The security situation in Syria's southern province of Suwayda', which is formally under Syrian government control, continues to be problematic, with frequent incidents of kidnappings and other criminal activities. Recently, one individual called Osama Hamad al-Matni, who belonged to the local 'Faz'at Fakhr' faction, was found dead. Below is a very brief outline of his life.

[Click here to continue reading, free access]:

https://aymennaltamimi.substack.com/p/the-life-of-osama-ahmad-al-matni

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While the Islamic State has sought over the years to consolidate and streamline its official media output, the organisation does encourage supporters of the group to produce their own propaganda materials, seeing them as an important front in the media war for the cause. Occasionally, some material of historical value turns up in the realms of unofficial and supporting output.

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https://aymennaltamimi.substack.com/p/in-loving-memory-of-the-shuhada-stories

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It has been more than a month now since the initial earthquake whose epicentre was in southern Turkey, causing widespread damage in the southern Turkey-northwest Syria border areas. The aftermath of the earthquake and subsequent aftershocks are still being felt in the region. Among the affected localities is the village of Dudyan in north Aleppo province, presently located in the 'Euphrates Shield' zone controlled by 'revolutionary' factions supported by Turkey. The village is known for how it changed hands multiple times in the fighting between those factions and the Islamic State prior to the commencement of the Euphrates Shield operation.

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My friend Jasmine El-Gamal, who worked for twenty years in the realms of national security and 'counter-extremism,' has since transitioned to advising on and advocating for mental health awareness and care in the workplace, particularly in stressful environments. Not too long ago, she was profiled by Clara Galtier in the French newspaper Le Figaro. Besides editing the English translation of the article and translating it into Arabic, I also decided (as a novelty to mark her career transition) to render the French article into Latin, and the translation is presented below. Be sure to follow Jasmine as she recounts and intends to recount many of her interesting experiences from Iraq, Guantánamo Bay and Washington DC, among other places, while also hosting a podcast on mental health in the workplace that will feature some great interviews.

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When considering antiquity, late antiquity and the early Middle Ages, it is worth pondering the basis for terms we may regularly use in our narratives and analyses of those periods and whether they are used or reflected in the sources of those times. For example, to my knowledge, the exact formulation 'Western Roman Empire' (Latin: e.g. imperium Romanum occidentale) is not used in an ancient source from the time it existed (up to 476/480 CE). On the other hand, the term is suitable in describing the division of the realms of the Roman Empire in late antiquity into two imperial courts that were de facto independent of each other even as there was nominally still one empire.

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