Assad to Run For Re-Election in May

A man walks past a banner depicting Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in Douma, outside Damascus, Syria, September 17, 2018. (Reuters)
A man walks past a banner depicting Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in Douma, outside Damascus, Syria, September 17, 2018. (Reuters)
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Assad to Run For Re-Election in May

A man walks past a banner depicting Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in Douma, outside Damascus, Syria, September 17, 2018. (Reuters)
A man walks past a banner depicting Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in Douma, outside Damascus, Syria, September 17, 2018. (Reuters)

Syrian President Bashar Assad on Wednesday submitted documents to run for a third term in an election scheduled for May 26, parliament’s speaker said on state media.

Parliament announced the election on Sunday. Washington and the Syrian opposition have denounced it as a farce designed to cement Assad’s authoritarian rule.

Assad’s family and his Baath party have ruled Syria for five decades with the help of the security forces and the army.

This year is the 10th anniversary of a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters which triggered a civil war that has left much of Syria in ruins, Reuters reported.

The multi-sided conflict has sucked in world powers, killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions more, but is now nearing its end with Assad back in control of most of the country.

Candidates must have lived in Syria for the last 10 years, which prevents opposition figures in exile from standing.



Egypt Says Israel-EU Agreement Has Not Increased Aid to Gaza

Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Badr Abdelatty arrives for a meeting of Palestinian and Israeli foreign ministers on the sidelines of the EU-Southern Neighborhood Ministerial Meeting at the EU Council in Brussels, Belgium, 14 July 2025. (EPA)
Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Badr Abdelatty arrives for a meeting of Palestinian and Israeli foreign ministers on the sidelines of the EU-Southern Neighborhood Ministerial Meeting at the EU Council in Brussels, Belgium, 14 July 2025. (EPA)
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Egypt Says Israel-EU Agreement Has Not Increased Aid to Gaza

Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Badr Abdelatty arrives for a meeting of Palestinian and Israeli foreign ministers on the sidelines of the EU-Southern Neighborhood Ministerial Meeting at the EU Council in Brussels, Belgium, 14 July 2025. (EPA)
Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Badr Abdelatty arrives for a meeting of Palestinian and Israeli foreign ministers on the sidelines of the EU-Southern Neighborhood Ministerial Meeting at the EU Council in Brussels, Belgium, 14 July 2025. (EPA)

Egypt's foreign minister said on Monday that the flow of aid into Gaza has not increased despite an agreement last week between Israel and the European Union that should have had that result.

"Nothing has changed (on the ground)," Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told reporters ahead of the EU-Middle East meeting in Brussels on Monday.

The EU's top diplomat said on Thursday that the bloc and Israel agreed to improve Gaza's humanitarian situation, including increasing the number of aid trucks and opening crossing points and aid routes.

Asked what steps Israel has taken, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar referred to an understanding with the EU but did not provide details on implementation.

Asked if there were improvements after the agreement, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told reporters that the situation in Gaza remains "catastrophic".

"There is a real catastrophe happening in Gaza resulting from the continuation of the Israeli siege," he said.

Safadi said Israel allowed the entry of 40 to 50 trucks days ago from Jordan but that was "far from being sufficient" for the besieged enclave.

EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said ahead of Monday's meeting that there have been some signs of progress on Gaza aid but not enough improvement on the ground.

Israel's continued military operations and blockade have left the entire population of 2.3 million people in Gaza facing acute food insecurity, with nearly half a million at risk of famine by the end of September, a joint United Nations report said last month.