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Syria

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Syria. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Capital

Damascus

Head of State

President Bashar al-Assad

Head of Government

Prime Minister Hussein Arnous

last updated:

6 January, 2025

The teen, 14, apparently had planned an attack at the Westbahnhof, a major railway station in Vienna. Photo: AFP

Crime

Austria foils railway station terror attack, arrests teen, 14

Investigators found material that suggested the teen, an Austrian with Turkish roots, supported the Islamic State group.

19 Feb 2025 - 11:49PM

Donald Trump

Vaccine sceptic RFK Jnr confirmed as Trump’s health secretary

14 Feb 2025 - 3:02AM

Donald Trump

US Senate confirms Tulsi Gabbard as Trump’s director of national intelligence

13 Feb 2025 - 1:12AM

Crime

Sweden confirms identity of gunman in nation’s worst mass shooting

Rickard Andersson, 35, killed 10 people at an education centre for young adults before apparently turning the gun on himself.

10 Feb 2025 - 8:31PMvideocam

Rickard Andersson, 35, killed 10 people at Campus Risbergska before he killed himself. Photo: AFP

Iran

Will Trump’s pressure tactics derail hopes for a nuclear deal with Iran?

Analysts suggest Trump’s strategy may either force a breakthrough or trigger further confrontation, depending on Tehran’s response.

10 Feb 2025 - 3:12PMvideocam

Middle East

Syria’s new leaders meet with chemical weapons watchdog

The fate of the country’s stockpile of toxic chemicals spurred an emergency meeting by the OPCW days after the ousting of Bashar al-Assad.

8 Feb 2025 - 8:32PM

Music

First concert of Western classical music in Islamist-run Syria held

Syria’s national symphony orchestra performed for free in an unheated hall, reflections of the dire economic toll of the country’s civil war.

8 Feb 2025 - 2:45PM

Members of the Syrian National Symphony Orchestra perform during a concert at the Damascus Opera House in Syria on January 30, 2025. The concert included works by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Syrian composers. Photo: Khalil Ashawi

Middle East

Car bomb kills 20 in northern Syria, deadliest attack since Assad toppled

No immediate claims of responsibility for ‘terror’ attack in Manbij, near the Turkish border. Victims were mostly women, officials said.

4 Feb 2025 - 2:56PM

Middle East

Syria’s president visits Saudi Arabia in likely signal to Iran

New interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa travelled to Riyadh likely to signal Damascus’ shift away from Iran as its main regional ally.

2 Feb 2025 - 5:45PM

Israel

Israel’s moves to secure Lebanon, Syria borders could fuel new threats: analysts

Experts warn Israel’s extended occupation may undermine Lebanon’s government, embolden Hezbollah and raise uncertainties in post-war Syria.

30 Jan 2025 - 6:00PMvideocam

Residents carry a man injured by Israeli fire to safety in Borj El Mlouk, in the outskirts of Kfar Kila, on January 26. Israeli troops fired at residents of south Lebanon on January 26, killing two and wounding 32, health officials said, as hundreds of people tried to return to their homes on the deadline for Israeli forces to withdraw from the area. Photo: AFP

Middle East

Syria rebel leader Sharaa declared interim president, consolidating his power

After toppling Bashar al-Assad, Ahmed al-Sharaa has promised a political transition, an inclusive government and eventual elections.

30 Jan 2025 - 1:32PMvideocam

Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa is seen at the presidential palace in Damascus on January 16. Photo: Syria’s Transitional Government via AFP

United States

US freezes foreign aid after Trump orders review

Waivers have been issued for military financing for Israel and Egypt, but Ukraine was not mentioned.

27 Jan 2025 - 3:44AMvideocam

European Union

EU considers ‘staged approach’ to suspending Syria sanctions

European capitals began reassessing Syria policies after ousting of President Bashar al-Assad on December 8 by insurgent forces.

21 Jan 2025 - 3:30AMvideocam

History

Like a giant jigsaw puzzle, Iraq’s historic treasures become whole again

Archaeologists are painstakingly putting together artefacts at Nimrud shattered by Islamic State jihadists, undaunted by the colossal task.

