NATO defence ministers Thursday slammed Turkey for its military operation in Syria conducted with Russia's help, but recognised there was little they could do to sanction their strategically important ally. The first day of a two-day meeting of the ministers in Brussels was dominated by the...

Hundreds of Hong Kong protesters, some waving Catalan flags and banners urging “a fight for freedom together”, rallied in support of a separate Catalonia on Thursday, broaching an issue that is anathema to Hong Kong’s Communist Party leaders in Beijing. In Hong Kong’s pro-democracy...

Kurds from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have withdrawn to 32 km (20 miles) away from the border with Turkey, Russia’s RIA news agency reported on Thursday, citing an SDF official. Kurds in the SDF group are ready to discuss joining the Syrian army once the crisis in Syria is...

Strikes are keeping classrooms shut at the start of the school year in Libya as teachers seek better pay from a budget under strain from a massive public salary bill and renewed conflict. State-run schools were meant to open on Oct. 13, but teachers angered by falling living conditions and...

Turkey's central bank slashed rates by a more than expected 250 points to 14 percent Thursday, taking advantage of an inflation dip and a steadier lira after Washington cancelled just-announced sanctions over a military incursion into Syria. The bank lowered its benchmark one-week repo rate...

Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos has confirmed he has been fined by Spanish tax authorities for irregularities relating to his image rights between 2012 and 2014. According to the newspaper El Mundo, Ramos was fined one million euros for transferring revenue to his own company Sermos 32 SL, which...

Chinese embassy staff are heading to Essex in Britain to verify reports that 39 people found dead in a truck were its nationals, the foreign ministry said Thursday. The victims were discovered in a container on the back of a truck in Grays, east of London, on Wednesday, shortly after...

Lebanese President Michel Aoun broke his silence after a week of unprecedented protests Thursday, expressing willingness to meet demonstrators. "I am ready to meet your representatives... to hear your demands," he said in a short televised speech, his first since daily street protests began...

Kurdish forces have begun withdrawing from areas near the Turkish border in Syria, the Interfax news agency cited Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin as saying Thursday. Moscow, a close Syrian ally, told Syrian Kurdish forces to withdraw from the border Wednesday as part of an...

Islamabad and New Delhi signed an agreement Thursday on a visa-free corridor between the two countries that will allow Sikh pilgrims in India to visit the shrine to their religion's founder, which is in Pakistan. The Kartarpur Corridor deal -- a rare example of cooperation between the...

An ancient tomb in Jerusalem prized for its archaeological and religious importance was reopened for visits Thursday by France, which owns it, after a dispute over access scuttled an earlier attempt. The site known as the Tomb of the Kings in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem can now be...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- A relative of Daesh family held by Turkish-backed rebels on Monday has recognised the wife of his brother-in-law who appeared in a video obtained by Zaman al-Wasl. Altan Altuntas, a citizen from Dagestan, said 'Tetey Omarova’ who appears in the second 55 , is the wife...

The United Kingdom will ultimately leave the European Union on the terms of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal even though parliament has complicated the timing of the divorce, a senior Downing Street source said. “This ends with us leaving with the PM’s deal,” the source, who spoke...

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper is expected to focus on Turkey’s recent offensive into northeastern Syria and the future of the fight against Islamic State when he meets with NATO partners in Brussels this week, but he has limited options in dealing with either issue. Earlier this month,...

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer met this week with Democratic lawmakers to try to resolve their concerns about the U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement as Republicans increased pressure to get the deal passed by the end of 2019. Democrats said they were making progress...

Saudi Arabia appointed a prince with diplomatic experience in Western capitals as foreign minister Wednesday in a partial cabinet reshuffle as the kingdom tries to mend its international image and prepares to take over the Group of 20 presidency. Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud had served...

Protests in Lebanon entered a second week on Thursday with demonstrators blocking main roads in Beirut and other parts of the country, AFP correspondents and Lebanese media reported. Sparked on October 17 by a proposed tax on calls made through messaging apps, the protests have morphed into...

Former military chief Benny Gantz received an official mandate Wednesday to try to form Israel's next government, but with no easy path to ending Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's long hold on power. After inconclusive elections in April and September, Gantz's nomination marked the first...

 Hoping to succeed where earlier Arab Spring revolutions have struggled, Sudan's new government is seeking support to build a youth-focused economy through fundamental reforms and a new safety net, its finance minister says. In an interview with AFP in Washington, Finance Minister...

After deals negotiated with both the United States and Russia which put an end to its offensive in Syria, Turkey has won a key demand: the removal of Kurdish fighters from along its border. But these deals, and the US's withdrawal from the zone, are also a huge boost for Russia, which is...