Municipalities Under Fire: Local Governance in Israel’s “Security Zones” in Southern Lebanon and Syria

Executive Summary In southern Lebanon and southern Syria, municipalities have become the front line of the state. As Israel destroys villages, restricts access and raids homes inside its self-declared security zones, municipalities are at the center of …

Chemonics in Syria: A Damascus office and 14 years of locally led partnership

Chemonics International opened its office in Damascus on July 5, 2026, and used the occasion to mark 14 years of work in Syria. Syrian leaders, partner organizations and program alumni attended. The agenda they set out runs well past emergency relief, into …

Syria hosts Iraqi PM for visit amid security challenges in north and south

Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa welcomed Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al Zaidi to Damascus on October 28, marking Zaidi’s first trip to Syria. Sharaa described the meeting as a historic opportunity for the countries to improve ties. This visit took place as …

5 Dead in Syria Amid Floods

Five people, including four children, have died after heavy rainfall and flash floods swept across parts of northern and eastern Syria, according to authorities on Thursday. The Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management said the flooding and heavy …

Five children among seven dead in eastern Syria floods

Seven people, including five children, have died ​and seven others were ​injured after torrential rains triggered ‌flash floods ​in eastern Syria, authorities said on Friday. Four people remain missing and rescue teams are continuing to search ‌flooded …

Four children among five killed as flash floods hit Syria

Five people died, including four children, as heavy rain and flash floods hit northern and eastern Syria. The children drowned in two separate incidents in rural Raqqa province and another died in Deir Ezzor, the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster …

From tinned food to Captagon: Syria’s Saudi connection

Nine decades after a future Syrian president helped broker peace in Yemen, Ahmed al-Sharaa’s embrace of Riyadh raises the prospect of a very different Syrian role. King Abdulaziz proclaimed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932. Its borders remained …

As Syria builds its DNA labs, Arab News speaks to a son still searching for his father

DUBAI: Hassan Aliwi waited nine years to find out what had happened to his family in Raqqa. In September, he finally heard. His sister Manar, her husband Bassam and five children had been killed when their building was destroyed in August 2017. His father …

Hundreds of child marriages recorded in German state, most involving migrants from Syria, Iraq and Pakistan

Authorities in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, have recorded 358 marriages involving at least one minor since April 2012, yet only eight have been formally annulled, according to data released following a parliamentary inquiry by Alternative for Germany (AfD) …

Deadly flash floods hit Syria, killing at least five people