The Latest Breaking News from Damascus

An Israeli "aggression" launched from the Golan Heights and targeting southern parts of the Syrian capital Damascus killed three people and caused some material damage, the Syrian ministry of defense said on Friday. Earlier on Friday, state TV reported that Syrian air defenses shot down a number of missiles in…

Damascus-based Dar Kanaan Publishing released ‘Translation Dialogues’, a book by Palestinian-Syrian writer and journalist Mahmoud Abu Hamed.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told Asharq Al-Awsat in an interview that the European Union holds onto its three “red lines” which involve not contributing to Syria’s reconstruction, not removing sanctions and not re-establishing full diplomatic ties with Damascus “until a genuine and comprehensive political transition is firmly under…

Dozens of prisoners who originate from Syria’s southern Daraa governorate have been released, mostly from the country’s largest and most notorious prison, Sednaya. Their release came upon the implementation of an amnesty decree issued by President Bashar al-Assad. According to Daraa-based activists, some of those released were detained prior to…

Families of prisoners held for years in Syrian jails are closely watching the implementation of the presidential decree giving a general amnesty to people convicted on terrorism charges. The amnesty excludes acts that have led to killings. Families from the Syrian opposition are weary that the exclusion could mean that…

Syrian president Bashar al-Assad was the victim of a failed assassination attempt on Monday, claimed Iranian sources. The failed attack allegedly took place as he arrived at the al-Hassan mosque in Damascus to perform Eid al-Fitr prayers. Iran's Mehr and Isna state agencies based their claims on a news alert…

The relationship started on an online dating site. Katsumi Iwasaki was enthralled by a person who claimed to be a US soldier stationed in Damascus, Syria. They quickly fell to emailing “sweet things,” Iwasaki said.

Ukraine was once again present at the closed meeting of Western and Arab envoys on Syria.

The footage of the Tadamon massacre sparked massive anger among Syrians and opposition activists who called on the international community to hold the Syrian regime accountable for its horrific crimes. The Guardian released on Wednesday a video clip showing members of branch 227 of the country's military intelligence service carrying…