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СпутникиРНSpaceXРоскосмосNASANetanyahu says he spoke with Syria’s Sharaa
Welcome back to the Daily Briefing.This is Beatrice Farhat, filling in for Gabrielle.In today’s edition: In first, Israel’s Netanyahu says he held call with Syria’s SharaaSaudi Arabia's international events derailed by warSyria arrests Mihrac Ural, ex-Assad militia head also wanted by TurkeyHouthis strike Yemeni government’s presidential palace in AdenRussia’s FM to visit Iran next weekThanks for reading,Beatrice (@beatricefarhat)In first, Israel’s Netanyahu says he held call with Syria’s SharaaPictured in this undated image are Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R). — AFP via Getty ImagesIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed on Thursday that he had spoken with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa soon after Israel bombed the Syrian Defense Ministry in Damascus in July 2025, making it the first publicly disclosed contact between the two countries’ leaders.Details: Speaking during a visit to the Druze village of Yarka, in northern Israel, Netanyahu said, “I called Sharaa. It was a very brief and to-the-point conversation, and the massacre stopped,” referring to the violence between Druze and Bedouin groups in the southern Syrian province of Suwayda in July 2025.The Syrian government said in a statement later on Thursday that the Druze are an “integral part” of the country, adding that Damascus “rejects its politicization or its forcible insertion into Israeli propaganda and elections.”The statement further accused Israel of seeking to undermine stability in Suwayda, but did not address a conversation between Sharaa and Netanyahu.Why it matters: The call is the first to be reported of a direct conversation between the leaders of Israel and Syria, which lack diplomatic relations and have fought several wars.Since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s government in December 2024, Israeli and Syrian representatives have held US-mediated direct and indirect talks, starting in 2025, to formulate a security agreement. The negotiations were put on hold, however, after Israel and the United States launched a joint military attack on Iran in late February.Know more: Immediately after Assad’s ouster, the Israeli military seized a 400 square kilometer (250 square mile) piece of Syrian territory adjacent to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights as a buffer zone, a move it said was aimed at preventing armed groups from threatening Israel’s security. Since then, Israeli forces have been carrying out almost daily incursions into Syrian territory in the south, namely in Quneitra and Daraa provinces, near the buffer zone.Syria has regularly condemned Israeli operations on its territory. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has documented at least 84 such incursions and military movements in southern Syria during Oct. 1–15 alone. Read Rina Bassist and Adam Lucente’s full report here. Listen to a breakdown of the top headlines on today’s episode of the Middle East Minute podcast with Adam Lucente.Saudi Arabia's international events derailed by warRussia's Ekaterina Alexandrova returns the ball to Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina during their WTA Finals tennis tournament in Riyadh on Nov. 5, 2025. — Photo by Fayez Nureldine/AFP via Getty ImagesSaudi Arabia has canceled or postponed a slew of international events amid regional instability and escalating attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels on key infrastructure hubs across the kingdom.The conflict intensified over the weekend, with Houthi strikes on the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday and Sunday, killing 14 people and wounding more than 300 in the deadliest attacks on Saudi Arabia in more than a decade. The airport was closed as a result until at least Oct. 17.The disruption has hit some of Saudi Arabia’s flagship events across sectors central to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 project to diversify the economy away from oil.Politics: The Gulf Cooperation Council confirmed the postponement of a summit involving European Union and Gulf leaders scheduled for Riyadh on Oct. 24. All 27 EU leaders had been scheduled to attend.The organizers of the flagship Future Investment Initiative, scheduled for Oct. 26–29 in Riyadh, plan to shift to a hybrid format, allowing executives and officials to participate remotely. The event, nicknamed Davos in the Desert, is a crucial diplomatic and economic summit on the kingdom's annual calendar, attracting