HeraldLoop

Syria — page 4

Place · 138 articles
Share

Coverage, page 4

page 4 of 7

WFP Jordan Country Brief, September 2026 (Reporting Period: August 2026)

Country: Jordan Source: World Food Programme Please refer to the attached file. IN NUMBERS 80,000 people assisted in August (50% female) - estimate USD 1.7M cash transferred in August USD 30.4M required in the next six months (September 2026 – February 2027) 221,600 Syrian refugees returned to Syria (December 2024 – August 2026) KEY HIGHLIGHTS WFP provided food assistance to 80,000 refugees in camps only, at reduced transfer value. The Government of Jordan approved the National School Feeding Strategy for 2026–2030 and tasked the Ministry of Education with implementing the strategy in coordination with relevant stakeholders, including WFP. WFP Jordan suspended its call centre due to budget constraints and a reduction in the number of assisted refugees Beneficiaries were informed of the change in advance and will continue to reach WFP through social media platforms and helpdesks.

ReliefWebReliefWeb•World Food Programme13 Sept

‘It detonated right outside our house’: the explosion that started an incredible podcast series

Josh Baker is the journalist behind the BBC’s smash hit I’m Not a Monster. He’s back with his most extraordinary investigation yet – to solve the mystery of Austin Tice, who disappeared in Syria 14 years ago In 2012, the US marine turned freelance foreign correspondent Austin Tice disappeared in Syria. If he’s still alive, he’ll be the second-longest detained journalist in the world. That, says Josh Baker (speaking to me from Wales), was the podcast he thought he was making: “We thought we were looking for a missing person, and what we fell into was almost like a Bourne novel, utterly extraordinary. A world of espionage, spies, dictatorship.” It’s also a story of American exceptionalism – the way the US saw itself in relation to the rest of the world. Moreover, “I don’t mean this in a crass way,” Baker says, “but through Austin’s story, we also learn a lot about the last 14 years of the civil war in Syria. We really go inside the regime’s industrial complex of disappearance and torture. As episode two begins, Assad is gone, and we enter into these facilities.” Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Zoe Williams9 Sept

Shrinking Buffers: Why Turkey and Israel Are on a Collision Course

When Israeli warplanes struck the Abu al-Duhur airbase in Syria on Aug. 18, 2026, the smoke rose over the demolition of an old geopolitical assumption about the Middle East. This time, Israel directly targeted a strategic sphere of influence where the Turkish military had been working to build local security capacity.Turkey rapidly filled the power vacuum in post-Assad Syria, expanding its military and intelligence footprint southward and positioning itself as a founding actor in the Levant’s new security architecture. With this military move, Israel aimed to draw a new line of engagement on the ground for both Ankara and Damascus.

War on the RocksWar on the Rocks•Ali Murat Kursun7 Sept

A crucial look at the disappearance of Austin Tice: best podcasts of the week

The US marine turned journalist went missing in Syria 14 years ago – and now, a suspenseful new pod uncovers essential evidence. Plus, the charming Julie Andrews serenades audiences with Jane Austen’s Emma It has been 14 years since US marine turned journalist Austin Tice went missing in Syria. Much has changed in the embattled nation since then – not least the end of Bashar al-Assad’s regime – but Tice is yet to be found. In this series , Josh Baker and Sara Obeidat uncover crucial new evidence, some of which has already made headlines. Sensitive and highly suspenseful. Hannah J Davies Widely available, episodes weekly Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Hannah J Davies and Hollie Richardson7 Sept

“Zero Problems” Abroad, Plenty at Home: Reassessing al Sharaa’s Leadership in Syria

In 2025, Rob Geist Pinfold wrote, “The March Massacres Show That Syria Urgently Needs Solutions, Not Sanctions,” in which he argued that sanctions relief was a major way the West could positively engage with the new Syrian government. A year later, after sanctions relief materialized and the United States removed Syria from its list of terrorism sponsors, we asked him to revisit his arguments and reassess President Ahmed al Sharaa’s leadership, both foreign and domestic. Image: Voice of America via Wikimedia CommonsIn your 2025 article, you argued that one way the West should engage with post-Assad Syria was through sanctions relief.

War on the RocksWar on the Rocks•Rob Geist Pinfold26 Aug