President Barzani Receives Ziyad al-Janabi, Secretary-General of the National Sovereignty Alliance – Tashri
ARK News.. President Masoud Barzani met on Monday, December 1, 2025, in Pirmam, with Ziyad al-Janabi, the head of the National Tashri’ Party and Secretary-General of the National Sovereignty Alliance – Tashri’.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed the political situation in Iraq and the wider region, as well as the results of the Iraqi parliamentary elections.
They also reviewed relations between Iraqi political parties and their participation in the political process.
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Syrian Interior Ministry Announces Foiling of Drug-Smuggling Attempt in Coordination with Iraq
ARK News.. The Syrian Ministry of Interior announced that it had thwarted an attempt to smuggle a quantity of narcotics into Iraq.
In a statement released on Sunday, 30 November 2025, the ministry said that the Anti-Narcotics Directorate carried out a special operation in coordination with the Iraqi General Directorate for Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Affairs, successfully seizing 57 kilograms of hashish.
It added that the smugglers were arrested and referred to the competent judiciary to take the necessary legal measures against them.
The ministry noted that this operation reflects ongoing regional cooperation and joint efforts to combat criminal networks and protect society from narcotics, contributing to safeguarding the country and its stability.
The Syrian transitional authorities have repeatedly announced the dismantling of “Captagon” production facilities in several areas of Syria; however, attempts to manufacture and smuggle the drug continue nearly a year after the fall of the Assad regime on 8 December 2024.
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Government Forces Target Axis in Western Rural Suwayda
ARK News.. Local sources reported that government forces and their allied units targeted, with heavy weapons fired from the town of al-Mazra’a, the axis of the town of al-Majdal in western rural Suwayda.
According to the local sources, shelling was also launched from the village of al-Mansoura toward the Naql axis in northern rural Suwayda, with no reports of casualties so far.
The sources confirmed that the Druze “National Guard” forces intercepted government and allied drones after they violated the city’s airspace.
The sources further noted that there were reports of armed clashes erupting along the Tel Hadid – Masaken al-Khadr axis northwest of Suwayda, amid growing security tensions in the area.
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Mass Grave Discovered West of Homs
ARK News.. A Syrian human rights source has reported the discovery of a mass grave containing multiple remains, attributed to crimes committed by the deposed Syrian regime in western Homs.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, and as investigations into the atrocities perpetrated by the former Syrian regime continue, construction workers uncovered a mass grave containing the remains of 10 unidentified individuals buried in a plot of land along the Tripoli Road, opposite the village of al-Mazra’a west of Homs.
The source added that the number of mass graves uncovered since the fall of the tyrant Bashar al-Assad has reached 48 across Syria, containing the remains of 2,855 victims.
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International Coalition Deploys New Air and Ground Reinforcements to Syria
ARK News.. A Syrian human rights source has revealed that areas in North and East Syria witnessed a notable escalation in military activity by the International Coalition throughout the month of November.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Coalition forces brought in extensive air and ground reinforcements during November, including the transfer of advanced weapons, air-defense systems, and radar units, in addition to expanding the logistical infrastructure at bases in Hasaka, Raqqa, and Deir Ez-Zour.
The source added that the International Coalition has intensified its military training exercises as part of efforts to increase combat readiness and strengthen operational coordination.
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Syrian Immigration and Passports Directorate Moves to Amend Decision Reducing Passport Validity
ARK News.. A Syrian media source confirmed that the Immigration and Passports Directorate is preparing to issue an amendment to the decision that reduced the validity period of Syrian passports.
According to Syria TV, Syrians who held residency or citizenship in a foreign country before 2025 will now receive passports valid for six years, instead of the previously shortened duration.
These developments follow statements by Colonel Walid Araabi, Deputy Director of the Immigration and Passports Directorate at the Syrian Ministry of Interior, regarding passport issuance for individuals who left Syria without registering entry and exit movements during the current year.
Colonel Araabi clarified that the measure concerns those who left Syria illegally after the liberation—after 8 December 2024—most of whom, he said, are remnants of the former regime.
He added: “This does not apply to those who left Syria during the revolution, most of whom have returned after the liberation and corrected their travel records, and many of them have obtained passports with full validity.”
Araabi noted that most of the procedures imposed by the former regime on the immigration and passport system against the Syrian people have now been resolved.
