One year on since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, Syria has seen new social media platforms, student movements and cultural groups emerge as spaces for debate and reform. But uncertainty over these freedoms remain, as Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid explains.
Here are the nominees in key categories for the 83rd Golden Globe Awards, which will be handed out on January 11.
“One Battle After Another” leads all contenders with nine nods, followed by “Sentimental Value” with eight and “Sinners” with seven.
“Frankenstein”
“Hamnet”
“It Was Just An Accident.”
“The Secret Agent”
“Sentimental Value”
“Sinners”
“Blue Moon”
“Bugonia”
“Marty Supreme”
“No Other Choice”
“Nouvelle Vague”
“One Battle After Another”
Joel Edgerton, “Train Dreams”
Oscar Isaac, “Frankenstein”
Dwayne Johnson, “The Smashing Machine”
Michael B. Jordan, “Sinners”
Wagner Moura, “The Secret Agent”
Jeremy Allen White, “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere”
Jessie Buckley, “Hamnet”
Jennifer Lawrence, “Die, My Love”
Renate Reinsve, “Sentimental Value”
Julia Roberts, “After the Hunt”
Tessa Thompson, “Hedda”
Eva Victor, “Sorry, Baby”
Timothee Chalamet, “Marty Supreme”
George Clooney, “Jay Kelly”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “One Battle After Another”
Ethan Hawke, “Blue Moon”
Lee Byung-hun, “No Other Choice”
Jesse Plemons, “Bugonia”
Rose Byrne, “If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You”
Cynthia Erivo, “Wicked: For Good”
Kate Hudson, “Song Sung Blue”
Chase Infiniti, “One Battle After Another”
Amanda Seyfried, “The Testament of Ann Lee”
Emma Stone, “Bugonia”
Benicio Del Toro, “One Battle After Another”
Jacob Elordi, “Frankenstein”
Paul Mescal, “Hamnet”
Sean Penn, “One Battle After Another”
Adam Sandler, “Jay Kelly”
Stellan Skarsgard, “Sentimental Value”
READ ALSO: Hollywood Awards Race Heats Up With Golden Globes Noms
Emily Blunt, “The Smashing Machine”
Elle Fanning, “Sentimental Value”
Ariana Grande, “Wicked: For Good”
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, “Sentimental Value”
Amy Madigan, “Weapons”
Teyana Taylor, “One Battle After Another”
Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another”
Ryan Coogler, “Sinners”
Guillermo Del Toro, “Frankenstein”
Jafar Panahi, “It Was Just An Accident”
Joachim Trier, “Sentimental Value”
Chloe Zhao, “Hamnet”
“It Was Just An Accident” (France)
“No Other Choice” (South Korea)
“The Secret Agent” (Brazil)
“Sentimental Value” (Norway)
“Sirat” (Spain)
“The Voice of Hind Rajab” (Tunisia)
“Avatar: Fire and Ash”
“F1”
“KPop Demon Hunters”
“Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning”
“Sinners”
“Weapons”
“Wicked: For Good”
“Zootopia 2”
“Arco”
“Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba — Infinity Castle”
“Elio”
“KPop Demon Hunters”
“Little Amelie or the Character of Rain”
“Zootopia 2”
“The Diplomat”
“The Pitt”
“Pluribus”
“Severance”
“Slow Horses”
“The White Lotus”
Sterling K. Brown, “Paradise”
Diego Luna, “Andor”
Gary Oldman, “Slow Horses”
Mark Ruffalo, “Task”
Adam Scott, “Severance”
Noah Wyle, “The Pitt”
Kathy Bates, “Matlock”
Britt Lower, “Severance”
Helen Mirren, “Mobland”
Bella Ramsey, “The Last of Us”
Keri Russell, “The Diplomat”
Rhea Seehorn, “Pluribus”
“Abbott Elementary”
“The Bear”
“Hacks”
“Nobody Wants This”
“Only Murders in the Building”
“The Studio”
Adam Brody, “Nobody Wants This”
Steve Martin, “Only Murders in the Building”
Glen Powell, “Chad Powers”
Seth Rogen, “The Studio”
Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building”
Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear”
READ ALSO: ‘One Battle After Another’ Leads Golden Globes Noms With Nine
