Key benefits include allowing Syrians entering the country to use their international bank cards domestically (X).
Syria named a new central bank governor on Friday in the latest reshuffle since last week's partial government overhaul.
The official SANA news agency said Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa named Abdul Hamid Raslan, a longtime banker and former head of the Syrian Development Fund, to the role.
He will replace Abdul Qadir al-Hasriya, who will become Syria's ambassador to Canada, according to state television, quoting a foreign ministry official.
Hasriya had been governor since April 2025, taking over from Maysa Sabreen, who had been appointed caretaker governor in December 2024, after an opposition-led offensive toppled longtime president Bashar al-Assad.
Hasriya oversaw the change in Syrian money bills at the start of the year, removing two zeros, which does not impact the currency's value but was done to make transactions easier and restore trust in the Syrian pound.
They also replaced bills showing images of Assad and his family.
The governor change is the latest since a partial overhaul last week saw Sharaa replace two ministers, several governors and even the secretary-general for the presidency, a post previously occupied by his brother Maher.
Full Story of Al-Saadi’s Arrest; an Iraqi who Coordinated Attacks Across 3 Continentshttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5274045-full-story-al-saadi%E2%80%99s-arrest-iraqi-who-coordinated-attacks-across-3-continents
Full Story of Al-Saadi’s Arrest; an Iraqi who Coordinated Attacks Across 3 Continents
A photo released by the US Justice Department shows Mohammed Baqer al-Saadi after his arrest (US Justice Department)
The arrest by the US authorities of Kataib Hezbollah figure Mohammed Baqer al-Saadi has drawn renewed attention to the faction’s role in cross-border operations. Many viewed it as the start of tougher US measures against individuals and figures linked to the Quds Force, the regional arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and what is known as the “Axis of Resistance.”
Because of the highly secretive environment in which Kataib Hezbollah has operated since it was founded by Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis - the former deputy head of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces, who was killed in a US strike in 2020 - soon after the 2003 overthrow of late president Saddam Hussein, ambiguity and scarce information surround most of the group’s senior figures.
That secrecy is reinforced by their reluctance to appear in public, despite the faction’s local influence as one of the groups closest and most closely linked to the Revolutionary Guards.
Link to the Quds Force
Information obtained by Asharq Al-Awsat from factional sources indicates that al-Saadi had close ties to the Quds Force intelligence body. It also suggests he had close ties to a member of that Iranian body who was killed during the 11-day war between the United States and Iran, although some sources said he “liked to claim such ties.”
A review of his photo archive on X, where al-Saadi has been active since 2014, shows that he often appeared alongside Revolutionary Guards commanders. In one video clip, he appeared to exchange words and smiles with the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
According to the factional sources, al-Saadi “stepped up his visits to Lebanon after the killing of Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in late September 2024, and was also active in moving between Lebanon and Syria during Bashar al-Assad’s rule.”
Sources said al-Saadi’s possession of a “service passport,” usually granted to senior military figures and official personnel, “gave him flexibility to move and travel to other countries.”
From this perspective, the sources explained his latest trip to Türkiye, where he was reportedly caught and arrested. It was also rumored that he was preparing to travel to a European country.
Al-Saadi appeared in more than one circulated photograph with former Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani and other figures linked to armed factions and the Revolutionary Guards. Some sources said he preferred to add “Soleimani” to his name.
Mohammed Baqer al-Saadi with Qassem Soleimani (US Justice Department)
How was al-Saadi arrested?
According to most Western sources that reported al-Saadi’s arrest in Türkiye and transfer to the United States, he is accused of coordinating and planning at least 18 terrorist attacks in Europe targeting Americans and Jews, all in the name of ending the war in Iran.
After his arrest, al-Saadi appeared in a video message to his mother on a mobile phone screen, urging her to “be patient” and saying they “will not be broken.”
Western sources say he “directed and urged” others to attack US and Israeli interests in retaliation for the war Washington and Tel Aviv are waging against Tehran.
