Since the start of the war in Syria in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes against regime positions as well as Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah forces, allies of Damascus and arch-foes of Israel. Israel rarely comments on the strikes on a case-by-case basis, but says it seeks...

ABU DHABI, UAE - Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei headed the UAE delegation to the Development Road Conference in Iraq. The one-day conference brought together transport ministers and officials from the Gulf Cooperation Council, Iran, Turkey, Syria and Jordan and representatives of the European Union...

"Only a few cases of child abandonment" were officially documented before the war broke out in 2011, according to the Washington-based group Syrians for Truth and Justice, which records human rights abuses in the country. But between early 2021 and late 2022, more than 100 children -- 62 of them girls...

In a world where Turkey and Russia are both sceptical of Western military, political and economic dominance, Putin and Erdogan see each other as reliable partners. "Russia must have breathed a sigh of relief," said a Western diplomat, referring to the outcome of the first round on May 14.

Colonna nevertheless said Paris would not be changing its policy towards the Syrian ruler. "We have to remember who Bashar al-Assad is. He's a leader who has been the enemy of his own people for more than 10 years," she said. A lifting of European Union sanctions on the Syrian...

Beirut, Lebanon -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has returned to the Arab fold after more than a decade of isolation, eyeing reconstruction and aid from formers foes as the conflict grinds on. Since the brutal civil war broke out in 2011, it has killed more than 500,000 people, displaced millions and...

Known to his inner circle as "beyefendi" (sir) and to admirers as "reis" (the chief), Erdogan prides himself on being able to woo doubters through tireless campaigning. This passion has helped him and his party win more than a dozen local and national elections, allowing Erdogan to claim a people's...

He stresses on resolving the Palestinian issue, expressing concerns over escalating Israeli attacks and calling for a collective response to establish an independent Palestinian state. Taha also expresses the OIC's commitment to peace and stability in Yemen, Libya, and Syria, and urged increased solidarity with Somalia.

The summit in Saudi Arabia comes at a time when the world's biggest oil exporter is flexing its diplomatic muscle across the Middle East and beyond. It follows a frenetic stretch of high-stakes diplomacy triggered by the kingdom's surprise Chinese-brokered rapprochement deal with Iran announced in March.

DUBAI, UAE - Conflict-plagued countries in the Middle East are among the most vulnerable to climate change but are almost entirely excluded from meaningful financing to mitigate its effects, aid groups warned on Thursday. In a joint report focusing on Iraq, Syria and Yemen, the International Committee of the Red Cross...

The United Arab Emirates has invited Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to attend the UN climate summit in Dubai later this year, Syrian state media said. Assad's first invitation to a global summit since the start of Syria's war in 2011 comes as the Arab world warms to Damascus after a...

"I... take this opportunity to welcome the Syrian Arab Republic to the League of Arab States," Saudi finance minister Mohammed al-Jadaan told the meeting, which was broadcast live by state TV channel Al Ekhbariya. Jadaan added that he was "looking forward to working with everyone to achieve what we aspire...

Following international pressure, Damascus agreed to let the UN use the Bab al-Salama and Al-Rai crossings, operated by Turkish-backed rebels, to bring in food and medical supplies for three months. The permission had been set to expire May 13, so Syria's decision was welcome news for those affected as well...

The pan-Arab body had suspended Damascus in November 2011 over its crackdown on protests, which began earlier that year and spiraled into a war that has killed more than 500,000 people, displaced millions and battered the country's infrastructure and industry.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was politically isolated in the region since the conflict began, but a flurry of diplomatic activity has been underway in past weeks as a decision by Saudi Arabia and Iran, a close ally of Damascus, to resume ties shifted regional relations. Assad hopes normalisation with Gulf...

The sides will "exchange views on the normalization of relations between Turkey and Syria, discuss humanitarian issues... and the voluntary, safe and dignified return of asylum seekers," the Turkish foreign ministry said.

