Israel's attacks on Damascus hinder chemical weapons search, Syrian official says
FILE PHOTO: A view of a destroyed building, after powerful airstrikes shook Damascus on Wednesday, targeting the defense ministry, as Israel vowed to destroy Syrian government forces attacking Druze communities in southern Syria and demanded their withdrawal, in Damascus July 16, 2025. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi/File Photo
THE HAGUE - Israeli airstrikes on Damascus are hampering Syria's efforts to find and destroy chemical weapons stockpiled during the rule of toppled ruler Bashar al-Assad, a government adviser said on Thursday.
A planned visit by inspectors from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has already had to be postponed, adviser Ibrahim Olabi said.
The OPCW will hold an urgent meeting on Tuesday next week to discuss the situation and impact of the Israeli attacks, Olabi, who is the legal adviser to Syria's Foreign Ministry tasked with the chemical weapons file, said.
The OPCW did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Israel launched powerful airstrikes on Damascus on Wednesday, blowing up part of the defence ministry and hitting near the presidential palace, taking action it said was to protect the Druze minority in southern Syria.
The Syrian defence ministry provided the institutional infrastructure needed to organise and secure visits from OPCW inspectors, Olabi said.
Since March there have been several visits by inspectors to previously unseen production and storage locations for chemical weapons to prepare for the task of destroying remnants of Assad's illegal stockpile. Syria's interim-government has vowed to rid itself of chemical weapons.
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
Singapore Fatal abuse of Myanmar maid in Bishan: Traffic Police officer sentenced to 10 years' jail
Singapore Man charged over manufacturing DIY Kpods at Yishun home; first such case in Singapore
Singapore HSA launches anti-vaping checks near 5 institutes of higher learning
Business 5 things to know about Kuok Hui Kwong, tycoon Robert Kuok's daughter and Shangri-La Asia head honcho
Singapore 'Sex first, then you can sell my flat': Women property agents fend off indecent proposals and harassment
Singapore Jail for elderly man for using knife to slash neighbour, who later died of heart disease
Singapore Maximum $7,000 fine for caterer involved in ByteDance food poisoning case
Opinion Grab tried to disrupt taxis. It now wants to save them
The OPCW, a treaty-based agency in The Hague with 193 member countries, is tasked with implementing the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention. REUTERS
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Straits Times
17 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Trump administration to release over $5 billion school funding that it withheld
Find out what's new on ST website and app. FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks, as he meets with Bahrain's Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa (not pictured), in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 16, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump's administration will release more than $5 billion in previously approved funding for K-12 school programs that it froze over three weeks ago under a review, which had led to bipartisan condemnation. KEY QUOTES "(The White House Office of Management and Budget) has completed its review ... and has directed the Department to release all formula funds," Madi Biedermann, deputy assistant secretary for communications at the U.S. Education Department, said in an emailed statement. "The agency will begin dispersing funds to states next week," Biedermann added. Further details on the review and what it found were not shared in the statement. A senior administration official said "guardrails" would be in place for the amount being released, without giving details about them. The release of the more than $5 billion amount was reported earlier by the Washington Post. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Early in July, the Trump administration said it would not release funding previously appropriated by Congress for schools and that an initial review found signs the money was misused to subsidize what it alleged was "a radical leftwing agenda." Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore SMRT to pay lower fine of $2.4m for EWL disruption; must invest at least $600k to boost reliability Singapore MRT service changes needed to modify 3 East-West Line stations on Changi Airport stretch: LTA Singapore S'pore could have nuclear energy 'within a few years', if it decides on it: UN nuclear watchdog chief Asia 'Nothing like this has happened before': At least 16 dead as Thai-Cambodian conflict enters second day Life 'Do you kill children?': Even before independence, S'pore has always loved its over-the-top campaigns Singapore Lung damage, poor brain development, addiction: What vaping does to the body Singapore Tipsy Collective sues former directors, HR head; alleges $14m lost from misconduct, poor decisions Singapore Kopi, care and conversation: How this 20-year-old helps improve the well-being of the elderly States say $6.8 billion in total was affected by the freeze. Last week, $1.3 billion was released. CONTEXT After the freeze, a coalition of mostly Democratic-led states sued to challenge the move, and 10 Republican U.S. senators wrote to the Republican Trump administration to reverse its decision. Republican U.S. lawmakers welcomed the move on Friday, while Democratic lawmakers said there was no need to disrupt funding in the first place. The frozen money covered funding for education of migrant farm workers and their children; recruitment and training of teachers; English proficiency learning; academic enrichment and after-school and summer programs. The Trump administration has threatened schools and colleges with withholding federal funds over issues like climate initiatives, transgender policies, pro-Palestinian protests against U.S. ally Israel's war in Gaza and diversity, equity and inclusion practices. REUTERS

