Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,430
These are the key developments from day 1,430 of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Published On 23 Jan 202623 Jan 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Here is where things stand on Saturday, January 24: Fighting Four people were killed and five were injured in Russian attacks on Cherkasy, in an area of Ukraine’s Donetsk region that is still controlled by Ukraine, Governor Vadym Filashkin said on the Telegram messaging app. Filashkin said that Russian forces shelled settlements in the Donetsk region 10 times over the past day, and that 109 people, including 17 children, were evacuated. Russian forces attacked the village of Komyshuvakha in Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region with glide bombs and other weapons, killing one person, regional Governor Ivan Fedorov said. Russian forces launched drones at Kherson city and several villages in the Kherson region over the past day, killing one person and injuring two others, the regional military administration said. Russian forces killed a 72-year-old man and injured two others, including a child, in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, the head of the regional military administration, Oleksandr Hanzha, said. Ukraine’s Air Force said it shot down 76 Russian drones of 101 launched towards Ukraine over the past day. Several people were injured in Ukrainian attacks across front-line Russian areas and Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, including five people injured on a bus in Russia’s Belgorod region, according to Russia’s TASS state news agency. The General Staff of Ukraine’s military claimed that Ukrainian forces hit a fuel depot and radar facilities, causing a fire, at the Penzanefteproduct fuel depot in Russia’s Penza region. The Russian Ministry of Defence said that its forces captured the village of Symynivka, situated about 47km (29 miles) northeast of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. Ukraine-Russia-US talks Advertisement The first day of trilateral talks involving negotiators from the United States, Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi concluded late on Friday night, the Ukrainian presidency said in a post on X, adding that talks would continue on Saturday. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a statement after Friday’s talks, saying “it is still too early to draw conclusions” about the substance of the negotiations. “By now, our team should already have at least some answers from Russia,” said Zelenskyy. “We will see how the conversation develops tomorrow and what results it produces,” he added. Ukraine’s chief negotiator, Rustem Umerov, said on X that the meeting had “focused on the parameters for ending Russia’s war and the further logic of the negotiation process aimed at advancing towards a dignified and lasting peace”. The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday that the talks were scheduled to last for two days “as part of ongoing efforts to promote dialogue and identify political solutions to the crisis”. Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov told reporters that talks between US and Russian officials on the eve of the Abu Dhabi meeting were “substantive, constructive and very frank”. Ushakov said that Russian Admiral Igor Kostyukov would be leading Moscow’s team in Abu Dhabi, and investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev would meet separately on economic issues with Steve Witkoff, the envoy of US President Donald Trump. Energy Crisis Maxim Timchenko, the head of Ukraine’s top private power producer DTEK, told the Reuters news agency that the energy situation in Ukraine was nearing a “humanitarian catastrophe” following repeated Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. Ukrenergo, Ukraine’s state grid operator, says there are emergency power outages in most regions of the country following Russia’s latest aerial attacks. Regional Security The Swedish Air Force said on Friday that it “intercepted two Su-35S escorting a Tu-22M [Russian military aircraft] over the Baltic Sea” on Thursday. France’s navy redirected the oil tanker “Grinch” to the port of Marseille-Fos for inspection, suspecting it is part of a “shadow fleet” of vessels Russia uses to export sanctioned oil, according to Reuters. Adblock test (Why?)