"We continue to believe that we will not normalize our relations with the Assad regime and we don't support our allies and partners doing so either," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said. The US opposes reconciliation with Syria and domestic law forbids any assistance for reconstruction without accountability for abuses...

BEIRUT, LEBANON -  An air strike killed a major drug smuggler and his family in southern Syria on Monday, a war monitor said, attributing the strike to Jordan though Amman did not immediately confirm. Drug dealer "Marai al-Ramthan, his wife and six children were killed in a Jordanian air force strike"...

The bloc's foreign ministers unanimously agree to allow government delegations from Syria to resume their participation in meetings ahead of a key summit in Jeddah on May 19.

During late-night talks Thursday, Raisi and his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad discussed "ways to develop and strengthen bilateral relations" and "emphasized existing cooperation in the field of reconstruction", according to a joint statement.

Iran's president hailed his visit to Damascus as a "turning point", after Tehran's support helped Syria retake most of the territory it lost in 12 years of war. Ebrahim Raisi's two-day trip is the first such visit to Tehran's close ally since 2010. "This trip will be a turning point...

AMMAN, JORDAN  - Jordan's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi on Wednesday briefed his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on the outcome of a consultative meeting held here on Syria.In addition to Jordan, the meeting on Tuesday also brought together the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt and...

Israeli strikes on north Syria's Aleppo province killed four Syrian officers and three Iran-backed fighters, putting the area's international airport out of service, a war monitor reported. In over a decade of war in Syria, Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes on its territory, targeting Iran-backed forces, Lebanese Hezbollah...

Israeli strikes targeted north Syria's Aleppo province, killing a soldier, wounding seven people and putting the area's international airport out of service, state media reported. "At around 11:35 pm (2035 GMT)... the Israeli enemy carried out an air attack with several missiles... targeting Aleppo international airport," state news agency SANA...

"The suspected leader of Daesh, codename Abu Hussein al-Qurashi, has been neutralised in an operation carried out yesterday (Saturday) by the MIT in Syria," Erdogan announced on television, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State organisation. Residents said that an operation had targeted an abandoned farm that was being...

Three civilians were wounded in Israeli air strikes near the Syrian city of Homs, state media reported, with a war monitor saying a Hezbollah munitions depot was hit. Over a decade, Israel has launched hundreds of air strikes on Syria's territory, targeting Iran-backed forces, Lebanese Hezbollah fighters and the country's...

Ankara, Turkey  - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday discussed over the phone with the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres the developments in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, and the ones in Syria and Sudan. Underlining the importance of the continuation of the Black Sea grain deal, Erdogan said that Turkiye...

Raisi's planned trip comes against the backdrop of a rapprochement between regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia, and increased Arab engagement with Damascus. Amir-Abdollahian said the Riyadh-Tehran detente would have "positive repercussions on the whole region and in Lebanon in particular".

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi customs authority foiled an attempt to smuggle more than 4 million tablets of captagon through the Al-Bat-ha land inlet, SPA reported Friday. In a statement, the authority said that as many as 4,152,000 tablets of drugs were found hidden in a consignment shipped into the...

Iran's foreign minister called on Lebanon to overcome political deadlock and elect a president, urging foreign governments not to interfere in the choice. "We will support any election and agreement reached between all Lebanese sides... and we call on other foreign parties to respect the choice of the Lebanese," Hossein...

On Wednesday, after a harrowing overland journey and overnight boat trip across the Red Sea, Sudan evacuees who have fled to Saudi Arabia, grateful to have survived but wracked with guilt and worry for those the left behind. The fighting in Sudan pits forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah...

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu hosted four-way talks aimed at normalizing ties between Ankara and Damascus, which were severed at the start of Syria's civil war in 2011. "Practical steps were discussed in the field of strengthening security in the Syrian Arab Republic and normalizing Syrian-Turkish relations," the Russian defense...

