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Syria Wants Burkinis on Public Beaches, Official Denies Ban on Western Beachwear
People swim at a public beach in Latakia, Syria, June 12, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Karam Al-Masri
Syria‘s Islamist-led government has said women should wear burkinis or other swimwear that covers the body on public beaches, though an official denied there was any ban on Western beachwear and said the decision was misunderstood.
The decision marks the first time Syrian authorities have issued guidelines related to what women can wear since Bashar al-Assad was toppled and Sunni Islamists took power in Damascus, after more than 13 years of civil war.
While interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa has promised to protect freedoms in the new Syria and an interim constitution guarantees women’s rights, any move to enforce dress codes would be seen as a shift towards more conservative rule.
The tourism ministry decree, dated June 9, said that visitors to public pools and beaches should wear “appropriate swimwear that respects public decency and the feelings of different segments of society.”
It calls for “more modest swimsuits” and specifies “the burkini or swimming clothes that cover the body more.”
It offered an exception for hotels classed as four-star or above, and for private beaches, pools and clubs, saying “normal Western swimwear” was generally permitted, “with adherence to public morals and within the limits of public taste.”
Ghiath al-Farrah, assistant minister for tourism, said the decision had not banned Western beachwear from public beaches.
“Those who want to enter wearing Western clothing are allowed, but we allowed the burkini to cater to a large segment of society,” he told Reuters, adding that the burkini had previously been banned in some places.
“The word ‘prohibited’ is not mentioned in the decision at all,” he said, adding that it was not a presidential decree and could be amended at the end of the season.
The government’s decision, signed by the tourism minister, said that at public beaches women should wear a cover or a loose robe over their swimwear when moving between the beach and other areas.
Men should wear a shirt when not swimming, and are not allowed to appear bare-chested “in the public areas outside the swimming areas – hotel lobbies or … restaurants,” it said.
Mahmoud Toron, an analyst close to the government, criticized the decision, saying he would have left swimming pools and beaches alone. “We are not lacking controversial issues amidst these turbulent storms,” he wrote on X.
The guidelines were part of a wider decree that included public safety guidelines ahead of the summer season, such as not spending too long in the sun and avoiding jellyfish.
During the Assad family’s iron-fisted rule, which was shaped by secular Arab nationalism, the state issued no directives about dress codes on public beaches, though people often dressed modestly, reflecting conservative norms.
Since Assad was toppled, fliers have appeared urging women to cover up, but the government has issued no directives ordering them to observe conservative dress codes.
The post Syria Wants Burkinis on Public Beaches, Official Denies Ban on Western Beachwear first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.