President Ahmed al-Shara of Syria will visit Washington this month for the first time since he came to power, another step in the transformation of the former rebel leader once wanted by the United States as a terrorist with a $10 million bounty on his head.

In the southern Idlib countryside, once a frontline in Syrian civil war, residents are trickling back to their villages after years in exile. Repairing and reopening damaged and looted schools is key to the return of the displaced,

"I didn't know the salaries the government pays were this high!" Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa joked after more than 100 loyalists arrived at his former rebel base, many pulling up in luxury SUVs.

Assad rebuilding, role of civil society and need for stronger institutions at Istanbul gathering - Anadolu Ajansı

French magistrates this summer issued a new arrest warrant against ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad over deadly chemical attacks in 2013, a judicial source said on Thursday.

Syria's civil war began in 2011 when mass protests against the government of then-President Bashar al-Assad were met with a brutal crackdown and spiralled into armed conflict.

Government says move will allow for closer engagement with new Syrian leadership, including by working together to remove vestiges of Assad's chemical weapons program

Syrian rights lawyer Khalil Maatouk, missing since his 2012 arrest by Assad’s forces, has been declared dead after 13 years of silence and unanswered pleas.