Pruning scissors in hand, Syrian pistachio farmer Fadi al-Mahmoud inspected his orchard, hoping for his first harvest after years of war, as nearby army de-miners swept the ground for buried explosives. "I will be fine as long as my orchard is fine," said the 40-year-old, who returned to...

Zakaria al-Omar was walking through Beirut when a stranger robbed him at knifepoint, a desperate crime of a kind that has become increasingly common in crisis-torn Lebanon. The small Mediterranean country is mired in an economic crisis marked by a steep currency fall and runaway inflation...

  Russia on Sunday has appointed Major General Milad Jadid as a Fifth Corps commander which was formed by Russia in November 2016, sources said. Maj. Gen Milad Jadid has replaced Maj Gen Zaid Saleh. Jadid is considered a commander of the "Special Forces", appointed in...

The International Monetary Fund warned Monday of the high cost of holding up reforms in Lebanon, two months into bailout talks to redress its nosediving economy. After Lebanon for the first time defaulted on its sovereign debt in March, the government pledged a financial rescue plan and in...