Turkiye’s FM Fidan says Israel ‘looking for opportunity’ to attack Iran
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says he has conveyed concerns of possible Israeli attack to leadership in Tehran. Published On 24 Jan 202624 Jan 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said there were signs that Israel was seeking an opportunity to attack Iran, warning such a move could further destabilise the region. “I hope they find a different path, but the reality is that Israel, in particular, is looking for an opportunity to strike Iran,” Fidan told Turkish broadcaster NTV in an interview broadcast on Friday. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list Asked specifically whether this assessment applied to both the United States and Israel, Fidan stated that Israel, in particular, was seeking such an opportunity, the Turkiye Today news outlet reported. The foreign minister added that he had conveyed concerns directly to Iranian officials during a recent visit to the country. “When I went to Tehran in recent days, I told them everything about the process as their friend,” Fidan said. “And you know, a friend speaks bitter truths,” he said, according to Turkiye Today. Fidan’s warning followed after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian in a phone call on Thursday that Turkiye was opposed to any foreign interventions in Iran and that it valued its neighbour’s peace and stability. A senior Iranian official told the Reuters news agency on Friday that Tehran would treat any attack by its enemies “as an all-out war against us” – the latest sabre-rattling in an escalating war of words between Washington and the Iranian leadership. On Thursday, US President Donald Trump said that he had sent an “armada” of naval ships towards the Gulf region with Iran in its sights, once again ramping up rhetoric against Tehran after cooling his comments last week after apparently backing away from threats to attack Iran amid widespread antigovernment protests. Advertisement “If the Americans violate Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, we will respond,” the senior Iranian official told Reuters. “This military buildup – we hope it is not intended for real confrontation – but our military is ready for the worst-case scenario. This is why everything is on high alert in Iran,” the official said. “This time we will treat any attack – limited, unlimited, surgical, kinetic, whatever they call it – as an all-out war against us, and we will respond in the hardest way possible to settle this,” the official added. “A country under constant military threat from the United States has no option but to ensure that everything at its disposal can be used to push back and, if possible, restore balance against anyone who dares to attack Iran.” US media has reported that the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and its strike group of vessels have diverted from the South China Sea to the Middle East and are expected to arrive in the Gulf region in the coming days. The US military last staged a major buildup of naval forces in June 2024 in support of Israel’s 12-day war on Iran and in advance of US attacks on Iran’s nuclear programme. Adblock test (Why?)
US officers detain 5-year-old boy as Minnesota immigration raids continue
School official says the child, Liam Conejo Ramos, was ‘essentially’ used ‘as bait to apprehend his father, who is seeking asylum in the US. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers have detained a five-year-old boy arriving home from preschool in Minnesota, after allegedly using him “as bait” to apprehend his father, who has a pending asylum case. Federal agents took the child, Liam Conejo Ramos, from a running car while it was in the family’s driveway on Tuesday afternoon, Columbia Heights Public Schools Superintendent Zena Stenvik said during a news conference on Wednesday. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list The officers then told the child to knock on the door to his home to see if other people were inside, “essentially using a five-year-old as bait”, Stenvik said. Stenvik said the family, who came to the United States in 2024, has an active asylum case and had not been ordered to leave the country. “Why detain a five-year-old?” she asked. “You cannot tell me that this child is going to be classified as a violent criminal.” Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that “ICE did NOT target a child”. She said ICE was conducting an operation to arrest the child’s father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, who McLaughlin said is from Ecuador. “For the child’s safety, one of our ICE officers remained with the child while the other officers apprehended Conejo Arias,” McLaughlin said, adding that parents are given the choice to be removed with their children or have them placed with a person of their choosing. Liam is the fourth student from Columbia Heights Public Schools who has been detained by ICE in recent weeks, said Stenvik. A 17-year-old student was taken on Tuesday while heading to school, and a 10-year-old and a 17-year-old have also been taken, she said. Advertisement The family’s lawyer, Marc Prokosch, said on Thursday that Liam and his father were taken to an immigration lockup in Dilley, Texas, and that he assumes they were being held in a family holding cell. “We’re looking at our legal options to see if we can free them either through some legal mechanisms or moral pressure,” he said at a news conference. A lawyer who visited the Dilley detention facility last week, as part of an ongoing lawsuit to ensure the safekeeping of immigrant children in federal custody, said conditions were deteriorating. “The conditions were worse than ever,” said Leecia Welch, chief legal counsellor at the advocacy group Children’s Rights. “The number of children had skyrocketed, and significant numbers of children had been detained for over 100 days,” Welch said. “Nearly every child we spoke to was sick – and it seemed there was an epidemic of illnesses going around. Families reported that their children were malnourished, extremely ill, and suffering profoundly from prolonged detention,” Welch said. During a visit to Minneapolis on Thursday, US Vice President JD Vance said he heard the “terrible story” about Liam, but said he was not sure what the federal agents could have done differently. “Well, what are they supposed to do? Are they supposed to let a five-year-old child freeze to death? Are they not supposed to arrest an illegal alien in the United States of America?” said Vance, noting that he was also the parent of a five-year-old. US federal agents have arrested some 3,000 people in immigration raids across Minnesota in recent weeks, according to Greg Bovino, a US Customs and Border Protection official. Julia Decker, policy director at the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, said advocates have no way of knowing whether the government’s arrest numbers and descriptions of the people in custody are accurate. Also on Thursday, US Attorney General Pam Bondi said that three people have been arrested in Minneapolis after they protested at Cities Church in St Paul, where they alleged one of the pastors, David Easterwood, was the acting field director for the St Paul ICE field office. Those arrested included Minneapolis civil rights activist Nekima Levy Armstrong and St Paul school board member Chauntyll Louisa Allen, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune newspaper. In a post on X, Bondi said that Armstrong had played a “key role” in organising the protest on Sunday. Adblock test (Why?)
