Regarding Bashar al-Assad’s fall and Syria’s transitional justice system, Mazhar al-Wais speaks.
The transitional government promises justice, truth, and rule of law as Syria turns the page following Bashar al-Assad’s overthrow.
Justice Minister Mazhar al-Wais tells Talk to Al Jazeera in his first interview since taking office that his organization intends to prosecute crimes committed during the war. However, critics claim that the procedure is too narrow and concentrates only on abuses committed during the Assad regime, while sectarian reprisals and violence result in new victims waiting for justice.
For their research into how the human immune system functions, Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi were awarded the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine.
The trio will receive the award in December for “their groundbreaking discoveries regarding peripheral immune tolerance, which prevents the immune system from harming the body,” according to the Swedish Karolinska Institute’s announcement on Monday.
According to Marie Wahren-Herlenius, a professor of rheumatology at the Karolinska Institute, the research “relates to how we keep our immune system under control so we can fight any microbes imaginable while avoiding autoimmune disease.”
Brunkow and Ramsdell, both 64, of the United States, and Sakaguchi, 74, of Japan, will each receive 11 million Swedish kronor ($1.17 million).
They will also receive gold medals from the Swedish king.
The prize-awarding organization stated in a statement that “their discoveries have laid the groundwork for a new field of research and spurred the development of new treatments, such as cancer and autoimmune diseases.”
The trio’s work, according to Olle Kampe, the Nobel Committee’s chair, has “decisively improved our understanding of how the immune system functions.”
Their collaboration dates back to 1995, when Sakaguchi made the initial breakthrough. Before Sakaguchi connected all of their work two years later, Brunkow and Ramsdell made a second breakthrough in 2001.
The Nobel Committee’s Secretary-General, Thomas Perlmann, claimed he had left voicemails for Brunkow and Ramsdell and that he had phoned Sakaguchi on Monday.
At his lab, I spoke with [Sakaguchi], and he sounded incredibly appreciative and said it was a great honor. Perlmann claimed that the news had taken him by surprise.
During a press conference to announce the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, (L-R) Shimon Sakaguchi, Fred Ramsdell, and Mary E. Brunkow’s portraits are displayed.
The annual Nobel Prizes, one of the most prestigious prizes in science, literature, peace, and economics, are kicked off with the medicine prize. In the coming days, the winners of the remaining prizes will be revealed.
Donald Trump, the president of the United States, has repeatedly argued that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize after claiming to have stopped seven wars since taking office at the start of the year.
At least 47 people have died in Nepal as a result of landslides and floods caused by heavy downpours, according to disaster officials.
Since Friday, torrential downpours have flooded Nepal, with many parts of the Himalayan region flooding and rivers inundated. According to a spokeswoman for Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, five people are missing.
In Ilam’s worst-hit eastern district, at least 37 people were killed by landslides.
Local district official Sunita Nepal reported that “heavy rains overnight caused the landslides.” “The affected areas have been reached by rescue workers. Due to the numerous roads that were blocked, it was challenging.
Along with the capital city of Kathmandu, rivers swelled, inundating settlements along the banks.
To aid in the rescue effort, security personnel used helicopters and motorboats.
Numerous travelers are stranded after landslides have obstructed several major highways and disrupted flights, many of whom have returned after the Hindu festival of Dashain.
Government organizations were “fully prepared for rescue and relief,” according to Prime Minister Sushila Karki.
Every year, South Asia is affected by monsoon rains, which typically fall in June from June to September, but there have been more fatal floods and landslides in recent years.
One person was critically injured when a 60-year-old man allegedly fired up to 50 bullets into a busy Sydney street, according to police in Australia.
As they looked for a reason for the recent mass shooting incident, which is unusual in Australia, detectives were scheduled to interview the suspect on Monday.
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The suspect shot a 30-caliber rifle at random from his apartment window at passing cars in Croydon Park on Sunday night, causing a wave of panic in the Sydney suburb of Croydon Park. To put an end to the assault, police stormed the unit and apprehended him.
At a press conference, New South Wales’ acting police superintendent Stephen Parry said, “It is unbelievable that nobody died.”
