Assad, Asma al-Assad, is said to be battling leukemia, with doctors giving her a '50/50' chance of survival. The 49-year-old and her husband are currently in Moscow after being forced into exile when Islamist rebels overthrew Assad's brutal regime.

Cliche has it that behind every great man stands a woman—and as it happens, the same also applies to murderous dictators. Syria’s fallen tyrant, Bashar al-Assad, fled to friendly Moscow after his regime was toppled by rebels two weeks ago.

The regime of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad airlifted around $250 million (Rs 2,082 crore) in cash to Moscow, according to a stunning revelation made in a Financial Times report. The transactions were carried out in a two-year period - 2018 and 2019 - and included nearly two tonnes of $100 bills and currency notes of 500 euro,