Trump says US still ‘watching Iran‘ as ‘massive’ fleet heads to Gulf region
US president says ‘big force going towards Iran’, but he would ‘rather not see anything happen’ as tension with Tehran ratchets up. Published On 23 Jan 202623 Jan 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share United States President Donald Trump said a US naval “armada” was heading towards the Gulf region, with Iran being the focus, as officials said an aircraft carrier strike group and other assets would arrive in the Middle East in the coming days. “We’re watching Iran,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Thursday as he flew back from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list “We have a big force going towards Iran,” Trump said. “I’d rather not see anything happen, but we’re watching them very closely,” he said. “And maybe we won’t have to use it … we have a lot of ships going that direction, just in case, we have a big flotilla going in that direction, and we’ll see what happens,” he added. Trump’s announcement on the US naval buildup comes after he appeared to back-pedal last week on his threats of military action against Iran after, he said, receiving assurances that no executions of protesters would be carried out by Tehran. Trump’s confirmation of continuing military preparations in the region follows after US media reports in the past week that the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and its strike group of vessels were ordered to divert from manoeuvres in the South China Sea to the Middle East. Speaking on Thursday, Trump reiterated that his earlier threats to use force against Tehran had stopped authorities in Iran from executing more than 800 protesters, and he again said he was open to talking with the country’s leadership. Iranian officials have denied plans to execute people who had taken part in the widespread antigovernment protests that began in late December and which Iranian state media said left 3,117 people dead, including 2,427 civilians and members of the security forces. Advertisement Speaking to US broadcaster CNBC on Wednesday, Trump said he hoped there would not be further US military action against Iran, but also said the US would act if Tehran resumed its nuclear programme. “They can’t do the nuclear,” Trump told CNBC in an interview in Davos. “If they do it, it’s going to happen again,” the president said, referring to US air strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June 2025 when Washington joined Israel’s 12-day war on the country. Washington last ordered a major military build-up in the Middle East in advance of its attacks in June, and officials later boasted about how it had kept its intention to strike Tehran’s nuclear programme a secret at the time. Writing in the Wall Street Journal newspaper on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned the US that Tehran will be “firing back with everything we have” if attacked. “Our powerful armed forces have no qualms about firing back with everything we have if we come under renewed attack,” the minister wrote. Araghchi said his warning was not a threat, “but a reality I feel I need to convey explicitly, because as a diplomat and a veteran, I abhor war”. “An all-out confrontation will certainly be ferocious and drag on far, far longer than the fantasy timelines that Israel and its proxies are trying to peddle to the White House,” he said. “It will certainly engulf the wider region and have an impact on ordinary people around the globe,” he added. Adblock test (Why?)