Al-Saadi is also accused of coordinating two additional attacks in Canada, directing others, and attempting to coordinate terrorist attacks inside the United States, including against a synagogue in New York City, according to prosecutors.
The US lists Kataib Hezbollah as a foreign terrorist organization and says al-Saadi has been involved with the group since 2017. Some sources say his father is linked to the Badr Organization, led by Hadi al-Amiri.
Last month, Washington offered a $10 million reward for information on Kataib Hezbollah leader Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi.
CNN had reported a link between Kataib Hezbollah and the group that claimed responsibility for a series of arson attacks targeting Jewish sites across Europe, including synagogues, schools and ambulances.
Al-Saadi faces several charges, including conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to provide material support for terrorist acts, and conspiracy to bomb a public place.
He appeared in court on Friday in the Southern District of New York, where a judge ordered him detained without bail. He did not enter a plea during the hearing.
The potential repercussions of al-Saadi’s arrest for Kataib Hezbollah remain unclear, as does the nature of the information US agencies may obtain from him and whether it could expose the armed group, which is now at the center of US scrutiny.
According to al-Saadi’s defense lawyer, Andrew Dalack, who spoke to Western media, he was arrested in Türkiye by Turkish authorities, most likely at Washington’s request, and handed over to US authorities without being given a chance to challenge the legality of his detention or his transfer to the United States.
Al-Saadi faces numerous allegations and accusations, including an attempt to arrange the bombing of a prominent synagogue in New York City, as well as targeting two other sites in the United States, Jewish centers in Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Arizona.
Other allegations indicate that al-Saadi agreed to pay $10,000 to carry out the attack, but insisted that it be filmed. Investigators say he insisted the attack be carried out on April 6, and when it did not happen, he sent a text message to the undercover agent the following morning asking why.
Al-Saadi’s record on X
Al-Saadi appears to have been active on X for years, where he often sharply criticized the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, which filed a “defamation” lawsuit against him in 2024.
In July 2020, al-Saadi posted on his account a picture of the US Capitol destroyed, alongside images of slain commanders such as Soleimani, with the phrase: “Our revenge for the martyred commanders continues. No negotiations with the occupier.”
He also uses the platform to openly declare support for Iran and the “Axis of Resistance,” and to attack their opponents.
In 2023, al-Saadi posted a screenshot from a maps application of Indian Creek Island in the US state of Florida, a small fortified residential island in Miami-Dade County known in the media as the billionaires’ bunker, where a number of businesspeople, celebrities and politicians live.
Prominent residents include Jared Kushner and his wife Ivanka Trump.
France's Justice Minister to Visit Algeria amid Diplomatic Thawhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5273819-frances-justice-minister-visit-algeria-amid-diplomatic-thaw
France's Justice Minister to Visit Algeria amid Diplomatic Thaw
File photo: Algerian and French flags flutter ahead of the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron, in Algiers, Algeria August 25, 2022. (Reuters)
France's justice minister will head to Algeria next week to discuss improving cooperation and the fate of a detained French journalist, his office said Saturday, as ties warm following a diplomatic spat.
"The purpose of this trip is to work on opening a new chapter in judicial cooperation," Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin's office said of the trip planned for Monday.
But jailed reporter Christophe Gleizes would also be a "major topic," it said.
Gleizes, 37, was arrested in May 2024 while reporting on a football club in Algeria's Kabylia region and sentenced to seven years in jail in June last year for "glorifying terrorism".
Relations between France and its former colony became rocky after Paris in 2024 officially backed Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region, where Algeria supports the pro-independence Polisario Front.
But France and Algeria agreed in February to restart security cooperation as Interior Minister Laurent Nunez visited Algiers, marking the first sign of a thaw in diplomatic ties.
After deputy defense minister Alice Rufo met President Abdelmadjid Tebboune last week, France's ambassador to the North African country returned to his post after being recalled about a year ago at the height of the dispute.
