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Five Thousands Militants, Civilians Left Arsal to Idlib while Hundreds Stepping Back

Journalists look at parked buses that will transfer Nusra Front militants in Jroud Arsal, Syria-Lebanon border, July 31, 2017. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho (REUTERS)
Journalists look at parked buses that will transfer Nusra Front militants in Jroud Arsal, Syria-Lebanon border, July 31, 2017. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho (REUTERS)
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Five Thousands Militants, Civilians Left Arsal to Idlib while Hundreds Stepping Back

Journalists look at parked buses that will transfer Nusra Front militants in Jroud Arsal, Syria-Lebanon border, July 31, 2017. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho (REUTERS)
Journalists look at parked buses that will transfer Nusra Front militants in Jroud Arsal, Syria-Lebanon border, July 31, 2017. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho (REUTERS)

Thousands of Syrian civilians and Nusra Front militants and their families gathered on Wednesday in buses intended to transport them to the north of Syria, in implementation of the second phase of a deal between Nusra and the Lebanese Hezbollah, which aims to evacuate the area of Jroud Arsal of 1,160 armed men and 6,661 refugees.

However, hundreds of Syrian civilians decided at the last moment not to board buses, fearing the high prices and deteriorating security in Idlib.

The National News Agency (NNA) reported that a convoy of 113 busses carrying Nusra Front militants and their families has crossed Wadi Hamid towards the Syrian territories on Wednesday.

Twenty ambulances escorted the convoy, amidst measures by the army, General Security and the Red Cross.

Well-informed sources told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that around five thousand militants and civilians have departed from Arsal on Wednesday, heading towards northern Syria through the region of Flita.

The sources added that many civilians, who had registered on the lists of those wishing to leave, “have stepped back at the last minute fearing the high cost of living, scarcity of jobs and security threats in the Syrian province.

Thus, all Nusra militants left the area with their families, while a number of civilians chose to stay in Arsal.

Hezbollah’s military media said on Wednesday that 7,277 people have departed to the north of Syria. Those were living in two separate areas, one of which was under the control of the Lebanese Army.

The head of Lebanon’s General Security, Major General Abbas Ibrahim, has supervised late Tuesday a swap deal, which saw the release of three Hezbollah prisoners in exchange for three Nusra militants detained by the Lebanese security forces.

The next phase would allow militants and civilians to leave for the town of Al-Rahiba in eastern Qalamoun, while the third phase of evacuation will include civilians wishing to return to their villages in western Qalamoun.

The NNA correspondent reported that Nusra militants have burnt the sites they used to occupy on the outskirts of Arsal.

In earlier remarks to Reuters, Ibrahim said 120 militants carrying personal weapons would be among the thousands of Syrians set to leave for Syria’s rebel-held Idlib province on Wednesday.

He added that Lebanese authorities had received the three Hezbollah fighters and had handed over three individuals detained in Lebanon requested by the Nusra Front just before 1 am Beirut time.

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World

Cuba Adopts Historic Package of Free-market Reforms

A vintage car passes by images of late Cuban President Fidel Castro, Cuba's former President Raul Castro and Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel displayed on a billboard in Havana, Cuba, May 15, 2026. REUTERS/Norlys Perez
A vintage car passes by images of late Cuban President Fidel Castro, Cuba's former President Raul Castro and Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel displayed on a billboard in Havana, Cuba, May 15, 2026. REUTERS/Norlys Perez
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Cuba Adopts Historic Package of Free-market Reforms

A vintage car passes by images of late Cuban President Fidel Castro, Cuba's former President Raul Castro and Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel displayed on a billboard in Havana, Cuba, May 15, 2026. REUTERS/Norlys Perez
A vintage car passes by images of late Cuban President Fidel Castro, Cuba's former President Raul Castro and Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel displayed on a billboard in Havana, Cuba, May 15, 2026. REUTERS/Norlys Perez

Cuban lawmakers Thursday adopted nearly 200 historic free-market reforms aimed at rescuing the communist island from a severe crisis aggravated by a US oil blockade.

In a landmark speech to the National Assembly, Prime Minister Manuel Marrero unveiled 176 measures aimed at rolling back the state's role in the economy and attracting investment in everything from banking to tourism and agriculture.

Under the reforms, foreign investors are no longer required to form joint ventures with the state, large private enterprises will be authorized and both Cuban and foreign investors will be allowed to acquire stakes in state companies.

