Tag - syria

 
 

SYRIA

Officers from the Austrian State Criminal Police are seen near a cordoned off area after a knife attack near the main square in the city center of Villach, in southern Austria, on Saturday.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Feb 16, 2025
Syrian arrested after deadly stabbing attack in Austria
Syrian asylum seeker was arrested after a teenager was stabbed to death and five other people were wounded in southern Austria on Saturday.
A YPG fighter holds a notebook with an image of Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan, in Al Hasakah, Syria, on Dec. 21.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 12, 2025
Turkey seeks historic peace with Kurds in a shifting Middle East
For the Turkish president, a peace deal would potentially win him enough support to change the constitution and extend his more than two decades in power.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, following his announcement of the formation of the new government at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, on Saturday.
WORLD
Feb 9, 2025
Newly appointed Lebanon PM names ministers and vows to regain trust
Lebanon's new government, led by Nawaf Salam, faces the challenge of enacting reforms and managing a fragile ceasefire with Israel.
A member of the former rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham stands guard near an image of Assad at the fourth division headquarters in Damascus on Jan. 23.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 3, 2025
Digital discord: Online disinformation sows discontent in Syria
There are fears online disinformation is derailing the transition of power after Sunni Islamist rebels defeated Assad in December.
Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus on Jan. 16
WORLD / Politics
Jan 30, 2025
Syria's al-Sharaa declared president for transition, consolidating his power
Al-Sharaa said the first priority in Syria was to fill a vacuum in government "in a legitimate and legal way."
Syrian police members attend their graduation ceremony at the Police Academy under the Syrian Salvation Government in Damascus, Syria, on Jan. 14.
WORLD
Jan 24, 2025
Syria's new leaders turn to Islamic law in effort to rebuild Assad's police
Syria's new authorities are using Islamic teachings to train a fledgling police force.
The Middle East is at a pivotal moment and U.S. President Donald Trump has the chance to reshape the region, with potential solutions for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Lebanon's civil war, Syria's restoration and Iran's nuclear ambitions.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 23, 2025
U.S. President Trump, you can remake the Middle East if you dare
U.S. policy must be to ensure that all three stages of this ceasefire agreement are carried out and followed by a real diplomatic process for a wider settlement.
A member of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stands along a street after rebels seized the capital and ousted Syria's Bashar Assad, in Hasakah, Syria, on Dec. 11.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 20, 2025
Negotiators zero in on potential deal to disarm Syria's last battleground
Many thorny issues still need to be resolved, however, including how to integrate Kurdish-led forces into Syria's security framework.
People shop at a mall in the town of al-Dana, near Sarmada, in the northern Syrian province of Idlib on Dec. 13.
WORLD
Jan 13, 2025
'It was a mafia': Syrian businesses hope for revival after Assad
Syria's new caretaker government has told business leaders it will adopt a free-market model and integrate the country into the global economy.
A Syrian fighter with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham patrols the gate as men wait outside a reconciliation center in Damascus on Dec. 30.
WORLD
Jan 11, 2025
Western powers warn Syria over foreign jihadis in army
HTS and allied groups have hundreds of foreign fighters in their ranks, many of them followers of hard-line interpretations of Islam.
Head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and Syria's de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa (right), meets with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (left) and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot (center) in Damascus on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 4, 2025
Europe tries to build ties with Syria and cut Putin’s influence
A visit by the German and French foreign ministers to Damascus was part of attempt to persuade Syria's new rulers to reduce Russia’s influence over the country.
Children play with fireworks at the Bureij camp for displaced Palestinians on Monday.
WORLD
Dec 31, 2024
World greets 2025 after sweltering year of Olympics, turmoil and Trump
As New Year's Eve parties kicked into gear along Australia's picturesque Sydney Harbour, many revelers were relieved to see the past 12 months in the rearview mirror.
Syria's new leader and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) chief Ahmed Sharaa (right) receives Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha in Damascus on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 31, 2024
Syria eyes 'strategic' ties with Ukraine amid waning Russian influence
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he hoped providing help to Syria would be beneficial to restoring stability in Ukraine.
Syria's de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa (left), greets a member of Qatar's delegation in Damascus on Dec. 23.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 30, 2024
Syria's de facto leader says holding elections could take up to four years
Drafting a new constitution could take up to three years, Ahmed al-Sharaa said, adding that it would take about a year for Syrians to see drastic changes.
Bashar Assad's fall offers a chance to rebuild Syria, but the history of Middle East stabilization is littered with failure, making the coming months crucial.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Dec 26, 2024
Rebuilding Syria after the ouster of the dictator Assad
Hope must be tempered by caution. Across the Middle East, the removal of strongmen has generally produced violent chaos.
Syria symbolized Russia's "great power" status, but Vladimir Putin's failure to stop Bashar Assad's ouster exposed Russia as merely a regional power.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 26, 2024
Russia just lost its 'great power' status
If Russia’s war in Ukraine is about identity and empire, its presence in Syria was about prestige and status.
The Russian cargo ship Ursa Major during a monitoring operation conducted by the Portuguese Navy along the Continental Exclusive Economic Zone off the coast of Portugal. Two crew members are missing after the ship sank in international waters in the Mediterranean after an explosion on board, Russia's foreign ministry said on Telegram on Tuesday.
WORLD
Dec 26, 2024
Russian state owner calls cargo ship blast a 'terrorist attack'
The cargo ship sank in international waters off Spain in the early hours of Tuesday.
Christians attend a Christmas mass at the Lady of Damascus church, after the ousting of Syria's Bashar Assad, in Damascus, Syria, on Tuesday.
WORLD
Dec 25, 2024
Syrian Christians attend Christmas mass for first time since Assad's fall
De facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa has told Christians and other groups that they will be safe in a Syria run by his group.
Internally displaced Syrians from eastern Ghouta queue for food in a Damascus countryside in April 2018.
WORLD / Society
Dec 24, 2024
Global hunger crisis deepens as major nations skimp on aid
The United Nations says that, at best, it will be able to raise enough money to help about 60% of the 307 million people it predicts will need humanitarian aid next year.
Supporters of the French far-right National Rally party wave French flags on Dec. 15. In Europe this year, the far right made gains in several legislatures, including that of France.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 24, 2024
Democracy heads into 2025 bloodied but unbowed
Overall, there were no attempts this year to prevent a peaceful transfer of power, but autocracies grew more repressive.

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