Macron’s Damascus visit signals French bid for influence in new Syria, analysts say
LONDON(RAHNUMA): French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Damascus is being widely hailed as historic, making him the first European Union leader to visit Syria since the ouster of longtime ruler Bashar Assad in late 2024. For a country emerging from about 14 years of war, diplomatic isolation and economic freefall, the symbolism might be unmistakable. […]
Syria seeks tech ties at UN-sponsored forum on digital governance, development
LONDON(RAHNUMA): A delegation from the Syrian Arab Republic is participating in the World Summit on the Information Society Forum 2026 in Geneva, Switzerland, as the country seeks to rebuild and reconnect with the global economy. The delegation, which is led by Khaled Al-Homsi, director general of Syria’s Telecommunications and Post Regulatory Authority, aims to strengthen […]
France’s Macron arrives Syria, in first trip by EU head of state since Assad toppled
DAMASCUS(RAHNUMA): French President Emmanuel Macron landed in Syria on Monday, Syria’s state news agency reported, in the first visit to Damascus by a European Union head of state since rebels led by President Ahmed Al-Sharaa toppled Bashar Assad in 2024. The visit underlines Syria’s geopolitical transformation under Sharaa, a former Al-Qaeda commander who has established […]
UAE, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye ‘strongly condemn’ Israeli incursions in Syria
ISTANBUL(RAHNUMA): Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have blasted Israeli incursions and ammunition fire in southern Syria targeting the provinces of Quneitra and Daraa. Turkiye’s foreign ministry on Monday denounced the Israeli incursions after tensions near the Golan Heights forced some local residents to flee. “We strongly condemn the Israeli attacks against Quneitra […]
Trump presses Syria to take on Hezbollah, raising alarm in Lebanon and Israel
BEIRUT(RAHNUMA): As the White House has soured on Israel’s war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, US President Donald Trump has shocked many in the region by pushing an alternative: Let Syria fight the Iran-backed militant group instead. He has suggested that the battle-hardened and Islamist-led insurgents who overthrew Syria’s autocratic President Bashar Assad a year and […]
Syria to launch direct Damascus-Amsterdam flights in July
LONDON(RAHNUMA): Syrian Airlines will operate its first flight from Damascus to Amsterdam in the first week of July, the General Authority of Civil Aviation and Air Transport has confirmed. Flights between European cities — except Moscow — and the Syrian Arab Republic were suspended during the 13 years of civil war, which ended in 2024. […]
Syria provides internet through Cyprus, Turkiye after undersea cable ‘sabotaged’
LONDON(RAHNUMA): Syria’s state-owned telecom operator is continuing repairs on the “sabotaged” international undersea cable between the coastal city of Tartous and Alexandria in Egypt. Syria Telecom said on Tuesday that it is currently providing internet via the Ugarit Cable System, which connects Tartous with Pentaskhinos in Cyprus and runs 239 km beneath the Mediterranean Sea. […]
Syria postpones Hajj return flights as Iran, Israel resume fighting
LONDON(RAHNUMA): Syrian authorities postponed all flights scheduled for Monday to transport pilgrims from Madinah in Saudi Arabia to the airports in Aleppo and Damascus due to the resumption of fighting between Iran and Israel. The Ministry of Awqaf announced that two aircraft carrying nearly 700 Syrian pilgrims were diverted to the airport in Amman, Jordan. […]
Syria’s first public trial of Assad-era officials opens in Damascus
DAMASCUS(RAHNUMA): The first public trial in Syria of officials linked to the rule of former President Bashar Assad opened in Damascus Sunday. Atef Najib, a former Syrian army brigadier general who was head of the Political Security Branch in southern Syria’s Daraa province under Assad, appeared in the courtroom to face charges related to “crimes […]
Syria, Jordan reaffirm military commitments
LONDON(RANUMA): Syria and Jordan have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening military ties. The statement was made during a meeting in Amman between the Syrian Chief of the General Staff Maj. Gen. Ali Al-Naasan and Jordan’s Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Maj. Gen. Yousef Huneiti. Huneiti emphasized Jordan’s commitment to supporting the Syrian Arab […]
