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Hegseth Keeps 2 Aircraft Carriers in Middle East for Another Week for Battle with Yemen’s Houthis

Aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman is moored near Split, Croatia, Feb. 14, 2022. (AP)
Aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman is moored near Split, Croatia, Feb. 14, 2022. (AP)
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Hegseth Keeps 2 Aircraft Carriers in Middle East for Another Week for Battle with Yemen’s Houthis

Aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman is moored near Split, Croatia, Feb. 14, 2022. (AP)
Aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman is moored near Split, Croatia, Feb. 14, 2022. (AP)

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier to remain in the Middle East for a second time, keeping it there another week so the US can maintain two carrier strike groups in the region to battle Yemen-based Houthi militias, according to a US official.

In late March, Hegseth extended the deployment of the Truman and the warships in its group for a month as part of a campaign to increase strikes on the Iran-backed Houthis. The official said Hegseth signed the latest order Thursday and it is expected the Truman and its strike group warships will head home to Norfolk, Virginia, after the week is up.

Gen. Erik Kurilla, head of US Central Command, requested that the Truman be extended again, according to officials. The San Diego-based USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier and its strike group arrived in the region a few weeks ago and are operating in the Gulf of Aden. The Truman, along with two destroyers and a cruiser in its strike group, is in the Red Sea.

The officials spoke Friday on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.

The US has increased its attacks on the Houthis, launching daily strikes since March 15, when President Donald Trump ordered a new, expanded campaign. He promised to use "overwhelming lethal force" until the Houthis stop their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, a vital trade corridor.

According to Central Command, the US has been waging an "intense and sustained campaign" against the Houthis. In a statement over the weekend, the command said the US has struck more than 1,000 targets in Yemen since Operation Rough Rider began. It hasn't provided details on the targets or how the data is compiled.

It has been rare in recent years for the US to have two aircraft carriers in the Middle East at the same time. Navy leaders have generally been opposed to the idea because it disrupts ship maintenance schedules and delays time at home for sailors strained by the unusually high combat tempo.

If there are no additional extensions and the Truman and its warships leave the region next week, those sailors could be back home by next month.

Last year, the Biden administration ordered the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier to remain in the Red Sea for an extended time as US warships waged the most intense running sea battle since World War II. Prior to that, it had been years since the US had committed that much warship power to the Middle East.

The Houthis had been waging persistent missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region in what the group's leadership has described as an effort to end Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

From November 2023 until this January, the Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors. That has greatly reduced the flow of trade through the Red Sea corridor, which typically sees $1 trillion of goods move through it annually.

The group paused attacks in a self-imposed ceasefire until the US launched a broad assault against the militants in mid-March.

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Arab World

Nowruz to Be Celebrated in Damascus for First Time in Syria’s Modern History

People celebrate Nowruz in central Damascus in 2025. (Facebook)
People celebrate Nowruz in central Damascus in 2025. (Facebook)
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Nowruz to Be Celebrated in Damascus for First Time in Syria’s Modern History

People celebrate Nowruz in central Damascus in 2025. (Facebook)
People celebrate Nowruz in central Damascus in 2025. (Facebook)

Syria’s capital is witnessing an unprecedented cultural development as preparations got underway for official and popular celebrations of Nowruz, the Kurdish New Year, marking the arrival of spring on March 21.

For the first time in modern Syrian history, festivities will take place openly in Damascus, reflecting growing recognition of the Kurdish identity and culture.

The celebrations follow a decree issued two months ago by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, with expectations of broad participation from across society. Events are set to begin Friday night and continue through Saturday.

A Nowruz concert will be held in Umayyad Square - one of Damascus’s most prominent landmarks. The Ministry of Culture has invited audiences to a performance by the Kurdish heritage group Ashti at the Damascus Opera House, while a major celebration is planned at Al-Fayhaa Stadium in the Mazzeh area. Additional festivities are expected in Kurdish-populated neighborhoods such as Rukn al-Din and Wadi al-Mashari.

Nowruz symbolizes freedom, renewal and Kurdish national identity. Traditions include lighting bonfires, performing folk dances and wearing traditional dress.

Kurdish political analyst Zaid Safouk said the occasion would resonate both domestically and regionally. “For the first time in the history of the Syrian Republic, there is official recognition of a Kurdish holiday,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat, describing the celebration as “a message of hope that peace remains the only path for societies.”

For decades under Baath Party rule and later under Bashar al-Assad, Nowruz celebrations were banned, along with public expressions of Kurdish identity. Authorities often viewed such activities as separatist threats.

That has now changed. Following the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, Damascus saw its first unrestricted Nowruz celebration in March 2025.

In January 2026, al-Sharaa issued Decree No. 13, granting broader rights to Kurdish citizens. The decree recognizes Nowruz as a national holiday, restores citizenship to previously stateless Kurds, and designates Kurdish as a national language.

Kurdish writer and political researcher Mohammed Wali described the decree as a break from decades of marginalization.

“Syrian Kurds view these steps with great positivity and have welcomed it,” he said, noting that official recognition of their language and culture represents a major milestone.

He added that acknowledging Kurdish rights within a national framework could help build “a future based on legal recognition and pluralism,” while strengthening trust among Syrians during a sensitive transitional period.

The presidency has also included Nowruz for the first time in the official holiday calendar, alongside Revolution Day, Eid al-Fitr and Mother’s Day, with public institutions closed from March 18 to 23.

Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said the move reflects “deep respect for all components of the Syrian population,” stressing that a free Syria must embrace its diverse cultures and heritage.

Damascus also hosted a rare public condolence ceremony for Kurdish politician Salih Muslim, a senior figure in the Democratic Union Party (PYD), who died on March 11. His funeral in Kobani drew Kurdish leaders and political representatives from across the region.

Arab World

China Says to Provide Humanitarian Assistance to Iran, Mideast Nations

Smoke rises from the Lebanese village of Khiam after an Israeli strike as seen from the Upper Galilee in northern Israel on March 16, 2026. (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP) /
Smoke rises from the Lebanese village of Khiam after an Israeli strike as seen from the Upper Galilee in northern Israel on March 16, 2026. (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP) /
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China Says to Provide Humanitarian Assistance to Iran, Mideast Nations

Smoke rises from the Lebanese village of Khiam after an Israeli strike as seen from the Upper Galilee in northern Israel on March 16, 2026. (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP) /
Smoke rises from the Lebanese village of Khiam after an Israeli strike as seen from the Upper Galilee in northern Israel on March 16, 2026. (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP) /

China said on Tuesday it will provide humanitarian assistance to Middle Eastern countries, including Iran and Lebanon, targeted in US and Israeli strikes in the now three-week conflict.

"China has decided to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to Iran, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq. It is hoped this will help alleviate the humanitarian plight faced by the local populations," foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a press conference.

Arab World

War Disrupts Education in Lebanon, Deepening Inequality Among Students

A child plays during a visit by Lebanon’s Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine to Maroun Abboud Secondary Public School, which is hosting displaced people, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Aley district, Mount Lebanon Governorate, Lebanon, March 15, 2026. (Reuters)
A child plays during a visit by Lebanon’s Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine to Maroun Abboud Secondary Public School, which is hosting displaced people, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Aley district, Mount Lebanon Governorate, Lebanon, March 15, 2026. (Reuters)
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War Disrupts Education in Lebanon, Deepening Inequality Among Students

A child plays during a visit by Lebanon’s Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine to Maroun Abboud Secondary Public School, which is hosting displaced people, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Aley district, Mount Lebanon Governorate, Lebanon, March 15, 2026. (Reuters)
A child plays during a visit by Lebanon’s Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine to Maroun Abboud Secondary Public School, which is hosting displaced people, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Aley district, Mount Lebanon Governorate, Lebanon, March 15, 2026. (Reuters)

Lebanon’s education system is struggling to survive an unprecedented crisis as war forces hundreds of thousands from their homes. Many schools have been converted into shelters for displaced families, with classrooms transformed into sleeping quarters, while others attempt to continue teaching amid security risks and uncertainty.

The Ministry of Education has placed 1,156 public schools and high schools, along with 75 vocational institutes, at the disposal of the national disaster authority. These include 334 public schools, 40 vocational institutes, and 17 centers affiliated with the Lebanese University.

A ministry source told Asharq Al-Awsat that not all facilities have yet been opened, but they will when the need arises.

An education crisis cell now meets daily to monitor developments and make urgent decisions. Early in the conflict, the ministry issued guidelines allowing schools — both public and private — to choose between in-person and remote learning.

The Secretariat General of Catholic Schools also urged each institution to form its own crisis committee to assess local security conditions and determine how to proceed.

Between classrooms and screens

In relatively safer areas, schools have resumed in-person teaching, while offering remote options for students unable to travel. In more dangerous regions, most schools rely exclusively on distance learning.

The Lebanese University has shifted entirely online, postponing student elections scheduled for later this month.

Yet these measures have exposed stark inequalities. Many students, particularly those living in shelters, lack the conditions or resources to follow lessons, even remotely.

Some parents argue that the ministry’s approach fails to ensure equal access to education. Others insist on continuing their children’s schooling wherever possible.

A mother of two in Bsalim, Mount Lebanon, said: “The Lebanese state did not decide this war, so why should we bear its consequences? We will resist in our own way, by educating our children to build a more aware generation that rejects war.”

She added that remote learning had already proven ineffective during the COVID-19 crisis, especially for younger children.

In contrast, a displaced mother living with her four children in a Beirut school described education as a distant concern.

“We cannot secure safety or food, how can we think about schooling?” she asked, warning that continuing classes while much of the country suffers only deepens injustice. “No place in Lebanon is truly safe,” she remarked.

Schools in limbo

School administrations face difficult choices. One major private school in Baabda, near Beirut’s southern suburbs, briefly reopened before closing again after ten days.

“The situation is extremely sensitive,” a staff member said. “We reassess daily to avoid putting students at risk.”

When classes do resume, faculty attempt to soften the impact of nearby airstrikes, sometimes playing low music to mask the sound of explosions.

Lama al-Tawil, head of the union of parents’ committees in private schools, described the situation as “unclear.” She called the ministry’s plan “flexible and positive,” but stressed that implementation remains the real challenge.

“In-person learning is best for those who can attend safely,” she said, “but remote education is not equally accessible and its effectiveness is limited.”

With roughly 40 school days remaining, authorities may extend the academic year if the conflict continues.

Meanwhile, teachers and families alike are navigating not only a security crisis, but a deepening economic one, hoping flexibility will help prevent a lost generation.