Syrian troops backed by war planes battled on Monday to dislodge Islamist rebels from a border crossing and northern town in the coastal province of Latakia, heartland of President Bashar al-Assad's Alawite minority. Fighters from the Islamic Front and al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front...

The head of the organization overseeing the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons stockpile said he still hoped Damascus could meet a final deadline of June 30 but it might miss that target. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government agreed to destroy its chemical weapons...

Four skimming boats surrounded a partially submerged barge on Sunday at the entrance to the Houston Ship Channel, working to clean up fuel spilled from the vessel into Galveston Bay after a Saturday collision with a cargo ship, according to a Reuters eyewitness. The Houston Ship...

The German government has asked federal prosecutors to examine whether German firms broke the law by exporting equipment to  Syria  during the 1980s and early 1990s that may have helped the country to develop chemical weapons. An  economy  ministry spokesman...