A 50-year-old man in his 50s was one of the victims who received a gunshot to the neck and chest. According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, he underwent emergency surgery while in critical condition at the hospital.
According to emergency services, 14 more people received shock or minor injuries at the scene, including those caused by broken car windows.
According to the ABC report, the suspect was also taken to a hospital for his injuries sustained during his arrest, but has since been transferred to a police station.
In Croydon Park in Sydney, a bus shelter has been set up at the scene of a shooting incident [Sitthixay Ditthavong/Reuters]
Armed weapons crimes
According to Parry, the suspect has no ties to organized crime or terrorist organizations.
According to the police official, there are “very few” prior interactions with authorities, and “no mental health history” is known to the officers.
It’s likely that there will be charges for firearms-related offenses.
Parry called the incident to be extremely unusual. There haven’t been many instances of this kind of shooting randomly at people in the street passing by cars in my 35 years in the police, he said.
Automatic and semiautomatic weapons have been outlawed in Australia since 1996, when a lone gunman killed 35 people in Port Arthur, Tasmania, in a case where mass shootings are not common.
In the busy suburb of Sydney, there was fear caused by the shooting.
Office worker Joe Azar claimed to be working across the road when he first heard rocks or fireworks being thrown at the windows.
The first award for physiology or medicine will be announced on Monday, beginning a week of eager anticipation for the Nobel Prize 2025.
The full schedule, which runs from October 6 through October 13, plots a quick succession of announcements, beginning with medicine, then moving on to physics, chemistry, literature, peace, and finally the economics prize on Monday.
What can you expect from this year’s Nobel Prizes, as well as the full schedule, as well as the full details.
The Nobel Prize is what?
Alfred Nobel, a Swedish chemist, engineer, and industrialist best known for discovering dynamite, was the creator of the Nobel Prize, a collection of the most prestigious international awards.
Nobel left the majority of his fortune to fund annual prizes in his 1895 will, honoring those who “have given the greatest benefit to humankind” in the previous year.
For outstanding achievements in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace, the first Nobel Prizes were given in 1901.
The Prize in Economic Sciences was established in 1968 by Sweden’s central bank, Sveriges Riksbank, bringing the total number of categories to six.
What is the prize money for the Nobel Prizes?
The Norwegian Nobel Committee (for peace), the Swedish Academy of Sciences (for physics, chemistry, and economics), the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institutet (for medicine), and the Swedish Academy (for literature) are among the organizations that award prizes.
The Nobel Foundation, which oversees Nobel’s endowment, awards each laureate with a gold medal, a diploma, and cash prizes. The recipients have a chance to become famous overnight, with prize money of 11 million Swedish kronor ($1.2 million) being awarded this year.
On December 10, the anniversary of Nobel’s passing in 1896, the awards are formally presented.
What is the schedule for the Nobel Prizes this year?
The announcements will begin on Monday, October 6, and will end on October 13 a week later.
Monday, October 6: Medicine or physiology?
The Nobel Forum in Solna, close to Stockholm, and the Karolinska Institutet, Wallenbergsalen, announced the news.
Tuesday, October 7: Physics
Stockholm’s Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences made the announcement.
Chemistry on Wednesday, October 8th.
Stockholm’s Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences made the announcement.
Thursday, October 9: Literature
Stockholm’s Swedish Academy made the announcement.
Friday, October 10, Peace
The Norwegian Nobel Committee Chair made an announcement at the Norwegian Institute.
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Alfred Nobel’s honor on October 13
Stockholm’s Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences made the announcement.
At a bilateral dinner with other secretaries at the White House in Washington, DC on July 7, 2025, US President Donald Trump received a nomination letter after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (not pictured) announced his nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.
What is anticipated to win the prizes this year?
For this year’s Nobel Prize in Medicine, speculation is rifling over hormones that control appetite.
Scientists behind the development of the hormone glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) are regarded as the frontrunners because there are more than a billion people in the world who are obese. Their discoveries transformed global treatment strategies, including Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro, to a new class of antiobesity and diabetes medications.
