News

Julian Assange Is Released From Prison After A US Plea Deal

The negotiations will be finalized in a US court in the North Mariana Islands on June 26.

Published

2 years ago

June 25, 2024

julian assange is released from prison after a us plea deal

Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder and former editor-in-chief, has been released from prison in the UK after agreeing to plead guilty to violating the US Espionage Act.

The WikiLeaks account on X, formerly Twitter, revealed the news after Assange was granted bail by the High Court in London. It also tweeted a video appearing to show Assange at London’s Stansted airport boarding a plane.

The controversial figure is expected to appear in a US courtroom in the Northern Mariana Islands on June 26 to finalize his plea deal with the US Justice Department. Prosecutors have recommended a sentence of 62 months, but as Assange has already spent over five years in a UK prison, he won’t be incarcerated in the US and will instead return to Australia — his country of citizenship — straight after legal proceedings.

Assange was editor-in-chief of the WikiLeaks website when it published classified information about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, uncovered by whistleblower Chelsea Manning, a former Army intelligence officer. By 2010, Sweden had issued an arrest warrant for Assange over sexual assault allegations by two women.

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After a warrant was issued for his arrest, Julian Assange sought asylum at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. He lived there for seven years until being evicted for “discourteous and aggressive behavior,” at which point he was arrested by London’s Metropolitan Police on behalf of the US government.

In WikiLeaks’ announcement of Assange’s release, it stated that he had left Belmarsh maximum security prison “after having spent 1,901 days there”. The organization added that the “global campaign” by “press freedom campaigners, legislators, and leaders from across the political spectrum” allowed “a long period of negotiations with the US Department of Justice” that led to the successful plea deal.

News

Syria Just Got Its First Super App Featuring Built-In Digital Payments

Built by UAE-based Syrian founders with the Ministry of Tourism’s backing, My Syria lands as visitor numbers more than double.

Published

5 days ago

August 1, 2026

Nour Nasir

syria just got its first super app featuring built-in digital payments

For most of the past decade, paying for anything in Syria with an international card was effectively impossible. Sanctions, a collapsed banking sector, and years of isolation left the country running on cash. That is what makes the launch of My Syria — the country’s first super app — more than a routine product announcement.

Developed by 121 Living, a company founded by four UAE-based Syrian entrepreneurs — Rami Kaiem, Feras Kaiem, Waseem Qudmani, and Kinan Madi — the app launched in Damascus on July 30 under the patronage of Minister of Tourism Mazen Al-Salhani. It bundles hotels, restaurants, transport, attractions, food delivery, and other lifestyle services into a single platform, currently offering eight services with plans to expand to more than 40 verified tourism and hospitality providers across the country.

Although the app already sounds enticing, the headline feature is its built-in payments. My Syria is the first platform in Syria to support cross-border digital payments through Apple Pay, Google Pay, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express — familiar tools for international visitors, and a route into the digital economy for local businesses that have long operated outside it.

my syria super app launch event

The launch rides on a sharp rebound for the troubled country. Syria’s tourism sector recorded 3.52 million visitor arrivals in the first half of 2026, a 111 percent increase over the 1.67 million during the same period in 2025 — a mix of returning expatriates, regional visitors, and international tourists.

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The Ministry of Tourism, which supported and supervised the app’s development, frames the launch as proof of concept for a wider strategy. “Digital transformation is one of the Ministry’s strategic priorities because it enables us to build a more competitive, connected and investment-ready tourism sector,” Al-Salhani said, inviting technology companies “globally, regionally and locally” to explore opportunities across the wider economy.

For 121 Living, this is phase one, with additional services and expanded geographic coverage planned. Whether a super app can flourish in a market still rebuilding its infrastructure is an open question, but for the first time in years, a visitor to Damascus can pay for dinner with their phone.