This is Beirut, 13:00 - Reading : less than a minute
After decades of poverty and isolation under the Assad regime, exotic fruits like pineapples, kiwis and mangoes are available again in Syria's bustling markets, making mouths water and eyes twinkle. Fruits that were once designated luxury items, meaning they were accessible only to Syria's wealthiest, are now as common as potatoes or onions, ...
This is Beirut, 27/05 22:50 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Syria's interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, said in a speech on Tuesday that the country's post-war reconstruction had 'just begun,' calling on his people to unite. Sharaa was speaking at the "Aleppo, Key to Victory" event in said city, the first major population center to fall during the Islamist-led offensive that toppled longtime Syrian ruler ...
This is Beirut, 27/05 19:25 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
An alleged former Syrian prison guard has been arrested in Germany on suspicion of committing crimes against humanity under former president Bashar al-Assad, prosecutors said Tuesday. The man, identified only as Fahad A., is accused of "acts of killing, torture and deprivation of liberty" while he worked in a Damascus facility run by Syrian ...
This is Beirut, 27/05 15:55 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Israel and Syria have recently initiated direct contacts, including several face-to-face meetings, aimed at easing tensions along their shared border and preventing military escalation, five sources close to the matter told Reuters. These talks represent a significant shift between two historically hostile nations that do not maintain official ...
David Hale , 27/05 11:25 - Reading : 5 minute(s)
Syria United States Donald Trump Turkey MBS
President Donald Trump's May 15 meeting in Riyadh with Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa and the lifting of sanctions had many Trumpian hallmarks. It was bold. It was unplanned. Its future course is uncharted. It was taken against the advice of his senior foreign policy team. It was the result of encouragement from two American partners with ...
This is Beirut, 27/05 10:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Baalbeck Lebanese Army South Lebanon Israel UNIFIL Syria
An Israeli raid targeted on Tuesday evening a motorcycle on the outskirts of Yater (Bint Jbeil), killing the rider, reportedly from the Al Balaghi family, according to preliminary information. At dawn on Tuesday, an Israeli infantry unit crossed approximately 200 meters into Lebanese territory in the Mays al-Jabal area (Marjayoun district). The ...
This is Beirut, 26/05 16:45 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Syria's Kurds will insist on a decentralized system of government in upcoming talks with the new authorities in Damascus, a senior Kurdish official said on Monday. The Kurdish-led administration in northeastern Syria signed an agreement with the new Syrian government in March to integrate into Syria's state institutions. The two sides ...
This is Beirut, 25/05 12:20 - Reading : 3 minute(s)
Syria United States Tom Barrack
Syria's new authorities have agreed to help the United States locate and return Americans who went missing in the war-ravaged country, a US envoy said on Sunday, in another sign of thawing bilateral ties. The announcement came a day after the United States formally lifted sanctions on Syria, ending more than a decade of diplomatic ...
This is Beirut, 24/05 20:55 - Reading : 4 minute(s)
Syria Interior Ministry Damascus
Syrian authorities on Saturday announced an interior ministry restructuring that includes fighting cross-border drug and people smuggling as they seek to improve ties with Western nations that have lifted sanctions. Keen to reboot and rebuild nearly 14 years after a devastating civil war broke out, the new authorities in Damascus have hailed ...
This is Beirut, 24/05 20:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)
Ahmed al-Sharaa Thomas Barrack Syria United States
The US ambassador to Turkey, who has assumed the role of Syria envoy, said Saturday he had met the country's interim leader following Washington's lifting of sanctions on the war-torn country. Tom Barrack, who met with interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Istanbul, said in a statement: "I reiterated the United States' support for ...
This is Beirut, 24/05 18:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Syria Kurds Al-Hol Refugee Camp
A Syrian government delegation visited a notorious camp in the Kurdish-administered northeast that hosts families of suspected Islamic State group jihadists, the new authorities' first visit, both sides said Saturday. Kurdish-run camps and prisons in the northeast hold tens of thousands of people, many with alleged or perceived links to the ...
This is Beirut, 24/05 17:18 - Reading : 2 minute(s)
Syria Syrian Intelligence Bashar al-Assad
Syria's interior ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba said Saturday that around a third of the population had been wanted by the intelligence and security services of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, who was ousted in December. Baba told a press conference in Damascus that "the number of people wanted by the former regime for political ...