Yoon Ga-eun was not a name many would have recognised in South Korea. That is until her movie about a teenager who is a survivor of sexual violence became a dark-horse hit. "It hasn't really sunk in yet," indie filmmaker Ms Yoon told BBC Korean at a studio in Seoul in late November. "Now I just fee»»»

Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi was in Damascus on Sunday for fresh talks with officials on integrating his forces into those of the central military, the Kurds' armed forces said. Abdi signed a deal in March with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to merge the Kurds' semi-autonomous administratio»»»

Syria started the process of circulating new currency bills on Saturday as the crisis-hit nation seeks to stabilize the economy as it recovers from the fall of Bashar Assad’s government. A decree issued earlier this week by President Ahmad al-Sharaa said that “old Syrian currency” will be gradually»»»

Demonstrations by Alawite communities swept through Latakia, Tartus, Homs, and Hama again last week, just a month after a similar wave of protests. This time, however, they unfolded in a far more volatile environment, particularly in Latakia, where unrest turned deadly. Four people were killed, inc»»»

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday appointed the head of Ukraine's military intelligence as his new chief of staff, a move that comes as the US leads a diplomatic push to end Russia's nearly 4-year-old invasion. In announcing the appointment of Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, Zelenskyy said Ukraine needs»»»

Thousands of documents and interviews with Assad-era officials reveal how the Syrian regime worked to conceal evidence of its atrocities during the civil war, according to a report published by The New York Times. The heads of the security agencies arrived in convoys of black SUVs to Bashar al-Assa»»»

Revellers around the world toasted the start of 2026, bidding farewell on Wednesday to a volatile year when temperatures soared, US President Donald Trump upended global trade, and the brutal conflict in Ukraine raged on. While a fragile truce took hold in devastated Gaza, violence in Sudan continu»»»

New York, Dec. 31 (SANA) A year after the collapse of ousted regime, tens of thousands of Syrian families are still searching for answers about the fate of more than 100,000 people who disappeared into the country’s security prisons during nearly 14 years of war. Documents and Testimonies Reveal a »»»

A passenger has described "chaos" after two trains collided head-on near Peru's most popular tourist attraction, Machu Picchu. Niels Honkoop, 33, told the BBC he had switched seats part-way through the journey from the middle of the train to the back, before it crashed, injuring many of those sitti»»»

Syrian authorities have arrested 21 people in the coastal province of Latakia over alleged links to the ousted government of former president Bashar al-Assad, state media reported, after sectarian violence prompted an overnight curfew in the provincial capital. Authorities in Syria’s Latakia provin»»»

The outgoing United Nations refugee chief fears an increasingly fragmented world is fueling global conflicts and crises, and inflaming hostility towards people desperately fleeing for safety. Reflecting on his decade at the helm of the UNHCR, Filippo Grandi told AFP that one of the most worrying de»»»

The US military said Tuesday that nearly 25 operatives of the ISIS group were killed or captured in Syria this month following an ambush that killed two US troops and an American civilian interpreter. The US Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said in a statement on X that 11 missions »»»

America's overarching goal in the region is to ensure a secure Israel and US-friendly neighbouring states with which it can establish commercial ties. But inconsistent policies and mistakes have made this harder to realise. Below is an analysis of the impact of consecutive presidencies on US Middle»»»

Damascus, Dec.30 (SANA) Syrian Foreign Minister, Assad Hassan al‑Shaibani, received on Tuesday Mrs. Nathalie Fustier, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria. Talks during the meeting focused on the latest developments regarding the humanitarian situation in Syria and UN’s efforts to »»»

Dubai: Syria has unveiled a series of redesigned banknotes as part of a sweeping monetary reform aimed at stabilising the national currency and restoring confidence in the economy after years of turmoil. The new Syrian pound removes two zeros from the old denomination and abandons portraits of form»»»

Lebanon plans to purchase natural gas from Egypt, seeking to reduce its reliance on fuel oil for its ageing power plants in a country hamstrung by regular electricity cuts. The electricity sector has cost Lebanon more than $40 billion since the end of its 1975-1990 civil war, and successive governm»»»

U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran of fresh strikes and said Hamas would have "hell to pay" if it fails to disarm in Gaza, as he presented a united front with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. Speaking at a news conference with Netanyahu in Florida, Trump threatened to "erad»»»

Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa unveiled on Monday new banknotes replacing those showing ousted ruler Bashar al-Assad and his family, hoping the Syrian pound can regain some of the value lost to over a decade of war. Improving the standing of the Syrian pound is among the greatest challenges for Syri»»»

US President Donald Trump warned Iran of fresh strikes and said Hamas would have "hell to pay" if it fails to disarm in Gaza, as he presented a united front with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. Speaking at a news conference with Netanyahu in Florida, Trump threatened to "eradic»»»

As the March 10 agreement between the Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces nears its end, more and more new tunnels are under construction in residential neighbourhoods in Raqqa, in northeastern Syria. Locals told us that they are concerned about the underground militarisation of thei»»»

Donald Trump said he hoped to reach phase two of the Gaza peace plan "very quickly", as he warned Hamas would have "hell to pay" if it did not disarm quickly. The US president, whose 20-point peace plan requires the militant group to disarm, made the comments as he met Israeli Prime Minister Benjam»»»

The Syria TV website said Iran has been working since early December to mobilize remnants of the Fourth Division, which was linked to Iran and previously overseen by Maher al-Assad, the brother of fugitive President Bashar al-Assad, to inflame the situation in Syria. Citing regional security source»»»

Lebanon said Monday it plans to purchase natural gas from Egypt, seeking to reduce its reliance on fuel oil for its ageing power plants in a country hamstrung by regular electricity cuts. The electricity sector has cost Lebanon more than $40 billion since the end of its 1975-1990 civil war, and suc»»»

Doha: The Palestinian group Hamas has confirmed that its armed wing spokesperson, ⁠Abu Obeida, ​and then ‍Gaza chief Mohammed Sinwar were killed Israel’s genocidal war earlier this year. The Qassam Brigades made the announcement Monday. It also confirmed the deaths of Mohammed Shabanah, the head of»»»

The year 2025 was marked by relentless violence and suffering for Palestinians. Despite temporary ceasefires, Israeli military operations continued to devastate Gaza, pushing the region deeper into a humanitarian crisis. As the year unfolded, the West Bank saw escalating violence from settlers and »»»

Syria’s government has ordered soldiers to guard a mass grave created to conceal atrocities under Bashar al-Assad and has opened a criminal investigation, following a Reuters report that revealed a yearslong conspiracy by the fallen dictatorship to hide thousands of bodies on the remote ​desert sit»»»

The pull of home can be strong – even when it is a place you can't remember. That is how it is for Ahmed, 18. He emerges from a mosque in the heart of Gaziantep in south-east Turkey - not far from the Syrian border - wearing a black T-shirt with "Syria" written on the front. His family fled his hom»»»

At least four people were killed and dozens more injured during demonstrations staged by members of the Alawite minority in Syria on Sunday. The rare protests followed Friday’s deadly bombing at an Alawite mosque in the city of Homs. Clashes broke out on Syria’s coast between protesters from the Al»»»

Thousands of Syrian Alawites took to the streets in coastal and central parts of the country on Sunday to protest, two days after a mosque bombing that killed eight. The attack, which took place in an Alawite area of Homs, was only the latest against the religious minority, which has been the targe»»»

As Syrians were celebrating the full repeal of the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, the United Kingdom announced a new round of sanctions—an unmistakable reminder that Syria’s reckoning with punitive measures is far from over. By targeting not only figures linked to the former regime but also »»»

The Gaza war has shattered illusions of regional stability and exposed the limits of Israeli and American dominance, but most importantly, it has hinted at what appears to be a rediscovery of Arab agency after decades of accumulated pressures, through the end of the Cold War and the Arab Spring 20 »»»

A bombing at a mosque in Syria during Friday prayers killed at least eight people and wounded 18 others, authorities said. Images released by Syria’s state-run Arab News Agency showed blood on the mosque’s carpets, holes in the walls, shattered windows and fire damage. The Imam Ali bin Abi Talib Mo»»»

An explosion has killed at least eight people and injured 18 others during Friday prayers inside a mosque in the Syrian city of Homs, the health ministry has said. Pictures from Syria's state-run news agency, Sana, show the inside of the Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib Mosque with black, scorched walls, sma»»»

