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Syria

August 30, 2026

Damascus 2:45 pm

29°C

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Analysis

UAE gauges new Lebanon deals amid Levant economic stabilization push

Beirut welcomed a high-level business delegation from the UAE in late August as Abu Dhabi pursues new regional economic engagement amid Iran's waning influence.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrive for a joint press conference following their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Feb. 4, 2025.

Analysis

Why Turkey welcomes Israel-Syria talks despite mounting red lines

Turkey supports US-backed Israel-Syria talks but sees little prospect of a lasting accommodation until the Israeli elections.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

cards

Sharaa taps Visa as Syria reconnects to global finance: What to know

Visa and Mastercard announced Wednesday that their networks can now be used to make international card payments in Syria.

Latest News

Analysis

Capitulation or compromise? What SDF's dissolution means for Sharaa, Turkey and Syria's Kurds

Mazloum Kobane, leader of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks during a televised speech at the People's Palace in Damascus on Aug. 25, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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

OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

Since UN vote, aid still sparse in northwest Syria

Since the UN approved six more months of cross-border humanitarian aid to northwest Syria, deliveries remain minimal and millions of people are in need.

ABDULAZIZ KETAZ/AFP via Getty Images

Risks of fire, heat stroke soar as heat wave cooks northwest Syria

Displacement camps in northwest Syria are sweltering as a heat wave sweeps the area.

Syrian laborers work at a clothing workshop in Damascus on Feb. 2, 2016.

Syria and North Korea discuss repairing Syrian engineering and industrial sectors

Syrian industry has experienced substantial losses as a result of the war between government and rebel forces.

A man stands near solar panels displayed at a shop in the town of Dana, Syria.

Another solar project completed in Syria

Solar power is slowly growing in both government and rebel-controlled parts of Syria. The war-torn country suffers from electricity cuts.

A picture taken during a tour organized by the Syrian Ministry of Information shows a Syrian national flag and cars in the district of Daraa al-Balad, Daraa, Syria, Sept. 12, 2021.

Who's to blame for ongoing assassinations in Syria's Daraa province?

Assassinations of opposition and government officials and loyalists alike are proliferating in Syria’s southern province of Daraa, with the rival parties trading blame as to who is responsible for the spike in killings.

A frame grab from a videotape aired Aug. 5, 2006, on the Qatar-based Al Jazeera television network.

How Zawahiri's death affects Syrian opposition factions

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham did not issue an official statement regarding Ayman al-Zawahiri’s death, although some if the group's leaders expressed condolences on Telegram.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) during a meeting in Sochi, on Aug. 5, 2022.

At summit, Erdogan, Putin still divided on Syria

Ankara agreed that part of its natural gas payments to Moscow would be switched to rubles.

OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

Culture

After two years of closure, Syrian pilgrims resume travel through Bab al-Hawa crossing

Syrians with hajj permits are once again crossing from northern Syria into Turkey on pilgrimage to Mecca after a two-year halt.

An aerial view shows Syrian farmers picking cherries in a field in the town of Juzif in the Jebel al-Zawiyah Mountains, Idlib province, Syria, May 30, 2022.

Syrian jihadi group charges farmers for irrigation amid water crisis

The water resources directorate of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham-affiliated Salvation Government has imposed fees for irrigation as part of a project to rehabilitate water stations in al-Roj Plain in Idlib.

In this photograph taken on July 31, 2022, smoke rises from a house following a US drone strike in the Sherpur area of Kabul.

Middle East reactions: Al-Qaeda leader Zawahiri killed in US drone strike

Saudi Arabia and Israel praised the operation which killed the Al-Qaeda leader; a Syrian jihadist group appeared to offer condolences.

Annabelle Chih/Getty Images

Syria, Iran condemn Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan

China is a close ally of both countries but has also made economic inroads recently with US partners in the Middle East.

A Syrian man whose shop was destroyed in a regime aerial bombardment the previous day walks around the area on May 15, 2019.

Syrian escalation risks all-out conflict involving Turkey, Russia, Iran

A military escalation on all axes and from all sides in Syria followed the Tehran summit.