(Zaman Al Wasl)- Turkish-backed forces have clashed with Kurdish YPG militia near the town of Ayn Issa in northeastern Syria despite a Russian-brokered deal to withdraw from the planned ‘Safe Zone’, local activists said Friday. The artillery of the Syrian National Army has pounded...

Celebrations have erupted in Iraq’s Tahrir Square, where anti-government protesters have been camped out for nearly two months following an announcement by the Iraqi premier that he would be resigning. The square in central Baghdad has been the epicenter of protests that began Oct. 17...

Even among hardliners in Iran, there seems to be an acknowledgment of one fact after widespread protests, violence and a security force crackdown following a spike in government-set gasoline prices: This will not be the last time demonstrators come out on the street. As Iran struggles...

Iraq’s top Shiite cleric is warning of civil war after a deadly day of violence in which security forces shot dead 40 people in the capital and the southern provinces, calling on lawmakers to “reconsider” their support for the current government. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani says the...

Ornina Syrian Orchestra, conducted by composer Shafi Badreddine, will be hosting its second concert at the Berlin Philharmonie Theater, presenting Syrian and Arab musical heritage with a special musical blend. Shafi Badreddine, a Syrian artist from the countryside of Sweida, graduated...

Yemen's Houthi movement said it shot down a Saudi Apache helicopter near the border with Saudi Arabia Friday, killing its two pilots. "A Saudi Apache helicopter was shot down by a surface-to-air missile... and its two pilots were killed as it was completely burned," the group's military...

The Taliban said it was "way too early" Friday to speak of resuming direct talks with Washington, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump stated during a surprise visit to Afghanistan that the U.S. was again meeting with the militants. "It is way too early to talk about the resumption of...

Iraqi protesters regrouped Friday in protest-hit cities in the country's south after a deadly crackdown by authorities killed dozens in one of the bloodiest days in two months of anti-government demonstrations. Nearly 45 people were killed and hundreds wounded across the south on Thursday,...

 A plastic helmet with a gaping bullet hole. A bloodsoaked T-shirt suspended next to a row of bloodsoaked flags. Tear gas grenades lined up in columns. Photo after photo of young men, on posters that bear the dates their government killed them. What started as an ad hoc shrine to...

Lewis Hamilton reflected on the cost of chasing Formula One success and the high personal toll exacted by the sport after Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas announced on Thursday he was getting divorced. Bottas, 30, had earlier announced in a twitter post his split from wife Emilia, an...

At least seven people were wounded in separate car bomb attacks in northern Syria on Thursday.  According to Anadolu Agency correspondent on the ground, the attacks targeted the district centers of al-Bab and Afrin, injuring five people. The security forces suspect the attacks were...

Iraqi security forces shot dead at least 35 protesters on Thursday after demonstrators stormed and torched an Iranian consulate overnight, in what could mark a turning point in the uprising against the Tehran-backed authorities. At least 29 people died in the southern city of Nassiriya when...

Access Center for Human Rights asserted that Syrian refugees are “deprived of their basic rights,” facing a new phase of restrictions on their lives, after several incapacitating requirements have been imposed on their children’s right to education, guaranteed by the UN. On Wednesday, the...

Frontline state Greece is feeling the strain of hosting thousands of migrants in camps and Europe must come up with a policy to ease the crisis, the United Nations senior refugee official said Thursday. Conditions in the huge open-air camp on the island of Lesbos were "extremely...

Britain's "Brexit election" may be hardening opinion about Northern Ireland's status, widening a gulf that characterised the province's bloody and still unsettled sectarian past. Political parties across the country are campaigning before polling on December 12, with Prime Minister Boris...

Weeks into a protest movement partly driven by a collapsing economy, Lebanese interior architect Laeticia Nicolas was called in by her boss and told she was fired. "There had been fewer and fewer projects for a year," said the 28-year-old, who since October 17 has taken part in...

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu dismissed French President Emmanuel Macron's critique of Turkey's offensive in Syria against the Kurdish YPG militia Thursday, saying the French leader sponsors terrorism. "He is already the sponsor of the terrorist organisation and constantly hosts...

France has not accepted a moratorium offered by Russia on short-term and medium range missiles, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday after a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Paris. Russia has proposed a moratorium on the deployment of short and...

East Libya based forces said they had launched air strikes near oilfields in the southwest of the country early Thursday, after fighting in the area shut down one of two major fields. The eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) said Wednesday it had driven rival factions from the...

Young Algerians protesting against a presidential election candidate scuffled with riot police in an eastern town late Wednesday, residents said, as pressure builds between the ruling elite and its opponents before the contested Dec. 12 vote. Peaceful mass protests have taken place weekly...