DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria started the process of circulating new currency bills on Saturday as the crisis-hit nation seeks to stabilize the economy as it recovers from the fall of Bashar Assad’s government.
A decree issued earlier this week by President Ahmad al-Sharaa said that “old Syrian currency” will be gradually withdrawn from circulation according to a timetable set by the central bank and through designated exchange centers.
Central Bank Governor Mokhles Nazer posted on X that after months of preparations, the exchange of old Syrian pounds with new banknotes officially began Saturday morning.
The presidential decree posted on the SANA state news agency stipulates that "new Syrian currency” will be issued by removing two zeros from the nominal value of the old currency. It means every 100 Syrian pounds of the old currency will now equate to one Syrian pound.
The largest denomination of the old currency was 5,000 Syrian pound, while under the new currency it is 500 pounds.
The U.S. dollar was selling at exchange shops in Damascus on Saturday for 11,800 pounds for the old banknotes, some of which bear the images of Assad and his late father and predecessor, Hafez Assad.
At the start of Syria’s conflict in mid-March 2011, the U.S. dollar was worth 47 Syrian pounds.
Since insurgent groups led by al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham marched into Damascus in December 2024 to end the Assad family's 54-year rule, work has been ongoing by the country’s new authorities to improve the economy battered by years of war and Western sanctions.
The U.S. and the European Union have removed most of the sanctions imposed on Syria during Assad’s rule.
A man carries bundles of old currency bills to deposit at the Syrian Central Bank office after authorities announced Saturday that the exchange of old Syrian pounds for new banknotes has officially begun in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
Two men carry bundles of old currency bills to deposit at the Syrian Central Bank office after authorities announced Saturday that the exchange of old Syrian pounds for new banknotes has officially begun in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
A man displays 500, and 200-pound notes from Syria's newly circulating currency outside a currency exchange office in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
KRANJSKA GORA, Slovenia (AP) — The duel between Mikaela Shiffrin and her Swiss rival Camille Rast is shaping up nicely with 45 days to go until the women's slalom race at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
Rast ended Shiffrin’s six-race winning streak in World Cup slaloms Sunday, beating the American star by 0.14 seconds after clocking the fastest time in both runs at an event in Slovenia.
Rast, who is the slalom world champion, also led Shiffrin last week in Austria after the first leg but the American made up more than half a second on a deteriorating course to narrowly take the win.
On Sunday, though, Rast held on to her first-run lead for her fourth career win, and third in slalom, before being hugged by Shiffrin in the finish area.
“Her skiing is so strong, and it’s been building, building, building,” Shiffrin said about Rast. "The last races she had some mistakes that cost time. And today, how I saw her ski the first run, ah, I had to go 120% in order to have a shot. So, it was a big, big, amazing day for her.”
Shiffrin was still satisfied with her own skiing and celebrated by pumping her fist after finishing her final run, when Rast was yet to start.
“I had a really specific goal for my skiing for the second (run), a little bit technical thing, and I felt like I really accomplished that,” Shiffrin said.
“This was the hardest I could push. I pushed so hard, it was like a small mistake here and a small mistake there and I don’t think that cost time. That was just how hard I was trying. I could feel these turns that I wanted to feel.”
Sunday's victory came one day after Rast earned her maiden giant slalom win on the same hill and dedicated that victory to the victims of the fire at a bar in Crans-Montana near her hometown of Vétroz.
"I gave everything I had this weekend. Double on the same weekend is quite amazing. I’m so happy,” Rast said, adding that “a lot of energy” was key to her triumph.
“It was a little bit a battle, but I had a lot of fun. And the slope, wow, was amazing, The preparation was top.”
The duo was far ahead of the rest of the field, with Rast’s teammate Wendy Holdener trailing by a massive 1.83 seconds in third for her first podium result in nearly a year.
Shiffrin’s teammate Paula Moltzan in fourth was the only other racer finishing less than two seconds off the pace.
Shiffrin, who took slalom gold at the 2014 Olympics and holds four world titles in the discipline, won the final race of last season before taking the first five slaloms in the current campaign and raise her career tally to 69 wins in slalom and 106 overall, both World Cup records.
Defending slalom World Cup winner Zrinka Ljutic of Croatia didn’t finish for the fourth time in six races this season.
Italian prodigy Lara Colturi, competing for Albania, lost her balance and fell on the first run on a course set by her father and coach, Alessandro Colturi. She was on the podium in four of the previous five slaloms this season.
The next slalom is a night race on Jan. 13 in Flachau, where Rast triumphed last year and Shiffrin won five times in the past. The last slalom before the Olympics is on Jan. 25 in Czechia.
A downhill and a super-G are scheduled next weekend in another Austrian resort, Zauchensee.
There were no men's World Cup races this weekend.
AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing
Switzerland's Camille Rast celebrates after winning an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom, in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)
Switzerland's Camille Rast, center, winner of an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom, poses with second placed United States' Mikaela Shiffrin, left, and third placed Switzerland's Wendy Holdener, in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)
Switzerland's Camille Rast, left, winner of an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom, is congratulated by second placed United States' Mikaela Shiffrin, in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)
Switzerland's Camille Rast reacts at the finish line after winning an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom, in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)
United States' Paula Moltzan speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom, in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)
United States' Mikaela Shiffrin speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom, in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)
United States' Mikaela Shiffrin speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom, in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
United States' Mikaela Shiffrin inspects the course ahead of an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom, in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Switzerland's Camille Rast speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup slalom, in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