Kristen Bell, “Nobody Wants This”
Ayo Edebiri, “The Bear”
Selena Gomez, “Only Murders in the Building”
Natasha Lyonne, “Poker Face”
Jenna Ortega, “Wednesday”
Jean Smart, “Hacks”
“Adolescence”
“All Her Fault”
“The Beast in Me”
“Black Mirror”
“Dying for Sex”
“The Girlfriend”
Jacob Elordi, “The Narrow Road to the Deep North”
Paul Giamatti, “Black Mirror”
Stephen Graham, “Adolescence”
Charlie Hunnam, “Monster: The Ed Gein Story”
Jude Law, “Black Rabbit”
Matthew Rhys, “The Beast in Me”
Claire Danes, “The Beast in Me”
Rashida Jones, “Black Mirror”
Amanda Seyfried, “Long Bright River”
Sarah Snook, “All Her Fault”
Michelle Williams, “Dying for Sex”
Robin Wright, “The Girlfriend”
“One Battle After Another” – 9
“Sentimental Value” – 8
“Sinners” – 7
“Hamnet” – 6
“Frankenstein” – 5
“Wicked: For Good” – 5
Liverpool have been thrown into fresh chaos after Mohamed Salah unleashed his frustrations in an extraordinary off-the-cuff interview on Saturday night, ramping up speculation that his time with the club is coming to a bitter end.
The ‘Egyptian King,’ who has faced criticism for rarely speaking to the media, didn’t hold back with his views on the current state of play, admitting he currently has “no relationship” with manager Arne Slot. Speaking after the Premier League champions were held to a 3-3 draw away to Leeds United, he even accused Liverpool of breaking promises and throwing him “under the bus” by using him as a scapegoat for their recent slump in form.
Clearly frustrated after being stuck on the bench for three games in a row, the 33-year-old admitted that he is “hurt” by the current situation and doesn’t feel he has to earn his place in the starting line-up given his long-standing contributions to the club. He spent Sunday speaking to his agent about his future, with the January transfer window suddenly looming large. Salah also made a cryptic remark about “protecting players,’ amidst the whole squad’s deep grief over the sudden death of Diogo Jota.
READ MORE: The REAL reasons why Arne Slot dropped Mohamed Salah as Liverpool crisis deepensREAD MORE: Mo Salah agreement reached as Liverpool star told there is no way back after outburst
And now the crisis has escalated, as Salah has been left out of the squad for the Champions League tie against Inter Milan. The team have flown to Italy today ahead of Tuesday’s game against Inter. Salah trained with his team-mates on Merseyside on Monday, but was then left behind.
“I’m very, very disappointed to be fair. I have done so much for this club, everybody can see that during the years and especially last season,” the Liverpool legend said on Saturday night.
“Sitting on the bench, I don’t know why, it seems like the club has thrown me under the bus. That’s how I feel. I think it’s very clear that someone wants me to get all the blame. The club promised me in the summer for a lot of promises and nothing. So far, I’m on the bench three games.
“So I can’t say that they keep the promise. I said that many times before, I had a good relationship with the manager and all of a sudden we don’t have any relationship. I don’t know why. It seems to me, how I see it, that someone doesn’t want me in the club.
“But again, this club I always support it, my kids will always support it. I love the club so much and I will always do. I called my mum and I told her to come to the Brighton game, it doesn’t matter if I play or not, I’m going to enjoy it.
Decoding Salah’s bombshell interview, body language expert Judi James told The Mirror: “Salah’s projected social signals here suggest a desire to appear accessible and personable as though relating his crisis to close friends rather than the press.
