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June 19, 2026

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Hassan Akkad speaks about fleeing Syria in 2015 and his work as a filmmaker at a BAFTA event, Sept. 2023.

Culture

In Syria, detention of Hassan Akkad raises alarm about free expression under Sharaa

Akkad, a British-Syrian filmmaker, was detained Wednesday night after his campaign questioning the whereabouts of funds allegedly pledged for relief, reconstruction and community initiatives across Syria.

Mazloum Abdi (Kobani), commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks with AFP during an interview in the countryside outside the northwestern Syrian city of Hasakah, in the province of the same name, on January 24, 2019. - Any deal between Syria's Kurds and the Damascus regime should respect the "special status" of Kurdish-led forces who fought the Islamic State (IS) group, Kobani said. The SDF control around a third of Syria after expelling jihadists from a large northeastern swathe of t

Syrian Kurd commander Kobane kicks off European tour amid scrutiny from Damascus

Commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces Mazlum Kobane is on a European tour and will likely meet French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris.

Latest News

Analysis

Why Trump’s push for Syria to confront Hezbollah is an unlikely bid

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa is welcomed by Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides in Nicosia on April 24, 2026, on the sidelines of a European summit.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

'Let Syria take care of Hezbollah': Trump criticizes Israel, leans on Sharaa to help in Lebanon

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, FRANCE - JUNE 16: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral meeting with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the sidelines of the G7 summit, on June 16, 2026 in Evian-les-Bains, France. Leaders from the Group of 7 (G7) countries convened in Evian, France, near the Swiss border, for their annual summit to discuss challenges to peace and security for Ukraine and Europe, the situation in the Middle East, and other geopolitical issues. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Get

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Danny Makki

In London, reporting on Syrian politics and culture

Ali Hashem

In Doha, reporting on Iran, regional politics, conflict

Cagatay Cebe

In Istanbul, reporting on security and counterterrorism

Ahmad Jarba, leader of Syria's opposition National Coalition (L-R), French Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Egypt's Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry attend a news conference at the French foreign ministry during a "Friends of Syria" meeting ahead of Geneva II peace talks, in Paris, January 12, 2014. The "Friends of Syria", an alliance of mainly Western and Gulf Arab countries who oppose Syrian President Bashar al-As

The new pulse of Geneva II

The trend in the Geneva II process shifts to cooperation on humanitarian and counterterrorism issues; Erdogan under fire in Turkey.

For Russia, terrorism priority at Syria conference

US-Russian cooperation will be key to success at Geneva II.

A boy holds bread as he walks in front of the Syrian opposition flag during a protest against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Aleppo's Salaheddine neighbourhood January 10, 2014. REUTERS/Hosam Katan (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTX178MM

As Assad lingers, Turkey focuses on ISIS

Despite its predictions and aspirations, Turkey has lost what grip it had on many of today's political and military conflicts, to the amusement and satisfaction of many in the region.

Iraqi soldiers inspect a vehicle at a check point in west Baghdad, January 6, 2014. Iraq's prime minister urged people in the besieged city of Falluja on Monday to drive out al Qaeda-linked insurgents to pre-empt a military offensive that officials said could be launched within days. In a statement on state television, Nuri al-Maliki, a Shi'ite Muslim whose government has little support in Sunni-dominated Falluja, called on tribal leaders to drive out militants who last week seized key towns in the desert

Anbar Council calls for end to military siege by Iraqi government forces

Local leaders in Anbar seek a local solution to the current crisis.

Gunmen fighters walk in the streets of the city of Falluja, 50 km (31 miles) west of Baghdad January 3, 2014. Sunni Muslim tribesmen backed by Iraqi troops fought al Qaeda-linked militants for control of Iraq's western province of Anbar on Friday in a critical test of strength for the Shi'ite-led government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Those fears were stirred anew on Thursday when tribesmen, angry at the central government in Baghdad and what they perceive as Sunni marginalisation in politics, clashed

ISIS foreign fighters spur backlash in Iraq, Syria

Many Sunni Iraqis and Syrians are fighting back against the foreign fighters and extreme practices of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).

People carry the coffin of former Lebanese minister Mohamad Chatah's bodyguard Tarek Badr, who was killed in a bomb blast on Friday, during his mass funeral at al-Amin mosque in Martyrs' Square in downtown Beirut December 29, 2013. Chatah, who opposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was killed in the attack which one of his political allies blamed on Lebanon's Shi'ite Hezbollah militia. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST OBITUARY) - RTX16WAX

Lebanon's age of extremism

Is the center of gravity in the Syria war expanding from Damascus to Beirut?

Lakhdar Brahimi (C), the U.N. envoy on Syria, speaks with members of the French delegation prior to a meeting at the United Nations offices in Geneva December 20, 2013. REUTERS/Fabrice Coffrini/Pool (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX16PMV

Geneva II must achieve peaceful solution

The Syrian government, the Syrian opposition and the world must take advantage of the opportunities afforded by Geneva II to bring peace to Syria.

Turkish soldiers with armoured vehicles guard the entrance of Apaydin refugee camp in Hatay province, on the Turkish-Syrian border, May 12, 2013. Turkey accused a group loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday of carrying out car bombings that killed 46 people in a Turkish border town of Reyhanli and said the risk of unrest spreading to Syria's neighbours was increasing. Syrian Information Minister Omran Zubi denied any Syrian involvement and rejected what he called "unfounded accusations". REUTE

Turkey declares vanishing truck to Syria 'state secret'

Turkey’s government has used the "state secret" shield to conceal the cargo of a truck suspected of transporting arms to Syria and banished the prosecutor who attempted to search the vehicle.

A member of al-Jabha al-Islamiya (the Islamic Front) takes position on a armoured vehicle at a checkpoint between the village of Kafaroumeh and the town of Maaret al-Naaman, to prevent members of the al Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) from advancing towards Jabal Al-Zawiya, in Idlib January 6, 2014. REUTERS/Fadi Mashan (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTX174EP

Erdogan under pressure as Syrian crisis spreads to Iraq

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has limited regional influence and few good options as the pressure builds to slow the spread of the Syria war.

Children go to school on a damaged street in Duma neighbourhood in Damascus October 12, 2013. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY EDUCATION) - RTX148Z5

Syrian education a casualty of war

Syria’s education sector has suffered a heavy blow from the fighting, as security concerns, internally displaced students and the emigration of professors abroad has led to a sharp drop in the level of education in the country.

Investigators work at the site of an explosion at the entrance to a train station in Volgograd December 29, 2013. A female suicide bomber blew herself up in the entrance hall of the Russian train station on Sunday, killing at least 13 people in the second deadly attack in the space of three days as the country prepares to host the Winter Olympics. REUTERS/Sergei Karpov (RUSSIA - Tags: CRIME LAW CIVIL UNREST TRANSPORT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX16WBP

Russia's Syria policy linked to Chechnya, terrorism

The United States and Russia cooperate to combat terrorism in Syria.

Saudi Arabia's Prince Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saoud (R) welcomes French President Francois Hollande (L) at the Saudi Royal palace in Riyadh December 29, 2013. REUTERS/Kenzo Tribouillard/Pool (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS ROYALS) - RTX16WSG

Saudi Arabia, France make their move in Lebanon

Hezbollah reacts to Saudi Arabia providing $3 billion in aid to the Lebanese army to buy French weapons.