Did the US give Greenland back to Denmark? Trump omits history at Davos
On Wednesday, United States President Donald Trump made clear to other world leaders in Davos, Switzerland, that he was unflinching in his demand to acquire Greenland, even as he said for the first time that he did not plan for the US to take the land by force. Trump, who talked up his tariff-based negotiation strategy, cited Greenland’s strategic position between the US, Russia and China as the main reason he wants to acquire the territory. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Retelling the US history with Greenland and Denmark, Trump said, during World War II, “we saved Greenland and successfully prevented our enemies from gaining a foothold in our hemisphere”. This much is accurate: After Germany invaded Denmark, the US assumed responsibility for Greenland’s defence and established a military presence on the island that remains today, albeit in diminished scope. But Trump overstepped when he said, after World War II, “we gave Greenland back to Denmark”. “All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland, where we already had it as a trustee, but respectfully returned it back to Denmark not long ago,” he said. Although the US defended Greenland during World War II, it never possessed the nation, and so could not have given it back. Experts have told PolitiFact that Greenland’s status as part of Denmark is not in question, and has not been for more than a century. Denmark’s colonisation of Greenland dates to the 1720s. In 1933, an international court settled a territorial dispute between Denmark and Norway, ruling that as of July 1931, Denmark “possessed a valid title to the sovereignty over all Greenland”. Advertisement After the 1945 approval of the United Nations Charter – the organisation’s founding document and the foundation of much of international law – Denmark incorporated Greenland through a constitutional amendment and gave it representation in the Danish Parliament in 1953. Denmark told the UN that any colonial-type status had ended; the UN General Assembly accepted this change in November 1954. The US was among the nations that voted to accept Greenland’s new status. Since then, Greenland has, incrementally but consistently, moved towards greater autonomy. Greenlandic political activists successfully pushed for and achieved home rule in 1979, which established its parliament. Today, Greenland is a district within the sovereign state of Denmark, with two elected representatives in Denmark’s Parliament. What about Iceland? Four times in the Davos speech, Trump referred to Iceland instead of Greenland. “Our stock market took the first dip yesterday because of Iceland,” Trump said. “So Iceland has already cost us a lot of money, but that dip is peanuts compared to what it’s gone up, and we have an unbelievable future.” US markets reacted negatively to Trump’s Greenland comments the day before his Davos speech, falling about 2 percent in value. But in recent weeks, Trump has said nothing about acquiring Iceland, an independent island nation with nearly 400,000 residents, located east of Greenland. In an X post following Trump’s Davos address, the White House press secretary criticised a reporter for posting that Trump “appeared to mix up Greenland and Iceland” several times. Karoline Leavitt said Trump’s “written remarks referred to Greenland as a ‘piece of ice’ because that’s what it is”. Although Trump did call Greenland a “very big piece of ice”, he also separately mentioned “Iceland”. Traditionally, Icelanders have maintained strong ties to the US, dating back to World War II, when Reykjavik invited US troops into the country. In 1949, Iceland became a founding member of NATO, and in 1951, the two countries signed a bilateral defence agreement that still stands. Its location – between the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans, a strategic naval choke point in the Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom gap – means that Iceland, despite its lack of a standing military, is geographically important for both North America and Europe. In 2006, the US gave up its permanent troop presence at the Keflavík airbase – a 45-minute drive south of the capital, Reykjavik – but US troops still rotate through. Icelandic civilians now handle key NATO tasks such as submarine surveillance and operations at four radar sites on the nation’s periphery. Iceland also makes financial contributions to NATO trust funds and contributes a small number of technical and diplomatic personnel to NATO operations. Advertisement Trump’s pick for ambassador to Iceland, former Republican Congressman Billy Long, attracted criticism earlier this month when he was overheard saying Iceland should become a US state after Greenland, and that he would serve as governor. Long apologised during an interview with Arctic Today. “There was nothing serious about that. I was with some people, who I hadn’t met for three years, and they were kidding about Jeff Landry being governor of Greenland, and they started joking about me. And if anyone took offence to it, then I apologise,” Long told the publication. Trump has tapped Landry, Louisiana’s Republican governor, to be the US envoy to Greenland. Silja Bara R Omarsdottir, an international affairs professor who now serves as rector, or president, of the University of Iceland, told the Tampa Bay Times in August that newfound attention to Iceland’s security, including concerns over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for the rest of Europe, is “definitely very noticeable at the political level”. Multiple analysts in Iceland told the daily, only half-jokingly, that the key to surviving the Trump era has been to remain out of sight, something Greenland, for whatever reason, was unlucky enough not to be able to do. “You could say Icelandic policy towards the US has been to try to keep under the radar,” said Pia Elisabeth Hansson, director of the Institute of International Affairs at the University of Iceland. Adblock test (Why?)
