QARDAHA: The tomb of ousted Syrian president Bashar Assad’s father Hafez was torched in his hometown of Qardaha, AFP footage taken Wednesday showed, with militant fighters in fatigues and young men watching it burn.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor told AFP the militants had set fire to the mausoleum, located in the Latakia heartland of Assad’s Alawite community.
AFP footage showed parts of the mausoleum ablaze and damaged, with the tomb of Hafez torched and destroyed.
The vast elevated structure atop a hill has an intricate architectural design with several arches, its exterior embellished with ornamentation etched in stone.
It also houses the tombs of other Assad family members, including Bashar’s brother Bassel, who was being groomed to inherit power before he was killed in a road accident in 1994.
On Sunday, a lightning offensive by militants seized key cities before reaching Damascus and forcing Assad to flee, ending more than 50 years of his family’s rule.
Tomb of Assad’s father set on fire in Syria hometown
https://arab.news/m963x
Tomb of Assad’s father set on fire in Syria hometown
Lolo Zouai teases new album for 2026
DUBAI: French Algerian singer and songwriter Lolo Zouai this week revealed that her new album has been submitted and is expected to be released later this year.
“2026. ALBUM SUBMITTED. LET’S… GOOO,” she wrote on Instagram, sharing a carousel of images of herself.
Fans quickly took to the comments section to congratulate the music sensation.
“OH MY GOD FINALLY!!! I’m so so so excited and proud of you omg, you did that,” one fan wrote, while another said: “some good news i needed this fr.”
Another comment read: “I’m so excited I just shed a tear… 2026 is so gonna be your year boo!!!! SEE U SOON!!”
Zouai’s latest release was in November, when she dropped a new single titled “3AM in San Francisco.” It was the first release of the year.
Zouai captioned her announcement post, “time to hit em with the bilingual,” hinting that the track features lyrics in English and French.
In 2024, Zouai dropped several tracks, including her “Please Hold” EP featuring “jetlag” and “UNHHH,” along with “mute” and “Potential.”
In June 2024, she also announced that she had written a song for K-pop group NewJeans for their Japanese debut.
She captioned the post at the time: “‘Right Now’ by @newjeans_official out now!! Written by me. I’ve been a fan of NewJeans for a while and I’m honored to be a part of their Japanese debut!
Known for her blend of R&B, club-pop and hip-hop, she has gained an international fan base for her dynamic stage presence and genre-blending music.
Her career highlights include the release of a debut album “High Highs to Low Lows” in 2019, which featured 12 tracks, and a follow-up “PLAYGIRL” in 2022, which included 13 tracks.
After the album’s release in October 2022, Zouai was featured on a billboard in New York’s Times Square.
She shared a video of herself posing in front of the billboard with fans. “I always said that one day, I would be on a billboard in Times Square. Today is that day,” she said in the short clip.
“Manifestation and hard work works,” she added.
The singer, who lives between Brooklyn and Los Angeles, embarked on a 30-stop tour for the album in 2023. The tour featured cities in the US, France, Canada, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.
