Striker Yuya Osako scored twice in 11 second-half minutes to help send four-times champions Japan into the final of the Asian Cup with a 3-0 victory over tournament favourites Iran Monday. The Werder Bremen forward headed the first home in the 56th minute and added his second from the...

The once-sprawling "caliphate" of Daesh (ISIS) has been reduced to a four-square-kilometer pocket of territory in eastern Syria, a senior Kurdish commander said Monday. With support from a U.S.-led military coalition, the Syrian Democratic Forces are in the final stages of an assault...

The crisis in OPEC member Venezuela could impact the oil market balance, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih told Al-Arabiya news channel Monday. "Of course, developments in Venezuela may have an impact on the [oil] markets ... We are watching developments there and there could be an...

Syria's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has detained scores of residents in Idlib, following the capture of the province by the jihadi group this month, Human Rights Watch said on Monday. At least 11 civilian residents had been working documenting abuses by HTS or protesting against the...

Three heavily armed men attacked a van carrying a jailed criminal on his way to court Monday, firing shots outside the courthouse and striking a guard before making their getaway in the southern French town of Tarascon, officials said. The spectacular escape took place at around 8:30...

The U.N. envoy for Yemen said Monday the expected timeline for a truce in the flashpoint city of Hodeida and a prisoner swap between warring parties had been pushed back. Envoy Martin Griffiths hosted hard-won peace talks between the Yemeni government and Houthi rebels in Sweden last...

A British woman convicted in Egypt of smuggling painkillers has been granted early release after spending more than a year in prison, an Egyptian security source said Monday. Laura Plummer, 34, was arrested at Hurghada airport and sentenced in December 2017 to three years in prison...

Iran is likely to expand its cyber espionage activities as its relations with Western powers worsen, the European Union digital security agency said Monday. Iranian hackers are behind several cyber-attacks and online disinformation campaigns in recent years as the country tries to...

The longtime head of the world's Yazidis, a minority whose Iraqi community was ferociously targeted by Daesh (ISIS), has died in Germany after a long illness, officials said Monday. Prince Tahseen Said Ali died in the KRH Siloah hospital in Hanover at the age of 85, according to the...

Turkey is aiming to form safe zones in northern Syria so that around 4 million of Syrian refugees hosted by Turkey could return, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday. Speaking in Istanbul, Erdogan also said nearly 300,000 Syrians had already returned and that he expected millions...

 (Zaman Al Wasl)- The spread of Iranian goods in rebel-held areas has aroused resentment among the traders and residents as accusations directed to the powerful Hayat Tahrir al-Sham which controls the crossings. The ‘Salvation Government’, a domestic governing body close to Tahrir...

Prominent Chinese human rights lawyer Wang Quanzhang was sentenced on Monday to four and a half years in prison for state subversion, sealing the fate of another attorney swept up in a 2015 crackdown. Wang, 42, who defended political activists and victims of land seizures, disappeared in...

Panama rolled out the red carpet for Pope Francis for World Youth Day celebrations, but here and across Latin America the Catholic Church is losing ground to a growing evangelical movement. In the gritty barrio of El Chorrillo, a kilometer (half-mile) of dense streets from where Francis...

Bahrain's supreme court, whose verdicts are final, on Monday upheld a life term for Shiite opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman for spying for Gulf rival Qatar, a judicial source said. Salman, who headed the Shiite Al-Wefaq group, was convicted in November of "communicating with Qatari...

Vale, the Brazilian company that owns the dam that burst at one of its mines killing dozens and leaving hundreds missing, is the world's biggest iron-ore miner - and its reputation has taken a harsh blow with the disaster. Brazilian authorities have frozen 11 billion reais -- around $3...

Zimbabwe's widely respected fire brigade usually tackles house fires and traffic accidents, but it became a symbol of the regime during anti-government demonstrations that turned into violent looting and arson. The crews were blocked from reaching blazes by protesters who erected...

Syrian state-run media is reporting that the country's air defense systems have destroyed three "hostile" targets in the country's coastal region over a Russian air base. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says explosions heard Sunday resulted from the air defense...

  (Zaman Al Wasl)- Syrian regime forces on Sunday have stepped up its aerial and ground bombardment on rebel-held areas in Hama and Idlib provinces where Russia and Turkey agreed on a buffer zone in September, local reporter said Sunday. At least 14 towns and villages came under...

Israel on Sunday officially recognised Venezuela's National Assembly chief Juan Guaido as president, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, following close ally Washington in endorsing the opposition leader. Netanyahu announced in an online video that Israel was joining the United States,...

A prominent French anti-government "yellow vest" activist, badly injured in the eye at a protest, was struck with one of the controversial rubber bullets used by police, his lawyer said Sunday. Jerome Rodrigues' lawyer fears he will be "handicapped for life" after he was injured in clashes...