“The clue to this state is his smile, which is an ongoing trait even when it is contradictory or incongruent to his words. It shows an attempt to appear stoic and likeable. When he says ‘I’m very disappointed’ the smile is there in place although it would be analysed as a ‘Misery Smile’, i.e. one that is usually performed in a bid to appear brave in the face of adversity.
“There are also more dramatic non-verbal moments where he gives a glimpse of completely opposite emotions. When he stops smiling here, we can see an emphatic and rather painful-looking poking of his left eye with his fingers, followed by a downward dragging of the skin. This would suggest emotional exhaustion or even a self-attack ritual where someone ‘attacks’ themselves, usually by nail or lip-biting, because they can’t launch an ‘attack’ on the person giving them grief.”
“There is a wry, mirthless laugh when he speaks about being on the bench for three games,” the expert revealed. “And when he talks about his relationship with the manager, his gestures go from a reflective-looking wiping of his beard and downward gaze to a more dramatic: ‘I don’t get it!’ which comes with a sudden rise in his vocal tone as he squeezes his eyes shut and shakes his head in an expression of pain.”
Looking ahead to Liverpool’s next game against Brighton on Saturday, Salah told reporters: “We’ll see what’s going to happen. But in my head I’m going to enjoy that game, if I play or not, if I’m on the bench or not because I don’t know what’s going to happen now. I’m just going to be in Anfield, say goodbye to the fans, go to the Africa Cup (of Nations) because I don’t know what’s going to happen when I’m there.”
“It’s not acceptable to me to be fair. If I was somewhere else, every club would protect its players. Now it’s: ‘Throw Mo under the bus because he is a problem in a team’. I don’t think I am a problem. I am not fighting for my position every day because I have earned it. I am not bigger than the club. I am not bigger than anything. But I have earned it.”
James notes that “there is a hugely exaggerated mouth shrug of dismissal and sadness when Salah says he has ‘done so much for this club’,” explaining: “He pulls the corners of his lips down and closes his eyes here.”
She continued: “His ‘throwing me under the bus’ quote comes with another emphatic wiping of the right side of his face with his hand to hint at some form of exhaustion or frustration here. When saying ‘someone wants me to get all the blame,’ he throws a very sad eye expression straight into the camera.”
And now an agreement behind the scenes appears to have been reached as Liverpool are said to be ‘open-minded’ about the prospect of selling the star player. Salah is under contract until June 2027, after signing a new deal earlier this year worth £350,000 per week. The Liverpool champ, who will soon head off to the Africa Cup of Nations, has long been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia.
His contract extension in April appeared to dampen that speculation but the prospect of a transfer now seems to have reopened. Al-Hilal – previously reported to have considered a £150million bid for the forward – are believed to be among the favourites for his signature. Comments from former Al-Hilal manager Jorge Jesus suggest they would welcome him with open arms. “I would like to have Salah at Al-Hilal, he has a way of playing that fits the team,” Jesus said in February this year.
Meanwhile, Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk told his team-mates that no one deserves special treatment just days before Mo Salah argued that he shouldn’t need to fight for his place on the squad. When asked if Salah’s absence from the starting line-up for Wednesday’s 1-1 draw at home to Sunderland should serve as a message to the Reds’ dressing room, Van Dijk responded: “That’s always been the case. It’s not like you have unlimited credit, everyone has to perform.
“Mo has been doing that but the manager made that decision in the last two games. We all want the best for the club. I am pretty sure Mo will still be a big part of what we are trying to achieve because he is an amazing player and he has shown it consistently.
“But we are all trying to find consistency and he needs us to be in our best shape and we need him and that’s what we are all trying to find. He is still a fantastic player and we still have to remember there is a reason why he has been so successful at the club and we have to respect that.
Award-winning rapper Ghetts has pleaded guilty to causing the death of a young man in a hit-and-run collision. The grime artist, whose real name is Justin Clarke-Samuel, failed to stop after his BMW hit 20-year-old Yubin Tamang in north-east London.
