Russia Saturday said Syrian rebels are preparing a chemical attack in Idlib province which will be blamed on Damascus and used as a pretext for Western powers to hit regime targets in the war-torn country. Moscow's accusation comes after U.S. President Donald Trump's national security...

The Trump administration has decided to cut more than $200 million in bilateral aid to the Palestinians, following a review of the funding for projects in the West Bank and Gaza. The department notified Congress of the decision Friday in a brief, three-paragraph notice sent first to...

Pope Francis arrives Saturday in Ireland, ground zero of the Catholic Church's sex abuse crisis, with the institution under fire across the globe for its systemic failures to protect children from priestly rapists or punish bishops who hid the crimes. Francis is expected to meet with victims...

At least 27 people are being held by Daesh (ISIS) in southern Syria, Human Rights Watch said Saturday as it deplored the hostage-taking as a "war crime." The group of mostly women and children were abducted by Daesh during a massive July 25 assault on the Druze community in Sweida, in...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- A court run by Turkish-backed forces in the northern town of al-Bab has sentenced a doctor to three months in prison and fined him 5,000 Turkish liras for a tweet criticizing the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his statements, that threatens legal action against the...

Pope Francis should rid the Catholic Church of "every rotten apple" and announce concrete measures against sexual abuse by the clergy during his visit to Ireland, a prominent Irish victim told AFP. Marie Collins, who resigned from a Vatican commission on child protection last year over...

For someone carrying a nation's hopes and dreams on her shoulders, Japan's teenage swim sensation Rikako Ikee looks unfazed. After scooping a record six gold medals at a breakout Asian Games, the 18-year-old knows she will come under intense pressure to deliver at the 2020 Olympics in...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Friday that the company would continue to be publicly traded, weeks after suggesting that he would take the pioneering electric carmaker private. Musk met Tesla's board of directors on Thursday "and let them know that I believe the better path is for Tesla to...

Japan's Hiroto Inoue was accused of pushing Bahraini runner Elhassan Elabbassi and denying him gold as controversy overshadowed the end of the Asian Games marathon on Saturday. Both athletes had complaints rejected by race officials after they made contact during a thrilling sprint...

A European Union aid plan for Iran sends "the wrong message at the wrong time" to the government in Tehran, the US State Department said Friday. The $20.7 million EU assistance package "perpetuates the regime's ability to neglect the needs of its people and stifles meaningful policy...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- US-backed International Coalition is building a military base in Deir  Ezzor province, topping the number of its bases in eastern Syria to five, local activist told Zaman al-Wasl Friday.  The International Coalition set up the new base in the town of...

The sexual abuse scandal dogging the Catholic Church is the result of a "cultural problem" that will take time to remedy, the Vatican's chief spokesman told Irish broadcaster RTE on Friday. Pope Francis is due to arrive in Ireland on Saturday for a historic two-day visit, but spokesman...

Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said some members of oil producer group OPEC were acting in accordance with U.S. policies, Iran's Khaneye Mellat news agency reported Friday. "Some members are interpreting the latest OPEC decision on oil output differently ... and are acting in...

A Palestinian journalist with a Hamas-linked television channel has been released from Israeli custody but banned from working for two months, his family said Friday. Alaa Rimawi, director of Al-Quds (Jerusalem) TV network in the West Bank, was freed Wednesday after being detained in...

At least 22 children and four women were killed by a Saudi-led coalition air strike while fleeing fighting in Yemen, the U.N. aid chief said Friday, condemning attacks on civilians. Four children were also killed on Thursday in a separate air strike in Al-Durayhimi district, south of...

The U.N. refugee agency said Friday it was gravely concerned about a deterioration in conditions for migrants held in Libyan detention centres that had led to riots and hunger strikes. Many migrants are taken to the centres after being intercepted by Libya's EU-backed coastguard as they...

(Zaman Al Wasl)- Syria's second largest oilfield has been operating again after almost one year since the US-backed Kurdish forces took the oil-rich area from Daesh in eastern Syria, satellite images showed. The Tanak oilfield, which contains about 150 wells, fell under the control the...

Clashes have broken out between Taliban militants and government forces in Afghanistan forcing some civilians to flee from their homes near the city of Ghazni, which the militants stormed this month, officials said Friday. The Taliban raided three villages on the outskirts of Ghazni...

Alex Salmond, the former leader of Scotland, is promising to take legal action against the Scottish government over the way it handled sexual harassment allegations against him. Salmond described the allegations dating backing to 2013 over his conduct toward two staff members as...

Rebel and militant drone attacks on an airbase in Latakia used by Damascus ally Russia have increased since last month but all were shot down, an activist group said Friday. "Drone attacks against Hmeimim have increased" since July, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said,...