¶¶Òõ¾«Æ·

Russian court reduces sentences for playwright, director

Director Yevgeniya Berkovich and writer Svetlana Petriychuk were sentenced to six years in prison in July for a play about women marrying jihadists in Syria...

Syria rescuers say site outside Damascus believed to be mass grave

A key Syrian rescue group and an activist said on Wednesday a burial site outside Damascus was likely a mass grave for detainees held under former president Bashar al-Assad and fighters killed in the civil war.

Syria leader vows country will not negatively interfere in Lebanon

Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa told Lebanese Druze leaders on Sunday that his country would not negatively interfere in Lebanon and would respect its neighbour’s sovereignty.

Qatar embassy reopens in Damascus

Qatar reopened its embassy in Damascus on Saturday, 13 years after it was closed early in Syria’s civil conflict, as foreign governments seek to establish ties with the country’s new rulers....

Syria: fragile unity or permanent fragmentation?

FOR years, discussions of Syria’s Balkanization have lingered as a realistic option that could be imposed on the country one day. The recent political upheaval — marked by the ousting of president Bashar al-Assad...

Kurdish fighters in Syria face dual threats

Kurdish fighters in northern Syria are increasingly under pressure from Turkish-backed armed groups while also fearing the new authorities in Damascus will upend their hard-won autonomy.

Syria’s first flight since Assad’s fall takes off

The first commercial flight since the ouster of president Bashar al-Assad took off from Damascus airport on Wednesday, offering Syrians a glimmer of hope after years of war and decades of oppression...

Syria’s new rulers step up engagement with the world

Syria’s new rulers stepped up engagement on Tuesday with countries that deemed ousted president Bashar al-Assad a pariah, with the French flag raised at the embassy for the first time in over a decade...

Blinded to Syria

I DO not know anyone who was not shocked by the lightning speed with which Damascus fell to expensively armed jihadist militias last weekend...

Colonial Hangover, Authoritarian Failure: Lessons from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Syria

THE fall of authoritarian leaders in the contemporary world, particularly in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Syria, highlights a common and broader disconnect between the priorities of ruling elites and the aspirations of their people. While all three cases are situated in Greater Asia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh experienced British colonial rule, whereas Syria was under...

Assad denies ‘planned’ departure from Syria

Bashar al-Assad said on Monday that his departure from Syria was not planned and that Moscow requested his evacuation from a military base that was under attack, in the former president’s first statement since his ouster.

Israel to double population in annexed Golan

As Islamist-led rebel forces ousts Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, the Israeli prime minister ordered troops to seize the demilitarised zone between the two countries’ forces on the Golan Heights...

Bangladesh condemns Israeli aggression in Syria

Bangladesh on Sunday unequivocally condemns the illegal act of aggression by Israel during the moment of critical transition in Syria...

7,600 Syrians returned after Assad fall

More than 7,600 Syrian migrants crossed the Turkish border to return home in the five days after the fall of Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad, Turkey’s interior minister said Sunday....

Turkey for providing military support to new Syria govt

Turkish defence minister Yasar Guler said on Sunday that his country was ready to provide military support to Syria’s new Islamist-led government set up by rebels who overthrew Bashar al-Assad if it requested it.

US in contact with new Syria rulers

US secretary of state Antony Blinken’s comment on ‘direct contact’ with the HTS rebels came despite the United States having designated the group as terrorists in 2018...

Arab nations seek support for peaceful Syria

Top diplomats from eight Arab countries, meeting in Jordan on Saturday, called for a peaceful transition in Syria with UN and Arab League support following Bashar al-Assad’s ouster...

Israel continues strike on Syria military sites

A Syria war monitor said Israel launched strikes early Saturday targeting military sites in Damascus and its countryside, in the latest such raids since rebels brought down Bashar al-Assad almost a week ago.

Victory rallies celebrate end of Assad

Thousands of jubilant people rallied in cities across Syria, including at a landmark mosque in the capital Damascus, to celebrate during the first Friday prayers since the ouster of president Bashar al-Assad.

Israel orders troops to ‘prepare to remain’ in Syria buffer zone through winter

Israeli defence minister Israel Katz has ordered the military to ‘prepare to remain’ throughout the winter in the UN-patrolled buffer zone between Israeli and Syrian forces on the strategic Golan Heights.

Syria’s govt pledges rule of law after Assad’s overthrow

Syria’s interim government vowed on Thursday to institute the ‘rule of law’ after years of abuses under ousted president Bashar al-Assad, as G7 powers pushed for an inclusive transition.

New govt of Syria says to suspend constitution, parliament for three months

Syria’s new government spokesman told AFP on Thursday the country’s constitution and parliament would be suspended for the duration of the three-month transition period.

New Syria PM says all religious groups’ rights ‘guaranteed’

Syria’s new prime minister said the Islamist-led alliance that ousted president Bashar al-Assad will ‘guarantee’ the rights of all religious groups and called on the millions who fled the war to return home...

Khamenei says Assad’s fall will not weaken Iran

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday the weakening of the anti-Israel ‘resistance’ after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad in Syria would not diminish Tehran’s power...

Syria now

Syria rebels name Mohammed al-Bashir head of transitional govt

The rebels who ousted president Bashar al-Assad and are now in power in Syria appointed a transitional head of government on Tuesday to run the country until March  1, a statement said...

Defence research centre, navy ships in Syria destroyed in overnight strikes

A defence ministry research centre in northern Damascus was destroyed and about 10 navy ships were damaged in coastal Latakia in overnight strikes attributed to Israel by a Syria war monitor.

Syria war monitor reports Israeli strikes targeting military sites

A Syria war monitor said Monday that overnight Israeli strikes targeted military positions and depots in several parts of the country, after Islamist-led rebels ousted president Bashar al-Assad...

Kremlin refuses to confirm if Assad in Russia

The Kremlin declined on Monday to confirm reports that toppled Syrian president Bashar al-Assad had fled to Moscow, adding that it was ‘surprised’ by the rebel takeover...

Lessons from Syria’s struggle for freedom

THE question of who ousted Bashar al-Assad has dominated countless headlines, debates and think tank discussions. Yet, for the millions of Syrians whose lives have been shaped — and shattered — by decades of brutal governance, this question is a distraction. The real focus should be on the human cost of oppression, the erasure of freedoms and the...