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Palmyra

Syria

July 10, 2026

Damascus 9:56 am

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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

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

US Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter gunners scan the desert while transporting troops on May 26, 2021, over northeastern Syria. US forces coordinate with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in combatting residual ISIS extremists.

Islamic State exploits economic downturn in Iraq, Syria, US envoy says

John Godfrey said the thousands of suspected Islamic State fighters held in northeast Syria constitute a security threat to the region.

AAREF WATAD/AFP via Getty Images

Syrian aid agencies brace for vote on border crossing: 'There is no Plan B'

Humanitarian actors are stockpiling supplies and sounding the alarm ahead of a UN Security Council vote that could eliminate the United Nations' last remaining entry point into northwest Syria.

Vassily Nebenzia

Russia rules out opening second Syria border crossing for aid

Russia's UN ambassador said his government is still considering whether or not to veto the UN's mandate for Syria's last remaining aid crossing.

A woman walks in the northern city of Raqqa, the former Syrian capital of the Islamic State, Syria, Dec. 20, 2020.

Kurdish-led forces intensify crackdown on Islamic State cells in northeast Syria

Islamic State activities seem to have diminished during the month of June in the Kurdish-controlled areas in northeastern Syria amid a crackdown led by the Syrian Democratic Forces.

Smoke rises from buildings following an airstrike by Syrian government forces in the eastern city of Deir ez-Zor, on Oct. 31, 2017.

US forces in Syria come under attack after airstrikes on Iran-backed militias

Renewed fighting in Iraq and Syria is bound to set off scrutiny in Congress.

A child sits near displaced Syrians lining up to collect plates of food prepared by a local charity for the Ramadan fast-breaking meal at a camp for people displaced by conflict in the town of Sarmada in Syria's northwestern Idlib province on April 13, 2021.

Blinken calls Syrian humanitarian situation 'untenable'

At a meeting of the members of the US D-ISIS coalition in Rome, the US secretary of state makes appeal for "stabilization."

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Intel: Blinken urges allies to repatriate IS fighters from Syria

The Syrian Democratic Forces are holding an estimated 10,000 suspected Islamic State fighters, a situation Secretary of State Antony Blinken said is "untenable."

Syrian children fight over goods taken from a truck that rebels captured at Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey, near Aleppo, Syria, July 20, 2012.

Warnings increase amid fears of closing last aid lifeline in Syria

International and UN organizations press for maintaining the flow of humanitarian aid to northwest Syria through Bab al-Hawa crossing, in light of fears of a humanitarian catastrophe in case the mandate for cross-border aid was not renewed.

April's Pink Super Moon rises behind a fighter of the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army in the rebel-held countryside of Idlib province, Syria, April 28, 2021.

Turkish-backed opposition seeks unified security forces in north Syria

The Turkish-backed opposition is trying to benefit from the experience of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in establishing a new security apparatus to pursue terrorist cells in the areas under its control in north Syria.

This picture shows a view of the Great Colonnade at the Greco-Roman ruins of the ancient city of Apamea, close to the town of Qalaat al-Madiq, after it was taken by government forces, Syria, May 17, 2019.

Russia presses soft power in Syria by restoring Palmyra, Apamea

Russia is promoting its archaeological and historical restoration projects in Syria, as it tries to expand its influence in Syria by dominating the Syrian antiquities sector.

AAREF WATAD/AFP via Getty Images

NGOs make case for keeping UN border crossing into Syria open

The situation in northwest Syria is so nightmarish that some families are abandoning newborns in the streets, according to a humanitarian organization working there.

Nasr al-Hariri

Turkey promotes tribal role in Syrian opposition institutions

The Syrian opposition is divided over activating the role of tribes in the coalition, as some believe this would be in favor of figures close to Turkey and would help it dominate the opposition institutions.