SANA - Syrian Arab News Agency

Damascus/ SANA- Restoring the Shine of the Old City of Damascus campaign is going on with cooperation between Old Damascus Directorate and the local community.

The campaign, launched in the middle of February, aims to clean and rehabilitate the markets and main axes in the city.

Citrus aurantium (orange) and jasmine, which Damascus is famous for, were also planted during the campaign.

Geneva, SANA-The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Alice Jill Edwards, announced today that she is examining information concerning the alleged torture and mistreatment of Palestinian detainees by Israeli occupation forces.

Speaking on the sidelines of the UN Human Rights Council meetings in Geneva, Edwards stated that she has recently received reports of torture and mistreatment of Palestinian detainees in the West Bank or during the ongoing war on the Gaza Strip.

“I am currently examining and conducting an investigation to uncover the facts.” she added.

The Human Rights Office reported multiple accounts of mass arrests, mistreatment, and enforced disappearances of Palestinians in northern Gaza by the Israeli occupation forces, with thousands being detained in the West Bank.

Damascus, SANA-The Syrian pavilion at the 7th Iraqi Tourism Forum is witnessing a remarkable turnout from those interested and wishing to enhance cooperation with the Syrian-Iraqi Business Council to revitalize tourism in the two countries.

In the  Forum, opened on Wednesday in Baghdad, more than 40 local and Arab tourism companies are participating. It aims to stimulate tourism through the exchange of experiences among Arab and regional companies.

The Forum was opened by Ahmed Fakak Al-Badrani, Iraqi Minister of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities, in the presence of the Syrian Ambassador in Baghdad, Satam Jadan Dandah, and representatives from the Syrian Ministry of Tourism.

 Syria’s participation in the forum at this high level provided an important opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences in a way that boost the joint work to broader horizons, SANA correspondant quoted Al-Badrani as saying in a statement.

Ambassador Dandah attached great importance to the participation of the Syrian Ministry of Tourism, saying that it comes as an opportunity to conclude contracts between Syrian tourism companies and their Iraqi counterparts, especially since the two countries contain historical, cultural and natural treasures that provide tourists with ideal opportunities for viewing, discovery and recreation.

Aleppo, SANA- The town of Urem Al-Kubra in Aleppo province in northern Syria has historically been famous for its skilled glassblowing craftsmen.

The war considerably affected this traditional craft inherited from our ancestors, but after the liberation of the city from terrorism, some artisans have brought it back to life.

The artisan, Yassin Arab learned the glassblowing craft from his father when he was a child, and after the town was liberated from terrorism, he returned to his small facility, where he worked to restore it and start working again.

Arab does not hide his enormous passion for the craft of glassblowing and his belief in the need to preserve this ancient Syrian heritage.

Regarding the working mechanism, the artisan explained to SANA that he uses recycled glass, melts it again in the oven at high temperature, and then chooses a specific shape for its manufacture, whether hookah bottles, vases, plates, small jugs, fish houses for decoration, decorated cups and antiques of different sizes.

After that, the piece is blown, rotated and processed by the artisan until it takes its final shape using white and brown colors, and once the manufacturing of the product is finished, it is decorated and colored to give it the required aesthetics.

For his part, Hussein Najjar noted that he learned the craft of blowing glass manually since he was young and has been working in this field for 40 years.

He added that he is capable of making any shape or glass container, using his imagination, and considered that the art of glassblowing is one of the types of plastic arts.

Traditional glassblowing is a profession that dates back more than two thousand years (since the time of the Phoenicians) and was included in December 2023 by UNESCO on the list of intangible cultural heritage of humanity that needs urgent preservation.

Shaza Qreima

Damascus, SANA- Syrian novelist and poet Colette Khoury shocked the Arab world with a novel in 1959 in which wrote openly on love; this breakthrough novel (The Days with Him) was the first time a woman had come out so boldly on a subject considered taboo in conservative Syrian society.

Colette graduated from Damascus University with a bachelor’s degree in French literature and she received a diploma from the school of literature in Beirut.

Khoury’s career began in 1957 and has spanned more than 6 decades. She was a pioneer of Arab feminism, and wrote stories in the 1950s about men and their selfishness.

Khoury’s notability stirs from her work in politics and literature. Her work as a writer focuses on love, a subject that was previously taboo in Syrian culture.

Colette was born into a notable family, as her grandfather, was former Prime Minister Faris al-Khoury who is known as a hero for his resistance to the French.

