The United States walked out of the Conference on Disarmament on Tuesday to protest Venezuela assuming the rotating presidency of the U.N.-sponsored forum - as it did a year ago when Syria took the chair. “We have to try to do what we can to prevent these types of states from presiding over...

Regional lawmakers elected Nechirvan Barzani as president of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq, a spokesman for the regional parliament told Reuters on Tuesday. Barzani, who had been serving as regional prime minister, won 68 votes from the 84 lawmakers present. The regional...

Iran sees no prospect of negotiations with the United States, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said a deal with Tehran on its nuclear program was possible. Washington withdrew last year from a 2015 international nuclear deal with...

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Tuesday said France was intensifying diplomatic efforts to prevent four of its citizens being executed in Iraq after they were sentenced to death for belonging to Daesh (ISIS). An Iraqi court on Sunday sentenced three French nationals to death...

Human Rights Watch on Tuesday accused both Egyptian security forces and jihadists of committing "war crimes" in their confrontation in the restive North Sinai region. "While Egyptian military and police forces were responsible for the majority of abuses documented in the report, extremist...

Regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia hosts Islamic, Arab and Gulf summits this week as tensions between Iran and the US raise fears of military escalation. The three summits in Mecca, Islam's holiest city, allow US ally Riyadh the chance to present unified Islamic, Arab and Gulf fronts against...

Hunched over a thick book, George Zaarour uses a magnifying glass to decipher Aramaic script -- the biblical language of Jesus that is starting to disappear from everyday use in his village. The 62-year-old is one of the last in Syria to specialise in the ancient language, which has...

Hundreds of passengers at Khartoum airport and the Sudanese capital's main bus terminal were stranded Tuesday as protesters began a two-day national strike to pile pressure on the military to hand power to a civilian administration. Leaders of an umbrella protest movement remain at...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Residents of the capital’ southern suburbs called on the Syrian regime to accelerate reconstruction, secure infrastructure and restore electricity and water to the region. According to the Action Group for Palestinians of Syria, the residents of Yarmouk Refugee Camp,...

The Syrian state-run media said Israel carried out a missile attack that caused casualties on Monday, in what Israel's army said was a retaliatory strike. "An Israeli missile targeted Tel al-Shaar in Quneitra," the Syrian news agency said, adding a "military vehicle was targeted and there...

Algerian media said Monday there was very little chance a presidential election will be held as planned on July 4, after only two candidates - both little known - submitted their candidacies. "The election ... will without any doubt be postponed or cancelled," the francophone El Watan daily...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- A well-informed source said experts from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have been training pro-militants to use drones inside al-Nayrab military airbase in northern Aleppo province. The Intensive training course is led by Maj. Gen Qasem Soleimani, the...

At least 17 civilians were killed on Monday as Syria's regime intensified its bombardment of Idlib province, the last jihadist stronghold in the country's northwest, a monitor said. Idlib and parts of the neighbouring provinces of Aleppo, Hama and Latakia are under the control of Hayat...

Washington's sanctions policy threatens the security of the Middle East, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said  Monday, according to a statement on the ministry's website. Araqchi, while on a visit to Kuwait, also said Iran was ready for dialogue with other countries in...

A Libyan official and residents say heavy clashes are slowly nearing the center of Libya's capital, Tripoli, as forces loyal to the military commander Khalifa Haftar battle to seize power. Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army launched an offensive last month to take Tripoli from...

Syria's White Helmets say at least six people were killed and 10 remain under rubble following government air raids on a town in the rebel's last stronghold. The first responders known as White Helmets said Monday that rescue workers were still searching for survivors under the rubble after...

Outside her makeshift tent, Syrian mother Mona Mutayr lays out a frugal meal of potatoes and cucumber as her family marks their first Ramadan since being displaced by war. The holy Islamic month is usually one of celebration, with Muslims fasting from dawn to dusk and gathering around a...

Russian-backed Syrian regime forces will be able to advance all the way to the Turkish border if they pierce rebel defenses in the northwest, a top opposition official said, urging Turkey to do more to shield the area from a major attack. The month-long onslaught is the most serious...

Russia hailed on Monday an Iranian initiative to conclude a non-aggression pact with the Persian Gulf countries.  This step can ease tensions in the region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, speaking at a news conference in Moscow, following the meeting with his Cuban...

The prospect of a merger between French carmaker Renault and Italian-US auto giant Fiat Chrysler received a warm welcome on Monday, with analysts hailing the idea as an ideal fit for two companies who must keep up in the highly competitive industry. The 50-50 combination offered by Fiat,...