Assad family live in Russian luxury as Bashar ‘brushes up on ophthalmology’ 15 December 2025 at 00:00

Assad family live in Russian luxury as Bashar ‘brushes up on ophthalmology’

15 December 2025 at 00:00

Family friend, sources in Russia and Syria, and leaked data help give rare insight into life of dictator’s reclusive household

In 2011, a group of teenage boys spray-painted a warning on to a wall in their school playground: “It’s your turn, Doctor.” The graffiti was a thinly veiled threat that Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad, a London-trained ophthalmologist, would be next in the line of Arab dictators toppled by the then raging Arab spring.

It took 14 years, during which 620,000 were killed and nearly 14 million displaced, but eventually the doctor’s turn came and Assad was deposed, fleeing to Moscow in the middle of the night.

As Sudan burns, the NBA’s embrace of the UAE shows how sport enables atrocity 13 December 2025 at 04:00

As Sudan burns, the NBA’s embrace of the UAE shows how sport enables atrocity

The Guardian

By:Karim Zidan

13 December 2025 at 04:00

While UAE-backed forces are accused of mass killings in Sudan, the NBA is deepening its partnership with the controversial Gulf state. This is what sportswashing looks like

As paramilitary fighters from the brutal Rapid Support Forces (RSF) overran the largest city in western Sudan – carrying out mass executions, rapes and ethnic cleansing with weapons supplied by the United Arab Emirates – the NBA’s annual in-season tournament, the Emirates NBA Cup, tipped off on Halloween night, proudly sponsored by the very same Gulf state.

The tournament is the most visible example of the NBA’s expanding partnership with the UAE – a partnership that includes annual preseason games in Abu Dhabi, a lucrative sponsorship deal with Emirates airlines, and plans for a new NBA Global Academy at NYU’s Abu Dhabi campus.

Jared Kushner – and three Arab monarchies – are at the heart of the Paramount-WBD bid | Mohamad Bazzi 11 December 2025 at 06:00

Jared Kushner – and three Arab monarchies – are at the heart of the Paramount-WBD bid | Mohamad Bazzi

The Guardian

By:Mohamad Bazzi

11 December 2025 at 06:00

The president’s son-in-law is once again at the center of an international business deal that will require administration approval

On Monday, Paramount Skydance launched a $108bn takeover bid for Warner Bros Discovery, the entertainment giant that owns Hollywood movie studios, along with CNN, HBO and other media businesses. The bid is led by David Ellison, son of the tech billionaire Larry Ellison – a prominent Donald Trump supporter and Republican donor. Netflix had already prevailed over Paramount in a previous bidding competition for the purchase, but Trump announced on Sunday that he would “be involved” in his administration’s review of the Netflix deal. The president suggested the sale “could be a problem” because Netflix is already dominant in the US streaming market.

Paramount left out a significant fact in the press release announcing its offer: the bid includes funding from the private equity firm owned by Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, as well as three Arab monarchies, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which collectively have billions of dollars in ongoing ventures involving the Trump family business. Those details were buried in required paperwork filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Silicon Valley’s Man in the White House Is Benefiting Himself and His Friends 30 November 2025 at 23:01

Silicon Valley’s Man in the White House Is Benefiting Himself and His Friends

NYT: Technology

By:Cecilia Kang · Tripp Mickle · Ryan Mac · David Yaffe-Bellany and Theodore Schleifer

30 November 2025 at 23:01

David Sacks, the Trump administration’s A.I. and crypto czar, has helped formulate policies that aid his Silicon Valley friends and many of his own tech investments.