Damascus stock exchange reopens after 6-month closure
DAMASCUS — Trading resumed on the Damascus Securities Exchange Monday after a six-month closure, as Syria's new leaders attempt to shore up the country's battered economy and begin rebuilding after nearly 14 years of civil war.
The stock exchange had closed during the chaotic days leading up to the ouster of former President Bashar Assad in a lightning rebel offensive.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
35 minutes ago
- Fox News
Foreign policy experts rip Tim Walz's claim that China has 'moral authority' in Middle East conflict
Former vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., is facing criticism after claiming China could be the voice of "moral authority" in the Israel-Iran conflict. During a "What's Next: Conversations on the Path Forward" event hosted by the Center for American Progress (CAP) last week, Walz responded to a question from former Biden White House advisor, Neera Tanden, about the "escalatory" nature of the strikes between the two countries. "Now, who is the voice in the world that can negotiate some type of agreement in this? Who holds the moral authority? Who holds the ability to do that? Because we are not seen as a neutral actor, and we maybe never were," Walz said of the United States' role in deescalating tensions in the Middle East. As the United States weighs striking Iran and war in the Middle East rages on, Danielle Pletka, a distinguished senior fellow in Foreign and Defense Policy Studies at the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute (AEI), told Fox News Digital that Walz's comments are "ignorance on display." According to Walz, the United States once attempted "to be somewhat of the arbitrator" in the Middle East, but Americans must face the reality that the "neutral actor" with the "moral authority" to lead negotiations in the Middle East "might be the Chinese." Walz didn't elaborate on why China would be that world leader. "It's so staggering to me that Tim Walz was within a heartbeat of the presidency," Pletka said, before adding, "We don't need a neutral player here," and urging him to "stick to local politics." Andy Keiser, senior fellow at the conservative National Security Institute and former senior advisor on the House Intelligence Committee, told Fox News Digital that someone should "remind Governor Walz that China is far from a moral authority on much of anything," and said China is committing "cultural genocide." "The Chinese government has reportedly arbitrarily detained more than a million Muslims in reeducation camps since 2017," according to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). "Most of the people who have been detained are Uyghur, a predominantly Turkic-speaking ethnic group primarily in China's northwestern region of Xinjiang." In addition to the detentions, "Uyghurs in the region have been subjected to intense surveillance, forced labor, and involuntary sterilizations, among other rights abuses," according to the CFR. According to Human Rights Watch, President Xi Jinping has "detained human rights defenders, tightened control over civil society, media, and the internet, and deployed invasive mass surveillance technology" in Xinjiang and Tibet, which the human rights watchdog likened to "crimes against humanity." "I would strongly beg to differ that China has a moral authority on much in the world," Keiser said, and added, "I would not see them as a neutral arbiter here." "Obviously, we are not going to be a neutral broker between a terrorist and a democratic state," Pletka said. "That's just not how it works. You threatened to kill the President of the United States, but we're then meant to think of you in a balanced way with the state of Israel, our most important ally in the Middle East?" Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News' Bret Baier on Monday that President Donald Trump remains a target of the Iranians. "They want to kill him. He's enemy No. 1." "I don't know how anybody could have said what [Walz] said about the role that China plays. The idea that there is some neutral interlocutor in this world, that anybody is an 'honest burger' is nothing other than grad school silliness," Pletka said. Pletka added that "Of course, China can't play that role. China is an authoritarian communist [state] that is supporting Russia in its war on Ukraine, that is threatening Taiwan, that has broken its word over Hong Kong." And she said, "This is not a playground in which you need somebody who can talk to both Bobby and Billy about why it is you don't smack your friends." "The idea that it should be reduced to something where you have an arbiter who sees the arguments on both sides, no. This is a situation where there's a right and a wrong, and there's a winner and a loser. That's how it should be, by the way, because Iran has fashioned itself as an enemy, not just to the state of Israel, but to the United States." Nikki Haley – former U.S. Ambassador to Israel and a 2024 GOP presidential candidate, who sounded off on China's threat to the United States on the campaign trail – was quick to criticize Walz's viral comments last week. "This is absolute insanity. Democrats think that we need the Chinese to be the negotiators between Iran's nuclear production and Israel…God bless Tim Walz. Totally tone deaf," Haley posted on X.