Flooding causes widespread damage across southern Africa
NewsFeed Severe flooding across southern Africa has submerged roads, homes, schools and businesses, forcing evacuations and disrupting daily life. In Mozambique, the death toll has risen to at least 112 people after weeks of heavy rain. Published On 22 Jan 202622 Jan 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Adblock test (Why?)
Video shows severely damaged building in Ukraine from Russian attack
NewsFeed A Russian drone strike hit a residential building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, injuring seven people and causing significant damage, according to local officials. Residents said the blast shattered windows and sparked a fire in the apartment block. Published On 22 Jan 202622 Jan 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Adblock test (Why?)
Real Madrid remain football’s top earners but Liverpool overtake Man Utd
Real Madrid remain the top earner in world football but Liverpool leap in ranking, while Manchester United slide. Liverpool have overtaken Manchester United for the first time as the Premier League’s biggest-financial earners, but Real Madrid remained top performers in world football during the 2024-25 season, according to an annual financial list. The Spanish club topped Deloitte’s Football Money League, published on Thursday, with 1.16 billion euros ($1.36bn) of revenue despite not winning either La Liga or the Champions League. The only club to make more than $1bn in the past two seasons, Real Madrid benefitted in 2024-25 from a whopping 23 percent rise in commercial revenue – driven by merchandise and corporate partners – to 594 million euros ($696.6m), the Deloitte figures showed. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list Perennial rivals and reigning La Liga champions Barcelona were the second highest earners with 975 million euros ($1.14m), back in the top three for the first time in five years. Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich ranked third with 861 million euros ($1.09bn), ahead of Champions League winners Paris St-Germain on 837 million euros ($981.5m). Liverpool’s fifth place in the global money list, with 836 million euros ($980.4m) of revenues from the season they won the Premier League, was the strongest performance of any English club in the 29-year history of the rankings. Manchester City dropped to sixth with 829 million euros ($721.3m), followed by this season’s Premier League leaders Arsenal on 822 million ($1.1bn). Manchester United’s demise Manchester United, who finished a lowly 15th in the Premier League last season, fell from fourth to eighth in revenues with 793 million euros ($929.7m) – their lowest-ever position in the Money League that they have topped 10 times in the past. Advertisement Deloitte noted that United’s revenue outlook for the current season will worsen due to their absence from European competition and early exits from the FA Cup and League Cup. “If you went back 10 or 15 years, Manchester United’s matchday revenue was the industry leader,” said Tim Bridge, lead partner at Deloitte’s Sports Business Group. “Their ability to generate commercial revenue was the benchmark for the market. I don’t think that remains the case.” Six Premier League sides made the global top 10, with Tottenham ninth on 673 million euros ($789.1m) and Chelsea 10th on 584 million euros ($684.8m). Overall, revenue for the top 20 clubs rose 11 percent to a record 12.4 billion euros ($14.5bn). Commercial income increased to 5.3 billion euros ($6.2bn), driven by expanded stadium usage on non-matchdays, rising sponsorship deals and improved retail operations. Matchday revenue grew the fastest, up 16 percent to 2.4 billion euros ($2.8bn), while broadcast revenue rose 10 percent, helped by the expanded FIFA Club World Cup in the United States last year. Deloitte said the rise of some Saudi Pro League clubs and Inter Miami from Major League Soccer could challenge the financial hegemony of Europe’s major sides in the future. “Squads filled with star players have had a major impact on the global profile of clubs and both leagues,” it said. “For the MLS in particular, capitalising on this opportunity following the 2026 FIFA World Cup could be the key to unlocking a new market of football fans in the United States.” Adblock test (Why?)
