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Syria

July 9, 2026

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US President Donald Trump meets Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (L) on the sidelines of the NATO Summit at Bestepe Presidential Compound in Ankara, on July 8, 2026.

US to drop Syria from terror blacklist

The terrorism label remained a key obstacle to Syria's postwar reconstruction.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) shakes hands with France's President Emmanuel Macron following a joint press conference in Damascus on July 7, 2026.

Explainer

French energy, shipping giants explore Syria deals during Macron visit

The two countries signed preliminary pacts spanning transport, healthcare, banking, infrastructure and development on Tuesday, even as twin explosions in the capital underscored the fragile investment environment.

Ludovic MARIN / AFP via Getty Images

Macron's Syria visit eyes to boost France's economic role: What to know

The two leaders discussed ways to strengthen cooperation and various regional developments during the first visit by a Western head of state to Syria since the civil war ended.

Latest News

Two explosions hit Damascus as Macron visits Syria

Security personnel and first responders prepare to cordon off an area near the Four Seasons Hotel following two blasts nearby in Damascus on July 7, 2026. Syrian authorities said 18 people were wounded by two blasts in central Damascus on July 7 near the hotel where France's president spent the night, with the Elysee Palace saying his visit is ongoing. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

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

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

Haddon Barth

By Haddon Barth

Analysis

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

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

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

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

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

A convoy transporting humanitarian aid crosses into Syria from Turkey through the Bab al-Hawa border crossing on Jan. 18, 2022.

Possible closure of Turkey-Syria crossing alarms aid groups

Fears are mounting about a looming humanitarian catastrophe amid concerns that Russia will close the last border crossing through which UN and NGO aid passes to reach millions of needy in north Syria.

A farmer ploughs a wheat field in the countryside of the northeastern city of Qamishli, on Sept. 18, 2021.

Syria’s bread basket lies empty

Deir ez-Zor province in eastern Syria is facing a water and bread crisis that is likely to become even worse during the month of Ramadan.

Fadel Othman inside a small gym in northern Syria where he teaches kung fu.

Culture

Syrian martial artist who lost leg returns home to teach kung fu

A Syrian kung fu teacher has overcome the trauma of losing his leg to follow his passion for kung fu and opened a club for children in Syria’s Aleppo province.

Syria Russia

Analysis

Ukraine shockwaves reverberate in war-weary Syria

Russia is the common thread in Syria and Ukraine; Syrians feel ‘abandoned by the world;' Turkey seizes an opening; UN process stymied; and US stresses ‘accountability.'

Week in Review

By Week in Review

Syrians buy food supplies ahead of the Muslim month of Ramadan, at a shopping street in the northwestern rebel-held city of Idlib, on April 1, 2022.

Price hikes make life harder in Idlib

Prices have increased dramatically ahead of Ramadan in opposition-held areas of Syria, where residents accuse Hayat Tahrir al-Sham of failing to help.

Syrians gather at a market as they prepare for the upcoming Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in the war-ravaged town of Ariha in the rebel-held northwestern Idlib province, Syria, March 31, 2022.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader seeks more popular support in Syria's Idlib

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani has recently visited the Jabal al-Zawiya area in Idlib upon an invitation by locals, to stress his organization’s ongoing support for the town.

US troops Syria

Four US soldiers injured by rocket attack in Syria

The barrage suggests Iran's proxies will continue to harass US forces in the region, whether or not the sides return to the 2015 nuclear deal.

Mourners pray over the bodies of children killed on their way to school after regime forces shelled the village of Maaret al-Naasan, Idlib province, Syria, April 4, 2022.

Syrian regime, Russian forces escalate attacks in Idlib amid stalled war in Ukraine

The residents of Idlib in northwest Syria fear a military escalation at the battlefronts where the regime and opposition are escalating their military activities.

Aerial view of the destruction in the city of Raqqa, Syria, Nov. 7, 2021.

Pentagon could have done more to prevent casualties in key Syria battle, report

A 2017 decision to encircle the Islamic State's capital at Raqqa inhibited the possibility of civilian escape corridors, a Pentagon-sponsored report found.

Members of the Free Syrian Army wave the flag of the Syrian opposition as they travel in a truck through the town of Hazano, in Idlib's northern countryside, as reinforcements are deployed from Aleppo's northern countryside to Idlib's countryside to counter an ongoing pro-regime offensive, Syria, Feb. 5, 2020.

HTS explores rapprochement with Turkey-backed factions in north Syria

Regular meetings between the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army factions and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leaders in northwestern Syria will open a new page in relations between the two parties and might pave the way for military integration in the future.

A Syrian beekeeper prepares medicine to inject into hives at a bee farm in the rebel-controlled town of Hamouria, in the eastern Ghouta region on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Oct. 2, 2016. Honey is used as a homoeopathic treatment for burns and wounds.

Syrians resort to herbal medicine amid drug crisis

The deteriorating living conditions in northwestern Syria and the expensive medical consultations and medicines have prompted Syrian patients to resort to herbal medicine to treat their diseases.

Syrians wave the flag of Russia.

Pro-Russia rallies continue throughout Syria

Syria has been one of the most vocally supportive countries of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.