Crowds gathered in Damascus to celebrate US President Donald Trump removing all sanctions on Syria on Tuesday, May 13, footage shows. This video, taken by Sally Hayden, captures Syrian residents cheering and waving flags in Umayyad Square on Tuesday.

A Trump Tower in Damascus, a detente with Israel and U.S. access to Syria's oil and gas are part of Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa's strategic pitch to try to get face time with U.S. President Donald Trump during his trip to the Middle East,

In December, a consortium of rebel factions led by the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham unexpectedly toppled the dictator Bashar al-Assad, whose family had ruled Syria for five decades. The new regime in Damascus inherited a country ruined by a 13-year civil war.

A short statement released by the office of President Ahmad al-Sharaa did not give a reason why he will not attend the summit but an invitation by the Iraqi government last month trigged sharp political divisions in Iraq. The summit is scheduled to be held in Baghdad on Saturday.

A body discovered in Syria is not the remains of kidnapped American journalist Austin Tice, his family confirms.

BBC probe finds coordinated social media campaigns, originating abroad, spreading false information against and in favour of new Syrian administration

A former al-Qaeda member, Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa is seeking to rework his approach to the West after embarking on a mission to actively woo the US, in a bid to rebuild the country, which has been under sanctions for over a decade.

“When we briefly summarize the problems Syria is currently facing, there is the issue of Israeli expansionism. This has truly reached a point where it threatens Syria’s stability, security, and future,” said Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, flanked by his Jordanian and Syrian counterparts, Ayman Safadi and Asaad al-Shibani.