Palestinians react to Netanyahu joining Gaza ‘Board of Peace’
NewsFeed Palestinians in Gaza have expressed disbelief at the prospect of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joining a US-backed “Board of Peace” aimed at rebuilding the Strip. Many say a leader they blame for the war cannot be a credible peacemaker. Published On 21 Jan 202621 Jan 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Adblock test (Why?)
Who was Rifaat al-Assad, commander of Syria’s 1982 Hama massacre?
EXPLAINER ‘Butcher of Hama’ and former Syrian vice president, convicted of money laundering in France and accused of war crimes in Switzerland, has died at age 89. Listen to this article Listen to this article | 5 mins Rifaat al-Assad, the uncle of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the former commander of the paramilitary “Defence Companies” (Saraya al-Difa), has died in the United Arab Emirates at the age of 89. The Reuters news agency cited two sources confirming his death on January 21, 2026. Rifaat had reportedly fled from Beirut to Dubai following the collapse of the Assad regime and the flight of his nephew to Russia in December 2024. Born in Qardaha, northwestern Syria, in 1937, Rifaat, a member of the country’s Alawite minority, was a central figure in the establishment of the Assad family’s rule in the 1970s. But he fell out with his brother, former President Hafez al-Assad, following a failed coup attempt in the early 1980s. Here is a brief timeline of the main events during the life and career of the man known as the “Butcher of Hama”. The Hama massacre Rifaat was notorious for his role in the 1982 crackdown on the city of Hama to suppress an uprising by the Muslim Brotherhood. Commanding the Defence Companies – a force of approximately 40,000 soldiers independent of the regular army – Rifaat led a siege on the city that lasted nearly a month. The operation involved heavy shelling and ground assaults. According to a 2022 report by the Syrian Network for Human Rights, the campaign resulted in approximately 40,000 deaths, and 17,000 people went missing. The assault destroyed entire neighbourhoods, including 79 mosques and three churches. In a 2011 televised interview, Rifaat denied responsibility for the events, claiming he “did not know Hama” and attributing the orders to his brother, Hafez. A photo taken in 1984 shows late Syrian president Hafez al-Assad (R) with his youngest brother, Rifaat, left, at a military ceremony in Damascus [AFP/HO] Rifaat’s rise to power – and a failed coup Advertisement Rifaat joined the Baath party in 1952 and rose through the military ranks. He played a key security role in the 1970 coup, which brought overthrew the former head of state, Salah Jadid, and brought Hafez al-Assad to power. In the late 1970s, as the regime faced internal opposition, Rifaat advocated for extreme measures. In a 1979 speech at a Baath party congress, he reportedly suggested “Stalinist” methods to purge opposition and proposed closing mosques to curb “sectarian ideology”. His influence peaked in the early 1980s, but tensions with his brother were mounting. In November 1983, while Hafez was ill, Rifaat attempted to seize control, deploying his own forces in Damascus. The confrontation ended in a standoff. By 1984, Hafez had regained control. Rifaat was stripped of his command, appointed to the ceremonial post of vice president and sent into exile. Reports at the time suggested he received $200m from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi as part of a settlement to leave the country. Exile and legal troubles Rifaat spent the next 36 years primarily in Europe, where he faced multiple legal challenges over the source of his wealth. France: In 2020, a French court sentenced him to four years in prison for money laundering and misappropriation of Syrian public funds, confiscating real estate assets worth an estimated $100m. Switzerland: In August 2023, the Swiss Federal Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Rifaat for his alleged role in war crimes committed in Hama in 1982. Assets Frozen: Authorities in the UK and Spain also froze family assets and investigated him for illicit financial activities. Return and death To avoid imprisonment in France, Rifaat returned to Syria in October 2021. Despite his previous calls in 2011 for Bashar al-Assad to step down, he appeared voting for his nephew in the May 2021 election at the Syrian embassy in Paris. Following the fall of the Assad government in December 2024, Lebanese security officials reported that Rifaat had left Syria for Dubai, where he passed away in January 2026. Adblock test (Why?)