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July 7, 2026

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Syrian security forces patrol near France's President's hotel during his visit in Damascus on July 7, 2026. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Breaking | Last Updated: July 7, 2026, 4:11 am

Two explosions rock Damascus, while Macron in town

Two explosions were heard in Damascus on Tuesday morning, while French President Emmanuel Macron is in the city for a meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Farmers roast harvested wheat using fire in a field on the outskirts of Aleppo, Syria, on May 18, 2026.

Analysis

How Syria’s wheat fields turned into first battleground over reconstruction

A battle over wheat prices could be the first political contest over who reconstruction will benefit.

Haddon Barth

By Haddon Barth

An aerial view shows port of the western Syrian port city of Latakia, on Dec. 18, 2024.

Analysis

Can a UAE-backed Syria-Iraq corridor become Gulf's next trade route?

On June 26, Emirati and Syrian officials discussed plans for a logistics corridor connecting Syrian ports to Gulf markets via Iraq.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Volunteers of the Druze-led National Guard manage traffic at a checkpoint, Suwayda, Syria, Jan. 22, 2026.

Clashes between Druze fighters, Syrian forces raise fears of renewed violence

The episodes in Druze-majority Suwayda escalated amid kidnappings, various disputes, and absent movement on integrating Druze into state institutions.

Latest News

Syria launches gas project with Saudi firm in latest Gulf energy partnership

Oil drilling near Dakhiliyah in the desert region of Hasakah, Syria, Jan. 25, 2026.

Syria, Lebanon stress noninterference as Damascus mulls Hezbollah talks

Nawaf Salam and Asaad al-Shibani shake hands in Beirut on July 2, 2026.

At least 6 killed, 22 wounded in Damascus cafe explosion: What to know

Syrian security forces and people gather at the site of an explosion at a cafe in the capital, Damascus, on July 2, 2026.

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

Israeli wind farm project unites Jewish settlers, Golan Druze

In the Golan Heights, Israeli settlers and Druze have joined forces to oppose a wind farm project.

IDLIB, SYRIA - AUGUST 19: Turkish military convoy is seen on August 19, 2019 in Syria's northern province of Idlib. Syrian regime launches airstrikes on Maarat Al-Numan town as a convoy of Turkish military vehicles passes through the town. An airstrike killed three civilians and injured 12 others during a transfer to Turkeys observation point in Syrias Idlib.
(Photo by Izzettin Idilbi/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Turkey questions why Russia didn't prevent Idlib attack

The Syrian airstrike this week against a Turkish military convoy in Idlib has prompted speculation that Russia and Syria are cooperating at Turkey's expense.

IS makes comeback in Syria through sleeper cells

The Islamic State has stepped up its military operations through its sleeper cells east of the Euphrates River while the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces arrest a number of women part of these cells in areas under its control.

A convoy of Turkish military vehicles is pictured near the town of Maar Hitat in northern Syria's Idlib province on August 19, 2019. - A Turkish military convoy crossed into northwest Syria today, heading towards a key town where regime forces are waging fierce battles with jihadists and rebels. (Photo by Omar HAJ KADOUR / AFP) (Photo credit should read OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkey vexed with Russia after Syria strikes convoy

Following Syrian airstrikes on a Turkish convoy, Russia appears to be keeping calm and staying the course, but developments on the ground are spinning quickly.

Political earthquake in Turkey: A regime running amok?

Three elected Kurdish mayors were removed from their posts in a move further endangering what remains of Turkey's democracy.

IDLIB, SYRIA - AUGUST 19: Turkish military convoy is seen on August 19, 2019 in Syria's northern province of Idlib. Syrian regime launches airstrikes on Maarat Al-Numan town as a convoy of Turkish military vehicles passes through the town. An airstrike killed three civilians and injured 12 others during a transfer to Turkeys observation point in Syrias Idlib.
(Photo by Izzettin Idilbi/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Intel: Deadly airstrike on Turkish convoy tests Ankara-Moscow ties

Syrian jets hit a Turkish military convoy today in Syria’s Idlib, killing three civilians and injuring 12 others in an attack that likely could not have occurred without Moscow's knowledge.

A Syrian refugee man walks between tents in Nizip refugee camp, near the Turkish-Syrian border in Gaziantep province, Turkey, November 30, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC1D41DB2700

Turkish activists stand up against refugee deportations

Human rights defenders in Turkey have raised their voices against the forced deportations of thousands of Syrians back to their war-torn country, urging Ankara to grant asylum rights to people fleeing oppression.

Rights group says Turkey sowing dissent in Syria

Turkey and its ally Qatar are being accused of spreading false news and fabricated videos to stir up tension between Kurds and Arabs in Syrian areas east of the Euphrates.

Mazloum Kobani, SDF's commander in chief, shakes hands with the advisor for the US Department of State in northern Syria William Robak, at al-Omar oil field in Deir Al Zor, Syria March 23, 2019. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC142AE67C90

Syrian Kurdish commander sets conditions for safe zone talks with Turkey

The commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces stated in an interview that a proposed safe zone between Turkey and Kurdish-controlled northeastern Syria must cover the full length of the border between them.

Kurdish women hold flags of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) political wing, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), and banners during a demonstration against the exclusion of Syrian-Kurds from the Geneva talks in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli on February 4, 2016.
The talks in Geneva are the latest bid to end Syria's conflict, nearly five years after it began in March 2011 with anti-government protests. But they have stalled over the make-up of the opposition as well as its insistence tha

Did France end efforts for intra-Kurdish rapprochement in Syria?

The Kurdistan Democratic Party announced the end of French efforts to achieve rapprochement on the Syrian Kurdish scene, blaming the Democratic Union Party for failing to meet their demands.

U.S. and Turkish soldiers discuss details during the first-ever combined joint patrol in Manbij, Syria, November 1, 2018. Picture taken November 1, 2018. Courtesy Arnada Jones/U.S. Army/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1659329F10

Turks skeptical over accord with US for Syrian 'safe zone'

Many Turks fear that Turkey will be left in the lurch again with the new safe-zone agreement, as it was with the Manbij road map.

A Syrian Kurd walks during a protest and sit-in against Turkey, in the town of Ras al-Ain in Syria's Hasakeh province near the Turkish border on August 9, 2019, with the flags of Turkey seen across the border in the background. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP) (Photo credit should read DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

US-Turkey joint operations center buys time for Syria safe zone talks

Following an agreement to establish a "peace corridor" in northeast Syria, American and Turkish officials are creating a joint command center to work out details and oversight protocols.