Sky News' special correspondent Alex Crawford is in southern Syria, where the government says escalating violence has been halted and a fragile ceasefire between rival factions is in place. Follow below for the latest updates.

The Damascus authorities must immediately reel in “violent jihadists,” hold them accountable, and prevent their entry to the southern Druze-majority Suwayda province, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday,

Israel, which has murdered over 60,000 Palestinians - most of them women and children - in Gaza, wounded more than 130,000, and destroyed nearly 80 percent of the territory’s buildings, cannot now masquerade as a protector of minorities.

Sky News' special correspondent Alex Crawford is in southern Syria, where the government says escalating violence has been halted and a fragile ceasefire between rival factions is in place. Follow below for the latest updates.

Spread across Syria, Lebanon and Israel, the secretive religious minority has long balanced integration and independence. Now, members are at the heart of the region’s shifting power struggles.

P LUMES OF SMOKE rose over Damascus on July 16th as Israeli warplanes struck Syria’s capital. Targeting the presidential palace, the defence ministry and the army command, the attack killed at least one person and wounded several others.

Israeli strikes blow up part of the defence ministry and hit close to the presidential palace. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Israel carried out a series of powerful strikes on the Syrian capital Damascus Wednesday, escalating a campaign it says is in support of an Arab minority group involved in deadly clashes with Syrian government forces.

The Trump administration has been working with Turkey and Gulf allies for an integrated Syria, but Israel prefers zones of influence

A video clip circulating on social media in recent months shows Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Shara, astride a handsome black horse in a sand riding ring with a few thick palm trees. He is alone, wearing a trim leather jacket, as the high-stepping horse circles within the ring.