Jens Juul Holst, Joel Habener, Daniel Drucker, and Svetlana Mojsov, who were key players in the 1980s’ discovery and development, are said to be the likely honorees. Other researchers credit Japanese researchers Kenji Kangawa and Masayasu Kojima with their work on ghrelin, a hormone that increases appetite and might serve as a “bookend” to earlier discoveries like the 1994 leptin discovery.
Beyond medicine, there are some well-known physicists who are interested in metamaterial advancements, such as British physicist John Pendry’s work on the so-called “invisibility cloak,” a technique for moving electromagnetic fields around objects.
Why is this year’s Nobel Peace Prize closely watched?
Conflict is rife all over the world, including the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the growing humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, as well as civil wars and political repression in a number of nations.
However, Donald Trump, the president of the United States, has been the subject of some overblown headlines and debates about the Nobel Peace Prize this year, with some claiming to deserve it for “ending seven wars.”
Trump stated to delegates at the UN that “everyone believes that I should receive the Nobel Peace Prize.” Given that Israel had ended its two-year-long conflict in Gaza, Trump once more asserted that he “deserved” to win the victory on September 30.
However, experts have noted that he has a slim chance of succeeding. According to experts, the Norwegian Nobel Committee typically concentrates on the preservation of peace, the advancement of international fraternity, and the quiet work of institutions that advance those objectives.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Pakistan’s government are among the nominees for Trump this year, even though both were submitted after the award’s 2025 deadline.
One of the Nobel Prize-winning organizations has also reaffirmed the president’s political interference in academic freedom.
The Trump administration’s changes were reckless, according to Ylva Engstrom, vice president of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which administers the prizes for chemistry, physics, and economics. In an interview with the Reuters news agency, she said, “I think it can have devastating effects, both short and long term.” One of the pillars of the democratic system is “academic freedom.”
However, Engstrom does not sit on any of the three committees that will decide whether to award the chemistry, physics, or economics prizes.
Norwegians in Oslo, Norway, on December 10, 2024, marching through a torch parade in honor of the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize winners.
What takes place during the Nobel Prize ceremony?
The Nobel Prizes are formally presented at twin ceremonies in Stockholm and Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel’s passing.
Sweden’s royal family attends the Stockholm ceremony, where Nobel Prize winners in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and economic sciences receive their medals and diplomas from the king of Sweden.
The Oslo City Hall honors Nobel’s wish for the Oslo Peace Prize to be awarded there. The Norwegian Nobel Committee chair presents the Nobel Peace Prize in honor of Nobel’s request.
The Nobel medal, diploma, and cash award are presented to each winner on a specially designated stage. Committee chair speeches that emphasize the significance of their discoveries or contributions are also presented at the ceremony.
More than 1, 000 guests, including royals, diplomats, scientists, and former Nobel laureates, are invited to the lavish Nobel Banquet at Stockholm’s City Hall after the event is broadcast internationally.
Who won these awards last year?
The discovery of microRNAs, tiny RNA molecules that control gene expression after transcription, earned them the 2024 Nobel Prize in Medicine.
The prize was presented to John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey E. Hinton in physics for their pioneering work that laid the foundations of contemporary machine learning and artificial neural networks. While Hopfield’s models in the 1980s made connections between computation and neuroscience, Hinton’s work revolutionized deep learning, enabling improvements in natural language processing, artificial intelligence (AI) systems, and image recognition.
David Baker, Demis Hassabis, and John M. Jumper each received the prize in chemistry for their contributions to computational modeling’s ability to predict and design protein structures. Hassabis and Jumper from Google’s DeepMind were recognized for creating AlphaFold, the AI system that predicted nearly all known protein structures with unprecedented accuracy, while Baker was honored for developing algorithms that enable scientists to design new proteins with specific functions.
Han Kang, a South Korean author known for her eerie explorations of violence, identity, and collective memory, won the prize in the literature category. Han, who is best known internationally for her novels The Vegetarian and Human Acts, was cited for “her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.”
Nihon Hidankyo, the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations, was honored for its decades-long effort to end nuclear weapons and preserve the testimony of Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors.
Around 250, 000 protesters in Amsterdam’s “red line” demonstration against Israel’s genocide in Gaza, chanting for a ceasefire and sanctions from the Dutch government, according to protest organizers. Step Vaessen from Al Jazeera was present.
