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Syria’s new authorities said Tuesday that armed groups in the country agreed to dissolve and be integrated into the Defense Ministry. A statement said the decision followed a meeting between leaders of the armed groups and Ahmad al-Sharaa, who led the rebel advance that pushed longtime leader Bashar al-Assad from power. Rebels seized control of Syria’s capital December 8 after a lightning advance that saw …

Iraq’s Shiite Battalion of Sayyid al-Shuhada, a militia with close ties to Iran, is known for its aggression toward Israel. But the group on Monday announced a suspension of further attacks to avoid provoking an Israeli retaliation. Salam al-Zubaydi, the spokesperson of Iraq’s Shiite al-Nasir Coalition, told VOA, “Any armed groups conducting attacks from the Iraqi territory will be considered rebelling against the state and …

Iraq and Turkey have previously signed major agreements on key issues such as security, economy, and border and water management. However, experts say those relations will be challenged going forward because of Turkey’s active role in toppling the Syrian regime, which was closely allied with the Iraqi Shiite factions that make up most of the Iraqi government.   Click here for the full story in …

Israel’s military said early Tuesday it intercepted a missile that was launched from Yemen. The missile prompted air sirens, but caused no damage after being destroyed before entering Israeli territory, the military said. The Yemen-based Houthi militants have fired scores of missiles at Israel since Hamas launched its attack on Israel in October 2023, sparking the war in the Gaza Strip. Israel’s response has included …

Following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, Captagon production sites have been exposed. The Syrian opposition claims that former President Assad and his brother Maher Assad ran the production sites. Captagon is a low-cost, amphetamine-like drug. Muhammed Fares, who once owned a factory in the Damascus countryside to produce potato chips, tells VOA Turkish how his factory was used in Captagon production by …

Relatives of people who were arrested for various reasons, such as supporting armed groups in Syria and planning bomb attacks in Lebanon for this purpose, protested in downtown Beirut on Sunday. The Islamic Group, a Lebanese Sunni Muslim political party, organized the demonstration. The protesters claimed that their family members were arrested and unfairly accused because they were Sunni. They also protested the conditions in …

Israel has taken over a buffer zone between Israel and Syria and says its forces will not withdraw until it is sure that residents of the Golan Heights border area will be secure. Half of these residents are from the Druze community, who worry about what the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime will mean for them and their family members on the Syrian side of …

HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM — Thousands of selfie-taking Ho Chi Minh City residents crammed into train carriages Sunday as the traffic-clogged business hub celebrated the opening of its first-ever metro line after years of delays.  Huge queues spilled out of every station along the $1.7 billion line that runs almost 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the city center — with women in traditional “ao dai” …

TAIPEI, TAIWAN — The USS Savannah departed from Cambodia last Friday, after the first port visit by the U.S. Navy to the Southeast Asian nation in eight years. Despite being a close partner of China, analysts say the stop in Cambodia’s port city of Sihanoukville shows that the country is looking to improve its relations with the United States.  The Savannah arrived in Sihanoukville last Monday …

In his first term as U.S. president, Donald Trump tightened economic sanctions against North Korea to try to force Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons program. VOA’s Young Gyo Kim looks at what Trump should expect from North Korea during his second term. Scott Stearns narrates. …

New Delhi — After a four-and-a-half-year military standoff along their disputed Himalayan border, ties between India and China witnessed a thaw in 2024 with both sides withdrawing troops from two flashpoints. But analysts say mistrust remains a key hurdle to restoration of friendly ties between the Asian giants. Indian foreign minister, Subrahmanyan Jaishankar, told parliament this month that the pullback has set New Delhi-Beijing ties “in …

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Monday visited Lebanese troops positions and U.N. peacekeeper posts in southern Lebanon, touring the region from which Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants are supposed to withdraw under a nearly month-old ceasefire agreement. Mikati praised the role of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) after meeting with UNIFIL commanders, and began his tour with a visit to a …