These and other huge changes come as the United States exerts relentless pressure on the island, with President Donald Trump musing openly about taking over the Caribbean nation just 90 miles (145 km) from Florida.

Daniel Torralbas, a London-based Cuban economist, described the reforms as "the most profound" since the 1959 revolution led by Fidel Castro.

- 'Socialism or death!' -

They were adopted in a unanimous show of hands by lawmakers at a session which ended with President Miguel Diaz-Canel intoning Castro's famous revolutionary slogan: "Socialism or death!"

Marrero did not give a time-frame for implementing the reforms but Diaz-Canel had on Wednesday argued the need for "urgent changes" to stave off economic collapse.

The oil blockade imposed by Trump in January after his ouster of Cuba ally Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela has brought the island's economy to the brink of collapse, forcing the Communist Party into concessions it previously considered heretical.

While Havana's custom has always been to blame its woes on a more-than-six-decade US trade embargo and more recently the oil blockade, Diaz-Canel admitted to the existence of "obstacles that don't come from outside, nor the blockade."

In usually frank language, he called out "slowness, bureaucracy and norms that impede those who want to produce" as well as "decisions that we have put off."

"Their backs are up against the wall as never before," Michael Bustamante, Cuban studies chair at the University of Miami, told AFP.

"They're in the uncomfortable position of making changes to their economic model, seemingly because of the pressure that's being exerted on them by the United States."

A defiant Diaz-Canel insisted that the government was "not doing this because of pressure from the Yankees," but to "preserve" socialism.

- Collapsing revolution -

Just a single oil tanker -- from Russia -- has docked in Cuba since the beginning of the year.

Power cuts sometimes lasting over 30 hours have become the norm, and food, fuel, drinking water and medicine are in short supply.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, has warned that "children are dying" in Cuba because of a shortage of medical supplies and medication.

Victor Hierrezuelo, a 63-year-old bank worker, told AFP on Thursday that, absent reforms, "the revolution will collapse!"

It is unclear, however, whether the changes will satisfy Trump, who is pushing for a change in Cuba's leaders as well as its economic model.

Asked Thursday if Cuba was now in Trump's sights after he signed a deal to end the Iran war, Vice President JD Vance said Washington wanted Cubans to be "happy and successful."

"We're actually talking to the Cuban government right now about how they could change their ways to change that," he added.

Many disillusioned locals, weary after weeks of power cuts, which causes food to rot in 40C heat, shrugged off the reforms as too little, too late.

But the country's burgeoning small business sector welcomed the changes.

They "offer hope," said Mario Gonzales, the 32-year-old manager of a restaurant in Havana's historic old town, who is hoping for a tourism revival.

Arab World

Iraq Shakes Up Top Security and Economic Posts in Surprise Reshuffle

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi during talks with US presidential envoy Tom Barrack in Baghdad, June 16, 2026. (Iraqi Government Media)
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi during talks with US presidential envoy Tom Barrack in Baghdad, June 16, 2026. (Iraqi Government Media)
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Iraq Shakes Up Top Security and Economic Posts in Surprise Reshuffle

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi during talks with US presidential envoy Tom Barrack in Baghdad, June 16, 2026. (Iraqi Government Media)
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi during talks with US presidential envoy Tom Barrack in Baghdad, June 16, 2026. (Iraqi Government Media)

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has carried out a surprise reshuffle of senior security and economic posts, removing or replacing three prominent figures in moves that come just days after high-level talks with US presidential envoy Tom Barrack in Baghdad.

The changes include the appointment of Bassem al-Badri as head of the National Security Service, replacing Abdul Karim al-Basri, widely known as Abu Ali al-Basri. The veteran security official had long been associated with the Interior Ministry’s elite Falcon Intelligence Cell and has been one of Iraq’s most influential intelligence figures over the past decade.

Abu Ali al-Basri played a central role in directing sensitive intelligence operations and tracking leaders of al-Qaeda, ISIS and members of the former Baath Party. During former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki’s second term from 2010 to 2014, he became highly influential while overseeing critical security matters. The Falcon Intelligence Cell was frequently described as the intelligence body closest to the commander-in-chief’s office during that period.

His successor, al-Badri, has served since 2013 as head of the de-Baathification department within Iraq’s Higher National Commission for Accountability and Justice.

