(Translation by Yusra Ahmed) More than 30,000 acres of natural forest have been destroyed in the western countryside of Homs province last Friday when a large fire broke out, eye-witnesses told Zaman al-Wasl. Eyewitnesses said in early hours of Friday a large fire had broken out in the...

Syrian rebels on Wednesday took two checkpoints in Zabadani city after fierce clashes with Syrian regime army and its allied Shiite militia Hezbollah, activists told Zaman al-Wasl. Activist Anas al-Qalamouni said rebels had seized control of al-Moura and al-Karazat checkpoints as well...

Asian shares gained on Tuesday, taking heart from Nasdaq's fresh high, while gold prices took back some lost ground after plunging more than 4 percent to five-year lows in the previous session. Financial spreadbetters predicted Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE to open about 12 points...

Athens (AFP) - Greek banks reopened Monday after a three-week shutdown imposed to stop a run on ATMs from crashing the financial system, but citizens woke up to widespread price hikes as part of a cash-for-reform deal with the country's creditors. The bank shutdown since June 29 is...