While former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) faced criticism for meeting Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in 2017, prominent Democratic leaders, including then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), had also met with Assad in the past. Pelosi’s 2007 visit to Damascus, where she conveyed a peace message from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, drew backlash from the Bush administration.
The collapse of the Assad regime in Syria has sparked warnings of a looming migrant crisis. With President Bashar al-Assad fleeing to Russia over the weekend, European leaders welcomed the regime's fall, but the resulting instability may drive millions of Syrians toward Europe, echoing the 2015 migrant crisis.
Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, notorious for his use of chemical weapons against his own population, has fled the country as rebel forces stormed the capital city of Damascus, according to Reuters.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Labor government on Friday, accusing its anti-Israel policies of fostering antisemitism after an arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue. The Adass Israel synagogue was firebombed during morning prayers, injuring one and causing extensive damage. Worshippers inside reported masked assailants throwing incendiary devices through the windows.
The Kosovo government has accused Serbia of orchestrating the bombing of a vital pipeline that supplies water and electricity to northern Kosovo's ethnic Serb population.
South Korean opposition lawmakers announced plans to vote on impeaching President Yoon Suk Yeol this Saturday. Yoon is under police investigation for treason after declaring a brief martial law on Tuesday.
President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, held high-stakes meetings in November with leaders in Qatar and Israel to advance a potential ceasefire and hostage release agreement in Gaza before Trump’s January 20 inauguration, according to sources briefed on the discussions.
Mexican authorities announced the seizure of more than a ton of fentanyl pills in Sinaloa during two raids on Tuesday. The bust is one of the largest in the country’s history, as soldiers and marines confiscated the synthetic opioid in a state long dominated by drug cartels.
The French government has fallen after members of Parliament voted to oust Bichel Barnier. The event serves as the first time the country's government has collapsed in a no-confidence vote since 1962.
