The Paris criminal court on Monday convicted French cement company Lafarge and eight of its former executives of financing terrorism after determining that the firm had paid around 5.6 million euros to three jihadist groups, primarily ISIS, to keep its factory operating in Syria from 2013 to 2014.

The court ruled that these payments helped prepare terrorist attacks, including the January 2015 attacks in France. Former chief executive Bruno Lafont was given a six-year prison sentence, while the other former executives received terms ranging from 18 months to seven years.

Syria Continues Struggle to Trace Fate of Missing Thousands

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Turkey's Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said the country has opened a 350-kilometer railway line along the Syrian border to train traffic after upgrading its infrastructure to make it more robust rather than merely resuming operations.

𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗼𝗿 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

Central Bank Governor Abdulkader Husrieh speaking during a panel hosted by the Middle East Institute, moderated by the British analyst Charles Lister:

📌 From day one, we focused on rebuilding international engagement and opening channels with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank for technical cooperation.

📌 We introduced a new currency to clearly define the monetary base and manage monetary policy on verified, real data.

📌 In a bold step, we required banks to fully provision around 1.7 billion US dollars in exposure to Lebanese banks and non-performing loans (Stage 3).

📌 This allowed us to move forward after six months into a second wave of banking and financial sector reforms.

📌 We also advanced modernization of the payment system through partnerships with Mastercard and Visa.

𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗚𝗮𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆-𝗟𝗲𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵

Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Yisr Barnieh addressing mistrust between the government and the Syrian people:

📌 We are facing a huge trust gap, rooted in a long history where the Ministry of Finance was often perceived as acting in a way that harassed the business community rather than supported it.

📌 From my side, I chose not to wait, but to take the initiative in building trust gradually through engagement and consultation with all stakeholders around the table.

📌 Even when drafting the tax system, it was done in coordination with the Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of Industry as a shared process.

📌 When colleagues raised concerns about transparency and advised against publishing, I insisted on full disclosure, including publishing the budget and all related information.

📌 Full transparency is our principle, and we will remain accountable for everything we do, because trust is built through openness and responsibility.

𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀, 𝗢𝗶𝗹 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗭𝗲𝗿𝗼 𝗖𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻

Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Yisr Barnieh:

📌 We created two budget funds, including a reconstruction fund for Al-Jazeera region, focused on roads, schools, hospitals, and basic services.

📌 Every dollar from oil and gas revenues is now fully recorded in the budget, ensuring unprecedented transparency.

📌 We launched a national plan to end all camps by 2027, with a total cost of around 3 billion US dollars.

📌 Funding will come from the budget and concessional loans, limited to strategic, social, and infrastructure projects where private sector participation is not viable.

𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗼𝗿 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀, 𝗟𝗲𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵

Central Bank Governor Abdulkader Husrieh:

📌 We asked Lebanese banks, with Lebanese strategic partners, to take full provisions against their exposure — this is not a write-off, and the rights and claims remain fully valid

📌 From an accounting perspective, provisions are now fully recognized, while the legal and financial claims remain intact.

📌 Syrian depositors across four generations have suffered repeated financial losses linked to Lebanon’s banking and currency crises over decades.

📌 These include losses following earlier nationalization waves, the 1975 war period, the Lebanese pound devaluation, and the 2019 banking crisis.

📌 Our priority is to defend depositor rights and address exposures under the supervision of the Central Bank of Syria through a structured, phased process.

The gas tanker GAS SERENITY arrived at Baniyas terminal Monday with 11,600 metric tons of gas. Syrian Petroleum Company began unloading it. Additional tankers will follow to enhance supply stability for the local market.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said the Syrian people are free to choose their leadership, political system, and future relations in a new phase, stressing the group has no involvement in Syria’s internal affairs.

He warned against attempts to incite tensions between Syria and Lebanon, describing such efforts as a “major crime,” and affirmed that Hezbollah’s only enemy remains Israel, which he said operates under US cover.

Syrian-Turkish Officials Map New Economic Pathways

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Three people were killed and others injured after a landmine left from the former regime exploded under a passing vehicle in the Tal Salma area in the Hama countryside.

President Ahmad al-Sharaa met businessman Muhammad Sharbati in Damascus to discuss developing Syria’s textile industry. Sharbati, a leading textile industrialist and former head of Aleppo’s Chamber of Industry, has founded major companies in Syria and abroad and recently launched a pharmaceutical firm in Aleppo.