At least eight people died and 18 wounded in a blast that struck a mosque in an Alawite neighbourhood of the Homs province in Syria on Friday, according to local officials. At least eight people were killed in an explosion ⁠at a mosque of the Alawite minority sect in the Syrian city of Homs on Frid»»»

Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi said that "all efforts" were being made to prevent the collapse of talks on an agreement with Damascus to integrate his forces into the central government. The remarks came days after Aleppo saw deadly clashes between the two sides before their respective leaders »»»

Twenty-two years have passed since the deadly attack in the Iraqi city of Karbala that claimed the lives of five Bulgarian servicemen. A truck bomb rammed into Camp India, where the Bulgarian contingent was stationed, killing Georgi Kachorin, Ivan Indjov, Svilen Kirov, Nikolay Saryev and officer ca»»»

A bombing at a mosque located in the Syrian city of Homs during Friday prayers killed at least six people and wounded 21 others, authorities said. Images released by Syria's state-run Arab News Agency showed blood on the mosque's carpets, holes in the walls, shattered windows and fire damage. The I»»»

Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi said Thursday that "all efforts" were being made to prevent the collapse of talks on an agreement with Damascus to integrate his forces into the central government. The remarks came days after Aleppo saw deadly clashes between the two sides before their respective»»»

​Syria will start swapping ‌old bank ‌notes ‌for ⁠new ​ones ‌under a plan to replace ⁠Assad-era ‌notes starting ‍from ‍January ‍1st 2026, Syria's ​Central Bank Governor Abdelkader Husrieh ⁠said on Thursday, Reuters reported.»»»

Russia’s “conservative” policy has driven the ruble up 45% since the start of 2025, noted veteran financial analyst Paul Goncharoff, who is also the general director of Goncharoff LLC. This policy course by Russia explains why, despite sweeping Western sanctions, the ruble has outperformed every ma»»»

Syrian state media said three people were killed Wednesday in clashes with security forces in coastal Latakia province, the heartland of the country's Alawite minority community. "Three members of remnants of the former regime were killed after clashes with internal security forces" outside the cit»»»

Share: File – Smoke billows following Israeli strikes over Beirut’s southern suburbs, amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces . Hezbollah has issued a statement confirming the death of its secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah, ending his 32-year tenure as the group’s leader.(AP»»»

A former Syrian intelligence officer who was close to one of ousted ruler Bashar al-Assad's top army commanders was killed in Lebanon, a judicial official said, with the army announcing it had arrested a suspect. It was the first confirmation since Assad's ouster in December last year of a former S»»»

Damascus' foreign and defense ministers met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday during a visit to Moscow where they discussed military cooperation, Syrian state media said. The trip is the latest by Syria's new authorities to Russia since they ousted longtime ruler and Moscow ally Bashar al»»»

After the ouster of former president Bashar al-Assad, Israel supported Druze fighters in the south, in an effort to weaken Syria’s new government under the rule of President Ahmed Al-Sharaa and thus complicate his efforts to unify the country after its long civil war, according to a Washington Post»»»

Lebanese security agencies discovered the body of former Syrian officer Ghassan Naasan al-Sakhni in the Keserwan region. Authorities are investigating whether his killing was purely criminal or had a political angle. The Lebanese army said the killer, a Syrian, has been arrested. In a statement, it»»»

In the latest sign of rising tensions between Washington and Caracas, the USS Gerald R Ford, the world's largest warship, arrived in the Caribbean on November 16, drawing near Venezuelan territorial waters. Its more than 4,000 sailors joined the existing naval deployment in the area, which began bu»»»

Residents in Syria's coastal regions are approaching Christmas and New Year celebrations with unprecedented caution amid security tensions and rising influence of hardline Islamist currents, local sources said to the Syrian Observatory on Human Rights on December 17. »»»

A total of 42.5mn people were reported under refugee status as of mid-2025, marking a one percent decline from the end of 2024 and a two percent fall from 2023, Statista reports. While many new people around the world»»»

A total of 42.5mn people were reported under refugee status as of mid-2025, marking a one percent decline from the end of 2024 and a two percent fall from 2023, Statista reports. While many new people around the world»»»