Read the latest news from regional and global sources, presenting different voices and perspectives.

Conflicting Narratives Surround the Death of Youssef Labbad in Damascus Custody
The death of Youssef Labbad, a 28-year-old Syrian from the Qaboun neighbourhood in Damascus, while in the custody of Syria’s Internal Security Forces has ignited widespread controversy and public outrage. Labbad, a father of three who had recently...

Who Wants What And Why In Syria’s Future?
DAMASCUS, SYRIA -Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria's interim president, embodies a "hybrid" ideology rather than a purely pragmatic political stance, which significantly impacts actionable intelligence for those working with or against him (Photo by Ali Haj...

Refuge, cultural assimilation and Living Together in Vienna’s integration facilities
In Franz Kafka’s short story Before the Law, an unnamed ‘man from the country’ stands before the law; a gatekeeper denies him entry. Here, the law is imagined as a physical entity – an unidentified state, a vast, physical space that the man wishes...

Silicon Summit on Technology and Digital Transformation Sparks Syria’s Digital Future
Aleppo, SANA – The Silicon Summit for Technology and Digital Transformation kicked off Thursday evening at the Sheraton Hotel in Aleppo, to mark the first major technology event to be held in post-liberation of Syria. The second day’s schedule...

Russia interested in all Syria’s ethnic groups participating in upcoming elections
MOSCOW, July 31. /TASS/. Russia is interested in representatives from all Syria’s ethnic and religious groups taking part in the country’s parliamentary elections in September, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference...

Russia’s Lavrov meets Syrian FM in Moscow, invites al-Sharaa to Russia-Arab summit
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani in Moscow on Thursday, the first visit by a top official from Syria’s new government following the toppling of longtime Russian ally Bashar al-Assad in December....

Banbury MP visits Syrian and Palestinian refugee camps during visit to Jordan
Banbury MP Sean Woodcock spent time at Syrian and Palestinian refugee camps during his official visit to Jordan last week (July 21-27). The Banbury MP was a part of a parliamentary delegation to Jordan that visited refugee camps and met with...

Israeli airstrike hits military site in coastal Syria for 3rd time in month
LATAKIA, Syria (North Press) – An Israeli airstrike targeted on Wednesday night the Brigade 107 base located in the village of Zama in the Jableh countryside of Syria’s Latakia Governorate. According to a local correspondent, a loud explosion was...

Putin meets Syrian FM
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with Syria's foreign minister Asaad al-Shibani in Moscow on Thursday, the first visit by a top official from Syria's new government since the toppling of longtime Russian ally...
Lebanon’s UN refugee agency chief hopes at least 200,000 Syrian refugees return under new plan
BEIRUT (AP) — The UN refugee agency’s representative in Lebanon said Thursday he hopes that at least 200,000 Syrian refugees return from Lebanon by the end of the year under a new government-backed return plan. Before former President Bashar Assad...
Two Israeli Druze indicted for smuggling Kalashnikov Rifle from Syria
Tel Aviv [Israel], July 31 (ANI/TPS): Two young men from northern Israel have been indicted for illegally crossing into Syria and smuggling a Kalashnikov rifle back into the country, police announced Thursday. The suspects, aged 18 and 20, are...

Hungarian Grant to Support Chemical Weapons Ban in Syria
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) announced that Hungary has provided a grant to the organization’s trust funds to support its missions and training programs in Syria, reaffirming its ongoing commitment to the...

Syria journalist Noor Suleiman released after arrest in Damascus
The case has sparked a broader debate about press freedom in Syria's fragile transitional phase [Getty] Syrian journalist and activist Noor Suleiman was released late on Tuesday after being detained by the political security branch in Mezzeh,...
Russia’s Putin meets Syrian FM in Moscow, Sharaa invited to Russia-Arab summit
MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with Syria’s foreign minister Asaad al-Shibani in Moscow on Thursday, the first visit by a top official from Syria’s new government since the toppling of...

The Umayyad Mosque in Damascus is inscribed on the Arab Architectural and Urban Heritage List
Damascus, SANA – The Committee of the Observatory of Architectural and Urban Heritage in Arab Countries, affiliated with the Arab Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization “ALECSO”, included the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus in the Arab...

UN experts warn of IS, al-Qaeda's Africa threats, risks in Syria
The threat from Islamic State and al-Qaeda extremists and their affiliates is most intense in parts of Africa, and risks are growing in Syria, which both groups view as "a strategic base for external operations," UN experts said in a new report....

In the Golan Heights, Druze are loyal to Syria. But that loyalty is now severely tested
MAJDAL SHAMS, Golan Heights — For his entire life, Jalaa Ayoub could see Syria, just a few dozen yards away from the eastern edge of his town in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. But he could not go there. Then, in July, as deadly fighting broke...

Al-Shaibani: Dialogue with Russia is a strategic step toward formulating new conditions that preserve Syria’s sovereignty, Lavrov: We support Syria’s integrity and territorial integrity
Moscow, SANA- Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Asaad al-Shaibani and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, affirmed the depth of the historical relations between Syria and Russia, emphasized the need to enhance cooperation based on...

PETER VAN ONSELEN: Single photo says it all about Albo's little-known past as a pro-Palestine activist - as he considers a history-making change
Anthony Albanese didn't always speak like a diplomat. As a young MP he led protests, co-founded the Parliamentary Friends of Palestine, visited Gaza camps and accused Israel in Parliament of overreacting to teenage stone-throwers with grenades,...

Balancing Fairness and Stability in Syria’s Political Transition
Syria has been in the news often lately, for a lot of the wrong reasons, like the clashes earlier this month between Bedouins and Druze in the province of Sweida and unprovoked Israeli airstrikes on Syrian troops and the country’s capital. But...