Gleizes, the journalist, on Monday received his first visit from a diplomat since his detention.
His mother has said she hopes for "very positive developments on Christophe's return to France" by the end of the month, after he dropped an appeal with Algeria's top court, hoping for a presidential pardon.
Israel Strikes South Lebanon Day After Ceasefire Extension https://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5273806-israel-strikes-south-lebanon-day-after-ceasefire-extension
TOPSHOT - A photograph taken from the southern area of Tyre shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the area of Ras Al-Ain on May 12, 2026. (Photo by KAWNAT HAJU / AFP)
Israel Strikes South Lebanon Day After Ceasefire Extension
TOPSHOT - A photograph taken from the southern area of Tyre shows smoke rising from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the area of Ras Al-Ain on May 12, 2026. (Photo by KAWNAT HAJU / AFP)
Israel launched a series of airstrikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday, despite the extension of the truce between the two countries.
Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah but the strikes were preceded by an evacuation warning covering nine villages.
The continuing bombardment has only increased skepticism about the truce among the many thousands of Lebanese driven from their homes in the south.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported strikes on at least five villages on Saturday, including one more than 50 kilometers from the border.
At the same time it reported a new exodus of residents towards the southern city of Sidon and the capital Beirut.
On Friday, the two countries agreed to extend a ceasefire, which began on April 17 but has been marred by numerous violations, by another 45 days.
Since the start of the ceasefire, Israel has repeatedly issued evacuation warnings for south Lebanese villages ahead of strikes.
Over this period their geographical scope has expanded to include areas north of the Litani River and further from the border.
The Israeli military also struck at least one town that was not included in the warning, near the southern city of Nabatieh.
Despite the ceasefire, Israel continues to conduct strikes in Lebanon, and its forces are occupying territory near the border.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, regularly claims attacks on northern Israel and against the Israeli military in southern Lebanon.
- 'What kind of a truce is this?' -
Israeli attacks since the start of the war have killed more than 2,900 people in Lebanon, including more than 400 since the truce took effect, according to Lebanese authorities.
Israel has also reported the deaths of 19 soldiers in southern Lebanon since fighting with Hezbollah erupted.
The latest strikes come after envoys from Israel and Lebanon held negotiations in Washington -- following the first direct talks in decades last month between the two countries, which do not have diplomatic relations.
They agreed to extend the ceasefire.
Iran-backed Hezbollah opposes the negotiations and claimed an attack against Israeli troops in the Lebanese town of Khiam on Saturday.
The group justified their action by accusing Israel of ceasefire violations and "attacks that targeted villages in southern Lebanon".
On Friday an Israeli strike hit a center of the Hezbollah-linked Islamic Health Committee in the southern town of Harouf, authorities said.
Six people were killed, including three paramedics, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
Displaced residents from southern Lebanon say the truce is not being implemented.
"This is not a truce as long as Israeli attacks continue against the south and its people, with deaths, injuries, and destruction," said Ali Salameh, 60, from a school in Beirut where he has been displaced since the start of the war on March 2.
Others said they backed Hezbollah to keep fighting Israel in retaliation for its attacks.
"What kind of truce is this when they have just threatened villages and people are being displaced? Where is the state? We stand only with the resistance," said Nawal Mezhir, also displaced from the south.
- 'Lasting stability' -
Lebanon's negotiating delegation in Washington on Friday nonetheless welcomed the truce's 45-day extension and the creation of a US-facilitated security track, saying they "provide critical breathing space for our citizens, reinforce state institutions, and advance a political pathway toward lasting stability".
Lebanon was dragged into the Middle East war on March 2 when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
On Friday, Israel struck the southern city of Tyre.
An AFP correspondent saw significant destruction at the targeted site near the coastal city's ancient ruins.
"They destroyed the entire neighborhood," said Ibrahim Kahwaji, a tailor who was wounded in the leg.
"They are emptying the south of its population... it's a real occupation. We want a solution."
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