Syria to Sign Deal to Import Electricity from Türkiye
FILE PHOTO: A general view taken with a drone shows part of Idlib city, Syria June 8, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah/File Photo
Syria is set to sign a deal to import electricity from Türkiye through a 400-kilovolt transmission line between the two countries "soon", the Syrian state news agency cited the country's energy minister as saying on Sunday.
Syria is also working on establishing a natural gas pipeline connecting the Turkish border town of Kilis and Syria's northern city of Aleppo, minister Mohamed al-Bashir said.
"The pipeline will allow the supply of 6 million cubic meters of gas per day to power plants in Syria which will contribute in improving the country's energy situation," he added.
Syria has suffered from severe power shortages. On separate occasions, the country said it was working with partners including Gulf states, in the energy and electricity sectors.
Tunisia: Court of Cassation Hears Final Appeal in 'Conspiracy Against State Security' Casehttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5314304-tunisia-court-cassation-hears-final-appeal-conspiracy-against-state-security
Tunisia: Court of Cassation Hears Final Appeal in 'Conspiracy Against State Security' Case
Tunisian President Kais Saied (AFP)
The Tunisian Court of Cassation began hearing on Thursday the final appeal of dozens of opposition figures accused of plotting against the state.
In November, 34 defendants were sentenced to up to 45 years in prison in an appeal trial, triggering sharp criticism from rights groups.
The court will either confirm the verdict or order a retrial.
A small crowd gathered Thursday morning outside the courthouse to support the defendants, an AFP journalist reported.
"This is a political case that the authorities have used to silence dissent and imprison figures from across the opposition," said lawyer Haifa Chebbi, whose father Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, 82, is among the defendants.
Chebbi and other lawyers have said they were only notified of the hearing on Monday, arguing it did not provide them with enough time to prepare the defence.
On Wednesday, lawyer and opposition figure Dalila Msaddek, whose brother Jawhar Ben Mbarek is on trial, condemned the proceedings, calling them nothing more than "the blatant implementation of political instructions".
Their father, leftist activist Ezzedine Hazgui, told reporters he was "proud" that Jawhar and other Saied critics were in prison.
"I am proud because they defended their country," said Hazgui, who was among the protesters outside the court.
"We oppose the coup and all forces hindering Tunisia's progress," he added, referring to Saied's power grab five years ago.
Among the defendants in the mass trial were party leaders Issam Chebbi and Ghazi Chaouachi, as well as businessman Kamel Ltaief.
Amnesty International has urged Tunisian authorities to "rectify a travesty of justice that has upturned the lives of 34 prominent opposition figures, human rights defenders and lawyers who were convicted on unfounded charges".
Houthi Changes Target Military Leaders as Government Strikes Intensifyhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5314298-houthi-changes-target-military-leaders-government-strikes-intensify
Houthi Changes Target Military Leaders as Government Strikes Intensify
Houthi fighter in Sanaa wearing a depiction of the group’s leader on his uniform (AP).
The Houthi group has made surprise changes to the leadership of two military regions, as the Yemeni armed forces step up strikes against high-value Houthi targets, according to a Yemeni military source who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat.
According to the source, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the information, the changes included the commanders of the Third and Seventh Military Regions. He said the move reflects growing doubts within the group over the loyalty and competence of some of its leaders, amid intensifying government strikes, particularly those involving drones.
“Over the past few days, the group replaced the commanders of the Third and Seventh Military Regions with two longtime leaders considered among its closest loyalists in Saada,” the source said.
Restructuring on the Ground
The source, who is close to developments on the ground, said the reinforcements the group has sent to the fronts over the past 20 days have been accompanied by a broad reshuffling of field commanders. He noted that about 90 percent of commanders of subordinate units, at the company and battalion levels, were selected from ideological leaders, most of whom are from Saada Governorate.
The source attributed these moves to a “state of confusion and suspicion” within the group, saying they are no longer limited to tribal leaders or newly recruited members but have extended to senior leadership levels, including figures belonging to the social and sectarian circles closest to the group.
He added that the group’s confidence in tribal leaders “has fallen to its lowest levels,” prompting it to replace a number of field commanders with figures more closely tied to its central leadership.
Ali Hussein Al-Houthi, son of the founder of the Houthi group (X)
Factional Rivalries
The source linked some of the internal tensions to the growing influence of Ali Hussein Al-Houthi, the son of the group’s founder, saying his rise has caused noticeable divisions among senior leaders.