CNN
39 minutes ago
- CNN
Israel has threatened to kill Iran's supreme leader. Here's what could come next
As US President Donald Trump weighs joining Israel's assault on Iran, questions are mounting over whether such an intervention could trigger regime change in Tehran – an outcome that risks splintering the country and sending shockwaves across the region. Home to long-simmering separatist movements that have vied for power and independence, Iran could face internal fragmentation and chaos if its government falls, experts warn. After reportedly rejecting an Israeli plan to kill Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Trump stated this week that Iran's Supreme Leader is an 'easy target.' 'We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding,' Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Tuesday. 'He is an easy target but is safe there - We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now.' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not ruled out targeting Khamenei either, saying that the death of the Supreme Leader is 'not going to escalate the conflict, it's going to end the conflict.' On Thursday, Defense Minister Israel Katz went further, declaring that Khamenei cannot be allowed to 'continue to exist' after an Iranian missile struck a hospital in Israel. Iran is a nation of more than 90 million people and home one of the world's oldest continuous civilizations. Its borders have remained more or less stable for about 100 years. The Islamic Republic has managed to preserve those frontiers despite a diverse population of ethnic and religious groups, many of whom have sought autonomy at various points. But the comments from Israeli and US officials have prompted speculation over what Iran might look like if Khamenei is killed – with experts warning that the country could face a range of scenarios, including regime collapse or even civil war. The 86-year-old cleric has ruled Iran for more than 35 years as its highest authority, rising to power a decade after the 1979 Islamic Revolution overthrew a US-backed monarch. Over the years, he consolidated power and ruled with an iron grip under strict Islamic law. He crushed wave after wave of protests demanding social freedoms – each with increasing ferocity – and expanded Iran's reach far beyond its borders through a network of proxy militias. With his fate in question, attention is turning to who might succeed him, and how that uncertainty could unleash greater unrest. The Supreme Leader is elected by the 88-member Assembly of Experts for life and doesn't officially name a successor. It is unclear who might replace Khamenei, but that process may take place as separatist groups who have long resented the Islamic Republic seek to take advantage of what they may see as an opportunity. Israel has already killed several of Iran's key military figures, and experts say that the regime is now at its weakest. Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute in Washington, DC, said that regime change would require Israel or the United States having a figure in mind to replace Khamenei and send troops to the country. The figure Israel is likely to favor is Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of the deposed Iranian monarch who was ousted in 1979. Pahlavi has voiced support for Israel's actions, drawing praise from some in the Iranian diaspora and accusations of betrayal from many others. 'Soon in Tehran,' Israeli Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli posted on X on Friday, along with a picture of himself shaking hands with a smiling Pahlavi. Pahlavi told BBC News on Sunday that Israel's conflict with Iran was an opportunity to bring down the Iranian regime. If the Supreme Leader is killed and the Guardian Council delays naming a successor, the risk of instability could grow, experts say. A possible outcome of Khamenei's potential killing is total regime collapse, Parsi said. 'Regime collapse is just to collapse the state, and let the chaos that ensues fester,' Parsi told CNN. Several scenarios could ensue if the Iranian regime falls, none of which is expected to be to the liking of the US or neighboring states, experts said. Hamed Mousavi, associate professor of International Relations at the University of Tehran, warned that military intervention 'rarely leads to democratization.' 'Look at the experience of Iraq and Afghanistan… Both countries were unstable for many years,' Mousavi told CNN, adding that Iran is 'even more complicated' than those nations. One outcome could be that other elements in the Iranian military assume power. They are unlikely to seek diplomatic routes with Israel or the US, but could take a more hawkish approach that sees possession of a nuclear bomb as the only deterrent to more attacks, Parsi said. Military factions that could take over are 'not going to be the type of regime that the US may have had in mind,' Parsi said. Another possible scenario is descent into chaos, as Iran's multiple ethnic groups vie for power. Iran has a diverse population, including Persians, Azeris, Arabs, Baloch and Kurds. Under Khamenei's decades-long rule, the Islamic Republic largely managed to contain civil and ethnic unrest, despite the mistreatment faced by some groups. Minorities faced discrimination in 'their access to education, employment, adequate housing and political office,' according to Amnesty International last year. 'Continued underinvestment in regions populated by ethnic minorities exacerbated poverty and marginalization,' it said. Azeris make up around 16% of Iran's overall population, according to Minority Rights Group. The Shiite group is the largest and most well-integrated minority in the Islamic Republic but has nonetheless faced inequity. Arabs constitute up to 4 million people, and they have also been subjected to marginalization over the years. A group of tribes speaking the Balochi language, the Baloch people make up nearly 5 million of Iran's population. The predominantly Sunni group extends into neighboring Pakistan and Afghanistan, raising the possibility of separatist conflict spilling over the borders. The 'Army of Justice' organization, a Baloch Sunni militant group, has shown support for Israel's strikes on Iran, saying in a statement: 'It is clear that the current attack is not on Iran, but on the Velayat-e-Faqih (ruling) regime , it is God's will that the ground has been prepared for us, the people of Iran, to make the best use of this vacuum.' Kurds make up some 10% of Iran's population and are mostly settled along the borders with Iraq and Turkey. They have been subject to 'deep-rooted discrimination,' Amnesty said. The Kurdistan Freedom Party, a nationalist and separatist militant group in Iran, published a statement backing Israel's strikes, saying it supports 'the process of destroying Iran's military and security capabilities.' A Kurdish rebellion in Iran would also be a major concern for neighboring Iraq and Turkey, both of which have large Kurdish minorities that have sought independence. Another exiled group that has garnered support from US conservatives is the Mujahadin-e Khalq (MeK), a shadowy dissident group that was once a US-designated terrorist organization but today counts prominent anti-Iran politicians as key allies. Iran accuses it of terrorism, saying it carried out a series of attacks in the 1980s. The MeK denies those charges. It is one of the best-organized opposition groups confronting the Islamic Republic, but it has little support among Iranians, largely due to its violent past and for having supported Iraqi President Saddam Hussein during his almost decade-long war with Iran. If Iran's regime falls, 'there would be support for ethnic separatist groups by the Israelis, and perhaps the US,' Parsi said. This would lead to a situation where remnants of the state are going to be consumed with fighting separatists. Fatemeh Haghighatjoo, executive director of the Nonviolent Initiative for Democracy and a former Iranian lawmaker who opposes the current regime, expressed fears that Iran may descend into civil conflict if the current rule falls. 'I would like to get rid of this regime. I am the opposition,' she told CNN's Becky Anderson. 'My main concern is… I see the signs (of) civil war.'
Wall Street Journal
41 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Iran's Internet Has Been Offline for More Than 12 Hours
Iran has severed internet access nationwide for more than 12 hours, an independent tracker says, after Tehran authorities instituted restrictions aiming to thwart alleged Israeli military cyber offensives. The 'nation-scale internet shutdown' across Iran limits the ability for locals to access information at a critical time, according to NetBlocks, an independent organization that tracks internet flows, in a social-media post.