The London-based rights group said the Syrians were expelled following raids on their homes in various parts of the country, adding that those who had "entered the country irregularly or held expired residency cards" were deported. It cited the brother of one refugee as saying that the Lebanese armed forces...

"We came to send a message to the whole world that with this normalization, you will gain Bashar al-Assad the criminal, and you will lose the Syrian people," said Abdel Salam Mohammed Yussef, who heads a camp for displaced people.

Lebanese authorities have long pushed for Syrian refugees to return, and have made several repatriation efforts they describe as voluntary, but which rights groups say are forced. The United Nations' refugee agency said Friday it was "following up" on the reports, and that it "continues to advocate for the respect...

"We affirm our readiness to meet and talk with the Syrian government and with all Syrian parties to hold discussions and present initiatives for a solution," the Kurdish authorities said.

The Syrian president met with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan in Damascus. This is the first visit to Syria's capital by a Saudi official since the start of the country's civil war in 2011, marking a new era in ties betwee the two countries.

Recent months have seen increasing Arab engagement with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who has been politically isolated in the region since the war broke out. A flurry of regional diplomatic activity has been underway in the past week as regional relations shift following a decision by Saudi Arabia and Iran...

The two countries had severed ties seven years ago after Saudi Arabia executed a revered Saudi shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. They have pledged to work for stabilizing the situation in the Middle East, where they have been supporting opposite sides in the conflicts of Syria and Yemen.

Beirut, Lebanon--A US helicopter raid on Monday targeted a senior Islamic State group leader in Syria suspected of plotting attacks in Europe and the Middle East, US Central Command said. "US Central Command forces conducted a unilateral helicopter raid in northern Syria in the early morning... targeting a senior ISIS Syria...

Algiers, Algeria-- Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad arrived in Algeria on Saturday, Algerian state radio reported late on Friday, a visit that reinforces Damascus' openness to the Arab world after it was isolated for more than a decade. The Algerian foreign minister, Ahmed Ataf, received the visiting minister, state radio...

Arab countries gathered in Jeddah on Friday to discuss ending Syria's long spell in the diplomatic wilderness as regional relations shift following Saudi Arabia and Iran's decision to resume ties.

The pro-Palestinian rallies follow months of unrest in Iran sparked by the September death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young women arrested for an alleged breach of strict dress rules. The rallies, an annual fixture since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, are held on the last Friday of Ramadan.

Friday's nine-nation talks in Jeddah, the Red Sea gateway to Mecca, come after Syria's foreign minister arrived on a previously unannounced visit - the first since the outbreak of the country's civil war in 2011.

Friday's nine-nation talks in Jeddah come after Syria's foreign minister arrived on a previously unannounced visit -- the first since the outbreak of the country's civil war in 2011. It was one in a flurry of events that were nearly unthinkable before Saudi Arabia and Iran announced to restore ties.

Tunisia's Saied had said last month he planned to restore diplomatic relations with Syria. Tunisia expelled Syria's ambassador in 2012 over the government's repression of peaceful protesters that triggered more than a decade of civil war which has killed around half a million people and displaced millions more since 2011.

It's raining peace in the Arab world. Saudi Arabia has taken lead in normalizing ties with countries such as Turkey, Iran and Syria in the past few months.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, diplomatically isolated since the start of the Syrian war in 2011, has visited the UAE and Oman over the past two months. An Arab League summit is expected to be held in Riyadh in May.

The day after Israeli police on Wednesday stormed the prayer hall of Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque -- Islam's third-holiest site -- more than 30 rockets were fired from Lebanese soil into Israel. The Israeli army said the attack was most likely carried out by the Palestinian armed movement Hamas.

Amman, Jordan--Jordan's army announced that a rocket exploded Saturday evening and its debris fell in Jordanian territory near the border with Syria without causing casualties or damage. It came as the Israeli army announced the launch of artillery strikes in Syria in response to rocket fire from there that landed in...