Close-up of the Syrian flag on the streets of Aleppo at night (BBC News 10pm bulletin - 11/12/24 - AEXZ288W)

Air quality trends in the Middle East. Map of the Middle East, including Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Iraq, showing changes in atmospheric nitrogen dioxide concentrations from 2005 to 2014. Blue indicates a decrease in nitrogen dioxide, and red indicates an increase. Nitrogen dioxide gas is a common emission from vehicles, power plants and industry, and is used as an indicator of general air quality. It can cause respiratory problems, and can transform into ozone, another major respiratory pollutant. Data obtained by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument aboard NASA's Aura satellite.

Syrian refugees in Lesvos, Greece. Thousands of Syrians fleeing the civil war landed on Lesvos, overwhelming the authorities. Many were illegally trafficked, riding dangerously overcrowded boats. Filmed on 25th September 2015.

Drone Aerial views of destroyed building and destruction caused by war on August 02, 2018.

Syrian refugees in Lesvos, Greece. Thousands of Syrians fleeing the civil war landed on Lesvos, overwhelming the authorities. Many were illegally trafficked, riding dangerously overcrowded boats. Filmed on 25th September 2015.

Drone Aerial views of destroyed building and destruction caused by war on August 02, 2018.

Flags near Kilis Oncupinar Accommodation Facility in Turkey

Syrian refugees in Lesvos, Greece. Thousands of Syrians fleeing the civil war landed on Lesvos, overwhelming the authorities. Many were illegally trafficked, riding dangerously overcrowded boats. Filmed on 29th September 2015.

HOMS, SYRIA - MAY 13: Syrian people flocked to the streets to celebrate US President Donald Trump’s decision to lift sanctions, on Tuesday (May 13). Trump said during the 2025 Saudi-US Investment Forum in Riyadh that he would order the removal of “brutal and crippling” US sanctions on Syria to give that country “a chance at greatness.” Syrian people gathered in the streets sang and danced over the Trump’s decision. Trump arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, kicking off a Gulf tour that will continue with visits to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates—his first major international trip of his second term besides a brief visit to Italy for Pope Francis’ funeral. A new transitional administration was formed in Syria in January following the fall of the Assad regime. Bashar al-Assad, who ruled Syria for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia in December, ending the Baath Party’s decades-long grip on power that began in 1963. Syria said US President Donald Trump’s remarks on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia about lifting sanctions imposed on the country are a “pivotal turning point." “We welcome President Donald Trump’s recent comments about lifting the sanctions imposed on Syria in response to war crimes committed by the Assad regime,” Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani told the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). (Footage by Ebubekir Sakka /Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Animation of a view from space of the Arabian Peninsula, tracking westwards as the planet rotates below. The Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world, and occupies its own tectonic plate, making it a subcontinent of Asia. It is bordered by the Persian Gulf, the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia is by far the largest country on the peninsula, sharing it with Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. The region has the largest oil reserves in the world, which dominates the economy. The interior is mainly a hot dry desert.

Homs, Syria; October 15, 2022; The siege of Homs was a military confrontation between the Syrian military and the Syrian opposition in the city of Homs, a major rebel stronghold during the Syrian Civil War. The siege lasted three years from May 2011 to May 2014, and resulted in an opposition withdrawal from the city.

Syrian migrants fleeing the war and escaping to Europe, landing on the Greek island of Lesbos on the north coast at Efthalou. In the middle of 2015, up to 4000 migrants a day were landing on the island and overwhelming the authorities. They were trafficked by illegal Turkish people traffickers who charge up to $2,000 per person for a half hour ride in an overcrowded inflatable boat from the Turkish mainland to Lesbos. Filmed on 29th September 2015.

Drone aerials of a refugee camp in Idlib, Syria

Syrian migrants fleeing the war and escaping to Europe, landing on the Greek island of Lesbos on the north coast at Efthalou. In the middle of 2015, up to 4000 migrants a day were landing on the island and overwhelming the authorities. They were trafficked by illegal Turkish people traffickers who charge up to $2,000 per person for a half hour ride in an overcrowded inflatable boat from the Turkish mainland to Lesbos. Filmed on 29th September 2015.

Drone aerials of a refugee camp in Idlib, Syria

Syrian refugees in Lesvos, Greece. Thousands of Syrians fleeing the civil war landed on Lesvos, overwhelming the authorities. Many were illegally trafficked, riding dangerously overcrowded boats. Filmed on 25th September 2015.