On Monday, Clarke-Samuel, 41, who appeared at the Old Bailey via videolink from Pentonville Prison, pleaded guilty to causing Mr Tamang’s death by dangerous driving on 18 October 2025.
He also pleaded guilty to a charge of dangerous driving when he was at the wheel of a BMW M5 in Tavistock Place and other London roads in Camden, Islington and Hackney on the same day.
Judge Mark Lucraft KC told Clarke-Samuel “the only sentence to be passed is a custodial sentence” but the length of his jail term has yet to be determined. He is due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey on February 12.
Clarke-Samuel, who is in custody, was disqualified from driving with immediate effect but the length of the ban has yet to be fixed. He also faces two charges which are set to be dealt with at his next court appearance.
This includes a charge of causing death by careless driving when over the limit for alcohol. It is alleged he was over the prescribed limit as he drove with 119 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath on October 18, the charge states. Clarke-Samuel also faces a further dangerous driving charge.
It is alleged he dangerously drove a BMW M5 on Worcester Crescent and other roads in Redbridge, east London, on the same day. Mr Tamang was an only child and his parents had sent him to the UK to receive an education.
Ghetts is a rapper and songwriter who has collaborated on tracks with Skepta, Stormzy and Ed Sheeran, and performed at Glastonbury multiple times including in 2024. He won best male act at the 2021 Mobo Awards and received the Mobo pioneer award in 2024.
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Syrians have taken to the streets to celebrate the first anniversary of the removal of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad amid renewed optimism that conditions will continue to improve as the country recovers from the effects of nearly 14 years of war.
Fireworks rang out, and flags dotted cities across the country on Monday, marking one year since the al-Assad dynasty fell after a lightning 11-day offensive by opposition forces ended its 53-year rule.
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President Ahmed al-Sharaa, speaking at a press conference in Damascus, paid tribute to those who fought to overthrow the former regime.
“To those who are now present here in the heart of history, you are shaping a story of intrepidness and bravery,” he said.
“Today we mark one year of liberating Syria from the shackles of tyranny and dictatorship, restoring the country once again to greatness. Stand with your heads held high. We had lost our homeland for more than five decades, during which this gang attempted to fleece it of its civilisation, history and traditions.”
Earlier, dressed in military uniform, al-Sharaa performed the dawn prayer at the Umayyad Mosque to commemorate the anniversary. “No one will stand in our way, no matter how big or powerful they are,” he said.
“We will face all challenges, God willing. From its north to its south, from its east to its west, we will rebuild a strong Syria worthy of its present and its past, a Syria that supports the oppressed and establishes justice among the people.”
Military parades organised by the Ministry of Defence took place in Damascus and across several provinces, including in Hama, Homs and Deir Az Zor.
Over the last year, the new government has taken steps to provide basic services to citizens.
A presidential decree in June raised civil servants’ minimum monthly salaries.
Repair and maintenance work began on the country’s power grid, with main cities, including Aleppo, Homs and Damascus, receiving uninterrupted electricity on a trial basis for the first time in 15 years.
Prisons that left dark marks on the Syrian public, including Sednaya, the Mezzeh military prison, and Khatib, were also permanently closed.
But while the mood in the nation is joyous, with people celebrating on the streets, chanting, singing and waving flags, “there’s a lot of work to be done”, said Al Jazeera’s Assed Baig, reporting from Aleppo.
The city, which was split until 2016 between opposition fighters and pro-Assad forces, took a “real battering” that will “cost billions of dollars to rebuild and restore”, he said.
“That’s why the government is looking to international partners for investment, to help with the rebuilding of this country, especially Aleppo, because the fighting here was so fierce,” said Baig.
Meanwhile, millions of refugees and members of the diaspora are weighing the decision to return home and rebuild their lives after the fall of al-Assad, who fled to Russia a year ago.
