A decades-long wave of pro-democracy protests across the Arab world
A Damascus criminal court has sentenced ousted president Bashar al‑Assad, his brother Maher and several senior former officials — including Atef Najib, who is in custody — to death for murders, torture and crimes against humanity committed during Syria’s 14‑year conflict. The rulings have been issued in absentia for Assad and Maher, who are in Russia.
A Damascus court has sentenced Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia after a rebel-led rise toppled decades of his family’s rule. He has fled to Moscow, where he is coordinating a new chapter for Syria as international investigations exposed state-led abuses during his reign. The trial marks a decisive moment in a long civil war that drew in regional and global powers.
Protests surge as Tunisia faces extreme heat, water and power shortages, with opposition groups criticizing President Kais Saied’s leadership. Demonstrators demand restored public services, release of detainees, and steps toward political reform amid ongoing economic strain.
Rights groups have reported at least 10 prisoner deaths in Tunisia during a severe August heatwave, citing overcrowding, water and power cuts and poor medical care; the Committee to Protect Journalists has urged release of jailed Tunisian reporters. In Iran, courts have handed death sentences to two women over January protests and lawmakers are considering a bill that would criminalise contact with foreign media, curbing reporting and international engagement.
The UAE has granted a presidential pardon to Abdul Rahman Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who faced a 10-year prison sentence and a 200,000 dirham fine in Abu Dhabi. The pardon follows extensive international scrutiny and his extradition from Lebanon in 2024-2025.
Gaza flotilla activists have joined Wael Naouar’s hunger strike in Tunisian custody amid a probe into alleged financial flows. The detainees’ health is deteriorating as a Tunisian court weighs extending pre-trial detention for six months.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has awarded the 2026 Peace Prize to South African jurist Navi Pillay for her decades-long work enforcing international law, including leadership at the Rwanda tribunal, service on multiple international courts and chairing a UN inquiry that concluded Israel committed genocide in Gaza. Pillay received the news while attending a legal forum in Nuremberg.
MI5 chief Ken McCallum has warned that Iran is expanding its operations against the UK, including at military sites such as RAF Fairford. He says AI is accelerating the threat, with potential bioweapons risk. Russia and China are also expanding hybrid tactics, and MI5 has opened an AI Threat Assessment Center.
Protests led by UGTT and opposition groups have converged in Tunis amid an economic crisis, demanding freedom, the release of critics, and an end to restrictions on trade union rights. Police are deployed as demonstrators call for the president’s limits on power to be rolled back.
Trump has characterized Abdul El-Sayed as a jihadist and suggested he would require a metal detector to enter the Senate, remarks that have drawn sharp criticism for stoking anti-Muslim sentiment amid a closely watched Michigan race.
A Cairo court has fined Lina Attalah 3 million Egyptian pounds, ordered the closure of independent outlet Mada Masr and authorised seizure of its equipment. Attalah has been detained briefly and released after the fine was paid; she has also learned of a separate 2024 in‑absentia sentence and her lawyers have scheduled a retrial hearing for 11 November 2026.