Straits Times
17 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Two teens jailed in UK over murder of 14-year-old on London bus
Find out what's new on ST website and app. The attackers, aged 16 and 15 at the time, pleaded guilty to stabbing Kelyan Bokassa 27 times with machetes. LONDON - A British judge on July 25 sentenced two teenagers to life in prison, with a minimum term of 15 years, for stabbing to death a 14-year-old boy on a London bus earlier this year. The attack in January reignited debates around gang violence and the ongoing problem of knife crime that has plagued the British capital and other UK cities for years. On Jan 7, Kelyan Bokassa was stabbed 27 times with machetes on the bus in Woolwich in south-east London. He later died from his injuries, after the arrival of emergency services. The attackers, aged 16 and 15 at the time, were arrested later that month. They pleaded guilty to the murder in May. A judge at London's Old Bailey court sentenced the pair to life in prison, ordering they be considered for parole after 15 years and 110 days in detention. One boy was as a 'victim of child criminal exploitation,' said Judge Mark Lucraft, adding that he had faced 'a history of trauma'. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore SMRT to pay lower fine of $2.4m for EWL disruption; must invest at least $600k to boost reliability Singapore MRT service changes needed to modify 3 East-West Line stations on Changi Airport stretch: LTA Singapore S'pore could have nuclear energy 'within a few years', if it decides on it: UN nuclear watchdog chief Asia 'Nothing like this has happened before': At least 16 dead as Thai-Cambodian conflict enters second day Life 'Do you kill children?': Even before independence, S'pore has always loved its over-the-top campaigns Singapore Lung damage, poor brain development, addiction: What vaping does to the body Singapore Tipsy Collective sues former directors, HR head; alleges $14m lost from misconduct, poor decisions Singapore Kopi, care and conversation: How this 20-year-old helps improve the well-being of the elderly The second boy was also exploited by gangs from the age of 12 and experienced 'undiagnosed developmental needs,' the judge said. 'It is sadly an all too frequent senseless loss of yet another young life to the horrors of knife crime' which 'no sentence of a court can ever truly reflect,' Judge Lucraft said. Kelyan's mother, Ms Marie Bokassa, addressed the court, asking 'how can children behave like this?' 'What have the children been exposed to, to show such behaviour as this?' she added. Shortly after the murder, the victim's mother had told the press that her son was also exploited by gangs in the Woolwich area of south-east London. In 2024, 10 teenagers were fatally stabbed in London, after 18 in 2023, according to the Met Police. In September 2024, a 15-year-old boy, reportedly a close friend of Kelyan, was also stabbed to death in Woolwich, in what a prosecutor described as a gang retaliation linked to a turf war. AFP

Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Ukraine's Zelenskiy sets target for interceptor drone production
Find out what's new on ST website and app. FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy gestures during a press conference on the first day of the two-day Ukraine Recovery Conference, on plans for the reconstruction of Ukraine, in Rome, Italy, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/File Photo President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday toured a factory producing interceptor drones, increasingly seen as a solution to protecting Ukrainian cities from Russian air attacks, and said a goal had been set to make up to 1,000 of the weapons each day. Zelenskiy, speaking in his nightly video address, said newly-appointed Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal had reported on foreign assistance that would enable Ukraine to "ensure a reliable flow of weapons for Ukrainian soldiers." "I called for preparations for a Technology Staff meeting, specifically focused on drones," he said. "A plan has been approved to reach production of 500-1,000 interceptor drones per day. The deadline has been set and achieving this is the personal responsibility of every official involved." Zelenskiy noted earlier this month that interceptor drones had proved efficient at downing waves of Russian attack drones directed at Ukrainian cities. The president has long focused on manufacturing and developing drones, an industry that was virtually non-existent when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbour in February 2022. He has turned his attention in recent weeks to interceptor drones as an effective way to parry Russian attacks and last month pointed to increased production figures. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore SMRT to pay lower fine of $2.4m for EWL disruption; must invest at least $600k to boost reliability Singapore MRT service changes needed to modify 3 East-West Line stations on Changi Airport stretch: LTA Singapore S'pore could have nuclear energy 'within a few years', if it decides on it: UN nuclear watchdog chief Asia 'Nothing like this has happened before': At least 16 dead as Thai-Cambodian conflict enters second day Life 'Do you kill children?': Even before independence, S'pore has always loved its over-the-top campaigns Singapore Lung damage, poor brain development, addiction: What vaping does to the body Singapore Tipsy Collective sues former directors, HR head; alleges $14m lost from misconduct, poor decisions Singapore Kopi, care and conversation: How this 20-year-old helps improve the well-being of the elderly Air Force spokesperson Yuri Ihnat said last month that developing interceptor drones would help Ukraine use its resources more rationally in fending off Russian attacks, rather than relying on missiles and aircraft. REUTERS