The war started as a largely unarmed uprising against al-Assad in March 2011, but quickly morphed into a full-blown conflict that killed hundreds of thousands of people. It also led to one of the world’s largest migration crises, with some 6.8 million Syrians, about a third of the population, fleeing the country at the war’s peak in 2021, seeking refuge wherever they could find it.
More than 782,000 Syrians have returned to Syria from other countries over the past year, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Despite the rise in returns, limited job opportunities and high living costs continue to undermine long-term resettling. Housing remains unaffordable for many, leaving returnees in damaged homes or expensive rental units.
Young people in Syria are particularly hopeful about change, but the need for more jobs and for the economy to revive is urgent.
“Only a part of the dream came true,” student Maha Khalil told Al Jazeera.
“We have victory, but we lost years, homes, children. The real story begins now. We hope we will rebuild, but the youth are thinking of going abroad. And those who are abroad are afraid of coming back.”
Syria received international support on its anniversary, with United Nations chief Antonio Guterres reaffirming the organisation’s commitment to ensure the success of Syria’s political transition.
“On this anniversary, we stand united in purpose – to build a foundation of peace and prosperity and renew our pledge to a free, sovereign, united and inclusive Syria,” he said.
Heiko Wimmen, International Crisis Group’s project director for Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, told Al Jazeera that while the international legitimisation of al-Sharaa has “been a spectacular success”, his government must now shift its gaze inwards.
The government should primarily focus on rebuilding the economy after the lifting of international sanctions, “which takes time, because capital and investments are cautious, as they should be”, Wimmen said.
It should also “revive political life”, he added.
For years, Syria’s leaders were programmed to “monopolise power”, an approach that will no longer work as they attempt to include all citizens in the political mix.
Israeli forces have raided the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in occupied East Jerusalem, seizing items and replacing the UN flag with Israel’s flag.
In a statement on X, the agency’s commissioner-general, Philippe Lazzarini, said Israeli police, accompanied by municipal officials, forcibly entered its compound in Sheikh Jarrah early on Monday morning.
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“Police motorcycles, as well as trucks and forklifts, were brought in and all communications were cut. Furniture, IT equipment and other property was seized,” he said. “The UN flag was pulled down and replaced with an Israeli flag.”
UNRWA has not used the building since the beginning of the year after Israeli authorities ordered the agency to vacate all of its premises and halt operations inside Israel.
Lazzarini said this follows “months of harassment that included arson attacks in 2024, hateful demonstrations and intimidation, supported by a large-scale disinformation campaign, as well as anti-UNRWA legislation passed by the Israeli parliament in breach of its international obligations”.
Israel barred UNRWA from operating on its soil after claiming some employees had participated in the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. UNRWA denied the allegations, while in October the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found that Israel’s allegations against UNRWA were unsubstantiated.
Still, Israel’s claims prompted the United States, historically UNRWA’s largest donor, to suspend funding.
UNRWA was forced to repatriate its international staff from Gaza and the occupied West Bank, severely limiting aid distribution at a time when Palestinians are facing extreme shortages of food and shelter amid Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.
In October, the ICJ issued an advisory opinion reaffirming Israel’s legal obligation to support UN relief efforts in Gaza, including those carried out by UNRWA, and to cooperate with UN agencies operating in the occupied territories.
Lazzarini condemned the latest attack on UNRWA as a direct violation of international law, saying it showed “a blatant disregard of Israel’s obligation as a United Nations Member State to protect & respect the inviolability of UN premises”.
While Israel has attempted to strip the compound of its UN status, Lazzarini said its actions have no legal effect.
“However, whatever action taken domestically, the compound retains its status as a UN premises, immune from any form of interference,” he said, adding that Israel is a signatory to the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the UN.
UNRWA is the largest humanitarian organisation operating in Gaza and the West Bank, and also provides schooling, healthcare, social services and shelter to millions of Palestinian refugees across the Middle East.
For Palestinians, the agency’s existence is tied to their internationally recognised right of return to homes from which they or their families were expelled during the creation of Israel in 1948.