Health news Germany aims to keep thousands of Syrian doctors after al-Assad's fall Amid workforce shortages in Germany, healthcare leaders hope Syrian doctors will stay put after the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria. 19/12/2024
Europe News EU leaders meet to talk Ukraine aid, Syria's transition and Trump 2.0 Despite an agenda packed with hot-button topics, the summit of EU leaders is not expected to yield any breakthrough. 19/12/2024
World News Erdoğan: Türkiye, Lebanon united on approach to regional challenges Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan urges the international community to exert pressure on Israel to comply with the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon. 19/12/2024
No Comment Flights resume in Syria Syria's first domestic flight since the fall of Bashar al-Assad landed in Aleppo on Wednesday after taking off from the capital Damascus. 18/12/2024
World News UN envoy urges 'credible, inclusive' transition in Syria UN envoy Geir Pedersen has urged for a '"credible, inclusive" political transition in Syria. He also called for a new constitution and elections in accordance with a previous UN resolution. 18/12/2024
Europe News How Erdoğan's Turkey became the key player in Syria? Brussels wants to use Ankara's influence to guarantee unity in Syria, as well as to avoid a new confrontation in the northern part of the country. 18/12/2024
Syria HTS gain foothold in Syria ten days after toppling Bashar al-Assad The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group is looking to restore life in Syria to pre-civil war times. The rebel group, which orchestrated the stunning downfall of President Bashar al-Assad, is continuing to push out messages of unity to a population severely scarred by decades of domestic division. 18/12/2024
Travel News UK Foreign Office lifts advice against travel to Israel Travel advisories have been lifted after they were imposed 15 months ago in October 2023. 17/12/2024
Europe News Erdoğan seizes meeting with von der Leyen to demand EU-Turkey upgrade During her meeting with President Erdoğan, Ursula von der Leyen announced an additional €1 billion to support Syrian refugees in Turkey, which can be adapted "as things evolve on the ground." 17/12/2024
Syria Syria's HTS leader says rebel groups will be 'disbanded' to join army HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa pushed a message of unity in Syria as he sought to reassure minorities in the war-torn country. 17/12/2024
Syria Syria's new government says Russia should 'reconsider' its troops Syria’s new transitional government says there is no place for Russian presence in Syria a week after the country’s long-time President Bashar al-Assad was overthrown. The new government also says it is open to engage in contacts with all countries to pave Syria’s new future. 16/12/2024
Lebanon Greek PM in Lebanon: 'Syria needs to be inclusive' Kyriakos Mitsotakis became the first European leader to visit Lebanon following the ceasefire with Israel. 16/12/2024
Syria Israeli airstrikes in Syria 'most violent' since 2012, monitor says The Israeli military says it is only hitting military targets in Syria after the collapse of President Bashar al-Assad's rule last weekend following a stunning rebel advance. 16/12/2024
Europe News EU takes first step to make contact with Syrian rebels, Kallas says The EU has taken the first step to directly engage with HTS, the Syrian rebel force, while maintaining its designation of a terrorist organisation. 16/12/2024
Radio Schuman Are conservatives set to take back power in Germany? On Monday, the German parliament will hold a confidence vote on Chancellor Olaf Scholz amid the rise of the far-right in the country. 16/12/2024
Israel Israel plans to expand into Golan Heights in a 'new front' in Syria Israel's "demographic development" plan to increase settler numbers only applies to the area of the Golan Heights that Israel seized during the Six Day War in 1967 and later annexed in 1981 and not to territory taken since al-Assad's ouster. 15/12/2024
Syria Syria's Kurds fearful of the future after Islamist rebels seized power One week after President Bashir al-Assad's regime was toppled the Kurdish region in the north is neither as calm nor as relieved as the rest of Syria. 15/12/2024
Syria Damascus is surprisingly calm a week after Syria's rebels took over A week of transition has been surprisingly smooth: Reports of reprisals, revenge killings sectarian violence and looting have all been minimal. 15/12/2024
Lebanon Najib Mikati calls for Syrian refugees in Lebanon to return home With a population of 5.8 million, the two million Syrian refugees in the country means Lebanon is home to the largest number of refugees per capita. 15/12/2024
World News Blinken says US has had 'direct contact' with Syria's HTS rebels Speaking at a press conference in the Jordanian city Aqaba, Blinken said that America and its allies 'have an important stake in helping the Syrian people chart this new path.' 14/12/2024