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Syria

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Syria. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Capital

Damascus

Head of State

President Bashar al-Assad

Head of Government

Prime Minister Hussein Arnous

Buddhist monks take a hike in Bhutan in September 2022. Photo: Tim Pile

United Nations

Sex education with monks in Bhutan: 5 UN projects you likely didn’t know about

Think the United Nations is just about politics? These initiatives in health, safety and human rights might change your perspective.

23 Jun 2025 - 1:43PMvideocam

Middle East

US bases in the Middle East under threat as Iran vows retaliation

23 Jun 2025 - 11:16AM

Islamic State

Suicide attack on Damascus church kills at least 22

23 Jun 2025 - 1:59PM

Israel-Iran conflict

Opinion | Flying into the storm: how Middle East conflict reshapes global air routes

The airline industry has been re-routing routes and avoiding conflict zones in the Middle East while keeping an eye on rising costs.

21 Jun 2025 - 10:00AMvideocam

Stranded passengers wait in the departure lounge of an airport in Lebanon on June 13. Photo: dpa

Hong Kong tourism

Hong Kong issues ‘black’ travel alert for Iran and Israel as conflict escalates

Hongkongers should avoid visiting Iran and Israel because of the ‘highly unpredictable security situation’, Security Bureau says.

20 Jun 2025 - 12:25AMvideocam

Israel-Iran conflict

Iran’s Khamenei is cornered and prone to errors as Israel hits his inner circle

The supreme leader finds himself isolated by the losses of his key security advisers, raising the risk of strategic miscalculations.

17 Jun 2025 - 10:52PMvideocam

Hong Kong society

19 Hongkongers in Israel, Iran and Jordan contact authorities amid conflict

Residents reach out to Immigration Department, while travel sector representative reports no Hong Kong tour groups in those countries.

18 Jun 2025 - 11:18AM

Smoke rises from an oil storage facility after it appeared to have been struck by an Israeli strike on Saturday, in Tehran, Iran, on Monday. Photo: AP

Middle East

Israeli strikes take out Iranian Supreme leader’s top generals

Among those killed were Armed Forces chief Mohammad Bagheri and Hossein Salami, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

13 Jun 2025 - 7:32PMvideocam

Middle East

Syria decrees women must wear burkinis, ‘decent’ clothing at public beaches

The order drew concerns among some Syrians about their personal freedoms under the country’s new Islamist authorities.

11 Jun 2025 - 1:30AMvideocam

Middle East

Israel attacks targets in Syria after projectiles launched, blames new leader

Damascus denies involvement as Israeli military responds to cross-border fire.

4 Jun 2025 - 4:03PM

An Israeli tank in the buffer zone between Israel and Syria in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. File photo: EPA-EFE

Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

Hong Kong nurse honoured with top medal for 15 years of life-saving work

Walter Leung’s volunteer work with the Red Cross in disaster situations has earned him the Florence Nightingale Medal, the highest international distinction for nurses.

31 May 2025 - 7:21PM

Hong Kong nurse Walter Leung attends to a patient in Gaza. Photo: Walter Leung

Donald Trump

Trump attacks ‘scum’ opponents, judges on day honouring US war dead

US president honours fallen soldiers on Memorial Day after posting an all-caps tirade at his enemies on social media.

27 May 2025 - 1:42PM

Middle East

Syrian government to aid search for missing Americans, US envoy says

The US lifting sanctions paves the way for reconstruction, with authorities relying on foreign help to foot the cost of rebuilding.

25 May 2025 - 4:28PM

Middle East

Syrian government, Kurdish officials visit notorious prison camp

Kurdish-run camps in Syria’s northeast hold tens of thousands of people, many with alleged or perceived links to Isis.

25 May 2025 - 3:47PM

Residents of the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp, which holds relatives of suspected Isis fighters. Photo: AFP

United States

Opinion | With his ‘historic’ tour, Trump puts US power back in the Middle East

In reasserting the US in the centre of the Middle East’s strategic calculus, Trump also weakens the leverage and influence of Russia and China.

23 May 2025 - 5:30AM

President Donald Trump visits US troops at the Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar, on May 15. Photo: Reuters

Middle East

Opinion | How Trump’s Middle East tour revealed Gulf states’ priorities

While the Gulf states seek benefits from Washington and Beijing, Chinese leaders must deliver more tangible support to secure recent gains.

22 May 2025 - 8:51AM

Middle East

Syria on the brink? US warns of potential new civil war within weeks

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Syria’s transitional government facing potential collapse, more war, and ‘country splitting up’.

21 May 2025 - 2:34PM

Hong Kong society

Letters | Even as HIV rates fall, Hong Kong can’t afford to get complacent

Readers discuss international best practice for HIV prevention, JD.com going head to head with Meituan in delivery services, and civilian deaths in the Gaza war.

18 May 2025 - 11:30AM

Hong Kong has made remarkable progress in HIV prevention, but is still some distance away from achieving the goal of ending HIV as a public health threat by 2030. Photo: Shutterstock

Donald Trump

Trump caps Gulf tour with America-first policy for peace in Middle East

Trump’s vision sits well with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, two Gulf nations closest to Washington, but its feasibility remains to be determined, analysts say.

16 May 2025 - 9:00PMvideocam

Middle East

Trump wraps up his Middle East tour with deals galore

The US president made scoring business deals a centrepiece of the first major foreign trip of his second term.

16 May 2025 - 5:17PM

Middle East

Trump says ‘getting close’ to deal to avoid Iran military action

Iran has held four rounds of talks with the Trump administration, which has sought to avert threatened military action by Israel.

15 May 2025 - 9:54PMvideocam

Donald Trump

Trump move to end Syria sanctions catches his own administration by surprise

The very officials who’d be responsible for implementing the policy change were not warned before the US president made his announcement.

15 May 2025 - 7:18AMvideocam

Donald Trump

Trump meets Syria’s rebel leader Sharaa, urges him to establish Israel ties

Sharaa was for years the leader of al-Qaeda’s official wing in the Syrian conflict. The US removed a US$10 million bounty on him in December.

14 May 2025 - 7:43PMvideocam

Syrian conflict

Syria’s rebel leader Sharaa’s path from global jihad to Trump meeting

The meeting in Saudi Arabia is a milestone for a man who joined al-Qaeda in Iraq around the time of the 2003 US-led invasion.

14 May 2025 - 5:56PMvideocam

Religion

Pope Leo offers to mediate between world leaders to end wars

Ending conflicts has been a dominant theme in Pope Leo’s addresses since he became pope last week.

14 May 2025 - 5:03PMvideocam

The new Pope Leo, who became head of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics last week, also called on Christians living in the Middle East not to abandon their homes, in a speech to members of the Eastern Catholic Churches. Photo: AP

Donald Trump

‘I like him too much’: Trump showers praise on Saudi Arabia’s crown prince

The US president’s rapport with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is far warmer than his White House predecessor’s.

14 May 2025 - 9:44AM

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at an investment forum in Riyadh on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Middle East

Trump says he will remove Syria sanctions in surprise boost to war-torn nation

The US president is expected to meet interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda commander who spent years in a US prison in Iraq.

14 May 2025 - 4:07AMvideocam

Israel

‘Cease at once’: UN envoy urges Israel to stop attacks on Syria

‘I strongly condemn Israel’s continued and escalating violations of Syria’s sovereignty, including air strikes in Damascus and other cities,’ said Geir Pedersen.

3 May 2025 - 9:58PM

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