World Bank backs $1bn in projects across Iraq, Syria and Lebanon
The World Bank has said it's approved more than $1 billion in new funding to support rebuilding efforts and infrastructure development in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon.
New government focuses on rebuilding Syria’s education system, damaged by 13 years of war.
Syria's new education minister, Nazir Mohammad al-Qadri, has announced significant reforms to the country’s school system, including the removal of all references to the Baath Party, which ruled Syria for decades. Despite the changes, girls' access to education will remain unrestricted, and the existing curriculum will largely stay intact.
“Our mission is very difficult today because the regime destroyed the schools, so there’s a need to restore and build more than 9,000 schools,” Qadri stated. Over half of Syria’s 18,000 schools were damaged or destroyed during the conflict.
Qadri emphasized that religious studies, both Muslim and Christian, will continue to be part of the curriculum, and schools will remain segregated by gender after primary level, consistent with longstanding norms.
The new government, led by Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has adopted a moderate tone, seeking to include minority groups and focus on reconstruction. With schools opening soon, “nationalist studies,” which previously taught Baathist ideology, will no longer be mandatory.
Syria’s education system, once a regional model, faces challenges from Western sanctions and widespread destruction, but the new administration is working quickly to rebuild and reform.
Iran launched 18 ballistic missiles late Sunday targeting the U.S. military’s Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest American installation in the Middle East.
The U.S. Embassy in Qatar has advised American citizens to shelter in place amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran, as part of a broader global security alert issued by Washington.
Severe rain in Venezuela has caused rivers to overflow and triggered landslides, sweeping away homes and collapsing a highway bridge, with five states affected and no casualties reported so far.
In a televised address on Saturday night, U.S. President Donald J. Trump announced that American forces, in coordination with Israel, had conducted precision strikes on Iran’s Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan nuclear sites, aiming to dismantle Tehran’s enrichment capabilities.
The U.S. economy faces a 40% risk of recession in the second half of 2025, JP Morgan analysts said on Wednesday, citing rising tariffs and stagflation concerns.
Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have signed a U.S.-brokered peace agreement, raising hopes of ending fighting that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands this year.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said he would consider further bombing of Iranian nuclear sites if Tehran’s uranium enrichment reaches levels that raise concerns in Washington.
The United States and China have resolved disputes over rare earth mineral and magnet shipments, overcoming a key hurdle that had delayed a trade agreement reached in May.
The European Union plans closer cooperation with Pacific Rim nations under the CPTPP to advance global trade rules, but insists it is not seeking to replace the World Trade Organization.
The Kremlin has voiced strong concern over Estonia’s readiness to host NATO’s nuclear-capable F-35A jets, calling the move an immediate danger to Russia.
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