Wearing sunglasses indoors, Macron meets representatives of Syrian civil society in Damascus Again wearing sunglasses indoors, France’s President Emmanuel Macron attends a breakfast in Damascus with representatives of Syrian civil society. Macron wore the aviators inside at the Davos conference in January, with officials explaining the French president had a minor medical issue. Macron landed in Syria yesterday, in the first visit to Damascus by a European Union head of state since rebels led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa toppled Bashar al-Assad in 2024. The visit underlines Syria’s geopolitical transformation under Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda commander who has established close ties with Western and Middle Eastern powers that shunned Assad, as he seeks to rebuild a country shattered by 13 years of civil war.

Gunfire and blasts rock Mali’s capital and other cities, in apparent coordinated assault Gunmen attacked several locations in #Mali’s capital and other cities early today in a possible coordinated assault, residents and authorities say. Mali’s army says in a statement that “unidentified armed terrorist groups targeted certain locations and barracks” in Bamako and that soldiers were “engaged in eliminating the attackers.” In another statement later, it says the situation was brought under control. Mali has been plagued by insurgencies fought by affiliates of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, as well as a separatist rebellion in the north. An Associated Press journalist in Bamako reports hearing sustained heavy weapons and automatic rifle gunfire coming from Modibo Keïta International Airport, around 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the city center, and saw a helicopter over nearby neighborhoods. The airport is adjacent to an air base used by Mali’s air force. A resident living near the airport also reports gunfire and three helicopters patrolling overhead.

[BREAKING] Al-Qaeda in Yemen announced the "death" of their leader Khaled Batrafi According to the report of an American group active in the field of intelligence and security, #Batrafi's body was shown in a video published by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula covered with a flag with the name and symbol of al-Qaeda. Details about the circumstances of Khaled Batrafi's death have not yet been published In February 2020, following the assassination of Qassem al-Rimi, the previous group leader in an American drone attack, Batrafi was appointed leader. The United States considers #alQaeda in #Yemen to be one of the most dangerous branches of the organization and added Batrafi to the list of "global terrorists" in 2018. Al-Qaeda in Yemen chose Saad bin Ataf al-Awlaki as its new leader. The US government previously offered a $6 million reward for information on Saad bin Atif al-Awlaki.