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Germany to Expand Financial Program for Syrians Seeking to Return

A couple watches the sunset atop Mount Qassioun, which was opened to the public after the fall of the Assad regime, in Damascus, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
A couple watches the sunset atop Mount Qassioun, which was opened to the public after the fall of the Assad regime, in Damascus, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
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Germany to Expand Financial Program for Syrians Seeking to Return

A couple watches the sunset atop Mount Qassioun, which was opened to the public after the fall of the Assad regime, in Damascus, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
A couple watches the sunset atop Mount Qassioun, which was opened to the public after the fall of the Assad regime, in Damascus, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Germany plans to expand a financial program for Syrian nationals seeking to return to their home country in the wake of the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8, a spokesperson for the interior ministry said on Friday.

"In future, we want to expand the program for those who want to leave voluntarily," the spokesperson said, adding that 200 euros ($205) in travel expenses and 1,000 euros in start-up costs were available for each adult seeking to leave Germany.

"I think the situation is still too unclear for larger return movements," the spokesperson added.

Opposition fighters seized control of Damascus on Dec. 8 and forced al-Assad to flee after more than 13 years of civil war, ending his family's decades-long rule.

Many Syrian refugees have since returned to their home country.

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China Discovers Cluster of New Mpox Strain

A woman walks on the Youyi Bridge at the Liangmahe river in Beijing, China on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
A woman walks on the Youyi Bridge at the Liangmahe river in Beijing, China on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
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China Discovers Cluster of New Mpox Strain

A woman walks on the Youyi Bridge at the Liangmahe river in Beijing, China on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
A woman walks on the Youyi Bridge at the Liangmahe river in Beijing, China on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Chinese health authorities said on Thursday they had detected the new mutated mpox strain clade Ib as the viral infection spreads to more countries after the World Health Organization declared a global public health emergency last year.
China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention said it had found a cluster outbreak of the Ib subclade that started with the infection a foreigner who has a history of travel and residence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Reuters reported.
Four further cases have been found in people infected after close contact with the foreigner. The patients' symptoms are mild and include skin rash and blisters.
Mpox spreads through close contact and causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions on the body. Although usually mild, it can be fatal in rare cases.
WHO last August declared mpox a global public health emergency for the second time in two years, following an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that spread to neighboring countries.
The outbreak in DRC began with the spread of an endemic strain, known as clade I. But the clade Ib variant appears to spread more easily through routine close contact, including sexual contact.
The variant has spread from DRC to neighboring countries, including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, triggering the emergency declaration from the WHO.
China said in August last year it would monitor people and goods entering the country for mpox.
The country's National Health Commission said mpox would be managed as a Category B infectious disease, enabling officials to take emergency measures such as restricting gatherings, suspending work and school, and sealing off areas when there is an outbreak of a disease.