The United States and China have pledged "full cooperation" to fight fentanyl trafficking, a powerful opioid that has killed tens of thousands of Americans, the US "drug czar" said Thursday. US President Donald Trump accused Beijing in August of reneging on its promise to crack down on the...

Afghans go to the polls Saturday to vote in a presidential election that few expect will have much effect in bringing peace to the war-torn country. With the Taliban threatening violence against anyone who participates, and concern that the widespread fraud which blighted previous elections...

Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar, whose forces have been battling to capture the seat of the UN-recognised government in Tripoli since April, has said he is open to dialogue after repeatedly rejecting UN calls for talks. "When all is said and done, we need dialogue and we need to sit down"...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched into what could prove to be an impossible mission to form a new government Thursday after the president tasked him with doing so following deadlocked elections. The mandate from President Reuven Rivlin on Wednesday night gave Netanyahu a...

Former French President Jacques Chirac, a major force in French politics who opposed the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, died in Paris on Thursday at the age of 86. A seasoned politician, Chirac’s career included two presidential terms, two stints as prime minister and nearly two decades as...

 (Zaman Al Wasl)- Three suspected ISIS fighters were captured by the U.S.-led coalition and allied Kurdish forces in eastern Deir Ezzor province late on Wednesday, source told Zaman al-Wasl Thursday. The U.S. helicopters made an airdrop on the village of al-Jasemi and arrested...

  (Zaman Al Wasl)- Since entering and occupying Syria in September 2015, the Russians have established dozens of military bases, which Syrian forces are prohibited from entering or approaching unless ordered and authorized by them. These large bases are not limited to Hmeimim and...

Syrian-Lebanese economist Rouba Mhaissen won Norway's Rafto Prize on Thursday for her work defending the rights of refugees and migrants, the Rafto Foundation said. Mhaissen, 31, is the founder and director of SDAID, an organisation that has since 2011 helped Syrians displaced by the war in...

Tunnels run for hundreds of metres, connecting caves strewn with mattresses that formed what the Syrian army and its Russian allies say was a vast rebel underground network. The road leading to the entrance of the tunnels in Lataminah in northwestern Syria is lined with the charred shells...

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam will hold her first talks with the public on Thursday in a bid to resolve a political crisis that has fueled nearly four months of sometimes violent protests and plunged the Chinese-run city into chaos. Beijing-backed Lam will hold a dialogue with 150 members of...

Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said over 70 flights are scheduled for Thursday to bring back 16,000 people to the country following the collapse of Thomas Cook. The authority also said over 150 Thomas Cook crew and 30% of the total number of passengers, in the first three days of...

 A large fire broke out in the early hours of Thursday at a French factory in the northern port city of Rouen, local authorities said. Authorities added there were no reported victims at this stage. The fire at the factory of Lubrizol - a company that makes specialty chemicals - had...

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince said he bears responsibility for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year by Saudi operatives “because it happened under my watch,” according to a PBS documentary to be broadcast next week. Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, has not...

President Donald Trump Wednesday took steps to bar senior Iranian officials and their immediate family from entering the United States as immigrants or non-immigrants, the White House said in a proclamation. The proclamation repeated U.S. accusations that Iran sponsors terrorism,...

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes will venture into this weekend's Russian Grand Prix with a rare sense of vulnerability after suffering three successive defeats by Ferrari ahead of a race they have dominated for five years. Defending five-time champion Hamilton should have every reason to feel...

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that the United States must “pay more” for any agreement that goes beyond the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that Washington abandoned. Rouhani also appeared to reject meeting U.S. President Donald Trump while the two are in New York this week for...

Algeria on Wednesday jailed its once-untouchable spy chief, its former de facto ruler and two other figureheads of the ruling elite, as the army seeks to quell mass protests demanding a purge of old power brokers. The military court in Blida, south of Algiers, issued 15-year terms for...

Participating countries will continue efforts to keep the Iran nuclear deal in the place, despite "increasing" difficulties, EU foreign policy chief said Wednesday. "I will not hide that it is increasingly difficult to do it and we have discussed today that fact that we will try to continue...

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Wednesday asked Benjamin Netanyahu to form a new Cabinet in the wake of the failed unity talks with his rival Benny Gantz. Rivlin's remarks came in a joint news conference with Netanyahu aired by Israeli TV. The move came after the talks between...

Zaman al-Wasl was able to uncover one of the most insidious amnesties issued by Bashar al-Assad that extorts tens of thousands of Syrians who used to be employees that left the country "illegally", for fear of being killed, arrested or forced into the regime's army. Al-Assad issued an...