World / Politics | FOCUS May 24, 2021
Syria's predictable polls: A pledge of 'allegiance' to Assad
The poll, the second since the war started in 2011, is all but certain to deliver a fourth term for a president already in power for 21 years.
World | FOCUS Apr 22, 2021
Israel intensifying air war in Syria against Iranian encroachment
by Suleiman Al-Khalidi
Israel has dramatically expanded air strikes on suspected Iranian missile and weapons production centers in Syria to repel what it sees as a stealthy military encroachment by its regional arch-enemy, Western and regional intelligence sources say. Capitalizing on a longtime alliance with Syria, Iran is ...
World Mar 8, 2021
After a decade of violence and human tragedy that has made Syria the defining war of the early 21st century, the fighting has tapered off but the suffering hasn't.
World Apr 28, 2020
Putin has a Syria ‘headache’ and the Kremlin’s blaming Assad
Russian President Vladimir Putin is letting his impatience show with Syrian ally Bashar Assad, who isn’t proving as grateful for being kept in power by Russian intervention in his country’s brutal civil war as the Kremlin leader needs him to be. Consumed at home by ...
World | FOCUS Mar 3, 2020
'All our dreams are gone': Desperation deepens for Syrians as conflict intensifies
by Dominic Evans
At a maternity hospital in northwest Syria, an alarm flashes at the main entrance to alert staff. It's not patients en route to the hospital. It's warplanes. Doctors at the hospital face a daily struggle to care for expectant mothers amid a Syrian government assault ...
World Feb 28, 2020
Erdogan's options narrow as Russia presses Syrian crisis to Turkey's doorstep
With nearly 1 million displaced Syrians massing near the Turkish border in the face of a Syrian government military offensive, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's options are narrowing. He feels blindsided by Russia's push into Syria's Idlib region and the risk of full-blown conflict is ...
World / Social Issues Feb 6, 2020
Cold and disease threaten more than half a million Syrians fleeing toward Turkey amid Idlib fighting
Cold weather, disease and a lack of shelter and medicine threaten hundreds of thousands of civilians as they flee fighting in Idlib province, in one of the biggest upheavals of Syria's nine-year civil war, aid groups and doctors said. The migrants, their numbers swelling by ...
World Jan 31, 2020
Assault on Syria's Idlib pushes 700,000 to flee in potential 'international crisis,' says U.S. envoy
An assault on rebel-held northwest Syria by government forces has pushed some 700,000 people to flee toward the Turkish border and raised the specter of an international crisis, U.S. Special Envoy for Syria James Jeffrey said on Thursday. Backed by Russian air power, government forces ...
World Jan 2, 2020
Tayyip Erdogan says up to 250,000 Syrians flee toward Turkey as crisis worsens
President Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday up to 250,000 migrants were fleeing toward Turkey from Syria's northwest Idlib region after weeks of renewed bombardment by Russian and Syrian government forces. Turkey already hosts some 3.7 million Syrian refugees, the largest refugee population in the world, and ...
Business Dec 18, 2019
Russia to invest $500 mllion in Syrian port and build grain hub, Interfax reports
Russia plans to invest $500 million in the Syrian port of Tartus and build a grain hub there to boost its presence on Middle East markets, Interfax news agency cited Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov as saying on Tuesday. Russia, the world's largest wheat exporter, ...
World Dec 18, 2019
Russian and Syrian airstrikes kill 17 in rebel-held northwest despite 'de-escalation,' rescuers say
Syrian government and Russian airstrikes killed at least 17 people on Tuesday in rebel-held northwestern Syria in a spike in casualties from relentless daily strikes in recent months, witnesses and rescuers said. The northwest corner of the country, including the Idlib region, is the last ...
World Dec 3, 2019
Syrian airstrikes on Idlib markets kill at least 11, say White Helmets
Syrian government airstrikes on the rebel-held area of Idlib killed at least 11 people and wounded dozens on Monday after hitting two outdoor markets, Syrian civil defense forces said. Syria's northwestern corner, including the Idlib region, is the last major chunk of territory still in ...