Progress in reaching a deal to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons helped put downward pressure on oil prices Friday. Benchmark oil for October delivery was down 31 cents to $106.09 per barrel at midday Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell...

Iranian President Hassan Rowhani said Thursday his government was ready to "help facilitate dialogue" between the Syrian government and the opposition. "We must join hands to constructively work toward national dialogue, whether in Syria or Bahrain. We must create an atmosphere where peoples...

    Germany exported 111 tonnes of chemicals to Syria between 2002 and 2006 that could be used in the production of sarin gas, according to a government document published on Wednesday .   But the government rejected a suggestion...

Donor countries, among them France, Qatar and Russia, are failing to adequately provide urgently-needed funding for the humanitarian crisis in Syria, an international aid agency said. Oxfam, in a report released on Thursday, said its research revealed that many donor countries are not...