ministers and CEOs from the world's leading financial institutions and companies.Entertainment: The sports and arts sectors have also been affected by the conflict. FIFA and the Saudi Esports Federation postponed the FIFAe Finals 2026, set to begin Friday in Jeddah. The Six Kings Slam tennis tournament, originally scheduled for Oct. 21–24, has been pushed back to Dec. 27–30, and the Red Sea International Film Festival, originally scheduled for December, is now postponed until the fourth quarter of 2027.Jack Dutton has more details on other affected events and disruptions in this thorough explainer.Also on our radarMihrac Ural, a Turkish-born militant, was arrested by Syrian authorities, Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said Oct. 15, 2026. — SANASyria arrests Mihrac Ural, ex-Assad militia head also wanted by TurkeySyrian authorities said on Thursday that they have arrested Mihrac Ural, a Turkish-born longtime supporter of ousted President Bashar al-Assad, who is accused of involvement in massacres in Syria and Turkey, including the killing of nearly 300 people in the coastal towns of Baniyas and al-Bayda in May 2013.Ural, also known as Ali Kayali, was captured late Wednesday in an operation coordinated with Turkey's National Intelligence Organization as he attempted to flee across the Syrian border.Born in the southern Turkish province of Hatay in 1956, Ural assumed leadership positions in the 1970s in Acilciler, a militant Turkish leftist group, and was long considered one of Turkey’s most-wanted fugitives, largely for allegedly masterminding the attack in which two car bombs in the Reyhanli district of Hatay, near the Syrian border, killed 53 people in May 2013. Read Beatrice Farhat and Ezgi Akin’s report.Houthis strike Yemeni government’s presidential palace in AdenHouthi rebels struck the Yemeni government’s presidential palace in Aden with missiles and drones on Thursday, resulting in at least five deaths and 16 injuries among palace guards and civilian employees. Aden, a port city on Yemen’s southern coast, currently serves as the interim capital of the internationally recognized government.The strike appears to be the first Houthi attack on the Maashiq Palace since the latest phase of the civil war erupted in September. The Yemeni government said last week that the Houthis had launched ballistic missiles and drones at the Aden International Airport, with one missile striking near the runway, on Oct. 7. Read Rosaleen Carroll’s report.Russia’s FM to visit Iran next weekRussian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Tehran on Monday and meet with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, for talks on the latest developments in the region, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Friday.Araghchi and Lavrov also met in early October on the sidelines of the Commonwealth of Independent States summit in Turkmenistan.Russian-Iranian ties have deepened since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with Moscow offering Tehran diplomatic backing and reportedly military support as well during the war with the United States and Israel. Citing Western officials this month, Bloomberg reported that Russia was providing the Islamic Republic with missiles. In a $1.7 billion deal signed in late 2022, Iran had agreed to supply Russia with hundreds of drones for its offensive against Ukraine.
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Fri, 10/16/2026 - 07:54
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| # | Наименование новости | Тональность | Информативность | Дата публикации |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | In first, Israel’s Netanyahu says he held call with Syria’s Ahmed al-Sharaa | 0 | 17.92 | 15-10-2026 |
| 2 | Iran says it doesn’t seek to resume negotiations with Washington | 0 | 12.28 | 27-07-2026 |
| 3 | Syria, Israel hold US-mediated talks | 0 | 20.22 | 24-08-2026 |
| 4 | Netanyahu, al-Sharaa talked last year with U.S., Arab mediation, Syrian sources say | 0 | 8 | 15-10-2026 |
| 5 | Syrian President Says Israel Talks Reached 90% Agreement, Jokes About Giving New Jersey to Israel | 0 | 16.75 | 23-09-2026 |
| 6 | Lebanese PM urges Israeli withdrawal in meeting with US envoy | 0 | 10.08 | 14-08-2026 |
| 7 | Syrian Leader Lashes Out At Israel In Un Speech, Says Golan Is Inseparable Part Of Syria | 0 | 12.6 | 23-09-2026 |
| 8 | Israel's military prepares to defend Druze community near Damascus | 0 | 6.02 | 01-03-2025 |
| 9 | Syria blames Israel for strikes on military airport in Idlib | 0 | 10.5 | 18-08-2026 |
| 10 | Syria, Russia reach deal on Russian bases | 0 | 16.42 | 10-08-2026 |