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President Barzani: Zakho Is My Heart and Soul
ARK News.. President Masoud Barzani inaugurated the first edition of the Zakho International Book Fair on Sunday, 30 November 2025.
In his speech, President Barzani expressed his great joy at visiting the city of Zakho and attending the fair, which will run for six days.
Paying tribute to the people of Zakho, President Barzani said: “Zakho is Zakho. I used to say before that Zakho is my heart, but this time I say that Zakho is my heart and my soul.”
He added: “I thank God for these beautiful days. Yesterday I was in the Botan region, and today I am in Zakho, and I pray that God always brings goodness.”
President Barzani also voiced his happiness at the opening of the Zakho International Book Fair, wishing for Zakho to always remain a place of culture, art, courage, Kurdish identity, and Peshmerga spirit.
The Zakho International Book Fair showcases more than 20,000 titles, with the participation of 50 publishing and printing houses from 10 different countries.
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KNC: Rallies Called for by al-Sharaa Spread Hate Speech Against Kurds
ARK News.. The Kurdish National Council (KNC) in Syria stated on Saturday, November 29, 2025, that the public gatherings called for by President Ahmad al-Sharaa were accompanied by inflammatory and racist rhetoric targeting the Kurdish people and other Syrian communities. The Council urged the transitional government in Damascus to take a clear and firm stance against such discourse.
Below is the full statement issued by the General Secretariat of the Kurdish National Council in Syria:
The General Secretariat of the Kurdish National Council in Syria is following with deep concern the inflammatory and sectarian rhetoric that accompanied the celebrations called for by President Ahmad al-Sharaa. These gatherings and their platforms were used to spread hatred and incite against the Kurdish people and other components of Syria, instead of serving as opportunities to promote brotherhood and mutual respect.
The dominance of threatening and incendiary language in these rallies— and the sectarian dimension it was given— poses a direct danger to coexistence, civil peace, and the aspirations of Syrians for freedom, dignity, and change since the beginning of the revolution. Such practices undermine any prospect of building a civil state that safeguards the rights of all its citizens. They further push the country toward deeper division and fragmentation.
We also stress the need to hold accountable those voices that incite hatred and destabilize civil peace. As we call on the transitional administration in Damascus to take a clear and unequivocal stance against such rhetoric, we affirm that the path to stability begins with the explicit recognition that Syria is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, and multiculturalism state, and that its constitution must guarantee the rights of everyone— including the national rights of the Kurdish people within the framework of the country’s unity.
The General Secretariat believes that a positive response by the Damascus administration to the invitation extended by the joint Kurdish delegation to engage in dialogue on the future of the country and the rights of the Kurdish people would block the path to all calls that promote discord and strife.
In conclusion, the Kurdish National Council reaffirms its commitment to working for a decentralized, democratic, and pluralistic Syria— a Syria in which the dignity of all citizens is protected and ethnic and religious diversity is respected, far from the rhetoric of accusation, incitement, and violence.
Qamishlo – 29 November 2025
General Secretariat of the Kurdish National Council in Syria
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Mark Savaya: I Received My Orders from Trump Regarding Iraq
ARK News.. The U.S. President’s envoy to Iraq stated that he received his assignment orders directly from the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Armed Forces, Donald Trump.
Mark Savaya, the U.S. President’s envoy to Iraq, wrote in a post on the platform X that he had received those orders concerning Iraq during his meeting with President Donald Trump on the occasion of Thanksgiving.
Trump’s envoy to Iraq did not disclose any details regarding the nature of those orders.
In October, U.S. President Donald Trump appointed Mark Savaya as his special envoy to Iraq.
Savaya is the third American envoy to Iraq, following Paul Bremer in 2003, and Brett McGurk during the war against ISIS in 2014.
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Trump Announces Permanent Suspension of Immigration from All Third World Countries
ARK News.. U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a permanent suspension of immigration “from all Third World countries,” stressing that the decision will remain in place “until the American system fully recovers.”
In a statement shared on social media on Friday, November 28, 2025, Trump said: “I will permanently halt immigration from all Third World countries to allow the American system to fully recover.”
Trump also threatened to revoke “millions” of immigration applications approved under his predecessor Joe Biden, and vowed to “deport anyone who does not add value to the United States.”
He added that his administration will end all federal benefits and assistance for non-citizens.
Trump's remarks came one day after an Afghan national opened fire on two National Guard soldiers in Washington
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