Syria’s former defense minister Mustafa Tlass, a close friend of President Bashar Assad’s father and predecessor Hafez, died in Paris Tuesday, his son Firas said. He was 85. Tlass, whose other son Manaf was among the most high-profile regime officials to defect during the early days of...

A U.S. warning to Syria's leadership against staging a chemical weapons attack was based on intelligence about what appeared to be active preparations at a Syrian airfield used for such an attack in April, U.S. officials said on Tuesday. Russia, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's main...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday that global trade was not a zero-sum game and that she would seek to establish a rules-based commerce system that benefits all, striking a compromising tone before a G20 summit next week. Merkel, who will host leaders of the G20 leading...

Hamas on Tuesday accused the Palestinian Authority and Israel of refusing to grant documents to Gazans in need of permission to seek medical treatment outside the blockaded coastal enclave. The accusation came with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas allegedly seeking to pressure his rivals...