Omar Souleyman, a 49-year-old farmer-turned-wedding-singer from north-eastern Syria and a father of 9, is an unlikely electronic music star. This month he drew big crowds to KOKO, one of London’s most iconic music venues. Donning the jalabiya andkeffiyeh, traditional Arab garments, along with his signature aviator shades, he performed to a packed out venue full of white middle-class youth. 

The Provost accepted the Graduate Student Government Senate’s request for USC to become a member of the Institute of International Education’s Syria Consortium for Higher Education in Crisis. […] Among USC’s other efforts in providing educational opportunities to endangered scholars, as mentioned in the statement, are its membership in Scholars at Risk and the IIE Scholar Rescue Fund.

The loss of Palmyra, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980, was one of ISIS’s biggest setbacks since the group declared itself a caliphate in 2014. […] [Maamoun] Abdulkarim said he and other historians and archaeologists would travel to Palmyra to more deeply assess the damage, and to plan how they’ll restore the ancient ruins and sites. 

Russia’s combination of traditional public diplomacy and messaging through media organizations like Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik with disinformation and internet trolls is also important. Moreover, in nearby regions, Russia’s domestic media can serve as a powerful instrument in socializing foreign compatriots into a wider Russian cultural world.

Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS)  has quietly been trying to change the odds against Syria’s future generations through its educational programs, some which continue in Syria despite the conflict. [...] Through its Mercy in Motion campaign, sign of its commitment to the Jubilee Year of Mercy, JRS has pledged to increase its educational services to reach 100,000 more of the world’s refugees by the year 2020.

A huge community effort all over Vancouver Island has laid out a welcome mat for the Syrians, who have fled the violence that has devastated their country. [...] The effort includes a grassroots project in Cobble Hill to fix up a home for rental to a refugee family.

After more than 1.1 million refugees from troubled lands [...] have trekked into Germany over the last 13 months, a small but growing number are heading home. The reasons are myriad, but include overcrowded refugee centers, exasperating bureaucracy, unfamiliar German food, a lack of jobs and a spreading sense of resentment from Germans who fear their country is being overrun by Muslims.