24 April 2026. In a rare consensus, the entire Council endorsed the 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response plan for Syria. Members praised Syria’s contributions to regional stability, and its increasing global integration; many condemned Israel’s constant attacks. Syria’s outstanding humanitarian needs were stressed by UN executives.Read more at: LEVANT 24
24 April 2026. Finance Minister Barnieh announced a new $225 million grant from the World Bank to improve water and health services. These are the 3rd and 4th Bank grants in less than a year, with further grants under consideration in the areas of finance, education, and social protections.Read more at: SANA
23 April 2026. At a conference organized by New Beginning for Syria, a program of the German government, Syria’s minister for Social Affairs and Labor, Hind Qabwat, called Syrians in the diaspora “genuine wealth.” She urged the deeper collaboration of Syrian expatriates in Germany in rebuilding Syria.Read more at: LEVANT 24
The urgency of restoring Syria’s textile industry goes beyond economic revival; it is about preserving irreplaceable connections to the nation’s cultural soul and ensuring that the knowledge, stories, and social practices embedded in textile creation continue to exist for future generations.
21 April 2026. Relations have been warming with the EU under Syria’s new leaders, the result of frequent diplomatic missions and the dramatic policy shifts and actions they have undertaken. Syria is being viewed as a reliable partner in many spheres of shared interest and as an alternate trade corridor in the Middle East. The EU-Syria Cooperation Agreement of 1978 will soon be restored.Read more at: SYRIAN OBSERVER
21 April 2026. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, stating “Our two peoples are weary of tragedies,” eagerly supported recent remarks by President al-Sharaa to the Syrian and Lebanese peoples, adding his hopes that both countries can move beyond years of war and toward stability and reconstruction.Read more at: SANA
21 April 2026. Culture Minister Mohammad al-Saleh stated at the book fair’s opening: “We want Syria’s children to read what opens the path to understanding…; to read what connects them to their land, history and language,” and to learn to question and imagine.Read more at: SANA
20 April 2026. In addition to other events held in Syria to mark World Earth Day, an environmental forum was held in Damascus, titled “Water in Our Lives,” which focused on water security and climate change. Officials and specialists discussed pollution, conservation, and rainwater harvesting.Read more at: SANA
20 April 2026. To improve disaster preparedness across the country, Syria has activated a system that standardizes warning messages and ensures their swift delivery across multiple channels. The program is part of a broader effort to reduce disaster impacts and strengthen national response and recovery.Read more at: SANA
19 April 2026. During the annual spring meetings of the world’s major global financial institutions in Washington, Syria’s Finance Minister met with the World Bank, IMF and OPEC’s Fund for International Development to restart programs rescinded under the previous regime and present new initiatives.Read more at: LEVANT 24
18 April 2026. Students at Damascus University staged a ‘heritage marathon,’ serving as guides to many ancient sites in the Old City, which has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The event was designed to highlight Syria’s cultural richness and strengthen its appeal as a center of tourism.Read more at: SANA
18 April 2026. Natural perfume-making is expanding in Syria through home-based projects led by women. They are turning traditional skills into small businesses that meet market demand, create income, preserve heritage, and support women’s economic empowerment.Read more at: SANA
17 April 2026. At a global diplomacy event in Antalya, Turkey, with 150 countries represented, Social Affairs Minister Kabawat described Syria’s priorities as building unity and harmony through dialogue and fostering sustainable development, along with combatting poverty and welcoming returning refugees.Read more at: SANA
17 April 2026. In a wide-ranging interview covering Syria’s positions on diverse issues, President al-Sharaa emphasized Syria’s commitment to helping resolve regional crises and developing regional stability, stressing its focus on diplomacy and the country’s potential as a secure trade and energy corridor.Read more at: SANAWatch video at: YOUTUBE
16 April 2026. Reporting on its first full year of investigating Syria’s progress with transitional justice, the IIIM, created by the General Assembly in 2016 to help investigate and prosecute Syria’s war crimes, applauded the new government’s cooperation with the UN and its creation of institutions to secure justice.Read more at: SANA
16 April 2026. The “Athar” (“Trace”) exhibition in Damascus brings together 47 works of 16 young artists, presenting realistic paintings that explore personal experiences, local characters, Damascus neighborhoods, Arab identity, plus symbolic expressions of human experience and inner strength.Read more at: SANA
Everywhere you look in Syria, people have tears in their eyes. This widespread, visceral crying witnessed across the Syrian population following the liberation from the Assad regime is more than just a reaction to a political shift; it is a profound sociological and psychological phenomenon. Read more at: Line (Lyn) Khatib, Radio Free Syria…
The decree issued by President Ahmed al-Sharaa is a historic decree, similar in importance to the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, or national origin. The Proclamation has the potential to end discrimination against the brave and dignified Kurdish people, who represent an essential component of the Syrian fabric. Read More at: Dr Zaher Sahloul…
After the bombing of my father’s Damascus chocolate factory during the Syrian civil war, my family fled to Lebanon as refugees, eventually moving to Antigonish, Canada. Initially I struggled to settle into small-town Canadian life caught between following my dream to become a doctor and preserving my family’s chocolate-making legacy. After successfully establishing our chocolate business with the support of the community, we now sponsor peace-building projects around the world. Our story is all about the importance of peace. Without peace, there is no life. Read More at: Tariq Hadhad, CEO Peace by Chocolate… Peace by Chocolate movie trailer…
It is tempting to read what is emerging in Damascus as a straightforward turn toward religious governance; as if Syria is finally resolving a long tension between secularism and Islam in favor of the latter. But this reading misses the deep entanglement between the secular and the religious in Syria, not over the past 50 years, but for too many centuries. What the new Syrian government is constructing is not the defeat of the secular by the religious. It is, rather, the latest iteration of that entanglement — and perhaps the first authentic one in decades. Read More at: Line (Lyn) Khatib, Radio Free Syria…
Once scattered and safeguarded abroad, Syria’s native seeds are taking root once more, part of an organic revival aimed at restoring the country’s agricultural heritage. “A hundred years ago, our grandparents used to save seeds from their own crops and replant them the next season, generation after generation. This concept has always existed—we’re just reviving it. It’s our way of responding to crisis and heading towards food sovereignty,” seed farmer, Ibrahim al-Youssef, explained.Read More at: Philippe Pernot, Syria Direct…
In his Easter greetings, Dr Sahloul describes how the Christian and Muslim faiths have been integrated harmoniously for centuries in Syrian life. He explains that in his native city of Homs, “the sound of Muslim call for prayer intertwines with the sound of church bells. Local TV and radio stations air Christian songs. Muslim and Christian youth perform the local folkloric Aradha, chanting mythical songs about Homs, the city of peace and den of lions.”Read more at: Dr Zaher Sahloul…
14 April 2026. Recognized for their heroism and self-sacrifice in Syria’s war, voluntarily rescuing people from the rubble of bombings, their role expanded to meet other emergencies. Now, as part of the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management in June 2025, they are helping rebuild the country.Read more at: SANA
14 April 2026. The WLO platform marks a move from women’s symbolic presence toward participation in mechanisms shaping policy and governance. It aims to strengthen women’s role in humanitarian and community work and expand their presence in state planning, coordination and decision-making.Read more at: LEVANT 24
14 April 2026. Syria’s health ministry reaffirms free medical services, rejects hospital privatization, expands fully free hospital facilities, maintains unified medicine prices, and pledges government support to ensure citizens receive essential care without financial burden.Read more at: SANA
