bloodshed in March in which fighters affiliated with Shara’s government (but not under its direction) targeted minority Alawites in the west of the country, killing hundreds.