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Monday, March 26, 2018

March 26, 2017

Eastern Ghouta on the brink

In Syria, the evacuation of Eastern Ghouta began after two of the three rebel groups that were controlling the enclave since 2013 surrendered.

Over the weekend, thousands of Eastern Ghouta residents were bussed out of the heavily besieged Damascus suburb
Two Russia-brokered deals were reached on Wednesday and Friday
The White Helmets' Raed al-Saleh made the case for safe passage on Al Jazeera, writing that Syria and Russia were pursuing a "scorched-earth warfare strategy"
On Friday, it was reported that at least 37 people, mostly women and children, were burned to death after napalm gas attacks hit a shelter in the town of Irbin
The heavy military offensive by Russia-backed Syrian forces in Eastern Ghouta has killed more than 1,500 since it got underway in mid-February. Here's what's happening and why.

Find our full coverage of the seven-year-old Syrian civil war here.

Saudi Arabia's bin Salman comes to the US

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman kicked off his two-week visit to the US on Monday.

Why the long trip? One analyst told Al Jazeera it's got a lot to do with Saudi's "image problem"
When they met on Tuesday, Trump held up charts showing Saudi purchases of US military equipment, while bin Salman said the foundations of the US-Saudi relationship were "really huge and deep"
Meanwhile, US legislators rejected a motion to end involvement in the war in Yemen
Rights groups decried the result of the vote: "Every house has its own sad story in Yemen now"
On Thursday, the US Department of State said it had approved a possible arms sale to Saudi worth more than $1bn
Is bin Salman really the reformer he's portraying to be? On UpFront, a self-exiled Saudi journalist told Mehdi Hasan bin Salman would never open the kingdom to democracy.

Check out all our reporting on Mohammed bin Salman here.

Don't miss

Hundreds of thousands of students, teachers and their supporters participated in the March for Our Lives in Washington, DC, and more than 800 cities worldwide on Sunday. Last week, Al Jazeera spoke to some of the US students leading the mass protests for gun control.

On Wednesday, African leaders signed a free trade agreement that aims to boost trade within the continent. Here's what you need to know about the deal.

Putin's re-election means he surpasses Leonid Brezhnev as the longest-serving leader in Russia's modern history. Do the two have more in common than their longevity?

In 2014, Ukraine announced a plan to fortify the Russian border with a wall, but several years later, the project was stalled by a lack of funds and corruption charges.

Ten were killed in Kashmir on Tuesday after a gun battle between Indian soldiers and separatist fighters. Al Jazeera reported on how Kashmiris use art to challenge Indian rule.

In Zimbabwe, Grace Mugabe is under investigation for ivory smuggling.

Last Tuesday marked the 15th anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq. In an opinion piece, Tallha Abdulrazaq calls it "the original sin of the 21st century".

Peru on Friday changed presidents after Pedro Pablo Kuczynski resigned amid corruption allegations.

In his latest staffing reshuffle, Trump on Thursday replaced national security adviser HR McMaster with John Bolton, who has a track record of strong statements on issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Iran nuclear deal. Is the US becoming more belligerent?

Meanwhile, Andrew Mitrovica in an opinion piece said a "Trump-like virus" might be spreading to Canada.

On Wednesday the Nigerian government said most of the 110 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram last month had been released.

In Seoul, sex workers were hit hard by a government crackdown.

And Monday marks exactly two years since the start of military intervention by a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.Here's an overview of every Saudi-led coalition air raid in the country.

With polling booths opening in Egypt on Monday, here's what you need to know about what experts have called a "sham" presidential election between incumbent Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and a Sisi loyalist.

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Monday, March 26, 2018