12 Jan 2025 - 5:15PM

An archaeology expert catalogues destroyed artefacts - which range from bas-reliefs and sculptures to decorated slabs depicting mythical creatures - at the archaeological site of Nimrud, south of Mosul, Iraq, on January 3, 2025. Photo: AFP

Middle East

Syrians sing songs of victory, revolution a month after Assad’s overthrow

Singer Wasfi Maasarani marked his return to Syria after 13 years in exile, having toured the US and Europe in support of the rebels.

11 Jan 2025 - 7:35PM

Syrians sing and hold a post-Assad flag during a concert by the recently returned ‘revolutionary’ singer Wasfi Maasrani, in Damascus on Wednesday. Photo: AP

China-Middle East relations

China concerned by reports of Uygur militants given senior roles in Syrian army

Country’s UN ambassador Fu Cong says new government in Damascus must prevent terrorist forces from threatening other countries.

9 Jan 2025 - 6:11PMvideocam

War and conflict

Opinion | China can help Syria transform from conflict corridor to bridge of commerce

An inclusive, tolerant Syria and a China-led grand coalition to rebuild and revive the economy could see regional strife give way to prosperity.

7 Jan 2025 - 8:30PMvideocam

Middle East

Opinion | Syria a chance for Middle East to shape its own, better future

The stability of Syria, at the heart of the Middle East, is in the interests of all. It is time for regional actors, not external ones, to lead the change.

7 Jan 2025 - 5:32AMvideocam

Syrian leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani waits to welcome a Ukrainian delegation in Damascus, Syria, on December 30. The world has been beating a path to his door. Photo: Reuters

Education in Hong Kong

3 aid workers win top Hong Kong-based award for improving education in war zones

War Child Alliance wins HK$30 million Yidan Prize and plans to expand educational games programme to over a million pupils in five years.

6 Jan 2025 - 9:30AM

Syrian conflict

Syrian photographer’s return to war-torn hometown is ‘like a dream’

Douma, near Damascus, endured years of terror under Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Sameer al-Doumy escaped, and thought he’d never get back there.

5 Jan 2025 - 4:15PM

Global South

Opinion | As West cuts global aid, emerging powers must step up and contribute

Emerging donors from developing nations with significant economic growth should play a bigger role. Kazakhstan is doing so in Central Asia.

5 Jan 2025 - 5:30AM

Afghan people carry food rations distributed by an Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority programme to support families impacted by natural disasters, in Kabul, Afghanistan, on January 1. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that 22.9 million people in Afghanistan will require humanitarian aid in 2025. Photo: EPA-EFE

Middle East

Israeli military says commandos raided missile factory in Syria in September

Military spokesman called nighttime raid on Iranian-led facility one of Israel’s most complex operations in years.

3 Jan 2025 - 3:21PM

More than 100 Israeli special forces carried out the September 8 operation. Photo: Israeli Army via AFP

Banking & finance

The View | Languishing wars, a stagnant China? Investors shouldn’t be so sure

While some forecast a 10 per cent rise for the S&P 500 and an underperforming China this year, key variables complicate such outcomes.

3 Jan 2025 - 10:17AMvideocam

Middle East

Syria appoints foreign Islamist fighters, including Uygurs, to military: sources

Appointments include Uygur fighters from a group that China labels a terrorist organisation.

31 Dec 2024 - 1:21PMvideocam

Middle East

Syria’s new leader says elections could take 4 years, hopes Trump lifts sanctions

In an interview with Saudi media, Ahmed al-Sharaa discussed a path to elections and the importance of ties with Russia and Iran, key allies of the Assad regime.

30 Dec 2024 - 10:00AMvideocam

Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, speaks to the media after the ousting of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, on December 23. Photo: Reuters

Middle East

Turkey announces US$14 billion regional development plan for Kurdish southeast

The plan aims to reduce the economic gap between the southeast and the rest of the country, amid new hopes of ending a 40-year insurgency.

29 Dec 2024 - 9:19PM

(FILES) A protester holds up a placard bearing a portrait of Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) – jailed in Turkey since 1999 – during a demonstration caling for his release in the Kurdish-majority city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria on February 15, 2023. Photo: AFP

Middle East

Turkey’s pro-Kurd party to meet jailed PKK leader on Saturday

Jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan is serving a life sentence on a prison island off Istanbul.

28 Dec 2024 - 7:30PM

Middle East

Deadly fight erupts between security forces, Assad loyalists in Syria

Security forces stormed village in central Syria where remnants of former regime were holed up, leaving several dead on both sides.

27 Dec 2024 - 5:58AMvideocam

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