Explosion near Macron’s Damascus hotel as French president meets Syrian counterpart | CNN

An explosion went off near the Four Seasons Hotel in Damascus on Tuesday, where French President Emmanuel Macron had spent the night ahead of a meeting with his Syrian counterpart, according to French and Syrian media. Macron was already at the Presidential Palace when the explosions occurred and was unharmed, the Élysée Palace said in a statement. France’s BFMTV, a CNN affiliate, said he had been staying at the Four Seasons hotel, which is regularly used by overseas visitors to Syria, including diplomats, NGO workers and journalists. State-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said two separate blasts occurred while security officers were trying to dismantle explosive devices and injured 18 people, including four police officers. Authorities have launched an investigation into the blasts, SANA reported. Both blasts took place within about eight minutes of each other, Syria’s state TV channel Al Ekhbariya reported, citing the country’s Interior Minister Anas Khattab. Macron’s convoy was about 10 kilometers (6.21 miles) away from the site of the explosion, he added. “Nothing can smother the aspiration of Syrian women and men to live in a fully sovereign, safe, pluralistic,