Bassem’s Recent Stories
World Feb 18
Killings surge in Syria camp housing Islamic State familiesIn total, 20 men and women were killed last month in al-Hol, the sprawling camp in northeastern Syria housing families of the Islamic State group.
World Aug 17
UN-backed court to issue verdicts in Lebanon’s Hariri caseMore than 15 years after the truck bomb assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in Beirut, a U.N.-backed tribunal is announcing verdicts this week in the trial of four members of the militant group Hezbollah allegedly involved in…
World Aug 08
Protests in Beirut amid public fury over massive blastThousands of people poured into Beirut’s main square, where they set up symbolic nooses to hang politicians whose corruption and negligence they blame for Tuesday's explosion at the Port of Beirut.
World Aug 06
Macron promises help, Beirut residents vent fury at leadersAfter talks with Lebanese leaders, France’s Macron announced his country will organize a conference in the next few days to raise money for food, medicine, housing and other urgent aid.
World Aug 06
Lebanon investigates blast amid rising anger, calls for changeBEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese officials targeted in the investigation of the massive blast that tore through Beirut sought to shift blame for the presence of explosives at the city’s port, and the visiting French president warned Thursday that without serious…
World Aug 05
Negligence probed in deadly Beirut blast amid public angerInternational help began to arrive as Lebanon's leaders struggled with the widespread damage and shocking aftermath of Tuesday's blast.
World Aug 05
A shattered Beirut emerges from the rubble after deadly explosionsResidents of Beirut — stunned, sleepless and stoic — emerged from the aftermath of a catastrophic explosion searching for missing relatives, bandaging their wounds and retrieving what’s left of their homes.
World Aug 04
Deadly explosion rocks Lebanon’s capital, causing widespread damageLebanese Red Cross official Georges Kettaneh said there were dead and wounded, but did not have an exact figure, just saying there were hundreds of casualties.
Health Mar 23
War-torn Syria braces for lockdown after first virus case is confirmedThe arrival of the global pandemic in Syria as well as the Gaza Strip has raised concerns it could run rampant in some of the most vulnerable areas in the Middle East.
World Feb 27
29 Turkish soldiers killed in northeast Syria airstrikeThe casualties mark the largest death toll for Turkey in a single day since Ankara first intervened in Syria in 2016.