Ali al-Allaq was reportedly relieved of his duties as governor of the Central Bank of Iraq. He is expected to be succeeded by Nizar Nasser, who heads the bank’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Office.

Al-Allaq oversaw Iraqi monetary policy through a period marked by major financial and economic challenges. Nasser’s appointment comes as Baghdad faces growing pressure to tighten oversight of the financial sector and strengthen efforts to combat money laundering and illicit financing.

The reshuffle also reportedly includes the dismissal of National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji and the appointment of Qasim al-Aboudi as a replacement, adding another significant security dimension to the changes affecting key state institutions.

The Iraqi government has yet to issue an official explanation for the decisions or indicate whether they form part of a broader restructuring of the country’s security and economic apparatus.

The moves follow recent talks in Baghdad between al-Zaidi and Barrack that, according to official statements, produced understandings on security, economic cooperation and broader bilateral relations.

Iraqi officials said the discussions yielded agreement on a package of measures aimed at reinforcing the state’s monopoly on arms, advancing the disarmament of armed factions operating outside government control, and providing security guarantees for American companies investing in Iraq.

The developments come ahead of an anticipated summit between al-Zaidi and US President Donald Trump at the White House in mid-July. Baghdad is seeking to strengthen ties with Washington and attract foreign investment while simultaneously reshaping key security and economic portfolios at home.

Culture

French Curator Unearths Rare Mozart Manuscript

This photograph taken on June 15, 2026, shows an original fragment of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's music handwritten notebook at Richelieu Library (Bibliotheque Nationale de France-National Library of France-BnF) in Paris. (Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)
This photograph taken on June 15, 2026, shows an original fragment of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's music handwritten notebook at Richelieu Library (Bibliotheque Nationale de France-National Library of France-BnF) in Paris. (Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)
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French Curator Unearths Rare Mozart Manuscript

This photograph taken on June 15, 2026, shows an original fragment of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's music handwritten notebook at Richelieu Library (Bibliotheque Nationale de France-National Library of France-BnF) in Paris. (Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)
This photograph taken on June 15, 2026, shows an original fragment of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's music handwritten notebook at Richelieu Library (Bibliotheque Nationale de France-National Library of France-BnF) in Paris. (Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)

Musicians this weekend will for the first time publicly interpret music for flute and harp that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote as a 22-year-old while teaching an aristocratic French student.

The unprecedented concert on Sunday at France's National Library (BnF) comes after what it has called a "major discovery.”

Francois-Pierre Goy, a curator in the library's music department, stumbled across the treasure as he examined a pile of anonymous manuscripts he wanted to get through before retirement.

"I never imagined what I was about to find," he told AFP.

The 44-page notebook includes a dozen daily exercises the Austrian prodigy gave Marie-Louise-Philippine de Bonnieres de Guines from May to July 1778, as well as seven pieces for flute and harp, he said.

She was an excellent harpist and the daughter of the Duke of Guines, himself a renowned flutist.

"It just so happened that I had been looking at some of Mozart's teaching material a few weeks earlier," Goy said.

Soon he noticed similarities -- including "the treble clefs that are quite rounded and tilted slightly forward,” and the bass clefs drawn in the opposite direction from how they usually are in France, he added.

"Could it be him?" Goy said he thought to himself.

Comparisons with Mozart's other handwritten works, the French paper used, and stamps on the notebook identical to those on a French copy of Mozart's "Concerto for Flute and Harp" that the Duke of Guines had commissioned all seemed to indicate he was right.

Armin Brinzing, director of the Austria-based Mozarteum Foundation, authenticated the document in April.

The manuscript "is part of two bundles of music that were confiscated from the home of the Duke of Guines in 1794" during the French Revolution, and eventually ended up at the BnF, according to the library.

Mozart died in 1791 aged 35.

Discoveries like this "for such a famous composer are almost unheard of,” said Mathias Auclair, director of the BnF's music department.

Several Mozart compositions have been rediscovered in recent years.

In one case, in 2012, someone found a Mozart piano piece composed when he was 11 in an Austrian attic.

For harpists and flautists, who have "very little repertoire" available to them, the discovery at the BnF is a wonderful surprise, he said.

BnF president Gilles Pecout said the new music sheets shed light on Mozart as a young teacher and documented his last stay in Paris in 1778 -- on which there is scant information.