Two private Syrian banks owned partially by foreign investors have taken steps to rebrand, in a move to reduce the risk for foreign shareholders a few months after the enactment of the Caesar Act.

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad has sought to place blame for Syria’s economic crisis on Syrians who transferred their money to Lebanese banks, portraying these transfers as a major factor alongside sanctions and other fallout from the conflict.

The international accounting firm Deloitte’s regional branch decided to close its offices in Syria at the start of the year, joining a growing list of large professional-services firms which have left Syria since the start of the conflict, The Syria Report has learned.

The list below includes the names of all the individuals that have been blacklisted by the European Union since the beginning of the Syrian uprising in March 2011.

Following a sharp rise in the price of petrol and fuel last week, the Syrian president has reduced the income tax levied on wage earners in a bid to raise net incomes but also to spare the government a much costlier salary increase.

The Syrian government’s regular decisions to freeze the assets of prominent businessmen help provide an indication of the status of these individuals and of their relationship with the Syrian authorities.

A new attempt by Rami Makhlouf to lift sanctions imposed by the European Union on his companies and two family members failed again this month.

Dozens of fires in the provinces of Lattakia, Tartous Homs and Hama have caused large-scale damage to agricultural areas and led to the evacuation of many people from their homes and lands.

The full transcript of the interview of Bashar Al-Assad by Rossiya Segodnya News Agency on October 08, 2020.

A delegation of high-ranking Syrian officials visited Moscow last week to meet with Russian diplomatic and technical officials and push forward a wide-ranging economic agreement which is due to be settled in December.

The EU General Court rejected at the end of last month an appeal submitted by Khaled Qaddour, a prominent businessman believed to be a front for Maher Al-Assad.

The United States has added more names to its sanctions list and specifically targeted prominent warlord-turned businessman Khodr Ali Taher.

The full transcript of the interview of Bashar Al-Assad by Russian Zvezda TV Station on October 04, 2020.

A selection of reports, papers and articles on Syria.

In this 2,800-word factsheet we provide an overview of Syria's wheat sector and of the challenges it faces.

A recent report has suggested that only a fraction of Covid-19-related deaths in Syria have been counted, as one of the main critics of the government’s policy was dismissed from his position.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks and answers to media questions during a joint news conference with Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Yury Borisov and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the Syrian Arab Republic Walid Muallem following talks, Damascus, September 7, 2020.

A senior UN official has said that community transmission of Covid-19 has been widespread in Syria, while a UN document seen by Reuters indicates that a large number of United Nations staff members in Syria have been infected by the coronavirus.

The visit of a high-level Russian delegation to Damascus may signal Moscow’s intent to accelerate its access to lucrative economic deals in Syria. Opportunities remain rare and incentives low, however.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources has announced a new increase in gas production across several wells and facilities in the country.

The Syrian government has reportedly awarded Ihab Makhlouf the contract to manage seven duty-free markets on the country’s border areas just a few weeks after cancelling a similar contract with his brother Rami, according to local and regional media outlets.

MTN, a telecoms group based in South Africa, has announced that it is negotiating to sell its stake in one of the country’s two mobile phone companies, marking the exit of the last large foreign investor still present in Syria.

A selection of reports, papers and articles on Syria.

A selection of reports, papers and articles on Syria.

The U.S. Administration has blacklisted Hafez Al-Assad, Bashar Al-Assad’s son, as part of a new list of names put under sanctions.

More than four decades after government authorities expropriated local land, residents of a village west of Damascus are still banned from renovating or building homes and have yet to receive any compensation for their losses.

A selection of reports, papers and articles on Syria.

Parliamentary elections held in Syria on July 21 have highlighted the rising influence of warlords at the expense of some more traditional supporters of the regime.

Government forces, including some affiliated with Iran, have taken positions in civilian houses in the Yarmouk Basin area, preventing some residents from returning to their villages years after Islamic State-aligned fighters were defeated. The area is in the western countryside of the Daraa governorate and is of strategic importance because it is located along the Israeli border.

Rifaat Al-Assad, the uncle of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, has been sentenced to four years in prison by a French court for money laundering.

The Syrian Ministry of Defence has laid claim to 12.5 hectares of land in the Moadamiyeh suburb of Damascus for the purpose of constructing residential buildings and a sports facility, a former official from the town’s municipality told The Syria Report.

Updated on June 18, 2020: The entry into force today of the Caesar Act expands sanctions on Syria and will increase challenges for the regime and the economy alike. The U.S. administration has also expanded its list of Syrians under sanctions.

On June 11, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad appointed Hussein Arnous as prime minister after dismissing Imad Khamis, who paid the price for recent socio-economic difficulties.

The following is a press statement by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on June 17, 2020, on the occasion of the first designations following the entry into force of the Caesar Act.

The Syrian currency collapsed last week, crossing both the 2,000 and 3,000 pound-per-dollar thresholds within a few days and creating panic in the market. The consequences on living conditions in Syria will be dramatic.

This article is an updated and expanded factsheet on the economic and business relations between Syria and Iran as of June 2020.

An 80-km section of the M4 highway was reopened on May 25 between the towns of Tal Tamer and Ayn Issa, enabling a resumption of passenger and cargo traffic.

The Syrian president has named five new governors, including four in strategically sensitive regions.

A week after the government lifted most movement restrictions, the number of people who tested positive for the Coronavirus increased to 123 from 121, the number of recoveries increased to 50 from 41 and the number of deaths grew to six from four.

A selection of reports, papers and articles on Syria.

A legislative decree has lifted tariff barriers on a range of industrial inputs in a bid to encourage local production.

A selection of reports, papers and articles on Syria.

The rise of Rami Makhlouf as Syria’s most prominent businessman coincided with the ascent to power of Bashar Al-Assad in 2000. Given his long history of influence within the ruling elite, Mr Makhlouf’s recent side-lining raises many questions about the potential implications of his fall from grace.

Two extraordinary videos posted by Rami Makhlouf on his personal Facebook page have laid bare the divisions at the heart of the Syrian regime and posed a challenge for Bashar Al-Assad within the Alawite community. The Syrian president has been forced into a quick public defence of one of his most contested measures.

On March 04, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad headed for the first time a meeting of the task force formed to confront the Coronavirus.