Colette’s grandfather encouraged her pursuit of an independent life as a writer and an artist. From 1990 to 1995 she served as an independent member of the Syrian parliament, doing honor to her grandfather’s judicious political leadership.

In 2008, Khoury was appointed literary advisor to the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Shaza Qreima

Moscow, SANA- Russian air defense forces shot down 12 Ukrainian drones over Belgorod and Volgograd regions.

“During the night, the Russian forces thwarted the Kiev regime’s attempts to carry out terror attacks via drones at facilities on Russian territory.

Air defense systems on duty downed a Ukrainian drone over the Belgorod Region, and 11 drones were destroyed over the Volgograd Region”, RT website quoted Russian Defense Ministry as saying in a statement.

Russian air defenses intercepted on Thursday a Ukrainian drone over Kursk Oblast, and destroyed 3 other over Bryansk Province, and 2 over Tula Province.

Nisreen Othman / Mazen Eyon

Occupied Jerusalem, SANA- Following are the latest developments of Operation “Al-Aqsa Flood” launched by the Palestinian resistance last October in response to the Israeli attacks:

-Palestinian Health Ministry: Israeli occupation committed 8 massacres in the Gaza Strip, leaving 78 martyrs and 104 wounded over the past 24 hours.

-Palestinian Health Ministry: The number of victims of ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza Strip has risen to 30,878 martyrs and 72,402 wounded for the 154th day.

-Palestinian media: At least two martyrs and a number of wounded in Israeli occupation bombing of a house west of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.

-Palestinian media: 5 martyrs and a number of wounded in Israeli occupation bombing of a house in al-Izba area in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.

Damascus, SANA- Temperatures will remain around their average or slightly lower as a result of the country being affected by a weak air pressure accompanied by southwesterly currents in all layers of the atmosphere.

Meteorology Department expected in its Friday bulletin that the skies will be partly cloudy to cloudy and rainy in most areas, as well as snow is expected over mountainous heights.

The department added that the weather will be cold at night, warning against fog formation especially in parts of the northwestern, central, and southwestern regions.

The winds will be westerly to southwesterly in most regions, and the sea will be moderate to high in amplitude.

The expected temperatures in some Syrian cities will be as follows: Damascus 19/8, Daraa 17/7, Hasaka 19/6, Tartous 19/15, Aleppo 16/6, Idleb 15/5, Deir Ezzor 20/8.

Nisreen Othman / Mazen Eyon

Damascus, SANA- Minister of Industry, Abdul Qader Jokhadar discussed with Ambassador of Pakistan in Damascus, Shahid Akhtar, ways to enhance cooperation between Syria and Pakistan and investment opportunities related to the industrial sector.

Talks during a meeting that took place in the Ministry building on Thursday dealt with the possibility of developing joint cooperation in the field of industrial techniques and technology in the textile sector, exchanging experiences, and training Syrian technical personnel and specialized competencies in the field of digitization, informatics, and industrial development by sending them to Pakistan to develop their expertise.

Jokhadar affirmed the importance of developing industrial cooperation relations with Pakistan and advancing them in a way that achieves the common interest of the two friendly countries through a strategy that includes an action plan to be developed through technical teams from both sides to study the possibilities of cooperation in areas of common interest.

In turn, Ambassador Akhtar praised the relations that bind his country with Syria.

The Ambassador stressed his country’s desire to deepen these relations and be keen to consolidate them and push them towards broader horizons in order to achieve the common goals of both countries.

Nisreen Othman / Mazen Eyon

HAVANA, SANA- Representatives of the Syrian and Cuban Chambers of Commerce held a virtual video meeting, in the presence of the ambassadors of both countries, to discuss ways to enhance trade and economic exchange between the two countries.

The two parties called for overcoming all obstacles and difficulties and raising the level of trade relations so that relations reach the excellent and historical level of political relations between the two countries.

Both parties stressed the necessity of overcoming the unilateral sanctions imposed by the US and breaking the blockade on trade exchange, through mutual cooperation.

The two sides stressed the importance of exchanging trade delegations, increasing participation in economic activities in the two countries, attending international exhibitions held in Havana and Damascus, and accelerating the signing of the compensatory barter agreement and other bilateral agreements that are in the interest of raising the level of trade and economic exchange between the two countries.

They expressed their optimism for achieving greater trade cooperation, as they called for the exchange of visits by businessmen to learn more about the capabilities and needs of each country.

Nisreen Othman / Mazen Eyon