He pointed to disputes that have strained relations between Ali Hussein Al-Houthi and several prominent figures, including Abdul Hakim Al-Khaiwani, head of the group’s security and intelligence service, military commander “Abu Ali Al-Hakim,” and Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi, a member of what the group calls the “Supreme Political Council.”
Yemeni sources who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat said representatives of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are seeking to contain the growing divisions among the group’s factions and prevent them from affecting its military and security cohesion, particularly as it faces mounting military and societal pressures.
Asharq Al-Awsat published a report in August 2025 on the growing intelligence role of the group founder’s son, who had come to oversee most of the group’s agencies and institutions, including the Foreign Ministry in the Houthi-controlled government, relying on the strong support provided to him by his uncle, Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi, the group’s current leader.
Security and political sources in Houthi-controlled areas said at the time that Ali Hussein Al-Houthi’s intelligence and repressive role had expanded significantly during the first months of 2025. He had been granted the rank of major general in the security services, and a special intelligence agency had been established for him under the name “Police Intelligence Service.”
Discontent Over Dhamar Arrests
In the same context, the military source said a new security agency linked to Ali Hussein Al-Houthi recently carried out a campaign of arrests that targeted about 70 figures from Dhamar Governorate at once, sparking widespread discontent among local communities.
“The available information confirms that a large part of the arrests and moves linked to the internal disputes are no longer being carried out by the Houthi security and intelligence service, but by a new security body,” the source said, referring to the agency he said is run by Ali Hussein Al-Houthi.
These developments come as the group faces mounting military pressure on several fronts, amid indications that it is moving to tighten its security grip and reorganize its leadership structure in anticipation of any potential breaches or shifts in the course of the fighting.
A Lebanese Man Held Prisoner in Israel Is Released and Handed Over to Lebanonhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5314279-lebanese-man-held-prisoner-israel-released-and-handed-over-lebanon
A Lebanese Man Held Prisoner in Israel Is Released and Handed Over to Lebanon
Lebanese soldiers stand guard at the entrance of Burj Barajneh Palestinian refugee camp in southern Beirut, Lebanon, 21 August 2025. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
A Lebanese man who had been held prisoner in Israel was released Thursday, the first such handover since the outbreak of the latest Israel-Hezbollah war six months ago, the International Committee of the Red Cross and Lebanese officials said.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that Israel had agreed to release five Lebanese civilians detained by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon after Lebanon provided assistance in searching for the bodies of Lebanese Jewish leaders who were “abducted and murdered by terrorist organizations” in the 1980s, during Lebanon’s civil war.
The first released prisoner, identified as Malek Ghazi, was handed over to the Lebanese army via the Red Cross, a Lebanese security official said. A second official said they were anticipating the release of another prisoner. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.
Ghazi was handed over to the ICRC at the border crossing in the coastal town of Naqoura on Lebanon's southern frontier and was then transferred to a Lebanese army intelligence office in the city of Tyre, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported.
Netanyahu's statement said the five Lebanese captives after interrogation were found not to be “members of a terrorist organization” or “involved in terrorism.”
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam thanked the US and its ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Issa, for assisting in the release.
“We will continue working until all our prisoners are released, the fate of the missing is revealed, and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory is achieved,” he said in a statement.
Dozens of Lebanese prisoners are believed to be held in Israeli detention centers, including civilians as well as Hezbollah militants captured during fighting in southern Lebanon.
The circumstances of Ghazi’s capture were not immediately clear, but one of the Lebanese officials said he was a civilian.
The prisoner release came as talks between Lebanese and Israeli officials had appeared to reach an impasse. Lebanon and Israel in June signed a US-mediated framework deal under which Israeli forces were to withdraw from areas they are occupying in southern Lebanon in exchange for disarmament of the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, but little progress has been made in implementation on the ground.
Another round of talks is expected to take place in Rome later this month.
“However difficult the negotiation process may seem, we will continue to mobilize all necessary efforts to safeguard Lebanon’s rights and the interests of the Lebanese people,” Salam's statement said.
Hezbollah is not a party to the Lebanon-Israel talks and has said it will not give up its weapons in any area north of southern Lebanon's Litani river. Israeli officials, meanwhile, have said they will not withdraw unless Hezbollah is disarmed throughout the country.
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