BEIJING — China has provided information and documents to a joint investigation into two severed Baltic Sea undersea cables, and has invited Germany, Sweden, Finland and Denmark to participate in and complete the inquiry, the foreign ministry said on Monday. Foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning made the remarks at a news briefing when asked about a Financial Times report that Sweden had criticized China for refusing …

SEOUL — South Korea’s main opposition party threatened on Monday to impeach acting president Han Duck-soo if he failed to approve legislation to launch a special counsel investigation into President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed bid to impose martial law.  Prime Minister Han has taken over from the suspended Yoon, who was impeached on Dec. 14 and faces a Constitutional Court review on whether to oust him.  …

KUALA LUMPUR — Scandal-hit Malaysian state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad said on Monday it has filed a legal claim of more than $1 billion against corporate services provider Amicorp Group and its CEO, alleging the firm knowingly facilitated over $7 billion in fraudulent transactions.  The claim, among one of the biggest filed by 1MDB related to the multibillion dollar graft scandal, was filed in the British …

TAIPEI — A Chinese war plane goes missing near Taiwan. China sends swarms of military boats and planes for a blockade as Taiwan goes on a war footing. Panic ensues on the streets of Taipei.  The premise of “Zero Day,” a new Taiwan TV drama envisioning a Chinese invasion, is a topic that has for years been considered too sensitive for many Taiwan filmmakers and television …

Vatican City — Pope Francis called for a ceasefire on all war fronts in his Sunday Angelus prayer ahead of Christmas, condemning the “cruelty” of bombing schools and hospitals in Ukraine and Gaza. “Let the weapons fall silent and let the Christmas carols ring out!” Francis said, delivering his Sunday blessing from indoors due to a cold and as a precaution ahead of a busy Christmas …

Damascus, Syria — Two weeks after seizing power in a sweeping offensive, Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on Sunday said weapons in the country, including those held by Kurdish-led forces, would come under state control. Sharaa spoke alongside Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, after earlier meeting with Lebanese Druze leaders and vowing to end “negative interference” in the neighboring country. Ankara-backed rebels played a key role …

Beijing — The Chinese government protested Sunday the latest American announcements of military sales and assistance to Taiwan, warning the United States that it is “playing with fire.” U.S. President Joe Biden authorized Saturday the provision of up to $571 million in Defense Department material and services and in military education and training for self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory and says must come …

Riyadh , Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia announced on Sunday the resumption of operations of its diplomatic mission in the Afghan capital, Kabul, more than three years after withdrawing its diplomats from the country amid the chaos that accompanied the Taliban’s rise to power. “Based on the keenness of the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to provide all services to the brotherly Afghan people, …

The former Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmuk, on the outskirts of Damascus, offers a glimpse into how brutal the Syrian civil war was for the civilian population. Home to more than 150,000 people, Yarmuk was completely destroyed during the early years of the war. Now, many are returning to try to rebuild their devastated homes. (Images taken on Dec. 20, 2024) …

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — Two U.S. Navy pilots were shot down Sunday over the Red Sea in an apparent “friendly fire” incident, the U.S military said, marking the most serious incident to threaten troops in over a year of America targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels.  Both pilots were recovered alive after ejecting from their stricken aircraft, with one suffering minor injuries. But the shootdown underlines just …

DEIR AL-BALAH, GAZA STRIP — Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip overnight and into Sunday killed at least 20 people, including five children, Palestinian medical officials said. Israeli authorities meanwhile allowed Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the leader of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, to enter Gaza and celebrate a pre-Christmas Mass with members of the territory’s small Christian community. A strike on a school housing …

BEIRUT — Since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad, industrial-scale manufacturing facilities of the amphetamine-like stimulant Captagon have been uncovered around the country, which experts say fed a $10 billion annual global trade in the highly addictive drug. Among the locations used for manufacturing the drug were the Mazzeh air base in Damascus, a car-trading company in Latakia and a factory that once made …