Syria

6 in 10 Syrians do not know where their next meal will come from, Oxfam said; dependence on imports from Russia will have serious repercussions, exacerbating food shortages and causing soaring food prices that have already doubled in a year

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said the country supports Russia in the military operation in Ukraine against the West's procedures and provocations, stressing that the country is still exposed to terrorist aggression by Western countries

For survivors of torture and sexual abuse in Bashar Assad's prisons, the conviction of former Syrian intelligence officer Anwar Raslan last month for crimes against humanity and the ongoing trial of Dr Alaa Mousa represent a major breakthrough

Less than 6% of the Syrian population has completed the vaccination cycle and only 10% have received the first dose, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

The number of victims -press reports 'dozens', 48 to over 70- is rising in the clashes in the northeast of the country where Isis militiamen attacked Kurdish-Syrian forces in control of a prison where thousands of 'Islamic State' militiamen are being held

The General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums in Syria received five archaeological pieces from the Nabu Museum in Lebanon during a celebration held at the Beirut National Museum also sponsored by Syria's ambassador to Beirut, Ali Abul-Karim

China has sent over 4.000 tonnes of rice as humanitarian aid to the country, with the Chinese ambassador handing them over to the head of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent at its headquarters in Damascus

Cuba has reiterated its condemnation of the unilateral coercive measures imposed on the Syrian people at a ceremony to mark the sending of 240.000 doses of the Corona vaccine provided as a gift to the country

Damascus' parliament recently approved the budget law for 2022, with a total amount of $5,3 billion; the figure is lower than 2020 and 2019, a symptom of the deep crisis the country is going through

Preparations are underway to evacuate several other groups of Russian children from the country; Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova added that virtually all Russian children who were in Damascus have returned to Russia

Aiming to facilitate humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people, the USA took action to let NGOs deal with elements of local government despite American sanctions, and gave them wider latitude in their activities

Three sculptures looted from the ancient city of Palmyra in 2009 or 2010, dated to the third century bC, have now been returned to the country after being later intercepted by Swiss customs police in a Geneva free port

A new building, consisting of 3 large amphitheaters, 12 educational rooms and 16 administrative offices, has been inaugurated at Damascus University by Prime Minister Hussein Arnous for the Faculty of Arts and Humanities